Secrets!

My dear sister thinks that she has a secret, but with a family like ours there are no secrets. Plus most of the peeps that read my blog don't know my sister very well so.....
Here is her bean.
Twelve weeks along and growing just fine. I call HER Kendal, but they might call HER Emma, that is if it is a "her" which we all think that it is. But for now it's just a precious beany! Sorry Amy, your secrets out, at least to my 5 faithful readers!

Rituals

One of my favorite things about living in Ashland is our Saturday morning ritual. We wake up bright and early and go to Ashland Coffee and Tea and then walk to the farmer's market before it gets too crowded. I always get a low fat, decaf mocha...scrumptious! and a bagel, different flavor and different spread every week. Kevin always gets a regular coffee and a cinnamon raisin bagel with cranberry-apple cream cheese. He likes routine! We buy our tomatoes from the market, and before the berries went out, we bought them there too. One week there was peaches. We have also bought fresh eggs and hopefully next week they'll have organic ground beef, we've been waiting for it.
I love this ritual and look forward to it every week, it makes me feel like we live in a place where everybody knows our names. Everyone doesn't know our names, but they do recognize us
...it makes it feel a little more like home.

No Air...Again. At A New House!

Remember last summer when our AC broke at our house in Florida in the middle of July and then again right before we moved? Well, now we live in a different state and a different house and we have no air...again. AHHHHH! Our landlady is trying to find someone to come out to fix it, but it isn't going great. So since I'm 9 months pregnant and it is August, I'm going to write a little poem about it, with the help of Jordan Sparks.

If I should die before I wake
It's cause I'm hot and
living in a world with no air, oh

I’m here alone, I wanna leave
I waiting for the AC man
Wish there was a way that I can make you understand


But how
Do you expect me, to live alone with just heat?
‘Cause my body is really large right now
It’s so hard for me to breathe

Tell me how I’m supposed to breathe with no air?
Can’t live, can’t breathe with no air
That’s how I feel whenever the AC's not there
There’s no air, no air
Get me out here in the water so deep
If it's cool and it can help me sleep
If you(AC) ain’t here, I just can’t breathe
There’s no air, no air
No air air, No air air
No air air, No air air

If you don't know this song my poem wont make any sense to you...I did take some liberties with the lyrics, but it's the only thing I can think right now!
* Just so you know the Lord is looking out for me b/c it's really quite a nice day today! Life could be worse...I could be in labor, that actually might be a good thing though!

Why Are There Still Tools In Baby Land????

Well, even though I didn't want to decorate Libby's room with tools I have reluctantly given in and have agreed that a level and a drill do match the flowered bed skirt.
Just kidding...poor Kevin is in over drive selling his car, getting the house in order, and doing his best at the new job, so he hasn't had time to finish some last minute baby room jobs. There are some things I just haven't attempted to do, like hanging the heavy things on the wall. He's almost finished, all that's left is one more mini blind. I tried to hang mini blinds with Laura one time and it turned out really bad, so I'm leaving this one to Kevin! Hence the tools are still in baby land! I moved them for some pictures, so all you people far away from Ashland, Va can see where our little freedom will call home!

My sweet mom made the pretty curtain and the bed skirt, and the super nice cushions on the glider. I got that glider for about $65 from a second hand store. My mom bought the fabric to make the cushions(it came with really awful cushions) and it was still way cheaper than buying a new one.

Something is missing from here...I'm not sure what????

I painted this...it was suppose to look way different, but I like the final product

Or maybe it's this wall that's missing something...still not sure. I also painted the changing table. I probably wasn't suppose to, but as for mentioned the mister is really busy these days.

Baby Land....I could stay in here all day!

For Laura, Because She Asks Everyday....

Seriously.
This is me at 36 weeks and on my 30th birthday, which between you and I, can we just call it my 25th again. I am not embracing it, I loved my 20's and 'm having hard time letting go. I never did want to grow up, just ask my mom!

This is the reason complete strangers walk up to me and say"that baby looks like it's ready" In which my response is "yep, it is, in fact my water just broke right here, and I'm having full blown contractions...I hope you know how to deliver babies"

Our poodle, that used to be a sheepdog

Me and the very naughty, unadjusted puppy and although very thin still, the cutest dog I know personally!

I love you my friend and reluctantly posed and posted just for you. I told Gus to hold still b/c Laura missed him and wanted to see his new do!

Same Kind Of Different As Me

I was in baby book overload this week after:
a. Checking 3 books out from the library on getting your new born to sleep through the night the moment they emerge from the womb,
b. Reading a book forced on me by my midwife, written by a hippie midwife who to this day practices on a commune in Tennessee
c. Being told by my birthing class instructor I need to read 2 more. One on birthing naturally and the other on "the partner," and
d. skimming a book that was given to me called "Marvelous Motherhood" that dealt with everything from breastfeeding, sleeping babies, and getting your body back after giving birth.
All this after regularly referencing my What To Expect book and finishing Christ Centered Child Birth. Have I ever mentioned that I can be slightly obsessive about something when I think about it too much?
Anyway, I was getting really stressed over it, between the wealth of knowledge I am gaining from reading all these books and hearing all the information that strangers tend to give you when you're pregnant. I needed a break from feeling inadequate in motherhood. So while I was in a Family Christian Bookstore the other day, a particular book cover caught my eye.
*I tend to always "judge books by there covers"- Literally, when choosing books to read if the cover is dull and uninteresting I judge it as a dull book and most likely wont read it. Bad habit I know, but it generally holds out to work.
Anywho, this book caught my eye so picked it up read the back cover and it dealt slightly with art so I thought this was my kind of book. I started reading at lunch that day and couldn't put it down until today when I finished it. The book is called "Same Kind Of Different As Me" by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. It was a great book about friendship, trials, love, heartbreak, and the will of God. It was probably the best book I have read all year. I highly recommend it. It will change the way you view strangers and help you see others through the filter that Jesus sees all of us.
"For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love."
Galatians 5:13

Everybody is Listing Things

So I guess I will too.
I am going to list things that are going on right now.

1. We start birthing classes tonight. It's an 8 week class and I only have about 5 weeks left so we will most likely, hopefully miss a couple!

2. I didn't kill my tomato plant. We had fresh from the pot cherry tomatoes in our salad last night.

3. I am really uncomfortable. If I do any kind of house work or shopping where I am walking a lot everything below my back starts to hurt. Sometimes I feel like my waddle turns into a limp.

4. I am reading too much. I am trying to be prepared, but trying to being to be prepared is freaking me out!

5. We went to church here this weekend finally (the only reason we haven't until now is because we haven't been here on the weekends yet!) It was a big church, but it made us miss our old church a lot.

6. Gus got his hair cut. He used to be an Old English Sheepdog. Now he is like a Poodle/Greyhound/Labradoodle Mix.

7. I don't have any friends yet, but we had dinner with a nice young couple from Kev's work again and Abby's friend Jesse who lives here in Richmond invited me out to lunch tomorrow. I like nice people! Maybe I'll make some friends at birthing class too.

8. A lot of people are coming to see us when the baby gets here, I am happy about that.

9. I think that I have everything that I need to bring a newborn home, but if you know something I don't know, tell me so I can make sure I have it.

10. I think that Libby's flipped back that wrong way. I really have no idea, but she is all over the place.

So there I joined Laura, Mel, Ashley D., Teri, Orlando, and everybody else who has listed things lately. I think that my list is rather boring, I have some pictures but they wont download on this computer. I actually hope you continue reading my blog after this boring post. I promise it will get more exciting again...give it a month! :)