Oh Boy!! Or Girl!

After doing a lot of thinking, we've decided to not find out the sex of the baby at the next appointment. We are going to have the doctor put the picture in a sealed envelope and we are going to have a reveal party!! But no worries, I'm going to work on making it stream online so that others can be a part of it with out having to be there. I've seen so many ideas online on how couples revealed the gender. There is the cake idea:

You have a cake gender neutral on the outside and you cut into it to discover Pink or Blue.

Then you also have balloons in a box. I'm pretty sure that this is the way we will be doing it. I haven't really craved sweets and I don't really want a cake, haha.

When the box is opened, out pops Pink or Blue balloons.

I'm also trying to figure out how to do a lottery with every one's guesses.  I want to make it where we can only have one winner and the money collected being split between the winner and the baby or something like that. I've seen where it started the college fund or helped buy the crib. All are great ideas, I just have to figure out the technicalities.  

At this point I'm hoping that I will be strong enough to hold out. Knowing that the gender is sitting there in the envelope will KILL ME!!! Our next doctors appointment is Nov 9th and we will be 17 weeks pregnant at the point. I've been told that Josh's nephews were not shy and were noticeable boys earlier than 17 weeks, so we'll see if our little bundle will cooperate with us. Depending on the housing situation and if we can find out on the 9th will all determine when the reveal party will be. I'm thinking it will probably be late November before we can do it. But we will see. Until then, we can't wait to find out what our little bundle is!

Homeownership!!

Josh and I have been looking for a house for awhile now. We were finally approved for everything early Spring and started seriously looking in April. We saw several houses that we liked, some that would work but never the one. That was until late this summer. We found the perfect house. It was damaged from the tornado that hit back in April and wasn't in its prime but it was the first time we both looked at each other and said "We've got to have this house?". Fate was not working with us and after a long battle with offers, we didn't get the house. Devastated, we started drawing out house plans based off this house. We just knew that we weren't going to find a house that would be as good as this one. (It was 3 stories, HUGE kitchen, very cool hang out room/bar area in the basement. Even had an acre of land all nestled in a great neighborhood.) We looked for land and even found some lots near the lake that we liked. But we didn't stop looking at houses online though.

That's when we ran across a house that we had seen before but it was already under contract so we didn't get to tour it. Apparently, the contract fell through and it was back on the market. We called our realtor ASAP and had her schedule an appointment. We loved it!! 2.5 wooded acres, 2900 sq feet, large kitchen and it even has a pool!! It's truly a beautiful home. It needs some TLC because while it has been sitting empty for over a year, people have vandalized it. They broke the railings on the porch and even damaged the AC unit. Luckily it was only one unit and it's repair is covered under the loan we are using. In fact, most of the repairs are covered. We just have to get in there and do some work! Which both of us are willing to do.

It has been a long road. When we first put our offer on the house, we waited a week to hear back. That's when we were told another offer was also submitted and that we needed to resubmit our highest and best offer. So, we sat back and discussed things and upped our offer. Waited another week and received our acceptance letter!! Yay!! We were so excited. We went and looked at the house again and took pictures so that we could show family and friends. Little did I know, the excitement would soon be shattered. The next day, our realtor contacted us and let us know that another offer was submitted. Yes, our offer was accepted but the contract was not signed (nothing had been sent to us yet). She just wanted to give us a heads up that BOA is usually bad about backing out sometimes. And that's exactly what they did. We were notified a few days later that they wanted our best and highest offer again. This time, Josh and I stayed firm. We didn't up our offer because we had already done so before. We had also agreed that this would be the last time we tried on this house. It is a great house but at this point we had already spent over a month on it and our money was tied up in it so we couldn't even put offers elsewhere if we found something.  A week went by and we finally heard back for BOA this time we received the contract not just the acceptance letter and we signed ASAP and sent back. Two business days later, they also signed and we were on our way to home ownership!!

Now we are working on quotes and estimates to come back and then the final appraisal before the house is ours Free and Clear!  We can not wait to start making it ours. Lots of painting and updates to be made but in the end, it will be such a beautiful home for our growing family!!

View of the front.

Master Bedroom!!  

View of the pool from upstairs.

View of Lookout Mtn.

Double Shower.

Looking in from the Foyer. Kitchen to the right, living room to the left and the eat in kitchen under the window to the right.

The kitchen! So many cabinets and counter space!! I will be in heaven when making all my goodies :)

Voiles Nation Rising!

As most of you may know, the Voiles Family is growing AGAIN! It was just a little over a year ago that I joined Josh's family and now here we are adding to it again. We are so excited to be having a little one. Especially after basically being told we were either going to have a really hard time conceiving or we weren't going to be able to have a baby at all. Those two little pink lines mean so much more when you don't think its possible.

Josh and I weren't "trying". We had decided that we would eventually stop preventing it from happening but weren't quite ready for that step. We told no one of the doctors visits and the news that we were originally told. We were going to do this alone without everyone knowing so that we didn't have to worry about the disappointment that may come along with not being able to. Not to mention, I didn't want people constantly asking me questions or wondering if I was. I figured there would be enough stress with just the process of trying that I didn't need everyone else's stress too.

I knew something was up so I went and bought the tests. I figured I couldn't be pregnant but I bought them anyway. The first time I tested, it was negative. I was like, okay. That's cool. But when it was time for Aunt Flo to visit and she hadn't shown up, I tested again. Still thinking nothing was up (I've never been good about being regular) I sat the test aside and finished my business. The instructions say 3 minutes but I didn't need 3 seconds. By the time I finished and turned to look at it, both pink lines were bright as day. I lost my breath and my eyes instantly filled with tears. So much was running through my head. I wanted this but now it was so real. It was hard to believe. I sat on the toilet and cried. When I thought I was done, I picked up the stick and went to tell Josh. Little did I know, I was not done and I couldn't even find my words to tell Josh. All I could do was hold the stick up. He asked, "Does that mean..." and all I could do was shake my head yes.

We went on vacation the next week but when we got back from Florida, I had my first appointment. I was so nervous and scared. I can't even remember what all I was thinking. Josh went with me and the first few things we did weren't really anything fun or interesting for him. But when we saw our blimp on the screen, it was real. I was so worried that once I got to the doctor, they were going to tell me I wasn't pregnant that it was all in my head. But everything just washed away when I saw the heart beat. Something so simple yet so complex. My life is forever changed. I always heard other people talk about how awesome it is and how magical you will feel but I never imagined how amazing seeing a blimp would be. Our little miracle baby.

I'm not 14 weeks and 5 days pregnant and starting to get my energy back. My appetite comes and goes and that has resulted in a good bit of weight loss. I'm told that I'm doing great though. No real morning sickness. Just the occasional spell of nausea but it usually passes rather quickly. Josh has been so great through it all too. He has even googled recipes when I have craved something that we've never cooked before. He lets me rest when normally he would be pushing me to do something, haha. I couldn't ask for a better partner though all of this. We are so truly blessed and can't wait till the next appointment on Nov 9th! I will have an ultrasound then and will be 17 weeks and a few days. We aren't finding out the sex quite yet. If the doctor can tell at the appointment, we are going to ask that he puts the ultrasound in an envelope and we are planning a reveal party. Something to celebrate the occasion and gives us a great excuse to get our friends together and hang out, hopefully in our new house. I will write about that later :-)

13 weeks