Lucky Lady

This last week or so has been filled with some great moments. For me as a mom, wife, and friend. So here's the list of everything that God has blessed me with (especially over) the last week! -Levi has had the best blood work results yet. -Mary, John, and I got the office completely painted. It looks awesome. -I was able to get all of the furniture moved back into the office -M got furniture for her new house -I woke up on Saturday morning to the sound of Levi laughing in bed next to me -We've seen Adam and Kelsey 4 times in two weeks! -House blessing at Adam and Kelsey's was WONDERFUL! -Tonight, dinner with some amazing friends -Levi lights up when John, he and I are all together -We got a piano! -Levi is stinking adorable -I got to help a friend celebrate her upcoming wedding with a shower -People at work keep blessing me with their love and support for my goals and for my family -John never ceases to remind me how much he loves me -Bee is keeping birds away from the flowers in the backyard. -Yesterday, Levi slept from 6:30pm-7am! -I finally got a walk/run in this week, and I was able to pick up right where I'd left off! -I HAVE A GOD WHO LOVES ME UNCONDITIONALLY

Not Normal Yet

5 weeks. It's been 5 weeks since Levi was born. I figured I'd surely be back to "normal" by this point. I was wrong. It has been a crazy 5 weeks. I was hoping to be running at least 2 miles by this point. I'm not. I'm running a good, oh 90 seconds at a time. I'm not back into all of my pre-pregnancy pants yet. I still have some extra "Levi weight" following me around. I don't ever get enough sleep. I constantly smell like formula and baby. There are times that I have to wonder what were we thinking?!?!? The thing is, I'm okay with that. I've spent the last 5 weeks caring for a boy that has changed my world and taught me how to love and care for someone without the "what about me" question lingering in my mind. I'm excited because I am running a little. I'm having to really listen to my body, it tells me when to quit, which is sometimes much sooner than I'd like. I can't get into all of my pants yet, and I still have some extra weight, but I feel better. I feel better than I have in months. I'm starting to eat better again, and get back to the basics on a lot of things. I'm trying to remind John how thankful I am for him and how much I love him. He's made all of this so much easier. So, hopefully in 5 more weeks I'll be back to my old "normal" but for now, I'm really enjoying my new "normal".

Bravo Zulu, Sir

On Thursday I had a voicemail from John's dad saying to tell John to bring a suit to the Carson Christmas party, things weren't looking good with Grandpa. Okay, I thought 'Well, anything's possible'. I got this call around 11am. Later that afternoon I get a call from my sister-in-law letting me know that Grandpa Carson has passed away. My brain immediately went into overdrive, as it tends to do when I'm freaking out. When John finally got off of work around 3:30 he had already been called by one of his brothers and his sister telling him the news. By the time I got to talk to him we were just trying to figure out our plan of attack. We decided that it would be best for John to come to KC that night, then we would both head to Omaha for the weekend. Thankfully, he made it here safely and he got to see Levi.

Friday morning John and I headed to Omaha. We left Levi in KC at the hospital. I was a hot mess! As odd as this sounds, we had a wonderful weekend. It was a good service and Grandpa would have been happy that we were all there. We had our family Christmas party, as planned, Saturday night. We had such a good time. As we were standing around our aunt's house laughing and telling jokes and having a good time I realized how lucky we were to have each other. There's a lot of love, laughter, tears, anger and hope. There's a family, a place where we all fit. There's 88 of us when we're all there and we owe it all to Grandpa Carson. He started this family and for that, I will be eternally grateful.

Saturday we mourned Grandpa Carson, today we buried Commander Carson. It was a beautiful military burial, simple and sweet. He gave his life to this country and his family. He was a good man. Bravo Zulu, Commander, may we honor your legacy and live up to the Carson name.

So many goals, so little time!

Since our whole life is about to change in 3-5 weeks, we've been talking a lot about our goals for the coming year. I know that a lot of people are thinking "hello, you're having a baby?!?!". Yes, we are. We also are smart enough to know that we still have to keep doing things for ourselves.

*Get back to running. John and I are both good runners when we put our minds to it. I have to work a lot harder at it to keep up with him, but I can do it! I would love to run a half next October. This progress will be something else to blog about!

*Keep our house clean. We love the idea of a clean house, but not the work that goes into it.

*Eat healthier. With the potential health problems of Levi, we know that we need to start eating healthier now, to help him avoid things later.

*Go hunting. This is John's goal. The deal is that if he, by himself gets an 8-10pt buck in the next year, he can have it mounted, in the house. He may even start on completing this goal on Sunday. Don't worry, I'll update you if he does!

*Travel more. Two reasons, visit family and friends, and for races. The deal is that whomever is running at least a half-marathon gets to pick one out of state race a year to go to (within reason). OKC doesn't count, since I think we'll always go to that one. If John picks one in AZ, then we all go, and I have to watch baby. If I pick one in IL, we all go, John watches baby. Seems fair!

*Focus. We've let our walks with God slip lately. Don't get me wrong, we're still in awe of everything he does, and how he's protected Levi and I. We also realize that we could benefit from spending A LOT more alone time with Him.

*Bake healthier. I love the idea of being a whole foods junkie. Here in a town with no whole foods stores, that can get rough. I know that if we stick with it, it will be better for everybody. The trick is going to be getting it all on a budget!

We had a really good doctor's appointment yesterday. Baby will be here within 3-5 weeks. I can't believe that! I get to start working out again, build up mileage slowly. She thinks that if I start walking now (maybe jog a little), I can be walking with the intent to run right after birth. This is exciting. In two weeks I can start working more hours again too. We did find out that she's not going to let him go past 39 weeks, because his risks of his kidney failing increase. His body will overwork itself, and we could face problems. Go back on Friday for an NST, think positive thoughts!