Before the end

So I was going to wait till Kaylee was born before I did this but I realized how busy things are going to get before we even get to that point and it may not get done after.  Here is my progressive pictures of my pregnancy.  We started out trying to take pictures once a week but as I'm sure you can see we missed and I was not feeling too great so less enthusiasm along with pregnancy brain means that I forgot a LOT.

Week 5          Week 6          Week 9

Then we decided to start taking pictures the weeks that I had a doctors appointment.  This made it a little easier to keep track of for us.

Week 16          Week 20          Week 24

 Week 28          Week 32          Week 34

 Notice how high she was sitting at week 34?  Not so much any more. 

Week 35

I really am close and we head in for our 35 week doctors appointment tomorrow.  We we be having an 'informal' ultrasound just to check and make sure that, unlike her brother, she is head down.  Since its too high of a risk, they will not deliver a breech baby naturally which means I would have to go in for a c-section and that is something we're going to avoid if at all possible because, well, I'm an all natural mama...and I really dislike needles.  

Luke has become quite the pill lately and I know its because he knows things are changing.  Rarely does he hold still long enough to feel her move but when he does, he gets sooooo excited.  He tells everyone that "I have a big boy, mommy have a baby".  Its cute, well it would be if he would start acting like a big boy and not use it when he's in trouble.  :)  I know he's going to be a great big brother, I think he's just impatient like me.

Saturdays are our day to do chores at home and this last Saturday was no different.  I had been going all day long doing laundry, dishes, etc. and all of a sudden they hit...consistent contractions.  Barely able to stand up, I tried to push through them but it became too much.  They were coming less than a minute apart and I decided I probably should lay down.  They slowed down and eventually stopped, that was, until I got up a short while later to start doing more laundry.  The rest of the evening I laid in bed and did nothing. 

Sunday I decided to take it easy and stayed in bed and drank water all day(thanks to the suggestion from a friend)... I started having this same problem with Luke at 34 weeks so I knew I just needed to take it easy to prevent an early labor.  Since then I've been doing a little at a time and taking it easy.  I still occasionally get a strong contraction but nothing steady. 

Yesterday we took the baby swing over to the office.  We figured it would be a good place to have it since thats where we are most of the day.  Luke decided he needed to take baby girl (my old doll) over with him so that he could try out the swing. 

 We're working with him on being gentle and loving to babies...some days he does better than others.  He put her in the swing and gently pushed her back and forth.  I don't think he quite believed me when I told him he used to swing in there when he was a baby until I showed him pictures, like this one...

I'm hoping that he will do well when sissy is born.  He really does love his sister and he's really excited to get to see her "on da compuuuuter' tomorrow".

31 Weeks and more...

Yesterday we went in for my doctors appointment.  I'm currently 31 weeks along.  My appointments will be on the odd weeks until I start going in once a week. They got thrown off a few weeks ago when my doctor had to head up to the hospital to deliver another baby the morning of my appointment.

I had to snicker a bit when he put the gel on my stomach, put the doppler right in the middle of the gel and there it was, Kaylee's heartbeat.  Each time we've went in, she's been laying just perfectly for him to easily catch her heartbeat.  He even commented about how she lays just perfectly each time.

Since we're getting down to the 'final weeks', we started discussing when he wanted me to come in,  At my 35 week appointment, we will do an 'informal ultrasound' to check and see if she is head down. There is still a chance of her flipping after that point (Luke did), but we're going to attempt preventative maintenance and prevent another breech since he won't deliver that way and I don't want a c-section.  I'm so excited to get to see my baby girl again and I can't wait to actually get to hold her in my arms for the first time.   

After my doctors appointment we headed over to the stores to grab milk and a few other things we needed.  Since the train was running through town we pulled into Burger King and got some lunch.  It gave the overly long train time to pass.  Once we were done with Lunch we headed over to the store, grabbed the few things we needed and headed home.


This morning I woke up to a pat on my leg.  Since its been later in the morning before the sun comes up, I figured it was still between 7:30 and 8:00, then all of a sudden, Luke gagged.  Being well rounded right now, it normally takes me a little work to get out of bed...not this morning.  I sat up, snatched Luke and ran for the bathroom.  He looked at me like I was crazy.  I made him go potty while Alex checked his bed to see if he'd thrown up.  No sign of any mess so I sent him back to bed and I laid down since it was only 6:15.  I couldn't go back to sleep though, I just listened...and listened...and 30 minutes later, here he was, standing by the side of our bed and then it happened, he 'frew up'.  So glad we caught it.  We started talking about it and Alex's stomach was upset too.

Rewind to yesterdays and start reviewing what food they both ate but I hadn't...because I was feeling fine.  Burgerking...chicken nuggets.  Alex had mentioned they were sub-par and I'd noticed that they weren't real hot when I grabbed the boxes off the tray.  Really?  This isn't the first time we've had problems with getting sick after eating there, normally Luke isn't throwing up though.  It made me start asking myself, were they really hot enough?  How long have they been sitting there?  Obviously it was too long because they were barely warm well below the safety temperature of 140 degrees.

Our morning went on, Luke throwing up, and Alex not feeling great.  We had also realized that Alex phone was flooded with emails because our servers at the office were losing internet every few minutes.  He called comcast and scheduled an appointment for noon and him and Luke took a little snooze.  Once they woke up, Alex got ready to go and Luke was begging for something to drink.  After about half an hour of holding things down I gave him a tiny sip of water and some soda crackers to nibble on.  He held it down so I gave him a little more.  You could finally see the color coming back into his face and his energy slowly resumed.  After nearly two hours of holding everything down I warmed up some chicken noodle soup and he held that down.

Alex had gone over to the office and two hours later, Comcast still hadn't shown up...and then he got a call from my mom.  They were at their house where our backup server is.  Uggg really?  So he called back in and they said they'd be here between 'now and 4pm'.  At this point, he's hungry, Luke is acting totally normal, and mommy, is totally exhausted and tired of trying to get him to stay in one place in case it all came back up again.

Alex headed home real quick to get lunch and pick us up.  I gated Luke in his room with a color book and some crayons to keep him busy and prayed that he wouldn't lose it...it had been three hours at that point.  We all came over to the office and you'd never known Luke had been sick, he's been sitting here drawing for hours now. He's getting quite good at drawing stick people and faces.

He drew this face all on his own.

Its almost time to head home and we're all exhausted...well everyone but Luke, but I say its going to be an early bedtime tonight, lets see if we can actually make it happen. 

Baby Wish List

So after fighting with one of our registries, I've given up and I'm going to do something a little different...I'm going to just make a list of our needs and wants for Kaylee. 

.::NEEDS::.

CLOTHING - We have been given some clothing for her, mainly tops/jumpers.  Our major needs are 3 to 6 months and up, we know they grow quickly.   

• Onesies (long and short sleeve) 'Edit' We have around 10 onesies that are NB or 0-3 months. 
• Tops
• Bottoms
• PJ's 
• Socks
• Mittens
• Hats

BLANKETS

• Receiving blankets (I have some but most were hand me downs and are starting to get holes)

BOTTLES - (while I plan to breastfeed, I will hopefully be back to work part time by January and Alex is going to need something to feed her with.)

• Avent Natural Bottles

DIAPERS - (We're open to both new and used cloth diapers.  We were able to get 6 pre-owned (but look new) Bum Genius diapers for $6 each and one new 'seconds' diaper at a store called Cotton Babies while we were down in Vancouver back in September during one of their sales events).  We tried to switch to cloth when Luke was little but the ones I made kept shrinking which means LEAKS galore. We know this makes a difference on not only our budget, but also on the environment. 

• Bum Genius (3.0 or 4.0) Pocket Diapers
• Bum Genius Pocket Diaper Liners

.::WANTS::.

BATH TIME - We do have some of this stuff but with two kids, we may need a few more.

• Baby Towels
• Baby Washcloths
• Head to Toe Baby Wash

FEEDING

• Baby Bullet
• Dishwasher Basket (for bottle rings and nipples).
• Bottle drying rack

DIAPERING - While we do plan to use cloth, there are times (like traveling or emergencies) where we may not have the ability to wash cloth.

• Disposable Diapers. NB to size 3.  
• Wipes (not picky about brand)

Misc. 

• Swaddle Me Wraps 

Around here we are limited to what stores we have.  Our main, non grocery store is Walmart and we also do a lot of shopping online (Amazon) for those who would rather do something like a gift card. If we think of anything else we need, I will add it then.

Thanks for all the help and support that we get.  

A Special Month

Each year as October 20th rolls around, I am so happy.  You see October 20 was the day that I got to marry my best friend.  Each year that blessing grows greater and greater...so lets start from the top. 

.::2009::.
I deal with anxiety so the night before we got married, I got very overwhelmed by everything that was going on. Alex took me on a late night walk where we shared some french fries and the worst chocolate milkshake we had ever had.  Seriously, it tasted like mud. 

After walking me back home, he drove the hour back to his house where he got a few hours of sleep before needing to get up the next morning.  I too ended up not getting to bed till around two the next morning.  There is a story behind why I was up so late but that's for another time. 

The next morning, I got up at five and headed over to a friends.  She did a wonderful job on my hair and I thank her so much.  When I got back home, my soon to be husband was in the kitchen with the rest of my family, making/eating breakfast and waiting for me.  I was so giddy the moment I saw him...what bride to be wouldn't have been?

When it was time to go my parents loaded up in the van and we got in the jeep.  All was going well until we reached St. Johns area.  We were stopped at a light when a huge semi truck came screeching up behind us.  My dad, who was in front of us scooted up as far as he possibly could with out hitting the person in front of him.  Alex followed till he was right on our bumper and the semi, well he was inches off our bumper by the time that he stopped.  I was grateful he stopped where he did because we had no where to go.  There was oncoming traffic on one side and a concrete wall on the other. 

We made it to the temple a short time later.  My grandmother, mother and I went into the lady's dressing room where I put on my beautiful white temple dress that I'd picked out.  I loved how giddy all the older ladies were, it just made me happy.  One told me that EVERYONE knew who we were because we were the only sealing happening that day (it was a Tuesday, early in the morning).  Some people asked me why I didn't wear my 'wedding dress' when I went through the temple.  You see, each time we go through the temple we wear the same dress as we do work for ourselves or other.  Each time I go now, I put that dress on, the one that I've made those sacred, everlasting covenants in.  To me, that is a reminder of what I did that day. Once I was dressed we went into a little room where I was given some instructions.  Occasionally a tear rolled down my cheek, they were tears of joy. 

When they finally were ready to go (or what they thought was ready), they took Alex and I up to the Celestial room where we sat and waited.  The Celestial room represents the highest kingdom or glory (1 Corinthians 15:40-41) and is a beautiful place where we can sit, ponder, pray, and receive personal revelation. A couple of the ladies came in a few times to tell us we were still waiting on our Bishop who had a flat tire on the middle of the bridge on his way down...Satan REALLY, REALLY didn't want us getting married. Looking back now, it makes us smile because my parents also faced multiple trails when we were sealed as a family. 

Once our Bishop made it there, the two ladies came and got us.  Before taking us into the sealing room, our sealer pulled us a side and told us something that has forever stuck with me.  At the time, this piece of revelation was something that we did not understand but it became relevant a short time later in our marriage.  Our sealer took us into the sealing room where Alex walked me to the alter.  I knelt down on one side and he walked around to the other...I don't think our hands ever separated. In the temple, we don't say 'vows', we make covenants and kneeling across from each other, that is just what we did.  We covenanted to stay together for all time and eternity and it was the best day of our life. 

Once we were done, we each went and got changed, me into my dress and Alex, into his suit.  Since we were done a little early, we went out into the foyer and waited for family to arrive.  Once family started arriving we went into the atrium and took some pictures. 

 

After more family arrived we headed outside to take more pictures...brrrr, it was cold that day but beautiful none the less. The colors outside were definitely the color of fall and everything fit together perfectly.  We didn't pay anyone to take pictures, we just had family take them and we had many that turned out great.  

 We spent the rest of the day surrounded by so many who loved us and I am truly grateful. 

.::2010::.
Jump forward a year and there just must be something not so great about October 19th.  You see, just before I laid down that night, I thought my water broke and yet, I didn't have a strong feeling to call my midwife so I put it off till the next morning.  Catherine was out of the office but Regina told me to come in.  After further examination we found that it indeed had not but she said she wasn't shocked.  She also told us to go out and enjoy ourselves on our first anniversary but I wasn't feeling great so we headed towards home.  We stopped at Fred Meyers and grabbed a few things that we needed but we weren't there for long because my back was hurting. 

When we got home we both went in and took a nap hoping that by relaxing, my back would stop hurting.  When we got up my back was feeling a little better so Alex made us dinner.  We sat down and ate and then just as we finished, the pain became almost more than I could handle.  He called my midwife and she said she would send a nurse up and we'd go from there.  My nurse arrived a short time later followed by Regina...she said she had 'a feeling' they all needed to come.  Behind her by a few minutes was a nursing student.  The nurse had told Alex to start filling the birthing pool and then things took a turn for the worse...they realized our little monster had flipped and was breech.

Regina, bless her heart, jumped on the phone and started calling all over to hospitals.  I was a disaster as tears streamed down my face.  Pleading with her not to make me have a c-section she found a doctor at OHSU who said he would possibly deliver breech but we didn't have time to get there.  She called Salmon Creek where Doctor Erich was on duty and he told them to bring me in. 

The whole way to the hospital I was trying NOT to push.  Between contractions I said a prayer and knew that everything would be okay no matter what I chose.  If I felt like my child's life had been endanger I wouldn't have fought so hard but at the very moment, I felt empowered, I felt strong, I felt...like I could do nearly anything. 

At 1:07am on October 21st, 2010 Lukas Gene Johnson arrived into this world a healthy, strong willed little boy.

I love this picture, not only because of the fact that it was my amazing husband giving his little monster his first bath, but also because it shows just how tiny Luke used to be.  I still have a hard time believing he was ever THAT small. 

.::2011::.
Our little monster turned ONE.  Ahh that year flew.  I couldn't believe the changes he went through.  In that year he went from a size newborn to 18 month clothing.  We never thought he was going to get into the 12 month clothing though because he didn't really start growing until he was nine months old. 

His first birthday was one to remember.  It was the first time he stood up with out holding onto something for support...at least for any length of time.  His GGma got him an old fashioned top that he was totally enthralled with.

At first he wasn't sure about this whole cake thing but he soon dove in and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I used to of our mini two cup pyrex baking dishes and stacked them to make his own cake which he loved.

He also loved his fish tank even though he could just see in.  He would just stand there and get so excited when the fish would swim up close to the front. (By the next year he could reach the top).

.::2012::.
October of the next year my brother came home from his two year mission in New York.  I was so proud of him for serving the Lord, but I was more happy that his nephew finally got to meet him.

Any time we talk about 'Uncle Josh', he get so excited.  He really loves his Uncle Josh. 


.::2013::.
This year we have a lot going on.  Today is our 4th anniversary, time really does fly. Its also the day that I hit 30 weeks along in my pregnancy with Kaylee.  I can't believe I only have 10 weeks till my estimated due date (even though I have a feeling she won't make it that far).  Tomorrow, our little monster will be turning 3...where has time gone?  I'm excited as this year has brought us a lot of new and exciting things and I'm grateful for each one.  I've learned to be grateful for the challenges and trials that we go through because they only bring us closer as a couple and as a family.  I'm excited that we get to welcome our baby girl into this world.  I keep telling her that she has to make it at least another 7 weeks.  We will celebrate Luke's birthday tomorrow here and down with family next month.

Meal Reviews...

So we've been trying to add new meals to our monthly menu and I have a couple that we've tried.  The first one was a week ago.  One of the things I've been trying to do

.::Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti::.
Spaghetti Squash, cut in half and gutted
Favorite spaghetti sauce recipe. 

I had a friend suggested that we could do this in the crockpot.  Since Saturdays are our short day at the office, I chose to do that.  Our crockpot gets rather hot, even on low so we turned it on as we were walking out the door.  Last time we made spaghetti, we made extra sauce and froze it so I just dumped in the sauce.  Once the sauce was in, I cut the squash in half, cleaned all the goo out and flipped them upside down in the sauce. 

How we liked it...
Well, I have to say, our spaghetti sauce left something to be desired flavor wise.  I meant to add some seasonings to it and I forgot.  Otherwise, it was okay.  We may try this one again with some different sauce.

_________________________________________


.::Zucchini Lasagna::.
Below is the recipe we used.  I'm sure you could use any sauce that you wanted but I decided to follow hers just because.  The sauce was super simple, it was the simmering that took the most time.  I didn't have a mandolin but I did have one of those hand cheese slicers and I just used that to slice the zucchini.  If you have to cut them by hand, make sure you cut them into decently thin slices.  I also wasn't about to fire up the grill just for a few pieces of zucchini so I used our square griddle/skillet thing and just grilled them on there after spraying a little olive oil cooking spray.  The goal is mainly just to cook them so you can do it however. 

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/02/zucchini-lasagna.html

How we liked it...
Honestly, I was kind of skeptical at first but it turned our really good.  I didn't have fresh basil but I did have some dried stuff and it worked just fine.  I don't think ours was in quite as long as she said because the cheese started to brown and I didn't want to burn it.  At one place she says 350 degrees, another she says 375...stick with the 350.  This is a meal we'll be having again. Even Luke liked it.  :) 

ONE YEAR

Saturday, September 15th, 2012 was the day that we said goodbye to our old life and were ready to start something new. 

It had only been one month from the time when we got married that I got the text no newlywed wants to get "I've been laid off, I'll be home soon".  From then on we had trial after trial and most days we felt like we were way in over our head.  As time went on we did the best we could to put a smile on our face but it wasn't always easy, in fact, there were days we just didn't go anywhere because it was easier.  Alex had always wanted to live at the beach and so the beach it was. 

I had grown up spending time at my great grandmother's cabin down in Longbeach, WA so that is where we started looking.  We spent about three months looking before we gave up.  We weren't finding any homes/property that we could afford to rent and something just didn't feel right.  Our goal was to find a place where we could start our business over again and become successful which meant finding an area with little to no competition. We decided to look a little farther north and that's when we found it, the little town of WESTPORT, WA. 

Both of us were a little nervous but something just felt right and we felt driven to this tiny little town that neither of us had ever heard of.  In April we made the decision to just take a drive out to this tiny little town and that is when it all felt real.  As we drove into town something just felt right.  I can't tell you what exactly it was but I can tell you, it was that moment that I felt like this was home.  We spent the day driving around town looking for rental homes.  Our other goal was to verify that there wasn't another computer repair place in town and see if people thought there was a need for such a place.  Going shop to shop on the strip talking to business owners, everyone said they think it would be a need in this town so that people no longer had to drive all the way into town (twice) to get their computer fixed.  I was also offered a job if we found a place by memorial day. 

We took down information from the few rentals we'd found and called when we got home.  Sadly they either never called us back or wanted a ridiculous amount because we didn't have any guarantied income yet.  We kept looking though.  In June we came down for five days and went camping hoping that we would find something if we just had a little more time.  The job was still open but we still weren't finding anything. 

Week after week passed and I ended up losing the job.  I got a little discouraged and felt like maybe, just maybe this wasn't the right place for us.  July came and I got a call from the guy that wanted to hire me.  He ended up letting the person go that he'd hired and offered me the job again.  This kicked us into gear...twice, the same job opening for me, this had to be right.  We kept in close contact with our realtor who was desperately trying to help us find a home, we'd even resorted to looking at homes for sale, maybe we could do a rent to own or something...  We'd looked into it but were trying to avoid living in a camper where we'd have to use a laundromat as that would add up real quick. 

All of a sudden we had a feeling to look into this one piece of property again and we did.  The whole reason why we'd been avoiding it was we figured the lady was still living there, but she wasn't.  There was this perfect little piece of property (about the same size as our old property).  While there wasn't a house, there was a large fifth wheel with a decent sized utility room with hookups for washer/dryer, etc. Our realtor was able to get information and we were able to get a owner contract.  We signed all the papers in late August and started packing everything up.  August 15th we packed everything into the moving truck with hopes to be out of there around 2pm.  Needless to say, by the time we were packed and ready to go, it was 11o'clock and pitch black. 

Alex was driving the moving truck and I had the jeep and our utility trailer.  He was worried about me because it was late I am night blind but with few people on the road, I figured it would be okay.  For the most part it was an uneventful drive.  It was a learning experience as I'd never pulled the trailer and it was a little over weight which caused it to fishtail going down hills.  It was also the night I got pulled over for drunk driving, once again because the trailer was fishtailing.

We got in around 2am and decided we'd just set up our air mattress on the floor of the camper.  Alex and I started looking everywhere for the key that our realtor was going to leave us if she hadn't heard anything by that afternoon. Unfortunately it was no where to be found, luckily we had originally plan on just tenting it the first night until we could get in and vacuum/shampoo the carpets so the tent was right there along with our air mattress...sadly the air pump had gotten stuck in the wrong tote and was buried under everything.  We set the tent up on the deck, put Luke's playpen inside and layered as many blankets as we could to make a bed for us...  The next day we got our keys and unloaded a 26' moving truck all by ourselves. 

Over the next year we have had a lot of changes in our lives, but all have been for the better.  Here are just a few.

Sept 2012 - Moved into our new home.
Oct 2012 - Re-opened the business (and grew leaps and bounds with in the first couple months)
Oct 2012 - Celebrated Luke's 2nd Birthday
Dec 2012 - I got a job as a nutrition educator
Apr 2013 - Expecting our second child
July 2013 - I got a summer job
July 2013 - Got a physical location for the business
Aug 2013 - Found out we were having a baby girl.
Aug 2013 - Had family up
Aug 2013 - Grand opening for our shop. 

Its been quite the year and I'm sure there are a lot of things that I've missed but overall its been a good year.  Its harder being away from family but we knew we were supposed to be here for a reason.  The business has grown quickly and now that we have a physical location, its growing even faster.  Our goal it to build a home that we really like in the next couple years.  Here are a couple pictures of the house we want to build.

Home & Floor plan

 

Detached Garage/Guest Room

We'd like to add a small bathroom into the upstairs.

We want to put the garage on the front of the property facing the road and the house will be butted up against it facing the back of the property so the big windows overlooked the back yard and garden. 

Right now we're also praying that the farm bill will soon be passed by congress so that I can go back to work again.  WSU is currently waiting on funding before we can start teaching again. 

The day I dread...

For some the glucose test is just another part of pregnancy, but for others like myself, it is dreaded.  Last time I took the test, no one gave me any warning about how it would make me feel.  I was given the choice between the syrupy drink (which everyone said was gross) or a bag of jelly beans.  Of course I chose the jelly beans.  I was given 30 minutes to eat them and then my blood was drawn 30 minutes after I finished. In the mean time I ended up not feeling good at all.  My midwife had to turn on the AC just to keep me from getting sick at the office.  I went through hot flashes and would go from pale to bright red.  In the end, I passed with flying colors which is no surprise to me. 

Today I had to do that same test again, except this time I had to drink the syrup.  I had the choice between orange and lemon lime...I chose the lemon lime.  It was hard to get down but I managed it with in the 5 minutes, then the clock started.  I went and sat back down in the lobby.  Fifteen minutes in and I was feeling the effects, although this time, it was different.  Rather than sweating and over heating, I started shaking and shivering.  I knew my body was in over drive. 

For those who don't know, I have dealt with low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) since before I was out of high school.  I had to carry glucose tablets for many years although I have managed to balance my diet to a point where its rare that I have challenges.  Unfortunately this the gluecose test has adverse effects because of this.  My body rapidly processes sugars and so to raise the levels so high all at once causes my body to go into overdrive.   I also had to fast this time, which is something I haven't done in about five years.  Last time I fasted my roommate and her sister had to practically carry me to the car after church because I started to pass out. 

Apparently they were running behind because they didn't even get me into a room till 9:30 but in a way I was grateful.  I got into the room with one of those big comfy recliner arm chairs that rock.  I just laid my head back, half way curled up and rocked.  Alex took Luke out to go potty and my doctor came in.  He told me I didn't look good and to just sit still...so I did. We talked about a few things and then he told me to go get my blood drawn and then eat. 

I had to sit there for about 15 minutes before they could do the draw.  Once I was done we headed for the truck so I could eat/drink something and headed on to do our shopping.  We spent the afternoon shopping along with an appointment for the business.  I kept getting dizzy if I bent over to grab something off the shelf, it didn't seem to matter how slow I stood up.  I also took the tape off my arm and have a funny looking (splotchy) bruise.  Sadly, its not from where I was poked but where the tape didn't want to come off. 

For the most part I've just lazed around tonight as I'm still not feeling the best and I ended up with a headache.  I'm praying for a "good night sweep" as my little monster says.  Hope it will help to clear part of this out of my system. 

Half Way There...

So we've made it half way there.  Honestly, I thought the day would never come.  We've had so much going on lately that some days, my head spins.  Mid July we got our new office for the business.  Here are a few pictures before we moved in...

Store Front
This was a massage place...

 

Front Room (craft side) 

 

Front Room (computer side)

Hallway...
Left side door - Alex's Office

Right side front to back - Restroom, Storage, Kitchenette.

Alex's office

Back room

My craft space and future class area.

Many things fell into place, others, not so much.  Once again Heavenly Father was teaching us patience.  Over all things have come together.  We hoped (and budgeted) finding as much as we could used but had very little luck.

It took a whole day and a little frustration but I got Alex's desk put together.

While I worked on the desk, Alex worked on building/painting his workbench.  

The second day I spent putting the hutch together for the top of Alex's desk. 

Our front room was looking a little bare has we were having a hard time finding what we were looking for.  We finally found this little table and chairs that worked great for our front corner. 

We never were able to find a front desk that worked for us so we improvised and made our own and I have to say, it worked great.  This is half of one of our shelving units with board that we painted black and fixed to the front and sides. 

Please excuse the mess in the background, we were still moving in.

We created mini pallets using 1"x 2" wood to hang my jewelry on. 

A week ago we went in for our ultrasound.  Our child is a wiggle worm...I knew this.  What I didn't know was that it was going to take an hour and a half to get all the measurements and find out the gender...

WE'RE HAVING A GIRL

The ultrasound tech was hesitant to say it, in fact, at first all she said was "hmmm I don't see any little boy parts".  All this did was make me hold my breath.  Then she told us she was pretty sure we were having a girl but she was going to get a second opinion at the end.  In the mean time baby did everything she could to cover her face so they couldn't get a picture for us.  Finally she had me get up and move while she got the other technician. That lady was fast and she manage to get the above shot of her profile.  Then she went down and said "yep thats a girl".  I couldn't stop smiling, I'm sure I looked like the biggest idiot on the planet but I'm okay with that.  Alex was happy too, but he just shook his head at me and said "what have I done".  :~)

After we were done we went up to the birthing center where we were given a tour by a wonderful nurse (Praying she's my L&D nurse).  She gave us some information about what was and wasn't available, things to bring, things not to bring, and a little info on writing up our birth plan.  We'd written up our birth plan but now that we knew what we had as options we could finally edit it. 

FAMILY WEEKEND

On Thursday my parents headed up to see us and Luke was ecstatic.  It was nearly impossible to get him down for a nap but in the end his busy little body got the best of him and he passed out in bed.  It was perfect timing because they got here and got backed in before he woke up.  Each morning he got up he'd say "grama & papa come today".  We had to remind him that they were right out in the driveway in the trailer.  He usually tried to bolt out the door to go 'see dem'.  I have to say, it was cute. 

Friday we took my parents up to see the lighthouse.  Unfortunately Luke isn't quite tall enough to go up so we stayed down while they went up. 

You can't see them but they are up in the lens room now.

The next morning I had to go into work and Alex had to go out to the Run for the Light(house).  My parents were able to take Luke for a little while till I got off work.  Once I got off we went down by the marina to meet up with Alex and to take them through the museum before heading back home to finish up lunch. 

Alex's parents came up for a little while on Saturday and we got to take them up to the lighthouse and museum.  For the first time, I got to climb the light house and it was really neat. 

Looking down the 'floating' stairs.  These stairs are only attached to the wall at each platform to prevent any extra structural damage to the physical lighthouse. 

Where the old chains used to run up to.  This lighthouse used to work like a grandfather clock.  

The break room below the lens room.  You can see the base of the lens through the grate. 

The old fresnel lens.  It is no longer in operation but it is still beautiful. 

Looking down through the grates at the gears in the break room that use to turn the lens.

Our replacement for the fresnel lens.  It still flashes red/white at the same rate as the old fresnel lens (16 seconds) but its much smaller an is only on one side of the lighthouse.

Fact: All white light means to stay away as it was a dangerous area (i.e. rocks, ship wreck, etc), red and white means safe harbor.  Also you can see the light for 21 miles which is how far out it is before the curvature of the earth is too great to see.

The water used to be 300ft from the lighthouse.  When the jetty was put in for the Columbia River it caused the land north to grow and now the lighthouse is 3000ft from the water.  You can see the tree line in the picture below.  The trees are much shorter and have only grown there in the last 70 years. 

Below is the picture of the plaque stating that the lens for this lighthouse was made in France for Westport, WA. 

From the bottom looking up.

It was really neat to see it from the inside out. I love the history of our little town.  

Alex's family got us these cute outfits, a pack of diapers and a teething toy for our sweet little girl. 

 I have to admit, I'm still a bit giddy about the whole having a little girl thing.  

I'm not the only one though. :)  Oh and I do not remember Luke ever being this small...

It was nice having everyone up to visit and for the most part the weather was pretty good.  Right before my parents left on Sunday the sun came out and we were able to go out on the beach for a short while.  Tide was coming in but the boys were having fun playing in a hole someone else dug out.  Luke was itching to get int too but he'd easily been underwater once the waves got up high enough to really go in the hole.  

20 Weeks and Counting

   On Monday we went in for my 20 week doctors appointment.  I expected a little bit of a wait because we were about half an hour early.  When I checked in the lady at the front desk said that they'd had 5 to 7 no shows and doctor was running on time so they should be able to get me in a bit early.  I honestly wasn't going to complain...that was until two of these no shows rushed in a few minutes before my appointment was supposed to start and they still let them go ahead of me.  I was a little irritated because I really try not to be late, and if I am, I shouldn't hold those who were there on time up. 
   In the end it was worth the wait though because my doctor was able to sit down with us and look over our birth plan.  He helped us edit it a little to word things better and make things more clear for the nurses that will be there during labor and delivery. We discussed with him a little more about birthing in a hospital and what to expect.  We also went over more of what we wanted and he was SUPER flexible, and really supportive of having a natural birth.  :-D
FACT: About 90% of mom's have an epidural in the U.S.

While I wasn't (and still really am not) too thrilled about having to have a male OB, at least I've found one who listens, is flexible, and really tries to avoid C-sections.  I feel like he was the answer to a great prayer because I had a lot of fears about giving birth in a hospital and being pushed into having a c-section that I don't want. 

20 Weeks

I look NOTHING like I did at 20 weeks with Luke.  I've gained almost as much weight this time as I did the entire pregnancy with him. 

GRAND OPENING

   This week was our grand opening for the new shop.  Because it was a Tuesday we figured it would be a little slow but we did get a decent amount of people dropping in for what it was.  We decided to carry out our special offers and drawings through the weekend.  Today was also a good day, we're being seen and gaining new customers which is a huge help to growing a business.  

   I've even managed to sell a couple items which feels great.  We've been praying for a way to grow our businesses while I am still working and this is it...although I do love the kids and I'm not sure that I want to give up my job any time soon, especially since its only part time.  Best of both worlds right? 

Recent Happenings

First, I'm going to forewarn you that this post is long. 

Now that I've started feeling a bit better and getting a little energy back, we've been a bit busy.  We did go in for my 12 week doctors appointment and he said that baby isn't quite bit enough to move my due date forward...BUGGERS. Oh well, its just a date and most babies aren't even born on their due date anyway.  We did get to hear babies heartbeat again although he was having a hard time finding it because he wasn't over baby.  He kept looking for it really low but baby is sitting higher this time around so it was very faint. We are going to have our ultrasound right around week 19 to find out if its a boy or a girl. 

I've loved the sunshine and to be honest, it has helped me feel a bit better.  Unfortunately, most of the sunny days I've ended up sorting through a bin of rocks we've picked up on the beach trying to find unique ones that would fit into the wine bottle tiki torches...and I've ended up sun burnt.  

 

We also started making some really neat driftwood wind chimes and mobiles.  Below is just one of the ones that we've made.  

Since we've had fairly good weather, we've had our 10x10 tent up on the weekends working on selling some of my crafts. Its felt good to actually watch things sell.  We are working on switching to more 'beach' like items so that people will buy them as souvenirs.

Last week Alex got a call from Service Live, a company that contract out work for other companies.  We ended up taking a little trip yesterday.  We drove up to Lake Quinalt area.  It was very wet (imagine that, a wet rain forest). We wanted to hike the falls but between it raining cats and dogs and not having the cash for a (state) park pass, we decided we wouldn't go hiking but I did get some really pretty pictures.

 

On our way home we made a side trip out to Ocean Shores to see what was out there.  It reminded me a lot of Long Beach.  It made us grateful to live in such a tiny town.  While it would be nice to have a little more traffic through here, it also is nice not to be a bigger town. 

When we got back into Aberdeen we stopped at the Home Depot to pick a microwave since ours started smoking all of a sudden.  We found the one we wanted and headed back over to Walmart to pick up the couple things we needed and drove past Safeway...State Bomb Squad truck?  Caution Tape? It was a little scary.  Apparently they had recieved a bomb threat shortly after 10:30 in the morning and evacuated calling in the WA state police and bob squad.

Once we got home we plugged in our brand new microwave and guess what...it didn't work, at least not like it should.  Ugg we called the company and they told Alex he could repair it as long as he didn't break anything.  Sadly we didn't have the tools to do so so Alex called up home depot and the manager was great.  She told us to bring it back and we could exchange it for a new one and she gave us a $20 discount off because we had to drive all the way back.  We really didn't want to but we drove all the way back in.  Safeway had reopened after nothing was found and we got our new microwave which we tested before leaving the store.  :)

OUR GARDEN

 Because of the mosquitoes, we don't spend much time in the garden on cooler days but when it gets hot I try and get out there for a little while because they all seem to disappear. Here are a few picture from this morning...

Here is our cabbage.  Our broccoli and cauliflower are about the same size.  They are growing quickly which I'm so grateful for. I'm hoping that it will keep growing at this rate because I love munching on fresh veggies.  

This was Luke's favorite...our pumpkin plants are growing in leaps and bounds considering they were one of the last things planted.  As soon as they get a little bigger I'm going to build them a trellis to climb up so they aren't on the ground.  

This is one I'm excited for...our lettuce all of a sudden got its second leaves and now they're getting big.  I may have to thin them just a bit.  

I've never had swiss chard but I've heard a lot of people talk about it so we're trying it along with Kale.  Both are doing really well and getting big. 

These were the first things to come our...our beets and I thought after they got their first leaves that they were never going to grow but this heavy rain has done them some good.  Their leaves are now 2+ inches long.  I am kind of miffed that something has been nibbling on them though.  

Here is our one large bed.  Our strawberries got so big they started climbing out through the tops of the bottles so I had to take the bottles of and pray that they could fend for them self.  Our carrots have started growing really fast on top.  I was really hesitant to even plant tomato after all the things I've heard but so far they are doing well and growing quickly.  I had to thin them out yesterday because they all came up and they were bunched.  Our artichoke came up recently and I was shocked to find it growing so quickly even though it took so long to get started.  The tiny little bell pepper plants just came up.  I don't know how they'll do but its our first year and everything is trial and error.  the back row is our butternut squash and its doing quite well.  I'm hoping we get a lot that we can freeze and can so that we can make our own fresh baby food next year.  Its a little hard to see but in the back the pop bottles are now protecting my sunflower plants...something is eating them and I'm just waiting till I can catch what ever it is.  I doubt its a bug since they all had their tops last night and by this morning, the top of the one I couldn't over is totally gone. 

Our green bean plants are looking good although I've found something munching on them.  The cucumbers are taking a little longer to get started but they're hanging in there and our corn, well some of it is growing quickly and some is taking its sweet time.  

Here is one of the corn plants.  Its one of our larger ones and I'd say its about 6 to 8 inches tall...if you held all its leaves straight up, I'd guess it would be close to 10 to 12 inches tall.  

Here is our bed a pea plants, corn and pickling cucumbers.  The pea plants took forever to come up, once they did they've taken off, especially with the rain.

Here is Luke's garden.  Its coming along slowly because he likes to mess with the plants...a little tribulation will only make them stronger, right?

Last but not least is our zucchini plants.  They ended up in one of the big buckets outside of the garden because I thought I'd planted some but realized I hadn't.  They've come up and have grown really fast, probably because Luke is obsessed with watering that one bucket.  :) These I'm not going to thin.  They do get bushy but we got a ton of zucchini off the ones we had a couple years back and we love zucchini.  

 This morning I got a weather alert saying that we might be getting temperatures well into the 80's and 90's and even possibly over 100.  I'm praying it doesn't hurt the garden.