Sigh...

What an eventful, exhausting, overwhelming few days. I must confess. I feel like I was hit by a truck. Thursday night, around 8:30-8:45 Jeff fell out of the tree in our backyard while putting up a tree stand. I was giving Lily a bath and putting her to bed and I came down around 9:00 to find him injured and disoriented in the garage. He didn't remember what happened (it wasn't until later when we saw the tree stand that we knew he fell out), and it was really scary to see him like that. I called an ambulance, and we went to the ER for scans and x-rays. Around 1:00 am we found out that he had 7 broken ribs and a broken clavicle. He was admitted around 2:00 am and just came home today around 1:30.

He was/is in a lot of pain. Today is MUCH better than he was even yesterday morning. I thought he would never get out of the hospital bed, but, after PT yesterday afternoon, he was able to stand up and walk. His legs are okay (thank goodness), but his right side is out of commission. He is very happy to be home. I am very thankful that nothing worse happened to him. He has a long recovery ahead, but he will be fine.

On a bright note, we have a knew recliner since he needs to sleep upright in something on the first floor (no stairs yet). I teased that this was his way of getting his comfy chair!

I appreciate all of the support and prayers from family and friends. There have been so many people offering to help. Our parents have been great (watching Lily and helping with Jeff). Jeff's brother (who conveniently is an orthopedic surgeon) drove from Columbus to check on him in the hospital. It was nice to have his expert opinion. Jeff's sister stayed with me at the hospital under after 2 am the night he was admitted. My sister and BIL drove from Dayton to help. Sarah did laundry, watched Lily, cleaned my house, went to the grocery. THANK GOODNESS for my family! I have been pretty out of it (pregnancy fog doesn't really help). I am hoping he is healed decently enough for the baby to come.

Thanks again! Will keep you posted...we need no more excitement until we meet Parker :)

More House

Well! Today marked my first day of my seventh year of teaching. Surprisingly, I wasn't stressed about it. Actually, I blame the pregnancy fog because it has been hard to think about anything. I am such a control freak (don't worry-my class was still in order and things were ready for the day), but I was calm, cool, and collected as I welcomed my 28 students. I actually have 31 on my list! All the students are very excited for the first day. Of course, I was already told that I was the best teacher ever (check back at the end of the week, and I am sure they will change their minds!), so I know we are off to a good start. I wasn't too tired during the day. It has only just hit me tonight. I think I can manage to pull through for the next six weeks :)

Here are a few more pictures of the house. I took some of Lily's room. She finally has new blinds up (I am still searching for window treatments), and I just love how neat and tidy her big room is. Her headboard and dresser are from IKEA. It is very simple and works perfectly. Her comforter is also from there and is just a slip cover over a white one.

Her bed has storage cubbies on the side!


She also has a wall of closet space...she will really appreciate this in her teenage years!

I have been working on the playroom. Our goal is to get a sofa bed couch for guests that is comfy for kids to watch t.v. when we don't have guests. Jeff has limited my spending, so we will see how soon we get the couch. In the meantime, I put together storage cubes to hold toys on the toy side of the room. I think they look cute and can hide things nicely! Lily likes playing kitchen and using the table for coloring, and it is nice to have a room just for those things.

If I had all the money is the world, our house would be just as I want it RIGHT NOW! Unfortunately, I don't, so Jeff has been explaining that we will live here many years and have plenty of time to do what we want. I guess I will try and be patient (especially since he has been working tirelessly to hang ceiling fans, blinds, wall items, etc. to make me happy!).

Settling in...

First of all, as I type, Jeff has his hunting gun out because there was a coyote in our front and back lawn while he was trying to unload his truck. Buffy was on the dog run, and I am sure the coyote thought she looked like a good dinner. I guess I will adjust to life with our bigger backyard (full of wildlife)!

We are settling into the new house nicely. There are still many things to be done (new lights, hanging up things, organizing), but it is starting to feel more like our home each day. I took some pictures tonight of parts of the house. They aren't the greatest, but it shows you some of what we have been unpacking!

These first two pictures are the office. Jeff was able to bring the desks he made for the old house and modify them for the new room. He just finished putting the computer desk in about 15 minutes ago, so I was able to put things away in the office. It was hard not having my bill paying station!

The next pictures are of the master bedroom. As you can see, our big closet filled up quickly. It is so nice to be able to walk inside of it and get dressed in the mornings!

Jeff has gotten two wood blinds up in the house. We had them in our old house, and I missed them! They look so nice and I don't have to duck around my bedroom anymore :)

This is a sneak peek at Parker's room. It is far from finished, but Jeff put the crib up (we noticed that is has many chew marks from Lily's days!). The bedding is from IKEA. Lily's baby is trying out the baby seat.

I found these car pictures at Target and thought they looked very little boy like! They even went with the bedding colors well. I also found these cute car, truck, road wall stickers that I will put up somewhere for some color on the wall. More pictures to come!

Our dining room. I was able to use the living room rug from the old house in here. Sarah helped me pick out the curtains. I like the burnt orange color!

Sunroom :) The patio furniture Jeff just got me in May fit perfectly in here along with the rug from our old bedroom. I will get some good use out of this room-especially in the cooler fall and spring!

This is the table and rug that sit in the kitchen by the sunroom doorway.

I will have pictures of Lily's room soon. She is already in bed, so I didn't want to snap any pictures. Her headboard and dresser from IKEA look cute in her room. She does need blinds and curtains of some kind.

Slowly but surely, we will make this place our own! I hope everyone has a great weekend. This is my last weekend before I welcome my 29 third graders on Monday. Wish me luck!!

32 Weeks and Happy Birthday Papaw Pat!

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my father-in-law, Pat! Lily, Jeff, and I love you and we were happy to celebrate with you today :)

Me at 32 weeks

Me at 12 weeks (in case you wanted proof that I was getting as big as a house)!

I was 32 weeks pregnant yesterday. I cannot believe it! In just a couple short months our baby will be here. I went to the doctor earlier this week and everything is still going fine. The baby is growing and still moving a lot. He seemed to survive the move very well. Lily has been all about touching my stomach and feeling him lately. She thinks it is funny to feel his hard movements and body parts. I know when school starts later this coming week, time with fly, so I am hoping to get busy on getting his room and supplies ready soon.

We handed over the keys to our old house today. I did the final clean/walk through early this morning. I have to admit, I shed a few tears. We have had WONDERFUL memories there, so it is hard to leave. As happy as I am with the new house, there is nothing like your first home. It is a relief to have only one house to worry about now. I know the new owner is very excited to make it her own.

I start my first teacher day of Thursday-AHHHH! I will keep you posted on the beginning of school.

Happy Birthday Jeff! (a day late)

Better late than never to publicly wish Jeff a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We did celebrate with family and a few friends with skyline chili dogs and cheesecake. The first gathering at the new house seemed to be a success. Jeff has been working so hard (at work and with the move) that I wanted to take some time to celebrate him. He is a wonderful husband and dad, and I am lucky to have him in my life. It is hard to believe that I met him nearly ten years ago (the picture above was taken in Las Vegas for my 21st birthday)!

We love you Jeff!

We have been busy!

Well, we are living at our new house. It still feels like we are on vacation or at a hotel or something, but we are very excited! We were lucky to have so many people help us do the major move on Saturday. Jeff's group of guys were fantastic at loading and unloading the heavy things. My sister, mom, and mother-in-law helped put boxes away. Luckily I had them because I was overwhelmed by the move! Many boxes have been unpacked. We just have to hang-up pictures and artwork and get more furniture (since it is a bigger house). It will take time to decorate it just how I want, but at least we are feeling more settled.

The last two days, my mom and younger sister have helped me clean our old home. We are giving the keys to the new owner on Sunday. It is weird to see it empty. It looks so small (especially compared to our new house). It is cleaner than it has ever been! We are having a rummage on Saturday, so that should wrap up the other home.

Lily has adjusted well. She seems to be happy with the space at the new house. She went to clean with us at the old house and thought it was funny to see nothing in it. My dogs are now with us. They are doing okay-a little confused and whiny, but they will adjust.

I now have to start thinking about getting school stuff ready! I start back on the 18th and have students the 22nd. I cannot believe it! Our first cross country meet is on the 27th. Everything is just happening at once. AND baby Parker is due in just a little over 8 weeks! AHHHHHH! At least he has a room :)

New House Pics!

Yesterday, we officially closed on our new home! It was very exciting because we were able to meet the old home owners. They were wonderful and were thrilled to hand over their house to us. You could tell they really had great memories there, and we are hoping for the same. The old home owner cleaned very well for me, so I haven't had to do much prep for the move. We have taken over a couple things but plan on really getting busy this weekend. Before everything is moved in, I wanted to snap some pictures of the empty house.

I wasn't the best photographer today, but here is the front. It has a horseshoe drive (which Jeff is excited about with the truck). YES, you do see 2 wishing wells. They won't be staying for long!

The house sits on 3 acres. It really is a beautiful piece of property!

It has a sun room! We actually moved our new patio furniture over there tonight, and I love it in the space!

Kitchen...

This room will be a guest room/play room. I am hoping to get a pull-out section or couch soon, so that visitors can stay but it is still usable when they aren't there. Plus, we need an organized space for toys!

Dining room table will go in here.

Family room

This will be Parker's room!

This is Lily's room. I could not get a picture to capture how big it is!

The smallest bedroom will be the office.

Upstairs bath

Master bedroom! If you have seen my current bedroom, you know how excited I am to have one this big! Maybe we can get a grown-up bedroom set now :)

Master bath

The best part of the house-my, I mean our, closet!

The house also has a really spacious breeze way into the house. I am sure my dogs with love this space!

The house needs some decorative touches, but I know we will make it even better over time. The good news is that we have a couple weeks to get everything moved. I am so thankful that it has all worked out. We should be nice and settled before the baby arrives! I will keep taking pictures as we move in.

CC Camp-Days 1 and 2

Yesterday, we began cross country day camp. In years past, we have gone and stayed for a week at Brown County State Park. It didn't work out this year, so I decided to do day trips to different places around Muncie. Yesterday, we went to Prairie Creek for a couple of runs. We got there later in the afternoon, and it was so hot!

For a break, the girls puffy painted socks!




I also spent yesterday morning filling up twenty water balloons only to have all but about five bust on the way there. The girls did manage to throw the few we had at each other.




Today, we went to Mounds State Park. We left around 7 am, so our runs today were in the cooler morning. We did a trail run early this morning (I only managed to run a couple miles). We took a little break and then the girls did partner 800s. We ended the day with a swim in the pool.