"Losing it With Jillian"

Okay, so maybe I stole the title from one of her TV shows, but that title is exactly what has been going on in this household the past week. Although I LOVE being a mommy and adore my sweet baby boy; there was much more added to our lives than just a baby...yep, you guessed it- weight.

Although I tried to keep myself under control when I was pregnant with Connor, and tried to eat healthfully, but nevertheless, pregnancy hunger and cravings are rough and honestly, sometimes I just caved in..which I don't necessarily regret, but it just means that now I have to work extra hard. I'm not sure how this worked out, but Christopher has also gained some weight since the pregnancy. Of course, he's a guy and he is far from being obese, our goal has become more than just losing weight but rather to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Now, to make this even more difficult, I had a c-section, so I really am just now feeling completely back to normal. During my last month of pregnancy (partly because of a lot of water retention), I hit a number on the scale that I really don't want to ever see again..

SO- it was time for a change- I always worked out when I was in high school and I really liked doing it, but when we got married, I just got out of the habit. Chris was a runner and a swimmer, but of course, also got out of that habit when we were married. We started a week ago doing a workout called the 30 day Shred. It is only 20 minutes long, but it is a consistent workout that combines cardio, strength, and Abs. It is very HARD work, but it is kind of fun having a workout routine every day. We charted weight and measurements the day we started and are going to do it again November 12th. (30 days from when we started) I'm excited to see the results.

Again, my goal is not to be something that is not me. I am a mommy, and I know my body will never be the same as before I was, nor do I want it to be. My goal is simply to get in shape, increase my energy, and remain healthy. If I can do it, anyone can!

Grandpa

Today I received a call from my mom, telling me that they took my grandpa to the ER because of something having to do with what they think to be his heart. He will be admitted shortly so they can monitor and see what the problem definitely is. You can imagine the helpless feeling I have being so far away, and I thought I'd share a little about my grandpa so you all can maybe feel a little closer to my grandpa whom you may or may not ever have met.

What comes to my mind when I think of Grandpa is a young-at-heart, barbershop-singing, family-loving, gentleman who loves to make people laugh. He loves my grandma so, and anyone who knows my Grandpa and Grandma knows that they are truly a "match made in Heaven." You don't get much of a sweeter couple than those two. Not once growing up do I remember there ever being hardship between the two. They are always lovin' and huggin' on each other, and when you are near them, you can't help but have a good time. You'll hear things like, "Hunny-Pot", and "Charlene"( this is a little bit of an inside joke with the family), and many other endearments.

My Grandpa is a retired Southern-Baptist preacher and sang in Barbershop quartets as a hobby. Still to this day, every time the family gets together he gathers all the guys around to sing a barbershop tag or two. (and sometimes, if the guys are not getting their parts, he'll pull in us girls to help too.) =)

The magic of my Grandpa has always been that he or my Grandma never seem to get older! Up until just recently, they have taken care of their garden(which my Grandma still continues to do), which is one of the most beautiful flower gardens I've ever seen, they'll just decide out of the blue to go on a fun little drive somewhere they've never been and discover a little city that no one knows about, and they exercise and just keep moving. They help every year at the polls as election judges, and so on. Their life has never been at a stand-still. My Grandpa means so much to my family and he has had such a unforgettable part in making my parents and now his grandchildren's homes what they are today.

He is so special to me in so many ways, and being the youngest of his grandchildren, I have had so many opportunities with him that I will never forget. I used to go to their house in the summer growing up, and they would always take me to places that most of you have never heard of, but to me are some of my greatest memories. I loved to hear my Grandpa preach. He has such a heart for people and has taught me so much about living the Christian life and living it to its fullest...

Surprisingly to all of us, recently time has started to catch up to Grandpa. He has been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, and it has affected his lungs, and is very painful to him. He has been put on a breathing machine pretty much full-time, but sometimes he "forgets" about it when he's at home. ;) Right now, he is doing well at the hospital, in stable condition, but we're just waiting to hear the news. They think maybe pneumonia could have set in, or maybe his medicine isn't working right, but whatever it is, they're doing the best to take care of Him.

Life is wonderful, family is wonderful, and I'm so thankful for all the people that God has placed in my life to make it SO wonderful. I guess I always knew when I was younger, that the day would come when my Grandparents would get older and things would change, but that time has come all too fast.. It's so hard to see life change, and the ones we love suffer, but I'm so thankful that my Grandpa has a better place than this world to look forward to, and someday we'll all be together again.

The situation today has made me think of him, and I felt like since I'm so far away, the only thing I could do to not go crazy was to write about him. I wanted to share a bit of my Grandpa's legacy with you all, because he deserves all the honor in the world. He's the best Grandpa in the world..

He's my Grandpa. He's my hero.

A Final Attempt

Well, yes it's me again!! I am back after a hiatus from blogging. Attempt # - well who knows how many attempts I've made at this blogging thing. If it doesn't happen this time people, it probably just won't happen. But, I so enjoy reading other's blogs that I am determined to get back into it.

Since I have blogged last, a new person has been added into the Stivers Clan! A fiery, lovable little man who claims the name Connor Judson. July 10, 2010 was the infamous date of our little guy's arrival. He was 2 weeks early but very ready to come. He arrived at 4:35, Saturday afternoon, weighing in at 6 lbs. 12 oz and measuring 21 inches long!! I have discussed with other moms since then the surreal feeling of that moment, when you welcome your very own, unique, and most precious baby into the world. There is nothing like it.... Since then our 3 month old has grown to be over 14 pounds and is now cooing, holding his head up, and exercising his little legs and arms as fast as they'll go. Where have the last three months gone? I ask this because I know this is how the rest of our lives will be.. trying to catch up to yesterday. My sister-in-law said to me.."If you want your life to be put on fast forward just have children." And that is so true.

Please allow me to brag on my husband also for a moment- Chris is now supervisor at the Verizon- Cellular Sales Call Center, and is loving it. His bosses are extremely pleased with his work and how every department that he is placed in, grows. For those of you who don't know Chris, let me tell ya, you're missing out.. He is the funny, intelligent, caring, Mr. Fix it husband of mine, and I couldn't ask for more. He's got the whole "dad" thing down to a tea also. There's so much of the unknown that comes with having your first child, but we're learning it together and loving every minute of it. Through all of his and my stubbornness and differences, it is beyond evident that we were created for each other, and the Lord knew exactly what he and I needed to be better people. I am so thankful and blessed to have him.

I have many pictures, and other items to show, but as all of our files are on an external hard drive right now , that's a bit difficult. They will be posted soon though!

"We're Not in Kansas Anymore.."

Today is not the first day that I have thought about our home in Kansas and many great times I had, becoming a "Kansan". As all of you know, that is where Chris was born and raised and we lived there last year for about 6 months. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Tennessee, but Kansas held some of the best memories of my early-married life and sometimes I just love reminiscing about some of our great times there. One of the great highlights of living there was probably the entire family's favorite place- the lake. It was so much fun, just to be with family, cook out, swim, boat, ski, tube, or just hang out and chat! I miss those times so much and think of them often. I remember being so nervous when I moved there about tornadoes...there was not one the entire time I was there and for that I am thankful! I remember seeing grain feeders for the first time and not believing how huge the sky is out there! Sometimes it's just fun to think about our lives since we've been married....I can't believe we've moved 4 times in only being married for a year and a half!! Ahh..I can't believe how crazy our lives are, but I'm lovin' it! No matter what, life is fun when you're living it with your best friend. Here are some photos from Kansas.. Enjoy

Surprises at Dollywood!

One of the best things about living where we do is being so close to the legendary Smokies, Gatlinburg, and Pigeon Forge. Chris and I happen to LOVE Dollywood (an amusement park in Pigeon Forge) and usually get a chance to go on occasional evenings and weekends. It makes for the perfect date night! We got season passes for this year and always have a fabulous time when we go.

We had an unexpected, but a really fun time this past Saturday. We went to one the mid-morning shows and heard them talking about what a fun time they had with Dolly in their earlier show. Chris and I looked at each other like, "Are you serious? She's really here?" They said that she was there that weekend with her god-daughter Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Kenny Rogers trying to raise money for a fund she started for the flood relief in Nashville. So naturally, we kept our ears open to hear if anyone was talking about where she'd be next. We didn't really hear anything promising, and by that time we realized that she was just making surprise appearances in different shows all day. We eventually just picked a show and kept our fingers crossed! We sat through the whole thing, and had almost given up hope, when at the end of the show when the cast was doing their encore, the announcer came over the speaker and announced Dolly Parton. Chris looked at me and said as she was coming on stage, "My goodness, that's really her!" We really had a great time getting to see her and she seems like a real sweetheart. At a later show, we got much better seats and were able to get much closer. We were able to hear her sing with her aunts, uncles, and cousins, and that was definitely cool. It was a memory-makin' day!

Finally!! A New Post!!

I know......I know!! But, really, once you neglect something for so long, it is SO hard to get back into the habit. I'm going to try to make this my New Year's resolution (keeping up with the blog, that is) even though I am about 4 months late ;).

Since, my last post Chris and I have moved back to the hills of East Tennessee and I am 30 weeks pregnant with our first son. Pregnancy has been the most amazing experience in my life. I have loved every moment (well, except the first 12 weeks of sickness), but that seems so far away in the past now and now I'm just anticipating his arrival. I love the flutters and kicks that happen only for daddy's voice. I love the fact that I've had to have extra ultrasounds, so I can see my handsome little man more than most people get to. I love making the preparations and making sure everything is just perfect. I love knowing that I am now a mom, which is something I believe to be one of the most important and precious positions that a person can hold. Sure, I think of things that could go wrong, or how our life is completely changing, but it all pales in comparison to the privilege that we've been given to be parents. I am so blessed to have this opportunity.

Maybe some of you don't know about Connor's little kidney problem that we found out about around 20 weeks. He has a condition called "fetal hydronephrosis", which is a long name for a blockage between the kidney and ureter. My doctor assured me that this is fairly common with little boys and she would keep a close eye on it to see how the condition was progressing. As all of you mommy's know- the feeling that something could potentially be wrong with your precious baby is heart-wrenching. Even though there's absolutely nothing you can do about it and it's not your fault, you feel this awesome responsibility for this life growing inside of you. So you can imagine the feelings that have been going through my head. However, today at my doctor's appointment, the ultrasound showed that his kidney's were at .4 and .5 which is very good news, because to even be considered hydronephrosis they have to be elevated to .7 by 32 weeks. They don't really expect them to elevate to .7 in the next 2 weeks so it's a pretty good chance that his kidney's are going to be completely normal at my next appointment. Praise the Lord! Everything else looks absolutely normal and the date is still set for July 24th. His nursery is pretty much finished, except for some stenciling on the walls. And thanks to an awesome garage sale day on Friday I'm almost completely prepared for our little guy. I can't believe how fast the pregnancy has gone, and I am learning just to take one day at a time and not worry about things I cannot change. The Lord gave us this baby and He is very capable of taking care of every issue that may arise. I can't ever get this moment back. I'm never again going to be pregnant with our first child, and so I'm going to do my best to cherish every moment and each new experience that comes along.

P.S. Stay in touch...as soon as I find the chord for my camera, I will be posting pics!

Thanks for reading!

A Quick Catch-up!

Maybe I need to introduce myself again- "Hello, my name is Diana. This is my blog- which I have totally neglected for the past- well- FOREVER!! " Now that the formal introductions are over, I will proceed to fill you strangers in on how my life has been the past month....

Since the last post, SO much has changed....I am now a teller at First Bank and loving it!! Yesterday was my first day of working by myself- yes, you guessed it...I am now the little lady that sits behind the glass as you're rolling through the drive- thru and gives your children stickers or your favorite pet a treat..I am now trying to recognize the faithful customers and learn their names. (You see, the older people really like you when you can do this; if you can't- well then you're practically worth nothing..) The girls are great that I work with and it is truly like a family...

Besides my new employment, we have moved our abode to a little white house with two bedrooms. Quite a change, but definitely a good one.

The holidays are right around the corner, and I am so ready for them. I can't wait to find my Christmas tree and put my first Christmas decorations up...I am very ready to go home for Christmas (Ohio) to see my family....it has been way TOO long. I'm glad all 5 of the kids will be home this year. It will be madness with 13 little ones all under the age of nine running around, but bring it on! I love Royalty holidays..

This probably was a pretty boring post- all information stuff- but I just wanted to fill you all in on everything. I think I've touched base on pretty much everything. I'm going to hopefully be writing a lot more now, so stay tuned for more!