Halloween & Friends

Klondike was a glow in the dark skeleton for Halloween! He would have loved all the trick or treaters, except for the fact that we only had 1. I was really sad that we didn't have more, but that's ok. More candy for me and the baby! :)





Yesterday I spent a wonderful girls day out with 2 very special girls. Megan, Nessa and I met at Starbucks (is there any other way to start a day), had lunch, and went to a paint your own pottery studio. I was nervous about painting due to my lack of artistic ability but it turned out great. I also got to meet Blake, Meg's son. It's amazing to think that we're at that stage in our lives where we're having kids of our own! It seems like just last week the three of us were in our apartment in Cookeville dreaming of the days we'd be married.. and now here we are. I thank God for great friends who no matter how far apart or how long it's been it feels like we never left each other..

I've been tagged..

Here are the rules:
1.Post the rules on your blog
2.Write 6 random things about yourself
3.Tag 6 people at the end of your post
4.If you are tagged, just do it, and pass the tag along!

1. I have recently felt my baby move for the first time and I cannot describe how amazing that feeling is!

2. I love to clean and I have the most energy for cleaning right after breakfast in the mornings.

3. Chores I hate doing the most include unloading the dishwasher or folding the laundry and putting it away. I have been sometimes known to leave the dishwasher full and just hand wash the dishes instead of unload it...

4. In high school I was part of the Athenaeum girls school and spent a week of each summer dressed in 1861 period costume (yes, hoop skirt and all..) giving tours of southern plantation homes and reliving/recreating the civil war era.

5. If I lost the pocket calendar that lives in my purse, I'd be lost. If something is not written in it, I will not do it or show up for it.

6. My senior year of high school I was captain of the volleyball team. It was really by default, I was one of 2 seniors and it didn't require athletic ability, thank goodness, or I wouldn't have made the team!

And now I tag Alison, Megan, John, Julie and Jacob...I think those are the only people I know who haven't done it yet!

It's a....

Today was our 20 week ultrasound...and we will be having a healthy, very active baby boy in March! He was asleep for the first part of the ultrasound but once he woke up he was dancing, kicking and moving those little arms all over the place! It all feels so real after seeing him on the video screen. I knew this would feel like the most amazing thing I've ever been a part of but I never knew how much I could love someone I've never met! He's already got me wrapped around his finger! I absolutely cannot wait to meet my son, to see him grow and learn..to see him become the man God calls him to be and see him do what the Lord has planned for him. Words canot describe it!! 20 more weeks... :)

Vacation!

So it's only been a month since we went on our beach vacation.... but here's some pictures of our trip! We went to Orange Beach, AL for a full 7 days and it was fabulous!! It was our first real vacation getaway since our honeymoon 3 years ago. It was a great week of sleeping, reading on the beach, watching movies and eating. (well, Jacob enjoyed eating..the baby was a bit picky on what it actually wanted to stay down and what it sent back!)





My pregnancy is going well. We're at 13 weeks now and had my first month doctor's visit last Thursday. We got to hear the heartbeat and it was one of the weirdest, most fantastic things I've ever heard! Baby T is healthy and growing and I'm starting to get over the nausea and getting sick. It was a rough past 2 weeks but I've felt better the last 24 hours than I have in a while. I'm hopeing that's a good sign! We're starting to clean out the baby's room which has been used for storage since we moved in... we're going to wait until we find out what it is in October before we actually do any painting. It will be here before we know it!

It's true...

In case you haven't heard, (or if you missed the all point bulletin our moms issued Friday night) we are having a baby! We're really excited and nervous and all those other emotions first time babies bring. We're due March 6, 2009. (That's 3-6-9 for all you brains that enjoy numbers like my husband does.) More to come as we figure out this fun new adventure!

Swimming

A few weeks ago (against Klondike's will) we decided to go down to Manchester and swim for a while at Jacob's parents house. Klondike loves to go there, but does not so much love it when we toss him in the pool and make him swim out! Here's some of the fun we had with the him...

Wesley Picnic

Yesterday was the annual TN Tech Wesley Foundation Picnic. The Wesley Foundation is where Jacob & I met, also where I made some of my best friends who still remain my best friends. It's a very special place and will always remind me of how wonderful the Lord is. Last night was interesting because there were so many new faces! Wesley spans many, many years back and has continued on another 4 years since Jacob graduated and 3 years since I graduated. The group in the picture was the "old" group last night, all these people were there around the same time I was and I'm so glad we've all stayed in touch. I'm always a little sad to leave when we all get together.. the memories surrounding these people and that place are priceless!

A few surprises...

Last week Jacob was mowing the yard when he noticed an unusually large hole in the ground by our back fence. Upon further investigation he found 6 newly birthed bunnies that hadn't even opened their eyes yet! We've kept an eye on them over the last week and a half and tonight they ventured out of the hole for the first time! Here are some pictures of our little furry friends...

Summertime is finally here!

May was a very busy month for us. We graduated my sister from UT-Chattanooga with her nursing degree, worked on the house, worked in general, went to a good friend's wedding, visited family, and wrapped up May with a trip to Alabama where we spent a relaxing weekend with my cousins, aunt & uncle on the lake. Now it's June and I've suffering from the "summertime blues". I've never had a full time job that went through the summer before and this year I'm feeling it! I've worked during the summer, just always as a camp counselor or babysitting... jobs that let me be outside and enjoy it. This year, I'm in desperate need of a vacation! Don't get me wrong, I love my job, I just wish it ended in May and started up again in August. :) Oh well. We are slowly but surely getting work done on the house, I'll get pictures up here someday. We spent all last weekend painting the living room, foyer area and the upstairs hallway "nook". Last night we did the half bath downstairs and I must say, it all looks quite nice! Just painting has let me feel even more at home here. I really, really love our house! Klondike loves the house, he's finally adjusted to being here. We've even started leaving him out of his crate during the day and so far the only casualty is my pair of summer dress sandals... (fortunately for him they were from Target and starting to wear out anyway!) The pictures are from the weekend at the lake and also our most recent family picture.

Sad Day..

For the last 2.5 years we've had a Beta fish named Leopold (aka Leo). He joined us shortly after we got married and lived through 3 apartments and a move across country in his aquarium in a moving truck. He loved to eat and also enjoyed visiting friends when we were out of town. This morning, we woke up and found Leo had passed away in the night. Yes, it's a fish... but it's been a very sad day here in Nashville. :(

Klondike's Big Adventure

Yesterday was a big day for little Klondike! We began the day like any other- waking up at 7, going out to potty, eating yummy beef flavored food for breakfast followed by some relax time people watching on the patio. At 10:30 we went to the vet to check out an itchy, red rash on his ears. It turns out that our little white dog most likely has developed a food allergy to either beef or milk. Both ingredients are found in his food as well as his treats and bones. So the vet gives us an antibiotic to clear up the rash, some ointment to be applied daily, an anticeptic wash to use once a week and some hypo-allergenic food. No more bones or treats until we figure out exactly what is causing the skin break out... :(
So we go home and spend the rest of the day cleaning out closets and getting the house ready for Easter company. Before dinner we took Klondike up on the grassy hill to chase the ball, little did we know that someone had thrown a bottle out in the grass and the mowers had mowed right over it earlier in the day. Little Klondike found the bottle first, unfortunatly for his right front foot. He jumped and landed right in the glass. We picked him up quickly to find blood dripping down his leg. We brought him home, cleaned him up and then decided that it definitely needed to be checked out. We found a "pet emergency room" that is opened at night and on weekends so we headed there. When we got there, Dr. Jeremiah told us that he needed a staple put over the cut to help it heal and prevent infection in the tendon. So they gave little Klondike a shot of morphine, shaved his leg and inserted a staple over the wound. When they brought him out to us, he had this goofy smile on his face and was completely unable to do anything but sleep due to the morphine. Our little puppy was totally out of it until about 7 this morning! The best part of the evening came when they told us he had to wear an e-collar, better known as a doggie lamp shade, over his neck for a week. He really does not enjoy the collar, but it getting used to it. It's been a very rough 24 hours for the puppy and Jacob & I are starting to wonder.. if a dog is this stressful, will we ever be really ready for kids??? :)
Here is a picture of Klondike high on his morphine and wearing the "lamp shade".
Poor puppy...

We're real people now...

Last week as scared, excited, & nervous individuals, Jacob and I signed a contract on a house! We're SO SO SO excited! We close on April 15th if all goes well. We'll be moving to Franklin, about 20 minutes away from where we are now. It's still the same commute (25 minutes) for me to work but much shorter for Jacob once they move to the Franklin office. It's beautiful and really close to exactly what we were looking for. It's got a big yard, Klondike won't know what to do with himself. We're now in the waiting for everything to go through and go well stage..which I'm finding to be a bit overwhelming but well worth it! We'll post pictures as we go along and hopefully be moving in a month! :)

Tennessee Snow...

Finally! It was beautiful and, in typical southern snow fashion, gone as quickly as it came. I do miss Minnesota snow.. Believe it or not this amount of snow closed every school in Middle Tennessee! (Except mine, of course. We did go 2 hours late, though) In the defense of TN snow, there was a nice layer of ice under it. Klondike had some fun with the snow, he'd never seen it before. The first picture up there is us with Chad, Becca and Ginger. We visited them a few weekends ago in Maryville. Klondike and Ginger got along, but I think Klondike kinda bugged her. She's 4 years old so her energy level isn't quite what his is!

In the Stillness...

This has been the most relaxing weekend I've had in months. I have done nothing, literally. (Thanks to the help of a sinus infection..UGH) That aside, I have not had anything pressing to do. I'm not very good at doing nothing. In fact, if you ask Jacob he will tell you that most of the time he has to force me to sit still long enough to watch a TV show. I get used to constant motion and when the motion stops, I don't know what to do with myself! I was thinking about that this afternoon after church. Our pastor did a sermon today on Psalm 46:10- "Be Still and Know that I am God." He was asking us to reflect on the last time we spent being still and listening to God, the last time we truly stopped to experience God. I thought about my aversion to being still. When is the last time I sat still and listened to God? Sure, I pray constantly and then continue on knowing that the Lord has heard me. But when was the last time i really sat down, sat still and listened to Him? So many things distract me, get in my way.. so many things on my daily mental to-do list. Will it really hurt me to leave those dishes in the sink? To let the dog toys be scattered across the house for a little longer? To get up a few minutes earlier before work? I realized this morning that I have a lot of work to do in clearing out my "oh so important to-do list' and making time to listen to my Creator. In the end, it won't matter how clean my house is or whether the shirts are all washed and ironed on the same day. What matters is Him, the time I spend just me and Him, and what He has planned for me. tAnd he only way to know His plan is.... to listen.