Pregnancy Update: 34 weeks

Lily Grace weighs about 4.75 lbs! 

Today we are setting up the nursery!!

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday.

Partners in Crime

Thank ya'll so much for your prayers for Nanny and our family. It means so much! It's really hard to say how Nanny is doing. At times she seems to be doing better, like when she sang "A Cowboy's Sweetheart" complete with the yodel's on Sunday. But then there are times where she seems to be right at the point of death. The Hospice nurse said that all of Nanny's vitals seem to be declining. This is so hard on Papaw. Please keep Nanny and Papaw in your prayers, as well as all the family.
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I love this picture with my little nephew and my youngest brother, Joshua! They are so cute! I have a funny story to tell about them.

Yesterday, I kept these two boys while my Mom and Myra worked out. We went to feed some friend's dogs and then came back to Curves so I could feed Ridley. I got into the backseat of my car and was feeding him some very yummy smelling baby food. ha! Joshua is a little skittish (as most kids are) about somebody coming up to the car, hopping in the driver's seat and driving off with us, so he locked the driver's door.

Well, when Mom and Myra got finished working out and came out to the car, Joshua got out, locked the car door, and Myra got Ridley out and I locked that car door. We stood there talking for a few minutes and then I realized that all my car doors were locked and my purse, phone, and keys were all inside! I have never locked my keys in the car before! Myra and I have the same kind of car, so she tried to use her keys to unlock mine, but of course that didn't work. So I used Mom's phone to call Jacob who was thankfully only about 10 minutes away.

When I called him, I said, "Baby, please come rescue your pregnant wife...I locked my keys in the car!" He just laughed. Oh the adventures pregnant girls get themselves into! ha.

Nanny's Heart

I wanted to ask you again to please pray for Jacob's Nanny. She had another heart attack (the 2nd in 3 months) yesterday and is not doing well at all. She is at home under the care of Hospice. Like I've mentioned before, Nanny is very frail and weak.

Please pray that she would not be in pain and if this is her time to go to Jesus, that He would take her peacefully. The hardest thing for me was to see dear Papaw sitting at Nanny's bedside crying and praying for her. They have been married 67 years and love each other more than any other couple I know. Jacob played Nanny's favorite hymns on his violin today. It was a tremendous comfort to be reminded of God's love, His grace, and His faithfulness.

Thank you all for your love and prayers! The picture above was taken at our wedding in June 2008.

just for the JOY of it - A Little Girl and Puppies

This little girl brought me so much joy yesterday! I got to keep her all day. We played a lot, then we went to the grocery store, several actually, and she behaved so well. When we got home, she wanted to play outside with the puppies even though it was freezing cold!

For more just for the JOY of it posts, visit Good, True & Beautiful.

Pregnancy Update: 33 weeks

Lily weighs about 4lbs like a cantaloupe (at least according to all the baby websites! ha.)

For more Wordless Wednesdays, visit 5 Minutes for Mom!

Have a happy day!!

Not Me! Monday

On Saturday I did not have so much energy that I...

• went grocery shopping (alone) and did not lug a 20lb bag and a 40lb bag of dog food onto the buggy, around the store, and into my car. No, 8-months-pregnant me would never do that! But I'm sure it'd be a pretty funny sight if I did!
• washed, dried, folded and put away 4 loads of laundry
• finished marking all the hand-me-down baby clothes that have not been piled in my living room for at least 2 months 
• swept the kitchen floor, and since I definitely sweep it everyday (ha!), I did not sweep up 2 dust-pans full of grossness! I'm a way better housewife than that.
• pulled everything out of the hall closet and organized it, including my big stash of diapers and wipes! Nope, I would never have that much energy! 

Also on Saturday, I did not decide on a whim to make pumpkin waffles to add to my after-baby-stash in the freezer. All was going great until I realized that I had forgotten to add the butter...no wonder the waffles were rubbery and not crispy! I never do silly things like forgetting to add ingredients. Nope, not me!

I planned all weekend to make a Banana Pudding for the church fellowship on Sunday night. As I was gathering the ingredients together late Saturday night, I did not frantically search my cabinets for the vanilla wafers and realize that Pregnancy Brain struck once again! Nope, not me! Instead of running out to 24-hour Walmart to buy some, I did not substitute stale graham crackers. Haha, that's a great idea, but I would never do it...especially for a church fellowship!

My dear sweet husband has not been so busy the last few weeks that he hasn't had time for a haircut. No no no, he is always clean cut and non-hippy looking.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that we would never ever put ponytails or water spouts in his hair. No, we just don't do that kind of thing!

For more Not Me! Monday posts, visit MckMama.

Happy Monday, Ya'll!

Pregnancy Update: 32 weeks

Lily Grace weighs about 3.75 lbs...like a pineapple

I've started feeling very "heavy" this week. I can't workout as hard, I can't walk as fast, I get exhausted so much faster, and I have to sit down and "take breaks" a lot more often. I should clarify...this is the 32 week picture, but I'm actually 33 weeks this week. We take each picture on Sunday night for the week that just ended...hope that makes sense! 

My due date is December 28th. We are hoping and praying that Lily decides to come on time or a little early because my Dad is headed out of the country on December 31st for a 2 week pastor's conference! I will be very very sad if he doesn't get to see her until she's 2 weeks old.  To give my Dad some credit, he tried to get out of the trip, but have a new grandbaby wasn't enough of an excuse. Ha!

Happy Friday!!

just for the JOY of it - Headers and Heros

First off I want to say a big thank you to Sharon at Good, True and Beautiful for designing my new blog header! I love it!

I know many of you are participating in the 30-day Giving Challenge hosted by Kingdom First Mom, well, Sharon wanted her giving to benefit bloggers, so she offered to create 30 blog headers or buttons for bloggers this month. Such a great idea! I pray that Sharon will be blessed abundantly for her abundant giving!

Yesterday Jacob and I went to a Veteran's Day parade in our town. It was such a joy to see so many incredible men honored for their sacrifice to our country!

Doesn't this picture just warm your heart?! My sweet hubby took it, and I think it's amazing. That proud strong hand that is now old and wrinkled, once fought so hard for our country. Yesterday my heart swelled with pride as I took part in honoring these heros. Our nation has been so blessed by these wonderful men!

This post is linked to Good, True and Beautiful's just for the JOY of it.

Thank You Papaw!

A couple weeks ago Jacob's grandfather, Papaw, got to go on one of the "Honor Flights" to Washington, D.C. The Honor Flights are where World War 2 veterans from all over the country are flown to the nation's capital to be honored for their service during the war.

Papaw left the airport early one morning with 123 other veterans and late that night, this is what they were greeted by when they got off the plane...

Tons of people waiting to welcome their friends and family home!

Papaw's wife and daughters

Some of his grandsons...Jacob doesn't always dress like that, we came straight from a concert. ha!

One of his great-grandsons

All the people there were in two lines with an aisle in the middle. The veterans names were read one by one and they walked down the long aisle greeting everyone. It was incredible! There was also a band there playing patriotic music. It was an emotional time as our hearts swelled with pride for these amazing men!

Our hero!

He hugged each individual family member and told them how much he loved them.

It was amazing that Nanny was feeling well enough to be there!

Precious Nanny and Papaw

We were so proud of him!

Thank you, Papaw for fighting for our country! You are our hero!

For more Veteran's Day posts, visit The Happy Housewife.

Crazy Busy Weekend Review

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments on my last post. Your prayers and encouragement mean so much! The Lord has been so good to give me such great friends.

So, on to our weekend recap! On Friday, my sister and I went to a rummage sale. I could not believe how much stuff there was piled all over the place! Or how many people were there, it was crazy! Here is what I got:

A doll cradle (that needs to be sanded and painted), brand new game of Taboo, I Spy preschool game, 4 books and a free loaf of bread! I paid $4.50 for all this stuff! Amazing, huh? Myra posted her awesome deals here, so go check it out. Funny thing is that we both spent $4.50...we hadn't added it up or anything. Guess it's just a sister thing! ha.

On Saturday, Jacob had an orchestra rehearsal with the symphony he plays with in the morning. Then one of the youth orchestras he conducts played at a Christmas fund raiser. And then he had a wedding to play for. The wedding was outside at a beautiful old house.

This sign was at the end of the driveway leading up to the wedding. Isn't it so cute?! I thought it was a neat idea to use an old beat up door since it was kind of a rustic wedding.

I sat in the car during the wedding since it was just a "job" for Jacob, we didn't know the people getting married. It was a beautiful evening and I got a lot of knitting done. Oh, I forgot to mention that all the wedding guests parked in a big cow pasture!

After the wedding we ate a yummy supper at Ruby Tuesday and killed a little time walking around the mall before we headed to the concert hall for the symphony concert. It was a super long, but fun day!

Sunday was another busy day. We had church in the morning, then Jacob's youth orchestra had a Veteran's day concert in the afternoon. The highlight of the afternoon for me was when all six levels (from beginning to advanced) of the orchestra were combined to play The Star Spangled Banner! It was amazing! And, Jacob got the privilege of conducting it!

I know it's kind of shaky. I need some videotaping practice! ha.

Ya'll have a great Tuesday! It's raining here today and I'm busy making cookies for the youth orchestra after-concert party tonight.

Overwhelmed

The last few days I have felt very overwhelmed. There are so many, many things that I need to get accomplished before the baby is born. I am about seven weeks from my due date, yes, SEVEN weeks! When I think about that, I think about all the stuff that is not done and ready for Lily's arrival.

The Lord has been speaking to my heart. He is teaching me that I don't need to focus on all the things that haven't been done. Instead I need to take one day at a time, focus on what I can do each day, and trust Him to give me the grace and strength to accomplish each task. And if something doesn't get done before Lily gets here, then it will be ok!

These are the verses I am claiming for the next few weeks. Psalm 61:2-3, 

"When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou has been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy." 

The enemy could be any number of things. For me, the enemy is stress. What precious promises are here: He will lead me, He is my rock, He is a shelter for me, He is my strong tower. There is no way I can be stressed out when I am meditating on these verses. I am going to write them on 3x5 cards and put them around the house where I will see them often.

So here is a list of some of the things I want/need to get done in the next 7 weeks:

• Buy and wrap Christmas presents for our immediate family (at least 14 people)
• Wash, sort, and fold baby clothes (my Mom has offered to help with this)
• Finish the nursery!
• Go through all our baby gifts and stuff we've been given and see what else we're going to need
• Finish the new church directory
• Prepare for and teach 2 coupon classes with my sister
• Clean my always cluttered kitchen counter and table
• Make jar mixes for extended family's Christmas gifts
• Finish making several Christmas gifts
• Clean the bathroom (it is seriously nasty!)
• Make Christmas cookies and labels for goody bags for Jacob's 3 youth orchestras and all his students
• Stock the freezer with about 20 meals to use after Lily is born
• Finish writing thank you notes
• Get Christmas photo cards printed and mailed

Well, that's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure there's plenty more, but this is a start.

Happy Friday Ya'll!

Baking Days!

The last two days I've participated in the baking/cooking days that Money Saving Mom and LifeasMom hosted! I have enjoyed myself so much since I absolutely love to cook/bake plus, I've gotten lots of stuff put in the freezer to use in the first few weeks after Lily is born!

Here is a rundown of what I made:
Zucchini Casserole (to give to a friend)
Caramel Pie (also for a friend)
2 Homemade Pizzas (for supper last night and to freeze leftovers)
1 batch chocolate chip cookie dough
Ham & Bean Soup (for supper tonight and to freeze leftovers)
Homemade Applesauce
1 batch Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie dough
1 batch granola
3lbs chicken, cooked and shredded

Back row: 2 containers applesauce (1 to freeze and 1 to use now), 5 bags of pizza (frozen, 2-3 slices per bag), chocolate chip cookie dough balls (frozen), 3 bags of granola
Front row: 1 bag of soup (frozen), 2 bags of shredded chicken (frozen), peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough balls (frozen), 1 pineapple cut up.

I'm very happy with all I got done. I know it's really not that much, but it's a start! I hope to have a baking day once each week to get my freezer stocked with meals so I won't have to cook for awhile after the baby is born.

Oh, and just so ya'll don't think that Jacob and I sit around and eat cookies all the time...the cookie dough is for me to make cookies for Jacob's orchestra next week. They have a concert this weekend, and it's tradition for me to make cookies for the kids at their next rehearsal. I'm so glad to have a head start on it!

Check out Money Saving Mom to see how everyone else did with their baking days!

Pregnancy Update: 31 weeks

Lily Grace weighs a little more than this 3lb bag of apples!

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

Fall Pictures

"The heavens declare the glory of God...

And the firmament sheweth his handywork." Psalm 19:1

"The earth is the Lord's...

And the fulness thereof...

The world...

And they that dwell therein. Psalm 24:1

Enjoy God's beautiful creation today and remember to praise Him for it!