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

*only 3 more weeks of school! in some ways, the semester has flown by, but in other ways, it's been quite slow... as the semester winds down, we only have a few more things to do. thankfully, both ryan and i cranked out a few big papers last week. it is nice to have those done! now if we can just get the rest done.... :) 

*in exactly one month from today, we will be hitting the road destined for sweet home alabama!! we have no official place to live and no set jobs, but we will wait to see where the Lord leads. a lot of people seem to be, in very nice ways, looking down on our decision to move back to the 'ham. it has not be an easy choice to make, but has been obvious to us. we aren't heading back because we don't like colorado or because we miss being near our families (though of course we do miss them!), but we feel like this is what the Lord has for us for this coming season of our lives. we aren't sure exactly what it will look like or exactly why, which i guess makes the whole journey a little bit harder in ways. it would be a lot easier for us (especially when we get all the questions from friends and family) to know exactly what the Lord is leading us to do, but we don't know just yet. it's a journey of faith. we earnestly sought the Lord about moving to colorado and followed what we felt was his leading...and now, we shall do the same. and, we wait eagerly and patiently to see what's next (besides the obvious!). 

*every now and then, i start thinking very seriously about writing a book. after writing a paper this last week on a subject that i thoroughly enjoyed thinking about an dwelling on, i have found myself pondering trying to pull my thoughts together and write them all down. it's quite a stretch, but maybe one day... i do love writing so! :)

*pregnancy is doing some good and some strange things to my body. for one thing, my hair seems to be growing a little faster each day (i think that has something to do with the prenatals, more than the pregnancy itself though). this is nice because i've decided i want it long again! :) my belly is expanding little by little, as well. some people are surprised to hear that i am 19 weeks along and still so small, but i definitely don't feel small. i am getting more and more people staring at my belly when they talk to me, as if they are trying to decide. this is especially happening at work, as i administer breathalyzers, i notice people just staring with big eyes at my stomach, wanting to ask, but afraid to at the same time. i want to put them at ease, but i'm not sure how. i could say, "i notice you staring at my stomach, yes, there is a baby growing inside there!" but that'd be a little awkward. a shirt might do the trick, one that proclaimed my news to the world...but then i'd have to wear it every day to ensure everyone GOT it, so... 

*thanksgiving is fast approaching and we have been scatteredly planning our meal. we are having some friends over to celebrate and, if we actually have all the food we have talked about having, i think we will have enough to last us until christmas. i was pleasantly surprised at the grocery store yesterday when i saw that turkeys are not ridiculously expensive. safeway's brand was like $8 for the HUGE one.... not bad at all!!! now the only problem is figuring out how to cook a turkey since i've never done this before. i'm also looking for a great stuffing recipe-any one?? :)

*i did have one sad revelation this past week. i was at target getting a little of this and that grocery-wise when i happened upon all of the christmas things-from decorations to foods (btw-i did have to get a box of those white chocolate covered oreos-the ones that only seem to be out around christmas time...and i have selfishly said that i don't want to share them with anyone because there's so few in the box...they must be saved for special occasions. ;))...and then all of a sudden, it hit me. due to the fact that we are moving home just a few days before christmas, we will not get to decorate our place! ryan, i think, is a little grateful for this fact because not putting decorations up means not having to take anything down. but, i am a wee bit saddened by this fact. especially after seeing steph's pictures with everything looking so cute!! 

well, i guess that's all i have for now.. until next time...