Overwhelmed!!!

Today I just want to complain and cry, which I have done enough of already. My poor husband has left the house for the 2nd time today. It is quiet now; Owen is napping, and I am checking things off my list of things to get done before Olivia is born. The problem is I keep adding more things to it! I'm trying to balance all the "normal" things that happen (laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, playing with Owen, making appts, running errands) with all the things that I would like to get done before the arrival of Olivia (nesting, getting closets organized, preparing her side of the nursery, writing thank you notes,etc). On top of it all, there is Christmas!! We are done shopping, but Justin found his Christmas present last night (I just left it laying in the bathroom) and I don't know what to do. Justin loves giving and receiving gifts, so I like to have something that he would love to open! And then, I don't even want to look at the calendar because I realize how few sleep-filled nights I have remaining. Don't get me wrong, I know when Olivia comes, I will fall in love with her, but right now I would be ok if she stayed in a little longer than the 3 weeks we have left.

In the past few weeks, Owen has turned into a little boy. There is not much left that I consider a "baby". He climbs on everything, which is making life a little crazier than normal, because we are trying to teach him to SIT on the furniture, but of course, he has found the light switches and loves to turn them on and off, not to mention climbing on the kitchen chairs, and table if he gets that chance. Justin and I have not seemed to learn that we need to keep things out of his reach, because he has broken a Christmas ornament, pulled a bell of a Christmas hat, and taken our phones and glasses off the table numerous times. He also likes to eat out of the trash can, if given the opportunity. His favorite....banana peels. Ahhhhhh!!!

So anyway, here is my post for the day. Lots of stress and some sadness as I realize that I have been crabby all day towards my family. We have had some really blessed moments in the past week too, so I will post them soon, but right now I think the most important thing I can do is go take a nap while my family hides from me :)

Here are some cute pics of my little guy! I love him so!

Thanksgiving 2009

Justin's family came to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. We had a great time hanging out and visiting, especially with our nephew Max who is 3 months old. Teresa prepared a wonderful Thanksgiving meal, and we are still eating leftover turkey. They were so kind to keep Owen one night and Justin and I had one of our last date nights before Olivia is born. We saw "The Blind Side" and used a gift card to Olive Garden. We finished the night by browsing in Books-A-Million. It was so nice to have a night out!

On Friday, Justin performed the wedding ceremony of his mom and Greg. Mikaela and I held the rings and Owen and Max were very cute. After, we headed to Red Lobster for a dinner celebration. What a great day!

The ceremony was at Clover Bottom mansion, and Owen loved running around during the entire ceremony.
Mikaela and Max!

Grandmother brought Owen his Christmas presents. His favorite right now is the helicopter that makes lots of noise! :) He also loves "Donut" the laughing dog. He rolls and laughs on the floor. It is sound activated, and Owen can hardly hang on to it when he is laughing.

We also finished our "thankful lists" Here are some of ours, in no particular order :)

Trisha is thankful for:

A healthy, happy, active baby boy!

Justin's love and desire to spend time with Owen

Wonderful conversations with my husband

Family that loves and takes care of some of our needs

Chick-Fil-A peppermint chocolate chip shakes

Never being alone or without hope

Justin is thankful for:

Owen's life

God is the Redeemer of ALL things!

Belmont

The sound a cow makes according to Owen

Grace that is more than enough!

What Are You Thankful For?

Daddy & Owen put together Olivia's crib
Yea!! She has a place to sleep
34 Weeks

I have enjoyed reading the facebook status' of many of my friends this week. Many are using their status to say what they are thankful for this season. Justin and I are going to do something similar. Every day for the 5 days before Thanksgiving we are each going to write 10 things we are thankful for, and then on Thanksgiving day share them with each other. I hope to do this every year, and as our kids get older, they will be able to participate as well. I will put them in a box, and each year we can reread what we were thankful for in years past. After we write them, I will post some of our list.

Life is just rolling right along here. Time is going by so fast! Only about 4-5 weeks until Olivia arrives. Justin is putting up the crib today, and I am hoping to organize the nursery and get everything in place soon. We have some Christmas shopping to do this weekend as well. We only have our niece and nephews to buy for, so it should be fun, and not stressful. Shopping is not my favorite activity!

I have had a rough week with Owen. He is definitely challenging authority and has a mind of his own. I confess that there are days where I would rather be going to a "job" than taking care of Owen. We are remaining consistent, and I call friends or Justin when I think I am going to lose my mind. Our weekly library story time was the worst this week. Owen would not sit in my lap and screamed and threw himself on the floor if I picked him up. We both left the library in tears. I found a different program that we may go to for a while. It is a bigger room with less people, and only lasts about 20 minutes. This will be much more suited for his age and abilities. We will try the other story time next fall after he turns 2.

Pregnancy is going well. Olivia is definitely the second child. We have not been as good about taking pictures documenting the pregnancy, and we lost some from this summer when Justin's hard drive crashed. So, we only have 2!! Oh, well...we'll make up it for it when she comes :) I feel good, although I am having some back pain, which I didn't have with Owen. I think it's just from running around after Owen, but it sure is not comfortable.

Justin's family is coming for Thanksgiving, so I have spent the weekend cleaning and getting ready. We are looking forward to having family here for Thanksgiving, since we usually don't see them at this holiday. We will not be going home for Christmas either, since Olivia will be so close to arriving!

Hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving. I hope we don't rush by this time and remember to just stop and be thankful for all that we have! The Lord so graciously reminded me of this as I got ready for church this morning, and my mind filled with worry as I thought of the next few weeks and months. He reminded me of a song that I know I have not sang in months; "Give Thanks", and then we sang it in church today. He is so faithful!