Looking back on 2010

So many amazing and big things have happened in 2010. I love looking back and seeing how the Lord has blessed us so much. I can't wait for 2011....the year our sweet baby will be here!

January

We got to spend two weekends with our best friends, Patrick and Courtney...one weekend in Sugar Land where they lived and one weekend in Victoria. Pretty soon our weekends with them are going to be so different!

February

John was published for the first time!

March

Our Sunday School class put together Buckets of Hope for Haiti.

April

We made an offer on our house and they accepted!

May

We closed and moved into our new house!

June

I blogged about our moving day adventure. It was quick, uneventful (in a good way) and we were so bless by the number of people who came to help us.

July

We did our first project outside. Shaving the bearded tree. This will be the year for the rest of the outside projects!

August

We went to Gulf Shores, AL for a wonderful beach vacation!

September

My sister came to visit and we had so much fun doing a late night Target run!

October

I shared our new front door makeover!

November

We shared with the world our most exciting news! Baby Woods will be here June 17, 2011!
December

We celebrated our last Christmas just the 2 of us and our first Christmas in our new house.

Thursday's Thoughts

1. My parents are coming today! I cannot wait to celebrate Christmas with them. Unfortunately, this year we were not able to get up to Dallas to celebrate with my whole family. I don't have any vacation time yet with my new job and since Christmas fell on a Saturday it would have been hard to make a drive up there after the Christmas Eve service (which John had to be at) and get back for church Sunday. It's about a 7 hour drive and with Baby Woods we have to make quite a few stops.

2. You may have already noticed (or not) but have combined my food blog with this blog. I've been thinking about it for a while. I love sharing new recipes I have found and love as well as the old tried and true family recipes. However, it's been since September since I posted anything there. 2011 is going to be about streamlining and making things more simple for me.

3. I am so excited about the new year. Hello...it's the year of BABY WOODS! And in a little over a month we will find out if we are having a sweet girl or a wild boy!

4. On Christmas day we watched Marley and Me. John and I saw it with my family when it first came out in theaters and we all cried but John. He did not grow up with a dog and didn't get it. Since we've had Oliver I have wanted him to see it again. Let's just say he was on the verge of tears at the end. So sweet. And, it really made us appreciate Oliver more...it could be so much worse!

5. We are loving Oliver so much. He is so fun to have around and we are both smitten with him. He is spoiled and I can only imagine what it will be like when we actually have a baby!

6. I have yet to take a single bump picture. BP (before preggers) I always thought I would do weekly pics and be so great about it. Well, it's hard to remember and tomorrow I will be 16 weeks. Oh well. I am keeping my own little pregnancy journal with weekly things that are going on. Maybe a bump picture will come soon. I can't promise.

7. I'm working on my resolution list for 2011. I want it to be simple and realistic. After all, I will be in the 2nd and 3rd trimester and then with a baby. Obviously simplifying things will be my biggest resolution.

8. Beginning in January (so next week I guess) my first and biggest project will be to start cleaning out the baby's room and closet. Currently it is the junk/catch all room. The closet is my overflow closet and soon it will be full of all baby stuff.

9. If you are in google reader...click over to see my new design thanks to a giveaway I won from The Design Girl. It goes along with my simple theme for 2011. I love it!

menu planning monday

monday: ham, mushroom and onion frittata with salad and bread (this is a made up recipe I will be using for leftovers)

tuesday: chicken squares and salad

wednesday: leftovers...clean out the fridge

thursday: my parents will be here so they are either bring something from houston on their way through or we will be getting food from somewhere here

friday: beef tenderloin, potato and fennel gratin and some other things

saturday: bacon wrapped pork loin and sides

Merry Christmas!

Meet Oliver

Meet Oliver...our new puppy! He is a Shih Tzu, Terrier, Pekingese, Yorkie mix.



We adopted Oliver (his given name was Pablo..ha!) the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We (read: I) have been wanting a dog for so long. John agreed to a dog if it was a Yorkie or something similar. Have you check the prices of Yorkies recently? Yikes!

So we decided to try the local pet adoption places. And I wasn't going to get my hopes up. We had to find the perfect dog for us and John had to love him also or else there was no way it was going to work.

So that Saturday, we went to the first place and the only puppies they had were Australian Shepherds. A little too big for us. So without even seeing them, we left and went down the street to the other place. They took us to the small dog area and we saw "Pablo" in the 3rd cage. We knew immediately we wanted to take him out and see what he was like.

And that was it. We were in a little room with him and he was so excited and loving and we were done. John said the magic words, "We'll take him!"

So we filled out all of the paperwork, got a few instructions and we were on our way. After a stop at Petsmart and Sonic (where he was named) we went home with our new pup.

He is perfect for us and I have to say John LOVES him. He will daily say, "I can't believe I'm becoming a dog person!" He loves Oliver and it's so fun to watch them.



He loves his gingerbread man...


And even though I say he is the perfect dog...he does get into a little trouble sometimes...


I got this text from John once I was at work one day...we had been trying to teach Oliver to play tug with this toy rope he has. Well, he played tug on the lamp cord...


We love our new dog and have been having so much fun with him. He even has his own personalized stocking and we got a few things for him for Christmas yesterday.

Oh, the coolest part...he was born around the time I got pregnant...so he's 14 weeks!

Telling Family

Because we live so far away (6-7 hours from my family, 2 hours from John's) and we found out about Baby Woods in October we could not wait to tell our families in person. So we made the phone calls about 30 minutes after John found out.

Here are the reactions we got over the phone...

My mom: The conversation started with her talking about how her phone keeps dropping calls and that she is going to be getting a new iPhone 4 that weekend. So we tell her that this is probably not the call she wants to drop...I'M PREGNANT! After about 2 minutes of a scream, laugh, cry excited noise we were able to talk more about it. It was so fun and John and I were laughing so hard at her reaction.

John's mom: The conversation started out with her telling us about her day and an annoying person that she had to encounter. We told her we had some news to cheer her up. LINDSAY'S PREGNANT! She was shocked and couldn't believe it. Then it was so fun talking about when I found out and when Baby Woods is coming. 

My dad: When we called him he was about to head out the door with a friend to go running. (Yes, my dad is in his 60s and still runs. He's a champ!) I said, well I've got some news so I'll make this quick...I'M PREGNANT! He just laughed and was so excited! It was the most genuine laugh/chuckle and I could hear the excitement in his voice. He immediately told his friend because otherwise, why would he be reacting that way when his daughter called. 

John's dad: This one is great. We called his cell...no answer. We found out that he was at an open mic night in Austin. On a Thursday night. Easy to find right? So after telling John's sister we figured out where he could be.

So John calls the place where they think he is. After explaining what is going on (my wife is pregnant and my dad is there and we want to tell him...) John tells the girl that she needs to go up on stage and say, "Spencer Woods....call your son. He and Lindsay are going to have a baby." or something along those lines. So we get off the phone and wait. John's phone rings and it's the girl again. He's not there! Apparently he was there but he left and went to another place. So we call the other place, do the same thing again, and about 5 minutes later we get a panicked call from John's dad. All they told him there was, "Call your son." So he went from thinking someone had died to his son is going to be a dad! It was very fun.

My sister: We talk on gchat/video chat a lot. So I got on there to see if she was on. Of course she wasn't. So I call her. Of course she doesn't answer. So I call her husband's cell and he answers. I say quickly, Whit called me earlier and I was just returning her call. She gets on the phone and starts rambling on about Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I mean she was going on and on about it! Ha! So I say, get on video chat...it's more fun to talk that way. As John and I are sitting in front of the computer waiting for her to get on (which by the way, she is still talking and talking on the phone and taking her time getting on...it was so funny) we quickly come up with our plan to tell her. We are holding up the book "What to Expect..." so that is all she can see. After about 3 minutes, she FINALLY gets on there and screams and starts crying. It was so fun to be able to see her reaction.

John's sister: John starts by texting her to see if she can talk. She can so he calls her. She answers and is in a coffee shop (Starbucks? can't remember. doesn't matter.) and isn't talking too loud. John tells her "LINDSAY'S PREGNANT!" She just kept saying, "oh my gosh, oh my gosh" over and over again. She was so surprised and excited. Very fun.

My brother: Mark was thrilled to learn that he was not the last to find out. Poor baby (he's 23) brother feels like he is always the last to find things out. He was at a restaurant/bar with friends playing pool, so I knew that it wouldn't really be a secret but oh well. I told him, "You're going to be an uncle..I'M PREGNANT!" His reaction was so classic Mark. A few curse words but used in complete excitement. It was perfect!

The beautiful flowers from my mom, dad, brother, sister and brother-in-law.

Telling John He's the Baby Daddy

I found out I was pregnant on October 14th during my lunch break. Actually during the last 15 minutes of my lunch break so there was no way I was going to tell John, "oh hey...I'm going to have your baby. Gotta go!" So that began the longest afternoon of my life.



John was home that day and outside in the backyard mowing. After I scored well on my test I went outside to say bye to him. We have a large backyard and he was in the back corner of it. I walked all the way out there to tell him bye. He kept telling me I didn't need to walk all the way out there but little did he know he got me pregnant and I just had to hug him.

So here's what went down. That afternoon I went by the bookstore and picked up a book. I knew I wanted to tell him in a special way and not just say it. I also didn't have much time to plan anything. I didn't know what I was looking for, just something that sort of spit it out and made it very clear what I was trying to tell him. I bought 2 books that day. One for me and one for him. I got "What to Expect When Your Expecting." Duh. And I got him, "So You're Going to Be a Dad." I thought that was pretty point blank.

I spent the rest of the day in a meeting at work and I kept laughing (when I was in the car and alone, not the freak who laughs around others randomly). In the car I kept saying out loud, "I'm pregnant!" It felt so weird to say.

I got home from work and he was already home. Oh by the way, I was hosting Bunco that night so I had to wait even longer to tell him. We began doing last minute things for Bunco that night and finishing up the meal. I was in the kitchen with him for over an hour with this secret inside! It was killing me. But again, I didn't want to say, "oh hey...I'm going to have your baby. Now leave!"

So everyone showed up for Bunco and I was so nervous. I don't know why but for some reason those first few weeks I was so afraid I would have a Freudian slip and spill the beans. I didn't thankfully.

After everyone was gone and John was back home he was sitting at the kitchen table eating dinner. I told him I left something out in my car so I was going to go get it. I think he was probably half listening so no questions. I came in and sat down with the book "wrapped" in the shopping bag it came in. Remember, I didn't have a lot of time that day.

So I told him that I got him a little, 'the house is pretty much done' present and he goes on and on about all the things left to do. I told him to shut up and just open it.

He opens it and sees the title. It takes a minute...here's what happened.

John: "wait what? what? ARE YOU PREGNANT?"

Me: "YES!!!!"

John: "shut up! Oh my gosh!!!" (HUGE smile on his face at this point)

Then we both stand up and hug and laugh and a few tears were shed.



The night continues with laughing and I showed him the positive test. It was an amazing time!



Next up...telling our families and friends.

Lately...

Life has been nuts.

The past 8 nights have not been spent at home. That is a lot of time away from home for this preggo.

For the past 26 years our church has put on a Christmas pageant for the community. It is huge. The church even owns a camel. The past 8 nights have been pageant performances. 12 of them to be exact. Yes, some nights we had more than one performance. But last night was the last one and our cast party. It was a fun week. I was blessed. But I'm also glad it is over.

Our house is mostly decorated for Christmas. I have had most of it done for a few weeks now. However, I still have some things to finish so that is this weeks goal.

I'm also back to cooking this week. Finally. I know John is looking forward to this also.

I am in my 2nd trimester! Although my first wasn't bad at all. I do have some updating to do on Baby Woods but I'll save that for later. He/she has officially "popped" out. Sort of Saturday but yesterday was very noticeable. I'm loving it.

Probably the biggest thing that has happened recently is our new addition Oliver! We adopted a puppy the Saturday after Thanksgiving and he is adorable. I'll post his picture later this week also.

I have so much blogging to do and now that I have my nights back things will be more active here.

Happy Monday friends!

Thanksgiving 2010

December already?!?! Sorry for the short blogging break. I was out of town last week for work and didn't have a chance to blog. So now it is time to catch up!

This year we spent Thanksgiving with John's side of the family. Thursday morning we drove to Waco to his aunt's house along with about 30 other family members. It was a wonderful day and we had so much fun seeing all the family.

I did not take any of these pictures. Someone else had my camera the whole time so it was a fun surprise to see what was taken.


John and 2 of his cousins, Katy and Stacey


Someone wearing my shoes...really have no idea who this is!


Part of the whole group


Another part of the whole group


Even though John's head is cut off here, it's still a cute picture.