It's Almost Over!

2011 is almost over! Christmas has come and gone and I am 36 weeks and 4 days pregnant... It's all coming to an end! The year, this pregnancy, and being a mom of one! I am so excited for the changes that are approaching! Evan seems to be ready to make his arrival sooner than later- I already have a pretty good amount of contractions daily and I just have a feeling he's going to be an early bird like his big brother! That will be convenient in that it gives us time to adjust and settle in before ISR Swim Season starts! 2012 is going to be quite a year!

I can't get over how much I love my boy, and how much I know I will adore having another sweet little man around! Aaron is a chatterbox and such a delight! When I take him with me to appointments or out and about, people always comment on how sweet and well behaved he is. We are so blessed by this fearfully and wonderfully made little man of God.

Joey and I toke part in a wedding a few weeks ago- it was so much fun! Heather and Troy are now officially The Dinesdales, and we had a lovely day away to be a part of the bridal party and groomsmen respectively.

We celebrated an early Christmas in Orlando with the Myers and it was so much fun! We went to Downtown Disney on Friday- who knew you could have so much fun for free! We went into all the store and Aaron played with everything in sight. We checked out all the Lego statues and enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Rainforest Cafe!

In the picture above, Aaron is amazed during the lightning storm and the gorillas and elephants are all coming to life! He also had the best seat in the house with the fish tank behind him and the animals all around! It was a great dinner!

Aaron got all kinds of rockin' Elmo goodies from Nana! And we all spent the day at Sea World on Saturday.

These are Aaron's awesome new five finger shoes- just like Daddy!

The condo resort we stayed at had put-put golf, paddle boats, game rooms, basketball, pools galore, and so much to do! It was great!

Aaron got a new kitchen for Christmas from Mommy!

We went to the North Florida Regional Medical Center (where Aaron was born and, God willing, Evan soon will be too!) to check out the Christmas lights.

This year we spent our first Christmas in our own home. It was delightful! No traveling, no rushing around, just relaxing as a little family. It has been a great year!

Thanksgiving Came and Went!

I would venture to create a fake statistic that says that 90% of these blog titles revert back to the idea that life is flying by! Every time I get a chance (and the motivation) to post something I realize just how much has taken place since the last time. Yet many days feel slow and mundane. How can that be? A focus shift is certainly in order! Today is going to be a wonderful day!

Thanksgiving vacation was a wonderful excursion for our family! We traveled down to South Florida on Wednesday afternoon and though the trip took 7 hours instead of 5, Aaron did wonderfully (partly due, I'm sure, to the fact that we finally caved and turned his car seat on the way) and Joey and I had great conversations. It seemed to go by faster than many of the 5 hour trips we have had!

On Thursday morning we went to the beach. There was a playground across the street, and of course miles of sand and water to enjoy. Aaron loves it there.

Later we got dressed and ready for Thanksgiving Dinner (with 20 of our closest friends and family-hehehe) with many guests! The food was delicious and Aaron sat at the table with us for a very long while (part of which he watched Nemo on the laptop for). I got to spend time at the table with my brother, Nick, and Molly as well which is a rarity and therein a huge blessing!

On Friday we wanted to go to the beach but it was chili and windy, so we opted to stay in and have a little backyard photo-shoot- hence all the white-shirt photos scattered throughout this post!

And later we got to meet Papa Steve at the mall for some lunch and a Holiday Train Ride.

Saturday was our last day. Rather than hit the beach again we took a trip to Parrot Jungle Island! Aaron got to hold and feed parrots, hold a baby monkey, and do all kinds of ridiculously wonderful things! Joey and I were discussing on the ride home how crazy it is that Aaron has been able to do so much over such a short little lifetime! He has been sledding in snow, hiking, to the beach, to Disney (twice), to Sea World where he touched and fed dolphins and stingrays... and the list goes on. Thank you Lord for blessing us and allowing us to bless our son!

On a pregnancy note- I can't believe how different things are being pregnant with baby number two! I have hardly any pictures, had only one ultrasound, and even physically it is very different. I am very thankful that, after a second one-hour glucose test, I am gestational diabetes free this time! I can't tell you what a relief that is.

I am so excited to meet and hold Evan. I am 32 weeks now and, of course, I have no idea how much longer it will be... but I know it will be soon enough no matter what! I hope that I have what it takes to handle a second baby with grace, love and peace. I hope that I don't freak out or feel too overwhelmed. But I know that the Lord is going to be my strength and I pray that I will let Him be God and stick to my part of just being His child. If I can do that and trust in Him it will go well with me!

When we got home to Gainesville Saturday night we unpacked and settled in to bed. The next evening we did one of my favorite things! We decorated for Christmas. This year we are going to do the Jesse Tree Advent devotionals as we eagerly await the celebration of the birth of our savior! I can't wait to celebrate Christmas at home with our family this year and to remember what this season is really all about!

When You Run Out of Yogurt and You Have 5 Min. to Spare...

So I was making breakfast and we were out of yogurt. Before I could recycle the container it occurred to me that little man was pulling at my leg awfully early today. I cleaned out the yogurt with soap and water, dried it off, walked out to my car port recycling box and pulled out some card board, cut out little "coins" and put a slit in the yogurt container (though you can't really tell in this picture.

Took me all of 5 min. Handed the creation to Aaron and he had at it! Making breakfast that morning was a breeze! No interruptions at all! Every once in a while I get it right! Hallelujah! I can go back and decorate it, but I probably wont! Half the awesome-ness of this project was how fast it was! And then I really wont feel bad if he's over it in a day or so!

Creative Day Leads to Lots of Train Play!

When my toddler boy gets bored, look out! You never know what he will find to do! He LOVES trains, but the IKEA train tracks he has are just too flimsy for his little fingers to play with the trains on them for very long before they come apart. I don't really have the space in my house for a train table, so I decided to come up with my own plan! After a little online searching I finalized my idea.

I decided on what people call a "Train Board" which is literally a board with train tracks on it. I like this idea best because I can store it under a bed, behind the couch, or wherever and then take it out to use on the floor or just set out on the coffee table for Aaron to play with.

First I found this link that showed me how to actually put the IKEA tracks together (we could never get our designs to use all the pieces- me and Joey that is, Aaron is way too young to even know how to put tracks together). Ways to assembly IKEA train tracks found here.

I picked a design that I felt would work well for Aaron for a while, and fit on a reasonably sized piece of material, but my hubby told me that "setting up the tracks is half the fun when he gets older" so I used hot glue instead of wood glue so that we can pop the tracks off and re-design them as "needed."

This is the type of "wood" I used called "Panel-board". I originally planned to use MDF board, but the sizes that it came in were too small (24"x35" or so and I needed 35"x35") this was at Home Depot. Even with this material I had to but the whole large sheet. But the helpful Home Depot personal were happy to cut it down to size for me. for the $11.87 (before tax) price tag, I got multiple pieces! Maybe some will be gifted. This board is also a material I buy to use for white boards (or dry erase boards) so it's a fun material! It might warp over time, but I know it will last long enough for our needs. And with the temperature and moisture levels inside I think it will do just fine!

So once I had the material home I setup the tracks on it and traced the outline with a pencil. Then I glued each piece of track in the design on with hot glue and VOILA! it was done!

I also had some extra little corner bumpers from IKEA so I stuck those on the corners of the panel board for added safety. As you can see from the picture, well if you can see it (it's dark) we like to use our Little People accessories and animals to enhance our train play time. This whole project took me no time! And my son plays with it for LONG periods of time every day! Best $12 I've spent in a while! Also, note that the Thomas the train trains as well as Imaginarium accessories all fit with one another!

When I have more time (if that day ever arrives) I want to glue on some little trees, paint or draw on some grass and perhaps a lake, etc. but my son certainly doesn't care weather I do that or not, he LOVES this thing! Score one for Mommy!

I Can't Keep Up!

I just can't keep up with this blogging business! There are too many other things that win out in the priority game, but I'm okay with that. I'd rather my blog be slacking than other things I suppose. So sorry for the incomplete nature of this account.

Anyway! So Excited for so many things! In Baby News: we know what the gender of Baby number 2 is! ((Drumroll please....))

It's a BOY! Evan Hyson Myer!

We are so excited! Aaron calls him "Uh oh" and I think that's appropriate considering the challenge that is inevitable to come for him: sharing! Sharing Mommy and Daddy, his room, toys, cups, whatever! I know that the Lord is faithful and we pray for our boys to have a strong friendship based on love that comes from heaven and is pure and peace loving! I can't wait to hold this little boy in my arms! He is ACTIVE! And I know from experience that I LOVE me some ACTIVE boys! ;0)

In other news, we went to Sea World! We got yearly passes, so we will surely go a lot more! Papa Steve went with us on this inaugural trip and it was such a blast!

Our usually fearless little munchkin was actually a bit timid when it came to stingrays and dolphins! But he warmed up to the idea of the giant mammals when I told him they were "just like dogs."

We really enjoyed sharing the trip with Papa Steve!

The Shamu Show was clearly a nail bitter!
And Aaron and I even got to feed dolphins!

Last weekend we invited ourselves along on Tio's Persimmons Picking adventure. Turns out persimmons are delicious!

I can't believe I am already 21 weeks pregnant! It is flying by! Evan we can't wait to meet you!

Then we took Ari and Aaron for a hike to give Aunt Rachel a break (Uncle Eric is in Africa for the month). The boys had a blast.

And when Daddy went to run and get the car, Mommy got creative with the transportation situation on the trails ;0)

After the hike it was time for Family Movie Night! Ari got to stay for a little while of it before his Mama picked him up.

This was tonight. We got to join our friends for their Family Devotions. They have 6 wonderful children from 2-12 years old and we love the way they are raising them. Aaron found this hat in a toy box there and put it on himself sideways. Couldn't resist a photo op of that!

Tio took a trip to Ikea and came home with all kinds of goodies! Aaron got a pop up tent with tunnel, an easel, chalk, blocks in a rolling wagon, paint brushes, and all kinds of goodies! It was like Christmas in September! Tio is so good to him! Here he is in the tent on his Car's Couch. God I love this boy!

Jesus: THANK YOU for this life!

The other day I was in the bathroom and Aaron was yelling at the dog who was running away from him. I called her over and told her to sit. She sat, and so did Aaron! Then I told her to lay down. She did, and so did he!

On that rather slow passing afternoon we decided to do a little craft (we've been trying to find creative things to do together). This is our bird feeder!

Papa Steve bought Aaron a directors chair with his name on the back in gator colors. Aaron loves it, and so do we! Thank you Papa!

I also figured I'd include a photo of Aaron's new big boy hair cut! Joey and I love it!

Alright! Gotta get some sleep! At least I finally posted again! Blessings!

IOU

I understand that I am due for a practical, logical update of what is going on around here: but that's not really why I logged on.

Yes, I'm in week 17 of pregnancy with baby #2 and am SO looking forward to seeing this little one for the first time on September 12th!
Yes, Aaron is still doing great, talking up a storm, amazing me every day with his gift for leadership, compassion, prayer and boldness. I am so in love with that little boy. And he really is turning into a little boy!

I owe pictures and updates from North Carolina and maybe I'll get to those, but the real reason I wanted to blog today is out of pure love!

I just have to talk about the love of my life! I can't get over how Jesus has the uncanny ability to stir my heart and make me feel so overwhelmingly thankful that He is my God. There is no one like Him. There is no other God. I know it can sound offensive, but I guess that's the nature of truth: it offends our false notions. Truth cannot compromise, it is what it is.

I am so thankful for my God!
There is a song I have been meditating on lately. It is Cory Asbury's He is Yahweh. It's like a 30 minute song (you can listen for free on Grooveshark.com). When you get toward the end it is just raw worship. The lyrics become "My soul sings! My soul sings! My soul sings, how I love You!" over and over and over and I just can't describe how it makes my heart feel.
I feel so overwhelmed with the amazing grace that I have been given. Jesus is the lover of my soul.

Thank you Lord for showing me who You are. I know so many people don't get to see it, or aren't ready to see it, but I am so thankful that You have given me eyes to see! You are gracious and so loving! You GOOD.

Joey and I had the opportunity to go to Chicago a few weeks ago for the Jesus Culture Confrence. We visited the Lincoln Park Zoo while we were in the city. It was a fun trip, but we were really eager to get home to Aaron! Four days is just too long.

There were about 16,000 people there! It was overwhelming! Hillsong was incredible (the band who played) and the speakers were awesome. Bill Johnson was my favorite.

The North Carolina Trip pictures will just have to wait, I need to spend some time with my son before I leave for more ISR training. Only two weeks to go!

Blessings!