Chef Lora

Tonight I made two healthy Asian dishes. The first one was Wontons, instead of filling them with meat or cream cheese, I filled them with a mixture of boiled potatos, low fat cheese, and low fat sour cream. Instead of frying, I baked them. They turned out delicious!
I also made Honey-Ginger Chicken Thighs. I think I've had my fill of chinese food this week. LOL

Conversations with God

We just finished a series at church called "Conversations with God". It was about prayer and how to make the most of it. Last night I had an intimate moment with God. I shared it with my pastor in an e-mail:


Hi Pastor Curt,
Prayer is something I've really been struggling with. I hear other people pray at church and it sounds so beautiful but when I pray, I feel like a bumbling idiot most of the time. Totally not confident, unsure, sometimes even embarassed. Like most series, I felt like this one was molded for me. Last night, I actually had a conversation with God. I felt like I was talking with him and not TO him. It was the first time that I really felt his presence during prayer. I felt like he was listening to me and even responding to me by putting different thoughts into my head.. It was wonderful!
Anyway, Just wanted to share.
Lora


He responded with the following: 


Lora,
Wow!!! That is exactly what it was, the Lord was speaking to you. Now, combine that with reading His Word! I love emails like this!!!
I am so excited for you! Getting used to talking with God is kind of like getting use to talking to a stranger If you never had a conversation with a stranger before, I am sure the conversation would not be that flowery. But, given time, it becomes beautiful :-)
So proud of you,
PC


A lot of people say that God is their best friend, he is not my best friend, BUT I really want him to be. I'm going to start making more time for God in my life, the way I would make time for family or friends. Afterall, he is my heavenly father. I'm going to start setting aside an hour (or more) each morning to read the bible and really dive into prayer. I'm excited!

Homemade Chinese

Tonight I made homemade Chinese food and it was pretty easy, not to mention super tasty! I actually like this better than the stuff I've had from take-out restaurants. I followed the recipe, the only thing I did differently was add scallions. I just LOVE scallions. Here's the link to the recipe: http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeid=225421

Today was a great day! I went to church this morning and it was an amazing service! Afterwards, I treated myself to a manicure and then I had lunch with my friend Juanita. She made a Southwestern Soup that I gave her the recipe.
I came home and talked to Ryan on Skype. Then, Evan and I made funny faces at each other for a good 5 minutes. I love that kiddo!

Routine

Jason works on a rotating schedule of days and nights. One week he will work 6:00am-6:00pm and the next week it's 6:00pm-6:00am. Then about once a month he has a "long break" and gets six days off. Well, we just came off one of these long breaks and now we're trying to adjust to the night time schedule. If I can get in bed by 10:00pm, then I can easily wake up at 6:00am and have "dinner" on the table for Jason when he gets home. Unfortunately, I've been struggling the last few days to get my schedule in check. This morning I woke up at 6:00 made him dinner and after he went to bed I passed out on the couch for 3 hours. What a bum! lol

I got some grocery shopping done today. We are back on track with Weight Watchers and I have printed several recipes that I want to try this week. Most of them are Asian themed. Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry, Potato & Cheese Wontons, and Honey Ginger Chicken Thighs (on a stick). YUM!

Tonight I made Apple Braised Chicken. It was delicious! I tried to make this once before but instead of using apple cider like the recipe called for, I used apple cider vinegar. It wasn't edible. THIS TIME, it was edible, and quite good! It was really easy to make and it hardly took me anytime at all. If anyone would like the recipe, let me know.

My brother Ryan is in Shanghai right now with his wife Kim and their son Evan. They are adopting a another little boy into their family. His name is Joel. :) I'm so excited for them and I'm praying that they have a wonderful time in China and that Joel bonds with them quickly! Tonight I got to Skype with them in Shanghai! Here's a couple pictures. I can't wait for more updates and hopefully I'll get to meet Joel this year.

Void

Last summer we stopped going to church. Jason finished training and his hectic schedule, combined with lack of sleep made us skip a couple Sundays. Then we went out of town and pretty soon it go to the point where we hadn't been to church in two months. I really missed it, so we went one Sunday and there was a guest pastor that was speaking. I felt so disconnected and I just didn't feel that strong urge to be there. We skipped the next Sunday and every Sunday after that. I felt bad about it, but at the same time, I didn't want to go just because I felt guilty. Well, over the past couple months, I feel like God has been calling me back to church.

We went on Christmas Eve and it was nice to see every one again. I felt like we were back where we belonged. We've been going back every week since then and I feel like a whole person again. When we stopped going, I felt this void in my heart and an unhappiness in my soul. It was hard to pinpoint where that feeling was coming from, but now I know. I never want to feel that again. I am most happy when I'm filled with the spirit of God.

IKEA Desks

When we moved into our house last year, we realized that something would need to be done about our spare rooms. We set one up as an office.. two large desks, one large credenza and very little walking room. We set the other one up as a guest room.. full size bed, small end table. (nothing fancy). Since we've been family planning we realized we would need to convert the office into a guest room. So, Jason went to IKEA online and designed some desks for us. We figured if we got rid of the old bulky desk and credenzas, we might have room to move a bed in, and free up the other room for a nursery/kids room. We took a short road trip to the IKEA in Baltimore, MD yesterday and we ended up leaving with two desks and a large hanging wall mount/shelf thing (Not pictured yet.) When we got home, we were so excited to put it together. Jason tasked me with emptying out the old desks and cleaning up the office while he put together the new desks. We spent several hours and now we have the finished product! A beautiful, neat, clean, modern office with desks that WE picked out. No more "hand me down" furniture in this room! It feels great! Now, we just need to hang up the wall shelf above our computers. Eventually we will move the bed from the other room in here, but we're not in a rush to do that.
The name of these desks from IKEA is: Vika Gruvan

Happenings

This last Saturday, I invited a new friend over for lunch. Her name is Sherry, I met her on a Weight Watchers message board. We decided to meet for lunch two weeks ago at the Olive Garden. As soon as she sat down and we started talking, it felt like we'd known each other for years. I feel like I can talk to her about anything, she's wonderful! So anyway, I wanted her to meet Jason, so I invited her and her daughter Amorette over for Quesadillas. We also invited John. It was a really good time and it feels good to be making friends here (finally!)

On Saturday night I started feeling this weird chest pain, nothing seriously painful, just a dull ache. I thought it was really strange, so I told Jason about it and we went to the store to pick up some chewable aspirin. I went to bed and when I woke up on Sunday morning the pain was still there. We went to church (which was fantastic by the way! We both felt that Pastor Curt was speaking directly to us! I love it when that happens.) Anyway.. we went to church and when we got home, we made some lunch and then I laid down for a nap around 2pm. I woke up at 7pm, stayed up for a couple hours and then went to sleep for the night (another 10 hours!) That's just not normal. I called my primary care physician this morning and was able to get in this afternoon. The EKG looked fine, everything seemed normal, cholesterol is really low. They ended up sending me to the ER. So, I spent 5 hours in the ER today. I had bloodwork, xrays, cat scan, the whole thing. I'm totally fine and they can't figure out what is causing the pain. I was told to follow up with my family physician in a couple weeks. I'm relieved that everything turned out normal on my tests and I hope this pain goes away.

Feeling BETTER!

So, I saw the doctor this morning and it's official. I experienced an early miscarriage. She explained that it's common and then asked if we were actively trying to conceive. (Yes) So, she gave me a lot of really good information and encouraged me a lot. She said, "Let's get aggressive about this." Okay! Let's do this!

I left her office feeling so much better about the whole situation and I'm ready to try again. Hopefully with better results next time!

Bad Day

I went to the OB/Gyn today for my "Confirmation appointment" I was really excited. I peed in the cup and waited in the chair for the nurse to take my blood pressure. She turned to me and said, "This test is negative." and she looked at me like I was a whacko. I was totally in shock and disbelief. She said, "I'll ask the doctor if she wants me to take another one." So, she took another one. It was negative. I felt like I had to defend my positive pregnancy test. Then she took me to an exam room and left me there to wait for the doctor. I cried and tried to compose myself the best I could. When the doctor came in she talked to me about the possibility of a "chemical pregnancy" and the possibility of a "missed miscarriage".
So I guess it's over. I'm no longer pregnant. I have no idea what happened but I'm scheduled for blood work this week and I'll know more on Friday. Jason and I are going in together and we're going to tell the doctor that we are serious about getting pregnant and we need to know what needs to be done to make that happen.

I feel foolish. We told everyone in the free world and now I just feel like a big fat failure, I feel like a disappointment.

I couldn't ask for a more loving and supportive husband. I feel so lucky to be his wife. <3

Jesus Culture

Thyroid is normal!

I truly believe God is looking out for me!
I just got back from my doctor appointment and I found out that my thyroid hormone level is in the normal range. Whew! I'm so so happy and relieved. :)

Freaking myself out

I freaked myself out today. I was reading in "What to Expect" that not taking thyroid hormone replacement during your first trimester can cause miscarriages and brain damage. I've never been good at taking pills every day and up until I found out I was pregnant, I would go several days without taking it, then I'd be good and take it every day, and then skip a day. It wasn't on purpose, it's just really hard to remember to take it first thing in the morning. I called my primary care doctor on the day I got the positive test and set up an appointment with him to go over my thyroid. He called in a new prescription of a much higher dose and I've been taking it religiously since Tuesday morning. I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow to find out where I stand on my thyroid, I'm really hoping for good news.
On top of being freaked out about this, I noticed I was peeing a lot less today and I haven't been feeling abdominal twinges like I have for the past week, so of course my mind started wandering and that's never a good thing. I took a big long nap and since then, I've been nauseated and feeling really warm. I don't have a fever, but Jason researched and found that pregnancy hormones are going to make me feel hot.

I'm crossing my fingers for a good appointment tomorrow, and I see my OB on Tuesday, I can't wait!

We announced it!

So, we decided to announce the news to everyone! I was going to wait until after the first trimester, but it's just so hard to keep this secret! Jason said today, "Why don't we just post it on Facebook?" So, that's what we did!

Today I had lunch with Sherry, she's a woman I met on the Weight Watchers "Neighbors" forum. She lives about 10 minutes west of us. We met at Olive Garden and as soon as she sat down, we started talking and I felt like I've known her for years. She is so sweet and I just can't wait to get to know her more.

After lunch with Sherry, Jason and I ran some errands. We went to Barnes and Noble because I wanted to buy the book, "Big, Beautiful, and Pregnant" but it was out of stock. I ordered it and will pick it up next week. We also bought a baby name book and "What to Expect When You're Expecting". I'm excited to start reading that.

I've officially stopped going to pregnancy forums. I just can't handle it. It puts so much fear and anxiety in my heart reading the stories and posts of people that are having miscarriages every day. I'm just going to pray, read my baby books, and stay positive!

Dull pain

I have a faint but persistent pain in my abdomen. It's on the left side and my lower back hurts a little. I know it's probably digestive or something related to that. I think I've felt this pain before (when I wasn't pregnant) but of course now that I'm pregnant, I'm paying attention to everything my body is doing. I had trouble falling asleep last night because of this pain. I woke up this morning and it was gone, but it's back now. It could be anything, and I've read that a little pain in that area is normal during the first trimester, I just can't help but worry. I'm going to stay positive and try my best not to worry.

Symptoms so far..

Last week I was really tired and I couldn't figure out why. Well, now I know why. I've been tired since January 2nd, I haven't gone one day since then without a nap! LOL I didn't know it at the time, but that is an early pregnancy symptom.
So far:
Fatigue
Nausea (haven't actually been sick yet)
Frequent trips to pee!

Here's a little information on what's going on inside:


Your embryo is now measurable -- though at week five, it's a wee .13 inches -- and she's gearing up for much more growth. In fact, in the next week, she'll almost double in size. Grow baby grow!


The embryo doesn't look like much more than a tadpole right now, but at five weeks, she's already starting to form major organs (heart, stomach, liver, kidney) and systems (digestive, circulatory, nervous)

:

I'm pregnant

I've been inspired to write a blog because two days ago, I took a home pregnancy test and the result was positive! Jason and I have been trying for about 5 months to get pregnant. There have been several times over the last 5 months that I was 1 or 2 days late and I'd quickly take a pregnancy test, only to be disappointed with a negative result. So, when I realized I was late this time, I didn't get my hopes up at all. I just started doing Weight Watchers again, I've been eating healthy and drinking so much water, I figured the change in diet made me late. I took the first test on January 6th, it came up negative. I e-mailed my aunt and told her I was late and wondered if all the water I've been drinking could have resulted in a false negative. She said it was completely possible so I decided to take another test on January 9th. I woke up at 4am, took the test and saw it in the window, "Pregnant". I stared at it in disbelief for several seconds and then I started shaking, I ran across the house to my husband and showed it to him. I couldn't help but cry. We are so incredibly happy!

We've told our family and closest friends, but I'm not planning to announce it to facebook or anyone else until I'm out of the first trimester. I realize that losses happen and I just don't want to tell people if that were to happen (God forbid!) After Jason left for work on Monday, I started researching pregnancy, and of course I came across all kinds of forums where people post about their pregnancies and miscarriages. Everything is so scary. I read a post on thebump.com titled, "How many tests have you taken?" There was not a single woman on that forum that hasn't taken at least 3. Some had taken 7, 8, 9 in just a few days.. some even lost count! They take several tests a day, every day just to confirm they are still pregnant. This would make me crazy, not to mention, those tests are expensive! I finally had to close the page and walk away.

I prayed to God and thanked him for this life inside me. I thanked him for giving me such a precious gift, for blessing me with the opportunity to be a mother. I asked him to keep my baby safe, help it grow to be healthy and strong, I asked him to be there for me and help me during this time. When I went to the grocery store yesterday I walked past the pregnancy tests and I was tempted to buy one. I thought, "What if I start spotting? My doctor appointment isn't until next week, what if I just took one test to confirm the pregnancy before that, just to reassure myself?" That's when I said, "No" I've decided to let go and put my faith in God. Sometimes that's hard to do, especially for me. I'm so hard headed and I'm a control freak. But I need to do it.

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.


I know that God has a plan for us, and I will trust Him and lean on Him.