Animal sounds

Claire has been eating like crazy. Definitely a growth spurt.

At one point tonight, I told her, "You're as hungry as a horse!"

Her reply: "Neighhh!"

She then repeated that response as I told Jeremy about it over dinner.

So cute.

Up until now her animal noises have included monkey and cow while occasionally "meowing" when she hears Diane complaining to come up from the basement.

2 more...

So apparently my sweet husband and I disagree on our favorite pictures of the end of the deployment. These are his 2 favorites- and the 2 I happened to leave off of the first post.

Joy

An empty basket and your favorite pink skirt.
Pure joy.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Romans 5:13

On to the next chapter....

Today was my last official group at McCallum Place. I'm getting everything in order before I go on "bed rest" in a few weeks.

And it's totally bittersweet. Although I'm feeling pretty bummed about it today. (leaving MP- I'm kind of looking forward to being forced to rest!)

I really loved working there but know I'm in the right place now. Working for Riverside Counseling is a huge blessing and I LOVE it. Really love it.

Anyway, that's it. I'm so grateful for the amazing opportunities I've had so far here in St. Louis. And I'm unbelievably excited to FINALLY send off my LPC paperwork NEXT WEEK!!!

Oh say can you see...

This American flag is hanging in our family room. You've probably seen it next to our front door.

For a long time, I pushed that flag around, not thinking about where it came from but not knowing what to do with a cheap flag. I mean, you can't just throw it out, right?

Then I finally asked Jeremy one day about it. I somehow missed the fact that this was the American flag I was holding when Jeremy came home from Iraq. And I somehow missed the fact that my sweet husband had saved it all this time.

So I framed it a few months ago. I'm going to hang some pictures with it soon.

You can see the flag in the picture below, too. I absolutely love these pictures and remembering that day and night.

The pictures are a bit out of order, but you get the idea.

I'm so proud of Jeremy.
This will always be one of my greatest memories.

Thanks for sharing it with me.
And now you know the significance of THIS particular flag. I love how it looks framed. I imagine our girls treating it with such importance and value some day.

Growing Babies

I know I'm a broken record these days... but I really am amazed at how different this pregnancy is. I was telling a friend, Katie, earlier tonight that Mary-Jane already has such a different personality. I know this isn't necessarily an indicator of how she will be after she's born (who knows- it might be), but the girls really are different in this stage. Claire moved a good bit but I just felt her shift a lot and her bottom always stuck out of my right side. Mary-Jane kicks and moves like she's trying to escape. Last night I couldn't fall back asleep because of her activity.

I'm not complaining... just relishing in these two baby girls. And finding it even harder to understand how people would have trouble believing in God if they've experienced pregnancy or have been blessed with a baby. To me, there is no other explanation for this craziness.

^{Psalms 139:15-17
15} My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

Greta's Giveaway!

My friend, Greta, is one of the most creative people I know...

If you want proof, go here and you won't be sorry!!!!!!

Happy Tuesday

Miserable

Yes, I'm miserable.

I went back to the doctor today. Since Friday, I've had the worst headache I've ever had in my life. I've never been prone to headaches but this pregnancy has been a different story. Tylenol wasn't doing a darn thing and it wasn't going away. With the concern of HELLP Syndrome coming back, the doctor's office told me to come in today to make sure everything else was normal.

HELLP is what I developed at 33 1/2 weeks with Claire. You can look up all the scary, yucky details. I got it pretty early, although it doesn't develop earlier than the 3rd trimester. I have to be cautious now.

Good news, though, because everything is normal and I have a migraine. I finally had some relief this afternoon after taking Excedrin which my nurse practitioner suggested I take. Now it's worn off and I can't take anymore because I'll be up all night due to the caffeine. Luckily, the headache hasn't interrupted my sleep. Just normal pregnancy-induced insomnia does that. :)

So I type all of this NOT to try to make you feel sorry for me or to get remedies or anything of the sort. I type this so that you might say a prayer if you think about it, praying that I would remain healthy so that Mary-Jane (yes, our youngest daughter) would be born at the best time for her- preferably full-term.

I was reminded today as I went to the doctor about how precious and fragile pregnancy really is. I complain about it a lot and don't always love being pregnant. But thank the Lord He's given us two children that we get to take care of and enjoy. I try to not take that for granted and appreciate this great blessing. Headaches and all.

Deeply Offended

Yes, that's right. I'm deeply offended.

By who, you wonder?

All of you people who have loved the show Veronica Mars and have held out on saying ANYTHING to me about it.

I started watching the series about a month ago.

And, yes, I'm addicted. And super sad that I'm in the middle of the 3rd and last season.

Shame on you for not sharing this great show sooner. And THANK YOU to my wonderful co-worker, Courtney, for sharing the love.

Thank you, swiffer....

for giving me 10 quiet minutes to finish putting dinner together.

Look out!

Look out, get out of my way... I'm nesting like it's NOBODY'S BUSINESS. Seriously. I pulled out a mop at one point last week and I think Jeremy said something like, "You're mopping again? You're definitely in your second trimester..." (And he was annoyingly right although I'm pretty sure I denied it at the time. Sorry, honey)

I'm actually supposed to be doing paperwork in my office (well my office for the afternoon), and all I can think about are the projects I'm finishing at home.

Here are the random thoughts going through my head:
*I need to wash the kitchen floor BETTER from when Claire dumped out her sippy cup of milk in a giant puddle this morning. (I can't say I blame her- it makes a giant, fun mess when her Mom forgets to put the valve in it.)
*Paint over a painting with chalkboard paint. I'll post pictures of this project I'm excited about.
*Move guest bed out of room that will soon be Claire's.
*Sand and re-paint window frame I bought in MI.
*Hang pictures above bed.

Those are the highlights today. Maybe now that I've typed them out and released them into blog world, I can focus on the paperwork at hand.

Stepstool?

Well, he doesn't seem to mind it.

My little monkey

So earlier this afternoon I said to Claire, "Come on, let's go change that stinky diaper."

Claire took off towards her room and I followed.

She then proceeded to CLIMB HER CHANGING TABLE and then lie down on top of it.

SERIOUSLY?

Yup, there's no doubt that she's a climber and completely fearless.

You can be jealous...

Homemade banana pudding.
Delicious.