Phase IV

Hey guys,

So phase iv of the nursery is complete. That officially means that all of the old plaster is off the walls and we are ready to install the new drywall on the walls. One small hurdle first, moving all the outlets to more convenient places before we hang the drywall. Josh will have to run a few more wires for this project but will hopefully not find any snags in his way. On that note we should also say that we are 16 days away from the ultrasound!!! There won't be any pictures of this phase in the nursery because it doesn't look much different. However, Josh and I spent hours and hours this weekend working in the yard. Josh worked on getting the back yard ready for the new fence we are going to install and we both spent time planting new flowers in the landscaping out front. There are a few pictures of that, though I fear it does not do the amount of work that it took justice. Hope this finds everyone well. Quick shout out to John....we hope therapy is going well and you are recovering everyday. Quick shout out to Andrea......can't wait for you to get out of the hospital on Thursday.....here's hoping for a pft of 74!!

Josh picked these out to fill space in the front beds....he likes the "grassy" look to them. We planted the taller lillies behind them in between the liropas.

I picked the lilies and one of them has already bloomed, we just planted them on Sunday. I hope that means they will all do well this summer!

It's hard to tell in this picture, but we also put white new guinea impatiens between the azaleas up by the house. Those did really well last year and in a few weeks we expect them to really fill in the gaps between the azaleas.

Niece or Nephew?

Well good morning everyone,

There were big announcements from my brother and his wife yesterday. They went for their 20 week check-up and ultrasound. Katie looks great, and the best news of all, the baby looks healthy! The baby was sitting breech and Indian style for most of the ultrasound. Jason and Katie were able to see the baby move and move it's hand to the face. The heart had four chambers and all body systems including kidneys looked great. From what I gather it was a really neat experience for the pair of them. As Anna gets older, she will have big shoes to fill for her new little SISTER! We are proud to let everyone know that Jason and Katie are expecting a healthy baby girl in a little under 20 weeks!! Congrats to both of you.

p.s. I could really get used to this Aunt gig!

Mel

Big Baby Byrge

So Josh and I have brief but very exciting news. This morning just after breakfast while watching the Today show........Baby Byrge made their "moving" debut. They moved for about three minutes and I could actually see the lower portion of my right abdomen move in sync with the baby. We also had a check up today that went very well. The baby's heart rate was 158 (perfectly normal) and mom's (my) blood pressure was down to normal with the help of the meds I have been on. We are thankful for every single normal milestone and can't wait to announce the baby's sex in four weeks. Ultrasound on May 14th!

Happy Easter!

Hello Everyone,


Although it was a dreary day around St. Louis....there is obvious cause for sunshine and celebration on a day like today. May the realness of the risen God be with all of you.





Here is another treat to add to your baskets from this morning!

Phase III...Raising the Roof

Hello all,
I hope this entry finds you warm....it's snowing here today with a high of 34. Who knew it was April? Things have been feverishly busy since the last post. Josh has been working overtime to finish all the electrical re-wiring around the house so that he could get the ceiling put up this weekend. As the help arrived on Sunday Josh was putting the finishing touches on the wiring to ready for the drywall. Thanks to 8 whole hours of help from our neighbor Tim, (he rules for several reasons....not the least of which he's a native Scotsman!!!) and three hours from our good buddy Luke.....the drywall on the ceiling is officially up. It was a mammoth milestone in this big project. My job all weekend consisted of ensuring everyone was fed.....and sitting on my rump. I often feel guilty about that until I remember that when at rest I am running a marathon cooking this baby! The even better news than the ceiling being up....that gave me the green light to really scrub the place down for the first time in weeks. Ahhhh, exhausting but yes...therapeutic indeed. Another milestone this week...Josh and I are entering week 16. Although I'm still very tired, things are good. We go next Thursday for our next check-up and are hopeful for a clean bill of health for everyone. My brother and Katie will find out in 2.5 weeks what they are having and everyone is anxiously awaiting. I will be heading home to Cincy at the end of June to celebrate a shower with her. I wanted to also ask for a favor in this blog. My good friend John is in an inpatient rehab unit recovering from a very large and devastating stroke. He needs all the positive thoughts and prayers you can muster. He is only 37 years old and has a long road ahead of him. The stroke was two weeks ago and he is still struggling to get his speech back and eat anything without aspirating. Please add him to your prayer lists and I will be updating about him periodically. Enjoy the latest pics of the nursery in progress.

Here is the last picture of the open space that will soon be the ceiling. Notice the exposed wires...that took Josh the better part of a week to square away. The first piece of drywall is in place and the rest are coming.

The guys finishing the first piece with this contraption that looked like it could torture someone! For $30 Josh said it made the job 100% easier....so glad!

The last piece of ceiling is in place and our neighbor Tim seems happy to be finished!! He's a great guy.

I never seem to have a problem expediting the clean up stage!

And of course Carson is always standing by to oversee things. He is constantly at the center of all the action.