Sick Again...

As I type, it is almost 10 am, it is snowy and cold outside and Emaline and I are laying in my bed, in our pajamas. I am typing on the laptop and Emmy is playing on her little Leapfrog letter thing she got for Christmas. It's a cozy morning, which is nice, since I have an awful sinus cold. If you've seen the movie, You've Got Mail, I am living the scene where Meg Ryan's character is sick in bed and when Tom Hanks come to visit she roams all over the house picking up used Kleenex. I might actually go through two Kleenex boxes today. Not fun.

So while I am sick and getting nothing done, I wanted to share a few of the crafty things that are on my list to get done before the baby arrives:

Hanging Book shelf via Lori Danelle
Tutorial found on her blog:
http://loridanelle.blogspot.com/2010/09/diy-hanging-book-shelf.html

I already have all the materials on hand, minus the dowel rod. This is a top priority on my craft list. I plan to make two for our back room which doubles as my craft area and play room. I most likely won't add the pennant banner, though.


Flower pin via Jones Company Design
Tutorial found here:
http://jonesdesigncompany.com/tutorial/flower-pin-tutorial/
I really want to make this pin before we leave for the family reunion( on Andrew's side), next week. We are going to do family pictures and our family's color is navy. Which I am happy to say that I have found shirts for both Emmy and I since we did not have a single navy option. I was able to borrow a few maternity shirts from a friend at church( all of which are super cute, comfy and I feel good wearing them....important things at this stage of the game). Navy is not an easy color to find for little girls, however, I did find one at a local thrift store for a $1, in perfect condition and it is actually a girl's shirt, the pleated/slightly puffed sleeves are a cute detail. Needless to say, I want to dress it up a bit more, so I am going to add a little flower pin or two. I might even make one for myself while I'm at it. Again, I have all the materials on hand, minus the actual pin.

I also wanted to draw attention to a new blog that I am following. It is my friend's( Hi Poot!) brother-in-law's blog. I know that I have shared a few of his comedy bits and stand-up on the blog, email and facebook. He and his wife are currently in Kenya with IJM. The blog is funny, sobering and encouraging all at the same time. And trust me, it is TOTALLY worth your time to read all the way back to the beginning.
Here is his blog:
http://www.johnramseycomedy.com/

So that is all I have you today. I will try to get more pictures up later this week. Emmy's big girl room is essentially done, the pictures have been taken so I plan to devote an entire post showcasing all the fun details( I am SUPER pleased with how it turned out). I also have a baby bump picture to post and my "inspiration board" for the baby's room. Not sure if it will get done before we leave, but I will try.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!
This has been a great Christmas season. It has been so fun to teach Emaline what Christmas is about and the cool part is that she kind of gets it. Today I told her that Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of Jesus and she very excitedly exclaimed, "Yeah Jesus!". It's so sweet. She also has learned to say Merry Christmas....so fun.

But that is all I really have time to write. I have been working like crazy this week, doing chores, baking, cooking, running errands, chasing a 2 year old, growing another life.....I am ready for a very relaxed morning tomorrow. Looking forward to the much needed quality family time the morning will bring.

Much love to you all!!!!!

Merry Christmas and a baby bump picture.

*I posted earlier today as well, be sure to scroll down to see Emmy's birthday pictures*

Our church had their annual ladies tea last weekend. I co-hosted a table with my friend Kelly. Part of the hostess' job is to decorate the table. And here is what I came up with. The tea was a lot of fun,plus I was able to meet a few new people from church. There was a speaker, a gal from church, who shared her and her family's conversion story, which is always really awesome to hear (think back to conversion stories from Acts) And even better, a girl at my table wants to recommit her life to the Lord! Needless to say I am looking forward to doing it again next year.

My two Christmas elves.

24 Weeks Pregnant:
The baby has been pretty active, moving and jumping around...which is always pretty neat. I am still feeling good. This has really been a very easy pregnancy and other than a little bit of indigestion every now and then, I really can't complain. Other than keeping up with my very busy 2 year old, I have been cleaning and organizing the kids rooms. I have just a little more to do in Emmy's big girl room and then I can focus all my attention, energy and inspiration on the baby's room. We will be keeping the colors and bedding the same, but will of course, be adding more masculine colors, like navy and blue. I'll post pictures of both rooms once they are completed.

Watch what you say -- baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop.

Emaline Turns Two!

Emaline on her birthday about to go to church. She has worn purple on her birthday last year and the day we brought her home from the hospital, so I thought this outfit was appropriate. Emmy loved it too, until we had to put her coat on to leave for church, to which she started crying and trying to take the tutu off. For some reason, she just didn't like it anymore, so we threw a dress on her and were on our way.

Emaline opening up a present after breakfast. We started a tradition last year of getting her an ornament that coordinates with her birthday party. Last year it was snowflakes, this year was cupcakes. So she got a cute little cupcake ornament.

We had a small little party for her on Tuesday. Here is her cupcake tower.

Opening presents this year has been for Emmy. She actually gets what it is about and is very excited to tear off the wrapping paper or unpack the tissue.

I think she enjoyed the cupcake. And yes, her shirt has cupcakes on it....so did her jeans (thanks Nani!)
Our little cupcake is TWO!!
She has been a joy and delight to us and we are beyond blessed and honored to be her parents.
And she is awake from her nap, so I have to go. More posts to come, baby update and Christmas decor.

Our Jumping Bean

Here's a cute little video of our little one. Leave a comment.

A catch up....

I was going to blog today, but then I realized that I didn't have any recent photos. So I decided to post a few old ones...old being from July.

Emaline and Nolan at the Children's Museum in Indy

Emaline at the pool

Emaline in the corn fields. I really wanted to get a cute little picture of Emmy in a sundress and her cowgirl boots, but she didn't like it at all. I think that she didn't like the corn and her boots were maybe a bit snug....needless to say this was the best picture that Michael got. AND I love it.

And just to catch everyone up on our latest news:
Andrew: He turned in his application for seminary on Monday. The seminary is in Phoenix, so if he gets in he would take his classes on Monday and commute to class each week. He is still doing construction. The crew has moved to House Flip #2. Here is a link to House Flip #1: http://northernarizonamls.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Northernaz&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=I9xUF6hi%2BAmcF%2B8gU%2BqONsPu1VYIrzuX7%2FBbI922R4E%3D&KeyRid=1&Include_Search_Criteria=
Please pray that House #1 sells quickly and for a good price.
Emaline: She is doing great. She will be two on December 5th. She loves to jump and color. She knows most of her colors and has recently added pink and green to her vocabulary. She loves letters, her favorite being O, J, W, G and Q. And she knows what sound they make, as well as H, T, S, E and D. We have retired her booster seat, since she usually wants to sit in a big girl chair. We have also started the process of potty training. It's going well, but we are still in the introductory stage of it all. I think we have gotten Emaline past the fear of the potty. I am also still working on her "Big Girl" room. I am at the point of adding the decorative details. The plan is to move Emmy into the room about 8 weeks prior to Baby #2's arrival...so mid February.
Me and Baby #2: We are both doing well. I continue to feel well. I'm tired at times, but I don't credit that to the Baby, just life! I had a doctor's visit yesterday. My due date has been changed to March 27th. The reason being is that my first ultrasound showed me a week earlier than the the charts indicated. My last ultrasound showed me due on March 3oth, which is still in the same week range. I don't know if they will adjust the date again, but as of yesterday I am due on the 27th. I have also started the process of decking the halls for Christmas. Which I am really excited to do since this is our first official Christmas, since before Emmy and in our new home, where we are actually getting a tree and decorating. I am also hosting a table at our church's women's holiday tea the first Saturday in December. Needless to say, I have been pretty busy!

More Pictures from our July Indiana trip uploaded to Facebook or click the link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=207238&id=540981113&l=94b8337a5c

Mo Boons and the Glow

Since I did most of the explaining in my previous post, I will let the pictures speak for themselves. Enjoy!

Hot Air Balloon Regatta, Page AZ

This past weekend we had the privilege of going to the annual Hot Air Balloon Regatta in Page, AZ (2 hours north of Flag). Our friends, Jesse and Kelly, invited us to go with them. We stayed with them at Jesse's parents house and had a GREAT time. His family was so sweet and kind...his Grandma was also visiting and we had a hoot with her. Boy did she just eat Emaline up. ( Side note: Grandma Verna is, I believe, first cousins with Dr. Ernie Stuery. Which if you haven't read, Miracle At Tenwick....READ IT. I only got to chat with her for a little bit about it, but it was still pretty neat, and I hope we get to see her again. She has so many great stories!)

The balloon behind us was called Moonshine

We got up early Saturday morning to see the balloons take off and happened to meet a pilot who needed volunteers to be his crew, so we all said YES! And the plus side that he said that he would take 2 people up for the ride. Kelly and I were going to go up, but when I told Thayne (pilot) and Mona (his wife) that I was preggo, they said I couldn't go. Not that it wouldn't be safe, but on the off chance they had a rough landing, it would be better to not go up. I was bummed, but also totally understand. So Andrew went up instead. It was still fun to be on the ground with Jesse, his mom and grandma and Mona as the chase crew to go pick them up wherever they landed.

Emaline liked the balloons, kind of. They are really loud when they are getting set up, first with the giant fans to fill them with air and then with the propane tanks to heat the air, which really scared her. If we got too close she would beg me to pick her up and bury her head in my neck. She kept yelling "boon!" And then she would yell whatever colors she saw that she knew, mainly yellow, blue and white, all from a very safe distance away. Once they were airborne, she was much more excited.

Unpacking the balloon. It is technically called the "Envelope".

Holding the envelope open for the fan to fill it with air.

This might give you an idea of how big the balloon is.

They look like yummy gumdrops in the sky! SO magical!

Andrew getting ready to take off. Emaline did not like being this close to the balloon. I don't think she understood what it was. She was holding on to me like her life depended on it and would not let me put her down. We all got in the basket to take a picture and Emmy went into near hysterics.....until she saw a dog painted on the balloon trailer...then she was fine.

As they were taking off, Emmy and I ran along the basket and we both gave Andrew a high five as he sailed off to OZ. Emmy of course blew kisses and waved. And from that moment on, whenever she saw a balloon she would say "Boon, Papa, Boon!" And when we could no longer see the balloons she would yell "Mo(more), boon!"

After the balloon took off, we got in our cars and drove to a mesa to watch the rest of the balloons, until we got a call saying they were about to land and back in our cars we got and sped away to pick them up and pack them up. After everything was loaded up in their trailer, Thayne and Mona, broke out champagne(and juice) as is tradition for pilots and crew. It was so fun to be so involved in the event. Saturday night was The Glow. The city shuts down Main Street and about 22 of the balloons set up and light up their balloons. They would coordinate a show of sorts and "twinkle" the whole line of balloons. It was unbelievable. I took some pictures, but they turned out so poorly that I will wait until Kelly sends me hers.
We were invited to help crew for them the next day (Sunday/today) as well. The winds weren't as cooperative, so the ride was much shorter (Jesse got to go up this time). After everything was all packed, we said goodbye to our new friends, who gladly invited us to crew for them next year. Which we are planning on going to again, especially since they said I could go up!

So more pictures from the Glow to follow.

Emaline's Surprise Photo Shoot

Click the link to see a fun photo shoot my friend had with Emaline while Andrew and I were on a date. We didn't know she was going to do this and were so surprised and thrilled to see what she captured.

www.photohibbs.com/Shop

Just type in your email address and Johnson is the password.

The Big Announcement!

Baby # 2 will be a little BOY!!!!!!!
Not that y'all didn't already know that since it was posted on Facebook, but I had to at least put a blog post about it.

We are super thrilled and can't wait to meet the little guy. It is odd to say "little boy" since for the last 2 years it has been "little girl" around the house. But bring on the blue, mud, dirt and bugs!

****Be sure to check out the other post below*****

Pumpkin Carving

Our family has chosen not to participate in the tradition of Halloween. BUT, we do carve pumpkins. We started this 3 years ago when I was pregnant with Emaline and some of our dear friends invited us over for cider and pumpkin carving. There were five of us back then(this year we doubled the size) and we had a great time. So we have done it every year since.

Emaline likes pumpkins and will usually try to give them a hug. She was especially intrigued by the gutting and cleaning of the pumpkin.


I cleaned and gutted the pumpkin and then Andrew carved the design. He chose a pumpkin getting hit in the head by a disc. Emaline also helped decorate the pumpkin by drawing on it with colored pencils. It now sits on our front porch and she laughs at it every time we leave or come home.

And this is an older video that I forgot to post, it's a bit longer: