January, February, March!

Oh my, where does the time go???  I should probably blog more often to be considered an actual blogger.  There have been so many things going on and I've been so busy with planning.......OUR WEDDING!  We are so excited.  Less than 3 months away, June 16th is when the big day will be.  I'm so excited to have a ton of fun, dance, and for a super special day all in celebration of the love between me and Justin.  Oh my gosh how exciting is this??!!!  ...and at the same time it's kinda weird to think that after 32 years (not 32 yet, but soon) I'll be changing my last name, I'm going to be a new family member to all of Justin's aunts and uncles and cousins....and he will be a new family member to mine.  I'll be.....gulp....married.  For quite a long time I was so okay with being single then our years together I was good with this companionship where we co-lived, yet we were individuals.  And soon, we'll be so much more, we'll be one!  Is it always this much of a rush of feelings?  The excitement, the anxiety, the rush of love, the nervousness, the experience, the awkwardness, the freaking out in hopes that it'll be perfect, I love it all......I love the crazy feelings, the fluttering in my heart, the certainty of it all and most of all, I love Justin so much!  Ahhhhh, so pumped!

Who knew that planning a wedding meant that there's not a day that goes by that you don't think of it until the day of.  On top of all of that thinking...life still goes on.  My job is going good.  It's not perfect, but is there any perfect job?  I love what I do, there's no denying that, I just wish that I could deliver it my way vs the assembly line way.......touché.  There's been a change (for the good) that my schedule is changing to four 10s and I'll have every Friday off.  A 3-day weekend every weekend, save money on daycare, save money on gas, but my most favorite part...and extra day with my Rory and Gwenyth!

Rory and Gwenyth.  Rory isn't the type of infant that gets around by rolling across the floor from point A to point B like Gwenyth did.  He does get his way around, though...he spins around and pushes and pulls.  It's fun to watch him grow...and grow he is doing!  He eats 3 meals a day plus his milkies, he talks and talks, he observes and explores and he LOVES LOVES LOVES his sister!  Gwenyth is the most amazing big sister that Rory could ever wish for.  She plays with him and she makes him laugh, she'll even change a diaper (she thinks it's fun).  Gwenyth is also doing amazing in school.  For "I Love to Read" month she won 2 parts of a competition that they had in school which was the girl that read the most books and the girl with the most points (for the quizzes that they take after reading).  She was glowing when she came home with her awards.  Not even a week later she came home with another award for being Star Student in the 2nd grade for PhyEd.  I love seeing her succeed, it's the best feeling in the world to see your child happy.

So we've been busy, we've been good.  In the past 3 months, there have been times of laughter, tears, frustration, joy....just as any family may go through.  And here's to future months of changes and planning and successes to report (next time not 3 months later).

Christmas

It was a lovely holiday season for the Steele-Buhl family.  First we had a Justin Birthday/Christmas dinner with Justin's Mom and step-Dad, Sister and her hubby, and Brother here in Woodbury.  It was a nice evening out and the kids were spoiled and loved up by John and Jean with wonderful books and toys and goodies that both the kids love.

Christmas Eve we had Justin to ourselves, he bribed a local high school kid to take over his shift.  So we geared up and drove up north to spend the day/evening with my parents and my sister and her kids.  We had our traditional Swedish dinner with Aunt Diane and Uncle Tom, Cousin Nico and Maya and Matthew.  Justin tried lutefisk for his first........and maybe only time and he also learned how to play the card game, "May I".

Christmas morning Santa had come, we celebrated Jesus' Birthday at church then packed back up and traveled to St. Cloud to enjoy Christmas day with Justin's Dad and his side of the family.

Rory danced around the Christmas tree in his Daddy's arms and with Great Grandma by their side.  Her Danish family tradition.  The kids had a great time.

We loved having the chance to see all of our family and it was a great 1st Christmas for Rory with lots of memories saved in pictures.

Christmas and Tradition

So we're all moved into our new home in Woodbury...there are a couple more boxes to go through, but for the most part, we are functioning.  The home is nice.  Not our favorite apartment...it's cheaply built, not sound proof at all, and it's chilly (questionable if the closet with an outside wall is even insulated - brrrrrr, we keep that door shut).  We're here for a year, at least, so we might as well make the best of it!  So I decorated a bit for Christmas.  To be quite honest, I don't have many shelves or a curio or things like that for Christmas knick knacks and I hate to put too many holes in the walls.  Some day, I'll decorate more, but for now the tree and the stockings are kind of my thing, plus...less to clean up at the end of the holiday season.  Though few, my decorations are special and the stockings follow a tradition.  Isn't that what Christmas is good for??  Tradition.  There are quite a few Christmas traditions that I've experienced, some have dwindled away (sadly), some are new (Justin's "Buhl" family dances around the Christmas tree while singing Christmas songs, a Danish tradition.  Fun!  I just wish the family was a tad bit bigger so we wouldn't get so dizzy...lol), some traditions aren't my favorite such as lutefisk and potato sausage (sorry Aunt Diane), but some will stick every Christmas and one of those is hanging our homemade felt stockings.  Mine was made 31 years ago by my Grandma Ruby.  She made them for her daughters, her daughter's husbands, and all of her grandchildren.  When Gwenyth was born, I made one for her on her first Christmas.  This year I got the materials to make Rory his stocking and realized that Justin was going to be left out so I made one for him as well.  I hung mine, Gwenyth's and Rory's and left a blank spot where Justin's stocking belonged for a day then I just couldn't wait until his birthday (the 19th) to surprise him that I made one for him as well.  He was so genuinely happy to see that our whole family had matching stockings!  By continuing my Grandma's crafty tradition, we've begun our own.  To top it off, they're functional and perfect for Santa's lil' surprises.  I make every stocking unique, but everyone has at least one matching decoration, a deer, a tree, a candle stick, bells, or perhaps a gingerbread boy.  I looked at my Mom and Dad's stockings to help with ideas of what and how to decorate and this year, this time, looking at Mom's stocking was a little sad.  64 years that stocking has had gifts of love stuffed in there.  I wonder...  Which makes the tradition ever more special in my heart, something that will last our whole lives and even after, our stockings will hang.  Our Christmas, tradition.

...and I am thankful.

This picture is the first picture of all four of us since Rory was born.  We've been so busy that fancy family pictures haven't even gotten on our to-do list.  That is all four of us celebrating Thanksgiving together.  We had a few hours to eat and enjoy the holiday before the retail world separated us as many of the retailers opted to open for the black friday shoppers at absurd hours (in my opinion).  In light of the annoyance, I got my family picture, we actually got a few, for this, I'm thankful.

Well...It's been over two months since my last blog.  I wanted to keep up with it more, but for all the reasons that I haven't, I'm thankful for (excluding the tough stuff).  Summed up, I started a new part time job less than 3 weeks after having Rory (against doctor's orders) and I was commuting from St. Cloud to Woodbury two days a week.  Justin stayed working in St. Cloud until just last Friday where he transfered to the Oakdale Best Buy.  Our lease is up in a few days and we have a new home picked out in Woodbury, the move is exhausting as I've been packing while Justin is working crazy hours over the holiday season on top of being so far away...not to mention before black friday week he was out of state for 4 days, thus not much Justin to help out which has been a bummer.  A couple of weeks ago I was questioning whether my part time job was going to be a permanent fit for me and me for them as the welcoming committee wasn't showing me much promise so as a plan "B" option I checked out what jobs were out there and applied for all of them.  To my pleasure I was invited for two interviews out of the four jobs that I applied for and to make a long story short, I only had to attend one of the interviews because I was offered a full time job after the first meeting with Fairview's Women's Clinic in Minneapolis.  So after this post, I have one more day at the part time job, the move, set up daycare for Rory and school for Gwenyth, and then start (again) a new job!  So you can see, I've (we've) been busy...and all of these things that have kept me busy, I am thankful for.  It's been two years since I've had a permanent full time job I'm overjoyed and thankful to have this opportunity; I am also thankful for the part time position that I was at for a short time as that stepping stone is what I needed to get to full time; I'm thankful that Justin was able to transfer and have a job as well; I'm thankful that we've found a home in the cities and closer to our new jobs; I'm thankful for our friends and family that has been supportive and helpful in our time of transition; I'm thankful for my fiance, my daughter, my son.; I'm thankful for my Mom and Dad; I'm thankful for my sisters and their families; ...and so much more...

I guess there are a lot of things that one can complain about, I know that I've had a few things driving me crazy recently, but looking at the whole picture and in light of Thanksgiving, I truly am so lucky and thankful.  Soon we'll be moved, we'll have new schedules, and I'll be sure to add time to keep up on my blog so that there are no more 2 month breaks.  For the future, I'm thankful.

Gwenyth is 7!

Happy Birthday to my.......7-YEAR-OLD???!!!  Wow!  Gwenyth turned 7 on September 2nd.  We had a party for her here at the apartment, in the community room and the swimming pool.  The kids loved it, it was perfect for a big group and quite the big group we had.  Thanks to my sister and her help otherwise I don't think that I would have fed everyone.  Next time....3 friends stay the night and the family party will be pot luck.  It was easy to do the years before, but with a newborn, hosting a party is quite the task.  Lesson learned.  But for Gwenyth, I'd do anything.  She really is such a nice girl, such character, so happy, so fun, and definitely getting older.  Gosh I love her so much!

So, 7 years...I've been a Mom for that long?  I think back to that day, in surgery (c-section) and when my sister came in the room to join me, I knew that it wasn't much longer before Gwenyth would be here.  I know that I thought for a moment that I wasn't ready to be a Mom and I wanted to change my mind, but they weren't going to sew me back up and wait another day at that point, so I didn't ask them to do so, I can't believe that I even considered saying it out loud.  Well as quickly as the thought came into my head it left and it was time, they had one more layer to go through, they saw her dark curls and they prompted my sister to stand up to watch....and I heard her....and I was a Mom!  I don't remember all of her birthdays with such detail, but that one, I'll never forget.  We've been on quite the journey together, her and I, these last 7 years.  I know I wasn't perfect.  I know I'm still not perfect.  For 7 years I've been that happiest that I've ever been, in good times and bad, being a Mom has been the best thing.....ever.

Shortly after her 7th Birthday, it was time to send Gwenyth to the 2nd grade.  The summer took so long, being pregnant 'n' all, but after August 8th, the time flew and I didn't even know if we were prepared for the first day, but somehow we were, I mean, we must have been because she had everything she needed and it's all been working out since then.  Gwenyth has jumped right back into math and reading.  She enjoys gym class and seeing all of her friends again as well as meeting some new ones!  I'm so proud of her, she truly is absolutely wonderful!!

Family of 4!!!

On August 8, 2011 our modern family grew from 3 to 4!  An amazing healthy boy, Rory Jolan Buhl was born at 9:53 a.m. by a repeat c-section; he weighed 8lbs 8oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.  We chose his first name quite a while ago, not a family name or anything, just a name we both loved.  The original plan was to keep it a secret, but it slipped one day and as a matter of fact, it felt so good to let it out because then we were able to share with our families and close friends.  His middle name was originally going to be Alan (Justin's Dad's name and Justin's middle name), but this spring my mother was diagnosed with cancer and we both wanted to add "Joan" into the name so we made our own unique and special middle name: Joan + Alan = Jolan.  And so, Rory Jolan Buhl is his name.

The c-section was scheduled at 9 a.m. and we arrived at the hospital at 7:30 a.m. to get admitted and all prepped for surgery.  I was all dressed and ready to go and all we had to do was wait for the doctor to get there.  Dr. Bakker came into my room at 8:50 a.m. and he chatted with me and Justin for a bit then he left to get changed and I left Justin to walk to the operating room.  The room was so bright, so cold, and it was quiet with little conversations around me.  The anesthesiologist had a tough time finding the right place for my spinal and it was a painful 20 minutes or so until they did.  I was shivering and wondering how Justin was doing as he was waiting for them to bring him back with me to meet our son.  Once the numbing kicked in, everything happened so fast.  Dr. Bakker came in and started the surgery- next thing I knew, Justin was by my side.  I was so glad to have him with me, finally I didnt have to be alone and at the same time it made the adrenaline kick in because I knew that Rory's time of birth was so close.  They told Justin that he could stand up and watch as they did the last cut and pulled him out.  I heard his first cries and my emotions ran wild.  All I could do was cry tears of happiness and relief, Justin too.  Things get foggy from there, I got a quick peek at Rory, but had to close my eyes after getting sick from the medicine and surgery.  Justin and Rory sat next to me for a while and then they left for the recovery room while I stayed and the surgery was finished up.  Gwenyth was already holding Rory when I came into recovery, it made me so happy to see my TWO children and my darling Justin.  Grandma Jean was there too and it was so nice of her to watch Gwenyth and bring her to see her new baby brother.  I don't remember much that happened in that room, in fact, there are two pictures of me holding Rory and I can't even remember it, thinking back.  From there we went to the room where we stayed for 3 nights/4 days.  I was foggy for most of the day and we had lots of visitors.  Rory did a great job with nursing and I fell more and more in love with him.  The hospital stay as a whole was great.  The nurses were very nice and they did their jobs very well especially considering that there was an abnormally large number of babies born that day and week and they weren't staffed for so many babies.  It's normal for newborns to lose weight before leaving the hospital, but Rory lost quite a few ounces in just one day (which also increased his risk of jaundice) so we worked really hard to get it back and what a great team we make, because we didn't only stop losing weight over the last day and a half, we gained some back and he's been gaining every since.  He's a strong and healthy baby boy!

We have so many things to do in the next few weeks; Gwenyth's birthday party, back to school, start a new job, find a place to move to down in the cities, doctors appointments, and much much more!!  All of this and we are on our 2nd full day of being at home and hormones are racing and I can't believe that I'm not pregnant anymore and I can't believe that Rory is here with us, finally!!  Finally our family of 4.

Our Modern Family and The Countdown.

OUR MODERN FAMILY

If you take a look at our family picture you'll see that we're what I call a modern family.  I have been blessed to meet the most wonderful man in the world who fell in love with not just me, but my daughter, Gwenyth, as well.  Justin and I met in April 2007 at Best Buy.  He had been working there for quite a few years and I had just begun my employment while in school for Sonography.  Once I saw him, I didn't take my eyes off of him.  He'll say that he knew that he was going to marry me when he first saw me.  Good thing that I made the first move though, because he was just a tad bit shy (I always had that affect on men).  While I had dated a guy here and there after becoming a single mother to my beautiful daughter, Gwenyth, Justin was the perfect match for both of us and we were the perfect match for him.  My first job out of school was in Wisconsin, a six plus hour drive away and we decided to have a long distance relationship for the time since we also had an apartment lease in Minnesota.  Long distance didn't work the best and needless to say, we had a few rough patches along the way.  In our time apart I never stopped thinking about my Justin and I found my way back to Minnesota and back into his arms.  We never stopped communicating and even visited each other while technically separated, it didn't take anything more than a shopping trip to Best Buy with a few questions about the new iPhone and then a couple of dates and I knew that I was never moving away from him again.  Gwenyth was ecstatic to have Justin back in her life.  We were back on track as a happy couple/family, moved in together and fast forward to the happiness of today and we're engaged and expecting a new addition to the family, our modern family.

THE COUNT-DOWN

In approximately 17 hours the Steele-Buhl family will welcome it's newest member.  We've been counting down for some time now, spending each day getting more and more prepared for the planned c-section arrival of the new baby who has been referred to as Baby Boy Buhl.  Tomorrow he will have a name.  The crib is waiting, his clothes are all washed, our bags are packed, and everyone is scheduled to be at their  designated areas for this big day.  We are so excited and blessed to have made a healthy journey to August 8th, 2011.  So excited to meet our new bundle!!  So excited for myself to be a Mom again, Justin to be a Dad, and Gwenyth to be a Big Sister!  If I could move the clocks forward, I would, but I suppose I'll find something to do to keep myself occupied until bed time....if I fall asleep, that is.  And so the countdown continues- by the hour is so much closer than by the day or by the week and especially by the month.  16 1/2 hours...............and counting...........