Life In Transition

For those who didn't know....

2008-05-28T20:29:00.019-05:00

April 15th I had jaw surgery to correct my under bite. I read a lot of different blogs before I got my surgery and I thought I would do one of my own.

March 2007 I got braces on to straighten my teeth out for the surgery. September 2007 I got my wisdom teeth out so they would not be in the way during the surgery. Then April I went into the doctors office early in the morning. I got put to sleep for the first time in my life (The most painful thing the first day was the sore throat from the tube that was down my throat) When I went into surgery they were not sure whether they would have to wire my mouth shut. I was relieved when I woke up to find they only had to use rubber bands to keep my mouth closed (this made the whole experience a lot easier). I was on a liquid diet for 6 weeks (well almost, i cheated a little). They broke my jaw and put it back together with titanium plates and screws. The doctor said they had to stretch my mouth to my ear just to get the screws in perpendicular (Can you imagine?). I had some stretch marks for the first week. It all went really well and so far I am really please with the out come. Its amazing that they can change 25 years of teeth/jaw issues and insecurity in a matter of week :).

Before

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Day Four (The most swelling was on this day)

Day Five

Day Six (I started showing bruising on my face and neck)

Day Seven (My first day back to work)

Day 8 (One Week)

Day 9

Day 9 was the last day I had someone with me to take care. My mom and sister-in-law, Michelle, were awesome in helping me get through the first week. Unfortunately I don't have any more in between picture.

6 Weeks (Back to eating as normal, kind of)

I went for my first orthodontist appointment today since the surgery. He said it looks great and that he didn't have much work to do (as far as straightening out my teeth). It has been an experience learning to chew and smile. I have to look in the mirror every so often to remember that I no longer have an under bite. The most painful part was drinking food for 6 weeks. Everything else was way easier than I expected, as easy ask getting your jaw broken can be :).

silly, crazy, and sold....ZOEY

2008-01-31T21:37:00.001-05:00

I've been looking for a boston for months now. Well, I started a new job the first of January and one of my co-workers happens to breed them. It took quite a bit of convincing Luke, but this week I got to bring one home. I think she is going to be a great addition to our family and a sweet companion. She is six months old and a little snuggle bug. I wish I had some pictures of her and Vegas playing together. Believe it or not size doesn't keep them from playing and having fun. Zoey loves licking Vegas to death. Its nice they keep each other occupied.

This has been the most exciting thing since I got bitten by a snake. :)

*sarah s. if you check this I thing anymore Zoey and Oliver would make a great couple :)! *

Funny Story

2007-10-01T18:39:00.001-05:00

Okay...so, its been way too long since I last wrote. I figure, better late than never. I was looking over everyone's blogs tonight and thought I might share a little story of my own.

This weekend Luke and I went to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. We were excited for the time out together doing something different. This was my first time at the zoo in NC. Overall the trip was very enjoyable and we got to see a lot of interesting animals. As Luke and I were leaving the monkey area we were walking down an asphalt trail when suddenly I felt this terrible pain in my ankle. Something likened to a bee sting. Well, I looked down and a snake started moving around crazy on the ground. I took off running and screaming. Running much further than I needed to to get away. Everyone around us must have thought I was crazy because I was screaming so loudly. Luke stood practically in the place where I started from and laughed. He was wondering why I ran so far away. When I went back there was a guy, who was just walking by, that picked the snake up. As I approached Luke I said, " I think that snake bit me." Luke said, "Really?" I looked down at my ankle and there were two little holes and some blood. Very calmly I told Luke we should just go on. The man holding the snake was moving it to a more wooded area. I figured everything would be alright. Well, Luke wanted to find a zoo keeper and make sure the snake was really a black snake. I appreciated his concern, but I just wanted to go. I was humiliated by my screaming and I didn't want to make any more of a scene then I already had. We walked over to this lady zoo keeper and Luke tells her that I got bit by the snake. He asked should we worry about anything. Well, the lady gets on the radio to some other keepers and says " 1019 (the other radio #), we have a woman here who THINKS she got bit by a snake." I laughed to myself and then said" No, I know I did. This blood didn't just appear." While waiting for the other keepers and the snake handler Luke and I stood there laughing with the woman about how ironic it was that we were at the zoo and I had gotten bitten by the snake. As we waited I felt my body get sort of clammy and I thought for sure I was going to pass out. I think more than anything it was from shock, the snake bite no longer hurt. Thankfully I did not pass out and the other keepers showed up with some alcohol and band-aids. I got all cleaned up and we headed on to see the lions. Luke and I had a good laugh for the rest of the day. Luke couldn't get over how far I ran and screamed. It was quite humorous. I was glad the incident did not ruin the rest of our day.

Luckily there were not affects from the bite and the snake handler did confirm that it was a black snake.

Word of caution: watch where your walking at the zoo. Snakes do not like to be stepped on and they will bite you!!!

Sleep Over at Jamie J's House

2007-05-08T18:22:00.000-05:00

Every other Tuesday Luke and I get the pleasure of having Moriah for a sleep over. It is just as exciting for us as it is for her. I am grateful to have such a close bond with Moriah and I love her as much I think I will my own child. She is such a beautiful ray of sunshine and being around her just makes me happy. I can only hope that when I do have children that they are just as cool.

This week Moriah and I are getting to spend even more quality time together because Luke is down in Charlotte testing for work. I picked her up around 4pm and we went to Target in search of a toy. Admittedly I have a problem spoiling Moriah. I want to give her everything. What's cool is she doesn't want everything or at least she not sure she does at this point in her life. Most kids you take into the toy section are saying " I want this one, I want that one!" Not Moriah. We got to the toys and she asked me to let her out of the cart so she could look around. She just walked up and down the Ilse looking at all the toys. I would say, "Moriah do you want that one" and she would replay "No not that one maybe another one." As if she was holding out for something better. After walking up and down all the Ilse I asked her about something we had previously looked at and she still said "No thank you". I think she hadn't quite comprehended that I was telling her we could take them home with us. Finally she decided on a Cinderella Tea Set and a Barbie doll.

We then headed to the shoe section where she insisted that she try on every pair of shoes in her size. She didn't think we were taking any of those home either. It was fun and I almost felt like I was shopping with a friend. She was cute. We finally settled on a pink pair of flip flops.

Just as I was headed to the front of the store she said "We should find some clothes for me." I was thinking the same thing, but I was trying to tell myself we need to get out before I bought her the whole store. Two outfits later we were headed towards the check out counter. Moriah was totally excited about all her new goodies and ready to get home and play.

Our Baby Boy

2007-04-07T11:26:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we brought home this cute little boy. His name is Vegas Lambert and he is the newest addition to our family, and the only baby we will have for a while. He is 8 weeks old and will aspire to be about 70-80 lbs full grown. :)Luke and I have been talking about getting a dog since we got married and we couldn't decide on one that wasn't going to shed and slobber all the time. A couple of weeks ago Luke suggest that we look into getting a Weimaraner. I thought it was a great idea. I had grown up with one and we both agreed it would be the best for little shedding and slobber. I looked in the classifieds this week and came across Weimaraner puppies for sale. So, Luke and I drove to Statesville yesterday and brought one of those puppies home.

We haven't quite decided on the downside of this puppy. He has pretty much been perfect since we picked him up. He wasn't nervous when we took him, he acted perfectly fine around family that visited last night, and he slept the whole night with us in our bed. We are both in love!! We look forward to having him around and teaching him new things. This morning I taught him about going in the crate and how to sit. He is a smart little guy. He has only messed twice in the house, but he has tried to let us know he needs to go out. He hasn't shed and he doesn't slobbery. I think we are all going to get along splendedly.

lost in transition

2007-03-18T15:31:00.000-05:00

This blog was supposed to be about my life in transition, but I think I've gotten lost.

I remember when I started this blog I thought that it would be exciting to update my friends and family on what has been going on in my life. I have found this whole experience to be dreadful. I enjoy reading everyones blogs, but I don't enjoy updating my. Many of you are probably sick of looking at the pictures of my house and I don't blame you. I considered deleting the whole post before I started today. I have two issues, one I don't take enough pictures and two I never have anything interesting to write about. Which on a whole makes me a really bad candidate for blogging.

Getting past that, I thought I would take the opportunity to update you guys on what few things that have been going on lately....

1. Married life is WONDERFUL. It would be even better if we had a maid because it is way more difficult for two people who work 40+ hours a week to keep up with a home then I thought. We are working on that...

2. I am now working with a full office of pretty competent people and I am finding work to be a lot less stressful.

3. I got to witness the birth of my newest niece Madelyn and it was amazing. Everyone told me that maybe I wouldn't want to have kids after seeing it, but my sister-in-law Michelle made it look way too easy. It is pretty awesome how God worked out the whole birthing process. It meant the world to me that Jer and Michelle let me be apart. (Now if I can only convince Moriah that we can still be friends even if I like to hold baby sister too. :) )

4. This last one has been exciting and agonizing all at the same time. I got braces last week. Yes, I've been told I am about 10 years behind my peers in this area of life (and I'm looking about 10 years younger too), but with the ordeal I have going on in my mouth this was the best time to do it. I am still getting use to them and wondering if I will ever feel normal in my mouth. Luke assures me that in time my mouth will feel okay. After I have braces for a year then I will have upper and lower jaw surgery to correct my underbite. After six weeks of straight liquids and six more months of braces then I should be all set to smile for the camera.

So....that's about it folks. I wish I had some pictures to post but I haven't documented a things since our honeymoon. Maybe I will get better about that. Sorry again for the delay and hopefully it won't be another 4-5 months before I post again.

For Michelle D: Our Home

2006-10-29T12:56:00.000-05:00

Sister, this is for you. Married life is GREAT! We are really enjoying this house. Slowly but surely its coming together. I miss you! Take care!

Front of House

Long Over Due: Honeymoon

2006-09-27T17:33:00.000-05:00

Um....no need for in depth explination. This is post wedding, pre wedding night adventures!!!

Day One

Luke and Jamie in Houston Airport

Luke and Jamie in the airplane on the way to
Cabo San Lucas!!

Standing in line at customs in Mexico!

Welcome to Los Cabos!!!!! Yippy!
Pictures from day two got lost....it rained that
day, but we made new friends. Nathan and Jen
from Canada. You will see a lot of pictures with
them to follow. We pretty much hung out with them
the rest of the week. It was GREAT!

Day 3

Luke and I struggled to sleep in the whole week.
We got up before 7am almost every day. This
was our first clear morning. This picture is of the
Estuary that was beside our resort. It is where natural
water and salt water meet.

This is a picture of where the river and
sea actually meet. It was a really beautiful
morning! We were happy to see the rain was
gone.

Luke on a huge piece of drift wood.

The newlyweds...aren't we so cute!!

This was a crab the boys had to save from the
swimming pool. It came right of the beach and
scurried its way into the pool. It was huge!!

This is us at dinner with our Canadian friends.
They actually had resturants you had to make
reservations for at the resort, but you could still
eat all you wanted. It was nice!

This guy was going around singing to each table.
He was being silly!!

Day 4

We all decided to rent scooters and drive around
San Jose Del Cabo, which is where our resort
actually was. We had a lot of fun! At one point Luke
got us out on the highway, which is against the law,
luckily no one pulled us over.

Our Friends!

The rest of the day we pretty much chilled by the
pools and had one to many miami vices and what
nots! We had a good time.

Day Five

We started our day on a snorkling trip
to lovers beach. It was great! Except I
kept getting water in my goggles.

Luke and me in front of the natural arch. We are
covering it, so the next picture will capture it better!

It was beautiful.

There was this group of about four ladies at
lovers beach who were taking pictures of each other
as the waves broke. They saw that Luke and I were
trying to take our picture and so they asked if they
could set us up for a picture. This is our cheezy
honeymoon picture!

This is us at our snorkling sight. We were swimming
in the Sea of Cortez.

Another dinner with friends. I had lobster and
it was yummy. After dinner Luke and I went to
Cabo with some other people we met that day.
We went to a bar called El Squid Roe. It was very
interesting. The bar was open...there was no roof.
The waiters and waitresses were dancing all over the
place. They were doing all these crazy dances. We even
got to dance on the tables. Until you stepped outside
you really wouldn't have known you were in Mexico.

Contrary to what you see in this picture, I was
the sober one. :)

Luke and me dacing on the table. It was fun!!

To follow are some pictures that I can't really
remember what day they are from and they
are in the wrong folder.

Day Six

Go ahead and laugh...we were! There were tons
of little shops. We did some bargining and came
home with some small gifts for our parents.

This is us outside the Hardrock Cafe.
Honestly one of the best meals we had
while in Mexico. :)

This is right outside the mall in Cabo,
which was actually very nice. We spent
our last day in town with out Canadian
friends buying gifts and taking in culture.

Our last night. We went to a little themed dinner
they were having at the resort. It was a good time.

Day Seven : Headed Home

My Husband is tooo cute!!!

Bye Bye Cabo. Again I am sorry it took me so long.
We have a ton more pictures, but it would take me
another three days to post them all. I think you get
the idea. We had a great time!!!

Married....

2006-08-13T09:38:00.000-05:00

The HOT man you see in this picture is the love of my life and most recently my husband. This is us cutting a rug at our reception, which if I may say was the best time I have ever had at a wedding. We just returned from our honeymoon in Cabo, which was a blast (more pictures to come on that). Our wedding has been heavily documented on both Kelly's blog and Michelle's blog. I will do my part to document the honeymoon. Thank you to everyone who was there to support and love us on such a wonderful occasion. It was AWESOME and we couldn't stop talking about how perfect it went. We hope everyone else feels the same. More to come soon...

Six days....

2006-07-30T10:55:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I have totally stunk at the whole blogging thing and I guess the excitement of wedding planning wasn't ask easily documented as I thought it would be. As most of you know we did end up closing on the house that day. It was very exciting!! Luke moved in around the 22nd of June. We have been busy trying to make sure everything is set up before we leave for the honeymoon. It is a wonderful feeling to have a place that is your own. I look forward to being able to live here with my husband. Wow...that sounds weird. :) It is six days until two will become one. A lot has happen since April. We have made lots of plans, purchases, and decisions. We had an awesome engagement party and a great gathering with old friends. We have been showered with many thoughtful gifts! We have talked and talked about how much fun we are going to have in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico!! Here is a picture of the All Inclusive resort we are going to be staying at!!
We have a lot to accomplish before the wedding and we would appreciate everyone's prayers for this week and that everything will run smoothly. We look foward to seeing many of you at the wedding, it should be GREAT! I am commited to being better at this when I have more things to post about.

Our New Home...we hope!!!

2006-04-25T23:03:00.000-05:00

Assuming all goes well today at 3pm Luke and I will be proud first time home buyers. We have been in the works of looking for and purchasing a home since we got engaged. We have been blessed to have the opportunity to start off in a place we can call our own. I could not be more proud of what we are getting and I am very excited to host anyone and everyone in our new home.

It was my ambition as a child to take an old bus and fix it up to be some kind of home. Some ambition, huh? I lacked the ambition is more like it :)! This is a far cry from a bus and something I never planned to have so early. Thankfully I am marrying someone who had bigger dreams and hopes for our future together and I am excited for the day when we will share this new home together.

Keep your fingers crossed!!! We are looking forward to having it all squared away and we hope any and all of you will come and visit. Luke will be moving in hopefully sometime in June/July and I will follow after our honeymoon in August.

This is obviously the front of our house. The current owner has taken a lot of time working on different projects inside and out, and has really made this place into something beautiful. As you can see he has planned out some very nice landscaping. Luke and I are really looking forward to spending time together keeping up such things.

This picture and the one to follow are of our back deck. This is also an awesome addition to the house. Luke and I are all too excited about grilling out and having people over to hang out. We know this will be an great place to do it. The current owner is also responsible for this little (haha) project. He really took something ordinary and made something extraordinary out of it.

This all seems and sounds a bit to me like bragging (sorry if you agree :)) and I find myself often holding back my excitement, but I have to honestly admit it is sheerly my pure joy and excitement at the ways the Lord has blessed our road to marriage. I cannot express how much I appreciate His hand in the course of our relationship. He has guided us and pushed us to great things. To God be the glory and I hope this house is more than just a home to Luke and I. I am truly excited about sharing it with all those that we love. We are blessed and we do not forget.

I hope to get a little better with this blogging thing. Great things are happening and everything is really falling into place.

Jerry

2006-03-15T06:38:00.000-05:00

For Christmas I wanted to get Luke things I knew he would really enjoy. I mean things he wouldn't expect I would think of getting. In six years I think this Christmas I really came through.

I have never been a big Seinfeld fan. In college Luke would try and get me to watch the rerun episodes. I even bought him them on DVD, not realizing I would also be the one watching them. I just didn't get it. The humor wasn't really humor to me. That was until I was forced to watch enough reruns that it kind of just grew on me. Luke and I had talked a couple times about how fun it would be to go and see Seinfeld's stand-up comedy. We even rented a move that documents some of his shows (that was a little more difficult to sit through). So anyhow, I was checking my email one day and I had a ticket alert saying that Jerry Seinfeld was coming to Raleigh. This was it! I couldn't pass it up and I knew no matter how much it was going to cost I had to get the tickets, and I did.

Which brings me to the point of this entry. This past Friday Luke and I drove to Raleigh to finally enjoy one of his Christmas gift. Seinfeld was funny! It was totally worth it and we really enjoyed ourselves. He is pretty much exactly what you would expect him to be, someone willing to make a fool of themselves. I mean he had motions to go with every joke. You couldn't help but laugh at it all. I even enjoyed it.

The rest of the weekend we spent over 9 hours registering for our wedding. More to come on that...

my love

2006-03-09T08:14:00.000-05:00

motivation

2006-03-06T19:43:00.000-05:00

i had a day off from work last week and i thought it would be a good idea to start a blog.

that was five days ago.

being one of eleven children blogs have become a great way for us to keep in touch. all my siblings that have one have been trying to talk me into starting one. i realize now why i haven't done this sooner. i'm not a writer, i'm not an artist, nothing spectacular goes on in my day to day life; nothing worth documenting anyways.

until recently i didn't have much to share or really much to keep my family updated on. this past christmas though a wonderful thing happened to me, which is the sole reason for this blog starting at all. i got engaged.

this is my life....in transition