The Carter Family

Saturday, January 31, 2009

I know a few women who have started "weight loss blogs" and I think its a fun idea. I guess the main reason for it, is to make yourself more accountable, which makes sense to me.

So... I'm going to start a blog that will be dedicated to my goal of losing weight and becoming more fit. I will be posting tips that I learn about, and healthy recipes, along with my progress. Maybe you'll be interested in following along, or maybe you would rather poke your eyes out than read it, but either way... it will be fun for me to track my progress (or lack thereof), if nothing else.

So here goes...

Oh crap, now I really have to stick to this. See? Its working already!

This is the transformation I'm going for. Just kidding. Poor Jessica. Give her a break! People gain weight! I mean, I don't... but I know some people who do. :)

Friday, January 30, 2009

Hmm...

I guess 2009 is off to a rocky start for us. Last week, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals (Nate's employer), made a big annoucement. Well, it wasn't an announcement for us, because we had known it was coming for a few months, but anyway...

They announced that they would be doing some major downsizing ... mostly in the sales force, which happens to be Nate's line of work. So, today was the day. About 50% of Pfizer's sales reps across the country received phone calls from their managers that they were being laid off. And Nate was one of those poor souls.

When we heard about these layoffs back in October, Nate knew that his chances weren't good. He's only been with the company since Spring of 2007. We are bummed, and kinda nervous about not knowing what the future holds, but what are you gonna do, ya know? Life's a B****. Just kidding.

Anyway, we have been applying to lots of jobs for Nate this week, and he has already had quite a few phone calls. I really believe that he will have a good job in no time. At this point we have only applied in the Northwest (all over WA and OR) because we really like it here, but who knows what will happen. We could be coming to a city near you! :)

Nate is actually excited about this because he is really hoping to break into medical sales, instead of pharmaceuticals, so that's our goal. I mean... his goal.

So wish us luck on this new adventure! Eek. Its kinda scary. But exciting.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Family Time

Nate and I have had a nice break from life the past few days. Nate had Monday off for the holiday, and then he took a couple days off from work, so we have been able to just relax at home together, which I'm so thankful for. I don't feel like getting back to normal life just yet.

I'm realizing that Paige is a lot more perceptive than I ever thought. I can tell that she is always paying attention to our moods and the way that we interact. Yesterday I laid on the couch for most of the day because I was in a lot of pain, and she kept coming up to me with a concerned look on her face, and giving me hugs over and over. It was so sweet. I am so thankful for her. She brings so much joy to our lives.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Thank You

I just want to thank you all for your sweet comments. It really does help me to know that so many people are thinking of us, and that others have gone through the exact same thing. Experiences like this help me to realize how much love and support I have from friends and family. It makes everything so much more bearable. So thank you.

Our Baby

My testimony of the power of prayer has definitely been strengthened over the past couple weeks.

The day after our first ultrasound (2 weeks ago) my doctor called to say that there were some abnormal collections of fluid around the baby's organs, and that he wanted to check the baby again in 2 weeks. Since that day we have been praying that the baby would be healthy, but also that we would be able to feel peace and comfort no matter what the outcome was. I was really upset and stressed out for a few days. But then I realized that Heavenly Father has always taken care of us, and I knew that everything would turn out OK, even if the outcome wasn't what I wanted.

Today we had that second ultrasound, and we learned that the baby stopped developing about 2 weeks ago. There was no longer a heartbeat. Even though I had prepared myself for bad news, it was still very hard to hear that the baby was gone. I cried for a few minutes, and we just sat in the room by ourselves for a while. My doctor and the ultrasound tech were very nice and understanding. I'm thankful that I had a couple weeks to prepare myself and to accept that things might not work out as I obviously wanted them to.

Of course this is difficult to deal with, but I really do feel like Heavenly Father has helped me to see the bigger picture. It is comforting for me to know that our baby is back with Heavenly Father. I know that everything is going to be OK. I am so thankful for the gospel, and the knowledge that we have of an eternal plan. I still have some hard things to deal with because the baby has not come on his/her own, but I'm hoping that it will go as smoothly as possible.