update!!

Well its been a WHILE since Ive last updated. I will be 36 weeks tomorrow, which is 9 months :) We are SO ready to meet our little princess. Ive been in the hospital 2 more times because of contractions, one where they had to give me 2 shots to stop them and then i was put on bedrest.. :( I was only on bedrest for a week because i didn't dilate and i took myself off :) Last night, Mom, Tracy, Hillary, Leah and I took a road trip to Marietta, where we ate at Scalini's Italian Restaurant. I ate the eggplant parmeasean, which has a 80% chance of starting labor within 48 hours; We are counting down!!! Ive had contractions pretty regular for about 2 weeks, but they werent strong enough yet, but after dinner they became stronger. Hopefully, we will meet our baby girl this weekend!!! This morning, TJ put Hadleighs carseat in the truck and the bags are packed and laying by the door!! Going to church tonight then going home to bake some cakes and hoping that my water breaks tonight.. FINGERS CROSSED!!! Please contiue to pray for the safety of our baby girl, and an easy delivery!! THANKS

The Bruces

7 months!!

Well.... Im 7 months pregnant, 27 weeks and Im so ready to hold my baby girl!! I now have sciatic, which is also very painful :) The doctor told me since I was so small that I would be in a lot of pain the rest of my pregnancy.. GREAT!!! Oh well!! God is GOOD and I know my little princess will be worth every second of the pain I've gone through and will go through!!

~Candice

Well we are FINALLY registered at Babies R Us!!! YAY.. It was a LONG evening but it is now completed and we only have Target left :) TJ registered for everything that said "Daddy's Little Girl" or "I Love my Daddy". It was so cute.. He also registered her a pink potty with her OWN toilet paper holder. I went thinking I was going to register for a Lime Green Stroller/Carseat, Playard, and ect BUT TJ said that his little girl wanted pink. So we registered for the Graco Stulus Travel System Stroller. It is pink and and has pink, baby blue, lime green, and blown polka dots. It is soo cute!!! After a while, my feet started to swell and myt back pains started. Guess I should have registered as soon as we found out that Hadleigh was a GIRL :) BUT you live and you learn :)
Anyways.. everything has been going well. No more kidney stones, but the back pain is still there. My feet started swelling Saturday at Michael and Toris wedding so I guess that should be fun.. I was 26 weeks on Monday and next Monday I will be in my 3rd trimester and 7 months pregnant. I am so ready for our little Princess to arrive. We are truley blessed and Im so thankful that God choose TJ and I to be Hadleigh's parents. I cannot wait to begin this journey. I know we will have our hard times but it will all be well worth it!! I thank God everyday for giving me TJ and the giving us Hadleigh :)
Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we anxiously wait for our little princess..
May EVERYONE have a BLESSED day!!
~Candice

Mother's Day!!

Hope everyone had a Blessed Mother's Day.. I did! Knowing that my precious little princess is getting bigger in my belly made my day.. TJ worked which was soo not fair but I called him cring at about 6:30 because I had the worse Charley Horse and He tole me to go get some water, when I walked in the kitchen I found a BEAUTIFULLY wrapped present on the table with a bow and a card. I opened the card to find the sweetest note EVER.. I was bawling!!! I have been blessed with the BEST HUSBAND ever and I wouldnt trade what I have with the world. I went off to church, where my brother told me to close my eyes and he suprised me with a necklace and earrings for my 1st mothers day!! I am soo blessed!!!! After church we went to eat, went to visit the gravesite where my Beautiful, Greatly missed GRANKY is buried, then we went to look at laptops for my daddy, then to go get Hadleigh's curtains made, then to eat diner.. I had a wonderful day with my Mom (which is the best), dad, and papa!!!

Another Day at the Hospital

Friday morning I woke up cramping in my lower stomach.. I got up , took a shower and started off to work. The cramping got worse and then the back pain started. The pain got worse so I called the doctors office when they opened.. They told me to come in for a urine sample because they thought it was just a kidney infections. As I arrived to the doctors office the pain seemed to be getting worse.. I went in to give a sample which then had blood in it. I then started worrying, i was put in a room when the midwife and nurse comes in (rather fast) and asked me if I've had any bleeding. I said "no" and all i could think of is when we lost our first baby. I began praying and I could feel the steam coming off my face. She then told me to go straight to the hospital because I had kidney stones.. GREAT, I thought and as soon as she walked out of the room I lost it.. I drove over to the Birth care and was put straight in a room and hooked up to the monitors. Hadleigh was going crazy, which was good!! Later I found out that the kidney stones started contractions.. SO every few minutes, I was feeling them. I had a lot of company, which was great and then I also had friends farther away that called every hour..which was GREAT!!! Im so blessed to have a wonderful husband, family and friends. After I was released, I still was passing the stones which were very painful... Actually, Im still passing them!! My back pain hasnt subsided either, but the contractions have :) Thanks for all the prayers!! Hopefully the antibotics will help my kidneys so the back pain will stop and the rest of my pregnancy will go by smoother.. I cannot WAIT till Hadleigh is here :)

TJ's Finger

I always call TJ on my way home from work and yesterday he didnt answer, so I called my mom. She went on to tell me that TJ cut his finger while cutting down magnetic signs at work and it was really bad.. I hung up with her and tried TJ again, he answered that time and I could tell he was in a lot of pain. He went on to tell me that he cut the corner of his left pointer finger and its looked awful and he ccouldnt get the bleeding to stop. He said he almost passed out, which is very unusual because hes a firefighter and sees worse all the time. After a few minutes I recieve a txt that was a picture of a HEAVY blood trail. I was so nervous to actually see how bad his finger actual was. When he finally got home he had it wrapped up and of course wouldnt let me see it. We went up to the house, where our moms came and tried to get him to take it off so they could clean it up and see how bad it actual was. When he tried to take it of he relized that it was stuck, so needless to say it took him forever to get it off. When he finally got it off, blood started squirting out and pulsating. So we were then off to the hospital. Tracy, his mom, works at Morgan Memorial so we went there and waited for alittle while. They said that he amputated the side of his finger off and they had to get the bleeding to stop now. The doctor said they were going to have to cauterize it. When that didnt work they tried it one more time, which then stopped most of the bleeding. Then they wrapped it up and sent us home. They also said that the meat on his finger would not grow back, but the skin would.. TJ was in a lot of pain last night and kept me up most of the night.. Hopefully, his finger will heal fast and be less painful!!

~23 weeks~

Well I went to the specialist this morning because they thought Hadleigh had VSD!!. Praise the Lord she dont, as far as he could tell.. He said that she looks very healthy and that she was a chuncky babe :) She weighs 1lb and 5 oz and is measuring 24 weeks!! They couldnt believe how active she was.. I told them that I could because she is always kicking, flipping and moving around.
After the ultrasound, I had an appointment with Dr Larrimore. She said that she was very happy so far with Hadleighs growth. She still doesnt know what is causing the back pain, but she ordered me some patches to try.. She also said that small women have a lot more pains during pregnacy, so it could just be one of those weird pains.. Other than that she said everything looks great and I go back in 4 weeks!
Thanks so much for all the prayers.. THEY HAVE BEEN ANSWERED AND WE ARE SO THANFUL.. I have been a nervous wreck these past 4 weeks. Please continue with the prayers as Hadleigh finishes growing. We cannot wait until she makes her presence..

~The Bruce's

Well a lots happened since I last wrote. I am now 22 weeks and showing BIG TIME :) I left Wednesday for the beach with Tracy, Hillary, Trent and Dylan and had a GREAT time.. It was so relaxing to just lay by the pool and not worry about anything. It was alittle annoying to have everyone stare.. I guess wondering if I was fat or pregnant, but we still had a wonderful time!! Well on Wednesday evening Hadleigh's baby bed was suppose to be delivered by Fed Ex, so I continuously called TJ to remind him to check on it. I had a feeling that he would have it together when we got home, but had no clue of what was in store for me. When we pulled in the driveway on Sunday Evening I noticed that TJ had 3 hanging ferns on my front porch and 2 on my back porch!! They were SO pretty! Then I walked up the steps to find a flowerbed made and full of flowers and my pot I got for Christmas all made up. It was such a WONDERFUL surprise! When I walked in the house the first thing I did was go upstairs to Hadleigh's room to see if he put her bed together. When I opened the door I was speechless... TJ and my mom (grandmomma) had painted Hadleigh's room light green and her doors and switches were painted pink. It looks AMAZING!!! While Mom and TJ were painting, Toney (papa) was putting her crib together. Her room looks better than anything I had ever dreamed of.
I am so blessed, in so many ways. I have a faithful and Wonderful husband who I adore, a father and mother who raised me to be the women I am today, a brother who was there for me at all times, a father and mother in law who have welcomed me into their family and now treats me as their own, brother and sister in laws who I love so much, and a baby who is everything Ive ever dreamed of, and one who I love so much already and have never even held her. God is so amazing and I thank him everyday for everything he has given me!!!

HADLEIGH MICHELLE

Well yesterday I had my "extensive ultrasound", the one that they check and make sure Hadleigh's brain and organs have developed correctly.. Everything looks good and she is measuring 19 weeks and 3 days and she weighs 10 ounces!!! I can't get her out of my mind.. I thank God every day for this beautiful princess growing in my belly!! My prayer is that in the remainder of my pregnacy that God will show me everything I need to know about raising Hadleigh to be a Godly girl.. I am about to start reading a lot of books and I ask that everyone will keep TJ and I in your prayers as we seek God in learning everything there is to know about being Godly parents and raising Hadleigh!!

Thanks for all your prayers for my health. Please keep them coming!!!


Love
The Bruce's

Update..

Well I figured I would give everyone an update... Monday night at about 10 I started throwing up and threw up 13 times. My mom took me to the ER to get fluids. My blood pressure was 78/61 which is REALLY LOW.. They started fluids, checked Hadleigh's heartbeat, did a pelvic exam, took blood, did an ultrasound, and at about 12 I was admitted. After I had 2 1/2 bags of fluids they sent me to Birthcare. They checked my temp and it was 100.2, so they called Dr. Larrimore and she said that wasnt good. She checked my files and noticed that I havent really gained any weight during pregnancy then looked at my bloodwork (which the ER said looked fine). She found out that I was really low on electrolytes, potassium, and my fat cells. They started giving me those through the IV. She also found out the reason I wasnt gaining weight is because I have too much acid in my stomach and it was eating all my fat cells. My body was having to break down other things to feed Hadleigh, she said this really wasnt good for me or her. So now im on Zantac to hopefully get rid of the acid, and on all my nausea medicines so that way im not throwing up at all. I go to the doctor today at 3 to get a check up.. Hopefully everything will be fine.. OH and Hadleigh is just perfect. Everytime they put the doppler on my belly we heard her Perfect Heartbeat.
Thanks for all your prayers and please continue..
~Candice

It's a GIRL!!

Yesterday we found out that we were having a little GIRL!! We are soo excited!! She looked perfect. We are naming her Hadleigh Michelle Bruce! Michelle is after me (my middle name) and TJs aunt who passed away due to a car wreck when he was in 2nd grade. Hadleigh will be the 1st Bruce girl since her :) Everyone said that Bruce's dont make girls, BUT this Bruce did and Im sooo excited! I couldnt even sleep last night. Just thinking about what she will look like? Will she have hair? Will she look more like her momma or her wonderful, handsome daddy? But I do know she will be perfect just the way she is because God created her just for TJ and I. We are so blessed! Please continue praying for the Hadleigh as she grows big enough to join us!! I can't even imagine how i will feel when the day gets closer because im already beside myself now!!!

Love,
The Bruce's

16 weeks (yesterday)

Well, Yesterday was 16 weeks for me. TJ felt the baby move last night!! It was being very active (yes i did drink my 1st Mountain Dew), so i told TJ that I could really feel it moving tonight. SO he said "babe, hold your breath". So he woud look at me and nod everytime he felt it and he was correct everytime. It was soo amazing. I thought it would be too early for him to feel it but he said he felt it when i did. HE was soo excited and went straight to the phone to call my mom to tell her..
I am soo ready to know for sure what we are having!! I cant wait to start buying stuff and getting the room ready. More than that I can't wait to hold this precious gift God is giving to TJ and I. We are definitely blessed beyond measure!!

Gods been Good

Well with all that has been going on there is one song that keeps coming up in my head.
Gods been Good! ( here are the lyrics)

Lately I've been looking back, along this winding road
To the old familiar markers, of the mercies I have known
I know it may sound simple, but It's more than a cliche
Theres no better way to tell you , than to say

Gods been good in my life
I feel blessed beyond my wildest dreams
When I go to sleep each night
And though I've had my share of hard times,
I wouldn't change them if I could
'cause through it all, God's been good

Times replay and I can see that I've cried some bitter tears
But I felt his arms around me, as I faced my greatest fears
You see I've had more gains than losses and I've known more
Joy than hurt
As his grace rolled down upon me, undeserved

For Gods been good in my life
I feel blessed beyond my wildest dreams
When I go to sleep each night
And though I've had my share of hard times,
I wouldn't change them if I could
'cause through it all, Gods been good

For God has been my father, my savior, and my friend
His love was my beginning, and His love will be my end
I could spend forever tring to tell youeverything He is
But the best that I can say it is this

Gods been good in my life
I feel blessed beyond my wildest dreams
When I go to sleep each night
And though I've had my share of hard times,
I wouldn't change them if i could
'cause through it all, God's been good

This song is so true.. No mater what has happened in my life, God has been so Good to me. He gave me a wonderful, Godly family to raise me. A husband that is everything I have every dreamed of and much more. A beautiful house to live in and jobs that have been good to both TJ and I. And of course this precious baby that is growing inside me, that God has choosen TJ and I to raise. What more could I ask for??
Pleae keep my family in your prayers because my Great Granddad died yesterday morning. My Grandmother and my Great Grandmother both died last year and this is tough on my Papa. Also please continue to pray for me and our precious baby. I can't wait till we find out what it is :)
Remember what every your going through GOD is always there.
Love yall!!

update!

Well its been a while since I last updated, so I figured I would. Life is going GREAT!! I am now in my 2nd Trimester! YAY!!! Im also starting to feel a little better, which is such a blessing. My ALL DAY sickness has turned into night sickness and/or car sickness. Hunter is growing up a storm. I went last week for another ultrasound and got one of him waving. It is sooo cute! I also got one with his mouth open and about to put his thumb in (this is something we will def. have to break l0l) and another pic with him streaching out his legs (which are really long). Yesterday I felt him move for the 1st time. It was such an amazing feeling. I cant wait till he starts kicking where TJ can feel him. Yesterday I also went and ate lunch with my highschool buddies, Ashlei & Tori. I love them girls so much and miss them like crazy, but im so thankful that we still get together even though its spread out WAY too far. OOO almost forgot, I switched doctors last week and I really liked them so far. I am now going to Dr. Larrimores Office.
Well thanks for the prayers and please continue while both Hunter and I grow l0l.

Happy Birthday GRANKY!!!

Well this is the 2nd birthday without you and we miss you so much and think about you daily. I can't believe that its been over a year without you here on earth. There is so many exciting things happening that I wish you were here to share with us.. Titus and Parker had their 1st birthdays, Tyler and Anna found out they are having another boy, TJ and I are having a baby and we built a house, Michelle is at home doing great and she started her own business, Michael and Jamie seem to be doing good and happy, havent really heard from Steven though!! Papa is doing great!! HE misses you like CRAZY though!! He goes to church every time the doors are open and he even eats breakfast with Pastor Jackson and Mrs. Mae every week and LOVES it.. There has been so many times ive picked up my phone to call you because something happened.. Especially when TJ and I lost our 1st baby. It was soo hard, but I know that your taking care of it for us. I wish you were here with us but i know that you had to go to Heaven in order for Papa to get saved and he is a totally different man. I wish you could see him, you would be so proud. Momma, Mickey, and Vickie miss you like crazy too. Sometimes momma will just cry and cry. Well i hope you have a GREAT birthday in Heaven. Know that we love you so much and you were the BEST GRANDMOTHER AND KID COULD EVER HAVE!!! Can't wait to see you again!

Love you and miss you every second of every day!!

Candice

THE SUPRISE!!

Well TJ took me to the mall Friday after work to get my ring checked and to get some maternity clothes (yes my clothes no longer fit). Well we ate at the food court then went to Burlington, then to blockbuster. TJ went in because i was SICK!!! So after throwing up in the parking lot (sorry for that), i unbuttoned my pants because they were TOO TIGHT!!! Well we started home and when we get into Newborn, i said "hunny im getting sick, Please pull over" he said "we are almost home". Well when we pulled in the driveway he said " candice, you want me to pull over here"? WELL OF COURSE NOT.. So the dogs can get into it and we are this close to a toliet :)... So i run to the door, turn the alarm off, run to the guest bathroom, when i hear "SUPRISE".. Yes there were over 40-50 people in my house...(with my pants undone).. I scream and continue to the bathroom to.. well you know!!! So it was my suprise 21st birthday!!! I was very greatful for all who was there and the ones who threw this wonderful party for me!!! YALL are so wonderful!!!! We all had a great time!!! I was still sick at the party but hey its my 21st brithday im suppose to be throwing up. L0L.. BUT mine is from my precious baby, who i cant wait to find out what it is this week :) YAY!!!!

Well thanks for ALL the birthday wishes!!! I am truly a BLESSED girl.. With a wonderful family, an amazing husband & reliable friends..
THANKS
~Candice

Titus :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TITUS!!!!! Can't believe that is has been a year since we were anxiously waiting for you to arrive. We Love you sooo much!! :) Cant wait to meet your little brother and your NEW COUSIN!!!! Hope you have a WONDERFUL 1st Birthday!!!

We Love You,
Aunt Candice & Uncle TJ :)

11 Weeks

11 weeks.. WOW this is going by fast!! Our baby is just over an 1 1/2 and the size of a fig. The baby is moving like crazy they say and even has hiccups :) ~but i can't feel it yet (which is DRIVING ME CRAZY). We are going next Thursday to see our precious baby again. It is such a blessing to have a mother in law who is an ultrasound tech. My belly is growing!!!!! My birthday is Monday and ill be the big 21.. Its hard to believe that i will be 21 and pregnant but we are SO excited. Titus' (my nephew) will be 1 on Friday, so we will celebrate it on Saturday!! Well other than that nothing new.. Thanks for all that check our blog out regularly. We love ya'll!!!! Please continue the prayers for the baby and for me!!!.. Ive been really sick the last few days because i was tring to wean myself off the meds. Guess i need to stay put. :)

~The Bruce's

10 Weeks

10 Weeks today... and we are so excited!! The baby is now about 1 1/4 inch,the size of a kumquat, and weighs less than a quater of an ounce. They say that the baby is moving around, flipping, but i just cant feel it yet.. can't wait till i do. :) We are waiting anxiously to find out if the baby is a Girl or a Boy :) We will be so excited for either!! Last night i was thinking.. "hope everythings okay with my precious baby" so i decided to see if i could find the heartbeat with the Baby Beat machine.. I searched for about a minute and then i heard the most amazing sound ever. I stopped and thanked God for allowing me to hear that. Sometimes it gets so discouraging not being able to feel the baby move even though i know its not time yet.. We are so Blessed!! Anyways.. special shout out to my sister in law ANNA on her Birthday!! WE LOVE YOU!!

~Candice Bruce

9 weeks

We went to see Baby Bruce on the 14th.. We had a bad experience with the ultrasound tech, so it kinda made the visit stressful.. BUT our baby was beautiful.. Its heartbeat was 174 and it was 13.6 cm long.. The doctor said everything looked GREAT!! She said that the baby was moving her hand..but when we looked she already had it off and wouldnt go back.. So i guess we will have to go see Mimi soon to see the baby move..I can't wait till i can feel the baby kick!! But I also cant wait till she kicks TJ!! We are hoping to find out what we are having at 12 weeks.. Mimi said she would do her best to tell.. At this time we really dont care what we are having as long as he/she is healthy. We are so excited. We already call the baby Hadleigh so it would be nice if it was a GIRL :)If not then his name will be Hunter!! We found out the other day that my brother and his wife is having another BOY (Drake Elliot). So im gonna be an Aunt to another handsome nephew!!

I recentley deleted facebook due to drama that i would rather not be involved in so i will post pictures of me growing and of our precious baby growing on here.. Thanks for all the prayers and please continue!!

All About Us!!!

Well for starters.. this Blog is NEW for us!!! TJ and I were Highschool sweethearts and were married on October 11th 2008.. We are happily Married and LOVE every single day of it!! TJ is a Firefighter in Newton County and I babysit a 2 year old.. We built our 1st house and moved in at the end of October 2009 :) We LOVE having our own house! We live in Newborn, next to my parents. We have 5 acres.. We have 2 yellow labs.. CJ and Bella. We found out in the end of November that we are going to be PARENTS!!! We are soo excited about this. We are wanting a Girl, but as long as its healthy either will be fine :) The Bruce Baby is Due on August 19th. We are waiting anxiously to find out what we are having and then we our off to decorate the room :) Well we go to the doctor on Thursday so im sure yall will hear all about it..
Thank you Lord for all my many Blessings..

~The Bruce's