One Week Later

Better. So much better. He survived.



Probably because some little friends made him this good luck poster. It shows him passing all kinds of bars. So adorable.



Nick missed his daddy terribly. He's been in his lap since he got home. How cute is he?

July Date Night

July date night was spent celebrating the Gent's birthday! Although it kind of felt like a date for me. :) We went to the art museum and then out for dinner at a darling little place close to downtown.

I tried to get a few pictures so I could make this post more interesting. I ended up with this one and I don't like it, but this is the best I could do with the camera on time delay, propped on a box on top of the bistro table. Don't judge. At least my arms look toned. And no, I do not have a double chin in real life.



The food (not the photos) was wonderful. I had steak and the Gent had lamb. Okay, my food was wonderful. I tried a bite of hubby's because I had never had lamb. YUCK. EWWWWWW. DOUBLE YUCK. I do not like lamb. At least now I know.



Next date night is to a baseball game. That's what the Gent wanted to do for his birthday, but the hometown team was on a road trip. So I bought him tickets to see our new hometown team play next month. Delayed gratification means we'll have more fun, right?

Happy Birthday, Handsome

Now you are as old as I am. :D

Brunch


Banana Pudding aka Birthday Cake


Glad you like it.


Happy birthday, my love.

Baby Time Again

The blog is already being taken over by baby . . . at only nine weeks. :) Here's an updated photo of our L'il Bit.



We had a check up today, everything looks great. The doctor did another ultrasound so we could see how much baby has grown! Looks more like a baby now, we could see the head (left) and two feet (far right), baby's heart beating, and watch baby wiggling around. Baby is about an inch long, the size of a strawberry.

Can I just say that our doctor has been wonderful through this whole experience. She handled our miscarriage so compassionately, and I've already been in four times (twice for bloodwork, twice for check ups with ultrasounds) with this baby. She is very reassuring and is doing so many extra things to let us know that baby is right on track. And today I was looking at her diploma, and noticed her middle name is Noel. I hadn't known that. Beautiful.

And in other news, I think the nausea is starting to get a little better. Or at least I am getting used to it. I haven't gained any weight, but I haven't lost either, so I see that as a victory.

In One Week

This will be gone and the bar will be over. And I might actually get to see my husband again.

What I Love about the South

These are a few of my favorite things . . .

Braves Baseball


Charleston


Azaleas in all sizes and colors


The Gulf


Real College Football


Little girls in smocked dresses


Savannah


County roads paved with blacktop, tall, scraggly pine trees, red dirt, and forgotten, tumbledown barns covered with kudzu


What do you love about the South (or wherever you live!)?

Life Update

Not too much to blog about lately - here's what we've been doing.

The Gent:
Study
Study some more
Grab a snack
Then study some more
Sleep
Repeat

AbbasGirl:
Try not to throw up
Force self to eat something
Nap
Try harder not to throw up
Sleep
Repeat

In between we are spending lots of time with friends, and tying up loose ends in preparation for the move.

Now for a little nausea update . . .

The Gent has discovered that if I think something sounds good, my statement is in effect for about five minutes. Then it sounds yucky again. Move quickly! Faster!!

Here are the things I can make myself eat*:
crackers
provolone cheese
applesauce
hard ginger candies
lemon icebox pie
Moe's burritoes (I have no idea why this is appealing, but hey, whatever works at this point)

I have aversions to:
food
especially meat
especially melted cheese (except homemade mac and cheese randomly sounds good right now . . . check back in five minutes)
especially tomatoes, tomato sauce, etc
especially bread
especially anything that smells

*this list is subject to change at any time

Two Month Photo

I am definitely more comfortable in dresses at this point. I can wear them to work and stay nice and cool. Still dealing with nausea, though mine isn't near as bad as the stories I've heard from some of my friends. Hoping that goes away in the next few weeks.

Summer Yummies

Here are a few recipes I've tried this summer that were wonderfully yummy. This was before the nausea set in for me . . . y'all enjoy.

Watermelon Coolers (Better Homes and Gardens)
3 cups coarsely chopped seeded watermelon
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves
2 cups white grape juice
1 tsp finely shredded lime peel
3/4 cup lime juice
32 oz club soda
Place watermelon in blender or food processor. Process till smooth. Strain through mesh sieve; save juice, discard pulp.
Combine sugar and mint (lightly crush mint with wooden spoon). Add grape juice, lime peel, lime juice, and watermelon; stir till sugar dissolved. Stir in club soda. Serve over ice; garnish with mint leaves.

Humus (my cousin's recipe)
1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tblsp Tahini (I didn't have any, I just toasted sesame seeds and threw them in)
Blend all ingredients thoroughly in food processor. Add roasted red pepper or other ingredients for flavor.
Serve with pita chips, tortilla chips, or fresh veggies.

Fresh Herb-Tomato Crostini (Southern Living)
olive oil
2 garlic cloves, pressed
French bread baguette, cut into slices
3 Tblsp lemon juice
2 Tblsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 large tomato, chopped
3/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350. Stir together olive oil and garlic; brush on one side of each bread slice. Toast bread in oven 10 to 12 minutes. whisk together remaining ingredients. Spoon on top of bread. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Don't Do It!

So last night I thought I would play around with Blogger's new template designer.

BIG MISTAKE.

JUST SAY NO.

It took me forever to figure out how to get back to the old "layout" feature. For some reason there is no "undo" button?!!?! So I had to go into HTML to get back to the old page. Sheesh. Way too complicated.

However, while I was experimenting with HTML, I figured out how to adjust the margins on my page so horizontal pictures show up completely, yay!

And then I went back and adjusted all my photo posts so you can see the whole thing.

Because the Gent was studying and I was looking for something to do. And I like for everything to be orderly. I know, I'll have to get over that in a few more months!

In the meantime, just stay away from template designer unless you really want to make over your entire blog! And make sure to save a copy of your HTML template before you start making changes!

Company

The Gent's youngest cousin came and stayed with us for a few days last month. We had lots of fun keeping up with a ten year old! We went shopping, swimming, to the science museum, out for lunch, watched the Sound of Music and Princess Diaries, made pizza, and toured the state capitol. Okay, I'll admit it - we were a little tired when she went back home! But we really enjoyed having her here.

The Secret Hurts We Carry

The past six months have been hard. Losing our tiny Noel Christian was hard. Really hard. Though we are so excited about our new baby, this little one will never replace the child we won't hold until heaven.

The past six months have been a growing time. I have become a more patient person. I have learned to worry less. I have learned to be more open with my emotions. I have learned to be more compassionate to others.

We all have secret hurts we carry. I find myself looking at friends I think I know, family I love, strangers in the grocery store, and wondering . . . what secret hurts do they carry? Broken marriages, rebellious children, babies they never had a chance to know? There are many, many kinds of hurts, I know. Some big, some small - all painful. Some we want to talk about and some that are never, ever mentioned. As I look at the people around me, I pray for them and their pain. I pray that if they don't know the peace of God, they will come to know Him.

I long for heaven and have a sense of urgency for dear ones who don't know the Lord. Death is a certain thing. When the time comes to die, there's nothing we can do to stop it. Death is the inevitable end of our earthly selves. But it is not the end of the story. "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men" (1 Corinthians 15:19). But it is not only for this life we have hope in Christ. Because of the salvation He offers to us, we have eternal life in Him. "The saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.' 'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?'" (1 Corinthians 15: 54a-55).

More than anything, I rest securely in knowing that God is God, and I am not. He has a plan for my future.

God sent His Son - they called Him Jesus,
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

And then one day I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain;
And then, as death gives way to victory,
I'll see the lights of glory - and I'll know He lives.

Because He lives I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

And life is worth the living
Just because He lives.

(lyrics by Bill and Gloria Gaither)

If you're wondering how I've made it through the past six months, God is the answer. He is the only one Who heals the secret hurts. He binds up the brokenhearted, He proclaims freedom for the captives, He releases the prisoners from darkness, He comforts all who mourn, He gives praise instead of despair. He rebuilds, He restores, He renews. (Isaiah 61)

One Month Photo

Better late than never. We took it a while ago, I just kept forgetting to post. I'll try to remember to post one every month. Right now I'm thinking it will be fun, but I might change my mind somewhere around month seven!

Independence Day

We spent the holiday weekend with my grandparents at their amazing house. Gotta love a real Southern mansion with gardens that look like something straight out of Southern Living. Beautiful. And we were sent home with eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, and corn - YUM. We played games, visited, ate, and enjoyed being lazy.

Mom loves her mahjong.


The boys playing cornhole.


The girls.


And our cute red shoes.


No flames this year!


Homemade ice cream.


He's even better than ice cream.


Happy Fourth, Y'all.

Baby's First Photo

We had our first "real" prenatal appointment today.

The day began so nicely. I had the day off from work, so we enjoyed sleeping in till 8. Then the Gent took the dogs to the dog park, like he does every morning. Except of all mornings, this was the morning Nick decided to take himself for a little walk. He got out of the fence and was missing for an hour before the Gent found him.

Meanwhile, I had to go to the doctor by myself, worried about Nick, and wishing hubby was with me!

He called right before my appointment started, saying "I found him and we're on our way." Luckily we live less than five minutes from the doctor's office. Nick got to hang out in the car during our appointment. Thank goodness it was nice and cool in the parking garage. GOOFY DOG.

Anyways, my appointment went wonderfully. The doctor and her nurse were so great with us. I go back for my next appointment in three weeks - they are keeping a close eye on me which definitely helps set my mind at ease.

And the doctor did an ultrasound, yay for baby's first photo! Baby's little heart is just beating away!

They are calculating my due date as February 22. I'll keep you posted, but all's well for now.

June Date Night

Oops it is July and I haven't posted yet . . .

Date night this month was an evening at the symphony's performance in the park. The weather was perfect and there were no mosquitoes (YAY, those little buggers usually eat me alive). We took our lawn chairs and enjoyed just relaxing and listening to the music. The outdoor performances always have a fun selection of tunes. Add in some raspberry lemonade and icebox cookies and it was pretty close to perfect.

P.S. I really think these date night posts are kind of boring. Ideas? Maybe I should start taking pictures?