Playdate at the Cider Mill

The mom's biblestudy group I go to got together for a playdate at the local cider mill! We got a great tour of the mill and the kids got to feed all sorts of farm animals. We also got to sample fresh apple cider and eat homemade apple cider doughnuts! We came home with a gallon of fresh cider and honey crisp & fugi apples! We will be going back soon for hay rides, pumpkins, and the apple sale!

26wks 4days

Sorry about the procrastination on the belly shot this week. The camera's battery was dead. Nothing to new going on here; which in the world of my pregnancies is a great thing! I'll take a boring pregnancy over what I have been through any day!

Grace is moving around a lot more and her movements are a lot stronger. I just keep on growing too! Everyday I wake up feeling a little bit larger!

I was feeling frumpy, so I went and got my hair done today. New color and new cut! It's fun and I am glad I did it.

25 weeks

Does anyone know when the third trimester starts officially?! Seems like I have been in the 2nd trimester forever! Some articles say it starts at 25 wks and some say 28 wks......I really want to be in the third trimester!

Paint and Crib- DONE!

The nursery is officially painted and the crib is put together!! Special thanks to my wonderful husband and Jake for painting the room! Also thank-you to Ross and Ezra for putting the crib together today!! It is all coming together! A friend made pillows for the couches and is currently making a valance for the windows. She has a great eye for colors and they will add the perfect touch to the room! The couch is a hide-a-bed and the only place for guests, so it has to stay in the room....in case you are wondering why we have a couch in the room. We also have a piano in there and a dresser! It was hard to get that angle though. Anyway, enjoy the before and after pictures! There will be more pictures once decorations get put up!

Before the paint and crib, but after the haul out of boxes and other random items that were being stored in the 3rd bedroom!

Ross & Jake Painting

Putting together the crib
"Big Brother Helper"

Ezra cleaning the crib! Big Projects Done! I'll post pictures of the valance, pillows and decorations as soon as they get put up! The colors are a bit more vibrant than what the camera shows.

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New Favorite Home Fragrance

I love walking into homes that just smell simply good. A few of my favorite smells are cookies baking, fresh bread baking, and fresh linen fragrance wallflowers from Bath & Body Works. I found a new favorite fragrance today from Bath & Body Works. It is called Autumn Apple. Oh by goodness is just smells clean and delicious!!! What are your favorite smells for the home? Do you know of any great candles or other wallflower scents?

Celebrating 25 Years

Yesterday, September 10th, was my 25th birthday. I cherish quality family time. So, for my birthday I wanted to spend the whole day at the State Fair. It is the 4th largest one in the USA, so we had plenty to see! I had a perfect birthday! It was extra special because it was the first one that Ross has been home for in our 5 years of marriage!

Ezra on a roller coaster...all by himself!!
I thought this exhibit was amazing. This is a person home grown food and canned products! They had a whole side of a wall of these!

Ezra petting a goat at the petting zoo.
Ross and Ezra watching a monkey show.
He gets his need for speed from me.


On the sillyville train.

Ezra making music on this really cool collection of junk!
A cute bee.
Milking a cow.
Right before leaving the fair. He was wiped out! 5 minutes after we left the fair!

24 Weeks

I had my 24 week appointment yesterday. My blood pressure is very stable! The first time they took it, it was 140/65. They switched arms and took it again a minute later and it was 123/63! The doctor said that I am pretty much an uncomplicated pregnancy at this point, but I will stay w/ the high risk doctors because of my history. I get another big ultrasound in a month too! I will be getting another one to make sure that Grace is growing properly. It is a routine thing to do with high blood pressure. I am excited though because I love being able to see our little girl!

I Feel Like This Sometimes!

My Bearded Man

My dear sweet husband has been on vacation for over a month now. After being in the military for just under 8 years he had the itch to let his facial hair grow. I have let him have his time, but he announced last night that the beard was going to go away. He knows that I prefer a clean shaved face. I wanted him to enjoy his time off though. Below are pictures of the shaving process. Turns out there is an American Mustache Institute. You can check it out online if you are looking for facial hair style. Another useful website is beards.org. Facial hair is a lot more technical then I ever thought. Which look do you prefer on my man?
(I'm not joking about the names of these looks.....they are true and official.)

Traditional Beard


Goatee
The horseshoe...often confused with the Fu Manchu.
Classic Chevron
My cleaned shaved man!

Your Vote Counts!

23 Weeks

Here I am...23 weeks pregnant. These feature a smiling face. (For you Julie!) =) I am still feeling really good besides the regular aches and pains from pregnancy. I have a dr appt next Tuesday. I have a few more weeks before the 3rd trimester. That is when the doctors are thinking my blood pressure will sky rocket if it is going to. So I am hoping and praying it continues to stay in a good range the next few weeks and beyond!

Grace Amanah's Crib Bedding

The Lord is blessing Ross and I so much with finding great deals on baby items! I was at a friend's garage sale and found some really cute butterfly wall decorations and then the friend that she was doing the garage sale mentioned to me that she had some crib bedding that she would like to sell. We got a great deal on this lovely set of bedding! I just love lavender for little baby girls. I like pink too, but I figure she'll have enough pink surrounding her, that it will be nice to place her in a lavender room!

We have also been blessed with a soft pink boppy, changing table, diaper genie and bags and bags of practical hand-me-down clothing items!

So, now the question.....what color do I paint the walls? Gracie will be sharing her room with a hide-a-bed couch for guests and Ross' piano. I prefer not to do pink or purple walls. I would rather do something more subtle since we will have guests in there when they visit. I was thinking of a neutral color.......what do you think?

Fall in the Air

I felt fall in the air this morning. I woke up and the air was crisp. It made me smile. Fall is my favorite season of all. I love pulling out sweaters and slippers to wear to stay cozy. I love walking and seeing the leaves changing colors. I love how the crisp air seems to make me enjoy being a housewife even more. (The hot summer weather makes me not want to be indoors because of how hot our house gets.) The fall weather keeps me inside a little more to organize, clean, write letters, and bake. I love how I can start pulling out hearty warm casserole recipes to make.

Oh this is just the best time of year.

I love the changing seasons. It reminds me of my changing spiritual seasons. I've seemed to be in a dry season latley. I have needed to be refreshed and rejuvinated for a few months now. I seek the Lord daily and bring before Him my desire to serve Him with excitment and enthusiasm. I am sure a lot of the dryness I feel is because of the stressful times we are going through with Ross' career change and my crazy pregnancy hormones. I continue to worship Him and praise Him in this season too. As I was thinking about the changing seasons, I was reminded that my "dry" season will be changing soon too. Usually I would write about a "dry" season after it was over, but maybe you all could just be praying for us and all the adjustments we are facing.

Another reason I just love the crispness in the air this morning is that I feel like I am getting one season closer to having our December baby! Honestly, I have felt like summer has dragged on forever! With it being September 1st and kids are going back to school, and I am seeing fall items in the store, and the change in the air, I am encouraged that it won't be summer forever and I won't be pregnant forever!

What do you love about the fall season?