6 am...Day after Christmas

Well this amazing Christmas is winding down.  We've just hugged and said our goodbyes to Jonathan, Misty, and Jenna as they departed for Little Rock.  Sad to see them go, but very happy they were here.

We were so blessed this Christmas!  December 17th was the day we've counted down to for so long...Kerry graduated!  It was an amazing feeling watching him receive his awards and diploma--like a weight lifted.  Then the icing on the cake, he passed his national certification on the 23rd!  For him, that means being able to relax and enjoy the next couple of weeks before he starts to work.  In the mean time, we'll be packing boxes and getting ready to make the move up to Dothan into our new house.  How exciting!  I can't wait to decorate the nursery and plant flowers.  :)

Speaking of the nursery,  Justin and I are doing quite well.  We'll be switching doctors in the near future, and that sort of makes me nervous.  I'm growing like crazy (because, I suppose, he is too).  I can feel him kicking pretty regularly now, even if other folks can't quite yet.  Kerry did get to feel it on a particularly active evening, and that's something I'll always cherish.  His face was so funny!  We're both still in awe of the things going on and how much God has blessed us over the past few years, but especially the last few months.  Looking forward to an amazing 2012!

Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails...that's what little boys are made of!

That's right!

Justin Michael Varner, our SON (!!!), will make his debut in April.  My doctor appointment went well again today.  So far, Justin measures dead on schedule for an April 25 due date.  He has a heart rate in the 140's, and weighs about a half a pound.  So far so good for me, too.

Also, during our Thanksgiving break, our niece, Jenna, was born.  She's a beautiful girl, and I can't wait for Christmas to come so I can squeeze her!  

Less than 2 weeks until graduation!  We're so thrilled!  God is good. :)

Helloooooooo 2nd Trimester!

I haven't had this much energy in...well...at least 3 months!  I'm about a week into the second trimester (over a third of the way there, yayuh) and I feel the fabulousness.  The nauseated gross feeling has left me for the most part, my crazy pregosaurus rex attitude has chilled out a little, and I still take a snooze here and there, but I was actually able to get out and RUN today - not jog, RUN.  And it felt great for a number of reasons.

We're in the process of signing papers, etc, for our house, so hopefully soon we'll be homeowners!  We absolutely love the one we picked out, so hopefully all goes well, and we can move in before Christmas.  I really really want to put up a Christmas tree this year, but I'm afraid I might not be able to.  46 days until graduation, so the time is drawing nearer!

In other updates, the "first" friend I ever had finally walked down the isle this weekend!  I was proud to stand by Jessica on her big day, and even prouder that the bridesmaid dress zipped...whew.  The wedding was absolutely beautiful, and the reception was so much fun!  I never thought I'd see her daddy (my other daddy) dancing to DJ Khaled!  Hysterical!  She married a real sweet guy, too, so that's a huge plus ;)

Next doctor visit is on Monday, so maybe, JUST MAYBE we'll get to see if this little person is a boy or a girl!

11 weeks 5 days - another great checkup!

3D image.  See him/her hiding behind the cord?

Profile Shot!

Another great checkup today!  Things are moving right along as they should according to the doctor and the ultrasound tech.  It's good to "know" people...I knew the tech from work when she was trainging as a student, so she gave me a few extra minutes, and even did a 3d/4d scan just to see.  We didn't get to see a face because the cord and arms were all up in the way, but that's ok...it most likely doesn't look "normal" yet anyway!  I love it when Kerry is along for these appointments.  He's so excited - asking all kinds of questions and pointing to the screen grinning SO big.  They told me that probably not the next visit, but the one after that is when we should know if this is a "JMV" or a "MSV"...tentatively speaking that is.  ;)  And NO, I'm not divulging names until we know...so there!

HGTV?!

Update time! Update time!

So since we've begun looking for houses over the last few weeks, smart little me thought it would be a funny idea to write to HGTV to see if we could get on one of their homebuying shows.  Well, "My First Place" and "Property Virgins" weren't currently looking for anyone, but "House Hunters" had an open invite.  Naturally I filled in the blanks and hit send--all the while not counting on anything coming of it.  3 days later, there was a message from an unknown person in my inbox that simply said "House Hunters" in the subject line.  It was one of the segment producers thanking me for the inquiry...blah blah blah.  I skimmed it thinking it would say "thanks but no thanks"...but wait...what did that say?!?  "We would love to know more about you and Kerry.  Where are you in your homebuying process?  When is the best time to reach you?"  SAY WHAT!?!?  I responded with our phone number, etc., and he wrote me back later the next day to set up a phone interview with us!  AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!  So next Tuesday he's going to run through the process and get to know us a little better.  WOW!   How cool would that be?!  Now--Pessimistic Polly (me) still holds out that they will say "thanks but no thanks"...but to get this far?  That's gotta be something, right?

In other news, baby V and I are doing well.  Nausea is still lingering, but I'm a little more energetic each day (especially if I get a nap!) and I'm happy as I can be!  I may be just looking for an excuse, but I've started having trouble being comfy in my smaller pants I worked so hard to get into this year.  Glad I saved the bigger ones, because I think they'll be necessary sooner than later!

Today is our 4 year/10 year anniversary.  We're kind of bummed we couldn't spend it together since he's in Dothan, but he'll be home tomorrow and that's all right with me.  I can hardly believe it's been a decade since he picked me up in his big, black, LOUD truck and took me to Subway.  :)  How romantic, right?  Hey- we all start somewhere.  Haha!  I've been smitten with him since that day!  We've eaten at a lot of other restaurants since, too.  ;)

Keep your fingers crossed for us!!!

From afraid to blessed

Listen...wait...did you hear that WHOOOSH sound?  That was life passing by!  Call it my hormones, call it an awakening, but I've had such an emotional day --and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I started out my morning with a bowl of cereal and a movie while petting my dog.  As I looked at Otis, the thoughts started coming to me:  we're less than 3 months from graduation...we're 6 months from becoming parents...life is about to change radically!  So, naturally, Nicole got scared and had a little sniffle/cry spell.  My day got immensely better when we went to church.  I had calmed down significantly by then, and was looking forward to the praise and worship part of the service.  I sang loud as I could, and with tears running all over again, praised God for our immense blessings - instead of being afraid of the changes.  How freeing that was!  God is good :)

Later, we had a surprise visit from my mom and dad!  We ate lunch and cruised around, just visiting, and it did my heart a world of good as well.  I am glad we'll be a touch closer when we move.  (remember I'm a homebody, right?)  After they left, we shopped around for houses online.  Right at sunset, though, we headed to the beach to stroll along at sunset...holding hands...you know, lovey dovey like, which also did my heart a world of good.  It's tough for Kerry to be gone so much of the week, but we know that this situation is for the betterment of our NEXT situation, and that's what's getting us through.

Humor me and check out this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FUr5vs-AwQ
This is a snippet of the AMAZING music at 9forty.  We will miss Woodlawn UMC when we move.

First Doctor Visit

So today was our first visit to the doctor.  I don't know what I was expecting -- I can say I've had more eventful doctor visits, but hey, she gave us a clean bill of health and said we're doing fine!  She waited for Kerry to get there from class to do the ultrasound.  We got to see the tiny flicker of a heartbeat and our little butterbean/jelly bean/peanut/etc!  We're in love. :)

She confirmed our due date to be April 25 (which Kerry claims to not like for some reason or another).  But we'll take him or her whenever he or she decides to show up...just hopefully not tooooo early.  Next appointment is October 10.

OHHH BOY...or girl... :)

How about that?  We're going to be parents!  It still really hasn't quite sunk in for either of us, but this weekend was like Christmas morning for us.  We've known for the past couple of weeks, but just didn't tell anyone.  Let me tell you that's the hardest secret I've ever kept!  I mean, we both wanted to run to the radio station and broadcast it to the world that very minute, but we know that wouldn't be appreciated ;)

The morning I took the test, I was up at 3:30, all alone, and thinking "this will prove Kerry wrong."  He had been telling me all week that I needed to take one, so when I agreed, guess what...for one of the first times in recorded history, HE was right, and I was wrong!  (just a little joke there...heh)  I woke him up whining that I couldn't sleep any more, so he needed to get up and watch a movie with me.  I picked several off our shelf (Nine Months, Knocked Up, Junior, etc.) and told him he had to choose from those.  He just shrugged because he didn't get it at that point, picked one, and got up and put on his scrubs.  THEN he shuffled to the bathroom and saw the stick...I wish you could have witnessed the range of facial expressions he gave!  I laughed SO much!!

We came home this weekend to spread the news.  We let Otis tell my parents (with a tshirt that said "I'M GOING TO BE A BIG BROTHER") and we brought a birthday cake to his mom from the baby and Brayden (her first grandbaby).  It was so much fun!  Everyone is so excited and we just love it.  Can't wait to see what the next few months will be like.

So far, I fell pretty good.  Not too much nausea, but I could give Rip van Winkle a run for his money in the sleep department!  I can sleep sitting straight up! 

Trust me there will be more blogs to follow on this topic.  Keep us lifted up in prayer!  =)

Ch-ch-ch-Changes!

I'm writing quietly this afternoon so as not to wake Kerry, who is recouperating from oral surgery.  The wisdom teeth finally came out today!  I know he'll be much happier tomorrow, but it's hard to see him not feeling too good at the moment.  Unlike my experience, he said he can remember everything - which is a scary thought for me.  Bless him! 

Over the weekend, we said goodbye to Ol' Blue and hello to the new family ride! That Honda took me everywhere from the age of 17 until now, so it's kind of sad to see it go, but I LOVE my new car!  It's a 2011 Nissan Murano, and it's sharp if I do say so myself.  :)

Another semester is in the books, and this is the beginning of the LAST SEMESTER OF ANESTHESIA SCHOOL!  ~*par-tay!*~  Less than 4 months to go at this point, and it's going by extremely quickly.  After labor day Kerry will start clinicals at Flowers Hospital, so I hope it keeps flying by.  I hate being separated!  We should be house hunting soon in the Dothan area, as well, so all you folks that know your way around Dothan, help us out! 

New England in two Days

I neglected to blog anymore from Boston, I'm sorry...but we've been here and done that, so not really too much new to report on.  There were meetings, dinners, naps, etc.  Just like normal, right?  ;)

BUT, Thursday finally came, and we were done with Boston and ready to take on the rest of New England.  We packed our bags, checked out of the Sheraton, and took a taxi to the airport to pick up our rental car.  It was a 2012 Ford Focus - small, but very surprisingly NICE!  Kerry nicknamed it the squirrel, and we took off headed north.

As soon as we crossed into the state of Maine, we pulled off at the welcome center to get some maps and plot our lighthouse route on the way to Portland.  We saw a total of 7 - there were many more on the way, they were just a couple of miles offshore, and only visible by boat or helicopter (of which we had neither).  We stopped for lunch nearby Cape Elizabeth at the Lobster Shack for a lobster roll and french fries.  Of all the food I ate on the trip, I must say that a lobster roll is the one thing I'd love to have again and again! The air temperature stayed in the mid-70s, and the drive was absolutely beautiful.  If it wasn't for the winters, I'd be very tempted to pack up and move up that way!  I don't do winter too well! :)

After a full day of chasing down lighthouses and points of interest, we pulled into the B&B, and were greeted warmly by the innkeeper.  He showed us to the 3rd floor of a VERY old house, and told us it was ours!  Yay for privacy.  :)  He gave us a few pointers on dinner - we wanted somewhere the locals would hang out rather than the overpriced, tourist-driven, fancy-shmancy stuff. He sent us to the harbor area to J's Oyster Bar.  Definitely a gritty hole-in-the-wall, but the servers were fun, and had that awesome distinctive Maine accent.  "You ottah go up to Bah Habah.  It's ahhsome."  We both ordered the steamed dinner (1 1/2 pound lobster, a dozen clams, and an ear of corn), and got the lesson in how to eat them.  Only word for it was FAB-U-LOUS.  We meandered around the cobblestone streets downtown for a few and headed back to the B&B.

Breakfast Friday morning was a bread boule stuffed with eggs, local cheeses, and bacon...A+ in my book!  You can't go wrong with bacon. ;)   The innkeeper was kind enough to give us directions to the Kancamangus  Highway for a scenic drive through Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.  We drove for a total of maybe 8 hours all day (through 5 states and 3 mountain ranges), but we made it from Portland all the way to Albany, New York - and then back to Framingham, MA to spend the night.

So now here we sit at the airport, rental care turned in and waiting to check our bags.  It'll be another long day of travel, but we'll eventually be back to PCB and real life - and laundry.  Tomorrow, we pick up Otis!  I can't wait to see my little man...it's been 2 weeks!  Thanks for checking up on us - til next time.  :)

Bright Lights and a Bigger City!

It's Varner Vacation time again!  Except this time around it's only about 50% vacation for Kerry.  We're here in the great city of Boston, MA for the AANA annual conference.  He's been pretty busy at the Wellness Committee's booth, so I've had time to catch up on sleep, shop, etc.

We left Friday morning bright and early from PCB's airport headed up (with a pit stop in Baltimore to change planes).  We arrived at Logan around noon, and quickly realized at the baggage claim that the airline had broken and ripped our bags.  {Side note - Southwest Airlines, you will be hearing from me.  Bags fly free, but not gently, huh?} Kerry asked a nearby airport employee for directions to the T (subway), and he told us to jump on the next shuttle.  WELL, about 2 minutes into the ride we realized we had gotten on without paying, so MBTA, here is my apology for being a stow-away on the bus, then the red and green lines, respectively!  We resurfaced and headed down the 2 block walk to the hotel, and checked in.  Kerry had to go to the conference pretty much immediately, so I unpacked.  As I unpacked I discovered not only were our bags broken, but some of our stuff was, also.  So, after some rinsing and muttering under my breath, our clothes finally smell normal again.  Ugh.
We ate dinner at the food court that's part of the Prudential Center's mall (aka the PRU), and enjoyed a little stroll around outside.  Temps in the 70s are MUUUUUCH better than 110 in the shade back home!

Saturday after the conference activities were finished, the group went to Fenway Pahk to see the Sox beat up on the Yankees!  It was such a good time.  We hung out at the Bleacher Bar for a few before going into the stadium for the game.  Kerry absoultely loves it here.  It's fun to see him like such a little kid.  :)
After the game, we all walked to Beacon Hill to eat at the 21st Amendment - which claims to be the first pub to open after the repeal of Prohibition.  Pretty cool. :)

I'll update again as the trip goes on.  So far, so good, though.

Helloooooooooooooo Dothan!

Since Thursday, you haven't been able to wipe the smiles off the faces around this house!  Know why?  We got the call--Kerry has a job lined up for when he is finished with school!  We are so thrilled!

We had been kayaking the Econfina all day Thursday with my parents.  When we got back to the car to unload and drive back to PCB, both our phones had missed calls from Dothan, AL numbers.  He returned the call, and put it on speaker phone so we could hear the conversation.  Kerry will be working for Flowers Hospital!  Let me tell you, I was DANCING in that passenger seat!  We are one step closer to being done now, and we are both thankful that we will still be close to family.

So of course, typical me, I laid awake most of the night that night worrying about change.  Change is good, but change stresses me out 99.99% of the time.  "We need to find a house."   "How can we afford a house?  We've only rented the entire time we've been married."  "What will I do now?"  "We'll have to find a new church, doctors, friends, etc"  All these things were running through my mind at once!  I always envisioned the day we found out where we'd end up would be a load off our minds, not a NEW load. 

I've done a lot of praying, and I've had Kerry bring the last 2 weeks sermons from church back to my attention (which were both about fear and worry...ironic?).  I've always hated to move, but since we've done it SO much since we got married we should be pros by now.  Hopefully this transition will be smooth, and we'll get to stay put for a long, long time. 

P90X...a retrospective.

The past 90 days we have been working our fannies off!  Literally.  :) 
I didn't really post a whole lot about it for the first couple of weeks because (classic Nicole) I was afraid of failure.  When those first 2 pounds came off and I said, "You know,  I might actually be able to do this,"  I decided to go public with the fact that we were giving it a try.  Since I never blogged about it, or did much more than write a couple of facebook statuses about it, I'll reflect on it now.

We started back in January while Kerry was on his rotation in Marianna.  We're not big on New Year's resolutions or anything, it was just a timing thing.  Based on a little research, we picked up with the Lean version - mostly because it adds more cardio into the mix, and that's what I love to do!  We also adopted a higher protein eating plan, and tried to get more veggies in the mix as well. 

Keeping track of everything was the fun part.  We took pictures the day before we started, at 30, 60, and now 90 days respectively.  We measured at 30 days (because we forgot to at the start) and again at 90...and I was a little blown away with my results.  Kerry wasn't really looking to lose weight so much as he was looking to bulk up a little and shed some flab.  What flab?  Ha...I've always thought he looked awesome myself ;)

I started out at a weight that I've been since 2006.  I'm pretty good at maintaining...I credit that to a liking for running.  Now, I'm at a number I haven't seen since my freshman year of college at Troy!  11 pounds may not be drastic like biggest loser numbers, or anything--but they're 11 pounds I won't miss!  From day 30 to day 90 I shed 8 inches as well...and depending on the brand of pants, 2 pant sizes!  Yay me!

top left: day 1  top right: day 30
bottom left: day 60  bottom right:  day 90

Kerry lost about 12 pounds and 9 inches.  The biggest difference in him has to be muscular, though.  He has abs for crying out loud!  I'm so proud of him!  :)

left: day1   right: day 90

We're not stopping here, though.  We're taking a weekend off to relax and Monday we start Insanity with Shaun T. Gluttons for punishment? Maybe so.  But to quote Tony Horton, "I hate it...but I love it."

BRING IT!!!

Happy New Year!

Bye bye, 2010! I can't even begin to say how enormously excited I am that this year has come. It is officially Kerry's graduation year. Not that we're wishing our lives away, but this is a time we would definitely like to get behind us. Everyone makes resolutions this time of year...but I'll plead the fifth for ours until later.

Christmas and the days after were good to us. We got to see nearly all of our families! We are truly blessed.

Kerry is working at a small hospital in Marianna this month, so we won't see a whole lot of each other. I'm praying this month flies by!!