Life Changes

Summer has come in Arizona and I have relegated myself to the house. The heat outside is so miserable and even more so when you have a little heater attached! You know how people who live in freezing climates get depressed around the winter season because of the consistent cold and snow? Well it is exactly opposite here. When Summer comes, I just cringe. This week it is supposed to be 110 degrees! Who lives in that?

Last week we did manage to register for all of our baby stuff. It is amazing how much stuff our culture thinks our kids need. How did they do it in the 1800s when all they had was a cloth diaper and cradle? Seriously, wipe warmers?? How entitled can we make our kids? Between the Bippys, Boppys, Bumbos, Bouncers and Boopies I was like, are you kidding? Thankfully I had Anna come with us to help weed through all of the nonsense! I think the coolest part was that I got to park in the Babies R Us Stork Parking. I was so excited I took a picture!


Life has been so challenging lately. Bob is out of town more and more during this transition process. He is so busy with his new job that he spends a lot of his off time just trying to catch up and be on top of everything before he has to go travelling again. Our whole house is in boxes and I am somewhat confined to the house, the mall, or the movies. Really any place with major A/C. I had a good laugh yesterday when I went to the mall, got a lemonade and just sat and people watched for an hour. Oddly it was very relaxing and enjoyable. Am I getting old?

The baby, promotion and move are all such blessings, and yet I cannot believe how overwhelming all of the changes have become. Aren't these three of the 5 major life changes that causes stress? I have found myself experiencing a lot of fear and trepidation. Most of my fears center around my pregnancy. Having to find a doctor, establish a relationship and prepare for the marathon of labor and delivery is consuming. I have gotten in touch with a recommended doctor and hospital, but now I have got to get all my medical records to them, set up childbirth classes and make sure I know how to get there. Did you know that North Carolina road systems are like a plate of spaghetti? Yeah, they make absolutely no sense and nothing is set up like a grid. It will be an adventure to say the least! I also realized that because I am moving across the nation, all of the stores will be different. At least when we moved from Colorado to Arizona, I still had my Safeway. North Carolina doesn't even have a Safeway! Now where am I supposed to shop for groceries? I know, seems totally irrational, but when life is out of control it is the small things that help keep it in balance!

I think that the most worrisome thing right now is our house. We have had it on the market for two months with no offers. It is terrifying to think that we are going to have to short sale our home. We love our house and it is so sad to leave it and go back to apartment living. I never want to be one of those people who are super attached to their things, but we have put so much effort and energy in to making our house our home and it is sad to leave it. I was just telling a dear friend the other day that sometimes the greatest blessings come when we let go and let God, but letting go is sometimes painful and challenging. I am so excited to head on this new adventure into parenthood and North Carolina with Bob. I could not imagine a more perfect level headed partner to share this life with. I found some of these old pictures the other day and thought how wonderful our life has been.


We weren't even dating here. Just really good friends.


Yes, those are overalls and yes that is Bob under all that hair!


Our favorite date, a day on the rocks in the Rocky Mountains. It is hard to believe that I was a decent rock climber once upon a time!


At our engagement party, just a moment for a picture.


Our first Half Marathon together! We were engaged here and 5 months from wedded bliss.

So as I do my best to handle these many life changes with grace and trust I am focusing on spending time with my girlfriends and enjoying the good things of Arizona. I realize that this time is precious and that I will remember the Arizona Chapter in our life with fondness and joy. The friendships that we have gained will forever be a part of our lives and part of Lily's life too. The Lord has lavished His grace on us and has continued amaze us. Being in His will is the most exciting place to be.

Its A Girl!!!!!

Its a Girl! Its a Girl!! We are so excited and could not be happier. The Lord has blessed us so tremendously and we are overjoyed at having a precious baby girl. My parents came down for the discovery and we had a wonderful weekend together. Of course the heat was intense and our A/C was not working at full capacity. My poor parents are used to 60 degree weather and I think we just about melted them. They were such good sports though and handled the Arizona heat like champs.


On Monday morning we all woke up and headed to breakfast. I am starting to feel better overall but have decided that the best way to feel good is to not eat until well after 9 in the morning. So we headed out to Mimi's Cafe for a fantastic breakfast. I am loving Eggs Benedict at the moment so there I was with a huge carrot raisin muffin and eggs benedict. Soooo Good! I love feeling good and actually wanting food. Such a blessing! Let me tell you, never take craving food for granted. So here we all are at Mimi's Cafe, Grandma, Mom, Dad and the three of us. What a great start to our morning. After breakfast we headed over to the clinic for the big reveal! Bob and I were so excited we could hardly contain ourselves. I think Mom and Dad were too.


We finally got called in to the ultrasound room 20 minutes late....Seriously, do doctors not know how excited we were? Anyways we got in and I crawled up on the table.


I was so nervous. Not going to lie, all of us were really hoping for a girl. I kept praying all morning that if the doctor told me there was a little boy in my belly I was NOT going to cry. I know it seems really silly, especially because little boys are wonderful too, but when you are pregnant emotions run high! Can I get an AMEN? So there we were, expectantly waiting, jelly on the belly and wand hovering above. We heard the lubdub of the ultrasound and there she was. Now many people warned me that babies like to hide there private parts and to not expect a clear shot. Some babies just like to be a surprise! Not this little munchkin. One of the first shots was of her little bum and legs. There she was, clear as day. The ultrasound tech asked if wanted to know and without hesitation said "You are having a daughter." All of us just got so excited. Right now we are loving the name Lily Grace, so here she is...Lily Grace Longmire.






As the ultrasound went on she showed us her feet, legs, and precious hands. The ultrasound tech had to get a multitude of measurements and our little one was cooperative for the most part.


The last measurement was a special side of her heart and the way she was laying did not provide the best shot. So once again I had to do a host of exercises to try to get her to move around.

I tried touching my toes, down dog, jumping and laying on my tummy.

This did nothing but to tire me out and provide fantastic entertainment for all spectators. After all of this, out little baby girl would not move. She is comfy and not moving right now. Fortunately, the ultrasound tech was able to get close enough to get the measurement.


We all got a picture and headed out to make all of the necessary phone calls to announce the news. Grandma and Grandpa could not be happier, Great Grandma was excited too. Mom wants me to promise that she will love horses. I will do my best Mama!