Amusing Moments and Such

I had to scrub hard to get the grease off of Shane's legs when I gave him a bath yesterday. In fact his suit was so greasy that I had taken it off of him because I was embarrassed that he looked so dirty. It was easy for everyone to just assume that he was miserably hot, because, well, he was that too. Seriously though, why would anyone let their 10 lb baby get so dirty? Well maybe it's because there are just so many hard working people who like holding the little dude!

Blake sold the motor out of our truck this week. The truck that we drive every day. The Chevy. The nice white Chevy that doesn't often break down but is just strangely reliable for us. Yep. Sold. The reason? Well some nice guy needed a motor for his truck and this way we can build a better one for ours! Well... that was thoughtful! (Shoulda seen the look on my face when I wrote the estimate up and realized where *that* motor was coming from!)

We figured out that letting Shane lick an apple slice is about the most fun thing ever. He sits there with this perfectly blank expression and rapidly sticks his tongue straight out and back in indefinitely. Food will be fun... But hard to wait!

I love seeing people's reactions to seeing my baby with me at work. One regular came in and saw the baby swing and informed me that he "likes what we've done with the place!" :)

The best is when Shane is lying in his favorite place - flat on his back on the desk. It kinda surprises folks if they look over the edge of the counter! 

I like having a kid because we can share the blame. We backed into the side of the shop with my new-to-me Ford. The guys laughed so hard because I dented the bumper and they had previously marveled that it was the only part on the truck that had not one dent. Well thanks a lot Shane!

(Jason informed me the next day that when he backed a truck into his bay that morning, "it went right in between the door sides and never hit the wall!" Well now isn't he good?!)

With that, I'll go back to my baby's smiles before something else must be done. 

Proof

Even babies can have those unphotogenic moments. 

Mom.

I'm

trying

to

stretch.

Thank you!

We Introduce to you:

My favorite little person. 

And when I say little person, I really literally mean it because he was the tiniest, teeniest baby I have ever held in my life. 

4 lbs 9 oz. 

And if that doesn't seem small to you, pick up a bag of flour and compare it to your smallest child.

 "Oh yes, that would be tiny" 

 Tiny enough to easily be stuffed into Daddy's boots.

Tiny enough to not be able to fill up the newborn insert of his car seat. 

Tiny enough to not even be able to fill a newborn baby hat.

Tiny enough to stay in NICU for two days.

And yet... he was big. 

 Big enough to have plenty of emotion.

 And big enough to want to suck his thumb. 

And big enough to hang out with dad in the recliner lots.

 Big enough to capture our hearts. 

 And big enough to just smile like he adores us.

Meet our little Shane Anderson. 

We love this little buddy! 

Thankful for the Basketball

Pregnancy sucks. There just is no other way to describe it and I informed my mom a week ago that I am done being pregnant now. I've tried it and I hate it. She just laughed and told me that she said that every.single.time.for seven pregnancies.
Why would you keep doing this? I don't know. I just hope that I like the kid really well! 

Despite the miseries that seem to envelope me every single day, I'm trying to find positive things to focus on. After all, there really is no other way to get thru the next four months anyway! I don't want to be so caught up with the *bad* that I miss the good. I really have tons for which to be thankful!

~~~ This guy!~~~

Seriously, he is the best part about this pregnancy. I honestly don't know how I would be alive without him. Granted, he's always been sweet and caring, but he tries extra hard to help me now. For instance I get up from the supper table and curl up on the couch and feel sorry for myself and he clears the table. He's awesome like that. He tries really hard to find ways for me to sleep that will be comfortable for me. Nothing will ever replace being able to sleep on my stomach, but he seriously tries his hardest! I'm really thankful for him. :) And since I'm pretty sure that pregnancy has got  to be harder on the husband than on the wife, I really am thankful for how he takes life all in stride. 

~~~ Holidays~~~

All those Xs on there represent days where I would normally have been at my desk answering the phone and stuff and instead... we were closed. It. was. blissful! Granted, we still worked a lot, but we did lots of different stuff and we slept a lot. This is the third year we've closed for that long and that is my favorite week of the year, I'm pretty sure of it!

~~~ Paint~~~

I love the stuff! Especially green. My living room area has the most beautiful shade of green ever and... It's cozy! The whole main floor of my house is finally painted. It's good that I didn't ask my husband's permission before I bought all the paint because he informed me when the job was done that paint is expensive and the only time that he would ever paint would be just before he sold the house because it'd be worth more. Considering that it hadn't been painted in years, the paint was all flat, and I'm not planning on selling my house for a very long time, I'm so glad that it's better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.

~~~My midwife~~~

She seriously is great! She's laid back, knowledgeable, and pleasant. I had such trouble finding anyone who was available and I wanted a home birth so badly that I was to the point where I just would take any midwife. I was thrilled when I met her because I not only had someone who was available to take me on, but I also really liked her!

~~~Cheeseburgers, Blueberries, and Pickles.

Those three are the best foods out there currently. Potatoes are pretty amazing too, but not too much can top a cheeseburger... with pickles on it. :) 

~~~Aaron Shust's music~~~

This song is my favorite. 

Come To Me. 

Learning from Christ who is gentle and humble in heart. I want that. 

~~~Friends~~~

I have the greatest group of friends. My sisters are amazing. Those girls who are not my sisters by birth or marriage are also amazing. On my week off I got to talk to sisters and walk and visit with friends a bunch. Lots more than normal! And it's been really refreshing. I am so, so thankful for each one of you!

~~~ Pregnancy~~~

There is nothing good about it, but there is also nothing that has been bad, so I need to be thankful for it too. I have been quite healthy and so far everything seems to be going normally. The basketball on the front of me is for a good cause and some day I will be able to bend over normally again.  My baby moves constantly and has a strong heartbeat. What more can I ask for right now besides the next four months to go really, really fast?! 

So for all that, I am thankful.

In Which We Announce:

Baby! 

It's been super fun telling all our friends and family over the past weeks about the little tyke who will be joining us come spring. It's been really exciting to talk to God about the little one that He is sending to us. And truthfully some days it's just been a little overwhelming and scary to think about having a child join our lives... Our lives that are so not baby oriented, but still, ones that can be baby oriented with a little revamping. 

We are excited. I am thrilled beyond words to think of being a mom. 

Some times when I think about prayers that God has answered, I am overwhelmed. I specifically remember, soon after we got married, praying that God would allow us five years. I just really wanted to have five years to grow up before we would have children. Some times it seemed a little too long, and some times five years seemed to be coming too soon, but I am oh so thankful that he answered that prayer for us!

We went to NC just after those two pink lines showed up so clearly and we spent long hours on the beach, discussing our little one, discussing the realities and the happinesses. 

That little babymoon was the best fun ever!

One evening while sitting there, a little family arrived and started walking slowly along the beach. Their free spirited daughter, who was probably about four, started running, her long dark hair just blowing beautifully along with her. Both of us were captivated by her adorable style and after they left, we walked along the water to where she had run on her own. Her footsteps ran through totally touched-only-by-water sand. You could tell that her little legs had been running at full tilt, just so that she could feel the wind on her face. I told Blake that that is what I hope our little one is like. Just totally willing to walk where no one has walked, not afraid to be bold and daring, free spirited and full of life. And my prayer is that all that energy that I hope my child has will be fully poured out on God, who is the giver of life.

I cannot wait to meet this baby. April seems so very, very far away!

Of Mice and Mouse Traps

I'll admit that we have a serious problem with mice here. Enough that I might consider a cat. 

Key word: Might.

Blake found an awesome tutorial for a super cool mouse trap on youtube. It was way more fun than a cat or a conventional style mouse trap. He told me that it involved a 12-gauge shot gun and that scared me, until I realized that it only might involve one, considering that there are also other ways to kill live mice. 

There is actually a lot of fun stuff about this mousetrap, including the drilling and setting up and peanut butter spreading.

All you need to make one yourself is:

 a five gallon bucket, 

a stiff piece of wire, 

a pop can, 

a board, 

and some peanut butter.

You will want to spread peanut butter on the board randomly on the way up and it's so yummy that that little mouse will taste it on the board, run to the top and see all of that on the can and Mmmm! 

It will be more than it can resist, so it will just jump and land on that pop can. What it doesn't know is that it's not stable and so the thing spins really fast, knocking the little mouse into the bucket.

He made this one day last week and to date we have caught:

0 mice.

But try it! There is always the chance that will work. 

If it does work for you, I'll let you just figure out the best way to kill the mouse at that point. 

Maybe you enjoy using shot guns just that much.

Meet Jeff

Some of you already know Jeff, some have heard of Jeff, or you are just going to meet him now.

He is a popular figure around our place. In fact, he comes every day. Most days he has a new idea. Some of those ideas are really good ones. Some days he brings donuts. Some days he sits and reads the paper. And a lot of days he just sleeps.

He has an old Ford into which we are going to put a motor for him, so that is how he originally found us a couple years ago. For some reason he decided that he really liked us and we hit it off, so we are a stop in his day under all normal circumstances.

 Some days he realizes that there is a birthday for one of us and he brings a chocolate cake. When he realized that we had been at our new shop for one year, he brought a cake for that too.

 You see, he feels quite responsible for us finding this place and he is rather pleased with that fact. He told us about this place. As I mentioned, he has lots of ideas and this one was a good one. He notices things that everyone else takes for granted. Like the For Sale sign that had been in this front yard for 10 years. Only difference was that he actually called the number and found out that the man who had had the sign here for ten years had recently passed away and the family actually needed to sell this now to pay the estate taxes. Jeff is cool like that.

He was the one who exhausted all options in trying to find a way for us to get a loan. We actually were able to get one with a bank that we had talked to, but he had a list for us of bankers with whom he had spoken and had strongly encouraged to give us a chance. He was the most excited of all of us when our loan actually went through.

He owns a business that builds timber frame barns. They have sent crews all over the country to build these high-dollar, high-class barns, often ones that are used as wedding barns. Timber framing is gorgeous and his buildings are no exception.

If we don't see him for a few days I actually worry about him and have even found excuses to call him. Just to check on him. I've invited him to family events or activities and he always appreciates the invite but says he's not a people person. I've introduced him to certain friends and he always keeps track of them and remembers to ask me about them. Even thinks of someone specific when he is at an estate sale and sees something that he thinks maybe my "sister with the baby" could use or my "missionary friends with the kids that might get eaten when they go overseas" might need.

So there. You too have met Jeff.