3 Months and Counting

Today marks exactly 3 months until my sweet little baby girl is due to come into this world! I can't hardly stand my excitement most days! And then other days, I get fearful... fearful, mostly of the unknown. We have been going through the child-birth classes and those have definitely helped me know what I am in for, but I just don't think that you ever know until you get there... and they say every labor and delivery is different! We talked about inducing in the class last week. And they said that this is something that we need to talk about sooner than later-- so that if it comes up later, we don't freak out about it. To be honest, there is a part of it that sounds awesome... knowing the exact date and being able to plan around that date... I am such a planner!!! But the other side of it is, then you are stuck in a hospital bed all day because they legally HAVE to monitor you all the time! No walking the halls, no sitting at home relaxing (all things that help labor progress)... just sitting in the hospital bed...waiting. That doesn't sound as fun to me! (Not that this labor thing is going to be fun, but I might as well try to make it as enjoyable as possible, right?!) And even more so since I would like to try to do it all naturally... I think I would like to be able to walk around and manage the pain different ways. If it is medically necessary, no problemo! INDUCE! :) We shall see... Definitely something to ponder. If any of you moms have any thoughts, feel free to pass them on!

I think little Collins has her daddy's personality right now. Man, is she a kicker and mover!!! I mean, some days, I literally have 2 hours when she is sleeping... just praying that this changes when she graces us with her presence!

I shared with my community group last night that I am just so tired right now. I am physically, emotional, and spiritually drained. There was a sermon on saying "No" a couple weeks back, and boy do I need to take it to heart! I want to do EVERYTHING and the reality is... I just can't. I think to that I have heard so many people use pregnancy as an excuse to not do things... and that drives me crazy... so I don't want to be that person and I flip flop on the other end... where I don't say no to much! Lord, please help me to start saying "no" and help me to realize that people won't think less of me when I do say "no".

The nursery is definitely coming along! I can't wait to get more pictures up when we get back from Thanksgiving. My grandma made the bedding so we will be picking it up while we are there next week!!!! I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT!!! AH! The walls are painted, the decal will be going up tonight, along with the curtains, even though I have to sew some more fabric on the curtains later... The crib is painted and stained... my dad will be finishing the dresser this weekend. And Damon and I are going to find a chair Saturday afternoon! Only things left... wall decorations, twin bed/reading pallet, headboard, and a new lamp and side table, and pillows... I can't wait to see it all come together!! :) I am praying that I get a sewing machine for my birthday in a couple weeks so that I can start doing the pillows on my own!! :) YEAH!

That was a much longer update than I was thinking... but there you go!! With Thanksgiving around the corner, I realize that I have so much to be thankful for! Including this healthy baby girl growing inside me! We will be headed up to the cold state of Minnesota to visit my extended family! I can't wait! Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Halloween and Nursery

As I write tonight, I am filled with excitement because work has begun on Collins's nursery!! I am watching while my husband paints away-- a bright sunshine yellow! (It will have stripes, but you will have to wait to see those!) I think that I have been waiting for this day almost as long as I have been waiting to have kids... I LOVE to decorate and dream and see my ideas come to life! And to top it off, I hit 24 weeks last Saturday (I am 25 weeks now)! That means, only about 15 more before we get to meet our baby girl! Below you can see the growing belly! Not a great picture of me... Sorry, I have been sick and you can read it all over my face!!

I had another appointment and again have great news that everything is going just as it should! I feel beyond blessed to be as healthy as I have been and that this baby is growing just as she should! I choose to continue to trust God with Collins and know that He already has a HUGE plan for her life!

Oh, and just in case I haven't said, we FINALLY decided on the middle name.... da-dada-dah! COLLINS REESE WOODWARD! We LOVE it! Well, I do... Damon took a little convincing! :) He hated it at first, so I talked him into it by telling him that he would never want me to use it as a first name, so the least he could do was let me have it as a middle name! Now, it is definitely growing on him and he really is growing to like it! (or so he tells me so!)

Below are some pictures of the "projects" going on around the house. My brother moved out, so the first step was moving everything out of the room upstairs to the guest room downstairs. Below is the result-- and I have to say, I think I like the set-up even better than I did up here!

Next, the room is empty (except for the baby stuff in the middle of the room) and I (yes, I) spackled and filled holes to prep for paint... my hubby did the taping.

My handsome hubby and the paint color! Mind you, there is a bright light shinning on it so it is definitely brighter than it really looks!

We will definitely post more pictures as the work is completed... although, maybe I will make you wait now until it is all DONE!! hehe! Would I be so cruel?!

Halloween was WAY fun around here! We went to a party and won BEST COSTUME! :) Hehe! Hope you enjoy the laugh as much as we did!! Pretty sure I was crying I was laughing so hard at Damon!

And last, but not least... please look at this picture of my dad... Is it not the funniest thing you have EVER seen?! :) I love my dad! HILARIOUS!