"You can't expect me to do anything about mildew."

We are all moved in! The new house is wonderful! It is so much nicer with our things actually in it. We have started to decorate and turn it into our own little space (although much larger than our last little space). The kitchen is done and unpacked, most of the bedroom is done, and the living room is looking pretty good so far. Right now the nursery is sort of our storage area while we get everything else in order. The baby won't be needing his room for a couple of months so it's not the top priority even though I can't wait to finally start on it. We really enjoy having more space and quiet. It's nice to not hear the dog sliding back and forth on hardwood floors upstairs.

As we were moving out on Saturday morning, Will made a gruesome discovery. He was taking all of our clothes and things out of the bedroom closet and came across my wedding dress, which was covered in mildew. We always knew the apartment was damp and we took the necessary precautions: we kept a dehumidyer running constantly, we kept the furniture away from the outside walls (that's where we thought most of the problems were), and we checked the furniture occassionally to make sure it was all right. Every once in a while we found moldy furniture and would clean it off and bleach the area where possible and it would be fine. We knew we wouldn't be there for long anyway. There was no way that we could have prepared ourselves for what we found. One whole corner of the closet, not on the outside wall, was covered in mold and mildew. Of course it just happened to have been the corner where the wedding dress was kept. I have only been married for 10 months and the dress is already ruined. We had some suitcases and bags in that corner which were also in pretty bad shape. It's the dress, however, that is the most depressing. I took lots of pictures of both the apartment and the dress and brought them to the rental office today. We are hoping that they will take care of the cleaning costs but it doesn't look very hopeful. I'm not sure if it will come clean anyway. Oh well, we're out of that dungeon and in a much dryer, happier place where we can wait for Isaiah in peace.

My Newest Hobby

My newest hobby is crocheting. It all started about a year ago and I feel that I am still an amateur, having taught myself a lot and still not knowing how to read a pattern. However, my mother in-law told me that I should check on You Tube for free demos and that's just what I did! I made this cute little beanie for Isaiah to wear home from the hospital.

I can't really take much credit for it though, the demo showed me step by step how to do it. The yarn I used was a baby soft yarn but it was one of the cheaper ones and it fell apart constantly. If I remembered the brand name I would say not to get it. I will just say that I have certainly learned my lesson and will not always buy the cheapest I can find. This yarn was also very tangled up inside and my sweet mother-in-law sat down for hours unwinding and rewinding it into a ball.

I also finally finished this Bible cover recently. I have been working on it off and on for months and finally sat down and finished.

I have also made a baby blanket, scarves, pot holders, and a cover for a dashboard computer in my mom's truck. I'd like to take on another challenge but can't decide what to do next. I want something to work on while I'm sitting around waiting for the baby to come that will keep me occupied.

I would like to make something for someone. The first person who leaves me a comment on here, or emails me, or leaves me a comment on Facebook with an idea will get a special treat. I will take the challenge and make it for them! Now keep in mind I'm still an amateur and probably can't make sweaters or anything like that quite yet, but I will do my best to fulfill whatever it is that the person asks for. Also keep in mind that it will be a good project to start while waiting for the baby but once the baby comes it will have to go on hold, but I will finish it, eventually. So, any takers? Come on, I dare you. Challenge me.

Things I Have Learned

Here is a list of things I have learned, discovered, or been reminded of recently:

• When a laptop has run out of battery juice and only operates while plugged in, the best place to work is NOT on your lap where you will likely bump the cord and lose all of your work.
• Leg massages, no matter how wonderful, DO NOT prevent or cause leg cramps. Leg cramps are inevitable at 37 weeks pregnant.
• While it is wise to take one or two naps during the day, three is too many.
• I learned to crochet a baby beanie and learned a new stitch in the process (pictures coming soon).
• Brown rice takes twice as long to cook as white rice. I always forget.
• Often times, it is most helpful to teach or guide through example rather than constant reminding or nagging.
• Trust in the Lord in all things. He is in control. This is something that I need to be reminded of constantly. He has my life in His hands and I need to allow Him to take control. It is so difficult to do, yet so important. I often have the feeling that if I don't take care of things my way, then it won't get done. However, God has His own way of leading my life and it will be a much smoother road if I simply allow Him to do what He needs to do. I know it won't always be easy, but even if things turn out poorly in my eyes, it has a purpose. God knows what He is doing. It seems like it is one of the largest lessons we learn as followers of Christ and because we hear folks saying, "Let God take control...hand the steering wheel over to God and He'll lead you," all the time, it should sink in more deeply. Yet it seems to be one of the biggest struggles I have. God loves me and won't lead me down the wrong way because His way IS the right way. He's got it in His hands. "'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'" Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)
  

This Just Won't Do

We have decided on a place to live, filled out all the paperwork, gotten our keys, and started packing. Now we just have to wait for the electric service to get their stuff done so we can start moving in. My sister-in-law, Elizabeth, came with us on Wednesday to clean up what we could with no power and water (we brought a bucket of water and a seperate gallon jug of water with us). The walls had a bit of a yellow tinge to them and the previous owners apparently didn't care if their children colored all over the walls. We went through about 5 magic erasers (love those things, by the way) and got most of the walls cleaned up. Now we need to deodorize the carpet and vacuum and get the kitchen floor swept of all the dead ants and we'll be good to move in.

There's just one snag though: the electric company needs the county to inspect the lot before they will turn the power on. Why? I have no idea. Will called the county today to set up an appointment and they just didn't seem to understand what it was that he was trying to say. They thought we were building the place and needed them to inspect the property to give us some sort of permit. So now Will is down at the county government building trying to get it all straightened out. It seems to me that this is a job for the landlord, who told us that all we needed to do was call the electric company and pay the deposit then it should be up and running in a couple of days.

We don't want to start moving things in until we get the floors all clean and we can get some of the smell from a closed up trailer with previous tenants who smoked cleared out of there. We can't vacuum or finish cleaning until we get the power on. We're stuck. To top it all off, we weren't able to get one thing done yesterday because I wasn't feeling good and Will had a fever all day! It came completely out of nowhere! I woke up with a sore throat and no voice and Will woke up freezing and feeling woozy. His fever lasted through the night and finally broke about 5:00 this morning and hasn't come back yet. That's all we need...to both come down with the flu while we're trying to move.

The move is also on a time limit. We have to be out of our apartment by the 12th and we would really like to be all moved in and unpacked by the time the baby decides to come out and join us. I can hardly imagine how I would feel coming home from the hospital with our new bundle of joy only to be surrounded by unpacked boxes and not be able to finish unpacking until my body has healed enough. It would be near torture. Of course I know that if that has to happen, I will do my best to handle it, but it would be very nice and wonderful if we could finish before Isaiah comes so I don't even have to think about it.

The trailer is exactly what we need and I am very excited to finally be able to move in! Once we get our things in there and we turn it into our home, it will be perfect. I can't wait!