Wordless Wednesday

5 1/2 months pregnant with #3!

Home Update

We closed on our house this past Wednesday and we are officially homeowners!

YAYAYAYAYA!

We are so excited and feel so blessed that we found a home that meets our needs! Everything went smoothly and our realtor and lender both said this was the easiest deal they've closed in months.

The sellers will rent from us until October 10th and then Mark and I (with the help of awesome friends and family) will spend that week painting, doing some demo on a few things, and new carpet and window treatments will be installed. We'll move in the following weekend.

I know I keep calling this a "God thing", but here's one more thing that just added to the sweetness of this entire process:

Mark and I began dating on October 17th, 1997 and every year since have celebrated our "anniversary" on that day, even after we got married (in addition to our wedding anniversary, of course).

This year we'll be moving into our first home on October 17th! What a great way to celebrate! :)

Have a happy Monday!

-Alison

Everything

This is who I am. This is what I believe. I am unashamed.

I have never been more sure of this than now.

Our First NFL Game!

Mark and I went to our first NFL game on September 5th!  It was so different than what we expected.  The Chargers were playing the 49ers (our team vs. our childhood team) and it was very cool to see a live game.  I won't lie, being packed in the trolley butt to belly was miserable and ALL the people everywhere totally took me out of my comfort zone.  But it was a good experience and we had great seats!

5 months pregnant here!

Reminded me of all the high school football games we enjoyed together.  Except I was in a really cute band uniform! :)

Seaport Village

Seaport Village is one of our favorite places to hang out!  The kids love seeing the boats on the water and there is always something exciting going on.  Mark and I love the atmosphere and the live music.  We try to get out there once a month or so and here is a recent visit at the end of August.

Almost 5 months pregnant above (8/30/09).

Emma loves Seaport Village for two reasons: #1. The merry-go-round

And #2. The frozen yogurt.  Brody's first time trying frozen yogurt!  He loved it!

Giving kisses is one of Bro's favorite things!  :)

Stuff

Of course I woke up with the events of September 11, 2001 on my mind this morning.  My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by such a tragedy.

I will always remember my friend Chaundra (roommate at the time) waking me up to tell me what happened.  The rest of the day was filled with confusion, tears, cigarettes (yes, we smoked back then...stupid college kids) and ABC newscasters.  School was closed for nearly a week and I remember our city of Fresno being in a daze, as all the country was.

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Today I am more thankful for my friends than I think I ever have been.  True friendship is such a gift.  I am appreciative of the reminder.

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Our friends John and Taryn had us over for dinner on Monday.  We love them and love spending time with them and their sweet Carson.  Its always a good time.  Besides our pre-dinner stroll on the beach where we stumbled across clam poachers (biggest clams I have EVER seen btw), the highlight of the evening was John's homemade nectarine cobbler.

I have been thinking about it daily since.  It was SO GOOD!!!  

John passed on the recipe to me and I will pass it on to you:

Nectarine Cobbler

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

• 5 c Nectarines, sliced
• 1 c Sugar
• 2 Egg yolks, beaten
• Cinnamon, topping-
• 1 c Flour
• 1 1/4 ts Baking powder
• 6 tb Sugar
• 1/4 ts Salt
• 6 tb Butter
• 1/2 c Milk
• 2 Egg whites, beaten stiff

INSTRUCTIONS

Toss fruit with sugar, stir in yolks and turn into a buttered 8x8" pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt and toss lightly to mix. With a pastry blender, cut butter into dry ingredients until crumbly. Add milk, stirring until smooth, then lightly fold in egg whites. Spoon over fruit. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes, or until brown and crusty. 

Have a great weekend!!! :)

Homeschooling Update

Many friends and family have asked how we're enjoying homeschooling and so I thought I'd post a quick update.

We are now on week 5.  Its been exciting, trying, and challenging.  We love it.  

I am so thankful that we school from home, are done by lunchtime on most days, and have the whole afternoon to play, explore, rest, visit with friends, etc.  I love spending this time with Emma.  We have so much fun and I'll be honest, she's not the only one learning here.  And I'm not talking about the curriculum (although it has been a good refresher!).  I am learning so much about myself as a woman and mother.  No one is more surprised than me that this is the course our lives have taken and I am loving my roles!  

Emma is thriving and learning so much (this week we learned about the Vikings!) and seeing her growth first-hand has been so rewarding!  Her strongest subjects right now are reading, math, and Bible.  She really enjoys science, especially the projects which we do on Thursdays, and Language Arts.  I foresee us homeschooling for years to come.  

Thanks to our families and friends for the support and encouragement!  We really appreciate it. :)

Just Sayin'....

I will never go see Legally Blonde on Broadway.  If you caught the last 10 minutes of the Bonnie Hunt Show then you may understand where I'm coming from.  Everything about it annoys me, especially their voices.  Nails on chalkboard.  

p.s. I really liked the movie though.

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I am only 5 months pregnant and I'm pretty sure I'm already waddling.  Waddling bothers me. When I walk I make a conscience effort to walk as normal as I can.  

Also, since we're on the topic of pregnancy, when people ask me what I'm craving I usually say nothing.  The truth is I'm craving beer.  Other than taking a little sip of hubs beer every now and then this is one craving thats easily avoided.  But SO weird and a first for me!

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I cannot wait until we move into our house!  What will I enjoy and appreciate the most about having our own four walls?  Never EVER having to take the dog out again.  I am going to LOVE having a doggie door!  

PRAISE!!!

Do you remember my prayer requests at the bottom of this post?

Well Mark just called to tell me that our lender just locked in a 5.0% interest rate for us!!!!!!!!!!!

HUGE PRAISE!!! Thank you Lord!!!

If you prayed with us for this, THANK YOU!

This brings our mortgage down by another $100/month!

I am almost in tears. This just keeps getting better and better and I am SO thankful for the Lord's blessings.

Please pray that we close escrow by September 27th to keep this great interest rate. We are ahead of the game and the sellers have been wonderful (another praise, they now have an accepted offer on a home as well)!

Thank you!

-Alison

WW-Prescott Park, Portsmouth NH (my favorite park)