before and after

We were very blessed to have the chance to have our apartment painted COLORS here at Clemson! This was super exciting for me and I had a lot of fun picking colors out. The painters painted on Wednesday so Jon and I came back that night to see how everything looked.

The baby's room was aqua, just like we wanted. (And the curtain is being changed, that is what was there when we got here).

Our room was a nice grayish, greenish, blue. (Again, the curtain is being changed out).

And the dining area and kitchen were green.... NOT like we wanted AT ALL!!!!

Wow... I was in total shock. (Completely overreacted, so much so that I apologized to Jon about it later!) We still are not sure how this happened. I checked with the swatch I had requested and it is definitely not the same thing! So... Thursday I went to Sherwin Williams and picked out a new color. Not the original green I picked out... not this lovely seafoam color.... but a new color and today we painted!

Here is Jon working away. This was his first realy painting gig and he did an awesome job!

And HERE is the finished product!! YAY for new paint!!!!

i tried CVS

So I have been reading a lot about how to "do" CVS. As in how to use their coupons and ECBs to get stuff for almost free. Yesterday we tried it. We stopped at the CVS in Clemson and got an ECB card and starting looking at the deals (plus I had already printed some coupons to bring with). I got so confused we just left and went to Aldi! But, on the way back into Clemson we stopped again. I got:
Colgate Total: on sale for 2.99
2- 12 packs of toilet paper: on sale for 6.49
I used a $5/$15 CVS coupon, and a $1.50 Colgate coupon, so we paid a little over $10 for all of this. This is even cheaper than you can buy TP at Aldis!
The only problem is... I didn't get any ECBs back!!! and that was part of the whole point of starting at CVS in the first place! Oh well, it was still a good deal, and hopefully I can keep trying and build my confidence up!

good day

Today was a really good day. Not that every day isn't good, but today was especially nice. It was very peaceful and productive which I really love! Lately I have struggled with worrying about finances now that I'm working part-time and given that I won't be working once the baby comes. Jon and I really know that this is what the Lord is calling us to, but the real test is totally trusting His provision. So today I was just so overwhelmed by the many blessings in our life, from the baby to our wonderful apartment, from Jon's job all the way down to the leftover calzone from GA selection that I was given for lunch! He provides more than we could ever ask or imagine. I just need to keep remembering that. I have also, due to some super web sleuthing on Rebekah's part, learned about some amazing resources for better budgeting and saving when buying groceries. It is amazing and I can totally see how the Lord is using this to teach me to be a better steward of what we have been given! Check out the money saving mom blog for some amazing tips and tricks. So this is my new hobby and game, seeing how cheaply and healthily we can eat each week. I'm looking forward to the challenge!

baby wylie

Our 19 week check-up was Tuesday and everything went really well! Unfortunately the way we scanned the ultrasound pics in won't allow me to post those. The baby weighed 10 ounces and we managed to hold out and wait on finding out the gender, so with this being the last ultrasound as long as everything goes well, then there's no way to find out now!! Jon is still totally convinced it's a girl and I have no clue but kind of want it to be a boy just so he's surprised :o) We saw the baby kicking and moving around like crazy! Jon kept asking if I could feel it moving but I couldn't at that time, so who knows how hard it's kicking when I do actually feel it. It was wonderful to see our precious baby!!

praise the LORD!!!

I went to school with a couple named Chris and Emily McGowan. Then Christy told me about this prayer need. They have a 2 year old son and were pregnant with their second son when he was diagnosed with a rare and fatal disorder. They were told they would be lucky if they had a few hours with him after he was born. For months many, many people have been praying and Wednesday night the baby was born and is ALIVE and WELL! Jon and I keep turning to each other and saying, "Isn't our God amazing!" What a testimony this precious baby's life is to God's love, goodness and the fact that He listens when His people pray. I'd encourage you to check out their blog and to continue to pray for this little baby and his family.
http://www.cortmcgowan.blogspot.com/

for meredith

Thank you Mer for encouraging me to blog again... lol... I was planning to wait until after our next ultrasound on Tuesday to post some pictures but will go ahead and post some now so that you can see the changes when I post then!

Overall we're doing really well. I'll be 19 weeks on Monday and have started to feel some little flutters that I think are the baby... I'm never 100% sure though!

Below are some past pictures.

This is our first ultrasound at 10 weeks!

This is at 15 weeks, starting to get a little pooch :o)

I was going to post my 10 week picture of me too to give a base picture... but I've got a pooch in that one just because of fat, not because of baby, so I don't think I want it on the web!! We'll let you know how things go on Tuesday!

And not to neglect Finn.... he's doing great and loves it here! He is absolutely fascinated by the birds outside our windows, I think we are going to put some bird seed out to attract them even more for him. He's also been very blessed to have some new boxes to play with lately... lol... that cat loves boxes. Here he is in side one that is WAY too small, but he loves it!

updates

While we certainly miss our VT family and friends we are loving being back in Clemson. Jon's job as an Area Coordinator is just what he was looking for and he has commented several times on how much he loves this new position. Lots of folks keep asking if we're "settled" and the answer is yes! We are very much settled in. There are still one or two boxes tucked in closets here and there but nothing major or urgent. We are enjoying getting involved at Clemson Pres and I'm doing a fantastic Women's Bible study on Wednesday mornings. Jon is doing an early morning men's study on Fridays and we've joined up with the same growth group we attended before we left which is great!

In baby news... the baby is doing great! At our appointment this past Monday the heartbeat was strong and everything looks good. We're having our next ultrasound on March 4th. This would be the time that we could find out if it's a boy or girl, but, we have decided to be surprised! Jon's gut feeling is that it's a girl... I don't really have a gut... we're looking forward to finding out in a little under 6 months. I'm feeling much better now and my energy is really returning for the most part which is a huge blessing.