Yours, Mine & Ours

2009-07-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

I keep putting off writing because I don't have any pictures uploaded...and how boring is a post without pictures? Summer has kept us busy so far. We've enjoyed a trip to Gatlinburg with Darin's family two weeks ago. We went to dinner and a show and then to Dollywood one day. We got lucky since the weather was really nice and not too hot! Gavin even got to ride a (small) roller coaster! I think I screamed more than he did.

Then last weekend we headed down to Atlanta to be with my family for the 4th of July. We went to a Braves game on Thursday night. We had great seats and enjoyed getting the wave started. Seriously, we got the wave started. We're nuts! Friday the boys golfed and girls shopped. Shouldn't everyday be spent like that? We got in bed early since 6 of us were running the Peachtree Road Race Saturday morning. For those of you who aren't from Georgia, this is such a fun event! I kinda laugh everytime someone says "how did you finish?" I want to just say..."I finished and got the shirt." After all, isn't that why we participate anyway? Darin reached his goal and finished in under an hour (show off!!).

Other than traveling, we've been busy doing other things. Austin made the all-star team. His first tournament is this week and he's been practicing almost every night during the week. They won their first game Monday night but lost tonight. They have to win Thursday to advance to the next tournament.

Erin got her learner's license. Does anyone remember learning how to drive? I swear everytime she see's a car coming towards her we almost end up in the ditch! Last week she was driving and a dump truck was coming towards us in the other lane and I'm pretty sure when I looked at her, she had her eyes shut!! She's learning though...and she's excited! I just hope to survive...

I guess the biggest news of the summer is that we found out that there's going to be an addition to the family. Baby Plumlee is due February 19. This is truly an answer to prayer. After going through everything earlier this year, the doctor had told us that there was a chance that I might not ever be able to have a child. Not only that, he said that if we were wanting one, that we needed to get pregnant by the end of this year. No pressure there, right?! We prayed and decided that if it was meant to be, then it would happen. It's still early, but the doctor says everything looks fine so far. We would definitly appreciate any prayers you send our way!!

The kids are excited. We told Erin first. I was a little worried about her since the EXACT day I told Darin I was pregnant, Erin informed us that she did not want any other siblings since her two brothers already got on her nerves!! She didn't know we were pregnant at that point...talk about bad timing! I think she's ok with it now, although she wants another brother so she can be the only girl! :) Austin and Gavin are excited too. In fact, when we asked Gavin what we should name the baby, he said if it was a girl, we should name it Butterfly. If it's a boy, he had several choices. His first choice was Spiderman and then Hulk. But he said if we named it Hulk then it would come out green and mean. So, he decided on Slinky Dog (from Toy Story). So cute! It's actually a joke now with our families to ask how Slinky Dog is doing...

I promise next post, I'll post some pics of our adventures. We've had a great summer so far and only have 3 more weeks left until we go back to school! Time sure is flying. Will post pictures soon!!

Where have I been this past month?

2009-05-25T15:59:00.001-07:00

I don't know why but these past couple of years, May has been one of the bussiest months for us. The first week of May was spent getting my students ready to take their Gateway Test (otherwise known as the EOC test). All of my students but one passed so I'm pleased. After that first full week things really started getting busy. First of all....

My youngest sister, Elisabeth, graduated from West Georgia on May 9. She is an English major with a minor in Secondary Education. She is currently looking for a job in a middle school or high school. We are so proud of Aunt Elisabeth!! Here's some more pics from her graduation.

Jessica, Elisabeth and me. Meredith had to work the night shift the night before so she didn't make it to the graduation. We wanted to make the sister pic "official" though, so we made a sign for her. lol!

Elisabeth with Mom and Dad

Elisabeth and her boyfriend Kevin

Darin and me at Elisabeth's graduation party.

Here's the original "Lovelace" family. :)

Track has also kept me busy. My girls did really well this year. Here's two of them before their race a few weeks ago.

Morgan and Whitney

Whitney actually qualified for the State meet this year in the 400 meter race, and she's only a junior. She did great and finished with her best time yet! Way to go Whit!! I'm so proud of you.

Here's a few more pics from the state meet. The first is the "other" track coaches that I try to keep in line...it's a tough job!! :)

Icelyn and Whitney before running. Icelyn actually qualified for state in 4 different events!! She's already signed to play basketball at MTSU next year.

Then there's baseball season. Austin is loving baseball this season. He's playing catcher and 3rd base and is getting really good at both! Here's a pic of him catching.

We all enjoy going to the games, although it can make for a really late night! Here's some pics from a recent game. Jeremy got a hold of my camera and took some extra shots for me too!

Jessica and Jackson

Erin and Jeremy

And then there's this gal

Perhaps the biggest thing that's happened this month is....

AUSTIN TURNED 11!!! Happy Birthday Austin. We love you!

I wanted to end this blog with a "only in Tennessee would you ever see this" picture. These were taken on the way back from a track meet by Whitney and Morgan. Can you believe this car?!?!

I'm sure the girls weren't obvious AT ALL while taking those pictures...YEAH RIGHT!! :)

May has been fun but busy and our summer is shaping up to be just as busy. We've got a trip planned to Gatlinburg and Atlanta during the 7 weeks we have off. I'll try to post a little more often throughout the summer!!

2009-04-27T15:51:00.001-07:00

On Friday I got the worst possible call you can ever receive as a teacher. I was sitting in the cafeteria during lunch and my cell phone rang. Now, usually, I never have my cell phone on, but we were about to leave for a track meet so I had all my stuff with me. I looked at the number and noticed that it was the school's main line. I thought that was strange, but then decided it could be one of those automated messages that was advertising the musical that was going on last weekend or something. I answered it and it was our secretary. She told me that she needed me to get one of my students out of lunch, get her books and walk her down to the office. They had just gotten a phone call that my student's father had passed away at work earlier that morning. Time Out. When I signed up to be a teacher, I was thinking about nice long summer breaks, football games and pep rally's. Not moments like this. I wanted to cry and I didn't even know the man. I get my student and we start to walk to the office. Oh yeah...did I mention that they didn't want me to tell the student what was going on? Hello?!? I teach high school here people. These kids can be smart when they want to be...so naturally, my student was very curious as to why I was literally walking her to the office. I told her that I could just wait with her until her mom got to the school. I didn't want to leave her by herself to wonder what in the world was going on. She told me that she wanted me to stay so we waited a few minutes. While I was up there, the secretary informs me that "oops" she got it wrong and it was actually this girl's uncle that had died. Her cousin had already been checked out earlier that morning. Now, I can definitely relate to being close to uncles...I have three that I'm extremely close to, but I'm so glad I didn't tell this poor girl that her father had passed away. Can you imagine? Anyway, her mom gets to the school and picks her up. She informs her of everything (heart attack at 45...terrible!!) and they leave.

Now it's off to the track meet. I'm sitting there watching the high jump event when one of our jumpers starts to go. This is her first time doing this event so she's a little nervous. She runs through two attempts before finally jumping. The problem is that she has made herself so nervous that she actually waits too late to jump. She clears the corner of the mat and land face down on the pavement. Luckily, this was a "rubber" track, but it still knocked her out cold! I'm thinking to myself that she will wake up in a minute but she doesn't. We have to call 911 and an ambulance shows up. Guess who the lucky person was who went with her? Yep...me. And remember...I DON'T DO HOSPITALS!!! So, we're frantically trying to get in touch with a parent and I'm trying to keep up with the ambulance in the head coaches truck. It was not fun. Luckily by the time they got her to the hospital, she was awake and talking. She couldn't remember anything at all about jumping but nothing was broken or anything. They did a CAT scan and everything came back fine. She actually was released and came back to the track meet to see the end of it.

Talk about enough excitement in one day!!!

After all that drama, I was afraid of what the weekend would bring. Luckily, we had a beautiful day on Saturday and we enjoyed a trip to the park and to the indoor swimming pool!! Here's a few pics of our day. Enjoy!

Jillian and Gavin

Jackson...having a not-so-good hair day! This is after we put sun screen on his head!

Austin was so hot that he poured water on himself to cool down!!

Jessica and Jackson swinging

Having fun at the indoor pool!!

Easter Activities

2009-04-15T16:31:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter weekend at our house. The weather was beautiful which was a nice change. This week it has gone back to being cold and rainy. Yuck!! Our Easter celebration started a week early. We took Jillian and Jackson (my niece and nephew) to a huge Easter Egg Hunt. This one family puts on the hunt every year and has been doing so for the past 15 years. The sad part was that Mr. Knowles actually fell and broke his hip before the hunt started. We pulled up and saw an ambulance carrying him away. They completed surgery and he is going to be fine!! Here's a few pics I got of that weekend.

Jillian ready to go to the Easter egg hunt!!

Jackson acting goofy!!

Jillian and Me

Elizabeth, me, Jessica and Jillian

Jessica and Jackson

On Easter Sunday, we got up early to see what the Easter Bunny brought and then headed to church. We had lunch with the whole Plumlee family. Here are some pics from lunch.

Austin looking handsome!!

Gavin being silly.

The whole family (with Darin's two sisters and their families)

Us with Darin's parents. His dad had surgery last week to remove some skin cancer from his cheek.

Just the 5 of us.

We had a great Easter but I really missed being with my family. I'm including some pics I got from my sister from their time in Atlanta.

Kevin and Elisabeth

The Lakeman Family

Meredith and Lee

The whole family (Kevin, Elisabeth, Lee, Meredith, Dad, Mom, Jillian, Jeremy, Jessica and Jackson)

Jillian and Jackson in their Easter outfits. So cute!!

Although I missed being with my family, we really had a very relaxing weekend. We're planning on going down in May to celebrate Elisabeth's graduation, and we're definitely planning on being there for the 4th of July. Can't miss the Peachtree Road Race!!!!

Spring Break-Week Two

2009-04-06T17:36:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned before, we are very fortunate to teach in the county we do for one good reason...a two week spring break!! The first week was spent on that great cruise I mentioned before and the second was just as busy. The weekend we got back from the cruise Darin and I had to ourselves. I thought we would just lay around and relax (and get caught up on laundry) but we decided to head over to Bristol and try to get some tickets for the race. My friend Erin and her husband Casey were camping out so they let us crash at their place. We drove up there Saturday evening and camped out. It was so cold!! I thought the 4 of us were going to end up in the car. However, we toughed it out and had a great time. I don't know that much about racing, but Darin's a big fan of Tony Stewart. I'm learning to like it more and more. Here's some pics from the race.

On Tuesday, all of us went to the Nashville Preditors (Hockey) game. We had a great time. Austin won two tickets for meeting his reading goal at school and we bought 3 more tickets so that all of us could go. Of course, we had to make it a true outing and go out to eat downtown and everything. So, we get downtown and ask the kids where they would like to eat. Austin and Gavin start chanting "Hooters, Hooters..." I'm not even kidding. I'm thinking to myself...can kids even go in this place? Oh yeah...they love kids. So, the 5 of us go trotting inside. After informing the kids that this was where Darin and I went on our first date (long story) they decided that Hooters was not so cool anymore. We went to the Preds game and although I don't know that much about Hockey, it was an awesome game. It even went into overtime and we got to see a shoot out. I think that's what it's called. The kids had a great time and we enjoyed having some quality family time before the end of the break. Here's some pics from dinner and the game.

On that Thursday, I had another surgery to get rid of the cyst that had formed. Once they got in their, they realized that my other ovary was covered in endometriosis. So, unfortunately, they had to completely remove that ovary. However, I still have one good functioning side so we're still good!

You might not think that I would have a pic of my stay in the hospital. After all, it was outpatient and how much fun can one have? Well, I might not have been having any fun, but my husband, sister and brother-in-law sure were!! Let me explain that right across the street from the hospital is a Krispy Kreme Doughnut place. We use this as an excuse everytime we go downtown. So, while I'm asleep and having my insides torn out of me (not really...but it makes it more dramatic this way...) my loving family decides to LEAVE ME ALL ALONE AT THE HOSPITAL and take a hike over to Krispy Kreme's. (Again...being dramatic). Let me issue a disclaimer that I'm sure my own mother tried her best to not leave me alone at the hospital. I'm sure they bound and gagged her and forced her out against her will. Yeah, right. When I wake up (half drugged still...), Darin and Jeremy come over and put a hat on me and shoot this picture.

Oh well...at least they brought me back two!! :)

Seriously, I'm doing great and go back to the doctor on Friday just to be sure. We're back at school and although we're hoping for a snow day tomorrow (this April weather is NUTS!!)we're on the downhill slide for this year. Woo hoo!!!

The first week of Spring Break

2009-03-23T19:03:00.001-07:00

The first week of our break is up. We had an awesome time on our cruise!! I will spare you the task of having to look at all 300 pics that I took...I'll just post some of the really good ones along the way. We got an extra nice surprise before we left. Our school system actually shut down a day early due to the fact that we had so many kids out for the flu and such. So, we left around noon on March 13 to head to Mobile. Here's a pic of Erin and Austin in the back of the expedition on the way down...

We were all so excited to get on the ship. I felt like a little kid on Christmas Eve...we all really NEEDED this vacation!!

Here's a picture of all of the kids once we were on the ship..r>r>

Let me just say, if you haven't ever been on a cruise, it's something you must do! It was so relaxful and we were really able to just chill the whole week. We got to see some really neat things too!!

Here we are at the Mayan Ruins in Progresso.

Look at this beautiful pond...

Getting ready for dinner.

On our way to go snorkling

Perhaps the best purchase of the whole trip. Look at this sombrero...it's bigger than Austin!!!

We really had a great time and the kids enjoyed it too!! We can't wait to go back on our next adventure!! Now the only question is....

Who is going to help me do all this laundry???

Countdown Begins...

2009-02-26T19:08:00.000-08:00

Only two more weeks of school until our two week break. The county I teach in is on an extended calendar year meaning that we go to school for 9 weeks and have 2 weeks off for fall break, christmas break and spring break and then we have about 6 weeks in the summer. I love this schedule!! The first week we're going on the cruise so we're all getting really excited about that! The kids have never been on a cruise before. Darin and I went on one for our honeymoon and loved it. It's so relaxing...we're going with a few other teachers and their families so we're all looking forward to it.

Spring sports are starting up for us. I'm coaching track and we started practicing a few weeks ago. I really enjoying coaching these kids and luckily I'm getting most of my kids back from last year. Darin is getting ready for spring practice with football so that keeps him busy after school. Austin is finishing up wrestling and will start baseball soon. That kid is so busy...but he needs it!! I don't know what we would do if he came home with all that energy everyday!! Erin and Gavin are doing well too. Erin is studying for her learner's test and is eager to turn 16 in the fall. She didn't really show much interest in getting her learner's license until she realized that she had to have it for at least 6 months before she can get her drivers license! She's doing really well in school and loves singing in the choir. Gavin can almost write his name!! Poor guy hates practicing it. I asked him the other day to write his name for me and he said "no...you do it." I guess a "G" can be pretty hard to a 4 year old.

I went back to the dr today for a check up and he's decided that I really need to have that cyst removed. Looks like the second week of Spring break I'll be back in surgery...but hopefully this one won't be as bad!! He said the cyst has grown and he's afraid it won't go away on it's on. I'm sure it's nothing too serious. My doctor just wants to get it taken care of as soon as possible. I will keep you updated on how it goes...

Other than that, everything is great! We are so ready for this winter weather to be OUT OF HERE!!!! I'm ready for the spring...big time!! Bring on the allergies...

Pictures!

2009-02-09T16:26:00.000-08:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

My first full week of January

2009-01-19T14:21:00.000-08:00

Wow! A lot has been going on in my life these past two weeks. People have been emailing and asking how I'm doing so I'm going to devote one blog to everything that has happened. So, if you're not that interested in everything (and I don't blame you!) or if you don't have time to read this long post....it's ok. Just skip this one. And to be honest...I'm writing this assuming it's mostly girls (except you Calculus Dave) that read my blog so some of this stuff is a little graphic. Just a warning! :) Here's what's been going on in my life....

November/December 2008: I have been bleeding for a while (lovely way to start this off...i know!) I'm not sure what's going on and have already been to my dr twice already. My doctor tells me that he thinks he just needs to change my birth control because it may be a little too strong (how do I tell him that strong is good!! we are not trying to have any kids at this time!) We travel to GA to celebrate Christmas with my family and on the way back, I start feeling sick. I ask Darin to stop at a gas station thinking I was just sick at my stomach or something. Once inside, I start getting lightheaded. I can't even make it back out to the car. The clerk behind the counter had to go get Darin and he had to come inside and help me back out to the car. I was afraid I was going to pass out. Darin assures me that it really was extremely hot in the gas station. We are in-the-middle-of-no-where, TN so I decide to skip taking me to the hospital and to just sleep it off on the way home. Once we're home, I feel a little weak, but am fine. Darin is still concerned. I really hate going to the doctor (see previous posts) but I know something is wrong. I'm still bleeding and we have no idea why. I have joked with my dr about being a hypochondriac and he hasn't really done anything to assure me that I'm not. I ask him about maybe drawing blood but he assures me that I'm young and healthy so it's really probably my birth control that needs to be changed. The nurse asked me if I could be pregnant (why they never had me take a pregnancy test, I'll never know!) but I tell her no since I'm bleeding. She accepts this answer and moves on.

Monday, January 5: It's our first day back at school after the holidays. Darin and I take half a day off because at this point, I wanted him to see that my dr really wasn't concerned. My dr does an ultrasound where they find some cysts on one of my ovaries and also find a big mass. They are not sure where this mass came from or why it is there. My husband and I assure ourselves that it could be anything and to not worry! I have myself convinced that it is seriously nothing. My dr decides that a CT scan needs to be done just to see where this mass is coming from and we schedule one for that Thursday. My biggest question is: "Is this going to hurt?"

Wednesday, January 6: I'm getting a little nervous about my test tomorrow. It's the little things like that fact that I can't just go to my dr's office...I have to go to Baptist hospital in Nashville. I know it's not going to hurt. All I will have to do it just drink some thick mix of something...and they MIGHT have to put an IV in my arm. This all comes from my mother who is not laughing at me despite the fact that her 29 year old daughter is as scared as a little kid about going to the hospital. Gotta love mom's!!! Wednesday afternoon I get a call from the hospital saying that my insurance has no recognition of a Kate Plumlee. I tell them that I got married last summer but that everything is changed over from Lovelace to Plumlee. They can find a Kate Lovelace but not Kate Plumlee. I inform the nice man on the phone that "I am looking directly at my insurance card that says Kathleen Plumlee. I KNOW I have insurance!!" He says that's fine but if your insurance company can't prove that you have insurance then you will be responsible for the entire bill for your test. Ugh! Thanks Cigna!! I get on the phone with Cigna who informs me that they do have me down as a member and that the hospital does not need to have pre-approval to run this test. You know...they really need to think about the mental state of people before they call them informing them that they have no insurance!! (Ok...maybe I was overreacting but seriously people...I was stressed!!) The hospital calls me back and informs me that everything is taken care of. Things are looking up...

Thursday MORNING, January 8: Darin and I get to Baptist hospital at 7:45. Since we have one of the first appointments, I'm sure that it won't take long. We sit for about 15 minutes in the (first) waiting room. I fill out the appropriate forms, etc and they call us back to the (second) waiting room. Seriously...why so many waiting rooms? A nurse comes in and gives me and another woman sitting there a HUGE bottle of stuff that is described as a "Vanilla Creme Smoothie." Let me just tell you, it was not!! I looked at the lady beside me and ask her if she wants to just pretend that it's a big frozen margarita. She laughs and says ok. Darin tells me to quit talking to EVERYONE. Have i mentioned that this is a nervous habit for me? If I'm talking, then I don't think about the test for too long. Once I finish, the nurse comes back in and tells me that it will be another hour before they can do the test. They have to give the liquid enough time to travel down. I should have come prepared. I'm reading magazines that are in the room but am seriously getting fidgety. Finally she comes back in and takes me to the room where the CT machine is. I lay down on the table. No big deal. They shoot a few pics of me and I'm sliding in and out of this machine...holding my breath when they tell me to. Then the tech comes in and says "I'm going to put this IV in your arm now." My first response is "Is this going to hurt?" I'm not kidding. Luckily, I have "GREAT" veins and everything is fine. The test seriously lasted about 15 minutes and we were out of there. Since we had already taken the whole day off from school, Darin and I go out to lunch and then to our local gym to work out. Gotta loose those extra holiday pounds that have found my hips!!

Thursday 4:00 pm, January 8: Have I mentioned that I'm working part time as the front desk clerk at a local hotel? I started doing this during the summer for some extra money while we were out of school and pick it up during the holidays and stuff. I work a few nights during the week just to pick up some hours...it's super easy and we get great discounts when we travel!! So, I'm scheduled to work tonight. I show up around 4. We have several important people meeting with my boss, so I'm just trying to stay out of the way. Around 4:20ish I start feeling sick again. It's the same feeling I had at that gas station on our way back from Georgia. I call Darin and tell him that I'm sick. I don't have time to tell him anything else because I feel like I need to get to the bathroom. (I don't feel sick at my stomach but there's something about just getting a bathroom when you feel sick...i don't know...). I go to put the sign on the front counter telling customers that I will be right back and the next thing I know, my boss and one of the VIP's that was with him are standing over me asking me if I'm all right. I have passed out and am laying on the floor. I tell him to get my phone and call Darin. Darin comes right over and picks me up. I assure him that I need to just go home and rest. He thinks I need to go to the hospital, but we compromise and I call my dr's office. My doctor has now left for his two week vacation. He will be in Hawaii with his family until the 18th. I inform the nurse of everything that happened and she tells me that the emergency room can't do any other tests that they haven't already run. She tells me just to go home and rest and to call her tomorrow. Darin doesn't like that idea, but I promise him that I am fine and that it is ok for him to take Austin to wrestling practice. Erin is at home with me and I will call him if I need anything. Darin and Austin leave and Erin and I just lounge around watching TV. I call my mom and inform her of everything. She works at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta and tells the nurses there what has happened. She really encourages me to just go to the hospital, but I tell her that I'm just going to wait and see how I feel until Darin gets home.

6:30 pm: I'm starting to have trouble breathing. Darin's sister stops by the house and I tell her and her boyfriend about everything. I'm thinking I may have cracked a rib or something when I fell. I hope it's not puncturing a lung or anything. I call my mom back and tell her about my newest ailment. She is adamant this time that I get myself to the ER. I know she just loves living 300 miles from me at this point. I tell her ok and calmly call Darin and tell him not to rush home, but once practice is over that I think we need to head to the hospital. I tell him that it's not an emergency really but that we just need to get my ribs checked out. Darin's mom comes over to get the kids once Darin and Austin get home. Darin realizes that it's about 8:30 now and that we may want to pack a bag. I have perfect timing with all of this since the National Championship Game is on and I know Darin would much rather be watching it than driving me to the ER. There are several hospital choices along the way, but we decide to go back to Baptist Hospital where I had my CT scan done. They already have all of my information in their computer system, plus, they may be able to go ahead and get the results from my test from earlier in the day. My famous last words before getting to the hospital was when I looked at Darin and said "I think there's going to be lots of needles tonight." He said "Yep...there's going to be lots of them..."

9:45: We walk into the ER (Good news!! The game is on all 5 of the TVs in the waiting room) We only waited about 20 minutes before they called us back. I go through triage and they run an EKG test on me. Everything's fine. My blood pressure is good too! I'm starting to think I have over reacted. They put me back in a room and a nurse comes to draw blood. I tell Darin to call my mom just so she knows that we were there. The next thing I know, a dr is at my door and he tell us that they are going to go ahead and admit me for the night. Just where I wanted to spend my Thursday night. We wait while a (really nice) nurse comes in to start an IV. At this point I'm thinking just get some pain medicine in me so I can breathe normal again! The next time the dr comes in I can tell it's not good. He closes and door and asks Darin to turn the volume down. Yes, we're still watching the end of the game. He tells us that the blood that they took showed that I was pregnant. Darin and I look at each other in shock. We had no idea. Before we could say anything, he said that he went and got my CT scan from that morning. The baby never made it out of my fallopian tube and at this point, my tube on the right side has ruptured. The pain that I'm feeling is not coming from a broken rib, it's coming from the fact that I'm bleeding on the inside. A lot! Remember the big mass that they found doing the ultrasound? It was a big pool of blood. Nice. He tells me that he's calling in a surgeon who is in the same practice as my dr (remember him? He's in Hawaii right now...) and that we will need to go into surgery pronto. He leaves and we try to process all of this information. I want to cry but every time I start to get upset, I can't breathe. Darin and I decide not to call any parents at this point because we knew that we would wake them up and that they would worry all night long! We wait for the surgeon to arrive. They decide to take me up for one more ultrasound. Darin gets a little teary eyed but he is trying to stay strong for me. I'm not saying much of anything. I'm still in a lot of pain and I'm not looking forward to surgery! The first thing we hear is a heartbeat. I'm thinking to myself "could this baby still be alive?" I have no idea of what to expect. I've never been through anything like this. What we heard was my heartbeat, though. They wheel me back down and the surgeon has arrived. They take Darin and me to the pre-op room. It's cold in there!! They allow Darin to be with me while we talk to the surgeon. He tells us that it is a risky surgery and everything that it's going to entail. At the end of his speech I ask him if I am in any danger. He looks directly at me and says "We have to go now! We have no time to wait." I look at Darin and tell him that he better just go ahead and call our parents since it's risky. The dr tells him that it's time for him to leave and he kisses me and tells me to be strong. There are tears rolling down my face at this point...I realize that I'm either waking up here or in heaven. I have never been more glad to know for certain of my fate after this life. I pray and pray and pray....

2:00 am: They wheel me into the operating room. Why they don't just go ahead and put me to sleep i'll never know. A nice nurse named Liz held my hand throughout the entire process while I was awake. I ask them to just go ahead and put me to sleep since I was really getting nervous....and they agree.

3:45 am: The next thing I know I'm waking up in recovery. I have tubes in my nose which I can't wait to get out! But the good news is...I'm ok! I want to see Darin but they say they can't get in touch with him. He's supposed to be in my room waiting on me. After about an hour they wheel me up to my room. Darin is in the waiting room pacing. They wouldn't let him in my room until I was up there. His eyes are red and I know he's been crying. I tell him that it's ok, that I made it out fine and he tells me that the dr went up to see him after the surgery. Things were worse than they expected once they got in. I lost a lot of blood. The reason that I couldn't breathe earlier in the night was because my stomach and lungs were filling up with blood. I was drowning in my own blood. The dr looked at Darin and told him that if we hadn't of come in Thursday night, that I would have bled to death. I am one lucky girl. I have three little incisions in me, and my stomach is hurting a lot....but again, I'm alive! We try to get a little sleep but can't really get any. It's about 5:30 at this point and around 7:00 people started calling to check on us. Of course Darin called our parents after I came out of surgery, but we left it to them to call the rest of the family. My mom and sister decide to head up from Atlanta. The dr comes in while he's making his rounds and tells me everything that he had told Darin. He says that I will get to leave that afternoon which thrills me. I can't wait to get home to my own bed. A few more nurses come in and out and I finally break down and tell them that I need more pain medicine. This consists of a shot and when I said my famous words "Is this going to hurt?" the nurse laughed and said "oh yeah." Great....

I did get to go home that afternoon. I spent the whole weekend recovering and trying to figure out how to walk without using many stomach muscles. I loved the fact that my mom was there...especially since we were still dealing with the fact that in the middle of all of this, we lost a baby. My mom and Meredith left on Saturday night and on Sunday, Jessica and Jeremy came up to stay for the night. I was very well taken care of. I took all last week off from school just to rest and try to build up some of my strength. My body had to work hard to rebuild my blood supply. I went to back to the dr who did my surgery this past Friday and he said that everything was healing nicely. We will still be able to have children of our own he thinks. It will be a little harder since we are down to only one side (he had to remove the entire tube since it had ruptured) and also since my ovary on my "good" side does have the two cysts on it still. He's thinking they are "functional cysts" and that they will not cause any harm. We're just going to take it one day at a time for right now.

Whew!! It's been a whirlwind of a week. I am so thankful to be alive, and for my husband and family who stood by my side. I know it was just as hard if not harder for Darin since he's the one who had to make all the phone calls to family and stuff. I'm so lucky to be married to such a great man.

This week it's back to work as usual. I know my students have been worried since Darin came home last week saying that a lot of my students were asking him how I was doing. They know I had emergency surgery but that's about it. My co-workers have been awesome and have been giving up their planning periods to teach my classes so that they don't get behind. One of my co-workers even came over and took me to get a manicure!! I couldn't ask for better help than that!

The pics from Christmas are still coming. Maybe I can have them up by Easter....ha, ha! I just wanted to let you all know what was going on at the Plumlee household. I hope that this is no indication of the year to come....on the other hand...it's brought our family closer than ever. So maybe in the midst of this horrible night...good things have come from it after all!

New Year's Resolution

2009-01-01T16:50:00.000-08:00

Ok, one of my New Year's Resolutions is to update my blog more often. How pathetic is it that I haven't posted since Thanksgiving? It's like nothing has happened in my life and believe me...PLENTY of things are happening here!!

For starters, one of my sisters is moving to Tennessee! Jessica and Jeremy (and the two kiddos) will be moving up here January 18. They both got teaching jobs at the same school that I work at so they are up here this weekend looking for houses. I'm so thrilled, but I know that my family is sad back in Georgia. Jessica and Jeremy have two children, Jillian (4) and Jackson (2) who are spoiled rotten but we can't complain...we're the ones who spoil them!! So, today and tomorrow are devoted to finding them a place to live. I can't wait to have some of my own family up here with me!

Christmas was great at our house. The kids got lots of great presents. Erin got a shopping trip courtesy of Santa. Austin (finally) got his BB gun. The kid honestly hasn't put it down at all. I seriously think that he would sleep with it if we let him. Gavin got a spider man costume and runs around the house "shooting" us all with his "web." (This consists of him putting his hand out palm up with his first and fifth fingers out....along with a whooshing sound.) I will post pics next week of him doing this. It's hilarious!

We were able to go spend some time with my family in Georgia for a few days. We had a great time. We drove down the day after Christmas for Christmas with my immediate family. After dinner at Nakatos we went home and opened presents. I got a new jacket which I am loving...especially since last night it dropped to 27 degrees outside!! The kids loaded up again and Austin got "one of the best presents ever" (according to him...). Jessica and Jeremy gave him a Falcon's shirt and my uncle gave him a ticket to the last home game of the season. You would have thought he was given a million dollars. I seriously thought the kid was going to cry. So on Sunday morning, Austin and my Uncle Mike loaded up the truck and headed to the Georgia Dome. He hasn't stopped talking about the game since. It was a great Christmas all around. We are so lucky to be blessed with such a great family!!

We only have one more day off before we head back to school on Monday. I have enjoyed my time off but am ready to get back and finish up this school year. We're all going on a cruise for spring break so I'm really looking forward to that!!

Like I said before, I promise to update more often. I'm hoping once a week but we will see how that goes! I hope you all have enjoyed some quality time with your families over the past few weeks. We are looking forward to all of the great things 2009 has in store for us...the good news is...if I can keep my resolution up...you guys will get to hear all about it! :)

Happy New Year!!!

So Thankful...

2008-11-26T15:48:00.000-08:00

So here it is, the day before Thanksgiving. I have had the day off and have been so productive. This morning I had a long overdue eye dr. appointment. Let's get one thing straight. I really HATE going to any type of doctor. However, these past few months I decided that it was time I went and got caught up on all of my appointments. So, this morning was the last of the doctors visit at least for this year (hopefully...). My appointment was at 9 so I got there about 8:50. I signed in and sat down with a lobby full of people. I figured it might be busy with everyone trying to get in before the holiday and with so many people taking today off of work. Around 9:30, I noticed the woman beside me getting really irritated. I asked her what time her appointment was scheduled for and she replied "8:30 and I don't have time to sit in this waiting room all day!!" Wow...all I asked for was the time. She was really upset and to be fair, she did mention that she had to go back to work after her appointment. I could tell that she really didn't want to make small talk with me so I got back to reading my magazine. I felt sorry for the nurse that finally called her back.

I'm not sure why, but for some reason after my (very) small chat with this woman, I started to think about all the reasons for me to NOT get upset for having to wait an hour before going back to be seen. Think about all of the people out there who would love to sit in a waiting room for hours just to be seen by a doctor. I can't even fathom not being able to just wake up and call the dr if I need to. So, I waited my 45 minutes to get in and didn't complain. Hey...could have been worse!

This Thanksgiving will be different for me because it is the first Thanksgiving that Darin and I will be sharing as a married couple and I must admit that the holiday has brought on more stress than I thought it would. With my family being in GA and his family here, we've had to compromise where we would be this year. Last year Darin and I spent the holiday in GA with my family so this year we're spending it here. The stress of the holiday has been brought on by my own selfishness. I still want to wake up every Thanksgiving in my old room at my parents house. There's something about waking up in that room and going downstairs to enjoy a cup of coffee and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade with my mom. I will miss that tradition this year, but I'm hoping it resumes next year. Even though I won't be with my family in GA this year, I will be with my NEW family. How exciting! We are very fortunate to live close to all of Darin's family and will enjoy spending the day with them.

All is not lost in my quest to get to GA. I'm going down on Friday to spend some time with my family and to celebrate Jillian's 4th birthday. How fun!!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. What a special time of year to reflect on everything that we've been given. I am so thankful for so many things...my family, friends, my job and health just to name a few. Above all, I am so thankful for my salvation and for God's grace. How thankful I am to be His child.

I'm it!

2008-11-20T14:33:00.000-08:00

Ok, my friend Heather has tagged me and I'm supposed to give 7 random facts about me. Actually, I can't really remember if they're supposed to be random, but if you know me at all, you know that pretty much everything about me is random so here it goes.

1. My favorite place to be in Wal-Mart is in the school supply/pen aisle. I absolutely LOVE getting new pens and markers. I don't know if it's the teacher in me or not, but this is not a recent discovery. I can remember wasting many hours at the good old Wal-Mart in Dahlonega with MC looking at different things on that aisle. There is nothing better than the start of a new semester with "fresh" supplies. It's sick...I know.

2. I am double jointed in one thumb. Strange, huh? I know I'm getting old because sometimes that one thumb will ache really bad...usually when it's about to rain or something.

3. I HATE cats. Seriously...I despise them. I think they are from the devil. The way they look at you and hiss...no thank you!! The only good cat is a dead cat. (That last sentence was a joke people, please don't send me hate mail.)

4. I will not eat the ends of hot dogs. Here's the really strange part. I actually love eating hot dogs. It's just that the ends of them remind me of cat butts (see #3). So, whenever I'm eating a hot dog, I just cut off both ends and then finish the hot dog. This also applies to the ends of pickles, but it's not because they remind me of cat butts, but because they're so hard and gross. YUCK!

5. I absolutely despise people touching my bones. My elbow is the the worst. My husband knows this and will just walk up behind me and put his hand on my elbow. I hate it. I don't know why...and I know it's strange, but it's just a fact.

6. I enjoy playing sports. I played softball and ran track throughout my high school years. However, secretly, I would have loved to have been a cheerleader. Isn't that weird? It's not so much that I wanted to cheer, I wanted to be able to run and do back flips and stuff. So, maybe I should have said I wanted to by a gymnast or something. Either way, you get the point.

7. I eat one thing at a time and I try really hard not to let my food touch. Seriously people, why should my mashed potatoes have green bean juice in them? GROSS!! My mom threatened to get me some of those old school lunch trays as a wedding present. That way, all of my food would have their own spot. Thanks, mom. I also start with one food, eat all of it, and then move on to the next. I try to save the thing that's my favorite for last.

Well, there are seven strange things about me. Now I'm supposed to name 7 people to continue this on. I don't even think 7 people read this blog, so I issuing the challenge to everyone!! If I can do it, you can do it...yes, even you Alison! :)

Finally some pics!!

2008-11-10T16:42:00.000-08:00

Here are some long over-due pics of things we have done this fall. We've been busy, but football is now over, so we're enjoying some free time! This weekend Darin and I are headed to Berry College in Rome, GA for my cousin's wedding. I can't wait to see everyone...should be a fun time.

I realized today that we only have 5 more (full) weeks until we get out for Christmas Break. Where has the time gone? This semester has really flown by...I just hope I can get caught up with all the grading that needs to get done...and believe me, it's a lot!!

Well here are the pics. Erin isn't in many of them. She HATES having her picture taken (I'm not sure why, she's beautiful!) so they are mostly of Austin and Gavin.

Please excuse the way I look in this pic, I was trying to get a picture of the three of us, forgetting that I just put a visor on and walked out the door to the park. No makeup or anything. Nice Kate...

Austin and Gavin

Darin and I at the UT/Bama Game.

Karen and I on our way to Knoxville.

All of the coaches kids ready for one of our last games.

Gavin saying "I love you" on a ride at the County Fair.

Darin and Gavin on a ride. Darin looks thrilled!! ;)

Gavin loved the ferris wheel!!

Darin and Austin riding bumper cars.

If you look real close (or just imagine) you can see Austin and Erin riding the Pirate Ship.

Out-Smarted by a 10 year old...

2008-11-04T14:48:00.000-08:00

This morning, Darin and I were trying to hurry and get everyone out the door at 6:30 so that we could go vote before going to work. When I went in to get the kids up, Austin was already awake and dressed. Usually it's a task to get him up. He loves his sleep, but I think the time change is still tricking him. He got in bed around 8:00 last night just because it was so dark. Hey...works for me!! Anyway, he's sitting on the couch watching TV while Darin and I are getting lunches made. He starts telling us that they had a mock election at his school yesterday and they were going to find out today who won. I asked him if he voted (we won't even go to who he voted for!!) and he said yes but that it didn't matter anyway. I asked him why he felt that way and was telling him (i'm sure i was using my "teacher voice" at this point...) that every vote mattered and that it didn't matter who he voted for as long as he voted. It was at this point that he looked at me and said...

"Kate, we're not the one who chooses the President. The electoral college does."

When did he get this smart? Clearly, I'm NOT smarter than a fifth grader...

Our Weekend

2008-09-29T16:24:00.000-07:00

Well, only four more days of school this week and then two weeks off! I'm so ready for this much needed break. I informed all of my students today that if we could all just survive until Friday afternoon without killing each other, then I would consider this 9 weeks a success. I am enjoying my students this year, but after spending at least 8 hours with them daily, I am also looking forward to spending some time away from them as well.

For some reason I lost my mind at the beginning of last school year and decided that it would be "fun" to be the SGA advisor this year. Remind me never to volunteer for things ever again. This is a much bigger task then I ever thought possible. I was thinking one or two meetings a month. No big deal. Let me just tell you...I was completely wrong.

The middle Tennessee area has a can food drive competition each year with all of the local high schools. Our school has won for the last 10 years straight. Nothing to live up to or anything. Nope...no pressure at all. Our goal this year is 60,000 cans. What?! These kids are serious about collecting them, so at least that's good.

We won our football game on Friday night against our county rivals Mt. Juliet. It was a great game...I wish I could say the same about afterwords. Gavin was running around and playing and having a good time when he tripped over his own feet and fell....hard!! I heard his head hit the pavement and went running over just in time for Darin to get there first. Darin picked him up and was hugging him. He moved his hand back from behind his head and there was blood covering his hand (i know...gross. I'm sorry...). Let me just tell you one thing. I do not do blood. The kids have learned this lesson well as Austin walked into the house the other day and announced, "Dad, I fell off my bike and cut my leg. You need to come look at it because you know Kate freaks out about this stuff." Yes, it's pathetic. I hate the site of blood. People say that when it's your own kids you don't think about it, but I seriously think I will. Anyway...back to Gavin. He is crying more because he dropped his candy than because of his head. At this point I'm thinking..."great...we're off to the emergency room and I'm going to have to go by myself because Darin drove the bus here with the football players." I've got all three kids plus my father-in-law in my car with me. What am I going to do? I ran and got some napkins and ice and by the time I got back there was quite a crowd gathered. Darin got the team trainer to come and look and do you know that there was barely a scratch!! I'm serious. No trip to the ER. Woo hoo!! After Darin took him to the bathroom to clean him up, he came back out and didn't say another word about his head. He had a pretty big knot all weekend, but didn't complain about anything. Disaster avoided!!

This weekend we're headed down to GA for a few days. I can't wait to see my family. I miss them all so much!! We're so excited to be able to catch up for a few days. I will post more when we get back!

2008-09-23T16:14:00.001-07:00

Ok. I am really terrible at blogging...and I don't even have a good excuse for it. I check other people's blogs daily. I could blame it on the fact that my friend Heather is so stinkin (and yes, that is a word in Tennessee!!) good at this that I feel very intimidated at posting anything. Seriously, she's good.

However, I've decided that enough is enough. I wanted to update everyone on what is going on up here in Nashville.

Let's see. School is going well. We are 8 weeks into the first semester. Our school district is pretty cool in that every nine weeks we get two weeks off. So October 6-17 we will be relaxing. We have lots of things planned though, including a trip home to Georgia!! I am so excited. It seems like it's been forever since I've been home last and it will be great to see everyone, even if it is for a short while.

Darin coaches football, so our Friday nights are spent at different football fields. I love it. They take high school football very seriously up here. Complete with tailgates for every home game and everything. Unfortunately we lost the first three games by a combined 8 points. However, last week we turned our streak around and won our homecoming game.

Erin and Austin are doing so good in school. Both had (almost) all A's on their progress reports. Tennessee is different in that an A is valued at a 93-100 not 90 - 100. A 90 is considered a B. I would have had a terrible GPA if I had grown up here in Tennessee!! Erin loves high school and Austin is having lots of fun in 4th grade. He is playing on his own football team and looks so cute...I mean tough...in his football uniform. Gavin is still Gavin. He is so cute and into everything. All three are excited about the trip to Georgia in two weeks. It will be the first time I've traveled with the three by myself. Unfortunately Darin will have football practice and will be unable to come with us. I'm sure he's sad about having the house to himself for a few days.

Well, that's about it for us. I will post pics from GA when we get back!!

2008-07-01T19:12:00.000-07:00

This is Gavin, Darin's youngest son. Darin and me after the wedding.
My sisters and me. How many pictures like this do we have?!?!

Never say Never

2008-07-01T18:51:00.000-07:00

I learned a long time ago not to put limits on God. One would think that I would not have to constantly be reminded of just how awesome our God is, but I do. Let me explain. A few years ago when I moved to Nashville, I was talking with a friend of mine describing the "perfect" guy that I would fall in love with. He WAS NOT going to be a teacher because I needed someone who was going to make a little more money than teachers do, he would have to be tall because I could NEVER date someone SHORTER than me. I didn't think I could ever date someone who had been MARRIED BEFORE much less already HAVE CHILDREN. When I got finished giving God my list, he showed me His plan....

Darin and I met in August, 2004 on our first day of school. He had been teaching for a few years and it was my first year at Lebanon High School. A mutual friend introduced us and we became instant friends. I knew that there was no way things would become anything more than just friends because 1) he was shorter than me and 2) he had been married and had 3 children. Isn't God funny? Four years later, we are happily married. Darin has become my best friend and his children are beautiful and wonderful. Sometimes I look at my life and think how crazy it is at how everything has worked out. I can't imagine my life without him and his children. I have gone from being single to a family of 5. Life is crazy at the Plumlee house, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

I want to use this blog to keep everyone posted on what is going on in our lives. And believe me...it's a lot!! Darin and I are so excited to see what God has in store for us in our journey together. It's going to be a roller coaster ride...so hold on!!

My first blog!!

2008-07-01T18:22:00.000-07:00

What the heck? I figured I would try out this blog thing. I mean "everyone else is doing it"....right?

I can not promise that I will be a terrific writer. After all, my degree is in math. However, I figured this is a good way to keep up with family and friends. I hope you enjoy it....