4 years ago today...

my life was changed forever.

it was on this day finishing out 2003 that my husband asked me to spend the rest of my life with him.

of course, i knew way before then that i would most definitely be spending forever with him. we professed our love for each other about 2 weeks into our relationship.

i remember the first time i saw him. i was walking to class at asu and saw him in passing. i turned around to take a second look. i remember going home and telling kylah that i saw the most gorgeous boy i had ever seen. this was definitely different because i even noticed his eye color. if you know me, you know that's not what i look for. i usually notice a smile...but not this one. of course, how could you not notice those eyes?

it wasn't until the next semester that i saw him again. we were majoring in the same thing and started college at the same time, yet never met until the end of our junior year. of course, he was engaged at the time. i DID NOT pursue him. i accepted that he was engaged and forgot about him.

okay, that's not exactly what happened. it ended up that we had like every class together that semester. how could i forget him?

we talked quite a bit at school. we had a class together that summer. he slept almost every day and still made an A. i, on the other hand, made a B. how do i know this? because i called him, okay!! i called to see what he made in class. he's the one who asked for my number "just in case" he needed to get in touch with me.

it didn't take much for him to realize the one he was with was not...well...the one he should be with...er...me. so, he broke it off and we started dating the next day.

5 months later we were engaged, and 5 months after that we were married.

that brings us to today.

my love,
we have definitely not had a boring 4 years together. you make everyday fun and interesting. you always know how to put a smile on my face. we are now expecting our 2nd son and i can't wait for him to meet his daddy. you are the best friend, husband and dad to our children that i could ever ask for. i waited so impatiently for this day 4 years ago. i couldn't wait to begin forever with you. i love you more than any words can say. you are my partner and my best friend. i can't wait to see what tomorrow holds.
i love you!

christmas

santa definitely came through for my little boy...put a big smile on his cute little face.

jacob woke up really early christmas morning to come to our bed...like i said he would. finally around 7:30 i couldn't take it anymore. i had to get up. i just couldn't wait!

i went in by the tree and got the camera ready while jerry woke jacob up. he walked into the living room we had already put up santa's cookie plate.

jacob said, "santa ate all my cookies...and he took my plate!" so cute.

he proceeded to walk up to the tree and there it was...nighttime rescue buzz lightyear...standing there in all his glory. jacob stopped...looked at me...looked at buzz...gave me the cheesiest smile...hesitantly walked over and picked him up. he didn't want to let him go...until we told him he could open up his presents, of course.

it was just so much fun this year. he enjoyed opening every package and seeing what was inside. just to see his eyes light up was the best christmas present i could've asked for.

my parents came in a little later and brought his john deere front loader. he was quite excited about that also.

here's a few pictures from the day. of course, i'm always the one taking the pictures. my boys are going to look back at pictures when they're older and wonder if they even had a mom! =)

leaving cookies for santa


the infamous buzz


so happy


amazement


teenage mutant ninja turtle...turtle power!


there's that cheesy smile...almost looks evil.


a rare picture of me and my boy


spoiled brat...you think he likes cars?


little farmboy...boots and all


who's having more fun here...jacob or daddy?

never ending

once again, here i sit on sunday morning at home while my boys are at church. i really thought after this week, i'd be able to do whatever i wanted.

wrong.

thursday, the doctor told me i could do whatever i wanted after 36 weeks! what happened to 34??

so as it stands now, i'm stuck at home for another 2 1/2 weeks. i was supposed to go back to work on january 3rd. now i go back to the doctor on january 3rd. i guess we'll find out then when i can actually go back to work. i'm going to try my best to convince her i'll be fine to return on the 7th. that's the first day the kids are back. i really need to be there.

for now, i'll remain at home...except for tomorrow night. i'll be at the christmas eve service. i won't miss it!

i miss all you guys so much. i miss seeing my friends.

tomorrow...i'll see you tomorrow!

i can't wait...

for christmas morning.

i can't wait for my little boy to wake up, walk into the living room and see his nighttime rescue buzz lightyear that santa brought him standing in front of the tree with a big red bow on it.

what will probably happen is he'll wake up really early, like 5ish and come to our bed. this would be wonderful because then i could have my camera out to capture the moment he sees it.

i can't wait to see the look on his face.

it's been so fun this year because he's at the age where he knows what he wants. he's been asking for this buzz for a long time!

i just can't wait!

there's nothing like seeing a smile on your child's face and knowing you put it there.

of course, then my parents are coming later and bringing him a giant motorized john deere front loader! buzz will be thrown in the background. but i don't care. that one moment of joy will make it all worth it!

did i mention i can't wait?!?!

i can't even think of words to sum this up.

is it bad that i am so incredibly not prepared for a newborn?

i mean, in reality, he could come ANYTIME. granted, nothing has changed from the last doctor's visit...unless of course, you consider that my contractions are becoming a little more painful and i'm feeling a small sense of pressure down there. i really don't think it's anything to worry about...it's just different than what i've been feeling.

maybe it's just my imagination...yes, imagination.

i'm going to go back to work on january 3 and work until february 5 because i will be induced on february 6. i will then return to work on march 10...yes, march 10. that's 4 weeks. 4WEEKS! this is ludicrous.

oh, and on the point of not being prepared...we do have the essentials, crib, car seat, stroller, some clothes and blankets, but the nursery is not yet painted, i have nowhere to put those clothes that we do have, those clothes need to be washed because they've been in storage, i don't even want to think about how many more diapers we need besides the 2 small packages we have, i need to get a bath tub, i need to actually buy new clothes for the little guy, other than the one lone shirt we have hanging in the closet...how sad is that? i'm 7 1/2 months pregnant and have bought one stinkin' shirt!!

and the kicker...we thought we had daycare lined up for casen. ha! she called the other day and said that she had 3 people call her in one week needing a place and wanted to know if we wanted her to hold our spot. she's family, and this is where jacob went. she was just holding the spot as a favor. of course, we don't want her to be put in any kind of financial burden, so we told her to just do what she needed to do. so now, on top of everything else, i have to search for a suitable place for my baby to stay. i have a real problem with sending him to a large daycare. i really like the idea of having him in a home somewhere...with just a few other kids. the same goes for jacob. right now, he's in a quaint little daycare with not too many kids and he loves it. plus, it's hard to just leave your child with a stranger.

i shouldn't have even begun this post. i think i had all this pushed in the back of my mind where it couldn't come out and once i started typing, it's like the flood gates were opened!

we have been so incredibly blessed lately. we've have WONDERFUL people bringing us meals, we've had unexpected money come in which takes some of the stress off, casen is staying in for now and i know God will keep it that way until He is ready for him to come out, and i feel like things have somewhat smoothed over with my boss. he acted better when i saw him yesterday, trying to convince me to not worry about school right now.

there's just so much to do and knowing that casen could come anytime is so overwhelming. i don't even know where to begin.

another random thought

have you ever noticed how much the words stinkin' and freakin' get used in our blogs? definitely not stinking and freaking. no, there are no g's in these words we use. it's quite comical.

i don't know what's worse...

not having access to blogs or not having access to e-mail.

the latter of the two is my experience today. i haven't been able to get in all day. it's quite frustrating. so, if you've e-mailed me and just thought i was apparently too busy to reply, (ha!), i do have a legitimate excuse.

random thought

narrow doorways, a laundry basket, and a very pregnant woman don't mix.

better late than never

with everything going on, i almost forgot it was time for the 7 month picture.

i think this is the most dramatic change yet!



for the first time, i had to take the picture in actual maternity pants. at 7 months, i think that's pretty good. lets just hope i make it to take at least the 8 month picture.

clouded anticipation

okay. i'm expecting a baby...possibly very soon...in the next 8 1/2 weeks at the most.

so why is it that my brain is clouded with everything under the sun, except my baby boy?

the main culprit...school.

just about every waking thought i have has something to do with...

• worrying about my students while i'm gone;
• planning for the next 3 months;
• getting copies made and everything laid out for my return after christmas break;
• my boss and what else he can do to make me feel any more inadequate, inferior, unprepared, horrible, failure of a teacher;
• burdening other teachers...pam and monica...with little things i can't do while i'm on house arrest;
• and any other school related topic that just happens to pop into my mind.

then there's the upcoming holiday...christmas...which i'm not even supposed to go out shopping for.

my birthday tomorrow, which i'm not even supposed to do anything to celebrate.

the painting of the nursery, which i'm not supposed to leave the house to pick out a paint color...much less paint.

of course, as i'm sitting here typing, stressing about all these things, jacob is laying on the couch trying to sing along with the little einstein's theme song...all i can do is smile.

so in the days ahead, i should be anticipating the birth of another baby, ready to hold him in my arms, ready for jacob to meet his baby brother, ready to stop worrying about him and his health and the possibility of preterm labor.

instead, my head is clouded. this is a problem i've struggled with for as long as i can remember. my prayer, almost daily, is that the Lord would reveal to me how to clear things from my mind. how can i focus on only Him? how can i break through all the mundane things and get to a quiet place with Him?

the same applies here. i can't even focus on having a baby...one of the biggest moments in a woman's life...due to all the other things going on.

this is definitely not the happiest post, but for those of you who might have been wondering why there are no sweet, sappy baby posts...now you know why. something else always gets in the way.

update

i saw most of you guys at the progressive dinner, but i'll update you anyway.

i went to the doctor on thursday. the contractions are still coming, but i haven't dilated anymore. we did the fetal fibronectin test, and i'm assuming it came back negative because she said if it were positive she would start me on some kind of steroid to stop labor. i never got that call, so i take that as a good sign.

the bad news is i have to continue my bed rest for 3 more weeks. i can't even travel home for christmas. this will be the first christmas ever that i didn't spend at my parents' home. hopefully they will make it here at some point.

i will return to work after christmas break, january 3, given that i haven't had the little guy yet. at that time, i'll be somewhere around 35 weeks and the doctor is comfortable with me delivering anytime after that. i'll work until i deliver and then take MINIMAL time off due to the fact all my days have been eaten up with bed rest. having a healthy baby is definitely worth it.

so for the next 3 weeks, i will remain at home, most likely planning for the next 2 six weeks of school. feel free to stop by, call, whatever. i'll be here!

oh, and if you weren't here on friday for the progressive dinner, then you may not know that our newest addition has a name...

CASEN DAVID RAMIREZ

just pics

here's some pictures i took of jacob today.

so cute

i'm sitting at the computer today, and jacob's playing outside while jerry and dan hang our christmas lights.

i left the back door cracked so jacob could call me if he needed to.

he comes to the door and says,

"hey, momma."

"yes, baby."

"you okay, baby?" (in the cutest voice ever.)