Our little carrot!

We are officially at 21 weeks! Last weekend we were busy trying to decide on the bedding, furniture and the travel system. The only one we were able to accomplish was the travel system.

I really thought I wanted something modern and graphically cool for the bedding… then there is the whole baby pink issue. I can handle pink, but not all over her nursery. I would feel like I was stepping in to Pepto-Bismol every day. Can’t do it. She will be in plenty of precious pink outfits and skirts to make up for the lack of pink in the nursery. I kind of feel like a mom that is not keen on having a girl, but I am very excited a/b it – I’m just not a real girly-girl. I really don’t want the nursery to look real “baby” either. All that to say, the bedding is still up in the air, which drives me crazy, b/c for me, that pretty much determines the look of the entire room (excluding the furniture) – what paint colors to use, what accent colors to use- blah, blah, blah.

I guess one of these days she will have a name. Stephen was given one month from when he found out the sex to contribute any names... two weeks remain. We have a few first names and one strong possibility, but no middle name just yet. Believe you me, she will have a name before she makes her grand appearance.
According to my books, she is a/b 10 ½ inches long – the average length of a carrot.

Off the subject issues:
Last week I chaired an awareness rally at the Arkansas State Capitol for Ovarian Cancer Awareness. Afterwards, we had a survivor’s luncheon at the Governor’s Mansion. The turn out was way more than we expected, we had over 150 people in attendance. Our goal was around 80. Our prayer for next year is that we will have to move locations b/c we need more space. J It was a great success.
Also, we have a website up and running http://www.arkansasovariancancer.com/ to be a resource for women in Arkansas just diagnosed with ovarian cancer and to be a place to gather information on awareness and upcoming events- check it out.

Presentation of Survivors at rally.

Mom, Leah and myself listening to a speaker at the rally

Stephen played in his first adult league soccer game this past Sunday. I was not able to attend. Unfortunately they lost, but they have only practiced twice, so I expect better outcomes in the future. As the soccer player I was growing up, I have to admit I am a little jealous. I think that would be so much fun. However, there are some things that the foot/brace does not allow me to do and this would be one of them.
I am very proud of him for stepping out and doing something a little outside of his comfort zone. Who knows – he probably did it as a way to get away from the crazy pregnant lady at home! HA!

Here are some recent pictures of my boys...

Stephen & JT at my brothers house in Fayetteville. JT actually rode around at low speed, it was too funny!

JT Hanging out of the window. (this picture may not be reproduced in any way without permission)

I know, I know. It has been a long time since I have been able to hop on here and post. I apologize.

Stephen & I just had my dad in town for a little over a week. We had all these activities planned and then wham! - the weather. Was it because of rain? NO Was it becuase of tornados? NO
It was becuase the temperature was around 103 with a heat index of over 110!

I have been super busy with the Arkansas Ovarian Cancer Coalition. September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month in Arkansas, so we have a few events planned. We are doing a rally at the State Capitol and a Survivors Luncheon at the Governor's Mansion on September 9th.

Congratulations to Renee for getting engaged!! (Stephen's cousin) That is awesome! You go girl!

Stay tuned... I promise, stephen & I will have some new news soon!

CHRISTmas

Merry Christmas!!!!!!

December seemed to fly by so fast! I'm sure everyone feels that way. However, I think a lot of companies have started to steer away from the large Christmas parties because there did not seem to be that many around that I heard of, so that was a relief - but I could be in the dark.
It is always fun to recieve all the great Christmas cards, and well you can't forget the Christmas newsletters from Aunts, Uncles or Cousins. Some are joyful and others, well.... humourous.

We had a good Christmas, Stephen's big items were an ipod and a bike rack. I got a new bike (yeah!!) and a docking station for my ipod. We put the docking station in the kitchen and I have throughly enjoyed listening to music, instead of the TV, while I cook. I don't feel as rushed. Here are a few pics.

On Christmas Eve we went to Paul & Carolyns house and had Christmas with Stephen's side of the family. Our neice is growing so fast and to think she has a little sister coming shortly is amazing.

A week after Christmas we went up to Fayetteville to spend time with my nephews - Parker (7) & Henry (4). JT & Belle love it up at the farm. JT especially likes to go bark at the cows. While me and my brother, TJ, rock out on Guitar Hero. (as of right now, that is the one game that I can beat Stephen at - but I am sure he will catch up to me quickly)

We had a lot to reflect on and remember how much Christ has blessed us this past year.

1. Stephen being laid off and re-hired that then lead to a management postion.
2. Mom's fight with ovarian cancer - involving two sugeries and 7 rounds of chemotherapy. She is now cancer free!!!!
3. A good friend of mine was blessed with a beautiful baby girl.
4. And last, but not least, just the ability to live everyday in freedom. We are blessed that people will knowingly pay that price for us everyday. I love our troops!
   
   Our prayer for you and your families is that you will have a blessed New Year and may Christ be beside you everyday.
   

Cancer....free, babies, pun-kins & ribbons

It is absolutely crazy that it has already been 22 days since our last post. We have been very busy. I guess this way we don't have to wait for our vacation to get here, it is just going to smack us in the head the night before.


As a family, we got the best news in six months.....
MOM IS CANCER FREE!!!

The past couple of weeks I have been traveling for work- Fayetteville for a photo shoot and Hot Springs for a tradeshow. In between those events I have preparing our office to participate in the 2ND Annual WD&D Pumpkin Carving Contest (which i think was sabotaged/rigged) and the Tinkled Pink - where we decorate a port-o-potty for the Race for the Cure.


Here are some pictures of the port-o-potty - we don't know if we won yet- we better have!!!

Stephen joined us later and helped with all the detail work- i think he is the one that took the group photo - me, Courtney, Laura and Aaron. I know, you would want to use the potty in our bathroom!! We had all the tile and wallpaper donated. So it only cost us a/b $50 to decorate.

Before all of those events I hosted a baby shower for one of my long time friends! That was such a treat - however i do feel older by the day when my friends start having kids and Wes & Kelly have #2 in the oven. But no pressure, right?!
"In Gods time" is what i keep telling myself. Although we have had "the baby talk" but I will need to get off of my nerve pain medicine and that will be a TALL mountain to climb. Maybe I will talk more about that on another post.

Speaking of babies - Stephen & I are going to have to deal with "letting a stranger keep our baby for the first time" thing. I never knew finding a kennel that we were both comfortable with was going to be such a task! First we thought we had found someone Stephen works with to keep him, b/c come to find out they had one of JT's cousins only a month or two younger than him. Well, he was a little too rambunkcious (sp?) for dad and mom just wanted to know that he was going to be as loved there as he is at home. It will be funny to see how long we can go w/out calling the kennel to see if he's alright.

I will try to write again before we go on vacation!

What a weekend!

BIG DAM BRIDGE 100

This past week Stephen, Wes & P.D. (Amy's stepdad) participated in the Big Dam Bridge bike race. This race helps benefit the Arkansas Prostate Foundation. They chose to do the 25-mile course. They ended up doing 35 miles in a little over 2 hours with an average speed of 14.7 mph!! You can find out more about "the longest pedestrian bridge in the world" here.

I know they had such a wonderful time, however, it kicked their rear!! They were so exhausted but felt so good for completing a race. Plus, it was for a good cause - proceeds benefited the Prostate foundation.

OVARIAN CANCER AWARENESS!!

For those of you that do not know, my mom- Suzanne Holland, was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer in March. She just completed 6 months of chemotherapy. I do have to say that I think she has the prettiest bald head I have ever seen! No dents, no funny angles.

God has blessed us tremendously with this process. He allowed it to be caught fairly early and made the chemo process easier than most. She did have some nausea every time and fatigue - but other than that she has handled the drugs very well.

I will be posting more info on here about ovarian cancer "the silent killer."

If you just can't wait, the best website for more information is here at the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. They do a lot with the politics of funding as well. So when we need your help, I will post on here what you can do to get more awareness out there.

Here is a picture right after Stephen shaved her had back in May. We had a head shaving party! The whole losing the hair issue was a big one for mom to get over - she still isn't over it, would you? (and would probably kill me for putting this picture up here). It took a few times seeing it for me to get over it. But now, to me it signifies such strength and courage!

This weekend mom & I went to an Ovarian Cancer Retreat at the Arkansas Cancer Research Center (division of UAMS). It was informative but more for people currently going through everything. Mom's big question was "now what? - I've been through it, how do i get active again, etc."

When we got there for registration, on your tag it said if you were a survivor or a caretaker. If you were a survivor it just listed your name and the month and year you were diagnosed. For me, it had my name and underneath it "caretaker." To be honest, I wasn't really expecting it. It is a little weird to be identified as her "caretaker," it's that whole role reversal thing. My step-dad has done a GREAT job at taking care of her. That was just a little more for me to fully comprehend yet. I guess b/c a caretaker to me is someone that watches over the elderly or very ill and to me, mom isn't any of those things.

ONE SWEET DEVICE!

Stephen also bought his "first very own computer since high school" this weekend. We needed something just for home use and simple tasks. He was very pumped.

We hope everyone else had a blessed weekend, too!