Busy weekend!

Whew! I feel like we are soo busy, but I really do not mind! I know that it is making time pass more quickly. Closer to June 3rd (summer begins!) and closer to late July/early August...our Aubrey arrives. (Is it wishful thinking to hope we might have her early??)

This weekend was no exception to the busy-ness. Friday was even a test of faith, for me at least. Our church has challenged each family to do 3 weeks of sacrifice where we choose a monetary thing to give up for the 3 weeks leading up to Easter, and then we donate to missions the money we would have spent to that "thing." Aaron and I decided to sacrifice eating out, and it has been so difficult! Friday nights are usually our eat out nights, which have become sort of a date night just to get out of La Vernia and relax, talk, explore, etc. Staying home the first Friday night was not too bad because I had already planned what to cook for the week, including that night. This past Friday, however, I had a craving for ribs! All you pregnant ladies present and past know that cravings mean serious business! As bad as I wanted to just give in and go out to eat, we didn't. And...as late as it was already, I decided not to cook anything major, but we both just made some ramen noodles and ate PB&Js. The funny thing is: that food made me full just like ribs would have. It was just a matter of will power. I'm pretty proud of myself. But, I will have ribs soon :)

I was so exhausted that I fell asleep around 8:30 or 9:00 Friday night. The exhaustion is slowly coming back, but I keep reminding myself that I only have 7 more weeks of work to get through. Since I got so much rest, I was up and ready Saturday morning to go into San Antonio looking for baby stuff. We went mostly thrifting for furniture, but didn't find any. I found some cute outfits at a consignment store called Kid2Kid. Here are a couple of the things we found:

Saturday night, we were invited to go to the "Fiesta Flambeau" parade in downtown San Antonio. It was a lot of fun, though really long. I got uncomfortable sitting for that long, but the cultural experience was priceless. Here Aaron and I are waiting for the show to start:

 

Today, Sunday, was another good day of rest. I decided to work on some of my craft projects again and actually finished a few things. Here are Aubrey's letters for the wall in her room, all of them together and some close-ups:

 Also, I finished the first canvas in the 3 piece wall art I'm making that goes with her bedding. The pink and green look very neon in the pics, but they are more subtle. Her "toy bag" came in so I am able to match up colors and everything looks great so far!

Finally, here is my 23 weeks picture. Pardon my lazy Sunday clothes, but I did put on my Carolina t-shirt, in honor of everyone in NC, especially Johnston County, that were affected by the tornadoes that came through. It is scary to be so far away and see the pics of the debris and damage. I am praying for NC!

Til next time!

Sunday Craft Day!

I spent a lot of time on Sunday getting started (and finishing) some ideas that I had in mind for Aubrey's room. Once we decided on the bedding, my creative juices started flowing! The bedding we chose is called "Poppy" from a designer - Cotton Tale. They sell it at Babies-R-Us. Here is a photo with a black crib, we'll be using a white one:

When I got started looking, I noticed that the canvases in the 3 piece wall art look very simple to make! So, I have all the supplies and have started this project, but not finished quite yet. I want to take my time so that they look professionally done, not rushed through. More pics to come of that later. Here are all my supplies that I started with:

Hobby Lobby was out of the letter "y," but convinced me that they would be getting more in this Thursday. Another project I wanted to do was a homemade hairbow holder. I started with a wood plaque, paint, and ribbon, and here's the final project. I really hope the colors match up:

Lastly, I decided to leave the letters white, with her room being painted green (we are thinking). So, I'm adding ribbon and flowers, which takes a little longer than I had imagined. So here's the letter A that I've gotten done so far:

Wonder what I'll come up with next?

21-22 weeks...deciding on a name!

This past Friday night (yes, this is over a week late) we went out to eat on the riverwalk. I love spending Friday nights as kind of a "date night" with Aaron. It's pretty much my favorite time of the week because it means I don't have to get up early the next day! We ate at a place called "Iron Cactus" which was a GREAT Tex-Mex kind of place. Food was excellent, conversation even better; that night I think we actually finally decided what we would name our daughter. We didn't tell that night, but we did soon after. If you haven't heard...her name is going to be Aubrey Madison. We thought about it quite a bit...I wanted it to be special, of course. She will have the same initials as Aaron - AMS. Madison, a name I've always loved, also means "son of Matthew," also tying in Aaron's middle name. I am glad that she will have those things in common with her daddy. :)

18 weeks, but not a baby post!

Today I am 18 weeks! 2 weeks from tomorrow we'll find out if Baby S is a girl or boy. I really have no inclinations, but I can't wait until that milestone is here so we can really start planning!

I wanted to post today, though, to write about my wonderful husband. He left early this morning to start a day's worth of travelling to end up in Haiti, he thought. Long story short, the group won't be leaving until tomorrow morning...and I have cherished these extra times to be able to talk to him; once he's international, we will be savoring 50 texts until he comes back to Florida on Wednesday. Maybe you are all laughing at me by now about how mushy and sentimental I'm being, and I'll admit pregnancy has me a little bit emotional, but I've had such a hard time with him leaving. I cried 3 times, including saying goodbye this morning. And...as I sit and write this I am fighting the urge to tear up again! I KNOW! The week will go by so fast, especially with me being in NC starting Saturday. But, here's what God has shown me through this...

I love that man so much! We all often take our loved ones for granted. I don't know what I'd do without him though. He's my soulmate, my spiritual leader, and my best friend. We are about to take one of the biggest steps forward in our lives as we attempt to raise a child together! And I'd rather do that with no one else! Don't get me wrong - we're not a perfect couple, and we fight and get on each other's nerves enough! I am proud of the way he is spending this week serving, and how excited he was is about it. To sum it all up, I don't want to live life with anyone else but him.

Sometimes, this life we live is hard. Ministry is hard. We're so far from "home" and we've been burned so badly in the past that it'd be easy to quit. But, we stick it out. We've made some good changes, and we're happy! And I've realized that "home" is wherever he is.

Ok, enough lovey dovey! Just wanted you all to know how awesome my husband is. Be jealous!

16 weeks

Hello 16 weeks! My new weeks start every Thursday, but I have a hard time updating because of my busy schedule during the week. This is kind of my first maternity outfit as well. I've been wearing the pants for a while, but I got some new tops online and was excited to wear this one out to dinner on Friday night. Which brings me to my next picture...

I was craving seafood so bad! In Tuscaloosa, I shopped at Publix which is like my all time favorite grocery store, which had fresh shrimp and marinated salmon that I would pick up every week. I haven't had that in so long that it became a hankering (which I would define as a craving x10). Boy did this 20 shrimp feast satisfy that craving! 

The time frame on my mind at the moment is 2 weeks. I have 2 weeks of school until Spring Break and I am wondering if I'm gonna make it. Aaron is excited for his Haiti trip that he's been praying about and raising money for. I am excited for a week of rest with my parents and family in NC. 

We also go back to the Dr. this Wednesday, the 2nd. It's not supposed to be a "big" appointment, I think she's just going to check the heart rate and make sure everything is ok. Our big day to find out gender is March 25th. Less than 4 weeks now, and we are very excited. We actually have NO names picked out yet; we have both kind of come to the conclusion that we can't decide until we know for sure boy or girl.

I can't wait until summer time when I get to stay at home and rest! In the spirit of that, I am still trying to find a way to stay at home and work next year. Let me know if you have any ideas about that!  

Cravings and first baby purchase...

It's official...we are now in the 2nd trimester! I feel slightly relieved that most of the huge risks are over and I can breathe a little bit! I am still having a hard time really believing that in about 6 months there will be a little one in our house. When does it become real? When you feel him/her kick? When they finally arrive?

I have been watching a lot of Food Network lately for some reason...I mean, I like to cook so it's no surprise. Cupcake wars was a bad idea. I went to the grocery store today and HAD to have funfetti cake mix and icing. Also on the craving list was more fresh pineapple for Aaron to cut up for me. And pina colada and strawberry daiquiri mix! Shew...not a whole lot of healthy cravings coming my way.

We got some advice to go ahead and start buying baby stuff each time we are at the store so that we spend a little bit at the time. So here is a picture of our very first baby purchase (and the cravings):

Just a couple of things I've noticed...

Pregnancy is a totally new experience. Things happen all the time that completely catch me off guard. I often say to myself or Aaron, "What's wrong with me?" And...he always politely reminds me...."You're pregnant!" Duh. A couple of examples:

1. At week 13 and 4 days :) , the nausea/aversion to foods is still not gone. Thursday night, we cooked a wonderful (looking) dinner of cheeseburgers, baked potatoes, and steamed broccoli. It all smelled marvelous, but when it was time to sit down and bite, I couldn't do it. The banana milkshake i was thinking of from Sonic, however, sounded (and tasted) good. I figured some calories were better than no calories.

2. I am starting to have trouble sleeping. My sides cramp up when I lay on them for a substantial amount of time. My back and neck cramp up when I lay on my back for a while. Stomach is off limits. How to be comfortable?

3. It is INCREDIBLY hard to find cute maternity clothes. The pants I have bought should last me awhile. I am not so concerned about those being "cute." However, tops? Ridiculous. I am going to wear my regular clothes as long as I can and then pray that the designers of maternity tops and dresses come to their senses. Meanwhile should anyone have clothing they would like to donate, I would greatly appreciate it. (That was the other huge issue: the cute stuff was outrageously priced!)

4. Without being completely inappropriate and providing TMI, there are "other things" that we are finding difficult as well. I mean, when this belly gets much bigger, as it will, I don't see how we are going to do "certain things." Ok...I'm stopping right there.

5. I forgot the 5th thing I was going to rant about. Maybe I should mention pregnancy brain and forgetfulness.

And I know I've mentioned a lot of negative things here. One great thing is that I have started having a bit more energy and have gotten out and walked a few days. Another thing is that I have started telling myself everyday that at the end of all this, I am going to have a little, precious mixture of Aaron and me to hold and raise and teach about Jesus. I say everyday "I'm going to have a baby" and I've started to believe and understand it. It's pretty cool and definitely trumps 1-5 :)

I'll try to post a pic later.