The Patterson Family

Europe, Daily Walk, and August

2010-07-27T13:31:00.008-05:00

Hello blogger friends! I should totally be ironing the big stack of clothes on my dryer right now, but instead I am choosing to procrastinate and blog!

So, my parents are vacationing in Europe right now for TWENTY ONE DAYS!!! How jealous is everyone after reading that? They are touring Brussels, Amsterdam, France, Austria and Switzerland. A few highlights of their trip will be touring the location of Sound of Music and a riverboat cruise down the Rhine River! Doesn't that sound nice? Retirement is working out well for them!

Back at the ranch, William and I have been doing the same ol, same ol: zoo, pool, playgroup and playroom. A new highlight of my day is walking with William after I have my morning cup of coffee. Before I thought he would fall asleep in the stroller since it's right before his morning nap, but it really hasn't been a problem. The birds chirping, dumptrucks going by and the landmower sounds keep him awake and interested! Plus, I get a little exercise too!

This weekend we will be attending little miss Rylee Banta's one year birthday party! She is just the sweetest little thing in the world and I cannot wait to celebrate her first year of life with the Bantas.

Preparations have begun for the month of August at our house. August is big for us- Andrew's 28th birthday is on the 10th and our four year anniversary falls on the 19th. I am planning on making Andrew a two layer vanilla cake with chocolate icing- his favorite! Don't worry, I can totally write this on here because he never reads it, ha!!

Fourth of July Recap

2010-07-18T10:26:00.007-05:00

Well, there's been lots going on around here lately. We packed up and drove to Reliance, TN to visit Andrew's family over the Fourth of July holiday. His aunt and uncle just renovated a mountain cabin on the Hiwassee River.

We thoroughly enjoyed it! I think it was beneficial for William to get to be around his older cousins.

I think they enjoyed it too.

One afternoon, Andrew, myself and Gracie paired up with his cousin Matt and his wife Casey and decided to go rafting down the Hiwasee River! Picture the Ocoee, but at half strength. The rapids were a bit mild, but it was fun to get away from responsibility and enjoy the outdoors.

Gracie, Andrew's 9 year old neice, came back home to Birmingham with us and stayed a week. We were busy when she was here! We went to the zoo, the pool, the playground, and everywhere in between!

William is just growing and growing. He's 10.5 months now and closing in fast on the one year mark! He is crawling, crawling, crawling and in to everything! We've had to buy cabinet locks, electrical socket plugs and gates! What a change from the baby stage, my how I wish sometimes he would just be still and lie down for a second. Ha! Yeah right.

Hope everyone has a great Monday! I'll be back soon with more pictures of our summer.

William's New Thing

2010-06-25T09:46:00.003-05:00

Happy Hump Day!

2010-06-23T14:55:00.001-05:00

Kindermusik

2010-06-21T15:50:00.010-05:00

William attended his first summer camp last week- Kindermusik!

Kindermusik is a program that provides an environment of singing, playing and dancing for children. It encourages learning through music and play. Our instructor, Jill, was fabulous! She is so wonderful with kids and she taught me lots of things that I can use that will (hopefully) help promote William's development.

Things like really making an effort to describe my actions to William, like "I am putting the toys away" and "roll the ball." Also, implementing some "quiet time" in the house to relax and play in silence. Apparently babies need silence once in a while to process everything that has been happening. We also got to take home a CD and we've been listening to it non-stop!

I loved seeing all the interaction between babies!

William was such a trooper- he actually got sick mid-week but was better a day later.

He really enjoyed playing with all the new shakers, bells, balls, drums, bubbles, ribbons, scarves and many many other toys Ms. Jill brought with her!

I also enjoyed it- any excuse to get out of the house is a good one!

Catch Up

2010-05-13T20:02:00.013-05:00

Dear patient blog readers,

I need to play catch up. I'm such a bad blogger and I'm sorry!

As usual updating the ol' blog has taken a backseat to other necessary tasks of the day such as feeding William, cooking dinner and maintaining a clean house. Since I've last written, we've been to the beach, seen both sets of grandparents, traveled to Nashville, and played in the lake!

Shew!

Now to get down to the important business at hand...William is such a happy boy! He loves to play with his toys. And then throw them. And then crawl to get them. And then put them in his mouth and drool all over them.

Side note: in case you didn't recognize, the lady above is me. I got my hair CHOPPED. Way short. It was a new hair lady and now I know I've got to tell her to cut two inches, all the while knowing she'll cut four.

William is now crawling like crazy. He is everywhere! And in to everything.

Naturally, I have moved the Tupperware down to a cabinet that he can reach : )

So far this summer we've been doing some of this:

And this:

This summer has been going really, really well! We are just enjoying being outside and playing with neighborhood friends!

I'll be back soon with pics from Kindermusik!

Warm Weather

2010-04-14T09:59:00.005-05:00

Good morning blogger friends!

William and I are just loving this balmy weather outside! Every time I'm holding William and get near the back door he gets all excited and starts kicking his legs. Yesterday we went out back and played. He had a blast. I think I will start doing it more often! Especially before it gets blazing hot. I guess we will then move to the backyard with a baby pool :)

Lovely Little Easter

2010-04-05T19:45:00.003-05:00

Mommy and William

Sweet boy...

Daddy and William

We had a lovely little Easter! Church was great, William received a good report from the nursery, and we ate a big, fancy lunch when we got home! It was a wonderful day!

Six Month Checkup, Baby!!

2010-03-17T14:45:00.003-05:00

Well we made it! We all made it to William's six month birthday! William is alive, Andrew and I are tired and Sadie is neglected.

To commemorate, I'd like to record a few things at this halfway mark:

Stats: He weighs 16 lbs. (30th percentile) and is 26.25" long (50th percentile).

Naps: He takes two naps a day- once in the morning and the other in the afternoon. He sleeps for about 2.5 - 3.5 hours total each day. He goes down pretty easily for naps (thank you Jesus!).

Foods: We're still nursing 4x a day, with solids offered 3x a day. He is still not too keen on eating solids, but he will put away some rice cereal and oatmeal.

Favorite Activities: Putting everything in his mouth, playing with anything that makes noise, watching Sadie, pulling hair, reading books, going for walks, "testing" his voice, getting tickled by his daddy, and splashing in the bathtub

Hated Activities: Getting out of the bathtub, trying new baby foods (you'd think we're torturing him by the sounds he makes), changing clothes, dealing with sore gums, and shopping

I think that's about all for now! I can't believe it's been six months! Where has the time gone?!

Sick

2010-03-16T13:42:00.002-05:00

Hello friends,

I've been sick the past few days- NOT FUN!!! Maybe it was food poising, stomach bug, who knows?! I just hope William doesn't get it!

I'll be back when I'm feeling 100% again!

Three Things

2010-03-07T16:26:00.006-06:00

Good morning yall!

I really have nothing specific to write about, so I'll unload everything that's tucked away in the random corners of my brain.

1. Spring. Spring is coming! I get really, really excited thinking about it. Last year, I was pregnant and wearing maternity clothes. Bleh. This year I am really excited about wearing cute, form fitting (in a modest way) clothes. I'll take this to pair with my plain white tee!

2. Cleaning. I'm thinking about taking the plunge and buying the Swiffer SweeperVac. Apparently it is supposed to replace my traditional broom and dustpan (this could be the best thing in the world!). I cannot even imagine that. Does it work? How much does it cost? I don't know, I just saw a coupon ($10 off!) in today's paper and thought I'd give it a try.

3. Toys. I take them with me everywhere. They are in my car. They are in my bathroom. They are in my kitchen. William has to have toys in hand to be happy! When we pull him out of the bathtub, we immediately hand him a toy. It's the only thing that will keep him happy when we're drying him off, or changing his diaper, or changing his clothes. I hope that's not bad. Like I'm supposed to be teaching him to be content with what's going on, even if it's boring.

We have a busy rest of the week: playgroup today, six month pictures tomorrow, and six month checkup on Friday! Hopefully the weather will cooperate!

Toodles!

Making Progress

2010-03-07T08:48:00.006-06:00

William is now sitting up!

Yep, the little guy is sitting up all by himself. Such a cutie.

He's also eating applesauce, which is a small victory. He has so far rejected squash, carrots and bananas in our endeavour to introduce him to solid foods. I think "flavor" is new to him and he doesn't know what to do with it. But finally, he has agreed to accept applesauce. And when I say accept I mean, he lets me mix a tad of it into his oatmeal and then after he swallows it, gives me a painful look. You remember the look:

Ah, oh well. He'll come around.

Last night Andrew and I went on a date! A real date- complete with a babysitter and all. This was William's first "non-family" babysitting experience and it went decent. He refused his bottle before bed (poor babysitter) and cried for a little bit before he fell asleep. He woke up really, really early this morning (and once in the middle of the night), so needless to say I am one sleepy mama.

Better go, gotta enjoy this beautiful weekend while I can!

Delay

2010-03-04T14:53:00.009-06:00

Sorry for the delay in weekend pictures. I am still trying to figure out how to process all these photographs! I've been clearing my memory card and it has been taking forever! I think I need more RAM on my computer because it keeps freezing up.

ANYWHO, we had a wonderful weekend last weekend at the Pattersons in Nashville. We got to visit my grandmother, watch Gracie (Andrew's neice) play her last indoor soccer game,

and enjoyed celebrating birthdays!

Also, while we were up there Andrew and I got to go on a date. A date! It was so fun! We just went to Starbucks early Sunday morning. I didn't care that it was the crack of dawn, freezing cold and not your typical "Saturday night date time," it was just nice to get away and be free from responsibility!

This week has been pretty normal, William has been just trucking along trying new baby foods, "talkin", and exploring everything. And I mean everything!

Oh and I have I mentioned his love for the johnny jump-up?

He loves it! He has so much fun just jumping around and playing with the toys. I can tell it has improved his balance and coordination. And, not to mention, he will stay in it for a long time. It's a win-win!

Be back soon with more pictures!

Greetings

2010-02-26T11:15:00.008-06:00

Greetings this morning from the Patterson household!

The sun is coming through the windows right now in the living room and that makes me HAPPY. And you know what else makes me happy? I am all caught up on housework! Yep, the laundry is done, floors are swept and swiffered, dishes are clean and put away and the countertops are freshly wiped! I deserve a reward. I think I'll go eat me a Hershey kisses or two in a minute.

I am about to head to the first of many consignment sales this spring/summer. It's time to rummage through other people's kids clothes and try to snag William some new (used) threads! It's consignment season ladies! If you live in the Birmingham area, check out the mother of all consignment sale lists.

This weekend we are heading to the Pattersons house in Nashville to celebrate Andrew's parents birthdays. I'm not gonna lie, I'm really excited about having extra hands to take care of William. Mommy's arms need a break! The little stinker is gaining some weight, that's for sure. Like a sack of potatotes.

And last I wanted to leave you all with a picture of William's new "hobby":

He loves to pull hair!

Have a great weekend! Be back soon!

Not a Fan of Squash

2010-02-24T15:32:00.004-06:00

At. All.

Hello Wednesday

2010-02-17T09:00:00.011-06:00

Hi friends! I'm lovin' the comments! I figured after my hiatus from blogging that I had lost all of my readers. It's good to know that you all are still reading. Thanks for being patient!

My blog posts will always probably be short and in need of editing and formating, but frankly, I don't have time to do that. And I surely don't have time to think about deep topics to write about, so for now it will be updates on William and other random happenings. In other words, don't come here for spiritual inspiration, thought-provoking topics or quality entertainment. Hope yall don't mind!

William and I are justa rockin' and a rollin' here at home everyday. He is now developing a little personality- he's "talking" and chuckling and responding when I do things. He especially loves when I play tickle games with him on our bed. It's kindof gratifying to have a two-sided relationship after all the hours of baby care that I've logged in!

And then in "non William" news, it snowed! I would say a good 2 - 3". Crazy! Our neighbor's little boys made this adorable snowman:

I hope everybody is having a good week! This afternoon is playgroup and I am really looking forward to it! Now I better go work on my chicken pot pies so we'll have something to eat tonight!

Sunday Best

2010-02-15T10:06:00.004-06:00

I just love my little monkey.

2010-02-07T16:45:00.014-06:00

Well it's been a while, I know. It's hard to find time for everything when a baby takes nearly all of your time, energy and attention. Those babies are needy! And speaking of baby....

You know I'm gonna post pics.

Rice cereal is going better than it was! He is starting to want rice cereal and that is definitely a step in the right direction! Pretty soon I will be adding baby food to his daily menu (along with breastfeeding). Suddenly, feeding William just got a lot more complicated than it once was. It was so easy just to whip "it" out and feed him, anytime, anywhere. Now I've got to follow up with all this other stuff.

And speaking of baby food, I am trying to figure out how to make my own. Apparently it is more economical than buying the jars. Our blender has a setting that says baby food, so I've got that part figured out, but what do I store it in? Do they sell empty baby jars? I've got to figure all this out!

William has been busy busy busy rolling over! He rolls and rolls and rolls. He's a busy boy. I told Andrew that I feel like everyday he gets a little bit more energy. It's like everyday that passes he gets less and less "chill" and more and more "active." He just takes it all in everyday, putting things in his mouth, touching everything, grabbing at me and every object that I have in my hands. Dinner is getting more and more tricky to prepare!

In other news, I have been taking a photography class. I have been interested in improving my photography skills so I decided to take a little class and learn how to take a good picture. Life is too short for crappy pictures. With a professional photographer teaching the class, hopefully I'll pick up something : )

That's all for now! Gonna watch the superbowl- scratch that- the commercials. William is sick so it's just me and him tonight while Andrew watching the game down the street.

Be back soon!

2010-01-08T13:25:00.004-06:00

Well finally, here I am posting Christmas pictures. I hate that Christmas is over, but on the other hand kinda glad too. I'm ready to settle in and get the little monkey on a stable routine!

Unfortunately, when we arrived at Nana and Grandaddys, the little man looked like he had just come from a war...those little fingernails are brutal. Better stay on top of trimming those little boogers:

But, it didn't bother William one bit:

At Least Someone Is Resting Around Here...

2009-12-17T10:55:00.015-06:00

I apparently missed William's "tired cues." Oops!

Well friends, sorry about the lack of blogging lately. Things have been crazy busy at the Patterson household. I have been tending to all things Christmas: wrapping presents, baking for family that is soon to arrive, and decorating our house and tree!

William has been doing great! He is just growing like a weed. He is JUST about to roll over. I know any day now I am going to walk in his room, look over into his crib and he's going to be on his belly with his face in the mattress. I will probably have a heart attack when this happens so it's good that I'm prepared : )

In other news, he has discovered his hands, along with a special affinity for his thumb. He sucks it so hard and so much that it turns beet red. I definitely don't mind it all, since it seems to calm him when he's fussy AND entertain him when he's bored. What's not to love? I guess the hard part will be breaking him of this bittersweet habit in the future.

For Christmas we are headed to Jacksonville, FL to visit with my family. I am sooooo looking forward to seeing my mom, dad, Brad, Carey and the boys! William is going to really enjoy the warm weather, along with all the "action" going on around him. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and hopefully remember to post them : )

Merry Christmas to you! Enjoy your holiday!

Happy Thursday

2009-11-05T11:12:00.004-06:00

....from the little guy:

He's changing so much already! I have noticed lately that he now has more substantial, darker eyebrows; tears when he cries; and boogers in his nose. I guess he's growing up now....sniff sniff : ) I'm not ready!

We just came in from sitting outside in the sunshine. I put William in his pumpkin seat while I sat in a chair and read. I read him Romans 12. He seemed to like it- based on the fact that he did not cry. Ha!

Andrew and I got a little taste of heaven last night. I made a D-E-L-I-S-H pork tenderloin, called Mojo Pork Tenderloin. Andrew and I thought it was great for everyday AND for when guests come over. It was so tender, it was just falling off the serving fork. We decided that: delicious pork + great glass of wine + sleeping baby = little slice of heaven for mommy and daddy. I will definitely be fixing this again (especially when Publix has their pork tenderloins on special!).

Mojo Pork Tenderloin - scroll down and you'll see it!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-03T08:49:00.002-06:00

Family, Friends, Football and the Fair

2009-10-26T08:35:00.029-05:00

I just polished off a slice of freshly baked pumpkin bread paired with a hot cup of coffee. Not a bad start to my day!

Let's see....this past weekend we had Andrew's family in town. We did a lot of watching:

Both of William and of college football. If you did not see/hear about the UT v. AL game, you must live in a hole. It was so good. What a game! Can you tell who we are for? The amount of orange in the room was hilarious. Even the Sadie Lady wore an orange ensemble:

Gracie showed off her Halloween costume:

On Sunday, the Capstickdales and the Bantas came over to visit with us and the Pattersons. We ended up laying the two munchkins down side by side for a photo op:

Then Rylee and William just sorta grabbed hands.....outta nowhere:

Just kidding, we staged that.

After lots of admiring, we headed out to the Town Fair with the Bantas.

William had a BLAST at the Fair. He opened his eyes for maybe 2 minutes, then fell asleep and slept through the whole thing:

Not surprising, as it was during his "sleeptime."

So then I put him in the sling:

In other news for the week:

running: I ran for the first time since giving birth yesterday. Yall, I felt like a fat lady with everything a jigglin' and movin' as I'm running down the street! I haven't used those muscles in about 10 months and today, they are none too happy about it.

Paula Deen: I baked two loaves of pumpkin bread out of Paula Deen's cookbook. YUM YUM! I'm sure this doesn't help the above mentioned activity.

supper: I need to cook more of it. I love to cook but William loves to play right during dinner prep time. I am trying to figure out how to do both simultaneously.

That's all for now! Gotta fold laundry!

Boo!

2009-10-26T08:30:00.003-05:00

Happy Monday!

We had a great (and busy) weekend! More on that to come SOON! Promise!

More Pics From the Weekend

2009-10-20T08:30:00.006-05:00

**If you have not read the post before this, please stop and do that now. Or else, these will just be a bunch of random pictures!

**All photos courtesy of Annie : )

Brrrrr......

2009-10-18T11:40:00.013-05:00

It's cold outside, yall!

This weekend we welcomed Annie into our home for a delightful weekend visit.

William LOVED her.

We had a BLAST chatting, making inside jokes, shopping and eating brownies! She is preggo (woo hoo!) so she got to see a glimpse of her future life with a baby! I can't wait to find out if she's having a boy or a girl, but more importantly to meet her sweet little bundle of joy. Now granted, she's 17 weeks along, but I'm still anxious.

She taught us a little something too - a new playtime activity:

Playing on our (temporary) changing table! William loved to just lay there and kick and look all around. Once you get passed the changing of the diaper, he enjoys being there!

Kid has some serious eyelashes! What a stud.

Aunt Annie also crocheted William a blanket too!! A beautiful green and cream one. In case you missed him, William was wrapped up in it in the very first picture on this post.

Mmm....so soft and cozy!!!

Last week I also began working on the side a little. I am going to keep the books for two local small companies. I won't list them for privacy reasons : ) I hope you understand; I don't want any weirdos hunting me down.

I hope to make a little extra cha ching and be able to do it on my schedule (aka William's!).

Ok, that's all for now. Until next time....

They Call Me...

2009-10-15T14:38:00.007-05:00

Since I've been at home now for 5 weeks or so with William I have been able to determine my real role as a stay at home mom. Sometimes being a mom is great, other times are not so great. But I love my little boy. He is so sweet and cuddly. He just melts my heart when I look at his little face.

I digress.

Below is a quick list that states what my resume "description of duties" would look like:

Urine Target

Hiney Wiper

Poop Analyzer

Nursery Rhyme Singer/Performer

Gas Eliminator

Milk Manufacturer

These are just some of my duties that I perform throughout the day. Glamorous? No. Rewarding? YES. He's totally worth it. And then some.

Now to completely change subjects to this past weekend. William's great grandmother came in town to meet him. He melted her heart too:

And William's great aunt got to see him as well.

This is about 10 seconds before he spit up on her. See, the thing is, he hardly ever spits up. He really only does on new, unsuspecting guests.

Great, now I've scared you all away. Don't let that deter you from coming and visiting. We provide burp cloths to company now.

It's Thursday afternoon as I sit here and type and drink my afternoon coffee. A sleeping baby and a cup of coffee is just so relaxing. I better go and take advantage of the rest of nap time. Toodles!

Mind the Sign

2009-10-10T16:04:00.004-05:00

Now that I'm a protective motherbird I can appreciate these neighborhood signs. I will now let up on the gas and actually watch out for others' little ones!

Hello Friends.

2009-10-09T09:03:00.005-05:00

It's me.

And I've got something to say.

I'm really happy first thing in the morning.

I like to move my arms all around.

And smile while mommy fixes her breakfast.

I'm such a happy boy.

Life Is Good

2009-10-04T17:47:00.005-05:00

We had our first official "outing" without the baby on Saturday night. My good friend Aimee kept William while Andrew and I attended the wedding of Trey Woodruff and Allison Moore, our friends from church. The wedding was beautiful. We just love them.

Aren't they a great couple? So happy.

But more importantly, we got out. We GOT OUT. Glorious. This picture says it all:

Happy Sunday!

Hold That Head Up High

2009-09-28T14:58:00.008-05:00

William is holding his head up now all the time. He loves to look around and stare at everything. He's doing his best to take it all in! Most of all, he loves to look at the sunlight coming through the windows.

He is doing SO good, yall! Like a typical baby, his "routine" is eat, sleep, poop. And on the subject of poop (danger ahead), William can pass some gas!!! When he farts, it's major. Andrew and I just laugh and laugh when he lets it rip. I wish I could record it and play it for everyone. He has no problem getting out that gas, which I am happy about since a lot of babies are gassy and have trouble expelling it.

Something else I've noticed about William: he sure does LOVE his daddy. He and Andrew have an incredible bond. William loves being held and talked to by his daddy. There's something about the way Andrew handles him, it's like some kind of special man connection that I just can't explain.

Pretty much I've just been hanging out at home with William and playing house! No really, this is an adjustment period for us. It's tough work taking care of a newborn. I've been trying to rest when he rests and let go of the idea of having a clean house. My floors are driving me crazy because I haven't mopped them since before I went into labor! But oh well, gonna let that go until I can find some spare time to clean. Nursing has been going well so far, it pretty much rules our lives at this point. The munchkin is nursing every 2.5 - 3 hours during the day and every 3 - 4 hours at night. It's so worth it though, because I know he's getting the best nutrition.

And now for more pictures:

Please note that I am not breastfeeding here, only trying to put the little guy to sleep : )

And last, I wanted share a recipe for something I have simmering on the stove right now. I really don't know what's it's called, but it makes your house smell really good and fallish.

House Smell Good?

1 apple
2-3 c. water
6-8 cinnamon sticks
1 handful of cloves
1 dash of nutmeg
juice from an orange (or OJ is fine too)
splash of vanilla

Simmer in pot on stove and enjoy. YUM!!!!

More Pictures of William

2009-09-21T16:22:00.007-05:00

William is officially 12 days old today. We have been busy learning a lot about him! Here's what we have learned:

*he loves to be held/rocked/talked softly to

*he loves to be swaddled before falling asleep

*he does not love it when we change his clothes

*he's getting used to being bathed

*he's a really good eater

*he knows when his momma is in the room!

It has been tough, but we are hanging in there, trying to learn what he likes and dislikes. He's doing pretty well at night- after I feed him he goes back to sleep almost immediately. This makes mommy and (sleeping) daddy very happy.

Now, going down for naps during the day, that's another story. He just flat doesn't like to go down for a nap. Ahhh......hopefully this will change soon- or that we can figure out what the problem is. If any moms out there have any advice, please share : )

Introducing...

2009-09-18T12:45:00.003-05:00

William Andrew Patterson

7 lbs. 3 oz.

21" long!

William is finally here! We are so blessed to have a healthy baby boy. He is so so so sweet!! I could just eat him. Pretty much we just love on him all day. It's about time to wake him up from his nap so I better go. I'll post more pictures later when there is more time!

Watchout Ladies

2009-09-03T09:11:00.003-05:00

William has a new ride.

Thanks to Nana and Grandaddy (my parents), we have a stylish new stroller to tote the little man around in. Its features include: a removable washable seat, 5 second one-hand fold (I'm sure Andrew will have fun testing this), water resistant hood and lockable front swivel wheels. I can't wait to use it!

Still no progress on meeting baby William. Apparently my belly is a nice place to be!

Still Nothing

2009-09-01T15:16:00.003-05:00

Disclaimer: Be warned that this is a terribly depressing blog post.

Well, I went to the doctor today and...................I'm still not dialated any more than I was last week. Still stuck at 1 cm. Per my doc, I have what you call a "stubborn cervix." Dang it.

SO, I have to wait ANOTHER FULL WEEK before I go back and get checked again. Yep and my due date is tomorrow. I should correct myself, my estimated due date (EDD) is tomorrow. My doctor wants to give mother nature every chance possible to do it's thing before I'm induced. Hmmph.

Meanwhile, Andrew will still be giving me foot massages every night (sweet boy) and I'll still be going on walks everyday. Unless little William decides to come naturally- which still is a possibility- I'm just not betting on it.

Until next time.

Hurry Up and Wait

2009-08-29T08:27:00.002-05:00

That seems to be the mantra lately. I will be 40 weeks this Wednesday! I still have not felt one single contraction and obviously, my water has not broke. SO, we wait. I go to the doctor this Tuesday to see if I've progressed. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but I'm assuming the worst (no change). I'm gonna go ahead and predict that I'll be induced next week but we'll see....

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I have officially quit work so now I'm a stay-at-home mom (baby to come). I have been busy doing last minute things around the house like painting William's monogram above the crib, baking dinner every night for the hubs, and going on walks with friends and neighbors. I've finished "Baby Wise" and have now moved on to "Bringing Up Boys" by James Dobson and "Your Baby's First Year" by Curtis Glade M.D.

Sadie has been exhausted since I've been at the house during the day now. Poor girl, she just walks around struggling to keep her eyes open. And then you throw walks on top of that and she's pooped!

Ok, well that's all for now. If you need us, we'll be here just waiting for our little man to arrive.....

38 Weeks

2009-08-18T12:20:00.002-05:00

Today marks 38 weeks of being pregnant! Wow. I've been pregnant since Christmas. Can you believe that? It's been a looooooooooong time.

My dr. appt. today went well. I am still 1 cm dialated, although at this visit the dr. said that I am more effaced (meaning thinned). So that's good. Next week I hope I'll be more dialated. They just want my "cervix to have progressed," meaning....well....I guess that I have dialated more.

That's all for now. Just trying to pass time until this little one decides to come out and meet his mommy and daddy!

A Couple of Things...

2009-08-04T13:44:00.007-05:00

First off, that was not my baby that I posted about on the previous post. That was my friend, Aimee's. I hate that I caused anybody a moment of freak out/confusion/distress. No, mine will be a boy and hers is a girl. Mine is still in the womb and hers is out (lucky thing). Just wanted to clear that up.

And now, for the rest of my post. I really don't have a specific topic to write about, so I'll just write about all of the random little things we've been up to in our recent baby preparations.

Last weekend we picked up our changing table and all of the nursery linens from Phil and Beth. We met them in Athens to pick up everything and grab a quick bite to eat. Andrew's sweet mom, Beth, made our bumper pads, crib skirt, pillow for the glider and valance for the window. All in coordinating fabric. It is so adorable. It just makes the nursery. I will post pictures when the nursery is all done. The next day, Andrew started putting together the changing table. Yall it was in a million pieces. Poor guy. I went upstairs to take him some lunch and check on him when I glanced down and saw the instruction manual. It was OPEN and on Step 26. TWENTY SIX. Wow. Now it's put together and looks great in the nursery!

I've been looking for a baby book and think I've settled on doing a digital baby book from this site: http://www.howfasttheygrow.com/. You should check it out. You basically design all of the pages online, upload your photos, and they mail you the pages. That's it. Simple. I like that.

We've decided on a pediatrician. I won't list who he is- don't want to tip off any freaky weirdos out there by giving too much information.

I've also acquired a stylish diaper bag that I thought was perfect for everyday use:

It's big, but not too big, washable and can hold all of the essentials.

Tomorrow I will be 36 weeks! I feel like it too. I'm sick of maternity clothes, can't bend over, and have to pee every 2 hours. Not to mention that the baby is really, really active at a certain part of the day: nighttime. Specifically when I lay down to go to sleep. I'm really, really looking forward to not being pregnant anymore! It's time. It just is.

Welcome Rylee Brooke Banta!

2009-07-31T08:15:00.004-05:00

Allow me to introduce you to Miss Rylee Brooke Banta. She is adorable!

She was born yesterday at 10:47am and weighed 6 lbs and 13 oz. She is 20.25" long and the cutest little girl I've ever seen! Proud parents Chris and Aimee are doing fine.

Sorry the pictures are so grainy, we were playing with my camera the other day and we must have accidentally changed some setting.

Official Countdown Update

2009-07-29T16:21:00.000-05:00

Five more weeks!!!!

Nashville Shower

2009-07-27T10:43:00.009-05:00

There's not a lot of time to write, but here are some pictures from my baby shower last weekend in Nashville. It was a lot of fun! It was so good to see family and friends that I don't get to see a lot.

The always adorable, Annie Farrar

Lovely hostesses

The spread

Delicious cake

The fabulous Courtney Goodman

Mama- and daddy-to-be!

Wish

2009-07-22T09:13:00.004-05:00

I wish that that floating baby on the right there was a liiiiiiittle chubbier because if he really was that skinny, I would not look like this:

4th of July

2009-07-05T20:16:00.005-05:00

Just a few pics from this past weekend:

Decorating sugar cookies with the kiddos

Finished product. Yum!

A happy man!

Oh Sweet Baby

2009-07-02T08:14:00.020-05:00

If you decided to be born today, I'm not so sure you'd be happy with what you'd see when you arrived home. This is what you would have awaiting you on your way to your new nursery:

First, I would take you up these stairs.....

Keep going.....

Wait for it.....

Wait for it......

And BOOM!!

This is the mess that would greet you at the top. This, folks, this is what I have been working on for the past few months.

A look to the left....

And...then the right....

Nice.

And this is a sorted, trimmed down, organized version of the mess. You should've seen it before. It took over our whole upstairs loft. My brother and sister-in-law have three boys and kindly donated lots of fun items to the newest little Patterson addition. It's taken me a little, teeny while to go through it all. It's been fun though to look at all the cute clothes our little boy will be sportin'.

And sweet baby, here are a few shots of your new nursery.

Please don't come today, or anytime soon. We're not quite ready!

So....

2009-06-30T21:33:00.004-05:00

~Had a healthy check up today with the doc. Little man is measuring right on the money and his heartbeat is perfect.

~Downloaded the Praise Baby CD to my iPod. It comes highly recommended by....well...lots of moms!

~Grilled some yummy pistachio and spice encrusted pork tonight on our maple plank. Delish!

~Looking forward to a little vaca this weekend at Andrew's family's cabin in Tennessee. Plans include fishing, eating lots of his Aunt Robbie's delicious food and sleeping late!

Getting Bigger...

2009-06-25T19:57:00.003-05:00

Summertime

2009-06-18T13:19:00.007-05:00

Since the official start of summer is right around the corner- June 21st- and the heat here in Birmingham is just STIFLING, I have been thinking about past summers, namely my favorite summer memories. Cue the new "Summertime" song by Rascal Flatts.

NOW, while dreaming about past summers a few memories were brought to mind like: eating homemade vanilla ice cream on my back deck, swimming at my next door neighbor Dustin's house with my friend Annie and the neighborhood boys, catching lightening bugs all around my yard and then letting them all go, getting soaked on the Old Mill Scream at Opryland and loving it, those balmy 4th of July nights spent at Riverfront Park waiting hours for the fireworks to start, riding beside my husband in a gondola with our singing gondolier on our honeymoon in Italy, soaking up the sun on our annual beach trips with friends- these are all memories that bring a smile to my face.

Thinking back on these hot sweltering days, I am reminded that life in the South during the summer heat is really not that bad. There's a certain easyness about everyday life that settles in and, for a few months, I think, slows time.

A great summer memory is one that sticks with you forever and that captures the spirit of life in the South during the summer: suffering through the heat and enjoying it.

29 Weeks

2009-06-17T08:00:00.005-05:00

Here is what the baby looks like in utero at 29 weeks (which I just turned today, yeah!). I can't believe he's that big! *Picture courtesy of Parentsconnect.com

Baby Shower Pics

2009-06-13T11:39:00.005-05:00

The following pictures are from my baby shower last weekend, hosted by Caitlin and Aimee. The shower was great! I have the best girlfriends!

Scrumptious cake from Edgar's Bakery. Mama had a big 'ol piece. Delish!

She came from New Orleans!!! I should have gotten a picture of her engagement ring because it's beautiful!

Me with Amy, Andrew's older sister. Don't they look alike?!

Chi O pic

The hostess with the mostess, Caitlin. Isn't she beautiful?!

Love them. Ellen came all the way from Knoxville! I wish I would have gotten a picture of her beautiful engagement ring too!

Before this picture was snapped, we decided that my belly was bigger than her head. That's why Gracie is laughing so hard. Nice.

28 Weeks, Baby!

2009-06-11T08:46:00.003-05:00

Yesterday marked my 28th week being pregnant! I am feeling great (read: comfortable) and can still do a lot of things that I could do before like paint my toes, strap on my sandals and shave my legs. I can see that very soon though it will become a challenge to bend over. The main thing is that I'm just tired and get worn out pretty quickly. I'm trying to walk as much as I can to get my stamina up for the labor. Ugh, I just shuttered as I typed that word.

On a more cheerful note, the little man is growing and growing and growing. I can feel him kick a lot- mainly after I eat, right when I lay down to rest and right when I wake up in the morning. He's a mover, that's for sure!

We've also begun our Preparing for Parenthood class offered by the hospital. It's been pretty helpful to be educated on the process of labor and caring for a newborn.

I can't believe it's been 28 weeks!

Upcoming Weekend Merriment

2009-06-05T09:30:00.003-05:00

~Dinner at Rojo with friends, Matt and Wendy. Then, just what I need after a long work week, a mindless, entertaining movie- Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian- afterwards.

~Baking two fabulous appetizers to take to a baby shower for the Banta's: Asparagus & Prosciutto in Puff Pastries and little Ham & Swiss sandwiches.

~Visiting with friends and family at my baby shower this Sunday afternoon. Thanks to Caitlin and Aimee for hosting it for me! I am so excited!!

Just Call Me Martha....

2009-05-30T09:40:00.009-05:00

'cuz here are a few "Good Things" that I've been enjoying lately:

1.) Blooming hydrangeas right outside my kitchen window.

Better yet....

freshly cut blooming hydrangeas sittin' pretty on my kitchen table.

2.) Fresh fruits and vegetables from the local farmers market. Fresh blueberries spinkled in with my Smart Start really starts my day off right.

3.) Knowing that in one week I will get to see my fabulous Birmingham girlfriends at my baby shower! All in one room, all of my girlfriends. Can't wait.

4.) Cruising the lake on our friend's boat on Memorial Day weekend and watching Andrew wakeboard behind us.

5.) Flipping through my old Southern Living magazines for new recipes and ideas for the summer. See honey, I do save us money by flipping through old ones instead of buying new ones....

Summer Reading

2009-05-08T15:03:00.002-05:00

I've finished the 4th and final book in the Restoration series by Terri Blackwell and I find myself having some extra time on my hands. Ahh.....summer. I need some new books.

Here's what has come highly recommended to us.

1.) On Becoming Baby Wise by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam. I heard it's a great book that offers lots of ideas on getting the little fella into a routine of eat, sleep, play. Can't tell you how many people have recommended this. I'm really looking forward to reading it!

2.) On Becoming Baby Wise Book II by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam. This is the second book in the series and is more for 6 to 12 months.

3.) Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp. We heard that this is an informative book about how to deal with a child's behavior in a Christ-centered way.

4.) Bringing Up Boys by Dr. James Dobson. According to friends, this book will become more helpful the older he gets. Probably starting between one and two years old and carrying through the teenage years.

Any thoughts?

Beach

2009-05-05T12:08:00.013-05:00

Man, I love the beach. We just got back from a wonderful, relaxing time in Watercolor. We rented a house with two other couples, Chris and Aimee Banta and Caitlin and Andrew Capstickdale. Here are some pictures from the week:

Our beach house. Amazing.

Relaxing on the screen porch. Enjoying our babymoon.

Scared at first....

Showing a liiiiittle more love...

Totally lovin' the camera! This is what happens when your husband gets a hold of your camera. Found the above little gem when I was downloading pictures.

Two preggos.

Me and the hubbs.

Chris and Aimee's new car. Awesome!

Soakin' up Florida sun

Two Things...

2009-04-28T12:48:00.004-05:00

1.) Headed to the beach tomorrow. House on Watercolor Beach with friends. Can't hardly stand the excitement.

2.) Made these divine Caramel Swirl Hunks for dinner with friends at our house and they turned out great. Serve with a scoop of lowfat vanilla ice cream and wala! Fab dessert. Check out the recipe on my friend Rushton's new blog. She combines scripture with recipes. Neat concept!

Weekend

2009-04-21T12:41:00.005-05:00

What a weekend! The Pattersons visited us from Nashville. It was such a joy to spend time with them. We ate at California Pizza Kitchen on Friday night and then woke up on Saturday and I fixed scrambled eggs, blueberry muffins and bacon for everyone. We needed some good fuel for a long day of shopping ahead. We then left and shopped all around Birmingham on Saturday for nursery furniture and linens for the crib. Storkland in Birmingham afforded us the perfect glider for our nursery. After that, we made our way to Pottery Barn Kids and perused their changing tables. We found several really nice ones but think we'll go with something different. After lunch at the always delicious Edgar's Bakery, the women (boys+long day of shopping=no good) visited Three Sheets Linen Shop for crib bedding ideas. I found some precious fabric by House Inc.

I love this argyle fabric above from House Inc. I thought it was the perfect combination of handsome and sweet. It's definitely a contender folks. And I know you were on the edge of your seat wondering. Ha!

After a long day of shopping Andrew and I headed out to Greystone for a fabulous engagement party for our friends Trey Woodruff and Allison Moore. After much chatting with friends, we set out for home around 9pm. We were exhausted.

Something in me really really wanted to go to the 11:00am traditional service on Sunday morning so I talked Andrew into going. We normally go to the contemporary service at 8:30am, so we knew we were in for something different. The service was amazing. The choir at Dawson is just phenomenal- you can just tell they're so, so good. The preaching was equally as good and just confirmed in my heart that sometimes God moves in you in little ways to direct your paths. Something as little as putting a desire in your heart to go to a different service!

Change

2009-04-16T14:44:00.007-05:00

I'm not normally a wide open person who tells everybody everything. I generally deal with things on the inside. But this is too big not to share. And, if I have a blog, heck, I might as well use it as something other than picture posting.

My life is about to totally change. There I said it. Totally change. Come late August/early September I will be a full-time stay at home mom. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be able to stay at home and take care of our little baby, but at the same time I'm scared. I'm scared because it will be a total change to not get up and go to work Monday through Friday, not have a boss, not always struggle to balance work and home life. Every day will hold a new schedule, new challenges and new demands on me. Am I prepared? No. Of course not.

Being scared has turned out to be a good thing though. It's caused me to pray. I'm praying everyday for what's ahead: the change in my life, a healthy baby, healthy delivery, and a wonderful start of a new life. After I pray I just feel better about everything, ya know? I know that God is in control and he's hearing my prayers. I have to frequently remind myself to depend on the Lord for everything, and not only this but everything that is to come. Luckily, I have a partner in all this craziness who is praying too. My husband. He's so great yall. He's so supportive of everything and listens all the time to my fears and uncertainty about being a mom.

Just thinking about all my time at home has me excited though. I envision myself doing more baking, visiting family more often, shopping for deals, having a cleaner house, spending summers with Caitlin, smocking, and really celebrating holidays. Side note: sometimes I just feel like holidays just fly by and I never really stop and enjoy them! More than this though, I'm looking forward to seeing our little man discover sounds, tastes, people; see him take his first bite of real food, see him take his first steps, hear him say his first word; teach him his colors, ABCs and please and thank yous; teach him Bible stories, tell him about the life of Jesus and train him in the way of the Lord.

All in all, I'm eager to see what the future holds but at the same time I'm scared. A life change is just...unsettling. But for now, we just wait....and pray.

Belly Shot

2009-04-12T19:15:00.008-05:00

The little man is gettin' bigger and bigger and as a result, so is his mama!! This week will mark the halfway point for my pregnancy, meaning that I'll be 20 weeks along. I can't believe it's halfway over! If the last half goes by as fast as the first, the little guy is gonna be here in no time!

This week will begin my search for nursery furniture. Apparently I need to go ahead and order my crib and glider, so I'll be researching and shopping for those this week. I'm leaning toward an iron crib in an antique white finish, sorta like the one below. There's just so much to think about. Like, for example, should I buy a dresser and use it as a changing table or should I buy a changing table with baskets? And, how am I going to arrange all this furniture in the little bedroom upstairs? Decisions, decisions.

And then one last thing. We are working on a name people! Honestly, we really had not talked about names before we knew the sex of the baby. Now that we know, we will start brainstorming and discussing our options. I promise. If you have any ideas, feel free to pass them along!

News

2009-04-09T09:42:00.002-05:00

Big news to share: it's a BOY!!!!!!! We went to the dr. yesterday and saw our little guy on the monitor. He's a boy! He was kicking and moving all around.

We are so excited!!! I am already buying cute little blue outfits!! : )

All indicators show that he is healthy- he is 11 oz. and I am measuring actually a little bit ahead. It looks like he will be born at the end of August instead of September 2nd. That's fine with me. I'd rather go early than delay it!!

Today

2009-04-01T08:56:00.005-05:00

Today I am 18 weeks!! Almost halfway through my pregnancy. Crazy! My belly is definitely growing bigger and I feel just all around heavier, but overall I'm feeling good. The second trimester is way better than the first. That's for sure. Good things are coming in this trimester- vacationing with friends, finding out the sex of the baby, and getting started on the nursery.

Now I can feel the baby kick which is exciting. It's like a gentle reminder from the baby throughout the day saying, "hey lady, I'm here. Don't forget about me." The best is when he/she starts kicking when Andrew begins talking. The kicks are getting more and more frequent too. It's such a funny feeling, kinda like you're getting flicked on the inside??? Does that make sense? Anyway, we find out the sex on April 8th- one week actually. We absolutely cannot wait. After that, will come name discussions (we have been putting this off until after we find out), registering, and nursery painting. Such a wonderful, exciting time ahead! Thanks for joining me on this new adventure of our lives!

My Boys

2009-03-25T08:28:00.011-05:00

Andrew and I visited Jacksonville this past weekend and never before have I realized such a difference in my three nephews. Each of their little, developing personalities is so unique. For example,

Michael- the oldest; tall and lanky; he is such a studious, driven and creative little guy. He is the one imagining games to play like "the Zoo store" where Andrew and I each purchased fish and snakes everyday with fake money. He's really into bugs and generally anything in nature.

Michael posing with roots, he got a tick shortly after this

Then there's the middle child,

Ty- he is the life of the party, loud and happy, and just really likeable. He's more short and stocky. He's into anything that Micheal is into, except school of course. Life is one big playday for Ty.

Ty and me on our hike at UNF

Ty

And last, there's the youngest of the boys,

Jake- aka "the bruiser". He has two older brothers so he's used to guarding his toys. He's not into sharing, just playing with bulldozers, toy fish and anything else he can steal from his brothers. He's not afraid to use his toys as weapons either. Hence, the nickname.

Jake

Overall, we had a blast in Jacksonville and really enjoyed seeing family. I wish I could see them more often!

Wanna Get Away?

2009-03-23T21:58:00.003-05:00

Vegas, West Palm Beach, San Fran, anyone? Wow, airlines are really slashing their prices to stimulate some business. Check this out. It's the Wanna Get Away Sale that Southwest is offering.

What's Goin' On?

2009-03-16T13:28:00.002-05:00

We have been so busy lately! Here's what's been going on at the Patterson home:

1.) I have been steadily reading Terri Blackstock's Restoration Series. Fabulous read. I'm on the 2nd book of 4, Night Light. Sometimes I just can't fall asleep, so it's nice to have something on the bedside table to pass the time until I get tired. Which leads me to....

2.)Sleep! I have not had a lot of this. Seriously, I think this is good practice for having a newborn. In case you don't know, when you're pregnant you cannot sleep on your stomach or back (this was news to me!!!). Under normal circumstances, I sleep only on my stomach and back. I cannot stand sleeping on my side primarily because it makes the sides of my hips hurt. Ugh. I have been waking up every, oh, two hours or so throughout the night. I'm trying to get used to it, but it sure has not been an easy adjustment! Poor Andrew.

3.) This week we are leaving for Jacksonville, FL to visit my family! My brother, his wife, my nephews, and mom and dad will all be there. I am really looking forward to it! It will be refreshing to see my family and enjoy some warm weather.

Spring!

2009-03-04T13:27:00.006-06:00

Spring clothes are fab. I'm ready to put away my sweaters and scarves in return for bright, flowy shirts and dresses. Which leads me to my recent splurge, pictured above. I found this dress yesterday at the Swanky Stork, a local boutique with tons of cute maternity clothes. I love it! I can't wait to don it around town and at the beach this summer. For some reason, entering into the maternity fashion world has got me excited about keeping my baby bump fabulous!

Normal Checkup

2009-03-03T11:53:00.003-06:00

This morning I had another dr. appt. Everything is normal. I have gained 3 more lbs. and my blood, urine, etc. is all normal. I heard the heartbeat again; this time the heartrate was 161 (down from 170 last time but that's normal). I am carrying low they said, but apparently that's fine too.

Our next appointment is to find out if we're having a boy or a girl!!! That appointment is set for April 7th. I can't wait to find out what we're having. That afternoon I am planning on going out and buying clothes for the baby in the appropriate color (blue or pink, obviously). Yay!

Let It Snow!

2009-03-02T07:46:00.004-06:00

*photo courtesy of our sweet neighbor, Sam Wallach

Here's our house during yesterday's snow storm. Crazy!

Whole Lotta Growin' Goin' On

2009-02-23T08:01:00.001-06:00

Wow! What a difference a week makes! The baby is definitely growing, as is my belly!

Valentine's Weekend

2009-02-16T13:39:00.008-06:00

We had such an enjoyable time with our friends this past weekend. Kelsey and Joe Graves and Lauren and Nathan Mauer came in town for a fun weekend visit. It was so nice to host Lauren and Nathan at our house. Sadie loved them. Maybe that's because they took her on a walk on Friday while we were at work. Sadie loves to walk around the neighborhood and sniff mailboxes, miscellaneous piles of dirt and any other slight scent that catches her nose.

On Friday night the girls went to Step Sing. Unfortunately, Chi O did not win but we gave a good performance. Pi Kapp won, which is understandable because the show was hilarious. I thought it was so creative. It was so good to be on Samford's campus, I didn't realize how much I missed it! Here we are at Step Sing:

On Saturday morning we woke up and I made eggs, bacon and a coffee cake for breakfast. It was my first time to make the coffee cake and it turned out pretty tasty, so I was relieved. On Saturday night, we all got dressed up and went to the Melting Pot for a Valentine's dinner. It was a blast. We were the loudest ones in the restaurant for sure. After that we went dancing downtown at the Rare Martini. It was a lot of fun but I was definitely tired afterwards! Here is a group shot from the Melting Pot. As you can see, no baby bump yet.

The Word Is Out

2009-02-11T09:02:00.003-06:00

So, the word is out finally. I've loved seeing everyone's reactions to the news. We told our sunday school class this past Sunday, so I think those were the last friends that we had to tell.

I'm still not showing, but I am noticing that my jeans are getting tighter around the waist. I need to invest in one of those Belly Band things as soon as I can make it to Motherhood Maternity at the Galleria. What a great invention- it's this elastic band that goes over your jeans at the waist so that you can unbutton your jeans and still wear them. The purpose is to delay having to purchase maternity jeans (yay!). I would much rather buy a cute maternity shirt than large-waisted jeans. Ha!

We are letting everything soak in and now we're getting to the "oh my gosh we have a baby coming stage." Hence, the budget. Yes, the baby budget is in full effect at the Patterson house. This will be good for me (and Andrew) even though it will take a little bit of time to get used to.

Okay, that's all for now, more updates to come re: Step Sing and Valentine's Day!

Breaking News...

2009-02-04T11:11:00.002-06:00

I'm expecting a baby!!! Surprise! Andrew and I went to the doctor yesterday and we heard the heartbeat. It was so sweet. The heartbeat was very fast and there was only one so that was good :) I am officially 10 weeks pregnant today! We are so excited to now finally tell people. This is such a load off. I feel like I have been avoiding people and avoiding having to spend time with people because, say, if we went to dinner with some friends I would be "passing" on the wine and that would be just a dead giveaway.

I am due September 2nd. Mark your calendars. I haven't been too sick, except for when I got some kind of stomach bug last week (apparently when you're pregnant, your immune system is weakened). I was definitely sick then, but otherwise, on the pregnancy front, I have not "thrown up." But I have been nauseous. It comes and goes, but lately it's just been at night. Also, I've been really really tired. Like I'll be at work and then, all of a sudden at like 2:30pm I'll be exhausted. So, I am looking forward to having the 1st trimester over with so that I can get past these feelings of nausea and fatigue!

Yesterday at the doctor I found out that I have O negative blood, which apparently is rare. Basically what that means is that I have to get a shot around 28 weeks or so. No big deal. Also, I have gained 3 lbs since my last dr. visit, so that is good. Never thought I would say that, ha! I told Andrew the other day that it is kinda weird feeling like I am now getting a gut. Oh well.

Overall, we're just really, really excited about having a baby and want to spread the good news!

Hello Neighbors

2009-01-19T12:02:00.004-06:00

Yes, there was a firetruck at our house late last night. No, there was not a fire. Last night, while setting the house alarm before going to bed, Andrew's finger hit a "wrong" button on the key pad. I heard something give a long beep, but didn't think anything about it because I was snuggled up comfortably in bed ready to drift off asleep. About the time Andrew crawled in to bed, his cell phone rang. Strange. It was a 918 area code or something random like that. Andrew hit ignore and laid down.

About 3 minutes later his phone rang again and it was his dad. Alarmed, Andrew answered it. His dad was calling to tell us that the alarm company had called him and had dispatched an ambulance out to our house. Andrew hung up, we freaked out, and then we hear a knock on the front door not 2 seconds later. It was a fireman (not sure what happened to the ambulance) with his huge, flashing firetruck in our short driveway. Andrew told him nothing was wrong, just pushed the wrong button on the keypad. Sadie was barking, I was now wide awake, and Andrew was flustered. Ahhhh.....fun times. At least we know our public safety officials respond quickly!

Christmas!

2008-12-30T15:48:00.017-06:00

Well, Christmas was so so fun! Too bad it's over. It takes forever to get here and then it's gone in the blink of an eye! Here are some pictures of what went on over the Christmas season:

This is from Andrew's company party. They had the party at the Capri Condominiums, which they own a few units in. Not sure what Derek is doing here in the picture. See below for what he brought for Dirty Santa:

A mouse

Yes, Derek brought a mouse as his dirty santa gift. It's the small white thing in the picture. He's so crazy.

This is at the Fenwick's house for the annual Christmas Eve brunch that they host every year. Here are all of the girls. The food was so yummy (I stuffed myself!) and it was great to see everyone.

We also went to dinner at the Stoney River. Here is the fam, posing in front of the warm fireplace. I was so cold! I had the swordfish that night- so good!

Here is Gracie at Stoney River trying to work the camera. So cute.

On Christmas Day, we opened presents at the Patterson's. Beth gave me three of my Waterford stemware glasses!! I was so thrilled. I never got all of them when we got married, so I figured now is a good time to ask for some. Slowly but surely, right?!

And the Sadie lady got her a Christmas gift too: a new jacket from her Aunt Amy! Here she is...still kinda wondering what is on her back. Ha!

Here is another goodie (no pun intended) of Sadie's Christmas presents. Her Aunt Amy also got her some canine treats. Sadie loves them. Anytime she hears the sound of plastic opening, she comes running. So sweet.

Andrew and I decided to get Mrs. Beth something "homemade" and "memorable" from us, since she has everything. Soooo....one weekend Andrew and I visited Painted By U, the local paint your own pottery store. Here is a picture of the bowl that I painted.

And here's Andrew's vase for his mom. E for effort?!

I tried to make him do some dots or stripes or something, but he said that was "gay." So, he added a "P". Ha!

And this picture is of Mrs. Beth's new, fabulous, totally beautiful and wonderful kitchen! They remodeled their kitchen this year and it is wonderful.

I could get lost in here, people!

Here we are at Opryland's ICE exhibit of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It was really cool (literally, ha!) to walk thru and see all these ice sculptures of the Grinch, Whoville and Cindy Loohoo. It was so cute, but it was 5 degrees I think. My fingers were numb and blue when we left : )

Here we are at Opryland :)

And here is Uncle A with Gracie, cheesin'.

Weekend Goodie

2008-12-06T17:31:00.006-06:00

I tried a fun new recipe this weekend that I must share: Peppermint Hot Chocolate. It is rich and delicious, and deserves to be shared!

Peppermint Hot Chocolate
4 servings

1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
1 teaspoon plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups whole milk
4 ounces bittersweet (preferably 60% cocoa) chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
4 candy canes (for garnish)

Beat 1/2 cup cream and 1 teaspoon sugar in bowl until soft peaks form. Cover; chill.

Whisk 1/2 cup cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, and milk in medium saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; whisk until smooth. Whisk in extract. Divide chocolate among mugs. Top with cream and garnish with candy canes.

(Bon Appetit, December 2008)

Child

2008-12-04T21:47:00.005-06:00

What child is this, who,

laid to rest

On Mary's lap, is sleeping?...

This, this is Christ the King,

Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:

Haste, haste to bring Him laud,

The Babe, the Son of Mary!

~Traditional English Carol

Bells Will Be Ringing

2008-12-01T16:06:00.016-06:00

Since Thanksgiving has come and gone, I have officially ended my ban on Christmas music. I'm in full-on Christmas mode. How could anyone not be?

For me, it began when I woke up at 5AM on Black Friday to go shopping at the Galleria with thousands of other fellow Birminghamians. Since then, we have completed my side of the family's Christmas shopping (yay!), put up a live Christmas tree in the living room, decorated the house for Christmas and baked Holiday M&M Fudge Bars. *Please note that we listened to Christmas music during 3 out of 4 of the above mentioned activities.

Another indicator of the start of the holiday season is the amount of holiday parties that we will be attending this week. Between the two of us we'll be attending five different parties. 'Tis the season, right?!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T09:52:00.003-06:00

I wanted to wish everyone a happy, happy Thanksgiving! What is everyone thankful for? This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for my job, a new president who is ready to hit the ground running come January, and my wonderful best friend and husband Andrew.

I Love My Boys!

2008-11-26T13:52:00.009-06:00

This past weekend Andrew and I went to visit my older brother, Brad and his wife, Carey in Asheville, NC for a "pre-Thanksgiving" family extravaganza. It was so great to hang out with my three nephews: Michael (5 years old), Tyler (4 years old) and Jake (2 years old). They are a mess! But oh so fun. Here are some pics from the weekend:

Michael, Andrew, me, Ty

Michael, Ty

So fun.

Yum! Jake with birthday cake.

Brad with Ty

As you can tell, we celebrated Ty's birthday while we were there. We had a blast at Fun Depot.

We are looking forward to Thanksgiving with my family! We will be celebrating with my family at my house tomorrow. I'm looking forward to using my fine china, eating my mom's turkey and dressing, and watching Titans football!

Introducing....

2008-11-04T10:53:00.003-06:00

Mr. Cohen Krehbiel:

Cohen Lucas Krehbiel
7 lbs 13 oz
Son of Evin Smith Krehbiel and Luke Krehbiel

Chicago!

2008-10-31T15:22:00.023-05:00

Andrew had a CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Manager) conference/exam in Chicago a couple weeks ago so we decided to make a trip out of it. He flew up on a Monday and I flew up on Wednesday. We stayed until Sunday and had so so so much fun exploring the city and everything that it has to offer (which is a lot). We ate deep dish pizza, spent time with Joe & Kelsey, saw Wicked, ate Garrett's popcorn (one of Oprah's favorites), shopped on Michigan Ave, took an architectural boat tour, visited the Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium, went to the Navy Pier and ate some fabulous food. We absolutely fell in love with the city! Apparently we vacationed at the perfect time, because starting in November it turns bitterly cold.

Here we are getting drinks at the hotel bar before dinner the first night that we were there

Yummy, fresh sushi at Japonais

Here we are outside of Japonais, a trendy, little sushi place on the west side of town

Michigan Avenue! I loved the shops, department stores and boutiques that lined the street.

So much shopping to do, so little time.

My patient husband waiting on me in Nordstrom's. This picture cracks me up.

We decided on Gino's East for some deep dish Chicago-style pizza. We were starving-I was waiting on Andrew to get out of his exam to meet him for lunch. It was 1:00pm or so and he met me here. We then found out that the deep dish pizzas take at least 45 minutes to cook. So when it finally arrived at the table, we devoured it:

Delish!

We took an architectural boat tour in order to see the different buildings of the Chicago skyline:

Here we are outside of the Ford Theater. We skipped dinner, splurged on some fantastic seats (9th row from the stage), sneaked Garrett's popcorn into the theater and took in Wicked! Amazing.

I found Nemo at the Shedd Aquarium!

Navy Pier

Chicago's Newest Fans!

2008-10-27T12:23:00.002-05:00

Friends Divided

This past weekend we went to the UT v. AL game in Knoxville. It was crazy fun, but unfortunately we lost. Luckily, our Alabama friends Chris and Aimee didn't rub it in our faces too much.

Gone Fishin'

2008-10-13T15:59:00.008-05:00

Recently my company went to my boss's mom's lakehouse on Logan Martin to compete in our First Annual Twin Fishing Tournament. We divided up the guys and girls onto 3 boats, creating 3 different fishing teams. Ashley and I caught all the fish. Ha! The guys were so mad!

Caught a small mouth bass

Team 1

David & Bailey

Weigh In

Office Girls! Love them!

Hooty Hoo!

2008-10-08T08:22:00.004-05:00

I don't know why, but I love changing out my front door mat. A new, clean front door mat just automatically freshens up my front entry area. Due to the change in season, I knew I had to get a festive "fall" mat. So recently at Pottery Barn, I ran in to this guy:

So I bought it and put it out front. Here is the pic. Now to me, it's so ugly it's cute. And of course, it reminds of my days at Samford U as a Chi Omega. Hooty hoo!

Weekend Project

2008-09-25T10:59:00.005-05:00

Come Saturday morning I am going to attempt to create this little guy:

Gourd-geous!

When Miss Ellen gets here on Saturday afternoon, hopefully something like this will be greeting her from my front entry table. According to Better Homes & Gardens, all I do is "tuck a dainty nosegay of mums into a gourd or squash." My plans include cutting a small opening at the top, filling it with a small amount of water and then tucking in a few stems. We'll see how it turns out....oh how I love fall!

Road Trip!

2008-09-23T08:20:00.008-05:00

This past weekend Andrew and I took a road trip to Knoxville, TN. We met the Patterson's in Knoxville and watched the UT v. Florida game. It was heartbreaking. We lost big time. And if anyone knows my husband, UT football is his passion. He was so bummed. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

It's a Boy!

2008-08-24T19:01:00.009-05:00

For Evin. On Saturday I braved the rain and went to Evin's baby shower here in Homewood to help shower her with gifts. She got lots of cuuuuuuuuuute blue baby boy onesies, bibs, hats, etc. There is no doubt that her little sweet pea will be the most precious little thing in Nashville. She even got a stylish bottle warmer (aka baby bottle koozie).

Mom-to-be

She's the cutest little pregnant lady!

Can't wait to meet baby Krehbiel in October! : )

Morning Devo

2008-08-13T08:11:00.002-05:00

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." Colossians 3:1

This verse is from my morning's devotion. It is so important to keep our hearts focused on what's really important- the things above, not earthly things! Today, amidst everything going on in my life (working diligently at my job today, picking out paint for my bedroom this afternoon, dropping off pictures to be blown up, etc etc) I am going to focus on Jesus and what he means to me. I want to be passionate about the Lord!

Birthday Boy

2008-08-10T21:38:00.011-05:00

So my husband turned 26 today. It was a good day. Yesterday, Andrew's parents, sister and neice came to Birmingham to surprise him for his birthday. He was very shocked and happy they were here. He had no idea they were coming, so it was nice to surprise him. We played a lot of Bocce Ball, went out to dinner, watched Olympics and just enjoyed the company. We played in the backyard for most of the day on Saturday- some of our neighbors kids came over to play.

Sadie, Gracie and Beth

Sadie was the line judge

Our neighbor, Lauren

On a very important side note regarding bocce ball- myself and Beth were down 12-2 but we came back with the victory over Team Gracie & Andrew. Uh huh, that's right.

After Bocce Ball Chris and Aimee came over for birthday cake and we celebrated Andrew's birthday.

Chattin' it up in the kitchen

I debated about the birthday cake. I really did. I wanted to get Andrew a golf cake since he likes golf so much, but then I thought no, there is something that he loves even more than golf. And that is UT football.

He loved it.

Later on, the Patterson fam went here for Andrew's birthday.

Patterson girls waiting to be seated

I had the sea scallops and shrimp with Pan Asian sauce. It was delish! We all got home after dinner and I just could not stay awake. I was exhausted! I felt so bad, but I just could not keep my eyes open! It takes a lot to prepare for a surprise!

And then tonight, I had planned on cooking Andrew this great birthday meal and it just did not work. It was a swing and a miss. Bummer. I hated the chicken before I even put it in the oven. Then it burned. I threw the burned chicked and recipe in the trash and Andrew and I ate Gracie's leftover spaghetti. Oh well!

Next weekend is our anniversary! Can't wait to see what Andrew has planned!

Summertime!

2008-08-05T16:26:00.017-05:00

This summer has been a blast! I feel like we have been going and going and going. Since there's never any good t.v. on, I feel like we've been spending a lot of time outdoors and having friends over. We've been to the Ross Bridge neighborhood pool a lot with our neighbors too. It's so nice to take a book up there and read! Not to mention the tan. I started a new book, The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian and have been reading that when I can.

Fun times at the pool!

Also, a couple weeks ago we went to Andrew's co-worker/friend's house on the Little Cahaba River for a bbq party. It was a blast! We went down to the river- should've have worn sandles on that walk- and played in the water. All of Andrew's co-workers and their families were there so it was great to spend time with everybody. Normally, we see them for Christmas parties or Thanksgiving parties, so it was nice to hang out on a more "casual" note. We just laid on the tubes and hung out. Then we had wonderful bbq and chocolate pie!

Playing in the river

Derek, Rollins and Rushton Waltchack

Fun times!

Len and kids

At home, I've been working on decorating our bedroom. I have not gotten very far. I did get some new end tables though! They're tall, which is what I wanted, and metal with a glass top. I definitely need new lamps, so disregard the existing in the picture below.

Tonight I'm meeting with a lady to help me pick out curtain fabric and the paint color. I've also ordered a new, huge upholstered headboard. It will be the focal point of the room. I will definitely post a picture of it when I get it!

Last but not least- the best part about this summer- our friends Chris and Aimee bought a boat. Yep, that's right, a boat. It is wonderful! We went out this past Sunday with the Capstickdale's and the Banta's and had soooo much fun!

Andrew and Ondrew

Caitlin and Aimee

Andrew and me

Andrew and me

And the other night I looked over and saw this...

One tired puppy!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful summer!

Ok, so it's been awhile...

2008-07-02T22:43:00.005-05:00

since I've last blogged. I'm sorry. We've been really busy here at the Patterson home. We've had family in for the past three weekends! On one of the weekends, I hosted an Uppercase Living party for Andrew's cousin, Rachel Thomas. For those of you who were there, you will appreciate this:

Cheese Straws

Yields 4 dozen

12 oz. Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded

1.5 C. all-purpose flour

1/2 C. butter, softened

1/2 t. Kosher salt

1/2 t. ground red pepper

2 T. half &half

Combine 1st 5 ingredients in a food processor. Pulse in 5-second intervals until you have a coarse mixture. Add half and half, and process 10 more seconds or until dough forms a ball. Turn 1/2 of dough out onto a well-floured surface and roll into rectangle. (about 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick). Cut dough into 1/4 inch wide strips. Repeat with remaining dough. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until slightly browned/golden. Cool completely on wire rack. You may freeze straws for up to 3 months.

Tips: They look fun on your plate when you cut them like the recipe says, because they are really long and skinny. But, you can cut these however you want. You can’t mess them up. Just cook until they are starting to look golden.

For whatever reason, these things are so good!

Last night we had the Banta's over for dinner. We made our own pizzas and just hung out. It was funny- we had put all of the dogs out back to play- then we look up and this is what we see:

They had all the room in the world (well, maybe just our little piece of the earth!) to play and romp around...and all they wanted to do was come inside. And as you can see, Miss Sadie got a haircut recently. It's her summer do.

I'm looking forward to hanging out this 4th of July weekend with my favorite person- Andrew! We are planning on going to the pool, watching fireworks and cooking a Boston Butt!!! I'll report on that after the weekend!

The Bachelorette

2008-06-17T21:56:00.007-05:00

Is anyone as obsessed as I am? I love the Bachelorette this season. Any ideas on who DeAnna might go for? I'm pulling for Jason all the way.

Love him

Hate him

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T12:09:00.001-05:00

May Happenings...

2008-06-06T15:48:00.008-05:00

May was a busy month! Hence the absence of blog updates. We went to the beach with the Capstickdale's on Memorial Day weekend. We had a wonderful time just relaxing and enjoying our time in Panama City with our good friends. The weather was wonderful! We all soaked up the sun at the beach and pool. I think everyone got a little burnt! Unfortunately, I forgot to apply sunscreen on my ears...when I got back to work on Tuesday they were on fire all day.

Andrew and I went on a dinner date to the Back Porch the last night that we were there.

The last weekend of May we went to Nashville to visit my family. I got to see my older brother, Brad and his wife, Carey and their three cute little energetic boys, Michael, Tyler and Jake. We sure did play a lot!

Brad and Michael with a bug. Michael loves finding and catching bugs! He was a little nervous about this chicata though.

Tyler and Michael playing with a large wheel/frisbee object. So fun!

Michael looks just like Brad when he was that young

Baby Jake!

Wonderful Weekend

2008-05-18T19:19:00.006-05:00

Andrew and I had a wonderful weekend with Andrew's family. Lucky for us, Beth, Phil and Gracie Patterson came to Birmingham for the weekend. The weather was beautiful and we had so much fun spending time together. We grilled out, played baseball with our neighbors, attended church, played ping pong and finally, stopped by the Ross Bridge Charity Classic that was hosted by our neighborhood, Ross Bridge. The girls only stayed a little bit due to the fact that we were bored watching golf! So we went back to the house for some girl time and to play with Sadie until the boys got home. Sadie had lots of play time this weekend between Gracie, Andrew's 7-year old neice, Mills, our 2-year old neighbor, Lauren & Caleb, our 6-year old twins living next door and Sara Lauren, our 6-year old across-the-street neighbor. Sadie is literally dragging around the house right now!

Gracie and Sadie

I feel the need to take a second and talk about my amazing husband. He helped me so much this weekend in hosting his family! For example, this morning he woke up early and unloaded the dishwasher, then loaded it back up, made the coffee, baked the biscuits and cooked the bacon. Then, as we were dashing out the door for church, he fixed my coffee for me! Thanks Andrew! I really appreciate you!

Ecuador

2008-05-04T20:20:00.015-05:00

Our trip to Ecuador was great!

A group of 16 people from Dawson Church went to Ecuador to help a long-term missionary couple living down there, Steve & Carol Thompson. They are just regular folks who lived in Texas and felt the call to be long term missionaries in Ecuador. Wow, do I have a whole new respect for missionaries! After spending time with Steve and Carol, I saw how much missionaries give up to pursue what they've been called to do. What a great couple.

Steve

Andrew worked in Steve's camp- Camp UNPES- and helped to build interior walls at this camp, along with 40 new church pews. I worked in the lenses area of the medical clinic. We saw over 2,000 people!!! 2,000 in 4 days. It was crazy hard, but totally worth it. Basically, our team tested people for glasses- we gave out glasses for both nearsidedness and farsidedness. It was really rewarding to help people read their bibles, sew better, walk better, etc etc. It was really neat to see the happy reactions.

Along with the medical care received at the clinic, the gospel was also preached during spiritual counseling. Every person who was treated was required to attend spiritual counseling. It was really neat because between 90 - 100 Ecuadorians made decisions for Christ!

Spiritual counseling led by a local pastor, Jairo

Lenses Team

Camp UNPES- where Andrew worked all week

Cruisin' the Napo River

Andrew & I at the equator

Welcome to the Jungle!

2008-04-20T19:52:00.006-05:00

Well, we are here! Here in the jungle that is! We flew into Quito, Equador on Friday and then took a bus down to Tena, Equador yesterday. It was about four hours or so. The roads are not paved yet, so it was a very bumpy ride. One of the doctors on the trip said I looked green and handed me a bag. Luckily, I did not get sick, I was just very nautious for about 3 1/2 hours!

Tena is a very, very poor city thats situated next to the Amazon Rainforest. We are hosting a medical clinic tomorrow for the local townspeople and tribal people from the jungle. When we were eating dinner tonight we heard a bus drive by announcing the medical clinic this week on its loud speaker. We¨re expecting to treat thousands. I will be working in the eye clinic "lenses" area all week testing patients on their vision and distributing eyeglasses. One of our leaders taught me everything that I need to know, so Im feeling pretty confident there.

Of course, I would be remiss if I did not talk about the food. The fruit here is so FRESH!! It is delicious! I guess that makes sense since they literally walk into the rainforest and pluck it from the tree!

Im really looking forward to seeing what God is going to do this week! Andrew and I are just thinking that we are the vessels that God is using to do His work in this area. Starting tomorrow, the patients will enter the clinic and go to five stations: doctor, lenses, dentist, spiritual counseling and then finally the pharmacist. Our hope is that the people will come to the clinic and at least hear about God. Most of the people down here have never heard the gospel! Isnt that crazy?!

Here are some pictures from our trip so far-

Only about 20 mins into the trip to Tena...

Talking to the locals and handing out DumDums

Setting up the medical clinic

Twin folks: no cell service here...shouldve known- no cell towers in the jungle!

Ill try to post again soon! Be praying for us!

Beginning of the Journey

2008-04-17T21:08:00.003-05:00

Here is the team that's going to Ecuador. In the middle, in the plaid shirt, is Don, our team leader. Looks like there's a younger couple our age too. Yay!

We're packed up and heading to the airport tomorrow morning. Off to begin our journey! Apparently, there is a computer in our hotel so I will try to post as often as I can! Pray for us!

Birthday Celebration!

2008-04-14T19:20:00.008-05:00

On Saturday night we celebrated my birthday by going to Fire & Ice with our friends Caitlin and Andrew Capstickdale & Chris and Aimee Banta. It was great! See pics below.

Aimee, me and Cait- my friends are so beautiful!

Chocolate cake! Yummy! It had a delicious chocolate mousse icing

Huge grill where the chefs cook your food

Quick Bible verse that's on my mind as I prepare for the trip:

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." ~1 Cor. 15:58

Finally...

2008-04-13T18:13:00.000-05:00

the blog is back up! The Google folks tagged it as spam and shut us down for a week. But we're back! Finally.

We've been really busy preparing for our trip to Ecuador! This past Wednesday we went to the UAB Travel Clinic and got our shots that we needed in order to stay safe while we're there. Andrew and I both got four each: Typhoid, Yellow Fever, Hepatitis A, and Tetanus. OUCH! The shots themselves didn't hurt near as bad as the soreness that followed for the next three days. Finally, I can lift my arms over my head without feeling pain!

Other random stuff that's been going on this week: we got Sadie groomed yesterday.

Before

After!

Poor girl...yeah, it was quite a butchering, but she needed it for the hot weather and all. Gotta stay cool during summer in Alabama! And speaking of hot weather, I got some new spring lipstick! And I love it! I'm sure Andrew is rolling his eyes right now as he reads this. It's MAC and the color is called "Lustering." Ha! It's fun and bright- perfect for going out on summer nights.

Sunday School Work Day

2008-03-30T18:54:00.001-05:00

Our sunday school class volunteered at a local school, Cornerstone Middle School, to help their science teacher build an ecoscape in the side yard for the students to use. Andrew and I went yesterday morning and helped out. It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work.

Hello

2008-03-30T18:15:00.000-05:00

Hello all! I decided that I will start to blog after Andrew and I decided that we would go on a mission trip through our church, Dawson Memorial Baptist. We are going to Ecuador April 18 - 26th. That's less than three weeks away! Sheesh! It's kinda last minute but I know that God is preparing the way for us. Currently, there is a Dawson Missionary living in Tena, Ecuador right now, Steve Thompson, and we are going to help him in his efforts. We will be holding a medical clinic, building a dormitory for Steve to continue training other local pastors, holding a VBS, and door-to-door evangelism. I will be helping in the medical clinic with administering vision tests, handing out eyeglasses, eyedrops, etc. Since Ecuador is on the equator (it's where the word Ecuador comes from), their eyes dry out really badly apparently. Yes I am helping in the medical clinic, no I have no medical experience. This outta be interesting. I plan on blogging while I'm down there to keep everyone posted on what's going on. I'll be posting a lot in the future about preparation for the trip! Andrew and I are really excited!