I'm Growing a BABY!

As of today I am 12 weeks 5 days pregnant. Second trimester begins on Friday! Wow, we only have 6 months to prepare for having a little person to take care of for the next 18+ years. Here is a photo of Baby Huntley from this morning.

This morning we got our first trimester ultrasound and Baby Huntley was wriggling and squirming like crazy! We got some great "pictures" of the baby and he/she had a very strong heartbeat at 152 bpm (beats per minute). In 7 weeks or so, we go back for our second trimester/half-way mark, ultrasound. At that time, we can find out the gender of the baby. We are still undecided whether or not we will find out, but we are starting to lean more towards being told. Nate is dying to find out whether we will have a son or daughter and, quite honestly, I'm pretty curious too!

My morning sickness is completely gone and the fatigue is already easing up--thanks for all the prayers, although I plan on trying to nap semi-consistently through the pregnancy. I want to get sleep while I can! ;) We have begun some house-hunting as well. We hope to buy a house later this year and move in around when baby is born. It's been fun looking and dreaming of where we might live and what our home will look like.

Well, I'm gonna finish up work and try to get a nap! What's happening in YOUR life?

2013

This year is going to be one full of changes--that much I know for sure. We will get to meet our little baby inside of 6-7 months. That is an overwhelming thought! We also hope to buy our first house (and move for the 3rd time in 2 years). Those are the two major things that we expect this year. I am certain that God has many more changes in store for us and He will carry us through the good and the bad.

I hope to keep y'all updated on pregnancy progress with the blog--along with life in general. My pregnancy has gone really well so far. I had 3 weeks of pretty bad nausea/morning sickness in December, but that has gone away and I'm feeling really well. I had the first trimester fatigue, but that even is getting lighter. I do, however, still need a nap most days of the week to make it through a full day. Other than that, I have not gained any weight yet and I'm still working out about 3-4 days/week.

A week from tomorrow we have an ultrasound and doctors appointment for a checkup. We will find out then an Estimated Due Date and I'll know--more accurately--how far along I am. I'm somewhere between 10-12 weeks, I think. We hope to also hear Baby Huntley's heartbeat at that time!

I get asked, quite often, "Are you going to find out the gender?" Nate and I decided, before we even got pregnant, that we wanted to be surprised and find out in the delivery room. That decision has waffled for both of us the last couple weeks. We are both SO curious whether we will have a son or a daughter, but I am pretty confident that we will stand strong in our decision to wait. We figure that this is the best time to be surprised. We need everything and we can find enough gender-neutral clothing to outfit Baby Huntley for the first few weeks or so. That being said, we will know shortly before everyone else knows whether Baby Huntley is a girl or boy. (We DO already have our favorite boy and girl names picked out, so we do know what Baby Huntley will be named. I'll share those names a little further down the road...)

I hope your 2013 has gotten off to a great start. I start this year with anticipation and excitement! My mom, picks a word for her year--instead of a resolution, it's a single word that is her theme for the year. I have been trying to pick one for my year, but am still undecided. I'll let y'all know what my word for 2013 is, once I pick it! Let me know what your word/resolution/goal for your year is!

Picture above is of Baby Huntley on 12/12/12

Fun and Exciting Changes

Wow! It's been quite a while since I've blogged and a LOT has changed.

A week and a half ago, on Saturday November 24th, we adopted a puppy from Second Chance Animal Rescue. She is such a beautiful puppy! She is an Australian Cattle Dog mix who is 5 and 1/2 months old and we named her Tirzah (teer-zah). Her name means benevolent, complaisant and pleasing, it fits her to a "T." She has settled into our life quite well. She had a couple accidents her first couple days with us, but is now housebroken and knows to ring the bells on the door to go out. She has learned the commands: sit, kennel up, load up, follow and potty. She comes to work with us and LOVES all the people! When we were looking to adopt a puppy, Nate and I joked that once we got one, we would probably find out shortly thereafter that I was pregnant.

Well, last Thursday, November 29th, we had a positive home pregnancy test!!!! We told our family over the weekend and then made the announcement public on Facebook on Sunday. It has been so fun seeing everyone's reactions and realizing that we will get to welcome a new member of the family next Summer. We have an appointment with an OB on Friday and can't wait to have the pregnancy confirmed by an "expert." Shortly after finding out, a friend of ours let us know about a training going on at Focus on the Family next week. They are training ultrasound technicians/nurses at Focus and need "models" to train with. I might get to be one of those people and get a free ultrasound! We are praying that it works out so we can hear Baby Huntley's heartbeat sooner than we had expected!

This week, started out with another change of plans on top of the puppy and baby news. We were planning on moving in with my parents at the end of December for about 10 months--in order to save up money for a down payment on a house next year. Yesterday we decided we need to move in ASAP. So, instead of waiting until after we come back from our Christmas vacation, we are moving the next couple weeks and will be out of our apartment by Monday, December 17th. Nate won't let me do any lifting or packing of heavy items, so he is ending up doing the brunt of the work.

If you think of us in the next couple weeks, join our prayers that the move will go quickly and smoothly. Also pray for peace for myself and Nate about the pregnancy. Satan is trying to stir up anxiety and fear already. We know that is not from God, but with so many tragic stories out there, it's hard not to worry. Pray that we will be able to just enjoy the pregnancy and this time that God has given us to prepare to welcome Baby Huntley into our lives!

Here is a picture of our sweet Tirzah girl!

Answered Prayers

We have a lot to celebrate this week in the Huntley household!

As y'all know, I interviewed last week for the Elementary Director position at our church, Pulpit Rock Church. This past Tuesday, I found out that I got the job! I start on Monday, Oct. 29th! Thankfully, the ladies who will be leaving the team will be on staff for 2 weeks to train me, so I'll be learning under them until Sunday Nov. 11th. I am so excited to get started!

Our other reason to celebrate has been in the works for only the last week. Nate is transferring to CCU (Colorado Christian University) to continue his studies. He met with an admissions adviser on Monday and found out yesterday that he is accepted and gets to start classes on December 9th! I am so extremely proud of him. He is switching his major to Biblical Studies/Theology and will get to cut his time left in school by half. Then he plans on getting his teaching certification after graduating. Thankfully, CCU has a branch here in the springs so he won't have to commute up to Denver for classes. Also, they have a block schedule where he will take one class at a time, but still get 3 classes done in a semester.

We are beyond excited. This week we have enjoyed seeing how God showed off for us above and beyond our expectations. And now to top it off, we have snow predicted for the next couple days! 
How has God showed off for you lately?

Busy Week

Hi y'all!
I hope this week has been a good one for each and every one of you. It has been for me! I really am enjoying my time between jobs. I was afraid I was going to get bored, lazy and feel like I was a useless bump on a log, but thankfully that has not happened. I have been able to continue getting my daily walks (granted I miss one here and there), I have finally felt like I'm keeping my apartment clean consistently and I have energy when Nate gets home from work. I feel like a whole new me!

Yesterday I had an interview for the position I have been hoping to get since I quit at my dad's office. I got a little nervous, but thankfully was able to maintain my composure during the interview and answered the questions without too many "umms" and "uhs." (Thanks Mom for teaching me how to speak well and present myself well to others!) It did help that I interviewed with several people I know personally, but regardless it was a great interview. I'll find out next week whether or not I get the job.

Last weekend, I was a part of a garage sale with some friends. I was reminded of how much I love getting to sell my "junk" and make money for it! It was an added blessing that I also got to spend two days with some good friends. On Friday we got rained out for about 40 minutes, but we pulled stuff into the carport and suprisingly people still stopped by during the rain. Overall the garage sale was a success. I got rid of a bunch of my stuff and made some extra money. Yesterday I took the remaining stuff that I can't sell on Craigslist and dropped it at the Arc. Afterwards, I came home and posted some of the remaining bigger items on Craigslist.

Craigslist has become my new best friend. I have sold and found many things on there and I have gotten some GREAT deals! On Monday I bought some crafting supplies and storage items (easily over $200 worth of stuff) for $60. There were several things that I didn't want that were in one of the lots of craft items and I was able to sell those and make back $20! Anyways, I hope to make some more money on items I still have posted, but until then, I'm going to focus on getting this apartment back into order! Have a great Thursday!

A New Chapter

Yesterday marked the end of my 6 year long chapter at The Family Practice. I truly loved my time there as an employee, but, as y'all know, God made it very clear to me that He has something else planned. It was a slightly tearful morning at the office yesterday, but I've decided to focus on all the fun memories instead of the fact that I won't see my former coworkers every day. It was great to get to work with my father as his employee, but I have to admit that I'm glad I get to go back to just being his daughter.

I've gotten a lot of people asking me, "What's next?" Well, I applied for a job last week as the Elementary Director at our church. I'm really hopeful that I will get this position. It will only be for 20 hours a week, but I would get to work at the same place as Nate. Also, when I decided I needed to quit at The Family Practice, I knew I wanted to work with kids and serve. This position does that and is still part-time. I want to thank those of you who have been so supportive and encouraging to me during these last few months. My husband and family have been especially wonderful!

As I look ahead to this new chapter, there is still lots of uncertainty and change. I won't know about whether or not I'll get the job at Pulpit Rock Church until mid October. During the next couple weeks I'm planning on getting some rest, catching up with some friends, helping my mom out and getting into a better habit of working out. I am also hoping that I'll be more consistent about blogging (although once a month is much better than I did over the last six months!). I will keep y'all updated more as I find out answers as to where God will place me job-wise.

Peace in the Midst of Uncertainty

This last week has been a little hectic and stressful. I'm in the process of phasing out of both of my jobs and, while I know I'm following God's leading, I have had a few panic sessions. God made it very clear to me, earlier this Summer, that I was to leave my long-time job as a Medical Assistant at my father's family practice office. Right about the time I made the decision public knowledge, He provided a part-time job at our church in the finance department. (I'm filling in for a lady on materninty leave) With only 3 weeks left, my job at The Family Practice is winding down and my job at our church is coming to a close as well. I will "technically" be part time at both jobs through the end of the month, but the regular finance specialist at our church comes back Monday and I'm noticing I'm needed less and less at TFP. As my hours continue to decrease, my panic level increases. I have had dozens of conversations with my husband, Nate, and he always assures me that we will be OK financially. He also continues to ask me not to stress about the decrease in my income. The math shows that we will be OK financially as long as my income is at least half of what I was making before (which it still is and likely will continue to be). However my faith challenges me to accept that we will be OK financially no matter what!

Each time I feel the panic approaching, I try to remind myself of why I'm doing this in the first place. God has been trying to get me to release control in this area for a long time and I finally heard Him--thankfully He opened my eyes and ears when a friend had the insight to sit me down and help me take a deep look at some things. I am so thankful for that friend and for her taking the time to sit, listen, ask the right questions and hug me while I cried.  [Reality is that I'm more of a control freak than I ever thought and security of a job/consistent income is more important to me than I realized.] I have had so much more peace since deciding to follow His prompts and take the giant leap of faith by quitting my job and looking for a part-time replacement.

As I pursue what "the next step" looks like for my job, I am praying that I don't miss anything. I tend to be the kind of individual who "hears" what God wants me to do and just full-on barrels on in that direction. Whether or not He tries to take me through a detour or a different path to get there, I think I know where He wants me and tune Him out from then on. Usually this ends with me running into a dead end pretty hard and only then realizing that I'm not where He wants me. Please pray with me that I'll take this one step at a time and be willing to change and flex along with God's plan for my life.

Celebrating the small victories

I decided to step on the scale this morning at work to check my progress. My last weigh in was frustrating. I've been hovering between the same 2lbs for over a month now. I'm trying to be patient with my body, but at that time I decided to step it up by logging my food intake and exercising for at least 2 weeks. I decided that if I see progress, I'll obviously keep it up, but if I didn't see progress I would let myself stop logging. I also have been increasing my activity level over the last couple weeks. This week I got sick again, but still plan to go work out tonight eventhough I gave myself the last two days off.
This morning when I stepped on the scale I had dropped the 2lbs!
I'm elated! Needless to say, I'm going to continue to log AND keep my workout schedule of at least 4 workouts/week at 45 min or more.
Thanks for all your encouragement!

Be Still and Know...

This past weekend, Nate and I got to enjoy a solid 48 hours work-free! I commented at the end of it that it felt like a mini vacation. Friday we got to sleep in, hang out at home, make good food, work out and then went to small group and fellowshipped with good friends. Saturday we slept in, sold some stuff we had listed on Craigslist, drive up to Woodland Park and walk around, and then we headed home and had a great evening in.
I know it may not sound like much--or it may sound like more than some of y'all have had in a while--but we were truly blessed. I feel like we have been "going" all summer without much of a breather. Not everything that has happened this summer was bad, but it still has been busy. Nate and I got to sit with each other, take a deep breath and hit the "reset" button.
I have to admit, it was a little hard to truly let myself relax because I have been struggling with the fact that in less than a month, I'll be without a job. I know God will remain faithful. I have complete faith that this step I am taking is where God wants me, subsequently, I know it's time to trust God to provide whether I get another job right away or not. This weekend was exactly what I think my soul needed. I needed to just enjoy the simple parts of everyday life with my wonderful husband and not over-analyze "what I need to be doing to make more money so we will be OK."
As I write this, I ask y'all to join me in prayer for God to provide the right job in the right timing for me. More importantly, I'm asking for him to increase my ability to be patient and trust Him.
How has God been stretching your faith recently?

Back in the saddle again

Hi all! (or those of you who do read these)
I'm back! I realized that it's been four or five months since I've blogged at all and I was shocked at how fast time flew!

It's been a good, yet crazy, several months! My sister, Amy, got married (the picture above is of Nate, myself and The Bakers!), we went struggled through a devastating fire (thankfully my parents were spare loss, but were out of their house for almost three weeks) and I have had some major changes in my personal life too.
I've transitioned to part-time at my dad's family practice office and will be done there by the end of September. Meanwhile to keep our income up until October, I'm filling in for someone on maternity leave in our church's financial department. I'm loving the finance job! I'm learning new things every day and just truly enjoying working in such a wonderful environment.
As far as what we are looking ahead to this Fall and Winter:
Nate starts classes again next week, he is taking one class this semester as we hope to pay for the rest of his schooling in cash. He will have to take things a little slower, but it'll be worth it in the long run. Also, next month we pay off our medical debt!!! We will be debt free except for our student loans! We have been so blessed through our journey thus far and look forward to continuing it, maybe a little less intensly, but pursuing a debt free life none-the-less!
Also, as I'm going down to part-time work starting in October, I will be focusing on our Herbalife business. As I look forward to getting that up and running, I know it'll be a lot of hard work. I'm excited to be able to use our Herbalife business to help others to pursue the healthy lifestyle that they desire.
I hope y'all are getting into the swing of the Fall routine. What are you looking forward to most?
~Signing off~

Weight Loss and Craftiness

So Nate and I had a great week this last week with consistently having two Herbalife shakes a day and 3 workouts! We are both starting to see some changes too! I lost 2lbs in a week and Nate's six-pack is already back (he is HARDCORE). I also am joining a Weight Loss Challenge at work that starts next week. My goals are to lose 15lbs in 12 weeks and to work out at least 4 times/week for 30 minutes or more each workout.

In the last week I also finished knitting my first baby blanket ever! It's so cute! Today I ordered some supplies to make cute burp cloths from Amazon (thanks to gift cards I got for Christmas, I only spent $5). I'm trying to find ways to be productive and creative and let my friends benefit from it! I have some more yarn to start on my next baby blanket and I'm looking forward to making a baby hat too.

The other thing on the agenda, we are continuing to pay off our debt very intensely. We are down to a medical bill, my student loans and Nate's student loans. We will be paying for his schooling with cash from here on out and are excited to be debt free in the next 18 months (or less!). Nate and I are very excited as we continue life together and make progress in our goals. Also, my sister got engaged! Nate and I are in the wedding party and are really enjoying getting to help plan a wedding just 9 months since our own wedding!

Weekend!

I had the day off yesterday and I was PRODUCTIVE! It was so wonderful to sleep in a little bit and then clean our apartment. I mean our whole apartment! I dropped Nate off at work, came home and got lunch, and got to work. I cleaned our kitchen, vacuumed, picked up the bedroom, ironed clothes that have been waiting for me to iron them for over a month, cleaned the bathroom and organized our spare room. The spare room had become "the room where everything went that did not have a place" since we moved in. After I finished cleaning, I relaxed and washed some M*A*S*H. After I relaxed for a bit, I went and picked Nate up from work, we came home and made dinner, relaxed and played Yahtzee! It was a wonderful day off.

Today I got to sleep in and then hang out with my sister and her fiance and Nate. It's been a great start to the weekend. I plan on finishing a baby blanket I've been working on for 3 weeks. I also hope to make some more origami flowers for my sister's wedding in July! I'm in a artsy/crafty mood this weekend, can you tell?

Eating has been going really well! Nate and I have been very consistent in 2 Herbalife shakes a day over the last 2 weeks and I'm working on snacking less at work (getting there...). I worked out 3 times this week and we are planning on a great workout today and tomorrow too.

Well, I'm off to do crafts and enjoy the weather today! Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend.

Easter Sunday

Today is Easter Sunday. A day that is dedicated to remembering Christ's resurrection. He died for our sins and rose again to conquer death for us.

This past week was a good week. Lots of work, some relaxation, and some great workouts! I am doing two Herbalife shakes a day and having better portion control for my third meal. I've been limiting my snacks and cutting back on sweets. Nate and I have also given up alcohol to aid in weight loss and trimming down on inches. This weekend we had a couple glasses of wine, but otherwise we have given it up for at least 30 days.

I hope y'all are all well. Have a wonderful week!

Couponing High

I don't know if you know about couponing, but I was taught how to coupon to save money while grocery shopping and it has saved us hundreds of dollars in the last few months. When I walk out of a store with 5 bags and having saved $13 (18% of our whole bill) I get, what I call, a "couponing high." I'm elated that a few minutes of clipping coupons and organizing them, on the weekends, can save us money. (To be fair, I need to shout out to Shari Hamlin for teaching me these skills. She taught  me how to coupon as a wedding gift last year and now, my husband and I LOVE to go grocery shopping and find out how much we can save.) I get a kick out of saving us money that we can put towards other areas of our budget.

On another note, my sister--Amy--got engaged this weekend!!! I am so excited for her and David as they move to this next chapter in life. I'm enjoying getting to help with wedding ideas and be on the other side of things only 8 months after my own wedding. Also, the wedding has provided another goal point for my weight loss goals. I have been relatively faithful (with the absence of Spring Break) in my endeavour to drink two Herbalife shakes a day. Over the last 3 weeks, I've done decently well. However, my new goal is to keep that up to lose 20lbs by the beginning of August! I appreciate all accountability and encouragement from y'all in my progress!

Well, I'm off to wrap up the evening with a couple episodes of M*A*S*H with my husband and head off to sleep.

Hump Day!

Today was a half day for work, drop off an application for another part-time job (to hopefully help with our budget plans), take a nap, wake up to take my husband dinner and help him at work, kind of day. Eventful, productive, restful and overall just good. PLUS we get to leave for spring break in 2 days!!!

We are going over the mountains to Montrose for 6 days for spring break and I can NOT wait! Nate will have a week free from homework, we will get to see all of his family and we both will get to enjoy a week off work. Praise God for breaks. We've been working our buns off the last couple months and both need to relax. Even better, most of my family will be coming with. So, just a warning, I'll not be blogging for a week, starting Saturday.

As far as working out/eating healthy. We have gotten back on track with our salad and fish/chicken/lean meat for dinner diet. I have been drinking two Herbalife shakes a day 5/7 days the last week or two which is helping. Working out has been going well, I've been taking walks on my breaks on the warmer days and we have worked out a few times at our new gym. I'm planning on three more workouts before leaving for vacation! I'm even waking up early--7am--(which for those of you who know me, is no small feat) and going to Zumba on Saturday morning before we leave town.

Well, I'll talk to y'all soon. Gonna go get some cleaning done.

Living Like No One Else Now...

One of my favorite Dave Ramsey quotes is, "Live like no one else now so you can live like no one else later." By making changes in our lifestyle now, cutting back and putting major effort into paying off debt and saving, we will be able to live like no one else later. We will be able to afford trips, the eating out and social events that we are missing this chapter. Needless to say, we are motivated to change this now and we want to keep our eye on the long term goal.

As far as eating and exercise, this week was pretty good. I had at least one Herbalife shake a day for meal replacements and there were a couple days when I had two Herbalife shakes. I'm feeling much better and more confident in my goals. We switched gyms to one that is a 5 minute walk away from our apartment and it's accessible 24/7. We have already gone a couple times and I'm looking forward to going 4-5 times this week before we leave on vacation Saturday.

I hope y'all had a great week and a good St. Patrick's Day! Have a relaxing Sunday.

We have 'Net!!!!

Sorry I've been so absent from my blogging...it's been close to 2 weeks since my last entry. As my last entry stated, we moved! Our new place is wonderful!!! It is twice the size of our previous apartment, has an extra bedroom/study, washer dryer hookups, kitchen nook, and (drum roll please) a DISHWASHER!!!!

Anyways, the last couple weeks have been insane with getting stuff switched over, moved, cleaned and put together. We are finally feeling mostly settled. Only a few more pictures to hang and the spare bedroom to organize. However we have not worked out that much or been able to keep up our healthy eating leading up to and immediately after the move. The week before the move, we ate out much more than usual. We also have only gone to the gym about three times in the last two weeks. However we tried to make healthy choices when eating out and I tried to work out some at work to counteract the lack of gym visits. We are also excited because, yesterday, we joined a gym that is in the strip mall one block from our apartment! It's saving us about $10-12/month in membership fees, plus it's open 24/7. We went today and got in a good 40 minute workout. Now Nate is hanging curtains and I'm off to see what I can organize in the next bit before dinner.

Aside from the move, but somewhat associated with it, we have re-worked our budget and are working on paying off our debt ASAP and getting as financially stable as possible. Let me just say that listening to Dave Ramsey's radio podcast every day has been very motivating and we are excited to get rid of what debt we do have!

Hope y'all have had a good couple weeks! I've missed hearing from  y'all.

Moving!

I just wanted to apologize for my lack of blogging this past week! Nate and I are moving on Friday (less than 2 days to go) and I've been a little bit pre-occupied. I am trying to stay active and control my portion sizes and have lost about 2lbs this week and hope to keep it up. In the meantime, thanks to all of you who have encouraged us through this and helped us to get the boxes needed for moving!
Here is a photo of our current entryway/dining nook

Hump Day

Today was a great day. I finally am feeling much better after going on antibiotics for a sinus infection and starting Mucinex D for my congestion. Work went well and quickly which is always nice. Tomorrow is my Friday and I can't wait!
Tonight Nate and I worked on packing up our apartmentn more. We currently are about 1/4 of the way packed. The biggest hurdle we have to pack up is the kitchen. We will probably pack that up Friday.
We worked out yesterday and plan on going tomorrow as well. Eating is tough right now, since we are trying to use as little as possible, we have ordered pizza a couple times and will probably end up eating out several times in the next week and a half. My goal is to try to limit my portion control as much as possible.

Still Sick...

I'm still sick! Today is day #6 of head congestion, sore throat, sinus headache and just feeling cruddy in general. Quite honestly, I can't wait to feel 100% again. I think my least favorite part of it is the fact that I haven't worked out since Thursday. My plan tomorrow--regardless of how I feel--is to work out for 20 minutes between my two breaks. I'm not going to work out too hard, just enough to count.