Our Backyard

So I forgot to blog about our backyard FINALLY getting done. After Floyd lost his job we were kinda "forced" to stay in this house, but unfortunatly the yard was not in usable condition. It was literally a mud pit. Well I am happy to say it is finally done and beautiful! We have to finish one side of the yard and we are still deciding if we want to wood chip (play chip) that part or put in some cement for bike riding and such for the daycare kids.

It has been so NICE to have a usable yard for the kids here. They can come and go in and out as they please. It is safe and just, well nice to have finally!

Anyways here are the pics of the yard :) Enjoy!

Bikes...

Well Floyd and I went and bought bikes at Walmart on my birthday. We have been wanting to get them for forever now and just havent gotten around to it. The night of my birthday we went to dinner at Sakuras with my mom, dad, the kids, Emily and her boyfriend Kam. After saying goodbye and walking out the door I looked down and realized "wow...I am 28yrs old"! To be honest it wasnt the best reliazation. On our way home I was going over my mental list of things I hoped to of accomplished during my twenty-seventh year of life. One being to lose weight. I have tried and tried to lose it and I will lose a pound here and there and gain them back. Anyways, long story short....we went to walmart and bought bikes.

Tonight, Sunday July 13th I tried mine out for the first time and Oh-my-gosh...I only rode for about 20min and my butt was EXHASTED! My goal....ride it for 20min every night for one week and work up to 30min and add 10 min every week.

I am exhasted!

And those bike seats are NOT very comfortable!

Twenty-Eight

Anyone know of a time machine where I can turn back the clock a few years? Maybe just a standstill for another year?!I feel like I have not accomplished all I wanted to during the year of being 27 and there are only a few more days left until I turn 28...

Some of those things: (and yes some are rather stupid!)

*I was hoping we'd be buying a house. This house isnt so bad. I love it but I would a bigger yard, and new carpet or hardwood flooring...

*Go to school for phelebotomy. Not sure when I would use it, but it would be nice to have for a fall back.

*Clean out my closet! I have done it before...I should do it again! I think I really just need to take the time to actually hang the fallen items back up.

*Get pregnant. I was really hoping by now I would have one child, possibly 2 by now. This is something that is really pressing hard on me. I am having a really hard time with turning 28 and still no kiddo. Either biologically or adoption. I am 110% grateful for my Nathan and Breonna! I would not be who I am without them!!!

*Get Nathan and Breonna in private school. I really want them in private school, not so sure this will happen anytime soon. But its still there in the back of my mind. Someday!*Bedrooms painted. I want them painted. They are white and looking dingy. And I hate painting! So not sure this will ever happen!

*Finish the front yard. One side is done, the other is not. And the side that is done is growing weeds! ARGH! I now know how the bridge painters feel!

*Lose some weight. I am not 100% dedicated to losing it so that is my own issue, not a time issue!

*Organize this house! Oh-my-gosh! Its a done deal that is will never, and I mean NEVER happen!

*Go on a Mission trip. Help someone far away!

*Be more active in my church! I have made some progress on this one though.

*Get crafty. I am so not skilled in the "craft-ed" department. I have tried several times to be crafty in scrapbooking, photography, card making, stamping, hair bow making...I just plain ol'suck at crafts! But I still would like one as a hobby !

*Get my dogs to stay OFF the couch so that we can buy new ones! Any ideas?!

I am having a really hard time with the "no-baby" thing. We are doing this whole adoption thing and I am excited, but scared about it. I was hoping to be pregnant by now at least. I think the whole turning 28 has really scared me even more. I am mean I am closer to 30 now than I ever was before. This doesnt mean anything bad. I know I am still young and I know at 38 I will still be young, but we all have goals and dreams we hope to accomplish by the time we are a certain age and honestly I wanted to achieve pregnancy by the time I was 25. Sometimes I feel bad saying "I want to be a mother!" Like it makes me ungrateful for having Nathan and Breonna. I love those two children like I gave birth to them. I love them enough to lie down and die for those two if I had too. I would do ANYTHING to make sure those two were happy, safe and all the other things parents do for their children. They are MY children. I am their MOM. There is always the thought in my head that there is another mom for them. She is distant and not around, but one day she will be around. They will meet her, stay with her, want to be around her. And while I will always be their mom too and important to them they will always have her too and I cannot deny that. She is their mother! I think I worry about them leaving me. Not needing me because she is there now in their lives and it will happen. It will. It is only a matter of time before it does and I am as ready as I can be for that to happen. She is their mother. I am their mom, but she will always have ties to them. Does it make sense for me to want a child of my own, be it biological or through adoption?!?! Am I selfish?!I am proud to be able to say I am Nathan and Breonna's mom. I always will be.


Anyways those are a few that are I would of liked to have accomplised by the time I was 28 and time is slipping a little too fast to complete those!! I am blessed in many ways. I have my wonderful husband, two super funny and great kids, a nice job, a few great friends, a nice washer and dryer (yes! I love my washer and dryer!) and so much more!Still...if you know where the pause button is I promise to get to at least 1/3 of that list before the "real" 28th birthday comes around!

Adoption

We have decided to adopt! How exciting is that?! We have posted a few ads on craigslist, we have looking into an attorney, we have looked in to an agency and are taking a class in June....we are excited. We have not talked with Nathan and Breonna about it yet, but we will. We want to get our ducks in row before we talk to them about it.

Adoption is this amazing thing that another woman (and man) do for another couple. It is a selfless action given to someone else. We are open to doing an open adoption and letting the birth parents get pictures and letters and updates about their child. I think that is something all adoptive parents should offer and do for birth parents. Just so they don't go through life "wondering".

Anyhow, sorry the blogs have been few and far between. With deciding to hold off on fertility treatments and persue adoption, deciding to not proceed with the house and stay put, and so much more things have been super crazy!

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So I have teenager amoungst us! Nathan is offically 13 years old! How scary and exciting is that? He is doing GREAT in school. All "A's" and one "B". We have his first student lead conference next week! Woohoo!!

Breonna just turned 11 years old!~ OMGoodness can you believe it? She is amazingly smart as well. She is playing baseball and pitching again this year. Breonna is doing great at it. She gets frusterated but she is doing it and getting people out! OH and you all should know.....my Breonna Mahrie has a boyfriend, yup and a boyfriend. Cute kid. I asked Breonna what is meant to have a boyfriend and being *going out* and Nathan pipes in with "You know, it means they are just closer friends! They talk more and hang out at the swings!" Ha ha! Too cute! She has yet to get the nerve to text message him apparently!!! :) Too funny!

OH, so in the land of the "powell's" we decided to get Nathan and Breonna cell phones. Uh, Breonna is a text'ing Queen. She is texting her friends all the time. Thankfully its unlimited texting. Nathan is just enjoying the status of having a phone I think. Which is fine by me. We are paying the extra 1.99 a month of the "text printout" to keep a close eye on what is being said between the kids and their friends. In this day and age you just never know!

Floyd and I are doing great! We are happy and going strong! Daycare life is busy and wonderful all at the same time. My assistant, Mary is still here and WONDERFUL. She really does do great with the kids and I think we are pushing ummmm 8 months! How GREAT!!

Today

Was my IUI......and I was late! Ugh! But I did make it.

Hubby's count was awesome. He had over 100million at the pre-wash and 37.4million were put into me at the end of the wash. The "boys" had good speed and motility as well. So this means my body needs to just let these eggies work and get pregnant. So 15 days from today I take a pregnancy test. I won't be taking one, I will just see if my period finds me.

On the house front....the bank accepted our offer. Great News! The bad news is we need to have the HOA of the housing area "vote" to allow me to have my daycare in there. So that is our hold up. We have 7 days to hear back from the HOA president, which he said should take only a couple days (hopefully tomorrow!) and get an inspector in to check the joint out as well. I am finding inspections are quite pricey! Anywhere from $325 to $415.00. That is just so much money to toss aside if we decide the work on the house is just too much! But then again its the biggest purchase of our lives so spending the money will be worth it to not move into a money pit.

Another area of concern is carpet and paint. Very minor but very expensive. We do not have ANY savings left so we are kinda screwed. Not sure what to do about that.

Daycare is going well. I am full with kids. I have a new one starting on Monday and then an interview today for an infant. We will see how it goes. I am trying to get "preschool only" kiddos in here so we can get this preschool program going. My assistant is WONDERFUL. She truly is a blessing to have. The kids love her, she lives next door (until we move) and she is so helpful.

Breonna is playing basketball and boy is that girl good! Her 1st game was awesome. Breonna made all the baskets but 2 and they won! Her 2nd game was great as well. They lost, but the other team was hard! Breonna was bummed but losing is great for them. Nathan is trying out for basketball at school today. So hopefully he will get on the team. I am sure he will, but I just never know with try outs. He is a good basketball player and played on the AU team last year so I am hoping this works out for him.

Floyd and I are doing great. We have had some stress over the last few weeks with house buying, finding money to save and fertility. Once this is all done and over with we will be less stressed!

Off to get a screaming baby!

Tomorrow....

Is my IUI.....in 2 weeks we should find out if we have a baby Powell....heres to praying we do!

New Baby name...

Well...I have a new name I like for a girl...

Harlow Michelle Powell

Hubby isnt too keen on it. But I like Harlow. We both like Suri as well, however I think people will always say "Ohhh you mean like TomKat's baby" Ugh!

So thus far for girls we agree on:

Suri Michelle Powell

Adyson Michelle Powell


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We were approved for the loan for the house. Should be writing an offer on a house in the next week or so I hope. I have some paperwork I need to get in to the bank people. We are also talking with our real estate agent about possibly going with another bank to give us the loan. Long story. I will post more on that later.


I started the provera this past week. Tonight is my last dose of it. My period should be starting with in 3 to 5 days. So I will go in for a day 3 ultrasound soon and start another round of injections and clomid. I am praying it works this time around.

On a sad note my very good friend Heather has told me her husband was offered a job in Oregon. He will be making more money (always a bouns) and since he was offered this job they will get a great moving package. This is a great adventure for them and I truly wish them all the best, I will miss Heather so very much. Heather and I met on a website about 4yrs ago called www.matchingmoms.org , we met a local park and hit it off one night on instant messagener. Ever since then we have been great shopping buddies, super best of friends, wonderful OG goers and just well, she is one great person to have in my life. It will be sad to see her go, but she isnt going to be to far, just a little too far for the OG every other week and Target shopping, but only a phone call away....Everyone say a prayer that the Bullion Family has a safe move in the upcoming months. I hope this move is not too stressful.

*Kyle, Heather, Kiera and Alaina I love you all very much!*