Holidays!

So the holidays have already come and gone! We had lots of parties and visitors throughout. My parents stayed through Christmas, helping us remodel the upstairs bathroom. It has come a long way. Dad did all the demo, new plumbing, new electrical, put in the window, the shower pan, and all the sheetrock and hardibacker. Of course, finding the many surprises that makes this house so "special" and time consuming. Jonathan is now mudding the sheetrock and hardibacker, so we may be able to tile this weekend. We'll see...

Mom and I got to do lots for cooking and baking over the holidays. We made cookie bags and platters for parties and friends around Atlanta. I think we did a good job because we got some rave reviews! It was really good to be in the kitchen with mom again. We had a really good time searching through recipes and deciding what to make for all the dinners and special occasions that were coming up.

Mom and I also completely finished the wedding album. Yes, Jonathan and I's wedding album. I know we got married in 2005, but I had this whole scrapbook thing I wanted to do with all the pictures Brian had taken throughout the week long event. And needless to say it has been sitting there 1/2 done for a really long time. So if you come over and I want to show you wedding pictures from four years ago you know why. They are brand new to me again!

We all went down to Statesboro for Christmas and had a really good time visiting with Jonathan's mom, Cheryl, and his brother, Travis, who was on leave from the army. We don't get to see him much because he is stationed in Alaska and has had two tours in Iraq, so it was extra special to get to hang out with him. The weather was extremely warm and it was hard to believe it was Christmas, but Santa Claus came regardless and gave us more than what we needed.

I had my 16 week appointment just before Christmas and Jonathan and I were hoping we would be able to find out the sex of the baby, but alas the baby is just as stubborn as Jonathan and wouldn't show us! But it was really great to finally see what is going on in there. Baby Brinson was facing down then flipped around to face up and clapped it hands several times then faced up looking to the sensor. Very active. My doctor kept saying "You can't feel that!? You can't feel that!?" and I just kept having to say "No, I don't feel a thing." I have a few sonogram pictures I need to scan in and put up. I promise I will do it soon. I have another sonogram on the 15th of this month, my 20th week appointment. (Halfway there!) Hopefully Baby Brinson will be a little more willing and we will be able to start planning what the final nursery plans will be and if Jonathan and I will have to start debates over what names to pick. We have it pretty narrowed down for a girl and are still in hot debate over boys names.

Christmas Picture

Just wanted to share the the photos leading up to the family christmas photo Jonathan, Bluebelle, and I took. The process was just as fun as taking the real thing.












Bluebelle actually did well once she realized we were just taking some pictures and doesn't she look good in her Atlanta Thrashers scarf! Go Tharashers!! See, even in Georgia you can enjoy some good hockey action.

Thanksgiving

We didn't take enough pictures this Thanksgiving season. But, mom managed to snap a few. This is the fresh flower centerpiece I made for the table and the BRINSON art in my kitchen.

This one is me in the lovely new apron my mom made for me with, my favorite, a pineapple on it.

And finally, Jonathan and I carving the turkey. Jonathan was trying to carve and I was trying to direct his every move. He put up with me, however. The whole family was at the house

Here was our menu. Thank goodness mom and Cheryl were so willing to help me because I thought we need to cover everything. And everything sure tasted good.

MENU

Alton Brown's Brined Turkey

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Butzin's Classic Stuffing

Sweet Potato Casserole

Spinach and Cheese Puff

Green Bean Casserole

Lillian's Creamed Corn

Lillian's Field Peas

Cream Biscuits and Onion Dip

Cranberry Sauce

Orange Jello Mold

Grandma's Apple Pie

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie

Cheryl's Pecan Pie

Needless to say we were all full. I had a lot of fun in the kitchen and a great time with the family. And that is really something to be thankful for.

The Good News...

Well... Some of you know and for some of you this is brand new news. Jonathan and I are having a baby! I know, can you believe it? I'm 13 weeks into it as of this week and all of my appointments have been going well. So, I felt it was time to share the news with all of those we care about the most. Jonathan and I are so thankful and excited to have this opportunity to raise a little one and to have a new member join our family. We think Bluebelle is excited too, she just doesn't know how to show it yet.

So, I'm including a couple pictures of my 13 week belly. Don't be too judgemental, as I'm trying to be more open and including. I do have a slight bump, however I think most of it is a part of my pre-existing condition, called "too much food." See, I'm still my old self as well. :-)

This picture wasn't staged at all. Jonathan and I often gaze into each others eyes. :-)

My great friend, Nicole, wanted me to share my first trimester nausea story on my blog and threatened that she would blog about it if I didn't because she thought it was funny. So here it goes... Yes, I had some nausea during the last 12 weeks, still do a little, but I feel that I'm very adept at handling those feelings and forcing them back so it doesn't affect me because of my childhood issues. I was a very VERY excitable child. I would get so excited, in fact, that I would puke my brains out before every birthday party I would go to and before every trip to Iowa to see my extended family I would take. Actually it was like a week of puking before the Iowa trips (I really enjoyed hanging out with my cousins). So, by the time I was 10, I myself thought it was really ridiculous that I couldn't control myself when I was really happy about something. So, I started to come up with ways to keep my cookies down and got really good at it by the time I was 12. Way too much information, I know, but as I was telling Nicole I think that those experiences really helped me get through the first 12 weeks with almost no issues what so ever. Isn't it crazy what you can be thankful for!

So I'm planning to update this blog often and use it as sort of my pregnancy journal. So, feel free to check back as often as you like.

Great gifts from my favorite boys

Just wanted to share the lovely dino pictures I received from Steven and Andrew for my birthday.

The Triceratops is Steven's and the Pterodactyl is Andrew's.

The photos also show my very messy office. I like to think it is an organized mess. :-)

Thanks boys!

The Vibe

So here is my new shiny car....














The color looks familiar, doesn't it?




























And here is my cool sunroof. Never had one of those before! Lots of button, lights, and features that are slowly introducing me to twenty-first century automobiles.

The Corolla

I have driven my maroon 1995 Toyota Corolla since March of 1996 when my dad so kindly purchased it for me. He chose this car for me because it was safe, with its two airbags, and it was reliable, because it is a Toyota. I, however, really wanted this silver 1969 Pontiac Bonneville convertible that was a boat, unsafe, and I'm sure very unreliable. I hate to say it, but Dad has been right on a lot of important decisions that needed to be made.

I ended up loving my car right from the start. It had real get-up-and-go, it could hold a bunch of my friends, only got stuck in the snow twice and stuck in mud once (all my fault not the car's) and the best part about it was the freedom that came with it. It was really the first time I felt like I was a grown-up and I could go where ever I wanted. The sky was the limit, literally (I never dared to take her off any "sweet" jumps).

I really felt that all-American freedom (I know it is a Japanese car but some of the parts were made in America and it was assembled in the United States) when I moved to South Dakota. Open road, open sky, a girl, and her car. What more could you ask for? She and I had many adventures and she never failed me, even with my oil change neglect and spark plug ignorance.

Over the years she has needed a little more TLC, thanks goodness as I was moving farther and farther away from my home and my mechanic (Dad) I found a good boyfriend that was willing to keep her moving.

As life kept moving forward, I moved farther, the boyfriend became the husband and the Corolla's color and interior kept fading but kept running along.

So you are probably wondering where is ode to the Corolla is coming from. Well last week through no fault of her own, she was parked in my office parking lot and a gentleman driving a huge Chevy Avalanche reversed into the back and side of her. I was in shock as my boss, who's office overlooks the parking lot, yelled, "Kim! Someone just ran into your car!" I ran down to find her bruised and broken. I told myself, "It will be OK we'll just get it fixed and she'll look like "new" again." Jonathan went to get estimates the next day and called me to come down to the car to chat about it. I left my office and wondered why he didn't want to just come up to talk to me. He told me the news. The Corolla was totaled, her damage exceeded her worth. I bawled and thanked Jonathan for making me come down to the car to talk as he knew what my reaction would be and knew I would be embarrassed to cry in front of my coworkers.

I never thought in all her years that her demise would come from being parked at the office. I thought she would grown old gracefully and end up being that car that was parked on the back of a big piece of property Jonathan and I would someday own. Halfway covered by a tarp, a wheel or two missing or off-kilter, always coming in handy when you needed a part or just drive to the other side of the property, but didn't want to take the "nice"car.

So, now I'm shopping for a new car, 12 years since the first. I'm sure it will be clean, shiny, and have that new car smell. I'm excited about all the possibilities, but some how I know I will always miss the Corolla with her faded upholstery, permanent Coca-Cola stain on the side of the drivers seat, and Batman toy from when I worked at Subway as a Junior in High School hanging of the rear view mirror.