A little encouragement...

Ready for some fun? The bloggy giveaway hosted by Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer is here!

I'd like to offer some fun and encouragement to a mom with a young toddler.

To get your energy up and spend some quality time with your toddler - at home nonetheless! I'd like to give away this dvd.
To refresh your heart in the midst of life I'd like to give away this book.

• International readers are welcome to submit their entries.
  
• Bloggers and non-bloggers are welcome! Please leave only one comment below - make sure to include a way I can contact you.
  
• I will leave the contest open until noon, Sunday Feb 3rd.

Be sure to see what others are giving away - and sign up yourself! :)

7 Random Things About Me...

Carrie has tagged me to share 7 random things about myself. Okay - here goes!

1.) I have a 19 month old son who loves to pretend. Right now it's all about playing the saxophone ("achphone") and ice-skating. Whenever there is a slow-beat song on he'll start moving around the room with one foot in the air, or spins in circles and pronounces that he is skating ("kate!"). We have a Christmas video to thank for this! As far as the saxophone goes, anything that is circular works - a pencil, a plastic shot utensil from a play doctor kit, a plastic golf club, oh yes, just about anything will work. When it is time to play, mom is always asked to join in. ("help! tand up!") We are quite the ice-skating - saxophone playing duo!

2.) My husband's siblings and my siblings are spaced apart the same amount of years. His sister is three years younger, his brother 10. My sister is 3 years younger - my brother 10.

3.) I love scrapbook stores! However, I have never put a scrapbook together or made any kind of card. That is on my goal list for this year. (again!)

4.) I don't like to drive. If I could have my way, I'd love to have a chaffeur.

5.) I'd also LOVE to have a house cleaner.

6.) I am forming a deep love for this store. There is one only 20 minutes from my new home! Yipee!

7.) For both pregnancies I have craved canned peaches and graham crackers dipped in milk. For this current pregnancy, I have a new craving - Toaster Strudel...yum yum! ;)

Now I tag heather to share some random things about herself!

Yesterday...

Well, yesterday was a wonderful day. We got to the doctor and learned that the hospital in our area just opened in December. The labor and delivery part of the hospital isn't even opened yet (but will be next month). So, the reason I had such a hard time finding a doctor in our area is because there are few specialist in our area - due to the fact that there hasn't been a hospital. Our doctor is the labor and delivery doctor for the new hospital. She has met all the nurses, and she even was willing to give us a contact so we could have a personal tour of the new labor and delivery area. She is sweet as pie, and so very professional. She has been delivering babies for about four years - and has delivered over 1,000 babies in her short career.

Another huge plus is that her office and the hospital are a short ten minutes away! I could hardly believe it.

We had an ultrasound and heard the heartbeat - everything looks great! We are 13 weeks along, making the due date August 2nd. We are planning to do a C-section - and will know next month the date we will schedule it for.

Little One came along and was such a trooper. He heard the heart beat and said "baby shhhh..." I don't think he gets it, but he did pick up that we were talking about a baby.

After the appointment, I was completely exhausted. I didn't quite realized just how worried and stressed out I was about finding a doctor. When it was all over, I just had to cry big tears of relief. Needless to say, I didn't take the car - I just had Hubs take me and Little One home, and we both took really long naps!

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. Love to you all!
Rebecca

A Big Day...

I just wanted to give a quick update. Today we are finally going to the doctor! I found one that I think will work out. Finding a new OBGYN has been a little more difficult than I thought it would be - but I found one who is in our neck of the woods, a Christian, and has a nice receptionist. It's amazing how those receptionist send out that oh-so-very-important first impression! ;) So, we'll know exactly how far along we are - and the due date. I'll be sure to fill you in.

After going to the doctor I am going to take Wil to work and have the car for the day. I am nervous because the roads here are so huge - there are highways, byways, and frontage roads everywhere. I don't like to drive in the first place, and driving in this new big city is a little nerve wracking. But, I do want to get out there and explore! There are stores like the Container Store, Ikea and Archivers calling my name. :) Oh yeah, and that oh so exciting place called the grocery store...we need to go there too. Today is the day to begin to learn exactly how to get around this monster city.

Love to you all,
I'll post again at the end of the day.
Rebecca

A New Favorite

This weekend we checked out our local mall, where I found a Yankee Candle Store, which is having it's semi-annual clearance. (Today is the last day!) What a clearance it was! I used to work in a gift shop that sold Yankee Candles, and they never went on sale. This occasion was a special treat! I got a large jar for only 12.00 - which is about half price.

As far as scents go, I have long been devoted to MacIntosh. This time, I decided to go for something a tad different and gave this scent a try. I must say - it's perfect for January. It doesn't smell like fall (Spiced Pumpkin or Harvest) and it doesn't smell Christmasy. It just smells warm and cozy, perfect for cloudy January days. I got a large jar for only 12.00 - which is about half price, and totally worth it!

Welcome!!

I thought it would be fun for you all to see our house. We've had many requests for pictures - and this just may be the easiest way to do that. So, as I get each room settled - I'll post it so you can see.



Let's start with the outside. Today is a cold and rainy day - so the grass doesn't look as green as it usually does. We are on a corner lot - so the garage is on the left side. Actually, the large set of windows to the left of the front door, on the first floor, look into the garage. Silly? I know!





I love our front door. So does Little One. He loves that he can see out. I also love the door mat - it says "Live well, Love Much, Laugh often". It was one of my Christmas gifts - and one of the first things to come out of a box to find it's new home.

The next room I will show is our kitchen. It's a little harder than I thought to get the total feeling of the room - but I think you can get the general idea from my photos.










From this view the family room with the fireplace is behind me. All the windows look out to the backyard. The door for the backyard is directly to my left.


















From this view I am standing in the door way that leads to the dining room. The sink is under the windows.

Well, that is it for now - there will be more to come! Thanks for coming by and I hope y'all have a great weekend!

Love,
Rebecca

High Chair Fun

These little crayons are great! Little One loves to "draw" and "yolor" (color) and usually the event turns into frustration for both of us. The crayons end up broken or in his mouth or both - and he ends up coloring on everything but the paper in front of him. I picked up these at Target the other day - and am impressed! It's a washable crayon in the middle of a plastic top like figurine. They are easy for Little One to wrap his little chubby hands around and actually draw. Plus they are so easy - when they are dropped they land crayon side up - (eliminating broken pieces) and there is very little actual crayon for him to get into his mouth. Love that!

For the past two days these crayons have kept Little One's attention for at least 20 minutes - without frustration. I also purchased a blank drawing pad - and just let him go. So, he turns the pages and colors and tells me he is drawing "oval" (thank you Grandma W for teaching that one! :) and "flowers" and "stars" in which twinkle twinkle must be sung every time.

Speaking of fun in the high chair, I thought I would post a picture of him playing "Lets Play" a little computer board that he found at Grandma H's house. She sent it with us - and he loves to look at all the cards and "play". It's funny, because it is a game for five or six year olds... but it sure keeps him busy.


And finally, this was Little One one evening last week. We had corn on the cob for dinner - his favorite. He just wouldn't give up. So tired. He'd nibble on the cob, and nod off to sleep. Wake up, and try again. Finally, I just picked him up and took him to bed. :)

What my mind has been dwelling on this week...

This is taken from the January 9th reading of My Utmost For His Highest.

"The great, mysterious work of the Holy Spirit is in the deep recesses of our being which we cannot reach. Read Psalm 139. The Psalmist implies - "O Lord, You are the God of the early mornings, the God of the late nights, the God of the mountain peaks, and the God of the sea. But, my God, my soul has horizons further away than those of early mornings, deeper darkness than the nights of earth, higher peaks than any mountain peaks, greater depths than any sea in nature. You who are the God of all these, be my God. I cannot reach to the heights or to the depths; there are motives I cannot discover, dreams I cannot realize. My God search me."

I love the way Oswald has paraphrased Psalm 139. I have read this Psalm countless times - it's one of my favorites. But these words added new light and encouragement. Doesn't it sum up how completely detailed and complex God has created us? And what a comfort to know that it is only he who truly understands us to our core. It makes me want to draw near to him - and listen to his voice as he searches my heart.

Backyard Adventures

One of the elements that has come with our new house in Texas is a backyard. Yes, we had a backyard in Colorado, however, it was a mother's nightmare. It needed a ton of landscaping and there were hazards everywhere. Little One didn't even know we had a backyard. I did my best to keep it out of sight and out of mind.

Our backyard here is perfect! Every morning Little One heads for the back door and hangs on the door knob and lifts the blinds so he can see out. "Side!" (and if I don't give in it becomes "SIIIDE" with a whine right in the middle. We are working on that! :)

Well, yesterday I opened the door to let him go, and it started to rain. It was unlike any Colorado rain I had seen... it was warm and muggy outside. The sprinkles started. Little one went right out and stood there. Then, rain came down in sheets. He loved it! Standing turned to jumping and dancing. After many calls from the house were ignored and a flash of lightning - I had to intervene and run out there to bring him in. I should have joined in on the fun from the beginning - I was just as wet as he was.

Everyday since we have spent lots of time out there. So much to explore! One of the things I need to do this weekend is head to Wal-Mart and pick up some outside toys. I have more pictures to share - but am having trouble uploading --- I'll share more soon!