Thankful

As soon as the deed for the house was signed, the demolition began. We have gotten so much done on the house already. Thanks to a few boys from church who helped Chris rip out the ceilings and all of the family that have come by (even on Thanksgiving) to lend us a hand, we filled an entire dumpster in only 4 days.

The yard that used to look like this...

(this doesn't even show the worst of it; there were loads of trash and rotting wood along with years worth of leaves and tall grass)

...now looks a little cleaner.

And the kitchen that used to look like this...

...now looks a little dirtier.

A Special Request

Dear Baby Valentine,

Your father and I would like to remind you that your due date is February 18th. We would like to ask that you remain where you are until this time. Come later if you must, but no earlier. This may sound like an odd request, however we are certain you will understand.

You see, today we bought you a house.

As you can see, the house needs a lot of work. And we need all the time we can get before you arrive.

Love,

Mom & Dad-to-be

(More pictures and plenty of updates to come!)

The Skirt Fits

I bought a white skirt several years ago that I really love to wear. But it's never fit; I've always had to pin it because it's too big. I haven't worn it for a couple months. This morning, getting ready for church, I pulled it out of the closet. For the first time, the skirt fit.

Trunk or Treat 2010

For those of you who believe babies have to be born in order to enjoy Halloween:

We went to the Trunk or Treat tonight. I went as myself, bringing the baby along of course. And Chris went as himself as well - only, deader.

He was totally creative with decorating our trunk this year.

He built this coffin an hour before the party and hung Aunt Em's awesomely haunted chandelier from the rear door. The picture doesn't do it justice; with only a small flashing light and the candles burning (yes, real candles) in the chandelier this was very dark and scary. Go Chris, for making little kids scream tonight :)

Baby Valentine

The baby was curled up so tight last week at our ultrasound that it was really difficult to get a good picture. Look at that cute little pointy nose!!

Birthdays Are Soooooo Nice

What's one of the coolest animals you could spend your day with on your 25th birthday??

A penguin.

We spent the afternoon at the New England Aquarium in Boston.

I LOVE fish tanks. The beautiful colors, the strange looking creatures, the magical mysterious underwater world (I used to wish I was a mermaid).

My favorite was the turtle. He had an extremely huggable neck and arm area.

We found out at the end of the day that the penguins who were in a "relationship" with one another had matching arm bands. The penguins on this rock were all couples. They were perfectly content to stand still next to one another all day long. These penguins, and my pleasant day with Chris, made me think of a quote from the movie Big Fish:

"A man might travel his entire life and never find a place so inviting.

My journey had scarcely begun and I had arrived.

I can't imagine any place better than here."

The Bump

When I first learned that I was pregnant, 18 weeks ago, I was ecstatic. Yes, I couldn't wait to become a mother. But there was another much more selfish reason: pregnant women are beautiful. I COULDN'T WAIT to begin growing that bump that lets the world know you're carrying a baby; the bump that says, "I'm tired, but strong. I'm scared, but ready. I'm irritable, but happy. I'm 25 pounds heavier than I was several months ago, and I've never looked more beautiful."

Okay, so my bump is far from looking like the bump I long for. But still, I think it's finally worthy of a picture on the blog.