David's Nursery Reveal... Part One

Well, this is going to be a two part reveal... We've gotten all of the "big" stuff in David's room, but now we're just trying to find the finishing touches. We bought some wall plaques at Hobby Lobby, but they don't really fit in with the bedding, so it's back to square one!

Crib and rocker

Dresser

Changing table (still needs a changing pad)

Crib bedding

Dresser top (the ball, glove, and
helmet were Alan's from when
he was growing up!)

David's going home outfit!
You can't see it, but there are little
animals embroidered on the outfit.

Furniture and more!

Well, I don't have photos of the furniture in the room, but I figured I'd left the few people that read this blog hanging for too long, so I searched for pictures online to show.

The first item of furniture that we bought was a new dresser! It is beautiful and made of solid wood and stained a rustic cherry color. Absolutely gorgeous!


And the piece of furniture that most people will be interested in is...






















wait for it......




























A CRIB! We're excited to share with you that we are expecting a little bundle of joy sometime around March 12, 2010.

To say that Alan and I were shocked would be an understatement. With thinking that I had PCOS we did not think that we would be pregnant anytime in the near future. God had other plans, though. I am currently 12 weeks along, if not a little further than that, and had my first appointment yesterday. We heard the heartbeat *thankfully there was only ONE in there!!* and my doctor said my chance of having a miscarriage have "significantly decreased." We will be scheduling our first trimester screening sometime in the next week and should actually find out the gender then, as well. The miracles of modern science, known as the "Jack or Jill?" test (more details to follow regarding the test). The ultrasound that they do will also help "firm up" our due date as my cycles have been crazy lately.

How have I been doing you ask? Well, from about week 6 to week 12 I definitely had morning sickness. It wasn't very bad until probably around week 10 when I began having a difficult time holding down food (sorry if TMI). However, week 12 has been the magic week for me because as soon as I hit it, the morning sickness has pretty much evaporated, thank the Lord! I lost 5 additional pounds, but I'm sure that now I'm on the road to gaining them back, because I'm ALWAYS hungry!

Jack or Jill?
Recently, various genetic research labs have found that the DNA of the baby floats in the mother's bloodstream. (How crazy is that?) This allows lab technicians to screen for certain conditions, as well as gender, as early as 11 weeks. It's apparently 99% accurate in regards to gender determination, so it looks like Alan and I will be lucky enough to find out what we're having in the next week or so! I just can't believe it!

Well, I think this about sums it all up. We would covet any and all prayers that you might want to say as we are embarking on this new journey. Once I can make myself look presentable enough for a photo, I'll download one and post it. :)

Still here

I'm still here and loving life! We've traveled a lot the past couple of weekends with a trip to Alan's parents to celebrate his grandma's birthday and anniversary and then to my parent's to see my sister before she headed off to college.

We did some shopping in Texarkana and bought some furniture, so I'll have to post pictures when we get it in the house. I can't wait to see what you guys have to say about it!

I'm living the life of leisure until September. It looks like I'm not going to get a job teaching this year, so subbing here I come. I wish I had gotten a full time position, but I know God has a plan and I'm looking forward to having the privilege of working in several school districts and being able to take off whenever I feel like it..

Well I'm out for now. I'll post more whenever we get our new furniture in!

Picture Time

Well, before I get to the picture summary of our weekend, I just have to say... I PASSED MY ORAL EXAM! And I can now graduate with my Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education May 15, 2010. I was extremely nervous beforehand, and it didn't help that my sinus' started to act up the day before. What a weight off my shoulders!

Anyways, this weekend we got our tax refund money. We had the intention of saving it all, but Alan we quickly decided that it was, indeed, time for a new grill. This amazing monstrosity is called The Big Green Egg. Now, my dad has had one for a while, and I was always amazed at the delicious-ness of the meals that it produced, so naturally, I knew we would get one someday. I just didn't realize that "someday" would be Saturday. We moseyed over to The Woodlands to pick it up, and as luck would have it, we were able to take it home that day! Alan then set about building a table for the BGE (or Big Green Egg). We also got a new light fixture for the breakfast nook area, which was my splurge with our refund money. The following pictures are what we were up to with the building of the table for the BGE and my beautiful new light (and partially decorated buffet).

Alan, hard at work

Disassembled BGE

The table is taking shape!

Base is in...

Complete, now just need to cut a hole

I love a man with power tools ;)

It's finished!!

Big Green Egg

Right after breaking it in on yummy steaks and grilled zuchinni!

Beautiful Tiffany-inspired lamp

2/3 of the way decorated... The bottom shelf needs a holder for the cross, but they are engagement/wedding pics on the left and some sentimental cookbooks on the right with our champagne glasses and cake topper. The middle shelf has some Limoges plates with a beautiful plaque from my secret sister (at work). Now just need to figure out what to do with the top shelf. :) Any suggestions would be welcome!

Well, time to get back to paying attention to my class chat... It's the last one! Yay!!!

Before and After... Dining Room (and what's new!)

Long time, no blog. I've had a ton going on these past few weeks and no pictures to post, so hence my hiatus. Last week was spring break and I had a blast! I saw my best friend and her ADORABLE daughter, watched my favorite nephew, and went to the zoo with another one of my friends and her two kiddos (who I used to babysit for once a week or so). Not to mention, I got to sleep in some days and all the cleaning I did. I also painted the hallway where 3 of our bedrooms are on. White is not the best idea for painting, in my humble opinion. I felt like the hallway looked like a hospital. So, needless to say, we wasted $30 on a gallon of paint and then had to go buy another color. I love the new color, but we're still not finished. It's two shades lighter than our living room, so it ties in perfectly! This weekend we're going to finish and then put up some decorations, then it'll be picture time! :)

On another note, I think that Alan and I have found a church home! We have only attended once, but I felt right at home. It's about 30 miles from the house, but it only took us between 25-30 minutes to get there. I love that it is a straight shot on the highway! It took us about that long to go to our old church in College Station. Suffice to say, we will be going back! It doesn't help at all that I already know a couple of people that attend. My college roommate, her husband, and her daughter (the one that I got to visit with over spring break) attend and one of Alan's good friends attends, as well. I was just thinking... these two friends were our matron of honor and best man at the wedding. How crazy is that? Anyways... enough boring words... on to the pictures!

So on to the before and after pictures. The dining room still isn't 100% done. We have to do a few paint touch-ups, but I figured you can't really tell in the pictures. Let me know what you think!

Before... Looking in from foyer

Before... Same spot, different angle

After... Looking in from foyer

After... Looking in from kitchen

I was so excited on Monday when I got the call that our buffet was ready for delivery. I scheduled it to be delivered Thursday, and it got here this morning around 10. I must admit that I love it even more in person! Now it's time to accessorize the buffet! It looks great with our cabinets and I can't wait to be able to get the table and chairs to match!

Straight shot... I can't WAIT to change the light fixture. 

It's way too modern and 'heavy' looking for my tastes.

Looking from the side... So pretty!

In other news, I started the Couch to 5K training program on Tuesday. I did two walks/jogs of 3 miles on Tuesday. Wednesday it was pretty gross outside, so I just rested my sore legs, and today I've done one 4 mile walk/jog and will hopefully do another 4 miles or so once the hubs gets home. It's only been 2 days, but I actually find myself enjoying walking and jogging outside! I can't wait to see how my endurance changes (not to mention that I hope my weight changes) over the next 9 weeks.

Paint and more

Well, we've painted our kitchen completely. And as we speak the hubby is painting around the crown molding and baseboards of the living room and foyer. I'll post pictures as soon as we have everything back in place. The kitchen, as previously posted, is this gorgeous red color, called Red, Red Wine. The living room and foyer are painted Sunset Beige. The Sunset Beige has turned out a little more orange than we thought, but I still love it! It definitely looks great up against the red kitchen. And it'll look even better when I get my brown leather furniture and giraffe print area rug. =)

We purchased My parents so generously purchased our first piece of furniture for us. I ordered it last night and it should be here within six weeks! I'm so excited! Right now, the unfinished but beautiful buffet that Alan built is sitting in the new buffet and baker's rack spot. When our new furniture comes in, I get to put Alan's buffet into my teaching room! I already know exactly what is going in the shelves. I can't wait to put it to good use! For now, though, I hope we finish it soon. The buffet and baker's rack is pictured below. I couldn't figure out how to copy and paste the one that showed them together, so you'll have to use your imagination.

       

Eventually (as in we've got to get our house painted, TV stand built, living room furniture, and some other odds and ends purchased first), we're going to get the table and chairs that match to put in our breakfast nook. 

Here's the table...

And here are the two types of chairs...

Wheatback         Ladderback

Woven Seat

Wheatback         Ladderback

Fabric Seat

Which chair would y'all get? The wheatback or ladderback? It's called wheat back because the little rails on the back look like wheat stalks (you can't tell in the picture and when I try to make them bigger, it just gets blurry). Which seat would y'all get? The woven one, or a fabric one? Keep in mind, if I did get the woven one, I could always get those cushions to put on it. And if I get fabric, do I just get a neutral color, like off-white? I know I have several months, if not years, before I can get the table, but I like to plan ahead. 

Ok, that's enough for now. I'll post pictures tonight tomorrow when I have more time (and when the house is more organized).

Jen