Spontaneity without the sunshine

We have been waiting...and hoping...and praying for RAIN! Finally, this past weekend, we got some. I'm not sure what the official stats are on how long we'd gone without a significant rainfall. What I do know is that even with our sprinkler system, our grass was suffering.

We were grilling steaks while it was raining, so we decided to eat dinner outside. The pitter patter of rain on our patio and the cool breeze were a perfect way to spend a gloomy Saturday evening.

Our little set-up, sheltered from stray raindrops.

Enjoying our relaxing dinner in our own little paradise.

We even got to enjoy our new solar "candle" - it is faithful and even worked on a cloudy day!

Once we were done eating and cleaned up, we just couldn't resist feeling a little rain on our shoulders! I insisted on wearing a water shirt to keep me warm.

I was a little nervous about how cold it would be.

Grant was brave and went out first, so I had to snap a picture.

It was one of the most enjoyable "dates" we've had in a while! Spontaneous and carefree :) I am much more of a planner than Grant, and I appreciate when his spontaneity rubs off on me a little!

Our grass has also become much more vibrant since Saturday. Hooray!

Love, the George family

Lime

I wrote this post ahead of time to chronicle our pregnancy journey before we made the big announcement for all the world to see! 8.27.12

Our lime baby. Grant was surprised when I told him our baby was the size of a lime. At 1.5 inches and 0.3 oz, our baby is teensy tiny, but it's in there! It's wild to think about how much our baby has developed in a few short weeks and how much more development will occur over the next 30.

My symptoms haven't been too bad this week. I haven't noticed too many "hormonal" moods throughout the pregnancy, but this week I've been a little more on edge. I think a lot of it is because I've been anxious for our first appointment...tomorrow afternoon! We will finally get a chance to hear the heartbeat and confirm that there is indeed a little one in there.



It looks like I might be showing, but it's just the way I'm standing.

11 weeks...and still nothing to show for it! It's completely normal, though :) Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll start forming a little bump!

The worst part right  now is that we are desperate for this appointment to get here. Since we found out at four weeks, it has been a very...long...wait. We have been waiting to break the news until after our appointment, which has made the time go even more slowly. Now that it's finally here, I'm a little nervous. Grant has been a steady, solid rock, which I've never much needed. We make a good team!

The best part is also our appointment. So many questions, we will hopefully hear the heartbeat. So much to look forward to. And the second trimester is just around the corner!

Love, the George family

My blessing

My hubby is so wonderful, he always has been, that's why I married him. All that he is capable of and all that he has learned in the past few years is amazing to me. There are many reasons that I have great respect for him, but one of them became even more evident to me over the weekend.

Fact: we are trying to finish our basement so that we can use it.
Fiction: it is easy to finish said basement.

Every little thing seems to be a giant project. Definitely not what I had in mind when we originally embarked on project: basement makeover overhaul.

We have a large hole in the wall in our bathroom/laundry room - this is after Grant's master handiwork.

A humidifier attached to our heating/air unit is in the way of us patching the hole. We need to remove the humidifer. No problem, Grant says, I've got it covered.

And he did. But he also had to put up with several problems along the way. We do not use the humidifer - we never have. But there is still water running to it. No big deal, he retorts, I'll turn off the valve very carefully. Oh, you sneaky valve, so old and fragile that no matter the care given, you break off. Time to turn off the water.

Now we have to wait for the water to drain out of a pin sized hole into a bucket.



Then he cuts and patches and welds the pipe in record speed - quite impressive, really. And we have a hole that's ready to be covered.

There were other problems along the way, but no worries, my man is more than able! What a blessing. I brought him lunch, made several trips up and down stairs to get things, found tools, and waited out of the way. Often, my help is more supportive and less tangible. But that's a topic for another day.

Love, the George family

Prune

I wrote this post ahead of time to chronicle our pregnancy journey before we made the big announcement for all the world to see! 8.20.12

Milestone week 10! For some reason, it just feels good to be in the double digits! We've been busy catching up in my parent's absence, especially on sleep.

Symptoms have been about the same as the past couple of weeks. In the past few days, I've discovered that I am finally about to handle plain Greek Gods yogurt again. It has been one of my breakfast staples for a couple of years, and it was a tragedy when the smell sent me straight out of the kitchen. I'm still tired - all the time. When I slow down enough to nap, I can sleep for at least an hour. I used to only do quick cat naps. Leftovers still gross me out beyond any other food. I can eat them if they are less than a day old, but once they've been in the fridge a day or two, I can't even look at them without feeling sick. Ew! Grant's been dumping out more leftovers than he used to :)

Nothing too exciting yet!

Baby is the size of a prune - not so appetizing.

The worst part right  now is that I'm starting to notice changes in my body and it's not comfortable. I feel like I'm huge, even though I've only gained two pounds. No one can tell that I look any different, but I feel like a stranger in my own body. It will be nice when I start looking more like a pregnant woman and less like I've been pigging out on Chunky Monkey.

The best part is that life has felt a little more normal the past few days. We haven't had travel plans or visitors or anything crazy going on. And the best part is that the weather has been fabulous! I've been craving watermelon for weeks and it is SO delicious right now! Life in the late first trimester is pretty good :)

Love, the George family

Green olive

I wrote this post ahead of time to chronicle our pregnancy journey before we made the big announcement for all the world to see! 8.15.12

I'm a bit behind on my update going into week nine...such is life during the first trimester. So. Slee.... What was I saying? Okay, so maybe it's not that bad, but it's definitely been a challenge to keep up with life.

Symptoms this week have been, you guessed it, exhaustion! Thankfully, it's about the only symptom that I regularly experienced last week. I cannot get enough sleep. Eating is progressively becoming more normal. I'm still struggling to find the energy to cook as much as I did pre-pregnancy, but I'm encouraged that it should come soon!

I think I look less pregnant this week than last. Still too early for anything exciting!

The most difficult part right now is waiting for our first appointment. The closer I get to the second trimester, the more anxious I become about wanting to get the first appointment out of the way. It's hard to know that I'm pregnant, but not have it confirmed. On the other hand, Grant and I learning to trust in God even more during this time. We know that there is almost nothing we can do to change anything, appointment or not, and we are beginning the journey of offering this child to Him.

The best part of the past week was making some serious progress on the basement. It was a huge relief to get big projects out of the way. We still have a long way to go, but it seems more manageable now.

Love, the George family

Hard work pays off

My parents came into town this weekend for a brief, but very productive, visit. We had been planning on working on some house projects, but I did not expect to accomplish as much as we did!

Bathroom before. The laundry area is to the left.

We tiled the bathroom/laundry room floor, which we were planning on doing. Grant and I picked out the tile we wanted and my dad came up with a floor plan, which ended up looking excellent! We also had a shower installed last week, which was a bit more difficult than we had anticipated. We had to fit it into the wall, so we needed something to cover the edges. Once my dad got here and saw what we had to work with, we went out, bought the tile, and did that, too!

The floor!

Of course, we still have a lot of wall finishing to do and need a few other things, like a toilet and sink. And, we have yet to put in a door between the bathroom and utility room. But, let me tell you, it was so nice to do the laudry this week and have a nice, finished floor! :)

We have a functional shower, minus the curtain or door. The tile is kind of hard to see, but it is very pretty!



The guys worked really hard in the basement, also putting up most of the basement trim. It is so nice to walk in the hallway and the family room with finished walls and doors!

Trim - such a beautiful, finished sight to see!

It's hard for me to believe that just a few months ago, our hallway looked completely different! It's so nice to see some return from our labor and to realize that the hard work really does pay off. Definitely an encouragement for the work to come.

My mom and I worked mainly by cleaning up after the guys, especially the grout. My mom did most of the grout cleaning, which was very nice of her. We also worked to clear out one of the ugly flower beds on the side of our house. And we cooked some delicious meals!

We relaxed a bit at night by watching some of the Olympics or going out for ice cream, so we didn't completely work them to the bone. But we were so busy working or playing that I didn't take any pictures. Sad!

I did snap a picture of our leftovers from the thank-you dinner we took my parents to Sunday night. They made for a delicious Monday, too!

We are hoping to use our momentum to keep working on projects througout the next several weeks. I cannot wait for the day that our basement is finished!

Love, the George family

Soaking in the sun

This summer is really flying by! I can't say that I've enjoyed the blazing hot temperatures, but maybe it's better than a frigid winter? I haven't quite decided.

Alas, crisp, autumn leaves are beckoning to me. When I'm outside in the mornings, I can almost feel a hint of bite in the breeze, as if fall is teasing me. Soon enough, and then I'll probably be complaining that it's too cold outside to enjoy a leisurely walk.

We were able to take advantage of the warm summer air for a few days when we met my aunt, cousin, and his girlfriend at the Ozarks.

 My cousin, Mitchell, and Grant enjoying the pool at the condo.

I lounged at the side of the pool while they "swam."

It was a packed extended weekend for us! When we met them last year, Grant and I had such a great time boating that we couldn't wait for our next chance to get out on the water.

Everyone but my aunt and I went go karting, we played a round of mini golf, and we watched parts of the first weekend of the Olympics - go USA!

Grant getting ready to take off!

One of the most interesting parts of our getaway was a tour of Bridal Cave in nearby Camdenton. The cave was very large and had several rooms that we visited.

It's hard to tell, but we are inside the cave!

 The Bridal Room - where everyone comes to get married in the cave! It would definitely make for a memorable wedding :)

The end of the tour - there is water way down there!

Since returning home, we've been enjoying the Olympics (especially swimming and gymnastics!). We've also been working on the house quite a bit. Being so busy this summer, we lost some of our momentum, so hopefully we will keep up the work and not have to do so much when the weather finally cools down!

Love, the George family

Raspberry

I wrote this post ahead of time to chronicle our pregnancy journey before we made the big announcement for all the world to see! 8.6.12

It's hard to believe that we are already at the eighth week! This week has been a rough one. Coming off of vacation was the most difficult couple of days I've experienced thus far. Thankfully, though, I'm getting used to the sickness aspect of the first few weeks. I've learned that keeping myself well fed througout the day keeps a lot of the symptoms at bay.

Symptoms this week have been the same as last week. I am almost constantly naseous on a low level. A lot of foods still don't appeal to me, although I'm finally able to eat my Greek yogurt again - yay! Dairy and fruits have been my main cravings over the past week.

Week 8 already...and we have a little raspberry!

I still don't look pregnant at all, but some of my tighter fitting clothes are a little more tight now than they used to be. I can tell that things are changing and I feel huge, but the rest of the world has no idea.

Fighting the sickness and not seeing any differences are the hardest part right now. I truly thought that I would go through a relatively sickness free pregnancy, since my mom didn't have many early symptoms. It's been an adjustment that takes getting used to. I'm really looking forward to my appointment in just three weeks now! I think it will sink in more once I have some confirmation other than a pee stick (or three).

BellaBands! Black, White lace, and Brown lace

The best part is that I've been starting to do a little shopping. There was a huge clearance sale on BellaBands, so I got myself three of them for just over the normal price of one - score! I will probably start using them in the next few weeks on some of my tighter fitting bottoms. It's fun to go out and look around the baby sections of stores.

Praying for a productive and less naseous week!

Love, the George family