It takes a village to birth a baby and recover from a birth apparently!

I haven't gotten my photos back from my photographer but it is the week of Christmas and the turn around time can be weeks when it is not the holidays for most photographers. I am waiting until I have those photos to not only tell the story through my words, but also through her lens.  Not only will they really add to the story, but they will also fill in some blanks where things got a little blurry from the extreme pain I was in during this labor.  As soon as I have those photos, I will sit down and write our beautiful story out. 

But for now, some updates and some reflections about the labor, delivery and postpartum help I have had then some notes about how darling baby Aggy is doing as well as pumping milk for her!

With my past experiences with surrogacy, I was unsure how the delivery part would work. I knew that having 3 children of my own may limit the opportunity for my husband to be in the delivery room as well as knowing that Teacup's mummy and daddy having their attention on her as she emerged would leave me feeling vulnerable and maybe isolated after the birth happened.  Prior to moving here, I started feeling out the idea of a doula.  By the time I did get here, I posted that I was looking for a doula for this birth.  Someone tagged Melissa with Anchored in Hope on the FB group and the rest was history.

Melissa was in her final stages of becoming a certified doula and did not need my birth for her certification but still agreed to take my delivery on as a learning experience to learn the dynamics of a surrogate pregnancy and the dynamics that surround multiple families in the labor and delivery room.  Though it seems that the process is relatively cut and dry, she had to learn a lot of new terminology and take into consideration not only my wishes and desires but also the desires of the parents as well.  This experience would be taken as a team approach.  There were many many emails that went back and forth between all of us to perfect our birth wishes for myself, the parents and for teacup. 

What I didn't know is that over the course of a few months, that Melissa would sneak into my life as more than just a support person during labor and delivery.  I never anticipated that Melissa would be more than a seasonal friend, but would become a lifetime friend.  I cannot describe the bond that we forged in the labor and delivery room.  It was more than just the fact that she saw me raw and emotional, but she never left my side and she never complained when things got difficult.  She worked so hard for my labor but more, she was there for every single second and I was her SOLE focus.  It truly was incredible.  I cannot even put into words how I feel about her support through the whole process!

Another shout out is to my friend and photographer Julie. (Julie Gayler Photography)  When I first heard that Julie would be moving to the same base that I resided on, I might have audibly squealed in excitement.  I have known Julie since the last duty station and I was so excited to bring her on our team to be able to show this beautiful story through photos.  Bringing her on the team allowed me to get to know her in an even more intimate way and I was so happy to have two friends in the labor and delivery room with me.  Just prior to labor, we were respectfully asked that Julie not take any pictures of Teacup after her birth for privacy reasons but it was important to me that my story get told and that I be able to show some of the raw emotions of delivery day.  Julie never missed a beat and was happy to be there for me even though the plans had slightly changed.

Julie signed up to tell the story.  She didn't realize that somewhere around midnight, she would actually join the story.  After some really rough labor, Julie put her camera down and became Melissa's right hand.  Together they supported me in a room with low lights, Casting Crowns Christmas music, an oil diffuser and just a calmness that I cannot explain.  My husband had gone home to be with the kids, teacup's parents were sleeping in another room and it was just the 3 of us and the amazing nurse (Monica) that came and went.

These two ladies stayed even after being there for 24 hours to make sure I was well cared for emotionally and physically.  They helped me to the bathroom when no one else was around.  They folded chucks pads and brushed my hair.  THIS is what all women should have during labor -- to feel so supported that you are on a high, even when the pain threatens to rip you open.  The gratitude I feel for them can never be put into words.  I cannot even begin to imagine what would have happened for the last 3 hours of labor if I did not have them. I would have lost it.  They were all I had and they were also exactly what I needed.  In the most intimate moment of a woman's life, these two women gained a small piece of my heart that I can never get back, nor do I want to.

Not only did I have the support of these ladies, there is something to say about a military community.  Where there is a need, a military wife steps up and meets that need.  While in the hospital, I actually had visitors!  I have only had one visitor for Weston and one for Piper when I delivered them.  But at the hospital, I had friends poking in and checking in on me for a couple minutes.  They never stayed long but they popped in just to make sure I knew that I was being thought about.  One of my fears that I had often spoke about with close friends was not about feeling a bond with the baby or feeling a loss, but rather feeling left behind essentially.  I knew that the parents would be in their baby moon and after I deliver, I am pretty self-sufficient and don't require any attention from the nursing staff so I was afraid that I would sit there and think "What about me?"  I was glad I thought about this in advance so it didn't take me by surprise if it happened.  But it didn't happen because my friends reminded me through visits, text messages and FB messages and posts that they were proud of me and that they were thinking about me! 

I had 2 friends stop by the hospital to say hi and one of them (Joanna) brought me a bag of goodies.  In her bag of goodies, it had FOOD.  Like real food.  Not just junky stuff.  She came by on the day I was to get discharged and brought me a yummy soft taco full of good stuff, a sandwich, bottle of water, and some other snack bars.  We were supposed to be discharged at 12 so I didn't order lunch and didn't leave until 2 so having that food was exactly what I needed.  She came and just sat and talked with me for a few minutes then left as quickly as she came.  After I was discharged, my lovely photographer Julie offered to make dinner for me so as if she had not invested enough time and energy into me, she also made my family a dinner so I didn't have to focus on that.  My MOPS ladies set up a meal train to cover food for the rest of the week so the lovely Colleen, Jessi and Renata are making me food.  The support in a military community is staggering.  Messages, kind words, listening ears, the offer to watch children overnight at a moments notice while they sleep -- all of it!!  I love my fellow military spouses!

Now that I have poured my heart out about some of my favorite people in my life right now, its onto talking about pumping.  Pumping has not come exactly easy this time.  On the first day, I pumped 18ml.  On day 2 and 3 I almost cried every time I picked up the pump. Maybe it was the hormones coming out of my system or the fact that I pumped for 4hours a day and for 24 hours, I didn't even get a drop.  I was really freaked out thinking that it wasn't going to happen.  They had to supplement Aggy with formula and it broke my heart that I was trying so hard and yet they still had to give formula.  At this point in my pumping (5.5 days in), I have pumped for 21 hours 15 minutes for 48 sessions and pumped a total of 50 ounces (1,436ml).  Baby Aggy is taking about 2.5 ounces per feeding every 2-3 hours so somewhere between 20-22 ounces a day.  In the last 24 hours, I made 21 ounces. So finally, I am able to make close to what she needs.  My stats are increasing with every pump, but getting up every 2-3 hours all day to pump for 20-30 minutes is exhausting!  But Aggy is thriving.  She was 8lbs11oz at birth and had only dropped to 8lbs6oz at discharge.  Yesterday at 4 days old, she was back up to 8lbs9oz which is phenomenal.  The acceptable amount lost by discharge from hospital is up to 10% which would have been 17 ounces -- she only dropped 5 ounces.  Her parents are definitely meeting her needs with her feedings and care!  She also got a clean bill of health with her check up to make sure everything was perfect and it was!

Also on Sunday, it was 3 days post birth and time to sign the paperwork.  At that time, I decided to give the IPs their Christmas gift which was really just a giant monogrammed bag from Barefoot Keepsakes with a ton of random stuff in it. I wanted to give it early because some of the stuff in it might be useful for now!

They also gave me a beautiful gift and card but I will include that in my birth story because it is that special!  Those hand written notes go straight to my heart every single time!!

But lastly, the paperwork is signed and on its way to the attorney to get court approval for the name change and to get a new birth certificate issued with their names on it. After that process is done (could take weeks with the holidays I imagine), then the birth certificate will be issued and then it is time to request a passport!  Baby Teacup will have dual citizenship and I cannot imagine 2 better countries other than UK and US to have dual citizenship for! 

So with that, I am closing with baby feet!  Because who can resist two cute feet and ten tiny toes?  I know that I cant!!

Teacup has arrived!

I just wanted to post a quick little update about teacup's arrival as I just got home today

But first, I wanted to introduce everyone to team Teacup from a get together on Monday the 14th.  From left to right is my Amazing Doula Melissa, Teacup's Daddy E, myself, Teacup, Teacup's mummy, and my wonderful photographer Julie.   I will definitely get more into everyone's part on the team in my longer update/birth story, but just because we took these photos, I had to add them since I didn't get the time to prior to her arrival.

Because who doesn't like to have fun!!!

Teacup finally has a name!  It is a trendy and modern variation of Agnes which is an old traditional name but I won't post her actual spelling or middle name for privacy reasons. She was born at 4:30am on December 17 after a very long and exciting labor and delivery.  I will post details in the birth story once I have the photographs of the labor and the photos from her mummy and daddy that I have approval to post of her from their cameras as well but I still wanted to introduce and introduce her before I have those ready!

Here is a photo that just shows the sentiments of how the environment was in the delivery room -- two beautiful and kind souls waiting to meet their daughter while showing such love to each other.  It really was a beautiful dynamic to witness when this dream finally came true for everyone involved.

Without further ado, here is the beautiful Ms. Teacup after she made it earth-side.  She was 8lbs11oz (3.94kg or 3940g) and 21 inches long (about 53cm).  She is a very large and healthy baby and everyone is doing well.  She rarely cried while we were at the hospital as she just squeaked occasionally.  Mummy and daddy learned so much in their first 24 hours and are such doting parents.  There was never a moment where one of them were not awake just watching their sweet daughter sleep.  I will post more of a story later, but please welcome Baby A to this world and offer a word of congratulations to the parents in the comments on the blog as they are not on my FB so the only way they can see comments is on the blog!!  

Thank you for everyone's unwavering support -- those near and far and even those I have never met but I know are supporting either me or the parents!  The support has been astounding and it has made such a difference to this journey! 

PS My friend Colleen won the baby pool with her guesses on date, time, weight, length, baby name, hair color and eye color -- You weren't really the innocent bystander!! LOL

Status update!

So these next few updates could have some TMI in it for some people!  So just be warned!!

This morning I lost my mucous plug and I have been having contractions pretty strongly all day.  This afternoon I had a small gush of fluid so I waited for a few hours then went over to L&D just to get it checked out.  We needed to know if IPs needed to come early.  So with that being said, I had an ultrasound and the fluid around teacup looked just fine and upon speculum exam, the doctor could see the membranes and fortunately, the membranes are in tact and we are not currently leaking. I was contracting on the monitor though (7-10 minutes apart) so the doctor is thinking it could be early labor.  My blood pressure was pretty high (especially for me) 134/86, but not high enough to be concerning.  My pulse was high and kept having the alarm go off.  Teacup looked great on the monitor with no decels.  She is happy in there right now so that is great.


The providers and nurses were exceptional!  My doula came with me just to check out the facility as she has not attended a birth there so I had company while there. 

With all of this being said, E&L have opted to come earlier than anticipated as they want to be the first ones to greet their sweet girl when she comes earth side! So they will be here MUCH sooner than later but I do not have specific details at this time!  So everyone worrying if they would make it or not, the attending physician felt certain they could be here in time so all is good here!!!

37 week appointment

Today I went into an appointment after having contractions all night.  They started around 8 but never got more painful or closer together and fizzled out around 2 am.  Ive been having a lot of contractions off an on lately and thought I might kick the provider if she said, "Nope, your closed up like Fort Knox!" 

When she did a fundal height exam, I was 40+ weeks and she felt around and baby is head down.  She also said that teacup felt like she could be about 7.5 lbs. I know this is a GUESS but it does not feel like she is small and that matches with the fundal height and the fact that the ultrasound measured her to be almost 4 lbs at 30 weeks.  When she did the cervical exam, I was dilated to a 3!!  This is baby 4 for me so it is to be expected, except with baby 3, at this gestation, I was only fingertip -- not even 1cm!! I was actually 3cm when I checked into the hospital in labor with her!  So with that being said... these contractions are doing something to my body and it could be any day or week or even next month!

I told my doctor that I was waiting until after Christmas to have teacup since her parents wouldn't be here until right before Christmas... she kind of snickered and said 'Good luck with that!'  She asked me if I really thought I would make it to my due date.. I am not sure as I have never had this many contractions before during a pregnancy.  So I am on strict orders to keep my knees closed..... Next appt is next Wednesday morning and my photographer and doula are on standby ready to pack up and head to the hospital at a moment's notice!!! 

YAY For progress!!  Now who needs to edit the baby pool guesses?  I am one of those people LOL

37 week update!

So today, we are considered term.  Meaning at any time, teacup could make her grand entrance! I just cannot believe that the time is upon us!  With knowing that delivery is coming soon, I am getting a little nervous, just as I do before every delivery.  But I am in a cycling group where some of the surrogates have had issues with placentas and hemorrhaging.  We have our birth plan all complete and even have a 'what if?' in case a c-section is needed.  My chances are lower with 3 vaginal deliveries of healthy sized babies but there is ALWAYS a chance for that.  But I think if I had to go to the OR, my anxiety would be so high, they would have to knock me out. I know women have these every days and there is nothing that makes me think that a section mama is 'less than' a vaginal delivery mama, I just know that the thought of being cut open while AWAKE scares the HELL out of me.

I have been having a ton of contractions lately and some that I can even time because they last and they are happening frequently.  But then they fizzle out.  One of the most nerve wracking parts of the end of pregnancy is wondering with every twinge, contraction or any other symptom "Is this it?"  Please teacup, when its your time, just let the water break so there is no guessing whatsoever.  Just make it easy for me to discern 'Is this real labor or not?'  You would think that by pregnancy number 4, I would know.  But my water has only ever broken at the hospital.  I've gone to the hospital in early labor twice and been induced from no contractions once. 

E&L will be heading for the States 2 weeks from today.  They will get here on the 23rd.  Our case manager is off of work from the 17-29 and the OB is off from 23-27.  So basically, the most convenient date to deliver is the 30 I think.  But the OB will be on the labor and delivery deck for duty on the 29 so she said that was a good day to have a baby.  But with these contractions... only time will tell if Teacup will cooperate!!

Tomorrow is my first cervical check to see if I am dilating or effacing at all.  So hang tight for an update tomorrow to see how things are going. 

I am also having higher than (my) normal blood pressure but nothing alarming to the medical providers at all. I am also having pitting edema that is ugly and of course it is not comfortable.  The excessively high heart rate is still making me feel pretty crummy. I often have to sit to finish cooking while sitting on a bar stool or sit repeatedly to do laundry. 

 Belly photo and weekly updates!

Now off to rest some.  Rest has not come easy anymore... To pee every 1.5 hours all night and to have numbness in one leg from nerve stuff while pregnant, the other hip hurts because it is the only way I can actually lay down.  Plus now I wake up with numb hands. This morning, I couldn't even turn my alarm off because I couldn't grab my phone! LOL Its all typical end of pregnancy woes!!

More of an update tomorrow!

ALSO  *****Don't forget to cast your votes for the baby pool in the last post!  I would love to get some of E&L's friends and family in on the guessing fun!****

Teacup's Arrival -- A guessing game!

Click here and put your best guess forward with when teacup will arrive, what her name will be, how much she will weigh and how long she will be.  Plus what color will her hair and eyes be!?

This is fun and I would like to see if maybe grandma or grandpa on either the mum's or dad's side has the best guess!!  So please cast your free vote and please be gentle on my uterus -- don't make the date any later than January 5 or I will send you an envelope of glitter that you will never be able to clean up!!

Teacup's Baby Pool Guessing Game

36 weeks and we will be having a baby THIS MONTH!

How crazy is that?  A journey that started more than a year ago with E&L and for me a journey that started more than 8 years ago is finally coming to an end!!  It is pretty unbelievable.  E&L could have their baby in their arms anywhere from now until New Year's Eve.  (I am thinking positive that I won't go over my due date because I haven't yet!)  According to the pregnancy app, we have 3w5d left. 

This week I got a cold that turned into wheezing.  It is quite miserable.  But in true maintenance issue form for our house, it flooded last week. They had a contractor come out and replace a faulty sump pump last week.  We have been having issues with this pump since we moved in.  It caused a sewage smell in our house.  I am happy to report that we no longer have a sewage smell in our house... but the contractor forgot to open the closed water line and it was for the grey water leaving our house. I ran a bath, 3 loads of clothes, a load of dishes, washed dishes by hand and any other times we used the sinks or bathtubs in the house.... Well that water all backed up all over our floor and we had boxes packed for a move.  Of course we had them on the floor of the basement because that day was a sunny, nice day.  No chance of flooding... except we were the unlucky recipients of an incompetent contractor! 

So now I have respiratory funk causing wheezing and coughing and all of the other really lovely things that go with being whale sized like a bladder that leaks when you cough hard enough! 

So here is the 36 week update and bump photo for what is going on inside this body of mine....

Finally, my nesting has happened like crazy for the last minute stuff I have had to get done.  One of the projects I did the other week was organize breast feeding supplies.  I pulled out my tubs and charged pumps and washed bottles.  I got a stackable drawer system to stay organized and set it up next to the couch that has a table and also cup holders for the water I will need to drink.  I am strangely excited about pumping.

Finally - on Black Friday, usually Kurt and I go out shopping but this year, we did it all online.  We got a great deal on an upright freezer and had it delivered this week too.  Need to get this beauty hooked up so that when teacup makes her appearance, we have a place to start putting milk!

I need to meet with the doula this week to get everything finalized with her. We actually have a signed copy of our birth plan in place.  She was great at facilitating all of our needs and mostly explaining things to the IPs about what their choices were for various different aspects of the process. If you want to check out an excellent Doula in the DC area, check out Melissa with Anchored In Hope -- Birth Services Just having this in place and knowing our desires and needs makes it all very real.  I will take it to my OB on this Thursday's appointment to get approval from her.  I will likely be having my cervix checked at this time just to be able to give the IPs an idea of whether or not 39 weeks is still a safe time to wait to come.  Obviously a cervix can change quickly but if we are very effaced or dilated, they may want to consider changing travel plans so we all agreed on these checks just to be diligent with planning!

I think that is it for now... just getting excited and getting bags packed and paperwork finalized!!!

34/35 Week update

I have been totally behind with blogging on time.  Most of the time, in the evenings, I am far too exhausted to even think about blogging.  I am just tired and want to put my feet up. 

Here is a recap of the last 2 weeks. I am going to go ahead and do the 35 week update since I haven't posted that yet either!

First I will post a photo of me at 20 weeks with Teacup (in pink) and 20 weeks with Piper (blue) -- Piper was 8lbs even -- how big is Teacup going to be?!  (This photo from piper just showed up on my news feed from a few years ago, hence the comparison for 20 weeks)

At 34 weeks pregnant, I thought it would be a great idea to hop into a 5k!  I used to run prior to this pregnancy but really did take it easy after the physical therapy on my hips.  Kurt got free bibs through this work and was going to take all 3 kids but I decided that morning to lace up my shoes and at least walk it!  We enjoy doing races together as a family but Kurt is much faster than me anyway, and especially when I am pregnant.  Leah & I walked the race while Kurt, Weston, and Piper ran it -- in less than 34 minutes.  Not too bad for a 5 year old running the whole race!  Along the route, we were the last people.  The sweeper car was behind us, but you know, it didn't bother me.  Eventually we started walking with a really nice woman.  She inspired me.  She had lost 200 lbs and she was telling me that I inspired her because I was walking this race.  We got to know each other and I told her I was a surrogate.  She is the mother of a teenage girl but had many miscarriages along the way and eventually, her and her husband could not fathom another loss so they stopped trying.  When people ask me what made me become a surrogate -- stories like that!! 

Good thing I got a large Turkey Trot Shirt -- This is my belly in my shirt post race!

After the race, we went home, rested some then went to the National Harbor that night for the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony.  It was nice but crowded and I would be lying if I said I was not the slightest bit nervous in that crowd.  The Paris terrorist incidents had happened the night before and the Harbor had the Ferris Wheel lit like the French Flag. 

Here is my 34 week belly shot!

The week before my 34 week appointment, I went to the doctor because I had contracted a really lovely illness called Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease.  I will spare you the photos but first Piper had it, then with my compromised (Pregnant) immune system, I got this childhood illness as an adult too.  The virus comes out of your body through blisters on the soles of your feet, the palms of your hands and in your throat.  Luckily, I did not have any blisters in my throat but the feet and hands were absolutely miserable.  It felt like constant infected splinters or papercuts.  So I went to the doctor after I started getting these blisters in other places (Insides and outsides of thighs, sides of belly) to make sure that everything was okay.  As I was sitting in the doctors office, my pulse was 135, then 105, then 128 -- all while sitting.  So there is me and Piper in the doctors office and the doctor orders blood work, EKG and heart monitors.  I am so fortunate that my doula/friend Melissa was around and she came and got Piper for me so I could do some of this without a toddler.  All is good with my heart -- it is just MY normal but right now, I am sitting with a 24 hour heart monitor on me to monitor why my heart is beating so fast.  I have had a heart monitor all 3 pregnancies and it always shows up as runs of sinus tachycardia and all is good. 

Then I had my next OB appointment with nothing significant to report.  Had the group B strep test to make sure I don't need antibiotics during the labor to prevent it from being passed to baby (a routine test in the States).  Also she talked about delivery plans and what my ideal delivery looks like.  Cervical exams will start at 37 weeks (if requested and I will since we are dealing with a pretty substantial distance for E&L to come).  My blood pressure was good in office but it has been creeping up to a much higher than my normal and borderline high for other people as well so we will keep our eyes on that.  I also have significant swelling in my ankles/feet and its making me a little miserable. 


Last weekend we had absolutely nothing to do -- no shopping, no visits, nothing planned.  So we set up Christmas decorations!

For Thanksgiving, we went to my godparents house and there, I just felt crummy pretty much the whole time. I did a whole lot of sitting around and whining about how bad I felt!  Luckily, everyone told me to just keep sitting and kept bringing me food!  LOL 

I also got this email from E&L -- I hope they know that I feel as blessed as they do this year as well!

Tonight, we came back home and I took the older two kids to see The Nutcracker with the Girl Scout Troop and we had a lot of fun.  I wasn't sure how Weston would feel about it but he definitely enjoyed it!

 

Since I was dressed in real clothes, I decided to do my 35 week photo today too! 

 Finally -- A funny little graphic to show the stages of pregnancy. I am somewhere between 8 and 9 months pregnant and feeling quite uncomfortable. 

Off to bed now!!! Hopefully I will do a better job at updating at 36 weeks!!

32 and 33 week updates!

Things have been crazy hectic around here with a lot going on!  So even though I am no longer in school, I still don't have enough time to myself!  Or maybe I am not looking for an excuse to not do school work while still on my computer!

Last Wednesday, we hit 32 weeks!  I cannot believe how fast this pregnancy is flying by. 

Here are the 32 week photos followed by some things we did last week and finally what we have going on this week as well!

She's starting to look like a chubby sweet newborn!

Those feet are what come out the side -- I actually get feet on the OUTSIDE of my ribs and not the inside!

Teacup weighed almost 4 lbs a few weeks before this -- so it will be interesting to see what her birth weight will be!

She better stay down head down!!!  She likes to get a little crazy and go transverse (Sideways) as evidenced in the below photo -- I also feel the hiccups in different places than just down low when she moves.

Left is when she was head down at the ultrasound the week before.  Then at 32 weeks, suddenly my big round belly was no more.  She had gone sideways so instead of being out, I was wide!  She's back to head down now, but occasionally I feel her change positions. 

She was transverse in this photo too!

Fall is in full effect here in Northern Virginia -- except it keeps going between 50 degrees and almost 80 degrees! I won't complain about the warm weather though! 

Happy 240th Birthday Marines! This is me with my handsome date (My husband) to the Marine Corps Birthday Ball

Finding a dress was a challenge and I realized that even though it fit, some photos just made me look wide rather than pregnant!

Leah & myself in the barn at the farm at University of Maryland Campus

My brother in law (a Marine Corps Veteran) came to the Birthday Ball with us and also to the Wisconsin vs Maryland game on Saturday.  In case you were wondering, Wisconsin won the Maryland homecoming game!

This non-maternity shirt was a bit snug!  But I had to make it work!

We had front row tickets and my kids were spoiled by the trainers!

The kids were so excited to meet Bucky Badger!

                                           33 Weeks!

 This week I have had some sudden swelling but its pretty normal -- my ankles and calves are swelling but not my feet.  Its weird but my blood pressure is totally normal so my husband is kicking in and doing some house work to help me stay off of my feet as much. 

Pain relief in our birth plan (which is almost complete!) will not be any types of meds.  I had my last baby with no pain meds.  So as of now, that is the plan!  Also -- there it is, swelling is normal but we will keep our eyes on it!

She is back out front again!  I have resorted to wearing mostly dresses and leggings because nothing else covers that belly anymore! 

This week is always very special in our house.  On November 10, 1775, in a bar (Tun Tavern) in Pennsylvania, the Marine Corps Started.  Each year, they celebrate with a very traditional ceremony at the ball and everyone wishes each Marine a Happy Birthday.  On November 11, here in the US, we celebrate Veteran's Day where we honor veterans past and present for their sacrifices while serving.. and only is it fitting that my husband was born today on Veteran's Day and the day after the Marine Corps Birthday!  So we always have a busy week!  I am very proud to be the spouse of a service member-- it doesn't come without sacrifice, but I can say that I am always so excited to see him in his  Dress Blues at this time of year!  I also admire his tenacity and work ethic even if it does blur over into our daily lives.  He is a very good Marine and a hard worker and always gives his all to Marines -- especially those that he leads!

Lunch with Weston after his Veteran's Day Program

Crafts with Leah in her classroom for Veteran's Day!

Ice Cream at Cold Stone Creamery -- Teacup really liked that!

We still got ice cream even though we had an ice cream cake at home!