Goodbye 2009 and Hello 2010

2009 brought Pat and I many special memories and obstacles throughout the year. Looking back they were all worth it because we are now in 2010 and the best part of all is we are waiting on the arrival of our 1st daughter, Grace Ryan.

Last year Pat was able to go and visit with his mom & sisters. I was able to go out to CA and see my dad and many friends. We saw family members and friends get married, have babies and celebrate good times. We watched Michigan as a state struggle with the economy and we were so very lucky to be able to remain one of the lucky ones by keeping our jobs and home.

Throughout 2009 Pat and I went through the hardest struggle yet as a couple and that was trying to have a child. With lots of prayers, luck on our side, and a fancy expensive sticker price we went through IVF and became pregnant in August with our little Grace. Looking back at all the hormones, the weight gain from them, the daily shots, and several doctors visit's she was completely worth it and I would do it again in a heart beat! Luckily from now on if we want anymore we have an easier route to go down since we had embryo's we were able to save :)

Pat continues to work at Fischer Honda and Im amazed by his talent with cars and customers. He cares so much about his job and loves cars so much that the customers love him. He has some that drive hours to bring their car in! I continue to work at the University of Michigan Hospital but just recently I received a new job in the department I have been working in. I now support the Director of the Dept and work with our fellows. Im enjoying the job alot and feel very lucky to have gotten this position especially with the economy we live in.

Throughout 2009 I have tried my best to document it here on our blog. Look back throughout our 2009 posts and you will see all that we went through! Im hoping 2010 will bring us many new exciting and special memories and lots of joy we can share with all of you.

Happy New Year!

Christmas 2009

This year we were really late getting our Christmas tree. Usually we go to a Christmas Tree farm and cut it down the day after Thanksgiving but this year we waited around till the last minute and bought it from a Christmas Tree lot. This was the first time in years that we bought one from the store and I couldn't believe that they spray painted the trees green!

We picked out a little one and it actually ended up being just the right size for us. Christmas Eve we spent over at my moms with family and had a very nice time. Christmas Day we spent at our house with my mom and Dick, along with Ryan and Melissa. It was such a nice holiday.

Nursery is Coming Along!

The nursery is really starting to come along! Pat put together all of the furniture and it looks great! We love going in the room now because it feels so warm and cozy. Im in love with her bedding and we have started to slowly decorate the walls.

Pink, Pink, & More Pink!

Yesterday Pat had the day off from work so we decided to go out and do our baby registry. Of course Pat got to use the scanner and we spent quite some time looking at all the baby things. What an industry! The advertisement for just about all of the items makes you feel like you just can't live without it but in reality it will probably sit in the corner and never be used. With that being said we were suckered in and have a ton of stuff on the registry!

I do have to say little girls are fun to shop for since there's so much to choose from. But boy oh boy it equals out to alot of pink! All in all we finished our registry's yesterday. We ended up registering at Babies R Us & Buy Buy Baby. Once we got home I ordered the bedding for the crib and window treatments. We fell in love with this set and I can't wait to see it all put together. Here's a sneak peak at what the bedding looks like.



Pat is almost done painting the nursery and then we can start putting away all the little goodies we have gotten. I love redecorating and getting ready for Grace. I do have to say there sure is alot of pink!

It's a Girl!!

Today was our 2 year wedding anniversary and we received the best gift today! We found out that we are going to have a little girl. We are going to name her Grace Ryan Clouse.

We were able to see her 10 fingers, 10 toes, little working organs, a cute button nose, arms and legs. It was amazing. She already has Pat wrapped around her little finger and he couldn't be happier. A little princess we can call our own.

We can't wait for May 5th, 2010 for her estimated arrival. Let the pigtails, ribbons, and tea parties begin.

Thanksgiving 2009

This year Pat and I celebrated Thanksgiving at our house. It was just the two of us and we had such a lazy, relaxing day. We soaked the turkey overnight in a brine and started cooking early. By 2 o'clock we were finished eating and both in a turkey coma...including the dogs. (We had to give them a special dinner too!)

We watched movies, football games, and looked through the ads for black Friday. Oh by the way we still have enough food to feed an army!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Turbo and her Snuggie

The other day I had to run down to CVS to pick up some laundry soap while I was there I walked past the aisle of "As Seen on TV" items and the Snuggie for Dogs caught my eye. No Way!! I had to get it for Turbo. I know it was probably my craziest purchase so far but I had to get it. The scary thing is...she LOVES it!!