Grace is 2 months old today!

Grace's first trip to Walt Disney World!

MERRY CHRISTMAS...from Walt Disney World! Here's just a glimpse of what we've been up to this week! I think Grace fits right in. :)

The Edwards Visit...in pictures

I will blog about their visit later...but for now:

My BFF

So, my best friend, Sarah Ellen, and her hubby Jeff and their adorable son Beck, came this past weekend to Raleigh to meet Grace. We has a blast! Thursday night, our sweet hubbies kept our little darling babies (this was the FIRST time for Paul) while we could have a girls night out! What a blessing! It was so great to just catch up (and vent) with Sarah Ellen. I love having a BFF who has done everything before me. And when I say everything, I mean everything. She is a year older, so naturally she was a year ahead of me in school. We went off to college together (purely by fluke, actually) to Anderson College (now University), so again, naturally she graduated ahead of me. We were both teachers. (OK, I lied, I did get my Master's degree first!!...but not by much...lol.) She even got married the year before me. She also started trying to get pregnant before me.

I will never forget when she told me that there were trying to get pregnant. I was like, what?!...not yet! We still have so much left to do first (I guess I was thinking that I would get pregnant too). So, after several years of trying and not being successful, I was so excited to hear that they were going to start the adoption process with an organization called Bethany. During there process, my husband and I started trying. And after 9 months of trying and 2 "washouts" (where the fertilized egg that never implants, so they don't consider it a "real" pregnancy)Paul and I got pregnant. Sarah Ellen was the first person that I thought of. I couldn't believe that I was going to have a baby before her. She was the first person I called. She was so super excited for me, even though I am sure she was crying on the inside. I will never forget May 24, 2011. I was in the middle of giving a test when I heard my phone vibrate. I opened a text message from Sarah Ellen saying, "Beck William Edwards" with a picture of the most precious, perfect little boy. I started to cry. I couldn't believe it. I knew that they were done with the application process, but I had no idea that they were given a son! (They kept it a secret until they knew for absolute sure). I texted her back and told her to call me as soon as she could. On May 26, 2011, Beck William Edwards officially joined the Edwards family. God knows what he is doing. He knew that Beck was meant for Sarah Ellen and Jeff, and that Grace was meant for Paul and me...and that Sarah Ellen had to be a mommy first. How else could I have done it?

While eating dinner Thursday night, Sarah Ellen and I reminisced about how much our lives have changed since our double date on Valentine's night, 2011. In just a short amount of time, God changed our lives forever, with different methods but with the same end result...we became mothers.

To ready more in depth about the Edwards story, visit their blog at http://everyday-edwards.blogspot.com)

A daddy-daughter tradition begins

So yesterday, my sweet hubby Paul informed me that he was getting off of work early today and
taking Grace Christmas shopping for me. How sweet, I thought, and how scary! So, this afternoon, Paul came home about 4:30 and picked up a freshly fed and changed baby, armed with a fully stocked diaper bag, bottle, and gas drops. He got home about 8:15. During dinner, he told me that they had gone to the mall and Target (both of which I usually have to bribe him or trick him to go to), and that he had fed Grace while out and about. What a meaningful gesture. Honestly, I could care less about what they bought together. What matters most to me is that he took the opportunity to spend time with his daughter, even though she is not even 2 months old, and start a traditionn with the 2 of them. I am so truly blessed!

Here are some of my favorite pictures of him and Grace.

Our first family outing...with an arrival time.

Our Sunday School class had our Christmas party tonight, which started at 6:30. This was the first time that Paul, Grace, and I needed to all get ready to be somewhere and at a certain time. I was also responsible for getting stuffing for 10 and a dessert there as well. (My sweet bestie, Meg, made a pie for me to take...what a blessing!) Paul made the stuffing while I got Grace ready, then he got ready while it was cooking, and a got ready when he was done. We left the house with plenty of time, so I thought, and arrived there at about 6:40. We thought, that is pretty good, they won't have started yet. But they had. We were humiliated. Thankfully, my sweet friend Laura came to us standing right inside the door and brought us to her table to eat. We were so nervous about bringing Grace, since she was the only baby who would be there, but she was great and we had a blast! Every time I am with this group of people, I am blessed. I am so thankful that we found them!

Grace's first Santa experience

Paul's club had a member event where Santa Claus came to visit. Paul and I decided that would be the best time to take Grace to meet him for the 1st time, and would allow for us to take as many pictures as we wanted to with our camera for the right shot for our Christmas card. She did such a great job! I think Santa likes her! I can't wait to "be Santa" in a few years. We even had our first family picture in front of the Christmas tree. What sweet memories!

Grace's first Thanksgiving

Let me just start by saying, I LOVE THANKSGIVING! I love the cooking, the decorating, the family, the weather, the shopping, I love it all! And since Paul and I already have to do the every-other Christmas swapping with our families, we have been very blessed that both Paul's and my families are willing to share us at Thanksgiving!

This year, it was very different, for several reasons. The obvious reason being we just had a baby, who turned 4 weeks old the day before Thanksgiving. The other being, that we live in a new city and for the first time BOTH of our families were traveling to see us to celebrate. With Paul being in the Club business, we have to wait and celebrate on the Friday after, which has worked out nicely, so that even my Nanny gets to come! The past 2 Thanksgivings, we've lived in Greenville, where my family lives, so my family would come for the day and the Rutherfords would all come and stay with us (they fit in our old house, but barely!...Mom and Pop in the front guest bedroom, Matt in the back guest bedroom, and Drew, Heather, and their 2 girls in the bonus room on the sleeper sofa and air mattress) for the long weekend. This time, my family and Nanny stayed with us (using the guest room, air mattress on the floor in Grace's room, and the sleeper sofa in the office), and the Rutherfords all came and stayed in a hotel, literally 2 minutes away. My mom and sister came down on Tuesday to hang out, my daddy came down early Thursday morning, Mom and Pop and Matt and Kendal rolled in about lunch time Thursday, my Aunt Sandy (and Uncle mike and cousin Allison and her fiance Reid) dropped Nanny off Thursday afternoon (and stayed for a bit to meet Grace), and Drew and Heather and the girls finally made it Thursday night. If you are counting, that is 15 people staying for Thanksgiving (counting Grace). Thursday night, after everyone left and I fed the baby and put her down, I did the prep work and put the green bean casserole together and made the stuffing, while Mama and Kristen hung out with me. At about 11:50, we loaded up the car and headed out to H.H.Gregg. We parked the car in the parking lot, walked in, and walked right back out...what a nightmare! We walked over to Kohls and did a little shopping, put the bags in the car and walked over to WalMart and did a little more. We were back at the house and eating a snack at 1:15am. SO MUCH FUN!...we will definitely be doing that again!

Friday morning, I woke up at about 7:00am, fed Grace, went downstairs and preped the turkery, stuffed it, and put it in the oven to cook. I then took Grace to my mom and went and picked up Paul (he had to go into work for a few minutes to do payroll), grabbed breakfast at Chick-fil-a, and headed to J.C.Penny's where we ordered our new furniture. We got back to the house in time to meet up with the Rutherford family, and the cooking began! Along with the turkey and stuffing, I made the green bean casserole, rice and homemade gravy. We delegated the rest: my Mama made the dressing, Daddy brought the ice cream, Mom made the pies, Pop made the tea and coffee, Drew made the mashed potatoes, Heather made the fruit salad, Matt made the pumpkin bread, Kendal brought the cranberry sauce, and my sister brought the olives and pickles. We have A LOT of food because neither Paul nor I are willing to compromise our family dishes...lol. After a big, late lunch and some pie for dessert, and after the dishes were done, everyone headed back to the hotel. That evening, the 3 brothers and their significant others headed out for a late happy hour, to get to know Kendal a little more.

Saturday, we packed up a picnic lunch of turkey sandwiches, and headed to a local park. After lunch, some of us headed for a quick walk around the lake and then started a friendly family game of wiffle ball. We had to be back to the house in time to watch the VT game (and the Clemson game after that, of course.)

By late Sunday morning, everyone was gone and the house was quiet and empty. Grace spent Sunday and Monday catching up on her sleep from all of the being passed around. She was definitely the life of the party! It was a good thing that I was nursing or I may not have gotten to hold her the whole weekend...lol.

Overall, I would have to say that we have a lot to be thankful for, and that this was definitely the BEST Thanksgiving ever!

Grace is 1 month old today!

I am thankful

On my Facebook page during the month of November, each day I like to post what I am thankful for, up until Thanksgiving day. Here is what I wrote:

Day 1: Dear God, I am thankful for my sweet little family. Who knew that a little 7lb 12oz baby girl could melt our hearts the way she has! Amen. ♥

Day 2: Dear God, I am thankful for my sweet Mama, and that she was blessed enough to be able to take time off to come visit and help out this week! Amen! ♥

Day 3: Dear God, I am thankful for such a wonderful new group of friends, who are bringing meals to us. What a blessing! Amen. ♥

Day 4: Dear God, I am thankful for such a great group of "old" friends back home in Greenville, SC (and even in France), who continue to call and text and email to check in on me and our little family...even if/when I don't get back to them right away. I love them all and miss them deeply! (and I can't wait to visit them in January!...and most likely for a whole week!...I will keep you all posted) Amen. ♥

Day 5: Dear God, I am thankful that I am not still pregnant or giving birth today, on Grace's original due date, but that I am getting to enjoy her in person instead! Amen. ♥

Day 6: I am thankful that Newberry College's choir sang in Raleigh this weekend (and only 10mins down the road) so that Paul and I got to hear Kristen sing, and she got to spend this weekend with us again! Amen. ♥

Day 7: Dear God, thank you for letting me comfortably fit back in my pre-pregnancy clothes and shoes.(Especially since I was running out of fallish things to wear because my maternity clothes were from me being pregnant over the summer.) Amen. ♥

Day 8: Dear God, I am thankful for this beautiful weather so that Grace and I can get out and about and walk around the neighborhood some to get out of the house. How nice! Amen. ♥

Day 9: Dear God, I am thankful for my sweet baby girl who is 2 weeks old today. I cannot believe how much I love her! I am so thankful for the whole pregnancy/birthing/parenting process (even though I might have complained some during pregnancy and birth). What a miracle having a baby is! It has truly made me love and trust You more and grow closer to You. Thank you for watching over me during the pregnancy and birth, and for continuing to watch over me and my precious little family! I couldn't have and wouldn't be able to do all of this without You! Amen. ♥

Day 10: Dear God, I am thankful for marrying my sweet, wonderful hubby exactly 4 years ago today. He is such an amazing partner and spiritual leader, and has become such a great daddy. He is everything I could have ever wanted and more! I couldn't have made a better man if I had tried to myself. These past 4 years have brought to us: additional family, 2 mission trips, 3 Disney trips, a trip to Punta Cana and Hawaii, Nanny's 80th, Paul's parents' 60th, my parents' 50th, Paul's 30th, and my sister's 20th birthdays, a new dog, a new beach house, a job change for Paul, a move to a new state, a career change for me, a sweet baby girl, lots of new friendships, and a greater faith in God. We have been so extremely blessed! I can't wait to see what the next 4 years (and more) will bring. Happy anniversary Paul! I love you! Amen. ♥

Day 11: Dear God, I am thankful for all of our veterans who have sacrificed and who are continuing to sacrifice their time, talents, and sometimes their lives, for our freedom. I am also thankful for their families that also make sacrifices in order for their fathers/brothers/sons or mothers/sisters/daughters to fight for our wonderful country, the United States of America. Without our soldiers and their families, this would not be the land of the free and the home of the brave! God, thank you for blessing America, and please continue to watch over us (you know we need it) and our soldiers! Amen. ♥

Day 12: Dear God, I am thankful for my wonderful Mama and Mother-in-law and that they were each willing to spend some time here with us, helping out with Grace! Now that they are gone, please be with me and Paul as we figure the parenting/scheduling thing on our own, and especially me as I embark in my stay-at-home mommy life. It is a lot harder than I thought, doing it on my own (as I am finding out today with Paul at work and all of our family help gone), but I am very thankful that I have the opportunity to do it. Amen. ♥

Day 13: Dear God, I am thankful for my hubby's days off and the time we get to spend together! Amen. ♥

Day 14: I'm thankful for days I can spend all day in my pajamas! Amen. ♥

Day 15: I am thankful that we live in the neighborhood of the country club where Paul works, and for this beautiful weather today so that Grace and I could get up and walk Paul to work. What a special time. Amen. ♥

Day 16: I am thankful for being blessed by some many wonderful friends bringing us dinner that we have leftovers to eat on the other nights! Amen. ♥

Day 17: I am thankful that Grace's doctor's appointment went well today and that she FINALLY gained enough weight that she passed her birth weight (even if only by 1oz) so no more doctor's appointments until her 2 month check-up! Praise the Lord! Amen. ♥

Day 18: I am thankful for our insurance, especially after receiving our explanation of benefits from Grace's birth. Amen. ♥

Day 19: I am thankful for visits from close friends who live far away! Amen. ♥

Day 20: I am thankful for a hubby who is so handy and able to fix things around the house!. ♥

Day 21: I am thankful for honest people, like the person who turned in my cell phone when I left it on a bench at the mall. (Due tomommy brain from having to deal with nursing unexpectedly and a diaper blowout with no back up outfit and having to buy a new one, and not even realizing I forgot my phone until I got all the way home...thankfully, I had back up today, Meg,...and I still will for a while...lol.) Amen. ♥

Day 22: I am thankful for Grace liking the front carrier, so now I can still hold her and finally get things done at the same time! Amen. ♥

Day 23: I am thankful for getting to spend the whole day with my Mama and Sister and Grace of course...how fun! Amen. ♥

Day 24: I am thankful that Paul's and my parents and siblings will all be here for Thanksgiving, even if we have to celebrate a day later. Amen. ♥

Happy Thanksgiving!

My first day as a stay at home mom

So, today I have managed to get nothing done but feed, change, and hold my sweet Grace. When I say nothing, I mean I did not even take a shower until Paul came home. I thought I had it all together...when my Mom and Mother-in-law were here. Turns out, I don't, but that is OK. Tomorrow is another day!

PS. It is such a blessing that our Sunday School class is bringing us meals every other day for 4 weeks...or we might just not eat!

Happy Anniversary!

I have been so blessed to have been married to the greatest man ever for FOUR years today! A LOT has changed since our 3rd anniversary: Paul took a new job, we moved to a new city and state, we had a baby, and I quit my job and became a stay at home wife and mom. I would have to say that all of those changes were hard, but have been such a blessing. Even though I have some rough days, I absolutely love my life and my roll in our family. I am so blessed to be married to Paul Howard Rutherford...he is my rock, my prince charming, my comedian, my lover, my everything!...and I don't know where I would be without him! (PS...thanks Mom and Pop for being here and watching Grace so that we can celebrate at the Angus Barn together!)

Now, here's a look back at our wedding day in pictures!

Happy Halloween!

Today, Grace is 5 days old today and is dressed as a zebra (you can see how excited she is). She didn't get to trick-or-treat, but she did get to pass out candy with Mommy, Daddy, and Mimi (my mom)...to the 2 trick-or-treaters that came by! I can't wait to see how she enjoys it next year!

GRACE IS BORN!

Grace Pennington Rutherford is here! And what an experience it was!...here goes! (note: It was such an amazing experience that I love to give the details. I hope they don't bother you!)

On Tuesday, Oct. 25 at about 4:15pm, I woke up from my nap and stood up to leave the house to run a few errands and felt something. It was a warm, wet feeling...not a lot, just enough to soak my panties. Not sure what it was, because let's face it pregnancy does strange things to your body, I called my Mom. Who else are you supposed to call?...lol. I told her what happened and she said that my water may have broken and to call my hubby, Paul, and my OBGyn. I called Paul and told him that I thought my water may have just broken, so he needed to come home soon (thankfully we live in the same neighborhood where he works.) Then, I called the OBGyn. (Side note, I am doing all of this from the toilet because by this point, and 3 pairs of panties later, every time I stand up, I "leak") Of course, it was after 4:30pm by this time, so the answering service answered and informed me that Dr. Bass would have to call me back. A few minutes later, he called. I explained to him what had and was happening and he said he would meet me at the hospital. I was still having no contractions at the point in time, but since my Strep B test had come back positive a few weeks before, I had to go on it to be sure that my water had in fact broken. If so, I'd stay...if not, I'd go home. Paul got home to find me standing on a towel in our bedroom, trying to finish getting things packed up to go. (We had already had the car seat installed in the Pilot and our "labor bag" - the essentials for going to the hospital: pillows, robe, socks, fan, laptop for music, baby book, etc. - thanks to our birthing classes, which our last one was just the week before.) Paul hurried around to get a few things for me, his stuff, and Grace's stuff packed up (her little outfits and swaddlers I had already picked out and had sitting in her room, ready to go.) I will never forget, in mid packing he stops, looks at me and says, "OK, take a deep breath," we do and he follows it by saying, "That was mainly for me." LOL. Anyways, we got in the Pilot and headed to the hospital. By this time, it was 5:15. I was thinking, great, it is going to take us forever to get there...but it didn't! We called my mom and Paul's mom to let them know that it was time! And we called our friend Joe to go by and pick up Jasper to watch him until we got back. We arrived at the hospital and parked (still no contractions) and walked in to patient registration. I told them my name that they my water has broken and that we were there for Dr. Bass. They brought a wheelchair over and wheeled me back to the triage room as Paul followed with all of our "stuff." We ot back to triage and they had me undress down to a hospital gown and get into bed. They came and took vitals and ALL of medical history, all the way to my grandparents (again...I've already done it at the OBGyn, so why they need it again, I don't know.) Then, they checked my cervix (NOT fun) and took a swab to see if it was in fact amniotic fluid. It was! My water had broken. We were in it for the duration, we came in as a family of 2, and were leaving as a family of 3! They wheeled me back to a very nice labor and delivery room where we spent the next hours awaiting Grace's arrival. By this time, it was about 7:00pm, and I was hungry. I told the nurse. She responded that I should have stopped on my way in because I couldn't have anything to eat until after Grace was born. WHAT!?! The last time I had eaten was when I had lunch with Paul at 12:30. I knew that it was not going to be fun. Paul ran down to the cafeteria to grab some dinner, while they hooked me up to the fetal and contraction monitors, and started my Penicillin iv (for the Strep B). Still no contractions. Paul gets back in time for Dr. Bass to come by. Still no contractions. Dr. Bass suggested that maybe we should go ahead and start some Pitocin. I wanted to try to do everything "naturally" so we told him that we wanted to wait a little while longer. We started walking around the hall, trying to start something. Still no contractions. By 10:00pm, nothing, so we had the nurse tell Dr. Bass that we were ready to start the Pitocin. At midnight, they came in and started the iv. The only negative thing is that I now have to stay in bed because I have the Pitocin, the Penicillin, and fluids flowing in my iv. Thankfully, Paul and I were finally able to get a little sleep until about 2:00am when I woke up to some contractions. I spent the next 4 hours changing positions, from the bed to the birthing ball to the chair to the bathtub and back to the bed. At about 6:00am, I was done. The back labor was killing me (I really feel if it weren't for the back labor that I could have made it...but who knows). I finally asked for the epidural. They had to check my progress first, I was 6 centimeters. The Anesthesiologist said that he was impressed that I had made it to 6cm with my first baby without any medicine. About 2mins later 4 nurses, the Anesthesiologist and Dr. Harden (shift change) are all in the room. They put oxygen on me and told me to roll over and get on my hands and knees, which is really hard to do when I am numb from the waist down and have an iv in my left arm, monitors on my belly, a blood pressure cuff on my right arm and an epidural in my back. Apparently my blood pressure dropped, which caused Grace's heart rate to drop. They gave me a shot of Epinephrine and everything seemed to get better. I was able to roll back over and they took the oxygen off. I feel asleep shortly after and woke back up about 9:00am with the urge to push. The nurse came in and checked my cervix, I was 9 1/2cm! I told her I wanted to push. She called for the doctor, who happened to have just gone into a C-section surgery, which takes about an hour. She asked if I could wait until he was done. I said NO!...I don't care WHO delivers this baby, but I need to push. She checked my cervix again and I was the full 10cm! So, we decided to start pushing. Paul was a GREAT birthing partner. I only told him once to "stop talking." In my defense, I was trying to focus on the doctor to get her out of me! About 30mins later Dr. Harden arrived and at 10:41am Grace Pennington Rutherford was born! She was 7lbs, 12oz, and 20in...and absolutely beautiful! Paul cut the chord and she was placed on my bare chest and I started nursing, after I finished crying and kissing her and Paul. About 30mins later they moved us to our recovery room, in the newly renovated wing. We were the first to stay there (Paul thinks we should have a plaque there.) Once we got into the room, they came in and cleaned Grace and took her measurements and vitals. And I finally got to eat...lunch...it had only been 24 hours! And I finally got to shower! That evening, Joe came by to visit and Linda came by and brought flowers and Meg and Craig came by and brought us Panera Bread for dinner. That night, Paul slept pretty well on the single bed (well, sleeper sofa fold out thingy), I did not. Between the nurses coming in every hour or so to check on me and/or Grace, nursing, and every little peep she made. The next day, Paul and I enjoyed spending the day together with Grace. That evening, Campbell and Krista came by and brought sweet tea! While they were there, a nurse came in to take Grace's blood for her bilirubin test. They pricked her heals, and HATED it. She screamed bloody murder! Paul couldn't handle it. He had to leave. The next morning, Dr. Fletcher came by and checked Grace and released her and Dr. Rush came by and checked me out and released me. After lunch, the photographer came by and took Grace's pictures. Finally, the car seat technician came by and took us down to our car to check our seat and how the base was put in. Finally, we were on our way home as a family of 3!

My first fender bender

This past Friday started off like any other Friday. I dropped the Civic off to get the oil changed and my good friend Linda and I went to a children's consignment sale and grabbed lunch together. I went and picked up my car and began running my errands. I was over on Capital Blvd. (which, BTW, I swear every time I am over there it is monsooning). I stopped at "Babies R Us" to return something and decided to buy my time until the rain subsided. Once the rain stopped, I left and headed to Carolina Pottery to return a few items there. I got off of I40 onto Harrison, and was waiting at the red light to turn right. The car in front of my turned right on red and so I inched up. Since I was driving the Civic and not my normal Pilot, I decided to wait until the light turned green to turn. Well, I guess the guy behind me thought we were all going to turn right on red, and he rear-ended me. All I could think of is, "Oh my gosh, is the baby OK?" We turned into the first little parking lot to assess the damage. Thankfully, the damage to my car was minor...I will need a new bumper and it will probably need to be realigned, but I am NO mechanic...so we will see. The guy was VERY persistent on my NOT calling the police, which made me feel uneasy, so I called Paul and he came over and got the guys information. I called my OB and spoke with him, and since it was after hours, he wanted me to go to the hospital to be monitored for a few hours. This made me nervous, but I want to do whatever is best for my baby. I am not going to lie, I envisioned sitting in a chair with a baby monitor for a few hours, nothing major. I arrived at the hospital and they immediately put me in a wheelchair and checked me in. They took me to a hospital room and told me to put a hospital gown on and get in the bed. They hooked me up to a baby heart monitor and a contraction monitor. I'm thinking, OK, not what I was expecting. About this time, Joe, Paul's roommate, got there to sit with me until Paul could get things squared away at work to come. A nurse came in to put an IV in. I asked her why I was getting an IV, and she told me that I was having some minor contractions, and since I was only 34 weeks, they were giving me an IV to try to hydrate me to try to stop the contractions. This really freaked me out! Thankfully, Paul got there about this time! He felt awful for not coming sooner, but neither one of us had any idea of how serious the situation was or could be. They ended up taking blood and running some tests, having an ultrasound to check the placenta, and a cervical exam. They wouldn't let me eat anything until all of this was done and thankfully came back normal. I was finally allowed to eat at about 11:15pm, so my sweet hubby ran and found the closest open restaurant (Burger King) and got us both some dinner. They did, however, decide to make me stay the night to monitor me, since I was still having contractions. They gave me some sleeping medicine (which, if you know me, non-drowsy makes me drowsy...lol) to hopefully help the contractions stop. The next morning, the contractions had finally slowed down and eventually stopped, so I was discharged but put under "house arrest" until I can go back to my OB on Wednesday to get rechecked. The only downfall is that Paul and I were not able to go to Baltimore to see his family this weekend like we had planned. They had a big party planned for us and everything...they still had our party and Paul and I Skyped in to see everyone and say hi. It stinks that we couldn't go, but better safe than sorry...and thankfully they all understood.

I am so thankful that the accident was not any worse. If a minor fender bender can be that serious, I can only imagine what it would have been like if it was worse! I thank God that Grace is OK and that the contractions stopped, and I hope that she will stay safe and sound...for a few more weeks anyways.

Thanks for reading,

Carolyn

Home Sweet Home

I have been very blessed to be traveling A LOT here recently (hince the 2 weeks without blogging...I will catch up, don't worry!)...especially since in a few weeks, I will not be able to travel anymore (ok, well anywhere past an hour of the hospital) while we wait for Miss Grace's debut. Two weeks ago I went home to Greenville for my 2 baby showers, and then last weekend I went to Hilton Head Island with my Mama, Daddy, Sister, and Hubby. With all of this travel, I have been able to see my friends and family from back home a lot...more so than in the begining of the summer after I first moved to Raleigh. Today was definitely a homesick day! I don't know why it hit me so hard today for some reason, but I was a wreck. I called my Mama and my Daddy and several of my friends from back home (of course, they were all working). I guess is just hit me today, as things start to slow down, that our lives really are about to change. In about 4 weeks, we will no longer be able to just pick up and head out. I know that when Grace gets here, it will all be worth it and I will be so thankful that I do not have to work or travel or whatever, but I have a feeling that the weeks in between are going to be hard. Thankfully, I have meet some wonderful people here in Raleigh, and I am just going to have to learn to reach out and lean on them. God has a plan, he knows what he is doing, but sometimes it is hard to remember that! I know that, here, in Raleigh with Paul, is where I belong...and that as long as our little family is together, wherever we are will be home sweet home.

Thanks for reading,
Carolyn

Bumbos and Boppys and Bibs, oh my!

I was so blessed to have such an amazing long (and last one for a while) weekend back home in Greenville. I arrived on Thursday and left on Monday. Thursday, my Mama and I hung out for a while and then I was able to get a massage!...so nice! On Friday, my Mama and I hung out again...it was so nice! On Saturday, my Uncle Mike, Aunt Sandy, and Cousin Allison brought my Nanny up, and my Mother-in-law, Ginny flew in from Baltimore, my sister Kristen came in from Newberry and my Mama and I all met at Panera Bread for lunch. Then, Nanny, Ginny, Kristen, Mama and I left to go to my 1st baby shower of the weekend, hosted by Anna, Annie, Jessica, and Linda. It was so beautiful and so much fun! We played a few shower games, and of course opened presents. It was such a great chance to hang out with ALL of my close girlfriends for one last time and just celebrate and chat and be together...not that I won't ever see them again, but it will never quite be the same. I won't be coming home to Greenville again without our little girl, Grace. I didn't really think about my "last" trip to Greenville because I always had another trip to look forward to. I'm not going to lie, it really hit me that afternoon and I had a little meltdown. That night, Mama, Daddy, Nanny, Kristen and I went to dinner and enjoyed our time together...what special memories. Sunday, we got up and went to church and came back to my parents' house. Aunt Sandy, Allison, Nanny, Aunt Susan, Ginny, Kristen, Mama, Daddy and I all enjoyed a little lunch made by my Mama, and then the women headed out to my 2nd shower out our church, hosted by my best friend Sarah Ellen and her mom Ellen. They had the most amazing Pooh cake, it was so amazing! We fellowshipped with church members, family members, and friends. What a great time. Paul, Grace, and I were very blessed this weekend with such wonderful goodies! It was a good thing I brought the Pilot!...my Mama and Daddy loaded it for me. I had to put down the back seats and they filled the WHOLE back (to window level, because I want to make sure I can see out). I had to put my suitcase in the front seat. It was a good thing I didn't bring our dog Jasper. I would have had to leave him there!...lol.

I love my hometown...with my church, friends, and family...and I miss it greatly. But, I am so thankful that I have started to make such wonderful friends here in Raleigh!

There is an app for that

So apparently, there is an app for just about anything!...including Blogger.  If you know me, you know that I just love my smart phone and my apps. It is AMAZING how much these phones can do!...(and sadly, how much we rely on them.) I have apps for Christmas shopping, healthy eating, navigation, movies, couponing, Facebook, Google talk, several games, and more...I even have have an easy uninstaller app...to make it easier to get rid of an app I don't like or find useful. So when I saw an app for Blogger, I just had to try it. How nice will it be to just be able to blog on the go...especially with my pregnancy brain...lol. If I don't blog it when I think about it, I may not blog it at all. I can't wait to see if it works...so here goes!

Thanks for reading,
Carolyn

My adventures with Meg

So today, I picked up my friend Meg and took her to lunch and to run some errands. (I will have to ask her if I can share her background medical information as to why I have to pick her up...I will keep you posted.) We went to our usual dining establishment, Los Tres (there is another word that comes after, but I can never remember the word, let alone spell it...so, we call it Los Tres), a great Mexican restaurant with people who don't laugh at us (anymore) with our special requests. We usually get there around 1:00 or so, after the lunch crowd so that we can take our time and enjoy our food and fellowship. I always offer to take her to run errands or to do anything she might need to do while we're out and she has never accepted my offer before. I was pleased to hear that she needed to go to Bed, Bath and Beyond. I took her, with no intention of buying anything myself of course, and ended up buying a few goodies (mostly off the clearance tables...my favorite place to shop!) We were there about an hour and a half while Meg tackled her to-do list...and she did!

Side note: While walking around, I got a text from a number I didn't recognize saying, "We just had an earthquake. I'm OK." I responded, "That is great! Who is this?" The response was, "Mom." Mom is what we call my mother-in-law. I was so mortified! I know I have her cell number programmed...or I did. The only thing I can think of is that when I got my phone fixed, they had to set it back to factory settings...I must of lost it then. A few minutes later, Meg got a call from her mother who asked if we felt the earthquake. Meg and I were confused...we must of missed something! Turns out, Richmond, VA (ish) had an earthquake that was felt as far south as Georgia...including Baltimore (where my inlaws live), Raleigh (where Meg's mom lives), and DC (where Paul's brother lives). How crazy!

Anyways, back to my adventures with Meg: After we left BB&B, we rode over to Buy Buy Baby. Meg had never been there before. I explained that it is a Bed, Bath and Beyond for baby stuff (which really is owned by BB&B, just in case you are not familiar with it...you can also use BB&B coupons there). I was not successful in my endeavor there, but it was still fun. Random, I know.

Thanks for reading,

Carolyn

The Sabbath Day

Prayer requests:

- My Mama, Debbie, and her continued healing from pancreatitus. She is home from the hospital (Praise God!), but still on a soft food/low fat diet until her re-check appointment. Also, this is her first week back to school with the kiddos.

- My Daddy, Randy, and safe travels during his business trip to Chicago.

- My sister, Kristen, and her move back to NC and the beginning of her Junior year.

- Me and my safe travels back to Greenville this weekend for my baby showers. Also for safe travels for friends and family who will be traveling to them as well.

- Me and Grace and our OB appointment this coming week.

- Paul, and not working too much while I am gone.

- Unspoken

- My friends, family, and followers.

Praises:

- New friends!

- Old friends and their generosity to host baby showers to celebrate little Miss Grace!

- Loving family!

- Good reports from my blood work from the OB last week.

Keep praying! :)

Thanks for reading,

Carolyn

Date nights

So tonight, Paul and I decided at the last minute (9:00pm, to be exact) to have a little date night and go over to Frankies Fun Park. We decided to get an Icee (which, bless his heat, Paul had NEVER had until long after we were married...again, he's a yankee), and play a little putt-putt...he won. It was Grace's fault. She is making my belly stick so far out that it kinda got in the way of me putting, which I didn't think about until the first hole...lol. I'm just kidding, we are just VERY competitive! After we played putt-putt, we walked around and people watched; people riding go-carts on the different tracks, people climbing up the metal "ropes course," people riding the drop zone, people playing laser tag and people playing the games. Sound exciting, huh? (I am a firm believer that date nights are so important in any relationship, but don't have to break the bank!)

When we got home, I got a little sad. I think it is the first time that I thought about the fact that in about 10 weeks, things will change. I am so excited about little Miss Grace's debut, but a little saddened at the same time. I love my hubby so much and I enjoy our little date nights and adventures and our time (alone) together. I know that when she comes we won't be able to just decide at 9:00 to go play putt-putt or grab ice cream or a movie. I know that we can still "date" each other, we will just have to PLAN AHEAD to have date nights...which, is sometimes hard to do with Paul's job. People keep telling me that everything changes when you have kids, I guess this is just one of those things.

Thanks for reading,

Carolyn

It's all mine!...officially

So, I am VERY excited to report that I FINALLY got my car title in the mail! I know this may seem trivial, but it is quite an exciting time for me! I kinda feel like an adult...lol.

Here's the story: In high school, my parents bought me a green 1995 Nissan Sentra, complete with power windows, power locks, and a sunroof...I thought I was hot stuff! Let me be clear though, it was not really MY car. It was made quite clear to me from the very beginning that it was my parents' 3rd car that I was given the privilege to be able to drive. I had VERY strict rules as to where I could drive, with who, with how many people, when, etc. It was also made very evident to me when one of my parents' cars would break down (or if I made a C on my report card...which only happened once, they made a believer out of me!) and they would take "my" car to drive. My dad would even graciously let me take him to work (very early in the morning) to allow me the possibility of driving it to school, softball practice, etc., and then pick him up that evening. I was able to drive my "little green go cart" from my Junior year in high school through college and graduate school. I got my first teaching job at BA in 2007, and along with a new job, my parent's informed me that I needed to purchase my own car so that my sister, Kristen, could use their 3rd car for the start of her Junior year of high school that year (she is 8 1/2 years younger than me). At first, I was a little upset, but I started looking. One day, on my way to the mall, I just happened to be driving by Dick Smith automotive on Conagree Road (I should get some kind of perk for mentioning their name...lol) and saw it...parked right on the street...a Honda Civic Hybrid. The car that I had decided that I was going to purchase...well, I wanted some kind of hybrid and I knew a Honda would last forever, as well as their value. I called my aunt, Becky (who at the time worked at the Dick Smith in Columbia) and told her about my car. She had them deliver the car to her store, and after enjoying a week at the beach with Paul's family, Paul and I stopped by Becky's store to check out the car. We test drove it, and I fell in love! That day, in June of 2007, 2 months before I started my first teaching job, (when the gas prices rose...and never really came back down), I purchased my very own silver 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid. Paul and I were getting married that coming November and I was starting my first "real" job, so I had NO money to put down. I had to finance everything, including tax, tags, and title. I took out a 6 year loan, and was able to pay it off in a little less than 4 years! Paying it off was the easy part, getting the bank to send me my title...not so much. After 4 months of getting the run-around, they informed me that they never had the title, so they sent me a letter of release of lien and told me that I needed to go to the DMV to apply for a second title. Now remember, we've moved to NC now...the car was purchased in SC. I have to go to SC to apply for the title. FRUSTRATING! Thankfully, I had a trip planned for my sister's birthday, so I went on down to the DMV to apply for the title. Here is some advice, keep EVERY piece of paper that you get regarding ANY large purchase!...you never know when you might need it!! After a lovely trip to the DMV, which thankfully, my friend Nicole was working that day and was able to help me, I filed for a second title. Exactly 2 weeks later, here it is! If I needed to go through that whole process, I wish the bank would have told me that 4 months ago!!! I will say, even after all of that, I am very grateful that my parents did what they did in regards to having a car in high school and how they did it...so much so, that Paul and I will probably do the same for our own children.

Well, all of that being said...I am super duper excited that my little silver Honda Civic Hybrid is really ALL MINE!...OFFICIALLY!! (even if Paul is the one who drives it!)

Thanks for reading,

Carolyn

Couponing!...another new adventure

Tonight, I tried couponing.

This past Wednesday, my friend Krista was very kind to teach me the inner workings of couponing. After listening to and looking at her impressive set up, I decided to try my hand at it. I started small, the Lowes Foods circular (the double up to $0.99, just so you know). I made my list of the things that were on sale and that Paul and I use on a regular basis, added any items that I had coupons for (especially if they were about to expire), and added any additional items I needed (after making my meal plan for the week). After buying ONLY what was on my list (another tip...stick to the list), I saved $54.50 and only spent $60.49. How exciting!

I am no extreme couponer by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a start!

Thanks for reading,

Carolyn

To blog or not to blog...

I've decided to try this whole blogging thing...after much persuasion from my best friend, Sarah Ellen (she will be so proud!), and after learning that many of the other moms (or mom-to-be, as in my case) in my Life class at church do the same.

So let's get started: My name is Carolyn Rutherford and I have been married to my sweet hubby, Paul Rutherford, for 4 years this November. Paul and I officially moved to Raleigh, NC in June, 2011. I say "officially" because that was when we started living together full-time again. We had quite the interesting living arrangement for about 6 months. Let me explain. Paul and I met, got married, and lived in Greenville, SC, where he worked for a company (we will keep it anonymous...you just never know). After earning his Master's degree, he (we) felt that it was time for him to move on and find something different, something both more challenging and rewarding. After about a year of searching in the Greenville area, Paul and I decided that maybe it was time to widen our search. We prayed about it and came up with the decision that we would feel comfortable with him searching within a 6 hour radius of Greenville. It was amazing, as soon as we made that decision, job interview opportunities started coming in...and all from the Raleigh area. After a few phone interviews, face-to-face interviews, and prayerful consideration (and some tears), we decided that Paul would take the job at BCCC (again with the anonymous thing...but if you figure it out, that's OK) in Raleigh, NC. Now, I am a school teacher, and if you know anything about the teaching profession, you know that teaching positions seem to be few and far between right now. Districts seem to be "excessing" more teachers than they are hiring. So with that being said, we made the decision that I would finish out the school year teaching at my (then) current school, while we tried to sell or rent our house in Greenville, and I would join Paul in Raleigh in the summer. Paul was very blessed to find a wonderful roommate, Joe, in Raleigh (well, Durham), someone that he and I both felt comfortable being around together or alone. (We had a whole escape plan the day with met Joe for the first time...different story for a different day.) Paul moved in with Joe on December 4, 2010 and started his new job on December 5. Thankfully, Paul and I were able to see each other every weekend, either he would drive to Greenville, or I would drive to Raleigh. After about 2 months of me living in our house on a daily basis by myself, I lost it. I just couldn't stand coming home to an empty house and going to bed by myself anymore. I wasn't eating well. I wasn't sleeping. I was miserable. So, we decided to see if we could rent our house. It rented in less than 2 weeks!...so I moved in with one of my dear friends, Meghan. Oh, and I failed to mention that the week before we moved all of our stuff out of our house, I found out that I was pregnant! We had been trying to get pregnant since May the year before, so I was so incredibly excited and a little in shock at the same time. Us getting pregnant during all of this craziness HAD to be God's plan...I mean, I only saw my husband on the weekends. Anyway, March, April and May were quite interesting months. Paul and I lived apart during the week and together on the weekends...with one or the other of our roommates. I am not going to lie, I was ready to move into a cardboard box, ANYTHING as long as it was with my husband! I am so thankful for Joe and Meghan allowing us to live with them, but it was great to find a place with my hubby! We decided to rent a place in the neighborhood where my husband works for a year until we can figure out his (our) next career move. My last day at BA was on Friday, June 3rd and we moved to Raleigh on Saturday, June 4th. The move was bittersweet. I really miss my family (Mama, Daddy and Squirt...Kristen, my 20 year old sister), my friends, my job, and my home church. I didn't realize how hard it would be to leave the place where I have lived my whole life, 28 years.

So far, Raleigh has been great! We were blessed to know a few people before we moved here, so that has really helped. We were able to find a church to get plugged into, which was a huge thing for me and Paul, since after all, we both not only grew up in church, but MET each other in church. Jasper (our 9 pound miniature poodle) and I walk Paul to work everyday, well almost everyday. I have graciously taken over all of the household responsibilities, now that I have more time on my hands, and I have even started couponing (if you have any tips, I would LOVE to hear them) and cooking more! These last 2 weeks, however, have been difficult. Last week, my mom, Debbie, was admitted to the hospital with Pancreatitus. It was really the first time that I felt as if I don't live close to my family anymore, which was hard. I felt guilty for not being there, and I felt guilty for not wanting to go since driving by myself is getting more difficult and takes longer the further along in my pregnancy I get. This week school started, and I didn't. I feel as though a little part of my identity has been taken away, but I know that once little Grace is born, it will all be worth it.

I am excited that on Saturday, I will be 29 weeks!...so only 11(ish) weeks left to go until miss Grace Pennington Rutherford makes her grand debut! It's funny how Paul and I seem to count everything by weeks now.

Well, I better run. I think that I've done a pretty good job for my first post...feel free to say otherwise.

Thanks for reading,

Carolyn