Post One…Introduce, Picture, 15 Facts

I got this idea from a friend, who posted it on her blog. I loved the idea, and hope I can stick with it. We all know how bad of a blogger I really am! Anyways, it’s a 30 days of posting idea. I think you are supposed to do it 30 days in a row…yeah right. Not happening for me.

Post 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts

Post 2-Meaning behind your blog name

Post 3-Your first love

Post 4-Your parents

Post 5-Your siblings

Post 6-A picture of something that makes you happy

Post 7-Favorite movies

Post 8-A place you've traveled to

Post 9-A picture of your friends

Post 10-Something you're afraid of

Post 11-Favorite tv shows

Post 12-What you believe

Post 13-Goals

Post 14-A picture you love

Post 15-Bible verse

Post 16-Dream house

Post 17-Something you're looking forward to

Post 18-Something you regret

Post 19-Something you miss

Post 20-Nicknames
Post 21-Picture of yourself

Post 22-Favorite city

Post 23-Favorite vacation

Post 24-Something you've learned

Post 25-Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs

Post 26-Picture of your family

Post 27-Pets

Post 28-Something that stresses you out

Post 29-3 Wishes

Post 30-a picture

So,  Post 1, here we go:

My name is Shauna and I from a small town in Arkansas. I am married to the love of live and have been for 8 years. We have two beautiful kids who we call Sissy and Bubba. I am a stay at home who loves to read, shop, and catch up on my shows when I get the chance.

It’s not a very good picture of me…but I’m always the one behind the camera (there’s a reason for that!) And the picture is just a tad blurry…figures..but it’s the most recent.

Here are 15 facts about me. Not sure if they or interesting though…

1. I love decorating for Christmas, but don’t have near the amount of stuff I would like to have!
2. I hate hair…dog hair, stray hairs, hair after it’s been shaven off and left in the sink…
3. I have worn the same one pair of earrings since Hubby gave them to me almost 6 years ago…yes I take them out and clean them!
4. I have a lazy eye, and the other one has a droopy eyelid.
5. I don’t eat anything green…except for cucumbers.
6. I am a little OCD when it comes to certain things. Like the way my dishes are put in the dishwasher in the cabinets.
7. One of my favorite things about my body is my feet, which is why I love flip flop season!
8. My biggest pet peeve is feet! I hate feet, other than my own that is.
9. When I cook, I like to “pretend” I’m on a cooking show.
10. I used to want to be a cheerleader for a pro team. I still sometimes do small cheers when no one is around….yeah, I know!
11. I have to have some light on when I sleep, otherwise, my claustrophobia is enlightened.
12. I am claustrophobic.
13. I love pictures, not just mine, but everyone’s. I have a small (like tiny) photography business on the side and love doing it!
14. I hate confrontation.
15. I can’t stand when people are upset with me. I know not everyone is going to like me, but I would like to think they do.

I hope I don’t sound more lame than I already am! HA

Was That a Tornado??

This past week has been a whirlwind for me.

Sunday, we went to church for the first time in a few months.  It was a church that I haven’t been to before, but that my brother-in-law and his family attend. The kids and I both enjoyed it, and we may return.

Monday, I ran errands and packed for our trip out to deer camp that was coming up. Hubby got off work early and we headed out there. We spent the night, so that Hubby could get up and go hunting early that morning.

Tuesday, Hubby only got to hunt for an hour or so because we had to come back home so he could go out of town for a meeting. We don’t get service out there very well, so when we got home I noticed I had a voicemail. It was my mom telling me that she needed to talk to me and it was very important. My godmother, who was more like a grandmother to me, had lost her fight with cancer that morning. She had ovarian cancer, which then moved in to her brain, where she got a brain tumor and lost the fight. Her son-in-law, who called my mom to tell her the news, had said they were meeting at the funeral home if I could go without the kids. It didn’t occur to me that they wanted me to help make funeral arrangements. After I picked up the kids from my bestie’s house, I had to run some errands before meeting Hubby back out at the road to camp.

Wednesday, the kids and I had to come home from camp to do some things for the funeral and wash some clothes. Then we headed out there, yet again.

Thursday, Hubby got to hunt until about 345. In that time, he had seen AND shot a buck, but they could never find him. Figures! We had to head in so that I could make it to visitation that evening.

Friday, Hubby’s grandma came over to watch the kids while I went and had lunch with the family, the funeral, and then the gravesite. After that, I came home and got the kids and then went back out to the family’s (my gmother’s daughter’s) house to pick out some flowers that I wanted from the funeral. They also made the kids and I eat again…not sure why they were trying to get rid of all the food they had! HA

Today, Saturday, the kids and I have to go down to my parent’s house to clean before they get back from their “family” vacation in Branson. It was supposed to be our “whole” family, but my sister and her family and then me and my family, couldn’t make it. So it was just my parents, my little sister, my oldest sister and her family, and then my brother and his family that got to go. Anyways, I hope it doesn’t take my all day to clean, because this mama is TIRED!!

Tomorrow, is supposed to be church, but Bubba seems to be getting sick. If he doesn’t get any better or gets worse, we won’t be going.

Monday, I have at least one errand to run, and then maybe (crossing fingers) we can have a low key day at home!

Here’s some pictures of my gmother and I. Sadly, I don’t have any recent…like in the past 15 years…for one reason or another. For one, she was the one always behind the camera. For two, once she started getting sicker, I didn’t go see her as much. I know that’s bad of me, but I have come to the realization that it was because I knew this day would come, and I wanted to remember her the way she was before cancer got her, instead of after.

The last picture of my gmother and gfather together before he passed away from a heart attack in 2007.

The three of us together.

Christmas…a LONG time ago! HA

Her birthday at her favorite restaurant before it shut down. It’s rumored to be opening again in Dec and she was SO excited about it!!

This picture has an awesome story behind it. This is of my gmother and my Granny who passed away April 2009. I was down at my parent’s cleaning last weekend when I decided to go through some old photos. I came across this one and realized that I have never seen it before, so I took it. The day I found out my gmother passed away, that next Tuesday, a light bulb went off. I realized that God led me to the photo as a sign that they were once again going to be “catching up”.

‘Tis the Season to be Jolly…

One of the most stressful, yet exciting, part of the holiday season, for me? Christmas cards!

Picking out, not only the card, but the picture(s) that go in them make me want to pull my hair out. There are SO many different designs, colors, sayings, poses, folds, to choose from that I sometimes get overwhelmed!

Of course, I can’t go with the plain Jane store bought boxed cards. That’s just not my style. So I opt to use picture cards. A couple of years ago, I made my own. And while they were okay, they were not a “wow” factor.

This year, though, I’m going with Shutterfly for my holiday cards! They are doing a Holiday card promotion for bloggers and I am ecstatic!! Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly… sign up: http://bit.ly/sfly2010! How cool is that?!?!?

They have everything from Christmas cards to New Years cards. Even wall calendars!  I have used them before to make photo books and I love the quality of their prints!

I am liking this one though:

And this one:

And I like the concept of this one:

It’s different and I like that!

I may go with this one:

Or this one:

Oh man! It’s so hard to pick just one! Check it out for yourself and see how hard it is to just chose one!!

Have fun with it, and happy looking!!!

Who’s a Bad Blogger?? Not me?!?!

I have GOT to quit being a bad blogger!

I have gotten to where I go up to a MONTH without blogging and it’s getting crazy. I’ve always got an excuse too. “It’s been too busy for me to blog.” “Nothing exciting has been happening.” “Nobody reads this old thing anyways!”

Whatever my “reasoning”, I know I need to do better. So a “somewhat” quick catch-up.

Halloween..(wow, it’s almost Thanksgiving and I am JUST NOW writing about Halloween! HA)..was the most exciting it has been since I was a kid!  Hubby had all weekend off, so we actually got to enjoy the festivities with the kids together!

Friday, our small town had the annual Daylight Trick or Treat, (or Main Street Trick or Treat, or Downtown Trick or Treat, or Business Trick or Treat, or whatever you want to call it.) From 4-5p, the business along Main St handed candy out to the kids. Some other places handed candy out until 6p. We dressed the kids up and took them downtown.

When we got home, we had a little “photo shoot” with the kids and my ONLY fall decorations.

And no, she is NOT wearing make-up. It’s just the way I edited the picture that makes it look like it!

So the Saturday before Halloween, Hubby had to help his brother move, but I dressed the kids up again, and took them to my grandpa’s house for a hot dog roast. There, they got even more candy as well as they got to decorate/carve pumpkins. Sissy painted hers, but Bubba wanted his carved. So I got the privilege of doing that! HA

Saturday night, I took the kids to my parents house where they were having a Hallelujah party. Where, yes, the kids got even MORE candy!

Sunday, Hubby and I decided the kids didn’t need anymore candy, so we stayed home and turned our porch light on. WOWZA!

Where we lived before we bought our house, we didn’t normally get a lot of trick or treaters. Here, though, they came in floods!!! We gave ALL (except for the suckers and candy bars) of the kids candy away, and Hubby STILL had to run to WM for more candy.

The kids took late naps, but when Sissy woke up…at around 630p, she wanted to help hand out candy.

She had SOOOO much fun! I think I’d rather her give out candy then get it anyways! HA

Maybe it won’t be a month before my next post! We will see….

My “Job” Anniversary!

Four years ago yesterday, God blessed me with the most rewarding job I could/would ever have the privilege of obtaining. Motherhood.

Sissy turned 4 yesterday, and while it was a stressful day, it was a sad day as well. We quickly realized that our baby girl was growing up! She will start preschool next year, and before we know it, she’ll be graduating high school!

I can’t believe how big she has gotten! It seems like it was just yesterday when I laid in the hospital bed worrying about taking her home with just me and her daddy. Now, I lay in the bed and am blessed beyond belief that God has trusted us with her!

I will post some pictures of her party, along with some stories that today I laugh about, but yesterday, at cried about!

4 Heavenly Angels waiting on me

Well, after much waiting, we finally found out that I indeed did miscarry.

I went to the doctor this past Thursday and got a negative test. Which I was expecting seeing as I had bled for a week leading up to it…and 3 days after.

I’ve had a few people tell me how I am handling it much better than they would, but if they only knew! We had month, A MONTH, to prepare for either another baby here on earth or another one in Heaven. We prepared ourselves so much that we knew that either way, we’d be okay and make it through.

We have talked about maybe trying for another one, but not anytime soon. We have a 4 year old and a 2 year old to keep up with right now. Maybe after Sissy starts school, or even after Bubba! We will see….

Am I or Am I Not?!?!

It’s been 3 weeks since I found out I was expecting again…only to learn a week later that I was having miscarrying.

Now, we are not sure what the heck is going on!

I’m still getting positive HPTs, and not bleeding at all. My HCG levels were so low to begin with that the doctor can’t believe that they were registering on a HPT to begin with. So he for sure doesn’t know why they are still positive.

He gave me two scenarios of what could be going on with me by telling me of examples of what other women have went through. One example, I may still be pregnant. The other, I am not. Helpful, huh?!?!

I have to go back to see him on the 14th and hopefully we will be able to figure out what’s going on FOR SURE!! It’s been so hard wondering if we are going to have a baby or not. It’s hard to prepare yourself emotionally either way!

It’s Only 7 Days, Right?

It’s been a long week and a half.

After all the issues with the pregnancy/miscarriage, I’ve had a heck of a week. I’ve been pretty emotional about things, everything actually.

Saturday was mine and Hubby’s 8 year anniversary. It was a pretty laid back day. Hubby was off work so the kids, him, and I just laid around the house and watched movies and TV. 

Hubby had to go back to work yesterday and of course, the first day of him going back to work, the kids are a HANDFUL!!! They get so used to Daddy being home that they don’t seem to remember that Mom’s boss when he’s not home!

Bubba’s been a little sick the past few days, coughing, sneezing, runny nose, and a little congestion. He seems a little better today, but I’m still keeping an eye on him.

This coming Saturday is going to be a busy day…and I can’t wait! I’m taking Hubby’s brother’s family pictures that afternoon, and then one of my BFF’s daughter’s bday party. We didn’t get to go to her other daughter’s bday party because it was when Hubby’s mom was in from Florida.

Anyways, here’s hoping to a more calm week/end ahead!!

It’s All in God’s Hands

Friday: September 10, 2010

WOW….that is all I can say for today. I woke up thinking it was any other day. It was Hubby’s last day of his round of days at work, the kids and I did our errands for the day, family was coming in from TX, and one of my best friends was coming over with her little girl for a play date.

After trying, and having problems for what seems like forever, to get pregnant with their second child, my BFF SA is now about 10 weeks pregnant. We were chatting about our pervious pregnancies, and I mentioned to her that my past few visits from AF had been late. After realizing that it had been a few days later than normal, she encouraged me to take a pregnancy. I just happened to have one under the cabinet, and with much worry. I complied.

Keep in mind, we decided after Bubba, we didn’t want anymore. We had a boy and a girl, we were good! If I was pregnant, it was gonna be a big surprise, shock, and disbelief to me.

Three minutes after taking the test, I was in fact surprised, shocked, and in disbelief!! Two lines! I am pregnant!

I worry though, as I have been having some bleeding since taking the first test. I can’t, of course, see the doctor until Monday. Hopefully everything will be okay.

As much as I was against having another baby, the thought of losing this one, is unbearable. Please keep us in your prayers!

 

Saturday: September 11, 2010

Today is the 9 year anniversary of the Twin Towers falling. And as heartbreaking as it all is, I have not even been  thinking of that day 9 years ago. Though I remember exactly where I was, and what I was doing, and what I felt seeing the first tower burning, and the second plane fly into the second tower, and then both tumbling to the ground, that wasn’t the first thing on my mind.

Nope, the first, and pretty much only thing on my mind the whole day today was that I may be losing this baby I am carrying. My fourth miscarriage in 6 years.  The baby that I didn’t ask for, but wouldn’t give up for anything now that I know I have it. The baby that we already love!

I have still been bleeding, a little more than yesterday, and having some cramping. We have told a few people, including a few of my best friends and our parents, but don’t want to say a lot in case something happens. Just keep us in your prayers.

 

Sunday: September 12, 2010

It’s been a world wind weekend. After some drama with family last night, (don’t ask!!), today as been one of those days. I stopped bleeding this evening. So I’m hoping that’s a good thing!

There is a lot going on in my brain right now, and I am doing everything I can to take it easy and not worry about much. Of course, with a 3 year and a 2 year old running around the house, what is there NOT to worry about?!?!

Being pregnant, yet possibly, having a miscarriage has completely changed my thought about having another kid. Surely we can handle 3! Right?!?!

 

Monday: September 13, 2010

Well we were hoping to get into the doctor today, but he is not in. So we have to wait until tomorrow. I’m not bleeding anymore, but I still won’t feel out of the woods until I know for sure everything is okay.

I’ve kept it pretty simple today. Hubby wanted to get some lumber to make some box shelves for me. So we drove down to my parents house and got some cedar and while Hubby built the shelves, I took a much needed nap with the kids. Of course, I have done that every day since Friday. I think it’s my way escaping from the realty of what could really be happening for a 4th time in my husband’s and mine marriage.

What I don’t wish a upon even my worst enemy! It’s one of the hardest things I have ever had to go through. Getting attached to something so much only to have it ripped away before even getting to see it.

Life is short, how short is up to God.

 

Tuesday: September 14, 2010

I was able to go to my doctor today, but the prognosis doesn’t look very good.

He did an in-office pregnancy test, and it was positive, but a faint positive. It should have been more clear since my test Friday was faint too. He said that he doesn’t know why I am bleeding, though, but that he expects me to have a full miscarriage between now and the time I’m supposed to have my next appointment in two weeks. 

He did send me to do an HCG Quantitative Test though. It’s where they test your HCG levels now, and then test them again in two test to see if they are going up or down. If they are going up, it means the pregnancy is progressing. If they are going down, it means that it’s not…miscarriage.

He originally wanted me to take another in-office pregnancy test in two weeks, but I couldn’t take the wait for more than I already have. So Thursday, we should know for sure if we are going to have another little Wagner running around or our 4th miscarriage.

 

Wednesday: September 15, 2010

I’m still here waiting. Not sure what’s going on, and it’s the hardest thing to do. To sit here not knowing if the baby you are carrying is going to make it, or go to be with it’s 3 other siblings in Heaven.

As much as Hubby and I didn’t want another kid, knowing that you might possibly have one anyways, kinda changes your outlook on things.

Pray for God’s Will, Hope for the Best, Expect the Worst.

That has been my motto for the past 5 days.

 

Thursday: September 16, 2010

Well we got our results back. We will 4 little angel babies in Heaven waiting on us.

God has a plan and I know that, but it is so hard knowing that I will definitely lose this baby.

I have two beautiful kids who I wouldn’t trade for anything! But this has changed my heart on having another one. As scared as I was when I found out I was pregnant in the first place, doesn’t compare to the  pain losing another has caused.

I truly do not wish this upon even my worst enemy!

My Readings

When I was younger, I used to read, a LOT. When I was home, I loved to go outside, climb a tree and just read. The Babysitter Club books were my all time favorite!

 

As I started high school, my reading usually only consisted of what was assigned. Between school, basketball, work, family, and boys, I didn’t have much time for reading on my own.

I just got back into “free-style” reading in probably the past year or so. It all started with the Stephenie Meyers Twilight Saga.

I LOVED these books, so much so that I have read them all at least 3 times! Then I decided I had to move on. I had to read something about things other than vampires and werewolves…though, why would I want to?!?!

I managed to read The Second Life of Bree Tanner.

I know, still vampires, but it was a really good book! Stephenie Meyer sure knows how to write, let me tell ya!

Anyways, I finally moved forward and started reading some Nicholas Sparks books.  It started with A Bend in the Road. I knew I liked the author but I didn’t know how much until I started looking for his books! I don’t have all of his books but I plan on getting them! I do have The Last Song, The Lucky One, and Dear John.

Then I read The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand. Which made me realize that I liked her as well. I also plan on getting more of her books as well.

It looks as though a trip to the used book store is needed!!! Right now, I am reading a book called Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel. Back to the vampires….I know.

Do you have any suggestions of books that I might like?