All I want for Christmas...

Last night, RD and I went on our weekly date night to Applebee's and Wal-Mart. It's not much, but it is just the thing to rejuvenate us as a couple. As we were wandering about Wal-Mart's clearance aisle (my favorite), we caught a glimpse of all the wonderful Christmas stuff out on display. We then started talking about our Christmas wish lists. Of course, RD rattled off things like: a remote controlled helicopter, a Garmin navigational system, and other techie things. He then turned to me and asked me what I wanted. With a sigh and a hint of doubt that he'd take me seriously, I said, "All I want for Christmas is a housekeeper!" I've thought long and hard about this topic for some time. My top pick would be to hire a cook, but that's WAY out of my price league. But a housekeeper? Oh man, if I didn't have to clean house I cannot even begin to tell you how much extra time and energy that would free up! So with a flinch I awaited his response, to which he said, "Hmm. That's a good idea! Look into that!"
WEE-HAA! So guess what I'm going to be doing today! :-)

California

Gosh, I can't believe it's already been over a week since my sister and I flew out to Sacramento, California to visit our grandparents and extended family (paternal side). It was an all too short visit, but with family work schedules and childcare, it was all we could afford. Still, we had a wonderful vacation time.

Here is my sister, Cyndi, and I with our grandfather 20 years ago!

This is now.

This was our last pilot that drove us from Houston, TX to Indianapolis. I was shocked to see he wasn't much older than I was! (Then again, I keep forgetting I'm 30 and I'm not exactly "young" anymore.) Had to get this shot for Benjamin! He would have just loved to see the cockpit. Buttons, buttons galore!

I do hope it's not another 20 years before we get back out to California.

Cyndi and I had so much fun we're already making plans on doing something fun and girly when Baby F is weaned. Maybe we'll fly out to Vermont and take bread making classes from King Arthur Flour Company...

*the unabridged version of this trip in on our family blog*

An unconventional breakfast

Arianna chose breakfast this morning and this is what she came up with: pound cake and banana slices drizzled with chocolate syrup. Atypical, but yummy nonetheless.

She's actually becoming quite a chef here lately. She comes up with all kinds of ideas and recipes for meals and snacks. Her next recipe is some sort of baked smore's thing. Let you know how it turns out.

Meet the family!

We just had our photos taken for the church directory and I thought I'd share them with you. Enjoy!

Off to Californ-i-a!

I am SOOOOO excited. Tomorrow, very early, my sister and I (note: ONLY my sister and I) are flying out to California to visit our grandparents! We'll be back Thursday evening! I am totally going to enjoy this vacation! See you all later!

It... is... finished!

Transferring the kids' wardrobe to winter wear, that is. :-)

It's taken me two full days to do it, but it's finally all done! Yea! It's seriously like Christmas over here when the kids open their drawers and check out their hang-ups and there's new clothes awaiting them. I love watching them light up with glee.

We have truly been blessed in the clothing department. Between hand-me-downs, gifts from family and friends, and frugal shopping (garage sales, Goodwill, etc.), we have an over-abundance of kids clothes!

For any of you mom's out there that would be interested in swapping kids' clothes (or preggo clothes), check out this website: swapmamas.com. I've never actually swapped with them before, but I'm definitely intrigued. Definitely looking into it. If anyone's used them before, I'd love to hear about your experience.

Update

Praise be to Jesus, I think I am finally coming out of this yucky phase!!! (I am at 11 weeks.)

It kind of hit me this morning when I stopped at McDonald's to pick up a coffee before church and I found myself drooling over the breakfast menu items. And I didn't gag when the friendly McDonald's employee opened the drive-thru window and that waft of cooking food smells hit my nostrils. YEA!

I also went ahead and went to the doctor recently to have my gall bladder checked. There's really nothing they can do even IF my gall bladder is giving me trouble because they will NOT operate on a pregnant woman unless it's an absolute emergency. So my nurse practitioner gave me a Gall Bladder eat/do not eat list (which is MUCH less restrictive than the list I found online) to follow throughout my pregnancy. If my gall bladder is still giving me trouble following delivery, then we'll go ahead with testings and ultrasounds and go from there. But for now, it's really a wait and see type of situation. The Gall Bladder Diet is really a really low-fat diet. Everything's gotta be low-fat and lean. It's been helping a LOT. I also keep Tums with me at all times in case I start feeling things "rumbling" within. And because I have to follow this diet... I won't be gaining a lot of weight with this pregnancy. :-) That's always a bonus!

Tuesday Oct. 13 we go to the midwife for my first appointment and we get to hear the heartbeat. That is always such an exciting time!

Just so happy. Things are finally starting to get back to normal. Thanks so much for everyone that has been praying for us. I truly believe the Lord is answering prayer!