Today I am 20 weeks pregnant, which means we are halfway to the due date! This is a fun milestone to reach, as it makes the baby's arrival seem all the closer. I already have a substantial bulge out front, which should be no surprise, as I always get such a huge tummy when I'm pregnant! The fact that I tend to have very large babies doesn't help any, I imagine! :) I'm just hoping that this baby won't try to top Bethy's birth weight of 10 lbs. 14 oz!
Now that warmer weather is here, we've been having so much fun fixing up the planters around the outside of our house. Some of the plants were exceedingly ugly ones, and some were half-dead(or completely dead!). We've been doing a lot of work putting in new flowers and plants, and it looks so much better! Our only regret is that we don't have any pictures of what the planters looked like before, so we can't take "before and after" pictures. Tom is extremely good at planting things, and has done most of the work. My jobs are mainly watering and caring for the plants after they're planted. It is so much fun for me, and I find myself sneaking out of the house all too frequently to care for my new flowers, or just to simply go stand out there and admire them. :) I have never loved gardening as much as I do now! I think Tom has been amused with how much I am loving it. There is just nothing like having a yard for the first time in our married life!
A week and a half ago my sister Rachel came to stay with us for a few days. As always, she was amazingly helpful, and freed me up to get some badly needed projects done that had been stacking up. One of the days she was here we had my friend Aimee over with her sister Emily (Rachel’s good friend). Aimee showed me how to make curtains. I’ve sewed lots of clothes, but I never have made curtains before, so it was a great learning experience for me. We started with the kitchen curtains, which are red and white gingham edged with white eyelet. While Aimee and I sewed, Rachel and Emily watched the little ones and made the lunch (and cleaned up after lunch, too!). That was so sweet of them, as it gave me a lot more time to sew. It was fun to talk with Aimee while we were working. Before Aimee and Emily left we were able to hang one almost-completed set of curtains. We all stood back and admired the finished project—it sure makes an amazing difference in the kitchen! That evening and the next morning I continued working on them, and finished them before noon the next day (Except for the tiebacks. Until I get around to making those, I'm just using strips of fabric). The quick job was due to Tom and Rachel "holding down the fort" while I was working!
Yesterday was Tom’s mom’s birthday, so after church we had them over here for a meal and a little party. For her birthday, I made an Angel Food Cake from scratch for the first time. I’m not very good at making cakes (pies generally work better for me!), but for once I was happy with the finished product. :) After a late lunch and the children’s naps, Grandpa and Grammy organized a spring egg hunt for Michael and Bethy (We had decided to keep egg hunts as a celebration of spring instead of a celebration of Easter). Michael loved finding the eggs, but he didn’t want to put them in his basket! He tried to hold them all instead, and enjoyed opening them and finding the special treats that Grandpa and Grammy had put inside. :)
I have been enjoying feeling teensy-weensy kicks from little Bean from time to time now! That is one of my favorite parts of pregnancy. :)
Recently Michael has had a fascination with throwing anything and everything into one of the playpens. The items he throws in are mainly toys that he took out of his toybox, but going through it I find socks that he and/or Bethy took out of Daddy's drawer, a pair of Michael's jeans, an afghan throw from the living room, Michael's red flannel shirt, a burgundy cumberbun that Tom hasn't worn in years, Mommy's black dress shoes, junk mail, one of Michael's sweatshirts, Daddy's suspenders, Michael's blue baseball cap, etc!! I think it is going to take me awhile to put all this away! Now if only I could channel all of his energy the right way, so that he will help me put his toys away in his toyboxes! :)
I have gotten so behind in writing, so I will just give a brief description of some of the things that have happened in the last week and a half.
On the 18th we went to be with Tom's extended family and celebrate the two February birthdays--mine and dear Aunt Vera's. Aunt Vera turned 97! The day was very special, and it was great to see everyone again, as it had been awhile.
Last Thursday Tom and I dropped the little ones off with his parents, and went to a wedding rehearsal dinner of some friends of ours--Tim and Carrie. Tom was honored to be a groomsman. It was a fun rehearsal dinner because the wedding party's families were all invited, and it was quite a group! I enjoyed meeting another family who lives in our area, has a boy Michael's age, and is expecting again one month after we are! We are looking forward to getting to know them better, especially because we don't know very many people in our area yet. When we went back to Tom's parents' house to pick up the children, we found them having lots of fun, and Michael protested when it was time to go home!
Saturday was the big day! Tom went to a groomsman breakfast in the morning, and thoroughly enjoyed it. He was bubbling about it to me for quite awhile. He said the conversation was especially encouraging and inspiring. After the breakfast he came back home, and we all left for my parents' house to drop the little ones off with them for the day. We then took off for the church early so that Tom could be in the pictures. The wedding was beautiful, and Tom felt very honored to be a part of it! Congratulations, Tim and Carrie!! After the wedding, Tom and I went out to dinner at P.F.Changs, one of our favorite restaurants! We normally seem to get a huge waiting line here, but this time we didn't have to wait at all! We had a wonderful time on our little date. We always feel extra sentimental after going to a wedding, because it brings back precious memories of ours. :) After we got back to my parents' house, we heard lots of loud laughter coming from one of the rooms. Following the sound, I found our little Michael playing a rousing game with his three youngest uncles, and having a great time. When he saw me he yelled, "oh no!" :) He didn't want to go home this time either! I think he likes to be babysat!
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Today I woke up after everyone else, and recognized the smell of sausage cooking (a special treat around here, as we normally have just cereal). Tom had gotten up early with the little ones (both of our children are morning people!), letting me sleep in. He actually spoils me by doing this every day! This morning he started making me a special birthday breakfast while I was sleeping late! He made waffles and sausage, which brought back many fond memories of my birthday breakfasts as a child. When I was very little, I often requested Kix for my birthday breakfast--which was my family's "special treat" cereal. As I got a little older, I would often prefer things like waffles and sausage, which was usually only served on a big occasion like a birthday. Eating that breakfast with my hubby made me feel like I was indeed having a "real birthday". :) As an extra blessing from the Lord, we got to enjoy the pitter-patter of rain this morning (I love rain!). After breakfast, Tom brought in a birthday surprise for me from a dear far-away friend, which made the morning all the more special! I'm looking forward to lunch, too, because my sweet husband says he is going to bring something yummy home. I am certainly feeling blessed this morning! :)
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