Chasing Life

The past couple of months have consisted mostly of us traveling. In September, Paul had to go to Washington State to attend a conference, and so my parents came to San Diego and took a road trip with me and the kids. We went to LA (Hollywood and Santa Monica), and then from there we drove along the coast all the way to San Francisco (with a few stops along the way). After San Francisco we headed to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park to see the big trees. They were so amazing and made me feel so small! After almost 6 full days in the car, we headed back to San Diego and my parents left to go back home. The first weekend in October Paul had a three-day weekend so we took a road trip up to Mt. Whitney (the tallest mountain in the continental US), Death Valley National Park (which actually was pretty interesting to visit, despite the name), and also the Mojave Desert National Preserve (which wasn’t all that exciting, but going to “Hole in the Wall” at the south end was worth the drive

We definitely have lots to share since the last update I sent out. Most importantly we had our baby girl, Jacey Hannah. For those of you who haven't heard, here's a short version of my labor and delivery experience... I was due to have Jacey on June 6th. Unfortunately my due date came and went and I had no signs whatsoever that Jacey was ready to come out. When I was two weeks overdue both Paul and my OB doctor were both really pressuring me to be induced. I tried everything I could find on the internet (with the exception of castor oil) to try to start labor naturally but it just wouldn't happen. I REALLY didn't want to be induced and so after much debate I finally convinced them to let me wait another 5-6 days (with fetal monitoring every other day) to see if Jacey would come on her own. Well, that very same day at 5pm I got a call from a doctor who had "double-checked" my monitoring strips from earlier that morning saying she saw something that concerned he

Happy Memorial Day, everyone! Thought I would send out a quick update before the baby is born. I am due on June 6th, which is only a week and a half away so I am currently holding my breath wondering when little Jacey will arrive. Overall I'm feeling good. Heartburn is about my only complaint right now, aside from how difficult it is to get up off the couch! Just like with Kade I have been blessed with a very good pregnancy and now we are just praying that the delivery will go just as well. I will be having the baby at the Balboa Navy hospital which is about 30 minutes away in good traffic so it might be an interesting trip if I need to get there during rush hour! Kade took his sweet time coming so if Jacey is anything like he was I shouldn't have a problem getting there in time. Paul is still enjoying his job, but work has gotten significantly busier in the last month or two. The atmosphere at his office is very laid back, but Paul with his OCD and overachiever tendencies has

Well, enough of you have asked me for an update that I finally decided I had better get one out! As you all know, Paul and I moved to San Diego in late December. We are absolutely loving it here (except for the gas prices and sometimes the traffic). We are definitely all settled in now and it feels like we've been living here for a year! God has blessed us with a great house, a wonderful church, and very friendly neighbors (many of which have kids close to Kade's age). I have been fortunate enough to meet lots of other moms in the area, and we already seem to have established a nice routine for ourselves. We have church on Sunday mornings and a couples' with toddlers small group that meets at our house on Sunday nights, every other Monday night we meet with a couple neighbors down the street for game night, on Tuesday mornings I lead a mom's bible study at our house, Wednesday mornings I take Kade to the library for story time, Thursday mornings I walk with another grou

Happy New Year! Just wanted to let you know that Paul and I rang in the New Year in our new home here in San Diego, so we (once again) have new contact info. You will find it below. Paul will start at his new job tomorrow as a doc for the Navy SEALs on Coronado Island. He is definitely looking forward to it and the hours should be good so therefore I am also looking forward to it. Our house here is pretty much completely unpacked (thanks to a ton of help from our friends who were here visiting from Phoenix for New Year's - thanks Dan & Jamie!!!)...all we have left to do is hang all our pictures on the walls (which is Paul's LEAST favorite thing to do)! We have already found a church that we really like and we will be starting a small group bible study later this month. I have also already joined a gym and plan to start using it tomorrow (in addition to being able to do cardio outside EVERY DAY!!!). My pregnancy is going well. I am finally over my nausea and my belly is star