We Love You, Kodiak!

Kodiak, this blog is dedicated totally to you. I want you to know how much you meant to me and your daddy. We miss you so much and you will be forever in our hearts! This is a very hard time for us; especially yesterday when we had to make the best decision for you; which was to send you to be with Jesus before we were ready to let you go. I know that you understand because of the condition that your body was in. I am so glad that we were able to be there with you and love on you while you took your last few breaths on this earth. I know that we'll see you again in Heaven - make sure to take care of Grandma & Grandpa Brown, Sam and Josey up there. As I think back over all our memories and I am just so blessed to have had you. I don't know why God decided to take you after 5 years, but I guess that you were done on earth. I will always remember you and will never forget you. We love you so much, Kodiak!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Yay! I just love this time of year. It is a time of celebrating the birth of my Savior, Jesus Christ and a time to be with family.

This blog is going to be a hodge podge of things...........I totally need to update, so here we go!

Here is a picture of my girl, Kodiak, and I chilling on the couch. Daddy took a picture of laying together on the couch. She had her head resting on my neck and daddy thought it was too cute to pass up. This was taken a few weeks ago. Kodiak has been doing pretty good, but the cold has been hard on her hips (she needs her hips replaced, but too expensive), so she receives shots whenever she needs them. She had a few rough days, but she is back to her old antics again. It's definitely hard to keep her down!!!!! Kodiak is a mover and a shaker..........LOL :)

This past Tues, we started our 3rd trimester and I can hardly believe it. Here is the 28 wk "belly" shot. I look at the picture and can hardly believe it. I only see one view and that's looking at the top of my tummy and that's NOT what I see. I get excited when I see the pictures b/c then I can see what other's see. :) I had my monthly check-up this past Monday also. I had my glucose tolerant test (GTT) and I passed! My blood count was a little low, so my doc told me to take an Iron supplement, so I have started that. When we were at the check-up and before the doc came in, Les and my mom were talking to the baby and they each had a hand on my tummy. Les got to feel the baby for the 1st time and was quite amazed by the little living thing in my tummy growing. He has got to see my tummy jump, but that was the first time he actually felt him. He just smiled; which made me smile too. Now he can kind of see what I feel, but I feel it internally. ;)
The baby stats were:
HB: 138 - 142 bpm
Weight: a little over 2 lbs
EDD: March 17th
I am now scheduled to see my doctor every 2 weeks and I can't believe how quickly we have arrived at this. Seems like just yesterday we were finding out that we were pregnant. I have a huge range of emotions that hit me at different times, but overall, we're very excited about meeting our little Baby C.

CHRISTMAS BAKING!!!!!!!!!

Here are the iced sugar cookies that I made this year. My husband LOVES these cookies and I'm not kidding when I say that he has eaten probably 60% or more of them. I think that there are 5 left and NO I'M NOT KIDDING!!! I am married to a man who has a HUGE sweet tooth. The other things that I have made this year are choc truffles, oreo truffles, peanut butter and choc truffles, and fudge.

Here are the cookies; they turned out cute and here they are:

You can see that we each have our name on a stocking cap,

here is Baby C's, Kodiak's, and Bear's cookies.

Here are mine and Les' cookies.

We hope that you remember the real reason for Christmas and that is Christ's birth. He is the real reason for the season.............Merry CHRISTmas from our family to yours!!!!!!!!!

Coming into the home stretch!

WOW, I can't believe that we'll be starting the 3rd trimester next week. I have no idea how the time has passed me so quickly, but I praise the Lord for having such a smooth pregnancy so far. We start our birthing classes in 3 wks from yesterday and our class is 7 wks long. It's not all birthing stuff, but there are 3 other classes that don't have anything to do with that.

I'll have Les take a picture of me in the next few days and post a new one soon. Maybe I'll wait till Tues and post a 28 week picture/belly shot. What do you think?!

Picture Tag

Okay, so I totally took this off the Steece blog. I really enjoy reading what Suz blogs about because she is one of the most up beat people. I don't personally know her, but what I do know about her from her blog - she a very kind, loving, Christian woman.

The object of the picture tag is to:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer

2) Select the 4th picture in the folder

3) Explain the picture

4) Tag 4 people to do the same

NO CHEATING! (cropping, editing, etc!)

Here we go:

This is really funny - okay, I had this barbarian blow-up headpiece, but I decided to make everyone put it on. This is Kodiak's turn wearing the barbarian blow-up headpiece. This was taken probably 3 years ago! I am so glad that my picture wasn't the 4th picture b/c it is not the best picture........hahahahaha

The 4 people that I am tagging are:
1. Amy (SIL)
2. Jill (SIL)
3. Kim (friend)
4. Sarah (friend)

I'll be looking forward to seeing your pictures!!!!

Hunting

It is supposed to be super cold tonight and Les is going hunting - be praying for him! He is going to be pretty chilly out there camping. I'm staying home and baking sugar cookies and then icing them. :)

Exciting news!!!

Okay, I will post the exciting news as soon as I can share it, but it is soo awesome! :)

Thank you, God for your many blessings on our lives!

UPDATE:
I can now tell of my exciting news because it has been approved through the bosses at work. After my maternity leave (3 months); then I will be returning to MMI to work part-time. I will be working between 12 - 15 hours a week. I will be coordinating my busiest country; which is Peru. I am so excited about this and so blessed to work at MMI. I am glad that they like me enough to be letting me work from home 6 hours a week (Mon, Wed and Fri) and work in the office another 6 hours a week (Tues and Thurs). I truly feel blessed to be appreciated that much by my boss that they would take my proposal and make it happen for me.

Another exciting thing happening in the family is that Christopher (my brother) will start in January working full-time with Team Impact (muscle men who are christians and go and share the Gospel using their strength). Christopher will be working at of their office and traveling with them from time to time as well. Christopher is very excited about this new opportunity and I am very happy for him that God opened this door for him.

Truffle Making

This blog was going to be all about making truffles, but I have to put in here that Les was able to see my tummy move and see our little guy moving around in there tonight. I was so excited because today my mom got to feel him move also. I was over there at lunch and I told her where he was moving, so she put her hand there and she felt him move 1x. I could feel more times, but she said that she couldn't feel them. So, she got to feel him and Les was able to see my tummy move a few times. This is sooo exciting!!!!

Okay, now on to my original post about truffle making. Every year I always make treats for family, friends, and neighbors. This year I decided to make truffles to add to my list of goodies. I have 3 recipes that I am making and I have 2 recipes down and 1 to go. Last night I made chocolate truffles and tonight I made Oreo truffles. Last night as I was making the balls; it was really sticky. I was talking to this lady at work today and was bouncing off a few ideas of mine to her to see what she thought. I mentioned to her that I had thought about putting flour on my hands to see if that helped with the stickiness and she told me a secret that someone once told her; now I'm going to tell you. SPRAY PAM ON YOUR HANDS! I thought that it was a pretty good idea and I did that tonight and it worked like a charm! I barely had any of the mixture on my hands after making the balls and I was happy about that. I am going to be making my last batch of truffles here in the next few days and will definitely be trying the Pam spray then too.

The other goodies that I will have this year as of right now are:
Fudge - this is already made and ready to go!
Iced Sugar cookies - I have new Christmas cookie cutters this year, so I'm anxious to use them. :)

As I sit here thinking; I guess that is all that I will be making, so I have 3 things done and 2 to go! YAY!!!!!

If you ever want any of my truffle recipes; just let me know!!! I love sharing recipes and enjoy baking/cooking. If I don't have a recipe that you want - I know that I can find something equally as tasty. ;)

Snow? MAYBE!

It's in our forecast to receive snow this evening - we have a 50% chance of precipitation. We'll see! ;) :)

I am so excited because I always enjoy seeing snow!!!!

UPDATE:
We have had sleet at our house this evening and it's VERY windy and cold out there! I'm thankful for the woodburning stove that provides our heat.

No More Triple Digits!!!!

We're now in the double digits! Today marks 99 days till our due date, now who knows when he'll actually come. I can't believe that he will be here in about 14 wks or less. Seems like just yesterday we were finding out that we were officially pregnant. My doctor called us on July 28th to give us the blood work results to confirm the pregnancy - WOW!

Tomorrow we'll be 26 wks along and so far everything has been very smooth. I praise the Lord for that because He has definitely been answering my prayers. He has taught me to rely fully on Him, appreciate everything and on and on. I am enjoying every move that I feel because I know that I will not have that feeling forever. I am just waiting for the day to come when Les will be able to feel him kick/punch/move. I have seen it with my eyes and felt it with my hand, so it's only time now till Baby C will let his daddy feel. When I tell Les to watch or feel, Baby C stops, so not much luck yet.

99 days and counting till Baby C makes his BIG appearance!

Updated Pics of Les & I

These are just a few pictures of Les & I at 25 wks and I wanted you to see that belly shot! :)

Have a WONDERFUL WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our sweet baby

Here are pictures of our sweet little guy from yesterday's 3D appt. I think he is definitely the cutest baby in the whole world and can't wait to see him in person!!!!

Here he is sucking on his left thumb. He has his right hand up by his eye.

He always has his left hand by his ear and here he is doing it again. :)

Here is just a face shot, but you can see his eyes, nose, lips, chin, cheeks......so sweet!

Here he is covering his eyes with both of his hands. We said that he was playing peek-a-boo with us!!! :)

This last picture is just a picture of his left hand and you can see 4 of his fingers. I'm not sure what's going on with the thumb, but he might have been sucking on it. ;)

I hope that you enjoy our 25 week pictures! I have some pictures of Les and I to post real soon too. I am still trying to decide on a pose for our Christmas letter, so after I do that; then I'll post some pictures of him and I.

Happy Holidays!!!

Picture Updates!!!

Okay, so here are a ton of pictures that I have been meaning to post, BUT I haven't. :)

This past summer Kodiak made Les and I a stone with her paw prints. Here she is posing with it - she had just gotten out of our pond, so she's a little wet in this picture.

Here are the most recent pictures of Baby C. The first two pictures are exactly the same - sorry! I scanned it twice without realizing it, but cute anyways. :)

Here is my belly shot at 24 weeks - you can see how much I am growing. My doctor said that I looked good and to keep the good work up.

Here are some of the cookies that I made at Halloween time - it's about time I get this picture up since we have now passed Thanksgiving!! hahaha I made pink hearts for Thanksgiving and they were a big hit with both sides of the family. Once I start making my Christmas cookies; then I'll get those posted too, but I probably won't be starting for a few more weeks. Not quite sure because I have a lot of goodies I am going to make this year, but my main goodie is something new that I have never tried before - Truffles.

Here is another picture of Kodiak. I have a picture EXACTLY like this at about 8 weeks.

Hope you enjoyed a few pictures of what's been going on!!!!!!!!!!! :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I wanted to take a moment and wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! I know that I am thankful for many things this year and I have God to thank for my blessings.

Have fun spending time with your families this season and remember who we have to be thankful for; He is the one who gives everything to us!!

24 weeks!

Yesterday we had our monthly check-up and everything looked great! Baby C had a heart rate between 142 - 150. He weighs about 1 lb and 4 ounces, so he's growing! He moved around a lot, but it was fun seeing him move around.

When she first started the ultrasound - he was waving, he sucked his thumb, rubbed his ears, tossed and turned. He was very active and the doctor said that we would be very busy once he was here. :) I could feel him moving around and I pointed to where I could feel something and she moved the ultrasound thing over to that spot and it was his feet kicking me. It's crazy and mind-boggling, but so exciting too! I now feel him everyday off and on throughout the day, but Les can't feel him yet. I don't think it will be too many weeks till he can feel Baby C. We have 3 months and 3 weeks or so till we meet our little guy. YAY!

I do have pictures, but I left them at home and will have to wait till later to post a few of him. I have a few cute shots of me on my camera, but my batteries went dead, so I'll charge them and put a belly shot on there for you too! I have had several requests, so I promise to do that soon - definilely hold me accountable!!! LOL

That's all for now, but I'll post pictures soon!!!

Birthday Celebration!!!

THANK YOU TO MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had a great turn-out last night and had a really good time. We ate at Rockfish Seafood in McKinney and oh man was it good! They had a birthday cake for me after dinner and everyone sang to me. I had a very special birthday and I really appreciate everyone coming out in the cold to spend a few hours with me on my birthday. :)

I love y'all!
Kimberly

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Today is my 29th birthday - I just love birthdays!

I am at work this morning and then taking the afternoon off to spend with Les. Who knows what we'll be doing this afternoon, but it'll be fun for sure.

Then tonight there are going to be about 15 or so of us going to Rockfish Seafood to celebrate! I love seafood!!

I hope you all have a great day too!!! :)

*****Christy - I'll miss you not being there too!*****

Coyote Calling + Pygmy Tarsier

Yep, that's what we did last night!!!! :) We walked in the field behind our house and sat down in the trees to await our coyote. We have been to this very place before and were able to call up a coyote before. Les said the weather was perfect - still and dry, so e set up the caller and had the video camera ready and within 5 minutes, we spotted a coyote. He came out of the trees to the right of us and was running towards the sound. We watched him for several minutes and then he ran off. We have it on tape and it was very cool and in the video you can see the exact moment that he smelled us.

Now onto a story that I read about this morning. This thought to be extint mammal was spotted again back in August. This little creature is called a pygmy tarsier. The last time that they had been spotted was back in 1921, so a very long time ago! Here is a picture of it and to me, it looks like one of stars from the movie, Gremlins. What do you think???

This little guy was found with 2 others (1 female and 2 males) on a mountaintop on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. They only way about 2 ounces and can turn their heads 180 degrees.

5 months.........COMPLETE!

Wow, the time to me has FLOWN by!!!!!! Just to think that in about 4 months; we'll be welcoming our little guy into the world. There are so many emotions that engulf my mind - it's crazy. I was a little moody at the beginning and that has all tapered off now - I know Les is happy! I would be laughing one minute and then not kidding, crying the very next minute. Les would normally start smiling and laughing and then it would hit me, " What in the world AM I crying for?!" Then I would stop crying and laugh with him. hahaha I am so glad that my hormones have balanced for a while - I'm sure that they'll change again in the 3rd trimester; which is only 5 wks away or so. Holy cow - that is wild!

I have an appt in less than a week and if we do an ultrasound; then I will post pictures from that visit. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and given me guidance up to this point so far - I really appreciate it!

Love y'all!!!!!! :)

Action Packed Weekend........ :)

Gosh, is it Monday already????!!!! YEP, it is!

I had a 3 day weekend even though that was not planned by any means. Friday I stayed home on bed rest for the day, but believe me, I am fine! Nothing to be worried about. :)

Saturday I went to a fun 1st year birthday party for my friend, Kim, well, not her, but her daughter, Rachel. The fun thing about Rachel is that her and I actually share the same birthday! When Rachel was born Kim and I were not friends yet and I didn't know her at all, but definitely glad to be friends with them. I have made other friends through Kim too and that is fun also. I just love making new friends! (does that sound cheesy?! YES! but it's SOOO true!) After the birthday party; then I headed to Stonebriar mall for a little bit. I am on the search for a certain maternity sweater, but no success. Oh well, the search continues.....hahahaha After that I ran errands with my mom and then went home and relaxed!

Sunday we went to church and afterwards Les went to work. I went out to McKinney trades day with Kristy and then after that I went and saw my grandma. Last Saturday, the 8th, she fell and broke her hip. She had surgery that Sunday and now she has been moved to a rehab place in Allen. She is doing okay, but still has a long recovery ahead of her. I'm just glad that she survived surgery. When I saw her yesterday she patted my tummy and said that I was growing (she hadn't seen me in about 1 1/2 wks and I saw her a few days before her fall).

My birthday is on Thurs and I am so excited! The year's have gotten better and better each year, so I look forward to this year. A lot of exciting happenings this year and a few things are:
1. Birth of our baby boy in March 2009 (if all goes well)
2. My best friend is getting married in May 2009 (yeah!!!!! :)
3. My Mexican brother is getting married in June 2009

Well, I'll end for now, but if something exciting happens; then I will write more later!!

Amish Friendship Bread

Thank you, Alina! I made my 2 loafs on Monday and they turned out really good. I gave the 4 baggies to 4 new people and gave them the "to do's."

I brought one loaf to work and everyone has been eating on it and I have one at home. Les gets home tonight (YEAH!) and I'll give him some of it too. One ingredient that it calls for is pudding of your choice, so I chose to do Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding and it is so good! Les LOVES chocolate, so I think that he'll like the bread too.

So, if you ever get a starter of Amish Friendship Bread - definitely do it! Now, if anyone starts a sourdough starter - PLEASE GIVE ME A STARTER TOO! :)

3 WHOPPING INCHES and more info......

Well, did it rain or what last night! It rained all night and had thunder and lightening to boot as well. I still slept like a baby and woke up a few times to see the lightening and hear the thunder rolling across the sky outside. I checked this morning and we ended up with 3 inches.

I am also irritated this morning with this one particular co-worker - she drives me nuts sometimes! LOL What can you do though when she sits in the same area as you. I think the things that drive me the craziest are:
1. Listens to all my conversations and then tries to pitch in when she's not even included in that conversation - it's called mind your own business.......... ;)
2. Tries to make you talk about things going on - do I have to let you know what's ALWAYS going on in my life - nope, don't think so.
3. Never gives me my messages while I'm gone till hours after I get back or after I hear from the person again.

I'm sure part of it is hormones, but these things drive me crazy some days. LOL Oh well, my back is to her and I don't have to look at her all day, so that's good. Most of the time these things don't bother me, but today, they are!!!! hahahahaha

Well, I'm getting back to work now - just had to vent on my blog. :):) That's what it's here for, right??!!

Happy Anniversary

I am excited to announce that today is my parents' 38th year anniversary!!! What a neat accomplishment; while I know that you all have been through thick and then - God has always been there to help you through the troubles and been there in the happy times too. Little did either of you know that by this point in time you would have 2 precious grandkids and another grandson on its way. ;)

CONGRATULATIONS, MOM & DAD!!!!!!!!

I love you so much and I'm so proud of you both. :)

Praise the Lord!

Okay, so I'm not talking about the elections, but I have something even better to exclaim praises about. Someone very close to me accepted the Lord!

PRAISE THE LORD, HE IS SO GOOD!!!

Now to continue to keep praying for those who are lost that are still in my family. I pray that Satan would be banned from them and they would see the truth!

GOD IS GOOD; ALL THE TIME!!!

21 wks today!

Wow, to me the time is really flying and I am starting to grow a little bit more and more each week. I haven't taken any pictures in the last few weeks, but I'll try to get one soon and post it. I have been feeling pretty good besides a few growing pains. :) I have been feeling Baby C kick/move more, but still not an every day occurence, but I do feel him if I sit still and concentrate. Most of the time I just don't lay down and take a break, but when I do; I feel him some of the time. What an amazing feeling and something that I just can't put words to - babies are such a miracle to me. I always thought that, but now that I am pregnant, it is even more a miracle to me and such a blessing too!

My camera man (Les) is leaving to go hunting and will be gone for a week, so maybe before he leaves I'll get him to take a picture of the baby bump..........:) We're hoping that this year of hunting will yield 3 deers (2 does and 1 buck). The county that he is hunting in allows for 2 does the 1st 2 weeks of hunting season, so we'll see!

Okay, now I want to go a completely different direction - I really enjoyed the devotion that I received today. While it did step on my toes because I would like God to come and save His followers from the evil that is spreading throughout our country - I know that it is for the wrong reasons. I want to see Him face to face, but I know that there are SOO many who have not heard the truth and I truly want them to have the opportunity to know my Lord. I wanted to share it with all of you too - I receive daily devotions from Christian Women Today (if you're looking for a daily devotion; then these are great and I would definitely recommend them).

COME SOON, LORD JESUS

**Are you facing uncertainty in your life? We would love the opportunity to pray for you.

"In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8 NASB)."Yes, I am coming soon" (Revelation 22:20 NIV).

Years ago, when I learned my 34-year-old sister had been diagnosed with breast cancer, I felt numb. After telling a friend the shocking news, I added, "I wish Jesus would return.""You should welcome Christ's return because you love His appearing," my friend said, "not to avoid trouble."This answer startled me. I looked to God to fix my problems and help me. Looking for Christ's return only because I longed to be with Him was a new thought for me. Later, after reading that Jesus will give a crown of righteousness to "all who have loved His appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8), I gave serious thought to why I wanted Christ to return.Lately, with numerous world crises, I hear Christians say, "Come soon, Lord Jesus." And I say it, too. But what are my motives? Do I only want to escape life's troubles, or do I truly long to see Him face to face?When I e-mailed these thoughts to a friend, she replied, "You are so right about yearning for the Lord's return with the right motives--for no other reason than to take our places in eternity with Him."She continued, "These are exciting times to strengthen our trust in God and to tell others about Christ's love and salvation. This week, I shared Scripture with several ladies at the fitness center where I exercise."I love her hopeful, upbeat attitude. Yes, Jesus is our only answer, and He will return. Revelation 22:17 (NIV) says, "The Spirit and the bride say, ?Come!' And let him who hears say, ?Come!' Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life."We live during uncertain times, but we have a secure, rock-solid God. Even so we say, "Come soon, Lord Jesus."

~Lord, You have everything under control. And we know You will return for Your bride in Your perfect time. Help us to wait with eager anticipation because we long to see You and be with You forever. Strengthen us today as we walk. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Questions: Do you look forward to the Lord's return? If so, why? How does knowing that we have a dependable God help us in uncertain times?

Author: Lydia E. Harris

20 wks and counting down now!

We're now 20 wks and 3 days and doing just great. I am having some minor pain under my left rib and minor tail bone pain, but I think that it is because everything is starting to get squashed in there now.

According to one website - our baby boy is the size of a cantaloupe:

We hope that you all have a fun and safe Halloween! We'll be at church having fun working the sno-cone machine........yeah!!

Baby C is a.........

BOY!!!!!!!

We're proud to announce that we've been blessed with a boy. Here are a few pictures from our Ultrasound appt yesterday. Part of the time they were done in 2D and the other part of the time we got to see our baby boy in 3D; which was just totally cool!

I hope that you enjoy the pictures:

Here is Baby C's parts - you can see where the arrow is pointing. The round things on either side of his parts are his knees.

Here is Baby C playing with his feet with his hands - he is laying on his back.

Here is Baby C's face and chest and you can see his left hand up by his mouth.

Here is Baby C laying on his tummy with his legs tucked up under him. You can see the spine, leg bones, & the back of the skull.

We think that Baby C is sucking on his thumb here - you can see his face, left arm, body, and 2 legs (umbilical cord is the bubbly looking thing).

Baby's Sex Is.............

STILL UNKNOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We went in for our sono today to find out the sex of the baby and to make sure that everything is developing on time. When she first started the sono; the baby was on its tummy all tucked up and moving some. Then the next time she tried; the baby had its hand in front of the parts. The third time the baby had turned to its back, but it had grabbed the umbilical cord and pulled it in front of its parts.......LOL

However, everything looked really good and was developing very well. Les and I are very thankful for that!

We have another sono test on Wed, so maybe we'll know something then!!!! :)

Gender Predictor Test

Okay, so I have totally been having fun doing these crazy little tests. The majority of them are equal in saying it's a Boy or it's a Girl, so who knows!

However, here is the last predictor test, so I thought that I would share it with you too and it is based on my birth month and year, Les' birth month and year, and the month and year that we conceived. We'll see on Monday just how accurate these are........LOL :)

http://www.babygendertool.com/baby-gender-test.aspx says..........Congratulations, it's a boy!

Stay tuned for Monday night to find out what we're really having - if you're like me, then the weekend won't go fast enough.........hahahahahaha My appt is on Monday afternoon!! :)

Quick Update!

I wanted you all to know that I received the results from the blood work a few weeks ago testing for Downs, Trysonomy, etc. Everything looked good and she was not worried about anything.

I am now anxiously awaiting my next ultrasound appt on Monday! Some friends of ours who are pregnant also just found out what they are having and it makes me even more excited for my appt on Monday to find out what WE are having - YEAH!

Fun Christmas Ideas

I have been thinking about various Christmas gifts for this year and I have been thinking that it would be fun to give some type of game to our family members/friends, whatever. We love playing games whether it be board games, card games, or whatever, we like it. It definitely draws us together and we enjoy the together time too. :) It is definitely better than sitting there watching a movie or TV and not being able to talk during the movie. The games will really start to come out now that the sun sets early and we're usually inside earlier than normal. I do miss the summer for the long days, but I always enjoy a cold night in too!

Recently a friend was talking about the game Scrabble, so I am thinking that is going to be on my list of games that I would like to receive. There are so many games out there to play and I'm sure that we haven't even begun to touch the surface of games. Someday we'll be playing the kids game like Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, etc. :)

A few games that we play religiously are: Sequence, Phase 10, Yahtzee, Pool, & Pictionary. We do like other games, but those are the ones that we tend to lean towards most often.

If you're ever in the mood to come over and play games - give us a call or drop in! Our door is always open to anyone if you're in the area or even if you're not......LOL

It's definitely a cheap way to have a lot of fun and lots of laughing!!

I would love to know of games that YOU enjoy too, so leave me a comment as to what you enjoy whether it be an outdoor game or an indoor game. Then, let's set up a time to get together and play it together too!!!!! :)

3D/4D Ultrasound

I am so excited because as of right now, my doctor is going to give me permission to go and have this done. I think that I have decided on a place out in Denton Called Visions of Love (http://www.visionsofloveultrasound.com/index.html). I have to confirm 1 more time with my doctor before I can make an appt, but I am super excited! My friend, Melissa, told me about this place - Thanks!!!

Anyways, Monday is the BIG day with my doctor and hopefully Baby C will cooperate and show us its parts and not be shy about it. :) LOL

Weekend Update

We had a pretty busy weekend, but it was definitely fun. Here is a low-down on our weekend - why do they go so fast?! :)

Friday - started off great by getting off early! Les and I met at our house after work and headed out to Royse City. We met up with another couple and went to the Royse City Homecoming game. We saw some of Les' aunts and cousins that we hadn't seen since the wedding. Then we also had just gotten seated in our seats and Les had a phone call from his brother. It was his niece's on the phone and they were sitting on the same row as us, but in a different section. They were waving and then at 1/2 time, we went over to visit with more of the family. Over there we got to talk to Kevin, Les' brother, Maddie and Haidyn, Les' nieces, and Amy, Les' sister. It was fun seeing everyone and then when 1/2 time was over we headed back to our seats to finish out the game and continue visiting with our friends. Our friends are pregnant also and they are actually 1-2 weeks ahead of us and that is really cool. So, we talked all about the pregnancies, etc. We had fun talking and catching up!

After we left the game and dropped them back off at their car and headed on home. When we got home I called my friend who was driving up from San Antonio area to spend the weekend with me. She was almost to our house at that point and she arrived around 11:45 PM. I was so excited to see her and we talked for about 20 minutes and then I had to hit the hay because I was getting pretty tired!

Saturday - Les got up and went to work early and Becky and I slept till 9:15. We got up, had cinnamon rolls and got dressed and headed over to my parents' house. We all went down to Dallas to this brand new park that was opening this past weekend. It is called the Trinity River Audubon - http://www.tx.audubon.org/Trinity.html It is off of Hwy 45 and really pretty! They had all kinds of booths set-up, walking trails to various ponds, etc. Check out the website - it is a great spot to go when the weather is a little cooler. After that we came on home and Les met us at my parents' house. We decided that we would all try to find this hayride in Caddo Mills. Les, me, and Becky went on to our house to get changed for cooler temps once the sun set. Then we headed over to Les' mom's house and visited with her for a while. My parents and brother met us at her house and then we headed to eat at Soulman's BBQ. My friend, Becky, is from Canada and had never eaten BBQ. She really liked it! We drove around afterwards trying to find the place, but we all came to the conclusion that it is no longer there. We had a nice drive around the country though and you could see a lot of stars! After my parents dropped us off at Doris' house; then we left and did some spot-lighting. That was fun, but we did not see one coyote! I was really surprised because the night was beautiful and calm. Oh well!

Sunday - we went to church and then afterwards decided to go to the Pumpkin Patch in Celina. That was a lot of fun and here is the website because it is not too late to go - http://www.bigorangepumpkinfarm.com/index.html It was $7 to get in and that included a hayride, hot dog and animal food to feed the goats, sheep, & cows. I had a really great time and can't wait to go back next year with our baby. By then Baby C will be about 7 months old, but that all depends on when Baby C decides to make its entrance into the world. :) Les, me, and Becky had never been to a pumpkin patch before, so it was all our first time and we all enjoyed it. It was a nice family environment and definitely enjoyable by all.

Sunday early evening Becky had to head back down to San Antonio. We had a good time having her in our home and the first person to sleep in the "guest room/baby room" since we've been married. It was fun having an out of town guest stay with us! I know that Bear enjoyed having someone sleep in his room.........LOL

I hope you all have a great week!

New Poll!!!!

Okay, so I always have people telling me what they think that we're having. So, I decided to put a poll and see what everyone thinks. The poll will close on Monday, October 27th at 5 PM - this is the day that we're supposed to find out if the baby cooperates AND shows its parts!!

Yesterday we started the 5th month, so now we have 4 full months behind us; which is totally crazy how fast this pregnancy is going. The holidays are approaching so quickly and I know that they'll be here and gone before I know it...... :)

Here is a picture of me from Thursday when I turned 18 weeks!

Crib

Yes! We do have our crib and changing table now AND we have it put them up too. :-) I bought them from the sweetest lady off of craigslist and I was so excited. She was a Christian woman and she told me after visiting with her while picking the stuff up that she had prayed for the family who would be buying the items. It was very special! The crib looks brand new and the changing table is in great shape too, but does have some wear on it, but still looks great. Les and I were very excited!

Thank you, if you ever read my blog.......I truly enjoyed meeting you and continue to pray for you!

I have some very rough shots of the crib and changing table at home, but they are not the best, but I'll try to download them off my camera soon and post them on here. It is really making parenthood seem so real and I am so excited! :-)

UPDATE: HERE ARE THE PICTURES!!!!!

CRIB - JENNY LIND STYLE

CHANGING TABLE - JENNY LIND STYLE

Exciting news!!!

I have now felt the first movement in my tummy - I felt it yesterday!! That was so exciting and I look forward to so many more movements. :)

Today I am going to have my blood work to test for problems with the baby, but that should be a breeze with giving blood. 2 more weeks and we get to find out the sex of the baby (IF it cooperates......LOL).

Not much exciting around the Cornelius household, but we are having a house guest this weekend and that is going to be so much fun. I have a friend coming up from the San Antonio area who is from Canada. She has been living in TX for about 2 months or less. We met on a mission trip to Peru back in July 2007. I am so excited to see her!!! See you this weekend, Becky. Well, since she is coming up - I have been working on clearing out the baby room and I think that Les is going to be putting up the crib and changing table this week sometime, so that is very exciting!!! So weird to think, but so exciting at the same time!!! We will be starting the 5th month THIS Thurs - where does the time go????

First Year Anniversary!!!

Today 1 year ago, Les and I got married. We dated for 1 1/2 yrs and then we became engaged and got married after dating a little over 2 years. Our wedding went very smoothly and was absolutely beautiful. Les, I LOVE you and look forward to spending my life with you - you're the BEST in my eyes. :) I look forward to what God has in store for us many years down the road.

Cheers to our love for each other and the future!!!!!!

This has been the best year of my life and I am so glad that Les and I are together and sharing this life together. I look forward to so many more years!!

Les surprised me on our way home from Missouri and set-up a night in Pencil Bluff, AR. We had a wonderful time hiking, canoeing, grilling, etc. Here are a few pictures of where we stayed:

This is the outside of the cabin and it was absolutely so adorable inside. It had beautiful hard wood floors. The theme for the cabin was Roses & Hearts (the love cabin). On the first floor was the kitchen, living room, hot tub (enclosed), and a nice porch with a grill. On the second floor was the bedroom, bathroom, and another nice porch.
Here is the Ouachita River - this is where we canoed. We had a good time doing that. We went down stream a little ways and then back up stream a little ways too.
That is our cabin nestled in the woods - can you see it in there??
Here is Les posing for me on the bridge; there is a little creek underneath.
Here is a little table that was in our bedroom that I thought was so cute. The chairs are iron with hearts on them. Very cute!

Today is....

WORLD SMILE DAY!!!!!!!

Have a great weekend and remember, smile, you never know when it's going to affect someone in a positive way or make your day that much better. Plus, who likes to frown anyways when we have the joy of our Lord?!

www.worldsmileday.com

Love it!

Okay, so I totally love this site that I got off my friend, Sarah's blog. You can click on it too from the upper left hand corner of my blog. I had found one that I really liked, but it was hard to read the text, so I decided to go back and check out more because I had time and wasn't at work. :)

I searched through a few of the titles of different backgrounds and then I saw Halloween. Well, since it is October 1st and Halloween is this month - I decided to go with a cute background for Halloween.

If you download a new background - please let me know b/c I will come and view it. ;)

I am going to have another poll in the next few days hopefully - another hat poll........LOL The first one turned out well, so when Les put a new hat on Kodiak last night I told him that we had to all put the hat on and do another poll on my blog. So, I have the 3 pictures on my blog, but haven't downloaded them yet. I have a headache and have been laying down since I got home from work around 6:15 PM. I worked late and I was definitely tired once I got home!!

Have a great night!!!

Post Below - Here is the pic..... :)

I am fast tonight with the pictures, but I am definitely going to bed now - I am soo tired! Here are just a few from the trip (I took over 100 pics....LOL). I am going to post our anniversary cabin pictures in another e-mail on our anniversary; which is NEXT week! I can't believe it, but it has definitely been the best year of my life so far - I love you, Les and you truly mean the world to me!!! Here is me at 15 wks and definitely starting to show! YAY - I'm so excited!!!
Here is Les and I posing with a bear statue at the Bass Pro Shop at Branson Landing. Les was trying to look mean for the picture and I was going for the cute pose......LOL
This picture was taken at Silver Dollar City and Les is behind bars!
This is the 4 of us on the Branson Belle - a definite must see if going to Branson. We had a really great time on aboard and the entertainment and food was great!!!
Here is the magnificent Branson Belle - she holds up to 700 people and goes average 6 mph. It was very pretty on the inside too.

We're Home!

Well, we actually got back on Saturday night late, so we were pretty tired from driving all day and stopping at my mother-in-laws on the way home to visit with her and pick up one of our dogs, Bear. We got home and pretty much crashed into the bed. Les surprised me on Friday night by making reservations at this cute little cabin in the woods by the Oauchita River for our anniversary. We stayed there Friday night and we got to canoe, hike, etc. We had a good time and it was a very relaxing evening. I'm not kidding, we were in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE! :) The cabin that we stayed in had a theme of roses and hearts and that was really cute. It was a 2 story cabin with the kitchen, living room, and hot tub on the 1st floor and on the bedroom and bathroom on the 2nd floor. It had hardwood floors that reminded us of our own house. There were 2 patios - 1 on the first floor and 1 on the second floor. The cabin was nestled by itself in the woods, but with a view of the river still.

THANK YOU, LES - YOU DID AN AWESOME JOB!!!!!

On Sunday we went to church and then went and picked up our 2nd dog, Kodiak. We came home and I slept for over 2 hours - I think the driving wore me out even though I didn't feel it till Sunday afternoon.

Today was my 15 wk appt and I passed with flying colors. I have gained almost 3 lbs, blood pressure was very good, measured at 15 wks and we were able to hear our little munchkin's heart beat. The doctor said that the heart beat sounded very good and strong. It was around 157-162 - hard to tell exactly because it was VERY active. You could hear the baby moving around and she said that we had a very active baby in there that was moving ALL around. She was very pleased with our progress so far and I am due back in in 2 wks for blood work and then 2 more weeks after that to try and find out the sex of the baby. She did tell me that I would probably go through a growth spurt in the next few weeks and that I would probably "pop out." I am so excited because I can already see a change and feel the growing pains too. Les wants to take a picture of me tonight, so I'll post that later. :)

AHS Class of 98!

Wow, I can hardly believe that it has been 10 years since I graduated from good ole AHS!! Well, tonight kicks off our reunion; which is actually 3 events. Tonight there is a open bar drink thingie in Frisco, then on Saturday there is a family picnic, and then Saturday night is the BIG shin dig; the formal night.


I am actually not going to any of it because tonight Les and I are going to go and watch Allen play Euless. The game is supposed to be really good and definitely competitive. So, we'll see if Allen has what it takes to win. I don't know what Euless has against us, so we'll see. Then the rest of the events - I won't be around for.


I do keep up with several people from high school and Tallenettes, so I know that if they go; then they can fill me in on everything. Sounds like it's time to have another former Tallenette dinner! :) We try to have these 1-2x a year and we've already gotten together 1x time this year.


I hope that you all have a GREAT weekend!!!!!!!!

14 wks!!!

Yay, we are officially in the 2nd Trimester now. I have been feeling great and doing really good. I took a picture of me so that you can see where I am (this is for you, Christy!). I haven't changed much yet, but a little pooch starting to try and develop.

Let's see, a few things that are new that have been occuring over the last few weeks are:
1. my lower abdomen is itchy, but I am using cocoa butter on it and that is helping a LOT!
2. my button up tops don't fit well anymore and so I have now bought a few maternity things - I have LOVED the baby consignment stores that sell maternity clothes. That way I don't have to buy brand new things. :)
3. I gag everytime I brush my teeth - let me tell you, now THAT'S fun......LOL As I tell Les," it will all be worth it once our baby is here."

Things that have improved:
1. sleepiness is getting better and I can usually make it through the whole day without wanting to take a nap, but I am ready to go to bed around 10:30 PM. I do have my days where I want a nap though! :)
2. more energy!
3. my breasts haven't been as tender - thank goodness!

I have my next appt in 1 1/2 wks and I am so excited to go and make sure that everything is still going good.

What's YOUR Vote???

No, I'm not talking politics, but I was having some fun tonight and wanted to see which person or dog wore the hat the best. Here are you choices:

LES!

KIMBERLY

KODIAK

THE FOLLOWING PICTURE IS NOT IN THE VOTE....... :)

Les and I couldn't stop laughing at how funny she looked with the dreads all on one side of her head. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this blog!!!!

Tribute to Sam & Josey

Here are more pictures of our precious doggies that we had to put to sleep!

RIP Sam & Josey

Sampson (Sam) Johnson - August 4, 2008
Josephine (Josey) Brown - September 5, 2008

You are missed and will always have a spot in our hearts - we love you!!!