Hard to Believe

It's hard for me to fathom that we have been married for a year (well, yesterday was a year). One year ago, I stood in front of God, family and close friends and took my best friend as my husband - what a wonderful day that was!! We have been through a lot in the last year: buying a home, planning a beautiful wedding in a month and a half, moving me from Oklahoma City back to small town America, lovingly laboring over the house and making it home, finding out 4 months in to our marriage that we were expecting a miracle, 2 1/2 weeks in Midland Memorial Hospital with my very ill Dad and ultimately losing him and all the emotional rollercoasters that go with losing someone so close so unexpectedly, PREGNANCY and everything that goes with it, and welcoming our beautiful son. There is no one else on this earth I would rather have had by my side through the good and bad of 2008.

I just wanted to take a few minutes to share a few things I love so much about my husband and being married to him.

~ I love having a son together! It amazes me everyday what a beautiful creature we created!

~ I love watching him take care of Ethan, whatever his need, whatever hour of the day!

~ I love what we have done with our house and I have enjoyed immensely working together to make it ours and make it home.

~ I love how he lets me decorate however I want to (including using turquoise despite his dislike for the color).

~ I love watching him in the kitchen, cooking and taking care of me.

~ I love quiet nights at home with him, hanging out, watching movies, cooking...just being a family.

~ I love taking road trips with him, whether they are short or long journeys and the conversations we have on the road.

~ I love how he comforted me and let me feel every emotion during the loss of my father, as hard as it was on us, me and at times, our marriage.

~ I loved watching his eyes sparkle as he talked about our son during my pregnancy, and now to watch those same eyes look at our son with such love and pride.

~ I love being Mrs. Ronnie Cason - guys like him don't come along every day and I'm thankful he chose me to be his wife!!

~ HIM! With every ounce of my being, and that love grows everyday.

There are so many other things I could list here, but I don't have the time! I'm a very blessed girl and am thankful for my husband and look forward to many years of wedded bliss! I'm going to post a few pictures of our dating days; what a great time in our lives!!

Our Angel is Finally Here!!!!

Well, it's official. Ronnie & I are the VERY PROUD parents of a beautiful baby boy! Our little miracle, or big miracle, Ethan James Cason, arrived Wednesday, December 3, at 8:00 a.m. He weighed 9 pounds even and was 20 1/4 inches long. He is absolutely the most beautiful creature I have ever laid my eyes on, and by far my greatest accomplishment and I am in complete awe. Ronnie and I both are just amazed by this little person we created. I had no idea I could love someone so much at first glance. My whole perspective and reason for living and breathing has completely changed; I would go to the ends of the earth for that precious little boy. We have been so incredibly blessed by this addition to our family that has made us 3 instead of 2. Here are a few additional pictures of our first four days together!!

The Countdown to D-Day is in the Last Hours...

D-Day, aka Delivery Day, is upon us. It has seemed so far off for nearly 9 months, and I can't believe that in less than 24 hours, I will be a mother. I'm definitely ready to meet my son but I'm also bittersweet right now. I have enjoyed being pregnant so much and I'm really going to miss Ethan being in my belly. Of course, I'm also to the point of being so miserable and uncomfortable, that I'm looking forward to getting him out of there!

We have elected to do a C-section tomorrow morning at 7:30. After much thought, consideration, prayer, and discussion, Ronnie, myself and my doctor have decided that this is our best option given all the information we have. Ethan is a BIG boy! And, my cervix is small, and is not preparing itself the way it should for a delivery with a due date less than one week away. There is a long family history on my side of the women carrying long after their due dates, not dilating, LONG labors and traumatic deliveries. And, I seem to be following in those same footsteps, so we've decided to avoid the chances of spending hours in labor with no success and having to do a C-section anyway.

I'm terrified and a complete nervous wreck, but I know everything will be fine. My main concern is that Ethan arrive safely and be healthy when he gets here. So, please keep our little family, the doctor, and all those involved in the surgery tomorrow in your prayers. I will post updates and pictures as soon as I am able.

Thanksgiving

My second most favorite time of year...Thanksgiving. We had such a blessed one this year, despite my Daddy not being with us. We stayed in Dumas due to me being 8 1/2 months pregnant. My Memom, my mom, my brother, my sister-in-law and my step-nephew all came here. We had such a great time! Memom, Ronnie and I cooked and the food was delicious. We ate, sat around and reminisced about wonderful memories with my Dad, watched an old prom video I ran across when I moved to Dumas that was very comical! It was an amazingly blessed time of family and fellowship.

Now, it's time to gear up for Christmas and I can't wait! Especially this year because we will have a brand new addition to our family!!!

8 Things You Know You Want to Know About Me...

8 Things About Me

I was tagged by Jenny!

8 TV Shows I love to watch:

1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Desperate Housewives
3. Eli Stone
4. Boston Legal
5. Reba re-runs
6. Still Standing re-runs
7. Dancing with the Stars
8. Friends re-runs

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. Texas Roadhouse
2. Cheddar's
3. Blue Sky
4. Carino's
5. Taco Villa
6. Rosa's
7. The Alley Cafe
8. Great Wall

8 things that happened today:

1. I took a shower
2. I worked/am working
3. I did some laundry
4. I talked to Memom
5. I ate some toast for breakfast
6. I am filling this out
7. My 10 a.m. doctor appointment got moved to 1:15
8. I told our dog to shut up!

8 things I look forward to:

1. The day I get to meet my son, Ethan
2. Thanksgiving next week! My family is coming to Dumas to spend it at our house.
3. I am looking forward to seeing my brother, Stormy and Reese next week. We haven't seen them in over 2 months.
4. The day I get to meet my son, Ethan
5. Christmas and everything that goes with it!!
6. My doctor appointment this afternoon to see if I'm any closer to having this baby
7. I am looking forward to finding out the gender of Bub & Stormy's baby in a few months!
8. Did I mention, the day I get to meet my son, Ethan!?

8 Things on my wish list:

1. A healthy baby boy in the next couple to three weeks
2. Losing this baby belly so I can put my shoes on and get dressed with ease once again!
3. Time with family over the holidays; things will be very different this year, but as long as we're all together, we'll be ok.
4. A new dog to keep our dog company.
5. A cure for cancer
6. Blessed holiday season for friends and family
7. As much time as possible with my son when he gets here!
8. And, a healthy baby boy in the next couple to three weeks.

8 People I Tag:

1. Mona
2. Stormy
3. Karomy
4. Sherri
5. Renee
6. Mandy
7. Mandi
8. Lindsey

Christmas!!!!

You may be wondering why my page is already decked out for Christmas. There are a few reasons. With the impending birth of my baby boy in the next couple to three weeks, I'm going to be a bit busy! Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year, and we don't get to celebrate it nearly long enough, so I'm getting a head start. Thanksgiving is my second favorite time of year, and I'm not taking anything away from that glorious holiday, I just want to be able to enjoy Christmas music and colors for as long as possible since a couple of days will be spent inside the four walls of a hospital room. I'm getting the most awesome gift for Christmas this year - my first child!! What an awesome Christmas season this is going to be for our families! I know as Ethan grows, they will just get better and better and I can barely wait!

I don't know how much, if any, decorating will get done at our house this year. and that makes me somewhat sad. I love Christmas trees and lights and all the fun decorations. Although, it is sometimes a pain to drag out all the Christmas decor, it still brings such joy to my heart. However, I did order us stockings a couple of weeks ago for the 3 of us. It was the best day when they came in the mail - they are just perfect and will last us for years to come! So, we will at least have stockings hung.

Home

"Having someone to love is family,

Having somewhere to go is home,

Having both is a blessing"

Our first home...what an incredible purchase, but what an incredible labor of love! =o) This house, which we've now made home, has brought us such joy, excitement, sweat, tears, and hard work, but such amazing memories! How fun is it to have your own home to begin your new life as Mr. & Mrs.?! Of course, the mortgage payment isn't always "fun", but it brings some sort of right of passage to a newly married couple. It's a small house, but a great house. We've filled it with our things and made it our home, and most especially, it is overflowing with love. I will post a few before and after pictures of the improvements and changes we've made since taking over on December 7, 2007. Wow - I can't believe we've been here nearly a year! We'll start in the living room:
The changes we made in this room are fairly obvious. Paint, new carpet, new 2" wood blinds in the windows, new lighting. On to the kitchen/dining room:

In here, we painted, put 2" blinds in the window, updated the lighting, replaced the nasty oven/stove with a new black one, have a black refrigerator, and just recently replaced the dishwasher. Oh, and also replaced the faucet on the sink. Now, the guest bedroom/nursery:

In here, we painted, new carpet, new blinds, new lighting. The guest part of the bathroom:

In here, we painted, replaced the faucet and are in the process of replacing the towel ring and toilet paper holder to bronze to match the faucet. And, the office/third bedroom:

In here, we replaced the carpet, got rid of the horrible longhorn on the wall and the terrible burnt orange paint, and replaced the lighting. And, last, but certainly not least, the master bedroom:

In this room, we painted, replaced the carpet, lighting, new blinds. We are still working on our part of the bathroom, replacing the faucet in there as well as towel ring, towel bar and toilet paper holder.

We just recently had to replace the heating/air conditioning unit. Our furnace was leaking natural gas, and it was the original system installed in the house when it was built in 1984, so the system was pretty much obsolete. Therefore, we had to have a new one put in, but it works beautifully!

My list is still not complete with all the changes and improvements I want to make. I think my list grows everyday, to the dismay of my husband - I know he wishes I would just stop wanting things! The things on that list, so far, are new counter tops in the kitchen, a new front door, new windows (these are quite leaky and drafty), and a new hot water heater, a new sink in the kitchen, new lighting in the bathrooms, new hardware on the cabinet doors in the kitchen and bathrooms. I realize all this can't be done overnight; just some things to work toward as budget and time allows. But for now, we are enjoying the improvements we have made and we love our house!!

Today...a Day that will go Down in History

***If this post offends anyone, well just get over it. I'm not going to apologize for voicing my opinions and beliefs.***

Ok, so everybody knows what today is. If not, well, you must live in a hole because for about the last year, it's all we have heard about. I don't like to get into politics much because I realize not everybody shares my opinions and points of view, and frankly, I'm not educated enough in the subject to dwell too deeply into any heated discussions. I have to say I'm just as ready as the next person for this day to be over, but I'm even more tired of the coverage, the lies presented to this nation, and the one-sided media views of our candidates. I'm not 100% Republican; however, more times than not, I will vote that way because their platform is more in line with my beliefs than that of the Democratic party. But, in the event, I'm ever off my rocker and feel the Democratic candidate is the best man for the job, he will get my vote. This election year is DEFINITELY NOT one of those off my rocker years! I am amazed every day in the people of America, and the lies they believe. Their reasons for voting for this Messiah-like Democratic candidate are crazy - they are not thinking things through, and I'm constantly taken aback. I've heard reasons anywhere from "I'm voting for Obama because he's black" to "I'm voting for Obama because I'm young and I've never seen a President get assassinated." Seriously?!!? I don't care if he was green and purple polka dotted, the color of his skin should not be the main reason people vote for him. Yes, today, history will definitely be made...we will either have a man of color or a woman in the White House. I joke that my #1 reason for voting for McCain is Obama himself, but in all actuality, my reasons are much more thought out and deeper than that. Even if Obama wins the election, I can at least say I did my part to keep him out of the White House. I simply cannot stand by and support someone who won't even support the spirit of this great nation. This is America, the greatest nation in the world, and ONE NATION UNDER GOD, and we, as American citizens, are among the most blessed people in the world. This man won't even salute the red, white and blue that so many have fought and died for. He wants to change the national anthem to "If I Could Teach the World to Sing"?! What the...?!?!?! Our rights and priveleges as Americans MUST be protected, or we will loose them! I'm not saying I agree with everything Bush has done in the last 8 years; but I can say he has kept this war off of American soil. Also, people are so quick to blame him for everything, but they (Dems in particular) don't take into consideration that Congress is Democratic, and that Bush doesn't have the power they believe he does. There are very few things he can do on his own without Congress's approval. Clinton left this country vulnerable and Bush has gotten the blame since day one.

I'm not trying to convince people to vote McCain; I'm just asking and praying that people consider all the facts (not lies) presented and seriously think through their vote. I just hope by the end of the day, my faith in the American people and this democracy will be restored.

5 weeks and counting...

Wow, I can't believe only 5 weeks until Ethan's due date. It's crazy how quickly this pregnancy has flown by. Somedays, I'm more than ready for him to be here (the days I look down and see cankles instead of ankles and days it is uncomfortable just to walk to the kitchen to get a bottle of water). Then, there are days that I'm not ready and want him to stay in my belly longer. Those "good" days are definitely more abundant than the "bad" ones. I have a feeling I'm really going to miss his kicks and movements - such an amazing feeling! We are definitely ready to meet him though and begin our life as three instead of two.

However, I don't feel that I am anywhere near ready to bring a baby home. Do all new moms feel this way? Poor Ronnie, I've been in panic mode the last couple of weeks and have demanded so much from him, but he's such an angel and usually follows my orders...haha. We have put his pack-n-play together and taken it back apart (just so I could rest easier that all the parts were in the box). We (I say we, Ronnie, actually) put his stroller together and we installed his car seat in the Explorer. How can such little people require such BIG things?!?!

It didn't look this big in the store!! Oh well, I feel blessed to have a vehicle big enough to allow room for the car seat. I can't wait until there's a baby in there!

Anyway, his room is so NOT ready! We do at least have him a bassinet, so he'll have somewhere to sleep when he gets here. Our reasoning for not having the nursery ready yet is we have 3 bedrooms: our bedroom, my office, and the guest bedroom/nursery. My office is full of desk and work-related stuff, and the room is small, so no extra room to put a crib in the office. The guest bedroom is even smaller, and currently has the guest bed up. We are going to have so many people coming and going and staying with us after Ethan gets here, so we feel like keeping the guest bed up for a little bit is the best option. Once everybody goes home, we'll get a crib and fix his room up. Besides, he'll be sleeping in our room for a little while anyway. However, the fact that his room is not ready for him has me majorly stressed out, although I'm fully aware of why his room isn't ready and I know it will be in a matter of a weekend when we get ready. I just have to have something to worry about and stress about, I guess, because that's just how I operate. =o)

So, as we reach the end of this amazing journey, these parents-to-be are excited, scared, stressed, terrified and anxious, but so ready to meet our beautiful little boy!!

I'm Trying to be a Good Patient

So, my only complaint during this pregnancy is the continuing return of a cold that won't go away. I'm in my second day of my 4th round with this stuff in the past 7 1/2 months, and let me just say that it sucks!! Congestion, coughing, sneezing, body aches, sore throat, pounding head...all of it, sucks. And, being pregnant, there's not a lot I can take to try to help relieve all this crap. I try not to whine too much to Ronnie, although he's very sweet when I do. Last night, he did a very sweet thing, and I wanted to share. My daddy used to make this homeade cheesy chicken noodle soup, and he almost always made it for me when I was sick. He rarely cooked with recipes, but thankfully, this was one of the few things that he used a recipe for. Anyway, my husband, being so wonderful, slaved in the kitchen last night for over an hour making me this soup because he knew how much better it would make me feel. It was so good and yay for leftovers!! I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful man in my life who is able, and willing, to take care of me, especially when all I can do is moan, groan and whine about feeling so bad. I sure do love that guy, and look forward to the many ways he continues and will continue to show me just how much he loves me.

I'm Going to be an Aunt and Ethan is Going to Have a Cousin!!!

Last Thursday, October 9, my brother and sister-in-law, called to share their exciting news - they are expecting!!!!!!!!!! She is due in June, 2009. We are so EXCITED! This will be their first child together. Stormy has an 8-year-old son, Reese, who is just precious, and is so excited to be a BIG brother!! It's hard for me to believe my brother is old enough to (1) be a husband, and (2) be a Daddy, but he will be so great at it. We are all so excited (I'm over using that word, I know) that our kiddos will be about 6 months apart in age - that's going to be so cool! Holidays around our homes are going to be such a blast!! I can't wait to find out what they are going to have and I can't wait for our little Ethan and their blessing to be the best of cousins, and hopefully friends!

This news brings a bit of sadness to our family at the same time. We all wish Daddy was going to be here - he would have been the most awesome grandfather. He was so excited about mine and Ronnie's bundle of joy, and I know this would have just added to his joy and excitement. But, we know that he's holding both of our children in his lap right now, until it is time for us to hold them; and, our kiddos will just have one more guardian angel to watch over them. We love you, Daddy, and miss you more everyday.

My last 20-something, Kid-free birthday

So, I never actually thought this day would get here; you know, the day of your last 20-something birthday. It has just always seemed so far off, and then wham! It's all of a sudden here. However, I've decided I'm stopping with this one, and will remain 29 forever....I did have an awesome birthday weekend, though. Ronnie & I went to Oklahoma City for 4 days. I had to work a couple of those days, but we still had a great time. Friday night, October 3rd, we spent the night at the Skirvin Hilton downtown OKC. It was awesome; such a beautiful hotel!

The rest of the weekend, we just hung out. We shopped, spent time with my mom, watched movies - it was great and so relaxing! Kudos to my husband for making it a priority to make my 29th birthday so wonderful!! At the time of the trip, I was about 7 months pregnant with our little Ethan.

The Joys of Pregnancy

Joys, you say? Yes, joys. I have been so blessed in my first pregnancy. I have felt better than I probably have in a long time. I have not, knock on wood, had one episode of morning sickness, all of my lab work has come back normal and good, and up until about a month ago, the only sign that I am actually pregnant is the beautiful sound of Ethan's heartbeat at my doctor appointments. I am 31 weeks today, and I have only gained 5 pounds, which for me is amazing because I can do that just by looking at something! So, yay for me!!

This has been such an amazing experience that could never be accurately described or put into words and we can barely wait to meet our son! I finally (without a doubt) felt him moving and kicking about a month and a half ago. I think I probably felt him move before then, but wasn't sure that's what I was feeling. But, what an awesome feeling!! Ronnie happened to have his hand on my belly and was talking to Ethan when he decided to make his first detectable move, so that was pretty awesome for mom & dad! This is another experience that could never be put into words, and I find myself anxiously awaiting his next kick and squirm. I have a feeling I'm really going to miss these moments of mommy-baby bonding time when he decides to make his appearance in the world. Ethan is quite the active little fellow, but I love to feel him swirling around and exploring his surroundings. We have such great days together; we work, we listen to music, we read and I look forward to when I can actually hold him. He's definitely starting to really grow and make his presence known, as he is starting to make me a little uncomfortable, but nothing too terrible yet. I'm incredibly short, so I don't have much room for him, so therefore he's pressing on things, but this is definitely a time to be cherished, despite the soreness and achiness.

The Difficult Challenge of Naming a Child

I, being a girl, have always thought about names for my children, in the event I had any someday. Over the years, those names have changed and some have become as common as Joe, Bob, and Debra. However, when you are faced with actually having to name this beautiful life growing in your belly, it becomes some sort of indescribable challenge, like no challenge ever faced before. When we found out we were pregnant, the name choices began to fly out of our mouths - we thought, piece of cake. If it's a girl, we'll name her this; if it's a boy, we'll name him this. HAHAHA! In mid-July, we found out that we are having a boy. By this point, we thought we had decided on Ethan Thomas. However, after the passing of my Dad in May, I decided that if it was a boy, I would like to have "James" as his middle name. James is a family name on my dad's side, carried down through the generations. It is normally used as the first name, such as James Olen (my granddad), James Ronald (my dad), and James Allen (my brother), and so on. It is naturally my brother's duty, if he has a son, to name him James something or another. But, I wanted to, in some way, carry on and honor my father's name. So, my husband, being so wonderful and gracious, agreed to James as the middle name. For a little bit, we entertained the name of Graham Allen (both family names on both sides). However, if we have any children in the future, and none of them are boys, I would miss my chance at having a James. So, back to Ethan James. We were happy with this choice until one day, a friend of my husband's mentioned the name Hagan. At first, we thought, eh maybe not. But, the more we said it and after putting it with James, we decided we really liked that name, too. Back to decision making we went. For weeks, we went back and forth between Ethan James and Hagan James. This huge decision all of a sudden became the focal point of all of our conversations, as crazy as that may be, but it literally consumed us. Finally, one recent Sunday in church, the preacher included Romans 8:28 (the verse that goes with Ethan in a name book we have) in his sermon. Ronnie & I turned to the verse in my bible, and it was underlined (from a previous lesson in college, I believe). We both looked at each other and just knew the little one's name would be Ethan James Cason. We went on to read the next couple of verses following verse 28, and this is what it says:

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified."

So, that, my 2 readers, is the story of how we finally decided to call our firstborn Ethan James. Now, we move on to the easier things: getting his room ready, the actual delivery, and this thing called parenthood for the next forever! Ha - just kidding of course; now we are faced with the real challenge of raising him up in the ways of the Lord and praying daily he sees the truth and the way of our God.

From the Beginning

Ok, well, I decided that I should probably put some background information on Ronnie & myself so that our story could be known. First off, I grew up in Snyder, Texas. I graduated from Snyder High School in 1998 and then attended Angelo State University for 2 1/2 years before transferring to and graduating from Texas Tech University in 2002. I was a case worker for Child Protective Services for a year in Big Spring and then decided that wasn't what I wanted to do...go figure. I have been in the medical field ever since as a Certified Professional Coder. I currently work for the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, but I am fortunate and blessed to be able to work from home. Ronnie is from Kerrville, Texas, the beautiful part of Texas! He graduated from Tivy High School in 2001 and then attended Austin Community College in Fredericksburg for a couple of years before he was offered the opportunity to work for the United States Department of Agriculture as a food inspector in Cactus, Texas (north of Dumas). We met through mutual friends, Wesley & Julie Harper in April, 2007, and the rest is history, as they say! We currently reside in Dumas, Texas, where we bought our first home! We have our days when I miss the hustle and bustle of life in Oklahoma City, and Ronnie misses the beauty of the Hill Country, but we have been blessed beyond belief in Dumas, and have enjoyed our time here.

Our Bundle of Joy

This blog is mainly dedicated to our little bundle of joy, arriving in December 2008. We found out in mid-April that we are expecting and in July that it is a boy. It's all been extremely overwhelming as we weren't planning to start a family so soon into our marriage. However, as his arrival gets closer, the more excited we get! We may not have been ready for a child, but God was ready to give us such an amazing gift, and this little one is God's proof that life must go on. I say this because on May 30, 2008, I lost my first love, my Dad, to cancer. His passing was such a shock to my family, as it happened so swiftly (for which we are thankful he did not have to endure much suffering or horrifying treatments). It has been extremely hard without him in my life and even harder to think I am carrying his first grandchild, and he will not be here (physically) to share in this joy and be a part of my son's life. However, I realize, now more than ever, that this child is a gift to my family, someone else for us to love and to fill a void left by losing Daddy. I praise God for this gift everyday. I will write more and add more updates on the little one as I can.