Looking Back at 2009...Seems Everyone Is Doing It

OK so I took some artistic license with when the baby was conceived!

When I say everyone is doing it, I mean looking back at 2009. This time of year tends to be when humankind looks backwards to try to figure out what we did right or wrong and what we can do to improve ourselves. We usually start that off by making shallow resolutions that we never keep. I am making a resolution to never make resolutions again. Part of the reason I feel that way is because 2009 was easily one of the best years of my life.

2009 started off with much frustration and heartache. I have chronicled the pre-pregnancy nightmare of fertility treatments and costs. I am getting ready to do our taxes and have been compiling all of the medical receipts for the year. A quick recap showed me an eye popping $12k spent on not having a baby! I cannot imagine what it would have been like with IVF. But all of the costs and headaches instantly vanished after Emilee flung pee in my face the morning of June 22nd. Then new worries and problems began.

We have been fortunate to have had a textbook pregnancy. Well Emilee has had a textbook pregnancy anyway. She has been absolutely amazing to watch over the past 8 months. It is so incredible to watch the development of your own child. Whether it is through the use of doppler, ultrasound, or simply feeling the increasing strength of the movement in Emilee's belly; it has been the most awe inspiring thing I have ever witnessed. I just hope the infancy and childhood are as straightforward as the pregnancy has been. But, I am definitely not going to hold my breath hoping for that to happen.

We also were fortunate enough to visit one of the most beautiful places on the planet. In March, when all of the doctors were telling us that "Emilee's womb was a barren rocky place where my seed could find no purchase", we decided we needed a break. I took advantage of our despair and E's credit (lol) and talked her into going to Alaska. We booked our trip for May and it seemed as if the trip was never going to get here, but it finally did. The wait was definitely worth it. Alaska is absolutely the most beautiful place either of us has ever been. Emilee still comments that she wants to move there, I just remind her that we were there in May and not January. The picture on the top of my blog was from that trip and I promise you it was not the most beautiful thing we saw up there.

We found out that we could afford "the house of our dreams". Through some timing that most people would credit only to God's hand we were able to pull it off. We had been trying to sell the townhouse, which had its own albatross feel to it, when we were given the opportunity to purchase the house we loved for $145,000 less than what it was originally listed for. One day later we get word that a friend of a friend, but someone we know and trust, was in desperate need of a place to live. Gotta love it when a plan comes together. So we were able to pull it off! We moved in a couple of weeks ago and get to start the transformation of making a house a home.

We also got to witness one of our good friends marry "the right one" this time! We had a great time on the cruise with Steve and Kristen. The happiness on his face when they tied the knot was a great sight. They were destined for each other and I wish them much happiness.

2009 also had its share of downs. In all of the excitement of what was going on in my life, I allowed a friendship to wither and I deeply regret that. The fact that he will never understand how pained I am by that saddens me. But sometimes we have to lose things to realize how important they are to us. I hope that in the future we can repair that which is broken and move forward again.

Finally. I want to thank all of you that have been following my ramblings. I expect to continue to write and I hope you continue to read. We have an ultrasound next week so I should have another baby update. Have a safe 2010.

Rob

A Simple Thanks From A Grateful American

It seems lately that I have had more than my share of people approaching me and thanking me for the work I do. I say thanks and mumble something about I do nothing special and move on my way. I guess that most of us that work in fields where people view us as doing something special just think of all of the nonsense we put up with. I really wonder if people would think we were special if they came and ran a shift with us. Most people would be amazed if they came and ran a shift with us "life-savers". I try to be very honest with those closest to me, but I always give them the good stories. At least I get to take that from this job.

But there are people in this world who truly deserve our thanks and praise. These people are the soldiers that whether deployed or on a base somewhere here in the US are ready to strike out against tyranny and oppression anywhere in the world. These are the people that keep us safe and allow us to pursue the fruits of our freedom. I wish that most Americans had a better understanding of what our soldiers go through. I wish I had a better understanding.

The United States has not always made the best decisions when it comes to warfare. I mean to say that we have not always allowed our military to fight to win. It is a shame that we base our military stratagems on DOMESTIC politics. DO we need to worry about the rest of the world? Until we are self sufficient as a nation it makes sense to pay attention to the nations that we need as trade partners or that we need specific raw materials from. But paying attention is not the same as kowtowing to them.

But the fact that the president feels like he has to take an opinion poll every time he sneezes much less put a theater strategy in place is disheartening to me. We (the nation) elect our president and give them great responsibility. We give them the power to wage war on other nations and to press the objectives of the United States. When the president, regardless of who he is, allows public opinion to dictate war policy we will never win.

I never served in our military. It is the only true regret I have in my life. I have had several veterans tell me I missed nothing and I should be happy with how my life turned out. I am happy, but I wish I had the perspective of experience. I wish I could look on these people as comrades in arms but I can't. I have to listen to their stories to get a glimpse of their lives. Maybe that is why I am such a fan of reading military history. I try to get as much of a sense of what our soldiers go through as I can.

All of the above is the long way of saying that we should be eternally grateful to the men and women who serve and have served in the armed forces of this country. We should be aggressive in our support for these brave souls who risk their lives for those of us who won't risk ours. I know that I am very appreciative of the sacrifices that are made by these citizens and their families.

Thanks guys and gals. Specifically; Justin, Brad, Bud, Lynn, Pete, Don, Ryan, Dan, Jim, Jonathan, Meriah and all of your families. I know that I will always appreciate all you have ever done for me and my family!

Stay Safe & Merry Christmas,

Rob

A Boz Family Update...Week 29

We turned 29 weeks today and everything is going by the book. We did switch Obstetricians midstream, but we did it for financial and not care issues, and the new OB seems to have it together so that is a good thing. Emilee also passed her glucose test so we do not have to worry about gestational diabetes. That was a huge relief because if Emilee had problems with diabetes during her pregnancy then it greatly increases the risk that the baby will end up with Type I diabetes and then they have to monitor it for life. Plus a lot of women that have gestational diabetes end up giving birth to enormous (10+ pound) babies and Emilee was not down with that! BTW, the largest birth weight ever is 19.2 pounds! And yes it was a C-Section.

Week 29 is suppossed to be the week where Emilee starts having to go pee every 5 minutes. I can inform you that the books were off by about 29 weeks on this one. We also get the following stuff going on in week 29 (courtesy of whattoexpect.com):

Your baby is almost 17 inches tall now (nearly as tall as he or she will be at birth), and close to three pounds (a weight that will likely more than double — and may even come close to tripling — by delivery time). His or her wrinkled skin is smoothing out as more fat is deposited under the skin surface. This fat, called white fat, is different from the earlier brown fat that your developing fetus accumulated. Brown fat is necessary for body temperature regulation while white fat (the fat you have, Mom) actually serves as an energy source.

Which explains why your energizer baby feels so…well…energized! Space in your baby's living quarters is now at a premium, so you'll be feeling jabs and pokes from elbows and knees mostly. But those kicks will be more vigorous than before (and also less erratic) because your baby is stronger and excitedly responding to all sorts of stimuli — movement, sounds, light, and that candy bar you ate half an hour ago.

We also closed on our new house this week. Tuesday was the most expensive day in the history of our family, but it will definitely be worth it. I have caught some good natured flak about moving to Dawsonville, but I know that we would be kicking ourselves in the ass 5 years from now if we had not done it. The fact that we were able to find a renter for the townhouse in less than a week also was abig help. As we all know, sometime a plan just comes together. Now the fun begins....We are moving this weekend.

Everytime I move I am reminded of a couple of events from moves of the past. Some are happy and some not so much. But, I will never forget helping the Barnett's move printing equipment from Joe Phillips' shop off Panola Road. There is one main reason this move sticks out in my head, and it was not the 1907 bluegrss music that we were forced to endure while in the old shop. It was the trailer Trevor and I were towing to move the equipment. If any of you have ever towed an open 12' trailer you know that sometimes they act up a bit. Well ours was acting up like a 12 year old who forgot to take his Ritalin. Trevor's fix for the squirrleyness of the trailer was to stomp on the accelerator.

This had the desired effect of straightening out the trailer for about 500 feet and then we would have to do the whole process over again. After almost slamming into the wall on 285 for the third time we finally pulled over. What we found was scary. One of the wheels on the trailer, which was held on by 4 lugs, was attached to the trailer by one lug that was about an 1/8th of an inch from breaking loose! We had that thing fishtailing all over the interstate. Looking back at the event I am surprised that no one got hurt.

Stay Safe,

Rob

Ripples In The Tub!

Emilee has gotten into the habit of taking a bath most nights because it helps with her back pain and it generally helps her relax. Often times I will go in and sit on the edge of the tub and we will talk about whatever went on during our day. Most of the conversations lately have focused on what we need for the house and what new piece of information the mortgage people needed. It amazes me that there are millions of loans processed every year and yet it seems like this is the first time these people have tried to get all of the necessary information together. You would think they had a list or something by now. We also need a new refrigerator, but don't get us started on that subject!

SO the other night I am sitting on the side of the tub and we are having one of our conversations and I see the water ripple like it does when a stone hits a lake. I thought I had dropped something into the tub but then Emilee asked me if I had seen it. Emilee said that Anna Grace was being very active but did not figure we would be able to see such a direct display of her kicking. We watched and watched. Unfortunately the little booger did what she usually does when people are watching; she went dormant!

I do not know how many of you have had the same experience. About once a night Emilee makes me stare at her stomach because she saw something or the baby is kicking her pretty hard, and I get to see.........NOTHING! It is as if she knows someone is watching and she is playing a little game of peek a boo. She does the exact same thing when E has me out my hand on her belly to feel her kick. Kind of like the Twilight movies; a lot of build up and no payoff. Of course Emilee gets to see all of the good stuff because she feels it coming. She even watched Anna Grace kick a pen across her desk at work! Apparently we have a little Amazon in the making.

Thinking of Amazon I need to get some Christmas shopping done.

I am attaching a 3D pic from the ultrasounds we had done Thursday. I hope you guys enjoy!

Stay Safe,

Rob