Feyen Family

Random Things

2012-01-24T21:04:00.002-06:00

Have you ever had a dream during the night that involves people from your past and yet when you wake up you can't figure out who the people were? Totally had a dream like that last night. And then, the light bulb went off in my head and I realized the people in my dream where friends I haven't seen in years. Dreams are so weird. I wonder what causes us to dream about people and places we haven't seen or been to in years? And before I fell asleep I had been reading the Bible. I'm currently in Numbers reading about sin offerings...so totally unrelated to my dream. Who knows!

Speaking of my Bible reading, I have decided that 2012 is going to be the year I read the entire Bible. I've attempted a couple of times while I was in high school, but never even came close. I've started at the beginning and so far things are going smoothly. Of course, I took a college course on the first 5 books of the Bible and really enjoyed it, so it's fun reading the books again and picking up on the things I missed the first time. I'm looking forward to accomplishing this goal by the end of the year.

On the home front, we had a leak in our kitchen which has finally been solved. There was water leaking from the corners and trim of our kitchen window. We thought at first it was an exterior leak, because it seemed to only leak when it was raining outside. However, it wasn't all that bad until a few weeks ago, so we never really paid close attention to it. Then a few weeks ago, we got a huge bubble in the paint by the corner of the window and decided it was time to call the home warranty company that was provided to us by the sellers and have them send someone out to take a look at it. Good thing we did. We had a leak from the toilet above the kitchen. Because of it's location, the water was running down the pipe and then down the window instead of leaking in a normal place like the ceiling which is why we weren't totally sure where it was coming from. Anyway, 3 holes in the ceiling later, the leak was located, the old pipe replaced. Let's just hope we don't have any further leak issues.

Jon is busy studying for the audit section of the CPA exam. He is scheduled to take the exam Feb. 6th. Praying he passes! That would mean he would only have one section to go. YaY!!

Julianna is still busy, busy, busy. This past week seemed to be better on the hitting and tantrum front. Hopefully she keeps up the good work. She really is a character. We love her so much!!

Well that's all for now!! MUCH LOVE!!

Three kids in One!

2012-01-16T14:40:00.002-06:00

I've come to the realization that Julianna is like three kids all wrapped up in one. She can be sweet and cooperative one minute, bouncing off the walls the next, and then throwing terrible tantrums the next instant. I am very grateful I am 1) not pregnant and 2) do not have another child at the moment because I am exhausted just dealing with Julz and her personalities right now.

Julianna also has a hitting issue. In a lot of ways, I'm glad she only hits me 95% of the time, but it gets tiring day in and day out and she is becoming stronger so her slaps and punches are beginning to hurt. I've tried just about everything to curb this behavior but have yet to be successful. I've searched the internet numerous times for ideas on how to deal with this behavior and have found nothing that has worked, but wouldn't you know, when I was about to give up, my Parents magazine arrived with an article dedicated to toddler's bad behavior and gave me a wonderful idea: a "chore" chart. Julianna loves stickers and loves M&M's or anything sweet for that matter. Why not put that all together and reward her for good behavior?! Haven't tried that idea yet, so what do I have to lose? While there will be chores on her chart, it will also include no hitting and kicking. I realized to make this successful, I have to include some things I know she will be successful at every day so she doesn't get discouraged. I'm still working out some of the details for the reward part, but I plan on putting this into action tomorrow. I will let you all know how it goes.

Otherwise, things are moving along. This past weekend was Jon's holiday party for work. It was at the aquarium at the Pittsburgh Zoo. It was a nice party and I got to know more of the people Jon works with and the new firm that HBK is purchasing was there too. The best part of the party, though, was getting to pet a penguin!! Very cool!

Tax season has begun which means 6 day work weeks have arrived. Jon hasn't decided if he wants to go in early and be home for dinner or go in a little later and be home later. I told him to try out both scenarios and see which he likes best. Some days it won't matter when he gets to work, he'll be late anyways just because there will be a lot to get done. Based on how everyone was talking at the party on Saturday, it sounds like this season is going to be a doozy! I wish them all the best of luck!

Well that's all that's going on at the moment. Hope everyone is enjoying this burst of winter we all got! Tomorrow the high is 52 here in Pittsburgh! MUCH LOVE!

Big Girl Bed

2012-01-05T08:57:00.003-06:00

This past Monday, we went and bought a mattress for Julianna's big girl bed. She was VERY excited and so began her transition from her crib to the bed. The first night went really well. She slept the entire night in her bed. The next day, I went and put her down for her afternoon nap which didn't go as smoothly as I would have hoped, but she did sleep and stay in her bed. However, I did return to find that she had pulled one of her flower lights out of the wall. Not good. So we had a "talk" about touching the flowers and she has left the other one alone since. That night, we put her to bed, both of us had to get her down. We thought she was asleep, until we heard "Mama! Come Upstairs!", "Mama!"....so up I go, and what do I find? She had ripped up a book in her bed. Lesson learned, nothing beside her bed. Last night, however, was much smoother. She is getting the hang of the big bed and loves being in it. She keeps asking us to put the crib away. =)

Next thing to work on with Julz.....to stop her from saying "Shut Up!" to the dogs. Guess I need to pay more attention to what comes out of my mouth.

Sledding

2012-01-04T08:22:00.002-06:00

Yesterday Julianna went sledding for the first time ever. She LOVED it!! We have a great little hill in our front yard that was perfect for her. Sadly, most of the snow is melting today, but next time it snows, I'm sure we will go sledding again!

2011-12-24T20:13:00.001-06:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T21:19:00.002-06:00

I've gotten really bad at updating this site. I'm sorry!

The house is really feeling like home these days. I LOVE that we were able to decorate for the first time ever as a married couple. The house looks great and I realized I can actually buy more decorations because I have more space to decorate, but I will have to do that slowly, don't want to drain the bank account on Christmas decorations. We could still use some more every day decorations.

Today we bought and put up two decorative shelves for our large, bare kitchen wall. It looks great, now I just have to decorate them. We also replaced a light in our living room over the new book self Jon made for us while I was away. We did a lot of other hanging of pictures and such today. There are still many rooms left to decorate and hang pictures, but that will have to wait until after Christmas.

Julianna has begun to show interest in sleeping in a "big" bed, so after the holidays we hope to set one up for her. I can't wait to set up her room with her new bedding. So girly! She's getting so big these days.

Looking forward to celebrating Christmas at our house. Hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

MUCH LOVE!

We Move Tomorrow!!!

2011-11-18T21:24:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow we will be spending our first night in our new home! We are very excited and sort of in disbelief that the day has finally arrived. These last 3 years really did go fast over all, even though at times, I think all of us thought our "transition" period was never going to end. We are very excited to be our own family again. It's going to be awesome!

This evening we went grocery shopping for everything we need, and we needed everything! It was just like old times when we lived on our own. It was fun and Julz had a blast trying to put things in our cart we didn't need. She did end up with grape jello, chocolate pudding, and a microwavable mini rav meal. Silly girl!

So, with that said, Jon and I will not have internet access for a little while, so if you need us, call my cell! We should have a home phone and internet after the holidays (maybe sooner if we are lucky).

MUCH LOVE for now! Pictures to come when I get a chance!

Update

2011-11-13T20:53:00.003-06:00

Since its been awhile since I last posted and because this is the second time I am writing this, I'm just going to give the highlights of what has been going on.

We closed on our house October 3rd and have been busy making it our own. Two weeks ago we moved almost all of our stuff to the house and have been finishing up the last of the projects before we move in on Saturday.

Jon has been studying for the CPA exam, he takes a part on the 15th. It will be nice for him to have a break from studying and have him be able to work on some projects with me.

I am now a full time stay at home mom and I've been loving every minute of it!

That's all for now. I realize this is a horrible post, but as soon as we get settled again, I will make a better post that includes pictures!

We Got A House!

2011-09-08T21:02:00.002-05:00

Most of you know our BIG NEWS, but for those of you who haven't seen us lately, Jon and I have bought a house! We close October 3rd, three years to the day that we signed the papers on our house in Indiana and moved to Pittsburgh. Some how this seems to be an appropriate ending to our "transition" period.

The house is located in Gibsonia, PA. It's roughly 7 minutes from my parents and not far from where Jon now works. For those of you who are wondering, we did not pick this house because of how close it is to my parents, trust me when I say that was the LAST thing on our minds when looking for a house. The house is 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and 2 stories! It also has a great yard. The house is on the older side, so there is some updating we have to do, but the house is in great shape otherwise. We are very excited to close.

In the mean time, my parents and I have begun collecting up our stuff in their house, organizing, repacking, and pitching stuff so it's ready to go when we get the house. We also began pulling stuff out of our storage unit in order to clean it up and decide whether we want the item in the new house. It's almost like Christmas! I've found things I completely forgot we owned, like our blender!!! Needless to say, its a tiring process, but it will be worth it in the end.

Julianna is doing well. She is definitely two! Potty training is going great! She has learned to tell us when she has to go and has had very few accidents. The biggest issue we have now is hitting. Luckily, she only hits us and not other children, but we still have to tackle the problem. She spends a lot of time on her "time out" step. I just hope she gets less stubborn as she gets older, but she probably won't. =)

Well that's our update! Hope you all are doing well. MUCH LOVE!

Houses and Visits

2011-08-09T08:30:00.003-05:00

Jon and I finally found a house that we really like! Hopefully this evening we are going to walk thru it again with my parents and then write up an offer. Praying it all works out because we REALLY like this house. It's 3 bedrooms 2.5 baths and it's two stories! It also has a great basement and an amazing yard! So keeping our fingers crossed!

Jon took his first section of the CPA exam. He said it went "okay"...typical Jon response. I'm sure he did well and passed, but we won't know until mid-September. Don't ask, they grade weird which is surprising since it's all on the computer! He takes another section on the 31st so he is still busy studying on a daily basis.

Next week we are headed to Michigan for Jon's cousin's wedding. We are looking forward to getting away and seeing family, and I lucked out because my best friend is having a Tupperware party the night we arrive!! Usually I have to catalogue order from parties she has since we live so far away, but not this time! Very excited! We also get to meet our newest nephew which is very exciting!

The weekend after our trip to Michigan, my brother and sister-in-law are coming to Pittsburgh for wedding festivities for a friend of theirs, but they are staying with us and my mother is having a Welcome Home/Congratulations party for my brother. (My brother was promoted to Captain after his year long deployment in Afghanistan.) I'm so excited to see them! It's been about 2 years since I had any quality time with my bro. The last time we saw him was at his wedding, which we didn't get to spend much time with him really. So it will be great to see him and Kelly.

In Julianna news, we are still potty training. It's going pretty well. She is also talking a lot more. She has learned so many new words lately. She surprises me daily with the words she has learned. I also learned that she can swim on her own with her life vest. She will get in the pool with us and just step off the step and start kicking her little legs and paddling with her arms. It's so cute! But she's growing up so fast! Before we know it she will be off to school!! I also realized last night that I haven't taken any pictures of her in the last 2 months. I think I need to remedy that problem in the weeks to come!

Well that's all that's going on in Pittsburgh right now. We will try to keep you all updated on our adventures! MUCH LOVE!

A much needed update!

2011-07-28T20:48:00.002-05:00

Hello Blog!

Based on the date of my last blog, I have forgotten about you! I'm sorry! We have been very busy! Thanks for checking in Brian P, you made me realize I need to post something for you all.

Jon and I have begun house hunting in the Pittsburgh area. We are having a lot of trouble finding the right house. Its a rather frustrating situation, but the right house will come along eventually. We are just very anxious to move out and move on.

Jon takes his first part of the CPA exam tomorrow afternoon. He is really well prepared so we know he will pass. He also starts his new job Sept. 1st. That day can not come fast enough.

I'm still working 40hrs a week. I hope when Jon starts working to go down to 32 hrs until we close on a house. I'm looking forward to knocking off 8 hrs from my work week.

We have started potty training with Julianna and she is doing really well. We have had no poopy diapers in a few weeks and only a few accidents. We just bought her her first pair of underwear. I'm glad we are making great progress on this subject as we want her out of diapers before we even consider having another baby.

Otherwise, that's about all that's going on with us. Hope all is well with you! MUCH LOVE!

I haven't forgotten!

2011-06-07T13:22:00.003-05:00

Don't worry friends, I have not forgotten you! Things have been busy and I haven't had a chance to sit down and write about what's been going on in "The Burgh" lately. I will write soon though! MUCH LOVE!

Jon's Job

2011-05-15T15:27:00.002-05:00

This past week, Jon had a meeting with one of the principles at Hill, Barth, and King(HBK) to discuss a position with their company. He returned home with a written and signed offer for a full time position!!! He will start with them on September 1st. Until then, he will be studying for the CPA exam and working some where. We are VERY excited!!

Now that Jon has a job, we have begun discussions of moving out of my parents house. We have looked online for some houses that fit our budget and our criteria of what we want. However, we are finding, though, its tough finding a decent house in the Pittsburgh area. A lot of the houses we like on the outside, are so dated on the inside that we just have to move on. We just don't have the money right now to do major updating. But we keep looking and will get a realtor shortly to help us with our search. Houses are put on the market every day, so we will find something eventually!

Well that's all for now! MUCH LOVE!

My Husband is pretty smart!!!

2011-05-09T12:33:00.002-05:00

On Saturday, May 7, 2011, Jon became an official graduate of RMU. He graduated magna cum laude, making him the first college graduate on both sides of our immediately family to graduate with that status! I would say I have a pretty smart hubby, don't ya think?!

And for those of you who didn't know, he was also inducted in to the Beta Gamma Simga honors society for business students in the top 10 percent of their class and also the Alpha Chi honors society for students who have a QPA of 3.7 or higher and are in the top 10 percent of their class. Again, I have a pretty smart husband!

Jon already has his diploma in hand, as he was finished with classes in December, and now we are just waiting to hear about an offer from HBK, where he interned this tax season. We are thrilled that we can finally see the end of this long "transition" period and that Jon was successful in his studies.

Overall, we have learned a lot during this time, and some day I hope to sit and reflect on all we have learned and been through these past 2+ years and maybe I'll even write about it so some day we can look back on this experience and remember what we accomplished together with God's guidance. But our story isn't over just yet. We still need to move out of my parents house!! We won't know when we will be able to do this until we know more details about work for Jon, so until then, we just keep on keeping on.

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day and is enjoying spring! Until later, Much Love!

Jobs and Visitors

2011-04-14T20:33:00.001-05:00

Now that things have finally slowed down and all details have been figured out, I can finally sit down and write a post of all that has happened in the past couple of weeks.

Towards the end of March, at work, I was pulled to another house within the company I was working for. This happens once in a while when houses are short staffed and typically it’s not big deal. Well the house I happened to be pulled to was an hour from my house. Now that’s a problem. To top it off, this was not going to be a one-day pull; I was been pulled for 3 shifts a week! When I received the call from my supervisor about going to that house, I told him no. I explained that financially that was not feasible for me. I lost an hour of work because I could not get there until 4pm, I had to take part of the turnpike to get there, and I had to drive the truck, so now I’m putting a tank of gas in the truck every week instead of every 3 weeks. My supervisor didn’t care. He told me that they were desperate because they only had 2 full time staff at the house because everyone else had been suspended. GREAT!

So I went, but not quietly. The next day I called the unit director to speak with him about reimbursing me my hour of lost work, my turnpike tolls and my mileage, ya know, since I was “helping them out.” Figured they could help me out. Well wouldn’t you know, his answer was no. Why? Because that would be like paying me to come to work. Okay, mister unit director, let’s think about this: if I add up that what I lose in tolls, gas, and work hours…IM PAYING YOU TO GO TO WORK! Nope, no way! Not happening!

That day I applied for multiple jobs with different companies in the area. The jobs were still in the direct care field, but at nursing and assisted living facilities since taking care of seniors is really where my heart is, not with the MR/MH population.

That Sunday, I had an interview with Sunrise Senior Living at their memory loss facility. I was so excited! It sounded like the perfect job for me. On the day of interview, I was so incredibly calm. I wasn’t nervous at all, unlike other interviews I’ve had in the past. At the end of my interview, I had the job! Talk about a God thing! We had prayed for a change to come a long so I could leave the crazy company I was working for and a great job came along, along with another interview with another company. Between the two companies, I decided to take the Sunrise job. I just had a better feeling about the job and the facility and I hope it’s a great fit. Tomorrow is my first day of training, so we shall see.

I gave my employer my one week notice, and whatdaya know, not one person in management asked my why I was leaving or where I was going! That’s okay though, they wouldn’t want to hear what I had to say to them.

So tomorrow starts a new chapter of my life. Hopefully something great job wise will happen for Jon pretty soon!

So that’s the job side of things, but during all this, we had some visitors. Jon’s parents came to visit the Sunday I had my interview actually. They came for the night to see Julianna and play some cards with Jon and I. It was a short trip, but it was nice seeing them. We also managed to get some Goodwill shopping in and a trip to Five Guys.

The weekend after, Jill, Kevin, and Bryce came to visit. It was great hanging out with them and seeing Bryce and Julianna interact. On Friday, we went and visited the Carnegie Science Center. Bryce really seemed to enjoy it and Julianna enjoyed the exhibits that had water. On Saturday we went to the zoo. That was a lot of fun! Both kids seemed to really enjoy the animals and I know the adults had a good time too. That night we got pizza for dinner and hung out. It was great seeing them! Hopefully they can come and visit again some time!

Well I think that catches everyone up on our lives right now. Looking forward to seeing what the rest of this year holds for our family. We continue to pray that Jon will get a job soon and that my brother will return safely from Afghanistan. Until then, MUCH LOVE!

Fun Outside

2011-03-20T16:25:00.004-05:00

Wow! What beautiful weather we have had the last couple of days! Spring is on it's way!!

Julianna and I have taken full advantage of the nice weather and have spent a lot of time outside. Julz loves to just walk around and explore. The other day we had our "baby" outside with us in her stroller and Julianna took her for a walk around the driveway. It was cute to watch. We also took a wagon ride with "baby" and Tob Tob. This year it's a lot harder to pull that wagon with her seeing as she's about 10 lbs heavier! I avoid the big hills in our neighborhood with the wagon or else Julz might get a wild ride! :) Grandpa put the swing back in the tree this year since Julianna loved it so much last year, but this year, that's another story. She wants NOTHING to do with her swing. She is so scared of it. Not sure what's up with that, but okay, no swing! I think I will try and take her to the playground at the park sometime and see if she likes those swings. Her swing in the tree isn't very level and that might be why she doesn't like it this year. Who knows?! She's a character!

Coming Home

2011-03-14T12:38:00.002-05:00

Well the snow is gone and the sun is shinning! Warmer weather is on it's way!

So a week ago, my sister-in-law Kelly, told me about this show on Lifetime called Coming Home. It's a show that is dedicated to sharing stories of our troops coming home from their deployments. Seeing as we are approaching the one year mark when a huge amount of troops were sent to Afghanistan, most of the soldiers are returning from there. So far in these two weeks, there have been a number of stories of families from Clarksville, TN where Dave and Kelly live. The first episode had two of Kelly's friends on in and Kelly's very best friend Steph and her family will be on the show later in the season. I'm so excited to see them! This show is so heart warming and makes me so excited for Dave to come home! I've missed my little bro and I can't wait to see him in person!! So, if you have a chance, Sunday nights at 10pm on Lifetime, watch Coming Home!!

Speaking of my little bro, he has a birthday this week on the 17th! He's turning 26! So, Happy Birthday Dave!! Hope you have a relatively relaxing day!!

That's all for now! MUCH LOVE!

Oh No! Snow!

2011-03-11T12:46:00.003-06:00

So much for Spring arriving! This is what we woke up to this morning.

Riverdance and Sickness

2011-03-01T12:20:00.003-06:00

Wow! What a couple of weeks it has been!

Last week, I came down with a cold/flu/something or other. I was out of work for 3 days and came home early last Monday with a fever. I was miserable and because I couldn't figure out just what it was, drugs were not helping. Friday I finally felt well enough to go to work, but not before I headed to the doctor for a sore ear. Turns out I had the beginning of a double ear infection and all the congestion I had in my head and chest needed some prescription attention before it turned in to pneumonia. I'm glad I listened to that nagging voice in my head saying I needed to get checked out! So they put me on a z-pack, gave me an over the counter med to take and a special cough med and sent me on my way! I finished the z-pack today and I must say, I'm feeling much better! Still have some congestion and a cough, but those things seem to linger no matter what you might take for them.

On the flip side, now Julianna has a horrible cold. I think this is her worst one yet. I think tomorrow I might run her to the doctor to get her ears checked out and to see if there is anything to give her. Poor little peanut is miserable!

Even Jon wasn't spared this time around. Mr "I never get sick" is sick. He's got the cough and stuffiness. Nothing to the extent of myself or Julianna, but he's still sick and I like to point that out to him!

Despite all the sickness, Jon and I were able to attend Riverdance. It was AWESOME! The show was way to short in my opinion, but I think we were just so wrapped up in it that the time just flew by! The dancing was really cool and the music was outstanding. I totally recommend seeing Riverdance if it happens to be in our town.

In other news, there isn't much. Glancing at the calender for this month, we don't have anything major planned. Mostly work. Jon is getting very busy at work and I'm just socking away my vacation days for June and a few other things here and there coming up.

Well I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy!
MUCH LOVE!

February Already?!

2011-02-12T13:12:00.002-06:00

Wow! I can't believe we are about half way through February already! I'm so glad! Lately the weather has been pretty cold. It's been in the low single digits most nights, and the wind chill makes the day time temperature feel even colder than it is. I'm so not a fan of being cold and having it hurt when you breath! But for us Pittsburghers, good news is on it's way. We could possibly see 50 degree weather come Thursday!! Good Bye Cold and Snow!! My joy may be short lived seeing as it is still February, but I'll take it for now!

So what's going on with the Feyen Family, you ask?

Well, five weeks ago, my mom and I started attending this Bible study at Christ Church. It's a Beth Moore Bible study on the book of Revelation. I'm not sure how I feel about Beth Moore just yet. She is definitely enthusiastic, and she is extremely southern, but at 9am in the morning, after having worked until 11pm the night before, she can be a little much. I'm not sure if I will do another Beth Moore study, but I might. Probably doing Revelation as my first Beth Moore study was probably not the best idea seeing as Revelation is a pretty heavy book in the Bible. It is interesting though. I will let you know my thoughts when our study is over in April.

Jon is busy with work at his internship. All is going well with that. He is getting a lot of experience, which is good. After this internship is over, he will have a much better idea whether he wants to do taxes or auditing and what size company he might like to work for. It would be nice if this company would offer him a job, but there is no way of knowing what will occur in April so we aren't even thinking about it.

On Februrary 26th, Jon and I are going to Riverdance with some friends of ours. We are really excited to have a date night and to be seeing something cool! If you don't know what Riverdance is, google it and I'm sure you will get a lot of video's of the group. We still haven't decided if we are going out to dinner before hand, but I think we should make it a full blown date!

Julianna is doing well. She is growing up so fast! She is saying more and more words and she understands so much. Julianna has even learned to run. If you've never seen a toddler run, you should. It's the CUTEST thing ever! She is also into playing with her "babies" and she loves ducks at the moment. (Yellow ducks only) We just can't get enough of her these days!

Well, you are now updated on the Feyen Family! Hope you are all doing well! Until Later!

MUCH LOVE!

2011-02-09T12:45:00.000-06:00

Boo Steelers!

2011-02-07T13:25:00.001-06:00

Even though I'm not so happy that the Steelers lost, here's a pic of the family from last night!

Not Much

2011-02-02T21:57:00.002-06:00

There really is not much to report at this time.

We are all anxiously awaiting for Sunday to arrive so we can watch the Steelers shred the Packers! My grandparents are coming over to watch the game with us and enjoy some Superbowl food.

Otherwise, we are just waiting for the temperature to rise and for all the ice to melt. At work, the driveway to the house is a solid sheet of ice. I literally ice skate to the ramp! Dangerous!!

I hope you all are staying warm!

SUPERBOWL

2011-01-23T20:55:00.004-06:00

PITTSBURGH'S GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!!!

Hello Again!

2011-01-18T11:09:00.005-06:00

Where to begin. I guess I will just begin with January. Most of you know what has occurred in our lives since my November post, and if you don't, just ask and I will fill you in on the details.

New Year's day my grandparents came over to our house and we had a surf and turf celebration for Jon's graduation from RMU. He doesn't walk until May, but felt that since school was done, we needed to celebrate. We will celebrate again in May after the ceremony. We enjoyed a wonderful meal of lobster tail, little steaks, shrimp cocktail and clams casino. It was all very good. We finished up the meal with homemade tiramisu.

The weekend after that, Jon and I did an over night trip to Erie, PA. Jon booked us in this awesome hotel with a nice kitchen in our room. Its the perfect hotel if you plan on staying in Erie for longer than a night. Jon looked up a number of Goodwill's in the area and hunted down some hobby shops he wanted to stop at. We did very well at the first GW we visited. We found this really nice kids table and two chairs for Julianna. It's made of wood which is cool. We didn't do so hot at the rest of the GW and made it to no hobby shops. We had a nice time though and we got to see a lot of Erie since we were on this wild goose chase for these hobby shops. Needless to say, parts of Erie are really run down!

Last Monday, the 10th, Jon started his internship with Hill, Barth, and King. They do a week of training before you begin in your respective offices. Jon's training was held in Boardman, Ohio which is just outside of Youngstown. Monday morning he drove the hour there and home, Tuesday, due to bad weather here and in Youngstown, he opted to stay in a hotel for the remainder of the training. Jon learned a lot and really seemed to enjoy himself.

Jon went to the office here in town yesterday. He didn't have much to say, but he had a good day. They even took him out to lunch. I think he is really going to enjoy working for HBK for the next couple of months.

Julianna is now 19 months old. She is really growing up. She is using more words and some words are becoming much more clear. It's fun watching her play every day and see how she will play with her toys. She's becoming such a big girl. Julianna is also teething right now, so she is rather cranky, but who can blame her. Teeth hurt!

So that's all that is going on with our family. I hope all is going well with all of you!

MUCH LOVE

Update

2011-01-17T13:32:00.002-06:00

So I realized, I'm horrible at updating my Shutterfly site and was much better at updating my blogger. So I'm going to try to do both. I will fill every one in on what is going on with our lives tomorrow as I need to leave for work since I'm picking up a coworker. Until tomorrow!

Much Love!

Change

2010-11-04T10:39:00.003-05:00

So blogger didn't work out the way I would have liked, so I have now changed to a share site on Shutterfly. If any of you would like the web address and password, let me know. I've found it is SO much easier to upload photos and other fun things and all out of state relatives are able to order pictures directly from the site if they choose to do so. I will leave blogger up, but I won't be posting here.

Password Protection

2010-10-18T09:53:00.004-05:00

Jon has asked that I password protect our blog. He feels that, and I agree, since I am posting about Julianna and posting pictures of her that we should password protect the blog.

Sooo, please either e-mail, leave a comment, or Facebook me and let me know if you want the password. I will set one on Friday.

Thanks!

Jobs and a Soldier

2010-10-12T07:23:00.003-05:00

What a week! And it's only Tuesday!

Jon has four interviews this week. He had one yesterday and has three more to go. All are positions in the Pittsburgh area and two are with big four firms!! Go Jon! Praying and keeping our fingers crossed that a job offer might follow at least one of these interviews!

In other news, my brother is home!!!! He returned yesterday for his two week R&R. We hope to see him soon, but we are waiting on them to tell us when to come. We talked with David yesterday and he sounded great and thrilled to be home. I spoke with Kelly later that night and she said Dave was sleeping most of the day. Turns out he hadn't slept the past four days, so he's catching up. Poor guy! Anyway, I'm so glad he is home safe for the next two weeks and that Kelly gets to spend time with him before he leaves for another 6-ish months.

Like I said, what a week!

Recent Pictures

2010-09-26T12:33:00.005-05:00

Here's a few recent pics of Julianna. The first is Julianna sitting in her booster seat at the table with everyone. The high chair is still around, but she enjoys sitting with everyone else. She is also sporting her first band aids. She received two shots at her 15 month check up. Also at her 15 month appointment, we found out that Julianna is small for her age. She is in the 21st percentile for height and the 24th percentile in weight. But she is growing just fine for her!

This is a picture of Julianna testing out her elephant costume for Halloween. She looks so cute!! We are working on getting her used to her the head piece because right now she doesn't like having it on.

Julianna decided that the dog bed looked comfy, so she chased Toby out of the bed and got in herself. LOL! Silly Girl!

Pictures

2010-09-02T13:05:00.004-05:00

There isn't much new going on around here. Jon started school and his new internship. All are going well and he enjoys both. Due to the lack of things to update with, I figured I would put up some fun pictures to look at. Enjoy!

Letters of Interest

2010-08-22T19:51:00.004-05:00

Last night Jon and I stuffed envelopes with his resume and letter of interest to 60 accounting firms in the West Michigan area. Tomorrow we will put them in the mail.

We are praying that all the letters arrive to each business and make it into the proper hands with in each company. Hopefully Jon will receive some responses in the next couple months.

She Walks!

2010-08-20T13:29:00.003-05:00

So what's new in Pittsburgh?

Well, Julianna can walk!! She started walking on her own August 9th. She walks everywhere. However, when she falls, she is unable to stand up on her own in the middle of a room. She has to pull herself up on the furniture or whatever else is around. But that's okay, she will learn soon enough. So now she walks every where. I think in the last few days I have only seen her crawl twice! I would put a video on the blog, but it takes FOREVER for it to upload so I will try to do so overnight tonight and try posting it tomorrow. I hope it works because she is so cute!

Julianna also had her first haircut. Well, I guess it was more of a trim. My mom trimmed around her ears so that it nicely tucks behind her ears. Even though I didn't want to cut her hair, it does look a lot better. Speaking of her hair, I can even pull some up in a tiny pony tail. Its kinda funny looking because it stands straight up from her head, but its cute to see.

Jon has been busy writing letters of interest to accounting firms in the Grand Rapids area. He finished getting addresses for all of them yesterday. He hopes to have them all printed, stuffed and mailed by the end of the weekend, as he starts school on the 31st. Jon also acquired a new internship for the fall with a firm. He is going to be very busy this fall semester so we are asking that anyone who wants to visit wait until December when he is finished. We realize 4 months seems long, but he needs to finish this semester with a bang. In the long run, it will be worth it to postpone visiting so he can fully concentrate. There is a lot of competition out there, and if we want to get back to the Grand Rapids area, Jon needs to do really well grade wise and internship wise, because companies in that area do not know Robert Morris so they will go mostly on what his resume says. Otherwise, we will be staying in the Pittsburgh area for a few years.

So on that note, all you Grand Rapids folks, keep your eyes out for Accounting jobs with CPA firms.

Next weekend my parents are hosting a pool party for their CBS group. According to my mother, she has invited 70 people. For her sanity, I hope not all 70 people show up. So this coming week we will be busy cleaning and preparing. Hopefully there will be no rain the day of the party.

Well that about sums up what's been happening. Hope everyone is enjoying their last weeks of summer!

Our Trip

2010-08-01T19:52:00.001-05:00

Here are the pictures from our trip to Clarksville. We had a blast and can't wait to go back!

To The Point Update

2010-07-28T07:48:00.003-05:00

Okay, these weeks are just so busy it's hard to sit and write about what is going on. Even now, I'm limited on time because of a training for work. So here is a list of all that is going on:

We spent a week at Big Star Lake with the Feyen's near the end of June. We had a blast!
I threw Sarah a bridal shower, which was a lot of work but a TON of fun!
Jon and I had an overnight get away a little over a week ago. We stayed at a nice hotel down by the airport. Did some shopping, went to Golden Corral(we do not need to return there), Jon went swimming, I read, and we got to sleep in!
Myself, Julianna, my mother and grandmother, now named Nana for Julianna, went to Clarksville, Tennessee to visit with Kelly for a few days. It was a blast!
In about 8 days, we head to Michigan for Sarah and Dane's wedding.

Well, when I get a chance, I will write more about each event, but I need to finish getting ready for this training. Summer is going way to quickly, but that's good in some ways. Happy Hump Day!

I'm behind

2010-07-14T13:19:00.002-05:00

I'm a little behind on posting, but I haven't really had a chance to sit down and type something out. However, now is not the time seeing as I have to leave for work shortly. But I will be back this weekend to post more about what has been going on and what we have coming up and post some pictures! Until then, have a wonderful week!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE GIRL!

2010-06-09T22:55:00.002-05:00

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY JULIANNA!

One Day Before The Big Event

2010-06-09T13:43:00.003-05:00

June 9, 2009...one year ago I was lying in a hospital bed, with monitors and IV's, waiting...at this point (2:45pm) waiting patiently for our little girl to come into this world. Jon and I were still thinking she would arrive at some point on this day and be able to share a birthday with her Grandpa Feyen. However, Julianna had other plans.........

Julianna Swimming

2010-05-29T21:27:00.005-05:00

Yesterday Julianna went swimming for the first time. She LOVED it!

We had my grandparents over for lunch yesterday and we ate out by the pool. After we were finished eating, I decided to put Julianna's feet in the pool by the steps. She stood on the step for a minute and then kept trying to sit down. So I got her in her swimsuit and in we went. She had the BIGGEST smile on her face when we got in the water. She kicked her little feet and splashed the water with her hands. Jon blew up her little floaty and once she got in, she laughed and smiled the entire time. She really got the hang of it too. She would kick her little legs to try and get from one side of the pool to the other. She loved being pulled around by us and passed between Jon and I. Later we put her life jacket on her to test it out. It's a little on the big side, but she didn't care. She loved floating in the pool. She wasn't afraid at all. She kicked her legs and moved her little arms and tried to lick up the water that came near her mouth. It was SO funny!

She didn't get in the pool today, but hopefully she will get in tomorrow. It's so fun watching her grow! We love her so much!

Coloring

2010-05-21T10:02:00.001-05:00

Julianna is learning to color pictures to send to Uncle Dave. Big Girl!

2010-05-21T09:59:00.001-05:00

The rain has stopped and the sunshine has come out! Julianna loves being outside!

3 New Accomplishments for Julianna!

2010-05-17T10:50:00.003-05:00

What an eventful weekend for Julianna!

Julianna learned 3 things:

1.) To Crawl
2.) How to sit up from being on her tummy
3.) How to pull herself up in her crib. She is now able to turn on her mobile all by herself!

I thought she would never crawl. I figured she would just start walking because she loves to do that with us, but I was wrong! I will try to get some video and pictures of her newest accomplishments.

YAY Julianna!

Julianna's Investments

2010-05-13T10:18:00.003-05:00

I just had to post these pictures! They are too funny! Julianna is reviewing her investments. Haha! Can you tell she and I live with a bunch of accountants?!

2010-05-10T10:00:00.002-05:00

Julianna is 11 months old today!!

A Call From The Bro

2010-05-10T09:57:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we got a call from my brother!! It was so great to hear his voice! He sounded tired and he had a cold, but otherwise he is doing very well. Hopefully he will get some sleep in the up and coming days. He said he is in a safe zone, so that's comforting to know and right now he is just doing office work. However, talking to him makes you miss him more, that's for sure!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T13:33:00.005-05:00

Happy Mother's Day!!

Julianna got me a cute card and some beautiful flowers! We also get to go out for ice cream with Daddy when the weather gets a little warmer. I love being a mommy and can't wait to have more kiddos!

It's FRIDAY!

2010-04-30T10:36:00.003-05:00

It's Friday! Finally! And the weather is already BEAUTIFUL! 82 degrees by 6pm! WOOHOO! I can't believe it was just 52 degrees the other day and now in the 80's. Awesome!

This morning was Ali's father's funeral. Hopefully everything went smoothly for them and they all got the closure they needed. Their lives are going to change a lot now that he is gone. I plan on stopping by sometime next week to see how they are holding up.

This weekend the in-laws are stopping by. They say they are arriving tomorrow morning, however, they are on their way here today so they may make it here tonight. It depends what they decide to do on their way here. No plans really for the weekend. Just hanging out.

Well I need to go wake Julianna up from her nap. Enjoy your weekend!

MUCH LOVE!

A funeral

2010-04-29T20:40:00.003-05:00

This evening I was able to take the night off from work. While I was able to miss the county inspection and my supervisor getting fired, it wasn't a relaxing night off.

My best friend Ali's father passed away on Tuesday, so this evening Jon, Julianna and I went to his viewing. It was nice to see Ali and her family, but it was very sad. They were holding up pretty well considering the situation and considering viewing was from 2pm to 9pm, making for a long day for all. The funeral is tomorrow. Our thoughts and prayers will be with them tomorrow.

A Wagon and A Swing

2010-04-27T12:42:00.003-05:00

My Dad's 65th birthday was on the 20th and Grandma gave Grandpa a wagon. Julianna loves to be pulled around in Grandpa's new wagon. We also put up Julianna's new tree swing a couple of weeks ago. She loves to swing!

In Honor of my Brother Dave

2010-04-23T09:32:00.002-05:00

In honor of my brother David who is proudly serving in Afghanistan.

Dear Lord, please bless our soldiers
Protectors of our land.
Servants called to battle
When our country takes a stand.

Please give them strength and courage
And hearts that will forgive.
With peace and understanding
In a world for all to live.

Our country's prayers are with them
No matter where they roam.
Please listen when they're lonely
And return them safely home.

By John E. Kleimen

Julianna's 10 Months Old!!!!

2010-04-11T19:25:00.001-05:00

Happy Spring!

2010-04-09T09:35:00.002-05:00

I apologize for the lack of posts. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. I'm not really sure where to begin, so I guess I will start with Easter.

All of us headed to Michigan for a quick Easter visit. We had a great time shopping at Goodwill, eating out, and seeing friends. The trip made us very homesick for Michigan. Thank goodness we are returning in June and again in August!

Jon is finish up his spring semester at RMU. He has one more to go. He's picked his classes and everything worked out so he will be finished in December. I never thought the day would come! It seemed liked such a long time when we were discussing his schooling, but it really has gone quickly. Jon will start applying and interviewing for jobs in September when most of the firms will visit RMU, however, if he finds a job he is interested in before then, he'll apply as well. It sounds like, though, that if he goes with a big four, he might not start until the following October, which to me sounds horrible, but the reason they do that is so you have time to study and take parts of the CPA exam, so it's not a bad trade off really. Jon does need time to do that. In terms of his summer break, still no internship and no job. Mind you, he hasn't really been looking for a job yet, but like I tell him Target is always an option. I'm looking forward to him having a job this summer so he can help out with school expenses, but really he needs a job or he'll go crazy with board um. If you know Jon, you know he can't sit and relax, he must be doing something at all times until it's dark outside. =)

Julianna is doing well. She now has her two bottom teeth. They are not fully in, but you can see them when she smiles, which she does a lot. She's getting so big! I can't believe she will be one years old in two months. Time sure does fly by! She's eating more food, which she enjoys a lot. She isn't crawling or walking yet, but that works for us. She loves, loves, loves to stand, so we aren't so sure she will crawl. She may just start to walk some day. Who knows! She's such a little peanut and she has such a personality! She's also very much a mommies girl. So no complaints there!

I'm still working full time. We got a new supervisor like two months ago, and as of next week, he won't be our supervisor any longer. YAHOO! He was horrible. Now we are all anxiously awaiting to see who the new supervisor will be. So needless to say, the job has been stressful lately. Otherwise, that's pretty much all I do these days, work and hang out with Julianna and sometimes Jon when our schedules don't conflict. Really, I only spend 2 days a week with Jon. I do see him when he returns from school but at the most that's 2 hours. When I return home, he's usually sleeping. Oh well, we are almost finished with these crazy schedules!

No news from my brother. I'm guessing he will be leaving any day now, but it's the army and things change constantly. Once David leaves for Afghanistan, he will be gone for 12 to 15 months. Hopefully his tour is uneventful and his unit returns home safe and sound. Kelly, David's wife, just took a job at one of the local hospitals, so luckily she will be busy while he is gone. We all hope the next year goes quickly for everyone.

Okay, I think everyone is caught up on what is going on with us. I will try to be better about posting, but life is pretty routine around here and that gets boring to read about all the time. I will try to post some pictures of the peanut when I get a chance! Happy Spring! MUCH LOVE!

"SO BIG!"

2010-03-08T09:23:00.004-06:00

I can't believe how much Julianna has grown in the last 9 months!! Time sure does fly when your having fun!

Julianna at 2 days old

Julianna now

Quick Updates

2010-03-06T17:03:00.003-06:00

Julianna has her first tooth! You can't see it when she smiles, but it's there if you look closely. Julianna has also learned to roll over from her tummy to her back. It's so funny. She is so deliberate about what she does to roll over. I should try to get a video of it so you can all see what I'm talking about. On Tuesday Julianna goes to the doctor for her 9 month check up. I can't believe she is 9 months old already!! Time sure does fly!

I'm still busy working Monday through Friday. We have a new supervisor at our house, and it has NOT been a smooth transition. I'm hoping he won't be around long and things can get back to normal there. Last night at work, we took the guys out to Eat N Park for dinner. When it was time to get our bill, the waitress informed us that another gentleman had paid all our bills for us. How cool is that?!?!?! It was a great ending to a rather long and stressful week.

Today we all went to the outlet mall. It was great walking around in the fresh air and sunshine. Wish it had been just a tad warmer, but we had a blast! Everyone came home with a little something.

Yesterday marked the beginning of Jon's spring break. He told me that this week he wants to go to the casino and wash the cars. Hopefully he does more than just those things. However, I can't really complain because he works REALLY hard every semester. I can't believe that he has one semester left! It seemed like it would be FOREVER before he finished school, but now it's just around the corner! Jon is busy looking for a summer internship, but nothing is looking promising. He might have to do an internship after he is finished. We will just have to see how it all plays out. It's too soon to tell right now.

Jon also lost a very dear friend this week.....his orange retro recliner died and was put to rest in the dump. Jon is sad, I'm thrilled. Hopefully he will keep up all the good studying he did in his old friend. His new friend is a blue leather recliner that we rescued from the storage unit. I'm much happier looking at him. He matches the room MUCH better.

Couple more weeks and we will be in Grand Rapids for Easter. We plan on seeing some friends and shopping some GoodWill's while we are there. It's going to be a fast and busy trip!

That's all for now! MUCH LOVE!

Julianna and Snow

2010-02-08T14:03:00.001-06:00

Like Mother, Like Daughter.....we both don't enjoy the snow!

Snow!

2010-02-07T16:02:00.004-06:00

I just spent 31 hours STRAIGHT at work. I arrived at work at 3pm on Friday and returned home at 10:05pm Saturday night. While the pay check will be awesome with 23 hours of over time...I would have preferred NOT being at work that long.

The amount of snow we got from Friday afternoon until Saturday at noon was ridiculous! Pittsburgh is NOT supposed to get this much snow. To give you an idea of just how much snow we have, it was up to the middle of my thighs and I'm about 5'4" 1/2!

So why did I get stuck at work? Well, Friday night no one was going anywhere! It was snowing like crazy and roads were pretty much undrivable! So, no replacement at 11. No problem, figured I could go home around noonish on Saturday since they were calling for the snow to stop then. Well, didn't happen either. The dumb landlord hadn't shown up to plow the driveway that had thigh high snow all the way down it. When he did finally come, he barely plowed the very beginning of the drive. So to make a really long and frustrating story short, my replacement never came at 3pm and then he never showed up at 11pm either, however, the supervisor finally said I could leave at 10. So I put on as many layers as I could and made the 15 minute trek through the snow on the driveway to the street where Jon lovingly came and picked me up to bring me home after those VERY LONG 31 hours.

You would THINK this would be the end of my story....NOT SO! The truck was still at work and still stuck. My coworker and I figured the landlord would come back and plow the driveway, plowing our cars in, but we could just dig them out afterwards. Well this is NOT the case. The landlord called and said he couldn't plow the driveway, get this, until we removed the cars!!!!!! THE CARS WERE STUCK!!! THERE WAS AT LEAST TWO FEET OF SNOW IN THE DRIVEWAY!!! So, Jon, my dad and myself headed to work to help my coworker shovel out her car and then figure out how to get my truck and the company van out of a driveway that SHOULD have been plowed. It took us an hour and a half to get them all out. Luckily a lot less time then expected! Thank goodness there was 4 of us to do the job. No thanks to the landlord who had left! We ended up shoveling snow from the truck ALL the way out to the section where the landlord had plowed. We removed just enough so Jon could gun the truck through the snow to the plowed area. It took much longer to get the company van out, but we did after getting it stuck 3 times. It would have been SO much easier to dig the cars out AFTER the drive was plowed. Whatever! What goes around comes around! I promise the landlord will hear from the head honcho on Monday about his performance this weekend.

So now that this crazy ordeal is over, I'm off tomorrow! PRAISE THE LORD! Seeing as I had NO weekend, I told my boss I was taking a "sick" day. He told me I didn't need to use a sick day, to just take the day off instead! I'm just thrilled to not see that place for longer than 24 hours and to spend time with Julianna! That was the longest I have ever been away from Julianna since she was born! It was way to long! I missed her very much!

Well off to relax and play with my little girl and spend some time with the hubs! GO COLTS!

MUCH LOVE!

Updates

2010-01-24T13:53:00.005-06:00

I debated about writing a post about everything that has gone on since my last written post, but decided I would just do a quick overview of the past instead.

Since the Christmas rash, Julianna has continued to try new veggies. So far everything has gone smoothly. She really enjoys Sweet Potatoes, but she likes green beans and carrots as well. We are going to attempt peas again, and then it's on to fruits. We are taking things slow due to food allergies in the family. The doctor says food allergies aren't genetic, but we aren't going to rush it. We have also started teaching Julianna how to use a sippy cup. She sortof gets it. She likes to chew the spout more than drink from it, but at least she is getting used to the idea. We still can't believe how big she is getting these days. She now plays, "SO BIG" and loves to laugh and "Dance." She has such a personality now. She sits up so well too. She loves to give me hugs and "kisses." Her kiss is more of her just opening her mouth and leaning into my face and getting my nose. =) She is such a lovey and happy baby. She's still very much a mama's girl and cries whenever anyone other than me, Jon, or my parents holds her. While I enjoy that she wants me so much, I do hope this phase will pass shortly.

Jon is back to school FINALLY! A month off for Christmas is just WAY to long for both of us. So far he is enjoying his classes. I think his Casino class is his favorite so far. One of his assignments is to go to the Casino downtown and check it out. Jon's been bugging me to go with him because he wants to check out this buffet they have. I guess it's supposed to be pretty good. Jon said he has a number of group projects this semester, which is bad. It's hard to do group projects in college with everyone living all over the place, having different schedules and having some students who just don't care about their classes. Last semester, Jon had a group project and their group had to actually kick a member out of their group because she wasn't doing any of the work. Hopefully these projects go a little smoother. Otherwise, Jon is still on track to graduate next December.

In other news, we were going to visit my brother in TN the first week of March before he shipped out for Afghanistan, but it sounds like we won't be able to because he won't be around. My best friend Sarah is getting married in August and I'm her Matron of Honor, so I will be making a few quick trips to Grand Rapids, to throw her a shower and help out with some of the wedding prep. I'm very excited! Other than that, I'm just busy working and enjoying my time with Julianna.

Hope all is well! MUCH LOVE!

December and January Pictures

2010-01-19T13:31:00.000-06:00

Christmas and Rashes

2009-12-29T13:11:00.003-06:00

These past two weeks have been busy!

On the 17th we went to Michigan to visit the Feyen side and to celebrate Christmas with them. It was a fun, yet tiring trip. We managed to eat out every meal, (minus breakfast) and shop at numerous Goodwill's. The Goodwill's are SO much better in the Grand Rapids area. On the 19th we all got together for "Christmas" and exchanged gifts. Julianna was FAR more interested in the wrapping paper then the actual gift. She did very well, though, with all the commotion around her. I wasn't exactly sure how she would do with the 4 boys running around and playing, but it didn't seem to phase her at all. We left GR on the 22nd with a very full truck and a baby who was constipated and had HORRIBLE diaper rash.

Once we were home we tackled the constipation issue by calling the doctor. The doctor informed us to put some Karo Syrup in her bottle to help her go more easily. We had also read on the internet that peas will sometimes help with the constipation. Since it was time to start veggies with her, we did peas first. Hoping these things would help her go, we tended to the diaper rash. Her bum was so raw it was bleeding with every diaper change. We did all kinds of things, like bathing her, using desitin, Aquafer lotion, corn starch, and letting her lay around naked for a while. I'm not sure which of these things actually was the biggest help, but we finally got rid of the diaper rash....only to be followed by another type of rash!

Christmas morning we got Julianna up and fed her...no rash. We put her down from her morning nap and when we got her up....there was the rash. At first we thought it was hives. Of course we couldn't figure out what caused the hives seeing as she had had numerous new things. It could have been the peas, the desitine, the Aqua fore, the corn starch, the diapers, or the Karo Syrup. It was a mystery. We decided to wait it out and see if they would go away. We took all the "new" things out of her diet and daily routine in hopes that one of those things was the culprit. However, by Sunday night, what we thought was hives, was getting worse. I decided that Monday morning I was calling the doctor to get her checked out. Julianna has been a trooper with this whole rash issue. She is still as happy as can be.

So yesterday I took her to the doctor and what do you know?! It's not hives, its a viral rash and there is nothing we can do for it, except wait it out. It should disappear as quickly as it appeared. The poor child looks horrible and is so bumpy, but she doesn't seem to mind. Hopefully it should be gone by Thursday! I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Once we get her cleared up, we will reintroduce peas to her. Hopefully she doesn't get hives after all this!

Back to Christmas Day, my grandparents had come the night before and stayed over, due to freezing rain on Christmas morning. We all got up, had cinnamon rolls and began opening presents. We ate our large meal at 1pm, since I had to work at 3pm. We all had a very enjoyable Christmas and made out pretty good.

Jon and I purchased a Wii with some anniversary money we received from my parents. We also purchased the new Super Mario game as well. We have been enjoying the "us" time with the Wii!

Well we hope you all had an enjoyable holiday! Happy New Year!

(Pictures to come this weekend)

Happy Anniversary!

2009-12-16T06:25:00.003-06:00

These past three years of marriage have been some of the busiest in our lives, but we have enjoyed our journey together so far and look forward to another seventy more, God willing. Hopefully they aren't as crazy as the past three, but we've been through a lot together and still love each other, so we figure we can handle whatever is thrown our way! Happy Anniversary to us!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-13T14:42:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

It's Christmas Time!!

2009-12-04T09:05:00.002-06:00

I love the Christmas season! I love decorating, I love shopping for gifts, I love Christmas music and I love Christmas cookies! So far I have enjoyed all of the above except Christmas cookies. I haven't started baking just yet, but I hope to do some today! I love baking when I have the time. I don't even have to like what I'm baking, I just enjoy the whole process of mixing things up and hoping it all turns out well and that those who enjoy the things I make will enjoy the baked good I just made.

Anyway, only 13 more days until we are in Michigan! We are all very excited. Time seems to be crawling. However, we have things to keep us occupied for a few weeks. Jon has finals next week, so he will be busy studying, my grandmother's 80th birthday is Wednesday so we will be celebrating with her at some point, on the 12th we get Julianna's 6 month pictures taken along with family pictures taken, the week after that...the same week we leave, Julianna has her 6 month check up and it's our anniversary. So really we have a lot to keep us busy, but thoughts of Michigan are STILL in the back of our minds. Hopefully there is NO SNOW FALLING while we are traveling this year! We don't want a repeat of last years trip!

In other news, there really isn't much. My brother promoted this week to First Lieutenant which is awesome! Julianna has moved from Rice Cereal to Oatmeal. She seems to enjoy the oatmeal a lot more! Julianna is enjoying her exersaucer a lot more and does this new rocking thing while she is in it. It's difficult to describe in words, but it's funny to see. She is getting so big! Before we know it she will be crawling all over the place. Time really does fly when you have children! I will try to post more pictures and maybe a video soon!

Well that's all for now! Happy Shopping and Baking to all! MUCH LOVE!

Festivities

2009-11-28T21:39:00.001-06:00

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T12:36:00.002-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Today we enjoyed a meal of Tacos instead of your traditional turkey and stuffing. I realize it sounds odd, but we are doing our Thanksgiving meal on Saturday because I have to work. Jon and I have decided that we are cooking the Thanksgiving meal, and seeing as its our first Thanksgiving meal we have ever cooked, we decided it would be best to do it a day when we had no time restraints. It will be a fun experience.

This is Julianna's first Thanksgiving. She enjoyed a nice bowl of rice cereal and a bottle. =) She had no complaints and went right down for a nap afterwards. We are so thankful for our little blessing!

Four more weeks and we will be in Michigan for a brief visit. Should be fun! Until then!

Enjoy your turkey!

MUCH LOVE

Just Practice--More to come!

2009-11-18T08:54:00.000-06:00

Julianna's New Adventure

2009-10-25T12:44:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Julianna embarked on a new adventure. FOOD! We gave her her first taste of rice cereal. She was very interested in it, but is still unsure about the whole swallowing thing. She'll get the hang of it eventually, but she definitely enjoyed playing with her spoon in the end.

Babies

2009-10-20T13:05:00.002-05:00

Just a few minutes ago I was checking Facebook and noticed that a number of people I know are pregnant; some with their first others with number two or four. It's amusing how pregnancies go in waves. When I was pregnant, there were a number of my friends that were also pregnant. Then it sort of tapered off and now there are a number again. It sorta makes me want to have another right now, but that's a rather stupid idea at the moment. First of all, I'm loving my time with just Julianna and don't want to have to share my attention and love at the moment. Second, we are still living with my parents and Jon is still in school. Financially, not smart at all! So, we will be waiting for number two for a little while. I'll just enjoy all my friends babies and my new niece or nephew when they are born.

However, on a sadder note, a friend of mine from high school lost her little baby girl at 28 weeks. I can not imagine what she and her husband are going through right now. It was their first too. =(

Well Congrats to all who are pregnant! Especially those who are pregnant with their firsts!! Babies are so wonderful!

Julianna's Getting So Big!

2009-10-05T12:01:00.008-05:00

Okay, I give up with the videos. They aren't uploading. So instead, here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

Julianna video 1

2009-09-29T12:06:00.003-05:00

So I tried to upload a few videos of Julianna, but they take FOREVER to load, so here is one for now. I think I'll load one a day. I gotta figure out how to fix this problem. (Maybe convince to the parents to get faster internet??)

This isn't the most interesting movie but at least you get to see the little one in action!

3 Month Pictures

2009-09-25T15:53:00.003-05:00

Julianna got her 3 month pictures taken today. They are SOOO cute! I can't wait to pick them up on the 6th! I am a very impatient mama. She did so good and we even managed to capture a smile or two. I can't believe how big my peanut is getting!

Hopefully I'll be able to post some videos of her on her website today. I've been trying all week long, but every time I have some down time, something else comes up. Like, right now, my mother is calling down to me to come up and help her organize a closet. Guess I better go help!

MUCH LOVE!

Craziness in Pittsburgh

2009-09-23T09:34:00.004-05:00

This morning I realized how boring our blog is becoming. The problem is there isn't much going on. Julianna is growing, I'm working full time, and Jon is in school full time. All that makes for a pretty dull blog. Sure I could post pictures of Julianna all the time and talk about her newest accomplishments, like her rolling over for the first time on Saturday and doing it three times, not just once, but I have a blog just for her so she doesn't need to take over this one.

So I was trying to decide what to write about and update you all on and I thought, why not talk about the one thing that is driving me nuts! The G20 Summit!

For those of you who are unaware, the G20 Summit has decided to grace the good 'ole city of Pittsburgh with its presence. Now to many this might sound like its an honor to have the president of the United States and other big name people here, but its not! It's probably one of the more annoying things in life. For starters, this is how the local news stories go on tv:

G20 Summit
Something about a Shooting Somewhere
G20 Summit
Weather
G20 Summit
Steelers
G20 Summit
H1N1 Virus Updates
G20 Summit

It's been like this for MONTHS! There is nothing new for them to report about the G20 Summit! We have heard for months about how they are closing down the city, so people are off work for 2 days and colleges are closed for 2 days, of course I don't care since I still have to go to work, give me 2 days off and I might be happier with the G20 Summit being here. They put in a $400,000 security radio system thing so all security on the rivers, in the air, in vehicles, and on foot can communicate with one another, which as of yesterday, was NOT working properly and they are unsure if they will continue to use said radio system after the Summit. Now I would say that was a BIG waste of money. On top of all this, turns out the government isn't coughing up the money ahead of time for the security they have pulled into the city, which means the city has to pay the bill and wait to be reimbursed. Some how the tax payers are going to end up paying for something related to this G20 Summit which NONE of asked for to be here. Oh yea, and it looks like we are at war since they pulled all the local National Guard units in to patrol. It's insane and if I remember correctly, you better stay off the rivers or you'll be arrested!

Saturday could NOT come fast enough. But sadly, I realize that for the next week or so the news will continue how it has with stories after stories of how the Summit went, what was discussed, where they stayed, how the visit was...etc....The news channels really know how to make you sick of events in your area.

But in other news, Julianna does get her 3 month pictures taken Friday. Hopefully all goes well! And Julianna is finally sleeping through the night. It's wonderful!

Flu Season

2009-09-14T13:07:00.002-05:00

Seeing that flu season has arrived, we have decided to keep Julianna at home. The only time she is going out is to doctors appointments or if we are just taking a ride. It may sound ridiculous that we are being over cautious, but with the rise in the swine flu and no vaccine available at the moment for it and since she can't get a flu shot until she is 6 months old, we are playing it safe.

So we have signs all over the house about washing your hands and all of us will have a flu shot by the end of the week. No one is able to come to the house if they are even the slightest bit sick and we are still debating if we will allow anyone to visit who has not had a flu shot. I'm sure people think I'm nuts, but I'm protecting my child as the flu can be very serious in little ones. Next year at this time, I probably wont worry so much because she will be so much older, but right now her immune system is still very young and I would rather not test it out.

So, if you want to see us, please do not come while you are even the slightest bit sick. Be ready to wash your hands when you arrive. And please get a flu shot.

Israel Reunion Party

2009-09-11T10:56:00.005-05:00

Jon, Julianna, and I are getting kicked out the house tonight so my parents can have a party. There is something wrong about this picture. It should be the other way around. You would think anyways.

My parents are having, what they call, an "Israel Reunion" party. They have invited everyone who went to Israel back in March to the house to have dinner and catch up. This is probably the most eclectic group of people you have ever seen. The last "Israel Reunion" party was at a half a million dollar home and catered. Needless to say, my parents are bringing it down a notch. (Many are grateful for this.) So things are kindof crazy! My parents have been busy picking up everything and cleaning like crazy and we have been banished from certain rooms in the house "because they are clean!" Needless to say the food looks good and Grandma and Grandpa are taking us out to dinner. Hopefully Julianna does alright at dinner because we are going right at her prime fussy time.

Well back to cleaning and making food for the parents! More later!

Wedding Weekend

2009-09-09T12:04:00.006-05:00

(Leslie Gilbert Photography)

What an awesome weekend we had!!

This past weekend my little brother got married! They had their wedding in Mt. Joy, PA at a beautiful bed and breakfast. They had reserved the entire Inn for the wedding party and immediate family to stay for the weekend. It was so nice being all together. Jon, Sarah, and I lucked out and had the room directly across from Kelly's so on Saturday I was able to float between the two rooms all day while we got ready. Kelly looked gorgeous and everything she had chosen for her big day fit together beautifully! It could not have been a more perfect wedding!

A big THANKS goes out to Sarah for coming with us to watch Julianna! It made it so much easier for Jon and I to do our wedding responsibilities and to enjoy ourselves to the fullest! Plus it was great to spend time with you!

We returned Sunday afternoon and enjoyed a nice dinner beside the pool with my aunt and uncle, grandparents, and Sarah. On Monday, Sarah returned home and I returned to work. I felt a little lost having been gone for 4 days. Jon returned home to a lot of school work he needed to do and studying for an exam or two. He is feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment with all his class work. I think missing a day of classes and then not having any study time this weekend because of the wedding has thrown him through a loop. This is Jon's busiest and hardest semester yet. There is little time for him to do much else (which is why he quit Target for the time being). Jon will definitely be looking forward to his breaks this semester.

Julianna is growing like a weed. She went to the doctor a week and a half ago and weighted 13lbs 3oz and is now 24 inches long. To me, she looks older than a 3 month old. She is holding up her head beautifully and even tries to sit up on her own if she is in your arms. She loves sitting up and looking around. Julianna is not a snuggler. She is so curious about her surroundings. She is still sucking her thumb and she smiles a lot. She is even using her bumbo seat more. Before we know it she will be sitting up all on her own.

Well that's about all that is new with us. We are very busy working and doing school and taking care of the peanut! Bye For Now!

MUCH LOVE!

Busy Weekend

2009-08-23T17:15:00.002-05:00

What a busy four days we have had!!

Jon's parents arrived on Thursday morning and we wasted no time hanging around. Once they had a chance to be amazed at how much Julianna has grown since they last saw her, we hit the road and headed to Phipps Conservatory. For those of you who don't live in Pittsburgh, Phipps is similar to Frederick Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids. I carried Julianna in what Jon has dubbed "the gut sack" and she slept soundly through the entire thing. The rest of us enjoyed all the flowers and all the interesting glass sculptures made by this guy named Hans Godo Frabel. You were able to purchase some of his glass work in the gift shop, but the cheapest thing we found was a set of 6 glass napkin rings for $150!! I think the most expensive thing we saw was over $6,000!! A little extravagant if you ask me.

On Friday we took Julianna to visit the zoo. Julianna, however, was not interested and fell soundly asleep in her stroller. We enjoyed the trip though. Jon and I had wanted to go and see the new shark exhibit. The exhibit was neat, but not exactly what we expected. This new exhibit allows you to walk thru the tanks that hold the sharks and sea otter and the polar bears. It would have been neat to see the polar bears swimming around us, but we think it was feeding time because they were pacing on the rocks by the doors to their home. The zoo did have a baby elephant, which was neat to see and a baby sea lion which was funny to watch waddle across the rocks of their home. We are looking forward to returning when Julianna is older and can fully enjoy the animals and what the zoo has to offer.

Saturday we all went out for a nice breakfast and then Jon had to head to work. Jon has one more day of work at Target and then he is quitting. He and I talked about it and decided it was not worth working just one day a week and he has a very busy schedule this semester, so he is not going to work any longer. He may return for the holiday season, but we will see when the time comes. While Jon was at work, mom pinned my dress so she can make the alterations and then we just sat around and talked. We went to Monte Cellos for dinner and I think we all over ate but it was a nice dinner.

Today we went to church where this guy Rick Green preached. He spoke about America and Christianity. If you want to know more, you will have to ask the Feyen's or my parents because I had to step out with Julianna so I only got snip its of what he said, but it seemed very interesting. Also, if you look up Rick Green I'm sure you can find out about him and what he does on the Internet. We found out for sure today that MIKE HUCKABEE will be preaching at church on Nov. 1st. We are all very excited to hear him preach! If any of you would like to hear him too and come visit, let us know!

So these next 2 weeks are going to be busy. Jon starts school and we have to finish up all things related to Dave's wedding. It's so exciting that the wedding is almost here. We are going to have a GREAT weekend! Plus, Sarah is coming and I can't wait to see her!!

I won't be posting anything until after the wedding on Labor Day weekend, so check back then!

MUCH LOVE!!

Wedding and Visit

2009-08-19T21:58:00.003-05:00

So things have been busy around here. Dave and Kelly's wedding is quickly approaching so we have been busy picking up dresses, making gift baskets and helping with odds and ends that Kelly and Dave need accomplished. We are very excited though that their wedding day is finally this close. They have been planning this wedding for over a year!

Jon's parents are on their way here to visit us for a few days. We are very excited to see them and for them to see Julianna. They are going to be surprised at how big she has gotten. We aren't sure what we are going to do with them, we were thinking Phipps Conservatory and the Zoo, but who knows. There is lots to do in Pittsburgh.

Well sorry this is a fast post, but I gotta go to bed since the peanut is sleeping and I have to take advantage of it. More later!

MUCH LOVE!!

Four Generations

2009-08-09T20:20:00.004-05:00

It's very cool that we were able to take a four generation photo!!

What's also very cool is that when we go to church, we have four generations in our pew.

(Note: If you click on the photo, it will enlarge for a better view)

Thumb sucking and head holding

2009-08-09T16:31:00.002-05:00

So Jon and I have lost the thumb sucking war with Julianna. We have tried so hard to discourage her from sucking her thumb by removing her hand and putting in her pacifier. I know some parents are excited for their children to learn to self sooth, but thumb sucking is a hard habit to break. But Julianna has figured out how to suck her thumb. Yesterday towards the end of her nap she began fussing so I went upstairs to get her. When I made it to her room she had stopped fussing, but it was time for her to get up anyways, so I went in and looked at her and sure enough she was sucking her thumb which had calmed her down. Oh well. I guess we will let her go and worry about breaking the habit later.

Julianna is also doing wonderfully with holding up her head all on her own. It's very exciting! We still don't want to fully let her go just yet, she is still a little wobbly, but she is getting very strong. Soon enough she will be able to us her Bumbo seat.

Jon has finished school for the summer. He now has two weeks off. His parents are coming to visit us on the 20th for a few days. We are looking forward to them coming. We are hoping to take them to Phipps Conservatory and the Zoo. The zoo is more for Jon and I because there is a new shark exhibit at the zoo that is supposed to be pretty impressive and we want to check it out. It should be a fun few days. Jon heads back to school on the 24th.

Nothing new with me except a hair cut. I was gonna wait until after the wedding to cut my hair, but I just don't have time to dry let alone do my hair with Julianna, so I got it cut. I like it. It's short and easy.

Enjoy the rest of summer! MUCH LOVE!

Busy Busy Busy

2009-07-30T12:16:00.003-05:00

(Note: I have been writing this post for days. Every time I start, the little one wants me for one reason or another. Sorry it's taken so long.)

So Julianna's site is finished! If you haven't received an e-mail with the address and password and would like to see it, let me know and I'll send that information your way.

Much has happened since my last post. Here is a recap of all that has occurred:

Julianna, Jon, and I all went to Michigan to visit the fam, attend Eric and Katie's wedding, attend Drew and Mandy's wedding, and to have Julianna baptized.
Julianna and I spent the 4th at Sandy Pines with Sarah and her fam.
I went back to work and I hate it because I would rather spend time with Julianna.
My parents bought 2 new cars. It was supposed to be just one, but the van qualified for the "Cash for Clunkers" program so they got rid of that one too. They bought a Nissan Sentra and a Honda CRV.
We all went to our third wedding of this year on Saturday and it was beautiful.

That's all that has occurred in a nutshell. It doesn't seem like a lot but it was. We have been busy. We have some down time now until Dave and Kelly's wedding. Jon's parents are coming to visit us on the 19th which we are looking forward too. We are going to take them to Phipps Conservatory and to the Pittsburgh Zoo. It will be a fun weekend!

That's all for now! MUCH LOVE!!

I Promise!

2009-07-23T17:17:00.002-05:00

I promise I will update the blog soon. I'm working on creating a blog just for Julianna which is taking up most of my time right now, but I will get back to this blog shortly!

Thanks for your patience!

MUCH LOVE!

Julianna Grace

2009-06-17T13:56:00.002-05:00

I figured while I had a moment, I would let you all know that Julianna and the family are doing great!! Jon and I love our new little bundle of joy and just can't get enough of her. Surprisingly Jon is more tired than I am and I'm the one getting up at night with Julianna!

Julianna went to the doctor yesterday and is now 8lbs. 4oz. When she came home from the hospital she weighed 8lbs. She is getting back to her birth weight of 8lbs. 9oz. The doctor says she looks great! We have to agree!

We are looking forward to our trip to Michigan so everyone can meet her. It will be our first family trip and we are very excited!!

I'm healing alright from my c-section. I do have a small gap in my incision, but the doctor is not concerned. It just means my scar won't be as pretty. lol! My tummy muscles need to get back into shape because right now I can't sneeze or laugh right because of how stretched they are. It's a very weird feeling! I'm doing better every day though so that is encouraging!

Well back to the baby! I'll update again when I can!

MUCH LOVE!!

Grandpa and Baby Update

2009-06-08T08:42:00.002-05:00

After seeing the pictures of the car, we are all very thankful that Mom and Grandpa are alive and okay. The car, obviously, has been totaled. There will be no driving let a lone fixing it.

Grandpa came home on Friday to the skilled nursing unit where he lives. Every day he gets stronger and stronger. He is now able to get himself into a sitting position on the side of the bed and he can walk further and further with a walker every day. There is nothing wrong with his legs, he is just very weak and has to keep moving. He is very open to all the instruction my aunt has been giving him and is very open to any ideas that will help him heal faster and be able to not only do things on his own, but to be able to move home as soon as possible. It will be a while before he can actually move home, but he wants out of skilled nursing and into assisted living. I can't blame him. There is still a number of things to line up for him but we are headed in the right direction. He should be able to make it to my brother's wedding in Sept if he continues the way he is going. He is definitely in good spirits!

On the baby front...not much to report. She is still in my tummy swimming around. I go to the doctor tomorrow so we shall see what he thinks then. I'm ready to have this baby already! Thank goodness the weather has been nice because it has given me the opportunity to sit out side and go swimming some. Being busy helps!

Well hopefully my next post will be pictures of the baby!! Guess we all just have to wait and see!!

MUCH LOVE!

Still Waiting

2009-06-01T08:50:00.002-05:00

It's June 1st and baby still isn't here. I realize her due date is the 3rd, but I was HOPING she would be here sooner. Guess she has other plans. I have given up wondering if today is the day. I figure she still won't be here by the third so I'll have my doctors appointment and we'll go from there. They probably won't let me go much longer due to her size, so I figure by the weekend, she should be here...Hopefully!

Thank goodness I have had other things to think and worry about. It has helped a lot with keeping me side tracked and not so baby focused.

My mom is doing much better. She is actually back in Ohio running the company. My grandfather stepped down as the acting president officially yesterday and now my mother is the acting president. She is very stressed by it all, but she wants to continue through with the sale of the company so they don't lose the buyer. She plans to have it all said and done in a month, if not sooner. My grandfather will probably never go back to the company again. (That's not a bad thing though.) My grandfather, too, is doing much better. They have removed the breathing tube and have moved him from ICU. There is a really good possibility he will be released on Thursday into our care so we can bring him home. He still has a VERY long road ahead of him of healing and PT and oral surgery, but at least he will be home and back in Pittsburgh. We all pray that he has learned from this accident and will now wear a seat belt every time he is the car. We all thank God he is doing so well. I know myself and my family have appreciated the prayers and thoughts. Thank you so much!

MUCH LOVE!

Accident Update

2009-05-29T15:29:00.002-05:00

My mom has returned home. She is doing much better today. She is up and moving around and doing work for the company. She has done a complete 180 from yesterday. Yesterday she could barely keep her eyes open her head hurt so bad and she didn't want to move much because she hurt so much. We did solve the headache issue yesterday...she was going through a caffeine withdrawal and just needed a few cups of coffee. That cut the headache instantly! She does have some major bruising on her body that is going to be tender for some time and her body is just achy from being thrown around even with her seat belt on.

My Grandfather on the other hand is still at the hospital in the ICU. He went in for face surgery on Wednesday to repair the broken bones and put his jaw back into place and fix some other things and either during or after the surgery his tongue swelled so bad they had to put in a breathing tube and put him in a drug induced comma. The swelling in his tongue is going down, but the breathing tube is still in. He is still in a drug induced comma, but not as deep of one. If you squeeze his hand, he can squeeze back. Hopefully in the next day they will remove the tube and bring him out of the comma. As of now, they are not even considering releasing him until Thursday, but it might be even longer than that.

Everything is set up here for him to come home. He will not be able to return to his apartment at Sherwood Oaks, but they were able to get him a bed in the skilled nursing unit there which is great! That means Grandma doesn't have to drive any where to see him every day. My aunts are coming in a week or so to be with my Grandma and help her out, so it will be nice to see them. Plus that takes the pressure off my mother who has to keep the company running while Grandpa is out.

The company sale is still happening as planned. My mother is currently the acting president and is able to sign all the papers in my Grandfather's absences, so things are still moving along which is good. Grandpa will not see the sale of the company or the end results because of all his injuries, but we all know it will be a huge weight lifted from his shoulders when it is all said and done and I know he will be grateful my mom was able to carry through with everything.

As a side note, the baby is still hanging out in my tummy. We aren't really sure when she will decide to come but I will probably not go past my June 3rd due date because of her size. Plus I'm really uncomfortable, so I would rather not go a week past. We will let you all know when the big event occurs!

Thank you to all who have been praying for my Mom and Grandpa. Your prayers have definitely been felt. We all know that the Lord is in charge and will get us all through this event. We are thankful that my Grandpa knows and loves the Lord so if it's his time, we know where he is going.

Much Love!

Car Accident

2009-05-26T22:30:00.003-05:00

Today has been a very stressful day!

My mom and my grandfather were on their way to work in Ohio when they were in a pretty serious car accident.

My mom called at 8:30 this morning to tell my dad they had been in a car accident. At 9:30 she called again, from the ambulance to tell us what hospital she and my grandfather were headed to in Ohio. All we knew from her at this point was that she was okay, she sounded VERY shaky on the phone though, she had been sitting in the back seat when the accident happened and thank goodness she had her seat belt on. She said that Grandpa had been driving and he hit is face off the steering wheel and was bleeding pretty good, but he was alert. So dad packed up some stuff to be able to stay over night, called Grandma and headed out to pick her up and head to Ohio.

At this point, we didn't know much. Dad called us later in the afternoon to fill us in on what was going on.

My mom was okay, she was just incredibly sore from where the seat belt had restrained her and her elbow was scraped up. She was able to get up and move around which was good. They did a CAT scan and they found nothing wrong. However, they decided they wanted to keep her over night for observation because internal bruising can appear later on in a trauma like this. She should be released tomorrow. Praise God! Her seat belt saved her life even if she is in a lot of pain because of it.

Grandpa didn't fare so well. He has lost a number of teeth from hitting his mouth off the steering wheel and has a number of cuts on his face. They had to wait for a plastic surgeon to sew him back up. He also broke a number of ribs, his collar bone and a vertebrae in his back. They have him in the ICU right now to keep an eye on him, but he is stable. The doctor taking care of him has said they are going to take it one day at a time with him. So that means we won't know when he will be able to come home.

In terms of the accident, from what we were told, Grandpa lost control of the car and hit the guard rail on the highway and was bounced across the highway onto the shoulder. No one else was involved and I guess a guy stopped when he saw the accident happen and told the police that Grandpa was going the speed limit, so we aren't totally sure how or why he lost control. Grandpa was ticketed for NOT wearing his seat belt.

As of now, no one is really sure what is going on. We don't know if Mom and Dad will come home tomorrow or if Mom will want to stay with Grandma and Grandpa until they can come home. We don't know if my aunt's are going to head over to be with them or what. We are just waiting to hear what they need us to do next. Thank God they are okay!

Patiently Waiting

2009-05-25T09:04:00.002-05:00

Baby Feyen has 9 more days to decide that she is tired of her cramped quarters! However, her mother and father would prefer she not wait that long to make up her mind. This waiting patiently for her to come is by far the HARDEST part of being pregnant.

All of us are so excited to see, hold, and snuggle this little one! We all can't wait to see what traits she got from Jon and which ones she got from me. We can't wait to be able to use all the wonderful baby items and clothes we have received over the past 9 months. We are ready for the next step!

This past week my ankles and feet have become very swollen, swollen to the point they hurt a lot. My hands and my face have also swelled some. However!! I'm grateful this JUST happened this close to the end and not weeks earlier. I do have to laugh, though, my ankles are the size of Jon's. On Jon, his ankles look normal, on me, it looks like I have no ankle. My doctor did check them out when I was there last and said they look "normal." He also informed me they will get worse right after I have the baby before they get better. Hopefully they will be better before we head to Michigan!

Jon and I have decided that Tuesday, tomorrow, is going to be my last day of work. It's getting to be to much and there isn't much I can do at work any longer. Plus we decided this would be best for my supervisor so he has plenty of time to fill my position instead of calling him one day and saying I'm not coming because I'm in labor, good luck finding someone to cover! I'm grateful to be finished on Tuesday.

Well hopefully my next post will be to let everyone know that the little one is here along with some pictures of her! We shall see what she decides, but as of now, she is taking after her father in size, so my guess is she is going to be stubborn just like him too and wait until the last possible second to come! We shall see!!

Enjoy your holiday!

Much Love!

Hospital Tour

2009-05-14T10:49:00.002-05:00

This past Tuesday, Jon, my Father, and I were able to get our own personal tour of Magee Hospital's birthing center. A good family friend of ours is a delivery nurse there and took us around and showed us everything. It was great! She walked us through the whole process so we would know what to expect. We were able to see the LDR and the Postpartum rooms. All the rooms are very homey feeling and have flat screen TV's! Jon will be set! The labor and delivery room is HUGE and light so Jon thinks he will be able to make it through the whole process and not have to step out! YAY! Now that we know what to expect from the hospital, we are all really excited for the little miss to make her grand appearance. I have a doctors appointment today so we shall see what he has to say about a delivery time frame. Hopefully I have dilated a little more and effaced a little more, but if not, that's okay, she will come when she is ready!

Finished Crib

2009-05-05T12:30:00.007-05:00

Here is a picture of the finished crib. Jon and I painted the whole thing antique white, Mom, with some of my assistance, made the bumper pads and the mobile is from when I was a baby.

Here is an up close picture of the bumper pads. It has these adorable butterflies! I love butterflies for her. I also am in LOVE with the lavender color. I have a sheet for the crib that matches the purple ribbons perfectly. When Jon and I get our own house we are going to paint the baby's room that purple color.

I'm thrilled with the way they turned out. It totally doesn't match the yellow room, but since I can't paint that room, I'm just glad the crib and accessories match!

Not much longer!!

Our Little Miss

2009-05-01T07:51:00.002-05:00

I had my ultrasound this morning. They found the fibroid and measured it. I'm not sure if it's grown or whatever, but it's not in the way of the birth canal which is what's most important. While she was checking out baby, I had her double check the sex again. It's for sure a girl. She was much more cooperative this time around. We also got to see that she has a full head of hair...long hair too! I'm excited to see what color her hair is when she is born and whether she will keep it all after birth. (I lost my hair after I was born, however, I didn't have that that much) So things look really good with the baby. Guess we better get moving on making those bumper pads. I think Sunday is the day!

Well that's all for now!

MUCH LOVE!

Changes

2009-04-28T11:17:00.002-05:00

Things just keep a changin' around here. I went to the doctor this morning. Things are really good. I just need to rest more and drink more. I think I can handle that! However I found out that I'm BACK to delivering at AGH. Turns out my doctors aren't moving to Magee until June 30th now. I'm just glad they have an official date and I know for sure where I am headed.

I'm having an ultrasound on Friday to follow up on my visits to the hospital last week. Hopefully I can convince the tec to check the gender of the baby again and hopefully baby is very cooperative! Even though they were pretty sure it was a girl the first time it's always nice to double check if we can. If it's a boy...well I'll be a little disappointed, but not much, I think I'll just be OVERWHELMED exchanging things and getting ready for a boy instead. We shall see how it goes Friday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed they were right the first time and I don't have to change anything.

I'll keep ya posted!

MUCH LOVE!

Hospital Visits

2009-04-26T20:10:00.003-05:00

Well these past few days have been eventful.

On Thursday, my dad and I headed to the hospital so I could be monitored. I was having what turned out to be contractions for some reason. They gave me IV fluids thinking that maybe I was dehydrated and that was what was causing the contractions. Turns out that wasn't the reason because they didn't go away.

On Friday night, we all headed back to the hospital again because I was having severe pain in the lower right side of my stomach and to me it seemed the baby had slowed down. I was hooked up to monitors. The baby was perfect and it showed I was having stronger contractions. However, that didn't explain the severe pain in my side. The doctor came and examined me and decided to do an ultrasound. Turns out I have a fibroid that is growing in my uterus and the way that the baby layes she kicks and hits that area frequently causing pain. Also, sometimes she has her elbows or knees, or fists resting under it causing the pain. They gave me Tylenol to combat the pain and that seemed to work and again they gave me IV fluids for the contractions. I was sent home that night with orders to take Tylenol for the pain and to rest rest rest.

So after these events I have decided it is time I focus on me and the baby. I've been pushing and pushing and I think this was just a sign that I need to slow down. I'm still having pain and I'm still getting contractions every now and then so I'm just going to take it easy. It was also a wake up call that I need to stop procrastinating on getting my hospital bag put together.

Jon is finishing up classes for this semester. He will be done by Wednesday. Then he has two weeks off before summer classes begin. He already has big plans for those two weeks. My parents are getting ground covering so he will get to put that down and then the following week he may go to Ohio to help my mom and grandpa out, but that's still up in the air.

Well the weather has been beautiful and I'm looking forward to the summer weather staying here!! In the next few weeks the pool should be open. It will be nice to sit out by the pool and enjoy the outdoors.

Well that is about all the updates for now!

MUCH LOVE!

Hospital Change

2009-04-16T10:57:00.002-05:00

I found out the other day while I was at the doctors that I will no longer be delivering at the hospital I first thought. I was originally going to deliver at AGH, but now I'm delivering at Magee Women's Hospital.

To say the least, I'm very excited about the change. The hospital is further from our house and more difficult to get to, but it is the number one women's hospital in Pittsburgh and they have an excellent labor and delivery unit. Just reading all the information about the hospital and all the fun things available to me while I'm there has just increased my excitement and eased my anxiety. Plus, I know a nurse in the labor and delivery unit who has said she will try to be there when I'm there so that's exciting!

I think this change will be great and that Jon and I will have a much better childbirth experience. 7ish weeks left to go!!!

Snow in April?!?!?!?

2009-04-08T09:36:00.003-05:00

So who would have thought that last night I would actually have to drag out the snow and ice scraper from the truck when my shift was over?! It's April!! Come on now!! According to the news, Pittsburgh hasn't had snow in April since 1979! If we were living in Michigan, I would expect this, but not here. Hopefully this will be the end of the snow!

There really isn't much going on around here. Just the same old stuff, different day.

My parents are going to GA this weekend to visit Dave and Kelly. We can't wait to have the weekend to ourselves! I'm pretty sure we will do NOTHING but relax and Jon will do some school work seeing as school is over at the end of this month.

Work is going well. I'm not sure what they are going to do when I am gone for six weeks seeing as they haven't filled the other full time 2nd shift positions. At least they have plus or minus 8 wks left before I'm gone.

Well I have some shopping I have to do today before I go to work, so I better get a move on. Of course none of the stores I need to go to are near one another. hahaha :)

Bye for Now!

MUCH LOVE!

Crib Finished

2009-03-31T11:14:00.003-05:00

The crib is finally finished!

Jon and I finally got all the painting done and have put it together! The crib even has a brand new mattress thanks to my parents! It looks great in the "nursery" and it turned out really good actually.

My mom and I went shopping yesterday and bought material to make a bumper pad. It's going to be SUPER cute! I can't wait to get started on it. I'm so ready to put the bed together, but just in case baby ends up being a boy we aren't opening any sheets just yet. Plus, we don't want it to collect dust. However, when it's all said and done it will be really cute!

I'll put pictures up once we get the crib more together.

Only 9 more weeks until baby is due!!! I can't believe I am finally in single digits! Some of my nerves are starting to creep in once in a while, but over all I'm just excited to meet the little one that kicks me on a continual basis! :)

In other news.....come to think of it, there really isn't other news to report. Jon has about a month left of school before he has a few weeks off. Then Jon starts his summer courses. We finally laid out all his classes on the calendar and it looks like, while he will have a busy summer, his schedule isn't all that bad. My parents are going to have to babysit for the whole month of July and once a week in June, but it will all work out. He is looking forward to new classes.

That's about all the updates for now.

MUCH LOVE!

Plus Or Minus 10 Weeks!!

2009-03-24T12:49:00.002-05:00

Hello!

I apologize for taking so long to update again. I can't believe how fast March has flown by! I'm not complaining tho because it puts Jon and I closer to meeting our daughter. As the title implies, we have plus or minus 10 weeks left until the big event! I'm really really excited! My fears of giving birth have sort of left and anticipation and excitement have settled in. Jon seems to be excited in his own way too.

This past month has been full of different things. Jon's mom and sister along with our nephew came to visit us. We had a blast shopping and enjoying each other's company. Jon's mom also brought us a TON of adorable baby clothes and accessories! I can't not wait to be able to use all the wonderful things!

My parents went to Israel and had a fabulous trip! They came home with some great pictures and Jon and I enjoyed the alone time even though we were busy.

The crib is coming along. It's given us more trouble then we would have liked, but it's going to turn out all right after all. We ended up painting it antique white because staining did not work out. I'll put pictures up once we get it back together.

This past weekend my best friend Sarah and her mom came for a surprise visit. We had a great time going to Ikea and hanging out. Sarah and her mom brought me adorable gifts for the baby. Sarah's mom made these absolutely adorable blankets for the baby along with matching burp clothes. Sarah bought me some adorable 3-6months outfits! I love them and can not wait for the baby to wear them!

I had my blood glucose test earlier in the month. I don't have gestational diabetes but I am anemic now which I guess is normal in your third trimester. I'm not complaining tho because that is solved by a pill instead of totally changing my diet.

I think that is all the updates for now.

Enjoy the nice weather!!

MUCH LOVE!!!

This and That

2009-03-06T07:34:00.003-06:00

The weather in Pittsburgh has been beautiful lately! Sure it's been freezing on some of those sunny days, but the sun makes things seem so much nicer! Yesterday the temperature reached 58 I believe and it only dropped to 52 over night! It feels like Spring and yet I know we will probably get more cold weather and possibly snow before it offically becomes Spring and the nice weather is here to stay!

Luckily the weather is nice today because my brother and Kelly are packing up their apartment and moving to Georgia. My parents are headed up to Indiana to help them load the truck and get the last of the stuff packed. Jon and I are unable to go because of work and school. They were originally supposed to move this past weekend, but things got changed around due to Dave's schedule which stunk for Jon and I because we could have helped last weekend, but it works out better for Dave and Kelly this weekend, so that's all that matters.

Today I'm going to try and get my PA driver's license. I was going to do it yesterday but I spent the morning stressing out that I couldn't find my social security card, which I did eventually find, and then once I got to the DMV I realized I didn't have my check book! I decided that it wasn't meant to happen yesterday! I need to get my PA driver's license before I can transfer my title, register my car for a new plate, and get my car inspected. It's such a process and I seem to do this process every year! Jon and I have to stop moving! LOL!

My parents are leaving for an eight day trip to Israel this Sunday with a group from their church. Jon and I are very much excited for them to go on this trip. We are looking forward to having the house to ourselves, but we also know they are going to LOVE the trip and we can't wait for them to return with their pictures and stories. While they are away, Jon's mom and sister are coming to visit for a day and a half.

As Jon's spring break begins at 2:00 this afternoon, he has big plans to finish up the crib this coming week. Hopefully all goes smoothly for him and it turns out the way he was hoping. I'm glad he knows what he is doing because I'm sure lost! The crib should look great once it's finished!

Well that's about all that is occurring in this neck of the woods. I begin working Monday thru Friday this Monday, which means I only have one day off this week instead of two, but that's okay I'm looking forward to having a REAL weekend and starting an hour later. Baby and I are doing well. Well that's all!

MUCH LOVE!

Shift Change and Baby Crib

2009-02-24T13:42:00.003-06:00

Yesterday my supervisor finally gave me a start date for my shift change. On March 9th I will begin working Monday through Friday 3-11pm. I'm so excited! It will be great to actually have Saturday off. It's going to be great with the baby.

Speaking of baby, Jon has taken on the task of refinishing the crib. The crib we are using happens to be my crib from when I was a baby. It works great and fits the guidelines, however, because it has been in the attic all these years, the finish is coming off or is completely off in places. He is going to sand it all down and stain it. We are going to stain it a darker color than what it used to be. I'll try to get pictures up of the crib when I have a little more time. I actually have to leave for work in 5 minutes. :)

Well that is my quick little update. Hopefully Jon has plenty of time to do both the crib and his school work.

MUCH LOVE!

Baby Shower

2009-02-22T22:10:00.008-06:00

Yesterday was my baby shower. My sis-in-law planned it for me and it was awesome! It was so much fun and I got so many great gifts! Our little one got so many cute little sleepers, blankies, books, and care items. I was overwhelmed when I got home and had to decide where to put everything! Thank you to everyone for all the wonderful gifts!!

Here are a few pictures from the event! Enjoy!

The ladies had to guess how big around I am using toilet paper.

Everyone was busy working on matching prices with baby products.

We all received a little onesie pin that Kelly had made. If we said the word "baby" whoever heard us say it would receive our pin. Needless to say, Marcia, my mother in law, was REALLY good at catching people. She ended up with 7!

Me with all my wonderful gifts! You can't tell, but there were TONS!

Me with a few of my close high school friends.

Even Jon's grandma Gloria came to the shower! If you haven't met Gloria yet, you really should, she is a hoot!

I hope you all enjoyed the pictures.

MUCH LOVE!!

Hello!

2009-02-19T09:20:00.002-06:00

This morning we awoke to snow. This is the most snow I have ever seen living in Pittsburgh during the winters. Needless to say, I'm tired of the white stuff.

Last night I found out that I for sure am getting the Monday thru Friday 2nd shift position. I'm very happy about that. It means I have a real weekend. It will also be nice once the little one is here because we can have family day on Saturdays. I can't wait!! My supervisor just has to give me a start date. Yahoo!

Baby is doing well. She kicks like crazy through out the day. I have another doctors appointment a week from today. I'm getting so excited for her to come. My friends are all delivering their little ones and it just makes me more and more excited for the big day. It's amazing how Jon and I went from "What are we going to do? We aren't ready for a baby!" to "When will she get here! We can't wait!"

Jon is doing very well in school. It's amazing how much he is enjoying it and how smart he is. I always knew he was smart, but to see him get A's on Accounting and Math exams just blows my mind! I'm a very proud wifey!

Well sorry about how long it has taken me to update the blog. Hope this updates everyone!

MUCH LOVE!

Baby, Registry, Superbowl, School

2009-02-04T09:16:00.002-06:00

This morning I actually woke up early so I decided to update the blog.

On January 29th, Jon and I went to my first sonogram. It was really neat to see the baby. I can't believe how developed the baby is at 22 weeks!! It's amazing! The doctor wasn't able to get a perfect picture of the gender parts, but she is pretty confident that the baby is a girl. We are thrilled!! (Even tho we would have been thrilled with a boy too!) She is healthy and growing right on track!! It's crazy to think that today I am 23 weeks along which means I'm 7 weeks away from being only 10 weeks away from being due. June 3rd could not come fast enough. We are so excited to meet our little one!!

Jon and I registered at Babies R Us that week as well. That was a totally different experience from when we registered for our wedding. LoL. It's very overwhelming trying to decide what you REALLY need for baby and what you WANT for baby. We made it through tho and I think we have a good list. I still add to it every now and then. I should probably stop doing that. LoL.

Sunday we were thrilled to watch our Steelers win their 6th!!! Superbowl!!! We could not be prouder to be Pittsburghers!! It was an excellent game and shame on you if you didn't watch!

Well Jon is still busy with school. It's good that he has something to do every day. His classes are going well according to him. We shall see how he does on his midterms. LOL. I'm glad HE is in school and not me! LoL!

That's all from over here in Wexford. Just the same ol' same ol' going on. We are all looking forward to warmer weather. Hopefully it comes soon!

MUCH LOVE!