Wednesday Walkabout #44!

Welcome to the another week of Wednesday Walkabout! Thank you so much for hanging out with us, linking up, and reading new blogs. 

A little info about the Walkabout:

This is a weekly linky party with myself and 3 other co-hosts. The idea? Just put your URL in the linky (it can be a specific post or your "homepage"- whichever you prefer), visit a few other blogs, and possibly make some new friends. Easy peasy, right?!

Oh, and you only have to link up with ONE of the co-hosts. =) 

There are just a few quick rules we've set for the linky party...

1. Please follow at least ONE hostess, and let us know you're a new follower and how you follow!

Sarah - G.I. Joe's Wife (That's me!)

Chantal - Scattered Seashells 

Jane - Poppiness 

Jamie - Handling With Grace

Mystery Host: Joy from the Sowell Life!

2. Try to visit 3-4 blogs that interest you. Take some time and let them know where you came from.

3. Grab the button from my sidebar and spread the word! (Not required, but just cool if you do.) The more, the merrier.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy blog-hopping!

A Different Kind of Rainbow

When we lived in Hawaii, rainbows were as common as rain in the afternoon. While Joe was deployed (and I was volunteering at the museum on post), I'd see on almost every day on my way home. Joe often saw them on his way to work. Even after 3 years of living there, I never grew tired of - or accustomed to - seeing such beautiful rainbows. I probably took a ton of pictures of them. In town, from our backyard, in the car - you name it. There is just something about a Hawaiian rainbow... They're really like nothing I've ever seen. So vibrant, so beautiful, so big. 


My most favorite memory of seeing a rainbow in Hawaii was the day we found out I was pregnant with Charlotte. We'd had plans to hang out with a friend of Joe's at Wet n Wild, but had to push them back a little so I could go get tested. As we were driving out of our neighborhood, we saw a huge rainbow in the pineapple fields. Just gorgeous. And what a way to remember that day! I remember feeling like it was God's way of telling me I was getting my promise, after a whole year of waiting for my husband to come home from deployment and aching for a baby. Obviously, you know how that story ended. =)


A few weeks ago I saw another rainbow, but probably not the kind you're thinking of. This is the little rainbow I saw, and words can't explain how I felt when I laid my eyes on it.

Your eyes are NOT deceiving you. That is, in fact, and ultrasound photo of our rainbow baby* at 8 weeks, 3 days. {In case you were wondering, this is the exact gestational age Charlotte was when we first got an ultrasound photo of her. LOVE that.} 


Shortly before we left to visit family in Arkansas, we found out I was pregnant again. First, I was elated. Then I was terrified. Then I was sick, and realized that's probably a good thing. But since I wasn't feeling well, I didn't get back to being excited until I saw this little baby on the screen and heard his/her heartbeat. Oh, there is no better sound in the world! I was so, so worried going into that ultrasound room. Terrified that it would happen all over again. Thankfully, that has not been the case. Our little one's heart rate was 176, and measured at 8 weeks. {No shocker that my babies are smaller than average!}

It's really been a bit of an emotional roller coaster for me. Happy I'm pregnant again. Scared to be pregnant again. Sad that I'm not hugely pregnant with the baby we lost in February like I would have been. Thankful for this baby currently taking up space in my belly, making me nauseous and tired.

Currently, I am 12 weeks pregnant. (Well, 12 as of Saturday.) I've been very hesitant to tell anyone that I'm pregnant again. A friend here (who we also knew in Hawaii) seemed shocked/upset that I hadn't told her yet...but once I explained, she also shared that she'd lost a baby before her youngest. It's crazy to me how many women have had to endure something so heart-shattering. Crazy.

Anyway, I'm sharing now because I'm finally starting to feel some peace. While miscarriage can still happen after 12 weeks, it is [supposedly] less common. Seeing my belly grow definitely helps, as does my OB's confidence that this baby will be safely in our arms on/around December 28th. :)

What "they" say about showing sooner with subsequent pregnancies is true for me. Crazy!

I will also admit that I've probably gained a bit since we moved to GA. Yay, PCS weight!

P.S. I don't like calling this baby "baby #2" since s/he is in heaven, but I don't want others to be weirded out by it either.... UGH. So confusing.

Sometimes the idea of having 2 kiddos only 21 months apart is daunting. But the rest of the time, I'm just thankful, excited, and really hoping that my babies will grow up best friends since they're so close in age. It'll probably be difficult for a while (hello, 2 in diapers!), but that's ok. If the next year goes by as quickly as the last, I think we'll make it. 



*Rainbow baby is a term in the miscarriage and infant loss 'world' that refers to a pregnancy/baby after loss. They're the rainbows after the storm, and we celebrate them. :)

Wednesday Walkabout #42!

Welcome to the another week of Wednesday Walkabout! Thank you so much for hanging out with us, linking up, and reading new blogs. 

A little info about the Walkabout:

This is a weekly linky party with myself and 3 other co-hosts. The idea? Just put your URL in the linky (it can be a specific post or your "homepage"- whichever you prefer), visit a few other blogs, and possibly make some new friends. Easy peasy, right?!

Oh, and you only have to link up with ONE of the co-hosts. =) 

There are just a few quick rules we've set for the linky party...

1. Please follow at least ONE hostess, and let us know you're a new follower and how you follow!

Sarah - G.I. Joe's Wife (That's me!)

Chantal - Scattered Seashells 

Jane - Poppiness 

Jamie - Handling With Grace

Mystery Host: B, from Then There Was We

2. Try to visit 3-4 blogs that interest you. Take some time and let them know where you came from.

3. Grab the button from my sidebar and spread the word! (Not required, but just cool if you do.) The more, the merrier.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy blog-hopping!

Trekkie Anniversary

Sometimes it's funny what marriage does to you. I mean, everyone changes over a period of time - even just a year. Before we got married (and even for a while after), I was very anti-Star Trek and anti-sci-fi. I was very much a chick-flick, sometimes an action flick kind of girl. And then one day....it happened.

Joe started out getting Star Trek: Voyager DVDs from Netflix sometime during the first year we were married. Most of the time I would just read while he watched them. I really couldn't have cared less. Sometime between the first and seventh season, I started paying more attention. Catching a story line here and action scene there. While not hooked, it was definitely something I could tolerate. And I'll admit that I was a little sad when the series ended. But wait! There's more, he said. ;-)

I think we started another Star Trek series before he left for basic...and then watched some more while he was in AIT. I was still not totally sold, but I didn't hate it. When he came back from Iraq (at some point), we started watching Next Generation. And somewhere in there, this conversation happened:

Joe: So what do you want to watch tonight?

Me: Star Trek sounds good.

Joe: *look of shock* Woohoo!

And that was it. So far the only series I haven't seen is the original. I've watched a few of the original movies, and most of the newer ones. Safe to say I'm hooked now.

When we saw the first new, new Star Trek movie I was impressed. I knew nothing about Star Trek or even the original series when I saw it. So the fact that I liked it was kind of a big deal. When we heard about the 2nd one coming out? We knew we HAD to go. Thankfully, Amanda and her hubby babysat for us so we could go see it for our anniversary. 

Hard as it was to leave this cutie, we definitely enjoyed a baby-free evening!

I won't give any fellow trekkies who haven't seen it any spoilers, but it. was. awesome! And if you're a girl who cries, bring some tissues. I know I could've used them! Also, my husband got me probably the biggest ICEE ever. Seriously you guys, I don't think I've ever seen one bigger. When I asked him why on earth he'd get me the biggest one they had when all I wanted was a small one, he said, "it was only $.75 more!" LOL. Boys. ;-) At one point, my straw fell down inside it and I couldn't get it back out. I mean, seriously! Why do they even need to be that big?! Anyway, the movie was awesome. I loved every second of it (although I will say that I thought the "new" Klingons looked kinda weird). I don't think they could've cast the movie any better. So...you should probably go see it. Just sayin'.

...Never in my life did I think I'd be going to see a Star Trek film for my anniversary. Ah, marriage. ;-)

P.S. I really wanted to find a way to rhyme "trekkie anniversary." So...sorry for the lame-ish title.

FIVE

I can hardly believe it.

Today marks 5 years since this happened:

The second one is still my favorite. =)

Sometimes it feels like we've been married forever (in a good way). Other times it seems crazy that we've been married 5 years.

Just a year after our wedding, he enlisted in the Army. Since then we've gone through:

Basic

AIT + a PCS

PCS to Hawaii

12 month deployment to Iraq

"Homecoming" Pregnancy

Promotion

Becoming parents

Surprise pregnancy & miscarriage

PCS to Georgia

Buying a house

It's been a crazy, scary, fun ride these last 5 years. No matter what we've been through, I can absolutely say there's no one else I'd rather be with! Tonight we will be celebrating by having Amanda and her hubby babysit while we go see Star Trek. 

(Oh, yeah. Livin' on the wild side! ;-))

Happy 5 years, babe! 

Wednesday Walkabout #41!

**After almost 3 weeks of no internet, I'm back!! 

Hoping to have some regular posts later this week. 

Till then, enjoy the linkup today! Happy Wednesday!**

Welcome to the another week of Wednesday Walkabout! Thank you so much for hanging out with us, linking up, and reading new blogs.  =)

A little info about the Walkabout:

This is a weekly linky party with myself and 3 other co-hosts. The idea? Just put your URL in the linky (it can be a specific post or your "homepage"- whichever you prefer), visit a few other blogs, and possibly make some new friends. Easy peasy, right?!

Oh, and you only have to link up with ONE of the co-hosts. =) 

There are just a few quick rules we've set for the linky party...

1. Please follow at least ONE hostess, and let us know you're a new follower and how you follow!

Sarah - G.I. Joe's Wife (That's me!)

Chantal - Scattered Seashells 

Jane - Poppiness 

Jamie - Handling With Grace

Mystery Host: Fran - Free Borboleta

2. Try to visit 3-4 blogs that interest you. Take some time and let them know where you came from.

3. Grab the button from my sidebar and spread the word! (Not required, but just cool if you do.) The more, the merrier.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy blog-hopping!