A Year in the CRAZY Lives "At Home With The Manesses"

WOW! Has it really been nearly a year since I have sat down to collect my thoughts in a blog!?!

The last time I wrote it was to commemorate the “to-be” birth date of our precious baby Cam.  I wrote then that I hoped to return to our blog when little footsteps padded our hallways. As I awoke this morning and lay in our bed my mind started racing with how much our lives have changed in the past year and suddenly I decided I am ready to get back to sharing our CRAZY lives with the world again!

So my challenge for today’s blog is to catch you up on ALL that has happened “At Home With The Manesses” in the past year. Like my good friend Hope, I love to make lists…so here goes.

1.       Another school year has come and gone.  Allen took on a new adventure as the PE teacher at Thompkins Early Childhood Center and I taught math in the charter Freshmen Academy at CHS. This school year was filled with lots of highs and lows. To fill you in on the most recent event; we lost our head football coach and dear friend, Stacey Watters, in a tragic car accident 2 weeks ago. As we attended his funeral I realized how much coaching bonds us together. It’s like we're all part of this great fraternity. I am currently helping organize a memorial service for Coach Watters to be held this Friday night in Eagle Stadium at 7:30 p.m. It should prove to be truly a celebration of life and remembrance of the legacy that Coach Watters left to us in his short time at Carroll High School. 

2.       We had another tragic lose in our home this year.  Our American Bulldog/Bird dog mix, Christian was involved in a car accident as well.  It happened in October and it was really hard for us all, especially Allen.  Christian had been part of this family even before I came along.  He was the best dog we have ever had.  We think about him all the time.

In November we took on the challenge of getting a new puppy.  He is a full-blooded American Bulldog and his name is Christian’s Brother Lutzenkirchen, or “Lutz” for short. WOW! This is the first time I have raised a puppy and Lutz is holding nothing back in breaking me in. He has peed, pooped, and eaten through the laundry room wall (literally) and his share of toys and furniture. He is now 9 months old and is finally catching on to our crazy lives. We love him SO much…and so does Molly!

3.       With all the lose we have experienced in the past year we have a secret….

WE’RE HAVING A BABY!!!

That’s right. After 7 years of trying, Allen and I are pregnant...again. We’re calling him Baby M2.  We don’t know the gender yet but my Memama says proper etiquette is to call it a "him" until we find out. Baby M2 is expected to be here December 19, 2012.

I promise to write more about our miracle in later blogs but for now here are a few short details: we are 12 weeks today and have known for about 8 weeks. This has been the HARDEST secret to keep; for me, Allen and OUR PARENTS! They’re so excited that we are finally sharing the news! We went to the doctor Monday and have been mostly cleared of any chance of losing him like we did Baby Cam. We feel so blessed! We have truly felt the prayers and thoughts sent our way over the years. We are so excited for Christmas time! Can you believe it!?! A Christmas baby! Wow God works in amazing ways!

To conclude today’s blog I have written my own twist on the Christmas story “T’was the Night Before Christmas”. It may be a little corny but deep down…that’s me.  I hope you enjoy and stay tuned for updates on our EVER INCREASING crazy lives “At Home With The Manesses”!

T’will be the week before Christmas, when all through our house,

Not a creature will be stirring, not a dog, nor a mouse.

The stockings will be hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that our miracle will soon be here.

When out from our bedroom will arise such a clatter,

And Allen will spring from the bed because he will KNOW what is the matter.

Away to our phones we will fly with a flash,

Tearing out of the bed with no regard for the sash.

“Call Mama D, Call Big Daddy, Call Aunt Kasee too!

Call Nana, Call Papa, Call Aunt Vicki and her crew!

Call Pop, Call Yiayia, Call Uncle Joe!

Tell them to HURRY, we now must go!” 

We will need a driver, very lively and quick,

But no need to call Santa, my Allen will do just the trick.

We’ll head north on ‘ole trusty 231,

For in the next few hours I will be ready to deliver this bun.

And then in a twinkling we will hear Dr. Gentry shout,

“Meet baby M2, he/she is beautiful, no doubt!”.

We will cry, we will laugh, we will shout with joy,

And then we will wonder what to do with our new Christmas toy.

He/she will be chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And we will laugh when we see him/her, in spite of our selves.

A wink of his/her eye and a twist of his/her head,

Soon will give us to know, we have nothing to dread.

For 7 years ago God promised us this child,

But He never said when, or that our journey would be mild.

He only assured us that we would indeed be blessed,

And that one day we would hold our own little miracle to our chests.

We will now take on new roles, other than husband and wife,

Our days will be different, we will be starting a great new life.

For I will always cherish the first eight years of just 2,

But now as a family of 3, I am ready for our journey anew.

After a few short days we will return to our "new" norm,

We will snuggle by the fire and keep our precious child warm.

But we will never forget what God told us as we drove out of sight,

“Happy Christmas to the Manesses, and to their miracle, a good-night.”