NEW BLOG!!

hello...so we've officially made the switch to wordpress & we have a new blog up at:

http://casaboland.wordpress.com

make sure you update your bookmarks &/or feeds so you get our latest updates. hopefully we'll have more information about benjamin soon...

we just posted two new updates so come & check it out!

meet benjamin.

today we went in for our 4d ultrasound & it was absolutely amazing & worth every penny. of course benjamin decided to be uncooperative & buried his face in the placenta a ton of the time, but we were still able to get a lot of good pictures. 

his cute little face. half of it is hidden by the placenta.

he started to move around a bit & put his arm in front of his face.

another one with his arm in front of his face. i love his little puckered lips & chubby cheeks.

this one makes me melt. i love his little open mouth. 

we tired another angle, we're now looking through the placenta at him. it looks like he's sucking on his lip.

his little nose is adorable.  

we were finally able to get a semi good shot of him straight on. 

at the end he posed for some profile shots. 

his stubborn side totally came out & we tried over & over to get him to move some more. i even tried getting up & moving around, which helped a little. it was amazing to see his mouth & eyes open & close. we even got to see him throw a little tantrum...we were tapping him trying to get him to move when he arched his back & then moved so his face was completely away from us. he has a little stubbornness in him already. we definitely made confirmation that he is a boy, too, which we were very relieved about. haha. 

we can't wait to see him & hold him & get to see his little personality. only about 10 weeks left till he's due so technically it can be anytime now. 

crazy month.

we hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving, christmas & great new years eve! we've had a busy month hanging out with family & friends & really enjoyed the holiday's this year.

alysia is 29 weeks along, only 11 weeks to go! time is just flying by & everyday we get more & more excited about benjamin coming. he is quite the mover, alysia's not sure if he even sleeps during the day he's been moving so much. last doctor appointment everything looked great, alysia & benjamin are doing awesome. we go back in about a week & a half for their next check up.

nate is starting school in about a week & a half at saddleback college in mission viejo. he's using his time between jobs to take some computer classes to better his design skills. he'll have a busy schedule, taking classes 4 nights a week.

as you may have guessed, with nate going to school in mission viejo, we'll be moving to mission viejo within the next few weeks. we'll be living with nate's parents & are really excited to be near our friends & their new little ones.

please keep us in prayer...we are trusting in god's plan for us & even though it's hard to move again so close to benjamin coming we really feel that god has a plan for us in orange county even though we can't make out what is coming around the corner. please pray that god provides nate with a job & a place for us to live. we are so thankful for the opportunities that we have been blessed with in living with our families, but we are looking forward to having our own place again to raise benjamin & have our davy jones with us.

we'll have pictures up soon...

november.

time for a little update...

alysia is 24 weeks along, about 5.5 months, and is feeling great. her morning sickness is completely gone & benjamin seems to be growing larger & larger every day. he is moving a lot now & is already making it very clear what positions he likes alysia to be in.

nate is currently looking for a job and we're continuing to pray that god opens doors wherever he wants us to be.

we've been enjoying our "free time" getting to hang out with friends & family. this week we went to LA on the metrolink & had so much fun hanging out with our friend itsa. here's some photos that we took wasting some time in union station before our train left:

we're really trying to work on updating so we'll have another one soon...

*new* e-mail address

we have a new joint e-mail address you can contact us at: casaboland@gmail.com

we'll still be checking our personal e-mail addresses, so if you e-mail us there we'll still get it, but we'll be using this one for a lot of stuff.

always expect the unexpected

your prayers would be greatly appreciated. last week nate was let go from his construction job that he's been working at for the past few months. now we're both unemployed, looking for work, & seeking out what god has in store for us next. we have a lot of options & want to be sure we're making the right decision about what to do next. 

please pray that we'd continue to seek god & that he'd provide a job for nate or for both of us if that's what he wants for us.

thanks!

It's a Boy!!

Yesterday we went in for an ultrasound &  little Benjamin Patrick Boland will be here next March! We were super excited to find out the sex and very excited about the upcoming birth of our little boy.

Our Mexico Cruise

We went on a Mexican Riviera cruise from September 21-28. It was so much fun & so beautiful. Here are a few pictures...

an actual update.

it's august & we've been here in moorpark for just about 2 months. in typical nate&alysia style, our life has been flipped upside down more than once in the past couple of months. 

we found out about 6 weeks ago that we're pregnant!! we are sooo excited & cannot wait till 2009. the baby is due march 20 & i'm about 10 weeks along. other than the never ending morning sickness things have been great.

our most recent news...i was let go from my position with the city of thousand oaks this past wednesday. it's an upset & a blessing all at the same time. technically speaking i didn't meet the standards of my probation, which could mean so many things. personally speaking, i think i've been out a little too much with my never ending morning sickness & they got tired of it. either way, god is good & we're excited that i'll have the opportunity to be home during my pregnancy. i've been really sick lately & it's relieved a lot of stress knowing that on those unbearable days i have some time to just rest & enjoy being pregnant. 

that's about it for now...we'll have more soon, i'm sure. loves.

whoa. changes.

i got the job at the city of thousand oaks! i accepted the position last friday & i will be going to do fingerprinting & a physical tomorrow. once that is completed i can give my 2 week notice here in oceanside.

we gave our 30 day notice for our house on sunday so we'll officially be out of san diego on june 24. we love san diego & our little place and are bummed to say goodbye.

there are a lot of changes going on & we continue to ask for prayer that god would be glorified in our decisions & that we would continue to seek him first & remain faituful to his will.

we feel so blessed & we're excited to see what god has coming up in our lives.

more job news...

the city of thousand oaks called me today to notify me that they are starting background checks & will be calling my supervisor on thursday. they're going to call me back once that is done...

please please please keep us in your prayers. we are trying to decide whether or not this is a door that god would have us walk through if he opens it. please pray we would have peace about this decision.

utah & las vegas trip

we had an awesome time in utah & las vegas this past weekend for the popkes' wedding. here's some pics....

interview update

my interview is over & i think it went pretty well. hopefully i made a good impression. i was familiar with their procedures and duties and i feel like i answered all of their questions really well. there are three positions available & i'll know after memorial day if i get it or not. 

we have a lot to pray & think about over the next week. 

city of thousand oaks.

i have an interview this friday, may 16 @ 8:45 a.m.! i'm nervous & excited & can't wait to see what god is going to do with this opportunity.

after that we'll be on our way to utah for the popkes' wedding.

it's going to be an exciting weekend. we'll keep you updated.

Nate's Graduation Celebration

Please join us in celebrating Nate's graduation from SDSU! Click on the link below to reply to the e-vite. Hope to see you!

http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/MQHJGELDWRUHQQUDXRGP/natesgraduation

job status.

yesterday i tested at the city of thousand oaks along with over 100 people for an accounting/customer service representative. there are three positions open and they will notify us of our scores & whether or not we get an interview by the end of this week. the test wasn't as difficult as i had anticipated & i think i did well. hopefully the test along with my work experience will get me in the door for an interview.

please keep us in your prayers this week!

we realize we suck at this.

here's a much needed update of our lives...

we'll be in orange county on saturday to hang out with friends.

me & davy jones will be in ventura county to hang with the family for mothers day on sunday.

i test at the city of thousand oaks for a position in their finance department on monday.

nate might (pray he does) have a job doing carpentry in solana beach for atleast a few months.

we go to utah in one week for the popkes' wedding.

nate is graduating in 2 weeks & has 1 week of school left. (!!!)

i have two weeks left of school; 1 project due tonight, a test on thursday, a final due on the 22, and a project to turn in that was due 2.5 weeks ago.

our 2 year anniversary is on may 28. (whoa! that went fast.)

we are going to nevada the first weekend of june.

our lease is up in exactly one month.

there's a place in san juan capistrano we're interested in renting. 3 bedrooms, 1 bath with a large patio...only $1800 a month.

we might end up moving in with either sets of our parents.

we just booked our mexican riviera cruise. after 2 years of school we're finally taking a real vacation in september.

we have absolutely no idea where god is taking us. we're exploring every opened door until god decides to close it.

please keep us in prayer.

love the bolands.

news.

Today was our second prenatal appointment. Unfortunately, we found out that the baby hasn't developed at all since our 6 week appointment. That fact, along with some physical problems that Alysia's been having determined that she has been going through a miscarriage. She is going to have a D&C on Monday at noon.

We thank you all for your prayers & ask that you continue to keep us in prayer through this time. We know that God is good & he is taking care of our baby way better than we ever could.

thankful.

Nate & I would like to thank you all for your prayers, calls, & e-mails. We feel so blessed to have such good friends & family.Yesterday's second ultrasound went great! The doctor definitely saw the baby's heartbeat & even though it is faint, it's completely normal. Everything looks as if it's growing & developing just like it should be. Other than the normal morning sickness I'm feeling great & have had no signs of any problems. We are so excited to have heard such good news!

So here's our little one...yes, that little dot between the sets of 4 dots is the baby. :)

pray without ceasing.

today was our first prenatal doctor's appointment & we left with not so good news. from what my doctor could see during the ultrasound i am definitely pregnant, but because she couldn't find a heartbeat she believes that i most likely miscarried. i am going to have an additional ultrasound on monday at 11am to find out for sure. this ultrasound is supposed to be stronger and more conclusive.

there is some positive news, though. i have not had any signs of a miscarriage at this point. also, the baby is actually 6 weeks old, not 8 weeks as we had previously thought. there is a chance that the heartbeat wasn't visible because the baby is not old enough to detect one on the ultrasound machine.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always;
pray without ceasing;
in everything give thanks;
for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

we take comfort in knowing that god is in control and he would not give us more than we can handle. we will continue to trust in him & know that his will, will be done. we ask that you pray for us this weekend. obviously, we would be so excited to hear that my doctor's initial thoughts were wrong & that our baby is fine & healthy. but we also ask for prayer that we would not lose heart & that we would "rejoice always", even if the news doesn't come back as we want it.

we love you all. thank you so much for your prayers. <3