Wow it is becoming difficult to keep my blog updated! If Abigail is asleep, all I want to do is either sleep too or get some chores around the house done! Well I was already able to take a nap this morning when she napped and I did the laundry, so I guess I have some time to blog right now! :) I am getting sad that I only have 2 weeks left with my sweet baby girl until I have to return to work. It's been so nice to be able to be home with her and home when my husband gets home. Life is going to get a lot busier once I go back to work and I'm really nervous about when I'm going to find time to sleep.

This past weekend, my cute, little family went to Marley Park and spent  a wonderful few hours there. The weather was perfect- high in the low 80s! Almost unheard of for end of May weather in Arizona! Marley Park is our dream neighborhood where we could see raising our family. It is only about a mile from our church and Marley Park has a great elementary school within the neighborhood, club house, community pool, softball fields and awesome parks. The homes have front porches (always wanted one) but the backyards are smaller because the master plan for that neighborhood was instead of spending your time in your own private yard, you will spend more time in the common areas. It is a very community-centered neighborhood, which we love. They also have movie in the park nights!! I mean, how perfect is that?! With their prices right now, we'd actually be able to afford living there, but cannot move right now because when Jim bought our home 2 years ago, he received that 1st time home owners tax credit and if we move before we've lived here for 3 years, then we'd have to pay the $8,000 back. Also, I truly do love our current neighborhood. I love our neighbors and we are literally within a couple miles of every single grocery store, a Target and a Ross (my favorite stores) and 2 major freeways. We could potentially move in 1 year, but for sure we plan on moving into our "forever home" within 4 years before Abigail starts school. We don't want to wait too long though because the housing prices are already slowly starting to increase again. So Jim and I talked about it, and within the next month or 2 I will start picking up an extra shift a work every pay period so we can save up for our down payment. It pains me to be away from my family an extra day, but working 4 days is still better than 5. Sheesh, being an adult is hard work!

I have so many things I want to do, so many things I need to do, but the hard part is finding the time now. I never realized how important time management was until Abigail was born!

Pictures from this weekend!

Family picture at the park! Jasper was there too but couldn't get a good shot with the 4 of us :/

Jim and I at our friend Kristi's wedding reception... first outing alone since Abigail was born! We left early because we missed our baby girl so much!

LOVE these ladies! All our lives have changed so much within the past year and will continue to change! Nikki (3rd from left) is moving to Chicago today, I'm going to miss her so much! But will see her at her wedding in San Diego in just a few short weeks! :)

My sis in law Laura and I went to the Phoenix Scrapbook Cottage and worked on our crafts! We plan on hosting a Pinterest party an overnight ladies crafting night there later on in the summer! :) Believe me, we are NOT some of those super crafty women, we just WANT to be! lol so the craft projects we do will definitely be beginner level. ;)

The birth of our daughter, Abigail Grace!

Ahhh we've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to update my blog! I know I want to remember these moments forever (reason why I'm keeping this in the first place) so I finally found some time to write about our dear baby Abigail's birth. :)

2 weeks before we were due to deliver, my benefits at work kicked in, making it very inexpensive to delivery at Maricopa (compared to a couple thousand if we were to delivery at West Valley as originally planned) so last minute, we decided to switch obstetricians and deliver at Maricopa Medical Center. I am SO glad we made that decision! We received excellent care. :) We were scheduled to be induced Tuesday morning (5/8) at 8:00A.M. at 41 weeks gestation. I never wanted to be induced, I always thought I'd go into labor naturally, but I just wanted Abigail out! But in God's perfect timing, at approximately 4:40A.M. on the day were scheduled to be induced, my water broke!!! Which is actually not that common, only about 10% of womens' water break naturally (well it would be more, but doctors actificially rupture the membranes once mom is at the hospital and in labor). I was so happy that Abigail would've came that day anyway and felt so much better going to the hospital in labor. :)

We got the hospital at 7:00A.M. We were surprised to see my mom in the lobby (although I called my parents when my water broke, wasn't expecting them to be at the hospital already). It turns out my mom had a work meeting that morning, thus being the reason why she was already there! So convenient. ;) While we were waiting for the elevator, my dad came around the corner from getting a coffee in the cafeteria, hugged us and said he'd be back later (he went to work that day). We checked into L&D and got settled in. My nurse was this Filipino lady named Noreen who knew my mom! She was there with us all day throughout my labor. She was great. My mom got to our room around 9:00A.M. I felt like I was given special treatment not only because I was an employee at the hospital but because all the doctors and nurses on the L&D floor knew my mom! :) The doctor checked us when we were first admitted and I was still only 1cm dilated (same as I'd been for weeks). Noreen said they'd be giving me cytotec, which is a pill, to help ripen my cervix. I was surprised to find out the pill was not taken orally, but actually put in the place where it is to ripen my cervix hahaha. The doctor said they migh have to inflate a foley catheter inside of me to help dilate my cervix. Luckily when he checked me again, I was far enough along that it wasn't needed. Then they started me on pitocin. THAT I was scared about, because I knew my contractions would start getting more frequent and stronger. My contractions did get to the point where they were seemingly unbearable, but I thought that when the doctor checked me next, if I was at least 8cm dilated, then maybe I could do it without the epidural. But around 5:00P.M. when he checked me again, I was only 5!!! I was so disappointed. I was only half way through dilating and didn't think I could do it anymore. So I opted for the epidural. I tried going into the whole labor and delivery process with an open mind. I knew I would've felt guilty and thoroughly disappointed in myself if I made a birth plan that I planned on sticking with. Everyone reassured me that it was okay that I was getting the epidural and after I received it, I definitely was happy with my decision! I felt so much better and I could still move my feet and feel my contractions but no pain. It was wonderful. Definitely going to get an epidural earlier next time hehe. After the epidural, which was around 6:00P.M., things moved pretty quickly and by 9:45P.M. I was fully dilated and ready to push!!! Forgot to mention that by that time, my mom, dad and in-laws were all there waiting for Abby to arrive. :)

I decided to have Jim, my mom, mom-in-law and sis-in-law in the room with me during delivery. I pushed for about an hour and a half, and at 11:06P.M. our daughter Abigail Grace was born at 7lbs 12oz and 21 inches long. :) I could not stop sobbing when she finally came out. It was the most wonderful, emotional and surreal moment I have ever experienced.

We had so many family and friends praying for us and for a safe delivery and it definitely was. I was so thankful that Abigail remained stable throughout the whole labor and delivery, not once did her heart rate get too low and I did not experience any complications. Although I did tear during delivery, that is a small price to pay. Since I had the epidural, I did not even feel it nor the sewing up afterwards. I am just so glad we did not have to have an emergency cesarean section and that everything went smoothly with the vaginal delivery. God is so good!!! Abigail is the greatest blessing we could ever receive. We love her so much already and our love grows for her everyday! After I delivered her I thought, how am I ever going to do that again?! But almost 2 weeks later, I can hardly remember the pain and looking forward to growing our family in the future. :)

Happy Easter!

Pretty spring flowers in our home. :)

Saturday night Jim and I went to church for the Easter service. I had to work Saturday night into Easter Sunday morning, so we decided to go to church before my shift that night. When I got to work I found out I was being floated to the burn unit! Ahh I was so scared and nervous. I ended up only having 2 patients because the acuity of the patients are higher on that floor, but I was glad I only had 2 since it was all new to me! One of my patients had so many things going on with him and so many things I was unfamiliar with, I was wondering how I'd ever get through the night... but the other nurses were so helpful and the respiratory therapist taught me a lot. It was good experience, but I am more thankful now for my home floor up on 61. My patients are more stable (for the most part) and I am just more familiar and comfortable with the nursing skills that need to be performed up there. After work, I went home and slept for a few hours, then woke up to make green bean casserole to take to my in-laws for our Easter get-together! We had an Easter egg hunt in their backyard for Colton and Kenzie (Roberta, my mom-in-law, even had an Easter egg for Abigail!) then ate a yummy late lunch/early dinner, then just spent good family time together. I was exhausted when we got home since I only had 3 hours of sleep, so I pretty much passed out after that and now I'm up early since I went to bed so early! Here are some pics from our Easter...

Update! This is going to be a long post....

So much has been going on lately! So much to be updated on... where to begin?! First off, THANK YOU GOD- I was offered a permanent position at my work!!! Our prayers really were answered... I thought they had already hired everyone they were going to hire, but then I asked my supervisor about it since they put me on the work schedule for an additional month when my contract was already supposed to end, and it turns out she offered me a position! :) No more stress about trying to find a job while on maternity leave. :) And I get to stay on my floor and continue to work nights! This works out perfectly because Abigail won't need a sitter or be put into daycare.  *Hopefully* she will let mommy sleep on my days on. I am going to try to coordinate my schedule so I will work only weekends (every Saturday, Sunday and Monday night) so Jim will be home to watch Abigail and I can sleep. But I know a couple weeks in the beginning once I return to work that already won't work out because I am in my good friend's wedding in California (so I'll have to take that weekend off) and the following weekend we are taking a family vacation up to Greer, AZ. (Abigail is going to be such a well-traveled little girl!) But besides those weekends, I am hoping that schedule will work out. At my job, you are required to work 2 weekends of every month, but of course people don't normally like working weekends, so I hope they let me work every weekend. The only problem with that is that Jim and I won't have any days off together and we will have to go to church either on Saturday night before my shift or Sunday morning right when I get home from my long 13-hour shift. Of course this isn't ideal- ideally I wouldn't work Sundays at all, because it's important for us to go to church, spend time with our family and have a day of "rest" but with our situation right now, we believe it is the best option. Prayers to stay committed to going to church even when I'm tired with a newborn and working before and after. We want our children to know that church/God is a priority in our family.

God has seriously blessed us with so much. Today on the radio I heard a great reminder of one of God's promises- the verse Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Jim and I feel very blessed and in turn, we try to do our best to bless and serve others any way that we can. I love that our children will grow up in a Christian home where they were learn and love Jesus. God has sent me the perfect mate- he is already the strong spiritual leader of our family and I continue to see him growing daily in his faith in God. :)

So this past Saturday was my baby shower! I felt an outpouring of love from all the ladies that attended. It was planned for outside in our backyard, but of course the temperature spiked up to 90 degrees that day, so be the time 2:00P.M. rolled around we had to go inside because we were so hot! Luckily, everyone fit inside our home too. :) Abigail is such a loved little girl already and she isn't even here yet! I just love how everything we are experiencing is like an image of the love God has for us... I love Jim and Abigail so much, but how much greater is God's love for us?! I cannot even imagine...

A quick pic of Jim and I before he left and my baby shower started :)

For more pics from my shower, view here:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2186580376844.2110223.1017060063&type=3&l=bfc5c12d52

Sunday was another wonderful day... my brother was is town because he was hired to be the photographer at a wedding, so Sunday morning my family and I were able to get together for Breakfast at Mimi's Cafe. Then they went to church with Jim and I afterwards. :) In the afternoon, I met up with Nikki, Kristen and Kelly to buy shoes/accesories for our bridesmaid dresses! I love the color Nikki picked out for our dresses- coral. :) I think it compliments our different skin tones well and goes perfectly for a summer beach wedding. I just hope I will be able to fit and look decent in my dress come time for the wedding! It will be about 8 weeks post-baby! And I also hope Abigail will be a good baby during the car ride to and from San Diego and during the wedding! :/ Anyway, later that evening, our good friend Jered hosted a neighborhood block party on his block! If you remember, our church challeneged us to get to know our neighbors more and Jim and I hosted a neighborhood block party about a month or so ago. The turn out in Jered's neighborhood was awesome!! His neighbors are all so nice and he even got to invite some of them to Easter service this Sunday!

Family picture at breakfast :)

Monday morning we had our Operation: Support Our Schools event. CCV has been collecting facial tissue, copy paper and wet wipes for 300 local elementary schools. This week, we delivered all of the donated supplies to our assigned school and held a teacher appreciation breakfast. The faculty really seemed to appreciate it and started off their Monday morning on the right foot. :) It is crazy how much teachers have to spend OUT OF  POCKET on their school supplies, the continued budget cuts in education, the long hours they put in OUTSIDE of work (unpaid) and the ridiculously low pay! I hope they felt appreciated, because they really are amazing! So THANK YOU all you teachers out there making a difference. :)

Today I discovered the amazing store Kid to Kid. I kept hearing about it from a lot of my mommy friends and today I finally went to check it out! The prices were cheaper than the Once Upon a Child near my home and the quality and selection was much better! I will definitely be going back there. :) I also want to go to Hissyfits sometime... another second-hand baby shop I hear rave reviews about!

We are less than 4 weeks away from our expected due date!!!

So my 5 day weekend is coming to an end... *sigh*. It really was wonderful while it lasted. I am working the next 3 nights, then have 1 night off, then back for 2, then 1 night off, then back again. I am exhausted just thinking about it lol. I get really sad when it comes time to go back to work because that means I won't see Jim again until the night I'm off. The next time I'll see him is Saturday night. :( I get off of work Saturday morning, but he has to work all day. So I'll see him Saturday night, but then Sunday he is volunteering for all of the services at church (he's picking up all of the donated items that the church members will be leaving in the back of their cars... and since I really shouldn't be lifting heavy objects, don't know if I'll stay to volunteer). Then I work again Sunday night. So besides the fact that work is really stressful, not seeing Jim for days at a time just makes me really emotional (probably heightened because of my pregnancy... or at least that's what I'm blaming it on hehe). I feel like I need my daily fix of Jim to get me through the work week, but unfortunately that's just not feasible with our work schedules right now. It makes me envious of couples that get to see each other every night after a long day at work, get to eat dinner together and catch up and then hold each other as they fall asleep in bed. The nights we get to do that I appreciate so much more now. I know I really shouldn't complain because I'm blessed to even have a job, but everyone has their issues and these just happen to be mine at the moment. I hope my pregnant body will be able to keep up until I start my maternity leave when I'm 38 weeks (4 more weeks!). What's getting me through is the light at the end of the tunnel... every day is one day closer to meeting our baby girl! I think about Abigail ALL THE TIME. I am sooo excited for her to be here (so not ready for the no sleep/always tired aspect of it though). I go into her room often and daydream about her being here and what it will be like. It's still hard for me to believe she is inside of me right now. We still haven't gotten a 3D/4D ultrasound done, but don't know of any place that does it in the west valley that is open during a time when we are both available. I want to see what she looks like, but I guess I don't mind waiting until she is actually here and saving the money it would cost to get the ultrasound done. Well it's 3:30A.M. now, so I should really get to sleep. (Working nights really screws up my sleeping schedule on my nights off!)

Craft day!

Today I spent the day with my sister in law Laura! We went to Mimi's Cafe for breakfast where I had a coupon- buy 1 get 1 free breakfast! Eating out can be expensive, but when you have a coupon it makes it more worth it. :) If we are going out to eat, we try in both our families to only go somewhere where we have a coupon. During breakfast we talked about our plans for the day, what crafts we wanted to make together for our girls and how fun it will be once Abigail is here! We first went to Michaels because they had cute daisy flowers (see pic below) on sale for 89 cents each, plus we had a 40% off coupon and Laura gets an additional 15% off since she's a teacher! Then I introduced Laura to SAS Fabric store! It is so ridiculously cheap there for the elastic to make headbands. I also bought some elastic for the fitted crib sheet I plan to make for Abigail (once my sewing machine gets fixed... I really need to get on that... only 6 weeks til she's here!) Then we went to her classroom to work on our projects! We made some of the same headbands/bows so our daughters will match. :) Our next craft day will be a relaxing getaway for a day (thanks to groupon) where we will be making tutus for our girls! :) So excited. After we made some headbands, we ate lunch at Culver's. She had free kids meal coupons that her school gives out to their students, so we grabbed a couple coupons and enjoyed a nice free meal complete with a scoop of frozen custard! Then we went back to Michaels to get a couple more of those cute flowers hehe (had to reprint the coupon online so we could get the 40% off discount again of course hehe). It was such a fun, inexpensive day! I love that we both look for the best prices. When Laura and I first met, I didn't know how much we'd have in common, but the longer we're sisters the more we're finding things in common and things to do together! Can't wait to dress up our little girls in the creations we make for them!

Abigail's new headbands!

Abigail's headband/bow holder so far!

Lots of headbands... definitely need to make more bows/clips :)

Wonderful weekend!

I can't remember the last time I had a whole weekend off (Friday, Saturday AND Sunday night!) It was wonderful and I'm still off for the next couple days which is even more amazing! I definitely appreciate my time with Jim a lot more working nights. Our few nights a week together mean so much to me. Friday night Jim had to work late (until 11:00P.M... yuck), so I came with him to one of his client's offices and kept him company while he worked. It was nice to be able to be together even though he still had to work. Saturday was St. Patrick's Day. It was a pretty relaxing day for the Podzius household. Wore green (well I did, Jim didn't hehe), went to church and had corned beef and cabbage for dinner. :) Spent a nice night relaxing on the couch watching a movie with my love. Today (Sunday) was a fun day! First was Anjelyna and James' baby shower. It was so nice to see her again! We are both looking quite pregnant now. Last night we saw each other I was about 4 months and she was about 5, and we both were hardly showing if at all. I can't believe they are due in just a few shoft weeks! And we are due in only 6! Our lives are so parallel it's funny... we went to nursing school together, were roommates, were both dating men names James who both drove red mustangs. Then we got engaged then married just a few short months apart from each other for both and now we are both having babies! Jim and I only stayed at their baby shower for about an hour, because it was also our nephew Colton's 3rd birthday party on the other side of town (went to Gilbert for their baby shower then back to Arrowhead for our nephew's party). We got there towards the end of the party, then stayed for awhile to spend time with Jim's sis and family. I am so excited for Abigail and Kenzie (her cousin) to become friends. They will only be about 9 months apart! And I love that Abigail has a cousin to get all her hand-me-down clothing. :) Works out perfectly! Then tonight Jim and I watched the season finale of The Walking Dead. Boy that show scares me, but I can't stop watching! Anyway, here are pictures from Anjelyna and James' baby shower today!

Anjelyna and I with our baby bellies :)

They have chickens in their backyard and they laid their first eggs!

such a cute set up!

Aww the happy parents-to-be James and Anjelyna :)