Have we raised a Southern belle?

This past Sat. we went to Bass Pro Shop for FREE picture with Santa. That is right free. They have invested millions of dollars to great a Santa's workshop in all their stores (minus Key West). The line was not too bad but the store was busy besides the line for Santa.


We were able to do some crafts while we waited. Such a good idea. Then it was Elizabeth's turn, or should I say mommy's turn .
The Santa kept telling me to put all my weight down. First off I felt even bigger than I was because I am 6 months pregnant. Second, it is really weird to sit comfortably on a grown man's lap who is not my husband. Elizabeth walked off with a candy cane and it was all good.

Christmas is just around the corner!!

Didn't we just finish turkey? Oh well. This is by far my favorite holiday. My mom says I have always gotten over excited about Christmas. Many a Christmas mornings we had to stop the unwrapping so I would not get overwhelmed. Not me, never!!

Elizabeth enjoys all the toys we put on the Christmas tree. Especially the ones at the bottom which is almost all of them. She helped put them up and enjoyed every minute of it.

I have realized how difficult it is to teach about Jesus' birth while competing with ads on Santa. Not that I am against Santa. But I am beginning to think how difficult it is for a 2.5 year old to grasp both. Of course, Jesus will be our main topic during this Christmas season.

We are headed to Chicago for Christmas. We get to spend time with my brother whom I have not seen since July. It has been a long time for us. I also get to see my sis and her hubby who also moved across the country. Hopefully we will spend time with friends of ours who we met in Nashville but moved back to Michigan. Can't wait for all that time with friends and family.

My Little Fairy

Sorry once again it has been a long time since I last blogged. A lot has happened. I now look prego. My parents came for a visit. If you did not already know that was there first visit together. They both have been here on their own. They were planning on visiting right after we moved but that fell through thanks to the weather.

Elizabeth and I finally got into BSF (bible study fellowship). We are a little late in starting but nonetheless. I really needed this time because our church, even though we love it, does not offer consistent,structured bible studies. This is. Elizabeth learns the same lesson but at her age. Way cool. WE get to memorize bible verses together and talk Adam about what we learned. Elizabeth cries hysterically when I leave her but I know in time that will stop.


Today I went consignment sale shopping. I know I have written on this before but I love it. This was the first time I went on 1/2 off sale. I always went sooner because I wanted to shop with the best of items. By the time 1/2 off sale has come, 2 full regular shopping days have gone by. I found some great deals. I bought a pair of dress maternity pants for myself. A way cool sling, boy clothes and dresses and skirts for Elizabeth. All under 30$. Mostly name brands from Old Navy, Addidas and Liz Lange Maternity.

As Christmas approaches my family and I (extended) are trying to figure out how to minimize spending. Some ideas we have chatted about are drawing names, (vetoed by my dad)no adult kids buy gifts for each other(I vetoed that) and then right now setting a lower spending amount. In the past it has been 20-25$ now 10-15. I already have ideas and some plans in action that will cost very little. Any ideas?

It's a boy!!

Had the gender showing ultrasound yesterday and the parts were there to see. When we went in for Elizabeth's, they could not tell. We both are very excited to know and plan. The planning part got me up at 6 am this morning. Besides coming up with a name, we need to come up with more space, boy things and a bigger car. Man oh Man.

The cool thing is Adam and I have really learned to rely on God and His provisions for us. We are in a place in our lives where each penny counts. We do live paycheck to paycheck but by choice. We choose to put a name or home to every penny earned. In the past, we would pay off bills and then wonder how much we could spend on ourselves. Now we know exactly how much for every bill and anything and everything else. With only one salary, buying a house or car is not something we can decide to go and do. For one thing, in a car we don't want any payments ever. As for a house, we want to pay a down payment. And yes, we know it is a buyer's market but we are waiting for the Lord's timing on that one. The Lord has taught us discipline and to live with things we need and not what we want. What a hard lesson but one we can't wait to pass onto our children.

A wonderful weekend!

It has been awhile since I have posted. I enjoy reading everyone else's so much I forget to do mine. We have one more week before ultrasound day to find out the gender so fun!!

This past Friday we had Uncle Nate over for dinner and pumpkin carving. Elizabeth wanted nothing to do with the insides. We did buy 2 pumpkins one for her to push in Mr. Potatohead type decorations. She did like that and now laughs at it whenever she sees it outside. On Saturday we went to the annual Halloween party and friends' of ours farm. She had a lot of fun with the other kids and not being watched like a hawk in regards to chips.















At church on Sunday I worked with the kids class. I started almost 2 years ago my mine focus on any kids with special needs. There were actually quite a few when we first recognized the need for more support. Actually I started praying when I moved here there would be an opportunity for me to serve in that kind of ministry. One women's bible study later, the childrens' director and I were talking and tears were she on both sides about how the need for each other. Anyways, yesterday they carved a pumpkin. I know my first thoughts were wondering the church's thoughts on Halloween in the church. But what the teacher taught the kids as the pumpkin was carved was this;

1. Top: Open my mind to learn about You (God)
2. Insides : Take away my sin
3. eyes: open my eyes to see You and Your love
4. Nose: I'm sorry for the times I was not thankful and when I turned up my nose
5. Mouth: Open my mouth so I can tell others about you
6. Candle: Let you light shine through me in all I say and do!

SO cool! I really enjoyed that and can't wait to use it next year.


To top of the weekend or actually this started last week. No heat. YIKES!! It has been cold but tonight will be the coldest 29 degrees. Supposedly the HVAC people are coming back again. We rent this duplex and the furnace was not orginally put in correctly and this will be the third time over all since installation they have been here. Then the gas company has to come back out and make sure it is safe to turn the gas on. Crazy.

Weekly Storytime

Every week Elizabeth and I trek into the city. If we were still in Naperville we would never go into the city every week. Nashville is probably easier to get around in then just Naperville. Anyways, we go because she does not have any social time or even time to sit in listen in a semi class situation during the week. Most kids at her age are in a mother's day out program by now. We are not going to do it for a couple of reasons. One is we can't afford it. It actually isn't that expensive but we still can't. Another reason is why do I need to put her in one, I am not working and am at home. I might put her in once a week if we had the money for the classroom situation. But we are praying that BSF finally pulls through and she can get 2 hours of bible filled learning. Don't get me wrong, a lot of the mother's day out programs are tied to a church. BSF is way more bible based than probably most Sunday school classes.

We are not in a BSF class because there is no 2 year old teacher yet. We signed up when we should have and are just waiting. I am super excited to get this type of teaching because I have never had any type of bible education besides what I have done on my own.


Onto baby news, I gained only 3 pounds this past check up. Not too bad. I wish I would have kept last times weight gain. OH well. The heart rate is about 150. The doc seems to have no worries. We are normally waiting longer in the waiting room than the whole appointment. Next month we get to find out the gender!!! With Elizabeth she was upside down and they could not tell. We shall see this time around. I will keep you posted.

New pictures

My camera is fixed.












Sunday morning breakfast with my daddy. I love powdered sugar.










Story time at the library with my daddy. Even though at times I complain about my hubby's schedule but right it allows him to come to story time and watch Elizabeth love it. So fun!!

Where have I been?

It's funny how I look forward to reading others who update their blogs every day but it seems I am not one who does update. Sorry.

A lot has happened in our little home in Tennessee. Actually not in our exact home but in Nashville. Since the last of the hurricanes where the refineries where at risk, it has cause a gas shortage for us. Would you believe that on Sat morning over 85% of the gas stations has NO gas. It was kind of weird. Adam gets mad at me because I am telling everyone I know. I have not been out yet today so we will see if there is gas.

In my old home in Naperthrill a lot has happened as well. My father broke his wrist cycling and my mom finally quit her job. It is weird for both to happen in the same week.

My pregnancy has been going well. For some reason I pee more times at night than during the day or at least it seems.


Elizabeth is doing well. She has taken to calling me "mama" instead of "mommy" . It makes me giggle every time. She recently got her Halloween costume . Fairy wings and tutu. So cute! Can't wait to see it on Halloween.

12 weeks and 5 pounds!

Had a check up today. Yikes. I gained 5 pounds. The thing is I want to gain less weight than the last pregnancy. I am not on the right track. I could use the excuse I visited friends this weekend and ate a lot of good tasting but not good for me foods. But honestly, I have been so hungry this time around. By the end of the day I am annoyed with being so hungry. We are having to buy more groceries. Not only am I eating more but so is Adam. He is running in a marathon in Oct so he is having to consume more calories as well.


These friends I visited are friends I hope to have for a lifetime. The wife, Erica, has been my friend for over 10 years!! WOW! We met our senior year of high school. She went to another high school but somehow the good Lord had us be roommates for 2 years in college. We don't see each other very much but when we do it seems as if we just saw each other. It is great to have a friend like that.

Learning early

As Elizabeth gets older I wonder if she is learning everything she needs to. One thing I do know she has learned, is to clean. She loves to help me mop and vacuum the floors. She also likes to help me wipe the table off and empty the dishwasher.I am waiting for the day when she will clean without any help.We celebrated Elizabeth's birthday way late. We were moving and then on vacation. So we had a little party for her. We invited more but this is all the kids that showed up. It was just enough. We grilled out and then had the traditional Allen cookie cake.


With soccer season on hold for me because of a new baby on the way, we are able to do some fun things as a family. We went to a local park and went for a stroll. Something else she does is no longer sit in the stroller but pushes it.





Lastly, I wanted to share with everyone her latest accomplishment. Adam went to get her out of bed before we drove him to work and came running back downstairs. He says to me," go look." I run upstairs and lo and behold find her underneath her bed?!! For those of you who don't know, we switched beds. We bought an antique toddler bed where the sides come off. We took the sides off and this is where it left us.

2 months late isn't that bad,right?

June 30 th was our dear Elizabeth's 2nd birthday. However it fell between us moving and then going on vacation. So we decided to postpone it until further notice. We got finished with all that and decided to do it July 26th. However earlier that week we decided to go to St. Louis to celebrate Grandma Doris's birthday.

Here we are almost 2 months later and we are having some friends over that have kids around Elizabeth's age for her birthday. We are going to grill out and paint wooden dolls. (we'll see how that goes) For those of you who do not know my sis or my bro and have not celebrated a birthday with us, we always had cookie cake. We always got it from The Great American Cookie Company. So I am doing that for my daughter as well if not so I can have a piece as well. So good!

I cleaned all morning and now we are getting ready to go and buy the food.

Nashville in August

I grew up in Chicago. It got hot and humid every summer for a couple weeks or so. We would hangout inside or go to the pool.

Nashville seems to never cool off. It is 630 pm and I do not even want to go out now. The pools are incredible warm, they do not have time to cool off over night. YUCK!! I know it is only the beginning of August but I can't wait for it to be over.

Another thing, my daughter has reached the age where she likes to watch the same DVD over and over. I grew watching Annie over and over. She loves Finding Nemo. We are on day 3. I am on the lookout for any other Disney films we can introduce.

We go to the doctor a week from today. Crazy that we are this stage in our lives.

We are going from 3 to 4!

Yep, that's right we are having another baby. We are excited, anxious and wondering how God is going to work. We know He will but wondering what it will look like.

I am not that far along. I can't even go to the doctor yet. I have to wait 2 more weeks. Our families are very excited and are wondering what the gender will be. Adam and I can't decide but know either one will be great.

I tried

Here are some vacation pics. I had a whole page done and then it never got posted? Anyways,we are trying to find stuff to do now that it is so stinkin hot.

The weather got chilly at night. We would go to the beach while dinner was being prepared. Elizabeth would get antsy inside. We had bubbles and they made the beach that much more fun!

The whole purpose for 14 people spending a week together was to honor my grandmother and her 80 years on Earth. My mom's idea was to do a scrapbook for her. MY sister and I spent some time and did it. Before she even saw more than one picture she was in tears. My mom told me this week, that before she goes to bed every night, she looks at the scrapbook. She also is still thinking about it and remembering how much fun she had.

I had a lot of fun but I am pretty sure I don't sit and reminisce like that. We should. So many opportunties with family that fly by and are forgotten. We are just looking forward to the next time when really we should remember the last time. I learned another great lesson while on this trip from my grandmother. This generation is always on the move. Always planning, always doing. I can't remember the last weekend, we did nothing. (actually we did really well this past weekend and I loved it!) For some reason I get all nervous when there is free time. Maybe it is the teacher in me. I knew down time, meant get into trouble time.


I have been going to the beach for as long as I can remember. I remember always loving it. My husband asked me what my hobby was? This was during a discussion of golf. I could not answer him at the time. I then later ( months later) stepped onto a beach, stuck my feet in the water and held back my tears, knowing this is me. The beach is my hobby, my peace, my place to return.

I was told I needed to update!

Hey all!

We have been busy! We moved the from the 27 of June until the 30th and then left for vacation on the 4th. All has been great. Our new place has a backyard and an upstairs. Totally cool. In the apartment I had to work quietly while my little one slept. Now I can be farely loud. We were able to paint and have flowers. Things are almost in place.

Vacation was wonderful> (pics will follow once I find my camera). The vacation was much needed but was for my Grandmother's 80th birthday. It was great everyone on that side was there for the better part of a week. It totaled 14 people in one beach house. We extremely close to the beach as well as the main drag. Elizabeth did not like the ocean as much as I wanted her to. She called it a "yucky pool." I loved it. The waves on our last day were bigger than I ever remember. My sis and I both had to get out because we were so out of breath. We have been going to this beach since I was Elizabeth's age. It was great. Elizabeth is screaming her heart out to let her out of her room. Gotta run!

Father's Day weekend

This past weekend, Adam ran in a 5K race. It was a fundraiser for Ellie's Run for Africa. A very cool charity. We even saw some celebs there. We saw Melinda Dolittle, Andrew Osenga and Matt Wertz. That was cool too. What was really cool was watching Adam get beat by a girl. Just kidding. He knew he could beat her but would feel stupid stepping on the gas just to beat a girl. If you look real close, you can see his time. Not bad.


At this fundraiser there was a lot of blow up jumpy things that kids got to play on. One detail these pictures do not show is that it had been raining on and off all morning. As soon as Adam stood up, it looked like he just went swimming.


On Sunday, we did the whole whatever daddy wants to do day. I got Adam a pair of golf shorts but they are too big.We went to church and then went to the pool before lunch. It was absolutely gorgeous out. Here is my tip of the week as a swim instructer, take your toddlers into the water as soon as possible. Elizabeth loves the water and swimming all the way under. Sometimes she does it all by herself. Way cool. After the pool, we came home for lunch,naps and golf on TV. YIPPEE!! Anyways, I went to my soccer game, played pretty well and chipped a tooth. That is not cool. We do not have dental insurance so I was quite frustrated that this happpened. Thankfully enough it is not that big and we can wait. We won the game minus part of a tooth.

These next 2 weeks will be hectic. We are helping friends of ours move this weekend and then the following week,we will be painting our place and then moving in on the 27th. This means we need to pack ourselves this week!!Yikes, I have like 2 boxes. Better get a move on.

Swingtown!!!!!!!

Ok, I have seen the ad for this new series enough times to be shocked! What has Hollywood come to? As I was thinking about what to write, I didn't just want to go on and on. I then remembered another show I was shocked at. I think it was called Daniel or some other biblical name. I want to say it was on CBS? Maybe over 2 years ago?

Anyways, when we were living in Chicago we listened to MBI in the mornings. And I had heard that people were boycotting watching this show because how wrong it was. And it got cancelled. I think as Christians here is another chance to do the same. I feel this show is way worse and can show not just adults but teenagers who have access to this show what the world has to offer (things do not bring glory and honor to God). These teenagers will see that it is ok to break away from a monogamous scared marriage into one filled with sex with others, male or female. Lord Protect them!!!!


I am off of my pedastal.

We reach a scorching 95 degrees today and I wonder what will August look like?

I am super excited today. I have not seen one of my greatest friends in over a year and I get to see her today!! Praise Jesus!!!

I pray anyone reading this has at least one friend whom you call or email with anything. I can do this with Erica. We have been friends for 10 years!!! And to start off we did not have a lot in common at first. Now, it does not matter, I love her anyways.

We have been very busy lately. Elizabeth is learning to put 2 words together to communicate which has been rather enjoyable. She will say things like"me hand." Sometimes that means she wants you to hold her hand or perhaps there is something wrong with her hand. Her best one is "Want to hug you." This always means she wants to be picked up. Interesting that she uses that term "hug" because when asked she can give a hug. Another favorite which is actually more than 2 words,"I don't like it." She only says this when she is given something to eat that she does not like, which is almost everything. We are making progress on eating, she will eat peanut butter sandwiches, carrots, occasional broccoli (tree) and grilled cheese. These are added to her menu.


The picture of the 3 girls was taken at a friend's house while celebrating a birthday. We have known this family for awhile even before we moved. These 3 girls get a long great. The 4 year old loves playing with the 2 almost 2 year olds especially now that they are all very mobile.

Nothing else for now. Onto Extreme Home Makeover.

Finally.

We have been living in an apartment for 5 years this coming June which will also be our 5th Anniversary. Crazy how time flies! I am in no way complaining that we did it. There is no way we could have afforded anything in the Chicago suburbs. Which is one reason why we are here in Nashville. However apartment living gets a little nuts with a toddler and then the prospect of having another baby in an apartment seems to make it shrink to a studio apartment. No! I am not prego but we will be trying soon. Which leads me to where we are going.

We have been or I should say I have been looking for the past 2 months. Adam would come and look at any pictures or hop in the car to make it to an appointment. We found the place that fits us.

Before I write more, there is another reason we are wanting to move away from where we are. Most of Adam's clients are no longer right across the street.

Ok, this new place is a rehabbed duplex in the West Nashville area. ( we currently are also considered West Nashville). It has 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths and 2 floors. Everything has been redone. From flooring to new roof. They also are willing to hold it for us until we can move in. WE can't move in until the end of June. That was a major answer to prayer.

Playdoh?

This morning around 530 am, I feel a little tap tap. It is Adam. He says" I can't find my keys." We look all around the apartment and even the Elizabeth's room. We tried not to wake her but Adam needed these keys to open up Climb Nashville where he teaches an early morning class. He leaves without keys and teaches his class in the parking lot. Oops. I try to go back to bed and Elizabeth decides she wants to stay up. Ahh Man. She comes into bed with me. She lies down however continuously puts her fingers in my mouth, eyes and nose. We finally get out of bed and I search once again for the keys but nothing. We eat breakfast and I try to retrace my footsteps. I remembered Elizabeth played with playdoh the night before I shake the containers and nothing. She sees me do it and asks to play with it. Ok. sure. I open it up and dig out the playdoh and lo and behold, the keys.

VICTORY!!!

He did it!It was a crazy day. He made his time and then some. His goal was 3:56 and he came in at 3:44. WOW!!!

The day started off rough minus getting up at 4:00 am. A thunderstorm has just started and I had to get Adam and another runner across town to LP Field and then back to the start. We sat in traffic and then chinese fire drilled it. He hopped into the other runner's car and I jumped in the driver's seat of our car and headed to the start. I went to pick up Aunt TT and Elizabeth and then somehow made it in time to see him come down mile 4 and then around 7. We went for coffee and my poor sis and her hubby were still lost. We went to the finish and waited. Jen and her hubby finally caught up and we planted ourselves right at mile marker 26 and waited. We saw some pretty excellent finishes. A man ran probably totally on will alone. He was running and you could only really see the whites of his eyes. Spooky. The usual tear jerker, a father running in with his daughters. Adam finished right where he needed.

His goal like I said in the previous post was Boston. For those of you who don't know, not just anyone can sign up for Boston. You have to have a qualifying time. Only some marathons are certified where a time will count for Boston. Nashville is one as well is Chicago and some more. Adam wanted to make Boston running at Chicago. However, Chicago is already full. YIKES! Now he is looking into doing the Marine Corp marathon in D.C. We shall see. We are proud of our running man.

IronMan

On April 26, 2008, at 7 am, Adam will run in his 3rd marathon. The first 2 he did not train as he should. He never ran further than 14 miles. This training program he was able to do through work and ran a great 21 miler. I am extremely proud of him and the training he has done. He has taken time away from his family and time away from sleeping in Saturday mornings. I am in no way complaining. Half the time he ran when we were having nap time. His long time goal is to qualify for the Boston. He is thinking that he probably won't make the cut here in Nashville but will try for Chicago.

We have a lot going on for him this coming weekend. His family is coming in and we are throwing a pasta party, making t-shirts etc... Totally cheesy but we want him to make his goal too. This blog is really no more than a brag on my hubby. We are off to the races, (no pun intended) from extra cleaning, lots of cooking of noodles and loving on this running man.

The Joy of Laughter

Last summer I taught swim lessons on Tues and Thurs. The season of lessons has started once again. I enjoy teaching the lessons because it is easy and good money. However there are other reasons I enjoy it. I have had the priviledge of watching a 5 year old boy overcome his fear of water and actually learn to swim. I had never started a lesson with someone that green. By the end of last summer he could swim part of a length of the pool. It was a great joy for him to be able to keep up with his older brother.

This season I have 2 little girls that bring joy to me. The first is a 3 almost 4 year old who smiles throughout the whole lesson. Even when she goes under and struggles to reach out for my hand, she smiles. Too bad that when life makes us feel like we are drowning we do not have a smile on our face as we reach out for our Saviour. We wonder why the Saviour was not there to prevent us from drowning or at least to keep us from going under further than we felt comfortable with. Nonetheless, we still smile when we are once again brought up from the bottom.
The second girl is 4 year old girl. Our first lesson was pretty silent except for her sweet voice singing O Channukah, O Channukah. Too bad I don' know those words. The lesson we had today was a very different lesson. She was laughing while letting go little by little of her extremely hard grip on my arms. The joy she was finding of the freedom of letting go. The little girl was yet another example to me in the joy she found of letting go. Do I ever find that freedom? And if I do ,do I laugh with joy or cringe in fear? More than likely letting go and Trusting , I cringe. But I have a teacher who is very capable and loving to help me laugh ,one day ,in that freedom.
A couple weekends ago we decided to get out Elizabeth's golf clubs. Of course they are plastic but her daddy sure had fun trying to teach her.

Umm, we are still here

February was the last time I wrote. I visit many other blogs and realize I really don't need to always have something really deep to say.


Here is a run down of what has been going on with us.

In March, early March it snowed. It stuck for almost a whole day. Elizabeth only liked it a little.We felt like we were back in Chicago.
However a couple weeks later we were able to have a picnic in the park and then take a hike. Elizabeth walked for awhile but ran out of energy.
My bro came to visit. This is his last visit before he officially starts seminary.We had a great time. If you know him, ask him about the bunnies that came in the mail.
The following weekend was Easter and we flew to Chicago. It was cold but a great visit.


I really don' t have any pictures of me because I am more than likely the one behind the camera.

Lastly, as we wait on April fool's day, my sis and her hubbie have moved here to Nashville. It does not seem like they are really living here because it has only been one day. It seems more like a visit. We bought a second car seat to go in her car. The weather has been great since the beginning of March. We have had a lot of rain so the grass is very green.

Adam has had an influx of clients which we are praising God for.Swim lessons have started back up and I am still tutoring. God is good!

What is up with the Lee's!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!!

We did something. We played BINGO at church and no we did not win. Oh well. Let's rewind to see what else we have been up to.

January was not anything special. We had answered prayers of more hours for Adam at work and tutoring for me. YEAH GOD! In case you did not already know but my sis and her hubbie are moving here April 1st. Super excited. They have been down a couple times to house shop. A couple weeks ago when they were visiting the great tornadoes hit. MY sister and Jason had to spend some of their time in the basement of a hotel. My family was fine really didn't realized it was that close until we got home. Anyways, we were fine. The following another storm hit one called stomach flu. Elizabeth had it.She really was only sick for 2 hours. But they were horrible. I can't believe that she will probably get it at least once a year from here on out. Yikes! Adam and I somehow escaped it. We are so thankful. I heard it was real bad.

Nothing to spectacular is going on.

It has been way too long!

This started off as a bad day!








As Janaury rolls on, I have been working on not letting situations affect my mood and/or day. This particular day made it rough. Elizabeth got a hold of the Cheerios box and proceeded to upend the box. I was so upset at that moment I put her back into her crib. But the good Lord reminded me to be patient and kind.

Really, nothing else too big is going on here. Adam is slowly but surely getting clients and only by the grace of God and the good ways He works in my life, I am tutoring privately, in my home and at my price. WOW!