Friday, December 30, 2011

today we went hiking at Barton Creek.







it has been so nice having Brian off work this whole week!

hopefully i'll get around to blogging about Christmas soon.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

it's a little after 5. i've been awake for a couple of hours with a fussy baby. Hazel fusses most nights. it's really frustrating not knowing what to do for her. she'll act like she wants to nurse, but then she seems to have an upset tummy after she does. this has gone on for weeks. so i get up up because it's better than lying there with her writhing around. sometimes i think it helps her calm down if i leave her with Brian.

i've had the kids do a small amount of school this week, just math and grammar. after Christmas we'll take a break so that Brian and i can reassess where we're at and what we want to accomplish for the rest of the school year.

the other night we met up with some old friends, three of my closest girlfriends when i was a kid: Tasha, Deonna, and my cousin, Lisa. we all have kids now, 13 between the 4 of us. Tasha's three brothers and their families also came. we laughed so hard. it was one of those nights you just hate to see come to an end.

yesterday i got out and did some Christmas shopping. i'm nearly done with all i need to buy. i have some baking to do which will happen tomorrow.

yesterday i stopped in the Gap and they had a lot of stuff on clearance. i had bought several pairs of jeans while i was still pregnant in hopes that i'd be able to wear them once Hazel was born. well, i still have a size to go before i can fit into them, so i picked up a couple more jeans yesterday in a bigger size. it's encouraging to be dropping sizes without too much effort. i bought some size 2 Gap jeans when Hazel was a week or two old and now they're too big. Gap no longer makes size 1, they now call it 0, and what used to be 0 is now 00. weird, but that means i'm now in a 0. not sure if i'll ever comfortably fit into those 00 again.

i took Hazel with me when i ran/walked yesterday morning. i kind of enjoy having the company. her stroller has an mp3 plug in thingy with speakers, so we listen to Christmas music together while we exercise.

Margaret has been such a help lately. she cleans house without being asked, keeps up with her school work, and helps with Hazel. the others help, too, but not like her.

well, i need to gird up my loins and get out there to exercise.

Monday, December 19, 2011

it's a rainy, chilly day today. we've got Christmas music playing and the kids are finishing up some school work. i'm not letting them have the whole week off. i'm having them do math and grammar through Thursday, i think. i'm kind of mean like that, but they're not complaining. they don't realize that some of the schools are already out for break and others get out tomorrow.

i had my 6 weeks' appointment with dr. Love this morning. he couldn't believe that it had already been 6 weeks since Hazel was born. yeah, it's flown by for me, too. everything checked out okay. i still have 6 pounds to lose to get down to my pre-pregnancy weight, which seems to be where i always am at my 6 weeks check up. i'm not too worried about it as breastfeeding seems to help melt away the pounds.

mama came to spend the night last night. we all went to a Christmas carol sing-along at Redeemer, then came home and cozied up to the fireplace and visited. on the agenda for today is more Christmas shopping. i really don't have much more to do, i mostly just want to get the kids out of the house since it's too wet and yucky out for them to play in the yard.

i saw the sad news that R.C. Sproul, Jr.'s wife died yesterday. she leaves 8 children without a mom. my heart breaks for her husband and children! let's remember them in prayer.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

i've got the kids rolling on math, so i have a few minutes to blog.

today it's soupy out. i got out at 6:30 to exercise. i'm finally getting back in the swing of daily exercise after being sick for over a week. i got a really bad cold and then bronchitis. thankfully that's on it's way out, and life is returning to normal. i haven't started running again, but i plan to, i don't know, maybe tomorrow. i'll probably run the Vern's No Frills 5K with Margaret and Samuel on saturday even though i haven't trained for it. heck, for $1 entry fee, why not?

we've been getting a little more sleep this week. either Hazel is only waking once or twice to eat, or i'm sleeping through her feedings. either way, i feel more rested than i did a couple of weeks ago.

we've been trying to get out and get Christmas shopping done most afternoons after we finish school. it's rather crazy getting 5 kids out the door. the boys tend to be scatterbrains often, and there is always something important left behind, like shoes or a coat. or their spending money.

i whipped up some Christmas skirts for the little girls in the family - Aili, Anni, and Hazel. here's a pic of Aili and Hazel's ~


they have a layer of tulle in between the fabric layers to make them puff out.

i had to go to the doctor last week because i couldn't stop wheezing. i sounded so bad that the doctor asked me whether or not i had asthma. i've been asked that by doctors 3 or 4 times, and i always wanna say, "i don't know, maybe i should ask a doctor." i'm sure i do have it, as my mom had is something awful as a kid, and Thomas has asthma pretty bad as well. the dr. gave me a new inhaler and put me on antibiotics. that was a week ago, and it still feels like i'm breathing through a wet filter. my dr. was so concerned about my breathing that he said for me to go to the hospital if i felt worse. i guess i didn't realize it was that serious.

we've been spending a good portion of our days trying to get Hazel to smile.she must think we're all looney. she has yet to indulge us. she seems like such a serious child.

off to drink my tea.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

today hazel is a month old. she has been such a blessing to our family.

here are some pictures of her over the last month.


trying to wake up one morning when Mimi (my mom) was holding her. mama came and stayed a few days a couple of weeks ago.


hazel and i with brian's grandfather, who we visited Thanksgiving weekend.



napping with daddy




sunday morning bath. she likes baths a little more now.


there is always someone willing to hold her




dressed for the cold weather that blew in on sunday

she is still not sleeping well at all. since she is always in someone's arms during the day, she thinks she should be as well in the night. she won't sleep anywhere but right up next to Brian or me, and she makes all sorts of noises in her sleep, keeping us from getting a decent night's sleep.

Brian and i have been really sick for the past few days. we've had fever and chest colds and have just been miserable. i got sick first, so Brian was able to take care of me. but then he got sick, so now we're pretty worthless together.

despite feeling awful, we attempted a family picture on sunday. it's what you call keepin it real in the Wells family - tired looking parents who both had fevers, John with water all over his shirt because he had been sent to wash his face right before the picture, a cross eyed baby, Lucy with electric eyes....



we're not going to use it for our christmas card though. we're going to attempt some more picture this weekend when (hopefully) everyone is feeling better.

and one more picture...


hazel watching her first Charlie Brown Christmas. she was fascinated by it!

the past month has gone by so fast. it seems like it took november forever to get here, and then in a blink it was gone.

other news....
we've still been plodding along with school, though this week we've been rather sloppy with our lessons since i've been sick. i think we'll continue doing our lessons all the way up to the weekend of christmas to make up for lessons missed this month. we have some fun activities that we plan to do. i'm going to let them each make gingerbread houses represent things they're reading about in literature. it should be a whole lot of messy fun. we also plan to have a feast to go along with our history studies, which, for Margaret and Samuel would be a Roman feast, and for John and William, a colonial feast.

yesterday we went to the funeral of a dear man and his wife. Jackson and Barbara Boyett were killed in a head on collision last week. Jackson was our pastor for a couple of years during a pivotal point in our lives. i went to his little church, Dayspring Chapel, with my parents before Brian and i got married. brian and i did marriage counseling with Jackson. i can still recall some of the words of wisdom he offered us. he had us read through R.C. Sproul's Intimate Marriage. Jackson was the one who introduced us to reform theology and really got us to think. his sermons were so good and stirred you up to want to dig deep into the Word.
Jackson married Brian and i, wearing a Geneva robe and using the Book of Common Prayer, which to two kids who grew up charismatic and southern baptist, seemed so retro-cool.

it seems such a tragedy to lose such a wonderful couple as the Boyetts, but there is comfort in knowing that they both died together, not leaving one behind to grieve, and knowing that they are both now rejoicing in the presence of the Lord.

here is the obituary that ran in the Statesman a couple of days ago -


Jackson and Barbara Boyett On November 29, 2011, the Lord saw fit to call home his devoted servants, Ernest Jackson Boyett, Jr. and Barbara Diane Buis Boyett. Jackson, as he was called, and Barbara died in a head-on auto collision just west of Austin on Highway 290. Jackson was born in Austin on July 5, 1947, the son of Ernest Jackson Boyett, Sr., and Sylvia Bolt Boyett of Junction, Texas. Barbara was born in Angleton, Texas, on March 20, 1947, and was the daughter of Reid Buis and Aleen Whittaker Buis of Angleton, Texas. Jackson and Barbara were graduates of the University of Texas, both holding Bachelor of Arts degrees in English Literature. Jackson graduated with a Master of Divinity degree from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 1976. After working in a variety of ministries, Jackson began a Bible study group that grew into Dayspring Fellowship located at 5500 Avenue G in Austin, Texas. Jackson was also a friend, counselor, teacher and former chairman of the board of To Every Tribe Ministries in Los Fresnos, Texas, and a board member of Providence Theological Seminary in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He and Barbara were both active in the Right to Life movement in Austin. Jackson and Barbara loved their Lord Jesus Christ. They loved Dayspring Fellowship, and they loved Texas, especially Austin. Jackson's father had served for a time as personal secretary to Governor Coke Stevenson and as Sergeant at Arms for the House of Representatives. Jackson is survived by his stepmother, Frances Boyett of Austin, a stepbrother Ben Lindsay and family of Austin, Trent Wilson and family, Dannie Bolt and family, Carolyn Bolt Moore and family, Buddy Bolt and family, his cousins, all of Junction, Texas. Barbara is survived by her brother Kenneth B. Logan of Portland, Oregon, and her cousins Shirley Miller of Alpharetta, Georgia; Gwen Howard of Shreveport, Louisiana; Dorothea LaGrone of Carthage, Texas; Karen Simpson of Naples, Florida; Lanny Latil of Beaumont, Texas; Linda Holbrook of Lake Charles, Louisiana; and Jean Adams of Tyler, Texas. We would be remiss not to mention their cats whom they loved: Sophie, Phoebe and Zachary. Visitation will be held at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 2620 South Congress Ave. on Monday, December 5, from 6:00 until 8:00 pm. Funeral services will be conducted by Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home at High Pointe Baptist Church, 12030 Dessau Road, Austin, Texas on Tuesday, December 6, at 10:00am. Burial will be in the Junction City Cemetery, Junction, Texas, on Tuesday, December 6 at 3:30 p.m. Flowers may be sent to Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home at the above location. Donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to the Jackson and Barbara Boyett Memorial Fund at Dayspring Chapel, 5500 Avenue G, Austin, Texas 78751

well, baby is calling for me.

Monday, November 21, 2011

today Hazel is 2 weeks old. i think we'll keep her. =)  she is a sweet little thing. she's awake now more than she was the first week, and when she is, she always has someone in her face talking to her. last night i bought her a swing. she doesn't really like it yet, but hopefully it'll grow on her. she has her two week pedi appointment this morning. i can't wait to see what she weighs. i know she's gained since her last visit, where she weighed 6 lbs. 2 ounces. her face is round now and she has little dimples in her arms.

we took Hazel to church yesterday. she was pretty good, and i only had to go in to the nursery twice to feed her. it is really amazing how much milk that little thing can put away! it seems like she's developing a pattern of only needing to eat three times in the night. that's survivable and i've been getting some deep sleep in between those feedings.

Margaret and Samuel ran the Vern's No Frills 5K for this month (they have them every month) on Saturday, and did well. they've been training for a few months now. they both ran it in 26:04. they weren't really pushing themselves, so i think they could do even better with a little more effort. i'm really proud of them. they get out a few mornings a week and run a three mile loop with Brian. i'll post some pictures of the race when i get them off Brian's phone.

i've been trying to keep up my daily exercise routine - walking 4 +/- miles every day, plus working out with weights. i'm also back to doing crunches, though i do not like them one bit. with nursing, i feel like i need to eat all the time, and i find myself gravitating toward sweet things. i need to just nix all sweets for awhile to break myself of desiring them. when i was pregnant i didn't crave sweets at all. i need to try to get back to that state somehow.

well, it's time for me to get out there and exercise. after this second cup of coffee.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

school is done for the day, and Hazel is down for a bit. i'm brewing a pot of afternoon joe, and the kiddos are playing nicely outside. oh, and i'm feeling GOOD! it is nice to feel kind of human again. i've felt like i've been sleep-walking for, well, since about a week before Hazel was born. but i think i've been getting a little more sleep the past couple of days, or maybe i'm getting more efficient with what little sleep i'm allowed. either way, i don't feel tired at all today, praise God! the baby blues have lifted and i feel energetic and

neighbors from the next street over brought us a huge pot of soup, a loaf of sourdough bread, a bag of Clementines, and some chocolate-chocolate chip cookies last night. what a blessing! i just feel overwhelmed by the outpouring of generosity we've received lately! this morning, Sandy, another friend, dropped in with a gift for Hazel - two cute little outfits with appliques on them. Brian brought home a gift from his co-worker, Anthony and his wife, Monica - a little jean/cardigan set. i need to get with it on thank you notes.

Brian has been working half days from home this week, which has been fabulous! it gives me a chance to get out and exercise or run a quick errand.

i am amazed at how much milk that little baby can put away! she eats around the clock. i feel like 75% of my waking hours are spent on that futon in her room feeding her. and that's not counting all the eating she does in the night. she now has round cheeks and a tiny double chin and her legs aren't so skinny anymore.

it's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is next week. with Hazel's birth and all the activity surrounding that, it seems like the calendar days are just flying by. we'll be gathering with all of my mom's family on T-Day, and then going up to visit Brian's family the rest of the weekend. i'm really looking forward to spending time with all the kinfolk and introducing Hazel to them. gotta get out my recipes and figure out what yummies i'm going to whip up.

well, baby is hollering for me, so i'd better run...

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

freeze frame time

me and my girl~




life is starting to get a little more normal. a new normal, which includes around the clock feedings (for both me and Hazel) and diapers changes, and little - very little - sleep. and i love it.

i was blessed by visitors twice yesterday, first Karen and Josef and their kiddos. they arbitrarily kept them out of school yesterday and so my four enjoyed some midday sword fighting with Keegan and Jewels. later on, my sweet friend, Lisal, brought us dinner. she also said she wants to give Hazel a baby shower, which will be a huge blessing!

i'm recovering nicely physically, a little slower emotionally. i was able to squeeze into my 00 jeans, albeit with some effort 4 days post partum, and tummy is pretty much back in place although looking like elephant skin. emotionally, i felt like i was on a bit of a rollercoaster for the first week, but yesterday seemed like a more even day. i always feel so good while pregnant, that once baby comes, the change in hormones is almost overwhelming to me. it's enough to make me want to get pregnant right away - haha. anyways, i think things are evening out a bit.

Hazel changes day to day. i don't want to forget these moments and what they felt like, how she looked.

love this Brandon Rhyder song -



well, gotta get back to my other job, the teaching one. have a happy tuesday, friends!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

baby o' mine

well, Hazel is here and we are all enjoying loving on her. here's a quick run down of the days leading up to her birth.

last friday the kids went out to stay the night with my mom. Brian and i got an unexpected evening to ourselves. i was really starting to feel bad, so it was nice to have a break. we went out to dinner at Trudy's and i noticed when i got up that i felt like i'd been riding a horse all day. well, since i hadn't ridden a horse in years, i figured it was my bones starting to spread out in preparation for Hazel making her debut. we walked around the neighborhood near the campus for about an hour, seeing what kind of contractions we could get going. when we got home, Brian made a fire in the fire place and we watched some college football together. i sat on my bouncy ball trying to help the contractions along.

saturday morning we got out and exercised, Brian running and playing basketball, and me walking my 4 or so miles. we drove out to Burnet after that, where my mom had 7 of the 10 cousins. we had a birthday party for Claire who turned 13 this week. i continued to feel just generally "bad" and walk like a cowboy. that feeling continued all evening with intermittent contractions. i didn't sleep much saturday night, and got up a couple of times with severe nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. i almost called my doctor,  but wanted to wait until the contractions formed a clear pattern. the thing that kept us from heading on to the hospital right then was me worrying about who i felt comfortable calling in the middle of the night to come be with the kids. i called my mom in the wee hours of the morning to give her a heads up, and she started heading this way. she lives an hour or so away, so it gave me a little more time to assess the situation. with no clear progress being made, we all got a little more rest. we decided to go to church sunday morning even though we adults had been up most the night. i'm glad we did. it was very encouraging and just what my weary body and spirit needed.

Mama spent the rest of the day with us. she thought i needed to just go on in to the hospital, but i kept waiting to see if i was really in labor. we had a relaxing afternoon of eating take out pizza and lying around looking at magazines. Mama and i made a trip to target for some last minute items to take to the hospital. while there, we walked the entire store several times to see if my contractions picked up.

i made a huge pot of chili for dinner and enough for leftovers the next day. Brian's parents got to our house in the evening. it was a cozy evening with my mom and Brian's parents all staying the night. Mama and i sat in bed and watched NFL together until i was too tired to keep my eyes open.

i can't remember if i got much sleep sunday night. i doubt it. we were up at 5 as usual. i had to be at the hospital at 6. amazingly i wasn't hungry at all, though i hadn't been able to eat much at all over the previous couple of days. Mama and Margaret rode with Brian and i to the hospital. i had put together a couple of goodie bags for the kids full of treats and snacks, games, Legos, and drawing things. Margaret and my mom sat off in their little corner of the room while the nurse got me hooked up with an iv of fluids and the antibiotics for the group B strep. Dr. Love came in some time around 8 and sat and visited with Brian and i  for awhile. he checked me but i wasn't ready for him to break my water, so the nurse started me on Pitocin. i labored along for an hour or so with regular contractions, but little increase in the severity of them. Dr. Love came back over and attempted to break my water, but for some reason it wouldn't give. i guess my bag of waters is too much like rubber. it has never ruptured on its own, even when i'm far along in labor. as i wasn't making progress, the nurse kept bumping up the amount of Pitocin, going all the way to a level 16, whatever that means. the contractions were painful, but there was still this threshold we weren't able to cross. Dr. Love came back over after lunch and this time was able to break my water. immediately i started in on hard contractions. i can't say how long they lasted, but with all that Pitocin coursing through me, i was getting them hard and fast. i tried to relax, tried to quote Scripture to get my mind off the pain, tried to pray, but i was really having trouble coping with the powerful contractions. the nurse turned off the Pitocin as i was moving along at lightning speed at this point. as i'd been working on having this baby since about 9 am. and it was now around 1 or so, and i had no idea how long this labor would last, i requested an epidural.  before the anesthesiologist got there, the nurse checked me and i was dilated 5 cm. getting the epidural was pure hell. it took an especially long time, or so it seemed, and i labored through several horrible contractions while clinging to the nurse as the anesthesiologist and his assistant worked on putting wires in my back. during all this, Hazel's heart rate started dropping quite low as she began her descent through the birth canal. it was really scary not hearing a heart beat for a second or two. they gave me oxygen and kept encouraging me to breathe deep for my baby. it was all i could do to not panic. i began to pray out loud, crying out to God to protect her precious life. as soon as the Dr. finished giving me the epidural, the nurse checked me again and i was dilated 10 cm. i went from 5 to ten in less than ten minutes. no wonder i was hurting so bad. the nurse called Dr. Love and told him about Hazel's heart rate and asked whether she should put a catheter in me to put some fluid back, or just tell me to push this baby on out. they decided to let me push her on out if i felt ready. i gave it one good push, then Dr. Love came in and had me push again and then she was out. how does one describe the feeling of hearing your baby cry for the first time? i just burst into tears! i couldn't believe she was finally here. the first thing the nurse said when she was out was, "she's so tiny!" and she was, the same size Margaret was when she was born. Brian and i were in awe of her! when the placenta was delivered, Dr. Love called Brian over to take a picture of it, saying that the position of the cord and the condition of it was extremely rare, and that it was a miracle that Hazel was here. instead of the cord being in the middle of the placenta, it was down at the end, and very narrow. it could have become detached at any time. even more reason to praise God for His mercy over her!

she weighed a whopping 6 pounds and 1 ounce and was 18 and a half inches long. no, not my smallest baby, as Margaret was 5 lbs. 15 ounces and 18 inches long. she looks much like Samuel did, with long, skinny legs, big feet and hands, and fair skin. i think she'll be freckled like him eventually, but maybe with darker hair. her eyes aren't as light as his were when he was born - we could tell they were going to be blue from the start - though they're shaped the same. i would bet they're going to be brown though. and she has the same mouth as Samuel. William and Margaret have prominent bottom lips, you know, a perpetual pout. Samuel has a more prominent top lip, which Hazel also has. John has his own set of lips.

a few pictures from this week -

making a goofy face around 7 am., Monday morning as i wait for the nurse to get things started -


skin to skin with my precious Hazel -






Brian and i stayed in the hospital from Monday until Wednesday morning. it was nice to have some time together, although i don't think we talked much, what with all the nurses coming and going and Hazel needing to be fed or changed. Brian's parents watched the kids at the house and brought them up a few times. my mom came, as well as my stepdad. Thomas dropped in on Tuesday. Leah came by on monday before Hazel made her appearance. i can't recall whether any one else dropped in.

Brian went back to work on thursday, and i had to jump right in to my job as mother of 5. i guess i wasn't quite ready. i found myself in tears by the time he got home, so he decided to work from home on Friday. i haven't been able to get much sleep, but what little i get is a blessing. Hazel eats about every two or three hours, but mostly every two hours. i cherish those nighttime feedings. i know that all too soon she'll outgrow them, and we won't have that special "us" time anymore. i try to use the time to talk to her and pray for her and others.

i am still somewhat in awe that i have been blessed with another child. it still sort of feels like a beautiful dream that i fear i will soon wake up from.





Thursday, November 3, 2011

i had a whole blog post typed up last night detailing our Halloween and the last couple of days and then accidentally erased it. Halloween was fun. we got together with Thomas and Meredith as we usually do and trick of treated in the Mueller neighborhood since it is so pedestrian-friendly.





i've been feeling awfully irritable lately. i think i've reached the end of my pregnancy rope. i went to the dr. yesterday and was so disappointed to hear that i'm only dilated, maybe 2 cm. all that getting up every morning at 5 to walk 4 or so miles and that's ALL!? i really thought it is was supposed to help move things along faster/earlier. oh well. hopefully i'll be in better shape because of it if nothing else.

if i don't have baby this weekend, i am scheduled to be induced on monday. i was hesitant to blog about this because mommies can sometimes get real nasty and judgmental about how other mommies handle their pregnancies, but, well there it is. i've been induced three times before, so i know the drill. being GBS positive, i prefer to be given the antibiotics than have them given to Hazel, which is what would happen if i had too fast of a labor.

also, having a date to look to helps us plan for the kiddos a little better. Brian's parents are coming sunday night and will be with the kids first. my mom will take over after they leave.

it is a releif to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

it was kind of weird to make my 6 week appointment yesterday. i'll miss seeing Dr. Love and his nurses and staff. to me that's always the bittersweet part of finally delivering the baby. you get so accustomed to seeing these people every week.

i guess i could still have Hazel before monday, but i'm not counting on it. we're going out to the Redeemer family campout at Inks Lake this weekend and hope to get in a lot of hiking. yes, probably crazy for a 4o week pregnant woman to do, but i guess i'm just crazy. i'd rather be out doing than sitting around waiting for something to happen.

maybe next time i blog i'll have pictures of the Wells 2011 model.

Monday, October 31, 2011

the kiddos are busy working on math, so i'll take a little break from teaching to blog about our weekend.

Brian's office had a Halloween party on thursday. this is the 3rd year they've done this for the kids and it's a lot of fun. only Margaret and William wanted to dress up. i wore my pumpkin get up. and feasted on pizza for the third time that day. mmm.

we drove to Marble Falls friday morning to go to the pumpkin patch at Sweet Berry Farms. mama met us there and we had such a good time. the kids did the corn maze. we all rode on a hayride. and then we picked zinnias in there big zinnia field.





we came home and all worked together to clean the house. the kids are really getting good at carrying their weight around here as far as cleaning and chores.

Margaret and Samuel worked on carving some of our pumpkins.





Brian's parents got here around 7:30. they hadn't been down here since August, so we showed off our latest home projects, then settled down to watch the World Series together.

the kids had their last soccer games of the season on saturday. after that we all went to lunch at El Arroyo to celebrate Brian's mom's birthday. i had made a cookie cake for her, so after lunch we came home and had that with ice cream. yum. i was so tired that i went to bed and slept most of the afternoon away. i even slept through their goodbye. i was kind of hoping i'd go into labor while they were in town to keep them from having to make another trip down, but it didn't happen.

yesterday after church we went hiking at Commons Ford Ranch. it was our first time there, and what a lovely place it is!

Lake Austin forms one border of Commons Ford Ranch

  Commons Ford RanchCommons Ford Ranch photo Commons Ford Ranch photo Commons Ford Ranch Photo

i lifted these pics from the park's site since the pictures we took yesterday are on Brian's phone.

we hiked the rugged terrain for three hours, but i still didn't go into labor. i guess she'll come when she's good and ready.

last night we had a cozy evening at home. we ate chili and baked potatoes and watch The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. i went to bed early again thanks to a wonderful husband who takes over whenever he's home.

it was back to the old routine again this morning: up at 5 and out to exercise at 6. this is one area i've been very consistent in this year. i think i've only skipped my 4+ mile walk a handful of times this pregnancy, and that is only when we were on vacation. hopefully it will make labor and recovery all the more smoother.

we're excited about dressing and and going trick or treating with friends tonight. we didn't participate in such things when i was a kid, but Brian and i let the kids have fun with it. i know there are folks who think us evil and compromised because of it, but our conscience doesn't condemn us in it, so we continue. we also heartily celebrate All Saints Day on November 1st. =)

well, the kids need my help with school, so i'd better get back to it.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

last night i worked on my pumpkin shirt. don't laugh. it kind of looks like i've poured myself into one of Margaret's shirts. also, being makeup-less doesn't help.

i didn't get the pumpkin's face parts on straight, but i think it makes it even funnier. i'll get a better picture tomorrow when i wear it for Brian's office party. John suggested i be a whole pumpkin patch, with my belly, my boobies, and my face being individual pumpkins. LOL.
i had a dr. appointment this morning. still nothing to report, though Dr. Love and i had a good chat about scripture and biblical Christianity. he's such a great guy and i'm just so blessed to have had him for my doc all these years. he and his wife are a really cute pair. now that their kids are older, she works in the office with him, kind of managing things. they both treat me like an old friend. i guess i kind of am now as he's been doing my business for 13 years now.

we have a busy weekend coming up, so i kind of hope Hazel stays put. tomorrow evening Brian's office is having their annual halloween party. then friday we're going out to the pumpkin patch with my mom. Brian's parents are coming in to town friday evening for a short visit. saturday morning we have soccer games, and then i'm sure we'll do something to celebrate Brian's mom's birthday which is coming up next week. of course we'll have church on sunday, and then halloween on monday. i would really hate to spoil the kids fun by having to up and go to the hospital in the midst of one of their fun acitvities. but they're also very much looking forward to Hazel coming. they keep asking when it will be.

thankfully i've been getting more sleep lately. last week was rough, but this week i've been in bed before 9 and even though i've been getting up at 5 or a little earlier, i usually climb back in bed with Brian for another half hour after i get the coffee going and have my breakfast. i'm just feeling really good right now. Dr. Love even complimented me, saying pregnancy looks good on me. LOL. i guess there is something to beauty sleep.

school is going well. we're about a third of the way through in most subjects. some days are harder than others, and i sometimes spend a lot of time on the phone with the principal, but overall, i can't complain. the kids are learning to apply themselves and work hard.

the kids each planted a garden a couple of weeks ago and have had a lot of fun tending it. it makes me happy to see them so excited about gardening.

well, that's all the non-news i have to report. happy wednesday, folks.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

i had a bare wall above Hazel's bed, so i made a little something for her to look at. got the inspiration from my oh-so-creative friend, Mollie, who just published this book -

Make & Do: Paper Fascinations for Every Lovely Occasion

i used the pages out of an old copy of Katie and the Big Snow.

Katy and the Big Snow (Vol 2)


it has butterflies and ducks and circles. nothing special, but it adds a little to the room. the ceiling in that room is so high that i couldn't hang a mobile from it as i wanted, so this is the next best thing.

another fun little thing i did was dress up a lamp i bought on clearance at Target for $4. i wanted it to fit better with the flea market look in Hazel's room, so i cut some pictures from magazines and glued them to cardstock and then strung them on there. =)