34 Weeks

It is hard to believe but I'm less than 6 weeks from my due date. Well, it is not so hard to believe when you see my stomach! To be honest, I have been reluctant to post pictures because I look so huge. Josh comforts me by telling me the camera adds a few pounds - he is very sweet!

Overall, I'm feeling great. Usually the mornings are my time to be busy and the evenings I try to relax and not do too much. Josh has told me to take it easier, and I'm trying, but the house doesn't miraculously clean itself and the laundry doesn't wait either. I am reminding myself that it is okay that everything isn't like normal and the Lord gives me the energy I need to complete the most important tasks.

Most of all, I'm trying to spend as much one-on-one time with Thomas as possible. A new baby will be an adjustment for him and especially sharing my time. We took a trip to the zoo last week (pictures coming soon) and had a great time. It is harder to travel or even go to the store with a newborn, so I'm enjoying these last few weeks of running my errands and walking outside with my sweet little boy.

Josh and I will be parents of another precious baby boy in just about a month and we are so excited! I'll be even more excited to hold him in my arms instead of my belly. Here are some recent fun pictures of the family, including me looking and feeling very pregnant!

Big Boy Bed!

Thomas moved to his toddler bed earlier this month. We were prepared for crying for his crib or staying awake longer, but neither has occurred. He loves his new bed! We began with a nap and were expecting to put him back in the crib for nighttime sleep until he adjusted, but it wasn't necessary.

One of the things we did was put up two bed rails on either side so that he didn't fall out. I had seen that method on a friend's blog and not only did it keep her child from falling, it also helped to keep her child from getting out of the bed. If Thomas were a climber he would have already figured out how to get out of the bed, but thankfully he is very content in the bed. Well, he is very content as long as he has about 5 stuffed animals in the bed with him!

I'm so thankful for such a smooth transition and I know that I shouldn't expect this with every child. Thomas is very easy going and adjusts well to change which is a true blessing. Hopefully, the transition of being a sibling in about 6 weeks (maybe less!) will be as easy and pleasant!

*Oh, I will post pictures later, but I have yet to receive the comforter I want for his bed, so I'm using the comforter from his crib set for now.*

First Cake

Last Thursday I went to my cake decorating class and this is the final product:

The icing on the cake is a little darker than I wanted (it was supposed to be a sky blue). Josh told me I should have made rainbow fish to match the color of the ocean, but the rainbow still turned out pretty. My icing was a little too stiff, so I have to thin it out a little bit for this week. I was sitting down when I transferred the rainbow pattern and didn't get my rainbow centered. Next time, I think standing will help so that I can make sure it is centered. For the most part, I was very happy with this cake. This week is a clown cake - not sure if there will be pictures or not - depends on how my clowns look!

Triple Coupon Sale!

This morning I went to the triple coupon sale at Bloom's Grocery Store. They have triple coupons once a month and triple coupons to $.99! Usually, the highest coupon I can find is $.75 and tripled that is $2.25. I got to the store around 8:40am this morning and already some things were gone. However, I still had a great shopping experience and even decided to go to another Bloom right down the road and found all but one thing I really wanted.

How did I do?

Before Coupons: $48.25

After Coupons: $15.24

Savings: $33.01 or around 70%

Some things I only paid pennies for and other things I got for free or free with overage. Bloom's will give you the overage if the item is on sale - what a great deal! Below is a picture of all of my groceries - and yes, everything I use and need.

Birthday Cake

The cake I baked for Josh's birthday didn't turn out as pretty as I would have liked. You can definitely see the crumbs from icing the cake and I wished I had some pattern letters to make all the letters the same height and size. However, with very little training, it still turned out okay. Josh says the cake is delicious and he was thankful for all my hard work.

Hopefully, his next birthday cake will look fabulous as I am now taking a 4 week course at Michael's on cake decorating ( I already learned a better way for icing the cake and I shouldn't have any crumbs next time!). For the next three weeks I'll be baking, icing, and decorating a cake for class. Josh took a look at the cakes I will make and he seems a little skeptical that mine can look like the picture, but I'm going to try! I'll make sure and post pictures of my cakes in the coming weeks.

Below is a couple of pictures of Josh's cake.

It may not look like a masterpiece, but it sure does taste good! I'm going to have a piece now!

Happy Birthday Josh!

Today, tax day, is my husband's birthday! Yep, it is one of those days you can't forget. He is creeping up on 30, but still has 3 years to go! Since it is Wednesday and he has to teach tonight we went out to lunch and I'm cooking one of his favorites for dinner - fettuccine alfredo. I've also baked him a cake and tried out my newly acquired decorating skills too. Pictures will come later because even he hasn't seen the finished product.

In honor of his birthday, I will post a couple of pictures of the aftermath of he and Thomas eating chocolate cupcakes yesterday. Josh loves chocolate (I think almost as much as he loves me!) and it seems that Thomas is following in his daddy's footsteps!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart! I love you!

Easter 2009

We have had a busy week, but I did want to post a few pictures from this past weekend. On Saturday morning, Thomas went to the Easter Egg Hunt at church. I thought he would "get it" this year, but he is so easily distracted that he didn't seem too interested in picking up the eggs. At first, he tried to put the eggs in another child's basket and then he wanted to play with the toys since we were hunting inside due to the ground being wet. He did pick up a few eggs after much coaxing and praising from us.

Resurrection Sunday was a wonderful day. We had a sunrise service at 7:30am and the regular worship service at 10:30am. It was a great day of worship and I always enjoy hearing Josh preach the Word passionately and boldly! I fixed Easter lunch for us and Josh's parents and then we relaxed and napped in the afternoon.

Below are some pictures from our weekend.

Josh reading the Easter story to the kids.

Reflecting on The Cross

This week as we look forward to Resurrection Sunday, I'm taking time every day just to reflect on the cross. One of the books that is really helping me to meditate on the cross is Jesus, Keep Me Near The Cross edited by Nancy Guthrie. The past two days I have been overwhelmed by the thought of Jesus, who knew no sin, becoming sin for me and drinking the cup of God's wrath so that I could drink the cup of salvation. I find that it is so easy to just think, "Oh yeah, Jesus died on the cross for my sins," and not to ponder what I'm saying. There is SO much that Jesus did on the cross and we will spend all eternity praising Him for it!

I would highly recommend this book, even if you can't purchase it before Easter. We need to think of the cross all the time, because only when we reflect on the cross do we see ourselves for who we truly are - wretched sinners.

One of my favorite songs is especially fitting this week. It is The Power of The Cross by the Getty's. Here is a video of Kristyn Getty singing it along with a choir in San Diego, CA. I pray that all who read this blog this week grow to love our Savior more as you glory in the cross of Christ!

Preparing & Planning

Right now I'm trying to mentally prepare and plan for Josiah's birth. I can't believe my due date is only 10 weeks away. I reminded Josh the other evening that we only had 10 weeks left and he just looked at me and said, "Are we ready for another baby?" Well, it is a little too late to reconsider!

One of the things I'm doing to prepare is trying to drink more water. I rarely ever drink a whole class of water or tea at dinner and so it is difficult to try to drink 64 ounces a day, but I'm trying. This should have been a habit since the beginning of the pregnancy, but now I'm starting to think about what my body needs when Josiah arrives. I know that I need more water to help my milk supply and since I want to breastfeed, I'm trying to start the habit now. Thomas and I really struggled with breastfeeding and ended up switching to formula. Hopefully, I am better prepared and have more realistic expectations this time around.

Next month, we are planning on buying a new pack-n-play/bassinet. The one we used with Thomas was cheap and within a month the bassinet was sinking! Some good friends of ours have the Chicco brand and they have been very pleased with it. Plus, Josh's parents have the pack-n-play now for Thomas to sleep in when he spends the night with them. It is comfortable for him as long as there is a blanket to pad the cardboard - oh, I mean mattress.

I still need to get out all of Thomas' baby clothes, but we have to move Thomas into his new room before I have the closet and dresser space I need. Hopefully his toddler bedding will be here soon and we will transition him into his big boy bed!

My body is preparing for Josiah's birth as he is growing and I am more uncomfortable. As of last night, I'm also up several times a night going to the bathroom. Thus far I have had only had to get up once a night and I was hoping that would last a few more weeks - maybe last night was a fluke - but it seems my uninterrupted sleep is gone for the next few months! Speaking of sleep, I think I'll take a nap!