"Baby Girl" update

An update on all things baby...

The song that is accompanying this post on my playlist is all Jimmy's idea. His contribution to the blog. He insisted that this would be the perfect song for the blog after hearing it playing on the loud speaker at Home Depot. I do believe that we were two silly, delirious nuts that night... on one of our home improvement shopping trips. I guess we needed the humor while waiting to get our blinds for the office custom cut at 9 o'clock at night!


We have finished the office (slash man-cave, according to Jimmy). It looks great! Mom sewed the valances for the windows and we made do with furniture that we already had other places in the house or stored in the garage. (You should try furniture shopping in your own house... you'd be amazed at what you can find!) Now we are cleaning out the old office, what will eventually be Baby Girl's nursery. Time for painting and decorating, putting nusery furniture together, and making a sweet oasis for our bundle of joy :) I will post before/after pics of our remodel when we are finished.


Only 7 more weeks left! Baby Girl is basically just growing like a weed now. She's fattening up, gaining about 1/2 lb a week, and working on getting those lungs ready! It is an amazing sensation to experience her moving now. I can literally feel her head, butt, and knees (or maybe those are elbows) all at the same time. She is running out of room! She has been in head down position for a few weeks now and lays on her right side with her legs curled up on the left side of my uterus. My midwife assesses her position at every visit, which is now every two weeks. All is good health-wise with me. No swelling or other issues... only some backache here and there. I have felt absolutely wonderful during this pregnancy and full of energy. I've still been exercising several times a week. Things are starting to slow down a bit though. I'm starting to feel like I'm back in the first trimester and find myself getting tired for a nap in the afternoons and reluctant to get up as early in the mornings! Could this be my body storing up energy for the marathon ahead?!?!

We opted against the 3D ultrasound photo, so no more pics of the little one until she arrives in all her glory!

The popular tailgating game that is sweeping the nation by storm!

Jimmy has recently inspired a bean bag tossing frenzy in the family! At our last few family get-togethers we've all enjoyed a friendly game or two of cornhole. It really is the perfect game for anyone- young and old alike (as you can see in the pics below)! Jimmy, the becoming carpenter and handyman, built a set of boards and after an instructional lesson from my mom, sewed (yes, sewed) his own cornhole bags. You see, cornhole is a very serious game for some folks. There is even an American Cornhole Association (http://www.playcornhole.org/). (Sounds like an old country song I know). Jimmy was very particular about the weight and size of his cornhole bags, and the dimensions and angles of his boards...and I have to say that watching him build and prepare his cornhole paraphernalia was quite entertaining (earning him the nickname "Martha Stewart").

Stay tuned for more cornhole updates, as Jimmy and I will be entering a cornhole league at the Lake Wales YMCA. $20/team for a 6 week tournament beginning September 6th. Come on out y'all, for some corn-holey fun! ;) ;)

I think my mom's ballerina-esque pose wins the prize!

Papa trying to feed me some of his birthday cake at our last family dinner.
(Cornhole was involved).

A Family Portrait!

A few extra pics from our maternity photo shoot that were on the CD that Lexi brought over this evening. I was so excited to see more of me and Jimmy (and Baby Girl). This was all I had the patience to upload. (Apparently my computer doesn't "do" high res photos).

Encouraged

This weekend I attended the Women of Faith Conference in Tampa with one of my dear friends, Heather. I used to be a Christian conference junkie, relying so much on the hype and emotion of the event to affirm the quality of the experience. I am thankful to now have a good grasp on God's neverchanging love for me and his constant presence in my life. Don't get me wrong... the conference weekend was wonderful and oh, so encouraging to my spirit! The group of ladies (and men) who spoke touched my heart in many ways. As I reflect on their stories (usually VERY funny stories) and the Biblical truths they taught, there were a few key take-away points that were particularly impactful to me that I wanted to share...

Lisa Harper

• The women in the lineage of Jesus were not perfect...and God uses imperfect, messed up people! Take a look at Tamar (manipulative prostitute), Rahab (prostitute), Bethsheba (adulteress), and even the ever-revered Ruth (who, by the way, comes from a family who put the funk in dysfunctional!) God works despite us!

Sheila Walsh

• "Be still and know that I am God"- Psalm 46:10


• The words Be still literally mean "let go". So often when we hear this scripture, we think of sitting in a dark, quiet corner trying to be super spiritual. Let go of all the worries, anxieties, and troubles of our day and trust in God's promises and sovereignty. Let go...He will deliver you!

Steven Curtis Chapman

• As most of you know, Steven and his family lost their youngest, adopted daughter in a tragic accident last year. Hearing him share honestly about his personal struggle and how this experience has made him question everything he has ever believed, was heart-gripping. Through it all, his family has been upheld by faith in the Lord and to quote his wife, Mary Beth, "we have hit the bottom and found that it was solid". What a testament to God's unwavering committment to never leave us nor forsake us! God is on the throne!

Merilyn Meberg

• Before Christ, we are bound by the weight of lovelessness. The question of every human heart is "Am I loveable?" In our journey of knowing God, He wants to answer that question and for us to truly believe and know the depths of His love for us. Oh, if we could only grasp a measure!

Maternity Pictures!!!

For all of you "non-facebookers" out there, here is the link to our maternity pics on the photographer's website. I'm meeting with Lexi in a few days and will post more pics of me and Jimmy together when I get them. Enjoy!

http://www.greenprintphotography.com/

Cute baby clothes and "super breasts"

Boy have things been crazy around here the past few weeks! We are trying not be overwelmed with the remodeling projects (which have only just begun, by the way)! This was supposed to be my "week off", but has resembled nothing of the sort. Errands to run, A BUSINESS to run, A HOUSE to run...but, hey, who's complaining, right! We're gonna have a baby!!! Yay!


Baby Girl's first Gator outfit. (Thanks Cathy and Rachel!!!) She'll have to wait until next football season to wear this sporty dress! The matching pacifiers, on the other hand, may come in handy sooner :)

Having a new office means one step closer to having a nursery for our little one! Here is a pic of the progress we have made. Door, window, a/c unit, paint, and a wood floor. We've got some molding/trimming work to do before moving in. Maybe we'll tackle all that next week. For now, we need a break!!! (Plus, Jimmy's birthday is Friday...and we can't be having the birthday boy working on his birthday weekend, can we?!)

Oh yeah, did I mention summer visiting as part of my busyness? I have really enjoyed catching up with old friends and visiting family this summer. The pic above is me and my friend Christen after a great lunch at Lavender and Lace in Lake Alfred. We are only 2 weeks apart. Maybe little Charlie and Baby Girl will get married some day!

Me, Rachel, and Zac after Zac's acting premier in Tampa last Saturday. Fabulous, he was! (Excuse this bad picture of me- I look like I have super-breasts and a really fat arm!)