Mystic Seaport

On October 30th we took Jacob to see Mystic Seaport. It was a beautiful, sunny day and we had lots fun! It was extremely windy since we were so close to the water (hence our messy, windblown hair). It was rather "handy" having Jacob with us as for the first half of the day Andrew was in the stroller and so we took turns staying with Andrew and touring the ships. I took this picture (below) at one such time. You can see Scott and Jacob having fun taking pictures and such on the deck of this ship (I don't remember all the names).



And I had to take a picture of "Andrew". not that you can see him or anything. It was less windy at the end of the day but at the time this was taken, it was so windy I made sure Andrew was nice and protected from the cold wind in his little "bubble". As you can see, my sling as many uses. It is very versatile! :)

Here is my sweet, darling Hubby enjoying all the opportunities for picture taking with his oh, so very nice, camera. :)

For fun we did this "quest" thing (it was free... :) ) that the Nautical Instrument building gave us. They gave us a bag that had a compass and spyglass in it (we didn't get to keep them though) and we also got a GPS devise and instructions on things we had to do as we found different boxes throughout the "village". It was lots of fun and we learned a lot about ships, and how they did different things (like the codes they used with flags to send messages to other ships). This is me in front of the gazebo (it was a land mark for finding one of the boxes for the quest).

As you can see, when Andrew got tired of the stroller, I had to keep him warm in the sling. So, he was in a "fleecy" bunting, in the sling, with a receiving blanket tucked in around him and I kept my nursing cover on to give an extra shield against the wind. He was "toasty warm". :)

We went down the road a ways to a restaurant for a late Lunch half-way through the day, and I snapped this photo of Andrew. He's so interactive and smiley now. We've been having lots of fun playing.
The other day Scott was playing with Andrew and sat him up on his shoulders. It was so cute because Andrew grabbed a hold of Scott's hair and thought it was very interesting. Since then Scott has put Andrew on his shoulders again, and he is all smiles. :) It's so much fun watching Andrew interacting with Scott.

Andrew's first Shoulder Ride:

Andrew has a new buddy, Jacob. They have had lots of fun together, although, I'm sure the next time we see Jacob, Andrew will be even more interactive, running all over the place. :)

Just "hanging out"

Today is Jacob's last day here, and I can't say we're doing anything interesting other than just hanging out and taking it easy. Of course, we did forget to turn the clocks back last night so I guess we all could have slept in an extra hour, but that's okay. :)

Today also marks 8 weeks since Andrew was born. I can't believe how big he's getting, and even though he is about twice the size of his 2 cousins who were born in the last 2 weeks, I told him, he's still "my little baby". :) As of Friday he weighed 12 lbs, 13 oz, and is just over 24 inches long. He is just SOOOO cute. I say that all the time, but I just can't help it, he IS! :) I love him so!!!!

I hope all my readers are having a relaxing, restful Sunday. Don't forget to think of something to be thankful for today. I'm thankful that God made me a mother and gave me the ability to serve those I come in contact with.

Just Stuff

Since it has been 4 days since my last post, I figured I should post again, to give everyone something to read. However, for the last 2 days I've been trying to come up with a good topic to post about. Since I'm here, that must mean I came up with one, right? Wrong!!!! I haven't come up with anything so far, so I thought I'd just write about what I've been up to this week.

I have had some issues over the past year with a Wisdom tooth coming in. But nothing I couldn't handle. However last week it was bothering me again and I discovered I had a large swollen "abscess" or some such thing on the side of my gums. I immediately made Garlic oil and started applying it directly as well as drinking lots Lemon water. That combined with T-Tapping, I managed to keep all pain at bay. Nothing was hurting, I just had this "bump." On Sunday we visited a church and went out for lunch afterwards, with 3 of the couples (and their families) that we had met there. Wouldn't you know, one of the guys is a dentist! So, naturally I told him about my tooth and asked for some advice. As I'm sure you've guessed by now, his answer was: Root Canal or get the tooth pulled. Now, I do NOT like dentists (no offence to any dentists), I just don't like people playing around in my mouth! So I was not too pleased with the answer... The "problem" is that because I'm pregnant, I can't do anything about the tooth now. So Scott and I agreed that with proper eating and giving my body what it needs, I could reverse the tooth problem. That means, I am not allowed to have any sweets and NO junk food!!!!!
On Monday we went out and bought a juicer (and a bunch of carrots) so I can be juicing every day. As of Tuesday morning, the bump was gone, with my gum still slightly swollen. Today, it is completely back to normal! Praise the Lord!!!! :) I will be continuing to eat well (good for the baby, too! :) ) and juicing!

This afternoon I have been going through and re-organizing everything (it seems like I do that every week now), and making lots of head-way. I have also gotten rid of 3 grocery bags full of clothes within the last 4 weeks! I've realized how few of all my clothes I actually wear, and although I can't bring myself to get rid of more yet, I got rid of all the things that I don't wear because I don't like them. (I know, why then, did I even bother to bring them with me???)

I've also been doing very well, exercising daily! Scott is noticing more of a difference than I am, but regardless of losing inches, exercising just gives me more energy for the day! It "get's me going" and is very healthy! :)

Once again I must apologize for letting so much time pass without a post. This past week has been crazy. However, this next week looks even crazier. Let me give you an idea:

Monday: Get up, throw my favorite Sweet Potato Stew recipe in the Crock-Pot,

Then off to a book signing at the East Hartford Library for several hours,

Get home in time to make Biscuits to go with Dinner as we have a get-together with some friends (last one before we leave).

Tuesday: Last cleaning job in the morning,

Have lunch with a friend (last time to see her),

Then on to visiting my Sister-in-Law (when you keep mentioning "we should get together sometime" and then 5 months go by and one of you is going to be out of state for 5 months, then you know you need to stop "putting off till tomorrow, what you can do today."),

Then a quick visit at other friends' house before heading home.

Wednesday: Packing,

Organizing,

Packing the Trailer,

Helping with Thanksgiving preparations,

Then dinner with both of our families

Thursday: Thanksgiving Day, Dinner at Scott's Parents with good friends, then Dessert and the evening at my Parents', before we say all of our "Goodbyes" :(

Friday: Up and at the Crystal Mall for a book signing at the CRAZY hour of 6am

After BS, onto New Jersey for 5 book signings from Saturday to Monday (heading to PA for a night on Wednesday, and then to IN on Thursday).

So there is a picture of the next week. If you could see our calender for the next 3 weeks, you be shocked! It is SO full! The amount of signings we have within short periods of time, I am certain will make us very thankful for a rest come Christmas day! :)

It has been a comfortable temperature here in CT during the day, the past several days, and we are very thankful for this beautiful weather! :) Of course, I know that if I were still 11, I'd be praying night and day for snow, but it is quite a different story now. :) I do like snow, it is very pretty, and it makes for some picturesque scenery. However, I personally prefer warmer weather. :)

Here is one of my favorite hymns:
I Need Thee Every Hour by Annie Hawks

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord; No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.

I need Thee, O I need Thee;Every hour I need Thee; O bless me now, my Savior,I come to Thee.

I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby; Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh.

I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain; Come quickly and abide, or life is in vain.

I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will; And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.

I need Thee every hour, most Holy One; O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessèd Son.

(The above picture is from our trip to Niagara Falls in October)

Things and Recent Happenings

Well, I don't know exactly just yet, what it is I'm going to write about, but since it has been a whole week since my last post, I figured I shouldn't put it off any longer. So, I guess I'll just write about "things and recent happenings."

Last Friday evening, one of my dear friends and I went to the "mini" Iron Sharpens Iron conference which featured speakers: Shaunti Feldhahn, Elisa Morgan, Rick Johnson, and Elizabeth George. The main conference was on Saturday, but because of the overwhelming response to it, they decided to have a "mini" conference the night before for those unable to attend the full conference. We were so blessed that night and wished that it had lasted longer than 2 1/2 hours. But they certainly packed some GREAT things in those 2 1/2 hours! All 4 speakers were excellent! My friend and I both, took lots of notes!

I ended up purchasing Shaunti Feldhahn's book For Women Only and Elizabeth George's book Putting on a Gentle and Quiet Spirit, a study of 1st Peter. I also wanted to buy Rick Johnson's book The Man Whisperer, but I am not made of money and I restrained myself. However, my Mom went to his session during the full conference on Saturday and bought the book, so I will be reading it and taking lots of notes while Scott and I are staying there for 2 weeks. I can't wait to read it!

On Saturday we drove up to New Hampshire for a book signing in North Conway. The weather was beautiful and the Mountains were gorgeous! The picture above is no where close to some of what we saw, but we couldn't seem to capture the beauty on my point and shoot camera, and we forgot to bring Scott's nice one.

After the booksigning on Saturday, we drove back down to Rochester where our booksigning on Sunday was. We spent the night at a nice Holiday Inn Express. They had an indoor pool and hot tub, and we remembered our bathing suits!!!!

It was overcast and raining Sunday morning, but we had a good booksigning. I found a couple more great deals to finish off some gifts! (YAY!!!! :)) I was going to take a turn driving on our way home, but because it was raining and we knew it was supposed to turn to snow (which it did!) I didn't feel comfortable driving (I haven't had a whole lot of experience driving on the highway in such conditions), so Scott drove (and did an expertise job, as always! :)).

As for this week..... it has been full of packing, and working. Oh, and we found a 4 x 6 trailer for our book tour! It is the perfect size and will give us the extra room we need for books, promo. material, and luggage! :)

With all that said, I hope you all have a great rest of the week, and a great weekend! On Friday we'll be heading up toward Buffalo, NY for booksignings in NY over the weekend. So expect another update next week!