Card Swap

I finally got around to taking pictures of the cards I received from the card swap I participated in a few weeks back. I received 13 cards in all, one of mine back, and 12 other pretty cards which I am going to have a hard time parting with. 

Aren't they pretty?

Jenny

Postcards from Truckee

We are fortunate enough to co-own a vacation home in Truckee, where we love to spend our summer vacation every year. For the last two summers, we extended our usual two week vacation, to three weeks. Three weeks truly allows you to unwind and forget about work and all the chores awaiting you at home, and allows you to have a real vacation. I look forward to summer in Truckee every year.

Here are some scenes from our summer vacation....

Would you believe there was still snow in July? Crazy!

Yet, at the same time there was signs of summer.

My husband took these photos of the poppies. Aren't they gorgeous?

There was fishing. Our friends kids entered a fishing derby on Donner Lake.

There was tubing down the Truckee River.

My shadow in the Truckee River. I wish I had legs this long!

We explored the train tunnels above Donner Lake. One of our favorites places to take new visitors.

There's an opening in the tunnel where you are awarded with a breathtaking view of Donner Lake.

We also hiked a little. Notice the sign. Leave it to my husband to want to still hike.

I was relieved when the trails were no where near as dangerous as the sign led us to believe.

The falls were amazing. Lots of snow runoff!

And the scenery, beautiful.

And I couldn't ask for better company!

Did you go anywhere fun this summer or have any fun vacations planned?

Jenny

Words for Monday

spotted here

I'm BAAACK!! We returned from vacation yesterday afternoon and I feel refreshed and energized. Here's hoping I still feel this way by the end of the work week! Ha!

This week is a busy week for me, but I am going to try and squeeze a post or two in and should be fully back into the swing of my blog next week.

Happy Monday :)

Jenny

Lazy Days of Summer

White Rock Lake outside Truckee, which we visited last summer.

I had posted my Words for Monday with a little disclaimer that I was on vacation for the next 3 weeks in Truckee but that I would try and put up a post or two, or three. But apparently my post vanished. 

So far my vacation is going as planned. I have managed to get a nap in each day! Today we head into town to check out the shops before the first set of guests arrive tomorrow.

I still need to post the cards from the swap and hope to do that later today, after my nap of course ;-)

Jenny

We're Having a Baby!

Source

 
I feel like shouting that from the top of the highest mountain.

We're having a baby!

This has been a long and difficult journey for my husband and I. When I married at 24, I had it all planned out. Spend 4 years getting used to being husband and wife and build or home. At 28 try for our first child, and then at 30 try for the next. I wanted a boy and girl. It sounded easy enough. Well at 28 I had my first of 4 miscarriages over the course of 10 years. 

Not only did I have the heartbreak of miscarrying, I also have a rare condition while pregnant called Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Less than 2% of woman are burdened with this condition. Why I get to belong to this exclusive club, I don't know! The only way to describe it, is it's like having food poisoning 24/7. At 6 weeks I could not keep any food or liquids down and was vomiting 7 times a day. At my worst I was vomiting every 30 minutes. I lost 20 lbs, was hospitalized over a month and went without eating anything for a month straight. I couldn't work. I had no energy. It was basically hell.

After my 4th miscarriage last year, we decided that we needed to seek the help of fertility specialist if we were ever going to make our family a reality. Because of my Hyperemesis and how sick I get when I'm pregnant we decided to try IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) and selected to have the embryos genetically tested for any chromosome abnormalities. We felt that this was our best option for guaranteeing a healthy embryo be planted in my uterus. Out of the 9 eggs they retrieved, I had one normal egg. ONE. The other 8 were no good. I was so thankful for that one perfect little embryo. But even with all the extra steps we took, I still worried about miscarrying. For those first 12 weeks I was optimistic yet cautious. And at 6 weeks my Hyperemesis hit. However this time we tried something new. My doctor had me start Corticosteroids to control the vomiting and anti-nausea meds (Zofran) for the nausea. And it worked! It has been like a miracle drug. For the first time I am able to function. It's been a real blessing, almost a miracle.

My husband and I are ecstatic that after 15 years of marriage we are finally going to have our own family unit other than our two very spoiled dogs. And I get to decorate the baby's room! A new project!

Thank you for letting me share our good news with you.


 xoxo,
Jenny

P.S. It's a girl (they can tell you that with genetic testing, pretty amazing!) and I'm due 1/2/12.