D.I. Treasures

A few weeks back I decided to wander into D.I. (like a Good Will) and see if I could find any "treasures."  My in-laws are ALWAYS finding GREAT stuff there, so I thought I'd try one more time (I NEVER find anything good, but what the heck!) :)  This time I decided to try and think about what I could DO or MAKE with things that I found.  Here's what I discovered:  
                 BEFORE                                              

AFTER

                                                                      

This project cost me a total of $3 for the shelf at D.I.  I had the paint, sand paper, and decor on hand and now it looks FABULOUS on my living room wall :)

                                        

Next . . .

BEFORE

AFTER

      This project cost a total of $5.50.  I paid $3 for the frame at D.I., $2.50 for the 1/4 yard of fabric at Porters (craft store) that I stretched over batting that had been glued on and then tacked the fabric down to the back with hot glue, and then used my circut to cut out vinyl I already had.

      AND FINALLY. . .

Take this (a wreath I found for $3 at D.I.)

and combine with THIS

Fake flowers from the dollar store ($12)

and you get . . .

(drum roll please!)

THIS!!!!!!

A bright, fun wreath for your front door to help usher in Spring!! :)

I had sooooo much fun creating each of these pieces and was pretty proud of myself for my finds at D.I.  I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship with the D.I.  :)

Jewlery Give Away

 Craftaholics Anonymous is having a FABULOUS giveway to get $40 gift certificate for some beautiful hand-stamped jewlery from Cap Creations. Check it out! :)

My Attempt At Being "Crafty" :)

This week Rusty is in Salt Lake City, UT receiving more training and certification.  That means I have the house ALL to myself (not a good thing!)  :)  Because of that I've had some extra time on my hands (and my mind! Gotta distract it!!).

When my Mom came to visit me about a week ago we got some fabric to make a blanket.  I FINALLY finished it last night! This is a tie blanket that requires NO SEWING!!!!! YEAH!!!!!! (That's why I can make them! :) The sewing machine and I do NOT get along!)  :)

My new blankie is 2yrds of zebra and birght pink fleece and then intermittenly tied with matching pink embroidery floss.  So warm and comfy on these long winter nights! :)

Another one of my blankie :)

My next attempt at being "crafty" happened before the blanket, but it still needs some "tweeking" :) It is a burlap heart wreath I made for Valentine's Day, but with a twist.  I dyed half of the burlap pink! It turned out really cute! :)

Well that's all for now :) We'll see what else I can come up with and get accomplished while Rusty is gone :)

What I've Learned

The past few weeks have been a whilrwind of emotions.  I feel like I have completely run the spectrum of human emotions and then some.  When I found out I was pregnant I was, of course, completely thrilled (to say the least).  When I miscarried it was the polar opposite.  I was more devestated than I ever have been.  If you have never experienced a miscarriage I can't completely explain to you the agony and loss that is felt along with it, but if you have then you know exactly what I'm talking about.  It is different for every woman, but somethings never change.

Looking back at this experience I realize that it was the "in between" time of these two events when I recieved my greatest blessings.  Trying to overcome our loss has been hard on both Rusty and I, but through faith and being optomistic we are making it through.  We have both come to see that we have truly been blessed through this experience.  Here's what I have learned:

1.) I CAN get pregnant (and on my own too!)
     This is a big relief and a comfort to me to know that my body is capable of getting pregnant  and that  hope is on the horizon.

2.) Things happen on the Lord's timetable and NOT my own
      This has been one of the HARDEST lessons to learn and I'm still learning it, but I hope that in time this will be an easier thing to handle and accept, but I do know that everything is done with a purpose and the Lord is definitely midful of me and has a plan for me.  It is now my job to learn and accept that plan over my own.

3.) Rusty is much more open to the idea of having a baby!! YEAH!!!!!!
     Before I found out I was pregnant, Rusty and I had been trying for about 16 months with  no success and (on his part) no desire to use the fertility drugs available.  However, after being pregnant and seeing the support and excitement of everyone he has changed his tune :)  Before, Rusty didn't even want to talk about babies (it makes me think of a horse that is pulling back on you as you try to tug it forward by the lead rope).  Now he is excited to try again when the doctor allows and to have a baby when the Lord deems it.
        
4.) This baby had a purpose.
     I have been thinking a lot lately about why the Lord would allow me to become pregnant after so long a struggle and then take it away.  I have conclued that I don't know why.  What I do know is that my baby had a purpose.  For me, I have learned so much from this experience and felt so blessed to have it, even if it was only for a few short weeks.  This baby has made me a better person and showed me the tender mercies of the Lord.  He loves me and is aware of both Rusty and I and knows our hopes and dreams of becoming parents and in a way this baby prepared us for some of the things to come.  I may not know all of the answers, but I do know that I love my baby and that it had a purpose on this earth and that someday I WILL see my baby's face.

I'm sorry that this post is not more exciting, but to be honest it has been very theraputic for me and is really a journal of my innermost thoughts and feelings.  I do not know my Savior as well as I may like, but I do know that somewhere in heaven he walks, talks, and teaches my children.  As long as He cares for my children, then I am willing to wait until He is ready to send them and I am ready to recieve them.

Too Good To Be True

Friday, January 29, 2010.  Approximately 6:00am

i miscarried.

A Bit of a Scare

This last weekend Rusty and I have had a bit of a scare with our little one.  Friday night I started having a little bit of bleeding.  On Saturday, I again found some blood and as the day continued it progrssively got worse.  Fearing that I had lost this baby I called the doctor in a panic and he told me that I was having a "threatened miscarriage."  He said that I basically have a 50/50 chance of keeping this pregnancy.  This was Saturday morning.

Later that afteroon I went to the movies with my sister-in-law because we had it planned and the doctor told me it wouldn't make a difference wether I stayed home in bed or just went about my day so I did.  Not such good advice.  As the day progressed so did the bleeding.  To me, it just looked like a period (a pretty light one), but I thought you weren't supposed to have a period when you're pregnant!  Again fearing the worse, I called the doctor on call and he told me to go to the hospital and get checked out.  I called Rusty and headed up to the hospital (luckily I was already in the town of the hospital we have chosen to go to!)

I was quickly admitted into the emergency room and had all of the normal, routine check-in stuff done.  Once Rusty got there I felt much more at ease and then he and his brother Quin gave me a blessing.  It was the sweetest belssing I have ever heard and one that was so full of not only the tender feelings of a husband for a wife, but also of a Heavenly Father for his daughter, and a father for his unborn baby.  I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood.

Later, they took me back and did two different ultrasounds and found that I am actually only 6 weeks along (according to the ultrasound and my hormone levels).  The ultrasound technician said the baby is in good postion and everything looks as it should, but he couldn't find a heartbeat.  He wasn't too alarmed by this and simply said he thinks it is too early to find one.

After that the doctor did a pelvic exam and everything looked good there and I'm not dialating, which is TERRIFIC news!  To follow-up I have to go to my regular doctor this week and he will do another ultrasound where he will hopefully find a heartbeat.  Until then I just have to be careful and wait.  Oh joy!

I hope and pray that things continue to be okay with my little one and that I can continue to work so that Rusty and I can make ends meet.  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!  I'll keep all of you posted on how things develop. 

An Impromptu Visit

This last Saturday (1/16/10) my Dad called me at 8:00 AM! He asked me what Rusty and I were doing for the day.  Confused I told him and then he informed me that he and my younger brother Chris wanted to fly up for the day! Of course I said, "Come on up!!!"  They arrived early that afternoon and left in the early afteroon the next day (Sunday). 

Why did my father make this journey you ask?  Well, my Dad is a private pilot and absolutely LOVES flying!  For a few years now he has been lucky enough to have a plane to fly when and where he needs to (very nice to have a 4 hour flight to Idaho rather than a 16 hour drive!!).  Unfortunately, he has made the decision to sell his beloved plane.  Luckily, it did sell and it will be gone sometime early this week.  Because of this my Dad wanted to squeeze in one last flight and decided to make it to Idaho!

I'm so glad he did!! Thanks for coming Dad!! Love you! :)

A Tiny Tuckett Is On The Way!!

      Over the last few weeks I have begun to notice certain "weird" things happening with my body.  For example, my chest (the girls) have become EXTREMELY tender!! There was even one night when I got cold and they hurt so bad I thought I was going to cry!! After telling Rusty of my painful experience he said I needed to go see "The Doc" so I called them up and explained my experience.  The nurse then casually made the comment, "Could you be pregnant?"  Having received so many negative results in the past I simply answered, "Well, I guess I could be, but I'm not going to count on it." 

        So that nurse got me thinking that maybe, just maybe, I could be pregnant.  The next morning I resolved to get up and take a test first thing in the morning.  As my bladder woke me up at the lovely hour of 6:30AM on a Saturday, I realized that I was going to take a pregnancy test today.  So, I got up, went to the bathroom and proceeded to take the last test I had.  Here are the results:

That's right! They were positive!!!!! As I saw the TWO lines appear my hands began shaking and I hurried to find the instruction pamphlet just to make sure.  Yep! Two lines means PREGNANT. 

In the past when I've thought about how I would tell Rusty I thought of all of these cute ideas, but that morning they all went out the window.  I raced back into the bedroom, woke him up, and announced to him, "Babe! I'm pregnant!!!" And then proceeded to show him my positive test.  I have since taken two more, just to be sure and luckily for me they have all turned out positive just like the first one.

As of now, I am only aproximately 6 1/2 weeks along, but we won't know for sure until I get further along and the doctor can do an unltrasound.  I am scheduled for my first prenatal appointment in early February and just can't seem to wait that long!!!  Aa far as we can tell I am due September 5th.

It has been 16 months since Rusty and I started trying and now our prayers have been answered.  It's funny how things work out, but just before I found out I was pregnant I felt a calm about the whole thing.  I no longer felt that urgency in needing to get pregnant and I just felt good about where we are in life and how things are going.  It seems to me that it is always at these times that the greatest blessings come into my life.  I felt that same calm before I met, fell in love, and married my wonderful husband.  The Lord really does have a plan for us and I just hope and pray that I can contiue to prove myself worthy of His love for me!

So I want to know what all of you think I'm going to have! What are your predictions? Will it be a boy? A girl? Twins? What do you think? Leave me a comment and let me know!! :) I'm sooooo excited!!! :)