Daddy Loves His Babies

On days that Alan spends away from home at the firestation I try to send him a picture of BOTH his babies! I know how much he misses all of us when he's away--we're so thankful for a Daddy that loves us so! :)

Usually I send a little picture with a short blurb from both his kiddos, and he responds to each of them individually. Bet you didn't know a dog and a baby fetus were so good at texting, huh?! Ha!  Below is an example of what he receives:

"Hey Daddy! I'm real lazy today--is this why they call it the 'dog days of summer?' I miss you and can't wait to play rope! Love you!"

"Hey Daddy! One more week until I'm not a surprise to you anymore. I can't wait for you to know me better :) Love you so much already!"

We're so blessed that he is such a wonderful man, husband, and father to our family!

Bachelorette Bash

Any of you ladies still watching The Bachelorette this season? It's terrible, but I find myself being a glutton for punishment every Monday night by tuning in to ABC from 7p-9p.  It's like a train wreck, and I can't seem to avert my eyes.

Ashley drives me n-u-t-t-y!  Physically, she is a very cute, attractive little dancing girl. Aaaaaand, that's about all she has going for her.  I can't stand her indecisiveness and lack of confidence--not to mention, I find her to be a poor judge of character.  Romance is NOT in this girls future.

With that all out of my system, lets take a look at the guys left (through my eyes). I can't seem to "cheer" for the ones that I actually like because I don't want them to end up with her. (Don't hate me for not liking your favorite guy, ok?!)

Ames

Ames reminds me of my high-school sweetheart. Definitely a nice, well-rounded guy, but no one I'd spend the rest of my life with. He's more of the "best friend" type--little too dorky and awkward for me. Shallow: I find his face to be awkward--maybe it's his mouth? teeth? I can't put my finger on it.  As far as I'm concerned, Ashley can just keep him around.

Ben

Ummmm, I don't know. He's good for Ashley, I suppose. I'm going to show my real superficial side here: I can't handle guys with this hair style. Too liberal, hippy looking for me. I'm not into the long hair look on a guy, period.  He's nice?!

Constantine

See above explanation. Not attracted to him. The end.

JP

I like JP. Unfortunately, I think he might be in this for the long haul. Grrrrrrr. Nice, normal, handsome, hard-working, blue-collar (Construction Management) type of guy! I dig it--the whole package.

Lucas

I also like Lucas! He's been quite for most of the season, but I enjoyed getting to know him on the one-on-one date this past week.  Can't beat a Southern gentleman--he can call me ma'am any day! Also seems to have the gift of communication. He is very open, direct, and honest in his speech.

Ryan

Ryan is too over-the-top for me. Cheesy. Intense. Like the kind of boy who confesses his deep-seeded love for you on the second date. Couldn't handle that. Perfect for Miss Crazy, though :)

There you have my take on the remaining men left on this season of the Bachelorette. Take it or leave it.



Craft Time

I hadn't done any crafts lately, and while sitting in traffic on my way home from work on Tuesday, I had the sudden urge to create!   I stopped off at Hobby Lobby and picked up a few things to create a "Family Rules" canvas that I'd seen on a blog a loooooonnnng time ago. 

After some blog-world research I made my list of rules, painted, Modge Podged, and TAAAA-DAAAAA: Hancock Family Rules.



I found the initial inspiration for this project HERE.



Big 'Ol Update

 I have no excuse for my lack of presence on the 'ol blog lately. My husband scolded me last night, stating how is he "suppose to keep up with our life if I am not blogging about it." Ha! So, here I am with one big 'ol update.

Last weekend (well, two weekends ago now) Bentley had a five night sleep over with his Aunt Hershey.  We definitely just enjoyed the 'dog days of summer!'

This past weekend we ventured to Denton, Texas to visit The Davis family! We had a wonderful weekend hanging out with family and playing with the sweetest little nephew in the world.  We ate dinner at a YUMMY restaurant, Chef Point, in Watauga, did plenty of relaxing around the house, and played outside in the backyard. Tyce's Daddy and Uncle constructed a fun little 'water park' for him!

We celebrated Father's Day with both of our families--lunch with Alan's family at my FAVORITE restaurant, ShoGun, and dinner with my family at my parents. I didn't break out my camera until late in the day :( Fail.  Here are a few of the pictures I got:

And, somehow in the busy-ness of the last two weeks, I've managed to sprout a little baby bump! We're definitely in an over-night growth spurt :) Grow, Baby, Grow!

Girl?! Boy?! What's your opinions and/or thoughts? We find out what our blessing is in a mere 14 days! :) I feel like I'm filling-out all over my belly, thighs, and hips (if that helps your opinion at all).

.....And the Gifts Cometh

Immediately after announcing our pregnancy news to our family, the gifts started pouring in! :)  I don't know if we'll ever have to buy anything for this child--haha! 

Just wanted to share a few of the sweet things we've received:

Ernie

One of Alan's childhood favorites

"My Daddy's a Firefighter" Onesie

Proud to support Daddy!!

Fireman Outfit

Giraffe and Soccer Ball

Alan's Mema had bought a similiar gift for Jill, my sister-in-law, when she was pregnant with Tyce. After she saw my reaction towards it at the baby shower, she immediately went out and purchased this one for us! Haha :) She's been holding onto it until the right time.

John Deere Boots--both sexes are covered!!

Diapers AND a Sweet Little Book

Mommy-to-Be Devotional Journal

HIGHLY RECOMMEND this as a gift for any expecting mother!

(Not pictured are a pair of maternity jeans, maternity shirt, and belly band courtesy of my Mom and Gram)

To say we are lucky and blessed is probably the understatement of the year!! :)

My Child, the Decathlete

I haven't even birthed this child, and I've already made myself eligible for the "Mother Fail of the Year" award.

Last night I was on my way to visit Alan at the firestation, when I learned that they'd be out of the fire house for a little while. So, I made a pit-stop at Mardel's to do a little browsing.  Still needing to waste a few more minutes, I stopped by a Rocket Brothers near the station. It's a  local drive-thru coffee shop type place--I figured a fun little decaffeinated drink wouldn't hurt anything.

I ordered a Regular Creme White Mocha Frapuccino, these are made without coffee. After handing me the drink, the barista stated, "there's ground up beans in there, but they contain very little caffeine." Call me gullible, but I believed the cute little smiling girl at the drive-thru. I proceeded to the firestation where I drank my delicious little treat.

About 1am, when I was still wide awake in bed, I started to doubt the wisdom of the barista in the drive-thru.  By 3am, I was positive that there had been a large amount of caffeine in the little ground up beans of who-knows-what in my yummy drink.  My alarm was set for 4:15am, and magically my eyelids finally grew heavy at approximately 3:47am. Needless to say, I had quite a restful nights sleep. All 27 minutes of it.

I know I can't feel the baby move yet, but (s)he has been very active during all of our recent ultrasounds. That's why I feel confident that my huge caffeine surge allowed my child to compete in the "Inaugural In-Utero Fetus Decathlon." You're welcome, baby!

Now I'm sitting at my desk at work, tired. Real tired. I imagine that little sweet baby of mine is getting plenty of rest in my comfy belly after the events of last night. Lucky.

Guest Blogging at The Fuschia News

Good Monday morning, friends! Hope everyone had amazing, relaxing, fun weekends :)

Today I'm guesting blogging over at The Fuschia News for Miss Molly who is on a fabulous Disney vacation with her family---luuuuucky!  Skip on over there and stay awhile!  In fact, you should just make Molly a permanent fixture in your following.... :)

Blog Swap Gifts

As with most of my other blogging community friends, I participated in the "Pour Some Summer on Me" Blog Swap! :)

I was paired up with Stephanie from A Professor's Wife---originally from West Virginia, living in Ohio, and preparing for another BIG move!  Luckily for me, she had taken a trip back home to West Virginia during Blog Swap time, so I got some awesome, unique gifts from that part of the country! :)

All the goods! :) I might've already devoured one of those pina colada candy sticks.....!!

Blueberry Candle Melts and a FIESTA Coffee Mug :)

Summer Must-Have: Pedi Set! It smelled just like a clean spa when I opened up the cute little bag it came in!

Thanks for all the thoughtful, fun goodies, Stephanie!! :)



How Great is our God

Sunday morning my soul was tremendously blessed by the worship and lesson at church. The following phrase was mentioned during the sermon:

"Before you lay your treasures at His feet, you'll have to lay your trials down first."

It struck home with me, as I reflected back to our infertility journey. It was a lesson that I'd learned first-hand, and I found myself being able to GRATEFULLY lay those treasures down at His feet.  I had this silly image of God in my head at that moment: basking in all His glory, chest sticking out with pride, knowing that He'd given one of his children the deepest desires of her little heart.  Don't you think this is how our Father feels when His children learn to trust him, allowing Him to share His perfect plans?! I think so ;)

We sang this song during our worship time on Sunday morning, and I've been singing it ever since (of course, shedding a few tears each time!)