30ish weeks pregnant

I can still see my feet a little.

30ish weeks pregnant, what a difference two weeks makes when you get this far along. Yes, that is my belly button sticking out.

As you can see by the picture, I still am in maternity clothing denial and don't really care how I look anymore. But, hey it is baseball season and I am a true Cardinals fan! I am a little over 30 weeks pregnant, and ready for this whole pregnancy thing to be over with. I believe I have said it before, but I will say it again, pregnancy is not my finest moment in life. I am feeling okay for being thirty weeks. A few minor problems have continued on and a few new ones have been added to the list. I have a shorter than average cervix, so preterm labor is always weighing on my mind. A few weeks ago I developed a condition known as Vericoses. Basically it means I have poor veins. It started in one leg, but now has moved inward making it very difficult to walk or do anything standing. There is no real treatment option, but to take it easy (that is not happening with a new house to unpack and a fourteen month old). This week I started developing this pain in my right arm as well, so every time my little girl wants to sit in my lap it is a strain to even pick her up. All of this has been very wearing on my body, but I am very thankful for the blessings God has richly bestowed on me. Joselyn does something amazing everyday, and it makes me long for God to fill my heart with love for yet another child in our home. My doctor put me on the two week rotation at my 28 week apointment to make sure nothing progresses too fast. I have had contractions since 13 weeks, but they are starting to get more frequent and stronger. In addition to all of that this morning I lost part of the "plug," and have started to spot a little. I am praying for God's divine hand as this pregnancy goes on, and would appreciate your prayers as well. I am feeling extremely nervous about having another baby so soon, but I know God's amazing grace is with me. This journey seems forever long, but it is only a breif passing to what my eternal home will one day hold!

Hat Craze and Trike Day

Daddy putting the trike together.

She was so excited!

So, lately Joselyn has wanted to wear a hat every where we go. Daddy even bought her a new hat today when we went to WalMart, you can guess which one it is. Also as we were strolling through WalMart we came across a must have toy. We have been looking for a few weeks for some new toys for our fenced in back yard. We wanted to get Joselyn a "rideon" toy, but they all seem to be either to small for her, or way to old for her. As we strolled through the toy section briefly there it was on the bottom shelf with a big clearance tag reading $21.00. so imediately it went in the cart! Yes, Joselyn is now the proud owner of her very first Radio Flyer Trike (yes, it is too big for her, but the price was RIGHT). When we got home daddy put it together and we took it for a little spin down the driveway, it was about to rain.

Growing up too fast!

A new dress from NiNi (my mom).

And a new toy.

As you can see, she needed a new toy, we never let her play with real toys!

Joselyn has hit a major growth spirt this last week and seems to be outgrowing everything she owns. She is down to a few pair of shoes that still fit, and most of her summer clothes I bought on clearance last fall, that were two sizes larger than for her age, she has now outgrown. So we greatly appreciate NiNi coming over to take us shopping!

No more Baby Bed

This is the pic I snapped of Joselyn napping .

Her first night in her big girl bed!

The new "Big Girl" Bed!!!

Last night we bought Joselyn a "Big Girl" bed (well actually a mattress). Since she is only 14 months old we have been contemplating all week what to do about her sleeping arrangements. I did not want to buy another crib, but she can't sleep in her sister's forever. So, we settled on a mattress on the floor. She is using my bedroom set from when I was a little girl, and it has a twin bed that she will eventually move into, but for now we wanted her to be able to get in her "bed" safely. She slept in the "big girl" bed last night for the first time, and then today I thought she was playing in her room, and I went to check on her, I found her taking a nap in her bed. She had decided on her own that she was ready for a nap and crawled in bed, how precious (yes, I shed a few tears, I am sure due to all the pregnancy hormones)! I am not trying to bost, but rather give God the glory everyday for this sweet little peice of life he has placed in our family!

Moving with a thirteen month old

Joselyn has been such a great little girl, but even the best of children don't stay stress free during moving! We knew moving would be hard for everyone, but I don't think we had completely calculated just how differently we would all respond. Joselyn has been moved from the only home she has ever known to a different state, and to a new way of life called a town. In the process of moving her bed broke, so she has also been sleeping in her little sister's crib and room these past few days. In addition to a sleeping arrangements, she had an accident in the crib and is not getting to sleep with her "blankie" because we have yet to buy a washer and dryer. Jos is quite the little shopper, so all the shopping trips we have had to take have been theraputic for her in a way, but the minute we enter the new home she quickly turns into a leg clinger. Today is the first day I have really started to see her personality starting to make its way back into all of our lives, and we are more than BLESSED! This journey has been challenging, but even Joselyn is teaching us in these times.

28 weeks Pregnant

Monday (yes the same day we moved) I had a Doctors appointment with my new Dr. Things went well, and the baby is growing and kicking more and more. I have even felt a few bouts of hiccups from her lately. Aside from the stress of moving, there have not been any major complications with this pregnancy, all praise to God, the minor bruising I have developed in my leg turns out to be nothing serious, just painful and bothersome. I am getting rather large and have gained a little more than I would have liked to at this point, but I am starting to actually wear the much dreaded maternity clothes a little more often now. So, I can only give God all the glory for this little baby bun in the oven!!!

Moving Day!

I don't even know where to start to catch everyone up on our crazy lives these days! Easter Sunday turned into moving day, we started loading the truck around noon and pulled out our the driveway at 2:03! Thank you so much, Kevin, Donna, Cameron, Steve, Kenneth, Violet..... and everyone else who helped us leave Lodiburg. We were showered with gifts and amazing encouragement upon our departure! No sooner did the mail box of our "old home" appear in my rear view mirror then uncontrollable weeping began to overwhelm me. Leaving those people has been one of the hardest things I have had to do in life, and we miss all of you very much!!! We drove to Norris City Illinois for the night to stay at Chris' mom's house. We had a great time of fellowship with the family! Monday morning we set out for Zeigler around 8:30 and made it to Eldorado for some good breakfast at Hardee's (where apparently the retired teachers from Rado also gather for breakfast). After getting full, we were on our way, next stop 115 S. Pine St. Zeigler Illinois. Joselyn slept the whole way there, and when we arrived people quickly started taking all our pocessions (junk) out of the UHaul and into our new home, which only took 45 minutes (not for lack of stuff, we rented the biggest UHaul they make)! And we are in!

Easter Festivities

She didn't really know what to think about hunting for Easter eggs.

Daddy is the greatest!!!

Today Joselyn hunted for Easter Eggs at our Church Easter Egg Hunt. She only really wanted two eggs (one for each hand), but Daddy insisted upon putting a few more eggs in her basket. She mainly loved the company of all the other children!

Family Pics

We did not get much packing done today, but we did manage to take some new pictures. Everyone at church was telling us they were going to hold us hostage if we did not give them some pictures before we leave. We had to make a quick trip to Louisville (another three hours of driving) to get some paper work for new Doctors. Yeah I found a doctor to transfer to this morning, and I am hoping she is wonderful, but if not I don't really care at this point. We have three more days til the big move day, so I do not know when the next time I will be posting anything on here will be, I have a lot to do. I hope you all enjoy the new pictures and I'll let you know how the journey is going as soon as I can! We feel extremely BLESSED!!!

A Little Reward after a hard mornings work

Today we all got up and seemed to be fairly motivated. Joselyn played very well and stayed out of things. Chris managed to pack four bookshelves of books. I mainly drug a lot of stuff out, but at least feel like it is somewhat organized and will get packed before the evening is over. All of this was accomplished before lunch, so after lunch we made a little trip to Etown to get a few errands out of the way. Well, we had to give Joselyn a bath before we could go, we have been trying to teach her how to use a spoon. I am pretty sure the spaghetti won today. We decided that we need a little break, so we are having frozen pizza for dinner (which I have not really enjoyed to much this pregnancy, but it is easy) and are going to watch a new episode of Fringe (Chris' new favorite show). We feel like we are making some progress in the moving department and boxes are starting to fill most every room in our house. I have all of a sudden realized "I AM Pregnant," and lets just say have started to freak out! I feel so guilty about all the planning we achieved when Joselyn was growing in my womb, and the lack of for poor little Anison! I have literally done nothing for her. No journal entries have been made on her behalf, none of the baby clothes have been sorted, laundered, or ironed and hung in her closet, the walls will probably be white when she is born, and we most likely will still be getting situated in a new home upon the time of her arrival. One thing I am going to do my very best to accomplish is at least buy her a NEW coming home outfit. Even in times when my world is spinning, maybe from the pregnancy anyway, or maybe from the business of life, God is still in control. I have realized that I have never been in control and all of this stuff I feel needs to be done means nothing when compared to the treasures I should be concerned with that are not of this world. I am excited about this journey still, and am trying to just let the Father bless how he chooses, and focus on seeing those blessings.

Another trip to Zeigler

Saturday we made another trip to take another vehicle and another load of "stuff" to Zeigler. Thankfully Jeff came to help!!!!! I am pretty sure the boys did not like me after moving a piano, but we made it through the eight hours on the road. The first four hours Joselyn decided to have her own little rock concert and play her keyboard while singing DaDa. Can I just say adorable!!! We stopped in at MawMaw Berta's for a little break, and to trade vehicles, so we could have extra moving space. We are currently driving a fancy pants minivan, that I am getting very use to the doors opening with the click of a button. We are now one move away from having all of our stuff in our new location. I am thankful the next time we make that drive it will be oneway!

A Good Visit with Old Freinds!

Crystal spoiling my little girl.

Excited much?

You can add your own caption.

Jos didn't want Dave near her, sorry Dave!

The boys spotting the cats.

Sam was teaching Josleyn to spell.

Dave, enough said!

Friday Dave, Crystal, and the Boys drove four hours to visit one last time before we put another four hours between us. We had a great time, the kids played baseball and rode the four wheeler, while the "adult" boys, well let's just say they were boys too. Crystal and I even managed to work in a little shopping! The day flew by and they had to leave, but we are trying to convince them to take a vacation to St. Louis this summer and swing down to see us.

What a Day!

Today has been long and spent mostly in a car. It all started this morning when we (by we I mean Chris did all the work) loaded two of our vehicles and made an attempt to leave our house by seven A.M. The cars got loaded and we all pulled out of the driveway at 7:09a.m., not bad on our start time! Chris drove the Grand Prix and Joselyn and I followed in the Intrepid, and we set off to Zeigler to move a few things and leave a car at the new home. After taking the worst road ever, we at least learned not to take that road on future trips. We arrived in Zeigler at 11:45a.m. to a house full of precious church members frantically making our new home absolutely spotless! I am pretty sure the house will never be that clean again. We had a great time of fellowship and all took a break to go eat at the local Cafe. After lunch we started our trip back to Lodiburg. We took an alternate route and made it in a little less than three hours on the trip home. I have a feeling I am going to despise getting in a car to go much of any where after this move is over. Our wonderful daughter was absolutley amazing all day, she never had a cross thing to say all day!!!! She loved getting to use her DVD Player she got from MawMaw for Christmas. Again I can not say what a blessing God has given to us through this child! We got home and decided to go to some friends, who had been out of town, to take them their mail we had been collecting while they were gone. No one really wanted to cook dinner so we all decided the Chinese Buffet could have the job tonight. We are finally home after a day on the road, and thankful to sit still! The reality of this journey is starting to set in for me now, and I have had a rollercoaster of feelings. I am trying to focus on doing all things for the Glory of my creator, and take one day at a time. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

And the packing begins........................

Chris was trying to find a good place for my tree to be out of the way, so he decided to put it behind the TV.

Those two blue tote boxes are the only boxes that have been successfully packed.

The island of chaos filling our kitchen.

This is what Joselyn has done all morning, played by herself! We feel very blessed!

This morning we all hit the ground running, well I may have been waddling and Joselyn, just toddling, but Chris, he was ready for a marathon. After trying to keep Joselyn out of the mess we opted to put up the gate and turn on our all time favorite dvd "Praise Baby" for her entertainment so we could get something done. Chris has managed to be very productive in nocking things off his list, cleaning out the building, gathering boxes, throwing out junk and hauling it off, the dishes, and the list goes on! I on the other hand, not so much! I did manage to pack little nick nacks, and the china buffett. That equalled two boxes in a mere two hours. I know what a great challenge the next week and a half is going to be, but I really had no idea just how big. We are going to take two car laods of stuff to Zeigler early in the morning, mainly so we can leave one car there, and then drive back that evening for a total of 8 hours on the road with Chris, a pregnant woman and a thirteen month old. Then Saturday we are going to attempt a similar plan that will include our Sister and Brother-in-law, a large deep freeze, and a piano, sorry boys! So we are keeping busy none the less.