12 Weeks

Well, here it is.....my lack of tummy shot. I guess it is looking a little "poochy", or maybe that's just Gunner! I kill myself!! HA!

But, anyhow, last time I hit the scales I was down 18 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight, and if you take a look at the saggy back of my jeans you will see where the majority came from. I guess I literally worked my rear off. Baby keeps me busy with the sicky stuff.

Actually, I have had almost an entire week with only a few incidents which has been AMAZING!!!

This week I worked every day, and even started to eat whole meals agian!! I am so excited that I seem to be on the upswing. And I know that Tim is! He is ready to hang up his apron and let me get back to kitchen duty. I am almost ready to try and conquer the grocery store, and more exciting, get back to yoga class. My yoga instructors wife is also pregnant(due 3 weeks before me, I think) So I think we may have some leverage to get a preggie class! I won't be doing alot of the things I used to do in class, especially once baby restricts my ability to lean over.

We go to the doctor in 2 weeks, time to hear the heartbeat!!

I am excited for that and to start feeling some kicks! Also having the energy to see a whole movie and put on make-up will be fun. I'm getting more into this journey, which is fun!

Wish us luck, we'll keep you posted!

mmmmm....warm

So cozy, our evening view.
Gunner and Pisty on the "spit"

This year Tim went with some friends and gathered wood in the mountains. He has sawed and chopped and split to his utter exhaustion, and we have reaped the benefits. We are trying not to use the furnace so much and so far our bill has not differed much from last summer. We had new doors and windows put in last March and between those and the fireplace we have had a cozy winter(affordable too!) The other night Tim had the fire going so good it was over 80 degrees in the house and we had to open the door to the garage to cool it down. We know it is too hot when even the weenies leave the room. They usually prefer to slow roast themselves like little hot dogs on a rotisserie.

Our Humble Abode

Pretty new paint, and Tim scraping the roof to take down the lights
Blurry shot of house with lights

Old drab paint

We had the house painted in early November and we couldn't love it more!! We went from the drab earthtones to a sunny yellow. We think our house adds alot to our street now, but who knows if the neighboors agree. Tim put up the lights this year without assistance and they turned out great. We just love having a new look for our house!!

I forgot to mention that we went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and we like the office very much. They didn't do anything with the baby yet, just took alot of blood. We go again tomorrow for what they said would be a "long" appointment. Hopefully they will try to hear the heartbeat. That for me would be really nice to hear, makes the woozies easier to bear.

9 Weeks

Tim splitting wood

(he has been working so hard)

I don't have a picture yet, I have lost about 13 pounds so the most visual I could give is the saggy front of my jeans! Things have been going alright, aside from the fairly severe morning sickness. But, boy can I sleep now!! I have had trouble sleeping most of my life and that, friends, is a thing of the past. I would say that the dogs and Tim are coping quite well. They just put up with the running to the sink or toilet nearest me and keep on smiling(or wagging as it were)

Tim has been amazing, he is now the house wife and the shopper and the errand runner and he takes it all in stride. My heart goes out to any woman who has been sick with a pregnancy without the support of a good husband. So far I have continued to work and hope and pray that it will continue. Please keep us in your prayers. Especially Tim who I will likely exhaust in the next few weeks!!

We're Expecting

Tim's "6 week sympathy belly"

Much to our delight we are proud to announce that we are expecting a baby.

And don't worry, I am the one carrying it:)

I am roughly 6 weeks along and feeling every "green at the gills" moment.

Of course we would have loved to have called everyone personally, but what can we say, this really is a quick way to keep everyone posted.

We should have more details after I get into the doctor, but according to the fantastic due date calculators on the internet I will be due around August 7th, which is my little sister Kimmy's birthday. She has already offered a name suggestion, Kimothy. Cute isn't it?

Tim is excited, but right now he is trying to get me on with the local police force bomb squad. I seem to have acquired super-human sense of smell. I can smell the different metals of my pots and pans when I cook with them. Not to mention every other thing that wafts into my vicinity, it's really not the best super power, especially because half the smells make me "urpy".

So please keep the 3 of us in your prayers, we'll post as soon as we know more.

And thanks to Tim for posing for a "belly shot" He's the only one showing right now.

And then there was Austin

Mizz Austin

I'm sure you are looking at this picture and thinking, is that Quigley's cousin?

Not really, but she has a great story.

Near the end of October we were having a lazy, warm day at home. the dogs were napping in the sunshine, and I was "housewife-ing".

I felt this calling to go to the park near our house to run the dogs, and so, even though I really wanted to watch some ever so wholesome and rewarding reality t.v., I loaded up and went.

We were having a great time and I noticed what I thought was a cat laying in the grass a ways away. We circled the park a few times and it never moved so I decided to investigate.

Pisty is known as my "Ambassador Dog" because she has this great personality and all dogs and children are immediately engaged by her(and let's face it, even us adults are quite enamored with her) So we approached the black bump in the grass. We were shocked to see a very skinny pup, no bigger than Quigley, and clearly quite scared. I had brought along leftover pork chops for training and started to throw them around. Though scared, we had her hunger on our side and Pisty and I made friends with her, sharing our bounty of pork. We then fetched up Gunner and Quig who were tied to a soccer goal(score!) and proceeded to the car, hungry friend in tow. When she stopped to try and get a drink out of a mud puddle I knew this dog was on the lam.

I gave her some water out of our "Portable Pup Bowl" and invited her into the car, took her home and called the Humane Society. She had on a collar and registration, but no name tag. We were able to reach her owner, and sure enough, Austin had been missing for several days.

After the tears and shouts and thank-you's to God, we loaded up. And how ironic that Austin's owner worked at the Humane Society.

I cannot tell you how rewarding it was to call her owner when we arrived in the parking lot and hear running footsteps that revealed a tear-streaked, and smiling, face. The obvious excitement at the reunion was palpable from both parties.

It turned out that some workers had left the back gate open and Austin had 2 small children at home awaiting her return.

That day ended up being far more wholesome and rewarding than my t.v. shows.

I'm glad I heeded my calling that day....and so did Austin's belly.

Missing From Blogville

Brain and Kim

Tim and his "essence"



So, Yeah......I don't really know where I was off to, but it has been a while!!

These pictures are from a camping trip we took in September with our friends Brian and Kim. We had a blast together, and let me just tell you, they are some hiking fools!!!


But on another semi-related note......
I have a list of blogs in my favorites and I go on periodically to check out what's happening. Every now and then one of my frequent haunts will go dormant and I always think"Oh, I wish they had new stuff." I always assume that the things I blog about are not that interesting, but then again, it isn't to me, it's my life....I'm tuned in every day. But I wonder sometimes if it offers to others what I get from blog visits, a break from our own usual rythm, and a peek to see that other peoples rythms are refreshing. Even at times inspiring.



I have a huge community of Christian based bloggers and when I go on I see if they need prayer or just a kind word left in the comments. I am always amazed that just going on one blog can lead you to pray for a multitude of people, and I think it is fantastic that God can use this mighty web world to still see to His purpose.

And having that been said.......



This picture of Tim had me thinking.. it almost looks like his spirit is leaving his body. Of course it is not, it was due to the "nighttime" setting on the camera and the campfire. Just the same, I think about how our spirits are trapped inside of our bodies and that we have to always stop our bodies from doing the "wrong" things. The funny thing is that we never have to stop our spirits from doing the right things, do we. I wonder how our world would be if we let our spirits lead us more than our flesh does.....

I have found refreshing insight into this very thing in Galatians.

Chapter 5, Verse 22:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Maybe I'll follow my spirit around for awhile.