our new digs.

We are excited about our new house. I was a little disappointed that the previous tenants didn't take care of the place like they should have. There are quite a few touch-ups that have been done, and still need to be done. What I'm excited about, though, is the paint job. So, in this post I will give you first the before pictures of the house, and then what pictures I have of the "during stages" of the process of making this house our home. Yay for paint on the walls!

This would be in the living room, me and Mrs. Jacks talking about what we thought would be nice. The Jacks' came along to check out the house and give insight on what needed to be done. Oh, and the kitchen is behind us.

Master bathroom, which is actually the smallest room in the house besides like... a closet or something. Don't worry, the border was ripped down.

The toilet seat will be replaced. I don't do puffy toilet seats. They freak me out.

In the master bedroom. Yeah unfortunately those aren't shadows on the carpet. Those are stains. Previous tenants were nasty tar-lungs. Aka. Smokers.

Closet in the master bedroom.

Oh, we're back to the living room in this one.

Living room, with the fire place. And the blue lightswitch cover will be replaced...

Laundry room, aka Davey's winter home. For those of you who do not know, Davey is my rabbit.

Laundry room looking into the kitchen, the kitchen being where you see me and Mrs. Jacks standing.

Guest bedroom, which was pretty spacious!

Guest bedroom again. And yeah, I don't know why the carpet changes colors throughout.

Guest bathroom, which is decent sized. And not our shower curtain. :/

Guest bathroom toilet. I hope that blue isn't stained. :/

Gues bathroom again. This will be our UGA bathroom.

The dining room, and yet another shade of carpet.

Benjy's bedroom

the Bonus room, which used to be a garage. REALLY spacious.

The other side of the bonus room.

In the dining room, looking into the room that we're going to turn into Carl's office.

In the office, looking into the dining room.

And we're back to Benjamin's room. Through the door you can see the door to the master bedroom.


And NOW for the touch-ups!!

The master bedroom. I love the green. It's going to look amazing with our comforter.

The hallway/entrance way. Obviously this is not finished yet. Carl said it is like an adobe color. I like it!

The dining room. Carl chose the blue. It turned out brighter than we both expected (I guess - I haven't seen it in person yet), but we both really like it, especially with the dark wood accents.

The office is the same color as the dining room. Blue is supposed to be a calming color and all that. Again, it turned out brighter than expected, but I really do like the way it looks with the dark accents. Besides, if you know me, you know I am more of a bright-color person than a muted color person. I mean... my room growing up was lime green. Seriously!

And that's all for now, folks! I assume I will get more pictures before the day is over, and then as soon as we get internet down there, I will give you the rest of the photos, plus photos of the finished rooms with the stuff in it. Hopefully it won't take too terribly long to unbox our stuff. We shall see!

Hope you all have a safe thanksgiving tomorrow! If you're traveling, buckle up, it's the law! ;D

Love,

Kristen

feeling a bit bummed...

I don't have my computer, nor do I have Carl's. So I'll give you this link so you can check out the pictures if you feel like doing so. :)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2002123&l=07b23&id=1124190010

Got Carl's Christmas shopping done today. I'm excited about everything, but I can't give any details because Carl has a link to this. HA!

I miss him. He's in Fort Valley now, hopefully soon he will begin to paint after he gets all the utilities things figured out.

Sigh.

What will I do for three days?! Who will entertain me?!

Love,
Kristen

there goes the rug...

Last night was rough. Right now I am sitting in my parents' bonus room, listening to Carl playing guitar, and wrapping my head around the past night, and the nights that lie ahead. Have you ever been in a sort of place in your life where you're so content, and you feel like everything is just happening so well, and wow you can't believe all the great things that are waiting ahead for you? And then the next moment you find yourself sobbing for hours? Perhaps not, but let me explain.

I had a craving for cheese pizza last night. Ohkay we'll stop there and let me say this: this is not a pregnancy sob story, though pregnancy may also contribute to the hours of sobbing. Carl went out to get me a personal pan cheese pizza, because he's super sweet and is so wonderful to me. Well, I played games on my iPod for a while, and then just laid back to get a small nap... and when Carl came back, he put the pizza on the bed and said, "We need to start packing our stuff. We have to be out by Saturday."

If you recall in my last post I said we were hoping to get into the house the first weekend of December. Well, that was the plan. Saturday we had seen the inside of the house and then went to find paint for the walls so we could get it painted and aired out before I have to sleep in the house. But that's not this coming Saturday. That's 2 Saturdays away. We had till this Saturday, the one after Thanksgiving, to get out of the house we were staying in.

I won't give the details. I don't think it's necessary. But, try to put yourself in our shoes... with everything except a few essentials in storage 2 hours away, and a house that might not be ready to move into, at least to our standards (as clean as it can be and painted up, at least so I don't have to sleep in a cloud of paint fumes).

I sobbed, like I said, for hours it seemed. It could have been less, I don't know. I was mad, confused, stressed, worried... what would we do? Where would we go?

I prayed about it and calmed down. And then I called my parents. So we figured I'd stay up here in Winder for a few days. We were planning on going to Rome to spend Thanksgiving with the Kidwells/McBrayers anyway, so Carl's going to go back down to Fort Valley to paint our house (while living off an air mattress, the poor thing), and then he'll be back Wednesday night after services. We'll leave Thursday to go to Rome, come back Friday and rent a U-Haul, and start packing that up. Saturday we'll drive back to Fort Valley.

I guess the reason I asked if he'd take me to Winder to spend time with my family is because I felt a little betrayed. I guess I might still feel that way. But knowing we've been "evicted" for less than a good reason (in our mind) without much notice, I just couldn't stay. Does that sound bad? I guess I also just needed to see my parents, have back a little bit of that stability, that dependableness. The feeling that I'm not going to have the rug yanked out from underneath me. I mean, we have signed the lease, that house is ours now. It ain't going nowhere. It just needs paint and I can't sleep in a freshly painted bedroom. It's safer if Carl does that and I stay away for a bit. I suppose a lot of things factor into my reasoning.

I'm happy. I'm a bit burned, and it's still something that's been hard to swallow and digest, but I'm happy. Strange to say, huh? But I am taken care of.

I'm going to cry my eyes out again tonight when Carl reads the story to Benjamin. We might have to do that over the phone. I just don't like being separated from Carl for very long. I'm going to have to brag a bit and tell you that Carl has been so good to me. He takes care of me like I'm supposed to. He's so involved with the pregnancy. He reads up on my symptoms and asks what he can do to help when I have a complaint. He's just been real good to me. I am so blessed. I have a lot to be thankful for. :)

I hope you all have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Love,
Kristen

PS - Pictures later. :)

oh, hi!

I'm sorry for lack of update - we don't have the internet where we are staying and have to go to the library to get online for now. It's limited in time, so I sometimes forget about updating here.

The move went as well as it could I guess. We're staying with one of the older ladies at the congregation until we can get our own place. No cable TV, no internet, and no shower (yes, just a bathtub... definitely not fun hoisting my ginormous body out of), but we're dealing. We get to look at goats.... and yes, it is as fun as it sounds. :) But the good news is, we have a house lined up to move into hopefully the first weekend of December! We're being patient and optimistic.

Benjamin continues to grow and kick and punch. He's gotten into scraping across my belly with something sharp, and sometimes sticking a sharp elbow or knee straight up so you can see it poking up a half an inch! haha. it's... somewhat painful actually. But only 7 weeks left! Can you believe it? We had our first doc's appointment this past Monday and I really like the place. and the people. My next one is Dec. 1st, and we'll have an ultrasound to check on my placenta. Don't know if we'll get pictures or not. We'll see!

Anyway, that's all I have for now. Hope everyone is staying warm. :)

Love,
Kristen

farewell, for now!

I've heard the third trimester is similar to the first with the way you feel. I believe it. I've been more nauseous lately. Haven't gotten sick, but I do feel nauseous. My head is so stuffy. I don't know if that's related at all to pregnancy, but ugh! It's made my day a lot slower than I'd like it to be. In fact, now that I'm feeling halfway decent (for the time being, I'm sure), I should really get to folding (yet another) load of laundry, and packing the rest of the room.

Since we are moving tomorrow (eek!), I don't know when the next time we will be able to access the internet will be. So, in case it is a while - I hope you all have safe holidays! I'd give you all my cell in case I'm needed, or if ya just wanna text, but uhh... for one thing, I don't know where it is anyway. Another, the charger doesn't belong to me, so it will probably be dead once I do find it. And lastly, it's being cut off next week.

Time to get busy!

Love,
Kkens

oh to fill those shoes!

oh Benjy, I can't wait to meet you!

edit;




Carl was telling a joke that I didn't think was too funny...


29 weeks today. :)
& the expression was caused by Carl acting goofy.

my thoughts, on different matters

Two more days. This countdown went by ultra fast, don't you think? I can hardly believe that on Friday we will finally, FINALLY be out of Winder. You never do expect to move back home after being away for nearly a year and being married... and then things happen and you have no other choice. It really hasn't been all that bad. It feels like we've been here about a year, but we've only been here since the end of June. About 4 1/2 months. It feels like time has gone by so slowly, and yet it's whizzed past.

At our last Dr. appointment (I know I didn't give a lot of detail when I updated that day), Dr. Lowe asked us to rate our marriage from 1-10. I wonder how many other couples he asks that question, and how many others unanimously rate theirs at a 10. Honestly, I mean. Why do I rate our marriage a 10? Well because we're perfect, of course! Not really. We're definitely not perfect. We definitely have a lot to learn still. A lot of growing to do. But I think what makes ours a 10 is the fact that we are willing to grow and willing to learn, and to be patient doing so. Sacrifice. Honesty. Unconditional love. And so much more - we're willing to put it all into it. Why? Because when we said our vows, we meant them. Because we know our responsibilities and roles, biblically, in this marriage. I'll say it for those who aren't married - it isn't easy! Don't expect it to be! Expect it to be the opposite, and then get ready to work at it!

And it's so worth it. Every minute of it.

I can't wait until Benjamin joins our family. Well, he already has joined it, because he's here already... just not out in the open yet for everyone to hold and see. I'm so excited. If tomorrow was January 14th, I would be THRILLED. It won't be too much longer! I feel ready for everything, and then again I feel so anxious. Can I be a good mother? I know I can, but will I? I know I will, but how? And how long will it take to get the hang of it?

I told my dad what I wanted to do for my birthday dinner (they're taking us out since we'll have moved by my birthday, which is Sunday), and he told me I was breaking tradition because I had suggested we'd eat, and come back home to play card games or Apples to Apples, and usually we just go out to eat and don't enjoy each other's company. I shrugged and told him, "It's what I do." And it certainly is. Married at 18, pregnant at 19, and when I'm 20, I'll be the mother to a sweet baby boy. There are people my age who would say "I have too much life to live yet and to learn to have a family". But that's just it for me. This is what I want for my life. I want to be a wife and a mother. So why get started so early? ... Why should I wait?

Anyway, I feel like going outside with the camera... probably for the last time being here. Oh! I'm 29 weeks today! 11 to go! Closing in on the finish line!

- Kkens

2pix

My shower cake. It was waaaay sugary.

Me and my mom.

I decided not to edit the last post, so if you're wanting a small explanation, scroll down a bit!


Love,
Kkens

just a little humdedum.

Yesterday was my first baby shower and Benjamin got a lot of really nice stuff! It was sooo much fun! Thanks to everyone who came. It was really special. I went home and... slept for two hours. How bout that, haha.

Friday we are moving to Fort Valley. I'm excited, and I'm also a bit bummed, only because we aren't moving to our own place. And because I'm going to miss all the friends we have here in this area. But, we'll make a visit later on, when Benjamin is born and everything has slowed down. From here on out it's going to be so busy. And... I'm ready!

This is also my last week as a teenager. I'll be 20 on Sunday. :)

Kay! I'll edit with some pics later maybe. Got things to do!!

Love,
Kristen

a quick one.

I was tagged, and so I will do this!

4 Things I Did Today:
Cried because I couldn't drink orange juice (because of my diabetes screening).
Went to the Dr and had my orange glucose drink.
Had blood drawn (and this time she didn't mess up my arm!).
Said, "Happy Anniversary!" to my parents before they left for Helen.

4 Things On My To Do List:
Eat lunch.
Get rabbit food for Davey.
Call mom and tell her about the low-lying placenta thing... ugh.
Continue packing some of the stuff in our room.

4 Guilty Pleasures:
Cheerwine (cherry soda) - guilty because it's caffeinated.
Castle Crashers.
Pumpkin Spice Frappes from Starbucks.
Ice cream with bananas.

4 Random Facts About Me:
I cry for no reason sometimes (yay pregnancy).
I love football, college and pro.
If I were to get a job on the side somehow (which is doubtful), I'd like to be a photographer, or a writer.
I have very, very strange dreams.

--

Went to the doctor today. Had my orange glucose drink, which tasted like highly concentrated orange soda. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it was still nasty. Sat in the room for a long time before Dr. Lowe came in, and he informed me that my last ultrasound (at 24 weeks) showed that I have (had?) a low-lying placenta. The reason I guess we're just now finding this out is because their computers were down last time. Anyway, if it hasn't corrected itself (which Dr. Lowe is confident it has), it could result in bleeding and/or pre-term labor. So we're gonna have to watch out for that. I need a repeat ultrasound in a few weeks to check on that.

The thing is, I have to call and make an appointment with the doctors down near Fort Valley, because we can't possibly drive two and a half hours for a dr. visit.

Everything else looked good, and I had my blood drawn. Now I'm just hungry and feeling groggy-headed.

There's a small update on the job stuff but right now I need to eat. I'll tell you later.

Kristen

don't leave the smallest part

Not a whole lot to say today; it's been pretty eventless around here. However, it's one of those days where I don't really mind it. It's a gorgeous fall day. And the weather is actually chilly. Oh I love it. I spent some time outside with dad and Carl and Bailey. I don't mind getting chilly feet... it's a million times better than my norm - hot and puffy.

Took some pictures today. I'm officially 28 weeks. So basically the only reason I'm making an update is to show you pictures. :)

it's actually been a while since I've seen my feet.

I hate those glasses. Anyway, yay, 28 weeks.

pokin' out :)

a candid from Carl

my husband does not always cooperate.

Dad.

backside of the house.

Yeah, that's all for now. :)

- Kristen

rambling on...

Stomach, back, and ribs are currently aching. I'm thinking this is a welcome gift from the third trimester. Benjamin's not giving me a lot of room to expand my lungs... well, at least he's not hanging out with them under my ribcage (hopefully he will never get up that high!). So far, he's been hanging out pretty low and when he does stretch out, it's usually from side to side. And yeah, he hits that one spot that he has found a liking to kick, which hurts like crazy! I say he must take after his daddy because he seems to like to get me there a whole lot. And I'll go "oowwww Ben!!" and he'll just kick again. Carl suggested that perhaps he likes my reaction. Maybe if I made a silent "ow", he'd lay off? Who knows...

I hate to seem like the only thing I can do is complain. Really, it's not that bad. After long days, it can be a bit tiring, but all-in-all, I know that the end result will surpass all of this by miles and miles. 12 weeks doesn't seem like it's too far off... can you believe that, if Benjamin doesn't come early and doesn't come late, we will have a brand new baby boy so soon??! Carl has predicted that he will come early. I think he'll come more around the due date. Or maybe I'm just hoping so.

I need to go on a walk. The doctor said it was very good for me to go walking in the evening, and we haven't had the chance to go lately because we've been so busy. Hopefully this evening we'll get out and hit the pavement. Hopefully by then it won't hurt to move so much.

The apartment search... it's actually not so bad. We're waiting to get in touch with the folks down at Fort Valley to see if we can't get an advance in pay (and if I'm repeating myself from previous posts, I apologize... my memory really isn't what it used to be, and it never was exceptional to begin with). If we can get an advance, then there's a pretty good chance that we'll be able to be in our own apartment to begin with! I am so excited about the prospect, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up because I know things happen and sometimes they don't work out the way we prefer. Gotta just go with the flow, and that's what I plan to do.

I'm getting hot just sitting here (the sun is beating down on me and dinner is cooking), and I'm starting to drool from the smell of dinner... mmmm can't wait... good thing about pregnancy: you can be a pig and nobody cares to stop you, or has the guts to do it anyway! Haha! The other night at a youth devo I made Carl go get me a piece of cake because I didn't want to seem like a fat pig going in for a second piece. In the words of Popeye the Sailor: "I yam what I yam!"

Love,
Kristen

a weekend of unexpectancy

So I guess things don't always go how you plan... the family we thought we would be staying with until we save up enough for deposit and rent and all that good stuff... well, the husband offered it up without telling his wife. So we are no longer staying with them. That puts a bit of a damper on things. I guess if we can't find anything else, we will have to stay with the lady with the cats (which stay outside - but we weren't wanting to risk anything, ya know?).

I'm not getting stressed. Or, I'm not going to allow myself to get stressed. It wouldn't be good for me or for Benjamin, so I'm just going to take it easy. Today I figure I'd start packing up the stuff we brought over here to mom and dad's. I still haven't started doing that actually, but I plan to, probably after I eat.

It's finally cooling down here. I love the colder weather. It's perfect pregnancy weather, if you ask me!

By the way - I'm not good at keeping up with Trimester stuff, or months. I've been going week by week. But, apparently I'm in my Third Trimester. Ummm. Weird! Did not know this!

But anyway, that means three months to go! WOW! And with everything going on - I know this is going to go by so fast.

Oh, that reminds me... http://andbenmakes3.shutterfly.com/ That's the new site for Benjamin. It'll have all the pictures from here on out, plus journals, all dedicated to Benjamin. I'm going to try to show everyone pictures of Benjamin once he's born, but to be honest the best place to look for all that would probably be that site I just linked, or facebook.

Anyway you can become a member of the site and make comments or get updates and everything. Go for it! It's free and all that.

Kay, I'm running out of things to say! I'll update you later if anything comes up.

Kristen

so it goes...

(27 Weeks.)

I'm feeling more and more exhausted... perhaps it's just been a busy week. But, I have a feeling this is only the beginning, because November is right around the corner. There's a lot to do between now and then, and I haven't even begun... but today, and tomorrow, we should have a few more things checked out and finalized in Fort Valley. We should be leaving later today and going to stay in a hotel again. I like the weekend trips with Carl; it's nice to have some time with him that isn't interrupted by other family members. Not that I don't enjoy being around family...

I can't wait until we find our own place to rent. Hopefully it won't be too long before we can afford a place and get in there. Hopefully sometime before mid December, preferably before then. But we'll see. I'm just really tired of relying on other people. I mean, I really do appreciate my parents being willing to let us stay as long as we needed. But sometimes I feel like the welcome is running out. Or maybe I'm just getting frustrated. Anyway, as we can't afford to move in anywhere in Fort Valley as of yet, we are going to have to live with another couple. More relying on others. But I have to hand it to them - it's a real Christian thing to do. To offer your home to people who don't exactly know what's coming up in their future.

Time is running low, anyway! January isn't too far off and Benjamin will soon be here with us - I can't wait.

Anyway, I need to eat some lunch and get stuff ready to go down to Fort Valley. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

an over-due update!

I'm so neglectful. I'm so sorry! But I have good reasons, or so I think anyway! Just bear with me!

Ohkay so you know that job I was talking about? Well, we finally got a contract! It didn't have everything we needed, so Carl submitted some of his input and hopefully by this weekend they will have everything sorted out so we can put pen to paper and get this show on the road! This weekend we are traveling down to Fort Valley, and maybe we'll have time to look around at houses or apartments to rent. They want us to start November 1st, so! Things really are moving along!

Last Thursday was my last Doctor's appointment. Dr. Lowe said that everything looked good, my blood pressure is up (THANKFULLY!), and he could tell I have been getting enough water. Good thing, too, seeing as I should be considered a fish from all the water I consume. Anyway, we go back next Thursday for the gestational diabetes test. There was a girl in the office last time we were there who was having hers done, and she seemed to enjoy the orange glucose drink. That's good! I was afraid it'd taste like... Motrin or whatever that orange medicine my mom always gave me is called.

Benjamin has found a favorite place on my side where he likes to kick. And yeah, it hurts. It also makes it hard for me to breathe sometimes if I'm sitting. So the other night I tried to push him over in hopes that he would move away, and he must take after his daddy, because he just kicked my hand like, "Um, I'm here, and I ain't moving!" He's getting so big, and remains VERY active, especially at the end of the day when Carl reads to him. He gets really excited, I guess?

Here are a few recent photos:

Our little family! :)

26 weeks!

26 weeks, 5 days

my handsome husband, who is so proud of his facial hair, haha!

Can't take him anywhere and have him behave! ;)

And that's all for now. I still haven't gotten totally used to uploading these pictures. If I find anything else to share, I'll upload it tomorrow! Oh, we get a bunch of stuff from Julie for Benjamin tomorrow, that's being stored at Truth for the World! I am so excited!

Time for me to start getting ready for the gospel meeting tonight!

Hope everyone's having a great week! Love you all!

- Kristen

edit// CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!? Less than 100 days till Benjamin is supposed to get here! 91 days! WOW! I knew it was 3 months, but.... I mean... WOW!

On Old Wives' Tales

I just wanted to pop on and make a short post for those who JUST MIGHT be expecting, and wondering what the gender of their unborn child is. It's a question that frequently haunts the minds of us mommies-to-be. But before you get online and start looking up the old wives' tales gender predictors... STOP.

They don't have a leg to stand on. They aren't always very accurate at all. 90% of the wives tales told me that I was going to be having a girl - even the heart rate one. The chinese gender predictor chart told me I was having a girl as well. Guess what? Boy. Here I had been calling my SON a her for at least three months... the poor child! Just because I had let these tales convince me. And the heart rate? 157. And he's a boy.

They are fun to look into, but don't bank on them. We weren't disappointed or anything with the outcome of our baby - but I do feel terribly rotten for calling him a her all that time. I know a lot of people get it stuck in their head and when they find out and it isn't what they expected, they feel sad. Don't let this add to it. Take it from someone who thought they had a leg to stand on.


- Kristen

Working Hard at New Hope Road

Saturday, a bunch of folks came up to the building and spread the word about New Hope's upcoming gospel meeting. There were a lot of people willing to get up and spend their Saturday morning door-knocking, and I gotta say, that's impressive! I mean, how many people are really willing to do that? How many would rather sleep in on Saturday morning? Way to go, guys!

I didn't get to go. Doctor's orders. I'm not supposed to be doing a lot in one day, especially during the early hours. Stupid low blood pressure. So, I hung around the building and took pictures of the few people who had stayed behind to do some grounds work. It certainly wasn't like door-knocking but I guess it was fun?

Old Roscoe, a random cat. Did not touch him. I am allergic.

Mom played with him some while pulling weeds.

He's a nice-looking cat. And that's coming from someone who can't stand cats.

Dad trying out his ghost busters halloween costume. Or maybe just spraying weed killer.

The weather was ideal for both working in the yard and door-knocking. Oh, and taking pictures.

Mr. Dennis mowing the lawn.

Mom and dad.

Back of the property.

Little worker bees.

Digging up a dead bush.

Ah, sweet success.

The building.

After a while, even taking pictures gets boring.

Going the wrong way, mom...

Copping a squat, building a baby... you know, my usual.

the Door-Knockers!

My beautiful, studious husband.

That's all for now... my ribs are starting to ache.