Rigsby Holiday Highlights

Our 20 hour road trip looked like this most of the way (I admit I wasn't the best navigator because I was taking naps pretty often...thank goodness Paul is such a boyscout...that and so is his Garmin Navigator *hehe*)

Look at this little bundle!! Meet our niece and newest member of Jeff, Jessie, & Halley's family; Natalie Faith Rigsby, born on 12/19/08. It was quite an ordeal gettin' her into this world, but mom and baby are doing great!

Paul & the Pups' first snow of the year! Muffin is a little Kangaroo in the white stuff..she loved it!

So this is what it's like when li'l kids open presents on Christmas..I have never seen so many toys in my life!

Favorite Quotes:

Paul: Dad..you want more gravy on that?
Dad: I've had two heart attacks and you're askin' me if I want more gravy?!?!

Mom: Where did you guys go to get a sandwich?

Dad (straight-faced): Subway

Paul: Mom..ask him again where he went for lunch (we went to Arby's)
Mom: So you went to Subway for lunch?
Dad (straight-faced again): Yep

Dad: We don't wanna go to Applebees because they don't have any plain foods...everything they have has somethin on it
Paul: Well I suggested Perkins
Dad: But Perkins is too plain

Paul: I'll leave the tip
Mom: You can't leave the tip, all you have are $20's
Paul: How do you know that?
Mom: I looked in your wallet
Lora: Did he have any phone numbers in there?
Mom: No, just three 20's

Paul-of-All-Trades

We can officially add "carpenter" to the list of Paul's talents. A week ago he decided to take on this home-improvement task of converting our dirty carpet to polished hardwood floors and it's finally done...yay! =) Our downstairs area was looking so filthy, and w/ me being in full out nesting mode lately, something had to be done! Of course my (ingenious) hubby came to the rescue w/ this great idea. He's been working so hard on this project and, with the help of Alex & Jason, our home looks much more inviting.

Taking a Pepsi break...am I done yet?:
Ahhhh!! Is that my stove in the living room?!?!

Piece of Cake:

The little helpers (& Paul putting the trim back on the walls):
The helper taking a nap in one of the boxes...what a long day.....

Family Thanksgiving 2008

Everyone gathered at my parents house for Thanksgiving dinner & a baby shower this year. Thanks for hosting such a fun event guys!

There was so much food....Mmmmmmmmmmm...


And entertainment =) This was Paul seeing who got the closest to my belly girth

Kuya Allan tried to tie his shoes w/ a pregnant belly (a pink balloon)..but look b/t his legs, his water broke!
and Ray taught everyone some dance routines


After a healthy serving of fun, Paul & I opened all the precious gifts our family picked out for our baby. Thanks so much for everyone's generosity and well wishes! We are so lucky to have such a supportive family.
And thank you Ate Joy for sharing your talent. You are amazing and we had so much fun "workin with you." =) Still don't know why mom was looking "there" when you were standing "here" though...hahah

Dirty Thirty

Happy Dirty Thirty Cowboy!!
Today is Paul's birthday. He has truly been the best thing that's ever happened to me.
Paul, these are reasons why I love you so much:

30) I can be myself around you
29) You always make me feel like the best is still ahead
28) You remind me not to take life too seriously
27) You always say what I need to hear (well almost always...you eventually get it right) =)
26) You will cuddle with me until I fall asleep
25) Your optimism
24) You carry all the heavy stuff so I don't have to
23) You are a Mr. Fix-It
22) You are loyal to me and to the things that matter the most to you
21) You have such a big warm heart
20) You choose your battles well and don't waste time worrying about things until you really need to
19) The fact that you refuse to completely grow up, you will always be a big kid
18) The way you always sing a song at the end of my sentences (only you will understand that, it's kinda hard to explain)
17) You are my Dr. McDreamy...and McSteamy
16) You know a ton of useless facts that happen to come in handy every once in a while (and you wonder about random things like, "what does the K in K mart stand for?" and "how does my blackberry know to shut-off when it's in the holster?")
15) You don't take life or people for granted
14) You are a true gentleman and you take care of me: opening doors, taking out the trash, waiting for me and my bump to make it up the trails, being our "activities/travel coordinator," etc.
13) It feels so perfect to think of our future together, we share similar dreams and aspirations
12) You are awesome with my family and they love you sooo much too
11) How you stick your tongue out of the side of your mouth when you are concentrating real hard (like when you're playing guitar hero)
10) You have cute sayings like: "why for, how come?" and "that's ingenious!" and "what's up buttercup?" and "talk to ya soon...baboon" and something about "take the f out of way"
9) You have an amazing voice
8) You are generous
7) How you have watched every movie on the face of this earth
6) You have been there for your family and for mine
5) That you are content with the things you have
4) How much I know you love you brother and how well you handled him passing even though it was one of the hardest things you've been through
3) You are going to make the most incredible dad anyone could ever have
2) You make me laugh
1) You are irresistibly sexy and have a nice butt ;)

Congratulations Lisa-Lou!!

We are soooo proud you, Lisa...you deserve it!!

My sister just found out today that she got accepted into the Scottsdale Community College nursing program starting this January where she'll get her R.N. in 18 months!! Although Paul & I think she is "spolled rotten," *hehe* we know she will make an incredible nurse (not to mention a cute one, too) =) We can't wait to watch her become part of the nursing profession, hear all about her patient interactions and (of course) give her a hard time *haha*

Oh yeah... and her school mascot is a green artichoke

All American Girl

Paul found out just how much trouble he'll be in when we came across this at our appointment this morning (three white lines="hamburger"=sweet baby girl!!!):

This is her foot:


And this is our baby w/ her hand by her face (those are her fingers next to her mouth and nose):


Our baby was playing hard-to-get this morning..... She did everything she could to run from the camera (she's stubborn, too!). When the U/S tech was moving the probe saying "come on baby, show your face..." she moved alright, but in the other direction. She stuffed her face right into the placenta! We will work on her cooperation skills for the next visit =) Otherwise, things are going great. She weighs 11oz, has a strong heart w/ a HR of 148, and the remainder of her anatomy visit was pretty uneventful. We are so thankful that she is healthy as can be. I'm at the beginning of my 20th wk so we're halfway there!

*knock knock*....who's there?

Welcome home!! I had a pleasant surprise knockin' on the door at 1:30am =) I was on the phone w/ Paul throughout the night "keeping him awake" as he drove to find a hotel where he could catch some zzzz's. He "found a place, got checked in, and was unlocking the door" but couldn't get in b/c someone double locked it! When he called to tell me he was here, I didn't believe him and had to peek out the peep hole to really believe my eyes. Paul has been away doing rotations in Michigan this past month and it just wasn't the same around here without him. I wasn't expecting him home for another day, but here he is, sneaky fella. He left his last rotation a day early so he could hit the road and hurry home. We are sooo excited to have him back!! Unfortunately, I'll be leaving on Sunday to do a 2-wk rotation in Kingman, but at least we're in the same time zone.

*Love is missing someone whenever you're apart, but somehow feeling warm inside because you're close in heart. ~Kay Knudsen*

Baby Got Back..I mean..baby faced back

What a fun office visit today! My sister went w/me to get my ultrasound since Paul is doing a couple radiology rotations in Michigan for a month. Well..we found our baby's legs..yay!! =) Unfortunately, the baby was facing my back, so it was hard to get anything but a profile view, let alone determine the sex. So I guess the voting continues until my next appointment. (Lisa, that's when you find out if you'll be an aunt or uncle!) He/she looks pretty excited about his/her legs, too...look:

What a cutie...our baby might seem a li'l camera shy from the pictures, but don't be fooled. The U/S tech had to chase the li'l peanut around during the exam because he/she was moving around so much! The HR was 159 and the baby is growing just as it should.

It's not a tumor =)

Paul went w/me to my first real appointment and boy am I glad because I was sooo nervous. I haven't been getting morning sickness *knock on wood* and I wasn't really "feeling pregnant".....so I was convinced I had a teratoma growing inside my belly. The doctor couldn't find anything at first, but after another try, this picture came into view:



So meet our new baby =) I know I know.. we can't find the legs either, but I'm sure they're there somewhere (use your imagination.) We'll find out in a couple weeks if it's a boy or girl. Of course Paul wants a boy for the mere fact that "if you have a boy, all you worry about is one penis, if you have a girl, you have to worry about hundreds!" Hmmm..he might have a point. Either way, we are sooo excited to meet our new li'l angel.

Wyoming Adventures

Wyoming is truly my home away from home. I love my mom & dad Rigsby like my very own! I always learn a thing or two I never new before when I come visit.... I learned to pitch a tent (and even sleep in it overnight), I mastered cutting wood with a chainsaw, I even got to set off fireworks with my brother and sister-in-law (Jeff & Jessie) SAFELY, of course. The best part was learning to pull the trigger on one of these suckers!

I wasn't the only one though.....


The only person that got a bullseye without even trying was the master himself..."Papa Rigsby" =)
We also went to Reptile Gardens where we saw some of the most poisonous snakes in the world! Do you know why the black mamba (below) is called a black mamba even though it's not black? It's because the inside of its mouth is all black!



I love going to Bear Country... they are amazing creatures to watch up-close. I wanted to take one home with me they were so cute!
Our time there flies by so fast! It was an even nicer treat that all of Paul's family (including his oldest brother, Christopher, and his family from Minnesota) were able to join us camping and for the fourth of july. We're so excited to see everyone again at the end of the year, we can't wait!! We love you guys!

Atlantis...the underwater kingdom

Our family vacation to Atlantis was soo refreshing! Not a day went by that we didn't float down the lazy river and get tossed by the waves. We even convinced my parents to join the fun!

We also sped around the beach on jet skis and a banana boat before making it back to enjoy the water slides. I've never been on a waterslide before so they started me on an easy one, The Challenger. We went so fast that by the time we got to the bottom I thought my water broke! Just kidding...but we were going fast!

So then we thought we could brave the "Leap of Faith." The first thing we saw while waiting in line was a sign that said "not recommended for pregnant women and those with heart conditions." Paul & I just looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh. So with the help of my hubby, sister, and Alex (taunting me that even 7 year old girls were going down the slide) I decided to go (and then ended up going yet another time.) =)

We couldn't travel all the way to Atlantis and not explore, so when we did, look what we found! It's a Manta Ray!!

We spent many late nights playin Hearts and Uno. We took advantage of the beautiful weather and didn't miss an evening of sittin' on the beach, listening to the waves, watching the occasional lightening, and hearing the roar of thunder (and my mom) in the distance (did I mention the boys were trying to throw my mom into the ocean?!)

Life couldn't get much better than this. The only damper I experienced on the trip was that my mom, sister and I were scheduled to have a massage on our last night. Well.. to make a long story short, I couldn't get one because I wasn't pregnant enough! (apparently, you can only get massages during your 2nd trimester even though I already cleared it with my OB. ) I want this baby to have the best chance at life it can get, so I got over that incident pretty quick. Dad, thanks for working so hard to make our trip possible. Everyone really enjoyed themselves. Sorry about your sunburn (yes, even tan people need sunblock... maybe you can learn a thing or two from these two white guys below!) *hehe*

First Response

We are having a baby!! It's still too early in the pregnancy to share any meaningful details, but Paul & I are so excited to share this news! We made the announcement to our families yesterday and they shared the same enthusiasm as we did. When we discussed "plans" of having a baby we found that there IS no perfect time to plan one (unless we wanted to wait until retirement)... but when Baby Rigsby decided NOW was the perfect time, we didn't argue one bit. I can't say I feel any difference right now, just increasing fatigue and breast tenderness (but that's probably more than you care to know.) We just pray for a healthy and safe pregnancy.

*Breaking the news to Mom & Dad Rigsby:

Paul "texted" a picture of this to his parents

and wrote "Lora wants to know what this means?"

Paul is always the "kidder" so it took a little convincing before they finally believed that we were really having a baby and that the "pregnancy stick" really belonged to me =)

*Breaking the news to Mom & Dad Casanova:
Paul and I put a bib on Big Bear that said "I love grandma" and one on Muffin that said "I love grandpa."

We drove to their house and let the puppies run inside like they usually do. I guess my dad just put some treats on the floor for their dogs, so BB and M ran straight for the food. Although their bibs were in plain sight, the first thing my dad said was, "Aww, Big Bear & Muffin came prepared just in time for dinner!" and my mom was just tickled to death (by Muffin, of course.) So I put two baby bottles filled with candy on the kitchen counter and told them we had a "sweet surprise." My mom thought they were a gift to them from the puppies. So we decided to just spell it out for them and I took out the First Response box with two positive pregnancy tests in it and that's when it finally sunk in!

Celebrating the Life of Mark Allen Rigsby

Mark Allen Rigsby(August 24, 1975- January 18, 2008)

slideshow tribute: www.chrisrigsby.com/markthen click on MarksShow.exe

"I'm Free"
Don't grieve for me for now I'm free

I'm following the path God laid for me.

I took his hand when I heard him call

I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day

To laugh, to love, to work or play.

Tasks left undone must stay that way.

I found that peace at close of day.

If my parting has left a void

Then fill it with remembered joy.

A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss.

Ah yes, these things I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow

I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.

My life's been full. I've savored much.

Good friends, good times,

A loved one's touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief

Don't lengthen it now with undue grief.

Lift up your hearts and share with me

God Wanted me now:

He set me free.

"Welcome to Jamaica Mon"

* newlyweds * honeymoon * Jamaica * Sandals White House * zip lines * couples massage * Rub a dub dub * horseback riding * late nights * Jamaican cigars * Jerk sauce * Dirty Bananas * Jamaican Smile * Merlot * white sand * hammocks * movies * kisses * Do Not Disturb * breakfast in bed * hot tubs * clear waters * kayak * hobbie cat * aqua bike * starfish * sleepin in * white sand *

*Faith*Hope*Love*

It's not everyday that a girl marries the man of her dreams and is able to celebrate the occassion with her closest friends and family!! The 15th of December was no exception =) We had an incredible wedding with so much laughter, some happy tears, and all the warm wishes I could ask for.

This is one of my favorite pics of my new handsome hubby =) Isn't he hottttt?!?!