Kimmie's coming...

One month from today! She is kind of boring and we NEVER have fun together (does anyone believe that?)...but I'm looking forward to her visit! Watch out, Jason! We are taking over the apartment!P.S. On my last blog, Jenna guessed correctly that the baseball is autographed by Ernie Banks! Wow, nice job by the new mommy! Your boys will love your baseball knowledge :)

Weekend Update #14

In an effort to spice up our weekend updates (because this one is really lame), we've decided to start a new weekly feature.

"Baby Item of the Week"

(insert oohs and ahhs)

Jason and I are both a little freaked out about how much this coming baby is going to cost us. Babies need a lot of stuff. And after organizing my dresser space last week, we realized that we are going to have to actually buy all that stuff! So, in an effort to spread out the cost a bit, we are going to add in a few baby items to our weekly budget and work on our stockpile. We've got six months. Of course we will leave plenty of room for doting grandparents and uncles (hint, hint, Uncle Jeff-Jeff) to purchase their own selection of gifts. We wouldn't want to deny them the pleasure of spoiling Baby Hubby.

Every week we will showcase our purchases. Some purchases will be basic and some will be fun. We will stick to gender-neutral items until we find out the sex of the baby.

All that to say...our baby item of the week is...drum roll please...PLAIN WHITE ONESIES! That's right, ladies and gentlemen. It's a perfect lame purchase that it matches this lame weekend update. But can you really go wrong by buying as many of these as possible? Isn't our newborn going to spit up on about 20 of these per day?
On with the lame weekend update...

We did manage to go out on Friday night, and even got dressed up. I took a picture so you all would believe us. Some friends of ours from the mission bought us tickets to a dinner theatre hosted by a church in the area. It was fun to get out.Jason had to work on both Saturday and Sunday, so I did mountains of laundry, cleaned the house, and clocked in for some work myself. I also went to church by myself which was fine - we had a Mexican potluck and I had been craving some chips and salsa....mmmmmm....

Saturday afternoon, the Goodyear blimp flew by and got awful close to our apartment. That provided me with some entertainment for about 5 minutes. I had to find the camera fast because that thing can move.

Seriously, dude...back up

Here is my Valentine's Day present from Jason. Some women get flowers, but I get an autographed baseball. You can have your flowers! This is an authentic autograph of a legendary Cubs first baseman. I'm not going to tell you who it is; can you guess?
No fair asking my Dad.

That about wraps it up. Perhaps next week we can purposely go out and do something fun for the sake of our blog. I think you all have been patient and deserve a more entertaining update.

Oh...I can add that our baby is the size of a navel orange now. I think we all can agree that a navel orange beats a lemon and a peach in size, so I guess that debate can rest for now!

XOXO
Angie, Jason, and Baby Navel Orange

My funny Valentine

I love Jason Hubbard.

Thoughts on being a parent...

I received a book for Christmas from my sister-in-law entitled "The Focus on the Family Complete Book of Baby and Child Care." The concept of being a mommy was still surreal to me so I flipped through a few pages of the book and generally enjoyed having a parenting book but didn't give too much thought about reading it from cover to cover. When they said "Complete" they weren't kidding - it is 857 pages! I recently picked it up and began reading in earnest. The thought of enjoying a cuddly, smartly-dressed, chubby-cheeked miniature Hubbard gets me excited to no end, but the thought of becoming an actual parent scares me to death. The following quote gave me quite a wake-up call:

"Whatever else you do as you bring up your child, you must convey a crucial message that she can hear, see, and experience in hundreds of different ways, especially when she is young:
You are loved, you are important, and you always will be, no matter what happens. I care enough about you to provide for you, stand with you, coach you, correct you, and even die for you if necessary. My commitment to you is not based on what you do or don't do, how you look, whether your body is perfect or handicapped, or how you perform in school or sports. It is based on the fact that I am your parent and you are my child, a priceless gift that God has loaned to me for a season. Eventually I will release you to live your own life, but while you are growing up, I consider caring for you and assignment of utmost importance."

Gulp. What have I gotten myself into? How, exactly, do I accomplish this? Dobson goes on to say:

"...embracing these words as a mind-set and a fundamental attitude toward your child will shape thousands of interactions that ultimately convey its message."

Then it hit me that my parents managed to make this message loud and clear in my life. How did they do it? I have no idea, but looking back, I can say that I just knew. I read that entire paragraph all over again and I would say every sentence is true of my own upbringing. I think the above description of the responsibility of a parent is a much deeper explanation of love. And it's a HUGE responsibility. So I am thankful that Jason and I are not in this alone...we can constantly look to God, the ultimate example of a parent, for help. Millions and billions and zillions of parents have faced the same task. And most of their kids turned out just fine. Praise God for his grace!

He Giveth More Grace
by Annie Flint

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials he multiplies peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

Weekend Update #13

Greetings from the Arctic. We are freezing - our heater has barely stopped running this weekend, especially today! Spring seems so far away! I'm sure most of you are experiencing the same thing. Praise God for our warm homes, space heaters, and flannel sheets!

Friday night we stayed in and watched DVD's. I did a whole bunch of laundry which lead Jason to wonder what was wrong with me. He even said, "Why are you doing laundry?" Normally, laundry is his thing. So when I do a few loads he usually thinks I'm sick.

After sleeping in on Saturday, we went to the Hartville Market. This is a year round flea market and produce market owned by an Amish family. It was fun; we wandered around the shops and enjoyed the atmosphere. (Except I didn't enjoy the atmosphere by the fresh meat counter. Yuck.) It was a 50s theme day and people were dressed in their poodle skirts and other attire. They even had entertainment lined up; a trio of ladies who were clearly in their glory singing oldies songs. Jason and I enjoyed making fun of them. (We are SO mean; that's why we are perfect for each other). I heard a teenage girl say "I didn't know they had karaoke here." HA! We had lunch at the market and then headed home with our cherries for $1 per pound and bananas for 30 cents per pound. Not bad! I think I'd like to go back when the summer produce is ready.

On the way home, Jason checked his voice mail on his cell phone. At the end of the message, he said "Okay. Thanks, bye!" and shut his phone. As soon as he hung up he was shaking his head and laughing. I said, "Did you just talk back to your voice mail? He sheepishly replied, "Yes..." HAHAHAHA!! I am still laughing about that. Do you think I will ever let him forget it? Not for a long time!

The rest of the afternoon we spent running errands and then we stayed in for the night. We started watching "24" on DVD and were generally lazy. Jason has been sick almost all week so he's been pretty tired. I think he's finally on the mend. I did empty out a dresser so that it is officially ready for baby stuff. Except we don't have any baby stuff.

We have finally decided on a church. We will be attending Believers Bible Fellowship in Hartville. It is a small assembly with a great group of people. We have felt very welcome and at home with these people. There are some younger couples that are already providing friendship. We are thankful that we can move on after making this important decision. Now it's time to pitch in and serve!

Please continue to pray for our house to sell...we had a buyer through for a second time on Saturday and we are still praying that this person is OUR buyer. We haven't heard anything yet, but we have not lost hope!

This coming week is pretty open. We haven't completely decided if we are going to do anything special for Valentine's day - this day isn't a big deal to me. I know Jason loves me and he doesn't have to go over the top to prove it on one day of the year! Maybe dinner out on Friday; we'll see. I did put together little gifts for my nieces that I'll send off in the mail tomorrow. I'm sure Nathan and Shannon will enjoy peeling the girls off the walls after they open this sugar filled box o' fun! It's not all candy; I did include some temporary tattoos. Those are always healthy for young and impressionable girls.

Well, I know we've enjoyed the debate about lemons vs. peaches, and the jury is still out. I supposedly have a lemon in my tummy this week. I will say that my stomach appears to have expanded greatly between yesterday and today. I think I have a lemon AND a peach...and my pants agree.

Enjoy your Valentine's week!
Angie, Jason, and Baby Lemon

Cuteness and Love!

Proud sisters

My dad's monster hand next to Gracie's tiny hand

Reese holding Gracie with a little bit of help from Grandma

Addie holding Gracie all by herself!

I sure miss my three nieces!

I stand corrected.

The lemon is bigger than the peach.

(See my blog Weekend Update #12 if you have no idea what I am talking about!)

Nobody told me

that maternity jeans s-t-r-e-t-c-h so much!

My Old Navy jeans that fit so perfectly when they arrived in the mail now look like sweatpants made out of denim. When I walk I have to hike them up or clench the material with my fist to make sure they don't end up around my ankles. I'm sure I'm a laughingstock out in public as I shamelessly hold on to my pants for dear life.

There's a fun picture for you all...enjoy your day...remember dear Angie and her wayward pants.

Weekend Update #12

We heard the baby's heartbeat on Friday! It was so cool. We were getting kind of antsy because we had an appointment at 4:45 but the midwife didn't see us until 5:35...it was a long wait. But in the end, totally worth it. She had a hard time finding the heartbeat at first; she was looking all over and even made a comment about getting me in for an ultrasound first thing on Monday if she couldn't find it. Just when I was starting to panic, there it was! "WAWAWAWAWAWAWA" as if to say "I'm in here Mom and Dad!" Just chillin' and waiting until I get to meet you!" The rate was in the 150s which means it's a girl if you believe the old wives tale. We will officially find out the sex at 20 weeks and we will tell everyone! We will be keeping the name a secret.

I am starting to get a distinct baby bump and now my hopes of getting in regular pants are completely dashed. My shirts still fit and probably will for quite awhile. That's okay; this belly I don't mind! Now the next milestone will be feeling the baby move which I believe comes around 17 weeks. Jason informs me the baby is now the size of a peach. Although next week it becomes the size of a lemon, and if you ask me, peaches are bigger than lemons, aren't they?

Saturday we spent catching up on housework and enjoying naps. Saturday night we went to a marriage class that is at the church we've been attending. It was a good time; about 5 or 6 couples were there. We had a great meal and some laughs. We left about 9:00 and still had to go to the grocery store for the fellowship dinner at church the next day. NOBODY shops after 9:00 on a Saturday night; it was kind of nice!

Sunday we went to church despite a disastrous attempt by me to put my contacts in. I ended up with contact cleaner in both my eyes and the burning and stinging wouldn't stop. I wore my glasses but I felt the pain until later in the afternoon. Nice one, Ange. The fellowship dinner was great; I brought a vegetable (yes, I said vegetable, for all of you who know how much I hate them). I found a great recipe for glazed carrots that includes sugar, butter, and crushed mint. I have no problem eating vegetables when they are accompanied by those ingredients! The church provided grilled steak and everyone else brought the sides. YUM-MY.

For the Super Bowl we invited over a couple, Ian and Katie, who we've met at church. We enjoyed their company very much. They have a one-year old daughter, Camille, and are due with another girl in March. It was fun to spend time with them and get to know them better. We are also having over another couple this Wednesday, Jason and Stacy, and their two kids Samuel and Rebecca. Lee comes over tonight for our weekly dinner and games. I'll have to keep the house clean this week - that is quite the challenge when you've gotten used to being lazy!

This week I start volunteering at the Haven of Rest - every Tuesday from 1:00 - 4:00 in the women and kids department, also known as the Harvest Home. I'll be working with the child advocate, Becky, and I'll be providing some babysitting services and then I'll help her with after-school activities for the older kids. I am looking forward to pitching in at the Haven and also taking an active interest in Jason's work. Plus it gets me out of the House - an added bonus!

Thanks to all of you who congratulated our family on the arrival of Miss Gracie Ella. I admit it was hard to be in Ohio this week, knowing that a new baby hadn't been held by her Aunt Angie yet and missing my other nieces like crazy. When Addie and Reese were born, I was immediately in the car and at the hospital before they were each a day old. I will just have to be patient and meet Gracie in time; when, I'm not sure! But my mom and others will be faithful with the pictures so that will suffice for now!

Well, I'll wrap up my rambling...sorry about being late with the post; I was doing so good at getting it in by Sunday night. Let me remind you - don't eat at Waffle House - and if you get to the grocery store, let me know if lemons are indeed bigger than peaches.

Have a great week!
Angie, Jason, and Baby Peach

Weekend Update #12...

...will be updated tomorrow. I promise. Sorry, but football comes first when you are married to Jason Hubbard so after that exciting game I now have to drag myself to bed.