Nursery and More...

We are gearing up for Baby Natale's arrival! The nursery is finished! The carpet arrived yesterday! We still have a few pictures to hang in the nursery, as Jim's sister did some drawings for us! But other than that, the drawers are stocked and the crib is made! Jim painted the room and did a fabulous job! So now that the nursery has been set up and our bags are mostly packed, we are just waiting for Baby to decide when to arrive!

Dresser

Changing Table and Shelf

Crib and sign that says "I love you to the moon and back"

Just before Christmas, we had a nice shower thrown by the teachers at my school. We are so thankful for the generosity and love they showed! I am so grateful to work with an amazing group of educators. They are an amazing group of people who truly care about those around them. I took some time over the break to make some thank you cards to show them just how much their thoughtfulness is appreciated (close your eyes if you think you may be receiving one of these! :) ). My Dad has a "cricut" machine and we used it to create these cute little cards! Who knew we could be so crafty! Thanks for your help Dad!

Sweet Child 'O Mine

Notice I said sweet...not tiny or little! So I guess it's time to formally state that the prediction is...I'm having a big baby. To some of you, this may not come as a surprise because you've watched my belly expand!

Last week they sent me for an ultrasound because I was measuring larger than 35 weeks.

Jim and I went to our ultrasound on Monday. At that ultrasound, the "guesstimate" for our child's weight was 7lbs. + or - 1lb 1oz. We had another appointment yesterday afternoon where they confirmed...yes...big baby. (As much as they can predict without seeing the baby) The midwife's "guesstimate" is now around 8. By the way...did I mention that I'm between 36 and 37 weeks along and my due date isn't until January 17!!! And I know that one can never be sure, but at least we will be prepared for the possibility of Big Baby Natale. The good thing about all of this is that it's not due to gestational diabetes...no...it's genetics. I must give a big shout out to my mother-in-law whom I love dearly and has blessed me with the genetics of carrying this bundle of joy! :) (All of her babies weighed in at 9+ lbs.)

We are just praying for a happy, healthy baby whenever it is ready! I have to say though, it's not looking like it will be before Jan (sorry Jim!). So keep us in your prayers as we near the end of this wonderful adventure and look forward to a new one!

Holiday Preparations!

Upon a review of this next week's schedule, I realized that I was not going to have much time to complete any of the things that I need to get done! So, Jim and I spent today preparing for the upcoming holiday festivities! Yesterday, he helped to cut down Christmas trees for UAFD and then we brought one home. Today was the day for decorating! These are two ornaments I received from friends and family in honor of my first pregnant Christmas!

Baby Fairy from Aunt Julie

Pregnant Mommy ornament from Mary G. (Gram)

The tree is all decorated!

I also spent some time preparing cookie dough for a cookie exchange and Fire Department Open House at the end of this week, as well as, a treat for a school luncheon on Tuesday. WHEW! Since I had to make two types of cookies, I tried one new recipe, Santa Whiskers, and stuck with an oldie but a goodie for the other , Peanut Butter Blossoms. I'm excited to see how they turn out!

For the school luncheon, I made these chocolate refrigerator treats with marshmallows and rice krispies that Jim requested. Only problem was, we couldn't find the exact recipe. Well we concocted one and based upon Jim eating 3 of them already, make that 5, I think we got it pretty close.

So Sunday evening and I have most of my extra-curricular things complete and I can use the time I do have in the evening this week to do school work. Oh how exciting!

Thankful at Thanksgiving...and always!

This year, Thanksgiving held even more meaning for our family. We got to spend the week with my grandfather and his wife, Helen. They live in Canada, so we don't often have large family gatherings. My brother and his wife opened up their home for us to use for our Thanksgiving meal (and a few others). My aunt and uncle traveled from North Carolina. My aunt, cousin, and her ten year old son traveled from Michigan!

Many activities occur when the Carmichael's get together. The first of which is leg wrestling. My dad has worked really hard to lose 57 pounds since August 1 and he was determined to beat my brother! Clearly we had many laughs and my dad is still insisting it was a tie!

Dad and Aaron begin the competition

Who won?!

Whenever we are together, we have another tradition...we sing! My uncle brought his guitar and as you can see below, my grandfather enjoyed every minute of it! It's such a fun memory to have of Grandpa singing his heart out...normally it's at the dinner table! :)

On Saturday, we went to Hershey Chocolate World. We enjoyed walking around (or shuffling past the crowds of people) and looking at all of the yummy chocolate. We had a cold ride on the shuttle to get to and from our car, but it was all worth it! We ended the day with shopping at the Hershey Outlets.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with our family! Thank you to all of you who traveled and Aaron and Rach for opening their home to us!

And the blessings continue...

A week after my first shower, my dear friend Stacy threw me a shower with a tea party theme! Her wonderful Mom, Mary, also helped to pull off the beautiful shower. They held the tea party at The Bricker House.

Stacy and her mom spent alot of time planning and preparing for the tea party. They had a tea cup with a cupcake at each place setting. As well as, a beautiful arrangement of flowers at each table.

Stacy had some fun games planned for the afternoon. She had asked Jim some questions and had each guest fill out their guesses on Jim's answers. How funny! Though I must say, with the exception of a few answers (sorry Stacy), Jim was so kind and thoughtful! Stacy also had the ladies draw a picture with paper and a marker on their heads!

Knowing that my theme in the baby's room is from the book "Guess How Much I Love You", Stacy asked each guest to finish this statement: I love you as much as...

It was so neat to see how people finished the statement! What a wonderful memory this has created for our family! We have made them into a book that we will keep in the nursery.

Not only did we get a picture with each table, Stacy even took a picture of the entire shower!

We had such a fun time!

Thank you Stacy and Mary for all of the hard work that you put into creating this memory for Jim and I! We are so grateful!

And of course we couldn't have ended the day without a funny picture with Stacy!

Showers of Blessings...

A few weeks ago, some dear friends of mine, Monique and Lori, threw my first baby shower. What a wonderful time we had! The ladies had an adorable theme that was inspired by the "This Little Piggy" poem, yet geared for a baby shower! They had a beautiful spread of food! Below begins the pictures of each "station" they had set up that incorporated the "This Little Piggy" poem.

In addition to the beautiful food and decor, Lori and her husband Mike made an adorable diaper cake! I had a hard time taking this apart because it was so beautiful! It included diapers, onesies, bibs, socks, mittens, and an adorable stuffed pig at the top of the cake!

We had a wonderful time of catching up and soaking up all the wisdom of the mommies that were present! Thank you ladies for all of your hard work and effort! I had an amazing time and it is a wonderful memory that I will hold dear! Thank you Monique and Lori!!!

A Fine Fall Weekend...

Next to beach season, Fall is my favorite! I enjoy the cooler weather, beautiful foliage, and flavors of the season! I can't wait to start cooking everything pumpkin!

I started off this weekend with a trip to the Apple Festival with the Geiger/Salter's. What a wonderful day! Audrey was dressed like a pumpkin and fit right in with the surroundings of the festival! We had some great food (pork bbq and fried apples) and did some shopping. I found a beautiful picture frame for the nursery. This truly was the prayer of our hearts. We are very thankful and know that many people continue to pray longer than we did. I used an ultrasound picture for now! I look forward to having a real photo in this frame!

Today, I decided to do some baking. I love baked oatmeal and was given this recipe from my friend, Jen. I used the blueberries I had picked earlier this summer. What a great way to begin each day this week! Here is a link to Jen's Baked Oatmeal recipe on her blog. http://its-a-wonderfull-life.blogspot.com/2008/09/new-favorite.html (If you love to cook, don't stop there, she has a bunch of wonderful recipes!)

I also thought I should take some time to thank Jim for all of the hard work he has put into getting the nursery ready. In the past few weeks, he has helped me to register for baby items, put together 3 pieces of furniture, painted the nursery, and the list just keeps going. I decided to make some peanut butter cookies for him to enjoy. I cannot tell a lie...I may have snitched a few!

Lastly, I know I have not been good about blogging lately! I did want to share a little bit about our progression with Baby Natale's nursery. While we don't have a theme, we have decided on some colors. We painted the walls with stripes and will be adding chair rail this week. The nutbrown hare shown below is from "Guess How Much I Love You". These are the only bunnies I will have in the room. The bedding, curtains, and rug will all be cream with some accent colors that we picked! I will post the picture of the walls as soon as the chair rail is up! Great job Jim! Thank you for all you have done!

And Baby Makes Three...

Great Deals

Last week, Jim and I travelled to BB's Bent and Dent to get some of our groceries for the month. BB's is an Amish owned store that sells everything a grocery store does at a fraction of the cost! Some of their items may have bents or dents, but many of their items are just discounted. I love driving to BB's! It's located in Newburg, PA, just outside of Newville. We spent about an hour walking up and down every aisle. I typically only purchase pantry items here, and I like to make sure I don't buy anything that is out of date. We got so many good deals! I find that I love grocery shopping when I go to BB's! If you ever get to visit, you should!

Summer Recap

I wanted to take some time to update you on our summer activities! At the end of June, Jim and I ventured to Las Vegas, Nevada with our friend Nick and met Jim's brother and sister-in-law there! We went to see one of Jim's friends get married. It was an amazing time! Our flight landed in Las Vegas, we rented a car, and off we went! We travelled about 4 hours to the Grand Canyon! What an amazing sight! The day was slightly overcast, but the sight was still overwhelming. 

A view of the Grand Canyon

Jim and I standing on the edge! 

On the way back we took some photos of the Hoover Dam. We didn't stop to walk across, as we had already been sitting in traffic for an hour to get across the dam! 

Our drive-by picture of the Hoover dam

The next day we went on a short hike in the Valley of Fire. The pictures do not do the terrain justice. The sand was a burnt orange color and the rocks had varying hues of orange, purple, white, and more! Some rock formations resembled beehives. We saw little lizards, petroglyphs drawn on rocks and petrified wood.  

                              

        Petroglyphs                                           Beehive Rock                                                                

Petrified Wood

That same afternoon, we attempted to go to a little town called Caliente. Well, let's just say 100 miles on a dirt road/ slightly paved road that was eroding on one side, one flat tire, outdoor "bathroom" stops, and many hours later we arrived at Caliente. The following day was our friend Eddie and Yana's wedding at the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel. What a fun 20 minutes! Eddie and Yana rode in on their Harley. To see pictures of the rest of the trip, visit our photo gallery at http://gallery.me.com/jvnatale and click on Las Vegas Trip! We are so grateful for the opportunity to travel with friends and family! 

Our New Blog!

Jim and I recently got rid of our old blog. We didn't use it much, and not many people knew about it! We hope this will be a better way of keeping in touch with people and letting them know what' s going on in our lives! 

Keep in mind that my first few posts will be a little rough as I haven't done this before! Though some very consistent bloggers have given me some great websites and advice!  My next post will catch you all up on our summer events! We've had a busy, yet fabulous summer!