Let the anticipation begin!

Life is always a rich and steady time when you are waiting for something to happen or to hatch.
--E.B. White, Charlotte's Web

In January of this year Chris and I took a spontaneous trip to Branson.  It was there that we discussed "our" plans for a baby.  We realized that although we could try to "plan" as best we could, God would step in and show that His plan is ultimately better for us and that His timing is perfect. Not always when expected, but still right on time.  As always.

We are PREGNANT! 

We found out early this morning (Monday), but this was at the end of that day. :)

We decided that we would start trying for a baby this summer, so I went to the doctor to ask a ton of questions!  My doctor said that it was fine to get off birth control about 3 months before you really want to start trying just to get it out of your system.  She said it could take anywhere from 1 month to 1 year for a healthy couple to get pregnant and that was perfectly normal.  Since we wanted to start trying in July, we went ahead and got off the birth control the first week in April.  As April and May flew by, I had several symptoms, but just chalked it up to "my body trying to get used to all the changes". (I had stopped taking birth control and drinking caffeine and anything carbonated.)  It was getting used to the changes alright!  By the time I took 2 tests and went to the doctor on May 26th, I was already 7 weeks along! Woah, we knew it was possible, but not likely to happen so quickly!  It was amazing how one (or two) little tests can look you straight in the eye and tell you that you are going to be a mommy.  Or a daddy. It was powerful.

We were just beside ourselves with excitement!  Could it really be true? I literally had to blink a few times and my mouth was wide open at the results.

I only took a test because Sunday night in the middle of the night I felt a "flutter". It woke me up and was the oddest thing I had ever felt.  My mind got to racing thinking about the possibility of being pregnant and I eventually fell back asleep. I had lots of dreams about it that night.  So many, that when I woke up I decided that I was just going to take a test.  I left Chris asleep in the bed and quietly took the test.  It said PREGNANT almost immediately and I ran into the room and said, "Chris, WAKE UP, this thing says I'm pregnant!!!"  I'm actually thinking about using that line every morning from now on because nothing has EVER woken him up so quickly! He wanted the light and his glasses!  And a towel because apparently I went running in there so quickly that I did not pay any attention to the drops that I had left on the test!  Ooops! I was a little in shock! ;)  He forgave me and told me to get in there and take another one! I took about a 2 minute shower, unsure as to whether or not I used shampoo or even soap, and then I got out and took another one......again, in under a minute it read PREGNANT.  I started screaming and ran back in there. He could not believe his eyes. In fact, his exact words were, "Oh wow, I've got to get up and start studying......it's going to be a looonngg day."  Haha! He knew that I would be bouncing off the walls and making phone calls and that he would do the same, but when would he find the time?  He has the Step 1 test for medical school in less than a month.  The stress and excitement began and we were both unsure as to where to focus our thoughts. I called my mom, but got no answer, and then Anna was next.  She picked up immediately.  We laughed and giggled and got chill bumps! :) Phone call after phone call, text after text.  Everyone was SO excited! :)  I immediately called the doctor to make an appointment and get it confirmed.  For 2 days, we thought, "What if the tests were wrong?"  "What if we told all of our family and friends and it's really not going to happen?"  Woo, we were little balls of stress! I got to my appointment and they called me back early.

It only took a few minutes and then we were able to sigh a HUGE sigh of relief.

I told my friend Chelsea and we immediately started coming up with ideas for our Wednesday Night Dinner and how to reveal it to the group.  It didnt take long. With the help of her husband, it was done. :)

Most of you probably recognize our Christmas card from last year......with a few updates!:)  I thought this was so HILARIOUS.  The Prego slogan really is "It's In There".  It doesn't get much better than that. :)

We gave these as little favors and announcements to the group after dinner...

The girls were about as shocked as I was because they knew we had just started trying.  They were delighted and were already talking about all things baby! :)

Priceless.

You can refer to Chelsea's blog for a full recap of the wonderful night! :)  But we ended it with cake from Mickey's.  And you KNOW how much I love Mickey's.  It was such a memorable night, thank you, Chelsea for everything you did!

Yum!

And the gifts have already started coming. What!?  Really?

First from my lovely friend, Jill.  You should also check out her blog for a very sweet post.  I just love her! The sweetest little frame and bath towel!

And the next was from the wonderful, Kristin!  So thoughtful and it was so cute, I didn't even want to touch it and mess it up!

We are beyond blessed and have just been trying to soak it all in these past few days.  So many kind words have been received through conversation, email, text, and facebook.  Apparently some of our friends think that we will be wonderful parents and we can't wait to give it our best shot. January will be here in no time! We have learned that pregnancy is not earned.  It is not a reward for good works.  It is simply a gift.  A blessing.  Gifts and blessings are not always deserved.  But we will graciously accept it and are praying day and night for wisdom.  We will need all the help we can get.  Thank You God for our little blessing and for our supportive friends and family. We ask and pray for a good, healthy pregnancy. Please keep us safe. 

Sprucing Up!

“The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

The previous owners of our house did such a great job giving our house some curb appeal and we have done a terrible job at keeping it up. The flowers came in this spring and last and they looked beautiful for a few days and then all we were left with was weeds. I have NO experience in planting things and asked my mom if she would help me. She was delighted because she is ALWAYS working on something at her house. We have been waiting on a nice weekend to get started, but it took awhile. There was a chance of rain this weekend, but we decided to go for it anyways. She came by and looked at the flower beds. They were in bad shape.

Dead flowers, no color whatsoever.

So, she did some thinking about what we needed and we headed to Lowes.

She even did most of the work at Lowes.  That mulch is no joke! Each bag had to weigh anywhere from 40 to 50 lbs. a piece!

We got home and realized that she never had her phone with her.  We looked all around the house and couldn't find it.  She and Chris started walking up the street and found the back cover and her case, but no phone! :/ We think she layed it down on the back of the truck to get some things out and then we took off. I think someone stopped and picked up the phone so we had the service suspended until she can get a new one.  Good thing I talked her into getting insurance in case anything unexpected ever happened!

After this we decided to get started.  The weather wasn't looking too promising, and sure enough it started to sprinkle.  Mom wasn't phased a bit....she just got to digging!  I had no idea how easy it was to "plant" flowers! I just hope I can keep these up.  Chris may be in trouble now that I know "how" to do it and have seen all the flowers that are out there for me to purchase! :) Now......I can't name them, but I can sure buy them and plant them! Ha!

Me and Mom's favorite.

Don't now why but I REALLY liked this one.

So pretty with the dark mulch.

This one was for Chris. "Elephant Ears" make him think of his Granny. :)

The finished product.

Ahh!

Hard to see in the shade, but it looks good to me! :)

Thank you, Momma! We love it! :) And we love YOU!

Walgreens....Oh, how I love thee! Let me count the ways!

“It is the neglect of timely repair that makes rebuilding necessary.”

-Richard Whatley

Well the day is upon us.  May 12, 2010.  The Walgreens that is 30 seconds down the street from my house FINALLY opened.  The couple that we bought the house from told us about the rumor circulating that there was to be a Walgreens where the Economy Inn was located.  We tried not to get our hopes up because after all, the motel was still in business for at least a year after we moved in.  Even once doors were boarded up, people still broke in to it. I cannot tell you how much excitement was within me when I found out it was true that  a Walgreens was coming. (Of course I stopped my car to ask the construction workers what they were doing.) You can ask my friends, they will tell you.  I would give weekly updates on the progress and drive by even when it was out of my way to check on how things were going during construction.  Some of you may wonder why I am SO excited about a Walgreens.  Well there are a of couple reasons....

1.  The dump that used to be in the place of the Walgreens that brought a lot of drugs and really scary people to the area. I mean this new Walgreens has GOT to bring up property value of our neighborhood!

2.  The sheer convenience of being able to run 30 seconds down the street to get things like milk, prescriptions, toothpaste, sour cream, face wash, lint rollers, hangers, batteries, photos developed, makeup, magazines, fiber bars (ha!), highlighters, digiorno, dish soap, shampoo.....and well, you get the picture.  The list is endless.  Its super convenient! Some of it was over priced of course, but as for those other *necessities, I think we will be just fine.

In case you can't remember the run down motel that used to sit there, let me help refresh your memory.

This picture actually makes it look a little better than it really was. (Picture compliments of Google Maps ;) Don't be fooled.  Here is a review that I found from one unhappy customer.

Scary: July 28, 2006

35 year old with a moderate budget, traveling for leisure

I spent one night at the Economy inn and it was awful. I thought the roaches were going to eat me in my sleep. I also saw remains of drug paraphernalia. The price of one night is comparable to that of a Motel Six. I will never visit this establishment again.

There you have it folks.  It was BAD.  Once they began construction, I kept up with it weekly and I must say the progress was really slow.  I took this picture back in September because I was so excited that there was "proof".  Aside from the tearing down of the building and the construction workers telling me that a Walgreens was going up.

I was sitting at the stop light when I took this picture. You can see the Walgreens sign in the distance that says coming soon. :) It's kind of crazy.  There used to be houses right bere beside the motel.

Well now here we are almost 9 months later and it is finally OPEN!  I planned to go this morning to "look around" before work, but I was on the phone and did not want to be distracted while I was in there. Ha!  I opted to go after work instead, but thought I would stop at home first.  Then, Chris said he would go with me. Chelsea called to see if we wanted to ride with her to dinner and I told her that we were going by the Walgreens, but that she was welcome to go.  So we all went!

So excited!

Ahh..milk. And its not even expensive.

Thank you for listening on as I rant about something as simple as a Walgreens.  It doesn't take much for me. :) Life is good. Can you imagine how I will be when the Target Super Center opens in October?  It will be 4 minutes away from our house! Oh, the possibilities! :)

Welcome Jill Womack!

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."

-Anais Nin

My friend, Jill, is so very special to me.  She and I met through our husbands in college.  I am a bit older than she is and her husband (then boyfriend) was in the Honors College with Chris.  I knew all about her and had seen pictures of her before she ever even came to UCA. Finally she graduated high school and arrived at UCA. :) Sometimes you just have those people that you just "click" with.  We met and instantly felt like we had already known one another.  She was one of those friends that you can just be REAL with.  In this case, I always said, what she was always thinking, huh Jill? That's why I love her.  I know that no matter what, I can say anything to her and know that she will not judge me and she can give me her honest opinion on the matter.  And she does.  She lives in Conway and I don't get to see her near enough, but we are working on it.  We have been through a lot together in just a short amount of time.  I can truly say she is one of my "forever friends".  So thankful that we "clicked". :)

This is at Merritt's engagement.

Enjoying a really HOT Travs game!

This is from Tyler and Jenna's wedding!

And we were so excited! Both engaged and happy that we just had one more thing to add to our "forever friendship".  Our hubbies who are great friends.

 

:)

I said all that to say this......Jill just started her blog and I wanted to welcome her! So excited to be in touch a little more regularly.  Hopefully she will post more frequently than me! And Jill, you would not believe how many pictures I have of us.  It was too hard to choose! :)  Love you, girl! Glad you finally started one, I know you have been wanting to!

What time is it?

"You will never "find" time for anything. If you want time, you must make it."

Charles Bruxton

 

The last few weeks have been such a blur! I have mostly been traveling. I definitely love it, but it's hard to be two places at once! We have had a bit of drama in the world of Houndstooth, but everything is turning out in the end.  I have rarely had to work weekends since I started last August, so the fact that I have to now for a short time is nothing to complain about. I am still beyond blessed and have found that I am touching these employees' lives more than I ever did (or at least ever knew) as a "teacher".  I have been going 90 to nothing with lots on my mind.  I have been very tired, but still so very thankful for the job that I am doing.  I am learning and being challenged and that feels good. Rewarding. 

 

How can this not make you laugh!?

This is Danielle.  She is one crazy gal!  I dropped my water bottle right before heading out of work one day and it broke and spilled all over the floor.  She looked for maintenance to clean it up, but spotted no one.  She saw this over by Baby Gap and decided she would just borrow it for a bit! She came back and cleaned up MY mess and returned the cart.  No one was looking for it or even noticed.  I was laughing so hard that I couldn't even help her clean it up. These girls keep me going!

Ashley (friend and General Manager of Houndstooth) and I decided a few weeks back that we would go on a week long "tour" to Fort Smith, Little Rock, North Little Rock, Hot Springs, and Jonesboro.  What a week!  And it couldn't have come at a better time.  We were much needed.  Our first stop was in Jonesboro.  We stayed the night because we knew we had a lot of work to do and only a small amount of time to do it.  We were only left with 2 employees after all was said and done.  They are Kelli and Kelly (very confusing over the phone).  These girls went above and beyond to help cover shifts.  They were quick learners, too!   We were able to hire 2 more girls while we were there and I am heading to JB tomorrow and Wednesday to train them.  I am so excited.  I love training. If you want the job done right, you have to TEACH them yourself! :) I think within a couple of weeks Jonesboro will be running smoothly again, and hopefully better than ever.  I had a little therapy while I was there. I don't know when it happened, but somewhere along the way at Houndstooth I got to where I LOVED to fold.  It's now my favorite thing to do (well besides getting know what's going on in the Team Leader's lives) when I go to locations, but it's usually the last thing I get to work on.  Not the case here in Jonesboro. :)

ahhhhh.....I slept really great that night! ;)

We worked with the girls there on their folding and it didn't take long for them to catch on. 

Kelli R. is proud of her section! Their store has never looked so good!

Kelly M. is taking it one stack at a time....but she sent this next one to me later that night......

She's making progress!  These are long sleeves and are definitely no picnic!

Ashley and I decided that since it would just be the two of 'em for the next week or so until I could get back to help and train the new girls, that we should get them some snacks to munch on.  I can't wait to go back and have a few myself! ;)

Lots of goodies in there!

All in all it was a good trip.  We have decided to make this a semi-annual event! I wish it could've last 2 weeks, but I will take what I can get! The only kink was that we had to head home a little bit early on Tuesday because Chris informed me that he was headed to the ER!  Wait. What?!

Yep.  My poor babe has been having severe stomach pains that were keeping him up all night and eventually very nauseous.  He thought he might black out at any moment so he headed across the street to the UAMS ER.  He got there at around 5:30, I didn't get there until about 9:00, and we were finally able to leave around 12:30 a.m.  We suspected an ulcer from all of this med school stress, but the doctor thinks it is Acid Reflux.  The gave him lots of meds through and IV, monitored him, and waited for lab results.  He is on several prescriptions and is feeling some relief.  He is not 100%, but will go to the doc to be seen again if conditions don't improve.  He may have to have an endoscopy to see what's really going on in his stomach, but we are hoping it will not get to that point. He had several friends show up at the emergency room (even though they could/should have been studying for exams) and several more praying for him.  We are surrounded by such caring friends. His mom stayed there, too until I got in from Jonesboro. She is amazing.  I will keep you posted on his progress.  He is avoiding spicy foods, but is at least sleeping better and not feeling nauseated.

Over the month of April a lot has happened! I stopped drinking.......

Yep.  My beloved, Diet Coke.

After a brief conversation with the lovely Kim Allen, I was hit by a ton of bricks.....this stuff (aspartame and other artificial sugars) is doing TERRIBLE things to my stomach/body.  I went a few days only drinking water and Sprite and then the lady at the front desk of the UAMS workout center convinced me to cut the carbonation out ALTOGETHER!  ahhh! But it's been about 4 weeks and I am feeling great!! I feel like my skin is looking better, I am enjoying water now (even craving it...UNHEARD OF for me), my restaurant bills are cheaper, and it feels like a treat to drink lemonade or juice every once in a while! I never thought I could see myself drinking water so much, but it is definitely helping and I have even shed a few lbs.  And even better news, I can count on one hand how many withdrawal headaches I have had.  Oh yeah, so not only was it diet coke, and then carbonation, but then I decided to go ahead and cut out the caffeine while I was at it! Why not?! And the craziest part is that I really haven't craved any of it.  It was was hard getting used to drinking water with breakfast, but I have gotten used to it and can tell a huge difference in my body. 

The girls and I had a clothing exchange during our Wednesday night dinner a few weeks back.  We had all gathered things from our closet to give to Good Will but decided to let each other look before we took it in.  It was a huge success!  We all got some pretty cute things!

And no, Annie, I didn't give my favorite bag away...I just brought all my stuff over in it. :)

Ian and Crystal had a couples shower a few weekends ago! The theme was Fajita's and Margarita's!  It was so much fun.  We were a mess as usual...

We all had on some pretty fab shoes that night!

Never.

Ever.

A.

Dull.

Moment.

After this fun night we headed to Del and Chelsea's new patio equipped with an outdoor fireplace for a fun game of Apples to Apples.  We played until near midnight.  It fun having friends to "do" life with. :)

 

 

God is doing some major things in my life lately.  Things just feel different.  It's a good kind of different though.  I am learning to be more Kingdom minded.  As I attend BSF more and read the Word more, things become so much clearer to me.  What would normally present itself as a "problem", now comes in the form of a "trial", and then shortlty after a "triumph".  Such an amazing feeling.  If you haven't ever heard about Bible Study Fellowship and want to know more, go to the website and/or shoot me a message.  I would love to tell you how it's helped in my walk with God.  Next year we are studying the book of Isaiah and I cannot wait.  We are finishing up the book of John right now and I have never learned so much.  Such a true and deep study of the Bible.  We leave our problems at home or at least in the car, dig into the Word, and leave with the strength, knowledge, and power to face anything.  The bigger God is in your life, the smaller your "problems" will be. They won't go away, but they become less....... of your time, thoughts, and energy. Each week is relevant and life changing.  Thank you, God, for meeting me where I am.

 

Well I better wrap this up soon.  I'm headed to Jonesboro again tomorrow.  I will leave you with a few pictures of my babies!

Would not wake up to save her life! ha!

 

Piper finally found a way to join Alex in the bathroom sink....He is THRILLED.  Can't you tell? :) I woke up and found them like this. Numerous times.

And Piper has chewed away the blinds so that she can look out of them in the event that they are not pulled up.  She watches us drive away and watches people walk by on their way to and from school or work.  I wonder how many people see her and just smile.  We do, every time.

Hanna, this blog post is for you.  You can quit the fight as soon as you are ready.  We would all love to see you in blogland! :)

Love you all!

 

Two years just so happens to be the blink of an eye!

Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave.

-Martin Luther

I have seen this quote in the home of a family that we visit often, and I just love it. It is something that Chris and I have been working on....to love, to serve, and to just be a joy to one another.

Last weekend (on Sunday) was our two year anniversary! Two years doesn't seem all that long to me anymore considering how long we have known each other.  The time just keeps going and going.

Friday night we went to McAlister's to catch up with some friends after work and school.  We ate out on the patio and just had a nice little time.  Then us girls headed to Target and Old Navy to see what trouble we could find. Before we knew it, we had been gone for 2 hours. Ooops. :)

Saturday evening Chris and I went to see Kendal Grace for the second time since her birth last Wednesday. She is just the sweetest little thing and I could not get enough of her! :) While we were there Lindsey's mother brought over a pot roast with carrots and potatoes! After saying no a least 3 times, Justin and Lindsey finally begged us to grab a bite.  I went in the kitchen and she had made SO MUCH! There were several of us visting and we were all able to eat.  What great people they have in their lives!  Lindsey and Justin had meals prepared and brought over by her mom, Saturday, his mom, Sunday, and then my friend, Sara on Monday!  And I am sure it won't stop there! What a huge blessing for them to spend time with their new little one instead of cooking or cleaning.  And Lindsey's good friend, Jackie, was by her side at the hospital and at the house rocking Kendal when we got there.  Jackie was comfy in her sweats and not going anywhere! :) So sweet.

She was showing off her lungs at the hospital! :)

Getting a little action. Tiny little thing, Chris was too afraid to break her!

Aaron wasn't though! :)

We had a great time catching up with Aaron.  We went to school with him growing up and he lives out of state now! Made the drive just to see Kendal! ;) Well, and maybe a few others while he was here.

And on Sunday we decided to have a small celebration for our anniversary.  I had been wanting to go to Copeland's since we had gone there shortly after getting married.  So we got up, went to church and then headed that way!

It is our little tradition to wear black and white on our anniversary each year. (And I'm hoping to keep Mickey's cake a part of the tradition as well, so we'll see!)

Wedding Day

Obviously sporting our black and white! :)

The yummy cake

Year One

The night before going on our cruise we ate our cake topper from the wedding and it was PHENOMENAL! :)

We forgot to take the saran wrap off before it thawed, but hey....it was still good! :)

Chris' whole family thought so! My mom did a great job preserving it for us!

Year Two

And more yummy cake! :)

And punch!

It was a great day. It rained and rained and rained! Sometimes I just love being stuck at home with my hubby! Especially on Spring Break. I love you, Christopher! Looking forward to another great year, and many more to come!