Shower #1

All of the ladies in the family

My friend since 7th grade. The stories that she could tell, but won't.... Unfortunately, most of my embarrassing stories happened with her! She's such a challenging friend, unafraid to share her heart and is very compassionate. She's going to make a great doctor, since she is unafraid to share in the pain of someone else.

The blanket she had embroidered

The quilt my mother made. She's embroidering her name and birthdate when she arrives.

The quilted diaper bag she made. It's actually become my breast pump bag.

The centerpieces were quite useful!

My two college roomies who threw the shower for me. Our friendships have been tested many times through the years and we've remained rock solid friends. I'm so thankful God put them both in my life to challenge me and my relationship with Christ and to encourage me to never settle for less.

The big brother-to-be

I love this boy. He is so much fun and is full of energy. As we get ready to meet our newest girl, I am seeing this baby boy in a different light. He's suddenly taller, speaking more, helping with everything, and is such a big boy. Could it be true that he is almost 23 months? Crazy! I'm so glad God blessed us with this precious boy. Our days have gotten better, God has helped me with patience (I still pray for it daily and sometimes every minute), and we've figured out a way to deal with the tantrums and whining (for right now). Now....time for everything to change once again and for new challenges to be put in place...including a toddler bed since this little rascal has figured out how to climb out!

38 weeks and still waddling

It has been such a fun end to my pregnancy so far! I've been having lots of contractions, but they just won't get closer than 10-15 minutes apart. One night they were between 7-10 minutes for almost 9 hours, but then they slowed back down to 10-15 minutes. It's driving me crazy! Apparently my body just doesn't do anything fast. So...in order to keep my mind off of the surprise of when this little girl will make her appearance, I have decided that I will attack my clutter-free house. If she doesn't come soon, I'm going to have to hire my cleaning services out because I am in such a nesting mood. This urge is so strong that at night I tend to lie awake thinking about what I can clean and then in the morning I wake up early to do it. Yeah, that's a little annoying, too!

I thought Daddy T would be really mad at me for rearranging our living room furniture again. I hadn't done it in a while and it just NEEDED to be done. My thoughts were that Daddy T wouldn't want to do it when he got home and if he did, I'd hear him complain about why we needed to change it once again. I also figured that it would create less of an argument if I just went ahead and did it and he would be happy deep down that he didn't have to spend 2 hours doing it himself. I must admit that it looks great. Less cluttered. The other day I tackled some of downstairs. He wasn't as happy about that one because a lot of it went to Goodwill, which meant that it ended up in the garage BEFORE it went there. He keeps asking me what I'm cleaning tomorrow...his closet? I should. Don't think I haven't been tempted. I've cleaned my own closet a total of 4 times since I've been pregnant with this baby. 4! You'd think that there wouldn't be anything left in it. I've also managed to keep my kitchen spotless, my sink shining, and floors swept. Like I said, I'm running out of things to clean. With that said, you now know where my absence from my blog has come from. Not only did I do all that this week, but I've read 2 books. Yup...that's the most I've read in a week since before B was born. I've been thrilled about my progress. At least I'm progressing in something around here!

I'll try to post some more pictures up over the next few days. That is, unless I find something else to clean. Just think of Daddy T and pray that he can endure just a few more weeks of me and my obsession! After that, I promise I'll go back to being a horrid housewife, I'm sure.

Sound Sleeper

Little B had a stuffy nose and a pitiful sounding cough this past week. It was all thanks to allergies, but it caused lots of wheezing and breathing treatments. I put him down for his nap and went in to check on him and found him sleeping quite soundly. I couldn't resist the picture because it startled me at first because he has never slept in this position before. I thought he was awake. Once I realized he was sleeping, I grabbed my phone and the camera to take a picture at the same time. It's the sweetest picture but I felt so bad for him. Thankfully he woke up after that, but he wasn't a happy camper.

Baby News

I had my doctor's appointment today and all looks good. I apparently have an infection, so we're treating that at the moment. I say "we" but I'm just following directions! It explains a lot of the symptoms I've been having that have been labor-like, so I'm glad to finally have an answer. I'm only about 1 1/2 -2 cm along, but I don't care! That's farther than I ever got with B. I'm probably the only girl who doesn't care if I make it to my due date....I'd love for her to be a July 4th baby. Daddy T wants her to come on Monday because he wants to share his birthday with her. We'll see! Her grandparents and Daddy think that next week would be perfect for her to come since they all have light schedules at work. I keep trying to inform them that I can't just tell her to come next week. Since she's a girl, she'll probably come at the least convenient time! That'd be my girl! All is ready for a baby, though and my blood pressure is great and her heart is strong. So far so good. Now...I need to stop procrastinating and actually pack my bags. It's just WAY more fun to pack hers instead of mine. Maybe I'll pack tomorrow...

Simply Beautiful!

I looked outside one morning and was greeted with this beautiful red sun coming up over the mountains. I immediately grabbed the camera and stepped outside because it was too gorgeous to not take a picture of. This is why I love living where I do. The views are beautiful....oh, and on the 4th of July you can see ALL of the fireworks going off around the mountains without even lifting your head up.

Homemaking? Me?

My mother is probably doing a double take at the title of this post. I never inherited her gene for clutter-free living. My mother can part with things at the touch of a hat. She does hold on to sentimental things, but other stuff goes. Dad used to come home and ask where something was and we would always joke with him that Mom threw it away because that was more often than not EXACTLY what happened to his treasure. She gave up my room as I turned to be a teen. I think she saw that I do in fact come by hoarding naturally since both of my grandparents tend to collect things. Call it nesting or whatever, but I've turned over a new leaf. I'm working hard at cleaning, getting rid of anything I haven't used in the past year (although I do have some exceptions), and making our schedule and life just a bit more simple. I don't like being busy or feeling cluttered and stressed at home. I am proud to say that our bedroom has managed to stay almost spotless since Monday! I'll also admit that it took me almost 2 hours to clean out and off my nightstand. Part of that was because I had to take several breaks, but after I did it I took a picture to send to my mother. It's the cleanest it has EVER been. And what did I think about when I fell asleep that night? My shiny sink (yes...I'm obsessed over shining my sink, to which Daddy T laughs) and my uncluttered nightstand. I have had just a bit of help in my new homemaking thanks to several of my favorite websites that are giving me ideas and helping me stay on task. So what am I doing with the free time I have from not having to heavily clean my house every day? Making a quilt and crocheting a blanket. Like I honestly have time for this, but hopefully I'll get the top sewn Saturday and Sunday and can post pictures. It looks so cute! So, this is me...turning over a new leaf. Perhaps I did get more of my mother than I thought.....

Book Review: Storm Warning by Billy Graham

I was a little hesitant in reading this book for one reason (I'll explain in a bit), but I'm so glad I did! I love reading and studying about Revelation, but it tends to scare me a bit. Honestly, I think it's because it's so hard to fathom that I just can't wrap my brain around it and knowing that it is prophecy that has yet to be fulfilled makes it even harder to read. To be even more honest, I used to love reading the Left Behind Series until it gave me nightmares and I had to stop. Needless to say, I am not a scary movie kinda girl! All of that to say that I thought this book would be one of those that I could only read first thing in the morning when my imagination wouldn't take things to the extreme. However, I was wrong. I LOVED the theology he included, as well as his commentaries that he had studied. I learned a lot about John, the individual events, and was even amazed at how America is following in the same pattern as some of the churches specifically warned. It wasn't one of those books that said the time is now, Jesus is coming back in 2010 or anything like that. He focused on hope for the future, not fear in the events and how they will take place. I love Billy Graham's writings because you can see his heart for God in all that he does. He longs to see more people come to know Him as their personal Savior, not so he looks good, but because he knows that is the only way for eternal life. It's a very thought-provoking book and one that I highly recommend if you are interested in Revelation in the slightest bit.



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Gonna Have to Move On Up

B loves water and begs to go outside and play in the water everyday. So, a few Sundays ago after his nap, Daddy T and I set up his toddler pool and let him play in it. It was a little cold, though. We forgot that the water from outside is A LOT colder than what comes into the house. B didn't quite want to sit down, but he did have fun splashing around. I think we're going to get him a bigger one since he loves to splash and pretend to swim.

This pose reminds me of my brother and Daddy T.

What Mommies Need....

I am so thankful that God has blessed me with some wonderful friends who have their kids that are about the same age as B or are just a little bit older. We are all stay-at-home moms from different areas...even Argentina! I can't tell you what a blessing these women have been to me. We all throw ideas out at each other about our kids, encourage each other, and listen to each other while one honestly expresses the frustrations and tears and joys of raising kids. We went to the zoo with them (minus one who didn't get to go because her kiddos weren't being pleasant) last week. B enjoys playing with L who is a boy about his age. They wouldn't stop playing from the time they saw each other until the time they left! B even shared his keys with him, and for those who know his love of keys know that this is a HUGE deal! Thank you ladies for your encouragement and friendship!

I absolutely love the look on B's face. I think he saw a peacock or a big bird, but I think that face is funny!