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

8 weeks old

Time sure does fly by! Tosh is going back to work tomorrow. He has thoroughly enjoyed his time off and I'm so thankful that he had the time to take for us! I'm a bit stressed over work but have put it in God's hands and am doing the very best I can and to HIS glory - not mans!

The first picture was taken today - before I cut all of Tosh's hair off! She is 8 weeks 2 days old in that photo. She is so heavy now -- I feel like I understand Proverbs 31 when it talks about "strong arms". She gets her first shots this week at the Doctor on Thursday. I'm so worried and nervous about them. It's so amazing how much she changes as the days go by. She is starting to squeal and make all sorts of interesting sounds now. She smiles at us a lot and she loves to just kick and move her arms around. If she's held she only wants to be held upright, not lying down.

She's still not sleeping through the night but we are only doing about 2 feedings now... sometimes 3 depending on the night.

As for a house -- God is working. A neighbor down the road is looking to sell his and called saying that God had put it on his heart to see if we were interested. We'd talked to him once when we first moved back but nothing came of it. We went and looked at the house and it's the perfect size, quiet neighborhood, dead end road, and not too much yard (just enough). We are waiting to see how the Lord will work it all out. We are anxious to be on our own. I seem to have forgotten what all "stuff" I own since it's been packed up for so long. Enjoy the pictures!

New pictures!

Life is going OK. We are enjoying our time with Adriana.... I had my first day away from her yesterday! I had to work. And when I got home she didn't want to be with anyone else! It was really sweet.

She loves her bath time and she loves her Daddy! He is gone turkey hunting this week in Rockbridge County so all of you folks up there feel free to drop by the house or call him! He's in town!

At her last Doctor's appointment she weighed almost 10 lbs! I've had a bought with mastitis and some other unpleastant pain but am pressing through and still breast feeding. It's hard sometimes and I get frustrated but that's OK.

3 Weeks Old

The top picture is of her in the outfit her Aunt Corey bought her. It was so cute! Then we have a family picture of all of us. Yeah, I look kind of rough but hey -- I don't care! It's the most worthwhile lack of sleep time I've had. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Yesterday her umbilical cord finally fell off. Almost 3 weeks to the hour she was born! We had a rough night last night. We've been supplementing just a little every now and then with formula. We used the powdered formula last night and she was fussy all night. I almost think it caused her constipation or something. She squirmed and just was uncomfortable all night long. Our plan is for me to just keep pumping as much as I possibly can and maybe give her a supplemental breast milk bottle at night.

I'm looking forward to finally giving her a real bath in a tub! Yah! Another milestone -- it shouldn't go so quickly! I've technically only got three weeks left to be at home with her and I don't want to go back to work. Tosh has 5 more and he's going to love being with her some alone I think. That's all for now! Enjoy!

Time passes so quickly!

Taken yesterday afternoon -19 days old.

Her St. Patrick's Day outfit :-) Thanks SIS!

Proud Papa after an all nighter!

I wish I had more time to update this thing to keep people back in Lexington up to speed but it seems that sleep is one of my top priorities along with feeding Adriana. We are doing well -- it is very very tough having a newborn! SHESH! I mean, I don't know what I thought it was going to be like, but this wasn't it. Tosh is a great father and has helped me immensely. He has done such a wonderful job! I had no idea I'd married such a kind man.

It's also very good that my parents are helping us out. We have had several nights of "OK NOW WHAT DO WE DO?!" and my parents would step in and take her so we could get a couple hours of sleep and not lose it anymore. She is growing quickly and although she has her days and nights mixed up, she is such a sweet baby.

I've quickly learned how to change diapers and clothes. We've been pooped on an peed on and we've successfully made it to Dr.'s appt's and back on our own with her. Feeding her in the car is not easy. Her first major "outing" was this week. We went to Kingsport for my Dad's guitar lesson (mainly b/c I'm going stir-crazy in this house and just getting out a little for a drive is helpful!), and after that we went to Pratt's BBQ to eat. She did well until the end of the meal and she started screaming b/c she was hungry so I had to take her out to the van and feed her.

I am starting to get back on my feet. My incision was checked yesterday and although I am definitely recovering slowly, I am recovering. I thank God for the blessings and not the burdens right now. It's hard to focus on the good when you're exhuasted. I didn't know what exhuastion was until now. And yet, I somehow find I have the strength to get up and feed her again, even though she just ate two hours ago. She slept for 5 hours last night -- first time since she's been home. She'd been staying awake all night long and sleeping all day. We started yesterday trying to wake her up (wiping her face with a wet wash cloth) and keep her awake to see if she'd sleep, and sure enough, she did. Of course, it hurts really badly when she goes 5 hours without eating!!! I have to pump or wake her up to feed her. Ah the joys of motherhood. But I know I'll miss feeding her. I already miss the feeling of her inside me moving around and hiccuping. Those are moments I'll never forget.

Tosh is so patient and good with her. Her umbilical cord stump still hasn't fallen off - -it's close but not yet. It kind of freaks me out but I know it's OK. She goes back to the Dr. for her 1 month check up on April 2nd. Hard to believe...

Pictures

Dr. Beckner -- he delivered Adriana

It was such a beautiful day so we decided to take a family photo outside!

Papaw Coy!

Our little darling :-)

Welcome Adriana Cleo Barnette!

Well it is official! We have a new little baby girl! Her name is Adriana Cleo Barnette and here are all the details! On Friday March 6th I was having contractions apparently for an hour before I realized what they were. They felt more like stomach cramps and I was up and down a lot during the night. I tried to sleep through them but that didn't work out because at 5AM I got up to use the bathroom again and my water had broke! I woke Tosh up and within a couple hours (we had everything packed we just didn't want to rush it you know?) we were at the hospital. Tosh drove like a crazy man but we never saw a police man and we made it in plenty of time. They wheeled me up to the Birthing Center and once at the desk we found out they had 6 c-sections scheduled that day and they'd had several walk-ins too. There was no room for me at the moment but then someone who they'd put in a room was moved out because her water hadn't broken yet and mine had.

So we get put into a room and hooked up on all the monitors. Things are looking OK. Tosh is there and my Mom and Dad weren't far behind us. They had to take care of our dog. Contractions were happening but weren't too awful bad. As the day progressed, so did the contractions of course. I labored for 16 hours straight with nothing but 1/2 a miligram of Stadohl at one point. It slowed my contractions down though and then when they returned it was much worse. I hardly laid in the bed at all. It was 100 times worse when I was laying down than if I was sitting or standing when I had them. Most of the time I labored was standing up. Once we got to the point that I had to get back in the bed, it was push time. And that didn't go so well. I pushed for about 2 1/2 hours with no luck. The nurse kept saying I wasn't pushing correctly or something and I was ready to kick her out the door! How do you PUSH CORRECTLY? I was pushing with all I had and nothing was working. You could just barely see her head and my midwife said it was moving but my Mom and Tosh said it wasn't. Eventually I was at my breaking point. No pain meds, exhaustion, completely wiped out... I started to lose it a bit and was ready for a C-section. At no point was Adriana ever in distress that we could tell. Her head just wouldn't fit through my pelvis.

So quickly things changed -- they brought in the spinal guy, he talked and talked and I had to answer questions all the while trying to hold back from pushing, then came in a different Doctor, (whom we'd met previously in case this had to happen) and it was all a blur after that. They gave me a shot to stop the contractions then wheeled me down to the C-Section room. It took them 5 times to get the epidural in for some stupid reason -- all the while I'm feeling like I'm in some dream or something. Nothing seemed real to me.. I felt like I was watching someone else go through all this.

And before we knew it, they finally get things going, Tosh is there, and we have a baby girl! They gave me some good drugs that made me sleep for awhile and all the time I'm hearing people talking in my room and thinking in my head, "WAKE UP! You need to feed her or else you'll miss the window of opportunity! WAKE UP! COME ON!" But I just couldn't. I hardly got to see her before Tosh took her to the nursery when I was in the C-section room. I got to give her a quick kiss on the face and that was it. So when I finally woke up and they brought her to me I was so emotional. She is the best little nurser- ever! She caught right on and we've had no problems with breast feeding. I'm so glad I took that breast feeding class before hand. It taught me so much!

She was born at 10:32pm, weighed 6 pounds 10.4 oz. and was 19 1/4 inches long. She has dark hair and looks like Tosh. I want to write more but Mommy duty calls. We've been home now since Monday and things are very different. We are enjoying our time with her and can't wait to share her "in person" with all our friends at LBC.

Please say a prayer for us -- we are so new to all this and it is very overwhelming. I'm just thankful we have extra hands from my parents right now. It sure helps out.

38 weeks 3 days

No change from the last Dr's appointment. I was a bit discouraged but it's what is meant to be I suppose. She will not let me go past 40 weeks so if I don't have this baby by next week then we will have it by next weekend (March 14th).

I've got pictures to post later from belly shots to Tosh's birthday yesterday! It was a really good one and I think he enjoyed it.

Progress!

Today was Dr. appointment day! I am 1 to 1 1/2 cm dilated and 80% effaced! I'm so excited :-)

She said my BP was good and everything seems ok. I've gained a couple more pounds so that's a plus too.

Tosh came through his endoscopy just fine and they are putting him on some new medication called Kapidex to help with the acid reflux. Hopefully once we get the insurance to cover it and he starts taking it, it will help alleviate some of these stomach issues.

Thank you for your prayers for both of us. We will keep you posted!

37 weeks 2 days

Sorry but I still don't have any pictures taken yet. We are out on a "snow day" today so maybe I'll get around to it. I also have big plans to write out more thank you notes since I won't be working today.

Currently, our students won't be getting out of school until June 13th or something like that. Long time into the summer!

I'm feeling pretty good. Since the baby is head-down I'm feeling lots of little heels/feet up under my ribs alot and it just about drives me crazy! I have another cold too. That's four colds since December. That's a whole lot for me. I usually only get one cold per year or something but I guess since I'm pregnant and my immune system is down a bit, and what with being in lots of different schools working with students, I've picked up some new strain of the cold bug. Tosh is sick too with a cold.

I've heard a lot on David and Goliath this past week. Almost like God is trying to tell me something -- and I think I know what it is. David relied on God's strength and his faith in God to get him through. He didn't back down to his "giant". And right now I think my giant is having this baby! I think God is trying to say to me, "When the moment comes, don't think you can do it alone. Ask me for strength and I'll give it to you and you will succeed." I was listening to Walk in the Word with James MacDonald and he had another good point about the Bible story. Sometimes we look at the story of David and Goliath and say "God won the battle" but we fail to see what David did. In life, we tend to sit back and say "I'll let the Lord take care of this one. The Lord will fight my battles for me." And yet, if you look at David, he is the one that put on the armor (then took it off again), he picked up the 5 stones from the brook, and he marched out on that battle field and even "pulled the trigger" you could say. His faith was so strong in God that all he had to do was get to the point where God would take over and finish it. And God did. God sunk that rock into Goliath's head and he fell to the earth.

We have to be willing to go as far as we can for God and then let him finish the battle in some cases. God wants us to be active in winning battles for/with Him. At church this past week we also did "Hello David/Goodbye David" an introduction and then the death of David. And of course we are introduced to David through this same Bible Story once more. The interesting part that David Buckham brought out was that David picked up 5 stones. Why five? David's theory is that if you continue through the book of Daniel you'll see that there were 4 other giants that came from Goliath and each of them David killed. Could it be those stones were representative of those 4 other giants after Goliath was killed? I don't know. But it sure was a neat idea!

We are studying the book of James over the next series of weeks and I'm really excited about it. I love the book of James and I can't wait to see what David is going to bring out each week. I've listened to the first sermon of "Organic Church" Pastor Michael did and it sounds really great! I'm sure our friends at Lexington are being challenged right now. Isn't it wonderful that as we grow and age God still is able to prick our hearts and we continue to strive to be more like Jesus?

Something else that touched my heart this week as we were studying James was that all we need is Jesus. Sometimes we get caught up in material things and I know I hear this all the time, but I needed to hear it again. Right now I am caught up in that "We don't have a house and our house isn't selling! ACK!" Somehow inside I get this notion that if our house would just sell in Lexington and we could move into another house here, that would solve everything. I would be happy and content. But that's the wrong attitude for me to have. God says I should have joy and be satistfied that Jesus is enough. Jesus is enough. Jesus is enough for me.

It's also tying into the Beth Moore Bible Study I've been doing too on Esther. Seeing God when you can't see Him. God is all over the book of Esther but He's not mentioned *in* the book of Esther. I guess God is trying to show me that He's working on my life, our future, our house (in Lex. and here), even though I can't see Him doing it. And He wants me to realize that He is sufficient for all I need. I don't need a house to have joy. I don't need a fancy nursery to have joy in a new baby coming. I don't need all sorts of baby toys or "items" in order to be set for this child to come. I am surrounded by loving family and friends right now and God is taking care of everything. So I should be content in that and find strength in God's word.

It feels so good to be learning and studying God's word. I couldn't wait to get to church last night and hear Goodbye David. I wanted to know what happened to David and what God had in store next. I got there just in time for the sermon. I had to help Tosh with a Hunter Ed class yesterday afternoon so I was a little late to church.

I look forward to Thursday night Bible Study on Beth Moore and even though God is challenging me through this bible study and I feel my heart pricked when certain things hit home, I still can't wait to get there and learn and allow the Holy Spirit to change me and show me how I can grow in Christ. I look forward to doing my weekly 'homework' for the study because it brings out so much I never thought about before on the book of Esther. Things that you just "read over" and don't take the time to *THINK* about. It's facinating!

Well, I hope each of you have a good and blessed day today. I'm hoping we'll have a baby soon... I'm ready for him/her. :-)

Doctor Update

We had to go to the Doctor today and here is what we know: I am still measuring well. The baby is in a head-down position so that is a blessing! My BP is good and my weight didn't go up -- I actually lost 1 pound this week. She said next week she'll start checking me to see where I am.

I'm so anxious! :-)

36 weeks 2 days

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock...

Not much longer, right? Or at least it could seem like forever from what I hear. After this coming Saturday (37 weeks) I could go at any time! Maybe I'll be as lucky as Angie and go exactly at 37 weeks! Am I ready, you ask? Well I guess as ready as I can be. My bag is pretty much packed although I need to throw in a few more things. Tosh has installed the car seat although he hasn't packed his bag yet. Clothes are washed and in drawers, the cradle is waiting in the corner, and I feel like I'll do the best I can once labor pains begin!

I've started a Bible Study through a church here with Beth Moore. It's on the book of Esther in the Bible and so far it's great! I'm anxious to see what God has in store for me the next 10 weeks. It'll probably be a good thing for me to get out once a week with some ladies too, once the baby gets here -- if I can.

Tosh is feeling much better. He is going for an endoscopy next week to check on his chronic heart burn. He's had it since High School and we finally got it checked out and they want to do this procedure just to make sure nothing more serious is going on down there. Please pray for him -- he goes on Thursday morning at 5:30am next week.

I found out I am Group B Strep NEGATIVE! Which is good b/c that means I don't have to worry about the baby catching it from me when it's born. It can cause some major complications. So thankful for that. We are planning on taking pictures on Saturday and posting them. I feel like I swallowed a basektball! The baby moves every day and I am so thankful for that. Sometimes I get annoyed when it feels like it's trying to push through my tummy as hard as it can but other times it's a great comfort.

My mom, sister, and I are attending the National Kidney Foundation Chocolate Fest on Saturday! It's an annual fundraiser and you can walk through and sample all sorts of chocolates, or chocolate things to take home, etc. I've been the last couple of years and my sister and I love it! The ticket sales all go to the Kidney Foundation so it's a worthwhile cause I think.

I'm trying to get my thank-you's written out from the Baby Shower we had here with mine and Tosh's families. I'm not doing as well as I did with Lexington's. I got those out pretty fast. We still have to get our taxes done before this baby comes too! I'm keeping track of everything hospital-wise for our taxes for 2009. A friend of mine bought us a bib that says, "IRS Deduction" on it. heh :-)

I'm still working every day and traveling to my schools. It's harder and harder to sit for long periods of time though. Plus my feet are swollen by the end of the day. Every night I have to transfer my wedding band and engagement ring to my pinkie finger because my hands swell so much at night.

My parents are super excited -- especially my Mom and sister. We had our child birthing class last Saturday and it went really well. We learned a lot we didn't know and some techniques to use while in labor. I'm sure we'll be calling friends and family soon to spread the good news -- or it might be a few more weeks! haha -- only the Good Lord knows!

Hospitals

Well, things have been so crazy lately it's amazing what life throws your way! I've been out of work all week due to snow and ice and schools have been closed. On Tuesday night Tosh and I went to my sister's house for dinner and on the way back he started not feeling so good. He picked up that stomach bug from somewhere and by 9pm he was throwing up non-stop for 5 hours straight. I have never in my life seen him so sick. We tried to get phenergan down him three times and finally crushed one up to see if he could keep that down. It took effect but then he was just trying to keep himself awake while he was throwing up. It was terrible!

The temperature was somewhere around 10 degrees and the roads were covered with snow and ice and by 3am we decided he needed to go to the ER. So here we go - heading out in the snow, ice, and cold weather to try to get to the ER. We made it and it was a good thing we went. He was so dehydrated they had a terrible time trying to get an IV started.

Needless to say, I slept very little and kept vigil by his bed while they pumped him full of fluids and other meds to stop the vomiting. Then they decided to admit him for 24 hours since his white blood cell count was up. By morning, they brought him a lovely tray of liquid diet stuff (jello, broth, etc.) and my dad brought me a Hardee's biscuit. :-) He didn't get to rest much since they took him for X-rays, blood work, vitals, etc. It's interesting how you can't get much rest in a hospital.

Long story short, he finally got released after they kept him a lot longer than 24 hours and they pumped him full of 5 bags of fluid. He's resting at home now and thankfully has a couple days to get some strength back. I suppose he'll be returning the favor to me in a few weeks when I'll be the one in the hospital bed!

Interestingly, the church we've been attending -- the pastor dropped by the hospital very unexpectedly. There was a little 3 year old boy from the church who had to have his appendix removed and the pastor had heard Tosh was sick too. So he came by and prayed with him. It was quite a surprise but such a sweet blessing. Tosh and I think it's a sign...

I also had a Dr.'s appointment but we ended up cancelling it due to the weather and rescheduling for the next day. Mom had to take me since Tosh had just got out of the hospital. She said I am doing well and did the lovely swab for group B strep or whatever that stuff is called. Still a good BP and weight. She said she thinks the baby is about 4 lbs. and I go every week now to be checked. It won't be long now I suppose!

34 Weeks, snow, and family

Well you can see that I am much larger than last time you saw any pictures of me! That was taken at 34 weeks exactly. I am very uncomfortable the majority of the time now. Especially when I am sitting for long periods of time or riding in the car for some strange reason. Life has been very busy and crazy lately.

My cat, Little Kitten, passed away finally. He's been in our family for years and years. In fact, his mom died when he was a kitten and we raised him on a bottle. He was my cat. I used to sneak him in the house and we'd sleep together on my bed upstairs. He'd been really sick but he'd always been a fighter and my Mom and I didn't want to be the ones to put him down since he's always fought to live much of his life. So I kept praying that he'd pass on his own. He finally did. Tosh was the last one to see him alive and pet him.

Tosh's Great Aunt Madge also passed away. I never get to see much of Tosh's extended family and I always thought it was because they just all didnt' get along or something. But at the funeral for Aunt Madge I got to meet many of them and figure out more of his family tree and they all were wonderful! It was such a good time to see them. They had old pictures of Tosh and his family when they used to do reunions and apple butter making. I wish they still did those things. Aunt Madge was 95 1/2 :-) If you were at my wedding and can recall a little old lady on a walker with short white hair and glasses and a TN license plate strapped to the front -- well that was her. She was such a joy to be around!

We celebrated Coy's (Tosh's dad) birthday on Sunday too. We are supposed to be taking him to this nice seafood place tomorrow when I go for my next Dr.'s appointment -- IF we can get out from all the snow and ice. I'm going to make him a birthday cake today.

My granddad is doing some better. He is supposed to get a cast on his wrist tomorrow if everything goes as planned. Mom and Dad have been spending the night up there every other night and taking him food. His sodium level is coming back up -- he just doesn't seem to want to eat unless you make it for him. He is 86 I believe and lives alone so he gets lonely by himself.

I think we are almost ready for this baby. I keep staring at the ultrasound pictures again and thinking about him/her. I am so excited some days and scared to death other days. The times when the baby gets its little arms/legs up under my ribs I'm ready to get it out already. But other times I'm kind of sad that soon it will be out in this big world and I have to learn how to teach it and feed it and raise it up in the Lord. Daunting task...!!

Maybe you folks up in Lexington will get something besides ice soon. :) Love to you all

33 Weeks and Counting

I know, I know-- I haven't posted my 32 week pictures yet. Well that's because we completely missed it! ACK! I wanted to take pictures every month and so far we have, until now. So we'll try to get those taken (as far as 33 weeks go) and put those up.

Thank you for your prayers for my Granddad. He's really going through a rough patch right now. My parents are making 3-4 trips up there every other day and spending the night routinely too. He is not well and I'm not sure if he's going to get much better but we are making it. My cat, Little Kitten, is still alive (barely). Mom keeps feeding him baby food. He hasn't had the surgery yet because my Grandad fell and it's been a whirlwind around here lately. But he's alive and living in the basement right now. He seems to be content with that.

Tosh and I went and looked at houses on Friday and found the one we'd love to have here. Lord willing and our house sells soon we're going to make an offer on it. But not until our house moves in Lexington. It's a nice house, 4 years old with 5 acres of wooded area. It's very secluded and on a private drive - 3 bedroom 2 bath and a 1/2 finished basement. 2 car garage and screened in rear porch (which I LOVE). It's not huge by any means, but it would be a great size for us and really all we'd need. If it sells before our house does though, then it wasn't meant to be and we'll keep looking.

We've been getting ready for this baby! We have drawers full of the clothes from our baby shower in Lexington waiting and ready, blankets, the crib is cleaned out and ready to go too. We set up the stroller and are working on installing and getting used to the car seat. I plan on packing my bag soon but I just can't seem to get around to it yet.

I've felt a bit blah lately. Kind of sick to my stomach the last few days and just feeling tired again. I suppose it comes with the territory these last couple of months, right? I'm anxiously awaiting the day and keep pondering what I'll be like in labor. I've determined that this will be the first time in my life that I'll feel intense pain. Thankfully, I've never broken a bone, been in a serious car accident, had major surgery, or anything. The most pain I've ever felt was probably when I had my wisdom teeth taken out and was just sore for several days. So I'm kind of nervous about the whole labor and delivery part of this process. I keep wondering if I'll be calm and cool and excited, or freak and pass out. I tend to pass out occasionally in my life. I've been praying that God would give me endurance -- maybe that's the wrong thing to pray. Maybe I should pray for a quick delivery eh? Oh well. The baby's movements are so strong now. Sometimes it feels like it's kicking me in the ribs or trying to lay a certain way just to annoy me...and I shift and rub my belly and sit up straighter. Sometimes it works. Other times not.

I'm finding I get hungry in the middle of the night now too. That's never happened to me before.

We have been attending this church called Long Hollow Christian Church not too far from my parents house. My mom and dad actually went with us this morning. It was a very good sermon. David preached on the various translations of the Bible and basically where they come from and how to tell if they are a "good" translation based on who translated it and how many people and a lot of other factors. It was a solid and grace-filled sermon and he didn't bash any one translation but gave the pros and cons of various ones. It was a good sermon.

I sure miss handbells. For those of you ringers back in LEX who are reading this -- know that Corey and I talk regularly and she keeps me updated on all the things you're doing now. WAY TO GO ON BEING OPEN TO SWITCHING SPOTS!!! I'm so proud of you guys! I wish I could be there to hear you ringing! I also heard Glenn is picking your Easter music. I hope it's a great piece that you all love. Wish I could be there to share in it. Sometimes thoughts of Lexington flood my heart so much that I can't help but cry. I miss it and miss all of our friends there.

My family is planning a Baby Shower for us here with our families in February. The man who is doing the cake is the same man that did our wedding cake! How cool is that?! He always does such a good job on food! Time to end this for now. Long day tomorrow and I'm going to bed soon. May God give you a good and Godly week!

A bit of some sad news...

I forgot to mention that my Grandad is in the hospital. He slipped on some ice as he was getting his newspaper the other day and when he fell he broke his wrist and is sore through his ribs and hip. He's 86 years old. He also had to be in the hospital last night for sodium all night long. He's so funny, he called this morning and said, "If somebody doesn't get over here and get me out of this hospital I'm going to rip this IV out of my hand and walk home!"

He goes to an orthopedic surgeon today to see what they can do for him.

My cat, Little Kitten, is also very sick. He's ancient by cat years. We raised him on a bottle after his mom got hit on the road and he's been around since I was 12 or 13 I think. He has an abcessed tooth and a bum eye and they want to do surgery but we can't decide if we want to put him through it or not. He constantly purrs all the time though. I held him for a long time last night and just loved all over him. He's our baby and has been a part of our family for a long time. It's hard to watch him so weak and sick.

Please pray that God would give us direction on what to do about Little Kitten or that God would just allow him to pass in his sleep. That's what I'd like to happen. Also, please pray for my Mom and Dad as they are taking care of my granddad right now and running all over the place. Thanks!

Snow days with no snow

Well I've been out of "work" since Wednesday of last week! I can't exactly go to my schools when they are closed due to Snow Days. We had really cold temperatures last week and got a bit of snow yesterday and it closed the schools again today. So I don't know what we're going to do! I can't make money when I can't work. *ugh*

Life has been a bit frustrating recently. I guess the toll of realizing we've been here since the first of October and nothing is happening with our house in Lexington among a lot of other things. We dropped the price on it a bit so maybe that will help. It's amazing what you take for granted -- really it is. I think I took for granted the privacy and secludedness you have in your own home. We don't have that here and it's a bit of an issue at times. We've been trying to work with our realtor here to go and see a home and we've set it up three times now and each time has fallen through due to something. Finally, on Friday this week we're supposed to go and look at four houses.

I want to give a Congratulations to Jonathan Schmidt from VMI! He just proposed to his girlfriend Michelle and she said YES! So way to go Jon! He's leaving today for Air Force Academy in Alabama I believe.

We had our 32 week appointment check up yesterday and got to meet one of the other Dr.'s on staff. He was very nice and I liked him a lot. BP was 118/80 and weight was right at 150. So if my weight is correct by their scales then technically I've gained 15 lbs so far. Although my scale here at home keeps saying I'm at 145 so who knows! I have another cold. Or maybe it's the same one that just won't go away! It's so frustrating. I hate sleeping at night with a stuffy nose.

We ordered our stroller and car seat! It's a travel system actually called Graco MetroLite. We found it on eBay because the print was an older print and no one carried it. It's called Natural Habitat and even has a bird on it! It should be arriving today I think. I also bought a pair of Merrell shoes yesterday. They didn't have my size so they have to be shipped to my house but I'm excited about them. They are supposed to be super comfy and they are slip-on so I won't have to bend over and tie shoes or anything like that. I probably should've gotten them a long time ago but I didn't until now so... oh well. I'm sure they'll be handy even after the baby is born.

So here are some cool pictures from the other day. We have a persimmon tree behind the dog lot and there were 8 deer out there in the middle of the day just munching away! Enjoy!

Breastfeeding and Doctors

We had another appointment yesterday and my BP is good and I've gained some more weight. :-) I'm glad about the weight because everyone who hears how far along I am seems to think I should be much bigger! I suppose it's a blessing because after the baby comes I won't have much to lose I suppose. Unless I suddenly explode in the next 8 weeks or so.

Tosh and I attended our first class last night which was Breastfeeding Basics. It was very informative and I learned a ton of useful information but I am still scared to death about breastfeeding! I know it's a very natural thing and lots of Mom's do it but for some reason I am just freaked out about it. Maybe once I've done it and seen it's not so bad I'll change my mind but the thought of feeding my child through one of my breasts seems to be kind of weird to me. I'm working on it though... mentally.

We've had tons of rain here and the roads are flooding out. Schools were closed in Scott county today. I had a tough time getting to my school this morning for work because the main road was closed down due to a truck turn-over.

I'm so excited about this coming weekend! My mom, sister, and Tosh and I are all heading to Lexington for the Baby Shower and I can't wait. I love being back with family in Lexington and getting to spend time at the church we love so much. Plus, my sister wasn't going to come with us because she's a work-aholic but her husband told her she needed to go so she is!

Much Needed Update!

Hello Friends and Family! I figure most everyone is going to be returning to work tomorrow and you'll need something to give you a break so I'm updating!

I'm going to start by posting some pictures. Here is my belly at 28 weeks!
Still haven't gained a ton of weight but the last Dr.'s appointment she said I was measuring just fine and she said she wished more people were at my weight instead of gaining too much. Overall I've gained about 5 lbs total. As of yesterday, I am 30 weeks. Only a little bit more to go and we'll have a new addition to the family for 2009! I'm actually not scared at all (yet). I feel more excitement than anything. I made out my birth plan and I'm giving that to the Dr. this week when we go back. Just this past week I think the baby has shifted positions. I used to feel a lot of movement on the left and right side but now I feel more in my lower pelvis and right below/between my ribs. It's so different!

Also in December I was given the opportunity to travel to Bath County and stay at The Homestead for a conference for work. I had a room all to myself. Here are a few pictures from that trip. I was really intrigued with the Mini Bar in my room. The fridge was completely stocked with anything you could imagine! Needless to say, I didn't eat or drink a single thing out of it because it was SO expensive. One morning we ate breakfast in the main dining room and it cost me $30.50 just for ME to eat breakfast!!! In the end, I got to spend a great weekend with Corey playing handbells again and then she came home with me for a few days and we got to show her around Lee County! Yah!

This last picture is with Judson Laipply. He is the guy that did the Evolution of Dance and is coming out with another one this month. I think he's debuing it on The Today show January 12th. Here his website if you don't know about him: http://www.theevolutionofdance.com/

He was a great guest speaker at the conference. He talked about not being stressed out and just letting go of the things you can't control. Easier said than done of course, but it was a good speech. He also did his dance routine for us.

I had my glucose test done and it came back negative! So I do not have gestational diabetes. I do, however, have another cold. This one seems to be more severe than the last one I had just 3 weeks ago. I've been sleeping in the recliner for the past 3 nights and have been totally exhausted. I've done nothing but lay around the house, rest, and read. I go back to work tomorrow and have two presentations to do first thing in the morning.

Here are some pictures from Christmas this year. The first one is of the golf cart my Dad built for my brother-in-law. It only took about 25 hours. It was amazing! My Dad is so talented!

The middle one is of me getting my Genesis bow that I've been wanting. I love archery and I finally got a bow that I can use to practice with and eventually (maybe) take hunting! We have this running thing in my family with big gifts. We hide the gift somewhere and write a poem that you have to read out loud and then go find where the gift is! My mom wrote my poem for me. I'll explain some of the poem afterwards. Here is what it said:

Down in the basement

High up near the ceiling

You have one final gift

That we hope you'll find appealing.

It's something we were glad to purchase

But Tosh had to do the ordering

And then he caught a lot of grief

For a deposit that left you wondering.

So go down stairs

And look up high

Get your gift

But please don't cry

Just thank your husband

Coy, Mom and Dad.

Hope this is one of the best gifts

You've ever had!

So as you know, all of our "stuff" is in my parents' basement stacked to the ceiling. Turns out that the bow had been in it's box on top of all our other boxes and I never even noticed for weeks. Tosh had ordered it from Cabela's and Coy, Mom, Dad, and Tosh all chipped in to purchase it. When we did Christmas at Coy's house, I had unwrapped a gift box that just said "Sorry, your X-Mas gift is on back order." He wanted me to open the gift with my family. The other part about the deposit is kind of comical. I logged into our account and noticed that Tosh had deposisted into our savings a certain amount of money and I was totally confused about where he'd gotten it from. So I called him and asked because we had just talked the day before about how we like the fact we have a joint account and we have to talk about finances and such. And then this strange deposit shows up and I can't seem to account for where it came from.

The last one is of our strange animals. They have never slept together like this before and my Mom caught them last week. As you can see, Punkin was using Midnight as a pillow. It didn't last long but they are getting closer I think.

On a sadder note, one of my Mom's closest friends passed away yesterday. She had battled cancer for years and she was very sick. She was a good Christian woman whom I've known all my life and loved dearly. Her husband took care of her at home with Hospice. Tosh and I were also very sad to hear about Bill at LBC. I had no idea he was 77. I thought he was much younger and I loved him dearly too. When I did the Nursing Home Ministry it was such a joy to hear him play and sing his guitar on special occasions. He will be sorely missed. He was so wise about the Bible too.

Tosh and I are attending our first class together Tuesday night. It's a breastfeeding basics class. I'm excited about it because I think I can use all the help I can get in that category. This coming weekend Mom, Tosh and I will be traveling back to Lexington for the Baby Shower. I'm so excited and nervous! It's always so humbling when people "shower" you with love. I remember crying on the way to our Honeymoon because I couldn't believe what my family and friends had done for me on our wedding day and I knew they were back there cleaning up while we were off to Gatlinburg. I'm glad we'll get to be with family at LBC for the weekend though. I can't wait!

We finally attended a church last week that preached on a message other than salvation. Not that the salvation message is wrong, but the pastor actaully taught us something. He attended Cincinnati Bible College and his wife and he have only been there for about 7 months. They are a young couple with two boys. We really liked the atmosphere, the only thing that sort of threw us for a loop is that they do communion every single Sunday. That's a little strange we thought...

Okay, well next post might be from the Baby Shower! See you Lexington folks soon!