Tag Archives: home

So Long to 4604 in 2014

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house

I honestly never really thought I would do it.

But it was time.

The only home that I have never known, now belongs to another family.

December 10, 2014 we closed on my childhood home at 4604 Lincoln Rd, Louisville, KY 40220.

I really never had intentions of living as an adult in that home.  Truth told: I had put down a deposit my first condo in May of 2006. About two weeks later, my mother passed away from ovarian cancer.  It was three days before my birthday. Her house, my childhood home, was paid off, in a great neighborhood and a great overall home. I was able to get my money back from the condo downpayment and move back into the place where many memories were created.

After I moved back into my childhood home, at the age of 30, I thought I may stay in the house forever and ever.

But, then I fell in love. I fell in love with a guy that was joining the Army. Army life = military life = moving every couple of years.

What a surprise it was for us to get our first duty station in Fort Knox, KY. My boyfriend, who became my husband, drove 45 minutes between our house and the place that holds the gold.

My house became our home. We met online through match.com and our first face to face meeting was at my front door.  Our first kiss was in the basement.  He proposed on one knee in that same spot.  Both of my children were conceived in that house. My son was raised in that house. Memories upon memories upon memories.

Well, hold on –

It’s not the only place I’ve lived.

I actually started my life in Mallgate apartments.  We first lived in an apartment and then moved to a townhouse at 7107 Kings Court, Louisville, KY 40207.  We didn’t move to my “childhood home” until I was seven years old.

Yes, in 1983 is when the memories started.

One of my first memories involved a trip to the emergency room.  I remember my mother driving me to our new house.  We were pulling up to the intersection of Browns Lane and Dutchman’s Lane (right in front of the hospital) and we saw my old school bus.

I pointed to it.  My mother looked.

My mother hit the car in front of us.

Of all things that could happen, I bit in my tongue and had to get stitches in my tongue. Yes, dear friends, you heard that right.

Our house at 4604 was known as the house with the steepest driveway.  My parents used to yell at kids who tried to ride their bikes down it.  Our house also had a balance beam in the back.  My father built it for me.  BEST. GIFT. EVER! Our backyard was attached to a farm, which became a golf course, and there were yearly steeplechase races. My parents loved to host gatherings.

Birthday parties. Sleepovers. Science projects. Thanksgivings. Christmas. Punishments. Prom. Graduation. Sickness. Cancer. Tragedy. Sleep. Joy. Love.

The majority of my childhood, teenhood (is that a word?!) and adulthood memories were wrapped up in that one building.  I had convinced myself that we would never part.

But I had to.

4604 JulyThe military called us this year to move to Fort Bragg, NC – home of the 82nd Airborne. When we move over the summer I had every intention of holding onto the house and renting it out. But, once all of my items and memories where removed from the house, I quickly realized that all that remained were bricks.

The memories came with me.

The house remained.

When I realized that, I was fine to sell the house and move on.

4604 sold without me ever making a trip to Louisville. I actually signed all paperwork electronically. Our family came in town the week after the official closing.  The only thing I asked was to be able to walk through the house one last time.

On Fri4604 last shotday, December 19, 2014, I met the new owners of the house.  It was a young couple with twin toddler girls. As I walked through the house one last time, I knew I did the right thing.  There were no tears shed. I was happy. I had my husband, son, and infant daughter with me and realized that as long as we are together, wherever we lay our head will be our home.

The house that Steve and Lillian built helped to mold me into the person, mother and wife I am today.  I am proud that a new family will be able to create their own memories. I am excited that my family will be able to travel the world. I know that regardless of where we go, 4604 and the memories will always remain.

Week One As a First Time Mother

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Who knew that once you turn one day old your schedule becomes so busy!  On Monday, all before noon, Maximus met his pediatrician, my ob-gyn, the hearing check lady, the nursery gals, got a circumcision and hospital photos.  Whew!  During the tests, they discovered that Maximus had jaundice.  And while you don’t want to hear about your child being diagnosed with anything, at least this was treatable and common with 60% of babies.  Luckily, though, instead of taking him out of the room and into the nursery under the phototherapy light, they brought in what looked like a baby sized heating pad that lit up.  He had to wear it under his onesie at all times but it at least let him stay near to us.

We were discharged on Tuesday, June 5.  Everyone said discharge would be before 12:00pm.  Milton and I anxiously watched the minutes on the clock pass.  The cafeteria called asking for my lunch and dinner order.  I said I wouldn’t need it since I would be going home today, but they took it any way.  All we needed was for the pediatrician to come in and say we could go home.   Noon came.  He (the doc) didn’t.  Lunch came.  He didn’t.  I had been encouraged to walk around the floor in order to avoid getting blood clots.  Around 1:30pm I went for a stroll.  I became more frustrated because the majority of the floor was empty.  All the other pregnant women had been able to go home with their babies.

Little old me was already sick of bed rest and hospitals and now I was the only patient still waiting to be discharged.  Sadness started to set in.  The nurse finally called my doctor and he said he was on his way.  (Now why did you have to be called to come in and release me?)  He finally arrives and says go home.  However, Maximus’ bilirubin levels did not decrease so we’d have to go home with a phototherapy bed that fit in his crib.  I felt like Maximus was sleeping under his own tanning bed.  I hated not being able to hold him as much as I wanted to, but knew the more he was under the lights, the better he would be.

Our first day home felt like we were finally family.  Ma, pa and baby were all reunited and it felt so good.  Maximus loves to breast feed and thought that he should breast feed every hour on the hour throughout the night!  It felt great to connect with my child, but it was also very tiring!

On Wednesday morning we went to hospital to have his bilirubin levels checked again.  This was done by pricking his heel and taking blood.  I knew they did this in the nursery, but to watch your own son go through the process is something else.  He just cried and cried and cried and all we could do was watch him. We came home, took some newborn pics and then Milton’s dad came in town to hang out with his first grandchild.

Thursday morning was the same thing with taking blood. This time though, they needed three vials so we watched Maximus yell three times as long.  Luckily by Friday, his bilirubin levels decreased and the “tanning bed” was taken away. Milton and I were so happy when they told us the news – it was as if Maximus scored his first touchdown and we were cheering in the stands.

Milton’s mother, brother and best friend Rob came by over the weekend.

Week one of being a new first time mother has definitely been action packed.  Feeding, crying, dirty diapers, crying, feeding, dirty diapers and just a little sleep are part of my daily schedule.  But, I have been BLESSED to have such a supportive husband that wants to also be a supportive father.  Often times, I’ll breast feed Maximus and Milton will change his diaper.  Milton also makes sure I get in a nap in the middle of the day so my body has time to rest. He loves to hold and bond with his son. We are in love and in awe with what we have created and can’t believe it has only been one week!

Almost There & Sad About Zumba

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Hooray, I am 31 weeks and 4 days pregnant!  To me, this (and every day) is a milestone because I entered the hospital at 27 weeks and slept on a labor and delivery bed for several days. If everything goes as planned – and I try not to get my hopes up – I’ll get to go home this weekend.  This is important for two reasons.  1) Our Baby Shower is supposed to be on Sunday and 2) Our 1 year wedding anniversary is on April 30.  I would love to sleep in my husband’s arms on that day.

My sole purpose in life is to lay.  If I’m in bed, my doctor thinks I’m a rockstar!  I haven’t had major contractions since Easter Sunday.  I feel and look fine. My weight is at an all-time high 141.9 pounds.  (Wowsers, that Ensure must really be working) Everyone says I’m all belly, and I believe them. Well, I WAS at 141.9 pounds, but that was right after Milton and I ate Red Lobster.  The weight has now gone down to 138.

Today I had an ultrasound.  Baby Turner is at 4 pounds.  YEAH BABY!  All looked well.  The only things I noticed was that his head was very close to my pubic bone which means he’s sitting LOW!

This is an emotional week for me. For the past six months I’ve been working directly with the KY Derby Festival to bring a Zumba event to their Fest-a-Ville.  When I say I’ve put in a lot of work, I put in A LOT of work.  When the doctor said I’d be on bed rest for four weeks, the first thing I thought about was not being able to perform at the event.  Hours, days, months of preparation and work – everyone else will be doing Zumba, I’ll be in bed watching a rerun of Shark Tank with Milton.

Now, I could have been the type of person that backed out of organizing when I knew I wouldn’t be there, but I’ve built a wonderful relationship with the KY Derby Festival and know how many other opportunities can come from the event.  It definitely sucks that I won’t be there, especially watching all of my Zumba friends that are overly excited about the event.  I hope the event will be a success, but I also hope that people give me credit and show appreciation for putting the event together.

I guess Milton, Baby Turner and I can have our own jam in our room.  Well, maybe not.  Maybe Baby Turner and I will just watch Milton entertain us with his funny dances!

60 Hours

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ACU
60 Hours

I was like a kid running into a toy story.  I just couldn’t wait and was so excited!  I had to wait until 10:00 at night, but it was definitely worth it.  I pulled up, parked my car and waited at the bottom of the escalator.  And I waited some more, wondering if I’d missed him.

And then there he was!  First Lieutenant Milton Turner caught my eye, flashed me a smile and embraced me wearing his ACU uniform.  He hasn’t been home since July 3rd and was only going to be home for 60 hours. It felt great to have him in our house and to sleep next to him in our bed.  Although I won’t admit it to him, it even felt great to see his stinky socks on the floor.

We ate some of his favorite foods like Wick’s Pizza, Lonnie’s and Wild Eggs.  He cooked one of his amazing meals. The rest of the time we just enjoyed each other, caught up on some of his missed television shows and just enjoyed being loved by the other person.

Although his abs are more chiseled (thank to Army PT every morning), he still has the same personality and tells the same goofy jokes.  He still leaves the light on when he leaves a room and still rolls over every morning to give me a good morning kiss.  

That’s my husband and as much as I knew I missed him, I didn’t realize how bad it was until he was here.  I then realized it again once he was gone.  After dropping him off at the airport and returning home, I felt something was missing.  He was missing.  It was no longer the same.

Unfortunately he won’t be back for good until December (it was originally beginning of November).  Insert sad face.  But, luckily thanks to Christopher Columbus I get to see him again this weekend.  Insert a smile! If you love somebody, let him/her know.  If you’re not spending quality time with him/her, take advantage of the minutes on the clock while they’re still there.  None of us are perfect, but all of us deserve to be loved.  Remember, love comes in all shapes and sizes.  Don’t limit your definition of love to someone of the opposite (or same) sex.  Love can equally be experienced through family, friends, volunteering and following your passion.  God loves you and so do I – just don’t try to crawl up in my bed in the middle of the night and snuggle with me!

October 2011