I have been wanting to blog for soooo long now! Ever since Kaylee's birth, really. But life got really crazy after that, and the busy-ness of life took over, I guess. I have also wanted to post her birth story, but have been adding to it/editing it on and off for a while now. Plus, it's super long (I'm rather loquacious when writing about anything important to me), so I'm thinking I may need to condense it for a post.
Anyhow, life is good for the three of us. :) We had a wonderful summer filled with many, many good memories with family members and friends. I think that because Joe's job lets him off during the summer, and because we live so far from family, that, in a way, we live for the summer. We build up all this anticipation and excitement about what we're gonna do come summertime, and it's like we really come alive and get to do things we've wanted to do and be with people we've missed. But it's not like we don't enjoy all the other seasons and soak them in. We love it here in Signal Mountain, and we love the friends and church family we've become a part of. They've all been such a blessing to us. It's just different, that's all. No one can replace your family or hometown. There will always be a special place in your heart for those things.
Now for a quick update:
Joe is back at school teaching 7th grade Geography this year. He enjoys only having one prep for the year. Right now he's trying to find an assistant wrestling coach for the high school, and I think he just found a head wrestling coach for the middle school. That's all been rather stressful for him, just not knowing what's going to work out and whether it's all gonna be on him this year. *groans* I need to pray more about this. I don't want to be another "wrestling widow" this year!! :p
I've started back teaching, though rather slowly. It is such a challenge trying to figure out how to schedule lessons around Kaylee's schedule, because that can change due to different factors during the day. :/ Also, this is still somewhat of a new place to me, so getting my name out there is tough. I'm not the type of person to take initiative and put myself out there. It can be discouraging to see how long building my studio can take... :/
Kaylee is crawling now!! :) It is so awesome and exciting to watch her purposefully move toward and discover things. I love that she is curious about things and looking into them. Yes, it keeps me on my toes and yes, she can get into dangerous things quickly, but it's such a relief that I don't have to be the sole source of entertainment/stimulation for her. That may sound bad (like I didn't enjoy it or something), but really, it's because I don't think I'm a very creative person, and I felt like I was continually wondering whether she was bored of what I was showing her, whether she got tired of the same old things, whether she was being stimulated enough/talked to enough, etc. Now I can see something she wants to see and show her it or talk to her about it or interact with her about it. I just love it!!! Most people are like, "Uh oh, no more fun for mama" when I tell them she's crawling, but I'm really enjoying it, despite the new challenges it's presented. :)
Ok, so while I feel like the content of this post was necessary, I also feel like it was rather dry and boring. Kind of ho-hum. Well, gotta start back some place. Hope I'll be more inspired next time I write! ;)
Friday, August 23, 2013
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Ordinaryness-ness-ness
I guess that's all I'm gonna talk about today--ordinary stuff. Unless I get inspired. Today I've done several different things. For starters, I went with my Lady's Bible Class to an assisted living unit where we put on a big tea party and talked with the residents. It went really well and we all had a good time together. I loved seeing the reactions of all the lady's when I'd answer the inevitable question of when I was due. "Tomorrow" *gasps* Ha ha! So funny. But like I've said all along, I have a feeling she's gonna be late. I guess I have to wait till tomorrow to be proven right, though...
Then I came home and wrote a fair amount of thank you notes. Joe said it seems like I'm always doing this. Well, it did take me for freakin' ever to finish our wedding thank you's (technically, I probably still owe a couple people a thank you note...I'm sorry!), and then with three baby showers this year, I've had a lot more to write since then! Luckily, the ladies at church are super sweet and understanding. They know we've been busy getting the nursery ready and everything else. However, I've just GOT to finish them before the baby comes, otherwise they may never get done! Or I'll just be writing them when I go into labor. ;)
Some exciting news on the horizon: Joe and I have been meeting with the minister of the church we've been visiting and his wife to discuss membership! We've wanted to become members for a while, but being gone so much of the summer kind of pulled us away from it for a while. However, as we've been settling back into a routine here, we really feel God leading us to do this. I have to say, I'm not sure I've ever felt like a part of a church before. Maybe that's due to the fact that I grew up mostly visiting churches for a long time before becoming a member. But even when we'd become members, feeling a part of the church didn't seem to last for long. Whether it was because we moved to another one or I just never felt like I had a place there, I'm not sure. However, with this church I have sensed a strong sense of community and family ever since our first visit there. Even as visitors I have felt like we have some kind of place in the church. We've been treated like family even though we have not formally (or even physically) committed to it. Members have had us come to their house for meals, brought us meals when we moved, helped us move, and even threw a baby shower for me when they found out I was pregnant! We've been overwhelmed by the genuine love and support we've received since the first day we stepped through those doors.
Perhaps another reason I feel more of a place at this church is because this is now Joe and Me. I am not the middle child of a family of eight joining a church anymore. I am now an adult with a husband (and a baby on the way!) looking to join a church. I'm sure that has made a difference in the way we have been treated and in the way I have perceived things. I'm NOT saying I was mistreated by our churches while living with my family--just simply noting the difference in the time and place in life.
So that's all for now. :)
Then I came home and wrote a fair amount of thank you notes. Joe said it seems like I'm always doing this. Well, it did take me for freakin' ever to finish our wedding thank you's (technically, I probably still owe a couple people a thank you note...I'm sorry!), and then with three baby showers this year, I've had a lot more to write since then! Luckily, the ladies at church are super sweet and understanding. They know we've been busy getting the nursery ready and everything else. However, I've just GOT to finish them before the baby comes, otherwise they may never get done! Or I'll just be writing them when I go into labor. ;)
Some exciting news on the horizon: Joe and I have been meeting with the minister of the church we've been visiting and his wife to discuss membership! We've wanted to become members for a while, but being gone so much of the summer kind of pulled us away from it for a while. However, as we've been settling back into a routine here, we really feel God leading us to do this. I have to say, I'm not sure I've ever felt like a part of a church before. Maybe that's due to the fact that I grew up mostly visiting churches for a long time before becoming a member. But even when we'd become members, feeling a part of the church didn't seem to last for long. Whether it was because we moved to another one or I just never felt like I had a place there, I'm not sure. However, with this church I have sensed a strong sense of community and family ever since our first visit there. Even as visitors I have felt like we have some kind of place in the church. We've been treated like family even though we have not formally (or even physically) committed to it. Members have had us come to their house for meals, brought us meals when we moved, helped us move, and even threw a baby shower for me when they found out I was pregnant! We've been overwhelmed by the genuine love and support we've received since the first day we stepped through those doors.
Perhaps another reason I feel more of a place at this church is because this is now Joe and Me. I am not the middle child of a family of eight joining a church anymore. I am now an adult with a husband (and a baby on the way!) looking to join a church. I'm sure that has made a difference in the way we have been treated and in the way I have perceived things. I'm NOT saying I was mistreated by our churches while living with my family--just simply noting the difference in the time and place in life.
So that's all for now. :)
Monday, October 1, 2012
Regrets
We shouldn't have them--but we do. And most of the time I try very hard to either not regret something or deny regret about something. But there are some things I keep coming back to, and I have to recognize them as some form of regret for something or someone.
A regret that has popped up most recently is one concerning people--people I've met in the past. People I wish I knew better. People I wish I had become better friends with when I had the opportunity. People I may or may not have a chance to get to know better. Maybe what I'm regretting really wasn't a possibility anyway, but how can I know that? Of course, being in college meant I met LOTS of new people and made lots of acquaintances in a very short amount of time. Some of those people I kept up with and still do to this day (and it means so much to me!), and others I kept up with for a while, and then we just sort of went our separate ways. Part of that was probably due to our different studies (I was definitely friends with a lot more music majors than any other major). Part of it was also due to our different lifestyles. To be honest, once I met Joe and we started dating, that limited a lot of this one-on-one time with different friends--particularly those who were single. As any music major knows, it's very hard to have much of a life outside the music building, so you either a) purposefully planned to hang out with someone or b) hung out with friends by happenstance. Most of my planned hang out time was with Joe, naturally, as we were eager to get to know each other and hang out together as much as possible. Much of the rest of my hang out time was spur of the moment get-togethers with other music majors or my roommates. I still made efforts, though, to hang out with friends who weren't in my usual circle of friends, because I was truly interested in becoming closer to them. Even so, those hang outs were few and far between, and not running in the same circles sometimes presented challenges for us. For instance, a friend of mine might invite Joe and me to one of their get-togethers, but since we didn't know any of their friends, it would be kind of awkward. Likewise, if I invited one of my friends to one of our group's get-togethers, it would be awkward for them.
Like I said, maybe it wasn't possible to keep up the kind of friendships I desired with all of these girls, but I can't help feeling the loss of those friendships--or rather, the loss of the potential of those friendships. And knowing what I knew of them then and know of them now, I feel an ache when I think of what could have been had our paths not strayed farther away from each other.
Yet who knows? There are some people you drift away from, and then later you're reunited with by very interesting turns of events. You just never know who God is going to bring into your path--or back into your path. :)
A regret that has popped up most recently is one concerning people--people I've met in the past. People I wish I knew better. People I wish I had become better friends with when I had the opportunity. People I may or may not have a chance to get to know better. Maybe what I'm regretting really wasn't a possibility anyway, but how can I know that? Of course, being in college meant I met LOTS of new people and made lots of acquaintances in a very short amount of time. Some of those people I kept up with and still do to this day (and it means so much to me!), and others I kept up with for a while, and then we just sort of went our separate ways. Part of that was probably due to our different studies (I was definitely friends with a lot more music majors than any other major). Part of it was also due to our different lifestyles. To be honest, once I met Joe and we started dating, that limited a lot of this one-on-one time with different friends--particularly those who were single. As any music major knows, it's very hard to have much of a life outside the music building, so you either a) purposefully planned to hang out with someone or b) hung out with friends by happenstance. Most of my planned hang out time was with Joe, naturally, as we were eager to get to know each other and hang out together as much as possible. Much of the rest of my hang out time was spur of the moment get-togethers with other music majors or my roommates. I still made efforts, though, to hang out with friends who weren't in my usual circle of friends, because I was truly interested in becoming closer to them. Even so, those hang outs were few and far between, and not running in the same circles sometimes presented challenges for us. For instance, a friend of mine might invite Joe and me to one of their get-togethers, but since we didn't know any of their friends, it would be kind of awkward. Likewise, if I invited one of my friends to one of our group's get-togethers, it would be awkward for them.
Like I said, maybe it wasn't possible to keep up the kind of friendships I desired with all of these girls, but I can't help feeling the loss of those friendships--or rather, the loss of the potential of those friendships. And knowing what I knew of them then and know of them now, I feel an ache when I think of what could have been had our paths not strayed farther away from each other.
Yet who knows? There are some people you drift away from, and then later you're reunited with by very interesting turns of events. You just never know who God is going to bring into your path--or back into your path. :)
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Yay Fall!
Happy Autumn! No, the leaves aren't changing colors yet, and I know,
we haven't even hit Halloween yet, but fall is in the air! I can feel it
when Joe leaves for work in the morning, I can smell it in the cool
air, and I can see it in the fantastic blue skies and in the unimpeded
orange-red sunsets. :) It's coming...it's on its way. Actually, it's
technically here today, according to the calendar. :p And while I'm sad
to see summer go (I truly don't mind the heat!), I'm always happy to
welcome Autumn back. It is, after all, one of my favorite seasons. :)
I am so freakin' excited about this weekend! I have been looking forward to this Saturday ever since, well, last Saturday! I planned a party to celebrate Joe's birthday last week, but no one could make it, so I rescheduled it for this Saturday. Looks like it'll be a good turn out, and I just can't wait to entertain! I love having company over, and I especially love cooking for people! We're just having snacks, but I plan to put a fall spin on this party, which excites me all the more. :) I'll post some pics of the decorating I've done so far. I plan to serve guacamole (if my other avocado will ever ripen!), chips and salsa, cocktail weenies (Joe requested those), s'mores cookies (been dying to try these!), cake (because it is, after all, Joe's birthday, though he just barely tolerates cake...), coffee, tea, etc. We plan to play some games and just have a good time. I've been looking forward to this so much, and know that Joe has really been wanting something like this for a while, that I've been fervently praying that the baby won't come before Saturday, so that everything can still go as planned! (And yes, I'm still praying she doesn't come before her due date. Call me weird, but I'm just not ready yet.) So far, so good!
Here are some pics of the fall decor I've put up so far.
So that's it so far. Now I have to clean. Joy. Ta ta for now!
I am so freakin' excited about this weekend! I have been looking forward to this Saturday ever since, well, last Saturday! I planned a party to celebrate Joe's birthday last week, but no one could make it, so I rescheduled it for this Saturday. Looks like it'll be a good turn out, and I just can't wait to entertain! I love having company over, and I especially love cooking for people! We're just having snacks, but I plan to put a fall spin on this party, which excites me all the more. :) I'll post some pics of the decorating I've done so far. I plan to serve guacamole (if my other avocado will ever ripen!), chips and salsa, cocktail weenies (Joe requested those), s'mores cookies (been dying to try these!), cake (because it is, after all, Joe's birthday, though he just barely tolerates cake...), coffee, tea, etc. We plan to play some games and just have a good time. I've been looking forward to this so much, and know that Joe has really been wanting something like this for a while, that I've been fervently praying that the baby won't come before Saturday, so that everything can still go as planned! (And yes, I'm still praying she doesn't come before her due date. Call me weird, but I'm just not ready yet.) So far, so good!
Here are some pics of the fall decor I've put up so far.
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| Yay for clearanced window clings from CVS last year! |
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| Thank you, Dollar Tree, for these lovely leaf vines. |
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| More leaves |
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| And more... |
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| And I think the pink tablecloth throws this look off, but its' still kinda neat. |
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
So we made it back from PA, and I must say that I'm soooo glad to be back down South again! We had a couple interesting, rather unpleasant experiences with some of drivers up there. Sheesh! Some people just need to calm down. Suffice it to say, we experienced some choice vocabulary and a double display of a certain finger. Yeah...
Here are pics of the finished baby room. Yes, there's no crib or changing table there, but those are coming soon... I'm trying not to freak out about it right now... The point is the color and feel of the room. :)
Nice, isn't it? I really like it. Now imagine white furniture with violet curtains and bedding. That's how it's gonna be.
Ok, now onto other things... Sooo...being pregnant leads to all sorts offrustrating interesting comments from people. I mean, comments that just make you go, "What the heck???" For instance, recently someone asked how I had been feeling and how my pregnancy had been going in general. When I remarked that I felt really great and quite healthy, their response was...I don't know. Rude? I took it rudely anyway (blame it on the pregnancy hormones). She was like, "Well, I hate to say this, but your next pregnancy probably won't be as good! Successive pregnancies tend to get worse and blahdyblahdyblah!" My response was (though I was taken aback) a calm, "You never know..." But seriously! Why do people feel the need to rain on your parade or try to steal your joy? I mean, I'm sooo grateful God has blessed me with such an awesome, wonderful, HEALTHY pregnancy! Why do people seem to act as though no one should have such a good pregnancy, so they feel the need to tell you that it's gonna get worse?!? Why not just rejoice with those that rejoice, or if you DO think things will get worse, then simply keep it to yourself?? I remember around 8 weeks I was talking to a woman who had about six kids and who had recently had twins. She was asking me if I had had morning sickness or food aversions yet. I hadn't, and she was like, "Well, that's great! Maybe you won't get any. Usually it dies out by week 12, so you may just miss it all!" First of all, those comments were super positive and encouraging. I loved that she didn't feel the need to scoff and say (with relish), "Just wait! It'll get worse!" And you know what? When I saw her a couple weeks later and told her that I had recently developed a bunch of food aversions, her response was awesome. She was like, "Yeah, I thought maybe you might still get some, but I didn't want to say anything." How cool is that? Instead of being the bearer of bad news, her comments showed me she wished me the best. I so appreciated her being so positive towards me about that!
So anyway, that's my rant for the day. I probably shouldn't care so much or be so sensitive about it, but it seems like it's happened a lot lately. Oh well. I'm feeling great and healthy and so is my baby, so that makes me happy and grateful! :)
Here are pics of the finished baby room. Yes, there's no crib or changing table there, but those are coming soon... I'm trying not to freak out about it right now... The point is the color and feel of the room. :)
Ok, now onto other things... Sooo...being pregnant leads to all sorts of
So anyway, that's my rant for the day. I probably shouldn't care so much or be so sensitive about it, but it seems like it's happened a lot lately. Oh well. I'm feeling great and healthy and so is my baby, so that makes me happy and grateful! :)
Monday, August 27, 2012
Forever and a Day...
Yes, it seems like it's been that long since I last posted. Gosh! Summertime fun can be so distracting, but sooo worth it! ;) Well, last time I posted I was 18 weeks along. Now, I'm almost double that--34 weeks! Getting close now. A little too close. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited and all. I'm just...not ready yet.
So this weekend we spent painting the baby's room. It's Joe's and my first painting project together, and I think we've done a pretty good job of it! We still have a few last finishing touches to make on it, but then it will be completely done. It's a pale yellow (creamy oat is its name). I just love it! Happy and light, but not an in-your-face kind of yellow. I'm hoping to find some violet curtains to go with it. The only think I didn't factor into the color scheme was the blue-grey carpet. Oh, well. It'll be fine. Maybe we can get a big rug to cover most of it.....
Our travels are not over yet. This Thursday morning (early, think 5am, people!), we will leave for Philly to go to Jake and Rachelle's wedding. I have a feeling this trip is going to take forEVER. Growing up, I was used to long car rides, like those two day trips we'd take to get to Vermont. Yeah, those were fine, even fun sometimes! (Not for the driver, I'm sure.) Well, I've gotten used to our 7+ hour drives back and forth from TN-NC, and those are long enough. So this summer when we went down to FL with my parents, that drive seemed like it would NEVER END!!!OMG, it took soooo long to get there, and we even stayed overnight in AL! (What a wimp I've become.) I think this trip will be about the same in terms of hours (12, I think). Wow. What are we going to do??? I don't look forward to the drive, but I am looking forward to celebrating my brother-in-law's wedding, so that'll be nice. Free food! ;) (Yeah, I still have that college student mentality...)
Ok, here are some of the pics I've taken of the baby room. These are before and during pics. The after pics will come later. :)
So this weekend we spent painting the baby's room. It's Joe's and my first painting project together, and I think we've done a pretty good job of it! We still have a few last finishing touches to make on it, but then it will be completely done. It's a pale yellow (creamy oat is its name). I just love it! Happy and light, but not an in-your-face kind of yellow. I'm hoping to find some violet curtains to go with it. The only think I didn't factor into the color scheme was the blue-grey carpet. Oh, well. It'll be fine. Maybe we can get a big rug to cover most of it.....
Our travels are not over yet. This Thursday morning (early, think 5am, people!), we will leave for Philly to go to Jake and Rachelle's wedding. I have a feeling this trip is going to take forEVER. Growing up, I was used to long car rides, like those two day trips we'd take to get to Vermont. Yeah, those were fine, even fun sometimes! (Not for the driver, I'm sure.) Well, I've gotten used to our 7+ hour drives back and forth from TN-NC, and those are long enough. So this summer when we went down to FL with my parents, that drive seemed like it would NEVER END!!!OMG, it took soooo long to get there, and we even stayed overnight in AL! (What a wimp I've become.) I think this trip will be about the same in terms of hours (12, I think). Wow. What are we going to do??? I don't look forward to the drive, but I am looking forward to celebrating my brother-in-law's wedding, so that'll be nice. Free food! ;) (Yeah, I still have that college student mentality...)
Ok, here are some of the pics I've taken of the baby room. These are before and during pics. The after pics will come later. :)
Sunday, May 6, 2012
A First
So today marks the first time since Joe and I have been married that he has taken a trip without me. I suppose it's not the first time we've been separated, since I did go home to NC for my grandmother's funeral last year, but this is different. This time I'm alone and with no family. But it's not that bad! Although I miss him already (I started missing him before he left...), I have friends around here I plan to visit with and who I know will look out for me while he's gone. He's only going to be gone till Wednesday, so it's really not that bad. It's just different being alone here. I plan to use my time wisely and hopefully finish organizing our house! :)
This past week *someone* had a growth spurt. ;) Our Baby hit the 18 week mark. WOW. This is going by a little too fast. It's a little scary when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror when we're out shopping or something. It's like, "Whoa, I really am pregnant and pretty soon (if not already) people will be able to tell, too!" It's not that I'm trying to hide being pregnant because I'm embarrassed about it; it's just that it's such a life changing event that I'm already reminded of it enough by myself without strangers needing to point it out! :p But I'm also really excited about it. I can't wait to hear the pitter patter of little feet in our house as we start our New Family. :)
Here are a few pics of the 18 week mark. Enjoy!
This past week *someone* had a growth spurt. ;) Our Baby hit the 18 week mark. WOW. This is going by a little too fast. It's a little scary when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror when we're out shopping or something. It's like, "Whoa, I really am pregnant and pretty soon (if not already) people will be able to tell, too!" It's not that I'm trying to hide being pregnant because I'm embarrassed about it; it's just that it's such a life changing event that I'm already reminded of it enough by myself without strangers needing to point it out! :p But I'm also really excited about it. I can't wait to hear the pitter patter of little feet in our house as we start our New Family. :)
Here are a few pics of the 18 week mark. Enjoy!
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