Merry Christmas

Today we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. For in Him we have hope.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. - Luke 2:11

This Christmas didn't look the way we had planned. But even in our suffering and the loss of our sweet girl Hannah Grace we celebrate the Lord, for we have known His peace and love in a deeper way than we ever expected. This Christmas we have truly known the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. - Isaiah 9:6

To those who have loved us, who cared for us, and who have continued to pray for us:

Merry Christmas from Kyle and Brittany

Hannah Grace Hess

Services for Hannah Grace Hess are scheduled for 2:00 P.M. Saturday, December 21, 2013 in the First Baptist Church of Lindale. Interment will follow in the Lindale City Cemetery under the direction of Caudle-Rutledge Funeral Home of Lindale, Texas.

Hannah is survived by her parents, Kyle and Brittany Hess of Lindale, Texas; grandparents, Jerry and Suzie Kingsley of Lake Charles, Louisiana, Bruce and Janet Hess of Norman, Oklahoma; great grandparents, Sarah Kingsley of Lake Charles, Louisiana, Wanda Hess of Norman, Oklahoma, Earl Lampshire of Lincoln, Nebraska; uncles, Jared Kingsley Justin Kingsley; aunts, Payton Kinglsey, Rebekah Key and husband Nick, Emily Hess and Jennifer Malthaner and husband Zac.

In lieu of flowers the family has set up a Scholarship Fund through Sky Ranch, to minister to other families that have experienced a loss. Donations can be made to the Hannah Grace Hess Scholarship Fund at Sky Ranch by calling 469-484-4840 or visiting skyranch.org and click on donate.

Lamentations 3:22-24
22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.” 

Thirty-Eight Weeks

12/10-12/16
Pumpkin

Thirty Eight Weeks! Many women don't even make it this far... I cannot believe we're there already! Every day we think 'is today the day?' It's getting crazy exciting wondering when we're finally going to get to meet our baby girl. Got a few last things done this week. Bought the baby book so they can put her footprints in it right in the hospital! We put the finishing touches on the nursery. I got the bathrooms set and ready for when my parents come to town for the baby, and the laundry pile is almost diminished :) I even wrapped Christmas gifts this weekend, all done with Christmas shopping other than what I'm getting for Kyle. Just need a few more days to complete some things at work and we'll be all set. Right?

December 10, 2013
38 Weeks, 0 Days

Man oh man! I can hardly believe we're at 38 weeks! This baby really could come any day now! It's exciting and scary and ridiculous all at the same time. I'm not sure who said you can't be 'just a little pregnant,' but let me tell you definitely can be 'a whole lotta pregnant!' I know my stomach's holding the baby in, but I'm thinking maybe they should make a baby sling that I can wear over my belly to hold the baby up already, lol... (how do moms carrying multiples do it??)

Getting lots done. I told people over the weekend that we're pretty much prepared at the house, but that I need a little time at work. We haven't yet installed the car seat because it's been 30 degrees outside and I cannot see standing outside in the ice to figure out the car seat being anything but torture at this point. I thought maybe it would warm up today, then it was 24 degrees... soon.

As prepared as we are at the house, I keep saying I need to make it to the end of the week at work. There's lots of December things that are due that I'd like to get wrapped up before baby comes. Maybe she'll let me... maybe she won't... but I'm sure working hard to get everything completed.

As far as baby supplies, I may have almost done a cartwheel today about my recently purchased baby items. I love reading a website called The Wise Baby. They've got great baby registry recommendations, product reviews, and what they call 'real mom' recommendations for baby gear. And in the past two days they've reviewed both the Britax B-Safe car seat we bought AND the Motorola MBP33 video monitor that we bought! Great reviews... in the world of a million decisions for baby gear I feel so accomplished today, lol.

Here's to being a mom very very soon... but needing to get just a few more things done before she arrives. But I think I do get bonus points for steam cleaning our carpets last night, right? Nesting met new toy carpet cleaner and I just couldn't stop myself...

December 12, 2013
38 Weeks, 2 Days

No real signs of impending labor just yet. Maybe the normal Braxton Hicks contractions, and the fact my pelvis aches quite a bit. The same way the bones get sore after your ride a bike for too long... except only in different places. It's an odd feeling, knowing my bones are stretching, lol.

I walked for 15 minutes last night, had a great amount of energy. But I will tell you that every time I stand up or roll over I think, man I'm heavy! It's the same way you grab too many groceries and then lift them and walk with all your might to get them into the house. Consider me full of groceries... all the time.

I have a doctor's appointment today and we'll see what they say. This week I've been busy getting all the medical information in order. I called the hospital to see if we needed to pre-register for admission (they said we could but didn't have to). I called to make sure we have a pediatrician lined up who's accepting new patients. I made a Word document with the hospital number and the doctors' numbers and names and addresses. Just in case. And I also asked the big question that I'd been meaning to ask, "If I'm in labor what door do I enter at the hospital?" They said at our hospital we go to the Emergency Room and enter there. I'm glad I asked... because I realized I had no idea. Now I'm wondering if Kyle will have to drop me off at the ER and then drive around and park the car.. that doesn't seem like much fun.

But I am a planner and we're getting ready. And yesterday it was even warm enough to practice our car seat install! I realized our Camry does have LATCH, but doesn't have LATCH in the middle seat which I thought was odd because it's the safest place in the car. I read an article in my Lucie's List Email List that said the safest place in the car for baby (in the proper seat of course) is the rear middle seat. Next best is the rear seat behind the driver; they say side collisions are more likely to happen when turning left and hitting an oncoming car meaning the passenger side gets slammed. They said human instinct would cause the driver to swerve to protect themselves in the case of an accident so having baby on the same side as the driver is better for that reason too. Now I'm just trying to figure out the convenience... because you know it's way easier to reach the rear passenger seat from the driver's seat then reaching awkwardly behind you to get to the rear driver's seat... Who knows?

Real excited about the doctor's visit today... biggest questions are "Is the baby head down?" and "Is the baby facing the right direction?"

December 13, 2013
38 Weeks, 3 Days

My husband bought me milk last night... we ran out. I drink milk like it's going out of style, maybe a gallon every 3-4 days or more. My husband knows how to woo me: buy me milk when we run out. And then he surprised me with a special gallon of milk. Check out that expiration date?! It's on the milk now, baby must be close!

Baby is the size of a pumpkin this week. And we've still got a pumpkin on our front porch :) Here I was laughing at the house that still had the giant ghost Halloween poster on their door after they put up their Christmas lights. Then there's me with my pumpkin on the porch and the Christmas wreath on the door... I'm 38 Weeks pregnant, that's my excuse at least. :)

We are getting so close! Man oh man it could be any day now! Wondering how many more weekly pictures we'll get...

The Nursery

Today I'd like to introduce you to the nursery I've been working on for quite some time. This room is very special to me because of the wonderful people who have lived and loved in it and because of the very special things that now fill the room. It's the perfect place for us to bring baby home to, I want her to know that same love that fills every nook and cranny.

This room was formerly our guest room. I never decorated it. I never even painted the walls. We moved into our house in October of 2011, we setup the room for guests and honestly for boxes too. In the spring of 2012 we had some wonderful friends move in with us. They were in transition from one home to the other and they stayed with us for a few months. That was a sweet time in our home; I'd arrive home to see the cutest little 6 month old playing in our living room, his mom cooking dinner, and multiple impromptu dance parties between mom dad and baby to keep the baby happy. Every night seemed like a slumber party of sorts, dinner around the table and a home full of love.

These friends have wonderful style, so our little guest room looked so cute for those few months. After they moved out we reset the room. It was white and off-white and more white. Back to the clean slate that it had been the fall before.

We had a friend move in for a few weeks and she was out into her new place before we knew it. Again our blank room.

This summer we coerced a friend to come live in our house while we spent the summer away in Colorado. She is someone who also radiates love and warms and genuine caring. She told me about her sweet times with Jesus in our little guest room that summer. It blessed my heart. Because by then I knew after she was gone, the room would be filled with a baby. She moved out before Kyle ever got back from Colorado and we had our empty room back.

But our room was filled with love already, stories to tell, memories made. I laugh and cry at some of the stories. Watching our friends become new parents and learn and love. And being able to give a still small space to a friends who loves so well.

And now it's filled for our sweet baby. The walls have been painted, the artwork has been hung, and the room is literally filled with things from the people we love.

First this bed has been in the room through all the friends. We decided to leave the bed in the room for guests that may be visiting baby or for this soon-to-be tired mom late at night. The bed frame belonged to my sweet Aunt Billie, she gave it to me when I went to college and it's my very most favorite. My Aunt Billie is full of the sweetest love for us, she called me Miss Brit growing up and I know she's going to love this baby girl to pieces.

The shelves that hang above the bed were built for me by my Dad for the room I grew up in. I think I'd been watching too much HGTV and wanted to hang multiple picture frames and put multiple holes in 'his' walls. He suggested maybe he'd just build some shelves that I could put the frames on. They hung in my room until I cleared it out after getting married, my dad asked if I wanted to take the shelves. I took them right off the walls and have been looking for the prefect place to hang them. I love that my Dad's handiwork is in this room, he's very handy and I know there's a little love built right into those shelves.

The picture of the women of the family hangs aside the shelves. This is my mother's family. I want so badly for my baby girl to be like the women in our family. I didn't know my grandmother or great grandmother too long before they met Jesus, but I see the wonderful things I've heard about them every day in my own mother. You may not be able to actually see my mother in that picture, but surely she's there. I hope our little girl wakes up in her crib and points to the 'pretty ladies' someday and knows who they are. My aunt in the picture is still living and she sent the most beautiful knit set as a gift for the baby, I sent her a thank you note and made sure to include a picture of her picture hanging in our nursery.

The dresser I so painstakingly repainted is one of my pride and joy pieces in the room. This very pregnant lady worked so hard to get it painted and ready for her little girl. I hope someday as she colors it with Crayons her dad reminds her of that. The dresser grew up in my Aunt Pam's bedroom. My aunt and uncle live next door to my parents and so our next door neighbors were not just someone we called family, but they actually were real blood-linked family. Here in East Texas we're far away from our family, but growing up right next door to my cousins was so fun. My mom knows what their knocks sound like on the front door... but I think they stopped knocking a long time ago. I love that this dresser was my aunt's and now it's here in the nursery.

Then there's the crib. We were so blessed with this crib when one of our family camp families this summer asked if we needed one. It's beautiful and it used to hold their only baby girl. This family inspires me to be a mother that loves well with the Lord's love, but to not take myself too seriously and enjoy being a mom sometimes too. To me it kind of represents all the families that we love so dearly from camp. So many of them are praying for our little one, she'll be surrounded in a crib of prayers as she sleeps.

The changing table will surely get much use, it's packed to the brim now with diapers and wipes and all the things they say you need to keep a baby happy. And this changing table kept the Hess babies happy for years I'm told. Kyle and his sisters were changed on this very table and Kyle's mom so generously gave it to us. When I tend to focus so much on 'my side' of the family, I'm glad we have a piece of my new-ish Hess family in our nursery too. Because they are family, and I've really lucked out with all my 'in-laws.'

But not every item in the room has a long story, not every piece has a meaning, but it was all placed there with love by a momma who's ready to meet her baby girl. And by a dad who did the heavy lifting and the drilling and the leveling to get things ready, too.

So our nursery is ready, waiting for our little girl to come home and know our love. Because there really is so much of it in there for her already...

Thirty-Seven Weeks

Thirty-Seven Weeks! I was going give you some statistic about how not all women make it to 37 weeks and I'm so proud of myself. Apparently 80% of women make it to 37 weeks, lol, that's like getting a low B if they graded on a curve, lol... But I'm proud and grateful either way! Hoping to go all the way to 40 weeks, but at least to 39 weeks. We'll see, so far 37 weeks has no indication that birth will be anytime soon.

December 5, 2013
37 Weeks, 2 Days

Been a while since I filled out one of these guys... For a while the answers were pretty much the same, now we've got all new answers people! Thirty-Seven weeks... it's not the same as 12 Weeks :)

How far along? 37 Weeks, 2 Days 
Maternity Clothes? Yes all the time, even some of the maternity clothes are getting too small for the belly. Although my favorite yoga pants (non-maternity) still fit, they're becoming more and more my favorite every day.
Stretch Marks? Yes. They are multiplying. New ones are popping up on my belly and we'll see how bad it gets. I drink water, I eat right, I lather us with lotion constantly... they say it's mostly genetic. Occasionally I'll get one in a totally random place, who knows?
Sleep? Waking up every hour or three when the Braxton-Hicks combine with a full bladder and force me out of bed.
Best Moment This Week: I hate to be materialistic, but I was pretty excited to get my delivery of the 'remaining registry items' in the mail from Target. Oh, but also my kiddos and co-teachers at AWANA threw me a surprise baby party/ shower. We had pink cookies and they got me a gift and we thought of baby name ideas. One of my favorites was a little kindergartener that recommended 'Sally.' These kiddos are cute.
Miss Anything?: Medium Rare Steak. And being able to get off the couch/roll out of bed without assistance...
Movement? When the Braxton-Hicks aren't happening, she's moving. A little less than before, but she's running out of room in there!
Food Cravings? Not really. Still loving cold, juicy things. And yesterday I swore I smelled vanilla cupcakes down the hall and I wanted one of those real bad...
Anything making you queasy or sick? Just last week when I had a falling out of sorts. Mostly random boughts of nausea/dizziness but the doc says its normal.
Boy or Girl? They say she's a girl! And I hope so because people have given us lots of pink!
Labor signs? Not really. Braxton-Hicks, yes. Sore pelvis, yes. Doc says no real signs yet...
Belly Button In or Out? It's as out as an innie can be. There's a little part on top that pokes out, but we're not to full fledged outie yet.
Wedding Rings On or Off? On. I'm lucky it's cold outside and that's helping me avoid swelling.
Showing? Yes. Showing off almost...
Happy or Moody Most of the Time? Pretty sure I'm happy.
Looking forward to: Getting to see this baby. I keep wondering what she'll look like! But not that we need to see her this week or anything. Although I'm to that 'uncomfortable stage' I'm okay with her lungs getting a few more weeks to cook in there.

---

Big story on the news today is the incoming Ice Storm. We've got warnings for Ice Storms, Freezing Rain, & Power Outages. Nothing's happening yet, it's just getting cold quickly. Rumor has it that Walmart in Tyler is a mad house of people trying to buy supplies. I looked over a few of the lists of things to have on hand and we're pretty much covered. Flashlight with batteries, check. Non-perishable food items, check. We could eat granola bars and dry cereal for days if we needed to. Water, check. I've got two gallons on hand and plan on filling up the pitchers and water bottles in the house when I get home. Maybe we'll even do that thing where you fill up the tub... First aid kit, candles, matches, gas stove and oven... check, check, check and check. And I think we have enough blankets to keep 100 people warm. But we'll see.

If we had an infant maybe I'd be more worried. If I actually start to have (AKA birth) an infant during the storm that's a whole other ballgame. Two gallons of bottled water can't prepare you for that...

Here's to praying baby stayed in as long as the power stays off...

December 6, 2013
37 Weeks, 3 Days

No ice yet today, lots of rain and the temperature is slowly creeping below 32 degrees, but so far it's not the massive storm everyone thought it was going to be. At least around these parts...

Today and last night I've had lots of comments on my huge belly. It is huge. It really is. It's so huge.

But the fun part is, I can feel my sweet little baby moving and kicking and wiggling right now and I love it. People say you miss that part of pregnancy after the baby's born, getting to feel her move all the time. I'm sure there are things I won't miss about pregnancy, but I do love to feel her wiggle. Right now they say she's 'head down' but I'm trying so hard to figure out what all the movements are... is that her leg? foot? hand? moving around...

They say baby's the size of a winter melon (I had to look that one up, I don't even know if they sell those around here). Look and see... she's getting large!

This was my attempt to say "Thirty Seven." Can you see how my hand is making a seven? Okay so it just looks like I'm trying to make my hand into a gun, but I tried...

Got Kyle back in on the action again this week! Isn't he just the cutest?

Thirty Seven Weeks! It's December, baby's coming soon!

Thirty-Six Weeks

Oops! I thought I posted this post on Monday, but apparently not. Not that anyone's watching that closely, but you may have thought, 'wehre'd Brittany go? Did she go and have that baby and not tell me?' Nope, no baby yet...

Thirty-Six Weeks! Thanksgiving and rolling right into the month of December. Which is crazy, right?! It's already December, where did the time go. My stomach is already huge and we really could have this baby any time now. I mean I want her to cook a bit longer, but multiple friends of mine had their babies at 36 and 37 weeks! We spent this week relaxing for the Thanksgiving Break and then heading back to work on Monday. I have plenty to do at work before this baby gets here, so I'm working hard to make sure no one has to pick up the slack for me when I'm out with the baby...

For the full run-down of the Thanksgiving break checkout our recent blog post, but let's just say we were quite productive in the 'prepping for baby' department over the break!

December 2, 2013
36 Weeks, 6 Days

Tonight we packed the hospital bag. Kyle was actually the one to remind me. I had made a list on the computer and then said 'I'll look over it and then we can pack the bag sometime...' That was about a week ago. So last night I got on the computer and checked my favorite mom-to-be websites, perused Pinterest, and hit up the medical websites to make sure we had the complete (but not overkill) hospital bag list.

One of the best tips I read (in a few places) was to pack an 'extra bag' for the car. This bag is for the items that you may or may not need, but the items that you could be kicking yourself about when you're at the hospital and realize you left them at home. This 'extra bag' stays in the car when you arrive at the hospital, but it's nearby and available if you need anything out of it. Our 'extra bag' list includes my robe, one of our own towels, our own pillows, a roll of nice soft toilet paper, the laptop and a few DVDs, and the nursing pillow. All things I've heard we may crave, especially if we end up needing to stay in the hospital for any length of time. But items that we don't need during labor and may never need... Thought it sounded like a great idea!

For the real bag:

(Also on the list are a few 'lady items' that my dad and brother don't want to have to ever read about, lol. If you're curious and really want the full list, just contact me and I'll send those your way...)

So the bag is packed, minus a few items we need to get from the store. We've got the checklist right on top. The items that are already in the bag are checked, that way when we grab the bag last minute we'll remember that our phone chargers/camera/blow dryer/etc. aren't actually in the bag yet but need to be thrown in last minute. Figured this will especially help if Kyle's grabbing the bag or if we have to have a friend or family member grab the bag for us for any reason.

Does it feel surreal that we'll be 37 Weeks tomorrow and that we've already packed our hospital bag? Yes, definitely feels surreal. I've been pregnant for a while now, but it feels like it's flown by some days. Are we really almost 37 Weeks?!

Thirty Six weeks and trying to avoid waddling at all costs... but it's getting harder every day. Baby's the size of a honeydew melon this week (not a turkey!) and we're really are in every way so Thankful this Thanksgiving.

It was cold, yes I am wearing fuzzy striped socks in this picture... at least they kind of matched my shirt right?

Kyle said "Oh you can see your belly in that one!" When we took this next one. Yep, belly is all out there for everyone to see... and again I'm pale, but it's winter people. And I have fair skin, lol...

Thirty Six weeks, one more and we'll be officially at that magical 37 week mark...

Thirty-Five Weeks

Thirty-Five Weeks was my last week at work before the Thanksgiving Break. We could tell the kiddos were ready, they somehow knew the break was coming. I knew, I was making lists of everything I wanted to accomplish over the break... and I made sure to include being lazy on my list. People say there's no time for lazy once you have kids, so I planned to make the most of it.

We did productive things and we did silly things. You know, like morphing me and Kyle's picture online to see what our baby will look like, lol. Turns out morphing a picture with a man who has a beard is quite difficult, so I may have used a picture of Kyle's sister instead, lol. Let's just say the first one I'm now praying against, it's hard to see in this picture but the baby has a forehead like the side of a barn... the second one's not too bad, lol. Only time will tell...

November 20, 2013
35 Weeks, 3 Days

Today was the busiest of all the days this week. There was plenty to wrap up at work before the break, I had lunch meetings, I was handing out double in our Food Bank backpacks, so I was a busy bee this morning. I didn't think I was overdoing it but about halfway through the backpacks at about 9:30am I felt a little like I did the time I decided to run through the rain after giving blood and not eating anything (I don't ever recommend that, ever!). I held onto my little push cart and made my way to the lounge to grab a can opener and to sit down and have some water. Then slowly I made my way to my office where I popped open a can of peaches and quickly drank the juice and ate a few peaches. Feeling just a bit better someone came by my office to take care of a few work things so I pulled by feet off the desk, lol. She moved to the next cubicle and then it hit. Oh man!

I felt so nauseous, I barely had the strength to grab the trash can from the other side of my cubicle. I knew I didn't have enough energy to pick up the phone and push the 4-digit extension to call the school nurse, so I tried my best to call over the walls of the cubicle to have my co-worker call the nurse. I knew my blood sugar was okay or being taken care of with the juice, but I didn't know about my blood pressure. My blood pressure is never high, but I knew that could be a bad thing if it was. The nurse came and by the time she got there I felt much better. Blood pressure was normal, and when I spoke to the doctor later she said that (for me at least) that's just a normal part of pregnancy sometimes. Our body's way of telling us to slow down. So I slowed down, I put my feet up, and I ate my peaches and drank my water.

Still blessed. Still a healthy baby in there. If this is my only 'complication' then I really am blessed.

---

Okay so tonight I ventured out to buy our Thanksgiving dinner. I went to the Super One because they were running a deal on turkeys for 50 cents a pound if you bought $20 worth of groceries (along with other sales). I was so excited buying our dinner for two until I went outside and it was pouring! I knew a storm was on its way, but it was already here and I had a cart full of groceries! The sweet lady ringing the bell offered me her blanket to use as a cover, then I saw my huge aluminum turkey pan! So I held that pan over my head like an umbrella and walked soaked to the car. I know I looked silly! Everyone was running, everyone had jackets or real umbrellas and there I was 35 weeks pregnant traipsing through the parking lot in a storm with a turkey roaster on my head. I'm sure it was a sight. 

I followed the sweet lady's instructions and changed out of my wet clothes as soon as I got home (well, right after I took a picture), kitchen now full and ready for our Thanksgiving dinner. I did feel so accomplished! 

Once the weekend hit that meant it was Thanksgiving week off! Saturday we watched football and Sunday afternoon we got started on baby things by heading to the stores to make returns. Turns out that both Target and Toys R Us had times when their registry systems were down when our friends were buying things so we got a few doubles of some gifts we only needed one of. We made our returns and then stopped by Bed Bath and Beyond. I had an in-store credit that was printed on a receipt that I got 3 years ago when I got married. The ink was almost rubbed off. And I had a 20% off coupon. So I took my in-store credit to the store, made an online order in the store (did you know you could do that) which meant I got free shipping to my house, and we saved the 20% off because of my coupon! Got that Baby Brezza baby food maker for $20 off with free shipping all on my in-store credit. I was pretty pumped.

I'm thinking of making a list to share with the items we registered for (or bought) just for anyone who's out there looking for info. I researched way too much about baby items and I'd be willing to share that info. And some items on our registry may not make sense (like the Baby Brezza, yes we already have a steamer and food processor in the kitchen) but when you consider we'll live in a hotel-style cabin when our kiddo turns 6 months, we'll need a little help with the lack of kitchen appliances...

Ended week 35 with a whole lot of projects for the baby room, which you can read about here. And it was almost time for Thanksgiving.  Here's that baby bump, baby's the size of a coconut this week.. but somehow feels a lot larger, lol. P.S. - I don't know why I look so pale in these pictures, where's that 'pregnancy glow'?

35 Weeks. This feels all too real...

Oh Thanksgiving Break!

I'm someone who over the past few years hasn't quite had an actual day off of work. Since we spend our summers up in Colorado, I save up my vacation days to make Colorado happen. Yes, I do get the summer off from the school work, but usually just in time to fly right in to my job in Colorado. Complaining? Never, I LOVE our two lives and I love figuring out how to live life in two states, lol.

But...

When I realized I got the entire week off for Thanksgiving my wheels started turning! Usually we'd plan a trip to see family in Louisiana or Oklahoma. But now that we're thirty six weeks pregnant (crazy! I know) we haven't really gotten the go ahead to travel to the next state. When we asked my doctor about Thanksgiving she recommended we stay home for the holidays and then said, 'well... you can travel if you really want to... but you'll need to stop every 30 minutes to get out and walk to prevent blood clots, and then is there a hospital near your parents' house? You'll need to make sure they can deliver babies and we can send your files over just in case..."

That was a little too much for us, when she said "Is there a hospital near your parents' house?" we figured we'd better stay close to home. And after our car troubles a few weekends ago, we decided we'd surely need to stay put. So that meant I'd have an entire week off!! The list making began!

This Week's Thanksgiving To-Do List started out this way:
Nursery:
 - Organize the nursery, store away those wonderful gifts
 - Finish the homemade wall art
 - Hang the shelves my Dad made, decorate shelves
 - Hang the picture of my grandmother
 - Hem the curtains
 - Poly the dresser (once it's no longer freezing out!)
 - Setup the nursery for pictures!

Thanksgiving:
 - Make dinner with all the trimmings: Turkey, cornbread dressing, stuffing (Kyle loves Stovetop, lol), homemade cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, yeast rolls.
 - Watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade
 - Watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
 - Make a list for my husband who will be hitting the Black Friday Sales

House:
 - Finish the headboard, prime, paint, poly, install.
 - Clean out our bedroom. It's like a closet exploded in there and we need to get it clean before baby arrives!

Monday:
So I was lazy on purpose on Monday. People are always telling me to be lazy and sit on the couch and watch TV before the baby gets here and changes everything, lol. So I did. But I also made some wall art for the nursery. I printed a free printable from Vanessa Brady at Gerbera Designs. It's one that you can print and then color yourself, meaning you get to pick the colors! I grabbed my cheap watercolor palette from 2nd grade and got to work.

Then I realized I had three frames to fill...

So I decided to put a personal touch in the frames with a little inspiration from Vanessa's print. I pulled out parts of her design, traced a few things, and added Mom and Dad's own handwriting to the design. Yes, I traced it right off my computer screen... I'm not sure that's good for the computer. But we went from these written messages...

...to these prints.

And now they hang in the inexpensive Ikea frames on our little nursery wall. I'm pretty impressed with myself, especially since this project cost me less than $6 including the frames.

I spent the rest of the afternoon running to the store to get a little food and supplies for other projects. Felt, glue, and 6 screws and we're ready to hang some shelves...

Finished up with a little Thanksgiving Dinner with friends and I'd call Monday a pretty good one.

Tuesday:

Tuesday got crazy when they rescheduled my doctor's appointment from Wednesday to Tuesday. So I woke up made some cake balls for the ladies where I used to work at the VA. Ran to the doctor's office for my first 'when's labor going to happen' check and found out we're not really that close. Swung by Sam's to find out our membership expired, but still at pizza lunch there. Drove to Longview to visit the ladies I used to work with at the VA and bring them those yummy cake balls... planned to stay 30 minutes to an hour-ish and ended up staying for 2 hours, lol. I ran by Target in Longview (much better selection of baby items than Tyler Target!). Headed home for a relaxing night with the hubs. Whew... I was tired!

Wednesday:

Wednesday Kyle was home and I put him to work. Since the cold weather was keeping me from finishing the paint job on the dresser, we tackled the nursery. We broke out the tools and Kyle hung a couple of shelves that were made by my very own Dad. He had made the shelves for me when I was in middle school and gladly let me pull them off the wall when I got married. I love that my Dad made something in the baby room...

And then I got to what they call 'styling' the shelves. I used a few books, a framed sonogram picture, a few stuffed animals, and repurposed a few of the cute cards I had gotten with baby gifts. One I simply cut the front off the card and placed it on the shelf. The other along with a spare piece of cardboard, got a makeover...

Then I got Kyle back in to hang the picture of my grandmothers. And I finished up the shelf 'styling.'

Since I already had the iron out, I got out my Stitch Witchery and hemmed up the curtains. Organized a few things in the baby room. Put a cover on the changing table, and this room is almost ready for a baby. And for taking a few full-room pics to share once it's all done.

We may have also reorganized every cabinet in the kitchen. Maybe it's nesting... maybe it was just wayyy long overdue...

Thursday:

THANKSGIVING! Just the two of us, but I made the turkey and all the trimmings. Even though it was just us, we really did have so many things to be thankful for this year. We have a God who is more than we could every imagine, who is true and just and merciful and who blesses us in so many ways. We have each other, my husband really is more than I could have ever asked for. We have families who love us, even from far away. We have friends and community and church and jobs that we love. We have a house that makes us feel so warm and we know that many, many people cannot say all those things. We are truly blessed.

And we stuffed our blessed tummies with lots of Thanksgiving food...

Then we went Black Friday Shopping on Thursday night... and I know last year I was saying "Black Friday is no place for a pregnant lady!" And then this year as my husband was heading out I asked in the sweetest voice, 'can I go with you???' And with our small Walmart and me in the no-battle zone where the steam vacuums were it was very calm. I didn't even lift anything heavy, we got a few great deals on some gifts for the fam, and we were home and in bed by 9:30pm. It was pretty low key, and I got to spend some funny times with my wonderful husband...

Friday:

Friday was full of rest and football. (And a little bit of cleaning once I got a hold of the Lysol wipes...) We watched the games and sat on the couch. My sweet friend Elizabeth came through town and I got to meet her sweet baby (who's now one and a half!). Low key night with pizza rolls and a movie, felt like vacation.

Saturday:

We started the morning helping our friends pick out and cut down a Christmas tree. How fun is that? Like right out of a movie, weather was great, and it was so Christmas-y. Then we got back on the ball and we reviewed some of our birthing class material, and I got out in the warmer weather and got that coat of poly on the dresser for the baby room! Once that cures it'll be packed full in the nursery! I spent some time cleaning the mountain of things that have somehow accumulated on my side of the bedroom into this mountain of things... We rotated the mattress, I sprayed allergen-reducer on almost everything, we washed the sheets, and I got pretty into cleaning. Maybe nesting is coming??

Oh and then football of course... there was some great college football on TV Saturday.

Sunday:

Church and then we got the Christmas tree up... may be the last year we don't have a little one 'helping' decorate the tree. Or the last year we don't have to worry about the 'breakable' ornaments, lol...

Round Up for the Week:
Nursery:
 - Organize the nursery, store away those wonderful gifts
 - Finish the homemade wall art
 - Hang the shelves my Dad made, decorate shelves
 - Hang the picture of my grandmother
 - Hem the curtains
 - Poly the dresser (once it's no longer freezing out!)
 - Setup the nursery for pictures!

Thanksgiving:
 - Make dinner with all the trimmings: Turkey, cornbread dressing, stuffing (Kyle loves Stovetop, lol), homemade cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, yeast rolls.
 - Watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade
 - Watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
 - Make a list for my husband who will be hitting the Black Friday Sales

House:
 - Finish the headboard, prime, paint, poly, install.
 - Clean out our bedroom. It's like a closet exploded in there and we need to get it clean before baby arrives!(Let's just say that one's about halfway done..)

So now we're just relaxing and staring at the glow of the tree. So thankful this week. It was just what we needed...