Moving?? What!

Well it's official, we are moving 2 weeks from tomorrow! Yep, you heard me right... God has just been full of surprises lately :) We have a two bedroom house right now. I knew that when I got pregnant I could get on the list for a 3 bedroom, which is usually a 3-6 month wait I would guess. I had to wait to get put on the list until after my first appointment. So Tuesday I had my first appointment and Wednesday I headed down to the housing office to be put on the list. So I am sitting there waiting for them to get all the paperwork done etc and the lady says, "You know what I think we have one open right now." What??? Yeah there was an open 3 bedroom and they had people all ready to move into it last Monday and they cancelled at the last minute, so now it's MINE! Since the house is all ready to move into, we are packing up and moving 2 weeks from tomorrow. It's not far, I can see it from where I sit right now, maybe about 50 yards away.

So please say a little prayer for us, well me in particular. That I start to feel better soon! It's getting better but I am hoping that in 2 weeks I will feel pretty normal so I can get through this little move in one piece! I will be emailing everyone our new address soon. And remember, until this baby comes, we have a spare bedroom. There will be a queen size air mattress waiting for someone to sleep on it... visitors welcome.

First Appointment

I had my first appointment this morning. I was looking very forward to hearing that heartbeat...and there it was very loud and fast. Everything looks really good. I am measuring just a couple of days ahead of schedule, so I am sure this baby will be a good size just like Lane was. I had an ultrasound which was so fun! I love seeing that little body moving around! It was moving it's arms around alot, at one point it looked like it was waving at us. And...only one baby! Judging by my size twins wouldn't have surprised me, either that or I thought maybe they were off on my due date. Nope, just big. I really have only gained a pound or two though. My stomach has just gotten bigger and probably the rest of me has gotten smaller. I am going to spare you all from seeing my pregnant belly at this point until I can get a better picture of myself. Instead here is a picture that I took of the ultrasound picture I got.

Kind of hard to make much out but you can tell the head is at top. The little thing sticking out is it's arm. You can't tell from this picture but in person you can see little fingers on the arm. Just wanted to update everyone who was waiting to hear how it all went.

Another Fun Adventure

After the dolphin feeding last weekend. We decided to rent a boat to drive around the bay in. It was such a nice day and I was feeling up to it and they have good rates for military. So we hopped in a teeny little boat and set out among all the yachts and cargo ships out there. The water was pretty rough that day even though we stayed in the bay. It was fun and Lane thought it was great! Reese let him help drive which Lane thought was so cool. We drove around and looked at all the sights and saw places we'd never seen before. Now I am not much of a water person so I don't like getting wet, I especially don't like the salt water. Not one for swimming in the ocean! So we were coming out of a little cove and met a large yacht. We somehow got in their wake the wrong way and a wave came over the front of the boat directly onto me and Lane. I got the worst of it, got soaked and got mouth full of salt water. I was not happy for a little while. Thankfully I tried to have a good attitude and got over it. It just looked like I had peed my pants when I got out of the boat.

We drove into a little inlet (or whatever you call it) and found the spot where we had Reese's D.I. Dinner when he graduated boot camp almost 8 years ago. They have a dinner out on the lawn by those yellow buildings the night before graduation for all the families of the guys to see them for a couple hours. I remember that day very well. I hadn't seen Reese in over 3 months (the longest I had ever been away from him, wow that's nothing now :) My mom had passed away just 2 months before, we were about to get married the next week and he came marching up on that lawn. Imagine all the emotions running through me! It was fun to go by that spot and have those memories come back to me. Can't believe that was almost 8 years ago. How time flies and how things change! We've definitely been blessed throughout those years and have both grown and changed for the better.

Feeding the Dolphins!

Near where Reese works there are some trained dolphins. Reese found out that we had the opportunity to feed them on Saturday. So of course we signed up. It was such a cool experience! They were so happy and excited to see us and they were jumping and squealing (or whatever dolphins do). The handlers showed us some of their tricks and then we had the chance to pet them and feed them. Lane was very brave as you can see and even touched it's tongue. I predict that Lane will be a dolphin trainer or a topographer when he grows up :) He also loves maps!

Sweet Treats

The Best Blueberry Muffin I've Ever Made....

I went to the grocery store trying to figure out what sounds good to me, which isn't much these days. I saw some blueberries and thought... mmmmm blueberry muffins. So I got this recipe from my friend Jill and gave them a try. They are great! With a little crumb topping and all!

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup veg. oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup blueberries

topping:
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Combine flour, sugar, salt, & baking powder. Place veg. oil into 1 cup measuring up, add egg and enough milk to fill cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Sprinkle with crumb topping.

Topping: cut all ingredients together.

Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes


Oh yes and I thought I'd throw in my sugar cookie recipe too:

Sugar Cookies
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 egg
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Cream sugar, butter and egg together. Mix in dry ingredients. Cut into shapes and bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes.

Royal Icing:
2 large egg whites (I use Wiltons Meringue powder from Michaels instead the raw egg whites)
3 cups powdered sugar
juice of one lemon

I add a little less lemon juice to begin with for piping the outside edges of the cookies. I then add more lemon juice to thin the icing out to "flood" the cookie. The already hardened edges keep the icing from flowing over the edges. It takes some practice and a lot of time!

Close To My Heart

The new Spring idea book is out! For those of you I didn't get a copy to, the entire idea book is online at closetomyheart.com under products. For the month of January there is a Constant Campaign going called Key to my Heart (see above). It is a E- size stamp set (81/2 x 11 size) with a paper packet using all the new colors! It has a retail value of $47.90. You can purchase it outright for $47.90 or spend $75 and get it for $20. Or spend $130 and get the whole thing for FREE. And... if you sign up to be a consultant in January you get the Key to my Heart kit for FREE when you purchase a New Consultant kit.

For anyone who places an order of $20 or more this month I will put you in a drawing for a FREE stamp set of your choice. (sizes A, B, C, and D only) Call, email me, or comment by Tuesday, January 20th if you want to place an order. Happy National Papercrafting Month, all you papercrafters out there!

I'm Back!!

It's been a little while since I've posted! We are back from our Christmas vacation adventures, and let me say it was an adventure! Driving from Southern CA up to Northern WA is not such an easy trip when there is freak snow storms in CA and it continued to snow all the way up and while we were there. From frozen car doors, to bad motel rooms, broken car door handles as a result of the frozen doors, to a shattered windshield and busted up bumper from sheets of ice falling off a truck onto our car going 75 mph, yep and adventure to say the least, and a insurance claim too! Now that I got that out of my system....

We did have a fun time visiting friends and family up in WA. It was really great to see everyone. I can't say we'll drive again, but never say never I guess. Christmas was fun and great memories were made. And if you look toward the top of my blog you'll see that we are expecting a baby!!! We got to tell everyone in WA in person which was very fun. This is a much wanted, much anticipated pregnancy and I am so excited, despite all the yucky sickness and heartburn I am experiencing right now. And I do feel my belly expanding more than it should be at 8 weeks, but hey maybe it was all the Christmas goodies.

I probably won't be doing the menu of the week for a little while because.... well I can't eat much but fruit, cereal, jello, you get the picture. Poor Reese is left to fend for himself.

Thanks for all the sweet comments about the sugar cookies and my sweater. I will post the sugar cookie recipe soon.

Here are some pictures I took over our vacation. I didn't take to many, I wasn't feeling great and not to much in the picture taking mood.


Lane, Kai and Brielle

Christmas at Great Grandma Alma's

Lane and Kai playing in all the snow