Celebrating 5 years together

Our anniversary isn't until June, but we decided to celebrate a little early before I become "grounded".

Paul and I are celebrating five years of marriage this year! It's been five wonderful, amazing, adventurous years, and now we are happily, and excitedly, preparing for the next chapter to begin. Many people have told us to enjoy the time we have as just the "two of us" before the baby comes, so we thought we'd do just that.

Each year to celebrate our anniversary we've chosen a different state and found a bed and breakfast. Our goal is to visit every state - 50 states, 50 years.

So far we've been to:

1st - Savannah, Georgia



Second - Georgetown, South Carolina



Third - Amelia Island, Florida



Fourth - Mobile, Alabama

And, now our Fifth - Newport, Tennessee

Paul found Christopher Place, in eastern TN, and it was wonderful. It sat on the top of a mountain, and overlooked the Smokey Mountains. 

A view of the front, pulling up to the Inn. 

A view of the back of the Inn. It had wonderful porches with gorgeous views of the mountains. 

This is the breakfast room. Breakfasts were so good! The first morning we had a small cup of yogurt with fresh fruit to start, and pancakes with cooked apples on top. The second morning we started with a small lemon poppy seed muffin, and then an egg casserole souffle, and cheese grits. Yum!

With fresh coffee (decaf for me) in these cute mugs (which we brought home with us).

Friday we got in late, checked into the Inn, and then went to find some place to eat. We found this Southern home cooking place, and had a good meal.

These were the appetizers - cheese logs. They were huge and so good!!

Saturday we spent the morning in Sevierville visiting antique stores. Then we came back, rested for the afternoon, and then went to Carver's Orchard Restaurant for dinner. Apples aren't really in season right now, but they still had a variety of apple treats for to taste - apple fritters with apple butter, and fresh apple cider (the best Paul had ever tasted according to him).

Then we enjoyed the evening playing pool. I can't say I'm best pool player, but I was actually able to hold my own. 

Overall, it was a wonderful weekend. Life has been very busy recently for the both of us, so just spending some quality together was very special for us. We only have 13 more weeks before baby boy joins us, and we needed this weekend away for ourselves.

We are so excited to see what the Lord has planned for us, and for our family, this next year together. He has always been right there with us, guiding us each step of the way. And this upcoming year will be no exception. We're ready to see what He has planned for us.

God Bless

It's a ....

BOY!

Paul and I are proud to announce that Baby Reid is a boy! 

We found out a couple of weeks ago, but have not wanted to share until telling all of our family. We shared with my family while we were in Belize, but wanted to wait till we could share with Paul's family in person as well. 

Today we hosted a Gender Reveal Party for his family and some of our friends. It was a great afternoon, filled with laughter and fun....and a lot of anticipation! 

I made a bunch of desserts, decorated with blue and pink, for pre-reveal, and special cupcakes with blue icing in the middle for the reveal. After socializing for a little while, and watching the Masters in the background of course, everyone grabbed a cupcake, and bit into them to see the inside. 

Last week I made the cupcakes, cookies, and cake pops (as take-aways), and then today we decorated everything, and made brownies and rice krispie treats. 

Everyone made their predictions on either bow ties or hair bows. It was almost a tie! 

These were from the reveal with my family in Belize. Another very exciting evening! My parents will now have two grandsons! After a household of girls, the boys will soon be taking over!

We are very excited about a little having a little boy! God has blessed us beyond our dreams. 

God Bless!

Can you belize it?!

A few more pictures from my sister!

  

Unbelizeable!

Spring Break!
Who doesn't love spring break?
Who doesn't love spring break spent in Belize with your family!?!

My family had been planning a trip to Belize for the summer. However, when we found out I was pregnant and due in August, we realized that I probably shouldn't be traveling internationally in the summer, so my amazing family all rearranged their schedules and we were able to go last week.

We had an AMAZING time! The weather was gorgeous! The meals were fantastic! Sitting by the pool and on the beach was perfect!

To get to the island we stayed on we had to take one of these prop planes over. They tell you where to sit to balance out the weight!

This is where we stayed - you can barely see it -- it's the one farthest on the left. It was right on the beach, which was great. 

Everyone drives golf carts on the island. The only cars are taxi vans. My Dad rented a cart that sat six, which was perfect for us. Most of the streets are cobble stones, but some are still just dirt paths. It made for a bumpy ride, but added to the beach feel. 

This is a picture of downtown San Pedro, which, surprisingly, has a lot going on - lots of stores (mostly tourist shops), restaurants, vendors, etc. 

One day we went snorkeling, which was incredible! We got to see all sorts of coral, fish, sharks, sting rays, sea turtles, plants, and other sea life! It was all gorgeous! I got in at the first stop, but after in hour in the water with a current, I started feeling nauseous, so I stayed in the boat the other times and took pictures. My brave siblings and husband got in with all these nurse sharks! Our guide even caught one, and they all got to pet it. Hanna tried to hold it, but it got feisty and swam away. Fearless!!

 This little guy was the star of the vacation, of course! He LOVED every moment there. He loves being outside and couldn't wait each morning to put on his suit to go swimming or play on the beach. I'm so amazed at how big he is getting - and so FULL of life! He's going to be a great big cousin to Baby Reid!

Some scenic shots. The first two are from the apartment Paul, Hanna, and I shared. We were on the third floor, so we had great views!!

These are looking from the balcony of the apartment my parents, and Meredith and her crew shared. They were on ground level, so we spent a lot of time hanging out in their place and on their porch.

There were so many lizards, geckos, and iguanas living around the apartments! This big fellow lived right outside my parents apartment and Henry loved looking for him everyday. 

The happy couple! A little pink, but happy and content nonetheless. We came to Belize almost five years ago for our honeymoon. It was fun to go back and to revisit some of the places we had visited the first time.

Five years ago in Belize - just for a fun comparison! 

A special "thank you" to my parents and aunt and uncle who made this trip possible! We had the time of our lives, and will always hold the memories made close to our hearts!

God Bless

A busy weekend

This weekend was crazy busy, but lots of fun!

Friday we had the day off from school, which was so nice! I was actually able to sleep in a little, and enjoyed a relaxing morning. Then I was off to volunteer at Spartanburg's Switcharoo Consignment sale. The sale was open to the public Friday-Sunday, but on Wednesday, volunteers got to go shopping first and get the best pick of items, so I went to look and even purchase a few things. This was my first real introduction to consignment sales - and let me say - it was amazing! This is a well oiled machine that required a lot of planning, organization, volunteers, and workers. There's a sale in Greenville and Spartanburg in the Spring and the Fall, and I can't wait till the fall sale! It was hard to shop for the baby not knowing it's gender.

Saturday was a wonderful day. It began with a kitchen shower for my future sister in law, Holly. She is a beautiful young woman, full of life and energy, and I can't wait for to officially be apart of the family! She, and Scott, got a lot of great things for their kitchen! I didn't get a great picture, but the lady who hosted gave her an apron (for cooking), pearls (every house wife evidently wears them cooking and cleaning), rubber gloves, a duster, and in all seriousness, a Bible with her and Scott's names engraved on it with their wedding date. It was very sweet.

We were in Fort Lawn, which is near Charlotte, and we obviously couldn't go all the way to Charlotte without visiting Ikea and the Container Store. We found a bookshelf and baskets for the nursery at Ikea, and a few other things for the house. That store is crazy!! We also found a few things at the Container Store. Lots of shopping, lots of fun! But a long day.

Sunday was a good morning at church, and then a relaxing afternoon at home on the couches.
However, Sunday evening I volunteered to help clean up and sort Switcharoo. I didn't know what I was getting myself into!

First we had to take all of the clothes that were not bought off the racks and sort them into broad numerical groups according to their consigner number. 

These are some of the tables with the stacks and stacks clothes left over. And there were probably at least 20 tables just like this one. 

Then all the clothes on the tables had to be sorted by specific consigner number. Cards were put on the floor, ready to receive whatever was left over! And this is not even half of the cards! 

I stayed and helped for 2 hours, and they weren't anywhere near being half way done. But it was fun to help and to see how things like this work. 

And now, I'm just counting down the days till Spring Break - T-minus 10 days!! 

God Bless

My new set of wheels

It's official! I have a new set of wheels...kinda!

 When I went to interview for my position in District 1, they made it very clear that all certified assistants had to get their CDL and be trained and licensed to drive a school bus. I agreed because I wanted the job, and didn't think too much about it - they said once I got my CDL I would only be put on the sub list and probably not even have to drive. So in October I sat through a 4 day all-day in-class training, and then in February I started my real training and driving. I had to have 10 hours behind the wheel driving practice, and then probably another 8 hours of CDL-School bus training. I had to learn how to do a thorough pre-trip inspection, which included pointing out all the engine parts, doing a cab and driver check, and going under the bus three different times to point out all the parts under the bus! Needlesstosay, I know way more about buses than I ever thought I would.

I have been studying and studying for about a month now, and yesterday was my final test. I had to conduct a word-for-word, overly detailed thorough, pre-trip inspection (which I nailed!! thank you memorization skills from high-school theater), a skills course driving test (I think I missed 3 out of 14 points, the hardest maneuver of which I did perfectly, though!), and then a road test, which I did fine on. In the end, I passed!!

All that's left to do is go back to the DMV, get my official CDL, and send a copy off to the district offices so they can send me a certificate of some sort. And then I can drive a school bus! Not that I really want to, mind you, but I can if I'm needed.

All in all, it wasn't a bad experience. It was an opportunity to learn a new skill that not many people can say they have, and I'm mighty proud of my CDL! And if anyone ever needs a reliable, responsible, driver for a vehicle that sits over 15 passengers, just let me know!

God Bless

Baby Reid

Baby Reid will be 18 weeks tomorrow!!

I haven't been very good about taking pictures each week showing her/his growth (and mine), but until recently, there really wasn't much to show. I have just started to look like I'm pregnant (and not that I just ate too much for the past couple of days!), and will hopefully do better taking pictures to show the progress.

Here are few fun things about my first pregnancy:

• I had morning all day sickness the first trimester. Fortunately the worst weeks were over Christmas break when I could just lay on the couch all day and not have to worry about 20 5 year olds!
• I am finally back to eating normally, and with a full appetite for sure!. For a while absolutely nothing looking appealing to eat and I had food aversions to everything! I'm still following my vegetarian diet, and have to be even more mindful about my protein intake, but it's doable. I still can't drink milk (dairy or non-dairy), eat certain vegetables, which is strange because I love both! 
• I'm still exhausted by the end of the day. I come home from school and crash on the couch. No naps, just rest, and maybe a streamed episode of Dawson's Creek... guilty pleasure for sure. No I'm not embarrassed to admit it!
• My body is already preparing me for a newborn! A.K.A. - It's a good night when I can get 5 hours of sleep. For some reason I wake up in the middle of the night and can't fall back asleep. I usually, get a small snack, go upstairs, check Facebook, Pinterest, and Consumer Reports for baby ideas. At least it's working - I'm getting more used to less sleep. (For those of you who don't know, I'm used to getting 8-9 hours of sleep every night, no joke)
• I'm officially into maternity pants! Let me just say - SO comfortable!! I fought getting maternity pants as long as I could. I used a rubber band to hold the buttons, I used a belly belt thing, I just wore long cammies and shirts over unbuttoned pants - but no so luck any more. I think I may have one pair of jeans and one pair of khakis that fit this week, but probably won't next week! It's really weird how clothes will fit one week and not the next!
• My sister-in-law, Anna, gave us a basket of books for Christmas. There's one book for every month leading up to August, and we love opening one at the beginning of the month. These are the four we've opened so far. Each one comes with a Bible verse about children as well. It was a very thoughtful and sweet gift!

• We're starting to plan the nursery! I've actually been pinning ideas on Pinterest since before even getting pregnant, but now I'm really thinking about what we want, and where to put things, colors, accessories, etc. The nursery will be gray and white, with yellow accents. And my dad is designing and building the crib and the rocking chair!! I'm SO excited!! 

And finally - some pictures!