Golden Age Banquet...

The theme for this year's Golden Age Banquet was Live, Laugh, Love.  Daniel and the youth did a great job with the decorations and performance!  The table center pieces were gorgeous and were blue and silver.  Also, the food was delicious!  We had chicken cordon bleu, asparagus, carrots, baked mashed potatoes, salad, and cheesecake!  Of course there was also Milo's sweet tea.. a staple at Roebuck gatherings.  The only negative of the entire weekend was the kids passing around some type of stomach virus.  We are hoping the virus has subsided and won't rear its ugly head again, but you never know!

A week in the life...

Our week has been a bit unusual, but it seems that our lives are unusual.  So, perhaps that would mean it's been a normal week?  I would be bored with my life if my husband worked a 9-5 job.  I wouldn't ever ask will you be home this week or are you going to spend the night away from home overnight?  Will you be home Saturday during the day? What night(s) will you be able to eat dinner with me?  For some unknown reason, my husband always has some event that requires he be gone over night each month: board meetings, preparation trips, and random/various events.  I'm not a fan of these overnight adventures, but I do understand it helps him cope with the stress of various events and plan for future events better.

Sunday... Daniel met with the elders and preached about this year's theme during the am service.  Following morning services we ate lunch with an elder and his wife at their home.  We then returned to church at 1 for Lads to Leaders events all afternoon.  I did girls speech and then headed home to crash for a bit.  Daniel had an event each hour for the remainder of the afternoon.  We then had evening services, but Daniel had to track down a youth member who was MIA during services.  Following services we went to Zaxby's with several of our friends and even some of their babies came!  We then worked in the basement randomly for about an hour and took out tons of recycling!

Monday... Daniel spent the day with the Exposure Youth Camp Board at Palisades Church of Christ.  That night they spent the night at some of Roebuck's members home.  I was told that they do their best thinking late at night so this is why they decided to meet overnight.  I think they like a reason to have a sleepover ;) However, I was privileged enough to go eat dinner with them at Flip Burger!  It was delicious.

Tuesday... Tuesday morning Daniel was at the Morris' and I was at home alone.  I thoroughly enjoyed having my king sized bed to myself; however, I would rather Dan have been home :)  Tuesday night we napped and spent some time enjoying each others company.

Wednesday... Daniel works from noon to seven on Wednesday.  I had a two hour delay in the morning due to the possibility of icy road conditions.  I arrived at school and learned I was going to proctor the NAEP exam-  I had just finished two HUGE glasses of orange juice (about 45 ounces total).  So, I gave the test but made multiple bathroom trips as you can imagine.  I then had a workshop with AMSTI for the rest of the afternoon.  So, school was a breeze Wednesday!  After school and a quick nap, I ran by the pharmacy and tried to pick up my prescription for my prenatal vitamins.  I had to change to CVS in Trussville due to insurance contracts- not a happy camper about this move.  Then, my insurance would not cover my typical vitamin.  I waited at the pharmacy for quite some time until I was told to contact my insurance to find out what kind of vitamin to request from my doctor.  Following the pharmacy escapade, Daniel and I met for a quick dinner at Chick-fil-A about 6:15.  Then, off to church.  We got home about 9:15 and watched some recorded television shows.

Thursday... Daniel worked until about 5 because I had a haircut after school.  I then hit up all the thrift stores in Oneonta- don't waste your time.  I decided to try two of the local consignment shops after my miserable thrift store failures.  I enjoyed my shopping but left with only a chicken salad croissant from Miller's Soda Shoppe.  It was delightful!  I spent about two hours with my parents at their house before I headed home.  I got home about 7:15, and we headed out to a restaurant in Mt. Laurel (off of Hwy 280) where we proceeded to eat an $85 meal.  We by no means of the imagination paid that much for it.  We had a discounted promotional gift card from Groupon.com that we bought back in August or September.  Our dinner was exceptional (as it should have been for the price it would have cost without our cheapo gift card).  We finally crashed about 10:30 pm. 

Friday...  The big first day of Golden Age Banquet.  GAB is an event where our youth group honors our members over 60 by serving dinner and providing entertainment.  It is an event that has occurred at Roebuck for many years, and it looked forward to by many each year.  It is a great opportunity to teach our youth to serve others and appreciate the older members of our congregation.  They practice Friday night and Saturday during the day.  The lunch is on Sunday after AM services.  So, Daniel's evening/weekend consists of decorating and practicing with the youth group.  I have every intention of sleeping and cleaning out baby girl's room!  

I absolutely enjoy the busy lifestyle we often live, but I do hope we are able to slow down someday and enjoy our precious family.  It didn't seem this hectic as I lived this week out but after reading it it seems even more crazy!  I hope you are not bored to tears by now, but I wanted to document what a typical untypical week is like in our life! 

Oh, and we are about to make life even more insane by having a precious baby girl, Lord willing!  I have a sneaky suspicion she will just make it all the MORE enjoyable though :)  I can't wait to see life through her eyes in our craziness.

Miscellaneous Monday...

1.  not ready...

i'm so not ready (in the sense of being prepared) for the baby to get here!  her room isn't even cleaned out so i can put her stuff in there.  i guess i should make that more of a priority.

2.  super excited...

 about working on the basement last night.  it already looks a little better!  not to mention it made me feel very productive regardless of the baby's room.

3.   good food...

we ate dinner at flip burger tonight at the summit with several preachers in town for an exposure meeting (i was the only girl... again).  it was delicious.  the highlight was by far the krispy kreme flavored milkshake, but the mayo was outstanding.

4.  happy birthday...

my birthday is coming up!  i'm looking forward to celebrating it with daniel but even more forward to having hallie here next year to help us celebrate.

5. i'm loving...

the thrift store is awesome these days!  i got a bumbo seat and play mat for $7.98 total today!  they are even girlie! i try to buy gender stuff so it can be used with all our kiddos in the future... however, they only had a purple bumbo seat and pink play mat.  so, we got girlie stuff today.  i wasn't even sad it was girlish.  no worries, i sanitized/washed all of it very well.

that's today randomness in a nutshell :)

Our weekend...

Thursday night Daniel put the old green golf cart on Craiglist for sale.  Within 18 hours we had multiple interested calls and cash in our hand!  We sold it for $1250 even though it blue booked for $1900 in fair condition.  So, Friday afternoon started with us going to meet strangers to exchange a car for cash.  I was a bit freaked out but luckily no one knocked us over the head and robbed us.  (Pardon the pictures, they are mostly for memory sake years down the road.)

After we sold the car (and deposited our money safely in the bank so I'd quit freaking out about someone following us and trying to rob us), we headed to Levi's 6th birthday party!

The Birthday Boy

Looks like they are discussing the cutting of the cake...

This is Jaiden after she discovered a piece of cake left within reach of a toddler...

 it was the highlight of the night!

Saturday was a lazy day.  I must admit I did nothing productive, but I did sleep.  So, I'm sure Hallie enjoyed the rest.  

Sunday was a crazy day!  Daniel met with the elders at 8:15 as he does every third Sunday morning.  Daniel also preached this morning.  He then introduced the year's theme, Getting REAL with the Family.  The church has a series of weekend seminars, summer series lessons, quarterly Bible class classes, and sermons bi-weekly to help improve the family.  Following services this morning, we were graciously invited over to an elder's house for a spaghetti lunch.  We then had to be back at church for Lads all afternoon.  I got to work with my speech girls.  Following services tonight, we ate with some friends from church and worked on the basement for a little while.  

Friday Fun..

I had a little fun last night and made Hallie a hairbow holder.

I purchased 9 rolls of (3 yd) ribbon, 4 paint colors, a 5 in by 5 in canvas, and a wooden 'h'.  I painted the canvas brown, but messed up so it ended up beige on top with brown sides.  The wooden letter was painted pink, and I made the polka dots on the letter by dipping the end (round, hard end not brush side) into the paint and dabbing it on the letter.  I learned this trick from painting pottery at one of the DIY pottery places a long time ago!  The polka dots are always perfect though.  I free-handed stripes on the sides.  On the top of the canvas, I drew half circles from the middle of each side to the edge to frame the letter.  I was very excited with how it turned out!  I got impatient and wanted it to dry faster so I used the hair dryer on it.  I painted a second coat on before the first coat dried, so that's where the crackled effect came from, but I love it even more. 

I attached a 10 inch piece of ribbon to the back of the canvas with two small nails to work at a hanger at the top.  I then tied my pieces of various ribbon to give it the fullness I wanted at the top.  I cut the various pieces of ribbon about 10 inches long as well.

Here it is without the wooden letter on it.  (Please excuse the towel with paint stains as my backdrop.  I was painting on my dining room table.  Yes, the GOOD dining room table.  Don't tell my Mom, please!)

I still need to add the ribbon that the hairbows will actually clip onto.  The canvas was still wet last night, so I didn't want the ribbons to get into the wet paint on the canvas!  I love the imperfections in it; it makes it look very hand made! 

Thursday's Thoughts...

• I got balloons on December 16 (the day after finding out if we were expecting a Hallie or a Bradford) that said 'It's a girl!', and they are just now beginning to loose helium!  They make me smile every morning when I come into my classroom.
• Thursdays are our typical date night!  Daniel and I try to avoid making plans on Thursday so we can spend the evening together.  It is what gets me through when we are busy or stressed.  I always smile when thinking about Thursday nights.  Tonight we are either going to stay home or go to Red Lobster.  At least that is my pick if we go out to eat!  Edit:  I ended up getting a massage yesterday afternoon.  So, we ate quick dinners on our own and watched the Auburn/Florida basketball game at home.
• My wonderful husband grilled chicken for dinner Tuesday.  He even made enough for lunch yesterday.  I forgot it though, so I have a yummy lunch for today.
• Tomorrow night we are going to celebrate Levi's 6th birthday!  I can't believe how quickly my nieces and nephews are growing up!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I love that I got an extra week off of school due to ice and snow in the area last week.  I hate that we have to make up those days, but I loved spending time at home with the hubby!! Monday I organized my closet and got rid of about 4 garbage bags of clothes.  This is all an effort for Hallie to have her own room without my junk in the way!  The rest of the week was spent sleeping and lounging around.

This is our yard and driveway still iced over on Friday.  The snow moved in on Sunday afternoon.  We didn't leave the house until Thursday.

(Excuse the black box over our car tag.  I blacked it out for safety reasons.)

I am loving that we found out after a special ultrasound for Hallie's heart that everything is great! They thought she might have an arythmatic heart beat, but the top of her heart was just beating extra.  It worked itself out in a matter of four days.  We couldn't be more excited all is well.

I'm loving local consignment shops!!  After the ultra sound, I hit up some local consignment shops in Birmingham.  I found a treasure!! Wee-Peat on Hwy 280 next to Dale's Southern Grill is awesome!! I found a Chico car seat base (where the car seat just clicks in and out) for $18!  They retail for about $85 so I was thrilled with my purchase.

I love the thoughtfulness of my friends!  I got to rummage through the Church Maternity clothes.  We have a collection that is passed around to whoever is currently pregnant.  I found some great sweaters.  I also have more than three pair of pants to wear now!!

I am also loving the great getaway trip we had to Savannah, TN for Evangelism University this past weekend.  The theme was Increase.  Daniel taught a class for Dale Jenkins who had to cancel just a couple weeks before EU.  We went up on Friday night and came home on Sunday.  Our host family, The Hollis', were so gracious and thoughtful!  However, my favorite part of the trip was eating at Bell's and seeing Alex Saturday night!

 

Daniel and I laughing about our struggle on the 3/4 size bed in the room with the grandfather clock!

 Alex and I

 Our wonderful host, Wanda, and her grandson, Cody

24 Weeks...

How far along? 24 weeks

How big is baby? 1 pound 4 ounces (as of our ultrasound yesterday)

Gender? Girl- Hallie Kate

Weight gain? 7 pounds (I lost eight pounds this past summer; so, I'm almost where I was in May 2010.)

Maternity Clothes? I wore them for the first time the Saturday before Christmas.  I now wear them everyday.  I have some awesome friends who loaned me about 7 pair of pants and 10 shirts.  I own three pair of pants and two shirts.  Most of my own sweaters still fit.

What I miss? Sleeping on my tummy, moving things without being told "you better be careful", having the stamina to walk more than 50 feet without huffing and puffing

Symptoms? My stomach feels stretched beyond belief, Low Blood Sugar, Moments of 'If I don't eat now, I will die' (Daniel and I joke about a hungry pregnant monster living in our house when I get these moments because I will literally eat anything in sight!), Waking up at random times during the night  (Possibly preparing to be up at weird times during the night with Hallie?)

Food cravings? Fruit, Water with Lime, Sobe Life Water Yumberry Pomegranate, Poptarts for breakfast, and Kitkats

Sleep? I prefer to sleep on my right side with my left knee supporting the weight of my shoulder.  My stomach doesn't touch the bed this way, but it scares me when I wake up like this.

Movement? Every time they do an ultrasound she kicks the wand, and they also comment on how active she is during the ultrasound.  I don't seem to feel her that much though.  I love the very clear 'thumps' about 5 times a day!  I haven't been able to figure out her sleep schedule, but there will be plenty of time for that when she gets here ;)

What I am looking forward to? Getting her room ready for a crib.  I am a long way from there still though.

Pregnancy moments with Daniel: 

When I loose my temper the following conversation occurs:
Daniel: Are you hungry?
Me: Yes
Daniel: What would you like to eat?
Me: Anything.
Daniel: That's not true.  How about ______?
Me: That's fine.
--Following food entering my body--
Me: I'm sorry.  My blood sugar got low.
Daniel: Its okay, and I knew an hour ago you were hungry.

Best Moment This Week: Everything about yesterday! We had to go for a special ultrasound because there was a little concern with her heart at our last anatomy scan.  However, everything was great yesterday. I have seen her twice in the last five days! I spent the afternoon going to local consignment shops with my Mom yesterday; that was a blast. 

Belly Photo:

Random thought:  Yesterday was the first time she wasn't folded in half during an ultrasound.  She is normally kicking herself in the head.  However, yesterday she was straightened out!  Maybe next time we have an ultrasound we can get an estimatate on how long she is.

What I'm Loving Wednesday...

I loved having lunch with this special lady on Wednesday at Uncle Sam's!

(This picture is old, but the only one I could access from the computer I updated the blog on.)

I'm loving the first outfit I bought for Hallie!! It is a 9M smocked Ornament Dress.

I am most excited about deciding on nursery bedding!! 

(It matches the current wall color and carpet!

So, that meant it got major brownie points with the hubs!)