John's River

Strength and peace,

Mountain peaks

Nature's beauty surrounds us

Crystal streams, quiet dreams

Trees that tower above us.

Camp Johns River shares all her love

like our God in heaven.

Pure and clean,

fresh and green,

May we keep her forever.

-John's River prayer

Hope everyone has a good week!

Better start running . . . .

because Chris came home with this little gem tonight!

It's a Bumbleride jogger- a family we know let us have it! It's so nice when people give you nice hand-me-downs! Last week, I scored a cool pack-n-play from my dear friend Care Bear.

While Chris is running miles at a time, here I sit blogging about it. This cool jogger is sure to motivate me once the baby arrives though!

My Little Shadow

You can see from this picture that Isa wanted to join the bump picture. This perfectly illustrates her behavior as of late. I can't walk from my closet to the bed to put away laundry without her following me. I can't use the BATHROOM without her little face staring at me. I can't walk from the living room to the kitchen to get a drink of water without her trailing behind. Last night while I cut vegetables, she sat RIGHT behind me in the kitchen and every time I got up, she too would follow, even if I was going two steps into the pantry. She and Scotch have developed this adverse relationship with the outdoors. If Chris calls them to go out, which they used to love, they just sit and stare at me. I have to shove them out the door to use the bathroom. If we're downstairs in the nursery, she is right there at my feet, following me around, pawing me every chance she gets. As I write, she is laying beside me with her little feet crossed.

She is never more than two feet from me, even while I'm sleeping, she's curled up in the tiny space between the bed and my nightstand. She knows there's something going on . . . something larger than life that is going to change this house forever. She is a faithful friend and guardian. I can't imagine my life without Sweet Isa and I'm so glad our little fellow will have her to watch over him.

Birthdays and Babies

This weekend has been pretty eventful! Friday night, we celebrated our friend Katie's 26th birthday at D and Andrea's house. Andrea prepared the best meal for us and was such a gracious hostess. Kudos to Katie's hubby for getting it all together!

No birthday is complete without Fancy Pastry cupcakes! I had a blue one!

Katie sneaks around the corner to eat one!

What a beautiful smile!

Sweet Katie

The 'Hostess with the Mostess' and Katie

On Saturday morning, my friend Shanna and I went shopping for maternity clothes. She is newly pregnant and wanted to get a few things before school starts. I'm so excited that my dearest friend and I are sharing this mommy-hood experience together. We both found some cute things- I was especially excited to add some fall maternity clothes into the mix. I'm going back tomorrow to get a few more things, then I'm done buying for me . . .

On Saturday night, Katie helped me celebrate my birthday at Bonefish. We had such a wonderful time- especially eavesdropping on other peoples' conversations at the restaurant! I am so lucky to be surrounded by such sweet girls! During dinner, Chris called and said there was a surprise for me at my sister's house. So after dinner, we stopped by and Chris had ordered ALL of Webb's cloth diapers from O Baby (which is sadly going out of business)! He got him 8 Bum Genius Snap covers which grow with the baby, 2 new born covers, a dozen small Bummi prefolds, a dozen large Bummi prefolds, and a pack of disposable liners. It was a very thoughtful gesture and I was surprised he took the time to order it. We had fun practicing putting them together last night!

I think we're all set in the diaper department!

Thank you to my sweet friends and to Chris for a fun weekend!

Worth the Wait

Sometimes during the day or at night when the house is quiet and Chris and I are snuggled up watching tv, it hits me like a ton of bricks that this life as we know it, will soon be ending. Chris and I were married a little over six years ago and have had a marriage full of love, laughter, and of course, some knock-down-drag-outs, lots of mistakes, hurt feelings, and stubborn hardheadedness. But when I think back over these last six years, I couldn't be more pleased that we've waited to start our family. I really believe that all those bumps in the road have made our marriage stronger. I feel like we can face the challenges of parenthood as we've dealt with our own challenges both individually and collectively. The time we've spent leading the youth in church has drawn us closer to God and closer to each other, giving us a more steady foundation for raising a child in a Christian home. When I think back to our first few years of marriage, I realize we were just children ourselves- still having fun and struggling somewhat in 'adult' responsibilities. We've built a house, raised two dogs, gotten a Master's Degree, changed jobs once or twice, and are finally ready to bring this child into our family. It has truly been worth the wait- I wouldn't trade my 'just us' time for anything in the world. I know this next step will bring its own set of hardships, struggles, and sleepless nights, but I know beyond the shadow of a doubt, that we're ready to face the music and raise our son together.

25 weeks

Here we are with week 25 updates! I actually got off in my counting a few weeks back so we're only at 25 instead of 26! I can't believe I'm over the half-way point! Luckily that means less time until we meet sweet Webb.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 25 Weeks

Size of baby: 13.5 inches long and weighs 1.5lbs. He is the size of a rutabaga!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 13

Maternity Clothes: All the time! I especially love my sundresses. (I think I said that last time!)

Gender: Boy!

Movement: Yes! Especially at night or when I'm still.

What I miss: I'm finally to the point where I miss sleeping on my belly. My shoulders feel sore from sleeping on my sides. I think it's time for another massage!

Sleep: I sleep well but have the most insane dreams! Last night I had a dream that a huge tornado came through and I had all of these children in the bathtub downstairs taking cover. Chris wasn't worried about the storm- he was playing on his Crackberry. I've also had dreams that I was pregnant at my wedding and my mother was hurrying me down the aisle before I started showing. That's called a nightmare, I believe!

Symptoms: Crazy dreams and numbness in my left thigh. Doc. says that's normal.

Cravings: Bananas, peanut M&M's

Best Moment this week: We got the dresser and mirror painted for the nursery, got the fabric to the seamstress for the curtains, bumper, and skirt, and got a glider! BUSY BUSY!

Here's a link to what the bumpers and skirt will look like. We're also doing green and white stripes instead of blue.

http://www.poshtots.com/Bedding/Baby-Bedding/POSH-Exclusive-Bedding/Alfresco-Bunny-Toile-Baby-Bedding/15/2281/2870/2773/PoshProductDetail.aspx

What I am looking forward to: the arrival of the new mommy car! And no, it's NOT a mini-van!

 

Happy Tuesday!

Fulton Farm

You may remember my chicken post from a few months back. I have no idea how to link that post here but it's on my blog somewhere. Any who, as we speak, this is being custom built in my driveway. It will soon be stationed in our field where three pullets will reside. Good thing we've named the baby, cause now it'll soon be time to name these new family members. And can we be more happy about fresh eggs!?!?!?

And there's even been talk about a goat . . . Lord help me! :)

Hodge Podge

Little Debutante all decked out

I'm also working on the six pack. Oh, I meant, nice carrotts . . . .

My baby

Webb's first placemat!

The perfect place for my teapot lamp that Julie made me! I love my new desk!

To the ends of the Earth

When you're 6 months pregnant, you'll drive to the ends of the Earth and back for this:

It's Hershey's Moose Tracks icecream. Yes, I drove from the lake to Perfect Blend for a scoop of this delciousness. It was worth every mile!