Meet Sprout...Finally!

Since facebook is the new way to break news, you all know about our exciting, pickles-on-pizza craving news! But, in a futile attempt to make people read my blog, I'm going to give you all the good info here.....and some pictures, too!

We knew we were ready for babies a few months ago. In fact, we actually had a miscarriage in April and were absolutely crushed. We really had to trust and be patient for the next few months while healing from that pain and praying for another healthy pregnancy. On my first day of summer vacation I took a test, and there was a faint line. I had already known I was pregnant just by the way I was feeling.....but Jonathan was harder to convince. He said he wouldn't believe it until he saw words - apparantely lines don't work for him! Luckily I had one digital one that April had given me after Tad was confirmed, I took it the next day, and we knew for sure!

Honestly, it was the longest 3.5 weeks of my life waiting for our first appointment at 7 weeks. It's amazing what losing a baby will do to the optimism of the happy time it's supposed to be. I started having a lot of signs - including terrible nausea. I knew this was a good sign, but boy it wasn't fun. And it hasn't stopped yet! Oh, and by the way - the 5K I ran was a week after we found out - doesn't that make it even more awesome?


We went to the doctor on July 10 and got our first glimpse at this sweet baby. He/She was not much more than a peanut - but have you ever seen a peanut with a beating heart? Awesome! Here, look!
I'm now 13 weeks, woohoo! This means I'm done with the first trimester - finally! Ready to start feeling better! We went to the doctor again on August 6 and got some more pictures and heard a strong heartbeat of 164. Everybody says that means girl - guess we'll see in about 6 weeks! I feel pretty strongly that Sprout is a girl, but wouldn't it be ironic if the first time I guessed wrong was on my own!

And to hopefully answer most of your questions - I'm due February 25 and will take at least 7-8 weeks off. Jonathan and our parents and family are thrilled! I will deliver at New River Valley Medical Center in Radford. I have actually lost a few pounds due to the nausea - no maternity clothes for me quite yet! I crave pizza, breadsticks, and cheesesticks. Meat disgusts me. Healthy, I know! We'll find out boy or girl around the beginning of October if little Sprout cooperates. I go for my 15 week appt. on September 4. God is good - and we are so thankful!

Friend of the Week....eh....Month - April B.

I kind of forgot about this trend. Oops! But, I'm here to catch up and make up for lost time. April is one of my very best friends and I thought I'd tell you a little about her! She is married to Jeremy, who is Jonathan's musician friend and bandmate. I first met April when I visited The Freedom Center with Jonathan when we first started dating. April was very sweet right away, and I honestly can't really remember how our friendship really developed. Over time we got to know more and more about each other and had lots of fun telling our funny stories.

We realized April and Jer were good travel buddies for us - so we took our first vacation to the mountains. Oh, the stories. We took a hike - which let April finally brag on her "outdoorsy" skills. We went tubing down the Little River that was practically dried up. Ask April about the fish that flopped around in her lap - causing quite a bit of panic and some long-lasting scars.

April was a bridesmaid at our wedding - and was so awesome. She went with me to Bristol to fight for some respect at King. She threw me an awesome shower at church (with Victoria's help) and she was always there when I needed her. Now, I get to be there for her - as we anxiously await baby Tad (okay, London) joining us in October or November! Oh, I can't wait to meet that little baby. You wouldn't believe how much he's already been prayed for!!

The last picture is just for April - HELP ME!!!

Celebrating my Students

Ok, one last SOL post and then you won't hear mention of them for a good 8 or 9 months. We got the rest of our scores back this week and I'm so proud of them. In case you care, here ya go!

S.S. - All 19 of my kids who took it passed (17 pass advanced, 9 perfect) and my 1 VGLA passed advanced, too!

Math - All 19 of my kids passed (16 pass advanced, 3 perfect)....All 19 of Sheri's that I taught passed, too! (11 pass advanced, 3 perfect) And my 1 VGLA passed advanced!

Reading - 17 of the 19 that I taught passed (8 pass advanced, 5 perfect) - and of the other two, one was by ONE QUESTION! SO CLOSE!

Science - All 19 of my kids who took it online passed (12 pass advanced, 4 perfect) - Sheri teaches them!

I'm going to miss those kids - they started out really weak in some areas and came SO, SO far!! They are going to kick some booty in 4th grade!!

Mal's Shower

Did I tell you my sister is getting married?? Well, she is - August 8. This Saturday we threw her a fun family/friends bridal shower in Abingdon. It went over very well and she got LOTS of great stuff. I had fun catching up with my family on both sides and friends of my mom from work. We played a few fun games (my mom's major in college was recreation - that is so her element!) and ate some good food (have you ever had crap rangoon? YUM!) and watched her open lots and lots of gifts. Thanks to everyone who came out and made it a special day for her!

We also got to spend time with 2 of the cutest kids on earth - one was Keeley, my sister's soon-to-be neice who is just a doll. She kept asking for Mary, and we couldn't figure out who Mary was. When my grandma (Virginia, by the way) got there, she said "That's Mary!" It was so funny! The other sweet baby girl was baby Jayla, my cousin's new baby and my aunt Donna's precious grandbaby! She was only 4lb, 6oz at birth, but she's growing and is now about 7 pounds at 6 weeks. I fell in love VERY quickly!

And here is my Great Aunt Sue playing with sweet Keeley! I love this picture!!

Vaca and a 5K

Well, we're finally back in Virginia after a whirlwind mini-vacation! Here's the lowdown (with a few pictures to keep you interested!)

Friday afternoon we went to Jonathan's company's summer picnic, where much to my surprise I got meet baby Grayce, who was born about 3 weeks earlier and was still only about 6 pounds. That's about the only memorable part about the picnic for me.....but oh, she was a doll! After that, we packed up and headed out with Maggie to Concord, NC to see my cousins, aunt, and uncle. They dogsat Maggie while we finished the next two legs of our trip.

Saturday was the day of the 5K race I've been preparing for. I'll go ahead and let you know that my pace gradually got slower the week before the race, so I was nervous!! We got to SC and spent the day hanging out with Jonathan, Kelley, Kiran, and Sienna - which was awesome since we'd just seen them less than a week before when they came to see us in VA on their way to Charlottesville. We napped, ate, talked, and played before heading to drop the girls off in Greenville and hit the race! Now, there were over 2,000 people running this race -so it was packed. Kelley and I headed to about the middle of the pack, strapped on our pace chip and race numbers, and got started! Kelley was a little speed demon - so she left me and ended up finishing in less than 30 minutes! I finished in 33:18 according to my chip. That was slower than I wanted, but I ran it and I felt great! I'm already planning my next race - where I will reinstate my goal of a less than 30 minute race!

On Sunday we headed to church with the Caskeys and then headed even further south to Atlanta. We took in Six Flags White Water all day Monday and then headed to Turner Field Monday night. The storm missed us and we enjoyed a great game in right field.

Unfortunately, we had to head back Tuesday - with a stop to pick up some things (my race shirt, ahem) from Kelley's. Then, I broke Kiran. You can read all about that here: Kelley's blog. After we got Kiran fixed, we headed back to VA (via Concord). It was about this time we realize how nice it would be to get hang out with Kiran, Sienna, and their parents more. It was so fun to have just seen them - so Kiran didn't have to warm back up to us and we could just play. Thanks for having us guys - and thanks for running with me!

Happily Ever After

Below is a letter my mom wrote to us inside our guest book at the wedding. We had put engagement pictures into a mypublisher book, and she filled up the last page. I love it. I'm writing it here so I never forget it...and so you can enjoy it, too! :)

Once Upon a Time there was a princess born. Her name was Erin and her parents were in awe of her. She had an independent nature, was head strong, but was very loving and very beautiful.

She led a fairy tale childhood. Her parents gave her everything she needed: food, clothing, shelter, and the opportunity to learn about and accept Jesus as her savior. They made sure she had the extras also: walks in the woods, romps in leaves, building snowmen, dancing, and "BEAR".

As Princess Erin grew up, she continued to amaze everyone with her ability to excel in everything she did: making friends, dancing, Bible Drill, school grades. She understood how rich a princess she was: she had parents who adored her, who pointed her in the right direction and covered her back while giving her the opportunity to make her own decisions. He riches also included a sister who looked up to her (mostly) and would be there for her always, and being raised in church.

Princess Erin grew up continuing to lead a storybook life - including friends, education, travel and career. Then one day she met (under dubious circumstances to be sure) her Prince.

Prince Jonathan was the perfect match: in intelligence, commitment to God, and he had also grown up appreciating the finer things in life - God, walks in the woods, music, and a younger sibling to boss around.

Princess Erin's family welcomed their new son, Prince Jonathan, and watched with love as they married and every last one wished that they would....LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER!

Erin, I still love you with all my heart and am still in awe of you. You make me proud.
Jonathan, You are easy to love. Welcome to my family
Both, Be happy and let God lead.

~Mom

God smiled on us...

I have a lot to post about from this weekend....but for now I want to tell you a great story of blessing. Long story short - we found a great house and put a contract on it last week. We've been talking to the bank for pre-approval, counter-offering like crazy, and discussing timelines and timetables galore! As of today, both sides have agreed to the contract and it's ours as long as we sell our house and they don't get a better offer while they're waiting for our townhouse to sell. So, our bank lady (yep, aren't we cool?) told us we needed 2 months of mortgage payments in the bank at closing (in addition to the 11,000 we have to bring to closing and the 1,000 good faith deposit we paid already). Speaking of good faith. We've been trying to set aside money to boost our savings up to this amount. We knew we needed about $1,000 more in the bank before closing (whenever we sell our house and close on our new one). So, today I get an email from Jonathan. He logged in to his bank account and saw a direct deposit from his work for an unusual amount. He then logged in to check his pay stub. On it, it said "Incentive....$1,000". Yep, he got a random $1,000 bonus. Didn't even know he was getting it. His boss had nominated him for it and not even told him. Thanks boss, but we know that money wasn't really your doing. God is beyond faithful and he has a sense of humor, too! Isn't that cool?