Blackberry or iPhone?

Well my trusty Blackberry finally called it quits on me today. The stupid rolly ball no longer rolls all directions, so all I can pretty much do is make phone calls. Which my husband says that's what a cell phone is for anyway, so he doesn't understand the dilemma...silly boy. Anyway, fortunately I'm eligible for an upgrade, so now I'm just trying to decide if I should stick with a Blackberry or give the iPhone a shot. I really do like the Blackberry and love messenger...especially since my mom, all my sisters, and BFF have a BB so I'm not sure I'm ready to depart with that....but we could really still email instead I guess? Ugh...I'm so conflicted and need to decide asap! Tell me what you love and hate about either, please.

Finding Out & Telling My Hubs

Oh my goodness you guys, where has the last couple of weeks gone?! I have been buried with work....nearly working around the clock on a huge presentation/proposal that I just.got.out.of. Not only am I done - yeah! but the clients loved everything, so double yeah!! I feel so relieved and hope to get back to a somewhat normal schedule again. And by that, I mean keeping up with blogs! I have an all-time high of 1,279 unread blogs in my reader (probably higher by now) and as you know, haven't blogged in almost a week and a half...so sorry! But that's allll about to change. Thank you guys SO SO much for all the sweet comments and your excitement on our big news! And also for those of you who emailed to make sure I was okay since I hadn't posted in awhile. :) I have the best readers!! :)

So, here goes the rest of the story. Or I guess the story since I never told you the actual story, but just the ending? Nevermind...here's what happened. As you may recall from this post, I had planned on trying adoptive breastfeeding. In order to do that, you have to take some meds to induce lactation. For best success with actually getting a supply, it is recommended that you take birth control. Well, as I had not been on birth control in several years, I had made an appointment to go see my doctor and get started on the pill. My appointment was coming up, so I was filling out the necessary forms and I started to try to figure out when my last cycle was, and suddenly was like..."Woah...I'm late." Though my cycle is pretty much like clock work, I convinced myself it was probably just stress or something causing me to be late. So I let most of the day go by, and by 6 pm that evening I said to myself, "What the heck, I'll just go buy a test at Dollar Tree and that way it's not a total waste. Plus I could totally go for some of their apple bars right now." (Have you had those?! SO good!!)

So off I go to Dollar Tree. I've always heard their tests work. Since they were always negative for me, I assumed they didn't...but turns out they were actually right, so I guess they did work? {I ramble too much.} So I bought 2 pregnancy tests, 1 box of apple bars, 3 styrofoam balls for a project I saw on a blog awhile back, and a Diet Dr. Pepper (that was fun while that lasted). I drove back home and took the test like the rebel I am, nevermind the fact that it says to take it first thing in the morning. So I took it, and here is what I saw:

Do you see that faaaaint line in the test panel? Yeah, never had a *thing* there before. I thought my eyes were just seeing things, so I took a picture, and saw it in the picture, so decided we might be on to something here. I debated back and forth on if I should go buy the real deal. The emotions I was experiencing at that time were unreal. It was just weird...I don't really know how to describe it. So next thing I know, I'm driving to Wal-Mart and trying to call Patrick. I couldn't reach him, so thought I'd just go buy a real test so I'm not wondering.

In to Wal-Mart I go...and buy a box of the digital dummy proof tests and a cup. No, I'm not coordinated enough to pee on the stick for 5 seconds, so a cup was necessary. And I didn't want to wait to drive back home to take the test, so here I come ghetto-fab Wal-Mart bathroom. All I remember was holding my breath because it smelled SO bad in there I thought I was going to vomit. Then next thing you know, this popped up...(please note: this picture was not actually taken in the Wal-Mart bathroom, but the test was. :) )

So yeah, that's when the freaking out started. I couldn't believe. This can't be happening, right? But it was. So I quickly tried to think of a neat way to tell Patrick. When we first started trying to get pregnant, I had so many fun ideas stashed away. Somehow, those all vanished from my mind so I did the most unoriginal thing ever and wrapped up my pregnancy test. Fortunately I was still at Wal-Mart, so I went back and picked up a little gift bag and a greeting card. When I was checking out, the cashier noticed I had another Wal-Mart bag already so said, "I'm going to need to see your bag and receipt please." Umm...awkward. My eyes were darting so she probably thought I was stealing something. When she saw an open box of pregnancy tests she quickly said, "You're fine" and her right eye started twitching. Good thing I wasn't buying a "With Regrets" greeting card...that probably would've sent her over the edge.

So here is the little package all ready for Patrick. It sat waiting....and waiting...and waiting for him to get home. FINALLY he got home and was all surprised to have a gift. He read the card first but still had no clue. So he opened the bag and pulled out the pregnancy test and said...."Where'd you get this?! Who's is this?!" I said "It's mine!" and he was just speechless. For like ever. He just kept saying "wow" and "no way" over and over. Then he made me take the other one to prove it was really mine. :) Not really, but I did take the other one and it came up the same way, and we still couldn't believe it. After another test or 7, we took some time to pray together and thank God for this miracle, as well as ask for guidance on the adoption front. We knew our agency's policy, but there was still a lot to consider. (I will go into all that in the next post.) It was a wonderful time together that brought tears, both of joy and sadness, for various reasons. It is so incredibly humbling to receive a miracle from God...it means so much to so many, and we thank God for this incredible blessing.

Well, though I am done with the huge presentation, I still have several other work related things I have to take care of so I'm going to have to stop here today. I promise to be back tomorrow to continue the details though! Now I'm off to take care of a few things and catch up on some blog reading in between. Can't wait...I've missed you guys!! :)

Big News!

I can't seem to find the right words for this post, so I'll just get to the point. Imagine my surprise a few weeks ago when on a day like any other day, this popped up. No drugs, no doctors, no planning....just the miraculous hand of God blessing us in a mighty way at the time we least expected.

I didn't believe it, but another 23 or so tests said the same thing, so I realized this was really happening. I can't put into words the feelings....shocked, excited, scared, saddened for my friends who have never had this either. (This was my first positive pregnancy test.) I am overjoyed and humbled at God's amazing blessings!

I am just about 9 weeks along and Baby Martin is expected to make his debut on May 16, 2010. We had our first ultrasound yesterday...here's our little kidney bean. :)

I will share all the details soon - what prompted me to even take a pg test, how I told Patrick, and what this means on the adoption front. I am so behind on everything after being out from work for so long, and am just busy in general, so don't have time to go into all that right now. I did want to go ahead and share the news here and will go into more details when I have the time - which I promise will be soon! We serve an amazing God! :)

"For nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:37

{Mostly} Wordless Wednesday 6

Look how sweet my nephew Baby Jax is!!

Here he is with big sister Lani...she's like a little mama to him!

And here he is with sweet Laci...she is so funny! My brother said the other day Jax was crying and kind of snorted. Laci said, "Is Jax a pig or a baby?" She is always full of questions...I love it!! :)
They are home now and my sister-in-law is doing great. I can't wait to meet him! :)

Today I Will Make a Difference

They shared this at church recently, and I loved it so much I thought I'd share it here, too.

"Today I Will Make a Difference" by Max Lucado

Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of his thoughts. I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful. I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimism will be my companion, and victory will be my hallmark. Today, I will make a difference.

I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self pity, anxiety or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving. Today, I will make a difference.

I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on...victoriously. No failure is fatal. It's okay to stumble...I will get up. It's okay to fail...I will rise again. Today, I will make a difference.

I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships. Today, I will spend at least five minutes with the people who are significant in my world. Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children, friends. Today, I will make a difference.

Fragmented Friday Freewrite

The Office Quote of the Week
"I just, I don't understand what is preventing you from laughing this off and giving me a big hug." - Michael, to Meredith after hitting her with his car and cracking her pelvis
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Well, I'm back! I feel like I haven't blogged in forever. I'm about 83% better, just still got a nasty smokers cough that looks like it might be here to stay for awhile. I did manage to come in to work a couple of hours Wednesday and Thursday, and today I feel much better so who knows how long I'll make it! :) Thanks again for all the well wishes...ready to have my energy level back and be productive (for a change).
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Big news!!! My adorable nephew, Jax William, was born this morning!!! This is my brother and sister-in-law's first son, and I couldn't wait to see what he looked like. They have 2 gorgeous daughters...here they are waiting for their baby brother to be born:

And here he is!! My mom said he has lots of dark curly hair and looks like a miniature version of my brother...isn't he precious?!
They live a couple hours from me and I was planning to go see him this weekend, but since I'm still getting over the bird flu my husband says I shouldn't contaminate the little sweetie. So he'll just have to wait until next weekend to meet his favorite aunt!! :)
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This is pretty much how I feel about work right now.

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That's all for today....happy weekend, friends! :)