My Love-Hate Relationship with the Army

So, after seven years of my husband being part of the Army I really should not be surprised when the unexpected happens.  This past week we were told my husband has to be part of a month long Squadron training on another island.  This normally would not be a issue to either of us, but it just happens it would be over my due date so he would most likely to miss the birth.  Obviously I was devastated to hear this and my husbands COC was not willing to work with us at all.

Well on Tuesday this week I had a major baby scare and my husband rushed me to the hospital after several hours of almost no fetal movement.  Well the doctors quickly did an ultrasound and some blood tests and after some Q and A we discovered I had not been consuming enough calories or drinking enough water for the baby.  In addition, my iron and thyroid levels have significantly dropped.  Now I am on a much stricter food routine and the baby is doing much better. 

After our dramatic week Michael got called into meet with his CO and suddenly they are convinced it is important for him to be here for the birth.... Really?  Isn't this what we have been trying to tell them?  Anyway, I am so thankful they were able to work out a schedule where Michael would go with them and train for a week or two and then head back a week before the due date and hopefully be here when our little man meets this big old world. 

No one can say that the Army life is boring and I wish this kind of organization was rare.  However, now that we are on this side I am just thankful that an understanding was met.  I cannot imagine going through labor without my husband by my side.

Loving the Baby Bump

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our maternity shoot done by the wonderful Nikki at Love and a Lens!

Patchwork for Preemies

We all know that I don't do well being bored when Michael is away.  I end up going a little crazy which isn't good for anyone.  So during these times I tend to dive into all my crafts and projects. 

Well, last fall Michael was on the mainland for two months and I caught wind that the local military hospital here was in need of quilts for all the babies in the NICU.  I thought this would be a great way to use my love of sewing and also give back to my community.  So, I turned so my ever loyal facebook page and informed my few Hawaii friends at the time that I would be sewing and if anyone wanted to come join, they could.  Our first sewing day had four of my closest friends here, two of which had never sewn.  We raided my tubs of fabric scraps and made some beautiful scrappy quilts until two in the morning.  Two weeks later we had a second sewing party at my house and 14 people came!  Even though we were cramped in my little home we were able to make eight adorable baby quilts and made our first delivery to the NICU.  And this is how Patchwork for Preemies was formed!

Sitting here just over a year later I am amazed at how much the group has grown.  We now have over 100 members some which have never touched a sewing machine and others with years of experience.  We have to book the local community center on sewing days and generally sew for about 12 hours straight.  We try to make monthly quilt donations ranging for 8-12 quilts and have had the joy of seeing our tokens of love gifted to families within our local community.  It has been amazing receiving the support from the rest of the community and now we run completely off of donations and are in the process of making the group official through ACS.

I have met some amazing women through this group including Nikki at Lacey. To those new to the military life or struggling at a new duty station, I would encourage you to find a group to get plugged in with, a way to get involved.  That is how you will meet those people who will be there for you where ever life takes you.  

Crib Bumpers

So, I have been diligently working on the many projects I need to get done to complete the nursery and I feel like I have over 100 projects in the works but not many things complete.  Ahhh, so much to do before this little man gets here.....

Well, did I mention our theme?  We are doing the nursery based off the Pixar movie Up :)  This is one of our favorite Pixar movies and I love the characters, colors, and story line.  Because this is not a popular nursery theme we are having to make all the nursery things ourselves including redoing furniture, making bedding, wall art, and all the little accessories that will make the room complete. 

I don't want to post pictures of most of the projects until they are done but I did finish the crib bumpers yesterday. 

This isn't the best picture but I will post better ones once they are on the crib (which still needs to be completed...).  So my goal for the crib bedding was bold colors and prints.  I did the orange chevron on the outside, green stripes for the inside, and yellow polk-a-dots for the ties. 

I used the Nu-Foam crib bumper pads and the pattern that came with.  It made it really simple because the pads were already cut to size.  The ties were time consuming to make and next time I might just buy ribbon, and I would cut the panels a half inch wider just to give some wiggle room.  All in all I was really happy with then and cant wait to get them on the crib!

Updating on Aloha Living

I have been wanting to get back into blogging for a while now and was contemplating starting a new blog seeing that I feel like I have grown and changed so much since I last used The Graber Life.  But isn't that kind of the point?  Seeing how your life has changed and evolved through the years.  That being said, how do I update you on the past year?  Well for starters I finally went back to school in January 2013 and am working on my MA in Marriage and Family Therapy with the hopes of graduating in 2014, pursuing my license, and then eventually my board certification in Christian Sex Therapy.  I know, big dreams right?  I do love having a plan and constantly working to better myself.  It has been a ton of work but I definitely feel like it is where I am suppose to be right now.  I am still an ABA therapist but I did go down to part time when we got pregnant with the littlest Graber... Yes, that is right, in just seven short weeks our little man will be joining our crazy little family.  We are so excited to meet him and I am having a ton of fun working on the nursery.  Of course, I would have huge ambitions of the whole thing being a DIY project from refinishing the furniture, making the bedding, and creating all my own decorations.  Ahhh, such a huge project but you know I love it.  Hopefully I will post pictures in the next few weeks of all of it coming into place. 

Here are some updated pictures of our little family...