Monday, May 31, 2010

Happy Memorial Day

First and foremost on this day, I would like to remember those who have given their life in service to this great nation. Their sacrifice (and that of their families) is the reason we walk in freedom. Thank you.
This is the one holiday we don't get off that everyone else and their mother does. Blah! Oh well, I had things I needed to get done. David and Joe went fishing. I love it when David gets to hang out with his brothers and have a little fun. I hope they catch something, but I hope he doesn't expect me to eat it. Fish is not happening for dinner at our house...YUCK! Fish sticks, maybe.
We finished priming the walls in the nursery this weekend. This ended up being a big oops on my part. I didn't go with David when he purchased the primer, so I didn't realize it was oil based until I had already helped with the first coat. I wondered why I couldn't get the paint off the brushes and rollers....and me, DUH! Thankfully I did have my mask on (which probably didn't help keep the fumes away anyway, just the dust), and the room was very well ventilated. I wasn't in the room very long and didn't help with the second coat of primer. I stayed on the other side of the house in our bedroom. I watched Dear John while I folded laundry. Dear John didn't make me as weepy as I thought it would, but it was pretty good.
Saturday evening we went to the theater to see Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. I really liked it! It is way too violent for kids to watch in my opinion, but it is a pretty good adult movie.
We had family dinner on Sunday as usual and David and I ended the evening watching DayBreakers. That one wasn't as scary as I thought it would be, but we enjoyed it. It is very sad, our Movie Gallery is officially closing now, so we tried the Red Box for the first time. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that one of the movies I wanted to rent wasn't available. It was on the list, but I guess they were all sold out. A friend told me early in my pregnancy that if there were any movies we wanted to watch, to watch them now, because that would soon be a thing of the past, so I'm taking her advice. It is a fun and relaxing thing David and I can do together. I just need to lay off the movie popcorn from now on....talk about salt cravings!

Saturday, May 29, 2010

3:00 in the Afternoon and Tired already

Whew! I am tired already! So far we have been to the In-laws to check on their kitchen renovation progress. Looking Good! Gone to Lowe's to pick out flowers for the flower beds out front. Cleaned out the flower beds (OK...David did that pretty much by himself while I taped the walls). Taped up the walls for the primer coat of paint and painted the first coat of primer (which stinks to high-heaven I might add). We ate the famous Taco Casa for lunch and are watching the Crimson Tide baseball team beat Florida in the SEC tournament while we are waiting for the primer to dry. Roll Tide! We are going to attempt some more sanding after it's dry. I hope this works. I'm already achy, sore and tired, but I REALLY want to get all this done. I'm running out of free weekends. I did not sleep well last night. I woke up at 1:30am with feet cramps again. I know what to do for calf cramps and cramps at the bottom of your feet, but I am getting cramps on the TOP of my feet. I think it is a circulation thing because it happens mostly when my ankles have started to swell. Maybe we'll take a break tonight and do something just for fun!

Friday, May 28, 2010

Meet Tom

The much awaited for introduction of Tom Cat! I told you he was scraggly...can you blame me for not letting him into the house. He has really grown on us!

I wasn't kidding when I said the Nursery is a disaster right now! Last night I sanded the walls, so tonight I will tape them up and prime them. Here are the before pictures. Pray it doesn't take me too long to get to after pictures!


On a happy note...here is the diaper bag. How silly is it that I am so excited about a bag. :) I think it is less the bag and more the monogram. Ashlyn's first monogrammed item. She is officially a southern belle!


Thursday, May 27, 2010

The Land of Milk and Honey...

I think that is what our house is becoming to these stray cats! We kicked Tom and Duke out of the garage and since Duke actually has a home...he went there. We haven't seen him in a few days now. Tom, however doesn't have a home so he has stuck around. He is pretty nice to us, but doesn't really get along with other cats as far as we have seen. This morning David opened up the front door to leave for work and announced we have another one...cat that is. Tom had brought home his little friend, who was obviously starving too. She is tiny and so sweet, but it kind of surprised me she was hanging out with Tom. It was almost like Tom introduced her to us, then led her to the food and water. It was such a sweet little moment. Yesterday, my devotional directed me to Mark 12:31 "The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." While I was watching this scene unfold this morning, that verse came to mind. In his own little cat way, Tom was teaching us a lesson.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

The belly...

It's getting bigger. Just thought I'd post a picture. :) I think I was 23.5 weeks in this one.


Here is a picture of David and me at the Blue Angels Air Show. The Blue Angels are so much fun to watch! Those pilots AMAZE me with their talent and smarts!

Monday, May 24, 2010

No idea...

Matt Pitt is a kid from my hometown that has an incredible testimony. He is leading the revival movement known as "The Basement". They have several episodes of a television show they taped for a Christian TV channel and I was listening online when I heard Matt say something that just made me smile.
For the last few months, I have teased David, telling him that he has no idea how much he'll love this child. He has no idea what is about to hit him, how his life is going to change. Truth be told, I don't really either, but I think I'm a little more prepared than he is.
As Matt was recollecting the beginnings of "The Basement" when it was actually held in his basement at home with just a few people, he made a remark about the Lord sitting in Heaven just laughing, knowing what their future held. They had a desire to change the world, to embrace the Great Commission. They couldn't have imagined what God had in store for them, but God knew the whole time. Can you imagine God's face and His excitement!?!? For a second, I could. My anticipation at seeing the love David will have for Ashlyn shine in his face on that day is overwhelming! Such is my Lord's anticipation for watching the great things He has in store for me and our family unfold. Isn't He great!

The weekend's over

Monday has arrived. I just keep telling myself this is the day that the Lord has made. I WILL rejoice and be glad in it! We had quite a full, but somehow also relaxing weekend. Pregnancy brain (AKA I can't remember the last five seconds ago) has pretty much kicked in pretty strong, so honestly I don't remember each day individually. Sad, I know. I do know what I managed to accomplish though. We watched a few DVR'ed shows and relaxed, I ate a lot of ice cream, David worked on the aquariums and cut the grass, we both did some major cleaning house. I still haven't mopped the floor. The chairs are out of the way and everything is up off the floor so I can mop it, I just haven't gotten the gumption up to clean it. They need to be SCRUBBED, not just mopped, so I know it is going to take a while. I am excited that we got a floor vacuum. It only weighs about 5 lbs maybe and is so much better than sweeping the floor or using the carpet canister vac that I swear weighs a hundred lbs. :)
Sunday I started on the nursery walls. This project is going to be a little bigger than expected. I took the chair rail down and the paint on the bottom portion of the wall peeled off (literally like wallpaper). No one has any idea why??? What that means is that I spent a big chunk of Sunday peeling paint off the wall. I spackled all the nail wholes and we left them to dry last night. Tonight, after I fix the broken Quickbooks file (that's a whole 'nother story) I will sand the walls where I spackled and where the "wallpaper" left the walls uneven and then prime them (Don't worry, I have a mask).
Pregnancy update: David and I attended the Comprehensive Class on Saturday. I'm sure he was relieved that there is no longer a video of an actual birth in that class. He'll get to see one soon enough. We had a good teacher and the class was very informative. I have felt much more relaxed since I decided not to decide on anything about the birth day until it gets here. There is no way for me to know what is going to happen, so I'm just learning my options and the risks and benefits of all of them so I am informed, otherwise, I refuse to think about it. It just stresses me out and that is not what I need right now. I changed how I am sleeping at night...again...I'm sure I'll do it a few more times before September rolls around, but that has helped my lower back ALOT! It hasn't been aching near as much. I got a lovely pedicure this weekend and that helped the circulation in my legs. I am trying to reduce my sodium intake also. The swelling in my ankles is completely gone! Yeah! I have a lot to do this week. I really only have about about a month and a half before I get VERY busy at work, so I have to get quite a few things wrapped up in that time. I'm just going to take it one day at a time.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Under God...

I saw this yesterday. I wish teachers still had the liberty to teach like this in school. I wish celebrities would still stand up for the truth like this. Our future scares me more now than it ever has...especially for my baby girl. I will continue to trust God and pray for my nation and it's leaders.

"When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

2 Chronicles 7:13-14

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Control Freak

Yes that is what I am (for the most part). I'm working on it! One of the main things I've learned in the last 8 months is that I'm not in control. I may have the illusion of being in control, but I know the One who really is in control. When we figured out that getting pregnant wasn't going to happen without a little help, I was devastated. I felt like I was broken. My body didn't work like it was supposed to. I was so scared that we would never have a child, but I had to learn to trust the One who is in control, who knows my every need, who sees my future and has plans for me. I expected the whole process to take at least a year... two months later, I got two pink lines. Excitement about being pregnant quickly dimished to a terrified state. I couldn't wrap my mind around what I was going to have to do to have this baby. All I could think was that I'm not strong enough. Guess what... I'm not. In the last 6 months, I have had to let go of my control issues and accept the fact that I'm not in control. I can't determine what is going to happen to me or David or our baby. We are in His hands and that is a good place to be.
"When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:15-16

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

24 weeks

Wow...I can't believe it has been almost six months! I took another belly picture last week, but it's still on my camera, so I'll have to post it next time. I definitely look pregnant now....better than just looking fat. =)
This past weekend the MIL and I started shopping for the nursery. We got the paint and a shelf (the shelf's going back...wrong wood stain...I'm picky, what can I say?) We got letters for Ashlyn's name to be hung above her crib! Those are going back too because I want something cursive. Trial and error...that's how I roll.
I got two absolutely adorable picture frames. One say's "Love at first sight" and it has her ultrasound picture. I grow to love this little child more and more every day. I am so blessed that God is allowing me to raise a child. I know this child is not ours...she is God's child and we are being given the honor and privilege of raising her.
I finally got a chance to fill out a registry on Babies R' Us. It's mostly the big stuff we need. I dragged David to Target on Sunday to help me fill out the baby registry there. Babies sure do need a lot of stuff. I let David use the gun...good thing I could alter it online...he was randomly shooting things at one point. I may be wrong, but I don't think we'll need a pair of 18 mo. shorts (at least they were pink) and 3 bottle brushes.
I don't think nesting has set in yet, but I think since I'm feeling better, the OCD is setting in a little more and the disarray and disorganization of the house is driving me insane! I scrubbed the kitchen and bathroom this weekend. Yesterday I worked through lunch and left early to work on business stuff at home. Thank God for the focus I had yesterday because I really needed to catch up! Yeah! David and Jamey had to go to Georgia today to have the kitchen trailer "re-skinned", so God-willing (and my lower back), today I will finish the laundry and have clean floors once again!
On another note...we have a new baby! Not really since I won't let him in the house, but he decided to call our house home and we are feeding him, so I guess that means he's ours for now. His name is TomCat (we call him Tom). He is definitely a tomcat and the most scraggly looking black cat I've ever seen. He has the girliest meow and he will rub on your leg when you walk through the garage, but don't let him fool you into thinking he's sweet. If you try to pet him, he'll let you know he can touch you, but doesn't want you to touch him.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Exciting Update!


Our baby girl now has a name!

Ashlyn Marianne Ryan

I am tickled pink!