Thankful

Thanksgiving is over!

It's one of my favorite days of the year because I get to stuff my face and no one judges me for it. But THIS year was even better because I got to stuff my face and people thought it was cute because I'm "eating for two."

HA! BRING ON THE PIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But in all seriousness, I have a ton to be thankful for this year, just as with every year.

Things to be THANKFUL for in 2011:

1. I would be remiss if I didn't start the list with Jesus. He is before all things and in him all things hold together (Colossians 1:17). HE is the reason I am here today and HE is the reason for living. Praise God from Whom ALL blessings flow!

2. This sweet little baby in my belly who I have now decided is practicing ballet. Maybe she's preparing to be a ballerina and be the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker? Maybe she's practicing her floor routine for gymnastics in the Olympics? Or her cheerleading routine? Either way, she moves ALL DAY LONG. And I love every bit of it.

3. My AMAZING husband. I could not have made it through the year without him (I also wouldn't be pregnant without him...hubba hubba). He was wonderful before finding out about our sweet baby, but since we found out, he has turned into Super Husband! He cooks (albeit frozen pizzas, but still!), cleans, gives me backrubs, and TOTALLY understands when I don't want to do a dang thing! I love, love, LOVE him.

4. Our fun families who are so excited about their grandchild. She is so spoiled already! They have been super supportive of the whole thing. And they all fed me extremely well this weekend.

5. Alabama has an unbelievable chance at a National title shot again. I would have never guessed the football season would end up this way - and there's still today left! Anything can happen!

6. Pinterest - OMG. New obsession. I've gotten all my nursery ideas from there.

7. Tums.

8. Ben is almost done with Police Academy. He has learned so much and has changed as a person (for the better) since beginning Academy. He is a strong, determined man and he will make an amazing officer. However, I am not thankful for the stories he tells me about being pretend killed in situational scenario training.

9. HAVE I REALLY GONE THIS FAR WITHOUT MENTIONING CHARLOTTE?!?!?!?!? I love her so much! She is one of the best parts of my day, even though she drives me nuts sometimes. But she is the BEST cuddlebug in the morning. She wants nothing but to love on people. Bless my baby's heart.

SIDE NOTE: One thing I'm not so thankful for - Friday, I went to the vet to drop Charlotte to be boarded while we were off Thanksgiving-ing. There are a zillion dogs there because everyone was doing the same thing I was. Charlotte got WAY overstimulated and was bucking like a bronco while I held onto her collar. Somehow, she got in between my legs and pulled out of her collar and ran for the door. There was a little boy on the other side of the door, and I was afraid he was going to open it, so I picked up Charlotte and put her on my hip (I know, I shouldn't be picking her up, but it was a split second reaction and it was better than chasing her out the door!). While the tech was putting the slip leash on her that they use, Charlotte's foot got stuck in my maternity jeans and pulled them down, underwear and all, so I mooned the whole vet office! There was nothing I could do but stand there with my butt exposed until we could get her under control! Oh joy!

10. The mountain of clothes in my floor, the fridge that needs to be cleaned out, the office/nursery that's full of junk, and the floors that need to be vacuumed. It all means we are unbelievably fortunate and get to live a life that is comfortable and prosperous. We are lucky, lucky people.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and you never forget to thank God for these things every day!

I saw a quote on Pinterest that always hits me -

What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?

5 Minute Blog Post

1. I have unbelievable heartburn. I need to start carrying Tums with me everywhere I go.

2. We get to wear jeans and team shirts tomorrow! What What! One reason is the Iron Bowl. The other reason is there will probably be about 6 people in the office tomorrow.

3. I love the Dartmouth Aires on the Sing Off. I totally think they should win.

4. Thanksgiving is in TWO AND A HALF DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5. I have a monthly check up on Monday. Not quite the best planning since it will be after stuffing my face all weekend.

6. Ben graduates from the Academy in two weeks!

7. Brooke Allen has been marching on my bladder for a few weeks now. I love you, Baby Girl, but I am ready for you to move up a bit in my belly so my bladder can stop being bludgeoned to death.

8. Ben and I picked out our guns on Saturday that we will be purchasing around Christmas. :)

9. I'm going to kick the next person who asks me how I'm feeling in the shins. I'M NOT DYING.

10. I woke up at 2:15am this morning, and all I could think about was cleaning out my closet. I would have done it, too, if it wouldn't wake Charlotte up. Notice how I say Charlotte. Ben would have never known.

22 Weeks

Time for a Brooke Allen update!

How far along? 22 weeks. Over half way there! She's a papaya, although I don't exactly know how big that is.

Baby Bump? Yep! I'm starting to get uncomfortable when I'm laying down to sleep.

Maternity Clothes? Pretty much all I wear now is maternity clothes. I've GOT to clean my closet out to make some room.

Weight Gain: 15 pounds, as far as I know.

Movement? Yes. I feel her most when I'm sitting down at my desk chair or in the car. She LOVES to eat and go to church. That's when she kicks most. The other night, we actually saw my belly move for the first time! It was really, really cool, if you can watch it without thinking of the movie Alien.

Cravings: I had my first ice cream craving the other night. Ben went to the grocery store to buy me a pint. I got my taste, and now the rest of it is up in the freezer.

Symptoms: Hello, indegestion! I've opened a bottle of Tums. It was so bad one night that I woke Ben up at 1:30am to go to the gas station to get me a Sprite. I fought it for 45 minutes before I couldn't stand it anymore. He's a sweetheart. :)

Sleep: Pretty good, except I toss and turn all night trying to find a comfortable position.

Gender: It's a GIRL! Brooke Allen!
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: As much as I love the comfort of maternity clothes, I do miss my regular clothes. I don't like wearing the same thing every couple of days. I like to mix it up a bit, but there's only so much I can do without my normal dresses and skirts.

Best moment this week: Watching my belly move. I just love when she kicks around in there. I know she's doing alright when I can feel her. She's a happy little booger.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

This is the time that I look forward to every year.

The National Peanut Festival.

And it was just as glorious as usual.

Ben's mom, Ms. Brenda, had never been to the Peanut Festival before, so she joined us on Saturday for our favorite day of the year! She was shocked that there were free peanuts everywhere!

We taught her that the first stop is always the line to the Corndog Man. Those are the most delicious corn dogs in the whole entire world. They hand dip them in their sweet and buttery batter right there in their little trailer. Usually the line for corn dogs is longer than the lines for rides on the midway.

After corn dogs, Ben and I got kettle corn and Mom and Ms. Brenda got roasted ear of corn. This is what we eat when we walk through the exhibits. We always make a stop at the tractors so Ben can dream about our little farm in the country...or at least a yard big enough to use a riding lawnmower.

Then we headed down the midway. It isn't so much fun to watch the rides when you're not planning to ride any...I think my OB would discourage riding the Himalaya at 5 months pregnant.

I could ride the big ferris wheel though! We always ride this ride. Ben is slightly scared of heights, so it's not his favorite, but I love to go all the way to the top where you can see the whole fair down below!

When we got off the ferris wheel, we found the National Peanut Festival queens! This was a treat for two reasons:

1. Over my entire life, I can never remember actually running into the queens!

2. Little Miss NPF was our Little Miss Houston County! It's fun to say you know Little Miss Peanut! She is absolutely precious, and so is her family. We are proud of Jules!

And of course, we always end our fair day by getting a funnel cake. All that fried dough and powdered sugar...YUM!

I love the Peanut Festival and I'm sad that I only get to go once a year now. When I was little, I was there 4 or 5 times each year.

Of course that was back when Mom paid for me to go, I lived there, and I had 4 or 5 different groups of friends I would go with. I always went once with Jayla, once or twice with school friends, and once or twice with church friends, and with whoever else wanted to go!

It's a big social event.

But it's so much fun. I can't wait to take Brooke Allen next year!