April is the Best Month of the Year!

Okay, let me explain the above images! It's been an interesting few past weeks and I really need to start writing stuff down as it happens so I don't leave anything out when it comes time to update everyone! We, of course, celebrated Brent's birthday on the 13th of April. He turned 24....again... As most of you know, we are dropping to one salary in a few short months and are trying to start living within those means now while we have a little breathing room. With that being said, we decided to really scale down when it comes to birthdays! Starting the week of his birthday, I began experiencing some severe back pain on one side that had a mind of its own. My plan was to cook dinner for Brent's birthday, but my back was bothering me so much that afternoon when I got home from work that I didn't feel up to it. Of course, he would have volunteered to cook dinner, but that's just wrong! I decided to treat him out to a casual dinner that night and splurge a little. Nothing was unusual about our experience except when it was time to receive our bill...which never came. Our server finally informed us that the older couple that had been sitting behind us already took care of our dinner. They had already left 10 minutes prior, so with no one to thank we just sat there in disbelief for a minute. The detectives in us took over as we tried to figure out what could have possibly spurred this couple to bless us in such a way. Did they overhear us talking about our grocery shopping budget for the week? Was it because we prayed before our meal and they were fellow believers? Was it because I was pregnant? We had to stop ourselves from hashing this out because we will never know the answer. While Brent and I have been very blessed and had many people, including friends and families do amazing things to help us out (and we don't discredit that help at all!), but we have never been on the end of a blessing in which we had no idea who to thank. It seems like such a small gesture wouldn't have such a profound effect on us, but it has! We have helped others out anonymously before, but what amazing perspective change to be on the other end. One thing is for certain, we will be passing this blessing forward when we feel led!

Okay, so I know that hasn't explain the above pictures! For Brent's birthday cake (he is more of a brownie than cake guy) I made him a pan of brownies. When it came out of the oven, I let it sit for about 10 minutes "to cool down". I decided to stick some candles in the pan and walk into the room he was in and sing Happy Birthday to him. All was well until I went to pull the candles out and realized that you can't stick wax candles inside of brownies boiling like lava! It had melted from both sides! I then had to scoop out craters where the wax had puddled leaving us a battered (no pun intended) pan of brownies!

That weekend, Brent graciously agreed to be my date for the high school prom. It's a long 5 hours of being in a suit as you mostly sit in a room full of kids dancing to some super loud music! The location was absolutely beautiful though! It was on the top floor of the Buena Vista Palace at Disney. I have never been to a dance quite like this before. You didn't feel like you were in a ball room of a hotel. You literally rode the elevator up to the top floor and it opened up into this amazing floor plan that compartmentalized things...and on top of that, the wall was lined with glass windows for an exquisite view. I wish now I would have taken pictures! The few I have are below.
Of course you know I can never take too many serious pictures. It's just not me...2 of my students.
Again, making a silly face. That was my perch for the night. I wore the wrong kind of shoes for a pregnant lady!

Speaking of being pregnant, I know some have bothered me to see an updated picture of the belly, but I honestly could just re-post the picture from 5 months (21 weeks) as nothing has changed! I am currently 6 months, 1 week now (25 weeks)...

Elizabeth Grace has become so strong that when she moves around now, I can just sit and watch my belly move sporadically! Amazing times are ahead of us! I can't wait to start "decorating" the nursery. Right now, her room just seems to be where all the stuff we can't find a place for in our house is being dumped off. Is it sad that instead of the "necessities" I really need off of my registry, I am honestly hoping I will receive the room decor I registered for at Target? I guess that's just the girl in me!

How could I almost forget?? Brent made the last payment on my car last week which means we are completely debt free!!! (except for the mortgage...but who doesn't have one of those at our age?) It's just an amazingly free feeling! Debt really does enslave you! Now that we only pay cash for things, it has made us change our priorities on what we will spend money on, but it's so worth it!!!

The only draw back is that my predominate love language is "gifts". Haha, I'm not thinking drawback because Brent probably wont' be getting me gifts nearly as often, but because it kills me when I want to buy things for other people and my budget won't allow it as often or as extravagantly. I will have to get creative!!

There are probably plenty of other things I could fill you in with, but most of them have slipped my mind!

XOXO

Recap!

Here I am at 5 months! Feels like I've been pregnant forever with very little visible results!



Lots of cool stuff happened this past week and a half, but we'll start with the fact that I am on spring break right now! What an amazing time of rest and relaxation. Of course, I find organizing and cleaning the house relaxing...we finished painting the office back to a neutral color and turned it into the guest room. The guest room has now turned into the nursery, but man does it look empty in there. I can't wait to start decorating at some point, but I'm not even sure where to start. Pretty sure I need a second job to help pay for the fun I could have (and for diapers). Brent and I have been trying to go through and weed out things in the closets and on the bookshelves, donating stuff to Christian Help and storing things that we will want down the road. It's a good thing Brent watches over my shoulder, because if it were up to me, I would throw half of what we own away or give it away. Simplicity is my friend. He's the "what if we need it in five years so lets hold onto it that long" kind of guy! It makes for some fun times!

Its funny how sometimes when you need a pick-me-up the most, its found right outside your front door. My sweet friend, Rebecca, sent me a care package with some parenthood books, a few hardback children's books for Elizabeth and some of the cutest clothes! She used to work at a chic baby boutique and snagged some posh outfits and passed them on to me since so far she has had two boys! It was in the moment that I held up a few of the outfits that it continued to sink in that some tiny person was going to be filling those outfits out in a few short months!


Speaking of my little wiggle worm, she is quite active! It's amazing that I've probably felt her move hundreds of times already, but each time is like a new experience and I am amazed at the wonderful creation God has given me. I always stop what I'm doing and place my hands on my belly so I can feel it inside and out! It actually makes me laugh! What a sweet note Brent left for me one morning on our chalkboard. Made my heart melt!

Invasion of the stranger: had my first experience of someone I didn't know rubbing my belly. I guess it's okay because the lady knows Brent. Its really not a bothersome thing, but maybe a tiny bit awkward because I don't really have a round belly yet. Kind of feels like they are just checking out my abs!

Brent's mom and family came down for Easter so we have been able to spend some time with them. It was nice to not be "alone" on a holiday. Brent and I bought an egg coloring kit about 3 years ago and have yet to color Easter eggs. I made it one step further this year by at least boiling the eggs, but alas, no coloring was completed. Maybe next year! I at least bought some plastic eggs and placed words of affirmation in them for my sweetheart and hid them around the house for him to randomly find as we he went about his day.

My belly isn't really as big as it looks below. Brent had bought this dress for me over the summer at White House Black Market and I had yet to wear it. I was determined to fit in the size 00 before I may never see that size again. We got it zipped up, but that black band was so tight around my lungs I couldn't take deep breaths and the squeezing made my stomach appear to protrude. I'm also sticking my belly out as far as it will go! 5.5 months here!

Oh, I almost forgot. Brent and I registered at Target and Babysrus 2 weekends ago and I have never felt so excited about something, but so clueless and exhausted after two hours. For the most part, I thought it would be like when I registered for our wedding. Just go pick out things according to my "taste". Not so when you are looking at a wall of bottles each claiming to do something different. Safety is the priority now and when you've never had a baby before, you're at a loss for what you should choose. Let's just say I'm glad the registering process is over!

One last thing. Now that we are going down to one salary, its interesting how picky you become over spending money. On my first day of spring break, I took a Joann's gift card Brent had given to me at Christmas, to pick out some fabric to make something for Elizabeth. After my 35 minute car drive and a wisk around the store I left without anything I had gone to get. I can't bear to frivolously spend my money now unless its something I "can't live without". Also, not having to have "brand new" stuff is starting to set in. Brent and I went to Once Upon a Child yesterday to look around and walked out with 8 children's books (6 of which are hardback) for $14. While it would be nice to have brand new books from Borders, the price of one book there got us 8 books that had been gently used! We will continue to hunt for bargains!

Wow, so much to catch everyone up on....I could go on about my crazy dreams I continue to have, but I've considered writing a book that contains all my weird pregnancy dreams...I might just have it published! haha!