To Call By Name

Today has been SUCH a fabulous day, and that's on the heels of two evening meltdowns (the meltdowns came from me, not my toddler- ha!) Friday and Saturday, and I am so so grateful for the break. I cannot tell you the amount of rest I've gotten in the past 24 hours, and in these days, rest makes a big difference!

To catch you up to speed with some of the facts before we get to the fun stuff:   I've been having contractions all week and have been checked a couple times to be sure this baby isn't ready to rock and roll.  Each time we've gone in, they have found a resounding heartbeat (Praise Jesus!) and I haven't been in labor. Just lots of contractions and hullabaloo without a lot of anything official.  We have, however, been told to have a bag packed and at the ready to go to the hospital at all times, but my doctors are still thinking it could be any day now or in another few months.  Eish.  We are getting a serious lesson in trusting God's timing and surrendering control.

Yesterday we had big plans for a girls' night out to dinner and the Broadway Mary Poppins performance in town with my mom and sister, but we were interrupted by more contractions and a trip to the OB triage at the hospital to, yet again, check and see if I was in labor. Because the baby is so small at this point, my OB has told me if I do go into labor it will likely go quickly, and so we're being extra careful about monitoring everything that's going on in case I am in labor. I wasn't, and we hustled out of there, hit the Subway drive thru, and came screeching into the show right on time.  When I got home I was exhausted, and an emotional mess after officially having to go into the hospital with the impression it might actually be the time I go in to have my baby.  At 20 weeks.  The Hubs is such a champ for all he takes on married to a woman who is pregnant, hormonal, recently-moved-into-a-new-home, and grappling with the unknown plan for her baby. I am so so grateful for the tears he has caught in his hand the past week and a half.

So today was a new day.  They all are, but I've never felt the newness quite like I did today.  I slept through the night with ZERO contractions, a huge praise because rest is something that is fleeting during these valley days, and a night with no pain following an evening of tears means a really good, hard sleep.  Hallelujah!  (I'm telling you, we take nothing for granted around here, friends!)  Following a night of good rest, we went to church and then met up with some friends after church to pray over this sweet little baby.  Our small group was there, our brother and sister, our small group pastor, and several sweet friends who made the hike from their own churches to be there with us.

There aren't words to describe what it feels like to sit in a room, circled up with person upon person pleading for God's mercy and grace on this child and for our little family through this situation.  Tears rolled down my cheeks as we petitioned the King of Kings to walk with us every step of the way down this road and to work all things for the good of His Kingdom.  We were completely overwhelmed by the presence of our God even in these hardest of times, and the love we felt tucking us in like a warm blanket on the coldest night. The Hubs and I spent the afternoon talking about how blessed we are to have such wonderful friends, and how beautiful it was to hear so many voices speaking on behalf of our precious baby.  A special thank you and super big hug to those of you who came this morning or who have been praying us through this journey- we are not alone, and we are so very, very grateful!

Because we've had so many people asking about our little one and praying for us, we'd like to share our baby's name with you all.  We want you to be able to call this little one by name in case you are tiring of talking about "Baby" as we were. =) It's a girl's name, and we have decided if this baby is a boy, we'll apologize profusely for calling him by a girl's name and we will shorten the name to fit a sweet boy. =)  The name we've chosen carries much weight, and we are convinced that no other name will do- so we're risking guessing on a girl and making big plans for apologies if we're mixed up.

We are embracing the words of Psalm 100 over this baby's life and are counting this baby nothing but JOY.  We have been so blessed by the following words, and have gripped them with every beat of our hearts since our first scary days since we became pregnant and the richly blessed parents of this little one:

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.
 ¹ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
 ² Worship the LORD with gladness;
   come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the LORD is God.
   It is he who made us, and we are his^[a];
   we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
 ⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
   and his courts with praise;
   give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
   his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Each day we're extending "grateful praise" to our Lord for gifting us this sweet child, and we have named this precious baby Jubilee.  In a nutshell, Jubilee means "a joyful celebration" or a "shout for joy", but you can check out the post I wrote a few months ago to really understand the depth of meaning behind this name for our family here.  We'll chop it down to "Lee" in case this baby is a boy, because we still wanted to be able to remember that the baby's name came from "Jubilee"- a constant reminder to shout for joy to the Lord!  We are so excited to have settled on a name that captures all the Lord is doing in the life of this little one, and we are certainly making a point of embracing this baby as our joyful celebration!

A few snapshots of what we've been up to lately to give thanks for each day and make every moment we have with Jubilee a joyful celebration....

(Sweet baby, Saturday night we went to see the Mary Poppins musical, and I think you must have enjoyed all the tap dancing and chimney sweeping because it was a fabulous show!  We had spent the entire day shopping for bits and pieces to decorate the playroom that was going to be your nursery because we want to be sure we are making that a joyful place and not a place that feels empty and hollow.  We promise to move all of your big brother's toys out of there if God says you get to come and live with us- and if you're a litle girl, I will paint those blue walls pink in a day- I promise!  We wanted the space that was to be yours to be a special place where we can enjoy our family together and celebrate each day.  Your GiGi (G-Mama) and Grandad painted the walls, and Aunt Courtney and GiGi took Momma shopping to complete the room.  We are so excited to have it finished- it just seems right to fill the space with happiness and light that we can enjoy together.  But don't you worry, there is always room, and we can have that place hockey stick and Elmo free in an instant if you move in! =)  We followed our day of playroom prep shopping with a quick trip to the ER where we heard your heartbeat- oh, how we love that blessed sound!- and then hit the show.  You've now seen two Broadway shows and are certainly one cultured little baby!)

(Tonight your Grandad and Big Brother showed you how to talk on a banana phone.  Its a new past time at Grandad's house and your brother LOVES it.  Tonight you got in on the action, though your brother was pretty busy telling Grandad all about baseball- I hooked you up with a phone so you could be a part of the Banana Phone Club.  =)  This morning after church we had a group of friends and family pray over you, sweet baby.  Oh, how you must know you are so loved!  For you child, we have prayed, and we have no doubt you feel the presence of Jesus and are wrapped up in the same warm blanket of love He wrapped us up in this morning.  So many people are asking our God to look after you, little one, and we know He will!  Just like I tell your brother every night when I tuck him into bed, Jesus is always with you, no matter what, so you don't have to be afraid because He will never leave you alone and He loves you sooooooo BIG, Jubilee!  He has knit you together in my womb, and has every single one of your days already ordained for you.  He knows your coming and your going and His love for you outnumbers the grains of sand- He tells us all of this in Psalm 139....Daddy and I will have to read that Psalm to you before we go to bed tonight.)



I'm missing a few pictures from my other camera and will get them on here when I can....Jubilee has been up to more than Broadway and banana phones, I promise. =)  I'll be back as soon as I can be with more pictures and more updates as they come.  Thank you for walking with us and for carrying us in prayer- we are so grateful!!!

Hugs from here,

Brittany

Our Joyful Celebration

We are determined to make this baby our joyful celebration. Actually, we are blessed to have this baby who is our joyful celebration. We have been loving hard and making each moment count the past several days. We were reminded yesterday after speaking with my OB of how little time we may have left. Here's a few bits and pieces of what we've been up to- I've kept a little running photo journal of how we're loving on this baby as a family while we can.

(We shot some hoops with your big brother last Friday.  He is a maniac for "da hoop" and "ball hoop slam and dunk it" are probably some of your favorite words because your brother says them about a billion times a day.  We have fun watching Daddy and your big brother break a sweat playing basketball when Daddy gets home from work! We've also been to the gym to watch the boy run around the gym chasing the basketball.  You and I waddle along a lot slower than your brother, but I bet you can recognize the sound of a bouncing ball and the squeak of little tennis shoes against the gym floor!)

 

(One of the things we want to do together as a family is read Scripture aloud each day.  We've done this here and there, but we're committed to sharing together each day now.  We've been reading about God and I've been telling you about Jesus- how much He loves you and how you can trust Him completely no matter what.  We read Psalm 146 with your brother Saturday morning.  He was looking at Brown Bear, Brown Bear, but Momma likes to think he was still listening to what I was reading. =)  We want to shower you with the truth of Scripture while you are here sweet one, so when you get to where we're all headed, you will already know the enduring love of the Savior who takes your hand. Never, never forget how good our God is, Baby, and always, always know how deep and wide and high and long His love is for you.  He loves you, and you are His!)

 (Sunday was a big day.  We went to church and you wiggled while we sang "How Great Thou Art" and Momma quietly cried her eyes out.  I love the way you are surrounded by the sounds of praise when we sing in church on Sunday. We got lots of hugs that morning, and you should know they were just as much for you as they were for your teary-eyed Momma.  =)  Sunday night Momma and Daddy decided it was time for some of Aunt Penny's chocolate cake.  There is no better cake in the whole, world, Baby, and I'm sure its a dish that will be waiting for us in Heaven. =)  I told you about how important it is to be sure and lick the beater- but not the one with the batter, because the raw egg situation can get a little sketchy.  We licked the dickens off that icing beater though. That's the way you do it, Baby.)

 

(This picture is from the same day, Sunday night, after we had licked the beaters and the cake came out looking delicious.  Daddy and I cannon-balled a good quarter of that cake before bed.  That's the way to do it- go hard or go home when it comes to a chocolate dessert.  I also thought it was important to tell you that matching pajamas are over-rated and that sleeping in your daddy's big t-shirt just makes things a little better.  I slept in my daddy's shirts when I was a little girl, and now I sleep in your daddy's shirts because something about a big cotton T-shirt just feels safe and snug when you're having a rough day.  Chocolate cake helps too, of course.)

 

(I missed a day in there somewhere because we were probably too busy having fun or napping to take pictures.  Baby, do you ever know how to nap.  Your Momma taught you that.  You're welcome. =)  Tuesday morning we had a coffee party together.  Daddy makes a real good breakfast sandwich, so we had a hearty breakfast and each had our own mug of "coffee".  I showed you that three half-and-half cups is the proper per mug ratio, and Daddy tried to set an example by drinking his coffee black, as usual.  But Baby, you really need the half-and-half or it just isn't worth drinking. You and I drink decaf, because how are we suppose to crank out a fabulous nap in the afternoon if we were drinking regular? We used the sugar spoon Mutte gave me when Daddy and Momma got married to scoop too much sugar into our cups, and even gave your Big Brother a little bit of sugar to stir into his mug of water.  I told you about how the smell of coffee in the morning will warm you from your head to your toes, and how my favorite place to drink coffee is on the balcony over looking the beach in Destin, Florida.  There's just something about watching the dolphins jump in and out of the surf while the sun rises up over the palm trees that makes a cup of coffee feel magical.  But its also pretty stellar to enjoy a cup with your Big Brother and your Daddy, isn't it?  =))

(PS- Your Big Brother gives the best hugs in. the. world.)

We've done lots of other things together that I just haven't taken pictures of...

We had a family movie night and watched "Da Bugs" aka- A Bug's Life and munched on popcorn with Big Brother, Daddy, and Opie. 

We have taken showers under our radically awesome new double showerhead and I've told you about the rain and how God uses it makes the grass grow that tickles the bottom of our feet in the summer time.  

We've talked about your grandparents and your aunt and uncle and how much they love you.

We've gone on a few roadtrips and took a walk through our new neighborhood where your big brother repeated, "Opie HONEY!" over and over again as we walked.

We've told you we love you and that if Jesus comes to take you Home, its OK to go and follow Him wherever He leads.  

We've prayed and thanked God for you and "colors" and "bowling" because its important to thank Jesus for all the things we love...your Big Brother has done a good job of teaching you that. =)

We've done lots of little things that we do each day with lots of BIG love and we've told you about the things we want you to know about our family and our God.  There isn't enough time in the world to tell you everything we want to share with you, which is Ok, because we aren't limited by the time in the world, are we Little One?  Because of our sweet Jesus, we have forever, and we're looking forward to it!

We love love love you forever, Sweet One-

Your Momma

************************************
We are so blessed to have this time with this sweet baby.  I'm so grateful for the reminder to make each moment count and for the words of Psalm 100:

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
  Worship the LORD with gladness;
   come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God.
   It is he who made us, and we are his;
   we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
  Enter his gates with thanksgiving
   and his courts with praise;
   give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
   his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Mmm...that Psalm is salve to the aching soul.

We have no doubt that God's faithfulness continues through all generations, and we are shouting for joy and worshiping Him with gladness because we love Him with all we are.  We are convinced without any room for wondering that God is fully able to completely heal our baby if its His will, and we know that if He doesn't heal this sweet one here, He will bring complete healing if He brings this baby Home.  We are His, and I can't tell you the comfort and peace we find in that truth!

I wanted to share a few details about our baby's condition because I realized I left them out of the last post.  From what they can see on the ultrasound, our baby has some kind of skeletal disorder that will prevent the ribs from fully developing, and thus prevent the lungs from fully functioning when the baby is born. They did not give us a definite diagnosis, but made it clear that they do not expect the baby to live more than a few hours at most after birth, if we even make it full term.  The plan is to monitor us closely and take it one step at a time. Yesterday I was checked for some something that felt like contractions, my OB concerned I may have been in labor.  After that appointment we learned that while I'm not in labor right now (hello, long night of wondering), I could go into labor any day now....or in several months.

Another little tidbit- because of the way the baby was sitting the day of the ultrasound, they weren't able to see whether we are having a boy or a girl...I just keep saying "she" and "her" because I think we've got ourselves a little girl.  That's what I thought with Newbie too, so...chances are we may very well have a little boy on our hands. =)  Just another piece of the story we will have to wait to see God's plan revealed in.

So we're doing a lot of praying and waiting.  I don't ever mean to make light of the situation, because it is certainly the hardest thing the Hubs or I have ever faced. Make no mistake- there are a lot of tears and a lot of aches and a lot of wishing we would wake up from some really horrible nightmare.  However, we've been given an extra helping of courageous joy, and we are forever grateful for His mercy.  There really aren't words to describe the praise we have for Jesus through this experience because we are so, so grateful to know He is good and His love endures forever, no matter what is put before us.   Taking pictures of how we're loving our baby is just a practical way of saying "thank you, Jesus, for today" and doing all we can to live in the moment. Praise praise praise to our God is on our lips and in our hearts- no matter how broken those hearts may be.  I mean that from the bottom of my heart- Jesus is the only thing holding us together, and we have nothing but praise for Him through every step of this journey.

Off to spend another day with my babies and my man.  Wishing you all a blessed Wednesday and thank you so much for all of the prayers and encouragement.  We can't tell you how humbling it is to have others approach the throne of the King of Kings on our little family's behalf.  We feel so loved, and certainly like we aren't alone on a journey that could make us feel very lost and isolated.  Thank you for interceding for us and walking along side us. Thank you, thank you, thank you.  Hugs to you all!  =)

Counting it all Grace

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:11-13

There is a secret to this.  To this walking the hard road.  To this carrying what you never thought you would have to- what you thought you could not.  To this living in the messy, the broken.  To this, the aching heart that must walk on.

I have learned the secret.

There is One who gives the strength.  There is One who does not empty when the well of the heart runs dry, cracked and parched- Whose cup overflows when your own is lacking completely. There is One whose yoke is light when the world's is heavy.  There is One whose Story runs deep and long and high and wide when all others end. 

Thursday we saw our baby on the ultrasound screen, and instead of finding out if we were having a boy or a girl, we found out that our baby is severely behind in growth and that the odds of survival beyond birth- or even making it that far- are extremely low.  From what they found on the ultrasound, if the baby makes it to full term, the ribs will not have developed enough for the lungs to function properly, and our baby will not be able to breathe. We met with a genetics counselor and the doctor and determined our plan. 

We want to be this sweet baby's Momma and Daddy for as long as we can. 

We don't know if that will be days or weeks or months, but we want to carry this gift and celebrate this life as long as our baby's heart keeps beating.

 “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." Mark 8:34

Oh, but how that cross is heavy.  The waiting.  The wondering.  The hoping, the dreaming, the longing for things that will not come, and the walking anyway.  All so heavy.  And yet, who are we to have tomorrow?  It's all grace- every last bit of it is grace.  Each day, a gift so far beyond what we deserve.  This babe in my womb, the kicks, the wiggles, the swoosh as she slides along the inside of my belly, the love we experience- oh, the depth of love we have for this small one- all grace.  A gift.  This pregnancy, this baby- a blessing lavished upon us, the undeserving. 

And so, we take up our cross, and we walk this road- this road with more bumps and turns than we could have ever imagined.  And we smile with hearts of joy because though the pain runs deep, so deep, we know the secret.  We know there is One who gives us the strength.  The strength to see each moment for what it is- a gift of God's grace- a helping of our daily bread so rich and infused with delight and love from our Creator, who are we to refuse such a delicacy?  And so we will celebrate life to the full, even while we ache at what we know we will miss, because we know that today is what we have, and today is a gift.  Because we know that there is One who will provide the strength to face tomorrow. 

We know the secret: God will give us everything we need.

He has, and He will.

And because of His faithfulness, we can be content.  

And so, we keep walking.  Carrying our cross, denying what we thought this journey held, what we hoped for, we pick up our cross and follow Jesus- the One who will give us all we need to walk- the One who gives us the strength to love and shout with joy, even now, even in this.

We keep walking and we love.  We love hard.  We love high and long and wide and deep.  We embrace today and we shout with joy, and what does that look like?  The embracing of today and the shouting with joy?  What does that look like when the baby inside is kicking and flipping and nudging and you know this may be all you have?  And how long will you have even that?

It looks like loving well.  It looks like living hard and making memories and celebrating the time we have as a family.  It looks like living a life of gratitude- of thanks for today, of thanks for the reminder to make each moment count.  It looks like soaking up every second of every minute of every moment.  It looks like giving this sweet one all of the things we hoped to give her or him then, now. To love the only way we can.

It means dipping my cup far down into the well of the One who never runs dry when the heart aches so much its hard to breathe and the tears stream long into the sleepless night.

It means an Oreo party, for starters.  

It means living in the hope that God's plans are bigger than ours and in the truth that His story is better than the one we would have written. Far, far better.

It means being intentional about sharing the experiences we want to share as a family as much as we can each day we are able.  It means giving Baby a high five when Newbie slam-dunks on the Little Tikes basketball hoop in the living room, and it means singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" all the way to Grandad's house on a Friday because there are not one, but two little souls who need to hear the song of the joyful heart- the heart that knows this isn't where the story ends, and we can smile today because we know Who holds tomorrow. We know the One whose story continues forever, a story in which we, blessed we, play a part!

This Momma knows the secret, and while the tears fall and the heart squeezes, we cannot deny that whatever happens will only unfold because it is a part of His plan- and He is always good.  He knows more than we know, sees more than we see, loves more than we love, and we know His will is good- how can we count today as anything but grace when we know it is all a part of His plan?

Because we know He will give us everything we need, and because we know today is a gift, this, friends, is a place where we celebrate His grace- where I will share all the ways we are loving hard while this little one is here.

Cue Oreo Party.

 

We don't want to miss a moment.  Which means chocolate on the belly and around the lips and the risk of spilling milk on the new carpet because everyone knows Oreos and milk taste better at the just-my-size table than anywhere else.

Celebrate today- today is a rich, deep gift from the One who loves you the most. 

Counting it all grace,

Brittany

"Teef! Teef!"

We still don't have internet at our new digs.  (Something about 20 billion boxes in the living room pushed it to the back burner.)

But we're nearly done unloading boxes! (Quite the feat at 19 weeks pregnant, make no doubt about that.)

We love love love everything about the new place. (...Minus the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle beach towel currently standing in for a bathroom curtain. Hello, summer of 1991. Curtains fell behind along with the internet.)

Newbie's favorite room is the full bath, where he wants to brush his teeth 80 times a day.  ("Honey, remember, we only brush our teeth after breakfast and before bedtime"...rinse and repeat 78 times a day.)

(I find him here all the time.  "Mommy, teef!  Teef!")

Off to catch up on some email housekeeping before Newbie and I head back home (we're camping out at my parents for the free food and internet access this evening).  Big day tomorrow!  The Hubs and I have been pouring over our baby name list and anxiously anticipating our ultrasound appointment tomorrow.  Update to come!

Happy Wednesday!

Its Game Time

Hi friends!

Just a quick note to say I'm going to be MIA on the blog for a while.  We are heading over to the new house tomorrow with a trunk of essentials now that the carpet is in, and will be without internet until....eish.  Until I call the internet people and have them come out to the house, which we're hoping will be sometime late next week.  So if you don't hear from me for a while, don't fret- I'll be back as soon as I can with lots of "after" pictures! =)

In the meantime, would you please pray for our littlest little?  We are 18 weeks tomorrow, and will head in for our big ultra sound next Thursday.  We're scheduled to get the super-extensive-every-measurement-you-could-ever-imagine treatment to be sure everything is going well and growing well with Baby after our bumpy start in the first trimester.  We're still praising the Lord for all of the healing he showered upon this sweet one in those early days and are confident He's got big plans for her (him?!?) and aren't worried, but would love any prayer we can get for this little one! Thank you, friends. =) I'll be overdue on lots of updates when I get back to the blog, and we're hoping one of them will be a big reveal with whether we're having a boy or a girl...we can't wait to find out! Thanks so much for cheering us on and praying for this little one- we so appreciate your prayers and love! =)

Tomorrow night we're having a little family camp out in the living room of our new place. Loads of new carpet and empty rooms were just calling for a free-for-all before our big move-in day on Saturday when boxes will try to eat us alive.  It will be Newbie's first camp out, and our first time trying to wrangle him into a bedtime without the aid of a crib....it should be interesting! There are a few odd jobs the Hubs is going to pull off in the next couple days, and Newbie and I will be there to help.  Newbie likes to get carried away with the hammer and some of Daddy's tools, so I'm planning on bringing along a few popsicles to keep him in line- he's proven to be a big fan as of late:

 

(Hello, teething five pearly whites all at once.  Hello, double fisting the binky and popsicle.  Hello, brave little boy who only complains when those teethers get real, real sore- you are a champ!)

Wishing you all loads of blessings in the coming days, and looking forward to popping in as soon as I can to share what the next week holds for my little family!

The Woodchucks

This morning I made more green smoothies.  The Hubs and Newbie sipped theirs while I worked on my batch in the blender.  I was using a wooden spoon to push the spinach further into the blender while the blades whipped away at the peaches and mango. [RED ALERT]  I don't know if it was pregnancy brain or just pure stupidity, but I repeat: I was using a wooden spoon to push the spinach further into the blender.

I pulled the spoon out, poured my smoothie into a cup and happened to glance down at the counter long enough to see that a small slice was missing from the tip of the spoon.  The wheels started turning: But where did that piece of the spoon go?  I don't see a chunk sitting around anywhere... what happened to it?  Surely I would have seen a piece floating around in the smoothie? ............. *GASP!!!*

I put the wooden spoon IN THE BLENDER, thus IT WAS BLENDED into the smoothie.

I fed my baby splinters for breakfast.

I frantically searched my own smoothie and saw little bits of finely blended WOOD.  The pieces were microscopic and soggy, but still: WOOD.  Then I went over to Newbie's glass and snapped it away from him when I saw itty bitty bits in his as well.  I told the Hubs to toss his smoothie and run for the hills and never let me make breakfast again.

The mother-guilt was suffocating.

The Hubs was laughing.

Newbie was griping because he wanted his smoothie back.

Ugh.

Nothing  a little yogurt and bagels couldn't fix, but it took me a good long while to devise that there wasn't really much of the spoon missing and maybe we hadn't really just eaten an entire tree for breakfast.  Really Newbie didn't get that far in his smoothie and the Hubs is tough, so maybe his digestive track can handle it.

GOOD GRIEF. 

I'm off the smoothie circuit until my ego recovers.  It took quite the blow this morning.  And the wooden spoon still sits on the counter to remind me of my shame.  I'm pretty sure my mom got that sucker when she was married back in 1980 something.  So that's awesome.  Nothing like splintered wood from 1982 for breakfast and nothing like telling your mom you butchered a family heirloom in the blender.

Bleck.

When we aren't eating wood around here, we're outside enjoying the oddly warm and sunny weather.  Almost all the snow has melted, and Newbie and I have been outside exploring when we get the chance.  You never know when that white stuff is coming back, but we're enjoying the grass and sunshine while we can!

 

 

 

Newbie loves playing with his dogs.  He slaps his knee and yells, "Diffin!  Come!" or "Opie! Come!" when he wants to play.  I took him to the park on Sunday, and at one point, the few kids at the park with us took off across the field for the river.  Newbie had a view of them from the slide and yelled, "Kids!  Come!" while slapping his knee.  I busted a gut laughing.  "Mommy!  Kids a wa-der. (kids at the water) KIDS! COME!"  Ba ha haha. What a ham.

 

 

The Hubs is wrapping up some stuff at the new house today, tomorrow is carpet installation day, and then its time to move in!  We can't wait.  Sleepover Thursday night in the living room and then big move-in day on Saturday.  Just about as soon as we move in, we're headed to the doctor for our 20 week ultra sound.  I can't wait to see our little munchkin!  There have been a few times I've thought I've felt her move- one in particular last night- but its hard to say if its the baby or the Super Bowl finger food talking at this point.  Nothing definitive enough for me to say I for sure feel the baby moving.  We'll keep waiting for her to beef up and really get the party started.

Lots of laundry and packing on our to-do list here today.  We'll see if we can squeeze in some exploring between boxing up toys and blankets. =)

Wishing you all a happy Tuesday!

Friday is for Booger Smoothies

This morning we got up bright and early  late(r) and lazy, and I whipped up something green for me and my boys while they watched some "wed wing HOCKEY" on the laptop. Newbie is a big fan of hockey.  "Paaaaay HOCKEY!"  (He recently replaced his "play ball!" with a more specific declaration.)
We're on some kind of Pizza Hut detox because all the remodeling has led us to far too many take-out dinners.  Majorly lacking in the leafy greens department around here lately.

I ran into this recipe on Pinterest and decided to give it a go.  (Don't let the "smoothie for weight-loss" fool you; this momma is packing on the pounds- it just looked kinda yummy =]) This smoothie was a brighter green than the others I've seen, and that made me feel somewhat hopeful.  Like maybe it wouldn't taste like slugs.  However, I was still really skeptical.  REALLY.  I cannot emphasize enough how much I hesitated at the thought of making something that looked like a glass full of boogers for breakfast.  HOWEVER it is only spinach and peaches and mangoes, and bananas, and I love all that stuff, minus the spinach, and rumor had it that you wouldn't taste the spinach.

Still skeptical, but worth a shot if it meant I got a good dose of fruits and veggies in before 9 in the morning since I've usually only managed a frozen waffle or bowl of Cheerios by then.

So I went for it.

And so did my boys.

I kid you not: it. was. delicious.  And this is coming from a Lucky Charms fanatic.

You truly can't taste the spinach, and I just kept telling myself that bright green meant my baby bump was getting all kinds of vitamins and minerals. =)

Newbie saw the Hubs and I swigging away, and he is never one to pass up an opportunity to drink from a straw.

(Cheers, Daddy-O!)

 

The best news of all is that green smoothies make Daddy's push-up rides even more fun:

Today was the first lazy morning we've had together in several weeks since we've been so busy getting the house ready to rock and roll.  After our smoothies, we headed out to do a few things at the house and hit up our home away from home: The Home Depot.  I love that place, and so does Newbie.  So many possibilities! Here's a peek at all the hard work our family and my main squeeze have put in over the past few weeks:

 

 

(The bathroom my man tiled.  So good looking.  The tile too, of course.)

(And yes, the windows are still natural wood...painting them would have meant at least another week before we could move in and this chick wasn't game for that.  Don't judge me.)

 (The kitchen everyone has shed sweat and tears over: my mom painted the walls, my man tore out the floor, my MIL painted the insides of the cupboards, my FIL installed the microwave (upper right), my bro-in-law painted some cupboards, my sister painted the hallway leading to this room =] and my daddy is busy painting the cupboard doors.  What a crew! )

 (You won't believe how crazy ape I'm going to go on the chandelier that will replace that 70's beauty.  Bring on the clearance spray paint, baby, and brace yourself.)

 

(The aftermath currently residing in our garage...to be hauled off tomorrow afternoon.)

Sooo excited to get moved into this puppy!  We're heading into another jam-packed weekend of work, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and the Hubs and I are counting down the days 'til we cross the threshold of our home sweet home.  I'll keep you posted!

Happy weekending!

Whip up a smoothie if you're feelin' brave... =)

• 1-2 bananas
• 1/2 cup frozen peaches
• 1/2 cup frozen mango
• a couple handfuls of spinach
• water
• ice 
• Toss into a blender and eat. it. up! 

*Green Smoothie Recipe above found at: http://lindawagner.net/blog/2011/03/green-smoothie-for-weight-loss/