Exciting News!!

We have had a very eventful week. I got my thyroid levels checked and they are right on track. :) As if that wasn't good enough news, as we were preparing to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary on the 14th , we were blessed with the best present ever. We found out that the Kindle family is growing by 2 feet. We are expecting another baby!!! Yea!! We are all very excited, especially Aubree. She has been asking for a baby for a while now and God decided that now is the time. It's amazing to me how time and time again God knows what we need and when we need it. I have been praying for a baby for a few months now and wanted it in my own time. Just at the time when I'm at peace with it not happening, God goes and makes it happen. What a blessing!! Aubree is already telling me all the things I need to be doing and don't need to do with a baby in my belly. She told me no more hot tubbing and as I was in the middle of the Insanity work out Kerry and I are commited to, she began scolding me to stop working out so hard. Lol! I am determined to keep doing this workout. I may not be able to have a complete "beach body" as the program guarantees and as I was anticipating before I found out I was pregnant. But I'm still hopeful to get my legs and arms toned up and do what I can. I am very early into the pregnancy, I found out at this same stage when I was pregnant with Aubree. Which makes for a very long pregnancy but I can just tell with my body and knew immediately what was happening. My estimated due date is Jan. 15th at this point. Wow!! I can't believe our family is about to consist of 4 people instead of 3 in just 9 months. I am already doodling names like crazy and cannot wait to see if its a girl or a boy. I feel exactly the same as I did with Aubree, so at this point I'm leaning towards it being a girl. We would love her to have a sister but are mainly just hoping for a healthy baby no matter what the sex is. Such exciting news!!! We enjoyed a romantic dinner at Villa Montez Saturday evening in honor of our anniversary. It was a great evening and although we tried not to allow the new baby to be the center of conversation, it did keep coming up A LOT. We are both so happy and nothing makes you feel more connected than to be expecting a baby with the one you love. After dinner we enjoyed one of our favorites from back in our early dating days, Marble Slab. I have an intense love for ice cream and nothing ranks higher on my list than sweet cream and cinnamon from Marble Slab. It was a great anniversary and I already have the most precious thing (besides Aubree) that Kerry could ever give me in my tummy. Plus I recently purchased a new brown Coach hand bag and wallet and to justify the expense(as if I needed to do that but its too late now) I said that could be my anniversary present. So I kinda jipped myself there but I must admit I don't need or want for anything. Another very exciting factor in our lives is that Kerry just finished his school and graduated top of his class with a 4.0 GPA. I'm so proud of him and excited for what lies ahead of him. He now has his previous Bachelors degree in Business and an Associate degree in Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration. So many possibilities and such a bright future ahead of him and I'm just thrilled for him and our growing family. Kerry and I recently agreed to co coach Aubree"s t-ball team after her coach had to take another team. It has been a very fun, however, very interesting experience for us. The teams first games are next Saturday so we will really know more about how we are doing then. The kiddos are so cute and really having fun and learning the fundamentals at this point. I guess that's the most important thing anyway. Kerry put together Aubree's playhouse, complete with a stove, sink, telephone, clock and working doorbell from Nona and Pa and Mema on Sunday while I enjoyed a nice lunch in Up Town with my girlfriends from high school. We met at Ashley's and she had prepared an amazing lunch for us. We spent hours gathered around the table laughing and catching up. I am so thankful for these amazing women who I have grown up with and remained very close to. Sunday evening I enjoyed Aubree's Parent's Day Out end of the year program at the church. The class sang for us and recited scriptures they had memorized. It was such a sweet program. I feel so blessed and am looking forward to enjoying every moment of this pregnancy and the warm summer months that are vastly approaching. Til next time....XOXO

Having so much fun that I forgot to blog!

We had a very special Easter holiday. It is so nice having both our families live so close that we are able to spend holidays with them all. After Easter service we ate lunch with Kerry's grandparents, then we went to my great Uncle and Aunt's for the traditional Easter egg hunt with my family. Which is growing by leaps and bounds with all the new lil additions. It was so fun to see Aubree hunt eggs in the same yard and field I grew up hunting in with all my cousins. We finished the day off with dinner and another egg hunt at Kerry's parents with his family. It was a great day spent with all our loved ones. We celebrated Aubree's 4th birthday the following Tuesday(26th). I woke her up singing happy birthday. Then she unwrapped a special present from Kerry and I and got ready for parents day out. I took a cute Hello Kitty cupcake cake to her class so that they could all celebrate with her. She had a great day and when I picked her up from school I told her that since it's her special day she could pick what we did for the rest of the day and if we went out to eat or wanted me to cook something special. The sweetheart said she really wanted to spend the day at home playing with her puppies. So that is exactly what we did. After Kerry got home she requested to have dinner at the Dugan's house with the girls. So Lannie grilled chicken and shrimp and she got her wish. It was a great day spent celebrating my precious angel. That Saturday we threw her a carnival themed party at the house. I rented a 24 foot bounce slide, had pony rides, face painting, some carnival games and a concession stand complete with all the carnival foods. Nachos, hot dogs, popcorn, snow cones, cotton candy, giant pickles, cracker jacks, lemonade and lots of candy. It was a great party and she had a blast. She is still telling me how much fun it was! :) It was a lot of work but worth every second to make her feel loved. This past week was cruising right along but we hit a tough spot on Thursday. Aubree and I were out in the yard playing with the pups and feeding the ducks some bread when Max decided to run out in the road and chase a big 2quarter ton truck pulling a trailer. He ran right under the front wheel and got stuck. I grabbed Aubree up and ran her into the house. Sadly he got hurt pretty badly and we had to learn one of life's toughest lessons: saying goodbye. Aubree was so devastated, as were we all. Max was a great dog. He had such a sweet, soft side to him and such warm eyes. He was the protector of his sister Zoe and of our home. He is missed so much! Thankfully, Kerry was off on Friday and he and Aubree spent the whole day together and I think her broken heart is mending fine. After work on Friday the 3 of us enjoyed a couple of hours of fishing. It was a great stress releaser and I enjoyed spending time with my family in the beautiful, peaceful nature God created. On Saturday Bebe took Aubree and I to Dallas to the American Girl store. Aubree picked out the twin dolls, had their hair fixed in the salon, got the twin stroller and some extra outfits and then we enjoyed a great lunch with her new babies in the AG cafe. That place is amazing and it was great to see her have so much fun. After church today we spent Mother's Day honoring Kerry' family at Cracker Barrel,his Grandmother's choice for lunch and after a couple hour break which I spent relaxing on the deck sunbathing, we spent the evening and had dinner with my family at Mom's. We have both been blessed by amazing women in our lives. We both have great Mother's and Grandmothers who have been Godly examples of what a Mother should be. They are not only our Mother's but our friends and biggest supporters in life. Without them we would both be lost. I am so thankful for the love of both our Mothers and families. Thanks Mom and My 2nd Mom, Bebe, for all you do for us and for being such an involved part of our lives. We love you both dearly. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. I want to leave you with the closing point of our sermon this morning. It rang true in my ears and I hope it will in yours too. As Bro. Ronald said, after preaching a great Mother's day sermon, " Remember there is no perfect Mom. Every Mom has at some point trials and difficulties in their heart and life so do not try to be perfect. Instead turn to the Lord in your hardships and pray to him and he will help you through the trials. As a mother we do not need to be perfect but only remember to always turn to the Lord for everything. " I am so guilty of striving for perfection and then beating myself up when I fall short. Isn't it good to know our God doesn't expect perfection from us but only wants to be a part of our daily walk. What a great God we serve!!

April has been a fun month for us. Aubree started a coed instructional t-ball league. It is fun to watch her learn a sport that I have so many fond memories of. As a child I spent every summer at the ball fields and it is where I made some of my best friends and even had my first crush. Its exciting to see all the little ones run and play. Kerry informed me after the first practice that one of the neatest things for him about helping with the team that evening was that he was out on the field with five other guys that he graduated high school with. Pretty cool to get to raise your babies with your old buddies I guess. I got to enjoy lunch on the Mi Cocina patio with my old high school gang a couple weeks ago. It was a beautiful day spent with great company catching up. This week we have spent a lot of time at the hospital with our loved ones. Mom and Pa both had surgery and are recovering as I type this. I am thankful for modern medicine and techniques that can heal our bodies. I have been anxiously planning every detail of Aubree's 4th birthday party. She is dead set on having it in our back yard again this year. So I am going to honor her wish, since she is the birthday girl. I can't believe my baby is already four. :( She is growing way too fast! She is so sassy and has a little bit of fire to her too. She is very well rounded if you ask me. She loves animals, the outdoors, playing baby dolls, fishing, shopping, riding four wheelers, and playing with her friends to name a few of her favorite things. Her and Kerry have already caught some pretty large catfish out of our pond. I am hoping to wet a line with them soon! Kerry only has three more weeks of school before he is finished. Looking back it is amazing how fast the years have flown. He is so excited to see an end in sight. We are ready to get our evenings together back as well. While Kerry was at school yesterday Aubree and I enjoyed a fun evening at the Van Zandt Count Fair. we rode with Amie and the Dugan kiddos and we met up with the Stewart family while we were there too. It was so fun to watch the kids run and play and giggle and laugh as they rode all the rides. We had a great night and made lots of memories. I am excited for another beautiful weekend in small town GS. Hope God's blessing pour down on you wherever you are! XOXO

Blessed Beyond Belief

Exactly a week ago today I went into surgery for the removal of the left lobe of my thyroid and the isthmus. I was terrified that the results of that procedure were going to change my life forever. Unable to really let my mind admit to that but being past it, I can honestly say that now. Dr. Abrameit did an amazing job with my surgery and I have had a great recovery. I am still healing but the news we received 48 hours following the surgery made me feel like a healed woman. My tumor was benign. I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted from not only my shoulders but all those around me. I know I had tons of people faithfully praying for me all around the world and I strongly believe God heard those prayers and He answered them. I can not say thank you to everyone enough. I am also grateful for the loving friends and family who stood beside me during this scary process. My husband was the best "nurse" I could ever ask for. He showed me an amazing amount of love, patience and concern during this time and the days following my surgery. He made me one of my favorite soups(his grandmother's broccoli and cheese) and citrus fruit smoothies and even rented movies that he knew I would love(usually we have to do some negotiating when it comes to movies). He took such good care of me and made me so comfortable. I have never seen a man with such compassion and love. Initially I tried to keep all emotion and talk of what was going on away from Aubree. However, the night before my doctors appointment I had a weak momment. All along I had forced myself to think positively and not allow thoughts of negativity and fear to tant my mind. But I was hit hard all of a sudden with all these emotions of fear and the unknown and Kerry sat and held me in the bedroom as I cried. I didn't think at the time Aubree was around or could make out what was going on. Then a few days later she told her Bebe, "My Daddy is strong, he can hold my Momma." Bebe not knowing where this is going said, "Yes, he is" Aubree then told her,"He holds my Momma when she cries about her neck." From the momment Bebe told me that I knew I needed to talk more openly yet age appropriately with Aubree about what was happening instead of pretending nothing was happening at all. It was a very tough time for us as a family. We were all a little fearful of the unknown. Although the majority of the time we did a good job on staying positive and finding hope in what we knew to be true. I must at this time say thank you to my wonderful mother. She had such optimistic and encouraging words of wisdom during the entire process. Never once did she allow me to see the fear she must have felt. But I know it was there, she was just too strong and had enough strength for the both of us. When I called her with the report from the pathologist and told her it was benign, she was so happy and said, " Guess I can cut my hair now." She shared with me that even though I had been a little annoyed with her new, longer than ever hair do and had not only mentioned her needing to get it cut and styled numerous times but I even bought her a gift certificate with a stylist at a salon and at the time she acted as if she just didn't know what she wanted to get done to it. In all actuality, she told me she was growing her hair out because we have the same color(give or take a few gray hairs) and texture of hair so that if I had to loose mine she would be able to have a wig made of her hair for me. What an amazing mother I have!!! Hearing her tell me that not only melted my heart but made me feel like such a horses rear for all the comments I had made about her needing to do something with her hair. What an example my mother has been for me of a mother's love for their children. She has time and time again given her all to me and lifted me up when I wasn't sure I could stand on my own. She is an inspiration to me daily. I know she reads this and I just hope she knows how grateful I am. I love u, Mom! I have also felt a tremendous amount of love from my mother-in-law and have been ever so thankful for her wisdom and comforting words. I have an amazing support system and could never mention all the compassion and encouragement people have given to me but please know every word, phone call, card and flower sent meant the world to me. I appreciate it more than I could ever express! I am anxious for the wound to heal and to allow this experience to leave a lasting impression on my life. I believe everything happens for a reason. I want to use this trial as a testimony of what God can do and how precious every breath truly is. I never want to take this life for granted. I hope I live each day to the fullest and allow God to use me in the way He has planned. Thanks again for all the prayers, love and support!!

The month of February was quite a whirl wind and with all the chaos I easily neglected my blog. The month started off with Kerry getting sick super bowl weekend. On Monday he tested positive for type A flu and by Monday night Aubree and I were running fever as well. Our household was out of commission for a full week but thanks to an early start on tamfliu Bree and I had a much milder case than Kerry did. At least we were all home piled up in bed together. And thanks to my wonderful Mom and Mema, we had food delivered to our door step daily. I LOVE my Momma's potato soup and Mema made sure Aubree didn't go without her beans and cornbread while she was stuck in the house. The country girl loves any kind of beans. We enjoyed a romantic night at Olive Garden in celebration of Valentine's Day. There was nothing more perfect than spending time with my two loves. And although Kerry had class after dinner, I still enjoyed a lil shopping with my lil love bug. Aubree and I also made cute, mini cupcakes for her grandparents and class party on Tuesday. They turned out so precious and were very yummy and fun to bake! It was as perfect as any Monday could be. I enjoyed a fun Saturday night in the big city with my girlfriends in celebration of Mandi's upcoming marriage. We stayed at a very modern hotel, Aloft and ate fresh sushi at Kiniche and then topped the night off at Ghost Bar. Which I must say has the most awesome city scape view I have ever seen in the Dallas area. We didn't run into any famous stars at Ghost Bar but I will admit we felt like for one night we were the rich and famous. LOL! It was so much fun and a great night of female bonding. The following weekend was the couple shower for Matt and Mandi and it was another great night with wonderful couples and families. On the 24th I went to see my endocrinologist for a routine check up. I took Aubree hoping to enjoy a little more time with her before I took her to school. Well, the appointment went south real fast when I told the doctor that based on an ultrasound I had done it looked like the tissue had changed. She immediately wanted another FNA(biopsy) and I certainly wasn't counting on that since we had just had one a few months prior. I guess I was sorta in denial and trying to make lightly of the change until the doctor expressed her concern. Well Aubree stood right there beside me holding my hand as the doc stuck a HUGE needle into my neck four times to collect the sample. Aubree didn't even shed a tear. She was so brave and mature. Next I was off to the lab for some blood work and then would be waiting about seven days for a phone call from the doctor. Meanwhile, we celebrated the union of our two dear friends at Stone Oak Ranch. It was a beautiful ceremony and a great reception. Aubree really did not like her Momma dancing at all. Every time she would realize I was on the dance floor she would pull my back off. But I love to dance and I would wait til she was playing and dancing with the other lil girls and sneak right back out there. he-he! Besides, isn't she too young to already be embarressed by her Momma?? At home we turn the radio up and dance all the time. I was surprised she had such a beef with it, but she clearly did. One thing that we have both been enjoying lately is playing at the local park a couple times per week. This is perfect weather and the mosquitos haven't taken over yet. We have so much fun and I even managed to sneak in a few pictures. Aubree's joyful laughter and those memories are PRICELESS! It has been a tradition to spend Sunday afternoons at our second home with the Dugan's. We have enjoyed this beautiful sunshine outdoors. The guys throwing horse shoes while the kiddos zoom around on the four wheelers and us women enjoy relaxing in the warm air. Its really a perfect, relaxing way to end the weekend. I received a call from my doctor early Monday morning saying the pathology report came back saying I had a follicular lesion with Hurthle cell neoplasm. The doctor requested a second opinion and had me do more blood work. In the mean time I was trying to stay true to what I know is the truth and not let my mind wonder. The second report came back the same as the first and my blood work was all out of whack again. We discovered I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis, which does explain my hypothyroidism. A Hurthle cell tumor is an uncommon and controversial neoplasm. The pathologic determination of malignancy is difficult as the architectural and cytological features of the benign and malignant tumors overlap. FNA is useful only to establish the presence of Hurthle cell neoplasm. The final diagnosis is dependent on histological analysis of the surgical specimen. Therefore, the only safe way to tell what we are dealing with is to have it removed. This has been a very scary realization and I am reluctant to have my thyroid removed but at this point have no other option. I am diligently praying for the tumor to be benign and for the small uncertainties not to cloud my mind. In all honesty, I am fearful of surgery and uncomfortable with the idea of having a scar across my neck but at this time those are minor worries and I am focusing right now on doing what needs to be done. I do believe in the power of prayer and would gladly ask everyone to pray for a good outcome. I have found comfort in several scriptures but this week am reading in the book of Peter and am reminded in Peter 1:1-10 why God gives us trials in our lives. This has been an eye opening experience to say the least. I have an appointment with the surgeon on Monday the 14th and am ready to get this show on the road. For the remainder of this week I am enjoying this beautiful weather and every precious moment God blesses me with. I will use the trials we are faced with to grow closer to God and to my family. I am so blessed and often we get caught up in worldly things and take for granted our health and our amazing bodies and our loved ones. I could go on forever but to keep it short, this is a life changing experience and I have to realize that God is in control and with us every step of the way. I find peace in God!

Let it Snow!!

Oh how I love winter weather. I know I say that about every season but they all come with such a refreshing, new and exciting feeling. We were blessed early in January with a beautiful snow. We came out of church and as we sat looking out the window these huge snow flakes began to fall all around us. The biggest flakes I have ever seen. It was fun to have snow ball fights, drink hot chocolate and of course have homemade donuts with Kerry's family courtesy of Memaw Kindle and snow ice cream thanks to Aunt Jennifer. It was a very magical day and I am so thankful for those beautiful memories, which I captured with my new camera that Kerry surprised me with for Christmas. We made a deal this year regarding our gifts to each other. I had been wanting a new Coach purse and he wanted a new cell phone. So being that we both were very particular and they were around the same price we decided to pick out our own presents this year. And other than stocking stuffers that was suppose to be our gifts to each other. But of course Kerry had to go and make me feel bad by buying me an awesome new camera and surprising me with it. Which was a great surprise but all I had for him was a new belt, cologne and some small stuff on Christmas morning. Not that I don't LOVE my camera, because I definitely do but I was a lil embarrassed. He didn't act one bit disappointed though and was just so proud of himself for pulling off a surprise. Which is a big deal for him because usually he cannot keep a secret. He is the type that wants to give you whatever he has for you as soon as he buys it. It is pretty cute I must admit but I am thankful for this surprise. And now thanks to him I have been picture happy and have tons of them to post. We have been enjoying the laziness of this month and spending lots of time at home snuggled up watching football and movies and playing board games. We have also spent some great time with our friends and family. I am trying to be more of a chief at the Kindle home and have been focusing more on planning and preparing us some yummy yet healthy meals and treats. Its actually been a lot of fun and I have a very good helper who loves to cook and bake. Aubree is no longer taking gym or dance classes due to the fact that she didn't like being so busy and going to the classes. For now she would rather stay home and play in the afternoons. This was a difficult decision for me because I wanted her to have the advantage of starting early but she just hated leaving the house. (Could have something to do with the fact that we got 2 new puppies and all she wants to do is play with them.) Once we got there she loved it and had fun and was a great learner. But getting her there had become a battle and a fight every time we had to go. So for now we are enjoying our time together at home in the evenings. Her instructor said this is pretty common at her age and to try her again when she is 5 yrs old. So I guess we will see about it again in the future. We do still enjoy playing gymnastics at home in the comfort of our living room with all her babies and pets. Lol! Kerry has started his final semester for his degree in air conditioning/heating and refrigeration. His schedule is not so crazy this time and we are looking forward to his graduation in May. God has blessed me in so many ways with a wonderful husband, loving father and best friend. I am enjoying this chapter in our lives and look forward to all our "seasons" together. Aubree and I met him last night in between classes for a yummy dinner at Red Lobster. It was a great night and while he was in class we did a little shopping to pass the time. On our way into Target, we were trotting along holding hands and she looks up at me and says, " I want to be just like you." Talk about priceless. It melted my heart. I didn't know what to say to her. I am very hard on myself and am a perfectionist. Many times I feel as if I fall short of the person and mother I want to be and feel let down at times by things I do or don't do. This made me realize how much of an impact I am making in her life. And that in her eyes I am doing a pretty good job. Which means the world to me! Of course, I will always strive for perfection but it's nice to know I am a harder critic on myself than she is. In so many ways I want her to be better than I am. I want more for her than I had and so I take that statement as a compliment but I hope she surpasses the person I am and is so much more than I will ever be. It is my prayer that God will work in her and use her for great things! It has been such a great winter month and I am excited for every precious memory we are making!

Christmas Is My Favorite Time of The Year!!

We have been thoroughly enjoying the Christmas Season. I love decorating and putting up our trees. And although Kerry probably didnt love hanging the lights and decorating our yard, he did a wonderful job. Not to mention made me and Aubree very happy girls. I love shopping for others as much as I do myself and had so much fun sharing it with Aubree. She is quite the gift giver. Very creative and thoughtful about what to give others. We enjoyed wrapping all the gifts together almost as much as picking them out. It has been so much fun reading the Christmas story over and over to her and baking Christmas candy and cookies and all the yummy foods we bake around the holidays. She is just an amazing helper and makes everything so much more enjoyable. We started the month of December off with the Miller Christmas and every weekend since that was full of celebration with family and friends. This year I hosted the annual party with my bff's from high school(and years before that too). We had a fabulous dinner at Four Winds Steakhouse and then came back to my house for a gift exchange and to catch up. It has been a tradition for 15 yrs to have our girl time and we always stay up til the wee hours of morning visiting and still don't really feel that we had enough time. It was a great evening and due to our busy holiday schedules everyone scurried home somewhere between breakfast and lunch. My life has been so blessed by these wonderful ladies and I am so glad we have made it a priority to keep this anual slumber party a tradition.. The Riggle family Christmas was on the18th and was such a treat. Aubree and her cousin Lilly really enjoyed each others comapny this year and it was a delight to see so many lovely faces. We were treated to a great night in Bosier City by Kerry's wonderful boss for their company Christmas party on the 19th. Jerry took us along with his wife and 3 adult children to stay the night at Sam's Town and to dinner at Ralph and Kacoo's. They made us feel like part of their family and were such kind and loving people. It was such a refreshing get away and a fun time for us all. We had a wonderful time with them and are so glad God has placed them in our lives. Aubree enjoyed riding in the Christmas parade this year as the Little Miss Van Zandt County Queen. She had so much fun tossing candy but really got a kick outta seeing Santa the most. She sat in his lap and didn't hesitate to tell him she wanted a tv to hang on her bedroom wall and a dvd player. I was impressed with her braveness and am thankful for a darling picture too. I am happy that Santa did not disappoint and the angel got a 26 inch Magnavox flat screen that has a built in dvd player. She also received several new movies and is a very happy girl. Of course she got tons of other wonderful gifts from Santa, us, and our families but the tv was the one thing she had her heart set on. She loves to watch movies. Every evening she wants to curl up in our bed and ask me to turn a movie on. Now she can curl up in her new bed and the beautiful bedding Nona made her and watch movies anytime she wants. :) We had a wonderful Christmas holiday and enjoyed all our friends and family so much. I am grateful for Kerry's much needed time off last week. He had the week off and I had part of the week off so we were able to enjoy lots of family time. We spent Christmas Eve eve with Kerry's parents and siblings' families, Christmas Eve at my grandparents as always and Christmas day we had breakfast at home and played with Santa's gifts then went to lunch with my Mema's side of the family. Then we spent the afternoon at home enjpying our new things and then went to the Dugan's annual Christmas party that night. We had Christmas with Kerry's Dad's family on the 26th and with the Burnett family the 27th. Thank you for all the generous gifts and the traditions you have all instilled in us. I am so thankful for the birth of Jesus Christ and for the freedom and traditions we have to celebrate his birth. Merry Christmas and may you have a very Happy New Year.