A little of this, a little of that...

I guess this post is an update of sorts...first, and most importantly, baby girl #2 update:) I had my 32 week check-up last Tuesday and everything is going great! My doctor actually had an ultrasound done to check her growth, which was so much fun because it was a 3-d ultrasound so we were able to see her face (she looked right at us) and she was moving her feet around and the ultrasound tech was even able to see a lot of fuzz on her head...meaning she apparently has a head full of hair!! She may come out with more hair on her head than Marissa has right now:) She weighed in at 4lbs 5 oz and all of her other measurements were right on. And just in case you didn't know already, we have decided her name is going to be Allie Joy Nichols. My middle name (and my Grandma's name) is Joy and we both really liked the name Allie, plus I have a very dear friend from college named Allie. So, we are getting very, very close to her arrival and I just can't believe it's less than two months away. The pregnancy is still going well, I am starting to get pretty uncomfortable and the awful heartburn has reared it's ugly head again...I had it with Marissa about this time, so it didn't come as much of a surprise...Thank God for tums! But other than that, I am feeling great and just so excited to meet our little girl!
Update #2-The House!
Well, we have one room painted and the rest of the house to go:) Russell and I decided we should just tackle this place one room at a time, because I was starting to feel very, very overwhelmed. We painted the dining room this weekend and it looks great, I'll post pics tomorrow and I am going to paint the living room tomorrow. Next will be Allie's room and then, who knows. I finally got the bathrooms in usuable condition. They were seriously disgusting. Thank goodness for Magic Erasers!! These things are AMAZING! If you haven't ever used these, I suggest you run out immediately and go get some-they will change your life:) I wish I would have taken before and after pics of the tubs so you could see the difference....So we just need to get new floors in the kitchen and bathrooms and we should be set!!
Marissa has been so great for us as we are fixing this place up. We took her pack-n-play over to the new house and we put her in there and give her some snacks and set up the laptop so she can watch her Baby Einstein DVD's and she will sit there for a couple hours, watching her movie and eating her snacks:)
And lastly, I can't let you go without any pictures, so here are a few highlights from our outing to the Camp Lee Pumpkin Patch. Marissa and I went last week with our new playgroup and we had a lot of fun. It was pretty chilly that morning, so that made it even better! We played, did a little craft, and finally went on a very bumpy hay ride (that I was sure was going to make me going into early labor). It was fun, but really, why else would I go to a pumpkin patch with a 1 year old besides the opportunity to get a pretty picture. So here ya go, here is the pretty picture (and a couple extras)!

Daddy came home to have breakfast with us, so we got a picture with him before we left





In a perfect world, she would be sitting on the bench, looking at the camera, and smiling...but this was the closest we got to that happening

The House!

So, I kinda went back and forth on whether or not I wanted to post these pics b/c the house is, well....looking a little rough right now. But, I figured if I posted them, maybe I could get y'all to give me some decorating and painting tips and also, so you can see the before.
We finally got to go look around on Saturday morning and it's really not that bad. The outside is cute-it just needs to be pressure washed, the shrubbery needs to be cut back (luckily, my hubby knows a thing or two about landscaping:)) and that crazy palm tree has to go! (I still don't understand why someone would plant a palm tree in Alabama...)

The inside needs a little more help...as you will see, the paint colors are terrible, so basically every room has to be painted. The whole house needs a good scrubbing from top to bottom. The vinyl floors in the kitchen and bathrooms need replacing, and we need a new dishwaser and stove. There are obviously other things we want to do...but those are the things that need to happen before we can move in.

So, without further ado....here is our future home:)

The Before Pictures:

The golf course is to the left and the tennis courts are behind the house and to the right. (nice palm tree, huh?)

The view of the living room as you walk in the front door-Russell and Marissa are in the sunroom which is in front of the master and the door on the right leads into the hallway and kitchen. We would really like to do something with the marble fireplace...more than likely, we will just take it off and get a wood mantle. Luckily, the hardwood floors are in great condition!

The diamond-painted dining room-this is to the right-if you are standing in front of the windows in the living room, this room is to the right. The chair rail is nice, but the paint job has got to go...I can only imagine how long it must have taken the old owners to do that...

The kitchen and part of the master bedroom (I didn't take a better picture of the master...) You can see the sunroom through those "doors" of the master-it's kind of a wierd layout...I'm not sure how I am going to arrange it all b/c of the sunroom-I am wondering if there is someway to incorporate the sunroom into the master bedroom and just take out those doors and put up better (more private) curtains in the sunroom. Anyone have any ideas?

Marissa's bedroom (upstairs)-I love the window seat, it opens so we can store toys, etc in there.

The blue guest bedroom (upstairs)

the bright pink guest bedroom (upstairs)

And lastly, this is the room we are using for Allie's nursery (it is downstairs, next to the master). I think I am just going to get a crib and changing table, because I am thinking I can use the built-ins for storing most of her stuff, just buy some of those cute storage baskets. However, I have no idea what to do w/the fireplace...obviously it won't be used, so does anyone have any cute ideas on how I can cover it/hide it? I also want to get a pretty chandelier to replace the current light.

I didn't post any pics of the bathrooms or laundry rooms really because they aren't anything special. There are two bathrooms, one up and one down and the laundry room is behind the kitchen and it leads out to the backyard....which, the backyard, is FABULOUS! It is about 50 yards long and about 20 yards wide, it has a gate that leads directly into one of the tennis courts and there is a concrete slab that has a basketball goal and little fire pit. It will be perfect for the dogs and hopefully we can put a swingset back there sometime in the next couple of years.

Ok, so there you have it. That's our house! Russell and I feel very blessed that we get to live there, so don't let any of my complaining about paint color, etc. make it seem like I'm not extremely grateful for the opportunity to live there, so close to the course.

Well, please feel free to give me any and all of your advice on what to do and I will post more pics once some changes are made!

Job Perk

One of the many, and probably the best, job perk of Russell's new job is how close he is to home. Most of you know that in Georgia, he worked 45 minutes away and that was without traffic, sometimes it would take as much as an hour and a half for him to get home...and we never saw him during the day. So, needless to say, we are LOVING the fact that the course is 3 blocks from our apartment and we will be even closer when we move into the house (more on the house later). He will drive his golf cart home to have breakfast with his girls, he can help me unload groceries, we can go have lunch, anyway, you get the idea-it's so great! So, a few days last week, Marissa and I walked to the course around 4:30 and rode around with him (and Texas, of course) and Russell and I would play a couple holes and Marissa would chase the balls on the greens and give them to Daddy so he could hit them. It was so much fun! I finally remembered to take my camera one day so, here you go...enjoy:)

Russell was sure to point out everything that is wrong w/my swing....I thought it was pretty good for being almost 8 months pregnant...

And here she is again, posing for the camera:) (also, if you look close, you can see our future house in the background through the trees)

New outfit!

So, when we found out we were pregnant with Marissa, we were lucky enough to have two wonderful families (thanks Kelly and Michelle!) who were willing to give us all their girl hand-me-downs:) And even better, both mom's had very good taste and all the clothes were very cute, so that is pretty much what Marissa has been wearing since birth! However, since there isn't much to do here in ol' Anniston, Marissa and I somehow wind up at the teeny, tiny Quintard Mall just down the street from our house...imagine that, me....at the mall...SHOCKING:) Anyway....we went into Baby Gap (Gap and Dillards are pretty much the only stores in that mall) and they had an additional 25% off clearance-so, we looked and we scored:) I got 2 t-shirts, 1 pair of jeans, 1 pair of khakis and a button down shirt and it is sooo cute!

Here is our little girl modeling her new outfit and this is the face she makes as soon as we point the camera at her and say "SMILE!" (and a close up of the jeans...i love the details)

And lastly, a quick house update...We think the family is out already, Russell's boss is going to make sure tomorrow, so hopefully we can get in this week and start cleaning and painting and getting ready to move in!! I will post pics as soon as I get a chance!

Marissa- 1 year old!

It's so hard to believe our little girl is one year old already....She had her 12 month check-up today with our new peditrician here in Anniston. He was a very sweet old man and the nurses were very nice as well, overall, I was pleased with them. Anyway, she weighed 21 lbs and I can't remember her height, but I remember they said she was in the 75 percentile for height and 50% for weight.

She has had a very eventful month, starting with the move, then her birthday, then flying to Texas for Zach and Heather's wedding. We had a small birthday celebration with just the 3 of us at our house on the 16th, I bought some balloons and made a cake, which she dove right into and loved it!!

Here are a few highlights from that night:

Oh, and a little side note...I must brag on myself here, I dug deep and actually found a little creativity and craftiness inside and I made Marissa's birthday shirt. I got the shirt at Target for $2.50 and then bought the stick-on rhinestones and ribbon at Hobby Lobby for a total of $5.00. So, for a grand total of about $8.00, I came up with a very cute birthday shirt for my little girl!

Hello:)

Hey everyone and thanks for stopping by our blog! I have been wanting to start one of these since we moved to Alabama, but am just now getting around to it! I hope y'all enjoy keeping up with us as we begin a new chapter of our lives here and as we add another member to our family!

On a side note...I wanted to tell you how I came up with my blog title (I'm sure you are dying to know...:)) One of my favorite books is "Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldridge and they had different quotes before each chapter and I found this quote and immediately wrote it in the front page of my journal. It goes like this:

"You belong among the wildflowers

You belong in a boat out at sea

You belong with your love on your arm
You belong somewhere you feel free"

This is actually from a Tom Petty song entitled "Wildflowers" I think I liked it so much because of the image that came to my mind...someone free to enjoy all the beauty that God places before us each day. This is how I would like to live my life and how I would like my daughters' to grow up...free to see God's beauty in everything.

And, to end my first post....the first of many Marissa pictures!