When Life Hands You Lemons

Make lots of Lemonade!

That's what we've been doing here at the Brezina house. The last few weeks have been crazy busy.Between Breezy working from 4:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. or 7 p.m Monday thru Friday, me working at the church A LOT, being a Super Momma at 7 1/2 months pregnant and trying to keep my house in some kind of order we've just be rampaged here.

Palm Sunday was our very first Sunday back in our Sanctuary after almost 6 months of renovations and having church in a confrence room. It was so beautiful and an event that the staff have all looked forward to since they told us in Jan. of our "move back in date." We had a lot of work to do to get everything in tip top shape so that services could be held. Everything went well and we were blessed to almost fill all the pews. Members that have been MIA since November when we moved were back in their "seats". I'm going to try to take some photos this Sunday.

Easter Sunday is always such a blessing to me. This year it was so special because Clark is old enough to sorta understand in preschool terms the Resurrection Story. He learned to sing Hosanna and also he'll tell you Jesus is Alive! We did give him an Easter Basket and he loved it but I can't wait for him to understand in a few years what Jesus did for us on the Cross is the TRUE gift. I had the privilege of being in Kid's Worship this Sunday and it was such a sweet, sweet thing to see some of the children literally moved to tears as my dear friend Monique and her dear husband Brian shared the Resurrection story. Our Chaplain brought a beautiful message of hope to a congregation FULL of families some old, some new and we had a combined lunch and Egg Hunt with the Catholic Congregation. It was a busy day, but such a fine time of reflection and joy.

Big Boy started playing T-Ball last week. He's on the Green team of (10) 3-5 year olds. Oh man are we in for a treat. They are too darn cute and most of them have NO idea what they are doing. We started working with Clark back in early March in hopes that he'd have the hang of it but well....he's still just as clueless as the rest. He's cute as pie none the less!!

Baby Breezy is still growing. I will be 34 weeks on Wednesday. Our plan is to deliver him via c-section in 4 weeks IF his lungs are healthy enough. The Dr. believes that he's going to be good and healthy and possibly on the larger side. I've only gained 20 pounds this far and let me tell you this little fella is running out of room. He's so active and responds anytime his daddy speaks or there is music playing. I attended Praise Band practice 2 weeks ago with Breezy and had to leave because he was actually hurting me from the inside! I am so thankful that the last Trimester thus far has been uneventful. I'm not near as tired as I thought I would be so there is a lot of progress being made in our home as we prepare for his arrival. His big brother can not wait...or so he says!

Back to Reality

The last week and 1/2 have been rough for our family. Between BAD jet lag and the stomach virus we've been a bit backwards. We're finally back at it though!

We arrived back in Germany after a very uneventful flight on a C17 from Jackson, MS last Tuesday morning. When we got to the airport our ride had not yet arrived so we had a little time to relax before jumping in the car for the 2 hour treck back to our little town. I was very thankful for a little moment to sit with my feet up, as I had a lot of swelling in my little piggies. We finally made it home around 3 p.m. and we were all 3 worn out but were determined to stay up so we could go to bed at "bedtime" and not wake up at some ungodly hour of the morning. It worked...Kinda!!

Breezy had to go back to work at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday morning so we didn't have time to really de-lag. We just jumped right back into our somewhat of a normal schedule. Big Boy and I did sleep in on Wed and Thurs after staying up late and getting up before daylight. Breezy worked on Wed until 5 came home and was in bed by 7 p.m. THEN on Thursday night he had to pull "Staff-Duty" until 9:00 a.m. on Friday. My poor husband was really needing some rest and I could tell he was getting past worn out. Thankfully we had the weekend of NOTHING to try and get our bodies sorted out and back to normal....UNTIL the Intestinal Virus invaded Breezy's privacy. It was a yucky 3 days at our house. I'm thankful that Big Boy and I haven't contrapted it as of this morning!

Here's a look at how Pregnancy is treating me as of 30 weeks

Total Weight Gained/Lost – around 15 pds so far. hopefully 5-10 pds more will be it for me.

Maternity Clothes – I'm wearing maternity jeans when I have to and mostly my pre-pregnancy shirts, but my work out and jammie pants are a must the minute I walk in the door.

Sleep – What is that? For the last 2 1/2 weeks I've been getting very little sleep at night. Between a very active baby and just no way to get comfortable, sleep is something I just daydream about! I nap well on the couch during the day...sometimes

Best Moment of the Week – Getting all the hand me down's from Big Brother washed, folded and put away and realizing that we do NOT have to buy near as much as we thought we would. *Thank you Lord for always meeting our needs!"

Movement – Baby Breezy is very active most of the day with little cat naps in between. At 10 p.m. every night he really comes to life. I'm hoping this isn't the sign of a BAD schedule in the making. I'm pretty much all belly so this poor little fella really doesn't have much space. He's getting cramped and with every movement he makes my belly gets a little more sore.

Food Craving – I still LOVE salad and Spaghetti or Pizza.

Food aversions – chicken and pretty much anything that has a "smell."

Morning sickness – I never had morning sickness with Big Boy and I haven't had any with Baby Breezy either. I have had a horrible case of acid reflux that seems to set in each evening right after dinner. I've been through an entire bottle of Tums since we've been home. Big Boy thinks I just like eating candy with my meal each night.

Gender – A big/long Boy who's weight is estimated currently at 3 pds.

Labor Signs– Baby Breezy is head down and I have been having some pressure and contractions in my back.

Belly Button– It's almost gone.

What I miss– Being able to pick Big Boy up and hold him when he just "needs" his Mommy. Big Boy loves to sit in his Mommy's lap and this makes me sad that he can't like he used to. I desperately miss feeling like I can get something accomplished in my home without getting worn out.

Milestones– I'm so thankful that I have been able to carry our baby boy this far without any other complications. We had another ultrasound and everything finally looks like it should. We're tentaviely set to have the baby around the 2nd week of May, although I'm still trying to decide for a natural (with drugs) delivery/VBAC or a C-Section like before. We'll decide as we get a little closer. We also had the oppurtnity to listen to Baby Breezy's heartbeat for the first time last Friday. I thought I was at the Kentucky Derby!

I'm rambling again as always. I've got something in the works for "My Life as A Military Wife" so stay tuned! I'm off to shower and get ready to take my Hubby's Company some lunch!

Quick Update

My Momma with Cousin Tate and Big Boy Breezy

Aunt Jackie with Cousins Tristan and Tate and Big Boy!

Grandaddy's Memorial Service

My Family; Momma, Daddy, Breezy, Me and Big Boy!

I've been so busy over the last 11 days that I've not stopped long enough to breath I don't think.

On 13 Feb. my mom e-mailed and said that my Grandfather had taken a turn for the worse and the end result did not look promising, but that my Aunt Jackie had told her to hold tight at home in Alabama until she called her back.

Around Noon central time on the 14th I called my mom to see how he was doing and she informed me that she and my dad were leaving to head to Maryland. Aunt Jackie, who is in Maryland had called and told her that if she wanted to see him alive she needed to come ASAP.

THANKFULLY, My mom and dad made it to Maryland and to the VA Home at 1:40 a.m. on the 15th. My 87 year old Grandaddy made a sweet escape into Heaven at 2:25 a.m. with my momma and Aunt Jackie right by his side. I firmly believe he didn't want my Aunt Jackie to be alone so he held on until my Momma was there with her. We are so thankful that his final days here on this earth were peaceful and that he did not experience much suffering.

Breezy and I began a Red Cross Message on the 14th with the hopes that we would make it to Maryland in time to say our final goodbye's, but unfortunately we did not. Because of the unexpectedness of events we decided to take a Space Available flight into New Jersey and then drive to Maryland. This worked out great for us (time and financially) but we were not able to arrive until the 16th. For the first time in YEARS we were together as a family (although not complete) and that is all that matters.

Grandaddy's memorial was held on Friday and the service was beautiful. A partial Navy Honor Guard was there to honor his 43 years of Service to our Country. He was retired Active Duty (23 years) and Civil Service (20 years). He will be buried later this week at the Veteran's Memorial Cemetary with full honors. My Grandma and my Aunt Jackie will be there to celebrate his life.

My immediate family made way to Alabama on Sunday. Breezy and I needed to take advantage of being in America and get some things taken care of while we are here. We were able to pack up lots of clothes for the new baby and get some other things we'll need in the next few months together. This has saved us about $300.00. We've done SOME shopping but not a whole lot because we only brought 2 suitcases home. I will be hitting up TJ Ma** today or tomorrow :-).

I went to the Dr. yesterday to see my regular OB because I was experiencing some unusual lower abdominal pressure and I needed to get this nasty rash checked out AGAIN. Everything looks good as of now BUT Baby Breezy is already head down. He's weighing in at about 3 pounds and looks to be about 14 inches long. I've still got about 12 weeks to go if I make it to 40 weeks. I was pleased to see on the ultrasound that the bleeding has completely resolved itself and there is NO sign of the hemattoma. Now, I want you to tell me that the God I serve is NOT the Great Physician!

Enough talking for me. I have a lot to get done this morning and another cup of coffee is first on the list!

Happy Thursday Friends!

I'm Here, not completely awake but I'm here!

I'm Cold!

I have a chest cold yet AGAIN!

And more importantly I just want all of this snow to go away.

Now for a little less complaining :-)

I am thankful today that Mr. Sunshine has decided to let his presence be known to our little neighborhood. We saw him briefly on Saturday but that did not last long at all. I'm sure he's just teasing us again to do as well. Some vitamin d would do this body of mine some good.

I'm thankful that I woke up at 5 a.m. got my laundry going and now at 9:30 a.m. I have all 4 loads of my laundry washed, almost dried, some folded and waiting to be put away. I'll be laundry free by the time I pick up Clark from the kindergarten at Noon!

I'm also thankful that this Thursday Breezy will celebrate his 27th birthday. As a gift from the Army he'll get to take a PT test on Friday. That means he'll have to wait until Friday night for his birthday dinner, but it will be worth the wait. PROMISE!

I'm VERY thankful that our new Bible studies begin on Tuesday. I'm still undecided as to which one I will be a part of, but I am sure that tomorrow when it comes time to choose the Lord will direct me right where he wants me.

I went to the OBGYN on Friday for my glucose test and my numbers weren't significantly good but they weren't bad enough for the Dr. to be to concerned. He'll check my sugars again at my next appointment in 4 weeks! I am thankful that for the first time in 24 weeks I am allowed to go longer than 2 weeks between appointments! YAY!

This little fella in my tummy is growing, growing, growing. We had a hard time getting an ultrasound on Friday because he was such a busy body from the sugar high he was on from the test. We will discuss at my next appointment (I'll be 28 weeks) our delivery plan. Breezy is suppose to go away for the month of May so we need to try to get an idea of if he should go or if he should hang tight. The original plan was to induce at 36 weeks, we said no 37 weeks but we'll see as we get a little closer. At this point I've not even started preparing for his arrival so he needs to hang tight for just a little bit longer! I am thankful that we are finally on track with his growth and development and that he reminds me everyday what a gift "Life" is!

Lastly, I'm very thankful that for 2 Sunday's in a row we've had over 50 in Sunday School!!!!

Odds and Ends

I've got a few things I thought I'd "show" you, my bloggy friend Clark's Valentines for his friends at Sunday School and for his German Kindergarten friends!

I found these on Etsy and couldn't be happier!

Remember Little Leighton that way born 6 weeks early last May? Well here she is now in her new TuTu and Flower headband at almost 8 mos old. I called her Momma up about 2 weeks ago to find out if she already had a TuTu and thankfully Anna said NO...Of course I had to get her one right away. It was her Valentine's Day prize from our family! She's such a priss and since boys are my future she will be spoiled. I can NOT wait to get back to Alabama and give her a big squeeze! Breezy, Clark and I all miss her tons!

My Strongtower...
That's what our family is relying on. Wesley's momma visited with the Surgeon on Monday and we are praising God that the biopsy's ALL came back clean. The Surgeon did find more cancer during the surgery but he is sure that he was able to "Clean Her Up" really well. She also met with the Oncologist on Tuesday and was given a good report. The Oncologist has suggested as previously mentioned 6 weeks of radiation and a continuation of hormone therapy which will be discussed at length after the radiation has been completed. The Oncologist alsosuggested that my mother in law "consider yourself healed". I am praying and believing in the name of Jesus that he is right! We are thankful that she is healing well from the surgery and that the remainder of her treatment will be quick and highly successful!
Thank you for your prayers they have been felt and greatly appreciated.

In other news, the Drs here at our health clinic, after 5 long, itchy weeks, think that they have FINALLY pinpointed what this mess is all over my body...Pityriasis Rosea. Our Physicians Assitant pulled out his book on Tuesday when I took Clark in for a strep test (that was DEFINATELY positive) and said he's almost positive that it came because of me having Strep/Upper Respiratory/Ear Infections and the Flu all at once prior to Christmas. He said this is a viral infection that my body is just having a very difficult time fighting off....Imagine That!
My body has been through enough in 24 weeks to last the rest of my lifetime. It's been doing a lot of fighting so I can just imagine that my immunity is rather low. On Friday I go for my Glucose screening and will also have my liver enzymes checked as well. Drs. want to be sure there is nothing going on.

Its only 9:30 p.m. Breezy is on nights so I'm going to get a head start on some sleep. This little fella in my tummy likes to give me a run for my money starting about 10:00 p.m. every night. I sure hope he's not as wild outside of the womb as he is on the inside. He's given his momma a run for her money already. If he is wild he'll be just like his brother and we'll be just as happy!

Goodnight Yall!