33 weeks pregnant...

Okay...we are nearing the end. I keep telling myself this...I won't be uncomfortable for much longer. This pregnancy has gone smoothly other than being SO sick in the beginning. For the most part I feel really good, but the veins in my legs have taken a beating. With each pregnancy my veins have gotten worse. It, of course, is all worth it for these absolutely precious children, but I don't know what will happen if we ever decide on having a 4th (Mom, don't freak out).

weekend...

We had a beautiful weekend in Fayetteville, NC! I am ready for warmer weather...not hot...just warm. Friday we were able to enjoy the weather at the Asheboro Zoo. We had a great time as a family. The zoo is huge! Make sure you bring your walking shoes if you go!  We will have to go back because we didn't make it to Africa. We saw lots of animals, played at the parks, had a picnic lunch and shared a couple icee's. That was a good day! Saturday took an unexpected turn for the worse. Once again it was a beautiful day and we were outside playing/ hanging out with our neighbors. John was cleaning out the car and had all the doors open. Anna climbed up in the car and was crawling over the seats. She needed to go potty so as she was exiting the rear of the car she slipped and hit the concrete drive way. She landed with a loud smack. Well, we ended the day at the emergency room with lots of x-rays of her leg. They couldn't see anything on the x-rays which is good, but she is still limping and will not bear weight on her leg. We go tomorrow morning to see an orthopedic surgeon. I know she is in a lot of pain.  We are praying that nothing is fractured or broken. Hope to give a good update tomorrow....

 I thought this was a clever idea for a bridge for her trains...

Anna hard at work on her pre-school work book. My goal is to go through a few pages a day with her until we finish the book which is almost 400 pages!

At the zoo checking out turtles and aligators..

A polar bear cave the girls loved!

They are inside roaring like polar bears :)

A really cute park they had set up...it was a large garden for the kids to climb on.

Bee exhibit...the girls loved this giant bee hive..

Cheese...

The girls loved riding the carousel...

Allen girls lately....

Anna ready for ballet... she loves going to her class with Miss Leslie each week.

Look at that fancy move...

They love playing princess together....

friends and sisters

Yesterday we went to a place called Monkey Joe's with our friends next door. We had never been there before and we had a blast. We got there when it opened at 10:00 and didn't leave until almost 2:00. The girls jumped, climbed and ran all over the place. Anna was absolutely exhausted, had huge bags under her eyes and still did not nap. She napped today though.

Waving at Andy..

Calling for her friend Andy...

climbing and sliding...the first time she went she wanted me to go with her so I did. The whole time I was thinking, what am I doing? Don't hurt yourself or go into labor early! When I got off I noticed on the side of the inflatable thing that there was a drawing of a pregnant lady with a big slash through it...oops! no pregnant people allowed. The girls ended up doing great on there own and thank goodness they didn't need help from their very pregnant mommy!

Daddy's home ....

John is home...if you have been reading this you know he is home early!!!! Really early!!! This is why when the Army says something I have to just go with it, not worry and wait on the Lord to see what happens. The Army seems to change its mind every few minutes.

Here is the sign we made for John. The girls love stickers and loved making this for Daddy.

John got in around 5 am last Sunday. He hadn't slept the whole night so he crashed when he got in. The girls were so patient waiting for him to wake up. They kept checking on him and saying there he is. They couldn't believe he was home. Here they are helping me make coffee for him

Being silly waiting for Daddy to get up.... Well, Anna is being a camera hog and Eliza wants her picture taken...

Update...

It has been a little while since an update so here it goes....We are staying busy with gymnastics, ballet, barnes and noble story time, and hanging out with our friends Kelly, Andy and baby Seth. Aunt Alden came to visit last weekend and we loved having her here. The girls and I had so much fun being with her. I will be 28 weeks pregnant tomorrow! I have made it to the 3rd trimester and on the last leg of this pregnancy. I am ready to meet little baby girl Allen! (Hoping to come up with a name soon) John has been gone now for a lot of weeks, but good news is he may be coming home early and SOON! Yay! We are waiting for more information about an exact date. Well, the Army is making me grow and stretch in different ways. First, it makes me rely on the Lord...I have to lean on Him and Him alone. I think I have a tendancy to look to John too much. I hope I am making sense (not a writer here and have a hard time expressing exactly what I mean). God comes first and John cannot be God. I think through all this I have grown closer to the Lord. Also, with the Army their is a lot of waiting, changing of plans, things that come up and basically you have no control over anything. As a scheduled person this is tough! God is taking me out of my comfort zone and again saying trust me...he is of course much bigger than the Army! Here are some recent pictures of my wonderful kids. They keep me on my toes all the time. I never really know what they will do next or say next for that matter. I guess this is normal  for toddler/pre-school age.

Eliza and I are trying to wake up Anna from her nap...love Eliza's cheese smile...

Here is Anna knocked out! I put her in a time out at 4:45 knowing she was overly tired!! She cried so hard for about 5 minutes and then I found her like this. It was so hard to get her up. I had the light on, Eliza and I were playing and I used the blender. Poor thing she was so tired, but I knew if I didn't wake her up after a 30 minute nap she would be awake at 11:00 at night...

Eliza dressed up as a beautiful bride at the Fayetteville Museum...

"The Grocery Store" Our friend Andy playing with the girls.They had so much fun playing at the grocery store with the carts, food and money.

Here is her cheese smile again...I love it!

We have put it off, but I couldn't any longer...First hair cuts for the girls...Their hair looks so much better and healthy. There is a great kids place in Fayetteville to go. The girls had fun!

Recent pictures....

Valentine's flowers from John... Thank you Babe! I love you and miss you!

24 1/2 weeks pregnant... It has been almost a couple weeks since this picture was taken and I feel like I have grown like crazy in such a short period of time. I need to have someone take another picture to compare. I have just been feeling huge the past few days!

Outside my parents home in Charleston, SC.... I never actually went outside. I just opened the door and held the camera out. I didn't expect it to snow so I didn't bring anything for me and the girls to wear in this weather. Thank goodness it melted by the afternoon :)

Backyard shot...

60 days to 6 months....

Well, we got word the other day that John will be in Haiti for the next 6 months...ugh.  He should be able to come home a week before the baby is due and stay for 10 days. I am praying that he would be allowed to just stay after the baby is born because it will be so close to when they are coming home. It is a possibility, but not sure how likely it will be.  I took the news pretty well and then it all sank in yesterday. We have been stuck in the house all weekend with the snow/ice storm and it seemed like the girls were fighting, whining and crying all day long. I have been more tired lately...it was a LONG day. I am trying to just take one day at a time and not think about how far away July is. Their are positive's in this...He is safe where he is, Afghanistan will be pushed back so he should be here for the girls birthdays, Christmas, and a good portion of the babies first year. I am thankful for those things. I know God is in control and his hand is in this. We have neighbors that just moved in next door that I know would help me in any emergency. I have been praying for a great family to move into our duplex. God has provided in that way and it has eased John's mind knowing that they are there.

Here are some pictures of the girls lately....