Monthly Archives: April 2009

Apr 9 2009

it's a baby!

By the end of the summer, our little family will become lopsided as we are joined by a precious little gift. :-) For the past almost 3 years, it’s been Paul and I, Lewis and Ebony. We don’t know the name of our little one yet, but I leave you with a poem that my Grandmother cross-stitched a long time ago. It hung on my wall for many years when I was growing up, and I should still have it today. It said:

Little girls’ purses hold magical things,
Cookies, paper dolls, and “diamond” rings.
But this treasure is nothing to the magic one finds
In little girls’ hearts and little girls’ minds.

I look forward to learning more about little girls when Sparkleberry arrives. :-)

ultrasound

Apr 8 2009

tomorrow

Tomorrow! My ultrasound appointment is tomorrow and we find out the gender!

For those who are wondering, we’ve decided not to disclose the name until our child’s birth day. We haven’t decided on a name yet, though, so I’ll probably throw some out there for feedback in the next 4 months. :-) I’m sorry to those who are disappointed about this! I’ve just been pressured too much by people who seem to think it’s THEIR job to name my baby.

So you have until August or September to find out if Paul has managed to convince me about the name River…

Check back here sometime tomorrow for the announcement! (And pray that the ultrasound technician has a clear picture…!!! I don’t want any gender surprises on birth day! :-))

Apr 6 2009

back, and shivering

We’re back! We just got back a few hours ago from camping – our first trip of the season! We were blessed with a gorgeous weekend, which is good because it’s pretty cold out there today! (What is this??)

This campground was only two hours from Atlanta, which was nice. However, we didn’t leave Atlanta until 6pm on Saturday. :-( So we got their right at dark. It was okay – our tent is pretty simple to set up. We also were able to pick out and “lay claim” to a site before it got completely dark. We had already eaten dinner so we didn’t have to worry about getting the stove set up and working.

This wasn’t our favorite place we’ve camped, but it wasn’t the worst it could have been either. We were right on the shore of Lake Hartwell (which is on the Georgia/South Carolina border – we were on the Georgia side). The views were pretty, and we got a nice breeze from the lake. We think it’s probably really pleasant in the summer. The breeze likely keeps the bugs away, too. As it was, it was slightly chilly, but not unbearable (until today).

The campgrounds were nice – not very private, but that’s the beauty of camping Saturday to Monday – most everyone leaves early Sunday morning. :-) We spent Sunday relaxing, walking around the area, and then driving to see what else was around. I was absolutely exhausted for no good reason (except, you know, the baby growing inside of me) so I didn’t feel like doing our normal routine of hiking. All I really wanted to do was sit overlooking the water and reading my book. Paul finally convinced me to get up and do something, so we took a drive. We wound up passing by the dam that divides the lake (really, a reservoir) from the Savannah River. We got out and walked along the top of the dam for a little while, and then we found a road that ran along the Savannah River. Because of the low river levels, there were lots of rocks exposed and Paul thought that was pure joy. He jumped from rock to rock for a good part of an hour while I stayed on a rock near the shore and enjoyed the breeze.

It was in all a nice day. We returned to our campsite, I finished my book, we made dinner. We watched ducks on the shore, met the guy who was camping next to us. He had gotten laid off a few months before, and so decided to make a cross-country road trip this month and see what there is to see. He was headed to Atlanta the next day. We thought that was cool, and wished him luck.

Last night, it was supposed to rain so we went ahead and packed the car before we went to bed – everything except the tent and the things inside. We were glad we did because it did rain! It was actually really cool I thought to lay there and hear the rain patting the sides of the tent. We were nice and dry the entire night, and as long as we stayed in our sleeping bags we were toasty warm too! In the morning the winds came, giving us a new appreciation for the word “blustery”. (I half expected to see Pooh floating by!) The good thing was the wind dried our tent. The bad thing was trying to take down the tent with really heavy winds. :-) (All coming in from the lake.) We woke up early due to the winds, and when it looked like it wasn’t going to let up we decided to go ahead and pack our stuff and leave. Let me tell you, it’s not easy to try and fold up a tent when the wind would rather send it to the next county.

We got back to Atlanta shortly before 11am – that’s really early for us! We took a nap, enjoyed a hot shower, and ran a few errands. I really enjoyed the weekend though! Already we’re planning our next camping trip. I am not sure how long I’ll be able to camp; I think the lack of a bathroom is the most annoying. I’m uncomfortable when I sleep, but I’m uncomfortable now in my own bed so it’s not anything different. (I’m a tummy sleeper. I am not a side sleeper. Having to sleep on my side is so uncomfortable to me! The worst part is I know that what I’m getting now is going to seem like gobs of sleep compared to life with a newborn!)

Anyways, we didn’t take one picture the whole weekend! I know, that’s really unusual. I completely forgot about the camera, and then left it at the campsite while we were out on Sunday. Oh well.

Apr 4 2009

this weekend!

I have been itching to go camping, ever since the weather started getting nice again. I know that my camping will be limited this year to mostly only April and May – we’ll have to play it by ear whether I’ll be up for camping past then, but I’m trying not to get my hopes up! (I’m SUPER disappointed about that, actually. I mean, happy about Sparkleberry’s arrival, but would have preferred NOT to be in my 3rd trimester during the summer. :-))

We had a few days of really beautiful spring weather, and then since then it’s been pretty much rainy. It’s like we’re in California! It’s not COLD persay, but it’s cool enough to not feel like spring. I know all the rain has been a blessing for allergy sufferers – I haven’t seen as much pollen on my car. Also, Lake Lanier is only 10 feet below normal level which is a major improvement over last year. But…. I’m getting tired of the rain. :-)

The weathermen predicted a nice weekend (mid-70s) this weekend, and then we’re going to hit another cold spell next week (high of 48 on Tuesday). (I’m NOT used to temps that cold in April!) So, Paul and I decided to take a chance and go camping!

Apparently the rest of Atlanta thought so too. All the campgrounds we checked were booked – we really should have thought of this earlier! We were trying to head south where the nighttime temps were a bit warmer, but to no avail. Some of the mountain campgrounds were just getting too cold at night. We finally found one and made a reservation! We leave today as soon as Paul gets off work. Yay!

I checked my guidebook last night to read up on the campsite, and found out why it had availability. It’s on a lake, and the lake is still under normal water level so a lot of the docks are closed, and the beach is closed. Apparently, the only thing to do there is related to the water: boating, fishing, skiing, swimming, etc. However, we’re excited because it’s a place we haven’t been before and we get to go CAMPING! :-) Yay! We normally like to go places where there is hiking, but this is good because I won’t be tempted to do more than I’m physically able right now.

Since we decided this last minute, I have spent the morning busily getting ready for our trip. (Errr… actually I’m been busy thinking about getting ready. ;-)) It’s going to be chilly so I’m trying to make sure we bring enough clothes to stay warm. I’ve found this post really helpful, as I try to remember the routine. (It’s been 6 months!) Also, a new challenge is finding warm clothes that still fit me. At least I don’t have to worry about looking nice! And sweaters are nice and bulky. :-)

Okay I probably should get off the computer and finish my list. I’m working on food right now… I’m thinking hamburger packets sound muy excelente right now!

Anyone else planning on some fun camping trips this summer?