Ramblings

I took the plunge and gave my resignation last Thursday. My final day of work will be December 12th. I think it's going to be a real adjustment for me. On the one hand I'm very excited about this next phase of our lives. Preparing for the arrival of the baby, being able to be home and do things there that I haven't been able to. On the other hand it's hard to give up my paycheck and the independence I've always had with having a job. I like the feeling of pulling my weight, even though I truly feel that, if possible, the woman's job is at home taking care of the family. It's just going to take a little time to adjust to being a stay at home wife/mom.

I have not been sleeping well for the last several weeks. Not sure why, but my back hurts and I just don't get a good night's rest. It's Sunday morning at 7:00 and I've been up for over an hour. I would like to be in bed resting peacefully, but here I sit blogging and watching the news.

Hopefully, today I'll be able to finish the painting on the main floor. Seems like I've been saying that for the longest time now. I want to get it finished and put the house back together. When we return from Alaska in January it'll be time to start painting upstairs and and putting the nursery together.

Last week a friend of our neighbor's came to meet Papa kitty. She really liked him, but needed to check with her husband about taking him. Yesterday we saw them in the commissary and she said that her husband didn't think they needed another animal at this point. I could understand that and appreciated their honesty. We have another possibility with one of Sam's co-workers. I really hope we find a good home for him before too much longer. The cats are constantly at each other and it gets really old. Even though she pesters him constantly, I know Gabby's going to miss Papa when he's gone. She will probably drive herself nuts trying to find him when he's no longer here.

On a sad note, my Grandpa Hosier is not doing well. His health has been failing for awhile now, but at this point it's expected he doesn't have much time left. It's sad to see his life coming to an end, but he's lived a long life. He's lived a godly life and has stood as a wonderful example of one who lives their life for God. There's peace in knowing exactly where he's going. I'm so thankful for the Christian heritage that I have.

It's now Monday afternoon and I just got home from work. I did not paint yesterday, but before going to bed last night we moved all the furniture away from the walls so I can probably get most, if not all, of the painting done this afternoon. I will be so glad to get it done. It doesn't take that long once I get busy with it. It's been dragging on for so long because I just didn't feel well enough to do anything for quite awhile.

I'm feeling much better these days. Instead of feeling sick every day I have a couple of good days then a bad day, but over all it's getting better. I'm so excited about heading home in just a few weeks. I cannot wait to be home again - both Alaska and the states. Depending on how I feel, I'm thinking about extending my stay for a few weeks. With not working right now it's a perfect time to stay home longer and get my fill of being home.

All things considered, if I had a choice I would not stay in Germany for that much longer. I miss home desperately and would love to be around my family at this point in my life. I would love to share the baby with them. I've enjoyed Germany, but it's not my home. Our plan was to stay for 5-10 years. Unfortunately, it will probably be closer to 10 since we bought a house. Finances certainly are a consideration and the primary reason we decided to come at all. It's so much easier for me to stay at home with the baby over here. So, it's a trade off. I have to keep in mind why we're here and the benefits of it.

Well, I better get busy if I want to get the painting done today. Until next time...

Update

As of today I am starting my 15th week of pregnancy. I'm amazed at how quickly the weeks are going by. This baby is going to be here before we know it. I think I've been in denial about the inevitability of a growing belly. I need to get a few items of clothing ordered or one of these days I'll find myself with no clothes that fit. It hasn't been a problem yet, of course, but just last week I noticed my waist is starting to expand. Yikes!!

I hate to admit it, but my house is in serious need of a deep cleaning. It's been a long time since I felt good enough to really clean so it's been neglected for awhile now. Last weekend I started repainting the main floor and thought stopping to clean in the middle of it would be counterproductive since after painting it'll need cleaned even better. It really drives me crazy to live in this state of waiting for one thing to be done before I can put it all back together. Hopefully this weekend I'll get the rest of the area painted and able to put everything back in place.

Thankfully, I've been feeling much better this past week. I still have moments throughout the day when I feel incredible sick (as in just this morning), but more and more often I feel pretty good. It's nice to see a light at the end of the tunnel of nausea, even if I do still have a ways to go.

Last Friday (31 Oct) I had an appointment with the kidney specialist. I wasn't too concerned, but in the back of my mind I knew I would feel much better after hearing from the doctor. She said that my creatine levels are low, but that's normal during pregnancy. Just to be sure, she did an ultrasound on the kidneys, but other than a cyst on my left kidney everything looked normal, for which I'm very thankful.

Then Thursday we had our 3rd appointment with Dr. Van de Castel and I finally received my Mutterpass. Sam asked her why during the previous appointment my weight and blood pressure hadn't been checked. She said at those appointment they were doing just the preliminary requirements. I guess doing the different tests on my blood. Yesterday she did check my weight and blood pressure. I think they were just waiting until they had the Mutterpass to record it all in. Now instead of going back every two week I'll be going once a month. At our next appointment the baby will be 18 weeks, so I'm really hoping to find out if it's a little boy or girl. I would love to know before going home, so I can do some shopping while there.

Once again we were able to see the baby during the ultrasoud. It's now 7 cm from crown to rump. It's still very active. The doctor commented on it being a very healthy baby because it's moving every time we see it. Then again, with Sam as it's father I wouldn't expect anything different :) We took the camcorder this time and Sam tried to capture the baby moving. At one point we were watching in 3D (it was a side view) and we could see the little hand (and could even count 5 little fingers!!) moving up to it's face. I'm not sure if it was sucking it's thumb or not, but it was thrilling to see that tiny little being becoming more and more like a baby. It's still amazing to me to realize that little life is growing inside of me.

For awhile now Sam and I have been discussing when I'll stop working. Before getting pregnant I always imagined I would work right up until the baby came, but being pregnant I feel differently. I now feel like this is a great time to be at home. Finishing things up that I probaby won't have time for after the baby arrives. Not to mention this will be the last time it's just the two of us. With all of that in mind, we've pretty much decided that I'll quit in December. We're going to Alaska over the holidays anyhow, so I just won't be returning to work when we get back. It feels like the right time and I'm so thankful that we're at a place in our lives where I don't really need to work. I feel very blessed that I'm able to stay home with our child.

Today we drove to Heidelberg because they're having a Holiday Bazaar this weekend. For lunch, we met up with our friend, Kris Davis, and her parents. I always really enjoy our time together. It's a shame that we live so close yet rarely get together. Hopefully, that will change once I quit work. We enjoyed our day and even found a couple of things to buy. We always see such great pieces of furniture, but unfortunately we don't have the space for any more furniture right now. When the time gets close for us to leave Germany we plan to start buying some pieces that we can take back to the states with us.

Well, that's what's going on with us. Until next time...