Last semester!

Welp, here I sit - 18 weeks pregnant and finishing my final semester before graduation - YAY!!! I could not be more excited! We have a lot going on in our lives right now.

Ainzley is growing and growing! She is such a busy little Miss and really such an easy baby. She is learning at a fast and furious pace and I feel like I just can't keep up with her curiosity some days! She loves to play with her "boy" who is such a great teacher to her. A couple of weeks ago, they were playing in David's room. Just giggling and enjoying their playtime. David came out of his room (followed by Ainzley) and said, "Mom! Ainzley has something she wants to tell you!" David turned to her and said "Ainzley, how much do you love Mommy?" Ainzley said (very giggly) "Very, very much!" We've always told David we love him very, very much and he says he loves us very very much... and now he taught his sister. It was flat out adorable!

David, besides being an awesome teacher to Ainzley, is such a busy little boy. He goes to Preschool 4 days a week in the mornings and he loves it. He has two really great teachers and tells me all about all of his friends - I just love seeing him be excited about school and making friends. He also started Primary this year and he's doing pretty good. He's only been twice this year due to sickness. He does have a hard time going in to sharing time most weeks but he calms down and starts enjoying himself. It helps that he has a teacher who is super nice with an abundance of patients.

Jason is working busily with his agency. December and January are typically difficult months to sell insurance since everyone is paying for Christmas during those times but we've already seen a huge turn around and we're looking forward to the Spring and Summer months. We're going to be expanding the agency and taking on some employees in the next few months as well - I can't believe we're to that point already! Jason is eagerly awaiting Spring and Summer for one thing - Cardinal's Baseball!

As for me, I'm still enjoying pregnancy. Things are still pretty uneventful which makes me happy. We'll find out the gender on Valentine's Day. I wasn't planning to find out this time but I want to know ahead of time for my own preparation sake. I want to have the clothes washed and ready, I want to be able to buy a few special things for this baby, and I want the kids to be so excited about having either a brother or a sister... not just a baby : ) I've been feeling the baby kick for about 3 weeks now. The first time happened when Jason was giving me a blessing. He mentioned the baby in the blessing and I felt what I knew for sure was a baby kick. It was so special. I really, honestly, 100% have been enjoying my pregnancy this time. Knowing it's going to be my last has really helped me to stay positive and enjoy the moment. One decision I'm still in the process of making (well, I'm fairly sure I've made the decision... but I'm just trying to come to terms with it) it having the baby in the hospital instead of at home. After Ainzley's birth, I swore I would never go back to the hospital again. As I shared in her birth story, her birth was far from uncomplicated BUT it was amazing. I was well cared for (as was she) and prefer being at home 10000000% over being in the hospital.... but I don't think a home birth is going to be the way we go this time. A blog post in the next couple of days will explain more fully.

Awesome giveaway!!!

Hi All!

In the midst of winter, colds run rampant through our house for some reason. Being the "crunchy"  person I have become over the last few years, I hate using medicine when I'm sick - I especially hate giving it to the kids! But what do I hate more? Giving the kids medicine or letting them feel miserable?
Anyway, when I was super pregnant with Ainzley, my midwife introduced me to essential oils - I was skeptical at first but was sooo converted after using them. I have never felt better quicker during a cold and am so glad to not be putting artificial yuck into my body. One of my favorite features of EO's is that your body can't build up an immunity to them they way it can to medicine. I just cannot say enough good things about essential oils.
Except that there is an essential oils giveaway going on in the blogosphere!!!! Housewife Eclectic is giving away some great EO's from Plant Therapy Oils! Head on over and check it out! : )

http://www.housewifeeclectic.com/2013/01/how-essential-oils-changed-my-life-and.html