26 weeks

This week was our last full week of school! Semester exams are over, final projects have been turned in, and we've completed all but three days of this school year. Summer could not come faster! Now we only have to go to school three more days, two of which are only partial days. So, it's easy to say that we're just about done! Summer comes with its own set of plans, though: I have two weeks of teaching summer school, Eli has four weeks of summer class, we are fixing up the nursery, I have a couple of workshops for school, Eli has youth camp, we have VBS... Yep, looks like we'll be busy! But it will be a good type of busy.

This past weekend, we went to my hometown, Stephenville, to celebrate my sister's graduation. Can you believe she is already a high school graduate?? I can't! But I am SO proud of her!!! Extremely proud! I have pictures coming this week (she deserves a post of her own!)

On the way home from my parents', we drove by this gorgeous field of sunflowers. We couldn't help but turn around and take this week's pictures. (Renee: your special weekly picture will be on the blog very soon. Promise!)

I realized as I was uploading these that, yes, this is almost the exact outfit I wore last week for my pictures... Oh well, it was better than the t-shirt I had on, and this was the first shirt I could find in the car!

Okay, personal brag time: my husband is the best! I mean, who else would suggest stopping on the side of the highway and take pictures of sunflowers with their wife? He didn't only stop, it was his idea! Yes, I love him. 

Check out this magical field and all of its beauty!

Sweet Little Girl, 

This weekend, you had so many more people love on you and show excitement for your arrival! Your great-grandparents were in town all the way from Florida for Aunt Renee's graduation! They adore you already. We also got to visit with two of my best friends from Stephenville, one who is going to have a little girl almost exactly your age!! I'm so excited for you to grow up and meet all these wonderful people, especially the few that will have birthdays very near yours!

I hope you are a flower-loving girl. Your momma definitely is! I really enjoy fresh flowers all around me - in fields, in the house, in the flower bed. Anywhere! I hope you do too :) it's one way we get to experience God's love for us. He has created such beautiful nature that we get to enjoy. I can't wait to teach you all about God's love and the ways he continues to show it every single day. Remember that we love you always and we are overjoyed for you to be a part of our family. 

Love always, Momma

25 weeks

We have made it to the single digits in days left! Only 99 days til Baby Girl's due date. It's so hard to believe it's been about twice that long since we found out about her! I don't have too much to report this week other than she is still growing strong (along with practicing her kick-boxing skills more often lately...). We had a pretty long weekend visiting family and friends, and have been trying to catch up on much needed rest. But, like always, Monday rolls around and we wonder where our weekend went!

Good news: today was my last Monday at school for the year! Unfortunately, due to something I ate this weekend that didn't agree with me, I only spent two hours at school today... Hooray for getting sick... A three and a half hour nap, Lord of the Rings marathon, comfy pj pants, and a loving husband who makes great homemade chicken noodle soup helped me through the day, though. And guess who's headed to bed early tonight? Yep, me.

I don't say it often enough on here, but I love my husband more than I can express. He is very sweet, kind, gentle, and loving. I love the way he puts God first in our marriage and leads our family, always striving to glorify God. He is going to make one great Daddy!

Dear Little One, 

This weekend, you must have been strengthening your little leg and arm muscles. I have never felt you move like you have in the past two days! I'm so sorry about my tummy being upset today - I could tell, by some of your moving, you didn't like it either. Sorry, baby :( Let's go to bed early and get rid of this sickness. What do you say?

Lots of people commented on how big you're getting this weekend! Your Aunt Renee even said I'm getting huge! It's okay, we love her nonetheless! We also got to meet some of Daddy's friends up in Lubbock on Saturday. I think it's safe to say, Little One, you might only have a few brothers or sisters. Hope you don't mind not having 9 siblings all in one house! Talk about a full house!

Baby girl, I want to live out a godly example of a mother to you. I want you to know how much I love your Daddy, so that when you grow up and begin looking for a husband, you will have a good example to follow. I know I will stumble and won't always be the best Momma, but Sweet Girl, I hope you see love when you look at our family. Our hearts are already swelling with love for you. This is a love that will only grow stronger each day. It's also a love that only comes from God. We are praying for the day when you know him personally and trust his perfect love. Keep growing strong and healthy.

Love always, Momma

24 weeks

I've been falling behind a little on getting these posts out on time. At least if this one gets done tonight, it will still be in my 24th week. Tomorrow starts week 25!

This week has been a pretty busy, but good week. The beginning of the week was a bit of a blur, but this weekend was good and full of family and celebrating. My sweet husband's birthday was on Saturday (check back later for more about that) and we celebrated Mother's Day with Eli's side of the family. We are so blessed to have such wonderful families who love us and care for us. Mother's Day has reminded us how extremely thankful we are for both of our moms - both godly, beautiful women who have showed us what it means to be parents, to love, to nurture, and to seek God first. So, to both of our mothers, we love you. Thank you for everything you've done for us. We hope that by raising our children, we can show you our gratitude for your love for us.

In light of Mother's Day, I have been thinking more about what it means to be a mom. I have, by no means, figured it out. God has laid several things on my heart, though. He has showed me by the example of my own mom, through scripture, and through women all around me. Soon, I hope to write a reflection over what I have been taught so far. My heart is still so full of all the wonder and incredible love God has placed in me for our little girl. I pray that as the time grows closer to meeting her, He will continue to show me his endless love for her and I can continue to learn who he wants me to be as a mother.

Dear Little One, 

This week, I got to experience a small taste of Mother's Day and what it means for our future. No, I'm not talking about gifts or recognition or any of that. I'm talking about the opportunity to be your mom. I get to be one of the closest people in the world to you and I, along with your Daddy, get to raise you in a godly home where you will always be loved. I pray that our love for you will reflect God's love for you and that you will know His love in a very personal way.

We still pray for you daily and think about you often. Keep growing big and strong! We love you always.

Love, Momma

p.s. Daddy is working so hard to paint your room and dresser! He's done such a great job. I can't wait to show you!!

Sasha, all grown up

Remember when we first got Sasha from the animal shelter? She was so tiny and precious! Her favorite things to do were play with her green squeaky ball, cuddle in our laps, and sleep anywhere close to us. We really had no idea what we were getting into when we first got her, but I can say now that she is truly part of our family!

At her first vet checkup, we were told she would probably grow to be between 75 and 85 pounds (talk about a big dog!!). Thankfully, her growth has started to slow a bit and it looks like she will top off around 60-65 pounds. Still big, but slightly more manageable! 

Now she's about eight months old. We've learned her habits, like scarfing down her food even when there's no competition then belching loudly as if to say "man, that was good!" We've given her countless baths, taken her on walks, explored the other animals down our road, had her fixed, and watched her all but completely grow up!

She absolutely loves to be around people. In fact, she wants to be right next to us whenever possible. This is definitely part of her Australian Shepherd nature - to protect and herd. Eli and I joked that she has a theme verse/song: "Where you go, I'll go. Where you stay, I'll stay. When you move, I'll move. I will follow you." Haha! It's so true! She really is a loving dog and we just adore her!

The other part of her is most certainly all Labrador! She's in her preteen stage now, where she loves to play and be rough with Eli. She'll bring him her ball/rope/Kong/whatever she can find and wants him to either play tug-of-war or throw it for her. They also play tag around our kitchen, living room, and dining room. This is quite fun to watch, especially when they get going fast and one of them gets caught or slides into a wall!

She's really been calmer with me recently, though. I don't know if it's because I don't play as rough or if she senses something is different. I've heard that dogs can sense emotions or situations that are new and they react. Maybe she knows we have a new little one on the way and she's just looking out for her sister :)

When Sasha is not playing, she really loves to cuddle, which if you can imagine, is not easy when she's pushing 45 pounds now! She still thinks she is a baby and can fit into laps. Silly girl. 

She does have one new big-girl trick she's learned to do lately:

Yep, she thinks the deck chairs are hers! If we go out on the deck, she will immediately climb up into the chair and wait for us to come pet her or sit with her! It's so funny, but I think she loves it when we sit in the same chair right in front of her. She likes to be close.By the way, Eli took these pictures! Didn't he do a good job?!

This past 6 months has been such a fun time with Sasha in our house! I can't wait to see how she will love on, protect, and play sweetly with our baby girl.

Thanks if you made it all the way to the bottom of reading this! I didn't mean to get all mushy about our dog or anything (blame it on the pregnancy!). We just love our Sasha girl!

p.s. these pictures are the only ones I could find of her sitting still... most of the time, this is what I get when I try to take her picture! Ha! She's a mess!

23 weeks

Week 23 has come and is almost over now. I can truthfully say, not much has been different this week, but I'm not complaining. Baby Girl is still growing steadily and so am I! My pregnancy app tells me she is close to a foot long from head to toe and weighs just over a pound. It's crazy to think that in the next 17 weeks or so, our little girl will gain six or seven more pounds and grow another nine to ten inches in length! And I thought my tummy was big now! No wonder I've felt her kick and move so much more lately. I have gone from counting one or two kicks in a day to several each hour! She really is a little acrobat. I also learned that she can hear a lot of what we can hear, just a little muffled. It's fun to think that she might actually hear when we talk to her at night or when I sing on the way to school every morning! The other night, Eli told her goodnight and said her name (yes she has a name, but we're not telling yet!), and she kicked right at that moment!! I know she doesn't really know her name yet, but it was so exciting to feel her respond!

We did have one new event happen this week. We were sitting on the couch watching TV, and Baby Girl was kicking up a storm. I was curious if this was something that could be seen from the outside, so I lifted up my shirt just enough to see my belly. All of a sudden, she kicked and we could see exactly where she was! Oh my goodness! It was crazy to see! Eli's response was the best : "What was that?? That was so weird!" Haha! Yes, it was weird, but it was so wonderful at the same time. I love when God gives us little reminders of how real this is. I really do have a life growing inside of me. I am so blessed to have this opportunity to feel our baby growing every day. I can truly say I love being pregnant and the new adventures it brings.

My sweet little girl, 

Thank you for your unexpected movements this week. We really enjoyed SEEING you move as well as feel you! You are getting to be such a big girl already. I can't hardly wait to see you in person and watch you grow even more. I know God has big plans for you already, even while you're still in my tummy.

Your Daddy asked me this week if I wanted to celebrate my first Mother's Day this year! Oh wow! Can you believe I'm going to be a mommy?! His question just made me smile so big because it meant you are coming very soon!Only 115 days til you are due!

Sweet daughter, don't ever forget how much we love you. Our love for you will only increase each day as God allows us to care for and raise you. We want to be the best parents we can be and we are trusting God to help us. We pray for you daily and are anticipating you joining our little family for good. Keep growing big and strong in my tummy, Little One. We love you so much.

Love always, Momma

Polygonia!

Now that the STAAR test is over at school, teachers have the responsibility to continue teaching and engage students who are only dreaming of summer. This is probably the most challenging time of the year, but it can also be the most fun because we have the opportunity to do projects and activities without the pressure of a test over our heads. 

As you may (or may not) know, I teach 6th grade math. I really do love this age of kids. They are at the point where they're independent enough, but they still truly like school. Some days are very challenging, but I'm grateful to be able to teach these kids and I absolutely love my coworkers! I couldn't ask for better people around me every day! We've been through a lot together, but it has been two great years so far. 

This week at school, we started by reviewing different polygons and formulas to find the area and perimeter. Then came the project that they couldn't stop talking about all week! I don't want to brag, but please let me tell about our project this week. The kids loved it!

...

In a land far away known as Polygonia, there is a long-held tradition that every new king or queen designs his or her own flag to fly over the country as long as he or she reigns. This tradition began long, long ago with the first king and continues still today. As such, each new king or queen has the honor of creating a new flag for the country. People from the whole land turn out to see the unveiling of the new flag on the day the king is crowned. The current king is becoming old in age and will soon pass on his crown so someone else can rule the kingdom. Sadly, the king never married and never had any children. Therefore, he does not have a successor to the throne. The king was very distraught because that meant he had the responsibility of naming a new king or queen. He began talking with his advisors to come up with a solution for his soon-to-be kingless kingdom. After months of talking it over, the king has finally reached a decision: to hold a contest and the winner will be named the new king or queen! Here is the message he sent out to his whole kingdom, so that everyone may participate:

Hear ye, hear ye! I, King of Polygonia, am issuing a contest to be held this month in order to pass on the crown of Polygonia. Every person living within the land will be able to enter this contest and be eligible for the title of King or Queen. The rules are simple: you must design a new flag that is worthy to be flown over the country and I will choose the winner, thus naming my successor.

All submissions must be made by the third day of this week. The King will choose a successor at sundown, and announce the new King or Queen by the fifth day of this week. Any flags submitted that do not follow these guidelines will be disqualified from the contest. Best wishes as you go on this endeavor! May the best flag win!

...

The students were given specific dimensions and guidelines for designing their flags, and I have to say, they did a great job! I was asked so many questions like, "is there a jungle in Polygonia? I want to put a monkey on the flag, but only if there's a jungle" and "what is the current king's favorite color? I want to impress him by using his color on my flag!" Oh these kids were so  funny! 

After looking over the flag entries for a while, the King (me, with the help of Eli!) finally made a decision. One person would be the Queen or King and one person from each class would be a Prince or Princess, there were just too many good entries to choose only one. 

Here are some pictures of some of our favorites and the winners:

The winning design:

All four winners:  (can't you tell they were so excited to take this picture?!)

Prince Jacob

Princess Lea:

Princess Raven:

And Queen Chassity:  (yes, that's a Burger King crown! She was so proud, she wore it ALL day!! Haha!)

All together, it was a good week. My students had a lot of fun designing flags. I had fun looking at their creativity. And best of all, we made it one week closer to summer!!
My very favorite picture I took this week? Take a look!

18 school days left!! Hooray! I think I can speak for all teachers when I say we are just as excited as the kids! Summer is almost here! 

Check back soon for my 23 week update of our baby adventure.