Just A Random Update...

I promise to be a better blogger once I get these last few weeks of school done. I'm SO close to finishing up my BIO classes (aside from scheduling my finals), but it's taking up a lot of my time! I'm sitting at the table with Boogie while she eats her new favorite breakfast... cheerios and milk! Yea, MILK! This child has been adamant about not drinking cow's milk, but since I've introduced her to the world of cereal and milk, she's all for it! LOL!

Anyways, I'll be 35 weeks pregnant tomorrow and I cannot believe it! This pregnancy has gone by SO fast I still feel like I'm grasping at the fact that we're going to be a family of four! Everything is ready for Bubby, all we have left to do is pack our bags and install his car seat. Although... I think we're going to just wait until he's here to do that, J can do it while I'm in the hospital. The way our belts and child latch system is in our van we will have to move Boogie back to the very back seat, and there's no way my big belly can squeeze back there to unbuckle her! So.... yea. Not doing that until after Bubby is born :)

We are doing our maternity photos on Monday evening, I'm so excited! We were supposed to have them done last weekend but our photographer (who is also pregnant!) got really sick and needed to rest! I think it will work out better this weekend though, the fall colors in our beautiful mountains are gorgeous right now!

Boogie is a mess this week, she has made me laugh so much this week with her crazy antics! She is newly obsessed with Cinderella... or in her words, "Cindarellwa", and I can't tell you how much I love it.... it's so much better than Minnie Mouse! LOL! We just got the movie two weekends ago and that's all she wants to watch now! She's also gotten a few books and some of these tiny princess dolls with clothing. (She's really into dressing her dolls and such, so this was a great toy!) She's getting so big, and her vocabulary continues to amaze me. She's slowly but surely learning her ABC's, numbers, and colors. Her colors need a lot more work, but we're getting there. As soon as my classes are done I plan on getting more organized and really start Tot School with her. She loves to learn and do crafts (at least some crafts) so I'm sure she'll enjoy a little more of that on our schedule!

Last weekend on J's days off we did some Halloween and fall crafts and even managed a short trip to the pumpkin patch. We painted pumpkins, made Halloween snacks (well... mommy and daddy made the snacks lol), glued fall leaves onto a paper tree, etc etc. The pumpkin patch was a bust, but at least Boogie enjoyed the animals! I will share some pictures tomorrow or Monday of that fun stuff.

Other than that everything is pretty good around here, J is working a lot of course, but he's still managed to spend time with both Boogie and myself. Bubby continues to grow and get stronger, he's measuring right on and doing well. I feel like my nose is constantly buried in the computer doing homework, I've been leaving facebook up on one of my tabs while I do hw so that I have a reprieve between assignments and can have some "social" interactions lol. I'm still very overwhelmed by everything, but it's not nearly as bad now that my LIT class is over! I'm sure I'll update with pictures soon, as well as with maternity pics sometime this week! Until then... God Bless!

Mom Blog Monday

If you are a mommy blogger or a blogger who likes to read mommy blogs, click the link above to join the linky or to find other mommy blogs to read! I've found some amazing blogs during these blog hops!

Summer Blog Challenge, Day 4

Today's challenge... what's the meaning behind my blog name. Well, I think that's pretty self-explanatory lol! A few months ago it was "And Baby Makes Three..." because when I was pregnant with Boogie we were then a family of three! Now... there will be four. Hence the "And Then There Were Four..." title.

Summer Blog Challenge, Day 1

Alright, so here we are. First day (at least for the next 50 minutes or so) of the challenge. I have decided to do this challenge so that I can stay caught up with this blog! I love blog challenges, I think they're a great way to get to know fellow bloggers, mommies, and wives all over the country... or possibly the world! I also love that I took so much time to document my pregnancy with Boogie, and I'd like to do the same for this one as well. What better way than a 90 day challenge (although the button says til August, this challenge is now going through September!) So there you have it.

Bad Blogger...

I've been a horrible blogger lately... but that's going to change. I'm taking a break from Five Question Friday and What's On Your Nightstand for the summer and instead I'm going to take a summer challenge.

I've got to finish signing up, and I'm going to do my first post here in a bit. Along with that, I'm also going to do my weekly pregnancy updates. Someday I will print all these out into a book for my kids... not that they'll ever read it, but you never know!

4 Years of Blogging!

I realized today that I have officially been blogging for four years! When I started this blog we were planning a move to a new state, hadn't even been married for a year and were learning what it's like to be husband and wife. It's amazing what four years can do in a young couple's life! J has come so far in his career path, we've had a beautiful little girl who continues to grow, learn, and surprise me everyday.... and I couldn't be happier.

We're facing a lot of changes in this upcoming year, and while it's incredibly exciting it's also incredibly terrifying. J will be completing his certification in October and will start looking for a CDM job immediately. We'd love to stay right here in our beautiful mountains, but realistically we know that in order to do what's best for our family we may have to make the choice to move. This is also my last semester of school for now. I am still lacking 3 classes to get my Associates but J and I have decided that it's time to take a break and focus on our family. I'm not looking forward to starting payments on my student loans (actually I'm absolutely terrified), but it has to be done and we will get through it!

This summer we are hoping to transition Boogie into a big girl bed, she is finally sleeping through the night! She just randomly started sleeping last Saturday... there have been two nights since then where she woke up one or two times but it didn't take much to get her back to sleep! It's incredible getting so much sleep! We tried so many different things to get Boogie to sleep and the more we tried the more she fought us.... so as I had told J over and over again, I had high hopes that she would just figure it out on her own. So ha! I was right! ;-)

Another thing we are hoping to do is to get a family pass through our local nature center (if you are unfamiliar with what that is, it's basically a small zoo with animals found in our 'part of the woods'), it will give us a huge discount and even free entry into many zoos and aquariums all over the country. Now, we definitely won't be traveling all over the country, but there are several participating zoos within a 2-3 hour drive from us. Boogie loved the aquarium we took her too on our mini vacation a few months ago, so I know this will be a great treat for her this summer!

We are also looking forward to really diving into "Tot School"... basically preschool for homeschoolers! I have a lot of fun activities and such that I want to do with Boogie, we have already made her magnet/chalk board and have purchased the Leapfrog Alphabet toy, a batch of numbers (which actually includes math symbols and things which will be great for later on!), and some Melissa and Doug Animals. Boogie loves to learn, she loves to read, she loves to color and explore.... so I have high hopes that she will enjoy some of the things I have planned!

Other than that I don't have anything to share! May is coming up soon, so I will be working on my book post (aka What's On Your Nightstand?), and I'm going to start my Five Question Friday posts again tomorrow. I'm hoping to start updating a lot more, especially since I won't have school to weight me down, and I want to post more updates on Boogie for family members because I'm taking a step back from Facebook. Not leaving... just not going on there all the time like I had been. Anyways, that's it for now!

New Look

Thanks to my Aunt Tracee, I found a great new layout for my blog! So, I'm updating here and there, including some stuff in my pages... so bare with me while I'm "under construction"... and please pray for my Boogie, she's caught a bug and we're hoping she'll start feeling better soon!

Please Excuse The Mess

I am under construction... so please ignore the banners, random backgrounds, fonts, colors... I haven't totally decided what I want it to look like again, so bear with me! Thanks!

Blog Button

I made a blog button, it's in the middle, top of my page, just below Elah's ticker... so if your a blogger PLEASE grab it and post to your blog! I'll do the same for you, just let me know! Thanks!

A New Look

I decided it was time for some new owls... and a new banner since Elah is here to add some beauty to my page ;-). I really am hoping to start blogging more often, like I did prior to giving birth... and I'm planning on doing some tutorials of some crafty creations I've been working on :-D... but that will take some time! Thanks for reading, and God bless!

Monday Memories

I definitely don't blog as much as I did before Elah was born, and I'm a little sad about that because I feel like I'm missing out on documenting so many things that I would want to remember down the road. However... the time I would be spending writing on this blog has been spent on other things... Elah being the number one priority of those many things! She's eating every 2-3 hours, which is special mommy/daughter time since we are EBF... we are starting cloth diapers during the day. Sadly I don't have a big enough tiny diaper stash to get through day and night, so currently she wears ALL her diapers during the day and I wash them before we go to bed so I can hang them to dry over night. We spend lots of time cuddling... my favorite part about being a mommy at the moment. And all the extra minutes in between, and the few hours of naps during the day are spent on homework, laundry, and cleaning. I love it all, with the exception of a little homework, LOL!

Elah is changing every day, it's incredibly exciting and depressing all at the same time! Her face is getting slightly chubbier, and she has a tiny little double chin... and her little legs, LOL... I call them preemie thunder thighs. They are so tiny, but she's finally getting some fat on them! I'm so excited to see her grow and hit all these major milestones, but I'm sad to see the newborn stage slowly creeping away. I'm so blessed that Justin is working hard so that I can stay home full time with our daughter, I don't know what I would do if I had to miss out on all the changes that I'm already seeing in Elah daily!


I'm hoping to get started on my Project 365 again, however I may do it on the actualy 365 website this time. I'll post more about that tomorrow! Until then... I'm going to go cuddle with my munchkin, get some sleep and wake up in about 2 or 3 hours to feed her, change her, and start the process all over again :) Night!

Blogging Hiatus

I've decided to put a pause on blogging until Elah gets here... Project 365 will start up where I left off once we're home and settled, and I will probably try to squeeze a blog in at the hospital when she's finally here. This will be my last blog until then... I need a break!

This Christmas is a little bit bittersweet... it's incredibly exciting because Elah could be here any day, but I know her daddy really wanted her here for Christmas. This holiday is also extremely depressing because it's also the anniversary of my Granny passing away. She passed away on December 26th of last year... and needless to say, it makes the holidays a lot different from what I'm used too.

For as long as I can remember, every year, on Christmas Eve my Granny and Papaw would have a family get together with all of their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. I don't think I've ever missed a get together! Last few years were tough because Papaw passed away a few months before Christmas in 2006, but we kept the tradition going because it was important to keep the family together and for Granny to have everyone by her side. Then last year happened... and now a few members of our family have chosen not to participate because the two people who held our family together are gone. It feels so wrong, especially since a new member will be here soon. It makes me angry... it makes me sad... I want my daughter to experience that tradition, but I have a feeling it's not ever going to be the same.

Selfishly, I would love to go into labor right now, before the 26th so that I don't have to feel the pain of losing my grandmother all over again, but I have a feeling that Elah is going to take her time getting here. And that's not her fault. I just wish that having her here could make things easier on everyone.

We're also supposed to be going to the annual Christmas Dinner at Justin's nanny's house, but this year they decided to have it on Christmas day... and we had already decided that starting this year... there would not be anymore running around to everyone's houses on that day. I had to make a slight exception to go to my parents house because Justin is working... and I didn't want to be home on Christmas by myself. So we won't be attending that Christmas Dinner, and I know Justin is disappointed... but I'm going to be 39 weeks pregnant tomorrow, I'm already super uncomfortable, highly irritable... and frankly I just don't want to be around that many people at once. And even more so than that... I don't want to be around anyone smoking, and I don't want to be around any colds or illnesses (I don't know if anyone is sick...but it IS that time of year). I don't need to be sick when I go into labor... heck no.

So yea... I need a break from blogging, and a break from everything else too I guess until Elah is here. Everyone is excited and anticipating her arrival, and sometimes I just wish I could hide and not come out until she gets here... I'm tired of people. Aren't I just a bundle of holiday cheer this year? Next year will be better.

Until Elah's birthday.... Merry Christmas... Happy New Year.... (I hope she's here before the new year atleast)... and adieu.

New Blog Look/Layout

I've changed up the layout a bit and changed the background (sadly, the one I had before this was not made for a 3 columned blog... so I had to find a different one.... bah humbug! ). I've added some various tabs, one with pictures of the 3 of us... or soon to be 3 of us lol, one about our TTC journey, and etc. I'm sure I'll keep changing it a bit until I am completely satisfied with the look and layout of the site. Let me know what you think!

Ultimate Fail

I have totally, completely, and ultimately failed on updating my blog daily. Sad face.

2 minutes!

It's officially 11:58. I almost didn't make it for my daily blog! Well... technically I did, I tried to update on my phone but the app isn't working correctly at the moment. Bah humbug! So I don't have much to write today, except that I'm tired and I think it's time for bed! So I leave you with these simple words...

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalms 27:1

Rain Drops Keep Falling On My Head...

Despite my true hatred for rain and/or snow... I do love the way rain sounds as it hits the roof on days when I'm stuck indoors doing homework. It's just so peaceful.... until it's time to take the dogs out and I have to get wet. Yuck.

Anyways... so I've updated my blog look, added twitter and etc... so my goal for the next year is to post EVERYDAY. Yes EVERYDAY. I'm determined. Even if I have nothing to write about I want to try and post something and start adding in bible verses again like I used too.

Today is Sunday, and no I didn't go to church. It's been really hard for me trying to find a church I really enjoy going too. But even harder than that is having to go by myself because most of the time Justin has to work. We both really love Biltmore Baptist, but we just can't afford the gas to get out there every week. The other alternatives are our home churches... but I just don't feel at home at mine anymore and my husband's is a little too.... country for me. The last couple of weeks I've been taking some time on Sunday mornings to do my own worship. I either listen to some praise and worship on Pandora and then listen to biltmore baptist or another church I find online... or sometimes I just sit in my office with my guitar and praise the Lord all on my own. As strange as most people might find it... this feels more like worship to me then actually going to church. It's more personal and one on one ya know?

Anyways. Today's plan is to read Hamlet. Yuck. Ok... Shakespeare might have been a great writer but dude... I can't understand a word you wrote. So I'm resorting to cliffnotes.com today. What a lifesaver... I'm not cheating, I promise. I'm reading the actual play in book and reading the cliffnotes as I go so that I can understand it better. Currently, I'm only on Act II, so it's a slow process... but I needed a break so I'm eating some chicken salad and crackers (all ingredients courtesy of Aldi... best grocery store EVER).

OH! Also... Justin and I have started a family game night... yea yea yea... our family only consists of me and him... but oh well. We had a blast last night! We decided to do it on Saturday nights because I don't have classes or anywhere to go the next day except for church if he's off... so it's a good night to do it. We played Disney Scene It & the original Scene It last night... wow. So much fun! If you don't have a family game night, you should totally try it out. The sad truth is that most evenings I am doing homework or watching my "shows" or Justin is playing video games or reading a book... we're bad to just go about our business and not spend time together. We just get so wrapped up in other things! But this was a great way to start doing that again! We got our games out, got some sparkling grape juice (and champagne glasses.... no we don't drink alcohol... and yes we drink sparkling grape juice from champagne glasses. we are soooo cool! note my sarcasm) and cuddled up on the couch for our games. GREAT fun!

Alright... now I really have to get back to the task at hand. I will conquer Hamlet. I will.

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted in the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought." Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NIV)

Blog Update

So I thought my blog needed a new "springier" look..... so ta da!

PS... if your on twitter go to right hand side of my page ------>

and click the "twitter" plaque... and you can follow me :)

Hmmm

Well... I had deleted this blog, luckily for me blogspot keeps it "active" for 30 (or 90... I can't remmeber) days so I changed my mind. This is my outlet for me to vent when I have no other way to do so. If someone reads this blog and doesn't like what they read then DON'T read it. I write for myself, and occasionally my venting is read by my close friends who pray about situations that I'm dealing with. My blogs are not meant to harm anyone or to cause "drama" as a few put it... it's for ME. I love my blog, I can look back on almost 3 years worth of my life stories and that is special to ME. So again. If you don't like what I write, then don't read it. This is MY blog. I'm an adult. I can write what I choose in MY blog. Thank you.

Hmmmm... A Few New Ideas

I'm hoping to add some more pizazz to this blog of mine... first I want to re customize it. I'd also like to incorporate some crafty things including quilts I'm working on, loom projects, and possibly some crafty ideas I have for some little monsters I know ;-). I'd also like to ask my mom about getting copies of my great grandma's recipes and possibly do one a week and post about it with pictures and the recipes to share. But for now it's just a thought.

So I have lots of updates today.... drum roll please....

James and Jonathan are officially here! They arrived on Sunday, December 20th at 8:26pm & 8:27pm. Both are doing well and so is Ms. Janelle. I'm soooo excited for her and her family, and I'm sooooo excited to meet these two new Flint monsters in the future!

I have been working on a quilt for my husband's nanny, it's burgundy and white (with a burgandy floral print)... it's almost finished, all I have left is to buy the batting, tied the square corners and finish the edges. Whoo! Since I'm currently snowed in and can't buy the rest of the materials I need, I have also started cutting 1 inch squares out of all my scraps for a throw for well... me! I have scraps leftover from a few things I made James & Jonathan, scraps from Nanny's quilt, scraps from a quilt I made Justin, and some various scraps bought at thrift stores. I'm lovvvving being crafty!

I am still snowed in. My car is BURIED and our drive way is literally over a foot deep in snow. Luckily my inlaws came and rescued me yesterday and took my husband and I to pick up a few groceries. Thank goodness for macho man trucks right? LOL

My friend Hannah is finally home from school! YAY! She was stuck in her apartment because of the snow but was finally able to drive back to our good old mountains safe and sound! Can't wait to see my friend!

Mine and my husband's friends from Michigan flew down on Saturday and had some issues getting to the house they are staying at, but thank goodness they finally made it! Can't wait to see them either!

It's currently 12:36am Eastern Time, so Christmas is officially 3 days away! Yikes! We are having a family Christmas Party at my mom's house on Christmas Eve, which is great except that my Granny can't get from the nursing home to my mom's house... which is why I tried to get them to have the party at the nursing home so she could participate... guess I'm to young to know better right? So that's a little disappointing, but Justin is going to help me prepare some yummy foods and puree them for her so that she can enjoy some of our holiday goodness!

I'm also happy to announce that this year, Justin and I are spending our own Christmas at home. In the past 3 Christmas' we've had together we have run around to my parents, his parents, grandparents... EVERYWHERE and made the holiday so stressful we just wanted it to go away. Well not this year! However... unfortunately Justin has to work 12pm to 8pm which puts a bit of a damper on things, but since he works in the nursing home my Granny lives at... I'll most likely go and spend the day with her. So that works out pretty well I think.

Wow. Now THAT was a long post. Let me know what you think about my ideas for updating my blog and until next time.... and if I don't post before Christmas... Have a VERY Merry Christmas, and remember that JESUS is the REASON for the SEASON!

Forgiven

I apologize for my previous rant. You ever just have one of those days? That is why I LOVE this blog. No limits! I can rant and rave and fight through my emotions until I feel better and nobody can stop me! What's even better is that I know despite my anger and disappointment... I am forgiven. Forgiven for every sin committed, forgiven for every slip of a naughty word, forgiven for every stray though... this wonderful Jewish carpenter suffered through horrendous beatings and a monstrous death in order to save my soul. Wow. What more could a person say? I think it's simply AMAZING.

I have decided to start brand new today. Since moving into our new home I have become incredibly lazy, now before you jump to any conclusions this is partly from having to sit around doing homework nonstop (I can't wait for Christmas break!) and not being able to have the time to do anything else! But then again, there are some moments when I just don't want to do the laundry, or I don't want to take the dogs out! That is changing today. I am determined to take a new step in my life and make a better effort. My husband has been so wonderful, I am constantly working on papers and catching up on homework so he dutifully does the laundry, washes the dishes, and does other household chores that I don't ever seem to have time to do. I have a lot of homework and papers to write tonight, but I AM going to finish washing, drying, folding and putting away the laundry. I WILL make sure there are no dishes in the sink. The puppies will be taken out and I will be patient while they do their business. My house will be clean for once, and I will actually mop those dirty floors and vacuum those dusty rugs. I have a goal and I will meet it. And once that's done I will make a scrumptious dinner to thank my spectacular husband for being the man of my dreams. Then I will work on my homework.




ps. Prayers might actually help this goal... any takers? ;-)