Etsy! And short moving update.

So the past week or so we have been packing every day. My house is a DISASTER!! Definitely can't wait to get to the new house to decorate and get everything in its place again. Oh and decorate, did I mention decorating? So excited! :)

In other EXCITING news for me, I opened an Etsy store!!! I recently did a post with a couple little crafts I had made, and I had gotten a few people asking me to make one for them and that they would pay for it...I had to keep asking, "you really want to PAY me?" I couldn't believe it! So I figured to make it easier for them to order and for me to keep track of orders, I would make an Etsy store! I also ordered some business cards off Vista Print (They are so cute, I will definitely show you them once they come in the mail) that I can put with the orders. I already have 4 orders and I am just blown away! I truly have amazing friends.

Thats another reason why I am so excited to get to the new house, so I can focus on getting them done asap along with making more ready to buy wreaths to add to the store and get my new craft room set up.

If your interested here is the link to my Etsy store: CaseyLeeCrafts
And if your on facebook here is the fan page link (way easier to get updates of new listings): CaseyLeeCrafts Facebook Page

Its very exciting, especially as a stay at home wife (and hopefully mother in the future) it would be fantastic to bring in a little bit on side money, and to do it by doing something I love? You can't get any better than that!

So anyway, just wanted to give you all a little update!

The House That Built Me

I love that song by Miranda Lambert, and thought the title was pretty fitting for this blog entry. Since I hadn't updated in a while I decided I should since we recently found out we we're moving! Going from one house that built me... to another.

Currently, we live in my Grandmothers home. We moved in 3 years ago after she passed away. Always knowing eventually the house would be sold. Well, that time has come to put it on the market. Kind of at a perfect time as well. My parents rent out their ranch (a horse boarding facility) since a year ago they bought a new house when they decided that since my Dad retired they want to be able to have the option to go somewhere on a whim and not have to worry about feeding the horses kind of thing. Well, the lady who has been there...lets just say it didn't work out. So, we are moving in to take her place. Funny thing is its the house I grew up in for almost 10 years. So I am moving from a house full of memories, to another one full of memories. Its bittersweet really. I absolutely love my home. We are nestled between so so many trees and its so peaceful. Honestly, the trees I think are what I am going to miss the most. The yard is very difficult upkeep for just my husband though (especially since we live on a hill) so he is definitely looking forward to having a normal sized, FLAT land to maintain. Only really downside to the move is the commute my husband will have to take, since he works about 45 miles away from the house. Mix 45 miles and the southern california freeways together and you have a total disaster on your hands! I would never see him with how long he would be on the road practically! Luckily though, we have a metrolink and he will be taking that, which is about a 45 minute train ride to get to work. Not too bad. It will be a little more monthly for the pass than we pay in gas now but not as much as we would be paying in gas if he didn't take the train! Another plus is my best friend literally will live a street away from me. Not to mention my parents will be 3 minutes away, I will probably see them every day anyway since they are always at the ranch, and our other friends are pretty much all less than 10 minutes away. So overall its going to be great. Plus it has a fenced secure yard that our dog Chloe will be able to use. Here, we live in a mountain essentially and have no fence, especially with the ton of coyotes that live in the area its not the safest environment for a dog, let alone a 8 pound one! She loves being outside so she will pretty much be in heaven! I am also SO looking forward to being around the horses again. The past year or two I have really missed it. Unfortunately my horse passed away a few years ago but I have plenty in the backyard to love on when I want to! Its definitely not the same as having your OWN horse but oh well.

Overall I think its going to be a great thing for us. We move in I'm assuming mid august (maybe 3ish weeks from now). The lady currently living there should be moved out by the end of the month, and then we just have to clean the place up and can move in! I am trying to get everything packed now so it can hopefully be one weekend of moving and have everything go smoothly. Since we live about 45 minutes away I don't want to be driving back and forth very much. BUT, its pretty much a rule that moving never goes smoothly, so we'll see how it goes!

Follow Up Appointment

So today I gained hope. Something I didn't think I would say two weeks ago.

Today I had an appointment with my obgyn. I never got to see her while being pregnant so I had no idea how it would go.

I was thankful that my husband was able to take me, I knew it would be a hard appointment. We got to the office, and waited in the waiting room for about 45 minutes which was the worst part. It was absolute torture sitting in a room surrounded by pregnant women waiting to see their babies, and hear their heart beats, while I was sitting there because I lost my baby.

Finally, we got in and the doctor told me that there was no need to do a blood test to make sure my levels were normal because at the ER they were already only a 3. And just a couple days beforehand when I got my blood drawn at the family doctors office, my levels were only a 16. Not good at all. So she did an exam and said things looked to be back to normal. And as difficult as it is 20% of all first time pregnancies end in miscarriage. Sometimes theres no way to know why. I came in with a list to things I wanted to see if I could get tested for, since I thought we would still be doing a blood test but she said that they normally do not test for issues like that until after my second miscarriage in a row. I explained my story to her and she seemed optimistic that we would conceive and bring a baby to term. She did say a culprit could have been my elevated thyroid levels. I tend to think that is why I lost the baby as well. Part of me hopes that's the case simply because it is now getting under control since I have my medication back again. So if it was the issue, it shouldn't be an issue again. She said we could try to conceive as soon as I get my next menstrual which could take 4-6 weeks, and when I get the confirmation the my thyroid levels are normal again.

It was so strange that prior to the appointment I was bound and determined we would not try again for months. Yet, hearing her optimism, and hearing my body was back to normal gave me hope I didn't expect to gain. It gave hope to my husband as well. As soon as we were leaving the room, he told me "As soon as you feel your up to trying again, I want to as soon as possible". I can't say how nice it is to know and hear him talk about how badly he wants to be a father the way I want to be a mother. And to know we are on the same page. It was funny because I was thinking the same thing. I never expected to walk out of there today and wanting to try again as soon as we could.

So now we wait. August 4 is when I go back to my family doctor to have them draw more blood to make sure the dosage of my thyroid medication is what I need to be taking, and that will be my 6th week after the miscarriage. So, if my period hasn't come by that point hopefully it will very soon and then we can continue this crazy journey of finally becoming parents.

Thank you to all the prayers, thoughts, and bible verses you all have sent me. I'm pretty blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives!