Another Year

I can't believe another year has come and gone. On Tuesday the 22nd I turned 26. It sounds kind of dull. There's nothing terribly exciting about 26. Nothing really depressing either. I don't feel old, but it seems wierd to already be more than halfway through my 20's. There's something about the ring of "25" that I really enjoyed. I guess it sounded old enough to know what I was talking about, but still young enough to act a little silly. Now I'm on that downward spiral to 30!!! But my birthday was great! Duke was supposed to be home that day, but every job they've done this month has been very uncooperative, so they were just starting their last job instead. He surprised me though, with 2 dozen of the most beautiful long stem red and white roses. With them were a handful of balloons tied to a birthday bag which held an adorable, and very velvety teddy bear holding a box of chocolate covered strawberries. He sure knows how to spoil a girl!

That's my "I'm pretending to smell these for the picture" face!

It was nice to know that Duke isn't the only one who loves me! I was so spoiled at work! My boss also brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers & some balloons, and of course supplied some very fun, bright colored cupcakes which she described as "elementary", but I very much appreciated them, because they just made me feel that much younger!

Dad & Nancy made me dinner that night, so it was nice to also not have to cook! I think this is the first year I haven't made a huge deal out of my birthday. It was just like another ordinary day, which kind of made it even more special when I got all of these unexpected gifts! I felt EXTRA loved!

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Well Tuesday came, and went. And come Wednesday I was already in for an all new adventure. I went to do a little shopping on my lunch break, and had a shooting pain in my back, which then made my right leg go numb. No big deal, I thought. Probably just the baby laying weird on a nerve. It lasted about an hour and then went away. But at about 6pm that night it came back, and as the night progressed, so did the pain. It slowly moved from my back to my stomach, and then everything was like a giant cramp with shooting pains coming about every 45 minutes. "This is not normal" I thought to myself. I made an appointment first thing Thursday morning with my doctor and got to spend half the day at the doctor & in the labor and delivery triage. They did pretty much every test imaginable to figure what could possibly be causing me to have contractions. Luckily I wasn't dialated, but unfortunately it wasn't any kind of infection (this is probably the only situation where you're praying for a UTI or kidney infection, because not having an infection, means pre term labor.) The good news is the baby was being monitered the entire time, and he is looking GREAT! Strong heartbeat, and he was very active! I've now been put on bed rest, and will go back to the doctor on Monday for another check up. Lets hope I can be pulled from bed rest Monday, because it's been 2 days and I'm already going absolutely crazy.

My "I'm really thrilled to be here" face!

Thank goodness Duke called about an hour ago, and they are on their way home. It's been a long month without him, and I am so thrilled to see him. They should be home about 4am... he'll miss our 1 year anniversary by about 4 hours.

And speaking of... HAPPY ANNIVERSARY DUKE!! One year ago today, I knew you were someone special, but I didn't realize just how special you would become, and what a huge part of my life you were going to be a part of. You have opened my eyes to a love I never imagined I would be able to experience, and you have shown me a completely different world than I ever knew existed. I look forward to what our next year holds, and I love you to pieces for always and always.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!