27 Weeks & other stuff :)

Prepare yourselves. I have a lot going on. :)

First things first - We're closing on our house this week. It was supposed to be today, but then someone (literally someone, I'm not sure who) remembered it's Good Friday and rescheduled. yesterday. whatever. I'm ok with that. :)

I'm so excited/nervous/stressed/overwhelmed/freaking out about moving, but I am sooooo ready. I'm able to slowly move since we have nearly the entire month of April before we have to be out of our townhouse. I'm really thankful for that. God's working out the details... :)

First thing on my moving list is to move allllll the storage bins that were/are in our attic (that I've gone through and organized/cleaned out) to the unfinished part of the our basement. WOOHOO! Then? Clean. I need to clean the entire house. Thankfully I have an amazing mother in law who is willing to come help. I'm also hoping to talk some of my College Life girls into spending sometime painting. (I'll provide pizza & snacks!!!) Then.... Paint... I need to paint. I am painting the living room a gray color. Meredith wants a purple wall and she's getting a purple wall. Nothing in her bedding is purple and that's ok. :) She's also getting a chalkboard wall. She doesn't know about that yet. lol

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It snowed. on March 24th. We got 6.5". Ughhhh. Meredith & Billy made her first full size snowman though!!! :)

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Meredith & I made peanut butter Easter eggs today. It's becoming sort of a tradition. It was messy, but soooo worth it! :)

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Speaking of eggs - We were egged yesterday. Not in a bad way though. :) There was a sign on our door telling us we'd been egged and that there were 12 eggs in our yard... It continued to tell the best part "Don't be discouraged when you find the eggs are empty. It's a simple reminder of Jesus' empty tomb! He is Risen!"  Meredith had a blast finding the eggs that Ty & the rest of the Spaulding clan left for us... and I had fun explaining what the note meant. It was nap time then.. but I thought "Why not make a memory?!" So we quickly made some signs for our friends doors, and ran out the door to go to Target to get the eggs. We were only able to "egg" two houses yesterday because of the time, but we have big plans for tomorrow morning. :)

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Soccer last Saturday was rather interesting. hahaha. Billy was out of town so Meredith was already out of sorts. She'd been sick earlier in the week and decided that she was going to have a minor melt down once we arrived at the YMCA for soccer. THANKFULLY Ashley arrived and saved the day. Meredith was just as happy to sit with her and eventually explained to Ashley that the reason she didn't want to play was because she had a baby growing in her belly - OH GOSH... lol!! She eventually warmed up and played... this included kicking an out of bounds ball back in (we won't discuss that it was in the wrong direction, lol) followed by getting a non-game ball to kick in the net (she's convinced she scored a goal!) :) I'm pretty sure nearly every kid on the team cried at least once and it ended up being one of the funniest hours of my life. lol. She got to play with her buddy Ty, and then, the best part (according to her), had a snack after it was over! :) The kid was so happy about her cheez-its and fruit snack, lol. Here's hoping this week's game is a little smoother.

the meltdown :)

Meredith & Ty chowing down - their favorite part! :)

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Meredith's had hair cuts before, but they were always minimal and she still had long hair when it was over. But... Wednesday morning we went to Ms. Sarah's house, and got her first TRUE hair cut. I'm not sure how much was cut off, but my girl looks sooooo grown up now. She loves it and was super excited to get it cut... and so was I, lol.

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Finally... my 27 week update! :) Please ignore the extreme tired look. It had been a really long day, lol.

How far along? 27 weeks, 4 days.
Total weight gain/loss: 10 lbs. ((Are you happy Megan!?!?))
Maternity clothes? If they weren't so expensive I'd own a TON! lol I'm loving leggings though :)
Stretch marks? No (please)
Sleep: It takes me awhile to get comfortable but once I am... I snooze :)
Best moment this week: Meredith feeling the baby kick & deciding on baby's nursery bedding.
Miss Anything? Sleeping on my belly... 
Movement: Definitely. And it's starting to hurt a little, lol.
Food cravings: Jellybeans! 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really...
Have you started to show yet: Yes.
Gender: Stilllllllllllll a boy!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Stressed out but that's because of the house, not baby. :)
Looking forward to: Moving :)

Soccer Mom :)

Well... Meredith's all signed up for TOTS Soccer at the YMCA! :) But when I went in to pay for it I talked to the director (I was just asking questions since he was standing right there, lol) and he asked [randomly] if Billy [he referred to him as my husband... he doesn't know him :)] would be interested in assistant coaching... I laughed and said he used to coach baseball at Liberty and I figured he would, but I would double check to be sure... and... what do ya know!? Billy left the world of coaching college baseball to become a soccer coach for 3 & 4 year olds!!!! hahahaha! I am LOVING it and and super excited to see him out there helping Meredith and her new buddies! Landon [the director guy] laughed and said that he also needed a t-ball coach for May & June for Meredith's age. I told Billy and he signed up for both. So... here we are in a totally new stage of life. Billy's a kids coach and I'm officially a soccer mom.

I'm not complaining. My heart is full. 

24 weeks. :)

I'm late again. I'm already 25 weeks, but I truly did make the chalkboard AND take a picture while I was in my 24th week... I just haven't had a chance to post it. But I'm excused because we're buying a house/packing up a house/substitute teaching/traveling to visit friends and family/living a crazy life... right? :) Let's just hope that I do a week 25 post lol. It may not happen. Just a heads up.

How far along? 24 weeks, 5 days
Total weight gain/loss: 8 lbs. Yea. I only gained 10 lbs with Meredith so this 8 lb stuff at 24 weeks is throwing me for a loop. For real.
Maternity clothes? If they weren't so expensive I'd own a TON! lol
Stretch marks? No (please)
Sleep: It takes me awhile to get comfortable but once I am... I snooze :)
Best moment this week: I saw baby boy again :) The ultrasound was a lot of fun.
Miss Anything? Sleeping on my belly... 
Movement: Definitely. And it's starting to hurt a little, lol.
Food cravings: CAKE!!!!!!!!!!!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Have you started to show yet: Yes.
Gender: Stilllllllllllll a boy!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Stressed out but that's because of the house, not baby. :)
Looking forward to: Seeing Sam & Oscar & Liana! :) :) :) 


On that note... We had a kid free night  Saturday night. Sharon & Billy took Meredith back to Richmond with them on Saturday evening and Billy & I were able to go out and stay out without calculating how much we'd owe a babysitter. That's the toughest part. We have very little extra money to spend on a sitter (plus now that our church isn't paying for a sitter for small group nights we pay $20 every Monday... which is so worth it, because we love Morgan and we love our group, but it adds up) ANYWAY.... we go to dinner and spend $30/40 and then we owe a sitter... so we usually don't do anything else, lol. But Saturday was different and we enjoyed ourselves. Sunday we were late to church...and we didn't have Meredith as our excuse. Oops. We saw a movie Sunday afternoon and then drove to Richmond to cuddle our doodle bug and meet Oscar & Liana (Sam too, lol). We spent time at their house Sunday night... and on Monday morning we went back to their house to spend some more time with them before we left. That time we took Meredith. We got back to Lynchburg late Monday afternoon... just in time for a crazy busy week. :) That's ok though - we are thankful for helpful family & wonderful friends. 

Homeowners. I think. :)

Ladies and Gentlemen. Billy & I serve a God that is bigger than any worries, plans, frustrations, and concerns that we have. We serve a God who cares about our petty problems and who loves us in spite of our doubts. Most importantly we serve a God who provides all of our needs. I realize that I need to stop wanting more and be thankful for what I have. We have a nice town home... and while we're out growing it by leaps and bounds, it's roomy and warm, and clean, and we have great neighbors. If we stay here we'll survive. It doesn't seem fun right now, but it's doable and possible and we'll be just fine. If we move, well then... this mama will be elated.

Elated is what I am. :) Because at 11 this morning I received a phone call from my handsome husband that told me we got the house. The seller is hooking us up to city sewage and paying for all of it. We are getting the house on Richland drive that we've been stressing over for the past 3 weeks. I'm a ball of emotions... from scared, to happy, to thrilled, to nervous, to anxious... but all of these emotions are expected and welcomed, and the biggest of all is thankfulness.

I'm thankful that God is allowing us to move before the baby is born. I'm thankful for my husband's job. I'm thankful for an awesome realtor who has supported us and helped up this whole time. I'm thankful for all the prayers offered up for us. I'm thankful for all of our friends who listened to us me whine and complain and stress out. I'm thankful for our parents who offered their insight and suggestions. I'm thankful for a sister who took 79 pictures of the house from all different angles to help me in my decision making process. I'm thankful for my loving husband who has tried so hard to take a lot of the stress and worries off of me during this process. I'm thankful for friends and family who are willing to help us pack and move in the upcoming coming weeks. I'm thankful for the advice and wisdom shared when I thought we'd lost the house. I'm. Just. Thankful.

There's still a lot that could happen I guess. Finances have to work out. We have to get all the documents and what not for the loan... that has to be approved and go through. I mean... there's still a lot that could happen. But I'm going to remember one important thing. Our God is there to love and hold us and support us... and Billy & I truly do want HIS will for our lives... small and big things included in that... and we will continue praying that God be in this process the whole way... If this is not where he wants us then we want the door to be shut. I'm serious about that. ((Hold me to it ok?))

SO. We're almost homeowners. We're almost about to embark on the 2nd biggest journey of our lives, lol. We're about to do what everyone else has done, lol, but for us it's the first time. Pray for us... and Pray for Meredith. She has a lot of adjusting to do over the next few months. :) :) :)

WE GOT THE HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY WORD!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :)

Living room again looking at front door & towards kitchen. 

Living Room... don't you love M's baby doll on the floor, lol. :) 

Kitchen looking toward LR & Hallway

Kitchen counters

Kitchen again. The door way leads in to our "bonus" room which will be our entry way/dining room. 

Basement, finished side. We are going to fully finish this in 6-9 months, Lord willing. 

Basement, unfinished side. 

House Update & Happy Birthday!

Well ladies and gentlemen... we have been up and down with this house and got the dreaded news this morning. Yuck Bluck as my Granny Gardner would say. :( Here's the deal.

Offered. Countered. Accepted. WOOHOO!
Inspection...eh. Not great not horrible. Present concerns to seller. He fixed the majority. WOOHOO!
Our main concern (because it's a really old house that's been renovated/updated and hasn't been lived in in nearly 2 years) was the septic tank/drain field. Ask seller to have this checked. He agreed to the very basic inspection, but not the one with cameras that would give us clear insight into the condition of both the tank and field. We went back and forth on walking or paying to have it done, but in the end, we liked the house so much that we thought we should go ahead and fork over the money (Supposedly $225) and have it done. If the drain field had been bad it would've been a $20,000 repair. Um. No thanks. So... it was done this morning at 8:30 (my birthday morning... sigh). No good news came of it.

Basically the pipe that runs from the septic tank to the distribution box/drain field was unable to be looked at because it was so filled up with mud. They couldn't get their cameras in there to even figure out everything that was wrong. They also charged us $370 instead of $225 because of all the extra drilling they had to do. UGH. Happy Birthday to me huh? So... we gave the information to our realtor who will pass it along to the seller and his realtor and we will see if the seller is interested in fixing it. If he isn't, which we highly doubt he will because he's a scrooge (according to the realtors, lol)... well we will be back at square 1. literally. And have I mentioned that baby boy is due in 16 weeks??? I'm trying to stay positive and not let this ruin my day/week/month but it's tough. Hence the reason I'm writing this. I don't want to have to tell all my friends and family over and over today and tomorrow etc. I just know it will bum me out even more the more I explain it.

Now... we ALMOST didn't have the inspection done. Everyone said we were possibly worrying tooooo much and that drain fields etc are almost never bad and yadda yadda, but BOY am I glad we "over reacted" and got this done or we'd be screwed. Thank you Lord for giving us insight and wisdom and parents who are overly thorough with things, lol. I say that with a smile, but I'm serious. I'm very thankful we listened to the wise words of Billy's parents and our home inspector and had it checked out. Praise the Lord for helping us not get in financial trouble... but if anyone wants to write us a check for $370 to cover the cost of this inspection, feel free. :) I'm pretty sure we're back to using credit cards for the rest of the month since we are officially broke as a joke.

So now... we wait? I guess. lol We are waiting to hear back from the seller to see if he's going to fix it. If not... we search... for something else... in our price range... without a lot of updates... which is easier said than done! :) But... something I have known for years and that I truly believe despite my constant worrying...

God is in control. His will and plans are bigger and better than our own...and He will take care of us and our beautiful little family! ((Can someone remind me of this when I start boohooing over the fact that we aren't finding anything and baby will be here etc. etc.?! I'm almost 100% guaranteeing that's going to happen...)) "I belittle the God of the universe by worrying about things He already has under control..."

Thanks for listening. Pray for us. xo,
K

23 Weeks!

Oops! :) I skipped a few weeks. To be honest I made a chalkboard for 22 weeks but kept forgetting to take the picture. I redid the board for 23 weeks and remembered in the nick of time - 23 weeks 5 days, lol.

How far along? 23 weeks, 5 days
Total weight gain/loss: 7 lbs. - yikes! 
Maternity clothes? Not really, but I'd be happy to welcome some cute items at this point. My jeans fit, but I'm carrying baby boy so low that they are really uncomfortable when I sit down. :(
Stretch marks? No (please)
Sleep: Still sleeping through the night :)
Best moment this week: 1) I got 2 more pairs of leggings 2) My mom & sis came and felt baby move :) 3) I got to go shopping with Mom & Kate on Saturday while Billy kept Meredith at the house. Kid free shopping is amazing. OH! and 4) I ate steak on Friday night which made the entire weekend!
Miss Anything? Sleeping on my belly... and being able to suck in, lol.
Movement: Lots & lots & lots...
Food cravings: Jelly beans are amazing. So is cake. :)
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Have you started to show yet: Yes.
Gender: bouncy baby boy! 
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: I'm a ball of emotions here lately!
Looking forward to: our ultrasound and MY BIRTHDAY!!!

Speaking of that - Tomorrow is my birthday and though 28 freaks some people out, I am not concerned and am still the biggest kid when it comes to my birthday. I'm so stinking excited! I know this is going to sound crazy, but I'm going to miss being at school with students tomorrow. Every year they knew how much I loved my birthday and there was always a countdown on the chalk board... This year just won't be the same. :)