5 Months Pregnant & The Big Move

Pregnancy has been a little different than expected. Considering I wasn't expecting to become pregnant at all I didn't know what to expect besides stories I've heard from others. Now here I am 5 months pregnant with only 4 more months to go.

It's been kind of a difficult change thus far. I have been sick my whole pregnancy and I have been waiting on that BURST OF ENERGY that I think I was suppose to get around the 4 month mark. It never came, but I still hold on to some hope! I sleep and take naps as much as possible. If you want to know what all mothers have told me is to take advantage of this before the baby comes (and I can believe that!). I quite enjoy my rest time even though it's not always comfortable. I'm getting better about sleeping on my sides, but man do I miss my tummy! My dreamworld has become more detailed and insane than ever! I remember most of my dreams and they are usually pretty intense (whether good or bad).

The most grateful part for me is I've had this past month off and I will have until about mid September off before I start my new job. I've kept myself busy by traveling for 2 weeks straight to come home to a week of packing (or shall I say Chris packing while I nap). This week has been such a hard week on me. It's a strange feeling to not be able to do what you are use to doing. Even though I know it's not laziness it feels like it to a person who can be ocd at times!

We leave Wilmington tomorrow. I can't believe the time that we've anticipated for over a year is finally here. I love Wilmington, but it has been a very bittersweet time for us. During our hard times new doors opened which lead us to our next move to Alexandria, Va. God has been good to us! Through my bitterness I hope to find peace and love for those that we may have been hurt by during this time. We find so much love for the kids (teenagers I should say!) that we worked with here! That part we will hold tight to and treasure! We're thankful for those who have come into our life. It's hard to make new friends when you're in your late 20's.

I am ready to go though. We're ready to start this new adventure that will eventually lead us to a mystery place ( it's so hard not knowing the future sometimes). I can't wait to explore Alexandria & DC! With all of this said Chris & I had one more quick visit to one of my favorite spots in Wilmington...Fort Fisher. This place always takes my breath away. It seems so secluded from the rest of the town. I wish we would have made it there more often. I do have a few pictures to share of this moment and probably our last "couple photo" of us during our time in Wilmington (unless God & the Bishop want us back here one day!).

Enjoy our last little adventure and the first pictures of me being 5 months pregnant :)

Chris was really sweet and PATIENCE with me. It's fun to see Chris' creative side come out in photo's! You can only really see that I have a tummy when I wear tighter shirts. Thankfully I can still wear pretty much all of clothes...minus my jeans.

We did bring along Francis "pants!" She enjoyed camping at the lake so much I could tell she needed another adventure! Being home with her mom all day (napping!) can be pretty boring!

A man and his dog...precious!

One last shot of us before we peace out of Wilmington...

The Mini Diana Experiment

I bought myself the Mini Diana for a Birthday gift to myself. I thought it would be a lot of fun to break out a roll of film again. It's sad to say that hasn't happen probably since 2006. I received my first roll back and I was a little disappointed. THEY WERE SO GREEN! Some of the pictures didn't turn out at all. I went through them and picked out a few that I thought were fun and I thought I would share them! Thanks to photoshop they are not as green any more! Enjoy!

Chris & Francis

We discovered a fun place to ride our bikes at Carolina beach. This is my favorite shot of them all!

 Francis isn't really a fan of all dogs...especially ones that like to pounce on her!

This one looks a little creepy!

Me & our baby girl :)

I have a billion blogs I could write, but lately time doesn't permit me to do so! Maybe one day I'll have fun catching up on some fun life events that have happened so far this year! This will have to do for now!



Birthday love

I felt so much love on my Birthday this year! I just had a blast spending time with friends, getting free stuff, talking to my family and friends, eating lots of cake and cupcakes, and getting our first dog ( she was actually just a bonus to my B-day, not even planned).

Chris made me feel so special on my Birthday. It started off the Wednesday before my Birthday. We went to get massage's right before bedtime and it was very relaxing. Friday night we went to Red Robin and then went to see "The Hunger Games" for the second time. Saturday started off with a morning bike ride. Riding bikes has become a really fun activity that we enjoy doing together. Then I went to get a pedicure with Michelle. That evening we went out to eat with a very special group of people.

We ate at a wonderful restaurant called Rucker John's. I'd totally recommend it to anyone visiting the area. They have great chicken fingers (for those who any meat!), a good veggie pizza, and amazing honey croissant rolls.

  

Michelle & Greg bought me this wonderful red velvet Birthday cake. Harris Teeter has really good cakes! This is the second year I've had this one.

These are our neighbors at our apartment and they are wonderful! I babysit the boys sometimes and they are so much fun!

The Howard's are one of my many sets of parents. I am really good friends with their daughter and I'm very thankful that we get to share time like this together while we are still in Wilmington.

Andy is such a cool guy! He is the youth intern at First Baptist and he is so loved. I can't say enough good things about him. 

Greg & Michelle are the first set of friends we made in Wilmington and there is no doubt that we treasure that friendship!

Sunday was my actual Birthday and it was still filled with lots of fun things. We went to Church that morning and ate lunch with an older couple from our Church. After we ate Chris & I headed over to Airlie gardens for their free day. This was the first time we had been there. It's such a gorgeous place and I'll look forward to going back to explore it even more!

We didn't get to stay at Airlie gardens too long, because I had a free eyebrow waxing at Ulta to go to. This may have been the first time I've had this done, but I will admit it was a good experience. We dropped by Starbucks so I could pick up my free drink. I don't drink coffee drinks so I always get their frappuccino's. I some how managed to down the largest size they have!!!

My last treat on my Birthday was a stop by Coastal Cupcakes for cupcakes of course! I love going to local bakeries!

Lastly, we randomly got a dog that next day! I'm not sure what got into us, but it turned out to be a great idea. We found her online at petfinders.com and adopted her Monday afternoon. Her name is Francis. She is shy, silly, playful, restful, curious, cuddly (loves to spoon!) and so very loving. We're exciting about sharing our life adventures with her! She wasn't really a Birthday gift, but she was a great conclusion to a very good Birthday!

Now I get to enjoy one more year of being in my 20's. I still have plenty to enjoy this year! I get to go to Utah and visit friends and see a friend get married. I get to spend a week at the lake with my family and my extended family. I get to go to the beach a lot and enjoy a nice North Carolina Summer. There are many many more things I could list, but I'll leave it there for now! Turning 29 wasn't so bad after all. I'm planning on making 30 pretty rad too!

Here's a little bonus of things I got free for my B-day:

Starbucks drink (sign up!)

Red Robin Burger and ice cream sundae (once again, sign up!)

Eyebrow wax ( mine was free, but I was actually suppose to have a previous service through Ulta, which I did not)

Pastry from Panera (I haven't even got this one yet!)

A few fun gifts I got for my Birthday:

(Collapsible lunch container)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Y3I0SI/ref=oh_o00_s01_i00_details

(Collapsible bowls)

(Diana Mini)

(Team Peeta shirt)

New Change: Christmas Traditions II

Since we didn't get to go home for Christmas this year we decided just to make it a relaxing weekend. Originally it was just going to be the two of us, but it happened to work out for our friend Brian to come visit us. We've officially spent Thanksgiving and Christmas together now, so I guess that makes him officially apart of our family!

On Friday, Chris & I decided to take a nice long bike ride. One thing that I love about this city is that there are plenty of places to ride a bike. We decided to take our bikes on the city trail. Chris thinks we ended up riding around 10 miles that morning. We had a blast! I can't express how much fun we have had riding our bikes together! Every time I pass Chris on my bike I can't help but start singing the tune that plays in "The Wizard of Oz" when the wicked which is coming flying by on her bike!!! I'm so glad we decided to get each other bikes for Christmas!

We may look dorky, but we're having FUN!

It almost looks more like a Fall day than a Winter day. 

We opened our gifts to each other when we got back from our bike ride. 

Brian came later that evening. We enjoyed pizza and watched a movie together. Later that night we went to Church.

Sunday, Chris and I were planning on going to Church, but I guess we needed the sleep. We didn't wake up until 9:30. We basically watched movies all day and prepared a nice dinner that evening. Monday was still pretty low key, but we did leave the house and went to Fort Fisher for a little bit before Brian left. This was the first time I've been to the beach in a while. I actually love the beach this time of year, because it's so quiet and peaceful!

Overall I'd say we had a wonderful Christmas! It was spent with so many people that we love!