Pioneer Woman comes to Nashville!

For the past couple of years Jeannie and I have followed a blog called, Pioneer Woman. The blogger, Ree is a regular woman whose blog has exploded to thousands of readers. She is the wife of an Oklahoma rancher, homeschooling mom, great cook and incredible photographer and now she is on the NY Times best sellers list. She is a total crack up and we've always enjoyed her blog. We've read it so long, it started to feel like we knew her personally. Well, as of Tuesday night, we can say we do! Okay, okay. We met her. I guess we still don't know her, but we are one step closer! She just released a new cookbook and she did a signing at Davis Kidd Booksellers in Nashville. Jeremiah, Jeannie and I all went. It was a fun night of chatting with other readers, fans and "friends" of Ree, the Pioneer Woman. She was very sweet and chatted with each person as they got their books signed and pictures taken. She got a smile out of Jeremiah even though it was WELL past his bedtime. He was a trooper and was great the entire time. I promised him that when he's a teenager and really wants to go to some movie opening at midnight, or meet a band, I would take him. We arrived at the mall about 5pm and connected with our friends who got us line tickets and then shopped at bit. About 6 we strolled into the book store to begin our wait. Ree arrived about 7pm and the signing began. Our ticketed number group got in line about, oh... who knows when. All I know is we strolled up to the table and met the real Pioneer Woman about 10:20. We were headed home by 10:45. :) My little sweet pea was in bed very late, but treated us both by sleeping in very late the next morning. It was a fun night, one we won't soon forget. Not just because we met Ree, but because we had so much fun waiting.

Jeremiah is 4 months old!

I can't believe that I haven't posted since Jeremiah turned 3 months! Let's just say, its been busy around here!

At 4 months Jeremiah:
rolls over from back to belly and belly to back
tries to sit up when you lay him on his back
sits up when supported
LOVES to jump in his monkey seat
reaches for toys and things he wants
drools constantly
sleeps through the night (most nights!)
loves to go out and about
is getting better about riding in the car at night (yeay!)
loves to play with other babies, but especially enjoys watching Aubrey play
goes to the nursery on Sundays
stands when supported and loves to jump
makes his mommy and daddy laugh all the time
brings joy to everyone he smiles at (which is about anyone who will look at him)

3 months

Jeremiah is 3 months old and more fun each day!

At 3 months Jeremiah:
laughs out loud all the time
smiles at everyone in sight
loves to be sitting up looking around
hates the car seat at night (still!)
thinks dancing with Momma is so funny, but listening to Daddy sing is even funnier
has rolled over from his belly to his back
talks all the time by fluctuating his voice up and down making a funny groaning noise
is the joy of our household. I don't know what we looked at before he came along!
loves going to UTurn and seeing all the kids, but the Word Group girls are his favorite

Pumpkin Fest

First of all... Thank you, Melinda for the lesson on posting pictures!

Every year Franklin has Pumpkin Fest in downtown Franklin. It is so much fun to see all the kids in their costumes and this year we got to take our little guy! We saw lots of friends out enjoying the beautiful Fall weather.

Jeremiah dressed as his daddy, Al the Averitt Associate!




Aubrey was a beautiful princess and loved posing for the pictures with her buddy, Little Al the driver


Taking a break from the stroller!

A quick post!

Can you believe he is big enough for his Bumbo chair?!


My brother Matt (17) aka, Jeremiah's favorite toy
Jeremiah, Bella, Gideon and Jack (Reynolds cousins)
Jeremiah meeting his great-grandma! (Al's grandma)

I have internet access and a sleeping baby at the same time! That rarely happens so here is a quick update on our lives! And I do mean quick... :) 

We are doing fantastic, I am loving the mommy life. I am still in awe at times that I am in this position finally.

Jeremiah and I enjoyed a trip to Tulsa this month. He did great on the flights and loved all the people he got to see on each flight. He thought they were all there for him. It was a funny experience to step onto a plane and have everyone looked away fast, you could almost hear their thoughts, "Please don't let the lady with the baby sit by me..." but our boy did great! He didn't cry a bit. We had a great time in Tulsa making the rounds to see everyone. We were both tired by the end of the trip, but I am so thankful we got to go. Becky just bought a house so I was so excited to see it in it's "before" stage. She has lots of work to do, but it is an adorable house about 6 blocks from my parents. 

I am almost 30!!! Two weeks from today I will be 30! I know it is two weeks because today is my lifelong friend, Sarah B's birthday. She is 29 today and we are the same age for 2 weeks every year. That was a big deal when we were little. Happy Golden Birthday, Sarah! To mark this milestone, I have a gray hair. One curly thing poking up from the crown of my head. I am not one to shy away from birthdays though. I love each age and I am proud to be where I am, so bring on the thirties and the gray hairs! (I just a box of dye anyway ;))

Last week we lost power and about the same time heard a helicopter. We looked outside and there was a helicopter flying low pulling new power lines to new towers that were just built. It was amazing to watch. The chopper would fly so low and steady. And then to add to our excitement a guy climbed the tower to attach the lines. It was worth the temporary loss of power. :) That is what the random picture is. (can someone tell me why I can't move pictures on this thing!? So annoying) 

Ok, nap time is coming to an end in our house so I will hurry up and get some pictures added to this post and say goodbye for now! 

2 months old!

He's sad, OU keeps loosing. Even with the cutest fan!
2 months! He's getting so big!
I love Tulsa! 

Our buddy boy is 2 months old! Last week at his 2 month check up he was 11lbs 11oz and 23 1/4 inches long. For weight he is in the 50th percentile and for his length he is in the 75th. 

Jeremiah, at 2 months you: 

*love to sit on Daddy's raised knees and talk to him. 

*have laughed out loud several times, but only for Daddy. He must be funnier than me. 

*love to play on your ocean mat and watch the lights and listen to the music. 

*LOVE Praise Baby worship DVD's. You will sit in your bouncy chair and smile and talk to the TV while the worship songs play. 

*sleep great at night, but don't take very long naps during the day unless I lay down with you. 

*do not care for long car rides. (If you could change that before Christmas, that would be great!) Anything over 20 minutes and you are all done. If it is dark out, you cry most of the trip. 

*light up when Daddy talks to you and you seem to like all the silly nicknames he has for you.

*love Mommy time when you get sleepy and except for Daddy no one else can console you when you want Mommy. 

*discovered your hands and think they are tasty!

*love to kick and kick and kick!

This last month has included lots of fun. Jeremiah met his Uncle Josh for the first time while Josh was in town for a conference. We celebrated Olivia's birthday with some bowling. Jeremiah didn't even need the bumpers up, he's a natural. Our days are busy with bible studies, errands lots of fun. I am so thankful that I am staying at home. It has been such a blessing for both Al and myself. We have lots of fun! 

We are so excited to now be a part of the Spring Hill congregation of New Song. It is exciting to be a part of what God is doing in our city. It is different being in a smaller congregation, but the spirit is the same and the word bring brought is always good and challenging. Jeremiah is loved everywhere we go, but seems to have a special place in the hearts of the people there. As a family, we are so excited that God has called us there in this season. 

As always we are busy with youth. Many have asked, but we determined to continue doing UTurn with Jeremiah in tow. We have started covering his ears, because it gets loud in there and we have had to leave early a time or two, but for the most part he just goes with the flow. The kids all love him and it is fun to watch them interact with him. 

I am leading a Walking Out the Word group for some of our youth girls as well as a group of mom's here in Spring Hill. I love the challenge and I love getting into the word a bit more deeply than I would normally. When you have teenagers asking you questions, it keeps you on your toes. And gathering with the moms and hearing from them has really stretched me. I have also started a Beth Moore bible study, I always love her studies. So, to say we are bored would be a lie! I love being available to serve our friends as well. Today and tomorrow we get some Aubrey time and later this week I am keeping 3 other kids. OK, that is all the rambling I will do for today. Right now we don't have internet at home so I don't post often. I promise even if I don't post, we are still taking pictures!

Trying this again...

For some reason I have had some blog trouble and I couldn't post any pictures. Since I am typing with a sleeping baby on my lap I will let the pictures speak for themselves. Jeremiah weighs 11lbs 4oz! 

One month old!

Happy one month birthday, Jeremiah! At one month you love to be rocked, read to and have songs sung to you. You like to take naps on Daddy's chest the best and love if Mommy will rock you to sleep. You prefer to go without clothing, but love to have a blanket swaddled tightly around you. You make eye contact and smile at us often. Sometimes when we talk to you, you coo and talk back. You tend to be more fussy in the evenings, but afternoons are your favorite time of the day. If we go for a ride in the car you seem to like it to be daylight. You often cry and cry when we are driving at night. We will need to talk about that since Tulsa is a long drive away! 

A fun weekend away

This weekend we were blessed to be able to go to a lake house with our youth leadership team. It was a great time to get away and reconnect with our team, relax, watch movies, play games and for those who didn't just have a baby... water ski, wake board or tube on the boat. Here are some pictures from our weekend. 

We have 3 new babies in UTurn! Eden, Ethan and Jeremiah 

A brand new car!

Since being at home I have seen Price is Right for the first time in ages, so I hear the announcer voice when I think of our "Brand new car!!!". The Lord laid the possibility of a new car on our hearts last week. Now doesn't seem like the time to buy a new car. We are now a one income family and we've worked to eliminate debt in order for that to be possible. Thankfully though, God is our provider and not ourselves. The government program, CARS, or Cash for Clunkers ended this weekend and Al's T100 qualified since it only gets 16 miles to the gallon. Through Averitt Express, Al gets an employee discount through Nissan. Averitt is Nissan's carrier so the discount is the same as what Nissan employees get. Al went to the dealer and found a Nissan Versa at a great price. After much prayer, counsel and a long day of waiting, we bought the Versa. After our Averitt discount, Nissan rebate and the CARS promotion we were able to get a great price as well as a great interest rate. Our payments won't be much over what we will be saving in gas each month. We are thankful and so excited! We've never had a new car, we've always bought used. It will be a fun car for us to run around in. And we still have the 4Runner for bigger loads. We are so thankful for this gift from the Lord. 

Our big boy is almost 3 weeks old and such a good baby! He sleeps great, is rarely fussy and he eats great. He loves to sit and talk to us and we love to sit and talk to him. He smiles and coos when you talk to him. He is adorable if you ask me. He loves to hang out in the sling close to momma and prefers a nap on your chest over anywhere, but he does sleep great in the crib at night. 

Al checking things out

2 weeks old!

Jeremiah in his "Bobby" onesie. Gideon gave it to him and Gideon calls Spider Man, Bobby

Headed to church for the first time!

Grandpa was telling him stories.

Jeremiah thought Grandpa's stories were funny!

Jeremiah William is 2 weeks old ! Yesterday I took him for his 2 week weigh in and he had gained 1/2 a pound so he is now up to 8lbs 8ozs. No eating problems here! We are adjusting to our new way of life. Dad flew in on Saturday to drive Mom back to Tulsa. We had such a great visit with Mom and I was so thankful to have her here for 3 weeks. I know everyone at home missed her, but we were so glad to have her. They drove out yesterday morning and made it safely to Tulsa yesterday evening. Jeremiah had his first fussy day in honor of Grandma and Grandpa's departure. We survived, but this momma was thankful he is a good baby. Made me sympathetic to all the moms out there with fussy babies. We have loved all our visitors and the delicious meals. I have tried to take a picture with each visitor, but I think I have done a bad job at it. So... if you come visit, insist that I take a picture!

Wow, 2 weeks have flown by and each day we love this little guy more. God is faithful! Jeremiah loves to be swaddled tightly and takes the best naps on mommy or daddy's chests. He loves to sing, "He's got the whole world in His hands" and each night we make up a new line according to what we are praying for right then. We sing about Daddy at Averitt, Martha in Africa (our sponsored Compassion Intl' Child), all his cousins, grandmas and grandpas and a special baby Jeremiah is praying joins his list of friends soon. Tonight maybe you will be in our song! He's got the whole world in His hands! 

Geez, Martha. Where have you been!?

Getting ready to head to the hospital in their custom shirts

 Finally a family of 3This is the "promise" outfit  

Jeremiah has the best aunts in the whole wide world! He can't wait to meet the rest of them!

He's here, he's here! Jeremiah is 8 days old today and we are in love. In the words of Elf, "I'm in love, I'm in love and I don't care who knows it!" We went in last Tuesday at midnight to induce labor, but Dr. Presley was still pretty confident that we would have to have a c-section. God had another plan and we had a peaceful, relaxed and dare I say... fun delivery. It wasn't something I would like to repeat next week or anything (especially, not the recovery!), but it was better than I could have ever expected. After being on a drip of Petocin (sp?) all night Dr. Presley broke my water about 6:30am and the real contractions began. I progressed slowly at first, but then quickly started dilating and before I knew it they were telling me I could push when I was ready. After about 30 minutes of pushing, Jeremiah was born! Al, mom and Becky were there. Becky and Al held my legs and counted through the contractions for me while mom got to experience the birth of her grandson. It was a miraculous day for sure. My heart melted as soon as I saw his beautiful face. He has the sweetest dimpled chin just like his daddy. I prayed for that chin. :) 

Becky had to leave on Thursday to get back to work, we were sad she had to leave, but look forward to a visit from her, mom and my brother over Fall break. She didn't get to have much time with Jeremiah, but she got to take us home from the hospital. 

Al's family came in on Friday night and were able to stay until Monday morning. Jeremiah got lots of cuddle time in with his cousin Weslee, Aunt Angela, Memaw and PaPa. Mom is here until Tuesday, Dad is flying in to drive back with her. I am looking forward to introduce our boy to more family. 

We have had a great first week. Yesterday Mom and I got out and ran some errands. It about did me in. :) My pain has been getting better each day. Today we went to a movie, Julie & Julia (great by the way) and I expertly nursed in the theatre and changed a diaper in the public restroom. I was pretty proud of myself. 

Jeremiah is sleeping well at night and eating great. Thank you for your prayers for our labor, delivery and our boy. We have felt them. We love our boy so so much and I had no idea how much more I would love my husband after meeting our son. Life is good. 

39 weeks, the Nursery and one last update!

I am late in posting this, it has been a busy week! Mom and Becky arrived Saturday night and we have pretty much been going ever since. Between errands, cleaning, playing, planning and a doctors appointment, it has been a busy few days. We have had a great time this week and it has helped pass the time of waiting. With the help of Dr. Presley we have determined that if Jeremiah doesn't come on his own we will check in to the hospital at 12:01am on Tuesday morning and start inducing labor. I am going to try and deliver vaginally, but there is still a 50/50 chance of a c-section because while I am progressing a bit, Jeremiah is still very high and not engaged in a birthing position. We have prayed about this and feel great about it. We know God has a perfect plan for his delivery. So... Tuesday August 4th is our big day! That is, unless Jeremiah comes before then. 

I finally have pictures of the nursery. It is my favorite spot in the house. I love to sit in the rocker and do my quiet time in the morning while everyone is still asleep. Enjoy the pictures!

38 weeks, a doctor's visit update and my last day at KIDMO!

Well, there is a lot to update you on since yesterday's doctor's visit. Yesterday I started my day with a visit to Dr. Presley. Since we knew that Jeremiah wasn't breeched we assumed this meant that I would be going into labor anytime now. Well, it looks like my body may have other plans. I am not progressing at all and Jeremiah is still very, very high. Dr. Presley is concerned that the reason he hasn't dropped is that my pelvis is too small for him to get engaged in a birthing position. We talked about what that meant for my delivery and basically here is what it comes down to. I have 2 choices. First choice is to be induced. They can cause me to go into labor and see if Jeremiah drops into position where I can push him out. The risk with this is that I could labor for hours and then still have to have a c-section, an emergency c-section. Trying to push him out of a pelvis too small can cause him distress and/or cause my pelvis to break. That doesn't sound fun. The second choice is to schedule a c-section and not try a vaginal delivery at all. Since we know Jeremiah isn't going to start coming feet first, there isn't a rush to make a determination. So, we have a few days to pray about what we want to do. Please pray with us to make the right choice. My mom will be here which brings me much peace if I have to have a c-section since the recovery is a bit longer. I have peace either way, we just want to finish this pregnancy well. We go back to the doctor on Tuesday to get checked again and if nothing has changed we will make a choice then. 

Yesterday was my last day at KIDMO! It was a bitter sweet day. I am so glad that my time of working outside of the house are over and this new season is beginning, but I have been working there since the day we moved to Nashville. August 30th would have been my 5th anniversary. My boss, Mark and his wife Terry hosted a sweet dinner for my office mates to celebrate my departure. We ate and ate and ate... Seriously, it was so good. I ended my last day with a little gift for them all. A box I titled it, Martha's leaving us survival kit. It was full of caffeinated goodies for each of them and on the outside I added some pieces of advice for making it without me. :) In all seriousness, they will be fine. It is good to feel so needed, but they can do it without me. Today I spent my first day off getting my teeth cleaned, hair cut, had a salad at my favorite spot, Blue Coast Burrito, ran to Wal Mart and then to Kroger. I put my feet up with a book when I got home and woke up an hour later. :) Guess I was tired. 

37 weeks

Memaw says that he is signing Daddy in this picture. :) 

We went for an ultrasound this morning to determine Jeremiah's position. I truly anticipated that we would set a date for a c-section today, but God had other plans! Jeremiah is head down! As soon as I got cozy (not really possible flat on your back on the table :)) the technician put the ultrasound doppler up to my lower belly and said, "Nope, head down!" Then for the next 20 minutes we enjoyed the best movie I have seen since I was 19 weeks pregnant. Only this time, it was in 4D and our boy is too big to fit into one screen image. He is cute and chubby! I cried as I looked at him and imagined what it would be like to finally kiss those cheeks. Al and I were blown away by how clear some of the images were, we had no idea we would see any 4D today. We expected the same ol' ultrasound videos. It was fun for us to identify the body parts that we have been feeling, his little booty up under my right ribs, his feet kicking on my left side and his head is the reason every time I stand up I have to pee. I have not progressed at all so that is our prayer now, he would like to see some progress by next Wednesday when I go in. 

Jeremiah is weighing in at approximately 7lbs 4 oz, but they said give or take a pound. Lets 

take, shall we? He has chubby cheeks and full lips and you could see some hair moving around in the video. We can't wait to finally meet him! His room is just about ready and the house is being transformed into baby central. I am still looking for that silly camera cord to upload pictures of the nursery. It is so cute! 

The bumps on his face is the cord. His hands are tucked up under his chin. 

36 week check-up

We went to visit Dr. Presley this morning for our 36 week check up and Jeremiah is chilling out in a breached position. Little booger is sitting upright and we believe, facing out. Dr. Presley said he wouldn't put his money on him turning at this point unless the Lord wants him to. There isn't a lot of room left and he seems pretty cozy perched up high like he is. He talked with me and Al about what that meant for delivery and of course, I can't deliver a butt or feet first baby vaginally, so we are looking at a Cesarean. I am ok with that. This pregnancy has been a breeze and I know God's hand has orchestrated everything so we will continue to pray for His will to be done and if that means Jeremiah doesn't turn, then we will have a planned birthday. The appointment was fun, it is always great to hear his little thumping heartbeat and next week we will get to see him! We have an ultrasound scheduled for next Thursday to confirm his position. If he is still breached then, at 37 weeks, we will schedule the c-section. I can't believe we are to this point! Tonight we are working more on his room. We have finished painting and it looks great! Al started on the crib on Tuesday, but didn't get to finish so that is on tonight's agenda. I am so excited to meet our little man  however he enters the world. Al likes the idea of the planned delivery without me having to endure labor. I think he has been more worried about it than me. But, who knows. He might turn and surprise us all with a regular ole' delivery. We will all know soon enough! I will keep you posted on our progress and I will get pictures of his room up soon! Thank you for your prayers! 

I couldn't get a picture of myself where I wasn't headless. :) Too hard to squat down these days. 

35 weeks and another baby shower!

Here we are at 35 weeks and I can't believe how soon Jeremiah will be here! I had a doctors appt on Monday and everything is right on target, I have not progressed at all which was weird to hear. It made me realize how close we are for him to be checking those things. I am starting to think there is no way my belly can get any bigger, my skin is stretched to its max and yet I know its not fully there yet. I am thankful to say that I am still sleeping great and getting around great. I am more tired than usual at times, but it has been a busy couple of weeks so I am sure that is part of it. We are looking forward to an evening at home tonight.

Olivia moved out completely yesterday. :( I am going to miss having her in our home, but as we told her there is always a spot at our table with her name on it. It has been a great 10 months, it seems so short and yet much longer. Her room is all cleared out and ready for Jeremiah's things to move in. Step 1: Paint! We have the paint, we just need to find the time to do it. Then we can put his furniture together and move all his things in. 

Sunday was our baby shower. We had such a great time and I was so blessed by everyone who came. Bill & Karen let us use their beautiful home and as you will be able to tell by the pictures below, the girls did an incredible job of decorating. The games were fun, the food was incredible and it was a great day all around. Each person there wrote a word of encouragement, bible verse or just a thoughtful note for us and Jeremiah and Carina put them in a book for us to keep. Some of them made me cry, others made me laugh, while some advice got tucked away for future use in my memory bank. Thank you ladies! The day was incredible and I felt so blessed to be surrounded once again by a group who has prayed and believed for Jeremiah. Sometimes when I struggled with doubts myself. It was a beautiful testimony of God's faithfulness to his children and I can't wait to see what else He has in store for that group of women. Many more baby showers, that is for sure! 

Jennifer made the cake and Jeannie made the cupcakes, so cute and yummy! I can't seem to label each picture, but this is me and my dear friend, Bethany hugging. Me, Lars and Aubrey after the shower. Me and all of my lovely hostesses, 1st shot is (l to r) Carina, Jennifer, Trish, Gina, Jeannie and me. 2nd shot(l to r) Gina, Jennifer, Carina, Jeannie, me and Trish, Cindy Wagner praying over our family, the girls in purple are, Olivia, Marisha and Evie (Evie is Abbie's daughter) And all the rest are the beautiful decorations. I think we will hang one of pieces in Jeremiah's room with some new pictures.