For Sale

We put our house up on the market a couple of days ago. This will sound like a shock for most b/c we really didn't tell anyone that we were doing it. Actually all of this came pretty quick, it even surprised us. The decision to put our house up for sale as been a culmination of many months and thoughtfullness. Partly it's the economy, but its also about our need to move into a house that more fits our lifestyle. No, we don't know where we are going yet and haven't begun looking. With the market trends, we may be in our house for 6 months or longer before it sales, it could also sell in 6 weeks.

This is an exciting time and also a nervewracking time for us. On one hand we have to always be ready for a realtor to want to show our house, so that involves me keeping it spotless. Poor Joey, some of his toys will have to go into storage. On the other hand, its exciting to move on to the next stage of our lives. There are a couple of options open for us right now, but we are unsure at this time what we want to do. The only real sentimental value to our current house is the fact that this is where we started our family. It will be hard to let go of, but I am also eager to move on as well.

Big Boy!

Josh and I were playing "ball" with Joey last night when we realized just how big he is getting. He is definetly not our little tiny guy anymore. He is talking, playing, exploring, and incredibly smart. He makes me laugh when he hangs on to the top of our counter and "dangles." He is growing into a little, young man and it makes me sad sometimes when I can't just scoop him up and swaddle him and rock him to sleep. It's been over a year since I've been able to do that!!!



Sometimes Joey likes to feel like a big boy, so we break out his Elmo Big Boy underwear. He is no where near potty trained, but we like to practice as often as we can! He knows when he poo poo's and pee pee's, but he only lets me know after the fact. Silly boy! And yes, he is picking his nose....AGAIN!





Being almost two Joey likes to throw tantrums. Terrible Two Tantrums that is!!! He was mad in this picture b/c I wouldn't give him the camera to play with. I know better then to give him my real technology. =)

Joey's update

Alright! So I know I've been lagging way behind on the blog, but life proves to be busy when your child has entered the TERRIBLE TWO'S!!!! AHhhhh.

Yup Joey is embarking upon the fine line between cute and tempting! None the less I love him so much and he just melts my heart!
Last week Joey had his first fever. I know its weird, but in the near two years we've had him he has never suffered a fever. Needless to say I wasn't sure what to do. A little rest, some baby tylenol, and mom taking his temperature every 15 minutes seemed to do the trick though. The whole week he was pretty cranky and not feeling 100%. I think it had something to do with his molars coming in b/c he even refused to eat, which if you know Joey, it is weird! =)

This week he is back to his old self. Thank goodness! It seems as if in the past two months Joey has just blossomed from a little baby to a young boy. The other day I was releasing some of my mommy fears to my friends about him not talking very much, but of course in the past day or so he has just been a chatter box. (Just like his mom)

To date here is a list of words he can say....

Mommy, Daddy
Papa (Grandpa), Holly (Howie)
Cody, Zack (Sack)
Toes, choo choo
poo poo, pee pee
keys, please (peas)
air plane (ee peene), Elmo
blast off, cookie
lunch (munch), night night
tuckie, blankie
Georgie (Jorey), Kitty
Puppy, Off
baby, juice
purse, amen
excuse me (scoooozzzeee) (complete with hand covering the mouth)
ears, nose

Looking at this list is unbelievable to me! Sometimes its easy for me to overlook some of his accomplishments b/c they all come at once but I am so proud of him. Lately he has been showing ready signs of potty training. He tells me after the fact what he has done in his diaper. We've worked on the potty but he is more interested in the bells and whistles of the potty then actually using it. Oh well! =)
One of the cutest things that Joey does is that at 8:45am and 3pm he goes to our door/window and waits for the school bus to come and pick up/drop off the kids that go to school. He will knock at the window and get really excited. Sometimes he forgets to go to the door, so when I hear the bus pull up I always say Joey the bus is here and he goes running to the door!

Joey has taken after many of Mommy and Daddy's characteristics. His caringness is evident when we lay down before bedtime and he makes sure that I am covered in a blanket. Its funny b/c I do the same thing at night when I notice Josh doesn't have blankets on. It could be the middle of summer and I will still cover him with blankets.
His lovingness comes from his dad. He knows just the right time when I need a big hug or one of his many cell phones. =) Joey is also Mommy's little helper. He puts his sippy cup and bowls in the sink for me and I never have to ask him to do it.

All in all I can't believe that Joey is almost 2. I know its cliche, but it seems just like yesterday when we brought him home from the hospital. I get sad thinking of how fast the time has gone by, but I also look forward to what the future holds for Joey.

Playing sick baby in Daddy's chair


Carrying his "purse"


My darling Joey


Waiting for the school bus

A late Valentines Day!

Joey wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day. I know its a bit late! oh well!
He did send out Valentines to all the girls he knows though.
The Valentine was so cute and so perfect!

Update #2 Josh

Lately Josh has been trucking along. About 3 months ago he reached for his alarm clock and hurt his back really badly. Those who know him know that he has always struggled with back pain but this last injury proved to be the breaking point. After numerous doctors visits it turns out he had a herniated disk near his upper back, but had been constantly dealing with extreme lower back pain. He had test done to see if he had Ankylosing Spondilits but he didn't test postive for the gene that normally is involved with that disease. Although it completely described his symptoms, the doctor didn't feel it was that. After being referred to a Pain Management Specialist that doctor determined he had disk degeneration disease, inflammation on the ligaments around his spine, etc. The doctor did several test and opted for Josh to have Steriod Facet Injections into his lower back. Unfortunately the injections did not work and in telling this to his doctor, the doctor prescribed three more series of the same ineffective facet injections. Josh felt that this doctor was not really listening to him and b/c of all the pain medications he was being prescribed did not feel that the care he was receiving was working for him. He decided to walk from that doctor and was referred to another Pain Management Specialist.

Mind you Josh has been in constant pain for three months. He was taken a shortened work schedule and has been forced to sit or lay down most of the time. There are occasions where his pain medication works extremely well but in the past month they have been few and far between. With his new doctor (he just started seeing him last week)Josh has been diagnosed with a bone spur on his spine, and an extra facet joint in his spine. It is extremely rare and was not picked on on the MRI he had with his previous doctors. The new doctor ran a test called a Medial Branch Block to see if the nerves would be altered in such a way that he would not feel the back pain. Thankfully the test worked, only for a couple of hours which is normal b/c it was only a test. To be sure the test is accurate he will have another Medial Branch Block done next week. If all goes well with that Josh will have an outpatient procedure to block the nerve pain. Needless to say we are very thankful for this new doctor.

Poor Josh has been through an awful lot. On a sidenote his office did sell 40 cars last month (very good) which in this economy is AMAZING! Josh is such an excellent manager. Even when he can't be at work he spends a lot of time on the phone checking in and pumping up his employees. Joey and I are so proud of him!

A favor to ask though. If you could please pray for Josh and his health it would be greatly appreciated. It's hard to see him in so much pain and discomfort and we all wish that the pain will go away sooner rather than later!

Update #1 Keana

Apparently its been a while since I've blogged. I was keeping up so well right into the new year but somehow lost track of time.

There is nothing much new going on for me. I'm still playing volleyball on a rec league in Kent with Kirstin, a friend I played in high school and college with. The others girls on the team are so much fun to play with and its always great to get to know new people and reconnect with old friends. Being able to play again after just coaching for three years is thrilling. The leauge is semi competitive, but I find myself laughing and giggling so much while playing. Its the perfect combination!

I've recently started my spring cleaning early. And I mean really deep cleaning. I have a master list and am sticking to it. I am also trying to clean out as much stuff as I can. Books from college have been sold, papers organized, numerous bags of clothes have gone to Goodwill. One thing that I have really been into lately is scrapbooking. I don't do the whole really fancy scrapbooking with the die cuts and such, but I do like to add on embellishments and other decor as I go. I've completed 2 scrapbooks in the past year and am currently working on Joey's 2nd year scrapbook. And let me tell you, I have so many pictures. I printed them out at Walmart the other day and I had well over 200 pictures and that is only 10 months of photography! I still have all of Febuary and March to add into the scrapbook when the time comes. My goal is to have it done for Joey's second birthday party.

As a closing, I've wanted to show my appreciation for being blessed enough to be a Stay-at-Home-Mom. The job isn't always easy, but it's so rewarding. I tend to get anxiety with having an outside real job, that being able to get up every morning and have no real destination or schedule to stick to works well for me. Although sometimes I do need a little coaxing to get out of the house, Joey and I have found a comfortable balance of work, play, and fun. We go to they Y atleast twice a week but am going for a goal of three days a week (Mom needs to tone up bad!). I've also set up a couple of play dates for him and am looking into getting him into an Art class at the city center.

Most know that we have been trying for another baby for almost a year now. And while its been frusterating I have finally come to accept that it will happen in God's hands and in his time. It hasn't been an easy acceptance, but at 24 I shouldn't feel rushed to have more. Previously I had envisioned myself to have already had another baby by this time, but now I am actually really looking forward to sharing this summer with just Joey. I enjoy watching him grow up and love taking in his childhood joys into my heart! He will be old enough this summer to run freely around the park, run through the sprinklers without having to worry about him eating the dirt or putting rocks in his mouth, and going to the beach or lake. And so if God's will is for me to be pregnant this year than I am ready for what he has to offer. Either way I am grateful for all the blessings in my life!