A Baby Shower!

Just wanted to post some pictures of the baby shower. I felt so blessed that so many people wanted to help us welcome our bundle of joy into the world. It was a beautiful day. I am so grateful to my friends, Garrett and Ashley, and my family, mom and Shauna, worked together to make it such a beautiful memory for me. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

Shauna, Mom, and Me

All the wonderful gifts and pumpkin family of Matt, baby, and me

Everyone relaxing

Garrett, like normal, making me laugh so hard I thought I might loose it (my bladder that is)

All my work peps! (Heather is hidden behind Garrett)

The good, the bad, and the tired!

There are so many days I wish I could write on here and get my thoughts out. It truly helps me relax and reflect. But there is only so much a pregnant lady can do in a day. Once school has let out I'm 85% spent. Driving home, doing the dinner thing, and all the other stuff that has made my life so busy lately = 0% of me being able to write, relax, and reflect. That is the bad I'm referring to in title today. I so wish I could have a voice recorder that would type this as I was showering or driving- not gross you out with the shower part, but I get so many thoughts while showering. I'm weird I know. It's the same way in the car. I remember so many things in the car, but as soon as I set out of the car my memory fails me. Goofy thing. Does that ever happen to anyone else?

Life has been busy. I thought it was busy in September with going back to work and then October was worse!! Prayer and a wonderful husband were the only way I made it out alive! I had something to do 3 or more nights a week after work and every weekend was filled with something or other. That played a toll on me and my energy level. By the end of the month I felt like death.

One weekend were blessed and went to Matt's sisters wedding in Tennessee. Which was so beautiful and I loved spending time with his family. But someone there gave me yucky germs and I got sick with a virus. The only time I've been sick during pregnancy and it sucked. Then once I got my energy back I had to clean the house top to bottom- no not nesting, but I had my baby shower at my house. I don't suggest this to anyone, unless your house is bigger and you have lots of "time off" to clean. This is the tired I was talking about in my title.

My mom and sister came down for the shower. They were here for a long weekend and it was so nice to have them here. Loved it!! They took care of a lot of the clean up after the shower, but I still had more once they left. And Lord knows after getting all the gifts from shower and things we bought ourselves- the organizer in me came out full force!! Spent the better part of the weekend after the shower just organizing, returning things for stuff we needed, and sitting in the glider dreaming about my little girl. I can't wait to meet her face to face!

Also, super excited to find out I'm going to be an aunt in June!!!! So excited for my sister and her husband. Lauren is going to have a cousin who will be in the same grade and only 6 months younger, so when they get together they'll be able to relate and play with each other. This is the good I referred to in my title.

Sorry for the ramble that this entry is, but just so much going on and not enough time to put it all in here. I can't wait until life slows down- it is going to do that right? All I know is that as I look back at the month of October, God is great and He blessed me daily to handle what was on my plate. He guides me through my days and for that I'm so grateful!

"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much" ~Mother Teresa

Best News Ever!

Just got off the phone with my great friend Ashley, who is also pregnant (about 10 weeks behind me), and she found out today they're having another girl!! I'm so super excited for her and can't wait to see the ultrasound pictures. Her baby and our baby will be so close in age and it will great for them to have a buddy.

I know this is cheesy of me, but really enjoyed my parents friends who had kids around the same age as me. I guess it's because I really don't know my cousins and most of the cousins I do have are my parents age (my parents are both 8-10 younger than their next oldest sibling). I know that our baby has a greater chance of having cousins her age than I was, but Matt and I are states away from our siblings- so she won't be able to see her cousins a whole bunch anyway. That thought makes me real sad.

But on the other hand, I have a lot of great friends who have had or are going to have babies right around the same time as me. Garrett has a baby girl who will be 8 months older, I have another friend- besides Ashley- who is 12 weeks behind me. I have three wonderful friends who had babies last February/March so she will be buddies with them.

Just had a moment and wanted to share with you the blessing of our Lord and savior!

Me, Ashley, Addyson (her 1 year old), and the ol' horse this summer.

The Nursery

So since I haven't had a chance to post much lately, I'm kind of doing multiple posts today- hope that isn't too weird.

Anyway, this one is about the nursery. It is coming along. Thanks to Garrett and her beautiful talent, there is now a gorgeous mural on the green wall. It really completes the room and I'm forever grateful to have a best friend who was willing to do it and give me a friend discount (half price baby!!). But last week when she pretty much finished up we took a few pictures (and a video, but I think it's too big to put on here) of the nursery and I wanted to share it. Enjoy...





We still have a few picture frames left to buy and hang, along with a mirror the shape of a flower that I've wanted from day one. My mom has bought her a cross to go in the room too. Garrett still has to fill in the grass a little more to the left of the window, and she's going to put glow in the dark paint on the lighting bug's butt (hehehe, too cute!). But so much is already done- were ready for her!

Too much!

Way too much time has passed since I last wrote. Mostly because life has been too busy. And to be frank, when it's not busy I'm passed out- aka storing up energy for the next round. Thankfully things have settled down enough that I'm awake at the crack butt of dawn on a Saturday and I can write this. Amen right there!

As I've been driving to work each morning, well the mornings I don't carpool, and I've wished I could type and drive. I feel like there is so much about this pregnancy that I haven't been able to write down- so God bless you reader, here goes about two weeks worth of what I can remember.

I've enjoyed being pregnant, especially in the second trimester. I have however found out slowly but surely that the third trimester is a whole new ball game. (sorry for so many cheesy sayings :-) There is less energy to go around, and a greater desire to eat anything and everything in site. My students bring breakfast back to class- oh my, the thought crosses my mind to eat their food! Who desires to take food from a hungry child?! Madness! I had only gained 2 pounds from the end of August to late September. Well I just had another appointment- brace yourself- this past appointment was only 2 weeks after the last one and I gained 4 pounds this time! Yikes. I don't want to be huge, but I just want to eat all the time. I was telling Matt, that even when I'm not hungry my body wants to eat. I just spent the last three years of my life getting into a healthy body and keeping it that way, not wanting to throw that away in a mere 2 months. So anyway, that is something I've been working on- only eating a peanut butter english muffin every other day and not two a day ;-)

Some stuff I have been loving though is that she is soooo much more active this trimester. She is moving and grooving and she has a schedule. She loves to get wild in there when I come home from work and put my feet up, as I lay on the couch. Matt can usually enjoy the crazy from the chair across the room, she's so nutty! He can feel her more and more, which I love! This morning in bed when I was laying there I had Annabelle purring away on my legs and her wiggling around like a crazy girl in my belly. It didn't take me long to get uncomfortable (another pet peeve of 3rd trimester, nothing is comfortable for very long!) and I was thinking of Matt is laying away sleeping and dreaming while I was uncomfortable with both "kids." LOL...it made me giggle to think of our family growing and changing!

Another thought I had mid car ride, was how much faster time seems to go now that I'm back at work. We only have two months left- WOW!! That is big. I remember the first few month of being pregnant and thinking this was going to be the longest 9 months because ever week seemed to last a thousand years (a little over the top, but it's me talking here). I have been a little grateful for the speeding up of time. Not that I want life to fly by, but I find myself getting so ready to meet her. Does she have a full head of hair? Is her face round or oval? Will she be a fuss bucket or mellow? What will she smell like (I hope that isn't too weird to wonder)? What will Matt be like with her? Will she like swinging in her swing or rolling around the neighborhood for walks with me in her stroller? I'm sure it's normal to wonder all of these things, but I'm getting ready for answers. On the other hand though, I very much enjoy the selfishness of having her in my tummy, all to my self, safe and sound too!

Anyway, I'm going to end this with saying I feel so blessed to have what I have and be trusted with this wonderful life. Thanks be to God for all of it!!!

A breath of fresh air

Well the first week of school is under my belt and I couldn't be happier. The title of this entry is one that sums up the week. The students were wonderful. The class size is great. I just really have nothing to complain about. I'm very appreciative of God placing me here. I'm truly blessed and I need to remember that daily when I head into work. I'm also glad that, this being my last year of teacher before I stay home with our baby and her future siblings, it will be one I can go out smiling on.

Other fun stuff...today has been wonderful. We woke up and just chilled in bed for a while. We watched the baby kick around in my tummy and got out the "BebeSounds" thingy we were loaned. We got to hear her heart beat- oh it is such a beautiful sound! She's been rockin' and rollin' in there today. I've gotten a bunch of house work done. Homemade potato soup is cooking on the stove and cupcakes are in the oven. (I won't mention that these are Matt's birthday cupcakes I was suppose be make last week, and no I don't think this makes me a bad of a wife ;-)

Now I'm procrastinating school work that needed to get done tonight. Matt is out mowing the lawn. He is so cute. He gets all excited about going to the local gardening store to buy fertilizer and dirt. I tell ya, this man is one of little means, and that suits me just fine. I like when he gets excited about his new hobby, aka our lawn. Next week he has us going to these free classes they're offering at the local botanical gardens. He's so pumped, I love him so much!

"Two are better than one, because together they can work more effectively" Ecclesiastes 4:9

Matt and I out and about last weekend, enjoying each others company.

A little bit of fresh air does a body good!

Well what a week. It was full time back at work and getting the classroom ready for the little kiddies. And what a week it was. I did so good- low stress for the most part all week. My classroom came together and didn't look to shabby for Open House on Thursday. I enjoyed meeting my new students. They all seemed so wonderful. I hope they feel relaxed about Tuesday, because I don't. I made it all the way through the week before the stress of the school year starting set in. Needless to say, after a full nights sleep (12 hours to be exact) I feel more relaxed and ready to conquer these first few months.

I've spent some time today getting more stuff ready. I still need to head to Lowes and buy a rug and some bins. There is no storage in the room so I need a place for their extra supplies, like boxes of tissues, baggies, and hand sanitizer. I've been praying for the first day to go smooth for them and me. I know that God has put me with these kids and at this school, so I need to trust in Him and it will all work out.

Now I'm off to enjoy the weekend with Matt and Annabelle. We're headed to a friends house for a backyard fire and s'mores. It's been a beautiful day and it will be a wonderful ending. Just to keep you posted little Lauren is doing great, kicking around as I type this. I know I'm going to miss that once I'm not pregnant anymore- which is only a little ways away. Wow time does fly!