Sneak peak...

We finally have the nursery ALMOST all done!! Walls are painted, furniture is up and as soon as Eric gets the rest of the stuff hung on the walls, I will post pictures. It is adorable, if I do say so myself!!!! I'm proud of the work Eric has done.

Here is a before shot. B-L-U-E. It was this color when we moved in.
After a coat of white primer, a coat of white paint and two coats of yellow paint, the blue was FINALLY covered up!!! Yea!! Here's Levi helping Eric put the tape on the wall for the stripes.

Ta da!!!

And, goofy little Levi wanted to throw in his pirate face. Go figure. He takes after his dad!

More pictures to follow..... hopefully Tuesday night! :)

Yes.I.Can

Ok, lets face it...I don't cook very often. If I had my way, we'd eat out every night. Cheddar's Monte Cristo, I love you. Longhorn Sierra Chicken, you make my heart beat. Puerto Vallarta fajitas, you are my life. Kansai teriyaki chicken, be still my heart. McDonald's cheeseburger, small fry and diet coke, I don't know how I would exist without you.

I digress...

With a certain little Maggie May getting ready to make her appearance, I am suddenly thrown into the DOMESTIC HOUSEWIFE role where I will be required to try and save money by cooking at home more. I tease about this because I've never been really good at cooking! But, I am looking forward to the challenge. :)

So, I have this Pampered Chef deep dish baker that I've had, um, for a while (okay, over a year!) and I've never used!! Thanks to April, I made my first meal with it! I made a pork tenderloin in less than 15 minutes - yes, in the microwave!!! And, it was wonderful and got the "Mmmm, good" from the hubby.

Insert 2 pound pork tenderloin, rub with some BBQ rub, cook 15 minutes...

and VOILA!!!

get some of that wonderful Hawaiian bread and make little pork sandwiches. Scrumptious!!

weekend houseguest

Our friend is staying with us this weekend while her Mom is out of town. Her name is Katie. Levi loves her and was so excited to have her spend the night. He's done really well taking her to use the potty, feeding her and giving her water, and throwing her ball for her to catch over and over and over...

The tired friends at the end of the evening
Katie almost almost makes me want to get another dog!! I guess we'll borrow her any time I get that feeling! :)

vacation 2010

If you've been a loyal follower of this blog (Ha!), you'll know that I started it two years ago while we were on vacation. My sister-in-law had one and I thought she was so crafty, so I had to try and "keep up with the Jones'"!! You'll also know that each summer, my family does a big FaMiLy VaCaTiOn!!! This summer, we will be heading back to a golf resort near Gulf Shores. Mom & Dad booked the house this week and I'm excited to post pictures of our destination spot...

Bring on SUMMER!! :)

I have skillz

So, you can consider this my Weekend Update – any of you remember the old SNL with Dennis Miller? Awesome. Anyways, we had a busy weekend and I meant to blog some, but just kept forgetting!! BAD. On Thursday, my sister called and wanted all the kids to spend the night on Friday. (I think she just does this to make me look bad…) So, Thursday night, Levi and I packed his overnight bag for Aunt Tricia’s being sure to include his guns, toothbrush and a pair of boxers. He thought that was all he needed! After he went to bed, I put more stuff in there.

Friday, after work, we all met up at my parent’s house and Tricia drove off with a very excited Levi, Griffin and Emmy!! They were headed to pick up Bailey and Casey for a night of junk food, playing with each and every toy in the house and lots of screaming, I’m sure!! :) God love my sister! Before she could change her mind, Eric and I drove away for a nice, quiet meal together at Longhorn. Mmm, mmm, good. I got ribs and he got chicken. He told me to go ahead and order a full rack of ribs so he could take leftovers home. So, picture this: big ol’ pregnant lady with a big ol’ honkin plate of a full slab of ribs, mashed potatoes and bread and Eric with a side salad and grilled chicken. I’m sure people were cackling. I wanted to post a sign that said “He’s going to eat half of this!!! I promise!”

After dinner, we headed home to WORK. Just what you want to do when your kid is gone for the night! I pulled everything out of Levi’s closet and re-organized it. He now has all his toys in one side of the closet since we are making the toy room the nursery. I also went ahead and pulled out all his summer clothes and put away most of his winter stuff, minus what he’s still wearing for a few more weeks. It was awesome to get that done. In the mean time, Eric primed and painted the nursery. I’ll post pics later when it is finished, but this was a big undertaking! The room was blue. BLUE, people. Like UK or COLTS blue. He put a coat of primer and a coat of white paint on and you could still see blue! Now, I’m happy to report that it is yellow! We hope to have the nursery done by Friday so I can decorate. Whoop!! Pics to follow!

Saturday night was GNO….but we opted to stay in at Gretchen’s. SO FUN! I have a new love for the game of Domino’s. I heart Domino’s. Maybe it’s because I won the first round?? I think everyone was WAY jealous of my awesome Domino’s skillz. I’m just sayin… I also heart ooey gooey brownies, whoopee pie cookies and pizza.

Ever have one of those mornings?

You know, when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed…only these days, I spend the second half of the night in the recliner. When you get soap in your eye while in the shower and it makes your eye all irritated and red. When you poke yourself in the same irritated and red eye with the mascara wand and you almost fall on the floor in pain while wanting to scream out bad words…really bad words. When your 3 year old kicks and screams the entire time you try to get him ready and you say to yourself over and over “I am the mother. I will not throw a temper tantrum. I am the mother. I will not stomp out of the room. I am the mother.” When 42 people pull out in front of you on the way to work and you want to scream “Are you an idiot?” but you politely slam on the brakes and just nod your head. When you get to work and you realize that you hung your black pants back in the closet and forgot about spilling queso on the front of them so now you get to walk around all day with a gross spot on your britches…

So, what do you do on these kinds of days??

Everything in me is screaming “be in a bad mood…be irritable with everyone around you…cry…leave work and go shopping…” That sounds so tempting!! But, I’ve decided it’s much better to do something nice for someone else. (I’m not sharing this to “toot my own horn…” but so that I can remind myself that it is NOT about me.) So, today I’m sending my first care package to Esther. Esther is our adoptive college student!! Several families at church have adopted a student for a semester to pray for, encourage and to send care packages to. Levi and I went shopping a couple weeks ago and got her some things on her “want list”. In a couple days, she’ll receive a goody box with popcorn, dark chocolate M & M’s, gum, hand sanitizer, highlighters, post it notes, flavored chap stick, mints and a few other odds and ends. Now, let me tell you…this is a little hard for me because her info sheet tells me she is a Dallas Cowboys fan…GAG. It goes against my being to befriend someone who is not a Colts fan. But, there is always prayer. Maybe I can pray her to love Peyton & Company…

I’ll keep you posted on my “adopted” daughter!! I already feel better and know that God can turn any bad day into a better day. : )

a little cousin time

Friday night, we had my brother's kids, Griffin & Emily, over to spend the night. Travis & Jenny headed to Gatlinburg for the weekend, and they've watched Levi for us before while we've gone, so I was happy to return the favor. This was our FIRST sleepover. Call me a wimp, the title sure fits!! Now, my sister kind of started it....she would keep ALL the grandkids overnight. Then, when Jenny chimed in once and kept all of them overnight, I started to feel the pressure boiling... OK, that's an exaggeration! So, we'll just stay this was a trial run to see how it went! I just had 3 of the 5 grandkids, so I think it went smooth!

The kids played their little hearts out until around 8 and I rang the "5 minutes till bed" timer!! Here they are having "quiet" time before bed...Yeah right!!
Griffin, Levi & Emmy
Got them all situated in Levi's bed and settled down by 8:30. They were passed out by 9:30. Didn't think that was too bad!!! :)

The next morning, Griffin wanted chocolate pancakes. Since I wasn't quite in the cooking mood, Uncle Eric loaded everyone up and we headed to McDonald's for hotcakes! YUM!!! (Look at those nice morning faces!! Did I mention it was 7 am???)

Guess what we did next??? (I know the excitement of the day is killing you!!) We headed to the Express Care oil change place and got our oil changed. Hilarious! The kids were like "What's this?" I know, I know...it's not the zoo or anything like that, but they did like watching the guys go under the van to change the oil. :)

We headed to the park so they could run off some energy. Now, THIS was something to be excited about!!!

Levi loves the fish pond!

Uncle Eric was making them sick on the merry-go-round...

Griffin aka little Travis

Emmy

The boys on the teeter totter

The kids headed to mom's around lunch time and I survived our first kid sleepover!! YEA!!

Let's see, other happenings of the weekend?? Got paint for Maggie's room. Starting to feel the crunch to get the nursery done! Yikes! I had my 32 week appointment yesterday. Everything looks good and I go back in two more weeks. Oh, I gained another pound. Not too bad!

I've been home the past two days with Levi. He has some type of virus or maybe the flu. They also put him on an antibiotic for a sinus infection. He's been pretty lethargic since Sunday night, but today, he woke up fever-free and seems better. He still isn't eating, but that will come. Oh, last night when I asked him if he wanted something to eat, he said "No thanks, I ate last week." So funny!

That's been my life since Friday. KIDS. Can I say I'm looking VERY forward to Bunco tonight and some ADULT GIRL time?!?!?! :) Just made a chocolate chip cheese ball and can't wait to eat it! OMG, sorry this turned into a novel!!

the cool bus

Last weekend, our church held a "drive-in" for the new Veggie Tales movie. They encouraged parents and kids to make a car out of a cardboard box. So, Eric being Eric, along with the genius input from our neighbor, Bob, they built a bus....named Cool Bus. The kids had a blast and it was fun to see all the kids "rolling in" in their cars.

Levi, Janie & Reece


Along with getting their pictures taken for a drivers license, they got snacks - lemonade, popcorn and Veggie Tales fruit snacks!! (Man, when I was little and we did a movie at church, we just got to take a blanket to sit on and could go to the water fountain if we got thirsty...)

I love our church and the passion they have for kids!!! I'm sure it blesses God to see all His little ones gather together and learn how to love Him more! :)

and so, it begins...

Yes, my blog world friends, the swelling has begun! O Happy Day!!
While sitting at my desk this morning, I noticed that my shoes felt tight.
Weird.
I looked down and I have little-to-no ankles. It's attractive, really. :p

I'm not complainin'...just explainin'!!!! I've been blessed with a wonderful pregnancy and if a stuffy nose and some swollen body parts is all I have to worry about, life is good!

the answers...

Jami:

Where all have you visited outside of the country and what has been your favorite?

I’ve been out of the country 3 times. The first was when I was in middle school and we did a family on a cruise to the Caribbean. Does that count? LOVED that trip! My other 2 overseas trips were mission trips. #1 was to Australia & New Zealand where we took the study “Experiencing God” to a small church and helped to get it implemented there. #2 was to Russia where we met up with a team from Los Angeles and worked in a children’s summer camp. The mission trips were so different from each other…it’s hard to pick a favorite. I have memories from Australia that have forever impacted my prayer life, and for that, I’m grateful. Plus, it’s beautiful there!! But, I think my favorite trip was Russia because I truly saw God’s heart for little children. They had next to nothing and yet were so happy. I could go on for days… :)

Gretchen:

1) How did you ever live without me?

Honestly? I have no idea! I heart you. Without you, I would not have found my deep love for Stacy & Clinton. :) Kindred means “of like nature or character” and God has truly blessed us with kindred spirits. You can finish my sentences, challenge me, cry with me, and laugh with me until we are out of breath. Over the past couple of years, God has broken us each down at different times and no matter what, at the end of the rope, we both remind each other that nothing matters but Jesus, and He slowly rebuilds us. One day, I pray we’ll be able to fulfill our dreams of raising Godly children who will marry each other, give us grandbabies, and then we will set out for our many mission trips to Africa to rock orphan babies!

2) What has been your most embarrassing moment, ever??

That would have to be in a college Spanish class when my dear friend, Josh, set my new watch alarm to go off every 5 minutes. I couldn’t figure out how to turn it off! Did I mention that we had the MEANEST teacher ever to exist?? Oh, and did I also mention that Matt was in this class and they both feed off each other and thought it was hilarious? I’m getting hives thinking about it.

3) What would rather walk in front of the church in a bathing suit or sing a solo in front of everyone??

Since there is no option here to gouge my eyes out or rip my fingernails off one by one, I’d have to say that I would choose to sing a solo instead of walking in front of the entire church in my bathing suit. That, my friend, will never, ever happen in this lifetime!

4) Do you think you'll ever master the electric slide??

I have given up on my dream of successfully dancing the electric slide. I’m now working on line dancing…

Amanda:

Tell us about the first time you went out with Eric. What did you do? What attracted you to him? (besides him being a drummer :-) ). When did you realize/ what about him that he was the one???

Amanda, so funny that you asked this! I didn’t like Eric when I met him. One day at college, I was in the CSF (Christian Student Fellowship) office with my friend, Jennifer. We’d just decided to go to lunch at the Spaghetti Shoppe and Eric walked in. I’d never met him. He was friends with Jennifer, too, and invited himself to go with us. I thought it was rude. So, he came and I decided I wasn’t going to really talk to him (nice attitude, huh?!). But, at lunch, he made me laugh so much. He talked a lot about his mom and all the neat things he took his niece to do. I remember telling him he would be a great dad one day!! We started to meet up and go to lunch, hang out after classes, then started to spend time together on the weekends. We dated 5 months, got engaged, and married 13 months later. The rest is history! And, yes, I love that he is a drummer!!

Betsy:

How and when did you come to know Christ?

I got saved as a young child. I was always a “good girl”…you know, obeyed my parents, tried to be nice to people, enjoyed going to church. It wasn’t until I went to college and met some wonderful friends that I realized that being a Christian was more than being nice and going to church. It was about having a relationship with Christ. God began to stretch and grow me, challenge me, called me to go on mission trips, and just really expected me to live my life out loud.

ok, i'll bite...

Jami started it...Gretchen offered a challenge, so I'm in - hook, line & sinker! (Is that how the saying goes??)


Ask your questions in the "comment" section and I'll answer. Wow - kinda scary opening yourself up like that!!!

Maggie update...

In my post earlier today, I promised to post some pictures from this weekend. So, enjoy!!

Two pictures that Megan took of Levi:

And here are two pictures from Friday night's dinner.

Emily - our high school friend from Alabama

Me - fully preggo! (Beth...this is a belly shot for you!!! :) )

Jill - the hostess with the mostest!

Jennifer - Jill's friend from college

Jill & her hubby Bob

And now for my baby update!! I saw Dr. Wright for my 30 week check-up. First was the dreaded scale. At my last appointment, I had gained 4 pounds in 6 weeks, which put my total gain at 5 pounds. I am happy to report that in the last 4 weeks, I've actually lost a pound! Crazy? Yes, I know! But I'll take it! I chalk it up to eating much smaller portions and getting full very fast! Dr. Wright was fabulous as always (he always compliments my hair!! What a great guy! tee hee) and said that the baby sounds strong and happy. We are now down to two week visits! OH MY GOSH. Exciting. Scary. I'm happy. But I want to scream "What in the world have you done????????????" ;)

friends, candy & fried pickles!

Is it Monday already? It seems like my weekend flew by so quickly!! Friday night, Eric and I were privileged enough to be invited to a dinner hosted by my friend, Jill. A year ago, I posted about Jill. (click here!) This weekend was the year anniversary for her second liver transplant. Amazing, huh?! Our friend, Emily, came in from Alabama and catered a beautiful and delicious dinner - lasagna, garlic bread, salad, and yummy desserts! - and the evening was spent sitting around a table with Jill & Bob's families and a few close friends reminiscing about stories from last year. We cried, laughed, shared, cried some more, and just really spent some time bonding. Eric and I talked on the way home about how perfect the evening was. There are a lot of things in life that we worry about, but when it comes down to it, we need to savor each moment. Life is short.

Okay, this might get a bit detailed, but bear with me. It was a special weekend and I don't want to forget the small stuff!!


Saturday morning, Eric, Levi & I headed to Megan's to get our pictures taken. I was so excited to FINALLY meet Megan!! I've stalked her on her blog for a long time now. :) Megan, you are a doll and it was a joy to meet you, Chris & Lincoln!! I bribed Levi – yes, bribed him – and told him if he smiled good for his pictures, we’d go to the candy store and let him pick out a piece of candy. So, off to Schimpff’s we went! He loved it there. He picked out a dark chocolate egg with fudge in the middle. That’s my boy!!! I got some cinnamon – my favorite – and Eric bought one of everything. I’m not kidding!! He bought so much candy that I almost choked when he handed me the receipt. We got a diet cherry fountain coke and then Eric and Levi went on a tour of the museum and candy factory. Such fun!! Levi went to Mom’s to nap while Eric and I headed out on a little lunch date to lunch at Zaxby’s. Um, can I just say HELLO LOVE. They have fried pickles. I love you, Zaxby’s!!!

Saturday afternoon, we headed to Jill’s open house. She had a “Celebrate Life” party and invited people from her journey to come and celebrate. It was wonderful. I got to visit with friends old and new! I think the best part is that with all her heart, Jill recognizes the donor families and what they gave up in order that others can have life!!

So, today is Monday and while I feel like my weekend flew by, I still have a full heart. It was a good weekend, full of love, friends, and good time spent with my little family. Speaking of my little family, I'm heading to my 30 week check-up in a little bit. I will post tonight about the happenings of baby Maggie!! I may even get adventurous and post some pictures of this weekend! Woo hoo... stay tuned. :)