just because

as i got to work this morning and started looking at a few of the blogs that i puruse, i noticed that almost everyone i look at had updated their blog! it makes my day when i have new stuff to read from some of the greatest people on earth! (that's some cheez wiz right there). anyway, i don't have a lot to say. i guess i'll just update quickly about the past few weeks.
dillon is now 29 weeks into his development, which means we have 11 or less weeks before he'll be here! i feel the need to get his room ready, like now, so hopefully this weekend, we will get his crib and be able to paint and all that stuff. mimi got him his bedding last weekend which we are SO thankful for! so, now we know what we need to do to get paint colors! YEA! anyone who wants to help, give me a call!!!
also, the Lord has been gracious with giving ben work a little last week and this week at VIP. please pray for us as we decide what to do with the movie and how we decide to live for the next year or so. we really need some guidance.
everything else is going well. my new job is getting better everyday. i'm looking into taking my kids on a field trip because they deserve it and it would be fun :). i hope we can go to the pumpkin patch or to tennessee safari park. we'll see what happens. i have some of the greatest kids and they teach me patience everyday. i know God's preparing me to be a mom.
i also would like to just say that i'm very thankful for the elders of our church. they are such a blessing to me and ben and our little family. we love the community that God has brought us into and i would encourage all of you to pray for your elders daily. they are our shepherds. may we be faithful to pray for wisdom for them.
well, this is basically a post where i could just ramble, so i'm going to stop. we're excited about seeing the tankersleys in a few days. we miss them like crazy. expect crazy pictures from the week that they are here! much love to everyone!! this is our nephew, luke tankersley. this picture just makes me smile everytime i see it!

26 weeks and counting

well, this picture is about 2 weeks old. i've made it into the third trimester and i can't believe it! this last 13 weeks is going to FLY by!! we're starting to have baby showers and it's really exciting. thanks everyone for having them for us!! this is a picture of what my belly looks like if you're food sitting on our table :)
also, ben and i have had some pretty great blessings recently. the movie is still not up and going, but we're confident that it will be soon. please continuing praying for that. in the meantime, we're taking advantage of our sunday afternoons ;). this is ben and petey last week...
we hope to see you all soon!! thanks for praying for us!

nash-vegas!

well, today is oficially mine and ben's anniversary. although we celebrated this past weekend, i did make ben breakfast in bed this morning ;). we went to nashville for a couple of days and stayed downtown at the union station inn. it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! it's totally worth it to stay there just to see the room and the inside. we started off the weekend with a trip to qdoba (janie's favorite)! we love their big burritoes. on saturday, we went to franklin and walked around downtown. we enjoyed lunch at the mellow mushroom (pizza) then drove around looking for a pipe shop, but couldn't find it, so we went to uptown's instead (in green hills). (these are my feet after the day in franklin)
then, we went to maggiano's little italy for dinner that night. i think that all we did was eat this past weekend. on saturday night, after going to border's, we were driving back to the hotel and our car started overheating. we made it back to the hotel, but sunday we knew we would have to take it to the closest firestone (right down the road). dave was nice enough to take it right in and look at it. in the meantime, we walked to panera (about a mile) and had breakfast with some sunday morning paper reading. then, we decided to walk back. after two hours of sittin in firestone, our car was ready for the trip home! dave was kind enough to give us 10% off and a couple of hoses for free since it was our anniversary ;). thanks, dave! we then finished off the weekend with eating at blackstone brewery (the st. charles porter is ben's fave) and headed home. we did listen to a lot of this american life which we highly recommend to everyone! happy anniversary to us!!!

here are some pictures of union station. it's beautiful!! (have i said that yet?)