You'd think I'd be used to this.....

This isn't my first rodeo. I mean, I have done this whole pregnancy thing two times already, and I have parented two, wild, healthy children, but suddenly I feel like this is the first time all over again and I am starting from scratch. Everything about this pregnancy is different than I have ever experienced before. I am sicker than I have ever been in my life, my boobs hurt all the time(it even hurts to take a shower!!!) and my hormones are extremely out of control. When I say that though, most people are probably thinking I am laughing hysterically one minuite and crying the next, but thats not the case. They seem to be out of control in other ways, I'm somewhat moody and snappy and not really emotional crying wise what so ever. This is DEFINANTLY something I am having to get used too and I am trying my hardest to keep it all undercontrol because the last thing I want to do is bite someone's head off for no real reason. I am sure I am really not THAT big, but I already have a little bump, and althought I know you show earlier and earlier with each pregnancy, I already feel huge!!

This past Tuesday we had an ultrasound to give us a more accurate due date and to make sure this little jelly bean was growing like they should be. When I got there the last gooped up the ultrasound wand and preceeded to rub it over my belly, I was slightly distured when nothing appeared on the screen, I mean after all I knew I was over 8 weeks and the fact that I was seeing no fetus was quite unsettling. She decided to do the "OTHER" ultrasound and as soon as she was in....BAM there popped up a nice, growing, 8 week and 1 day old fetus with a nice bounding 161 bpm heart. It appears my uterus is completely tilted backwards and so that makes things a little more difficult to see on a normal ultrasound. The tech said everything looked perfectly normal though, babies heart was beating beautifully and based on the measurements we are due June 27th 2011. I think things really registered then. There is just something magical about seeing/hearing that beating heart for the first time that really makes it all real. She scheduled us another ultrasound for the 25th of January to determine the sex...Super excited for that one!

We had our family pictures done this past weekend by my favorite photographer Carrie Reed, and I am super excited to see how they all turned out! She gave us a small sneak peak(although I think it teased me more than anything lol) and I am thinking they turned out pretty great! The boys were fairly cooperative and I think we may have gotten some really good shoots as a family! :-) Carrie always does amazing work, so no doubt that our sessiong will be anything short of that!!!

Well..off here for now! Hope everyone has a great week and more updates to come soon!

Back to Blogging

Well, I guess it's no secret that I have been MIA from the blog world for many months now. Life was has been so crazy over the last few months that I kind of put this on the back burner. Over the last few weeks though I have REALLY missed it, and I decided I was going to jump back on the bandwagon. I debated weather I should make this first blog in so long about what we've been doing over the months I have been away, or just jump right into where we are now, and I decided I think rehashing past months seems silly, and I want to just pick up where life has taken us at the moment.

Well as most of you know, I am on a vacation from school. I say vacation because I do plan to eventually go back, but I am not sure when "eventually" will be. I recently got offered a pretty amazing oppourtunity to work with a company called Alltel Wireless, and there is no doubt in my mind that this all happened for a reason. You see, I wasn't looking for a job. I had all intentions of just finishing up my degree, becoming a nurse, and that would be that. Unfortunantly, life doesn't always go exactly how we planned,and I had some setback with school, and the future became kind of blurry. Then, I was turned on to a great job oppourtunity, with great pay, full benefits, and it was something I knew I'd be great at. After much prayer, and lots of thought, I decided to take the job. Soon after I decided to take the job, I found the vehicle I had wanted for a very LONG time. It was a black honda pilot, third row seating, loaded with an ent. system, leather seats...EVERYTHING!!! It was like it was just sitting there, WAITING for me. I couldn't pas it up, and at the price I talked them down too, it was truly a steal, so in a very short time I had accomplished getting a new job and car, life was going good and heading in a totally new directions. Little did I know, God had put all these pieces in to play because of his DIVINE plan. Two weeks into my job, I got totally shocked and caught off guard when I was told I was pregnant during a routiene Doctor's visit. Three children was my life plan, but I had def. planned on holding off on a third child for a couple of years. As we all know, sometimes our plans and God's plans don't always match up, and as much as I wasn't planning on having another baby so soon, I was actually pretty excited when I was told the news. I didn't even really get upset, or freaked out, I just smiled and said, " Okkkk God, another baby it is, but I think this time it will def. be our last!" So that is where we are, lots of NEW and Exciting things happening in our lives. Carson and Camden are totally siked to have a new baby coming. Carson is really able to comprehend what that means and anytime he even hears someone mention the word baby, he says,"HEY, my mommy has a baby in her tummy!" He swears its a "sister" and he already has a name picked out for her, although I am not sure mommy and daddy are quite on board with the name yet lol! Most people want to know if we are praying for a daughter, but in all truth and honest I just want a healthy baby. Boy or Girl, I will be happy and blessed and know that God knows what our family needs. As of today I am between 7-8 weeks and I am thinking we are due around June 25th. We have an ultrasound scheduled in about a week to give us an "accurate" due date though, So I will update then if something changes!!!...So here is our lives...I am back to blogging, and I have to say it feels GOOD! :-)

A glimpse into the future!

As a mom, it's easy to let your mind wander into the future. I think all parents wonder what their child will be when they grow up. I often wonder if my boys will be into sports, or arts, or will they be bookworms. Whatever the case, I will support and be proud of whatever they decide to put their heart into. I will say though if NOW is any indication of whats to come, I may already have gotten a glimpse into the future.

Recently, I was uploading some pictures off my camera, when I came across some photos that I KNEW I didn't take. There were about 10 of them, and at first I thought, "Where in the world did these come from?" Then it hit me! My Doodle snagged my camera and decided to take some pictures of what is really important in HIS world, and in my opinion I don't think he did half bad! Is photography in his future?




Then I have my Cam-a-bam who LOVES to read. Well ok, so technically he can't actually READ, but he LOVES to look at books and study the pictures. He will sit with a book and look at each page over and over again for 15 or 20 minutes. I have to say I am absolutely elated he loves books, and it makes me wonder...will I have that bookworm child too??


I guess time will tell what the future holds for these sweet boys, but its funny to imagine all the possibilites that my babes will grow up to be!

Let's talk hair!

Yes, this post is all about HAIR! It's the topic around the Godwin household lately, so I thought I'd share with you all too!

First, let's start with mine. Last week my favorite hairdresser(and ONLY person I trust to touch my hair) asked me to be a guinea pig for a new smoothing system she ordered. The product is all natural and is actually supposed to be pretty healthy for your hair so I agreed. My hair is naturally curly and although I straighten it quite regularly, it can be very frizzy at times. Usually, my routine of getting ready takes about 30 mins just on the hair end of it. I have to blow dry and then flat iron, and let me just tell y'all after I have blown my hair dry, its typically a big, poofy, frizz ball. I have never in my life been able to just hop out of the shower and go, or leave my house without LOTS of work on my hair. Even if I wear it curly, I have to add lots of styling products and blow dry it with a diffuser just to make my curls refined. So, you can imagine how elated I was when my hair dresser told me this smoothing system would(hopefully) eliminate my frizz and make my hair much more manageable and straight. I went to the salon she works at on a Friday and she did the treatment on my hair in less than 3 hours. It was such a simple and painless process, free of fumes and nasty chemicals and I left with sleek hair and strict instructions that I couldn't wash it for 72 hours. I made sure I planned this over a weekend so if I had to have greasy hair for 3 days, it would at least be in the comfort of my own home! When 72 hours finally rolled around, you can probably guess how anxious I was to wash my hair and see how well(or not) it worked. Well....here is the proof! This is my hair...freshly washed and blow dried with only me running my hands through it to brush it! I give y'all my 100% promised I have not(in this picture) straightened it with a flat iron at all! I am honestly AMAZED at how smooth and straight it is now and for the first time EVER in my life I am able to just blow dry it and have it be sleek and frizz free! Now, I will say I do still use my flat iron to tame down some unruly pieces and fix my bangs, but as you can see in the picture my hair is for the most part silky smooth with just a quick blow dry! Its amazing! If you are interested in getting in on this awesome new product, give Claire a call @ Gussy Up! I'd defiantly recommend this to girls like me, who spend lots of time trying to tame the frizz!

In other hair news, my sweet Doodle is over three years old now and STILL has yet to have a hair cut! I think the sheer thought of it, brings me to tears and part of me never wants to cut his precious little curly hair. I know that is not realistic, but I looked at that big bald head for a long time and the fact that he actually has a head full of hair now is special to me haha! I have had some people tell me they think its getting a little unruly though so I want yall's honest opinion! I admit it can be(much like his mommy's) hard to tame sometimes, but I don't exactly think its out of control! Maybe I should just give in and get it trimmed up. I know it will grow back, but I am not sure I am ready to take that leap yet....what do y'all think?

I have......

so many GOOD things going for me that its not even funny! I am a blessed women and know that I have alot of things to be thanking God for. Not saying that I am perfect or bad things don't happen to me, but I certainly know I have much more beauty in my life than horror!! Its so easy to dwell on the negative. Lots of people live their lives everyday with the "why me?" and I refuse to be one of those people. Instead of WHY me, how about saying "WHY NOT ME?" I hope that if I can instill ONE thing in my children that they will carry with them all their lives(Other than GOD is number 1) its that beauty is much more important on the inside. Its the person you are under your skin that matters and having a pretty face doesn't get you where you need to go in life. Of course its wonderful to be physically pleasing, but if your heart is pure and beautiful that will carry you much further. With the society we live in, daily its thrown in our faces that you have to look a certain way to be quote on quote "normal" but that isn't true. I hate that our children will grow up seeing the altered pictures on billboards as what people are supposed to look like. Everyday people typically DON'T look like movie stars and its so silly that our generation has made being "perfect" the norm. We are all different but God made us perfect in his eyes, so be happy with what you were blessed with. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with "improving" but when you strive in life to be someone else, that is when things become a problem!

When I sit down and look at all the things I have going for me in life, I am overwhelmed with it all! I have an amazing husband that thinks I am gorgeous, smart, funny, and tells me I am an *Super*Mommy*- I have two adorable and mesmerizing little boys who enrich my life more than I could of ever dreamed. I am going to school to pursue my calling in life, I have a roof(a nice one) over my head, a car to drive, and a God who created me in his perfect image. What could I possible complain about?

And even though I said beauty is whats underneath. These two little boys sure are easy on the eyes and a pleasure to LOOK AT! :-)



And this guy isn't bad looking either


Yes God..I am so thankful for all I have good going for me. Its obvious how great your love is for me and the feeling is so mutual! :-)

Never have I ever

Never have I ever had pain like I have felt the last week. It started last Thursday in class when I started feeling these sharp, stabbing, radiating, pains in my back and side. I knew it was unlike anything I had ever felt before, but I wasn't going to rush to the hospital just yet. By Friday I was hurting even worse, almost as if I was having contraction and I knew that enough was enough. I headed to the Dr. only to be turned away basically by a P.A (who we will call "D") who didn't really take my pain seriously. she chalked it up to POSSIBLY being a kidney stone and dismissed me with a prescription for Tylenol. I was NOT a happy camper to say the least. By Saturday morning I was at my point of intolerance and I called back up to Urgent Care and was blessed to talk to a lady who actually took my pain seriously this time. Just for privacy sake, we will call her "C".She told me to come back in and she would take care of me. Let me just say, she was amazing. Two x-rays and a Iv of pain meds later, I was told I indeed had two kidney stones and hopefully would be able to pass them within a few days. "C" has even called me twice since to check in and see if I was feeling ok and if I'd passed any stones yet. Since I have never had kidney stones before, I wasn't 100% sure what they felt like, but after this experience, I can say they are ALOT like having a baby. Unfortunately, instead of there being a sweet little baby as the reward, this time you get NOTHING! Since I was still in lots of pain, and I hadn't passed the stones yet, "C" urged me to go get a CT scan done at the hospital, just to be sure they looked small enough for me to pass and to rule out any other possible problems. Not only was I still in pain, but having bad breakouts of sweat too. I was waking up in pools of sweat at night from the pain and Derek was even telling me I really needed to do something as well! As much as I didn't want to do it, I dragged myself into the ER yesterday and to my surprise they got me RIGHT back. I was once again hooked up to Iv's given fluids and pain meds and I experienced my first ever CT scan. It was interesting to say the least, but I was able to confirmed that my ureter was dilated(due to passing 1 stone...YAY!) and I still indeed have one to pass. The Dr. seemed very confident that I would be able to pass it within the next few days though, hopefully with no problems. So now I am just waiting and praying this things expels itself sooner rather than later. Derek has just been so amazing through all this though. He has totally taken over when I needed him too and let this mommy get the rest she needs to recover. I am so thankful to have him as a husband, I'd be so lost without him!

On top of all that, today I broke out in a very strange, itchy, raised rash all over my feet. I have never had this happen before and I am wondering if its maybe a reaction to some kind of medication I am on, or is it just these new socks? I bought some new socks and didn't wash them before I wore them today.... Hmmm....guess time will tell. I will tell y'all one things though..I NEED A BREAK FROM ALL THIS CRAZINESS!!! One positive thing about it is, that I can relate to my patients alot better since I have been through this stuff.

I cannot believe this quarter is almost over! It has flown by SO super fast, and we are down to the last few weeks. Clinicals start tomorrow and I am excited and nervous at the same time! I can't wait to get that hands on experience, but I sure hope I don't make a fool out of myself! I know I am still learning and new at all this, but I don't want to make any mistakes that can jeopardize my patients so I am just praying I can remember all the important stuff we have learned thus far when it comes down to dealing the real deal! Wish me luck!

And last but not least I will leave you with a few cute pictures of my little bear! I love these pictures because at first he was ok with me snapping a few and then he covered up his face and said "No Mo" ...meaning NO MORE lol!

Change can be a good thing!

A lot has changed over the last week and it was actually all positive things! I got a "new do" which I totally love! Its different than anything I have ever had and its so ME! I have had highlights before, but I tend to usually just stick with my natural, dark brown. This past week I posted about how I went a little crazy and switched things up a bit and I do LOVE LOVE LOVE the change. I went with red and blonde highlights and it turned out just how I wanted it. I hope I actually take the time to keep getting it done and keep it this way! Here are some pictures for those who haven't seen it yet! Before: and After:


Another BIG change is we are now a TWO car family! YAY! This past week Derek became the proud owner of a 2005 F250, and he is over the moon. It was really awesome how God put all the pieces together, and the opportunity unfolded so beautifully right before our eyes. The truck was actually Derek's dads, but he really no longer has the need or desire for something that big. It just so happened we needed another vehicle desperately and when Derek's dad offered to sell it to him for a great price, we jumped right on it!! Now we are BOTH able to take the boys to school if needed and/or pick them up! Its wonderful knowing that I am not the only one capable of doing that, and its already helped me out tremendously. I was starting to wonder what in the world we were going to do on those days where I have clinicals starting at 6:45 a.m., but now that is no longer an issue! I am just sooo thankful for yet another blessing God has given us!

Speaking of clinicals, we had our orientation this week. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about our first clinical rotation. I know its going to be at a nursing home, and every nursing home I have ever been inside has just be horrible. I have to say though, after orientation my mind has totally changed. The nursing home we will be working in is SUPER nice. I was so surprised at how well kept the place was and I am now feeling like this rotation will not be so bad after all! I surely hope that if I ever have to be placed into a nursing home it will be somewhere as nice as this place!

Camden is feeling MUCH better. After a little weekend of R&R he was right back to his silly little self! Although he was sick, I let him enjoy the glimpse of snow we got Friday. That was certainly an unexpected change(but an AMAZING one)from the weather we are used to seeing around here. Derek and I took the boys outside for just long enough to let them get the experience, and then we came in and enjoyed watching it fall from our warm living room! Here are some pictures I snapped (and YES that is Derek's new truck you see in the very last picture)



So this past week has definitely been filled with changes, but sometimes change can be a BEAUTIFUL thing! :-)