Don't Blink

It feels like the last post I wrote was just yesterday. But if I believed what I felt, I would be very wrong. Since the last post, we made our trip down to Louisiana, saw a beautiful friend from High School, had our Christmas with my husband's family, came home, had Christmas with my family, and now it is all over.

When I was younger my mawmaw would tell me the older you get, the faster time goes by. It was always just something she said to me until a few years ago. Now it seems by the time I get a grip on whatever season it is, it's over. And I have a sneaky little feeling once our precious Kendall gets here, it will only speed up more!

We had such a great time in Louisiana! There is never a dull moment when we are down there! Jeff has one niece and six nephews. With those boys, there is always something going on. But we enjoy it! Not only do we enjoy the kids, but I love spending time with Jeff's sister and brother and sister-in-law. And is if all of them aren't good enough, we get to stay with his amazing parents! And beyond the good company, there is also soo much good food! I am so lucky to have married into the wonderful family I did! There are no words to describe just how great they all are!

The youngest of all the nephews is Mason, who is four. Just saying he is a funny kid doesn't even begin to describe this precious kid! The first night I saw him, he pointed to my belly and said, "Is the baby in that thing?" It took all I had to keep a straight face just so I could answer him. After he realized the baby was in fact in my belly, he proceeded to tell me how the doctor would get the baby out of me.
"That doctor is gonna get a knife, and cut you open, and pull that baby out!!"
Precious! I so desperately wanted to say "I sure hope not!", but I didn't want his momma to have to explain how else the baby would get out. Then later at dinner, he asked what we were going to name the baby. After someone answered him, I heard him say, "What's a Kendall?" Then a few minutes later, I heard him repeating to someone else, "That doctor is gonna get a knife and cut aunt Jennifer open, pull the baby out and wash it and give it to her!" He was so funny!

I just can't wait to see how all the boys react to having a girl cousin around!!

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

I can't believe it is already this time of year again! I know they say the older you get the faster time goes, and I guess they are right. We leave in less than one week for our Christmas week in Louisiana! I can't believe it!

We have already had our church Christmas program. Our tree has been up for close to a month, and now there are presents piled under and around it. And on top of all that, it has been so COLD! The colder it gets, the more it feels like Christmas. There was even a little snow on the ground this morning as I drove to church. The beautiful lights are up everywhere so as soon as the sun goes down, everything looks magical as all the lights twinkle.

I've always loved this time of year. I love everything about it. I love the music. I love the red cups at Starbucks. I love buying gifts. I love wrapping gifts. I love spending time with friends and family. I love everything being decorated. I love the optimisim in everyone this time of year.

Although I love Christmas and all it brings, I find myself less excited about the holiday this year. Don't get me wrong, I am excited for Christmas and time with the family. However, I find myself more excited about the little girl dwelling in my belly. Even though it is Christmas time, my thoughts a less consumed with jingling bells, winter wonderlands, and reindeer and a lot more consumed with Kendall Marie. I long for the day when I finally get to hold my sweet little girl in my arms. I can't wait to see the gleam in her daddy's eyes when he gets to hold the little fingers he is already so tightly wound around.

I'm excited for Christmas, but not matter how much I sound like Scrooge when I say this: I'm even more excited for Christmas to be over. For when Christmas is over, I will be a few days closer to meeting our sweet Kendall Marie Welch!

New Discoveries

Since the beginning of August, when I found out I was pregnant, I have learned a lot of new things. Not only have I learned new things, I have re-learned things I have known for quite some time. Some of them were during the first couple of months of being pregnant and some have come to me just in the past week. If being pregnant changes me this much, I can not imagine how much I will change once I actually have Kendall in my arms.

One thing I learned seems so simple when just saying it, and kind of obvious, but it is a lot to chew on. The minute I looked down at the pregnancy test and saw it was positive I realized my life is never going to be the same. My body is no longer just mine. I share oxygen, food, energy, sleep, everything with my growing child. When my nine months of carrying her are up, my life will not go back to normal. Although I will still have some selfish tendancies, Kendall will always come before me. Some of what I'm saying may leave some of you thinking, "Well, duh..", it is still kind of crazy. To me anyway.

One thing I re-learned, is I love to cook! I think this one came from all the different cravings I have had and my new kitchen! The kitchen in the house we bought is beautiful! I love it! And the cabinets aren't too close to the counter, which makes me happy cause I can finally leave my KitchenAid stand mixer out! Previously, I had to drag it out of the pantry everytime I wanted to use it. But now it's always out! So exciting to me! So pretty soon some of my posts may be sharing new recipes I love!

Another thing I've learned, well I guess I knew this, but I have gained a deeper understanding about God's love and His plans. I can NOT understand how any woman could ever go through pregnancy and not believe in a God who has sovereign control over everything and everyone. Over the past six months, I have done nothing extraordinary, yet there is a new life, a new human being growing inside me! The day we had our ultrasound to find out if we were having a girl or boy, I was laying on the table watching the tv above me showing our child. The very second I saw the spine of our unborn child, my eyes began to well with tears. All I could think in my head was the lyrics to the song, "How great is Our God!" Seeing those tiny vertebra just made me realize how beautiful life is. How beautiful Our God is! How wonderful and deep is His love that He allows a sinner like me to experience a glimpse of his power and love!! I know throughout my life I have made too many mistakes, but thankfully God's grace is sufficient for me! I'm so grateful He has allowed me to experience pregnancy within the walls of marriage just as he intended.

Another thing I have learned is I'm not just excited to be a mother to Kendall. There are no words to describe how excited I am to see my Jeffy be a daddy to Kendall. I love that man more than words can describe. And just through this pregnancy I have learned I am going to love that man even more once I get to see him hold his baby girl in his arms!

One thing I re-learned is I love me a cherry ICEE and candy!!!! I have given up my starbucks addiction for an addiction to Candy Craze and cherry icees!!
Speaking of candy, that reminds me! I have some very cherry Jelly Belly beans waiting on me!

(Sorry if this post is long, random, or just plain weird. I'm trying to get back to blogging mode! (: )

I almost forgot how to blog!

Wow! It has been a very long time since I posted anything! Sooo much has changed in my life since I last wrote. I can't even count how many times I have thought, "Oh I should blog today!" and then, of course, not followed through. The title of my page is "A day in Jenn Jenn's shoes..". Well it seems recently those shoes have changed from something cute and comfortable matching the outfit of the day to running shoes. And boy have these running shoes taken me down some roads I wasn't necessarily expecting!

Since the last time I blogged, I have found out I am pregnant (which now I'm 6 months pregnant!), and Jeffy and I bought a house! It has been crazy around here the past few months! But everything has been exciting! We are so excited to start our family in our home. I am the most excited about seeing Jeff as a daddy to our baby girl! He is going to be so wonderful! Kendall Marie, isn't even born yet, and she has already begun wrapping her daddy around her precious little fingers!

Hopefully, in the next few months I will be doing more resting while we wait for the arrival for our little one! And maybe the rest will provide more down time for me to sit down and blog so I can fill you in on all that has happend since June and all that is happening in our busy life now!