Blogging and Some Much Needed Catch Up

Well I did it! I created a blog! I always told myself it was something I would never do. That was until my dearest friend in all the world (you know who you are) started one. I have had so much fun reading it and she has enjoyed keeping it up so much that I figured I'd give it a try. As all of you are well aware I am not very good at keeping in touch with people. Ok..I'll admit it I'm terrible. I do have good intentions though. I think about e-mailing or calling all the time. I just never quite get around to doing it. So the main purpose for this blog is an attempt on my part to stay in touch with all of you better. With that said here is a quick snap shot of my life over the last two years....

On August 5 2006 we were blessed with a beautiful baby girl! She weighed 6lbs 8oz and was 19.5 inches long. We named her Melody Ann! No other name would be sufficient for someone who loves music as much as I do!

Then in September someone at work thought he was being funny and he went up behind Derrick and kicked the back of his knee, thus dislocating his knee cap. After being on limited duty for a month we were informed they would be discharging him. This was very unexpected and left us in a great financial bind. After much prayer we decided to move back to California and live with my parents until we figured out what do do next. If we had it all to do over again we would have figured out a way to stay in Washington. It was truly our home and we miss it and all of our friends everyday!

When we first moved the plan was for Derrick to go to school and me to get a job. Things do not always work out as planned though. It was nearly impossible for me to work since I was now not only taking care of my husband and I baby I also became responsible for my mom, dad, and a 3600 square foot house! The whole situation with my parents was extremely frustrating and stressful. It was almost like my mom just checked out and expected me to do everything. It was so overwhelming that over time I sunk into a deep depression. At some point we began to realize that things were not going to work out the way we wanted them to and so we went to our knees again. Soon after Derrick got a job working for a pest control company. While he did like his job we knew we needed to find something that would pay more and soon. We didn't have wait long because a few months later he was practically handed a great opportunity to be a hydrogen plant operator for Air Products and Chemicals. They are a world wide company with a great reputation in the chemical engineering field as well has other avenues of business. It was an opportunity we could not pass up! His salary doubled overnight ! Yeah! Now we would be able to move out in a few months!

Just before he started his new job we celebrated Melody's first birthday! This picture was actually a few weeks after her birthday but you get the idea. At her one year check up she weighed 18lbs 3 oz and was 28 1/2 inches long. She started walking the day before her birthday and has been on the move (keeping mommy on her toes) ever since!

November 2007 became quite the crazy month for us. While on vacation in Washington vi siting everyone we left behind (sniff, sniff) I got really sick. When we got home and I wasn't getting any better I finally went to the doctor. That visit did not end well because I was told I needed to have my gall bladder out. Come to find out that a dysfunctional gall bladder can be a complication of pregnacy and childbirth and I had actually been having attacks since Melody was born. They just weren't as severe as the one I had in Washington so I didn't really pay any attention. I just thought I had heartburn! Its a good thing Melody is soooooo cute and lovable! Then the day after Thanksgiving I ended up in the emergency room with Melody. It was the first time she had ever really been sick (she had the stomach flu once but that's it) so it was a little freaked out because she had a fever of 105 and a rash all over her body. It turned out to be a viral infection and she was better in a couple of days. Thank goodness! As if that wasn't enough for our little family for one month Derrick falls down the stairs and breaks his toe! We were so grateful at this point for Derrick's new job because with out that health insurance I don't know what we would have done. So then just after New Years I had my surgery and was told I couldn't pick Melody up for a month! Yeah right! She was 17 months old. That wasn't going to go over very well, especially since she is a total mommy's girl! I made it two weeks and then it just broke my heart to hear her crying for mommy!

Once we got medical bills out of the way we saved everything we possibly could for the next couple of months and then took the plunge and moved into our own place. We've been here for almost two months now and are loving it! Life is so much more peaceful and I am smiling everyday again now. Derrick's job is going fantastic, he actually likes going to work, and Melody is happier than ever! Life is great for us right now! Slowly California is becoming more like home to us but I think our hearts will always be in Washington!