6 weeks left

So I've decided I am awful at keeping up with this thing! I wish I was better at blogging but the reality is, I'm not. My computer at home is slow and doesn't work very well and yeah, I could pull my laptop out but most of the time I don't feel like it.

I'm 6 weeks out (7 from due date Nov. 21st) from the c-section. Not sure what I want to happen. I'd like to see if I could labor for awhile but I figure it's pointless --I'll still end up with a c-section! I've only gained about 23 lbs so far with this pregnancy. Not too bad -- but most people don't think I'm as far along as I am. Guess that could also be b/c we didn't tell anyone until we were 5 months either, eh?

Adriana is growing and she talks all the time. She says anything you tell her to and she comes up with some of the most funniest things at times. This morning I had her on the potty and she was looking at my necklace. It has a heart with a cross in the middle and I was explaining to her that Jesus lives in my heart. She said, "I want see it." I thought she meant my necklace but when I handed it to her she said, "No. I want see it." So I asked her, "See what?" "Jesus" she says. It was so precious... I didn't really know how to answer that one.

We've upgraded from a Subaru to a Honda van. It's great! I love the extra room it provides. It's easier to get in and out of and I know it'll be much easier with a car seat and carrier in there too. God has provided for us in so many ways lately.

Tosh and I will be married 4 years on Thursday this week. Hard to believe. I love him so much. I don't know what I would do without him. I need to upload pictures but at the moment I'm just trying to get through everything with the new baby coming and keeping our house at least semi-straightened up! Not to mention I've been swamped with work. Students are coming to me this year like never before and it's so exciting!

I'm glad for Fall but this cold weather is a bit of a shocker! I want to get some pumpkins and let Adriana carve them. We bought her a ladybug costume to go Trick-or-Treating in this year. Love to everyone!

Much needed update!

This is the leftovers of Aunt Corey's easter basket :-) She had fun!

She had been helping me outside in the mud. She literally sat down and started digging a hole in the mud with her fingers... it was fun for her so I didn't make her stop.

Adriana is now 15 months old. My mom has better pics than I do on her camera but I wanted to share some of the ones I've taken here at our house. She can say just about anything you tell her to -- maybe not 100% perfect but she'll at least try. She absolutely loves books and wants you to read all the time. We are going to the beach soon and I just know she's going to love it.

Tosh and I still have not sold our house in Lexington. We've reduced the price several times but no luck. It is very difficult because it's been on the market almost 2 years now. That's a huge chunk of money each month -- but God always provides. Always.

Just pics!

Happy Fall Ya'll

She did surprisingly well - I was afraid she'd fall off the hay bales but she didn't. Jake was facinated with her. Things have been crazy since we moved out of Mom's house. I don't seem to have time between work, a baby, a husband, and a house to do anything else. I have a spare moment now and thought I'd share some fun. Loving the cooler weather and looking forward to pumpkin pies, falling leaves, hot chocolate, apple cider, etc.

Adriana will be 7 months old in three more days. She's about 20 lbs now and she's wearing mostly 12 mo. clothes. Baby clothes still kind of confuse me. They grow out of them so quickly! We are enjoying her as much as we can every single day. Love to everyone!

Pictures-- it's all I've got time for!

Brinn's work is AMAZING - as always!

This is one of my favorite pictures!

(She did a lovely face-plant right after this photo was taken!)

Brinn took these photos for us while we were visiting in Lexington the end of July. We made a quick trip up to check on the house and spend some quality time with friends there. Here is Brinn's website -- she is so good at what she does.

http://bmwphotography.ifp3.com/

God has blessed her with an eye for people and capturing those moments that won't last forever. Brinn- thank you for the work you do and using your talent for God. I am always amazed at your work :-)

We are also moving this weekend. Friday is the big day! I can't wait and on the other hand, I'm scared to death. It's strange how you adapt and adjust to where you are in life. Tosh and I haven't been with Adriana on our own at all yet. My Mom and Dad have been there to help us take care of her every day/night. Now we have to readjust as a family and make another house a home. I told Tosh the other night that it's like our life has been on hold. We boxed up everything we owned, moved, and then never unboxed. It was like someone pushed PAUSE on things -- and now the thought of unboxing things is like Christmas to me! I can't wait to use my own STUFF again!

I'll hopefully post pictures of the house this weekend if I get the chance. Adriana will finally have a nursery/room to herself! The color in the room is already great and we are buying a bed for her on Thursday. She's been sleeping in a Pack N' Play since she was born but she is quickly outgrowing that. I'm glad we can finally give her a space that's all hers.

Enjoy the pictures! More coming soon!

The Road Trip

Well we have returned from Lexington and it was a great trip! Adriana did really well for her first long trip. We left on Thursday night late so that she'd sleep most of the way. That she did and when we got to Corey and Jeff's around 12:30am we popped up the pack-n-play and put her back to bed. The next day Tosh and I spent tearing down a wall mural at the house, mowing the grass, and spraying for weeds. It's amazing how much a place grows up when you're not there to maintain it. Tosh did most of the work because I had to take care of Adriana.

We got to share dinner with FW, Brinn and Georgie! That was a great surprise and Brinn got some awesome pics of Adriana! I'll post them in a separate blog with her website link too. She is so great at what she does -- I'm always amazed at the talent God has given her. It was a wonderful time to catch up and see them. They are really good friends and we sure do love them. Georgie has grown so much! I was so surprised at how big he's gotten! He's going to be one next month.

Saturday we cleaned up some more around the house. I picked up some tame blackberry bushes from a neighbor up the road, and then it was relaxing and celebrating with friends at Corey and Jeff's. They were so gracious to open up their home and host a party for us to see all our friends from Lexington. Adriana did so well--she basically let anyone and everyone hold her and she didn't get upset. I was thankful to God for that.

Sunday we packed up, went to church, and then headed back. It was the worst trip EVER! She HATED being in that car seat. We did pretty good up until Wytheville then from there on back we had to stop about a 1/2 dozen times to get out, stop her crying, get her to sleep, drive for a bit longer before she started screaming again. The last short leg (10 minutes or so) I pulled out my cell phone and kept playing ring tones for her over and over. That seemed to do the trick and we finally made it home. It was such a long trip on the way back.

It was so bittersweet to see everyone and be there again. It was a blessing to be able to partake in communion on Sunday. We didn't get to see everyone we wanted to or talk to them but that was OK.

Well time to go -- Adriana is getting a bit fussy! Pics later

Here are some new pictures! Adriana turned 4 months old yesterday and we didn't get a single picture! But she is 24 1/2 inches long and she's almost 16 lbs. The last photo is of my most favorite Aunt and Uncle that live in SC. They came in for 4th of July celebration with family and we went to see them. We are coming to visit Lexington the 24-26 of July. See Corey for more details -- haha

Nothing is happening on our house and we think we know why. As we were looking about getting a house here most places want anywhere from 11-20% down on the loan. That's a HUGE chunk of money that we don't have and probably a lot of other people don't either. We think that's probably why our house hasn't moved in Lexington.

What's new in our world?

Adriana has finally figured out how to suck her thumb now! She sucks her left thumb so I'm not sure if that means she'll be left handed or not. She does a lot of things with her left hand...

Times are good here but a bit crazy. I've been super stressed over finished up Career Coaching and then in the middle of that Directing Governor's School at the college. It's went well but not as well as we'd have liked. We needed 45 students but ended up with 31 so far. They are a great group and my Teaching Assistants are really good too. Lots of different challenges have arose but God has been faithful. I had to use eVA again which I'm glad I used it a lot at VMI b/c it's made this job much easier. We toured Lincoln Memorial University yesterday and it was great!

And what I know you've all been waiting for...here are some recent pictures of Adriana. She's still not rolled over on her own yet. She's very strong willed and is a happy girl most of the time. But when she gets mad - she gets MAD. heh

Mother's Day

Well we ended up not even getting a single picture of Adriana and me together on Mother's Day. I was too worried about trying to find something to wear... and clothes that used to fit don't anymore! No surprise but I was bummed out about it.

But we did get a few really good shots of HER!

This picture is of her new hat that Michelle made her. It has the cutest little ribbon through it! I think she liked it... heh