What did you expect, a turkey card?

Well, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Can you believe it's already here? I wanted to write a post last week about all the stuff I'm thankful for, but it definitely seems more fitting now that Thanksgiving is upon us.

Obviously, we should be thankful every day. But the truth is, most people spend much more time complaining than counting their blessings. I know, I'm guilty too. I despise it when I catch myself complaining, but there's always an excuse for it in my mind. One thing I've been thinking about lately though, is the fact that if you are a Christian, every person you talk to throughout the day is watching you, and paying very close attention to you. I did a lesson a few weeks ago with the youth group, and one thing I wanted them to remember is that everything we do is testifying for God. The problem with that is we may do things that reflect God incorrectly. We are supposed to act like Jesus, right? Well, everytime we lie, or hit someone in anger, or steal something, that may lead others to believe that Jesus would have done the same thing. It also shows that we as Christians are not that different from the rest of the world - which is also totally incorrect. Everytime I hear myself go into a rant complaining about something, I feel so silly. Think of what it will be like when we get to heaven and realize just how much time we wasted here, how much breath we wasted on such insignificant things.

/soapbox (for now)

I just want to mention some things I am so thankful for, and I try to thank God for many of these things every day. How many of these things are you thankful for too?

• my church - I could write an entire post about my church, so I'll just leave it at this general thanksgiving :)
• my husband - again, I could go on and on about him. But most of you would probably think I am way too mushy! I am mainly thankful for his faith, for the times he makes me laugh, for his patience, his playfulness, and his strength. And now I am already thankful for his love of Brianna :)
• my family - my family is definitely my stronghold, from grandparents to parents to my sister. My family exudes hard work, strong faith, extreme humor, and a willingness to stick by others in the family.
• I'm thankful that my mom is here for another Thanksgiving.
• I'm thankful that my dad wasn't afraid to share his faith at his job all the years he was there.
• I'm thankful that my sister is my best friend, and for the strong relationship we have.
• I'm thankful I have two jobs that I don't have to be afraid of losing. I'm thankful that Stephen cannot lose his job either.
• we have one more car than person in our household. so we never have to worry if one of the cars breaks down or needs something done to it.
• I'm thankful for all the services that are available that I don't need - lawyer, fireman, policeman, hospital, bankruptcy office, car repair, therapist, rehab, loan officer, bail bondsman... the list goes on
• I work at a domestic violence shelter and don't live there
• I live near a food bank and don't have to use it
• probably 5-10% of the food I have (freezer, fridge, and pantry combined) could go bad before I'd ever even have to use it
• I can flip a switch at home and have heat from gas logs immediately
• I can read my Bible whenever I want to (and yet sometimes I choose not to for some reason)
• I shop at thrift stores and sales because I love a good deal, but not because it's all I can afford

I know I could keep going with this list. I hope this Thanksgiving, and every day after that you can find more things to be thankful for than to complain about.

Survey says...

Today was our "big" ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby! Mom and Jenn were allowed to come too, as long as they were quiet. Like the three of us are ever rowdy!!! Stephen was definitely outnumbered in the ultrasound room, what with Mom, Jenn, the ultrasound tech, me, and the baby all being girls.

Did you catch that? That's right - the baby is no longer an IT! She's a SHE! She performed very nicely for everyone, doing some rolls, giving us a thumbs up, and just generally showing off. Here are my two favorite pictures from the ultrasound. One is a great profile picture, and the other is her giving us a thumbs up - saying, "Hey - it's really comfortable in here! I think I'll just hang out in here all winter where it's warm!" I think you can make them bigger by clicking on them. They look kind of small to me.



Everything about her looks perfect. She has all appendages (which would be scary if she didn't, because she did at the last ultrasound), she has a great heartbeat, and I promise, she has Tarheel feet!!

I mean, they aren't blue obviously, but they look just like the Tarheel foot! Stephen doesn't agree, but that's just because he's a dumb State fan. Anyway, everything looks right on point, so we are absolutely thrilled!! We definitely have one extra thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! And I will try to remember that next Thanksgiving when she is throwing her creamed turkey everywhere.

Saturday, mom proved her love to me by going with me to the mall in Fayetteville. We both really dislike shopping, so we are made for shopping together. We were in and out in about an hour and a half, and had gotten everything we went for. We got out right at lunch time, so mom had the brilliant idea of eating at Rockola, which I hadn't eaten at in so many years. Thanks to dad for treating us to lunch! It was absolutely delicious. I can't believe it had been so long since I had eaten at one, but their website says they only have five locations!? Whaaaa!? I'm going to have to take Stephen there sometime. He didn't believe me when I said they can compete with Fuddruckers, which may be hard to believe. I couldn't believe I said it, but it's true.

Anyway. Then we came back into town and I realized we should stop in our new Salvation Army thrift store because we were right next to it. Well, LUCKY WE DID!! Of course, mom and I are suckers for two things - a bargain, and books. We got eleven of the Christian suspense novels that we love so much! Then, as we were wandering around, making sure we hadn't missed anything, we spotted a Boppy! A real, live, Boppy!!! This is something I have kind of wanted, but certainly wouldn't have bought for myself. They're around $30-60 just for the breastfeeding ones, so I am thrilled at this great deal!! What a good Saturday!

It's one or the other

This is the work pool - 3 people think it's a boy. 7 think it's a girl. What do you think? We'll find out tomorrow!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pregnancy Myths (guessing the sex)

Carrying high, carrying low: Low means boy, high means girl. I can't tell yet. Mom thinks you need to be further along than I am to tell.

The color of urine: From what I hear, if your pee is a dull yellow color, you’re having a girl. Bright yellow means boy. What about clear? I guess when it's not clear, it's dull. Girl.

Heartbeat: Higher than 140 beats per minute means girl; lower means boy. So far, that means this is a girl.

Sweet or salty: Salty foods mean a boy, and sweets means a girl. I haven't liked sweets that much in years, and that really hasn't changed with pregnancy. Boy.

Weight gain for spouse: If your husband gains weight with you, it’s a girl. If he doesn’t, it’s a boy. I don't think Stephen has gained a pound since we got married, much less in the past few months, so this result is a boy.

Face shape: If the mother’s face is full, she’s having a girl. Most people say I haven't gained any weight in my face. Boy.

Acne: Supposedly, boys give beauty and girls take it away. I am definitely having crazy acne flare-ups like never before - well, not since my teenage years anyway. So that means a girl.

Key handling: Pick up a key; if you grab it by the thin end, you’re having a girl. The fat end means boy. As of late, I have been picking keys up by the thin end - but I think I always do that. Girl.

Express yourself: According to this myth, Momma just might know best. In a study that asked women with no previous knowledge about their baby’s sex, the moms-to-be correctly guessed the sex of their babies 71 percent of the time. I have really felt like this is a boy.

Hair down there: The hair on your legs! If it’s growing faster than usual, it’s a boy. Mine hasn't changed from what I can tell. (Insert smart-mouth remark about me not ever shaving) Girl.

Hot feet, cold feet: If your feet are colder than before pregnancy, it means boy. No colder than usual means girl. My feet are always cold, so this for me would be girl.

Bread heels: If you like to eat the end pieces of a loaf of bread, you’re having a boy. Not eating it means girl. Well, I eat the ends because I think it's wasteful not to, not necessarily because I love them. I'll say boy for this one.

Hands: If someone asks to see your hands and you show them palms down, it means boy. Palms up means girl. Nobody has done this, and now I would have thought about it too much for it to be of any value, so this one is pretty much useless. Inconclusive.

Mug holding: If you take a mug by grabbing the handle, you’re having a boy. Grabbing the body of the mug means girl, which is something I never do because I can't get a good grip on it. Boy.

Age and year of conception: If either both are even or odd, you’re having a girl. If only one is even or odd, you’re having a boy. I am 25 and conceived in 2008. So it's a boy!

That's 7 myths for boy, 6 for a girl. Pretty even! Guess we'll just have to let electronics tell us for sure.

Prepare yourself for pictures

Okay, here are some of my favorite pictures from our vacation last weekend. Good luck making it through all of them!!!

I take this picture on every trip. As you can see, Stephen simply tolerates it:

I wanted to jump in this pile of leaves:

This trail led to neither a beaver nor a dam:

This is our stick race, like in Winnie the Pooh*:

Stephen won. Boo. :(

If you look closely, you'll see the crane we spotted:

There were a lot of trees with this odd striping. Anyone know why?

One of the rock churches on the parkway:

Where mom and dad would have eaten lunch:

The owner of this house was a midwife who lived to be 102. She delivered babies up until the year she died. She delivered over 1000 babies. None of her own 24 children survived infancy. Interesting!

I thought her ghost would grab Stephen for being curious:

Where we stayed:

The baby came on the trip with us:

The highlight of the trip for Stephen - I "let" him buy cowboy boots:

The drive-in we went to has been open for decades!

*In Winnie the Pooh, when they are at a bridge, two of them will drop sticks in the water on one side of the bridge, and the sticks race to the other side. Whoever's stick makes it under the bridge first wins!

More than anyone cares to know about me

For some reason, I just love things like this. I guess I just like talking about myself! Out of these 97 (I don't know why they couldn't just do 100) things only the ones highlighted are things I've done:

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (I don't think school band counts)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped (only from like 80 feet)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Run a Marathon
27. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
28. Seen a total eclipse
29. Watched a sunrise or sunset
30. Hit a home run
31. Been on a cruise
32. Seen Niagara Falls in person
33. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
34. Seen an Amish community
35. Taught yourself a new language
36. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
37. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
38. Gone rock climbing (only indoor)
39. Seen Michelangelo’s David
40. Sung karaoke
41. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
42. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
43. Visited Africa
44. Walked on a beach by moonlight
45. Been transported in an ambulance
46. Had your portrait painted
47. Gone deep sea fishing
48. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
49. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
50. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
51. Kissed in the rain
52. Played in the mud
53. Gone to a drive-in theater
54. Been in a movie
55. Visited the Great Wall of China
56. Started a business
57. Taken a martial arts class
58. Visited Russia
59. Served at a soup kitchen
60. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
61. Gone whale watching
62. Got flowers for no reason
63. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
64. Gone sky diving
65. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
66. Bounced a check (I was very young!!)
67. Flown in a helicopter.
68. Saved a favorite childhood toy
69. Visited the Lincoln Memorial (is that in D.C.? If so I think I have)
70. Eaten Caviar
71. Pieced a quilt
72. Stood in Times Square
73. Toured the Everglades
74. Been fired from a job
75. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
76. Broken a bone
77. Been on a speeding motorcycle (not exactly speeding)
78. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
79. Published a book
80. Visited the Vatican
81. Bought a brand new car
82. Walked in Jerusalem
83. Had your picture in the newspaper
84. Read the entire Bible
85. Visited the White House (not sure about this one)
86. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
87. Had chickenpox
88. Sat on a jury
89. Met someone famous
90. Joined a book club
91. Lost a loved one
92. Had a baby (in process!)
93. Seen the Alamo in person
94. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
95. Been involved in a law suit
96. Owned a cell phone
97. Been stung by a bee

New Purchases

I would like to give big kudos to Stephen! He is a thrift shopper at heart! I believe he just didn't realize his love for thrift shopping until my family entered his life. He proved his worth in the mountains though, scoping out hidden thrift stores, and pulling some crazy driving skills to get into shopping centers. The best part, though, was when we walked into one thrift store, and he walked straight - like a magnet - to these pictures. They turned out to be 50% off (good find, babe!) so we got both of them for less than $25. I love them!!

Also, today Stephen came and picked up our new area rug from Carpet One (insert shameless plug) and had it moved in by the time I got back from the trunk show tonight!!

#16 - Drive-in, #99 - meteor shower

We have returned from the mountains, and we are not very happy about it! It's hard to come back from somewhere so quiet to somewhere so... busy. One thing I love about vacationing with just Stephen is that we don't fill up the time with talking just to talk. I will post pictures one night this week, because I got some great ones even though I forgot my camera charger! I also forgot my phone charger, which is why if anyone had tried calling me, it would have gone straight to voicemail. Because there was no reception, and my phone kept trying to find a signal, it ran the battery down very quickly. This did not upset me in the least. My phone is not exactly a necessity.

I won't have any pictures from the first night. We didn't leave until we both got off work (well, I got off a little early) so we didn't even get there until 6pm, so of course it was dark. Also, the fog was so thick that we were only going about 15 mph, so any pictures would have turned out looking like The Mist anyway! We still made it in just over three hours, so not a bad trip.

I'll just blog about my 101 in 1001 accomplishments now, and then I'll put up pictures later. I got to finish two in one night!! Saturday night we drove back into North Carolina, to Mt. Airy, to go to:

The Bright Leaf Drive-In! This is an old picture from their website (if you saw how my pictures turned out you'd understand why I chose this one). We saw Madagascar 2 and it was hilarious!! It was a really great deal, because it was $6 per person but you could stay for the second show if you wanted to. Nights in Rodanthe was playing and neither of us was crazy about seeing it, plus it was a 30 minute drive back up the mountain, so we just left after the first movie. I absolutely loved the drive-in experience. Instead of speakers hooked up to your car, they run everything through your car radio, so it was clear, you didn't have to have your windows rolled down, and you didn't miss anything with people walking back and forth to the concession stand. I liked it better than a real movie theater because there were no interruptions!! (Cell phones, kids crying, etc.) The only cons were: when people came in late (which only two did that I noticed), their lights were kind of distracting, but fortunately that only lasted a few seconds. And we had to turn on the defrost about every 20 minutes for a few seconds because we were fogging up the windows. Wooo! Yeah, except just by breathing, so not very exciting.

On the way home, it was so incredibly clear that I took the opportunity to watch the meteor shower. Dad posted some dates for meteor showers and one's peak was on Sunday, so I figured Saturday night I might get lucky. I watched the whole way up the mountain, and then when we got back to the cabooses I stayed in the car a little longer to continue watching. I wasn't about to sit outside with the 35 mph gusts of wind that were happening! Unfortunately, I didn't see any meteors. I thought I saw one while we were driving, but too bad for me, you can't rewind and double check. So I'm checking this off my list, but I'm sure I'll watch another one within the next few months!

Tonight we are eating out with mom and dad and then we girls are meeting up with Jenn at a trunk show. There will be all homemade stuff there and it should be really good, so I'm excited about leaving work for that reason!

Oops

I just realized I haven't updated in over a week. I doubt many people have noticed, but for others who aimlessly surf the web and need something to read, I apologize. The only things I have to blog about have pictures to go with them and I haven't uploaded those pics yet, so I can't blog about it yet.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hate letting my gas light come on. When it comes on, my whole body tenses and I get butterflies in my stomach. I know I have around 40 miles before my car stalls in the middle of the road, but I always feel like it's going to stop RIGHT. NOW. On the other hand, I have been in the car with Jenn when we have gotten in the car, and the light was already on, and we went to lunch and came back without her even flinching or glancing down at the light. Maybe she's just less paranoid than I am. Anyway, one day a couple of weeks ago, my gas light came on, so of course I got gas. Then I decided to flip my trip switch so I could see how many miles I was getting with a tank of gas. It just so happened that the next time I filled up the gas light was on yet again, so this may be a pretty accurate reading. Guess how many miles I went from gas light to gas light??? ......... 508 miles! Sweeeet! My car only has an 11 gallon tank so that is really awesome (about 46 miles to the gallon for those of you not near a calculator).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is this guy at the post office who, within the past couple of weeks, has crossed the line of polite chatting to creepy dude. He is the janitor, so he is always there when I am there, and I guess that is what I get for smiling at everyone I come across. Now, I have never really needed a way to get someone to stop checking me out. I was always so focused on getting someone to notice me, I never thought about getting someone to turn away their attention! But I found the ultimate checker-outer killer!! Getting pregnant!!

I guess a couple of weeks ago I still didn't really look pregnant, and even two days ago when he saw me. So I took matters into my own hands. Yesterday I was wearing a shirt that really flared out, so when I saw him in the hall of the post office, I immediately pooched my stomach out (not as hard to do as a week ago), and started the preggo waddle. I think we all know what this waddle is, and it's amazing how you do it without even thinking about it, even when you don't need to do it. So he gave me the same cheesy smile he always gives me, but this time when he checked me out, he did a double take at my stomach. The sappy grin fell off his face, and he said, "So... how far along are you?" I said, "4 1/2 months", smiling sweetly. He said, "Well.. congratulations." and immediately walked off to another part of the post office. Score one for me! I got rid of creepy guy without being rude!

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Not too long until Stephen and I leave for our VERY PRIVATE AND ALONE vacation. I can't remember the last time we were on vacation and we could do whatever we wanted to do, whenever we wanted to do it, eat where we want to, go to bed when we want to, stay in PJs all day if we want to, do nothing if we want to, and be mushy and romantic whenever we want to. I am very very excited!! So you'll forgive me if I just happen to see you in Virginia and I act like I have no clue who you are. Because this vacation is not involving anyone except for my little bubble!!! Okay. Enough said.

I just re-read that paragraph above and it sounds really snotty and selfish!! But I think it was my wise sister who once said you should never feel selfish when it comes to spending time alone with you and your spouse. That girl is wise beyond her years.

We Love Savings

Stephen and I are all for frugality. I think it is just in my blood, and the more time he spends around me, the thriftier he gets, or at least appreciates it when I get a good deal! So he 100% approves of me spending one night every 6 weeks or so at the grocery store doing triple coupons (thanks to my informant --> mom). Every time Harris Teeter has triple coupons, mom goes in the morning, I go after work, and then we call each other to compare the savings we get. The last time I blogged about triple coupons I saved more than I spent for the first time (or the first time I can remember). Tonight, I hit the jackpot again. I had to do three rounds into the store (you can only do 20 coupons at a time) but ended up spending $61 and saving $69. Not too shabby!! Also, I did buy one special thing each for me and Stephen that I didn't have coupons for - I try to do that every trip. He got yeast rolls and I got corn dog nuggets, but you probably don't care about those details. I bought 47 items, which, by my calculations, comes out to each item costing about $1.30. That is probably not how you'd figure it at all, but I'm gonna go with it.

ANYWAY - since I'm the only one who cares about triple coupons except for mom....

Our next thrifty find! Some of y'all know that since college I have done online surveys. I think these have a really bad rep because of the ones that pop up on your screen with flashing lights saying, "McDonalds!!! Or Burger King!!!! Vote and win a Playstation 3!!!!" But all the surveys I do either earn small amounts of cash or points that can be redeemed. We felt that it was time for me to redeem some of my points from one of the sites, and earned this -


A brand new massage mat!!! It has heat, and has 10 different settings in four sections of your body. Soooo cool!! Even cooler because it was free!

#71 - Really understand the 2008 election and vote

I can honestly say that I voted in this election fully prepared, and that was definitely my goal. On October 28, I went and got a sample ballot so I knew exactly who was running in each race, down to the Soil and Water Conservation Group. Between the Voter Guide that AFR provided, the background profiles provided by the N&O, reading two other local newspapers, and googling candidates (and finding lots of personal details on Wikipedia), I was rockin' and rollin'!!

That's why Stephen and I didn't do early voting - I wanted to make sure I had all my ducks in a row before voting. Yesterday, after he got off work, he waltzed into our polling place, and waltzed right back out in 12 minutes. He said it would have been less, but there was a guy who was in there from another district, and they spent about 5 minutes explaining to him the problem. I got to the polls a little after 6 last night, and from my stepping out of the car to starting the car up again it took 7 minutes. Woot woot!! From what I hear, pretty much everyone else had that same experience yesterday.

Of course, not everyone I voted for won. Not even half probably!! But at least I know I did the research and I feel really good about who I voted for. I feel very accomplished.

*Edit* My friend Nathaniel made a great point today. I know a lot of people are excited for Obama and a lot of people are disappointed by Obama's win. But as Nate said - Our hope is in Jesus, not in any president.

SpooOOooOOooky

Well, Halloween is over, which means October is over. Wow! What a fast month! Before you know it, Thanksgiving will be here, and then Christmas, and then before you know it it's Fruitcake Toss Day. Ah, how time flies.

Friday night we had our fall festival at church. I had to leave work early in order to make the three cakes I volunteered for that night. This year, none of us really had the energy to dress up and be anything really time-consuming. I was a leaf blower. My costume consisted of a ball cap with a leaf taped to it. The leaf hung in front of my face, and when asked what I was, I would blow the leaf. Stephen was an autograph book. He wore a white shirt and had people sign him with magic markers. Jenn taped a bag of potato chips to her shirt and was "All that and a bag of chips". So none of us really went out of our way. It was more important to be warm! We had a really great time. Stephen won an outstanding buttercream cake and I won a German chocolate cake, which will probably make the rounds at work with me. But that buttercream cake has my name written all over it!! I worked the fishing game most of the night (most everyone knows that game - a fishing pole with a clothespin is thrown over a sheet and candy magically appears on the end of the clothespin). Lemme tell ya, there were some greedy kids there!! Stephen and I rode the hayride together. It was such a clear night, and the stars captured my attention more than the youth group jumping out of the woods yelling. Stephen did have to have a talk with one 9-year old on the hayride who kept screaming that zombies were going to jump out and eat our brains.... Stephen reminded him that there were a lot of little kids on the ride. For example, in Stephen's lap sat The Hulk, and across from us was Spiderman. Pretty much the whole ride, Spiderman was webbing The Hulk and The Hulk would growl ferociously back. It was pretty funny!

Saturday, unfortunately, I had to work while Stephen et. al went to the local tractor pull. It was an extraordinarly busy day because we are renovating the entire shelter - new carpet, paint, electrical work... and everyone was asking me what to do like I had any clue. But it's all going to be worth it in a couple of months when the renovations are done! I spent the day doing that and entertaining and very imaginative 2-year old. Maybe not this imaginative, but very fun for 2! We read for the last hour or so that I was at work. When he saw food on the page, he would grab it and feed it to me. Then we read a book about a family that went to the beach, so we ate the picnic lunch, went swimming, dug holes, and then I made crabs crawl all over his face. He thought it was hilarious! I thought it was pretty fun too. I'm easily entertained.

After 12 hours at work, I was really ready to lounge around, but I was also really hungry, so I was happy to go out with Stephen, Steve, Jenn and Lauren to Raffaele's for dinner. After that, Stephen, Jenn and I were planning on hitting up this Haunted Forest which was really close to our house. We thought. It didn't say where it was at exactly, but we were pretty sure it was just down the road. So we turned on to the street. Eventually we came to a Y, so we chose a direction. After what must have been 20 minutes of driving, we decided to turn around because who knew where it was!? But after about half a mile, we turned around and decided to try to find it. Eventually we ran into a road that Stephen knew. Actually, it is the road that he hunts on - which that farm is like 30-40 minutes from our house!! But we had come this far, so we kept going. Crossing county lines and all. Finally he said that he thought he knew where it was - at this huge RV campground. At last we came to it!!! So we got there, and Stephen asked how much it was - $6 per person. We just started cracking up because we knew even between the three of us we probably didn't have enough money for that. To tell the truth, if we had to leave, Jenn and I probably wouldn't have been too upset because we were both terrified already! We needed $18 and had $17 between us. Arrrrgh!!! Fortunately, I was able to scrounge up a bunch of dimes for that last dollar!! When we got to the ticket line, we found out the whole forest would take 25 minutes! After waiting in this crazy long line! But we had driven all this way, and paid every cent we had, so we had to do it!!

It ended up being worth it. It was this really detailed maze, but you did have a guide for most of the time. One cool thing they did was give you six clues in the beginning, and then halfway through you had to remember those clues and use them to get out of a house... OR ELSE!!! Jenn and I held hands the entire time, but I have to admit there were some pretty funny times during it. For example, one of our guides kept texting as we were walking, which kind of ruined the mood but was so funny!! She kept saying, "I'm sorry I have friends!" She even took a phone call and talked about all of us while we were standing right there! Too hilarious. Then we had a guy who jumped out to scare us, but slipped and fell right on his butt. Jenn and I almost died laughing. Although the guy with the chainsaw really got us. I HATE the chainsaw guy!! And we knew he was coming and he still got us! We got home really late but it definitely was worth it for the laughs and the story!!

Now I've got to go vote! Because if I don't, that's just wrong!

Pregnancy Pictures

I have had a couple of requests for pregnancy pictures, so I am bravely posting them for the entire world to see! (Or at least the 15 or so people that read this blog!)

4 weeks preggo:

8 weeks preggo:

12 weeks preggo:

16 weeks preggo:

Stephen took the last picture tonight, which is why it's a little different. But you still get the picture! You can see in the background the pile of toys Renee gave us today to play with! Oh, those are for the baby? Right...