Happy Spring!

Happy Spring! First, we want to wish the Hahn Triplets a Happy 2^nd Birthday, we love you. It seems like yesterday we were getting the call they were coming and now they are two. We miss them so much and look forward to being home permanently next year to spend more time with them.

Speaking of the house, we are ready to close on the land finally. All we need now is to sign the paperwork and for the City of Pittsburgh to send us the deed.  We have sent our plans to the builder for cost analysis. We made a couple of adjustments to the plan the engineers will need to fix on our architect’s original draft.  We added a nursery to the top floor in anticipation we will eventually be pregnant. Apparently our architect felt the need to put our laundry room in the kitchen, so we are also having that removed.  The way things are going, the first shovel will go in the ground in June or July. We are so excited.

So, I am preparing to retire next year. I have been taking a certification class through Arts Institute of Pittsburgh for Portrait Photography. The classes have been challenging, but I feel more and more prepared to make the leap to full-time photographer. My certification will also allow me to hold seminars and teach workshops to junior and senior high kids for photography as well. This is something I am already doing here in Utah at the Arts Academy.

As for baby news, Steve and I met with a specialist on Friday, March 30^th.  I am a good candidate for tubal reversal. However, it would a major surgery and I would be under general anesthesia for three hours while they re-connect my tubes. Following surgery, I would be off my feet for ten days. I am not even allowed to drive. 

Eight weeks after surgery, we would be able to start trying to get pregnant. Our rock in the road is financial. We have dumped most everything we have right now into our property and getting the house built. The cost of the surgery is $6600; they will not even schedule the surgery until the fee is paid in full. Another factor is I am running out of time. I turn 40 in August; my probability to get pregnant drops drastically and the risk for Down Syndrome goes up. We are looking at creative ways to get around the issue, but so far we are stuck. After a lot of discussion, we have decided to do one more round of IVF in June instead of having my tubes re-tied. Our IVF doctor will allow us to pay slowly and the risk factor of being under anesthesia would not be as bad. IVF is under ten minutes as opposed to three hours.

Steve learned recently his call center will be the hub for the West on business accounts. He will no longer be servicing the regular customer.  He seems very excited about the change. It is a new adventure for him. He is also continuing his education and preparing to test for his CISCO certification. He plans to have this completed by the time we move to Pittsburgh next year.

Deklend and Aliya are thriving; they are both having a great year. The kids are currently in Kentucky to spend Spring Break with their father. They just learned their Dad has Military orders for Germany. The kids will not see him for three years.

Deklend was recently accepted to the Music Conservancy Program at the Salt Lake Performing Arts High School. This week, we completed his registration.  He is taking Piano I, Guitar II, Elements of Music, Honors Math, Honors Language Arts and Geography for his first term.

Aliya has made fantastic improvements this year. Her artistic ability to draw amazes me. Specifically, when she is drawing dress and clothing designs. She has a fantastic imagination. Her drawings are very well proportioned as well. I imagine a day will come that I will have one of her drawings made. I can visualize myself wearing some of her outfits.

I hope you are having a great Spring and soon we will be home for good. 

An Overdue Update...

Here I sit watching my Detroit Red Wings take on Nashville and it crossed my mind that I have not posted an entry on our family blog in a long time. I am a slacker, a busy slacker, but slacker nonetheless.

These last couple months have been non-stop for Steve and I. We are steadily preparing for our move to Pittsburgh in one-way or another. Steve recently received news that his call center will become the new business hub for Verizon.  He will begin working with IT divisions of business clients instead of standard customers calling in from around the West. He is very excited about the change.

Steve and I have decided when we leave next year I will make the jump to full-time photographer. I will “retire” from law enforcement. I am terrified and excited at the same time. It feels like a huge risk. I am forced to evaluate my skill as a photographer and determine if I can make a living in the new field. My current clients lately have been reinforcing the move is right, but I am still very nervous.

To prepare, I have enrolled in a photography certification program through Arts Institute of Pittsburgh Online. I have also been working on a business plan to put in place once we move.  I have so many ideas and fairly good idea how to put them together to be successful.

In addition to school and work, Magic Mirror Images is picking up and I am teaching photography/yearbook to eighth graders at the Arts Academy. The Arts Academy is in the middle of their Gala preparation. So, I have spent some extra time at the school working with students to take pictures for the newsletter and playbill for Gala. I have to say I am pretty moved every time I see the work my student’s produce using the skills I have taught them. I believe I will continue to teach when we move to Pittsburgh; workshops and such for parents and kids.

On the baby front, Steve and I are waiting for an appointment this month to have my tubes untied. My doctor has cleared me to have the procedure, but we are waiting on a specialist at the University of Utah to set up my appointment to do the procedure. The process to have this done has been a little frustrating. There is only one office in the State of Utah that does the micro-procedure called Reanistimosis. The office lost my records the first time they were sent and my doctor had to resend them. When I called to set up the appointment for the procedure, the office manager said the specialist had my records and it could be two weeks before we received an appointment. So, now we wait.  A month after the  procedure is finished we can start trying.

Last month, we thought I might be pregnant due to some obvious symptoms. Even though my home test was negative, my doctor was convinced I needed a blood test to confirm. After a week late, nature let me know I was just stressed out and needed a break.

Deklend and Aliya are looking forward to spring break. They are due to spend a week in Tennessee with their father before he deploys to Germany.  The break will be good for them. They have both worked very hard this year to do well in school.

Deklend has recently been accepted to the Salt Lake City Performing Arts High School for his music. The school only accepts 300 students a year. He is pretty excited about going to the school.

I have decided I am also going to take a vacation that week by staying home and doing nothing, but stuff around the house. I am noticing lately that I am overly critical about little things. Steve and I agree it is most likely related to my job and a break would do me some good.