Maternity Photos

As my baby gift, my friend Callie did our maternity photos for us!  She also was my shower coordinator and project nursery motivator, and baby registry advice-giver.  She is excited about this baby!
We went to the apple orchard at Prairie Grove Battle Field Park.  If you read my blog last fall, you may remember a failed attempt at picking apples in an orchard, this is the very same orchard.  Mystery solved- apples are ready to be picked in August, not October, but it made a great setting for the photos.
These are not all of them, just some of my favorites.  Callie did a great job!  (Taken at 33 weeks.)

Getting Ready

A lot has happened since my last post.

I finished classes!  I have now taken all the classes I need to complete my MAT and have passed all of the Praxis exams.  All I have left is student teaching, which I am planning on doing next fall.

Michael went to China.  His good friend, Clint along with Clint's wife, Miranda were directors of a summer camp for orphans.  I didn't get to go because I was finishing class and am too pregnant for such an adventure.  Michael loved it, of course, and has lots of pictures to show it.  I thought about posting about this before or while he was gone, but I didn't want any weirdos to know I was home alone.  It was the second longest we have been apart, and we barely got to talk at all, I sure missed him! I did, however, overcome the fear of staying home alone- though I wouldn't really want to do it again.  I was only alone 4 of the nights he was gone, and I thought about making plans to stay elsewhere, but I thought since I am about to be parent, I am not supposed to be afraid of things like that, so I did it! And I am alive to tell about it.  

We hope to adopt from China one day.  If we were already allowed,  I bet that this little lady would have come home with Michael.  

My dear friend, Callie (of Callie Granderson Photography)  took our maternity pictures.  I'll dedicate a post to those later.

I had my first, and biggest baby shower.  It was amazing!  All of my friends did so much work to make it perfect!  - Also, post to come on that later.

The nursery is finished- with the exception of hanging some things on the walls.  - Once, again, post later.

Now, I am just spending these last few weeks (approximately 5) getting ready for Lucy Kate!  Lots of running errands and house projects.  I know at some point I should rest so I am ready physically, but for now,  I just can't!

Pregnancy has still been really easy for me so far.  Everything is moving along just as it should.  The only symptom that I have consistently is forgetfulness.  Some people call it pregnancy brain, in my case, I will just call it stupidity.  I cannot remember a thing.  And my brain is slow, basic math- nope, remembering names of people I know really well for years- nope, remembering how far along I am- nope.  Here is a great example- I put 3 contacts in one at, at one time!  I won't go into details, but it really happened.

I have to do a plug for Farm Box Delivers.  I have been advertising it to all of my friends.  We found a Living Social deal for this website and decided to try it out.  Its all locally grown, produced, farmed, etc produce, meats, dairy, bread.  You order on their website and they deliver it to your doorstep- free delivery!  I wasn't sure what I wanted to order, so we did the "small box" of produce, which is an assortment of their in season produce.  It was no small box, and it was a great value- even if we didn't have the living social deal.  Check out our box!

Here it is! Right off the door step.

This is what I found upon opening the box. (all for $30 w/o the living social deal)

Washed and ready to be enjoyed.

And because you are probably curious, a belly pic.  This is at 34 weeks, taken last week. 

Weekend Fun

Well, I am still in class most nights each week, including Fridays, so I can't do anything too exciting on the weekends.  But, next week is the last week of class, or any weekly commitments for Michael and I, and we are excited about that!  We have missed our friends.  This weekend I have fun plans coming up including a birthday dinner for a good friend, and seeing a best friend from college days that I haven't seen in over a year!  When I am not doing those fun things, this is where you will find me:

My plan was to not paint. It is a lot of trouble, and we have done a ton of it in the past year and half.  But, even Michael, who doesn't usually care very much about changing paint colors suggested the nursery needed to painted.  I knew I would like it much better painted, so here we go.  Luckily I have had offers of help- if you are one of those people- don't be offended that I didnt' call you for this half done first coat- I had a few free hours today that I didn't really expect and just wanted to see what it will look like.  After the painting is done, the nursery will come together quickly! I have everything done except wall hangings and a rug.  Bedding, furniture, curtains, etc are ready to be put in place.  And by I have everything done- I mean my mom.  She has done everything!  Lucy Kate is going to have the best custom made nursery ever!

Lucy is growing growing,  I can't believe we are so close!  I have been so busy I haven't had a chance to think about it very much.  I doesn't really feel like pregnancy will end and then we will have a person to take care of. In just a few weeks too! Yikes!

Just a quick update

Since my last post I have completed almost 6 hours of grad school.  These 2 week classes are making time fly, and not making for exciting blogging.  Mostly I sit and write papers or pretend lesson plans I will never use or read boring textbooks while sitting in a hard wooden chair so I won't fall asleep.

Also over the past few weeks...

we celebrated the 4th
we had a big ole' cookout at our house and then went to the mall to watch the fireworks

Not the best picture, but do remember how hot it was on the 4th this year?!

Michael's sweet grandmother passed away.  It was/ is a bittersweet time.  The last day we spoke with her she just said over and over how she wanted to go see Jesus.  She gave all of us some final words of wisdom (including Lucy, who she insisted we name LaRue/ LaRoo) and prayed that all of her family would have peace after she passed away.  An amazing woman!  She and Michael's grandfather were married 61 years!!

Today is exactly 2 months until my due date.  I've entered the 30's in weeks pregnant, which means the countdown weeks are now single digit.  I still don't feel like this will actually lead to having a child.  Being pregnant is so normal (and still comfortable) I forget that I won't always be pregnant.

31 weeks down, 9 to go!

And random info...

Baby cows!! or calves... These little guys live behind our house.  Each summer I eagerly await the arrival of the new batch.  So far we are 3 for 4.  And number 4 should be showing up any day now, that poor pregnant cow can hardly stand. This pic doesn't do the cuteness justice.  Michael actually witnessed the birth of one of them, I made it outside in time to witness first steps just a few minutes later.  The first one is named Lee Greenwood b/c he was born on July 4.  The second is Joe Edd because he was born on the birthday of a special family member of that name.  The third is Boomer, you know b/c of the cow baby boom, born maybe the same day as Joe Edd.

Also, for those of you waiting in suspense, Goldie (discussed in the previous post) is alive and thriving.  He even knows who I am now and goes crazy when I walk in the room.

I am sure there is more, but those are the hi-lights. Maybe when I finish summer school (in just 2 1/2 weeks) I'll have more excitement.  

Turkey Track

This weekend I went back to my roots, y'all.  Have you ever heard of Waldron, Arkansas?  Its near Booneville, Arkansas (not helpful?).  Both towns are where my mom's side of the family originates (for as many generations as we know).  And, if you read this blog frequently,  you may recall that our family has a "cabin" in between these two towns.  Last weekend was the Turkey Track Bluegrass Music Festival, "one of the largest bluegrass festivals west of the Mississippi"
We loaded up with the Grandersons after the men folk finished up work on Friday, and headed to the cabin.  The festival started on Wednesday and lasted through Saturday, but we only went Saturday evening- we thought about going during the day, but it was 96 degrees out there!
The festival was packed with senior citizens staying in RVs, and we had a great time! I love bluegrass music!
Sunday, in addition to Father's day was my mom's birthday.  I was glad to celebrate the day with both of them.  I even thought ahead and brought a birthday cake for my mom, it was mostly melted (the icing was droopy)  by the time we ate it on Sunday, but it was good anyway.

This week I started a class that only lasts 2 weeks! Its a lot of work to squeeze in 3 hours of grad school in two weeks.  I might be MIA for a while...

This is not the best picture of us.  But we had been basically camping for a full day at this point.  And it was hot! 

Who needs a lawn chair when you have a golf cart?  Lazy lazy.

In baby news:  I had  Dr. Appt. today.  All is well.  Apparently they think I have gained way less weight than I have.  Even though it isn't accurate the number they have on record made me feel awfully good.  I'm 28 weeks.  This is flying!

Fresh picture, taken today.  28 weeks. Big belly.

My current craving/ obsession.  I have eaten almost this entire watermelon single-handedly, in 3 days. Good thing they are healthy!

And last random update:  

This is Goldie Locks, our new pet.  He lives in our bamboo vase.  He is an impulse purchase  Michael made last night.  Actually, he was free, but in all of the free fish excitement, Goldie made it home without any food.  If there is algae in the vase with him, do I still have to feed him, or will the algae be enough?  This is a legit question, if you know anything about fish, let me know! Otherwise, he may not make it very long.  

Fifth Honeymoon

Michael and I celebrated four years of marriage this past weekend.  But we like to call it our fifth honeymoon.  Each year we have gone on a trip for our anniversary.  This year was definitely the smallest, lowest distance traveled, and shortest yet.  But it was still perfect.

We decided to go small this year for several reasons:  I am six months pregnant, traveling sounds ok, but we are limited in some activities ( i.e. laying on the beach usually sounds fun, until you feel like a beached whale), we just got back from a week long vacation with my family, Michael is going to China next month for a week and a half.

So we decided to spend a weekend near Eureka Springs, on Holiday Island.  Apparently lots of people have heard of this place, we have not.  It is a small community a few miles outside of Eureka, on Table Rock Lake.  I'd say based on my observations it is a retirement community.  Which was great! Nice and quiet.  We rented a house from vrbo.com (vacation rental by owners).  Shout out to Heather for telling me about this website!  I've looked at it before, but knowing someone else who had actually used it made me feel better.  So I searched on this website for a place to stay on Holiday Island.  The place we picked said it was near the lake, and looked nice by pictures, but it still felt a little like a gamble.  Your jaw is going to drop when you see this place!  I thought we had the wrong house because it wasn't clearly marked (and I thought we were staying in a condo).  But Michael decided to try the key, just in case.  I thought we were going to be arrested for attempting to break in at this point, I was so sure we were not at the right place.  But, the door opened!  I had to check for myself that it was the key that opened the door, and not that the door was just left unlocked.

So here it is- huge, but only 1 bedroom!  One enormous bedroom, and bathroom.

This is what we saw when we drove up. Yep, wrong house.  

Back porch, where we ate all our home cooked meals. 

More pack porch. It has a lake view. 

All things summer.  

Our view of the lake.

Bathroom

Kitchen.

Living room. 

Bedroom- please note I was standing in the middle of the room.  There was another living space and t.v. watching area behind me.  

Here was our agenda for the trip:

Friday- Michael took the day off, we made it to Eureka for lunch.  We ate at Local Flavor.  We love this place!  We ate there the day Michael proposed.  Then we checked in and found our house.  We spent the afternoon at the pool.  Then ate dinner at Ermilio's in Eureka.  They make everything from scratch, even their noodles.  Its wonderful.

Saturday- Slept in, swam, made lunch, swam, played games, made dinner, watched a movie.  It was the perfect relaxing day.

Dinner: Grilled steak, bacon wrapped grilled asparagus, caprese salad, and some leftovers from Ermilios

Sunday- Made breakfast, packed up.  We had to be out by 10.  We went to Eureka for massages.  Then ate lunch at Mud Street Cafe.  It was our first time to eat there.  We loved it!

And that sums up our fifth honeymoon.  I didn't take a single picture of us, but you can just imagine lots of fun, swimming, and relaxation instead.  

In other news, I start the third trimester tomorrow.  Yikes!

Project Nursery

Friday through Tuesday mom came into town and project nursery is now under way.  I needed some help and a creative mind getting started.  It is no where near finished.  But here are some pictures that will at least give an idea of what the end might look like.  The walls were already green, I am undecided about painting them.  I am painting the furniture white, which might brighten up the room and look fine with the green walls.  Did you know that we have painted every room (including hallways) in our house since we moved in a little over a year ago?  Some of them twice?  I don't have a lot of motivation to paint another one....for the second time.  Plus, keep in mind the nursery will also be a guest bedroom, we don't want to go nuts making it look like a baby's room.  

Also, I registered yesterday! It was so much fun picking out all of the cute little accessories for Lucy Kate's first few months of life.  I told Michael how long we were at the store- his response "it sounds like you had a terrible day" ha! Men don't get as excited about choosing which color bumbo or which theme for a play mat.  I loved it!  PS- Shout out to Callie for coming with my mom and I!  Registering for a whole new world can be overwhelming!  Its nothing like wedding registry where you know what a towel is and how it is used, you just pick the one you like.  Its all new, never before experienced products.  

Crib skirt.  Very wrinkled.  

Crib Sheet. And Inspiration fabric for everything else.

Quilt.

We actually haven't even purchased this and may not.  I don't really like pink, but if we add any more to the room, it will be this.   I like this pattern a lot! Maybe for an accent pillow.  

This blue fabric is the curtain material.  They are now hanging up almost completely done thanks to my mom's great seamstress skills.  I am waiting until they are completely finished to show them off.  

We are covering the rocking chair cushions in this.  

Construction zone.  

Parts of the crib are missing because I am sanding it to paint it.  Have you ever sanded a crib?  It takes forever- look at all those slats!

There is the guest bed tucked in the corner.  It will look much better when I actually have bedding and decorative pillows for it.

In other news our 4th wedding anniversary is tomorrow!  We are going out of town for a long weekend to celebrate.  What a blessing marriage to Michael has been!  I'll post about our trip and how much I like my husband when we get back.  

My how time flies!!!

Our honeymoon. We are such youngsters.