Half-way done already!

Most of you know by now that Paul and I are expecting our first child in May 2009. I don't know why I haven't blogged about it yet. We are so extremely excited about welcoming a child into our family! I'm 20 weeks today, so we're already half-way done. It's gone by so fast! Thankfully, I never suffered from morning sickness or anything, however, I did have to eat every few hours to keep from getting that nauseous feeling in the first trimester. And I couldn't cook...I would never want to eat food after I cooked it. Chef Paul stepped up and filled in for me (thanks hon!). The second trimester has been really great! Here are some pictures of the first half of my pregnancy.
Pregnancy test9 week ultrasound of our little peanut
Belly Pics2 months3 1/2 months4 months5 months

Paul's world travels

In October, Paul got to fly a really cool mission to the UAE, Jordan, Israel, and Egypt. There definitely are some perks to his job. Here are some pictures.
Abu Dabi, UAE
Aqabah, JordanLying on the beach by the Red Sea Red Sea Sunset
Tel Aviv, Israel
Jerusalem, IsraelMt. of Olives Church where Peter denied ChristGarden of GethsemeneGolgothaSlab where Christ's body laidChrist's TombMt. ZionPaul in Holy Land
Cairo, EgyptEgyptian MarketCamels as normal transportationApproaching the pyramids on camelSphinx & PyramidsSphinx ProfileSphinx and PaulThe group and their camelsAt the base of Khafre Pyramid

Volunteer Firefighter of the Year

My husband is one of those people who is good at just about everything. It kinda makes you sick. Since he's mine though, I'm just super proud of him for all his accomplishments. His most recent is earning the "Volunteer Firefighter of the Year" award at the annual fire department Christmas party. I didn't really know what that meant as Paul was going up to receive the trophy, so the girl sitting next to me informed me that it was a really big deal. Apparently all the guys in the department vote on who they think should get it. I get upset sometimes for the times when Paul ditches me to go to fire calls (especially when we're just sitting down for dinner), but I know it's important to him and also to the department. He really gets a kick out of crawling into burning buildings and cutting people out of vehicles. I'm glad someone enjoys that stuff...you sure wouldn't find me doing it! I joke that Paul is living every little boys dream...he flies planes by day and rides fire trucks by night!

Things I meant to post...

OK. You know I'm not good about posting stuff. So here are a few things I meant to post but just never got around to it...until now.

Hair
I got to be a "hair model" (a.k.a. guinea pig) for a local hair salon called Stella Nova. They cut and colored my hair (on different days) for free! It was a totally awesome experience. I got a makeover and everything. They even gave each of us a gift (cosmetics). My picture got put on the webpage and people could vote for who they thought should be on the cover of Skirt magazine. Thanks to all of you who voted for me. I didn't win, but it was fun to try! I think it would have been more dramatic if they used the before picture when my hair was long, instead of the one they used...just before it was colored. Here are the before and after pictures I had Paul take.
Before
After
Baby Quilt
I made another baby quilt for my friend Erika (the one I went to see in November with my mom). She has it hanging up in Lauren's room. I knew the color of her room and matched the fabric to the wall color. These are such easy quilts to make. If you want the pattern, they have them at People, Places and Quilts for a dollar. It's a "sew-as-you-go" quilt, which means you are quilting it all together as you are constructing it.

Shadowfeet

I just love this song for some reason, but I had the hardest time figuring out what it was called and who it was by. Finally the DJ on the radio let me in on the secret, and I promptly looked it up. The artist is Brooke Fraser and she's from New Zealand. (That's where Paul and I went on our honeymoon!) The album "Albertine" was released there in 2006, but it wasn't until 2008 that it was released in the USA. It's on my Christmas wish list this year. Anyway, here's the song, called "Shadowfeet." Enjoy...just remember to stop my playlist at the side before watching the video!

Ohio trip and OT conference

Right after we got back from Colorado, I drove down to Atlanta and my mom and I flew up to Ohio to see my friend Erika and her mom. Erika and I have been friends since we were 7 years old, and we were maid/matron of honor in each others' weddings. She and her husband Nate are parents to a 2 month old little girl named Lauren. She is so sweet and tiny! The 5 of us ladies shopped for 2 days straight! That's just what we do when we're together, and we figured we had to start Lauren out early. We ate such good food while we were there and overall had a great time. We all agreed we needed to get together more often!
Erika and me
My mom and Jane (Erika's mom)
Nate and Lauren
Me and Lauren
After flying back to Atlanta, I attended a conference on Therapeutic Listening (a type of auditory/vestibular stimulation therapy I am now using in my occupational therapy practice). It was really interesting and well worth it. What made it even more fun was the fact that my friend Sarah, from OT school, attended with me! She, her daughter (Natalie), and her parents came down from Knoxville to stay in Atlanta for the 2 days the conference lasted. They came over and visited with my mom and me before they left. Sarah is pregnant with her second baby girl. Natalie was a sweetheart...I had so much fun playing with her! She has quite an imagination!

Visit with the Kazmiers

At the end of October, Paul and I travelled to Colorado to visit our good friends Andrea and Joe Kazmier. Andrea, Joe and I all went to middle school and high school together and have been friends the whole time. Joe and Paul went to college together, and Joe's the one that introduced me and Paul. Anyway, we always have such a great time with them. They have a 6 month old baby girl, Allie, who is precious as can be. It was so fun to meet her and play with her! She smiles all the time and is such a good baby. Joe's sister Robin was in town too, so it was good to catch up with her. While we were there, we went swimming at the local indoor pool, went to a pumpkin patch, carved pumpkins, did a corn maze, and just enjoyed ourselves. The guys went target shooting (and pumpkin shooting) one day while Robin taught Andrea and me how to make soap. Thanks y'all for such an awesome time! We love you!