It's a "broid"!

Greg and I didn't tell a lot of people, but a couple of months ago, a visit with my GYN determined that there was something growing inside of me. We knew we weren't pregnant, but I had been experiencing some symptoms that warranted this visit. She ordered an ultrasound, which revealed that my uterus was twice the size it was supposed to be, and there was a fibroid tumor somewhere inside of it (Greg kept referring to it as a "Broid"). I was then referred to a GYN specialist. He recommended that I have the fibroid remove, stating that he could do it laporascopically. So that's what we did, earlier this week. I had laporascopic surgery to have the fibroid removed.

What is a fibroid tumor? Its a benign growth and actually pretty common among women, usually later in life. It is unknown what causes them, but it is thought their growth is fueled by hormones. They can be found inside or outside the uterus, or growing within the muscular uterine wall. Some women have small fibroids, which will grow during pregnancy, but then shrink back down afterwards. In my case, I had quite a large fibroid, estimated to be 12 cm in diameter, that was growing inside of the uterine wall. Because of it's size, the concern was that if I were to become pregnant, the fetus would be fighting for space with the fibroid. It was also an unsafe size fibroid for my smaller frame. Some of the symptoms I was experiencing from the fibroid included severe cramping during my periods, as well has heavy bleeding and large blood clots. Also, because it was so large, the fibroid caused me to urinate frequently. Essentially, I was told that my uterus was at the same size/stage as someone who was 4 months pregnant.

Fortunately, we had a great surgeon. He was successful in removing the fibroid, although it was more work than he anticipated. The fibroid's size was over 13 cm, measuring in at 1.5 lbs. We expected a 1.5-2 hour surgery, but it was 4. I lost some blood (1.75 pints), but did not need a blood transfusion. My anesthetist was also great, as I had absolutely no nausea after the surgery. He also did a great job knocking me out while keeping me awake; apparently I joked around with everyone in pre-op, but I have no recollection of this!

I was in the hospital for one night only. Greg has been a wonderful caretaker, attending to my every need. He is even keeping ice cream stocked in the freezer! I'll be on leave from work for the rest of the week, and for sure through the next. I am due to see the doctor the following week. In three months, I will have an ultrasound to see how the uterus is healing and if there is any new fibroid growth. Since I have had fibroids already, I am at a risk for developing them again. We, of course, are hoping this isn't the case, at least not until after we are able to expand our family. But we will just take things day by day.

We are very thankful for so many things. Although this has been an unfortunate experience, we are happy it happened at a time before we planned on having children. I now have plenty of time to heal before we start trying to get pregnant. Also, God lead us to the right people at the right time. Both my GYN and Surgeon were fantastic, and I am looking forward to working with them more in the future. Many people prayed for me the days leading up to my surgery and during the procedure, all which were heard and felt. Our church small group has brought us meals to help keep us nourished as I currently cannot cook. Thank you to all who have been so supportive, encouraging and prayerful for us! We are so blessed.....

The daily drive....

I have a significant drive to and from work each day. It's usually around 35-45 minutes one way, depending on traffic, construction and whether or not a train is running during rush hour. Now that the days are getting shorter, I get to watch the sun set after driving over the mountains and descending to the road leading to our home. Almost every single day it is a beautiful sight. I tried to capture it with my poor-excuse-for-a-camera-on-my-phone, but it didn't quite do justice.



Sure does make the long commute worthwhile, don't you think?

Another Wedding!

We had a fantastic time visiting with family and friends last weekend in Illinois/Missouri. While Greg was finishing up a business trip in Boston, I had the opportunity to visit with some friends and former co-workers in the St Louis area. It was so nice to be away from work for a few days, and enjoy the start of fall in the Midwest!

We were in the area to celebrate the marriage of Greg's long-time friend from high school, Andy. He met his beautiful bride shortly before Greg and I started dating. So just as they were able to watch our relationship blossom and bloom, we were able to do the same with Andy and Sarah. I have been fortunate in getting to know both of them, and truly believe these two are meant to be. Almost two years ago, we did a trip with them to the Grand Canyon, and we are hoping to do more trips with them in the future.

The setting was a beautiful almost-fall day in Missouri. Wine country, no less. The ceremony was the backyard of the parents of the bride, with tall beautiful trees surrounding the area. As the ceremony ended, the clouds moved in to provide the much needed relief from the sun, and cool down the crowd. We enjoyed music, laughter and food later in the evening at the local hall. Here are some pictures of the day:

Funny story....one of the groomsmen was very late to the wedding. So an usher stepped up to the plate and filled in. Furthermore, only the best man attended the rehearsal the night before. End result: the boys were all in the wrong places! Greg (pictured far right), was supposed to be the third guy in from the left.

Their dog was the ring bearer, tuxedo vest and all...

To my Arizona friends: This is what a real tree looks like!

Group pictures of the wedding party took place up the road from where Sarah grew up. Behind you can see the beautiful valley filled with trees. Soon it will be bursting with color.

A photo opportunity with the groom.

Andy and his family have a very strong Polish heritage. One of the family traditions for weddings involves shots of Vodka followed by sucking on a lemon and smoking cigars. In lieu of the dollar dance, shots and cigars were sold at the entrance of the reception hall. Note: neither Greg nor I partook in this family tradition!

Right from Austria, vodka with the family name:

Cutting of the (extremely delicious) wedding cake! Pretty sure I had three pieces that night.

Last picture of the evening....

Congratulations to Andy and Sarah! Thank you for allowing us to share in your beautiful day! We pray that God blesses your marriage!

Our house

Many of you are curious as to what my new dwelling place looks like. Overall, it is very much a Southwest style home and VERY different than any of the houses I'd ever seen before venturing out West. Greg closed on the house last November, moving in immediately. A foreclosure, it had been vacant for quite some time, thus requiring A LOT of cleaning products. About 4 months ago, I was able to claim 50% of the house upon marriage, thanks to the laws of Arizona. What's yours is 50% mine, and what's mine is 50% yours.

Let's take a little bit of a semi-virtual tour.....Here are some photos of the home before while it was still vacant:

View from the road. The garage is open with spaces for 3 vehicles. The main entrance to the house is the set of double doors filled with glass. Yes, our 4.3 acres is all dirt. That's it. No plants; at least, not when this photo was taken.....

The view from the back corner. The three small windows on the right are in the master bedroom. There are two doors on the back porch: one leading into the master bedroom, the other leading into the kitchen/dining area.

The living room, with a window to the back porch. The beehive fireplace is very popular here. It is a wood burning fireplace, and we love it. It really helps heat the house in the winter. Imagine that behind you is the kitchen.

The kitchen = my sanctuary. Lots of cupboards and countertops. Need not say more.

To the left of the kitchen is the dining room. It's a little small, but we've made it work.

Now imagine that we walked past the dining room to the right, where a long hallway awaits. To your left is this guest bath. Funny story....there is a switch in here that is used for the motion lights located in the rear of the house. Reminded me of this.

Continuing on past the bathroom is this first guest room. We have designated it at the "office" and "work out room." There are two other rooms just like this, all in line along the long hallway. These each have very spacious closets with sliding mirror doors. (HINT: 3 BEDROOMS = PLENTY OF ROOM FOR OUT OF TOWN GUESTS!!!)

After the third guest room you will find another bath, with a full tub/shower. And yes, the tile in the shower is the EXACT SAME as the tile on the floor. The same tile that is throughout the entire house, and in all the showers. The same tile that we will be replacing someday.....

Here is an alternate view of the living room, with the front door slightly ajar. The archway you see leads into the master suite. Those archways are very popular in the Southwest. Not sure why, but they are everywhere. Let's walk through that trendy archway, shall we?

Enter into the master bedroom. Have you noticed a theme throughout the house yet? The SAME CEILING FANS are in every room! These are so ugly, and I can't wait to replace them!! To the right is the before mentioned doorway leading out to the back porch. Now if you turn around....

You will see the master bath!

His and her sinks (mine is on the right, nearest the electrical outlets). To the immediate left of the sinks is the shower/tub. There is another shower in here, but you can't see it. It's a tiled walk-in shower, located immediately to the left, across from the tub shower. I wasn't able to capture it, but imagine another little closet on your immediate right. That is Greg's throne, aka the toilet. He really likes that it is behind closed doors. I like it as well, but for different reasons....

Here we are between the tub/shower (right) and walk-in shower (left). By the way, we can't use the later shower-the plumbing is messed up. It's a future project. This particular archway is leading us to the master closet. It's pretty big.

Here is Greg's half of the closet. My half is identical. But better. More organized. And filled with pretty clothes and shoes. I take that back, it's not filled....not nearly enough. I need to go shopping....

And that's it!! This is where we live, and where we are building a home. We have a lot of work to do, with many ideas in mind. I can't wait to share the changes with you!

Here is a closing picture of the amazing view we have from the back porch:

SEDONA

Due to time and money constraints, we were pretty limited in our options for honeymooning after the wedding. We didn't want to forgo the time away, but we also didn't want to just stay in town. So we decided to go someplace away from Tucson, but too far: Sedona, Arizona.

You should check it out sometime. It is a beautiful little city surrounded by red rock formations. The elevation is a little higher than Tucson, so there are beautiful pine trees all over the place and more grass than here in the desert. The scenery made for a very romantic setting, perfect for a honeymoon.

After hours on the internet, we selected A Sunset Chateau, a Bed & Breakfast located on the North face of Table Mountain. This means that we were a little higher up with great views of the surrounding red rock. It was a very artsy place, with a combination of European and Southwestern decor. It was very beautiful. We elected to spend a little more and stay in a larger room with a kitchenette and private balcony. The food was amazing as well! Flavorful and filling meals awaited us each morning down in the dining room. I think we both had foods we never had before and really enjoyed them!

We drove the 4 hours to Sedona the day after our wedding and stayed for 3 nights. Time was of no concern-only looked at the clock to be sure we wouldn't miss breakfast! We spent our days as tourists, strolling the streets as we window shopped. Many of the stores sold similar items-a lot of jewelry including silver and a variety of turquoise colors and stones, western wear, pottery, a lot of art, furniture and more. One of the stores we visited had some beautiful Pendleton blankets, so we bought one for each of the beds in our home. I also walked away with a beautiful white turquoise ring and a new hat! One afternoon we had lunch at the cowboy club where we dined on rattlesnake, buffalo and cactus fries.

Here are some photographs of the weekend; we really only have pictures from the last day as we didn't think to take the camera with us any other time over the weekend!

Views from the private balcony:

Our lovely room, complete with fireplace, king-size bed and two-person jacuzzi (behind the bed you can see the counter for the little kitchenette)...oh and yes, a leopard print blanket. 

Me enjoying my morning coffee, don't you love the cow hide stools?

Last morning of the honeymoon

We decided to use our last day in Sedona to check out some of the trails, so we loaded up the cooler with ice and headed of the main path in the pickup. We headed for a trail located in the red rock formations we saw from the balcony of our room at the bed and breakfast. We had some spectacular views:

Pondering this whole new marriage thing....

After the off-roading, we decided to head back to Tucson via a different route: the jeep trail that would take us up and around the mountains bordering Sedona. Here is a picture of Greg at the beginning of the jeep trail. Behind him is the city of Sedona.

We stopped to enjoy some turkey sandwiches and some drinks. Like my hat? It's a souvenir from the trip. My husband bought it for me.

Helicopter tours are very popular in Sedona in addition to the jeep tours. We almost did a helicopter tour, but didn't like the idea of spending 2 hours in an informational meeting regarding a timeshare. We have a friend that has his pilot's license, so if we want to see Sedona from the sky, we can ask him to take us. :)

The last picture of the red rocks before going around the mountain and heading back home:

We really enjoyed our time in Sedona and look forward to returning someday. It is such a beautiful place and there are so many things to see-it certainly warrants many more trips!

Capturing the big day....

Many of you may not realize this, but Greg and I planned our wedding in literally 4 months. I think if either of us would have had our way, we would have done it quicker. I don't understand how some people spend a year or more planning a wedding. I couldn't stand the waiting. Guess I was too eager to get married.....

With taking so little time to plan, we had to make decisions quick. We made the overall wedding planning easy to start by selecting a venue that would provide the ceremony, reception, DJ, catering, cake and a beautiful setting. All we had to do on our own was the photographer, minister and flowers. Selecting a minister was simple-we just asked a great friend of ours from Illinois to fly out for the event. Flowers were also pretty simple as one of Greg's co-workers had a wife that did weddings. The photographer, however, proved to be a little more difficult.

We wanted to have quality photographs to represent the day, without having the 200+ portraits of every single person that was there for the day. Although we love our family and friends, we weren't obsessed about them enough to capture that many photographs. We also wanted some creative and artsy shots, capturing the unique qualities of the venue we had selected.

It took us about 2 weeks to select a photographer. We were able to take our time since our wedding was on a Thursday and nearly everyone we had spoken to was available. This was certainly to our advantage since we were doing this 2 months before the wedding. After meeting with each photographer individually and taking a critical look at their online display of photography, we had made our decision:

Jacob Chinn Photography

Two weeks after the wedding, we received the email stating our photographs were ready for online viewing. We were ecstatic and pleased on how well they all turned out. For your viewing pleasure, here is the link and instructions for viewing our big day:

Go to: www.jacobchinn.com

Click on "Proofing"

Scroll down until you find "Rebecca & Greg's Wedding"

Sign in using your email address and the password "Abraham"

I'm baaaaaack!

So I guess I've been away for a little while. I can't believe it's been since the beginning of March that I last updated my life. 5 months is a long time! And boy has a lot happened! Who knew that married life would be so busy??

Let's see, can I recap briefly?

March:
I planned a wedding
I was given 3 beautiful showers (Illinois, Wisconsin, Tucson)
Spent a weekend in Orlando courtesy of my Employer
Bought some great furniture for my future home
Did a ton of yard work at the future home
Sprained my arm doing a ton of yard work at the future home
Nursed Greg's finger when he had a huge mesquite thorn go through his left hand ring finger while doing a ton of yard work

April:
Continued wedding planning
Received a great raise at work
Went to a wedding for the last time as a single lady
Continued yard work at the future home
Packed up my apartment
Had a beautiful wedding (4/29/10)
Saw so many of my closest family and friends
Gained a whole new family
Honeymooned in Sedona, AZ
Moved into a big house!

May:
Changed my name
New Driver's license
New insurance plan
Forwarded all of my mail
Settled into the new house
Learned what it meant to live with a boy
Learned about my sleeping habits
Ended a wonderful series with our small group
Had our company summer picnic
Celebrated Memorial Day with a bunch of our friends and neighbors at the house

June:
Learned what it meant to be a homeowner
Fought some battles with bug infestations (cockroaches, scorpions, flies, and other bugs whose identity is unknown)
Hired an exterminator
Learned that I talk A LOT in my sleep
Learned that I like to beat up Greg in my sleep
Bought and planted some desert trees (actually, Greg planted and I watered)
Volunteered to be assistant commander for the AWANA program at our church

July:
Celebrated our Independence with some of my new family members in New Mexico
Had a silver filling cut out of one of my molars
Learned more about my sleeping habits
Volunteered at VBS at our church (and as a result learned many catchy songs!)
Bought more desert trees (grand total of 18 now) for Greg to plant
Enjoyed a house without bugs crawling all over the place
Bought more furniture for the house (an armourer and a dining room table with chairs all from friends of ours)
Booked a trip back to the Lou for a friend's wedding in September

WOW! I feel like there was a whole lot more than what was detailed here, but I wanted to keep this brief. Hopefully I may be able to expand on some of these events in the near future. I miss blogging, so I will certainly be making a stronger attempt on keeping this updated. There are a lot of you out there that I have a hard time keeping in touch with, and this is a useful tool for us.

Becoming real....

This whole wedding thing is becoming more real as I continue to check things off of the wedding "to do" list. Aside from the fact that I have a beautiful shiny piece of bling on my left hand, being engaged and planning this wedding as been pretty surreal for me.

On Saturday, we checked off a few key elements to the wedding planning. And by "we," I mean "I." I went in for a bridal hair consult, something I won at a bridal fair I attended in January. Turns out I really liked the stylist, and we made a decision on the "do" for the "day." I sat there in the salon, hair all pretty, head piece and veil atop my head, staring at myself in the mirror. Yup, made getting married a little more real. It was cool.

Next event that day was my first fitting of the oh-so-important wedding gown. Fortunately, I hadn't gained any weight! Woo hoo! The dress was still too big in certain areas, so that was great. I stood there like a manequin as the seamstrist place pins in my dress, outlining the form of my body. It was somewhat flattering. She pinned up the bottom of the dress, as well as the underlying tule. And then came the best part-creating the bustle. I was extremely impressed. I strutted around in front of the tall mirrors at David's, staring at myself in the mirror. Again, made getting married a lot more real. Super cool.

So I'm feeling pretty good at this point. Another hair appointment in a couple of weeks for a trim, then again just a couple of weeks before the big day for some highlights. Dress will be ready for the next fitting a couple of weeks before the wedding. Translation: I can't gain any weight over the next 6 weeks. The dress looks pretty good right now, so I can't ruin it! Aside from the brightening the hair color, teeth whitening and darkening of my blanche skin, I have to be careful not to alter my body too much in the next 7.5 weeks.....

Wow, just saying that makes it even more real.

Can't wait!!

Wedding details....

For anyone who is interested.....

The Big Day: Thursday, April 29, 2010

Wedding Venue: The Oasis at Wild Horse Ranch, Tucson, AZ
Photographer: Jacob Chinn Photography
Cake: Busy B's Bakery

Flowers: hot pink, bright yellow and dark purple
Matron of Honor Dress: David's Bridal (color: Truffle)
My dress: Just kidding, you'll have to wait!!!

T minus 8 weeks!!

Only in Arizona...

I hate to sterotype, but being that I live in Tucson, I can't help but point out a commonality here in this city. Since we are close to Mexico, we see this scene quite frequently:

Now, at first glance, this looks like someone pulling a trailer with one of those little already assembled sheds one can purchase at Home Depot. Oh no, please do not let the strapped-on ladder fool you. What you see is a small Chevy pickup truck stacked 12 feet off the ground with various home furnishings. There is a mattress set upright in the foreground, with the bedframe up against it, strapped to the rest of the load. You can see at the top of the pile is a large couch sitting upright, with another couch (probably a loveseat) flipped upside down on top. What you may not be able to see, is that there is an additional full-sized couch seated just behind the first, also piled high with other items.

Greg and I were stuck in traffic yesterday afternoon, and couldn't help but laugh at this "thing." What is even more funny, is that this isn't so uncommon! It's as if these people have competitions to see how many items they can pile into the back of a small pickup. It really is quite humerous. We could only imagine what else was a part of this massive load....

But don't worry, we were able to catch a small glimpse as the truck made a turn (though we were afraid it would topple):

Oh yes, the load continues up and above the cab of the truck.

WOW.

All we could do was laugh.

TLC's

Back in November, I wrote about how we began attending Foothills Community Church here in Tucson. Around Christmastime, we were still attending regularly, though not quite getting plugged in yet. It was almost as though we were waiting for an opportunity to be placed in our laps. Well around this time of year, Pastor John began preaching about the importance of small groups meeting outside of the church. This perked up our ears, as this is something we'd been looking for in the churches we had been visiting. We were mainly excited because as we looked around, we saw many other couples around our age with whom we could create a small group.

Just after New Year's, Pastor John asked for volunteers to lead what he would call "Tiny Little Churches," or "TLC's." Had Greg and I been members of this church already, we would have volunteered. However, since we were new to the church, we decided instead to find a group to be a part of, then lead a group in the future. We would look for a group of couples or individuals around our age.

The following Sunday, sign ups were available, and people were encouraged to sign up for a group. The same kind lady that greeted us our first Sunday was sitting next to us that morning, and she strongly encouraged us to sign up for her group, meeting Sunday evenings. Without putting much thought into it, we agreed and put our names on the list. Neither one of us was quite sure what we were signing up for, but we were certainly open to it!

Turns out we are a part of an amazing group. We are comprised of young couples, most which are new to Foothills. About half of the couples are married with children; the other half not married and without children (including us!). From the very first evening, we have been open with and encouraging of one another. Our discussions have been amazing as we work our way through the book Case for Faith, written by Lee Strobel. We are creating relationships with the couples, and I'm very excited about where these will be lead. Greg and I have been praying for Christian friendships here in Tucson, and we think that this may just be the church where these relationships will develop.

Weekend of Showers

I'm not talking rain showers, but wedding showers!!!

Last weekend I flew back to the Midwest in order to attend three events hosted in my honor. The time just flew by, and I felt that I hardly was able to speak with anyone at length. But I was able to see a lot of folks I hadn't seen in a while, and show off my ring! It struck me as I was leaving Tucson that most of my friends (and future family members) still hadn't seen the ring Greg gave me only 3 months ago.

My flight out of Tucson was delayed a day, due to a snow storm in Dallas, go figure! But I made it safe and sound, with plenty of time to get ready for my first shower in Collinsville, IL. The shower was hosted at Copper Creek, the church family with which Greg spent many years of his life. This was the church that I was a member of during my time in St Louis. I too think of this as my church family, as so many of the members prayed for and supported me during my time in grad school and my life before Tucson. My friends and future sisters-in-law prepared a wonderful gathering and spread of food for all the attendees.

Check out the gift table!!




I have to admit, I hated being the center of attention that night. Opening all those gifts in front of everyone was not as enjoyable as I'd hoped. But I did receive some wonderful things!! I felt so blessed after opening the gifts. Greg and are certainly loved by the people of Copper Creek. We are so fortunate....

My friends Liz and Christie, who organized the main event. Thank you ladies!!!

Saturday morning, we set off for Wisconsin. It was a beautiful day for a drive, as we took two cars to head up to Oshkosh. That evening was the bacchelorette party! My mom, Greg's mom, her friend, my sisters and my girlfriends had a night out on the town. We had a nice dinner to start, followed by yummy gourmet cupcakes and fun drinks. It was a great way to celebrate! Here is a picture of all the ladies who celebrated with me:

Sunday afternoon held the shower at the church in which I grew up. College friends, chuch friends, high school friends and family were all in attendance. Just as I was about to sit down with my food, I was surprised by a group of older men wearing white jackets. Someone had ordered me a singing valentine!! This barbershop quartet sang a few songs to me, making me blush more than once. It was certainly a treat, and I know everyone enjoyed it!

A picture of the ladies in my immediate family. Clockwise from top left, my sister Sarah, my mom (Ruth), my other sister Rachel, my Grandmother (dad's mom), my niece Asha and myself.

All the gifts received were wonderful and full of thought. I couldn't wait to tell Greg all about them! Again, I felt very blessed as I opened these gifts from ladies that love me. It was very humbling and encouraging. I truly felt very fortunate to have so much support and encouragement for the marriage I am about to embark upon with Greg.

Thank you to everyone who shared their love with me that weekend!!