Sew Much Fun!!

I've been wanting to learn how to sew for a LONG time now, and I finally decided that now is as good a time as any! Well, I admit, 1 month before I have a baby might not actually be the BEST time to learn, but I was sick of procrastinating so I bit the bullet anyway :) So, here is a pic of my new baby...the Singer Confidence 7467. Isn't she pretty?! She's sitting, very nicely, atop my desk just daring me to try to sew something. It came w/ an instructional DVD that I'm sure that I will watch about a million times, and Chris assures me (as only the best husband in the world would) that I'm sure to be the most wonderful sewer (is that a word??) ever! I shouldn't be intimidated at all when I have that kind of support, should I?! Anyway, I am very excited to get started, and I'm sure I'll post some of my projects on here as long as they're even halfway decent!

Just out of curiosity, does anyone have any suggestions for a sewing book that might help me out?? I've looked at "The Idiot's Guide to Sewing", and I'm seriously considering buying it if I don't hear of something better. Keep in mind that I've never touched a sewing machine In-My-Life so I'm sure that anything you suggest will help!!

Dallas Baby Shower Fun

While we were in Texas, a few of our wonderful friends & family members threw me an awesome Baby Shower!! My sister & niece made a super cute diaper wreath that greeted the guests as they arrived (see above), and Vicki & Erin decorated Vicki's loft like a baby wonderland. It was so beautiful! Baby Elli is so blessed to have so many people who love her already!

My mom & I

Cute decorations!

The gifts...Elli will be the best dressed baby girl EVER!!

The awesome food spread!

Our New Home ~ A Tour

Wow! What a month! In the past 30 days we have ventured back to America, spent 12 days in Texas w/ our families, bought a baby-friendly car, moved to Mississippi & into a new house, painted that new house, and unpacked & decorated that new house (the best part of which was definitely Elli's nursery)!! It's been fast & furious, but so much fun as well!

Enjoy some pics below...

The front of the house minus the garage b/c who really wants to see that?? The outside has now been painted khaki (no more yellow!!) and we're painting the shutters black next weekend.

Front view of the kitchen

The breakfast area

Dining Room

Living Room

Mantle

Elli's Nursery! I absolutely love the way that it turned out!! I made the letters on the wall...crafty, crafty!!

Her dresser, changing table, and her little box of stuffed toys being guarded (oh-so-heroically) by her Air Force bear :)

Her bookcase that's filled with all of my favorite childhood books...thanks again, Mom!!

The wall above where our glider will be...just haven't received that little treasure yet. The pink outfit is one that I wore as a baby.

63 Days?!?!

Am I reading that correctly on my pregnancy calendar?!  I can hardly believe that we're down in the double digits, let alone only having 2 months to go!  Wow, time is flying by pretty quickly now, and I'm starting to get a little bit nervous about this little one's pending arrival.  It seems like there is so much to do and so little time to do it in...hmmm, wonder if every soon-to-be mom feels this way?!

Here are the latest preggo stats:

How far along? 31 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Up 13 lbs total.  Last time I weighed myself I was in England (Land Void of Chick-fil-a), so it's pretty safe to say that the scale might have tipped a few pounds now that I'm back in the good 'ole USA!
Maternity clothes? Oh yeah.  In fact, I just bought some a new shirt yesterday b/c mine are getting a little snug...not pretty!
Stretch marks?  Only the lovely ones that were there before :(
Sleep:  Getting a little bit tough.
Best moment this week:  Touchdown @ DFW!!  We're home!!  Oh, but baby-wise it was the arrival of the baby furniture & bedding!
Movement:  She's a mover!  And apparently she is loving the spot right under my left rib, it's wonderfully comfortable for me, let me tell you!
Food cravings:  None really...still like my dessert though.
Gender: Girl!
Labor Signs: None.
What I miss:  A good nights sleep.
What I am looking forward to this week:  Getting a new baby-friendly car!!
Weekly Wisdom:  Fireworks + Baby in-utero = Crazy movement in the belly!!

Chris's Final Flight

A few days ago Chris had, what could be, his last flight in the Strike Eagle. It was a bittersweet moment for him as he is so looking forward to going back through training to become a pilot, but is uncertain about what the future holds for him as far as plane selection. He & his friend Jason planned a great "low-fly" sortie over Wales, and from what Chris said, it was one of his best rides yet! On their final approach; however, the jet gave them a little surprise. In an ironic twist that only those stationed at Lakenheath can truly appreciate, when they landed they had to be towed (instead of taxiing on their own) over to where everyone was waiting for them! It was pretty funny to see :)

This assignment has definitely had its ups and downs, but all in all it has been the experience of a lifetime. Watching Chris come in on his last ride was sad, but at the same time, it is so exciting to start thinking about what the future holds for us at our next base. Chris's fellow Panthers really did a great job of making his "fini-flight" something to remember. I'm so proud of what he has done while he as been here, and I'm looking forward to all of the new adventures to come!

Being towed :(

Chris saying "totally typical!!" I love his smile in this one!

Getting sprayed w/ champagne in celebration!

Us in front of the jet...thanks to everyone for making it such a special day!!

Not to be missed Giveaways!!!

I really can't believe I'm telling everyone about this...I must be in an exceptionally good mood this morning!!  Could my having yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast have inspired my niceness??  I'm thinking YES!!

So, do you love free stuff??  Do you love SUPER CUTE free stuff??  If you answered yes (and really...why would you not?), then head on over to The Nesting Place for some awesome Giveaways.  Yes, I said Giveaways...as in FREE!!  The "Nester" is one of my favorite blog-friends, though we haven't met in person, but does that really matter??  She is a perpetual "renter" just like me, but she always has the most fabulous ideas about how to decorate her home.  After you leave your comments on her Giveaway posts, you should just browse her blog for some great tips and ideas.

So, how do you do it, you ask?  Just go to her blog and pick any of the Giveaway posts to comment on...honestly, I commented on just about all of them!!  Then you just leave a little message w/ your email address (if you don't have a blog yourself), and you're entered to win!! There is so much to choose from, your head will be spinning!  And, all of the gifts have been donated by Etsy shop owners.  Oh, you haven't heard of Etsy??  You must swing by and take a look there too!!  But hurry, you only have until Wednesday night to enter the contests...I sorry, I'm not known for my timeliness!!  

Good Luck!  And I'll try not to be too jealous if you win and I don't!!        

Farewell

Last night I was "fare-welled" by our Spouse's group...it was pretty emotional for me.  Before I left the house to go, I had a few minutes to just remanence about our time here.  Looking back, I can't believe we've been here in England for 2.5 years.  It seems like only yesterday that I was having a nervous breakdown (not really, but it was close!) on the bed in TLF, wondering what in the world we had gotten ourselves into!  It was raining and bleak, and our precious savings account seemed to be quickly depleting itself.  Slowly but surely we met some great friends, got a house, started traveling, and started to make our lives here.  The fears that were all too real and overwhelming just a few short weeks before had already started to fade.  And the adventure just seemed to get better. 

Now that we're leaving again I'm filled with the same mixed emotions.  I'm so excited about our new house, exploring Mississippi, and the birth of our little girl.  But I'm also sad to leave all of the wonderful women that I've met here, though I was reminded recently that it's not "good-bye", it's "see you later".  I will surely cling to that sweet comfort in the months to come.  The picture above is from our Annual Red Dress Coffee last year, and it is one of my favorite pictures of all the squadron ladies.  I've had a such a great time with all of them, and I will remember them always.