Picking out Paint and such ...

So many choices go into building a home. When you are the contractors it is even harder because you do not have the interior decorator's advice to help guide you. So far I think that CR and I have done a good job getting things that flow well with the style of our home. I am so not picky and he is so picky; we make a good team. The overall feel of our colors will be the same as our home now because we like them so much. We know they are warm and welcoming and we enjoy their ambiance as they say. I am going to be bold and do the guest bathroom in a pop of color that others aren't so sure of. You will have to come visit us in South Texas to find out just what that is. For now all the bedrooms will be neutral and as we "move in" to them over the next few years I may go in and re-paint them. Since we don't know boy or girl on Nugget (or Poot as CR now calls the baby), we have decided this is the best bet. Quicker too ... we want to be in the house in 3 weeks.

This last week I was blessed to get to rest and visit back home. It was so nice not to have to get up in time to drive an hour to Corpus for class. I was able to sleep in if I wanted to, but that didn't really happen ... I am just an early bird. Dad and I got to go on our walks that I love, I was able to do water aerobics with mom (well she was busy one morning and had to miss), I went to the ranch and spent the whole day catching up with dad (very refreshing day for me), and then I drove to Katy to see my best friend and their beautiful bundle of joy Nathan. He is just so precious and I can not believe that our little one will be here in just about 10 weeks. This trip was so nice to get to sit and take in everything. I didn't get to visit everyone I was intending to (as usual) but hopefully when I go back in July for my baby shower I will be able to get together with the other girls one day or evening. It is just so hard to get together with everyone in such a short period of time. Mother and daddy brought me home on Thursday and stayed with us until Sunday. Again, too short of a visit but very nice and refreshing. We had wonderful seafood one night and then dad cooked for everyone Saturday night. Saturday night was the nicest evening and dinner I have had in a long time. Sitting and visiting and not thinking about what to do with furniture, paint colors, trim, or texture; just loving the fellowship and taking it all in.

Katherine, Jody, Porter, Caleb and Anna Kate are in South Texas for the next month. It has been very wonderful catching up with them over the past few days. The boys are getting so big and talking up a storm. They know LaLa and Tio and enjoy riding the tractor. Anna Kate is doing well and getting her own precious personality. She loved her pink shoes, so I knew her and I would get along just great!

There have been some options in my life that I am just so thankful for. I am ever so thankful that God has such an amazing plan. I love how He is so faithful to do as He says. I love reading and growing and can not wait to see what He has in store for us with this precious gift from above that will be here before we know it.

"The Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in Him." Psalm 32:10

Beginning of the brick laying!
It's hard to see the true color in these pictures ... it has more of a red tint to it than brown.

Wall tiles in our shower.

Floor tiles in our shower. I am so happy the way it turned out. When some people saw the tiles, they said, "Oh, that isn't going to look good." Now they love it!

Ceiling above dining area of kitchen. I am going to paint this a pop of red!

Our bedroom ceiling. The framer came up with this all by himself ... it was not in our plans. We really like the way it is turning out, though.

Lights, Sheetrock, Bathtub ... oh my!

Some exciting things have been happening in Our House, Texas. PEL is really wearing out this preggo, so I apologize for not updating sooner. On Tuesday we had all of the insulation put in. They were super fast and for a change ... CLEAN!They also put in the tub/shower combination for the guest/kids bathroom. The framer actually made the bathroom wider than the plans had specified, so the tub was short of hitting the back wall. Not a problem ... what do we do ... have them add a hiding closet!

Believe it or not, CR fit through this little opening to run the very last wire for the electrical in the house!

Tomorrow they will begin the sheetrock. This is super exciting to me, because then we get to go in and paint! After painting, the cabinets should be ready to go in, then counter tops and we are about there!

Oh ya ... how could I forget the best part? We have electricity and running water! I walked in tonight to check everything out and since we had lights, I was able to see and take all these pictures. Whoohoo ... thank you to my wonderful mother-in-law and husband. They did an awesome job.

Besides the house, we had an unexpected but exciting visit with my sister and Ray. Ray had to come to Corpus for a firefighter's training, so E rode along. They met us at church Sunday night and then she stayed with us on the farm for the night. We got to meet up again Tuesday for lunch before they had to head out. It was very refreshing to get to visit with just the two of them.

Nugget is doing well. I go back to the doctor again on Friday. It seems like I was just there, but I like going every 2 weeks. It makes me feel better about everything. I (think) I have started to have some Braxtin Hicks contractions. These are just preparing me for when I really get contractions. My belly gets really tight and it is an interesting feeling. The baby has really been moving this week. Last night I think it was teaching itself how to do forward and backward rolls. I will try to update on Friday before we leave for Montgomery. We are going up there for Father's Day and will hopefully get to see the whole family. It has been since Christmas since we have seen everyone and it would be really great to see them all.

Nesting ...

A question that I often get asked: "How does one nest when they do not know what they are nesting for?"

I have been collecting some clothes whenever I see any that seem to be gender neutral. For clothing, the options are really thin lately. If it is yellow, it has flowers on it and if it is green it has dinosaurs. I went to a Carter's store last weekend and found some ducks, bears, and puppies. They will work for the first week for sure! The bedding is very similar to the picture above. I found some black and white cow print instead. If it is a girl, we will add some pretty turquiose and maybe lace; if it is a boy, you got it, just a bunch of John Deere tractors across a shelf at the top of the room.On top of not knowing what we are having, the nursery is actually being built along with the rest of our home, so I can't exactly go in and start nesting in there. My in-laws think we can be in the house in about a month, so that will give me some time to get this nestingness (word?) out of me then.
"How beautiful are the feet that bring good news ..." Romans 10:15

Announcements

"For I know the plans I have for you ... " Jeremiah 29:11

My best friend Bethany had her baby on June 2nd. Nathan Matthew was a little early, but not small in size by any means! He weighed in at 7 lbs, 12 oz. and was 20" long. He was just ready to come out and start learning football from his daddy. I am very excited for The Thompsons. They are a very special part of my life and I can not wait to see Nathan grow into a wonderful young man that the Lord and the two of them will mold him to become. Sorry the last 2 pics are kind of blurry ... copyrighted from facebook! :) I will have live and in-person photos in a few weeks when I get to see them!! Congrats Bethany and Kevin!

The kind of scary part is ... Bethany was right at 12 weeks ahead of me in her pregnancy. So, in reality, that could be us in just 12 weeks! We need to get crackin'. Sorry it has taken me a week to give you an update on the doctor's appointment. Life has been so busy in a blessed way. Thankfully everything went well last Tuesday at the appointment. They got me in a bit early since I was so concerned. They listened for the heartbeat right away and it was lower than Nugget's normal, but still considered a resting heartbeat for the baby. I think that I just wore Nugget out so much the last 2 weeks that he/she just decided to sleep for a few days. They sent me up for an ultrasound to make sure that they weren't in a compromising position since I did have some bleeding, but everything was fine. The lady had the monitor on the TV the whole time so I was really nervous about seeing what it was. I looked really quick to see the beautiful face and then kept my head turned the whole time. Nugget is getting big! According to "averages", Nugget is a little over 2 pounds and 14 inches long. Yesterday I definitely felt that in my rib. CR said they were giving me a tickle fight. I go back on June 18th so stay tuned!
Today began the summer intensive portion of my principal certification course. It was a lot of fun. Besides having to drive into Corpus everyday, I am really looking forward to this portion of the course. This class has already taught me so much with the different professionals that Mr. Spencer (our Santa Clause) has invited in. I am excited to see who else we get to meet with over the next few weeks. For my wonderful classmate Bev ... PEL YEAH! As for the house building, it is still moving along really well. It doesn't seem like as much is going on because it is mainly things that one doesn't "see". The air conditioner people finished up with all the duct work, Kitty and CR are almost finished wiring the house for all of the electrical work, the garage door was installed (see above), and the water lines have been dug and are just about complete. Friday installation goes in and I believe Monday the sheet rock will start to go up. The Patrick's really think we can be in July 16th or so ... that seems hard to me, but I will definitely take it! That will give us almost 2 whole months before baby.

All the outside trim and underpinning has been painted. It is kind of dark, but check out the cedar posts. I just love them. I told CR I thought it would be neat to get our friends who have brands to come over and put their brand on them. Kind of like a record of visitors, but instead of in a book, we have it on our posts! And this frog is for Kyleigh Anne. A few weeks ago we had hundreds of these guys all over the yard. They weren't bigger than a nickle. Now they are about a half dollar.