Harmon Family Letter -click pages to enlarge

My babies are getting bigger!

Jocelyn is climbing on everything! The entertainment center, the kitchen table... everytime I turn around she is on something else she should not be on! The girl is a climber! Cannot wait till she is old enough to be involved in some things to wear out this energy! She is so cute and her hair is getting so long! Curls galore :) She is saying more and more words and I cannot keep up with the girl! She LOVES her baby sister, she giggles in delight at her then will go and do something and she will see her again and come right back trying to tickle her! Gracelyn on the other hand is so small she cannot defend herself as Jocelyn is always taking her pacifier... and then trying to put it back in Gracelyn's mouth. I have no idea how much my little munchkin weighs now... but I do know that she is going to catch up to Jocelyn very quickly! She goes to sleep at night but is not sleeping through the night yet, we usually get up 2 times a night.

Charles has finally been hired on at Roselawn!!! He is earning vacation time now and has sick time, we are greatful. It is still hard though because since he works 1/2 the weekends in the month it is hard to plan to do anything with anyone. We never know for sure if he is going to have off or not.

I am back to work and enjoying it. I don't think I could hack being a stay at home mom, I really like being able to get out of the house and doing something, it makes me feel productive. Childcare on the other hand is a horrible horrible thing! We are paying 170 dollars a week! YIKES!

Hopefully my last post before Gracelyn arrives

She is due tomorrow... I'm praying she decides to come soon! Jocelyn was 2 days late so let's hope she decides not to be much later than that. I could be sitting here another 2 weeks, you never know. I don't think my doctor will let her stay in there that long though. I guess it's all up to Gracelyn! I would want to be movin' if I were that cramped up in there. I guess we all try to avoid the unknown though sometimes don't we? I really want her to be here when everyone comes down, and I know you all do too!

Jocelyn has no idea whats in store for her, but I'm praying she will adjust well. Right now it is hard to imagine loving another like we do her. I know that will change though! We are going to have 2 precious angels that God has blessed us with. I know things will be tough starting out but I also know it is all worth it in the end. God has blessed us with our little growing family and for that we are truly thankful.

I have a doctor appointment tomorrow, hopefully it goes well! Maybe it will get things moving :) Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers! We are truly blessed!

The Worst Part is the Not-Knowing

Baby is head down, and apparently has dropped! I have been feeling ok sometimes and pretty miserable others. We took Jocelyn to the park the other day and I'm sure all the other mother's thought I was nuts crawling around on the play equipment with Jocelyn being this pregnant! I did pretty good if I don't say so myself. Jocelyn has so much fun going down the slides... and attempting to crawl back up them.

Last night I woke up and my whole side was in pain, it still hurts now if I lay down. Sleeping is getting impossible. I think I can take the pregnancy pains but the mental part is rough. It seems so far away but I know it's close. More than likely this is because you just never know WHEN. Will it be hours or days or weeks? It is less than 2 weeks now till my due date.

COME ON BABY!

So Miserable

I have been so so tired lately. I really just want to go to bed. I cannot believe I still have 23 days until my due date, and more than likely will end up being late. I should be thankful because I still have some things I need to do, but I have been so uncomfortable and the baby has been so uncooperative. (not that she knows any different). Work has been a hassle lately. They have 3 large events and keep dropping things on me last minute. I'm trying to stay caught up so I don't have to just drop everything when I go but it is looking like that is how it is going to be.

I found out last week that I may get paid the whole time I am off. Last year it was really really hard not getting paid while I took flma time. This year 3 people have told me they are going to donate sick time for me, which is great.

Jocelyn's birthday party went good :) There was only a few of us but I think for her age that is best. She had an elmo birthday, complete with elmo birthday cake. I can't believe she is 1 now. I love her soooo much! Sometimes I worry how she is going to adjust with the second baby, hopefully it's well.

I really think nap time should be included into our work schedules, I could really use one!

It's getting closer!

One year ago today we were praying for Jocelyn to come on 09/09/09! God had other plans in store though!

Things are really weighing on my mind! My daughters first birthday is on MONDAY! We are celebrating Sunday but I have done NOTHING for it. Partly because we never go anywhere and partly because taking Jocelyn anywhere is a lot of work. The girl just will not sit still, she just cries because she wants to get down and run! I can put her down but catching her is another story, so stressful! We have a few fun things in mind to get her, other than that the girl needs socks and jeans and pajamas in particular. She had a growth spurt and the girl is all leg! She is in 12 month stuff for length but she is so skinny because she never sits still! Which is a good thing health-wise :) Charles loves chasing her around the house, I love watching, I can't really move that much at the moment being 9 months pregnant!

As for Gracelyn she is coming soon, we have a lot of what she needs except maybe some more sleepers and socks and onsies. What I really would like is a double stroller, but we can't find one cheap enough. Maybe after I go back to work. I also need a new wrap to carry the baby but we are going to have to hold off on that too I think. Some things I can make, I just have to find the time and energy to do it! Last time I didn't have a toddler running around climbing on top of everything. She seriously scares me to death sometimes. We try to get her outside some to let her wear some of that energy off. She ran so much this weekend being at 2 picnics I don't know how she was still going after she was done.

I'm so ready to not be pregnant anymore. This one has been a lot harder on me physically, but at the same time I don't feel AS pregnant as I did last time. That may change here in a few weeks. Charles has been informed that now instead of one weekend off one weekend on it is now 2 weekends on 2 weekends off. We will see how this works... I really wish he would just be hired already. It will be a year in December and it is creeping up fast. I know God is providing for us, sometimes we wanna have fun and be able to make plans too!

Time Flies

Well, we had our ultrasound on Friday, things seem to be going ok. The baby measured 2 days ahead so she is right on track. It was a big relief, it was also a relief that we know for sure its a girl! That was pretty clear! We plan on naming her Gracelyn, nickname Gracie. She has less than 6 weeks left! We are getting things ready. Right now we just have to get necessities like onsies, socks, and diapers. There are a few other things we would like to have but none of them are necessities. It has been fairly easy since we just got done with all of this!

Jocelyn is going to turn 1 on the 13th and I have no idea what we are going to do. I guess I should figure out something! I just can't believe she is that big. I can't keep up with her running everywhere. Good thing she is turning 1 too because she detests baby food anymore, she has been eating a lot more table food. She has 8 teeth so she can get it down pretty easily. She also loves drinking out of straws, I had to go find a sippy with a straw attached, it makes her feel more grown up. It's so funny to watch this little girl doing all these things!

I'm struggling at work keeping myself occupied, I have things to do but I just don't want to be here. Really ready for my time off even if I will still be working! Charles won't get to take much time off besides when I'm in the hospital, oh the joys of having no vacation time and contracting work.

That's it for now!

What to do....

The date is getting closer, I just wish it would go faster! I had a doctor's appointment Friday and she wants me to have another ultrasound the 27th at my next visit. The baby was at 35 cm before last visit (which is about 5 cm larger than it shoulda been around that time) and it was 35 again Friday. She is a little worried since it does not look like the baby has grown the past 2 weeks, but it is kind of good since she was so much bigger... we will see what happens. Until then I am a bit worried.

Work for me right now is pretty miserable. I can not stay comfortable at all. Still seeing the chiropractor twice a week and I think it helps. Charles has been having to help me with more since I am in so much pain. Right now I just wanna sleep until October!

Jocelyn is walking around like crazy. She is so excited she knows how to walk and loves her sippy cups. I cannot believe she is going to be 1 next month. This year has gone by really really fast!

Days are Long, Weeks are Fast

I've officially started the 3rd trimester, we are getting there. Just 10 more weeks to go, this feels like a very short time but it also feels like forever. I'm so ready to not be pregnant any more! Tired and out of breath all the time! Charles is still working on a name, until then it's just baby #2.

Mom and dad came down yesterday, they helped us baby proof some. It is a big help, Jocelyn is into EVERYTHING. Saturday we were at mom's house and I turned around for 1 second and turned back around and my daughter was standing on top of the dishwasher door. I THINK I'M IN TROUBLE! Not only that but she wants to eat everything, she loves lemons and pickles.

I'm bogged down at work right now, and with the extra work instead of working harder I just don't want to do anything. Some of the time I can't because I'm waiting on other people to get back to me for this or that. I'm gettin little by little done, I just wish I had more drive. I'm really ready to have this baby and get some time off. I haven't had an actual vacation in 2 years. Granted when the time comes I still will be busy and crazy, just in a different way. Charles won't get to take the week off with me either, so I'm going to be busy... Let's hope my sanity is still in tact after all this is over with!

3rd Trimester and J is 10 months

Things are moving along. Our little family of 3 has had some car problems. We are hoping to get them all sorted out this weekend. In the meantime we got a van which is a big help. Once we get the other 2 cars up and going 1 of them will be going to my parents, they are a 1 car family! I'm sure the neighbors think we are nuts. We have both our cars in the driveway, the van, and oftentimes Charles work vehicle is out there too.

I am finally getting to the point where I am feeling like things at the apartment are getting in order. I just have to finish our room, rearrange it and figure out the best way to fit the bassinet in there for baby #2 born in October. This pregnancy has gone by really fast, most of it I attribute to the fact that I'm trying to chase down Jocelyn every other second. The girl is on the move and there is NO stopping her! She has taken a step on her own, but mostly she is using the furniture to help her walk around. We got a stand up toy table and instead of playing with it she pushes the thing around like a walker. With Charles "wrestling" with her all the time (which she loves) the girl knows how to defend herself. It is so funny to watch her tackle him. She is going to be 1 in a few months and I just can't believe it!

Everything is going ok with the new baby we are told. I have had a lot of problems and pain, I have been seeing a chiropractor 3 times a week. I will go next week for a scan to see if it has helped at all. It's hard going because I have to take Jocelyn to the appointments with me. They have a jumper for me to put her in but she cries the whole time while they are twisting and bending and popping me.

Charles has been on call more because one of the funeral directors quit. They are "trying" to get some other people in there to do some of the night calls. He is looking forward to baby 2, I'm not sure it has really hit him yet though...

I'm really looking forward to October, the baby will be here and we will get to see many of you that are coming down for covered bridge!

17 Weeks Pregnant and many changes are coming!

The past week or so has created many changes for our near future. We are excited about most of them. I am 17 weeks pregnant and 3 days, and I am doing well on that front. I have lost a little bit of weight with this pregnancy which makes me feel good. I'm hoping I don't gain as much as I did with Jocelyn! Because I am pregnant and am getting bigger and Jocelyn is getting bigger it has led to some problems. Getting her up the stairs is fairly scary, I have about fallen multiple times. I can't get her up the stairs while she is in her car seat, she is just way to heavy and my balance sucks right now! This has led us to looking for a different apartment.

We plan on moving in 2 weeks, am dreading packing! It is right by Charles work which is excellent because that way when he is on call he doesn't have to drive 15-20 minutes out of the way to get the company van to drive back in town and then drive back out of town 15-20 minutes again. This will cut down on his time it takes him while he is on call... and when the calls are at night that is excellent! Since I am being layed off we couldn't afford much more than what we were paying, so our apartment isn't that big, but at least this one is a 2 bedroom with a washer and dryer!

Jocelyn is getting so big, she started crawling a few weeks ago and now she is all about finding things that she can hold on to to help her stand up! Today she hit her head and got a bump, it almost made me cry. This is very scary, we need to babyproof! But it is kinda pointless till we move. We are planning on babyproofing as we move, and some furniture will not be making the cut.

Charles is optimistic about being hired on soon, they have to wait till the new company fully takes over which he thinks is at the end of May. He is starting the church softball team and his first game is Friday, I am so excited to go watch him play! It will be good for him and will help us meet more people too. He is also singing in a quartet in front of the church on Mother's day, that is going to be very special. Charles has a great voice and everyone is always asking him to sing, but he is too shy, this will be a first for him!

That is about it for us. If I get my scanner working I will get the ultrasound pictures up from about 7 weeks ago. We will know if we are having a boy or a girl in 2 weeks. We are excited, but Charles says it shouldn't be much of a surprise, he is convinced its a boy! WE WILL SEE!

Anything you can do I can do better!

The Harmon family is on the go! Well it feels like that anyway. Jocelyn is getting bigger than ever, she is trying to figure out the whole crawling thing but hasn't gotten there yet. While she is sitting she tries to scoot across the floor on her butt, but instead does a little dance that is hilarious. She has been practicing holding the bottle on her own for a while but yesterday if you put your hand on it she was not happy. She wanted to do it allll by herself and if you tried to help her she was not having it! Her own little personality is shining through and it is adorable! Today she is going to see a doctor because she has been having a pretty bad cough at night, and has been a little irritable because she is teething on the top, she already has her bottom 2 for a while now.

It sounds like Charles will be hired on soon. The new company just bought them and they want everyone who makes over 3,500 a year hired on. We are praying it happens fast! He has not had any calls this week, he said it is pretty slow and they haven't had many funerals. Guess that's good and bad eh?

As for me and my job we are not sure, it is up to the president and provost to decide. If they do not let me come back off the layoff list then the Library will no longer have a public relations department which is very important. We have heard the president is planning on cutting back on advertising though so we will see what happens. Even if I do get to stay the news said their may be more layoffs, they had over 150 retirees and could bring everyone back but will not. The next round of layoffs if they do have one is rumored to be faculty, but we will see! I pray God points me in the right direction because things sure are confusing right now!

The other bit of news that most of you know by now is that we are expecting our second child! He or she is due Oct. 8th. I had one ultrasound and will get them up soon, but it doesn't show much since it was so early. Charles is really rooting for a boy this time around, we will see what God has in store for us in the next 5 weeks that way though. I am going to try to hold off on my gallbladder surgery till after I have he or she, it has not been hurting anywhere nearly as bad as it did and is no longer hurting in my chest :) .

Well that's it for now!

Stress by the Buckets Full

Sometimes I feel like Satan is playing games with me, the worst part is... I KNOW HE IS! My job has been just a bucket of stress since the beginning. Since graduating I was told over and over their plans in hiring me as soon as possible. Days and months go by and I get the same story, finally I was told once January roles around they will be able to hire me on. January finally comes and goes and I am told that they are to open the position, but I have to apply! I have done the job for many years and now I have to apply? I do, I go up against some tough competition with nearly 40 applicants. They narrow it down to 3, me, another professional designer, and a designer and photographer who had traveled Japan. I gave them everything I had, and I was hired... FINALLY!

At the same time all of this was happening I found out that I was pregnant with my princess Jocelyn Joy. I had doctors appointments by the handfulls and could not take any sick leave because I was on my 90 day probation. LUCKILY I had worked there as a temporary staff for a year, so once it came around to having her I could go on FMLA. Things were looking up.

THIS January we receive notice the university has to have lots of layoffs, and of course I find out I am on the layoff list. I have been jerked around so many ways. I know that I just have to trust God, but the whole situation is just hard. I get hope because they told us if enough people take the retirement incentive that we will be able to stay. Three people have come off the layoff list, and we know several others who are to retire, so I had been convinced I was going to be able to stay. Yesterday I was told that now it does not matter how many retire, it is now up to the president and provost. I really feel like the rug was pulled out from under me once again.

The worst part of all of it is that we can no longer live in our tiny 1 bedroom apartment. The place is a disaster and the bigger Jocelyn gets the worse it get's. We HAVE to find another place, and thought we were going to be able to do so. Now I'm not so sure what is going to happen, how my family is going to be able to live. I trust you God, but boy this has been a hard ride.

Advancement

Jocelyn has learned many things in the past few weeks! She can roll over like none other and she rolls and rolls and rolls and if you turn your head even temporarily you have to go find her! Her first video of her rolling over is on facebook if you have not seen it. She is now learning to sit up on her own which she can do for several minutes at a time. It's almost unbelievable how much she has learned just recently! She loves to jump in her chair we hope to get that video up soon.

I may possibly be able to keep my job, we will see but things will be very different! I don't know what is going to happen but I know that it is all going to work out! We have been pretty busy working on some larger events recently and things are just calming down. Spring break is next week so the library will be very quiet!

Charles is still chuggin' along at his job. He has been on call for weeks straight with no time off and it is getting hard. The other person that helps has been in Indy taking a class. Hopefully he gets some time off soon. He has gone many many days where he will have a call at 1 am, then one at 3 or 5 am and then have to get up at 7 for work. Talk about no sleep!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Here we go around again...

Well I think it's about time the Harmon's do something to try and keep everyone updated! It's not very easy for us to do, we feel like everything is everywhere at the moment in complete and utter chaos.

Jocelyn is getting SO big it's not even funny. She has her own personality and it amuses all of us! She has started eating baby food and likes it part of the time. She is sitting up pretty well with a little help, soon she will be able to all by herself. She goes nuts if we do not let her stand, she loves to stand! She amazes herself with all the things she is learning to do. Grandma Allison watches her during the day while Charles is at work and she enjoys that too. She is teething though right now, which is not much fun for any of us! We tried orajel last night and I'm not entirely sure she liked that :) but seemed to help her sleep. Videos will be up soon.

Charles is hoping to get hired on at his job he has been working since Decemeber. He seems to like his job and he always has new stories to tell. I am not sure how he does what he does because most people I know could not do it! I am very proud of him! He also gets a lot of on-calls which brings in a lot of extra money once it is all said and done. It's hard planning anything or going anywhere since if he does get called he must be there in a matter of minutes but it's worth it in the end. As for me, I am praying enough people retire that I will be able to keep my job for the time being. My last day is supposed to be in May but we will see what the good Lord has in store!

We are trying to figure out housing arrangements right now, there is no possible way to fit all of us in a 1 bedroom for much longer, we already do a lot of shuffling of things whenever we have to get anything new. We are not sure what is the best decision, apartments for 2 bedrooms are costly and we are not sure how long I will have my job, it could be May or if things work out maybe longer. If May is my last day we will have a hard time affording a 2 bedroom, and I still have to somehow pay student loans. Even with looking for apartments based on income it is still going to be costly for us. We were looking buying a very very inexpensive house, basically anything would be a definite fixer upper, then monthly costs would be a lot lower and I could still pay loans. It's hard to know what to do. Pray we make the best decision!