My medical mystery

Yesterday evening, under my eye started getting a little red. A short time later, it was red all underneath and starting to itch...it looked sorta like I had a black eye. Then, a little while after that it started swelling up. I took some pictures to send to David to see if he could figure out what was wrong. While I was uploading and cropping the pictures, it became even more swollen. I texted him and told him to call me. When I told him about it, he didn't know what was wrong. He told me take my contacts out and to take a benedryl in case it was an allergic reaction. I did, and within a short amount of time I could feel the swelling and itching getting better. I can't figure out what caused it, but it was very worrisome.

Update:
A short time ago, I noticed that my eye was feeling itchy. I went to look in the mirror, and the bottom part of the inside of my eye was really red. I took a benadryl and the itching has stopped and most of the redness is gone. My poor bottom eyelid is still a little puffy and really dark from last night.

I'm back!

Sorry for the huge break from blogging. I've been suffering from what I will call my Autumn blues. I have always had a tendency to be depressed, even when I was a little girl. I've become increasingly more aware of this fact the older I get and have realized that it may be cyclic. Blogging has added to my awareness of this because I blogged about feeling down this same time last year. I hope that being more aware of times that I am more prone to feel depressed may help me combat it in the future. All that being said, I seem to lose all motivation during these times. I haven't finished my latest sewing project( a super cute apron...I should post pictures), or even attempted to work on it for that matter. I haven't been exercising regularly. Also, I haven't been blogging. I've even started a post, but lacked the motivation to finish it. ( I hope I actually finish and post this) So that's the long version of why I haven't blogged in a while!

The apron in progress about 20 days ago

(I have not worked on it since)

Now, on to slightly more interesting things...Thanksgiving....

Originally, I invited my family to come here for Thanksgiving. I didn't think they would, but I extended the invitation regardless. David was planning on working, just like he has the past two years. I didn't want to spend Thanksgiving evening alone like I did last year, but I also feel weird leaving David on a holiday. I was surprised when my mom said she would come and asked if she could bring my grandmother with her. I was very excited about having company for the holiday. Later, they backed out and asked me to come there instead. I wasn't nearly as excited about the new arrangement and was still uneasy about leaving David. Naturally, he didn't care. When I asked him if he would mind, he said that Thanksgiving was just another day to him...Weirdo! So I decided it would be better than being alone.

I had planned on Monday or Tuesday and possibly staying through the weekend. Then I got an invitation to attend David's best friend's fiancee's shower the weekend before. I really wanted to go, so I thought I'd go early and have more time to visit with the family. Then. mom and I had a tiff over the phone one day. I got upset and told her that she was upsetting me and to let me go. She kept on as if I hadn't even said anything. I finally got off the phone with her, but by that time I was so upset and angry, I didn't know if I wanted to go at all. I decided that I definitely wouldn't go to the shower. As badly as I wanted to go, I knew that spending that much time there was a bad idea! I knew I should at least go home for a day or two, otherwise I would look like the worst daughter/granddaughter/sister/aunt in world. I procrastinated and procrastinated, like I always do when I REALLY don't want to do something.(I'm so glad that I did though because if I hadn't, I would have missed out on something really important...I'll get to that a little later) I finally made it there around 5:30 Tuesday evening. True to form, Mom and I barely made it 24 hours before getting into a huge fight. I almost thought about leaving, but decided that it wouldn't be fair to everyone else. Thankfully, we managed to have a fairly peaceful visit the rest of the time I was there!

Friday, I had planned to leave in time to make it back home before the Iron Bowl started. As luck would have it, I actually left right around the time the game started. I had the DVR set to record it, and I hoped David would still be sleeping so that he wouldn't watch it without me. When I got home, about the time the game was ending, David was already awake and had the TV on. I asked him if he was watching the game without me. He said that he wasn't, and that he had just woken up. For the next 3 1/2+ hours, I was on a technology freeze because I didn't not want to know what had happened during the game until I had a chance to watch it for myself. The first part of the game was not going to well, and David and I were thinking that it didn't look too good. BUT the second half, Auburn played a great game and gave us a win! WAR EAGLE!! :)

Now, you think I've forgotten about that thing that I would have missed out on if I hadn't procrastinated leaving, but you're wrong. I was just saving the most exciting news for last...My cousin, Donielle, had her baby! Baby Ellis (aka Bradley Ellis Byrne III), was due on December 1st. I have been so excited about his arrival, but I was nervous that he wouldn't wait until his due date to arrive and instead would come while I was visiting my family, and I would miss it! BUT I DIDN'T! Early Monday morning, I got a text from Donielle saying that she was at the hospital. We waited all day for Ellis to come, but he was taking his precious time. Around 4ish that evening the doctor decided to take him by C-section. He was beautiful and healthy and a WHOPPING 9lbs. and 1 oz.!!! I was so happy that I was here to see him! :)

"Aunt" Jamie holding handsome Baby Ellis

Sorry for such a lengthy post, but this is what happens when I don't blog for a while. I hope everyone enjoyed reading it, and I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Our Home

Yesterday marked our 2 year anniversary of being homeowners. It's hard to believe that it's been 2 years already. It really seems like I JUST did our 1 year post! Boy, how time flies. We've been pretty busy around here over the past year. We introduced another addition to our family in February; our, sweet Riley! We built a fence in March. And just last weekend, we installed new floors in the living area. God has truly blessed our family with our home!

Speaking of our home, God has really laid something on my heart recently. David will graduate in a year and a half, and more than likely, we will not stay here after he graduates. We're not sure where we are going to go after this. It's something that I think about (and worry about) a lot. I realized that if I'm already thinking and worrying about where we are going to move, then it's not too soon to start praying about it. So I've started asking God to be preparing a new place for us. First of all, because it's probably the biggest, deciding factor, that he would prepare the perfect job for David. A job where he will receive the experience and autonomy that he needs and wants. A place where he will be able to grow and learn and become the best CRNA that he can be. Somewhere with coworkers that he can get along well with and with good mentors to help him as he is starting out. And most importantly, I place that he will be happy. I'm also praying for a church home where we can grow spiritually. And for Godly friends ( I'm super afraid of being lonely). I'm also praying for our house and neighborhood. That it will be a safe place with good neighbors. Maybe I'm looking ahead TOO much, but a good place to raise children! :) I'm even praying that it will be a place where Charlie and Riley will be happy. Maybe a place with a big yard so they can run around and play and lots of doggies to have play dates with. I'm also praying for guidance. We may not know where we should move, but God does. So I'm asking that He will clearly show us where we need to be. I hope that you guys will be praying for us too. A year and half is not a super long time, so we will be making these decisions before we know it! Thanks. :)