10 Weeks to Go/Thanksgiving & Black Friday

30 Weeks Along

Our little Alice is only about 10 weeks away from being here and we are getting so excited. It's remained busy with work, school and Thanksgiving and we have had a nice relaxing Saturday together. We are so blessed and I'm glad that we have stayed busy.

Thanksgiving was really fun. We got to go to the Farr's for breakfast (cinnamon rolls and yogurt parfaits) and visit, then we went to my parents for dinner. All the food the entire day was amazing and all three of us enjoyed ourselves. Shane had to work from 6-10 on Thanksgiving so he could have Christmas off this year, so I just stayed and hung out with my family. We all decided to look through the Black Friday ads even though none of us really wanted to participate in the madness. (Having worked at Build-A-Bear for 3 1/2 I had had my fill of crazies at the mall at midnight and beyond). My sister Kelci, however, being the talented shopper/deal seeker she is found an insanely good deal at Babies R Us for a crib and changing table for $150. The deal started at 5 AM and I was really torn- save the money and be crazy, or go home and loose out on a deal? When Shane got off, we talked it over and decided to try it. On our way home, we stopped at Babies R Us to see if there was a line and if we would have to wait there and then. Luckily, there wasn't so we went home, changed, had a snack and geared up for an adventure. We got back to BRU at 1:00 in the morning-no one was there. We decided we would rather be safe than sorry. I slept for a couple hours and Shane stayed awake and scouted (he had his Gameboy to keep him company). After I woke up, we talked and watched as people started showing up. No one was waiting outside just yet, it only being 2:30. Around 3:30, we decided we were going to go wait outside. A truck that had pulled up minutes before saw Shane getting my coat from the back seat and he bolted for the door. Shane left me to get my coat and ran to the door to be second in line (he was not happy after already waiting for 2 hours). Then everyone started emerging from their cars. It wasn't too long of a line- there was still an hour and a half to wait in the cold. We brought plenty to keep us warm and we were determined to get the deal. Chatting with people in line, we found that the guy in front of us, and the couple behind us were both in line for the crib deal. We just hoped that there was more than one. 5:00 rolled around and no staff had come out to do a ticket system like we had hoped. After all, a crib is huge and not something you can just grab. As soon as the doors opened, Shane was a speed walking bullet to the back (thank goodness for his long legs). The guy in front of us was first the the service desk and got his request taken, then it was our turn. Shane quickly told her, "Same thing as that guy," and she told the worker in back to get two of the cribs and changing tables. While anticipating for them to come from the back, we watched as customers climbed shelves to get items that they wanted. It was quite a sight to see. But, we got our crib and changing table and we are so grateful. They are now set up and look beautiful. We also got a dresser a few weeks ago from RC Willey Clearance center so she is all set up furniture wise. I want to post pics when we have the bedding and stuff as well. Merry Christmas to us!

Update on appointments: I've had a lot of people ask how Alice and I are doing, seeing that the last few posts have been about her heart and how doctors were concerned. I am happy to report that everything as of now is just great. The only thing my doctor hasn't been thrilled with is my blood pressure (it's been borderline- not crazy high, but not where they want it). So every week I go to IMC and have a Non- Stress Test. All they do there is monitor Alice's heart rate, my blood pressure and check my amniotic fluid. I actually love it because I get to sit in a relaxing chair, listen to my baby and see her for a few minutes on an ultrasound. I've had two so far and both have gone splendidly for her and for me. My blood pressure has been perfect at both appointments so everyone is happy. She even had hiccups at this last one...it was adorable. So, baby and me a great and she is growing like crazy, as you can see from the size of my belly. We couldn't be happier or more blessed and are grateful to Heavenly Father for all of our blessings.

I am really looking forward to Christmas break. Work has been particularly draining and I'm excited to spend some time with family and Shane. At this point, we have heard from all but one of the PA schools Shane applied for and he hasn't been accepted into any of them. It's a little discouraging, but we are looking at it as a blessing. That way after he graduates in May, he can hopefully find a better job and we can stay in our house which will be nice. Life is just full of surprises and I'm just glad I have such an amazing husband and soon to be daughter to share them with.

Well, I don't know if anyone will read this whole thing but it will be nice to use this as a journal entry that I can just print out instead of having to write over again. Thanks to all for your continued love and support. Know that we love and appreciate everything you do.