OH BABY!!!

We are very happy to announce that we are expecting our first child!!! We've been praying about this moment since we got married asking God for timing and direction...He has answered our prayers. Let me just warned you that this is going to be a weird post; there are a lot of things in my head that come out all at once so please bear with me... I know that by now most of you know about our pregnancy but I've been so busy that just now I have the time to write about.
It all started on August 25th; I was late for a week on my period (TMI sorry)but had refused to take a pregnancy test with the fear it was going to be negative... all day at work I was thinking " What if I am pregnant?!... What if I'm not?" so I left work right at 5 and stopped at the Dollar store for 2 pregnancy test... I got home and thought I would test in the morning since it's probably going to be better... as I was fixing something to eat before I went to Bible Study I just could not stop walking around the house like crazy and thinking about the two pregnancy tests I had in my purse. Finally I just got up and went to the bathroom and tested... waited, waited, waited, but after 1 minute I could not wait anymore and HAD to stare at the test (like that was going to affect the result) by then the + sign started to show up and I could not believe it... I waited the three minutes and it was still there "The blue + sign"... Oh my God... Lord, is it true?!, Is this a joke? I am going to be mad if it is... then I could only fall on my knees and pray and thank God for His gift. I had to get out of the house say bye to Tyler (he was outside cutting the grass) and leave before he could see it in my face. I was running late for Bible Study so I just waived bye to him. The whole time at Bible Study I was in La-la land... could not stop thinking if the test was really positive or if it was wrong and I should not be so cheap and buy the test somewhere else but at the Dollar store. Once I got home I took the second test and it was also positive... I knew I had to tell Tyler at that moment or he would know something was up just by looking at me. I put both POSITIVE pregnancy test with the "If your test is positive" instructions from the box on his nightstand and on top of that a note that said: "Guess what?!" I sat in the bed and pretended to be reading a magazine (really I was just keeping my head down until he found the note) He finally saw the note and asked what was that about... Then he picked it up and looked at me in disbelieve and proceeded to say: "ARE YOU SEROIUS?!" as I answered: "Now you know as much as I know... You're going to be a daddy!!" We were so happy and could hardly believe it.
At that moment we decided not to tell anyone until his family knew; we were going to see them for lunch on Sunday so it was perfect. Sunday came around and my sister-in-law and her family could not make it for lunch so it we had to wait an extra week and keep our secret. It was so hard to keep the good news a secret that we called my family in Costa Rica and told them the news. Finally Sunday lunch arrived and we had made cards for each member of the family to tell them our Baby news... It was a very special time and everyone was happy for us followed by a "Finally!!" I guess they had been waiting a while for our baby LOL!
I am now 9 weeks into the pregnancy and have had no signs of morning sickness, which I am very thankfull for; however, I've been feeling very hungry and very tired lately. I am not complaining, believe me! I rather sleep all day than throw up hahaha. We went for our first appointment last week and we got our first picture of Baby Kepner (or Peanut as we call him/her now) the doctor said everything looked great; the baby is in good shape and size and we have nothing to worry about. I guess this is where I should tell you I had some spotting early in the pregnancy and I was freaking out about it; but now I feel a lot better and haven't had any spotting since my 6th week.
As you can imagine I will be posting on the pregnancy subject for the next few months trying to keep everyone informed. Sorry again for taking so long to post the good news... And now I'll leave you with Peanut's first picture. S/he is the one between the two + signs.

New and Impproved

Hello there! I know it's been a little while since I posted last but we've been kind of busy around the house with home improvements.
We are very excited that we finally got the carpet replaced in the three bedrooms... It looks so nice and we are very happy with it. We re-arranged some of the furniture so it looks like we just moved in LOL. Yay for new carpet!!!
Here it comes the big project... ready?! OK, here it goes... We are re-finishing our kitchen cabinets. Yes, WE as an Tyler and I. It is something that we've been thinking about since we moved in. We don't want (can't) spend $7000 on new cabinets so we are doing it ourselves. It is not as much hard work as it is time consuming, we have only done 4 doors... but we haven't been working on them as much as we should be. Our deadline is September 10Th because my dad is coming to visit from Costa Rica on Sept. 13Th. We're trying to get everything ready.
As I mentioned, my daddy is coming to Pensacola to visit from my homeland Costa Rica. We are very very excited that he finally gets to visit us. We are planning on spending a few days with our family in North Carolina and Birmingham; we are also going to a baseball game in Atlanta (Go Braves!). I can't wait to take my dad to the beach, downtown, church, and places we like to just hang out.
That's what we've been up to these days. Home improvements and getting ready for a family visit. Hopefully I will post again soon with pictures of our trip to NC and with my dad in town. Please pray for Tyler as he prepares to spend two weeks with his father-in-law hahahaha

'Till then...

Cool stuff to share

Hello there!!!
This is a quick post cause I just want to share with you some really cute and cool stuff that some friends of mine have going on. I know we all like to give unique stuff for b-day presents, baby showers, or just because presents. So here are a few ideas you and your "present-receiver" will definitely enjoy.
First, I have to tell you about my sister-in-law... she is very creative and came up with this cool idea for hair bows. Her website is the Ella Bella Bowtique Check it out and get you some super cute bows...
Now I have to tell you about his new website called The Prissy Pink Polka Dot by Christy Tyner "Where all your prissy dreams come true!" I got two luggage tags from P3 and they are the cutest most unique tags I'd ever seen. I love the way they stand out in my suitcase and the fact that no one has one like it.
Anyways, like I said these two websites are awesome and feature great presents for you or a loved one. Check 'em out and let me know what you got!

Jack vs. The Ball

Many people have asked how Jack is doing after the dog attack and if he's back to normal. We really appreciate your concern. Thank God our Jack is back to normal, just being himself jumping around, barking at people he sees from the window and playing with his stuffed animal Pedro. Recently we had to clear out the closet in one of our bedrooms ("the office") due to a problem with the A/C. Once I got everything out Jack had to sniff everything (he's very nosey) and then he found it... "The Ball." It's my exercise ball that I had stored in that closet; Jack loves to play with the soccer ball, but this is much bigger; he was so curious about it that one night we heard him in the bedroom barking and making weird noises... I called him and he stayed in the room so I went looking for him. He was trying to get the ball so bad and he just could not get it under control (like he does with the soccer ball).

He gets frustrated with the fact that the ball bounces back at him and "attacks" him so he makes all kinds of noises and does his best to bite it...but he can't. We let him play with the ball for a little while but then he gets really really loud and we can't stand it, so we put the ball back in the bedroom and close the door. For the next 10 to 15 minutes he stays at the door trying to get it open. He's so cute that we had to get him on video... So here it is: Jack vs. The Ball

4th of July

Hello to All!!! Hope everyone had a good long weekend and happy 4th of July. We had a great time with family during this holiday. First we went to P&J's house for an "All American" lunch. Burgers, home-made ice cream, chips, dip, fruit, lots of good desserts. After lunch we played Buzzword; this was such a fun game to play with the family. We laughed and laughed and laughed... At around 6:30 we went downtown for a picnic and fireworks. I loved the fireworks; they seems to come up with something better every year.

Saturday we went to the farmer's market downtown and bought some fresh (and cheap) veggies... also a plant and 1/4 lb of fudge... that was the best part hahaha. We also had brunch at the Coffee Cup and ran some errands in the afternoon. We had a great time just hanging out and not doing anything particularly especial. Sunday we went to church and then to lunch at the in-laws' house where we again had lots of food and dessert.

Over all it was a great weekend full of good food, and great company. Hopefully next year I can celebrate this holiday as a US citizen... I have decided I am going to apply for citizenship next month and since it takes the government 6 months to approve (or deny) then I'll have plenty of time to think about it. (I'll post detail of the application later)

I have nothing against this country; it's just not the place I grew up in, not my native language, not my flag, not many other things. However, it is where I live now, where I work, have a house, and most importantly it is where my husband is from; his land, flag, people, language, etc.

"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." (Gen. 2:24) This is a great country, a place where we have decided to live our lives and have our family. Unless we hear from God that He wants us to move, here is where we are going to grow old 'till death do us apart.

There are test I have to take to become a citizen, but nothing too crazy or that I haven't done before. I'll keep you posted with my "Becoming a Citizen" Adventure... for now, we are thankful for this country and its people. We also pray for the upcoming election and the future of this country that sets an example for the other countries in the world. If you can vote, please do so... you have no right to complain unless you vote.

This is all for now... here is a picture of the two of us downtown... not very good but the only one we took.

Viva Las Vegas!!

Yes, you guessed it... we went to Las Vegas for Memorial Day Weekend. Our friends Juan Carlos and Veronica live there and they invited us so we decided to accept their invitation and fly across country for the first time. We left Friday 23 and got back Tuesday 27. We had a great time... it was so awesome to see our friends, who we hadn't seen in 3 years. Since we got there Friday night, our friends picked us up at the airport and we went for a drive to the Strip... it was very overwhelming to see all the lights and the tons of people walking around. Traffic was terrible, and crazy people everywhere.

Saturday we got up had breakfast and it was out to the strip... we visited the Wynn, The Palazzo, and the The Venetian. We took our time and saw everything, walked around the casinos, the shops (awesome shops by the way) and had lunch at the San Marcos Plaza followed by a Gondola ride. These three casinos were awesome and actually I decided that The Venetian was my favorite of all of them. We also went to a show Saturday night at the MGM called KA by Cirque Du Soleil.. very cool show - highly recommend it if you're visiting Las Vegas.

Sunday we had a late start since we were kind of tired from all the Saturday activities; so we made it for an early lunch at an awesome French restaurant in Paris Casino... we walked around the Casino and also took pictures at the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. We also went to The MGM Mirage, Caesars Palace and Bellagio.., Obviously saw the Fountain Show and it was soooo much better than in T.V. We had some awesome food at different restaurants in these hotels as well...

Monday was our last day to enjoy Vegas so we got up early, and went to the New York, M&M Store/Factory, Las Vegas Sign, The Stratosphere, Luxor, Excalibur, and back to the house for some homemade pasta by chef J.C. Kvedaras... He makes an awesome Carbonara for which Tyler got the recipe so I am excited about having a nice meal prepared by my husband. There is some other stuff that I left out, like the fact that I played video poker (only played $1) and won $26, we played a little Craps, Roulette, Texas Hold 'em, and others but no big or crazy amounts spent... our theme was "just for fun"... and that's how we kept it fun, cool, and cheap haha.

I recorded a video of the Bellagio Fountains... That show is really awesome! I took the video with my picture camera so excuse the lack of good quality. You can check out the rest (all) of our pictures... just click here.

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day Weekend...

Dog Attack...

So it's been a few weeks since I posted a new entry and I finally have the time to just sit down and write. First of all, April 27was our 5th year Wedding Anniversary. We had a nice dinner at the Melting Pot and exchange presents... Our big present to each other was a riding lawn mower; weird, I know! But now everyone in our house is happy; Tyler gets the yard done quicker and I am happy the grass is nice and short. We also decided to have a $20 budget for each other's presents to see what we could come up with... We are NOT the crafty type but ended up with really cute ideas. I made Tyler a wooden organizer for his cell, iPod, glasses, wallet, etc. He made me a picture frame in a purse shape which also works as a box to put things inside... hard to explain.

Now to the subject that has kept us busy, sad, and worried for the two week. Our dog, Jack, was attacked by the neighbors dog last Friday. I was getting ready to go to work, at around 7:30am, and let Jack out to "get busy" in the back yard, OUR fenced backyard. Jack is a pretty territorial type of dog and to prove it he goes #1 against the fence's boards on each side there's a dog next door. He knows there are big dogs at the other side so he pees and runs. Well, no such a luck this last time. I was standing at the back door watching him and called him to come inside when he was peeing against the fence when all of the sudden I saw in trying to pull back from the fence (like his leg got caught) and crying so I started running towards him when I saw him being pulled to the other side of the fence from underneath by the German Shepperd from next door.

Jack is a 13 pound miniature Schnauzer, when the other dog got him from OUR side of the fence unto his side one of the board of the fence fell on the ground and I was able to look into the neighbors back yard where I could hear Jack screaming, and saw the GS bite Jack and wouldn't stop. At that point the neighbors came out and tried few times to get the dog away from Jack but he kept coming back, until Jack fell in the pool and figured out that was the only place where he was safe and stayed at the pool step. I asked the neighbor if I could go around to get Jack out of the pool; run inside grabbed a towel and went to get jack out of the pool. Every time I tried to touch him he would scream cause something hurt; I finally put the towel under him and picked him up that way. He was shaking and bleeding so I rushed him to the Animal Hospital.

When I got to the hospital the doctor told me that he was going to wait until Jack came out of his "shock" and then check on him. He didn't say if Jack was going to make it; he just told me to leave my phone number and he would call me with updates. At around 10:00 am the doctor called me and told me they were not very successful checking all the injuries cause jack was STILL in shock and tried to bite them when they tried to touch the injuries. Then he said that one of the wounds was so deep that punctured a whole on Jack's stomach and he had to have surgery by the afternoon... still not saying if Jack was going to make it. "We'll do our best", he said. To make matters worse the dog bite had moved one of Jack's kidneys to his back and part of the surgery was to put the kidney back in its place and hope it all worked out.

Long story and lots of details... Jack was in ICU for three days with lots of pain killers and drugs to avoid infections all with an I.V as well as food and water. He finally came home Monday and it was really sad to see him walk around sleeping all the time and just not being himself. Here is a picture of jack when we went to see him at the hospital after his surgery... poor little guys was so druged that his tongue was sticking out and there was a puddle of drool under his face.

Thank God that Jack is doing a lot better now; he's home still taking antibiotics and pain killers depending on the day. We are now in "talks" with the neighbor who's dog attacked Jack. He doesn't feel like the attack was his fault because many dumb reason like: "dogs are dogs", "my dog thought your dog was a squirrel", "your dog came into my property", and others. We'll probably taking him to the Small Claims Court to get him to pay for the vet bill. I'll update on this issue as we progress... We have to take Jack to the Vet Wednesday to have the 15 staples on his belly removed. I have the feeling it won't be an easy task.