Wow, it has almost been a year since I last posted. It always amazes me how much my life changes in one year.

Phillip and I are doing well. We are still living in our house in Bedford, and our lives are about to change again in a BIG way.

I am 6 months pregnant!

We are expecting baby Lydia Ann on May 13th! (Which just to happens to be Mother's Day) Everything happens in God's time. Wow! It's only taken me 22 years to figure that one out!! But seriously, God is in control of everything in our lives, and only He knows what is best for us WHEN it's best.

God has also blessed our family with another soon-to-come addition....Amy is pregnant with a little girl as well! Charity Rose is due in 10 short days! I can't wait to meet this little (possibly redheaded) girl!! Amy has had a pretty smooth pregnancy, except for morning sickness early on, and she is almost "done"! I hope that our little girls will grow up close just like their mothers! Ralph is also looking for a job here in Kentucky, and we are praying that just might happen!

Other than that, our lives are pretty much the same. Phillip's job is going well at the Power Plant. I am not working at the clinic anymore since I have been pregnant. There were several girls who were bitten last year, and I just didn't feel like it was the safest place to work while growing our little girl inside me.

On a more personal note....have you ever felt like you just can't say or do the right thing? Like every time you open your mouth, you offend or anger someone? Maybe it's just because I'm pregnant and my brain is just flooded with hormones, but I feel like I've been doing this a lot recently! Like, everything's been going fine, until I open my big mouth. Sometimes it's just difficult learning that someone you care about isn't capable of having the deeper relationship that you know you're capable of.

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great year so far!

In Him,
Heather :)
(recent picture to come)

Hey Everyone!

I know that there probably aren't very many people who still check pleonast, but I have felt a bit out of touch with everyone for a while, and it will just feel good to let everyone know what's been going on in my life for the past few months.

Well, Mocha just turned 1 yr. in February and Daisy turned 2 yesterday! I can't believe we have already had them that long! Seems like just yesterday, I was bringing little Mocha home and she was tormenting Daisy!

Phillip and I are pretty much settled in our house. We finally have a matching furniture set in our living room, and I am SO excited! Haha! It's the little things. :P

Things have been going pretty well at work lately. I've finally figured out how to handle Dr. Heye, and my mornings at the clinic are much more pleasant. I am pretty good friends with my co-workers; everyone is pretty easy to get along with for the most part. I am especially close to my co-worker, Ashley, who I used to work with at PetSmart. It really is a small world! Ashley is having a difficult time with her marriage to a man who is and has been unfaithful to her multiple times, so I would appreciate any prayers for her. She is a good young woman who's had a very trying life already. I am also good friends with a young woman named Michelle. Michelle is always so positive and friendly all the time! She is a professional photographer, and she takes the best pictures! She is very nice to be with, especially when things get a bit tense. They are my closest co-workers, but none of my co-workers are Christians, plus, Dr. Heye humiliates and challenges anyone who even remotely mentions religion, so there is still that barrier that prevents me from being as close as Christians can be. I am enjoying my job a lot these days. FINALLY! haha!

Phillip and I are doing well. Phillip just got back from a mission trip to Honduras, where they are helping Christian women and children. Well, it is mostly women and children, since the men bounce around from place to place providing only their genetic material to different families, then abandoning them without looking back. It's not a place where the family works the way God set it up, unfortunately. But, the Christians are slowly turning that around, by going down there and helping provide them with what they are not getting from a father or from the government. They have started 18 churches in a short 10 years, and they are constantly growing. It is mainly the women and children who are attending now, but hopefully there will be more and more men coming in and continuing God's Work!

Phillip's job is going well. He is having to work a lot of extra hours because they just recently added a new Unit to the plant, and the builders, who were contracted from an outside company, did a pretty shoddy job, so the LG&E workers are having to re-do a lot of their work while still making electricity. Not an easy job! Phillip is extremely good at his job, though, and I personally think they are very lucky to have him! (In my totally unbiased opinion!) haha!

Also, I don't know how many of you know this, but Phillip and I have been trying to grow our family for the past year, and we have come across some road blocks in the process. I had a miscarriage in November of 09. It was very hard on Phillip and me that first time. We had already had the first exam and ultra-sound and actually got to see the baby alive and took pictures home with us. I was about 7 wks along at that time, so at first I didn't think much of it because most of the women in my family had miscarriages their first pregnancy. Then, I became pregnant again in March-April of last year. I went through the exam okay, but when we had the first ultra-sound, the baby was not alive. We were really confused about what was happening at the time, partially because our doctor was a bit foggy with us at the ultra-sound, and it was just not a very comforting experience. We asked the dr. if something more could be wrong and if we should go see a specialist. She told us at first that she didn't usually do that because it is very common for women to have 2 miscarriages at a time. We weren't very satisfied with her answers, so we asked if we could go ahead and get an appointment with an endocrinologist.

We went to see the endocrinologist and he ran a bunch of tests on me to see if I had any physical defects that would cause multiple miscarriages. When everything came back normal, he suggested that we take a genetic test to see if all our chromosomes were normal. He told us that there was only a 5% chance that ONE of us would have an abnormality. He told us to prepare ourselves, though because if one of us had an abnormality, that it would be impossible for us to have children together.

Two weeks later, I got a call on a Wednesday morning from him. Phillip was home because he was on nights. The doctor told me he wanted us to come in so we could discuss the results of the test. I knew immediately that they were not good results. I told him that I wanted him to go ahead and tell me. He said that BOTH of us have two chromosomes that are re-arranged, and that he was very sorry, but we would not be able to have children together. I was crushed. I couldn't believe what he was telling me! That was probably one of the hardest days Phillip and I have ever had. But our first reaction, once we could catch our breath was, "Well, God must think we are pretty strong because He wouldn't allow this to happen if we couldn't handle it!" It was a really hard pill to swallow at first. Phillip and I had mixed feelings on it for a couple of weeks. I accepted that we weren't going to be able to have children, and that we were going to adopt as soon as we were able, and that was that. I compartmentalized it to myself and tried to smother my desire to birth our own children so that I wouldn't feel so bad. Phillip, on the other hand, didn't accept what the dr. said as the end. He kept a positive attitude and decided for us to go see a Genetic Counselor who would help us understand what our chromosome re-arrangements meant. I had very mixed feelings about going to the geneticist at first, but I wanted to know if it was absolutely true just like Phillip. So, we went to the geneticist, and when we sat down with her, she asked me if I was on any pre-natal vitamins. I was caught off-guard by this questions because if Phillip and I couldn't have children, why would I be on pre-natal vitamins?! Phillip stopped her and said, "Wait, are you asking if Heather is on pre-natal vitamins because we can have children together?" It was so wonderful to hear her answer! She said, "Yes, of course you can!" We were so happy! I was still on guard, but as she kept explaining what our re-arrangements meant, I began to feel better about the whole situation. Well, to make a very long explanation shorter, (I'm not good at short stories) the geneticist explained that I have a very common re-arrangement that a lot of people have without even knowing it and they have perfectly healthy children; they just have more miscarriages that most people. But Phillip's is a bit more serious than mine. His can cause some physical deformities, but because of my re-arrangement, if the combination of chromosomes Phillip's body throws has a defect, my chromosomes will most likely miscarry that pregnancy naturally because it is abnormal. It's actually a little funny now, because I can say that Phillip and I were REALLY meant to be together because we both have whacked-up chromosomes that counter-act each other! HAHA! Well, anyway Phillip and I are able to have children, but we will probably go through many more miscarriages to finally have a healthy baby. I am not currently pregnant, but hopefully it will happen soon! Whenever the Lord is ready! :)

We are still going to go on and adopt some children, though. We both believe that God was pointing us toward helping some little children out there, and giving them a good Christian home to be a part of. I am so excited about where life is taking us, and I have really grown as a person and a Christian over the past year.

I hope everyone else is doing well, and I apologize for all the boring details. I just had to get it out there!

Love,
Heather :)

P.S. Here is a picture of Phillip and me at our vacation to Destin, Florida this past October. :D We were visiting Florida College in this picture.

Ok, it has been a long time since my last post. Here's what's happened this summer:

Phillip and I have been working and getting more involved at church. I am FINALLY feeling accepted as a "competent" individual at work, and so is Phillip. People just don't take "young" people very seriously in our day and age, and we are slowly winning the battle with the "stereo-typers" in the work place. Also, we bought another mini-dachshund! We named her Mocha, and she is about months now. She and Daisy get along SO well! She has been a bit harder to train than Daisy, but she is learning.

Also this fall, Phillip's sister, Samantha will be getting married! So, we have been busy helping with the wedding plans. :) Samantha and her fiance', Ricky will be getting married October 2nd.

That is pretty much the highlights of the summer.

I hope everyone has had a good summer, and will have a good fall. :)

Here are some pictures of our Mini-Dachshunds:

Mocha:

Daisy and Mocha:

Well, it's finally beginning to be a pretty winter!! It's been so over-cast and rainy here in Kentucky, but the snow is finally here! It brings slick roads and crazy drivers, but it also brings it's beauty!! It's been really funny to see Daisy try to walk in it. It almost comes over her head!! lol.

I drove my car into a snow bank the other day, but thankfully it didn't do much damage, and I didn't get hurt. Actually, my boss, Dr. Heye was extremely helpful. He came and picked me up (because I was already on my way to work), and he pulled my car out for me after work! I was pleasantly surprised. :)

Phillip is back on over time until June. GRR.

The house is coming along very nicely. We saved up and bought a new dishwasher and microwave. I LOVE the dishwasher!!! It actually WORKS!! YAY! And the microwave doesn't sound like it's going to explode when it's used! That's nice. :P

We've been searching for another puppy recently, and we've found a good mini-dachshund breeder that we're going to buy from. I'm really excited about getting Daisy a little pal. :)

I would like to ask you all to pray for my friend and co-worker, Mandi. She is a very sweet person, and is interested in the Bible and living a better life, but she has a problem. Her fiance'. Her fiance' is an extremely controlling man, and an alcoholic. She and I are good friends, but we can never just hang out or anything because he is always calling her and controlling her. She is always saying that she can't stand it anymore, but she just gives in to his every demand! He has spent all her money for alcohol, and he wrecked her truck about a month ago, doesn't have a job, and lives rent-free with her. Needless to say, it's an all-around bad situation. I would really appreciate prayers from all of you for wisdom for me when I am with her, and for Mandi to come to her senses about this guy and her life.

Well, to finish up, I'd like to wish you all a happy Valentine's Day!!

Love,
Heather :)
Our Back Yard:

Well, Christmas is upon us!

YAY!

I love Christmas! I have had SO much fun decorating and buying gifts for all the people I love!! So much fun!!

Phillip and I have been working a lot the past few months. The power plant Phillip works for had an "outage" which causes the employees to have to work a whole lot of over time, and I think Phillip has had his fair share. He worked 72 day straight without a day off these past few months.....yeah...not fun. But, it does help with the Christmas shopping. ;)

Work at Dr. Heye's is going better. I've actually decided to go back to school to become a Vet Tech! YAY! I'm looking into the spring semester of 2011 at Brown Mackie College. It's a two year program, and it's very hands-on, so I think I will enjoy it much more than the usual lecture-style class room.

Daisy has grown up so much since the last picture I posted!! She is 9 Months now, and I believe she is finished growing. Sadly, Phillip and I weren't able to keep little Bailey because he had some severe behavioral issues that we really couldn't deal with at this time.

Well, I think that's all for the update...I hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas!!

Love,
Heather :)