Baby Bowen

Sheesh! Where do I start? It's only been 3 months since my last posting, but our lives have changed dramatically. My intention was to blog about our pregnancy as soon as we went to our first doctor visit on November 2nd. I was 10 weeks along then and had an ultrasound picture of our tiny baby! But we traveled to New Harmony that very afternoon and my computer didn't come with me on that trip. Neither did my camera or anything else that would have been helpful for me to blog. So now at 21 weeks I am finally getting around to announcing on my blog that we are pregnant! And it's a boy! And his name is Bowen Reid Adair. And he's adorable as you can tell by his pictures.

My pregnancy has gone fairly well. I thought I had a 'bug' for weeks at the beginning of my pregnancy because the nausea that I was supposed to have wasn't anything like I had expected. I just didn't have an appetite and when I did, it was only for unhealthy foods. I craved white bread and greasy Mexican food. No fruits or vegetables or whole grain for me. No sugar, either, which was one plus. That feeling lasted for exactly 3 months. Then it was replaced by heartburn. I have finally found a cure for it, only to find that my insurance won't pay for it. So after this prescription runs out, I have to switch to something else, which better work! Indigestion has also been my constant companion since the beginning. I won't go into details, but I'm disgusting. That's all you need to know, if that. But none of these symptoms kept me from doing what I've needed to do. I have been able to work, work out (though my intensity has had to be cut back), and do every day things. So I consider myself lucky. I don't enjoy the fatness, though. I'm still in that in between stage where nothing I've had fits well, it just looks like I'm outgrowing my clothes. And I'm not popping out enough for cute maternity clothes. Blah! But in the last week I have been able to feel Bowen moving around and that makes it all worth it. There really is somebody in there!

Like I said earlier, we traveled to New Harmony in November. Well, we actually MOVED here that day. This move has changed everything I have ever known about my life, except for Marty. I started a new job, basically quit my old one, suddenly had way too much time on my hands, and was living with my in-laws (who are wonderful), but it just wasn't "my home and my things" anymore. I am also in a new place where I don't know my way around (Cedar City or St. George). It has been challenging for me to figure out what to do with my time since New Harmony is not really close to shopping of any kind and I don't have any 'projects' to do like I did in my home. I also had a new job that though it requires me to only work one day a week, it was still very different from anything I've ever done. I'm a nursing clinical instructor for Mohave Community College. They are located in Arizona with four campuses. One of which is in Colorado City where our students go for classroom learning. Then they go to St. George for clinicals. So I'm in St. George with them at Dixie Regional Medical Center. At first it was intimidating for me, but I have grown to love the students and their eagerness to learn. And I am gaining confidence that yes, after 10 years of working as an RN, I do have some things that I have learned that I can in turn teach to the next generation of nurses.

Marty is still working for the University of Phoenix as an advisor and really enjoys it. He started his doctorate program last week which will take 3 years. I'm very proud of him. He hopes to start teaching online classes later this year.

Our beautiful home in Bountiful has been a stress for us. We have continued to pay on it, though we aren't living there. It has been on the market for 7 months now. Our price has come down 100k in that time. But the reality of it is, according to the bank, we will owe the deficit to the bank regardless of whether we sell it for less than what we owe, do a short sale (which they will not do), or foreclose. Unless I file for bankruptcy. Only my name is on the home, thank goodness. So we have increased our price again closer to what we owe, but I'm not hopeful it will sell for what we need. So the future of that house is still undetermined. At the advice of trusted and knowledgeable friends, family and people in the biz, we have been upfront with the bank and told them that we have made our last payment. They understand and we will see what happens in the next few months. I hate to see all of our work just go back to the bank, but that is the reality I'm facing now and after many tears and 'moments', I'm okay with that. We are one of the many victims of this economy and it is what it is.

We are going to rent an apartment in St. George soon so that we can both be closer to work and figure out where we are going to either buy or build a home. We have much to be grateful for.