Sunday, January 29, 2012

Weekend Recap

What a fun day Friday was - I was 'giddy' all day! That evening Nik went to a soccer game while I finished cleaning out the closet in the nursery. I stayed pretty productive all evening and didn't go to bed until 10:30! I could not believe I stayed up that late!
 .
Saturday morning, 4:30, I woke up. Wide awake. And hungry. So I got up ate some cereal, and watched TV. Then we went to Upward. Fun, fun day. I love Upward! It is so cool to see these kids learn the skill of basketball, and learn about God in the process. Nik ended up reffing about 5 games and doing a half-time talk during every game. It can be hard work, but he loves the time on the court, getting to know the kids.


After Upward we ended up at a new burger place in town with 4 other friends. And we laughed. So much. It was so good, and needed! The main topic of conversation that night was, what to name our baby boy. Everyone loves to give their suggestions. And their suggestions included: Lex, Dax, Throttle, Van, Gear, Storm, and my personal favorite....Davis Davis Davis - he would be called D3. They even made up a sign for his name. I cannot tell you how hard they had me laughing. You probably had to be there...but I wanted to make sure to record these names somewhere, so someday I can look back and remember that fun night with our friends! And I can still say - we have NO baby name yet. Even with all their helpful suggestions! After dinner, I went home, took a hot bath and crashed into bed. And slept almost 12 full hours.

Sunday we had wonderful church services, one of which Nik even preached! He did a great job and really brought a message that our church needed to hear. We also ate green chili's all day. For lunch, I made green chile breakfast burritos, and for dinner I made green chile chicken enchiladas. Good thing Baby D is liking those green chilis, because we are on that kick right now....thanks mom, for those extra cans of green chili sauce. They were used today!

And that is basically our weekend recap. We did also do some grocery shopping, and cleaned a bathroom, worked on laundry, looked at a potential car to purchase and sorted through 400 more pics of kids for Upward. (I'm going to try really hard to get 75% done with all the pics this week. So that will be my evenings while Nik is at practice. To let you know where I am....we have 25 teams. I have 2 teams done so far.)

Hope this week goes well for you. I'm looking forward to a more quiet week than last week. Last week was awesome, so many good things happening, but I do like low-key weeks as well!

Friday, January 27, 2012

Ultrasound

Today we went in for an ultrasound on the baby. Before we left the house this morning, I asked Nik to make a prediction of what gender the baby would be. He guessed a girl. And I guessed a boy. We thought it would be fun to wear a shirt the color of the gender we represented. (Nik in pink, and me in blue). Here is a pic before we left the house this morning -


And here is a pic I took before they called me into the room. First, I have to say....how in the world do these gowns go on? In all the movies, the gowns open in the back. But if they are going to be messing with my belly, I think it makes sense to open in the front. That's what I did. For the record...I did ask another lady about it who was in the waiting room. She had no idea either.


And on to the very exciting news...

IT'S A BOY!

It was pretty funny, because the technician was trying to give us a picture of the gender instead of just telling us, but Baby D had his hands in the way and she could not get a good picture. She finally just blurted out that it was a boy. And after awhile Baby D moved his hands enough for us to see!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Comments

Some of you have mentioned to me, that you have posted comments that never show up or that the blog will not let you comment.

I have changed a few settings, to see if this is easier for you to do. Comment if you like, to see how it works, and let me know!

Remember - after you write your comment, click 'Comment as:' and pick Anonymous, then click 'Publish'.

See other post below!

It's Official

It is official - Nik will be an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene! We went to our final interview on Tuesday and everything went well. So at District Assembly, we will be a part of the ordination service. This has been a long journey for him, and I could not be a prouder wifey (as Nik likes to call me). I love my husband and support his call into the ministry 100% (except at youth car washes and lock-ins...the support drops some...! Ha!).

Do you want to know what my big stress of the day was? What. To. Wear. Seriously - this had me in tears (I'm blaming the hormones). I was a little nervous about this interview, and not knowing what to wear, just threw me all off.

Nik was in a suit. A nice suit. Light blue shirt and tie. So, should I wear dress pants or a dress?

I was going to wear dress pants and a nice shirt. Because I don't wear dresses. Ever. Then, I had a thought. I own 2 dresses. Was it even possible that one of them fit, still? I finally found it, deep in the closet, in a hanging bag (thankfully, it was not dusty). I put it on, thinking there was no way it would fit. But I wanted to look nice for this interview. It fit. Seriously? I don't know how. (Well, when I say it fit - it zipped. My belly is totally poking out....but that's the way it is these days. So, in my mind, the zipper did not break - therefore it fit!). So then it was set. I was wearing a dress.

Then I cried over it. Did it look nice enough? Was it too short? Were my legs too white? Even if my legs were not too white, I still have some crazy scarring (thank you, impetigo - that everyone said should not scar). Then I debated forever about actually wearing the dress or just wearing dress pants. The need to impress and look nice won in the end.

Here you have it - me in a dress. (Nik was not home to pick me up yet, so I had to take pics on my own).



Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Healed

No more sleeping in a hand brace.

No more Dr. K.

No more X-rays.

No more being cautious of my right hand.

What does this all mean? That my HAND IS HEALED! Praise the Lord! I would be doing cartwheels right now if I could...but I'm not. After my little meltdown last time in Dr. K's office - he was definately happy to tell me some good news. And yes, he remembered my meltdown. Not sure how that makes me feel...maybe the meltdown was worse than I remember...anyways...don't have to see him anymore!

It will still take a few more months to gain all my strength back in my hand - but I have no restrictions on it, and all my follow-up appointments are through.

Just wanted to share the good news!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Pregnancy - Week 16 & 17

I'm not sure what to post about the last two weeks....
  • Yes, I still have pimples.
  • No, I still have not thrown up.
  • Yes, my belly is growing.
  • No, I have not felt the baby move yet.
  • No, we do not have baby names picked out.
  • No, I have not purchased one thing for Baby D.
  • I am still tired all the time. I thought this was supposed to go away. It hasn't. But as I was talking to Nik the other night...I realized that not every person/pregnancy is the same. If I am tired and need to rest more, then so be it.
  • No, we have not made a decision about me working full time, part time, or staying at home.
What else...(the above are statements I give, to questions I get asked all the time)...
  • Only by God's grace, have I not been sick so far this pregnancy. There has been strep throat and bronchitis going through my work office. Plus I am around a ton of people every Saturday at Upward. My immune system is staying strong!
  • I don't like oranges anymore.
  • I love maternity pants. Seriously these things are FREEDOM! Why in the world did I not discover these earlier in life? I may forever wear them...
Okay, here is a picture:


And no, I don't really like taking pictures of myself every week. But I do think it is fun to see how I am growing. Plus, for those who don't get to see me very often, I thought you might like it.

And the exciting news: Friday, we get to go for an Ultrasound and hopefully see if Baby D is a boy or girl!!!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Date Night

* My trick to making everyone comment did not work...therefore, you don't get to know if I have been working out or not!

* Sorry for my lack of  blogging. My excuse is that I'm growing a baby in me. It wears me out! Plus, I am still having to deal with major pimples. Not sure why that is important to my lack of blogging, I just thought I would share that the pimples on my face are here to stay. Ok...on to my blog post.

Saturday, my cutie husband and I had a date night. And it was fantastic. And needed. After Upward, we grilled steaks. Yum. My man can grill a steak! During dinner we watched the movie "Courageous". After the movie we went for Ice Cream. I had a turtle sundae that was awesome! We ended up staying at the ice cream place for over an hour. So much fun. Thank you, cutie husband, for our perfect date night!

It might have ended up with marshmallows being shot at one another....Saturday morning started out with marshmallows (shot at Nik, while he was in bed!). Ha! It seriously does not get old, shooting marshmallows out of a gun!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was wonderful!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Pregnancy Workouts

So I bought a work out video specifically designed for pregnant women. Can I tell you now that working out while pregnant is not any more fun than working out not pregnant. (Just in case you had that thought). Throughout the whole video (that I have done once) the thin (not pregnant) lady kept telling me (yes, I took it personally) that there was no need to use weights when we worked our lower body...because I already have extra weight in my belly.

Why, thank you, extra thin lady, for pointing out my 'extra weight'. There are days I do not feel pregnant. And then there's working out. I felt very pregnant. More so than I am. Apparently I need to do this video more often. I realized I have bad pregnancy posture (not that I ever had great posture to start with) and that I'm not even physically ready to birth a baby. Maybe that's because I now really, really enjoying napping and watching movies instead of riding my bike and playing tennis.

I sense the need for some kind of accountability here, people. I know I need to exercise. It is good for me, good for baby and good for this body that is constantly changing. So - you should leave me comments to see if I'm working out or not. (Yes, this is a trick to talk you into commenting!). But seriously - accountability, people!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Weekend Happenings

Friday, Nik left to attend EVO (a teen discipleship weekend). Nik and another youth pastor were in charge of this event and it went so well. They had a great group of teens attend from 6 different churches in Central Texas.

Nik is on the stage, second from the right.

I did not get to attend this year. So Friday after work, I hung out at the house doing some small chores and then headed out to spend some Christmas Gift Cards!

Purchases made at Bath & Body - mostly clearance items!

After the mall, I stopped in at Hobby Lobby. And took pictures. Is that weird, to take pictures of products in a store? Either way, that is what I did. I took pictures of boy and girl nursery inspiration ideas. I am not a decorator. In the least. But, Nik and I have some ideas, and I thought I'd share them with you (post coming soon)!

It was an early night for me because I knew Saturday would be a long day. Long it was. Since Nik was away, I was in charge of Upward Basketball for the day. I had help from another person, but I always feel I have to be extra-responsible and extra-on-top-of-things. So my day consisted of: starting games on time, coordinating referees, running the time clock, writing many notes for Nik of questions/concerns that came up, keeping score, taking pictures, visiting with families and kids, checking trashcans, cleaning bathrooms and picking up/cleaning when it was all over. Whew! That night I went home, laid on the couch, ate take-out and was in bed by 8:30pm - I was a zombie!

Even though I was so tired, I did not sleep well and by 7am Sunday, I decided I was up for the day. So I went grocery shopping. Wow! 7:30 on a Sunday morning is the absolute best time to purchase groceries. There are very few people there. And the people who are there, are very friendly that early in the morning. It was so nice...I'm thinking of making this my weekly grocery shopping time!

Then at 9:30am, off to church I went. And church delivered. And I needed it.

After church I went home, ate lunch, cleaned a bathroom, cleaned our bedroom, did laundry, cooked Monday night's dinner and did the dishes. My afternoon ended around 4pm when Nik came home. By 4:30pm we were both back in the Church Van and on the road with 11 teens to see Tim Hawkins. Funny, funny man.

It was a late night. Home by 10:30. But not even close to falling asleep until 11:30.

Today I am a little tired. However, I am trying to help Nik coordinate next Saturdays schedule and look at all the pictures I took from Upward. (I try to take at least 1 good picture of every kid playing - all 180 - for the end of year slide show). So the fun begins...deleting bad pictures, narrowing good ones down, and then recognizing who each and every kid is (their team and grade) before getting the final picture ready. I only have 5 weeks left.....got to go to work now!

Friday, January 13, 2012

Random Thoughts

I have not been feeling the need to blog lately. Crazy, huh? I'm not sure why. Hopefully, I will get over it. I assume there are still people out there reading about my life....

So, in that case - today you get a random thoughts post!

1. I ate lunch at Subway Thursday. By myself. I loved every minute of it.

2. Nik likes to buy steaks from a truck. So, we had grilled steaks last night for dinner. YUMMY!

The above picture is Nik, temping my steak.
He will not let me eat pink meat anymore.
I kinda love him more for taking such good care of me,
but kinda don't like him - because I love my steak pink!

3. I went to the baby doctor Thursday, and everything is looking good for me and baby!

4. I. Cannot. Wait. To find out if Baby D is a boy or girl. Enough said.

5. I finally hung curtains in my living room. After almost 4 years of being in our house.

6. Nik purchased me my own Marshmallow Shooter! The war has begun....! Actually, on Wednesday night, we ganged up on the youth group and got them good. We'll see how long it takes before we have an all-out Marshmallow War between us. (I'm thinking early morning would be fun, before Nik is awake...)


By the way - does shooting marshmallows at your spouse ever get old? I don't think it does.Also, just so you know, I did lay down some ground rules for when Baby D gets here. No shooting Baby D until he/she can at least flail the arms in defense. We'll see how long Nik sticks to that rule!

7. I have started doing (well, done once) a pregnancy workout video. That deserves its own post (probably minus pictures).

8. There are 4 certain people who have stopped blogging recently. I don't know why. BUT START BLOGGING AGAIN. I will not name names (yet) - you know who you are. Please change this. I like to stalk blogs.

9. Confession Time: I might or might not have eaten a very-late-night snack in my bed (under the covers) that was not good for me, last night. Today I may be trying to make up for my lack of self-discipline.

10. I better stop blogging random thoughts before I confess to anything else!

Hope your weekend is fantastic!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Pregnancy - Week 15

I am 15 weeks now. Time flies. Especially when you sleep all your free time away! That is how I felt this weekend. We had Nik's party Friday night and then Saturday was the first day of Upward Basketball games. We got home about 4:30pm and after an early dinner and a few errand runs - I was in bed by 8:30pm and did not wake up until 7:30am Sunday. It was a glorious (and much needed) 11 hours of sleep. Then Sunday, I napped all afternoon between morning and evening church. (Although I did manage to get 1 load of laundry done). And that is still my life! They say this tired-thing will end. It hasn't. Or maybe I'm just so used to sleeping I think I have to all the time....that's a good thought. Maybe week 16 I will work on not sleeping as much.

Allergies. Yes, the whole world is probably experiencing them right now (at least they are if you live in Central Texas). The Cedar has got me. Although not as bad as most people, but it still has a good hold on me.

Pimples. Many pimples. I'm not sure what is happening to my face right now. I have not had this many pimples since I moved to Texas (it was a traumatic couple of months until my face got used to the heat and humidity). How long will I have these pimples on my face? It's a little embarrassing. You can only cover the pimples up so much. (I'm trying to see how many times I can use the word pimples in this paragraph). Back to the pimples. I guess this is a side effect of growing a baby.

Weight. I gained 3 pounds over the last week (food does not make me queasy anymore), but I am still down a total of 5 pounds.

Want a baby bulge picture? Yes, I renamed by baby bump to baby bulge. Here it is:



Funny story. A friend was telling Nik that when she was pregnant, her husband gained weight pound-for-pound with her...and it was a lot of weight! So every week Nik gets on the scale to make sure he is not gaining weight! Ha! So this week, I asked Nik nicely forced him to take a belly picture also! He was not thrilled, but humored me!


So far, no baby bump or bulge on him!

I have a baby doctor appointment on Thursday. Looking forward to seeing how me and baby are progressing!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Nik's 30th

Here is a recap of Nik's 30th Birthday Party.

I did not do very good at taking pictures. But here are a few that I did take:

This is Nik's present from me.

For Nik's party, I made a home made German Chocolate Cake and Dark Chocolate - Chocolate Chip Cookies. And they were both yummy! (I also served punch and Ice Cream).

This is our garage. I don't have enough seating in our house, so I set up some tables and chairs in our garage, and hung this birthday sign. (please ignore all the leaves, trashcan, bikes, grill,...etc.)

On our TV, I ran a slide show "30 Years of Nik (minus ages 7-20)"! It was pretty cute!

And here are a few pics that I actually took of people at the party:


Yup, that's about it! We did have a nice turn out, though. It was fun.

And here is one of the funnest moments - Nik received a Marshmallow Gun as a gift from two of our teenagers. And that was the rest of the party - shooting marshmallows at people!


Nik, loading his gun. He was a super big hit with all the kids there!

And here is a look at some of Nik's cards that he received at his party:

The above card was home-made and included a quarter for every year since Nik was born!




Nik also got some really sweet cards this year from friends and family. I know he felt very loved on his birthday! And that was his party recap. 

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Happy 30th Birthday, Nik!

Happy Birthday to my best friend - my husband!


  
To celebrate 30 years, I have listed 30 of my favorite things about you (in no particular order)!

  • You forgive
  • Your sarcasm
  • You love parties
  • Your shoe-fetish
  • You're spontaneous
  • You take the trash out
  • You tell me I'm pretty
  • That you do the dishes
  • You always do your best 
  • Your love for Greek food 
  • You make me laugh - a lot
  • Your commitment to God
  • That you put gas in my car
  • That you are a people-person
  • You will go shopping with me
  • You tuck me into bed every night
  • How you use big words (and correctly)
  • How you already love Baby D so much
  • You understand when I need quiet time
  • That you put my needs above your own
  • You know how to give a good bear-hug 
  • You always let me have some of your fries 
  • How you always remember the little things
  • That you asked me to marry you 9 years ago
  • You will hold my purse (for a few seconds) in public
  • You have learned to share your food (or at least a bite) 
  • You research products for me to find the best one/deal
  • Even though you don't like them, you watch chick-flicks with me
  • You are so understanding through all these new hormones I am experiencing
  • You give me your undivided attention when I get home at night to tell you about my day 

I'm glad you're finally 30! (Nik is handling turning 30 much better than I did). I'm throwing him a little party tomorrow night to celebrate this new decade. Stay tuned!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Gardetto's

Here lately, I am addicted to Gardetto's. Wonderful, wonderful food.


Guess what I did yesterday (day off from work)? Not much would be an understatement. I did a lot. A lot of sitting on my bum. Or laying on the couch. A lot of watching movies (4 to be exact). A lot of time under a very warm fuzzy blanket in my sweats. Oh, what a sweet day it was. I only answered my phone if it was Nik. I never once stepped foot outside. I stayed in my glasses all day and a brush never touched my hair. This may sound like a wasted day to some of you...but not to me! I took full advantage of my time off. Come this Saturday I will be be up at 7am and out the door by 8am. Upward Basketball begins. My days to sleep in are gone. For awhile anyways. That is why January 2, 2012 was so glorious!

On a side note to the above paragraph - I did clean out my fridge and pantry. And cooked dinner and did the dishes. But it was not nearly as glorious as the 4 movies I watched laying on my couch, eating Gardetto's. Oh, and I also got the best score yet in Spider Solitaire. Productive, I know.

Today is back to the norm. I actually was looking forward to the norm. I do good with schedules and routines. And Gardetto's, which were a part of my lunch. And may be a part of my dinner.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

2012

Last year, in my post "2011" I wrote the following paragraph:

But with the year of 2011 comes the unknown. And I am okay with the unknown. I have surrendered this year to God, taking each day one at a time. I am praying for strength to do what He is calling us to do, guidance for the unknown territory we will cross, for perseverance when things are tough and that Nik and I will live each day intentionally for Him.

Wow. What a year 2011 has been. I'm so glad we started that year surrendering it to God! As I look back, it is only by His strength and guidance that we are where we are today.

Intentional. That was Nik and my 'theme' (if you want to call it that) for the year. We did well sometimes with being intentional, and other times, it was a bust! At times the thought crossed my mind that I was intentionally not being intentional. If that makes sense to anyone.... being intentional is hard. But so worth it.

So what about 2012. I wrote previously about all the unknowns happening this year. I don't know why I feel there are more unknowns this year than any other year. Each and everyday is unknown. Nothing is a sure thing.

So what is my desire for 2012? I think that my desire is to LOVE. To more deeply understand God's love. To show others God's love. To love my husband and baby and family and friends the way God intended us to love - with grace and compassion that only He can provide.

I am looking forward to 2012, I think it will be an exciting year for us. Filled with Joy. There are many things already planned and in the work for this next year. But I again, pray that we will surrender this year to God, taking each day one at a time. That we will have strength to do what He is calling us to do, that he will give guidance for the unknown territory we will cross, and perseverance when things are tough and that Nik and I will live each day in His Love.

Happy New Year to everyone!