Just a quick catch-up

I'm not even sure if anyone reads this anymore, but if so, here's a quick update. Abby is growing like a weed, and has the sweetest disposition...she's simply ecstatic to exist, and shows the world by smiling all the time. LJ is, well, definately three, and talking up a storm. He's using complete sentences! This morning he told Gary "I love Daddy too much," talk about melt a Daddy's heart! I immediately saw the frustration with LJ's whining melt off Gary's face like hot wax. :0)

We purchased a pop-up camper a couple weeks ago, and hope to make good use of it when the temps go down to the low 90s again. It has an a/c, but even an a/c can't cool a popup in 100 degree weather! I brushed the cobwebs off my mountain bike and can't wait for the first time to hit a trail. Except now we have to arrange child care (at least until Abby can sit up and we can pull the kids in the trailer). I forgot how much I enjoyed riding.

Gary and I have finally decided we're going to begin looking for property to eventually build on. We like it here, it's a great place for kids and the house is plenty big, but we want some privacy w/ woods and such. We're putting it in God's hands though, and pray that the right property for us reveals itself in God's good timing.

Abigayle Jean Hamblen

I can't believe I am just now thinking of updating our blog. I'm really quite embarrassed.

Abigayle Jean "Abby" was born on April 13, weighing 7 lbs. 15 oz. and was 20 1/2" long. She had light brown hair at birth, but has been progressivly lightening to blonde. She also has much lighter eyebrows and lashes than LJ ever had. She has a very sweet temperment and has been a blessing from the moment we formally met. Sorry for the short post...It's almost bedtime and I'm in a hurry. :o)

Still waiting

We're still awaiting the arrival of Abby-Jean. Braxton-Hicks contractions are becoming more frequent and slowly getting stronger, but are still nowhere near real contractions (with the occasional anomoly). While she is continuting to drop lower, as of a week ago, there was no change in dilation/effacing worth mentioning. I recall now how days felt more like weeks when at this point in pregnancy!

We're pretty much ready to go as far as preparing for Abby-Jean's arrival; we just pray that God allows her to enter the world complication-free.

LJ is coming up with new things to say all the time. Gary and I usually spend the evenings laughing about the silly things he's said and done throughout the day. One of my favorite new things he says is: "Oh Daddy! Oh Daddy! Oh Daddy! Oh Daddy!" (while running down the hall to go get his Daddy). Sometimes it's "Oh Momma" or "Oh Nala" instead. One more thing worth noting is how much he likes Nala (the feeling really isn't mutual, but Nala tolorates him...most of the time). He'll go right up to Nala and look her straight in the face, then wave his hand about 3 inches from her face and say "HI, Nala." Then he'll pet her (he does quite good too!), then his blankie will pet her, then blankie will give her "kisses" and then LJ will give her a kiss. It's pretty cute.

I can't believe how much we've accomplished on the house since February. Our house went from about half-finished to almost complete. The only thing we really need to do is fix up Gary's office where it's both functional and looks nice. A coat of paint and some cabinets/shelves/or both will probably do the trick! Eventually I want to repaint the laundry room too, but I'm in no hurry whatsoever.

Nesting

Nesting is in full swing. We made the master bedroom back into 2 rooms, half is LJ's new room and the other half is Abby's room. Gary still has his office, and we downsized our bedroom to the one bedroom that has 2 closets in it...and I think I actually like it better than before. Afterall, we only spend MAYBE 30 waking minutes in our bedroom on any given day. I hope to post some pictures before long of the bedrooms. They really turned out better than I thought they would! I still have A LOT of cleaning up to do from the rearranging of all the bedrooms (and laying of the new carpet, etc.) so that's keeping me quite busy.

I begin weekly appointments this week and they start checking for dilation/effacing and all that fun stuff. I can't believe it's already almost time for her big debut! I've been on my feet so much more this pregnancy, it wouldn't surprise me too terribly if she did come a little early. I certainly wouldn't complain. I look like I quite literally swallowed a basketball. I'm SOOOO ready to be able to move like my normal self once again!

Just an update...nothing exciting

Well, we made it through the holidays; Christmas decor is put away, and the house is finally feeling clutter-free. For the first time since I got pregnant, I'm finally caught up on ALL the housework simultaneously. The first trimester wiped me out so much, it was all I could do to do the minimum amount of REQUIRED housework. I was still exhausted during the second trimester, and finally mentioned it to the dr. They checked my iron and it was low. Once I started a supplement, I've felt great! So now that my energy is back, nesting is settling in, as we have quite a bit to do to prepare for Abby-Jean's arrival. (Speaking of Abby, she hasn't stopped kicking for about an hour now, but it's good reassurance that all is well in there.) I've been rearranging and organizing everything. I rearranged/reorganized my laundry room to actually make it functional, and I LOVE IT. My Dad and I installed a utility sink in my laundry room, and I'm not sure how I've lived this long without one. I also set up an ironing station where the iron and board are always ready to go at the flip of a switch...another thing I'm not sure how I've lived without. Once we get the wall built that will divide LJ & Abby's rooms, we'll be moving all the bedroom furniture to different rooms. So, like I said, lots to do, and I'm starting to flip-out that there's around 90 days to do it in!