SNOW AND CHRISTMAS

I woke up this morning all groggy and tired.  As I walked out of the bedroom into our living room to my right our Christmas tree was all lit up and to my left out the living room window SNOW was covering the ground!  What a wonderful start to the day:)!  I love, love, love Christmas trees and the first snow fall every year! 

It reminds me of so many things, but most of all winter is here!  Jason and I are getting to go down to Houston for Christmas and stay for Thursday night - Sunday whenvever we leave. We usually are going at seperate times and he only gets to be around breifly.  Praise God! 

We miss family and can't wait to spend time with them.  It will also be my last trip down before Miss Ava comes.  Craziness!

Well I am about to get ready for work and head that way but wanted to share the BLISS of the morning with anyone who reads my blog!

Nursery Update:  Not much, but Jason worked really hard yesterday and got the room completely torn down, switched the computer over to our TV for space saving, and we packed up the book shelf!  Some progress is better than none;)!

Have a blessed day!

Life After Season AKA Baby Mode and Thanksgiving

Hello all!

 

As I briefly mentioned before, season is over. Ava is going to be here in 8 weeks and 4 days, OH MY! So.. there is a lot to be done in order for us to be ready for sweet girl!

I am still working during the days, etc, but am into full fledge nesting and baby mode! We are getting to excited and we can not wait to meet her!

Here are some things I have done lately to get ready or that are going to be done.....

• Completely degutted and deep cleaned our entire little house
• Need to take down all in second bedroom to have a nursery
• Bought an antique chest that will serve as her changing table-- it is a precious and timeless piece-- I also bought little pink glass knobs for the hardware
• Bought an antique end table
• Both antique pieces need to be sanded and painted antique white to match her crib
• We will be painting her nursery hopefully soon
• Putting her crib together and begin getting the nursery together
• Our birthing and breast feeding classes are coming up
• Jason and I are hoping to go on a 2-3 day get away next Sunday-Tuesday as a mini baby moon

 

Those are a few of the thoughts I am having! I can't wait to be able to take pictures of the completed nursery which will be a while from now, but I will post pics! IT WILL BE ADORABLY PRECIOUS!

 

I have some very dear and loving friends and family members who are willing and planning on being right along side of me to help get it all knocked out! Talan Cobb is going to help me paint/sand the chest. Amanda, Kellen, and Haylee have all volunteered to paint the nursery. Mom and dad left Abilene today with the drawers to the chest and the end table to sand, paint, and fix the hardware! I am truly blessed and SO grateful!

 

Anyhow, Ava is now head down! It is so fun knowing that and her positioning because I can be so much surer of what body part I am feeling as she moves around! My belly is definitely growing and I am beginning to feel like I don't have much room left. In saying that, I am completely aware that I have no idea what the next eight weeks hold!

 

We continue to covet your prayers as we are nearing the end! Prayers for a continued healthy pregnancy, uncomplicated and swift delivery, and sweet Ava's health and development!

 

 

Thanksgiving....

 

We headed to Temple Wednesday night for a short trip to be with Jason's side of the family for thanksgiving! It was so fun to see everyone and catch up for the brief time we had. An additional blessing I wasn't counting on was that my parents were headed to Seymour for Thanksgiving with dad's family and I was able to spend the afternoon with them Wednesday until we left. Then they got back to our house last night late and we had all day together today until about 4! It was so fun to hang out and do LOTS OF BABY SHOPPING for the furniture and randomness!!

 

 

Below are pics from Thanksgiving with J's family and belly pics for 31ish weeks:) Enjoy!

Jason and I hanging around after Thanksgiving Meal!

Cousin Launa, Myself, and her youngest Alex!

The lighting is kinda off in this one-- but above are my two best attempts for 31 week belly pics at this point:)

Jason and I at end of the night right before we left Janice's:)

 

Video Camera Advice...

To any and all out there reading this blog, we welcome the advice!

Jason and I are trying to research and look into video camera's to buy before Miss Ava gets here.  We would like to get a good quality camera but for a reasonable price.  Good value for the money, you know:)  I would like one that we could download the videos to the computer but also possibly that does mini DVD's or something that we could have for long term storage that would play on the TV.  Who knows, some video cameras, might just plug straight into the TV with the cable and play but then what once you export that film to the computer? 

Anyhow, there are so many young moms out there in our circle of blogging, I figured you might have some opinions!  Especially if you have hubbies that are techie type men! 

Holla at us PLEASE!  Thanks:)

Baby Shower #2/Abilene Shower....

Not this past Sunday but the Sunday prior some very dear friends of mine threw a baby shower for us here in town! It was so sweet! It was decorated nicely, once again there was delicious food, and more than any of it tons of family and friends were there to support Jason, Ava, and I! It was really FUN!

All the hostesses!

Many of my friends here in town are young mommies, if not majority of them! At the shower all but one of them brought their little bundles of joy along! As I have mentioned before, bundles of joy in Abilene have only been little girls for a while, at least in my circle. Talan (1 little girl), Kellen (1 little girl), Amanda (2 little girls), Brek (her girl), Melissa (newborn little girl), Karen (newborn little girl), and Sarah (newborn little girl) all came to support me and show Ava how excited they are for a new friend! We took a picture of the ones that were there at the very beginning which is posted below but more than that were present! It was SO FUN!

A few of the little girls that were present!

Several of my other friends who are not yet mommies were there as well and we all had a grand ole' time:)

Four of my players showed up for the shower, which was precious! They were so excited for me to open their gift! When I did, I found BUTTPASTE AND PICKLES, LOL!! It was priceless! They thought they were hilarious for buying me buttpaste and they are very aware of my obsession with pickles. There was also a blanket in there as well but they never remember that was part of the gift! Funny girls!

The pickles and buttpaste!

The players that gave the priceless gift!

At one point we took a picture of Kellen, Amanda, Amber, Brek, and I! Kellen, Amanda, and I all played for Brek at ACU and Amber was our trainer and is our co-worker now! Kellen is holding her daughter, Amanda is holding one of hers while Amber is holding her other, Brek is holding hers, and I am holding my belly/Ava:) It is pretty special that we are all still here and starting our families!

The group with the kiddos!

I also had several family members come! My mom and dad came up for the weekend so Mom could go to the shower! I was SO excited to have her here to meet the few people she still hadn't met and be enmeshed in my life here for a day! Bethany drove from Austin just to attend the shower since she did not make the First Colony Shower, -- PRECIOUS! Kayla and Aunt Vicki drove from Lubbock on their weekend together since Kayla didn't get to make the First Colony Shower either-- PRECIOUS AGAIN! My grandmother drove in from Seymour to come to the shower and came with my Aunt Janet, Cousin Tanya, and her daughter Summer! Thank you guys for thinking of me and making the special effort:)!! Love you!

My Mom and I!!

Also, Amber, one of the hostesses, a good friend, etc... made a diaper cake!  It was awesome, so CUTE!

Thanks Brr!  If you look really closely you will see the ribbons around the diapers

have Ava Reese on them:)

Finally, we were amazed at the hostesses’ generosity, all young married women and they got Ava's crib as their hostess gift! Unbelievable!!


Beyond that we were showered with many gifts. We once again were abundantly blessed by the graciousness poured out over us!

It was such a great day, I was very TOUCHED!


P.S. -- sorry the pics are small, for some reason they wouldn't go larger!





Anyhow, beyond that...

1. Season has now ended. It should not be over but we were unjustly left out of regionals! The girls on my team are crushed and rightfully so! They had an extremely successful season that ended to soon. Please pray for their spirits over the next several weeks.


2. Since season is now over, Jason and I have 10 weeks to get ready for Baby AVA!!! I can't believe it is so soon! We have a lot to do, so please pray we will be efficient and enjoy every minute of preparation!:)


3. I have not seen Jason's side of the family besides Mamma J since I have been pregnant! We go down there for Thanksgiving and I am so pumped to see them!!

4. I know I am overdue on posting belly pics and I will try to get those up here in the near future!

I will finally end this long winded post! Goodnight!

Baby Shower for Miss Ava....

I know this post is a little delayed, but I am finally in town and had a few hours to myself:)!!

Last Sunday, dear friends of mine from my home church threw Jason, Ava, and I a baby shower! It was the most precious shower ever. They thought of the sweetest details to decorate with and made delicious food! Most importantly it was EVIDENT that all the effort put into the day was an out pouring of their love for our family. We were truly blessed by the day and are continually blessed by all those family and friends back home who pray for and over Jason, I, and now baby Ava continually!

All of you reading know who you are and you are a huge support system for our family. Thank you! We are so blessed by each and everyone one of you!

It was so fun to see everyone, catch up, hang out, have a time of blessing, open the cutest little girl gifts, and be showered with all the graciousness!

It was a perfect day! Thank you all who were part of making the day so special for us! God reigned down blessings of many kinds through you:).

Here are some pictures below that capture the fellowship, people, decorations, and gifts! ENJOY!!

Front Door Decor

Sign In Table

Food Table with PRECIOUS Decor

Two of my favorite lullaby type songs

First arriving and talking with Courtney, Mary Beth, Aunt Cheryl, and Lynn

Jenny blessing Jason, Ava, and I-- sweet time

Opening my bedding from mom and dad!  Love It!!  Shelley my cousin was like a little kid at Christmas when she saw the bedding. She was in love as well!

Receiving my last gift- the travel system from the hostessses, so GRACIOUS!

Three women who have loved and prayed for me my whole life, who were a big part of the shower!!:)

Pumpkin Carving:)

Hello All!  Well, Jason and I went over to a good couple friend's house, Amber and Jon, last night for dinner and a pumpkin carving party.  We are all very proud of how our pumkins turned out!  We had lots of fun and enjoyed an incredible, cool Abilene night on their back porch and carved away! 

This was the first time Jason and I carved pumkins together and we had a grand old time:)  We also carved a baby pumpkin for Miss Ava!  It is so cute!  We could not leave her out:)   

We saved the pumpkin seeds, rinsed them off and then baked them, YUMMY!  So much better than store bought pumpkin seeds in bulk!  

Anyhow, enjoy the pics below! 

Jason and I gutting our pumpkins!

Lindsey's finished project:)

Jason's fun little guy and finished project!

Mine and Jason's pumpkin, along with Miss Ava's!  Family pumpkins:)

Jon and Amber's pumpkins.  His is a cool Yoda:) 

Amber and I as the festivities are coming to an end!

Pic of J-dawg and myself.  I was tired, you can tell and see my allergy eyes!  I guess carving pumpkins is hard work:)

Last but not least, the Weems family portrait. (even their dog Millie stuck her head in the pic:))!!

 Beyond our pumpkin carving, a few random thoughts....

• we serve an INCREDIBLE GOD!
• my team has gone through some tough times lately, please cover them in prayer
• my FCCofC shower is this weekend!!!!! so excited to see everyone!!!!!!!!:)
• Josiah, my nephew is one years old, I am sure Jamie will post a party update soon
• Jason and I continue to grow closer and more in love every day, MARRIAGE IS AWESOME!
• my belly is continuing to grow and they say from here forward to expect 1/2 an inch a week, are you kidding me?
• Ava is expected to be here in 14 weeks, that seems like no time at all
• I miss my family a lot.  A special shout out to missing B and K today! 
• excited to see the Richardson's at thanksgiving
• I am tired and am now off to rest! 

Have a WONDERFUL EVENING!

P.S. When I was running earlier, I was listening to my I-POD to a Christian song with lyrics that state, " I beg for you to move, I beg for you to move, I beg for you to break through....."
There are many situations in my life right now indirectly with those surrounding me whom I love and care about where this is exactly what God needs to do and they need to allow to happen.  So if you don't mind generally lifting that up for those in my  life and around me, I would greatly appreciate it! 

Ava Updates and More.....

Well I know I am a horrible blog updater! I do apologize but such is life:)

Ava is doing wonderful:) She is moving all the time now! I am constantly feeling her. It is sooo much fun and such a neat gift! Jason, my parents, my sister, the team, and a few more have had the privilege of feeling her move as well.

Ava LOVES the sound of her daddy's voice! She kicks and moves when she hears it often! When I was at home for a short trip in Houston my dad had just felt Ava move for a minute, but then she began to slow down. So... I called Jason, put the phone to my belly on speaker and had him talk to her. Sure enough, sweet little girl, starting bouncing around! So precious!

I am currently 24 weeks and 5 days prego leaving 15 weeks and 2 days until we will hopefully be graced with Ava's presence! Ava is about the size of an eggplant, weighing approximately 1.7 pounds and 13 or so inches long! Her lungs are still in important development stages, capillaries are forming closer to the skin which is starting to shade it more pink, and so much more!!! Along with her development comes the growing of my belly and IT IS GROWING! Reference the pictures below:)

Belly Pic #1!

Belly Pic #2!

We have now registered for all her things and it was so much fun! The actual time I spent at the stores was almost surreal! However, since then it has become more of a reality!

It has been so FUN to watch Jason in this time! His excitement has been pretty uncontainable since day one but somehow still increases with each passing day! He can't wait to be a daddy and meet baby girl! He is going to be such a wonderful Father.

On another note....

Jamie, Jay, and Josiah came for a short but wonderful visit this past weekend, IT WAS AWESOME! We love them so much and have such a neat, easy relationship with them! So sad that we don't see them more, but it sure encourages us to soak up every opportunity we get to be with them!

We hung out at the house some of Thursday evening after they got here about 9:30, all of Friday morning (minus Jason) and Friday evening! Saturday I was fortunate to have a little time with them before I headed to the gym for our match, the reason Jamie and Jay came into town, to see me coach! It was short but Jason and I feel like we were really able to spend some quality time with them.

Now about little Jo-Man....

THE MOST PRECIOUS LITTLE GUY IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! We hadn't seen him for right at two months and he has changed and grown up a ton!

- Walking and running all over the place

- 6 teeth, cutest little grin

- Saying more words

- Cackling all the time

- Singing and Dancing

It was just amazing. He is precious and absolutely FULL OF ZEAL FOR LIFE! SO HAPPY!!

He also was completely partial to Jason, which was utterly adorable and maddening all at the same time! He was so sweet to me and loved on me, but nothing quite like he was with Uncle JJ! However, the minute he saw Jason come out of our room in the morning or get home from work he would sprint to him with his arms outstretched ready to be picked up. Then when Jason would need to leave for work or put him down without him asking, he would fuss and cry until Jason would pick him up again! He really wanted to be spending time with Uncle JJ!! Precious!

Cuddling with Dad while watching a video

Play time with Uncle JJ before work!

Thanks Blackburn Family for making the long driving but short trip to come make our DAY!! 

Last but not least, I miss my SIPPER!  Here are a few pics from Jamie and I's random photo shoots throughout the weekend! Team members and parents thought we had to be twins, weird!

I love you sista'! 

Seeing how long this post has already become, I will save more for hopefully a quick post later in the week.

I will request prayer though for myself. I am having a hard time with our season schedule to be as disciplined in my eating and workouts as I need to and would like to be! I desire to be healthier for Ava and myself, so please pray for my motivation and discipline and LACK OF EXCUSES!!

Thanks for the prayers and loving me enough to read this far in the post if you are still with me. I hope you enjoyed all the pics!