Our Biggest Project EVER...

Ok, I know that it's been FOREVER since I've written anything on here, but I think you'll forgive me when you find out what our newest project is. It is by far the BIGGEST project we have ever taken on, as individuals or as husband & wife: IT'S A BABY!!!! That's right, we will be adding a new member to our family come this November (an estimated date of Nov 13, 2011 to be exact). We really cannot come up with words to express our excitement, terror, happiness, fear....so many emotions run through you in the days, weeks, & months after first finding out the big news. For us it was an especially big shock as we had been trying for awhile and were actually facing the possibility of having to go through medical tests. God has his timing though and even when I thought it was yet another month down with no baby, He was waiting to surprise me. I couldn't even believe my eyes with the positive test (I'd actually taken it to prove to myself I WASN'T pregnant)---I had to hurry up & put my contacts in so that I could look at it again. Talk about a great surprise! We've been having fun since that time thinking & dreaming of our little one. So far the only verification of the little life has been 1) me being constantly sick from 6 weeks pregnant to just this week (15 weeks; that's a total of 9 weeks of being sick pretty much every waking moment; thankfully the anti-sickness meds finally seem to be enough to overcome the hormones that make you feel sick), and 2) the ultrasound/Doppler that let us hear our little one & see his/her preciousness. Don't believe me? Look below:

See? Cutest little thing ever!!! Nothing could ever describe the first view, or watching your little one's arms & legs spazzing out when he/she gets upset by the pressure of the ultrasound wand...Incredible. God is just incredible, this gift is incredible, and the journey we're on is incredible. Stay tuned, I'm sure we'll have many adventures to share over the coming months (and not just about the baby!).

Where Does the Time Go?

I don't know about anybody else's January, but ours seems to be FLYING by! It's been a pretty good start to 2011: We've both got jobs (ones that we actually enjoy), we're editing our diets again and losing some more weight, Jacquimo and the girls are happy and healthy...It's been good. But man it's been fast. I truly hope the rest of the year doesn't go this quickly. We have hopes and dreams for the year, which of course we look forward to realizing, but I don't want to go through everything at a break-neck speed. The older I get the faster time seems to go and the more precious it seems to be. Ironic, huh? Hope all of you are having a wonderful start to year, and here's to more good months!

Happy New Year!!!

We can't believe it but another year has come and gone. Where did 2010 go? It has been quite a year. This year has had its shares of ups and downs, that's for sure. There was a cold but wonderful trip to Destin, Florida, chickens, birthdays galore, a great summer vacation where we visited multiple friends and family, redecorating, a visit to the ER, the world's worst teaching job for me, traveling to see family for Thanksgiving, the Ryals Family Christmas (Trey walked away from the "Mean Santa" game with instant Starbucks coffee; I got a knife and flashlight...), a new and wonderful job for me, and Christmas itself. *Whew* We are so thankful though for God's provision this year and for our health, marriage, friends and family. We cannot wait to see what 2011 holds in store for us, and pray for God's continued guidance and work in our lives. We have a lot of dreams for this coming year, and as quickly as 2010 flew by, they could come true at any moment! We hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas season as well, and Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving Memories

Yay--Thanksgiving, one of my favorite times of the year! God was good and even though it didn't look like we were going to get the chance, we got to go see my family up near Chicago. Because they're so far away we only get to see them a couple times year, so it really meant a lot. The time home was just amazing. It was nice and relaxing, but beyond that it was great to spend time with everyone. We played games, checked out the Apple Orchard, went to Lake Geneva, went to the lighting of the square in Woodstock (the pic above was taken then--it was SO COLD--like, 17-degrees cold or something crazy), watched Elf, ate the BEST Thanksgiving meal ever...It was awesome. Nothing can take the place of family and the time spent with them. Thankfully we'll actually get to see them again in just a couple weeks when my lil' sis graduates from college (boy is that a crazy thing to think about!). That definitely made leaving easier this time. The in-laws will be back just before that too and it will be excellent to see them again as well. It'll be a week of "family reunions" and I can't wait! Now if I could just find a job...

New Master Bedroom!

Ok, so anybody who knows me [Lindsey] knows that I am horribly indecisive. Even when I can finally make a decision, it's often followed by second thoughts and changing my mind. This has certainly proved true in the setting up of our first house. From the time I was young I always had my decoration scheme in mind, at least for my kitchen area, but I've found myself at a loss for what to do with other rooms. Well, honestly, my original thoughts didn't turn out to be what I really wanted either. The latest room to receive a SECOND makeover? The master bedroom. When we moved in it was a poopy-brown color, which we darkened to chocolate and mixed with sage green and khaki. It was pretty, and we liked it, but the more we dealt with it the more it started to feel TOO dark, and the more I started to become worried by the fact that my house looked like a schizophrenic had decorated it--every room a totally different and not-subtle color. Trey and I have both LOVED the color of the guest bedroom since we did it though, so for aesthetic reasons and continuity, we decided to go with that. We found a duvet and sheets on www.overstock.com, and after our date-night Friday found a beautiful duvet on sale at BedBath&Beyond. So we spent all day yesterday working on painting, arranging, and setting up our new room and we couldn't be happier with the result. Check it out:

There is not a thing in this room that we don't love. The color is gorgeous and is beautiful with the woods in the room. The duvet cover is soft and chic, we found curtains that are a shade darker than the cover and have a different texture...It's all like being in some sort of spa retreat. It's beautiful and relaxing and feels luxurious (the new duvet is down-filled and the cover is awesome--it's like being in a nice hotel). SOOOOO STINKIN' HAPPY!!!!

Being indecisive can be a huge pain and lead to way more work, but in this case we still reached the perfect end result. Yay!!!

Life Update

Oh-my-goodness. It has been FOREVER since I last posted on here! Rest assured that Trey, Jacquimo, the chickens, and I are all alive and doing well. We've been having some really, really crazy times though. Although I had every intention of doing so before I sat down, I currently don't feel like getting into details of stuff, so let's summarize: Decided to try teaching for multiple reasons. Got a job teaching high school Chemistry here in New Orleans. Gave notice at LSU job and took said teaching job. Started teaching job and it was not good. And then stayed not good. And then it got worse, and then worse again. After the 3 weeks, determined that I had no other option but to recognize that I was in WAY over my head and didn't have the things necessary to keep me afloat, so quit the teaching job. That was last Friday. Now I'm unemployed. Searching for jobs like crazy but LOVING being a stay-at-home wife. Finally getting the chance to clean the house and put the guest bedroom back in order, catch up on laundry & grocery shopping, and getting to take care of my husband the way he deserves. I definitely wish that there was a way to make this more permanent, especially if we ever have kids, but for now I'm just thankful to have these days and praying for God to lead the way to whatever is next. Trey has a good job which he really likes (thank you Jesus!), now we just need to figure me out too.

Hope you're all doing well, we'll try to get back on track with posting. Should be easy with the holidays coming up!

Labor Day Weekend

Well, Labor Day was this last weekend & we were lucky enough to be invited up to Barry & Peggy's (Trey's sister & husband) lake cabin in MS. I was looking forward to spending time with the family but I couldn't have imagined how great it would be. We got there Saturday afternoon & it was BEAUTIFUL: great place right on the water & perfect weather. We all sat out on the deck pretty much all day which was great. It was good food (hamburgers) & wonderful company. I'm so blessed to have such a great "in-laws" family! I think that Trey & I just enjoyed the chance to spend some relaxing time with the family in such amazing surroundings (it was mother-in-law, father-in-law, 2 of the sisters-in-law, 2 brothers-in-law, and 3 nephews). We got to go out in the boat and watching the boys water-ski & tube was HILARIOUS. They had SO much fun & it was just as much fun to watch all of them. If we ever get to go back I'll definitely have to take a swimsuit. Whitney (my sis) happened to be in the area for a weekend forecast thing so she got to come too. We all gathered around the TV Saturday night to watch her, and no surprise she did well. We slept in a little on Sunday & then moved ourselves back to the deck (I know, rough weekend right?). After another morning in the boat we came back to scrambled eggs, bacon, and pancakes--enjoyed on the porch. After the brunch we headed back. It was nice to be home but we also enjoyed the weekend so, so much. Barry & Peggy are definitely blessed, but they are quick to share their blessings with others & we are so thankful. I couldn't have imagined a more perfect Labor Day weekend!