Farm Living

I have 3 goals in life:
1) Be like Jesus and raise a family that serves and loves him too.
2) Be a season ticket holder of some sweet Alabama seats.
3) Own a farm with some horses, a small garden and maybe some chickens.

Sarah's House (one of my fave shows) is renovating a farmhouse right now. I am saving the photos for inspiration for my farmhouse one day. Who wouldn't want to live here?

Entryway/Mudroom

Powder Room in Entryway

Living Room

Kitchen

Dining Room

Staircase

Blue Bedroom

Red Bedroom

Main Bath

 Boy Bedroom

Girl Bedroom

Kid Bathroom

Telling Gigi & Papa

We traveled to South Carolina the weekend of March 26-28 to visit Mom & Dad Grizzle. We were excited to see them and of course super excited to share our special news. This will be their 3rd grandchild.

We gave them the same framed ultrasound photo and poem we had given to my parents. They were surprised and very happy!

Baby Photos

Tell me these aren't the cutest poses you have ever seen. Hopefully, I can get a few snapshots of "Baby A" like these.

Kelley Ryden & Tracey Raver have a blog that is all about these cute poses. They are a TON more photos to drool at over there.

Little Lady or a Gentleboy?

Before we got pregnant I just HAD to have a girl. But now that the time is here, I am torn. I guess that is a good thing. As Michael Scott would say, it's "a win, win, win". I can't lose either way. I really want one of each eventually. But truth be told if I could put in my order for the gender and I knew I could pick a girl next time, I honestly think I would order a boy this time around. Maybe that is God's way of preparing me for a little man? I'm not sure. All I know is that as much of a cliche as it is...I just care that it is healthy. And really that is just a preference for the sake of the baby - we will love this child no matter what obstacles are thrown its way. Ben and I both agree that we will be tickled pink (or blue) with whatever we are blessed with.

In the meantime, I stare at baby pics of us and try to imagine what Peanut is going to look like. This particular pic of Ben steals my heart. I would love to have a son that looks like this. Check out them dimples and the little curls on the back of his head.

Or a little girl that looks like the little brown haired baby on my mom's lap. Isn't she precious?

Signs that it is a girl:

• Dreams. Whenever I dream about the baby, it is a girl. This has been happening since the very early days of pregnancy. 
• Sickness. I have read and heard from moms with one of each, that girl pregnancies are the worst. I am aware that my body does not like extra estrogen. Birth control would even make me sick. So it makes sense that having enough hormones for another female would mess me up.
• The ring test says it is a girl.
• The Chinese calendar predicts a girl.

Signs that is a boy:

• Perspiration. I have to wear deodorant now. I know this is TMI. But I have never been a "sweater". Maybe I am extra sweaty because of all the puking, but I am wondering if it is the extra testosterone I may be producing?
• Boy stuff. I am drawn to all things "boy". I was looking at birth announcements online yesterday. You could add your favorites to a folder and compare them when you were done. I looked at hundreds, randomly clicking on anything that caught my eye. When I got done I opened my favorite's folder. They were ALL boy announcements. This kind of thing happens all the time. I think it is partially due to the fact that my favorite color is blue so I kept liking the blue options. But still.

So far, I really can't rely on any of the old wives' tales. I am not showing so I can't do the carrying high/low  test. I am not having cravings - not consistently anyway. So the sweet/salty test is undetectable. I want more than anything to be able to lean in a certain direction but everything keeps teetering back and forth just enough to keep me on my toes. I think God is having fun watching the planner in me scramble.

Nursery Decor

All I can think about these days is decorating a nursery. I wish I knew which direction I am heading. At least I know I will be using blue either way.

Thanks to Ben's wonderful brother, Steve, and his wife, Anna, we have a crib. My dream crib at that. I have been wanting a Jenny Lind crib well before we were even trying to get pregnant. I love the turned slats and rails and think it is adorable for a boy or a girl nursery. I was really excited to find out that I could get one at Target or Babies "R" Us for $125! My luck usually runs the other direction. But when Steve and Anna offered to let us borrow their boutique version I was on it! With all of the other purchases we have coming our way in preparations for a first child, this will definitely help us to stretch our dollar!

I have done a couple of "design boards" for nurseries. Judging from the way my design boards worked for the rest of the house (every room has turned out totally different) the nursery will probably be no different. But as of right now, these are the 2 directions I am planning to go...

The pictures above "Audrey's" crib are from Pure & Lovely. I am hoping to use some of their furniture too!

Votes

In case you haven't already noticed - there is a poll located at the right side of this blog for votes on the gender of Baby Grizzle. I have had several people voice very strong opinions.  This is a place for you to voice yours. What do you think? A Grizzo or a Grizzette?

Ultrasound - Week 13

I would like to thank everyone that has prayed for us during this pregnancy. God is continuing to bless us and we are so thankful for your prayers.

On the Upswing

I have been scared to blog about this - afraid of jinxing my good fortune. But this week has been much better in the sickness department. After a bout with dehydration last week I seem to have bounced back and feel better than I have in a long time. I am still sick in the mornings and evenings but I feel like it might be subsiding some and I might even be gaining some more of my old energy back. I am crossing my fingers/hoping/wishing/praying that this pregnancy is rounding a corner and I will be back to my old self soon.

We had an ultrasound today to check for genetic birth defects. Everything looked perfect! We are so thankful for the tiny being that is being formed in God's image inside of me.

I told the ultrasound tech if she could tell the sex to feel free to share it with us. She said she can usually tell. We were so anxious to hear her guess. She initially said she thought it was a girl. And then at the end she acted surprised and said she thought it might be a boy. This early in the pregnancy they look for a straight line (girl) or a diagonal line (boy). The line kept changing. So she said the doctor would be able to tell. But the baby kept crossing its legs and he couldn’t see. I was so bummed! But it was so nice to see it and know that it is healthy. The tech and the doctor both agreed that it is a wiggly worm! It was stretching and moving around like crazy. Fun stuff!

I have new ultrasounds pictures that I will post later.

A Great Tip for Soft Summer Feet

My mom shared this tip with me last year and it worked so well I felt the need to share.

Noxzema Pads!

I rub the pads on my heels or any other dry spots I have before I got to bed at night. After using the pads, I immediately coat my feet in moisturizing cream. After a few days of this, a good sloffing with the pumice stone in the shower, and my feet are as soft as a baby's behind. It will tackle the roughest of feet and worst of cracked skin. Give it a try and your feet will be summer ready in no time!

Pregnancy Complaints

So far, pregnancy is not the beautiful thing I thought it would be. I know there are wonderful days coming my way. But I am counting down to the time where my symptoms consist of feeling the baby move and getting to enjoy lots of milkshakes! So far, my only symptoms are exhaustion and puking (and some other not so pretty conditions, that I will not share on this blog). Apparently, this is supposed to happen and makes sense when you consider everything that is happening in my body to make a tiny human.

Sometimes, when I can tell my husband is eyeing the piles of undone laundry or complaining of having nothing to eat, I like to say things like, "Did you know I made eyeballs for our baby today? Isn't that amazing????" Ha. I can take no credit for this. Our amazing Creator is doing all the work for me, but it makes me feel like I am not such a bad wife for letting the cleaning and cooking go to pot for the last 7 weeks.

Before you judge me and tell me I am a horrible mother-to-be - I am partially kidding about my complaints.

I am trying to keep a positive attitude and remind myself of the blessings I am receiving throughout this time. While, there are days that I just cry from the pure exhaustion of being sick and tired - I have to admit that there is a joy inside of me that is getting me through it all. It is not a joy I have experienced before. But a love that is growing everyday for this little being I have never met. I also feel like I am falling in love with my husband all over again. I really appreciate the way he has cared for me in the past months and I know that he will be an amazing daddy when our little Peanut arrives. I couldn't ask for a better partner in life and am so thankful God has given him to me. I don't deserve him.

P.S. I have finally found the cord to our camera and plan to blog about our trip to visit Ben's parents in South Carolina and share our Good News with them! Stay tuned.

"Let every man and woman count himself immortal. Let him catch the revelation of Jesus in his resurrection. Let him say not merely, 'Christ is risen,' but 'I shall rise.'"
-- Phillips Brooks

Today I am thankful to serve a Lord who would not only die for me, but LIVE AGAIN. My prayer is that you know Him as your Savior too.

Happy Easter!

Ultrasound - Week 9

We had our 9 week appointment the morning of March 23. Everything looked great. Blood work was all good. Ultrasound was perfect. I could actually see the baby this time! It had little arm buds moving around and the US Tech said it was squirming a lot. Heart rate was quick and healthy. 176 beats per minute.

I got a prescription for Zofran and some samples of prenatal vitamins that are supposed to help with nausea. I am crossing my fingers they will work.

I can already tell it is going to be super cute! Can’t you?

This is a 4D - kinda creepy right now.
It looks more like a shrimp than a baby.