Friday, January 30, 2009

Break Out the Books

Today I asked Chris to go out into the storage area of the garage and bring out all of our old pregnancy books we got back in 2005. I forgot how many we actually had. We have a total of five books already. Three of the books we have are from the same series from Your Pregnancy. We had gotten Your Pregnancy week by week, Your Pregnancy every women's guide and Your Pregnancy for the father to be. We also have the Mother of all Baby Name Books and then a baby journal. We are going to have to get another journal because we already have a few entries for the first pregnancy and we don't to just overwrite it. So we will leave that one in tact and get a new one for this baby.

I love reading up on what is going on. It just so sad that most of the sources give you information week by week so I have to wait a whole week to read the next set of details and fun facts. Sure I could read ahead but then what will I do for the rest of the 237 days. I guess I could work ... but seeing that I don't have a job yet hmmmmmm.
Peace Out
Philippa Channer

Reduce & Consolidate

Today I am getting out of my slum. I woke up this morning and started to get up and get my brain moving once again. I think I have finally mellowed in the excitement of the news and now it is time to get serious. We have a lot to do in the next few weeks and not enough money to do it.

The first thing I did this morning was to take a good look at our finances. Since we have moved there a lot of bills we can reduce, combine and get rid of until we have stable jobs. Today I will be calling and doing all of that.

I am also going to start looking into a clinic I once used before I got married when I didn't have insurance. I remember that they provided a lot of services I needed for next to nothing if not free. I remember when we were there once there were quite a few pregnant people there who were raving about how grateful they were that this place existed since they came from lower income areas and didn't have the insurance needed to monitor their baby. I know it isn't the best of situations but until we have some real insurance I have to take something.
Peace Out
Philippa Channer

Thursday, January 29, 2009

This is Good ... I Guess

Well folks ... today after dinner I experienced my first case of 'morning sickness' and lost my entire dinner. It was such a good dinner at that too. My mom and I had cooked some mashed potatoes, baked salmon and corn & peas. I was feeling a little ill before we started our meal. Something we were cooking with ... couldn't put my finger on it ... just didn't smell good to me and wasn't sitting right with my stomach so I was feeling upset from then. I started to feel a lot better and when we sat down to eat I was okay but as soon as I got up and I had the need to get out and walk around and get some fresh air. Sucks right now cause it is raining so I only made it to the front porch but after a few moments out there and a few deep breaths there it all went. :(

Its a good thing because they say ... If you're starting to feel the pangs, take comfort in the fact that morning sickness has been associated with a lower miscarriage rate. So in a way I am rejoicing in this messy situation. My first pregnancy I didn't get anything like this so I take it as a sign that things are going well inside. I just feel bad for poor Chris who had to go outside in the rain to get the hose and wash down my used to be dinner. My hero.

Week 6 Belly Shot. First Profile Picture

We are going to be taking weekly pictures of my profile to watch my baby belly grow. Here is the first of many to come.



Peace Out
Philippa Channer

My Body Week 6

So today makes the beginning of week six of my pregnancy. We are members of the http://www.babycenter.com/ which is providing a great source of information for each week and stages of our pregnancy. I will give you a page reference that explains each week. Here is what they say about week six.

But what I am feeling right now:

Exhausted - I am so tired. I sleep so much during the night and have been taking afternoon naps around 1:30.

Unmotivated - I know I have so much that needs to be done to complete the move and items to work on stuff to cancel but I am just so lazy. I have to do it though ... I'm getting up today ... I promise.

Nauseous - I have vomited yet but I am feeling so queasy its annoying. I get light headed and can't stand certain smells and car rides are getting hard to swallow.

Boobies - Sorry for my lack of better term but my boobies are so sore. Each time I get up from laying down or something rubs on them it's like I see flashes from the pain I feel. They say this should dwindle down after the first trimester so ... only 6 more weeks to go.
Peace Out
Philippa Channer

We Can Do This

Chris and I recently moved. In fact a week before we discovered we were pregnant we had just moved from Maryland to Florida. In Maryland I had a full time job at a great church and had a nice home with Chris' family. But in the summer of 2008 God made it very clear to us that by the start of the new year we had to move back to Florida and begin a Fresh Start in Orlando. Being the obedient servants of the Lord we are we told my boss right away and began making arrangements for our move. As the time approached for the move we had major mixed feelings. We had a stable and comfortable life in Maryland with plenty of family, friends and support. We hated leaving all of that. Especially knowing that in Orlando neither of us had employment, we didn't have a home yet and didn't have church home yet. But the most important thing is that we knew we were in the will of the Lord and walking in Faith. We are not scared or anxious, but we do get a little nervous now and then when we think of what our bank account looks like.

Right now we are really pushing for Chris to find a nice stable full time job with benefits. (Did I mention that we both are unemployed right now so neither of us insurance. YIKES!!!) I am looking for something part time - administrative assistant type of work. I am looking for a part time job for several reasons.

1. I have started my own business in event planning and want time to focus on that. I started the business in Maryland and I am working on getting everything established here in Florida. Soon (very soon) I will have clients and will need time to focus on getting their events planned right.

2. I have also decided to start my own Cookie Lee jewelry business. My good friend Rachinee is helping me along the way and has provided me with what I need to get started. In fact my first show is this Saturday. Fingers crossed on a successful start.

3. Need to time to relax and enjoy the pregnancy. Don't want to be over worked.

4. Once the baby arrives I want to be able to continue to work part time and be home the rest of the time with the baby.

So that is our need today. We need for Chris to land a great full time job with wonderful and affordable benefits and for me to land a nice comfortable part time job.

Peace Out
Philippa Channer

So Our Journey Begins ...

This week on Monday, January 26 Chris and I took our second pregnancy test to confirm my suspicion that we were having a baby. And sure enough the second test (first test taken Sunday morning) came out positive. We are pregnant. YEAH!!!!

Now for those of you who know us know that this is not our first pregnancy. We discovered we pregnant back in December of 2005. We had just moved to our first home as a couple alone and the time was just perfect. Well unfortunately on Christmas Eve I woke up to spotting and then bleeding and discovered that we were losing the baby. Since then we have had an interesting ride of up and downs, encouragement and discouragement. Now we are here again and being very hopeful and feeling blessed to have another chance. We have been hardcore praying and seeking God's presence and blessings on this baby and looking forward to what this pregnancy brings.

Because of our previous loss we are taking it easy and have only told our parents about the great news. We are trying to keep it all quite until we reach at least 12 weeks. It is going to be hard because each time I speak to and see my friends I just want to shout it out but then I remember the hard times we had of having to back track the news to everyone the first time. So until them ... our lips are sealed.

Well don't want to write everything in this one post so I will have to close this out and say thanks for joining us. Most of you will probably not see this blog until there are numerous post so you have lots of reading to do to catch up. Sorry about that but I am sure you will enjoy reading our experiences and comparing them to your own.

Peace Out
Philippa Channer

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

We Are Home

Finally, after the longest road trip ever we are finally getting settled into our new home. We started driving on Saturday morning and didn't arrive until Sunday night. We made a quick stop in Atlanta to stay with some friends of ours on Saturday night. We had a great time reconnecting with friends, staying up and talking. We slept in real late that morning and got a late start on Sunday so we didn't get into Florida until late but it felt nice to relax. Monday we spent all day reorganizing the storage area then unloading all of our stuff. Today we spent the morning organizing our room and setting up our area. We are now finally finished and ready to start focusing on getting a job and and finding our permanent home.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Pretty Much All Packed

Well finally Chris and I are pretty much all packed up and ready to go. We have a few loose items floating around and to do the cleaning up tomorrow. We are picking up the truck in the morning then Chris and his dad are headed to the storage to get some items and I am off to Sam's to pick up some snacks for the trip down. When I get back home I am going to start my cleaning and final items packing. It's crazy! The time has finally come.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Packing Progress

So far the packing has gone very successful. It has been a lot less painless that I thought. We have 2 rooms pretty much packed now. The kitchen and bedroom left for tomorrow. Here is our progress so far ... keep in mind packing is always messy.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

My 21 Day Fast

This weekend my Pastor started a series on Getting A Fresh Start on life. Part of this series he is proposing to the entire congregation a 21 day fast. He has even created a website dedicated to this mission to help everyone involved. http://www.freshstartseries.com/. Chris and I signed the commitment forms but I still need to figure out what it is I'm going to fast from. There are so many different ways to fast, you do not have to do the food fast all the time. A few years ago I fasted from juice and soda, I could only drink water. I did it for 3 months and it was awesome.

I have figured out what it is I am fasting for though. Here are my reasons

1) My prayer life - for increased frequency, content and depth.

2) My marriage to Chris, how we communicate and they different ways I can show him respect.

3) The move we are making.

4) What I do to occupy my free time, how productive and active I am being.

5) My business, how I approach it and the changes we have planned for the new year. See http://faevent.com/blog/2009/01/the-right-direction/

Are you planning on participating in the 21 day fast also? What do you plan on fasting from and what are you fasting for?