Baby Diaries #15

Short and sweet and to the point!
Today I had my glucose test to check for gestational diabetes.
I had to drink this....

Everyone had warned me it was terrible.

Honestly, it wasn't bad at all.

It was like a supped up Orange Fanta soda that had gone flat.

An hour after I drank it, I gave my blood for the test.

Good news....I passed!

No gestational diabetes for me!

On a funny note, the nurse wanted to get Bitsy's heart rate again.

As she placed the doppler to my stomach to take a listen Bitsy kicked the doppler.

Literally pushing it away from my body rather dramatically.

Both the nurse and I had to laugh as I told the nurse that Bitsy obviously wasn't in the mood to have her space invaded!

The nurse replied, "Oh as if she's not invading your space"?

I try not to think of it that way, Bitsy can take all the space she needs right now!

I hope you had a Blessed Wednesday!

Better news...

Just as I thought.
God doesn't give us more than we can handle.
We got the final verdict today that the military would not be able to move us before we hit the road on July 7th.
Our remaining options were:

1. One of us fly back to Austin to supervise the packing and loading of our belongings.
2. Move ourselves.

After a little thought it hit me that I didn't really want either of us to come back to Austin.
Honestly, I didn't want to appoint anyone to supervise the packing/loading either because I'm a bit of a control freak.
So how could we move ourselves without moving ourselves?
Then it hit me.
PODS!
Or at least something similar.
I called Bud and told him my idea.
He did the leg work and found out that PODS would cost us about $3300.
In order to maximize our budget and possible make money off our move (the military reimburses if you move yourselves) we called to get a quote from ABF U-Pack.
They came in with a $2500 quote!
We are booked!
They will drop off our units for packing on July 5th and then pick them up on July 7th!
Bud & I both have a weight lifted off our shoulders.
We both feel so much better about this option.
It meets both of our needs.
My need to have control over the packing and Bud's need to not drive a giant truck across the US!

We will still rent a small U-haul to move our valuables and items we can't live without for the next 3 weeks, but we will find peace in knowing our other belongings are tucked safetly in a storage shelter waiting for us to have them delivered to wherever we end up living until our base house is finished being built.

Take that Satan!
Our God is the Bigger, Better Deal and when he sets something in motion all we have to do is trust and go!
I only have 1.5 days of work left.
We only have 8ish days left in Austin.
This weekend will be spent packing boxes and purging stuff (secretly my favorite part of moving).

I'll keep you all posted as we get closer to our big day!
I hope you had a Blessed Tuesday!

Being Patient?

Oh me.
Oh my.
This move is a headache.
Bud called the office that coordinates military moves to find out if our 2nd request had been approved for July 6th.
It hadn't.
However, for once we found a person who didn't automatically say "No".
Instead, the helpful gentleman, told Bud he would try to trick the system. 
He submitted ONE.LAST.FINAL request that went out to the entire region to see if ANYONE would be willing to pick up our contract. 
More than likely it too will be denied as our region extends to Dallas & Houston and those companies rarely ever make a 3 hour drive just to start the job.
Also we happen to be moving at the busiest time of year when all the moving companies are already booked.
So we will hear back tomorrow morning and see what the result is and then we get to make our next decision as to how to proceed on this move. 
I know that everything will work out.

Oh and after thinking that we were finally on the housing list for base we were told we aren't allowed to be on the list.
Despite the fact that Bud has PCS orders (these are orders saying he HAS to be at Pope Air Force Base by July 10th) they don't count because they are also his Active Duty orders (orders stating he will start active duty July 7th- the day we are allowed to hit the road to begin the drive).  Since he technically is not on active duty NOW and won't be until July 7th we aren't allowed to be on the housing list until July 7th.  It's silly because the orders are basically written in blood and so permanent that if Bud didn't show up he'd most likely go to jail for going AWOL (Absent With Out Leave).  So this leaves me where I started.

Oh me.
Oh my.
Why oh why?
I think I'm supposed to walk away from this experience having learned patience.
I'll keep everyone posted to the best of my ability!
Prayers are appreciated.
I know HE will provide a way for us.

Satan always tries to attack when we follow God's prompting.
In fact when we felt God leading us to leave KS to pursue this life change in Austin we hit many roadblocks.
Family and friends thought we had lost our minds.
We were giving up 2 very good paying jobs (mind you neither of us had much college under our belts, much less a degree and we were still able to put one entire paycheck into savings each month).  We owned a home, didn't have car payments, had a church community, etc.
But when God prompts you to do something and there is no doubt that it was his prompting you follow.
We had put home on the market for a price that we thought was fair, our realtor actually thought we were asking too much. 
We got what we wanted for the house, blessing number one.
The first attack was that it was a military member buying our home and the VA loan process is difficult and lengthy.
Our closing dates kept getting pushed back so we never started packing.
One day we got a phone call saying we were to be at closing in 48 hours!
We hadn't packed a single item, we thought we still had time.
Blessing number 2 a flood of friends came and helped us pack all our belongings one night.
The next day the guys all showed up and loaded the truck.
We drove the U-Haul to the closing.
That night we stayed at my Mom's.
The next morning we ate breakfast with everyone at a restaurant and started our trip to Texas.
Only 1 hour into our move we realized there was a problem with the trailor carrying our car.
Our car almost flew off the trailor because one of the tie downs was broken, attack number 3.
We sat 1 hour from where our family was and waiting for a replacement trailor on a Sunday afternoon, when all the moving places are closed.
8 hours later we were on the road.
Although we made it to Austin eventually we encountered every problem we could en route.
But as I reflect on this story I realize that HE brought us this route and his plan is perfect.
He blessed us the ENTIRE time we have been in Austin and he will continue to bless us.
Whenver we experience Satan attacks we must remember that we can tell Satan to stay back, we belong to God and he has control.

I'm sorry that was such a long-winded post.
I guess I needed to say all of that for my own benefit.
I feel better all of a sudden.

I hope you had a Blessed Monday!

Baby Diaries #14

How far along? 26 weeks

According to Google Places...
Bitsy Hitzy is right here!

Total weight gain/loss: 20ish lbs

Maternity clothes? Not always.  I did manage to wear a few regular shirts recently and fortunately they fit over my baby bump!

Stretch marks? No new ones yet.

Sleep: The past few nights have been weird for me.  Up until recently I was having a hard time winding down and actually wanting to go to bed, but the past 2 nights I've passed out on the couch while we were watching movies!  I think my body needed to play a little catch up.

Best moment this week: Bitsy is getting so active and I love it!  I think my favorite moment was when I could literally see where she was laying at.  I looked down and saw an odd lump that made my normally perfectly round baby bump appear whopperjawed.  It was so neat knowing she was curled up in one spot.

Movement: Seems to be picking up more and more!  And she's getting stronger and stronger!

Food cravings: Still none.

Gender: It's a Girl!

Labor Signs: Nada

Belly Button in or out? I think I have to admit defeat.  My belly button can be seen through my clothing now.  It's probably the only thing I dislike about pregnancy is this outtie belly button.  I'll survive! Ha ha!

What I miss: Hugging my hubby.  This sounds weird.  We still hug!  However, the other day while hugging him I said, "Stop pushing your belly out".  I was convinced he was pushing his belly out to meet mine, 1/2 offended he said, "I'm not".  It was at that moment that I realized my baby bump was really growing faster than I realized.  The good thing is that Bud and I laughed about it after I realized it was just me getting in the way and now when we hug I'm sure to tell him to stop pushing his belly out!

What I am looking forward to: My last day of work is Thursday!  Wednesday I'm off early, but I'm not looking forward to that because it means I have my gestational diabetes test with the doctor!

Weekly Wisdom: Keep moving!  I walked in a 5K and although I was sore this morning, I feel so good!

It's a blessing to know I'm staying healthy as we get closer and closer to meeting our little Bitsy!

From whattoexpect.com

Your Baby in Week 26 of Pregnancy
What's up with your baby? She now weighs a full two pounds and measures nine-plus inches. And this week, her eyes, which until now were developing under fused eyelids, start to open. Of course, there's not much to see in there, but if your baby spots a bright light (or hears a loud noise) near your belly, you may notice an increase in fetal activity. (“Hey, I'm in here, Mommy! Where’s the party!”) What accounts for that response? Her brain is more developed and sophisticated.

2 lbs & measures 9 inches head to rump!

I hope you had a Blessed Sunday!

Bubba Gump & other stuff...

Wow it's been a whirlwind few days.
Friday we had thought all our stuff was going to be packed up by the movers.
Unfortunately, we found out later that the person who booked the appointment can not actually do that as they do not know the movers schedule.
As of right now we are in limbo to find out if there is any way to have the movers come July 6th (the day before we leave for North Carolina).  I won't go into the messy details of if they can't.  Honestly, I'm tired of thinking of all the decisions we will have to make if they can't, but hopefully we will have an answer soon.

Since we didn't need to hang out at home all day waiting on and watching movers we decided to tackle some items on our to do list.
First the boys needed their summer haircuts and baths.

Pup

Cappy

only one of them was happy about this.

After that we headed down to San Antonio, a 1.5 hour drive, to visit Bud's Grandpa one last time before we moved away.

It was a short visit, as Grandpa was tired and ready for a nap about 30 minutes after our arrival.

At least we got to say hello and we promised we'd send him a video at Christmas of his Great-Grand-daughter.

After that we drove another 1.5 hours to Fredericksburg to return a family history book to a distant cousin whom Bud randomly discovered this past spring.  

Then it was time for the final leg of the trip, the 1.5 hour drive home.

We got home later than we had hoped, but we were happy to have accomplished all these items on our to do list.  

In reality it was a good trial run of what our long drive ahead will be like.

Saturday morning rolled around and we were up and at 'em again, but not in a bad kind of busy.

We headed to a friends coffee shop to use internet and relax.

A trip to Goodwill followed, only this time it wasn't to drop items off.  

We needed to get Bud's costume ready for the Keep Austin Weird 5K we were doing that evening.

The Keep Austin Weird 5K is the slowest 5K you'll ever do, or so they say.

Some people run it like a normal race, others dressed up in costume to "Keep Austin Weird" and many took advantage of the vendors along the route for bites of Amy's Ice Cream and shots of random alcohol.  Obviously, I only had ice-cream.

Bud supported me and only had ice-cream as well.

We dressed up though!

He was Forrest Gump & I was his Jenny...

6.5 months pregnant and walking over 3 miles that day is a feat I'm pretty proud of!

My hubby is pretty proud of me too.

Despite the 95 degree weather we all managed to stay hydrated and "comfortable" while we were at the festival.  Not to mention Bud was a trooper keeping MY pace the entire time.

We rewarded ourselves with Conan's Pizza, Wonderful Showers, and the Goonies when we got home.

It was a great way to end our time in Austin!

I hope you had a Blessed Saturday!

Bible Verse Friday #26

"Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself.  I am the Lord." ~Leviticus 19:18

The Lord works in mysterious ways.
Obviously he knows when we are battling with something.
And in knowing that he reveals to us verses we need to hear.
As I continue down a path of discernment I am so thankful for these reminders.
It is in my best interest to make sure that my responses are not vengeful.
It is in my best interest to let go and not bear a grudge.
I am to love others, always.

However, if someone continues to hurt you over and over again it is not wrong to remove them from your life.
Don't wish ill on them, in fact do the opposite.
Pray a prayer of blessings over them.
Love them as God loves all of us.
Step away.

I think that will be my next step.
I will have said everything I can to express my hurt.
I continue to get the same response in return, "I didn't do anything wrong".
We have different opinions.
This is understandable, but I no longer wish for my opinion to always be viewed as less valuable.

Thank you Father God for reminding me to be kind and let go.
To love as you do and to try my hardest to be a steward of your word in all my actions.

I hope you all had a Blessed Friday!

Busy busy busy....

It's turning into a mad house here.
We have scheduled for the movers to come on Friday at which point they will box all of our belongings and we will only be left with what we have set aside to haul ourselves.
That being said we need to go through the entire house and pull everything that we will be hauling and set it aside to ease the process.
I have 2 weeks worth of clothes, valuables, medications, etc all piling up on the guest room bed.
Also we are taking our own mattress just so that no matter when we get there we have a comfy bed to sleep on and not an air mattress.
That's how spoiled we are...well and pregnant, we don't want to let our Temperpedic mattress out of our site.
Well I better get back to work!
So much time and so little to do....Strike that....reverse it!

I hope you had a Blessed Wednesday!

Bitsy's Grandma Comes to Town...

My Mom is in town!
Her husband and her decided they needed to visit us in Austin one more time before we moved away!
They figured that if we weren't here they might not get back to see more of this awesome city.

We got spoiled with food
Thursday night was Red's Back Porch & Friday night was Joe's Crabshack

Saturday for lunch we ate at Izzoz Tacos and for dinner we ate at Alamo Drafthouse while watching Tree of Life. (I do not recommend this movie)

Saturday while they were here we visited the Farmers Market where Mom bought some Dr. Pepper Jelly!

Sunday Bud had to run an errand on Sunday after church and Mom's hubby needed a nap so we decided to hit the pool with our books!

And after the guys were moving again we decided the only way to truly end an Austin vacation is to see the BATS!!! (cue bat montage)

It was nice having my Mom and her hubby in town for a few days.

It was a great excuse to see a few of our favorite places at least one more time before we head out.

My Mom is so excited to become a Grandma that I know that no matter where the Air Force sends us we'll never be too far for her to come visit.

I hope you all had a Blessed Tuesday!

Book #16: The Shelter of God's Promises - Sheila Walsh

The Shelter of God's Promises by Sheila Walsh is definitely a book I would recommend for  group setting and not as much for in individual study.

Sheila Walsh states her main objective in writing this book was that she wants to show the promises of God that we can use through the good and bad we encounter daily.

As this book begins it explains what promises are and how God's promises differ from our own man made promises.  Once she explains what promises are she explains what provisions are.  What are the things that we need on a daily basis?  Not the things that we THINK we need, but the things we actually need and how can we trust that God will provide those for us?  Which leads back to God's promises.  Ultimately, if we can believe in God's promises we should feel a certain sense of peace in our life that is unmatched by anything that is of this earth.  This peace grants us the ability to give up fear and know that we are never truly alone.  The next step in understanding the shelter of God is to understand that even when we can't see through our pain God is still there and his plan in still in motion.  We must dig deep to find the confidence to know that God's plan is bigger and better than anything we could have planned for ourselves.

About half way through the book we start to touch on the topics of love, grace, hope and strength.  These topics teach us that we are ALWAYS loved, ALWAYS forgiven, NEVER broken beyond repair, and that God will never give us more than we can handle.

As you finish this book you will discover that Walsh is telling us what God has been trying to convince us of for quite some time.  There is something better, it's HIM.  No matter how far we have strayed or how far we feel we've pushed from HIM we always have a future with him.  He has a home prepared for us and it's as simple as trusting in the promises he set before us before we were born.

As previously stated I highly recommend this book for a group study and urge the use of the study in the back of the book to provoke questioning and thought.  

I received this book free from the publishers through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program.  I was not required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Baby Diaries #13

How far along? 25 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 18ish lbs

Maternity clothes? Not always.  I did manage to wear a few regular shirts recently and fortunately they fit over my baby bump!

Stretch marks? No new ones yet.

Sleep: According to my hubby I seem to pass about approximately 2.5 seconds after the lights are turned off and we say goodnights.  He says at that point he hears my deep breathing and has to laugh.  Mostly because I used to complain that he feel asleep so easily I was jealous.  Now it's me.

Best moment this week: My Mom was able to feel Bitsy move.  She was in town for a few days and showered us with love and blessings.  Gifts for the little one and food for our bellies at restaurants all over Austin.  

Movement: It seems like she is a night owl.  As soon as I lay down at night she likes to start kicking.  If I wake up in the middle of the night for a bathroom break she'll be kicking then too.  I'm concerned that she's going to be a night owl when she arrives!

Food cravings: Still none.

Gender: It's a Girl!

Labor Signs: Nada

Belly Button in or out? I think I have to admit defeat.  My belly button can be seen through my clothing now.  It's probably the only thing I dislike about pregnancy is this outtie belly button.  I'll survive! Ha ha!

What I miss: I miss doing things for myself.  I'm a very independent person and people keep trying to prevent me from doing anything.  Fortunately, my hubby understands my personality and tries diligently not to stop me from doing things.  I think he knows, or at least I've said it enough times, that once I need help I'll ask, but in the mean time I really want to keep doing things for myself as long as I'm able to!

What I am looking forward to: The Keep Austin Weird 5k!  No I'm not running, but Bud & I are walking it.  He is going to dress up as some version of Forrest Gump and I'll dress up as pregnant hippy Jenny....appropriate I know ;) 

Weekly Wisdom: Time by the pool in the shade is valuable.  I sat in the shade by the pool for 2 hours and felt refreshed, rested and ready to take on the rest of the day/night!

From whattoexpect.com

Your Baby in Week 25 of Pregnancy 

Your baby is growing by leaps and bounds, reaching nine inches in length (head to rump) and passing the pound and a half mark. Under his skin, capillaries are forming and filling with blood and by week's end, air sacs (also lined with capillaries) will develop in his lungs, getting them ready for that first breath. Mind you, those lungs aren't ready for prime time just yet — but they are developing surfactant, a substance that will help them expand after birth. And speaking of breathing, your baby's tiny nostrils, which have been plugged up until now, are starting to open, and his vocal chords are getting ready to roar.

It's starting to become more
and more believable that
I have a tiny baby growing in my womb!

I hope you had a Blessed Sunday!

Bible Verse Friday #26

"Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before him-his name is the LORD.  A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling." ~Psalm 68:4-5

Oh what a week it has been.
When it rains it pours and this week we have been showered with BLESSINGS!
I can not even explain how full my heart feels right now.
All I know is that I must sing his name!
My FATHER God is an amazing God!
He has and continues to take care of us.

As we move into the upcoming weeks there are many unknowns for us.
Where will we be staying when we first get to North Carolina?
How long will it take us to find a rental home?
How long after that will it be until we maybe move on base?
Will Bitsy Hitzy be here on her due date or sooner?
Will Bud have to work full days as soon as we get there?
When will he get his first paycheck?
The list could go on for days.
But after reading this verse...."...A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling." I remember he will take care of us.
He always has.
He always will.

I hope you had a Blessed Friday!

Baby Shower #2

It's amazing to know that the people I work with value and love me enough to surprise me with a baby shower!
A few weeks back a co-worker put a sticky note on my calendar saying I had to be to work on June 16th.
I had my suspicions, but the way the day started out threw me way off course.
I woke up sleepily and all morning that sleepiness seemed to hover over me.
We were called into my boss's office where she told us that it had been approved that we could have a longer lunch that day and she was going to get us Subway as a small going away lunch for me.
As thankful as I was, I was also very confused.
I would have thought for sure there would be a baby shower or a bigger going away lunch where I could invite other people who worked on our floor. 
I emailed my friend, who is on another team, and told her about the lunch and then asked her if she'd heard of anything being planned.
She replied saying she hadn't and she was a little bummed she wasn't invited to this lunch.
It later turned out she was bluffing and was so worried she was going to ruin the surprise!
The day progressed slowly and more emails flew between me and said friend.
Finally at 12 it was lunch time and as my team lead & I started towards the conference room we had booked I asked, "Why did we book this room it's going to be too big"!

SUPRISE

My Surprised Face
So close to tears.

They even surprised me by getting Bud to show up there!

I love my 6 month baby bump!

We were literally showered with gifts for Bitsy Hitzy!

Onesies, blankets, the mobile we wanted,
the night light turtle that projects stars on the ceiling,
the whale bath tub, and so so so much more!

There were more gift cards than we could have imagined and once we combined them with the ones from our first shower we were able to order these 2 big ticket items off our registry!

Pack 'N' Play

2-in-1 bouncer/swing combo!
The seat comes off the swing & is then
used as a bouncer!!!

It was such a huge blessing and Bud & I felt so loved.

I've been with my job for nearly 3-1/2 years, the longest of any job ever and I feel like I'm leaving a family.

I'm so grateful for all these wonderful people.

I hope you had a Blessed Thursday!

Baby Diaries #12

Today I had another Doctor's appointment.
Well maybe I should say I had a nurse practitioner's appointment since I didn't actually see my doctor.
Every time I go in it's the same thing.
Leave a sample.
Wait.
Weigh in.
See nurse.
Hear heartbeat.
Wait.
See doctor or another nurse.
Make next appointment.
Go home.

Today was no different, but for some reason it felt different.
Maybe it's because I only have 1 more appointment with this doctor before we hit the road.
Maybe it's because I found out today that next time I have to do my gestational diabetes test.
Maybe it's because ever since I started to feel Bitsy Hitzy kicking from the outside this all feels so much more real.
Whatever the reason I felt like I needed to take this appointment more seriously.

The first nurse gave me the entire spiel regarding the gestational diabetes test I'll be taking next time.
She gave me the orange soda like drink and told me to keep it chilled.
I have to drink it upon arriving to my appointment and I must drink the entire 10 oz within 5 minutes.
Exactly 1 hour after that I will have my blood drawn.
Also I'm not allowed to eat or drink the hour before or the hour during which I'm waiting to have my blood drawn.
She left and within a few minutes a new nurse came in.
We listened to Bitsy's heartbeat, 152 bpm.
Then she measured my belly.
The good news is that I'm measuring right on track!

Again I asked the nurse how my weight was looking.
I was quickly nearing 20 lbs of weight gain and I am just past 6 months.
She said that I was doing WONDERFULLY and she told me that based on my height and starting weight (the fact that I'm a very slender woman) I'll be gaining weight closer to the 35lb mark maybe even 40.
All the literature these days says healthy weight gain is 25-35lbs, but that is an average amount for an average woman of average height and starting weight.
I'm not quite average being that I'm nearly 6' tall and started out at 145lbs.
I was quite happy to know that I was doing good and that I was on track for a happy healthy baby!

Bitsy has been kicking up a storm the past few days and it makes me jump for joy each time I feel her getting stronger and stronger.

Well that's all for now!
I hope you had a blessed Wednesday!

Be Still....

On Sunday our lesson at church was about rest.
It was about having that one day a week where you don't work.
Where you rest in the spirit.
Give God your attention and find peace in the quietness.
Some of us have a hard time with quiet.
Honestly, most of us do.

How often do you go through a day in absolute silence?
Seems like in our house there is always music playing, a tv on, chatter, etc.
But what would it look like if we allowed ourselves the day of rest?

During that time we are supposed to give everything to God.
We are to cast our burdens off and trust that he won't give us anything more than we can handle.
There was something about this specific message that hit me hard.
I have a hard time handing my burdens over to God.
I typically think I can handle it myself.
Well some events in the past year have caused me to reconsider my position.
If you have been reading from the beginning you may know/recall that I mentioned that I not only blog, but I also journal.
I had my journal as a secondary place to write out my life.
It was the place where I could write things I wasn't yet willing to share on my blog yet.
However, after the message Sunday I realized I was using it as a crutch.
I hadn't actually written in it for over a month and when I looked back at what I had written I wasn't happy.
There was a lot of overlap from what my blog had and the other parts were all rants and raves about things I wasn't happy with.
It was an unhealthy outlet that God has been telling me to get rid of for quite some time.

So in order to allow myself the full ability to rest and trust that he has my back,
I threw the journal away.
4 months of writing.
Writings that were holding me back from letting go.
And let me tell you, upon deciding to cut it out of my life, I felt a weight lift.
NO SERIOUSLY!
A weight literally lifted off my shoulders and I felt a joy and sense of peace.

So I'm working hard now to be honest with you all.
To write out what I need to here.
To be 100% real.
I anticipate it will allow me to rest more in God's peace.
I hope it'll help me to hear him better in the future.
I know that I will be blessed for listening to him.

I hope you all had a Blessed Tuesday!

Bride & Groom #3 part deux....The Reception

....as promised!
Pictures from the reception!

Remember these people?
I introduced you to them a few weeks ago...
they have only been married 2 weeks!
Yeah for getting to see KB & JB again!

Here we (the bridesmaids) are after our grand entrance!
We had to try to pump up the crowd....
I'm not sure I was much to see hahaha!

The groomsman, however, were marched in by the
father of the bride.
He dropped them for push-ups! 

Here come Mr. & Mrs. P!
Bride & Groom!!!!
Congratulations!

Bud & I stole away for a moment to get a picture of us!
Isn't he handsome?

We also scored a picture with the Bride & Groom!
Yehaw!

A friend caught this sweet moment.
Bud had come up behind me to feel Baby Girl kicking
during the reception!

The Bride & Groom swirling around the dance floor!

Can you tell that we have a fun group of friends?

Somehow the table decorations rarely stay on the table.

At some point in the night they turn into turbans, bow ties, and or dancing accessories!

A wonderful night to celebrate a great couple!

I hope you all had a Blessed Monday!

Baby Diaries #11

How far along? 24 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 17 lbs

Maternity clothes? Yes and I just bought a few more things!  Bud decided we needed to get me some shorts.  I love the hot weather, but it's important I'm dressed for it.  Let me say that capris and 105 degree heat don't mix.  So off to the mall we went (I wasn't hip on the idea....I don't like spending mall prices on clothes).  Fortunately, we saw that Motherhood was having a Buy 1 Get 1- 50% off of their shorts so that was good.  I ended up with 4 pairs of shorts and while I tried them on Bud chatted up the sales associate.  When I finally got to the register I had 4 pairs of shorts (brown, green, khaki, and white) and 2 tank tops.  Before any discounts it was $112, after the sale on shorts it was down to $85, but then the sales lady did something extra special....she found an expired coupon from a month ago that said: When you spend $50 you get $20 off.  She applied the coupon code and we spent a grand total of $65 for all our loot!  I think that's pretty good, basically $10/item.....how awesome!

Stretch marks? Unfortunately on my tush I have developed a few, but none on my belly yet.

Sleep: Lately when night comes I seem to get a 2nd wind, which is bad because I have early mornings. 
I've been getting to bed between 11 and midnight and getting up at 6....I have had a few days where I've dragged, but mostly I feel okay.

Best moment this week: I was in DE & CP wedding, CONGRATULATIONS you two!  But the coolest thing happened during the rehearsal dinner.  Bud had been gone at camp all week training JROTC so he hadn't felt his daughter kick yet.  During the rehearsal dinner I reached over and placed his hand on my belly.  He whispered, "I don't feel...Oh!"  She kicked and he felt her for the first time.  Seeing his face was priceless...today he was able to actually see the kicks which was pretty awesome too!  It was a very exciting weekend!

Movement: She has days when she is pretty calm and doens't move yet and then other days I swear she is doing gymnastics in there...but I love it because it seems more real now that there is a little one I am growing!

Food cravings: Nope.

Gender: It's a Girl!

Labor Signs: Nada

Belly Button in or out? We are approaching the outtie stage. 

What I miss: I realized today that I miss eggs sunny side up.  I used to eat that with toast on a regular basis and I can't wait to have my sunny side up eggs again!

What I am looking forward to: My Mom is coming into town Thursday night!

Weekly Wisdom: Patience.  It's key to sanity!
From whattoexpect.com

Your Baby in Week 24 of Pregnancy

Your baby is about eight and a half inches long and weighs one and a half pounds, gaining steadily at a rate of six ounces per week. Much of that weight comes from accumulating baby fat, as well as from growing organs, bones, and muscle. Those little ears of hers are getting sharper and can hear very loud sounds, from a yapping dog to a jackhammer. Also by now, that fabulous face is almost fully formed, complete with eyelashes, eyebrows, and hair. Is your baby a brunette, a blonde, or a redhead? Actually, right now her locks are white since there's no pigment yet.

Our little one is about the size of a corn cob this week!
8.5 inches and 1-1/2 lbs!

I hope you had a Blessed Sunday!

Bride & Groom #3 of the Summer

Phew!
I have finished wedding number 3!
This was the second week in a row that I was on bridesmaid duty.
As most wedding days go we all started out by getting our hair done.
DE (The bride-to-be) had given us special bags at the rehearsal dinner the night before.
Each bag contained a custom wine glass w/ our name in our favorite colors, a magazine suited to each girls taste (a pregnancy mag for me), pink flip flops to wear after the ceremony, snacks, and the jewelry we were to wear (Pink rose shaped earrings and brown beaded necklaces with a matching pink rose shaped pendant).  Wonderful gifts to keep us entertained in the bridal suite!

Clockwise: Me, CE, TR, RG, JM, GE, & DE

We did everything we could to make the Bride as comfy as possible :)

Mimosas anyone?

Meanwhile the guys got the groom ready in the grooms suite

In order to pass the remaining time....

 ...a game of poker!

Before we knew it, it was time for the Bride and Groom to exchange their gifts to each other.

CP got his lovely bride a singing jewelry box.
A safe place to stow away all her beautiful jewels!

DE got her handsome hubby a cowbell,
so he could be the life of the party at the reception.
And a gift card so he could finally get his concealed
handgun license.

Finally it was time for the big moment!  

There I go....

It was an absolutely beautiful ceremony!

Before we had time to realize it the ceremony was over and it was time for the reception....

I'll save that for a later post!

The wedding was gorgeous....the Bride even more so and I couldn't have been happier to be there for her big day!

Congratulations Mr & Mrs P!  

May you shower each other with love!

I hope you had a blessed Saturday!

Bible Verse Friday #25

I started to type this post last night, in order to get a head start.
I finished typing it last night and then deleted it.
On purpose.
I wanted to wait until today for BibleGateway.com to update the verse of the day.
Well apparently they posted today's verse late last night, because as I now look to see what it is, it's the same verse.
Obviously, I'm not getting away from this verse.

"Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.  Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others." ~Colossians 3:13

Deja vu.
The last couple weeks I had verses on my heart that I used.
Verses VERY similar to this.
Today I returned to my regular method of finding a verse at BibleGateway.com and this is what was given to me.
Obviously HE wanted me to see THIS verse.

I sent my words off to the individual.
I prayed over them.
I have come to terms, as I previously stated, that this may be the end of a friendship.
I have also granted forgiveness for the hurt that I was caused.
I just pray that if I hurt her, she can do the same.
It says it plain as day, "Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you MUST forgive others."

Who am I to hold a grudge.
Who am I to judge the actions of someone.
I do not know the entire story.
All I know is my side.

I asked all of you last week to take that first step.
Maybe you've been hurt.
Maybe you hurt someone.
Maybe you have a life changing decision you need to make, but you've been putting it on the back burner.
Whatever it is that you've been putting on hold I hope you'll start the process.
The process of working through it and getting past it.
If HE brings you to it, HE'LL bring you through it!
I firmly believe this.
We might be surprised at what the end result is.
We may be hurt by the end result.
Either way it's an end result which allows us the ability to move past it.
No more dwelling.

If you are having a hard time getting started let me know by shooting me an email
You don't have to share specifics, you can if you want.
Just let me know that you need prayer and I will get started!
I promise you that after the first step it DOES get easier.
Follow God's word and do as Christ would want you to and you will be rewarded!
He promises this!

I hope you all have a Blessed Friday!

Beneath the City Lights

Back around mid-May Bud & I decided it was time for round 2 of capturing the Austin skyline after dark.
I can not stress enough that night photography is hard.
There are so many factors that can vary making each night a new challenge.
The first time we had gone out at the end of April it had been overcast which was a challenge because the city lights were casting a lot of light on the clouds during the long exposure time and it didn't always look DARK  in the pictures:

So 2 weeks later we decided to try again.

This time it was a full moon.

We had hoped that the moon would line up with the city background, but as it turns out that doesn't happen every month.

It came up just to the south of the following views.

Again a factor we had no control over.

The upside was that we captured, what I considered, some better pictures of the skyline:

A tighter frame of the city.

A little further away.

The furthest away view.

All in all I am much happier with these pictures than the previous sessions!

I would like to have one more attempt at the skyline on a night with NO moon, just to see how we fare.

The one thing that I KNOW I need to work on is finding that perfect balance in shutter speed and ISO.

If it's too fast than the picture is too dark 

However, the longer the shutter speed the more light I get radiating off the buildings.

You can see the rays radiating off the "Gothem-city-esque" building on
the left side of the photo.

Again, as previously stated, I was much happier with this photo shoot and the chance to go for a late night walk with my hubby away from the hustle and bustle of our recently very hectic schedules!

That being said, if anyone has any suggestions or know-how on night photography I'm all ears!

I hope you all had a Blessed Thursday!