4 Years Ago Today...

4 years ago today was a day that my life would change forever.  I met the man I had been waiting, praying and dreaming of for 6 years.  It was a Saturday and I was going to some friend's (Huey and Brandi) house for a Christmas party.  But this wasn't just any Christmas party, the party was set up just to "set up" me and Joey.  I was SOOOO nervous!  I had never dated anyone before and I was completely against the idea of being "set up."  I just didn't think that was the way God would work in my life, I had given Him many many suggestion through the years of things that He could do to bring my spouse into my life, but this is how He chose to work, the one way I didn't think it would happen! 

I spent the day shopping with my brother and then my best friend from work came over and helped me get ready, did I mention I was nervous?!?!?!?!  Only a handful of people at the party knew this set up was happening, I didn't want any pressure!  I walked into the house and there was Joey sitting at the counter.  Huey introduced us, but I could barely look at him!  It certainly wasn't "love at first sight," mainly because it would be several weeks before I really even got a "first sight!" 

We said hi and I sat down next to him as it was time to eat, we didn't say much, just a little chit chat.  At one point I dropped my napkin and he promptly jumped up and got it for me.  As we started eating I realized that I had not chosen a good combination of food and drink, we were eating gumbo and I had a glass of wasail (hot spiced cider stuff!)  When I commented on that, Joey jumped up and said, "want something else to drink? I'll get it, what do you want? coke?"  So he went and got me another drink!

As everyone arrived at the party I quickly realized something, everyone there knew him and wanted to talk to him.  It was crazy because we both pretty much knew everyone there except each other and I am still surprised that our circles hadn't connected earlier.  Apparently he had previously gone to the same church I went to when I moved into town.  And apparently no one had seen him for quite some time because EVERYONE was shocked to see him at a party and EVERYONE wanted to talk to him!  Which meant I got very little interaction with him that night.

At one point there was a group of people looking at pictures from a mission trip they were on and Brandi found me in another room.  She fussed and me and made me go in the room and look at the pictures, I felt like such an idiot just standing there! 

As the evening progressed, we ate, played games and just hung out, but Joey and I really didn't get a chance to talk much.  Time came for me to leave and I didn't even bother to tell him bye because we had not connected at all.  I was leaving when Huey asked me if I wanted him to give Joey my number and I just looked at him confused.  Huey said, well if he asks can I give it to him, and I said sure if he asks (which I was certain he would not!)  As the door closed, I said to myself, "I am NEVER going to do this again!"

I was barely down the street when Brandi called me and told me to come back because I had forgotten something.  When I got there they told me that Huey asked Joey if he wanted my number and he said "oh yeah!"  I was shocked to say the least.

To be continued...... I have decided to write a series of posts on our relationship so keep coming back to see what's next!

It's Been Forever!!!

Sorry to those of you who stalk me on this blog that I haven't updated in a little while.  I wouldn't think anyone actually stalks me, except for a few of you who have admitted to doing so!  Life in a word has been...busy!  I have been working much much more than I usually do and as I wrote last time we were traveling quite a bit during the Thanksgiving holidays.  In addition to all that comes along with the holidays as far as parties and events and stuff, we are actively trying to finish getting the porch closed in so the baby's room can be ready when she gets here and not used to store all manner of hunting gear!

Now when I say we I really mean Joey!  There is not much I can do to help these days!  And that's hard for me because so much of what needs to be done rests on him.  And he is the one with the full schedule, he works full time as a plumber, part time as a youth pastor, is on the praise team at church and right now that requires many nights of practice for the Christmas special, and he also has a hobby that is only allowed during this time of year, so much to do...not to mention dealing with an ever growing, emotional, pregnant wife!  He surely has his hands full!  But I guess my time is coming, because soon there will be much going on with the baby that I will be the one to have to take care of.

I mentioned the Christmas special, did I mention that I am playing Mary?  I apparently came recommended for the part, not because I'm a good actress (I'm not, despite the fact that I am very dramatic I don't do that well with acting so to speak) but because my stomach fits the part!  When I initially agreed to the part it was because Joey was going to play Joseph.  When asked his immediate response was he would grow his beard out to be more realistic (I'm sure it had everything to do with the play and not anything to do with hunting season....) However, at our first practice it was realized that Joey would miss out on the majority of the music portion and he was needed more at the drums than to play Joseph.  So my ever agreeable Brother-in-law agreed to take over Joseph instead of being a Magi.

At our last practice was a donkey that was custom built for the performance and I am supposed to ride it!  It has wheels and I was terrified that I was going to be wheeled around and would fall off!  It just has wheels so it can be easily moved across the stage without me on it!  However, the small platform that I am to sit upon is exactly that...small!  and while for the majority of our marriage Joey has called me "Tiny" there is not much that is tiny about me now!  So I"m a little nervous about sitting on this donkey, but if you have ever met my brother-in-law you know that I have nothing to fear as far as his ability to catch me.  More I fear that for years to come this special will be remembered as the one where the actually pregnant "Mary" fell off the donkey!  

Last Big Trip...for a While!

Last Wednesday Joey and I headed out on our last big trip before the baby is born.  My best friend Alex got married in Galveston so we drove the 7-8 hours to get there, stopping overnight along the way.  We decided to take the scenic route and drove along the Gulf Coast, it was beautiful, can't tell all that much from the picture though!  We also got to ride on a ferry which was very exciting especially for Joey.  The only ferry  he had ever been on was the one you take to get to a restaurant he took me to on our 4th date, you are on the ferry for all of 5 minutes and most of that is loading and unloading.  This ferry was HUGE and took a ton of cars, it was super fun, but I did get slightly sea-sick!

Once in Galveston we had a little bit of free time before meeting up with our friends so we decided to go grab some lunch.  We passed the Rainforest Cafe and since neither of us had ever been we decided to go.  It was really really neat inside, we really felt like we were in a rainforest, but after we sat for a few minutes something weird started happening to me.  All I can contribute it to is that my senses got overloaded.  We were sitting next to the waterfall with monkeys hanging over our head and elephants against the wall going off every few minutes and fishtanks all around us while we were sitting under a canopy of all kinds of leaves and trees.  As the baby has gotten bigger I keep saying it just feels a little "crowded!" So I guess feeling crowded and then being overloaded with all that activity, I finally looked at Joey and said, "I want to leave."  We got up and walked out and I burst into tears!  It was very strange and I felt bad that Joey had to miss out, but we found a nice quiet little restaurant and enjoyed our lunch!  

We had a wonderful time hanging out with our friends, and Joey even got to go fishing for the first time in salt-water and caught his first salt-water fish.  I asked him to hold it up so that I could take a better picture and he responded, "I'm not holding it up, that joker has teeth!"  So this is the best shot I could get!

After the wedding we hit the road right away again so we could make it Mississippi before too late.  We did get to stop and eat at one of my favorite restaurants...Pei Wei!  We got to my parents house and crashed, we had been in 4 different beds in 4 different nights and then to top it off, I got some kind of cold and was not feeling all that well.  We rested on Sunday and then Monday Joey, my dad and I went for an adventure.  Joey had never been to New Orleans and since we were only a little over an hour away we went into the city for a little sight seeing tour. 

My dad lived in New Orleans a few different times in his life so he knows his way around pretty good, though he did manage to get us lost in one particular area where I was not sure we would make it out alive!  We went to the French Quarter to enjoy some beignets and coffee at Cafe Du Monde (I think I spelled that right???)  Here is Joey and my dad, I had warned Joey not to wear black because he would be wearing the remnants of powdered sugar all day!

On our way home from New Orleans we had to make a stop.  The last time we were home in MS Joey begged me to take him to the new space center exhibit.  I would have taken him except we were getting ready for a baby shower and didn't have time.  I promised the next time we were there we would go and so we did.  Joey was just like a little kid he was so excited, as is obvious from these pictures!

My Little Astronaut!

My Big Astronaut!

Obviously we had a lot of fun, and it was really informative too.  Plus we got a tour of the NASA site where they test the engines for the space shuttles, it was HUGE!!

And I got some space ice cream, I love that stuff! 

After that we had another day off before hitting the road again.  We drove to Alabama to pick up my little sister to head to our family's annual Thanksgiving in the woods.  My mom's side of the family all gets together for 5 days and rents cabins at a State Park.  This year was a little hard for me because I was already so tired from our travels, the beds aren't all that great and that whole "crowded" feeling is a bit magnified when 30-40 people get together in one place to eat a meal together.  Plus Joey left early to go be with his family for a few days and I missed him!  The longer we are together the more I want to be with him, and the more I miss him when we are apart.  I'm threatening to start going with him when he has his school classes that require him to spend a night away each month! 

On the Road Again

Wow, these last few weeks have been jammed packed!  We had a house guest for a week and then went home to Mississippi for a shower and then had another guest staying with us for a few days and then we left for Texas because my best friend was getting married and then to Mississippi for Thanksgiving.  But we have had a great time being with friends and family.

It was so special to be there at my best friend's wedding in Galveston this past weekend.  Alex has a very special place in my life.  We were roommates for a semester at Bible school a few years ago.  However, we weren't that close then, friends, but not that close.  It wouldn't be until a few years later that we would really connect much deeper and form what I know will be a life long friendship.  We found ourselves both back in Dallas, me working at the Bible school and her pursuing further education at another university.  Our friendship quickly grew as we locked arms and walked together as we both sought to live whole-hearted lives for our Savior. 

Even after I got married and moved to Louisiana, we remained close and she came to see me and Joey a few times a year.   I have watched her give herself, her life and her future completely into the Lord's hands and have watched as she has waited for Him to bring the man that God would have for her.  Last New Year's she came for a visit and I told Joey the night that she left that it would not be long until the Lord brought Alex's husband into her life.  It was obvious God was working in her life and preparing her for that special one.  That very next month, there he was!   It is obvious to all who know them that the Lord is the one who brought Mario and Alex together.  Their lives as single adults, as a dating couple and now as married adults shines brightly for the Lord.  I know the Lord has great things in store for them and I can't wait to see!  Here are a few pictures from the wedding and just of me and Alex.  I forgot my camera so I don't have many...ok I had several fun pictures to put up, but these are the only 3 I could get to load so that's it for now!

This was us at Alex's 25th Birthday.  She loves Mexican food so we made a taco cake, it was so fun, it's all cake/cookie/candy!

                                                          Me and Joey at the wedding!

                                                          Me and the beautiful bride!

Seeing Lina

Who is Lina????  Well the story goes like this....Joey's family is huge on nicknames, we nicknamed the baby Figlet until we had a name, when we found it was a girl the name was changed to Figlina, and so Joey just shortened it to Lina.  He calls her that exclusively right now, I have asked him several times if that is what wants to name the baby (Lina, not Figlina) because he seems to really like it.  He told me no, but that is what he is gonna call her no matter what we name her.  That will of course morph untold number of other nicknames.  One day I'll do a whole post on Nacho's nicknames....there are TONS! 

Anyway, yesterday I had a follow up ultrasound because when we had the first one my placenta was not in a good spot and so they wanted to see if it had moved, and indeed it had!  Now we just need Lina to move, the hard spot I have been feeling low that I thought was her head, is apparently her booty!  This is not a good way to have a baby, so we are praying she will move before delivery, which the Dr. said is a 97% chance. 

The ultrasound wasn't as easy to see this time as last time because she has grown so much and she doesn't have as much room to move around and apparently she really didn't want to wake up!  We had a hard time getting some good shots of her, though the tech was able to get the measurements she needed in order to see her growth.  She is doing well, she is a 59% on the growth scale, which means she's 9% bigger than average.  She is weighing in 10 days heavy!  None of that is any reason to be concerned, but then they said something no mother who is getting herself ready for labor wants to hear...her head is a little big!   Not abnormally big or again anything to be concerned about.  We also asked the lady if she could check and make sure she was still a girl, because we have heard numerous stories of people finding out then being wrong and well, I have A LOT of pink stuff!!

It's neat getting to see her and everything, but I can't wait til she is here, sometimes it still just doesn't seem real, even as I was lying on the table getting the ultrasound and I knew it was my belly she was taking pictures of inside, it still didn't seem possible that it was OUR child we were looking at.  I don't think the reality will hit me until she is in my arms. 

Here are some of the pictures we got, like I said, it was hard to get a good face shot.  She was pretty content to just hang out with her face smooshed up against my insides!

My mom in law says that this one she is lifting her hand to praise the Lord!

Some of My Favorite People

When I was growing up my sister and I did not get along all that well.  In our old house there was a hole in each of our doors, one from being kicked and one from being hit.  It's not so much that we were violent, because we weren't really, but it was more about us being dramatic.  Sometimes our drama just got a little excessive!  However, as time went on and we became teenagers, our relationship changed and we became a lot closer.  And so for more than a decade we have been great friends and super close.  We have a wonderful mother and enjoy spending sister/mom time together whenever we can get in the same state.  I just wanted to share a few pictures of us from the shower.  (I totally meant to take the red-eye out, but forgot!)

                                 Listening to baby!  My sister is one of the funniest people I know!

     
My sister was upset that in all the pictures we were taking her pink pants were never displayed, so we took one of just the pants!

Mom and oldest daughter ( I most definitely have inherited her platinum silver hair, it began long ago!)

                                                       Isn't my sister sooo pretty!!!

                                                         We couldn't leave Nacho out!

My sister has always been the animal lover, so I got major points when we finally decided to get a dog and extra bonus points for rescuing one!  She loves Nacho too!

                                                           Two of my favorite people!

Finally a Chance to Update!

If I didn't have a counter on here, then I wouldn't think that anyone is actually reading this blog, but the numbers indicate that some of you find my life interesting enough to come visit!  And I must say that I am glad that you do, because I really enjoy writing on here.  I like being able to share what is going on with other people in my life who aren't around day to to day, but I also like having an archive of this journey through pregnancy.  When Joey and I were dating we lived 300 miles apart for the entire relationship and so we did A LOT of emailing back and forth.  I bound the emails into a book for our one year dating anniversary and it's something we will always have to look back on and remember the journey we took.  This is something I can one day show my daughter and show her how excited her mom, dad and others were about her arrival.

This past weekend I got to go home to Mississippi for my first baby shower.  Since there is a possibility that I will not be home again until after the baby is born, we had to schedule it kind of early.  My mom and sister and I got together a few days before to make some fun stuff for the shower. I was soooo excited about some of the fun stuff I was seeing on Pinterest and wanted to try!!!

Here are some of the projects we made:

This is a diaper motorcycle.  The wheels are Pampers, the handlebars and wheel connectors are supposed to be receiving blankets (but we improvised and used material we already had) the headlight is a baby bottle covered in a baby washcloth and the handles are baby socks.  It was super easy and super fun to make, and turned out super cute with Minnie sitting on top!

Sitting in front of Minnie are some diaper babies in one of my cloth diapers.  The diaper babies are just rolled up Pampers with baby washcloths wrapped around them and baby socks on the top for hats.  Then we either glued eyes on them or drew them on.  Again, super easy and super cute.  Both of these would make great gifts for a shower because they are not only cute, but all the pieces are functional too!

We also made a diaper cake out of Pampers and I made a tutu for the bottom.

For the food table I saw this idea on Pinterest and really wanted to try it, it was a little difficult to find a watermelon in November though!

Isn't that soooo cute!  My mom packed me a to go box when we were leaving to come back to LA and I found the orange with the pacifier in the box, it was just too cute to throw away! 

I am working on a rag rug and decided I wanted to make a wreath to go with it.  The wreath was much easier than the rug and that is why it is finished already!  (in case you weren't sure, the babies colors are black and white with hot pink!)  My friend who was visiting from New Hampshire helped me make this!

Yet another idea I got off of Pinterest: Hershey's

We decided on cupcakes instead of doing a regular cake, much easier to serve and a lot more fun to make.  I bought a kit that had all those fun tips you use for decorating.  My mom and my sister made the cupcakes, the filling for the inside and the icing.  I helped a little with the decorating, this was SO much fun and I am looking forward to my next chance to bake some cute cupcakes!

Can you tell we had a lot of fun?!?!?!  Like I have said before, having a daughter has brought out the craftiness in me even more!

Here are a few more pictures of the decorations and just the shower:

This tree has become our Christmas tree for the last several years, so it just made sense to decorate it once again for this special occasion.

We used my cloth diapers as decorations too!  They were quite the topic of conversation!

This is me, my sister and our childhood friend trying out one of my gifts: the Moby wrap.

 Let's just say, it was hilarious and that I will be needing to practice this a good bit before I get the hang of it down!

 All my gifts!

I have a few more pictures to share, but I think that is enough for tonight, I'll add some more soon!

It's Been a While

Sorry for the lack of posts the last few weeks.  We have had a busy week at work putting on a 5k and then now I'm home in Mississippi for a baby shower.  My mom, sister and I have been busy making all kinds of super cute shower things!  I promise to post some pictures soon and some other posts of what's been going on.  Thanks for all of you who have been reading and checking in!

Information Overload!

I have mentioned on here before that I really enjoy doing research and learning about different things.  But I think I may have crossed the line with reading too much!  My head is swimming with all the info I have been reading, but I want to be prepared and there are so many things I need to be thinking about now.

I want to make sure I am doing what I need to in order to keep me and baby healthy during this pregnancy.  I am doing excercises to prepare my body for birth and reading up on all I can about birth.  But then there is the whole reality that this time is extremely short compared with how long the baby will live outside of me!  So I am reading books from authors I trust on child training and reading about all I need to figure out the right pediatrician and the debates on vaccines and just over all health of newborns and infants.

I have been working on my registry and doing tons of reading about all the different products out there we will need and which car seat, stroller, diapers, equipment, etc, etc, etc. will be right for us....

It's just too much to think about, so sleep and I have not been the best of friends the last few nights and I realize i need to take a break from all this learning and researching and stressing.  I am sure like every new parent,  I just want to make sure I am doing what is best for my baby and I am certainly learning that what is best is not always the most popular or most convient way to do things. 

I have to come back to the reality that both me and this baby belong to the Lord and that as I seek to honor and please Him, He will guide me in the things that I need to do.  I find time and time again I trust in myself and look far too little to the Lord for His wisdom, strength and guidance.  I have so much growing to do in the Lord, I'm thankful for his patient love toward me.

Fried Chicken Brownies

No doubt I caught your attention with that title!  As I have mentioned before I have not had many cravings through this pregnancy.  But I have wanted to have some just so I can tell people when they ask.  I still can't say that I have had any weird "cravings" but I did make a really weird food combination the other day...

It was homecoming Sunday at church and we were all eating in the fellowship hall after service.  I had my plate of food that included some fried chicken and other miscellaneous potluck selections ( I must say I'm not really all that big of a fan of pot lucks!)  I also had a plate of desserts.  Given the title I am sure you know where this is going, but I'm going to tell you anyway! 

I am a HUGE fan of things that are sweet and salty; I love chocolate covered pretzels, m &ms with my popcorn, french fries in my frosty, etc.  So as I was eating my fried chicken, I looked over at my dessert plate and suddenly had a genius idea! "I should totally peel some of this chicken skin off and put it on top of my brownie and eat them together!"  Now some of you might be gagging, but I must say, to this pregnant lady, it was delicious!  In fact I thought perhaps I should market this!  I mean, if Burger King can put bacon on their sundaes, why not fried chicken brownies?!?!?    I don't know that it would go over well with the non-maternity crowd though, so I'll just keep it to my one time experience and tell you all about it!

Homemade Cleaners

Anyone who knows me very well knows I am a big time bargain shopper!  I love to save money, I'm pretty passionate about it!  When Joey and I first got married and I stayed home, I learned all kinds of ways to save money on household things, and I got really really into couponing.  I was one of those crazy ladies with a big binder and everything.  I still coupon, but it's very different now, because doing things that way takes ALOT of work and time.  One day when I was couponing, I was able to get a years worth of dish washing tabs for $1.50!  They were the Finish brand and they worked great in our old dishwasher that was not all that great at getting things clean.  So after the year was up and I had to buy some more I found out they are really expensive without a coupon!  But we bought some anyway because with only 2 of us, we don't run the dishwasher all that often.  A few months ago we got a new dishwasher and now it has the silverware compartment in the door, which I really like.  But...it is right in front of the place the washing tab comes out and I have found that the silverware stays covered in the soap and I have to re-wash them.  No point in having a dishwasher if I have to wash them too!  So I decided to see if I could find a recipe of my own to try instead of buying some more detergent.

I found an easy recipe on Pinterest...1 cup baking soda, 1 cup borax and 2 small packets of sugar free lemon Kool-aid.  I mixed it up and put 1 Tablespoon in the dishwasher and they came out clean and the silverware didn't need to be re-washed!  I estimate the cost was around $.75 and it will last me 32 loads, I'm super excited!

I was telling a friend about it on Facebook and some other friends mentioned they wanted my homemade laundry detergent recipe too, so here it is with pictures ( I took a picture with every step, but couldn't get them all to work right!) 

Now I'll say this, I have been using this for a while now, almost 2 years I'm pretty sure.  At first I was a little skeptical and only used the homemade stuff on sheets and towels and still used the store bought stuff on our clothes, especially Joey's since he can get pretty dirty at work.  But a few times Joey washed his clothes and used the homemade stuff and it worked just fine.  It doesn't have that nice smell that Gain has, but the clothes are clean!  We recently had an issue where some very expensive laundry deteregent I got for free was eating holes in our clothes, so I'm really sold on my homemade stuff now!!

Supplies:

• Washing Soda (not baking soda, I'm pretty sure I found this at Brookshire's in the laundry aisle, don't think I was able to find it at Walmart)
• Borax - you should be able to find this at any grocery store on the laundry aisle
• Soap - Fels Naptha is recommended most often, you can find that on the laundry aisle also, but you can use other soaps, but avoid soaps that say "moisturizing" or that have heavy perfumes because they will be oily and you don't want that on your clothes!

Equipment:

• Grater
• Bucket (at least 2 gallons)
• pan
• Containers ( I like to use old detergent containers because they have the cap that is the right size to measure out the new stuff, but I also use gallon jugs when I don't have the laundry containers)

Instructions

• Heat 3 pints of water (which I'll be honest, I had to look up becaues I'm not used to measuring in pints! it is equal to 1.5 quarts)
• Grate 1/3 bar of soap

• Add soap to water hot water, stir until it dissolves
• Add 1/2 cup Washing Soda and 1/2 cup of Borax and mix until dissolved ( you don't want it to boil)
• Put 1 quart of hot water in your bucket 
• Add your mixture
• Fill the bucket to the 2 gallon mark with cold water and stir well

• The mixture will begin to gel a little
• Pour it into your containers

• When you are ready to use, shake your containers and use 1/2 cup.  It will be kind of gloppy and there won't be much suds, but it works! 

Here is the website I got the recipe off of, http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes/ there are 9 other ones you can try, including powdered ones.  You can also go to Pinterest and find all kinds of recipes on there.  It may take you a little while to find what works for you, but I recommend trying because even if you make some that doesn't work right for you and your family, you are only talking a small amount of money to try.  But once you find the right recipe, you can save hundreds a year depending on your family size.  I was able to get 4 plus bottles of what I would have regularly bought in the store and paid at least $5 a piece for, sometimes more .  Not sure on the exact estimate, but I think I spent less than $1 for the ingredients here!  I love saving money!!!

Full Week!

Last week was a very full week for me.  I had a wonderful day Tuesday celebrating my birthday with some wonderful friends from church and my second family here at home.  Wednesday I went to church to teach my class ( I teach a class of youth girls age 13-18 for those of you who don't know!)  My class has grown a lot the last few months and we are in a tiny classroom and I knew we were going to have several more visiting this week with us, so I asked the woman in charge of the classes if I could possibly move to the youth sanctuary which is MUCH larger and explained my situation and she just flat out said, "No, not tonight."  I was a little surprised by her abruptness since I thought I had a pretty good reason, but I just told her that was fine but we needed to work on a solution soon!  She and I talked a little longer and then she said she wanted to come up to my room and take a head count with me.  We got to my classroom and the lights were off.  The week before a couple of girls literally busted into class late and scared us all.  I told them I hate being scared and not to do that to me again.  So I thought the girls were trying to scare me because I know they were in there.  So I started yelling at them through the door to open the door and that I was not coming in til they turned on the light!  The lady I was with, just went ahead and opened the door and all the girls jumped up and yelled "surprise!"  They had the whole room decorated and had everything all set up for a party.  Turns out they had been working on the surprise with some of the adults from church for weeks and had it all planned out for my birthday.  I was totally surprised!  I immediately began apologizing for yelling at them to turn the lights on!  We had a great time, I really do love these girls and am so thankful God has let me be a part of their lives and them a part of mine.

Thursday my mom came into town for the weekend, and we did a ton of baby stuff!  We went and saw a friend of mine who gave me several of her baby items, which was a huge blessing!  I also picked up some cloth diapers from a lady in town and got my cloth diapers I had ordered online.  My mom and I also registered for my baby stuff, which was a bit stressful because I really don't know what i need or want!  It was so much fun to be shopping with "Mimi" and also my mother in law (who doesn't have a grandmother name yet, she is going to wait til the baby comes and gives her one!)  We bought fabric for the crib bedding, the curtains, and to recover an ottoman and glider we got.  It always goes by soooooooooo fast when my family comes for a visit and I can't wait to see them again, which will be next month! 


Here are a few pictures from the last week!

Monday was opening day for hunting season, Joey was all decked out in his camo. It always freaks me out a bit when he comes in the dark room in the early hours of the morning to kiss me good-bye and he is covered in paint, or wearing his leaf suit!
                                                                          
                                                                           

Registering!

 

Super excited about this deal we got. I have been wanting a glider and ottoman for the baby's room. I actually have an old glider, but it doesn't have the ottoman and I can't find just the ottoman for sale anywhere. At places like Target a new set is $200 and at this expensive baby boutique we went to, the sets were $500 plus! But then there was this ottoman all by itself with a tag of $50 on it, apparently someone bought the rocker and didn't want the ottoman. It was the same wood color as my rocker and my mom will recover both to make them match each other and the baby's room! I researched the brand and module number and found just the ottoman to sell for $200! It's some kind of special nursing ottoman.

Birthdays

Birthdays have some how evolved into a really big deal for me and my sister.  We don't care that much about presents and things like that, but it's the one day out of the year that is yours and it's fun to celebrate.  When Joey's birthday was approaching after we were dating, he told me birthdays are not a big deal to him and he didn't need me to do anything special.  To which I exclaimed, "What?!?!?  This is the day that I get to celebrate that you are ALIVE!!!  Of course it's a HUGE deal!  If you weren't alive, then who would I be about to marry?!?!?"  He replied, "Well, when you put it like that..."   So he very graciously put up with a whole birthday weekend in Dallas, complete with a birthday crown I got for him, I have pictures somewhere, but I am not so sure he would want them published on the web...

I know some people hate to grow up, but I have enjoyed my life more and more as each year passes.  Every year is something special to me because every year at this time I get to look back and reflect on what all the Lord has done in my life and how grateful I am to Him that He spared my life when it could have ended so many years ago.  I deserved death and He gave me life! This year is particularly special because of not only celebrating my life, but the life that is growing inside of me. 

Two years ago on my birthday it was first one after Joey and I were married and I was certain that I was pregnant.  It was a Saturday and I told Joey all I wanted for my birthday was a fishing trip just the two of us.  That is actuallly what I asked for the year before and when we got on the water the weekend after my birthday, he stopped somewhere and asked me to marry him.  So my plan was to get him to go back to that same spot and tell him we were going to have a baby.  But it became clear before we left that we were not pregnant.  I was a little disappointed, but by that point we had only been trying for about 4 months so it wasn't so bad.  But last year on my birthday we had been trying for a year and 4 months and the fear was beginning to mount.  The first year I was certain that by my birthday the next year I would either have a baby in my arms, or at least growing in my belly.  So by the second year I began to wonder, will we still be without a child next year as well.  How many birthdays will come and go without, or will we ever have a baby at all.  (I plan on writing some more posts about the struggle I went through with this and how the Lord helped me to draw closer to Him as a result of the fear and pain of not being able to conceive)

So here we are this year and it just so happened that this month's Dr. appt fell on my birthday.  So it was super special because I got to spend a little extra time with Joey in the morning and eat breakfast with him and then we got to hear the baby's heartbeat.  It was beating so strong and so fast, Joey said it sounds like she is playing the drums in there!  So it was a great day to celebrate the fact that I am alive, not just physically, but spiritually as well.  And celebrate the blessing God has given me with Joey and our soon to be born daughter.  I also got to be with some wonderful friends from church and my wonderful second family.  It was a great day!

Birthday Pics!!!!

 

 

Compliments

These are the comments I heard immediately upon arriving at church Wednesday night...

• You are huge!
• I can't believe how big you are!
• You get bigger everyday!

And I loved every one of them!  Perhaps some people would take offense to such statements, but when you waited 2 years for a baby belly, you don't mind them one bit.  In fact at work the day before someone told me I was hiding my pregnancy very well and it almost made me sad! 

Don't get me wrong, some days I do struggle with the weight gain, but overall I'm just so happy that my pants don't fit anymore!


                                                                           21 weeks!

Feeling Crafty!

If you know my mom, you know she is a pretty amazing woman.  She can do EVERYTHING crafty, or so it seems to me and she does it all so well!  If you have every seen my wedding pictures, the gorgeousness of it is all to her credit.  She did the flowers, sewed the tablecloth, made the napkin holders, designed and figured out how to etch the glasses, and just added amazing touches to everything we had.  I have inherited her desire for crafts, but I feel I may be a bit lacking in the talent department.  This has not stopped me from trying, but I have often been dissatisfied with the finished product.  However, now that I have a daughter on the way, it has gotten my creative juices flowing again.

My super great sis-in-law pinned (on Pinterest) this really cool rag rug that I am about to start working on.  It has taken me a bit to get started and I will post pictures as soon as that project is underway!  So that is something I am excited about getting started.  Last week while at that Munchin Market I found some of the cutest tutus.  I was a bit shocked by the price tag, because as I mentioned before everything was super cheap there, some of them were still $25.  Then I noticed the tag that said homemade...my mother came out in me and I quickly began to look at the details of how it was put together and dissect just how they did it.  I realized it was simply an elastic band with tulle tied around it...I can SO do that!  I looked on pinterest for a quick tutu tutorial to make sure there wasn't anything else important I was missing and found a few good tips, but it really is that simple.  So today while out I stopped at Hobby Lobby and picked up some 1/2 price tulle and an elastic band.  Within an hour I was done and the total cost was less than $4!  I am totally thinking about selling them now that I know how simple they are.  Or at very least I'm going to be giving them as gifts to all that I know with little girls!  This one is going to a friend of ours that just had a baby a few weeks back and Joey and I will be going to see her this weekend, her colors are purple and green!  I know my mom will be proud!

           It turned out a bit bigger than I was expecting because I stretched the elastic to make it.