"Are you relaxing and putting your feet up?" :)

This is the question I'm asked most frequently now that I'm not going in to the office on a daily basis anymore.... But believe me... I'm still WORKING. :)

"Relaxing" and "putting my feet up" just isn't an option when my kitchen project is still going. But we're making progress!! The cabinets are in, the countertops are in and the appliances are now in! Some of the appliances are ready to use... some aren't quite ready yet, but we're getting there. Still can't use the kitchen sink, but the dishwasher is good-to-go! :) Still can't use the ovens, but the microwave is useable. AND-- I have my refrigerator back, so now I can have things like MILK again and leftovers!! :) (The things we take for granted...)

The countdown is ON and we've got about 3 1/2 weeks until Avery arrives!! ....Maybe I'll have a few minutes to put my feet up in the hospital...... ;)

A few pictures of the kitchen taken last night and this morning. Collin & Erroll (one of Avery's Uncles on the Poage side) are busy working away!

Wedding weekend with friends!

I got to hang out with some of my best friends again this weekend and it was SO much fun! On Saturday night, Miss Melissa Turner became Mrs. Jon Babich! It was such a beautiful wedding and everyone had an absolute blast. The weekend was so special as we watched our friend GLOW with beauty as she walked down the aisle. (I seriously have the world's most beautiful friends... I'm not kidding.)

My guardian angels were on "super-duty" as I had a blow-out on the drive to Fort Worth. I could feel the car acting funny and unfortunately I've had about 3 prior blow-outs so I can tell the warning signs... Sure enough, as I dialed Collin from my cell to say, "I think I'm about to have a blow-out" I heard a HUGE POP and then flapflapflapflapflap before Collin even answered the phone. I was able to safely make it to the side of the road and then the most amazing thing happened-- FRIENDS to the rescue!! Since I was just inside 820 and almost to Fort Worth, Collin was 30 minutes away. I called my other friends who were headed to the church to tell them I'd be late and everyone sprung into action to help the fat lady stranded on the side of the road! :) Within minutes, Randy (Lindsay's hubby) was there with me to change the tire... Lea (one of my really good friends) spotted me driving to the church and looped back around to pick me up... then Lea's husband Donny came later to retrieve the gimpy toyota and drive it to the church for me. The entire problem was solved before Collin even arrived on scene. All-in-all...... I was MAJORLY high-maintenance that day. (Sorry guys!! Thanks for all the help!!)

But at the end of the busy weekend, it sure was fun to get to catch up with some of our sororrity sisters we haven't seen in years, and others we just saw a couple of weeks ago, but already miss! Friends are such a blessing...

CONGRATULATIONS, Jon & Melissa!!! I hope you guys are having a WONDERFUL time in Hawaii!!

Nursery: Phase I

That's right, folks!! We have FINALLY done something in the nursery!!

Now... I know most 1st time Moms begin the "Nursery project" somewhere around the half-way point (or sooner) but for some reason our nursery sat untouched as a guest bedroom until I was almost full-term at 35 weeks!! HA! So typical of me, but one of these days hopefully I'll stop being a procrastinator... Maybe tomorrow. :)

It was wonderful to actually move baby things into that sweet little room. Mom was in town from Austin and did SO much work. She was truly the superstar of the nursery design as she kept moving things around until we got the "flow" that we wanted. We still don't have anything on the walls, but we'll cover that in "Phase II" I guess.

It sure is a BEAUTIFUL bed!! The bedding was handmade by "Gram" (Mom) and absolutely adorable!! I keep telling her she has a business in this... the bedding is really top quality and I'm so impressed with my Mom's talent. What would we do without Grandmothers?!

Only 4 more weeks until Avery arrives!! (Unless she's............... dare I even say it??.......... EARLY!!) We'll hope we still have 4 weeks. Maybe by then she'll have a nursery AND a kitchen! :)

Hugs--

Precious Moments

This past weekend, my sweet Sunday School friends Marian Ashwill, Diane Kendall, Catherine Couch and Andrea Mitchell threw a baby shower for me and Avery! It was SUCH a blessing as we spent the early afternoon having lunch and anticipating Avery's arrival.

Probably the most treasured memory I will have from this shower was when the group took a minute to pray over Avery. The sweet prayers lifted of blessings and hopes for our daughter's life (from a healthy delivery, to coming to know Christ at an early age, to prayers for her future mate) were SO dear to my heart and will be remembered always.

Avery got LOTS of awesome gifts that will be WELL used and well loved! I am so appreciative of our friends in this class. Collin and I talk OFTEN about how we can't imagine life without this amazing support group and the deep relationships we've formed in the Fellowship Class. You guys mean so much to us and we love each and every one of you!




















Above: Me (and Avery) with "Gram" and "Aunt Jen" and then with "Nana" and "Aunt Kendra"

Below: One of my pregnant friends, Lydia Farell - Due in February!



































Above: Me & Andrea (who just had a baby 3 months ago and looks AMAZING!)



















Below: Avery's "I love Aunt Jen" onesie! ...wonder who gave her that?!

TBG Office Shower!

My sweet co-workers got together and threw a shower for Avery! It was really special, and Avery got some more great & useful things! We're getting closer to being ready for her arrival... Now we just need to get the nursery together for her and we'll be in the home-stretch!

Thanks to all my friends at TBG! You guys are the best. (A little "plug" for the company, if you don't know what we do... www.tbg-inc.com)

Work Zone

Our kitchen project is... well... a PROJECT. This remodeling stuff is not for sissies. Gives me an all-new respect for the Extreme Home Makeover teams, that's for sure! This picture shows the recent progress. Currently everything that used to be neatly (or not-so-neatly) tucked away in the cabinets and pantry is now spread out all over the house and makes us look like MAJOR pack-rats to anyone who comes through the door. Not to mention the fact that the crib is still "homeless" since the nursery is still functioning as a 2nd guest bedroom and hasn't transitioned into baby mode yet. It's awkwardly placed in the living room for the moment, but will hopefully make it's way into her bedroom one of these days. (How many weeks do we have left now until Avery needs a nursery? Can I get that down to the minute, please? ...because we're going to need every second.) :)

Thanks for all the help, prayers & encouragement throughout this process! I never knew how stressful remodeling could be. TLC and HGTV always make it look so easy! Guess you can't trust what you see on TV!

So far, so good! Hopefully we'll have this all behind us by the time Avery arrives! If not... I hope she can sleep through any and all loud noises like her Daddy!

Baby Shower!! :)

It hasn't rained in Dallas in months, it seems... but there was a beautiful shower on Sunday afternoon!!

Five of my sweet college friends (From left to right: Lea Arnold, Kristin Gustafson, Melissa Turner, Lindsay Key and Kristen Starwalt) hosted the most elegant and precious baby shower for me this past weekend. We had such an incredible time getting together, celebrating & anticipating Avery's arrival! Among other delicious goodies they had a full ice cream sundae bar, which was a HUGE hit! We also played a game that I will never forget... They had planned ahead and given Collin a list of baby questions he had to answer (with specific instructions NOT to look any of the answers up on his phone) :) and then I had to guess multiple choice which answer was his. Some of the questions got interesting answers such as, "How will you know if she's right or left handed?" and "What will you call Avery's dirty diapers?" (His answer to the last question was that he would call Avery's dirty diapers "Mommy's little projects!" ....keep dreaming, honey!) With each correct answer I got a little "prize" to help with Avery. It was a precious idea and a LOT of fun!

At the end of the party the group presented me with a very treasured gift. The guests had prepared in advance individual letters written to Avery, and they had created a beautiful scrapbook for me with a letter on every page. Some wrote to Avery about funny things they remember about me and Collin, some wrote prayers for her and words of wisdom for her life... It is such a treasure and I can imagine reading these precious notes to Avery as bedtime story blessings for many years to come. The entire afternoon was so special and I am truly blessed with these incredible friendships.

Hard to believe that with each passing day we're getting closer to seeing, holding and kissing our baby girl! We may not know anything about her yet, but one thing is for sure: She is LOVED. Many many thanks to everyone for so graciously displaying your love for our little family.

(More pictures to come!...)