January Book Club

We had a delightfully restful weekend. In fact, there is really no news or excitement this week. Don't get me wrong, I love a beautifully ordinary weekend where taking the dog to the park, sleeping in and going to church make the highlight reel. I did a little reading this weekend. And, since Christmas I've had the opportunity to finish three really good books.
Crazy Love is not for the faint of heart. Written by Francis Chan, it is a challenging and (at times) uncomfortable book about Christianity and how the choices you make on a daily basis reflect your faith and the trust you place God.

Same Kind of Different as Me was recommended to me by a friend. It's a very easy read and you will want to have your tissue ready. This true story written by two men from two different walks of life whose paths were destined to cross is one that will leave you inspired.

Cormac McCarthy was a Knoxville native and UT grad who is perhaps East Tennessee's most notable author. The Road, is one of the most beautifully written novels I've read. Even though there are only two main characters, it is not a one dimensional story. They face hurdles unimaginable to most readers and through their love, demonstrate a resilience and grace rivaled only in tales of Holocaust survivors.

Chester isn't really a reader, but he is the only other member of my book club. I love to hear any recommendations for my next read and if anyone wants to do like a once a month blogger book club, let me know.

Week 26: Let The Nesting Begin

Jason was such a good sport all weekend as I not-so delicately encouraged him to help me move furniture, get organized and put more stuff up in the attic. His parents, Danny and Molly, our most faithful relocating service, came in to help cart off our spare bedroom furniture and make room for the nursery. I intended to snap some pics of the move, but Danny was already starting to pack to U-haul when I crawled out of bed this morning. If he had his own moving company it would be called the Roadrunner Relocation Company because he moves so fast it's impossible to keep up. Beep beep!
I think we've (meaning I've) picked out the color for the nursery. No it's not baby blue, it's actually Water Chestnut and hopefully it will look nice with the dark furniture and chocolate and blue elephant bedding.

Here is the room after Jason and his dad got a hold of it. Jason is set to do the painting sometime in the next month. He isn't actually nesting, he's just fallen victim to my obsession. Sorry hon.

Two disclaimers about this picture: 1. I have on no make-up and my hair is a mess. 2. I hate this bathroom color but it was literally the hardest room I've ever painted and I refuse to redo it. This is my baby mound. I swear it gets bigger every day.

Here is the abbreviated baby scoop (I'm stealing, eh I mean borrowing your idea Sarah):

1. Week 26 and John Thomas is VERY active. I'm pretty sure he's either going to grow up to be a karate instructor or a gymnist because he woke me up at 4:30 a.m doing Tae bo in my abdomen. His eyes are now open, he weighs just over 2 lbs and he's around 9.5 inches long.

2. Energy: I'm really good until about Thursday afternoon and then I'm exhausted. Thanks to a great schedule, I can hall walk almost every day to help keep my stamina up (Thanks Sarah!). Jason would never say this out loud, but I get really grumpy when I'm tired and he's been so sweet about it.

3. Cravings: I'm loving cottage cheese, pimento cheese and pecan sandies cookies.

4. Aversions: I wish.

5. Clothing: Anything with an elastic waistband. I love the fact that maternity clothes don't have zippers (simply genius).

6. Weight gain: None of your business, but I will proudly say I still am several pounds away from my freshman 20 (yes 20!).

7. Next doctors appointment: 2 weeks. It's the one where I have to drink the syrup and get tested for diabetes.

Chester got a much needed bath this weekend. Don't worry, this is his toy squirrel and as most of you know anyway, he's a lover not a biter.

Snow Bound

School was released early on Thursday due to inclement weather. Between the traffic and the icy roads, it took me nearly an hour to get home. Jason and I both slept in on Friday because school and my basketball game had been canceled. Friday afternoon we decided to brave the roads in order to remedy our cabin fever. We jumped head-first onto the Avatar band wagon.

Saturday we decided to register at BabiesRUs. Although we're somewhat overwhelmed, we both stayed incredibly patient with one another. You can go to http://www.babiesrus.com/ if you want to check it out. Please feel free to offer any advice to help complete or edit our selections.

This weekend's greatest disappointment:

Our friend Tommy was throwing his wife, Stephanie, a surprise 30th birthday party in Birmingham. Instead of spending the weekend with our long lost favorite cul-de-sac neighbors, we were stuck in the cul-de-sac here all by our lonesome because my basketball game was rescheduled for Saturday. I hope that she had a wonderful soiree and I hope that we can make it up to them real soon. Happy Birthday Steph!After looking at snow/ice all weekend, this picture reminds me of the warm summer days. Speaking of warmth, our heat went out last night.
Needless to say, Jason and I practiced our Eskimo kisses before we went to bed last night. When I woke up it was 50 degrees in our bedroom --brrrrrr.

At least we got a really cute picture of our really cute dog who happens to love the snow.

Christmas In January

Apparently our computer has decided to work well this week. Here are last week's pictures.
Our Christmas dinner. If it's possible, I think it actually tasted better than it looked.

Mom and dad (note: Sassie insisted on being in the picture)

Our family as of Christmas 2009. There will surely be big changes by this time next year.

This new years was our quietest ever. Jason went to his grandparents to hunt and I stayed home with the dog to rest and finish a book for class. I was actually in bed by 11:30. Like most of you, we're back to the daily grind on Monday.

Tis The Season

Friday was my last day of work this year! Yay! Jason has to work a few days this week and then he's off too.

Saturday night we went to our annual Stooksbury Christmas party. As always, we ate great food, played dirty Santa, competed in cut-throat Cranium (Go Girls!), and had tons of fun.
Andrew, Jason, Jason, Kenny and John Curtis. I'm just happy they behaved for at least one picture.

The girls: Angelina, Brooke, Me, Sarah and Kim. Note to self, the red and white horizontal strips definitely make me look way pregnant.

The three moms-to-be. Kim is due in March, me in April and Sarah in July! Our next Christmas party is sure to be different and I can't wait.

I bought Chester a new toy this week, a squirrel. It's his first new toy in four years. He loves it. Even though I've been a little under the weather this weekend, these boys take good care of me and keep me entertained. Only five days until Christmas!

Booty-Do

I learned a new term this week from my basketball team. One of the girls told me before practice that I had a "booty-do." After the team regained composure from their hysterical laughter, they explained to me that my belly looks bigger than my "booty-do." What will they think of next?

In case you haven't heard, Monday Jason and I found out that we're having a boy! John Thomas Kirkpatrick. He is developing right on schedule and he even weighs above average for his age (6.5 inches long and 12 oz.). I feel him moving much more often now and love every second of it.
These are his little baby feet. It also happens to be my favorite picture so far.I decided to use some discretion and spare you the "winkie" shot. Here, although he looks like an alien, he is looking right at the camera and has is hand on his face. I hope he's not bored already.

Friday, after our much needed victory, we met my parents out for dinner. It was an unplanned and pleasant surprise. Saturday, I stayed around the house all day and it was wonderful. I was able to tidy up, wrap presents, spend time with the family and get some much needed rest. Jason and I also made our first major baby purchases, a crib and the baby bedding.

As you can gauge from the photo, Chester is starting to feel normal again. Although I'm not sure what's normal about a 70 pound lap dog.

Baby On Board

I had such a fun weekend! I finally got to take my maiden voyage on the annual girl's Atlanta shopping trip. Every year in early December my group of girl friends go on a shopping extravaganza to most of the outlets and malls in and around the Atlanta metropolitan area. I finished nearly all of my Christmas shopping in less than 12 hours. Besides spending time with some of my favorite ladies, we got to stay in one of the swankiest lofts on Peachtree.
From left to right: Kim, Brooke, Sarah, Angelina, and Me. This picture was taken by the concierge in the Park Place lobby (where we stayed). Most of us definitely felt like fish out of water walking into this place, but it was super cool of Brooke's uncle to let us crash at his place.
All the common space was done with marble floors and almost every room had a complete view of the Atlanta skyline. This is what Atlanta looks like from the 25th floor.Even the toilet paper holder was fancy!

This morning we headed to Buckhead Church. It was a really cool experience. No kidding, I felt like I was at a concert or something. Besides the great music, the message was challenging. It always amazes me when pastors take a typically overlooked biblical phrase and turn it into a thoughtful, even provocative lesson. The video of this morning's message hasn't been posted yet, but let me encourage you to check out their website and look for today's message later on this week. http://www.buckheadchurch.org/

As promised, here is my baby bump. I will be 20 weeks on Tuesday. Halfway there--yay! Jason and I go to the doctor tomorrow morning to find out if Baby KP is going to be a momma's boy or a daddy's girl. We can't wait and we'll keep you "posted!"