36 Weeks and counting...

Well, we are reaching the end... and thank goodness because this baby is feeling HUGE. (Emily F. if you are reading this, just know you are amazing...). Apparently Baby Girl is about the size of a crenshaw melon (show of hands... how many of you even know what that is, let alone deal with them on a regular basis??) Other than having ankles that won't go back to normal even after having them up for 8 hours, wearing crocs because the thought of bending over to put on socks makes me sick, getting up 5 times a night to use the bathroom, and being able to eat about 6 bites before feeling so full I am nauseous... things are going well. :) That said, I am still living in a state of denial... I don't have the carseat in the car, I haven't packed a bag and I haven't updated my birth play (for the hospital or for what-to-do-with-Ben-when-I-go-into-labor). I probably should, but maybe not doing it will keep her from coming for at least a little longer. :)

I have bought a "coming home" outfit, have washed put away all the tiny clothes, she has a name and I even have some newborn diapers... so I am slowly getting there.

Ok, off to fold some more hand-me-downs! I am constantly amazed at how God takes care of our every need. I have bought two outfits for this little girl, and yet she has enough clothes to last her almost a year. I have been blessed over and over by the body of Christ being His hands!
And I will sign off with the verse that has popped into my head the last few days over and over.

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely,
and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
-I Thes. 5: 23-24

A Night On the Town

After a long day of cleaning and taking pictures of the house we decided to spend what was left of our Saturday night downtown... and of course... since pregnant women need lots of calcium... it involved a stop at Kilwin's for ice cream. :)

I know that some of my Ashevillian friends don't enjoy downtown... but I have to say I LOVE it. I love looking at the old buildings, people watching (yes, even the crazy ones), listening to all the music and smelling all the amazing food as you walk by the restaurants.

Here we are on Wall Street.
Ben insisted on hugging EVERY little traffic pole and lamp post.
Don't ask me why.

Ben and his beloved lamp post.
I just keep telling myself... he is building up his immune system!

I am sure we broke some city ordinance, but we rode all the animals at the Vance Memorial. :)

Once we rode the big piggy... of course we had to ride the little one.

And the turkey...

We checked out the newly opened City County Plaza.
It is beautiful and great for wearing out a crazy 2-year-old.

Ben, having a blast. Ramps are one of his latest obsessions. :)

Walking around the stone water feature... that wasn't on. :)



And finally a little video for you.
This is what happens at 9 when you give a 2-year-old ice cream at 7:30. :)

One Awesome Uncle

Last Saturday my brother called to ask if he could take Ben disc golfing for the afternoon. (For all of you non-parents... when asked a question like this you ALWAYS says yes. :). So "Unc Wyan" picked Ben up and brought back one tired and happy little boy 3 hours later. (He fell asleep before he hit the bed and was out for 3 1/2 hours... and even then we had to wake him up. So thanks Ryan!

Snack break.

Ben-sized "fwisbee."

The little "frolfer."

Clean up.

So helpful... and yet so in the way I am sure. :)

Whoops...

As we have been taking pictures of our house to put on the market (Wednesday!) I found some old pictures... from last June even... :-P I hope you enjoy them!

Sleeping baby... last June.

Sweet baby face.

One of the many faces of Ben.

Destroying mom's leaf pile.

Raking leaves... or at least MOM raking leaves... last October. :)

This picture just makes me want to eat him. :) Also, please note the red jacket. The boy never takes it off. He would wear it 24 hours a day if I let him. Thank goodness for hand-me-downs!

October Smiles. For better or for worse he can still wear all the same clothes... although I did weigh him yesterday and he was a whopping 29.5 lbs!

Ok, this one is from January, during on of our snow storms. Ben and Drew went out to play.After an attempt at making a snowman and discovering a 1/2 inch of ice on top of the snow, the boys decided on a "snow baby" instead. :)
Ben and his snow baby.

A few weeks ago it was bitterly cold outside, but Ben had had enough of being inside and insisted that "Ben and Bunny need to pay soccer, mommy!"
We lasted about 30 minutes and then my fingers were about to fall off... but I must say it did wonders for his spirit... he was happy the rest of the day.

Done. Done. Done.

As some of you know, my brother Micah was diagnosed with Stage 1, Hodgkin's Lymphoma (cancer of the lymph system) last August. He began chemo in October and finished in January... and by God's grace his scans came back clear!! The doctor decided to continue with radiation "just to make sure." Micah's final radiation treatment was today!!!! He is doing very well. Thank you for all who have prayed for him over the last months!

Lord willing, he will graduate with his Nursing degree in December and then go active duty with the Army. (But not before squeezing in a trip to Alaska, backpacking in Europe and a trip to see his FAVORITE sister first. :)

Sorry for the old picture, this was taken about a year ago, but sadly it is the most recent one I have. :)

William Wilberforce

The movie Amazing Grace came out a few years ago, and it did a great job of showing us some of the accomplishments in the life of William Wilberforce (mainly the abolition of the slave trade in England).

Here is a talk given by John Piper on the life of Wilberforce. It is WELL worth your time (it is about an hour). Our God is so big, and it just reminds me of how much God can use ONE person, if we just surrender our life to Him.

Benjamin the 2-Year-Old

Ok, maybe I should have titled it "Videos for Grandma" but maybe you are bored (or you have a 2-year-old who enjoys watching other 2-year-olds.) Enjoy!

This one makes me laugh because of the way he says "funny lookin'" He says it all the time whenever he sees a picture where someone or something is making a funny face. :)

This one is not for those who can't handle annoying noises. :) Just another 2-year-old conversation... complete with his latest favorite question.

Another little conversation. :)

A few weeks ago we got stuck at a McDonald's during a snow storm. So, what else do you do in that situation? You take a video of your child.

And here we are getting our car fixed. We stopped at the library before we went, but sadly even though you have Chicka Chicka Boom Boom you can't keep a toddler entertained for 2 hours. :)

Another mechanic video. :)

And finally "reading."

Here & There

Life for me in the third (as well as the first) trimester is just plain survival. I wish I had the energy to blog and cook nice dinners and mop... but I just don't. :) So here are a few pictures from the last few weeks... just surviving with me... and thankfully, often being happy about it!
I friend gave us this great bear costume, and Ben decided last week that he needed to wear it. He spent about 2 hours (I think he got hot after that) being a bear. Such fun!
The bear hat. :)
The Usborne Wind-Up Train book... this is what I pull out when I need a few minutes (or even an hour) or time to think. I never would have guessed that matchbox cars are as good as a wind-up train... but they work too... as you can tell. :)
And here is Ben "reading." I am so thankful this child loves books. He sat for over an hour while I cleaned my office just "reading" all I had to do was supply him with new books.

Someone wants it... right?

Well, we have started the next chapter in the continuing HOUSE saga...

As you may remember, we had our house on the market for 18 months and took it off a year or so ago due to our frantic work/grad-school/morning-sickness/toddler schedule.

Well, a few weeks ago we listed it on Craig's List, and yesterday we had our first showing. Needless to say, when you neglect your house for 2 years (thank you grad school) there is a lot to do to get it ready. We have spent weekends and evenings the past few months going through EVERYTHING. Closets, cupboards, filing cabinets, boxes, bags etc. And this past weekend was spend doing touch-up paint, hanging pictures, moving furniture, mopping, dusting, polishing etc. By the end of the weekend my ankles were the size of saucers... but other than that, we weren't much worse for the wear. :)

Sadly, these buyers were not interested. We have one more set coming through this weekend and then we plan to list it with a Realtor. Please pray with us that God would bring the right buyers and bring them SOON! And if it be HIS will, that it be the couple this weekend!

33 Weeks

I found a slide show today, showing the relative size of this baby girl. Here we are at 33 weeks (good thing I didn't find it last week... who wants their baby compared to a jicama??)

So here we are... 33 weeks... only 7 or so until Baby Pineapple makes her appearance? I can't believe we are into the single digits! AHH!