Our Crib and Changing Table

I am so excited, we have found our crib and changing table. I randomly got an e-mail from a friend who is in a "mom's" group in her neighborhood saying that someone was selling some baby furniture. I looked at the pictures and through it was super cute. I have always wanted a sleigh crib (of course the one I'm in love with cost an arm and a leg from Pottery Barn) so when I saw this one and saw the price I thought it would be perfect. So I called the lady who is selling the stuff and set up a time this morning to look at it in person. Both pieces look great. There is only one spot on the top of the changing table that is scuffed up, but we can easily fix it. We haven't actually bought it yet because they want cash and we were in my jeep but I have already e-mailed her back telling her that we want it. Here are the pictures that I got in the e-mail.

Tag You're It...

I love it when people tag me to write a specific blog because it gives me something to blog about. This time I have been tagged by Lindsey, a friend from high school. Here is what you're supposed to do...

1. Go to the 4th album in the place you store your pictures on your computer
2. Select the 4th picture in that album (no exceptions)
3. Post it in this post with an explanation and link it back to your tagger (which I don't know how to do so I just linked her blog through her name above)
4. Tag 4 people to do the same thing

So here is my picture...


Unfortunately, mine is kind of boring. I have an album that has pictures of all the greeting cards I have made. This is one that I made to send to someone at our church that had had a baby boy. I wish it had been a more fun picture but that was the 4th picture in my 4th album and I didn't want to cheat :D.

Thanks for tagging me Lindsay. Now I tag, M'chelle, Laura Beth, Abby, and Collin (even though I know he won't do it ;D). Happy Blogging!!

The Fray

I absolutely love the band, The Fray. They are one of my very favorites. I first got into them because they were featured on the show Grey's Anatomy, which is one of my favorite shows. The reason I am sharing this is because they have a new cd coming out on Tuesday so that has gotten me excited. The single that is out right now is awesome. I'm not going to lie I am pretty sure I will be getting up a little early on Tuesday morning in order to be able to run by Target before I go to Ladies Bible Class so that I can get their cd right when it comes out. I am also planning on getting the new Pat Green cd that came out this past week. He has been one of Collin and my favorites for a long time, so we are both excited about that one too. Below is the music video for The Fray's single "You Found Me." I love it. Their first cd was amazing so I have high hopes for this one too.

How big is Sweet P and Mommy? - 18 weeks

It's Thursday so that means it's time again to see how much Sweet P has grown. And since it's been 4 weeks since my last belly picture I'll put it on here too.



Right now Sweet P is about the size of a bell pepper. He/She weighs about 7 ounces and is about 5 1/2 inches from head to bottom. Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements.

I can definitely tell my belly is growing. It is definitely starting to get tighter and rounder. It still depends on what I'm wearing as to whether you can really tell by looking at me. I'll let you judge for yourself though how much you think I have grown. I'm thinking it will start changing even more within the next few weeks. Here is my 14 week picture and the new 18 week picture.

A Weird but Awesome Feeling

So a couple days ago I woke up with the weirdest feeling. I put my hand on my stomach and just under my belly button felt a bump that was hard as a rock. I'm not sure if it was the baby's head or bottom but it was pressed right up against my stomach to where I could feel it. It was so crazy. I feel Sweet P kick and move around inside every day now but that was the first time I have felt him/her from the outside. Unfortunately, I was so caught off guard when it happened that I forgot to let Collin feel it before the baby moved away so he still hasn't been able to feel the baby yet. But hopefully he will be able to feel him/her soon. It really makes it so much more real to be able to feel the baby move on a regular basis. It's so much fun. I can't wait to find out if Sweet P is a boy or a girl!! Only 3 weeks from Thursday!!

A Very Scary Experience

As I said in my last post, my mom and sister are here visiting Collin and me for the weekend. They arrived safely on Saturday morning, I picked them up at the airport and then we headed to the mall for some lunch and a little shopping. Collin had a meeting until noon so we decided we would just hang out until he got finished and then head home to see what he wanted to do. We got back to the apartment and Heather and I made some red velvet cupcakes. After we finished with that we talked a while about what we wanted to do for the rest of the day. We decided we would make a quick trip up to Breckenridge for a little shopping and some dinner.

Things started out fine. The sun was out in Denver and weather.com said it was partly sunny in Breck. Once we got to Georgetown it started to sprinkle a little and soon after that the sprinkle turned into snow. We were still cruising along, in the left lane, fine at this point but all of the sudden I hear Collin say "Oh Man" and feel the car starting to slide and swerve. The next thing I know we are starting to spin. We do a 180 across the right lane of traffic and slide onto the side of the road, which thankfully was on the mountain side and not the cliff side. We come to an abrupt stop with a bang. While it's not necessary to state, I'll just say I was FREAKED out!!!! I don't know how we didn't hit another car. But that's not the whole story. After coming to a stop we made sure everyone was ok, which thankfully we were. Collin then put the car back in drive to try and get back on the road but all we got were spinning wheels. Collin, my mom, and sister then got out to see what was going on. It turns out that we were sitting in about 3 feet of snow, in a rear wheel drive car. Not a good combination. Oh and just in case you were wondering the thing that made us stop was actually the mountain and we have a huge dent along the side of the car to prove it. But back to the issue at hand...getting our car out of the snow. We tried for a while to go back and forth but that didn't work. Collin, my mom and sister tried to push but that didn't work. They tried to dig us out but didn't work. Oh and I should also mention that while trying to dig us out another car spun out on the same spot and came straight at my sister who had her back turned at the moment but thankfully they somehow missed her and our car as well.

So at this point we are starting to freak out even more. Here we are stuck on the side of the road at 10,000+ feet in the freezing cold with no idea how we are going to get out. Cars keep whizzing by I'm sure saying, "oh look at those poor people" and then carrying on their way. Thankfully after some time (which I'm pretty sure was a lot shorter than it felt like) a car that just happened to be packed with 5 fairly large men pulled over. Collin calls them "our angels." They got out of their car and proceeded to push us out of the snow getting covered in snow and mud despite the fact that they were all dressed very nicely in slacks and button up shirts. They didn't complain or anything. Honestly, they were just laughing the whole time. Thankfully, they were able to help us get out, get turned around (because at that point we were still facing the opposite way of traffic due to the 180 we did), and get back on the highway.

We wanted to turn around and just go back home at this point but we noticed that the highway was closed on the other side due to the bad weather and cars were backed up for miles. So we decided it would be best to just take it slow and go the rest of the way to Breck to wait for the traffic to clear up. We made it there fine and had a good time shopping and eating dinner and then headed decided we had waited long enough to head back home. There was still a lot of traffic so it took us about 2 1/2 hours to get home but thankfully we made it back safely. To say the least I was a nervous wreck.

I know it was God that protected us last night. Things could have been SO much worse. We could have hit other cars, we could have flipped, we could have gotten injured as well as many other things. Honestly, while it was all happening I just kept thinking oh my gosh, the baby. I am just so thankful that we were all safe. It was honestly one of the scariest experiences of my life. Thank God for his protection and for sending those men to help us out.

On a little happier note...here are a few pics of our short time in Breck.

A great surprise

Yesterday, as I was leaving the grocery store, I got a call from my mom. This isn't anything out of the normal because I talk to my mom all the time but when I answered she said I have a problem and I need you to help me with something. I had no idea what she was going to say but agreed to help. She then asked what I was doing on Saturday morning. I told her I didn't know because Collin had told me that he was planning a surprise for me this weekend and I didn't know what or when that was going to be. Then she proceeded to say that she need someone to pick her up at the Denver airport. At first I didn't believe her but she assured me that it was true. My family hasn't been able to come visit us since we moved to Colorado so that makes it even more exciting. She is coming with my sister Heather and they will be here until Monday evening. We are going to have so much fun. I wish my other sister, Morgan, could come but she has school so she couldn't make it this time. I think the whole family is going to be able to come in March though so that will be a lot of fun too. I can't wait until they get here tomorrow morning. What a great surprise!!!

How big is Sweet P? - 17 Weeks

This week Baby Packer has grown to about the size of an onion. Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints.

Only 3 weeks until were half-way and 4 weeks until we get to find out the sex...YAY!!

200th Post

I realized today as I logged into my blogger dashboard that this is my 200th post. Not a huge accomplishment but a little exciting none the less. I should probably have something really exciting to post about for this post but I've got nothing. I really haven't had very much going on lately. So we'll just say that this being my 200th post makes it exciting enough. :D Tomorrow I'll have the weekly "How Big is Sweet P? " post at 17 weeks, which should be a bit more exciting :D.

The Bachelor

It's that time of year again. A new season of The Bachelor has begun. I will admit that deep inside I have a moral objection to the whole concept of the show but as always I am tuning in with eager expectations of seeing 2 total strangers fall in love in the insanely short time given on the show. At this point, I have yet to become emotionally attached to any one girl in particular but I know as the season progresses my favorite will emerge from the group of catty, judgmental, and sometimes down right mean women chosen as candidates to potentially win the heart of this season's bachelor, the single dad who was rejected last season on the Bachelorette, Jason. While at this point only one of the MANY seasons of the Bachelor/Bachelorette has actually ended in a thus far lasting marriage, here's to hoping for that happy ending for Jason and his "true love" on this season of The Bachelor.

Is that you in there little one??

So, I'm pretty sure I have been feeling the baby move for the past week or so which is pretty exciting. I'm not 100% sure because it is still somewhat early and I have little muscle spasms in my stomach all the time (I had them even before I was pregnant) but I think every once and a while I can feel little Sweet P moving around in there.

I can also definitely tell that my belly is getting bigger. I'm not due to take another picture for about 2 weeks so all of you will have to wait to see how much I have grown :D. Hopefully it will be a big difference from the last picture I took...when I look in the mirror I can tell a pretty big difference.

We go to the doctor again 2 weeks from Monday so hopefully we get a good report there and then we get to find out the sex in about 4 1/2 weeks. We are so excited and cannot wait to see what we will be having. All I have to say is Sweet P better not have his or her legs crossed...now is not the time to be modest ;).

How big is Sweet P? - 16 weeks

Since Thursday is the day that officially begins each new week of my pregnancy I have decided to do a post each week showing how much Baby Packer is growing. Today marks 16 weeks which is pretty crazy because that means we are now 4 months along and only 4 weeks from the half-way mark.

At this point, Sweet P is about the size of an avocado. Tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming.

The Worst Part...

So, I am not complaining because I know this small thing is nothing compared to what a lot of women experience. I am so thankful that I have not been sick because from what I have heard some girls are just miserable. I just wanted to share what the worst part of being pregnant has been for me. And this is probably going to sound so very lame because of what a lot of pregnant women have to go through but so far for me the worst part has been being so congested that haven't been able to breathe through my nose for months. I know, I know...most women are doing good to make it a whole day without throwing up and I'm talking about a stuffy nose but for me that's what has been going on. I've heard it is a very common symptom of pregnancy and like I said...I am so thankful I have not had to suffer through anything worse but it is getting a bit annoying. And being up here in the dry Colorado air does not help much. But I suppose I am more thankful than anything that this is the worst thing I have had to go through thus far. So here's to hoping a stuffy nose is as bad as it gets for me!!

Esther

Today we started are new Ladies Bible Study at church. We are doing the new Beth Moore study on Esther. It looks like it is going to be pretty good. It is my first Beth Moore study and I have heard that they require quite a bit of work so we will see how that goes...hopefully I don't get behind (which would be pretty pathetic since I don't have a job or anything). I'll have to let you know how it goes!!

Aminata

A while ago I wrote about our Compassion International child Aminata. We have been supporting her for a year and a half now and it is such a blessing. When we first signed up to support her we got a sweet little picture of her that we keep on our refridgerator. She was 3 at that time. Here is the original picture we received.



It is so much fun to get letters from her in the mail telling us how she is doing well and continuing to study the Bible. Over the Christmas holiday we got another letter but instead of just being a letter like usual we also got a new updated picture of this sweet girl. She has grown so much since the last picture we received. We aren't allowed to send actual gifts to our child but we can send money that the child can use to purchase gifts for themselves. So for Christmas we sent some extra money and she purchased a new dress, a pair of shoes and some food for her family. She is wearing the dress and shoes in her new picture. It is so special to be able to see the huge impact our fairly small donation has on her life. Here is our new picture of Aminata, she is now 4 1/2.


If you are looking for a cause to support I would highly recommend you check out Compassion International. It is an awesome organization that not only helps support these children monetarily but also teaches them about the Bible. Check out their website where it is super easy to select a child www.compassion.com. It is such a small sacrifice for most of us but is life changing for these children and their families!!

Somewhere in between

So, I have officially crossed that line from being able to comfortably wear my regular clothes but I have not yet crossed over into wearing maternity clothes. I'll have to admit it's not a place I really like because I don't have much to choose from in the wardrobe arena. This realization came today as I was getting ready for church and I found that none of my "normal" church clothes fit anymore but at the same time none of my cute new maternity clothes really fit yet either. Quite a predicament if you ask me. But I ended up in my new pair of 7's for All Mankind maternity jeans (which could quite possibly be the most comfortable jeans I have ever owned) and a solid black long-sleeved knit shirt. Definitely not my typical Sunday attire but it got the job done. I am thinking it won't be long before my maternity clothes actually fit but until then I guess I'm just going to be stuck somewhere in between!!

ESPNZone

We have had some friends from Texas staying with us for the last couple of days and last night we decided to go hang out at ESPNZone downtown. It is a pretty cool place if you are into sports. They have a giant TV and then tons of little TVs all over the place. But possibly the coolest thing there is the row of leather recliners they have right in front of the TVs that have tables at them so you can eat and watch whatever game you want. We started out at a booth which was cool enough but then we noticed that 4 of the recliners were available. We moved up there and it was awesome. The chairs were super comfortable and we just got to sit back and enjoy ourselves. Here is a picture of Collin, Chris and Clint living it up (It was kinda dark and I took it on my cell phone so its not the best picture but you get the point)...



It was pretty awesome!! Definitely the place to be if you have a game to watch!!!

Ready for Collin to Come Home...

I didn't post this earlier because I don't like the world to know that I am at home by myself but Collin has been in the Springs this week for the National Conference on Youth Ministry (NCYM). Thankfully he will be coming home this afternoon. I don't mind being at home by myself during the day but I'm not a huge fan of being here by myself at night. I am so thankful to have Collin and always look forward to him coming home after he has been gone!! I love you babe and am glad you are coming home today!!

Baby Stuff

I've been meaning to post this for a while but just haven't had the picture on my computer until now. I wanted to share all the baby stuff I got for Christmas. So here it is...


I got the adorable Vera Bradley diaper bag from my sisters. The super cute ducky towel and rag and the Texas Longhorn onsies (it's a set of 3 and they are all so cute) are from my mom. The book is from Collin's aunt and uncle. The precious teddy bear is from our dear friend Debbie who lives far away in San Diego. And I bought the tiny Texas Longhorn booties. Thanks so much everyone for already starting to think of Sweet Pea Packer!! I can't wait until I get to use all of it. And if it fits I am hoping we will get to take home our sweet baby in one of the Longhorn onsies...so cute!!

New Look...

So, I got bored and decided to give my blog a facelift...I love doing crafty stuff like this!! What do you think???

Second Doctor's Appointment

This morning we had our second doctor's appointment. We got to hear the heartbeat again but since it is still pretty early it was hard to get a really clear reading but it's still exciting none-the-less!! Other than that it was a pretty uneventful appointment. We are thankful that everything still looks good!! We will have our next appointment exactly 4 weeks from today and it will be much like today's appointment. I will be 18 weeks by then. The doctor said they usually like to wait until around 20 weeks to do the sonogram so 2 weeks after our next appointment on February 19th we have our sonogram scheduled where we will hopefully get to find out what we are having. It is so crazy to think that when we go for our sonogram we will be halfway to meeting our little baby. Thanks for the continued prayers and I will definitely continue to keep you updated!!

We're Back...

Just in case any of you were wondering, we made it safely back to Colorado. It was a pretty uneventful trip until we got about 20 miles from our exit and it started snowing and the roads got pretty slick. It probably took us an extra hour because of the traffic and snow but we are finally back and are looking forward to getting back into a normal schedule again.

Dinner with friends and 14 Weeks Pic...

So I know I already posted once today but I had two other things to share...

First, Collin and I got to have dinner tonight with two of our closest friends Eric and Sarah tonight. We hadn't seen them in about 6 months so it was fun to be able to get with them before we head back to Colorado tomorrow. We enjoyed catching up and just hanging out. We always look forward to time we get to spend with them.

Second, yesterday marks me being 14 weeks pregnant and I am trying to take a picture every 4 weeks so it is time again to post another picture of my changing belly. You can tell the baby is starting to move up more and I am getting just a little rounder. I am still able to wear my regular clothes at this point but from what I hear that will start to change pretty soon. Thankfully, my awesome Nana took me on a maternity clothes shopping spree yesterday so I am all ready for the day my clothes no longer fit. Here is the 10 week picture I posted before and the new 14 week picture...

Lunch and Shopping with M

Today, I was able to enjoy a fun lunch and some shopping with my dear friend M'chelle. She so graciously made the 3 hour drive from Abilene out here so that we could get together for a few hours. We had a lot of fun. She gave me a really cute toboggan for my birthday that will definitely get tons of use in Colorado. We ate at one of our favorite restaurants, PF Changs, and then did a little shopping at one of our favorite stores, Ann Taylor Loft. M bought me some super cute shirts for my Christmas gift there that I am so excited to wear. Since we live so far apart now I am so thankful for anytime we have together, even if it is only a few hours.

Thanks M for coming out to get together with me and for my super cute toboggan and shirts!! Hopefully, I will get to see you in May and I can't wait until you get to come to Colorado!!!!

Ringing in the New Year

I have to admit...I am not a huge fan of New Year's Eve festivities. I tend to be one that goes to bed pretty early so having to stay up just to count backwards from 10 to the New Year just isn't that appealing to me. I mean even if I go to sleep at 9 pm it will still be the new year when I wake up the next morning. But thats really not the point of this post. The point is to reflect on the past year and to look forward to 2009.

2008 was a great year for Collin and me. We began the year in Abilene, TX. Collin had one more semester of grad school and I was continuing to work in order to pay the bills. Winter and spring came and went and before we knew it Collin was graduating and we were moving to Colorado. We both feel so blessed by our move to the Denver area. We love our church family at Littleton and are so thankful to be a part of it. Then of course probably the most exciting thing of 2008 was finding out we are expecting our first child. What a wonderful blessing. In 2008, we also got to see Collin's brother and wife, Clark and Lara, graduate from college and get married and I saw my middle sister, Heather, graduate from college. We are so thankful for all the ways we have been so wonderfully blessed this past year.

In 2009, we look forward to continuing our work with the Littleton Church of Christ. We will hire a new Youth Minister at LCC. We will hopefully find out if we are having a boy or a girl in February. We are hoping to buy our first house. Collin will be on a lectureship program for the first time, he is teaching a class at the Pepperdine Lectures in May. I will hopefully get to see my youngest sister, Morgan, graduate from college in May, pending me being able to travel to Texas being 32 weeks pregnant. We will welcome our precious baby into the world in early July. And then who know what the Lord will send our way. I am so excited to find out though.

Blessings to all of you as we begin this new year and look for all the possibilities God will place in our paths.

"For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalms 100:5. Praise Him for that!!!!