Us

 Well, and here I am again having had way too much time go by without posting anything. No, I have not been abducted by aliens nor have I fallen into a black hole, I have just been busy living life and never really remembering that I have a blog :) Other than the fact that Jimmy gets bigger every day (he's going on 11 months now) nothing too much has changed around here. Curtiss is still struggling with knee pain that we have yet to have a diagnoses for, and we now get to have the wonderful experience of finding out just how slow our government can be as all his treatments have to be approved through our local workers comp office before we and the Dr's can take the next step. But things are S-L-O-W-L-Y....... happening (we think :)

As you can see in the picture Jimmy is now pulling himself up and standing on his own. He did that before he started crawling and his absolute favorite thing to do is to be Mama's fitness trainer, he most faithfully makes sure that I make multiple trips back and forth across our living room by holding onto my hands and doing them along with me. He really is the most thoughtful boy :)

I just had to post this picture his face is just comical. He was telling me the most interesting story. His newest noises are rather yodeler like and he practices most faithfully to perfect it. 

And now for our family photo.  Jimmy was trying very hard not to cry during that part of the photo shoot...

He kind of succeeded. The Price Is Right show playing opposite us did a wonderful job of getting him to look at the camera though :) Well, that is at least a quick update just to let you know that we are still alive and well and enjoying our lives together :)

News and Movies

Yes, I know it has been a long time since I last blogged and I know you have all missed my little boy, after all who wouldn't??? :) A lot has happened since I was last writing to you, a couple days after my last post my husband was in an accident. A lady ran into the back end of his truck while he was out working and ever since then he has been having problems with his knee. He has been off work for the last month and a half (which other than the fact that it is because he is in pain and we don't know exactly why it isn't healing I don't mind in the least:) and will be off for at least another two to four weeks if not longer. We have had a very nice Christmas and were able to go to NY and spend some time with both of our families and Jimmy was finally able to meet all of his aunts, uncles and cousins and I was able to meet the new members of the family that were born since I was last there as well.

And of course Jimmy has been growing and changing the whole time too :) He started sitting up with assistance while we were in NY and when we got home he didn't think he should ever have to lay down to play with toys ever again

Last week we had my Mom,  younger sister and two of my brothers visit us for a couple of days and Aunt Elise got to introduce Jimmy to his first pickle which after puckering up after his first bite he decided that he really liked it.... ALLOT. And would get quite frantic if it was out of his mouth for any length of time :)

And here are a couple of videos I too the other night.

This first one is of his newest accomplishments...

CLAPPING!!!

which he does quite frequently :)

And this last one was taken right after the first when I was feeding his small pieces of animal crackers and for some reason I said the word "Oops" and he thought it was absolutely hysterical.

Well, I think that is at least a rough summary of what our lives have been like recently. I hope you all enjoy the movies :)

Meeting Family :)

 On Saturday my sister Bethany and her family were able to stop by on their way home from vacation. I haven't seen them since April and neither of us had seen the others' baby. It was so much fun to be able to swap babies :)

 Here we are with the others' little treasure :)

Jimmy and Emma together, now we just need to get Seth (my brother's new baby) in with them and it will be complete.

I think that this ones looks like they are sharing secrets, Emma looks kinda traumatized by it too :)

And here is one that I just had to throw in 'cause I think he is just SOOO cute ;-)

And I finally caught him laughing on tape!!!  I never know when he is going to find something humorous and so haven't been able to catch him on tape yet but today he just thought that the strap on his changing pad was hilarious and he laughed long enough that I was able to get the camera and still catch him giggling :)

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving Curtiss and I had our plans changed a bit. We had thought that Curtiss's family would come and stay and celebrate with us here in Ohio but the Lord had other plans. Last Monday evening Curtiss's grandma (who had been struggling with Alzheimers for years) passed away to be with her Lord and Savior.  So we ended heading to New York for this last weekend. It was a very bitter/sweet time, it was great to be able to see people again and to know that Grandma Bohall was no longer suffering but everyone will still miss and her greatly.

It was a lot of fun to see Nate and Jimmy together again.  Jimmy was old enough to actually notice Nate and Nate kept us all on our toes to make sure that his loving care for Jimmy didn't end up detrimental to one or both of them :)  I thought you all might enjoy some pictures of our time there.

The above picture isn't the one that I originally wanted but blogger kept messing up on the one that I did but this one was still cute and shows the two boys together.  Jimmy looks kinda shell shocked and that is most likely because we had about three cameras going at the same time and we felt rather like celebrities with all the flashes going off.  Usually when Jimmy was that close to Nate he was trying to touch his face and hair and Nate spent the time trying to dodge Jimmy's little fingers :)

Here is Grandma and Grandpa with their two grandsons.

  While we were there we celebrated Christmas since Curtiss and I are planning on going to my parents house at Christmas time and it wouldn't work to fit in both families in one trip.

Jimmy LOVED wrapping paper (whenever mama wasn't fast enough and he got some) it was almost as good as pizza crust or cookie crumbs :)

 Nate was a lot of fun to watch, he is old enough now that he really likes presents and simple things like M&M's really make his day :)

Jimmy did extremely well in the truck both on the way there and back, especially considering the fact that he usually is screaming after a couple of hours shopping and driving around town. I always thought it was the carseat  that he didn't like but maybe he suffers from the same thing most men do and he just doesn't like shopping???

Teeth, Apples and Glasses

     Hey everybody! Yes, I know I have sorely neglected this poor blog but it just seems that I haven't had time to blog and I think that I am a horrible first time mother since I don't take pictures of my son nearly as much as I know other first time moms do. So I haven't had very many pictures of a certain cute little boy to share with you.

As you can see in the picture below Jimmy is teething and his first tooth finally came in far enough that you can see it in a picture.  I think that he is the easiest teether ever (so far anyway:) since one day I noticed he had a large bump on his gums and the next day I could feel the tip of the tooth. No crying, fussing, runny nose or fever. I am very much hoping that all his teething is this easy!!!

Sorry about the slight blur of the picture... it is quite difficult these days to have anything within reach of certain little hands... and the camera had to be close to see the tooth :)


Jimmy is also very much enjoying his discovery of FOOD. He loves to eat and if I have anything that is going into my mouth he wants it too... BADLY :)

The other day Curtiss and I were eating supper and had some apple slices that I had cut up and Jimmy greatly enjoyed sucking on a piece, he was rather frantic if it slipped out of his hands :)

He has really gotten into playing with his toys now too. And for not getting around much on his own he sure can spread the toys around the room. He usually will have a radius of toys surrounding himself. 
The not getting around part is changing rapidly too, yesterday he rolled onto his stomach for the first time by himself.

And now for this picture.... Yes, I now have glasses.... just got back from picking them up in fact.... Lets just say that it is going to take some getting used too. I mostly need them for driving especially at night but anything distance related I can for sure see better now. :)

NEWS ALERT

My baby slept ALL night long last night!!!
I fed him last night around 10:30 and he took awhile to eat and finally fall asleep, I actually had
to get him back up out of his crib because he wanted to eat more after I had put him to bed but it completely paid off because he slept until almost 7:00 this morning. I actually woke up before he did because I realized I hadn't heard him all night. He has always slept well, just waking up for feedings during the night but it was VERY nice to sleep through the whole night uninterrupted and I hope that it is a new habit ;)

On other news...

...I do believe I am going to get a thumb sucker.

Before he was born and you had asked me if I wanted my baby to suck on fingers or thumbs I would've told you "no, I would like them to take a pacifier" because then I could control when and if he had it, but Jimmy won't take a pacifier unless he is in a VERY rare mood and then I have to hold it in his mouth or it falls right out. But now I say that it is rather nice to have him be able to keep himself happy for a little bit when he gets his thumb in his mouth. Last evening he was in his crib taking a nap and I heard him making noise before Curtiss and I sat down for dinner and we were able to eat our WHOLE meal without him crying!!! a rather rare occurrence since he was born unless he happened to be sleeping (which he always seems to wake up as soon as I put the food on the table). After eating I went upstairs and there he was laying with his thumb in his mouth :)

'bout Time

For a post, don't you think? Sometimes I am amazed by how fast time flies, I can't believe it has already been weeks since I posted anything on here, I mean July is already half over before you know it I will be posted pictures of Jimmy's first birthday :) Ok, so maybe we have a few months left to go before that but come Friday he will be 8 weeks old.
I feel like I have left many of you behind in what has been happening in our lives, we have had so many life changes coming all at once that I either haven't had time or haven't been up to keeping you all up to date on what has been happening. Just for a brief overview...

Over the last three months we have:
Started a new job (after looking for almost a year) and because of that we...

Moved to a different state
(a first for me but of course I did plan on moving to Romania so moving to a different state doesn't seem all that big of a thing :)

And had a baby (personally this is what has changed my life more than anything else:)

We have gotten some good looks when we tell people one or two of these things, and if we mention all that we have done over the last year they think it is amazing that we could handle so many things in such an short time and still be able to walk and talk in a somewhat coherent manner ;)
The Lord has been so good to us and we are doing very well. Curtiss is loving his job and we are starting to get some stability in our lives. I don't even remember if I have mentioned what he is doing now, he is working on maintaining oil and gas wells for a small company owned by his uncle. He has about 10 wells that he has to go out and check everyday (except for Sundays) plus some other duties, so his schedule varies and he is doing something different everyday.

And since I haven't posted any in a while here are some pictures for all of you, I took them this afternoon while I was eating lunch and I couldn't decide which ones to post so here are all of them :)

I will try and post sooner next time, and sometime I do promise to post pictures of our apartment.

One Month

My little boy celebrated his one month birthday yesterday. It seems so long since I had him and so much has happened in that time yet I can't believe that he is four weeks old. Here are a few pictures for all of you.

These two pictures are for his Grandma Holden,




Lounging with his bears :)




He likes his mobile!




This is his "I'm in a good mood" face




And this is his "I'm so happy I can't contain myself" face :)
(yep he is four weeks old and smiling, I think his first smile was almost a week ago now but this is the first one I caught on camera)




Our newest family photo, as you can see he wasn't too happy about it :)

We're Here!!

in Ohio I mean :) Curtiss and I moved yesterday along with baby Jimmy (of course) and my mother in law, she and Curtiss are the ones moving us in since I am under orders from all sides to "take it easy" which considering the fact that I had a baby less than two weeks ago is a wise thing even if it is extremely hard to sit down when there is a pile of boxes to be unpacked and put away so that our new house can become a home. It definitely helps to have a baby to distract myself with since I have to take care of him and I can't unpack at the same time as nursing or changing him. That is all for now, I just wanted to let you all know that we are here and doing well. I will at some point post pictures of our new place, it is very nice and I am loving it already.

A just because picture :)

Introducing...

James Daniel Archer

Born on May 21'st 2010 at 3:45 in the afternoon.
Weight: 7 lbs 13 oz
Length: 19.5"
Head : 14.2"
Chest: 13.6"


I just wanted to share a picture with you all of my beautiful little boy and let you all know that we are both doing very well.
Labor couldn't have gone any smoother, there were no problems whatsoever.
Labor started at about 3am when my water broke and didn't stop until he was born just over 12 hours later. We were able to come home Sunday morning (they would've let us go Saturday night if Jimmy's circumcision had been done) and I have been feeling better each day and gaining my strength back. I must admit that I have felt "great" ever since labor stopped, it is so nice to be able to move without feeling like a hippopotamus and I can actually get close to the table when eating now too :)

I will try to get on here again sometime soon so that I can update you on other big changes in our lives, the Lord has been giving us many answers in the last couple of weeks but I just have not felt like blogging at all for some reason :) As I type this I am hoping that Curtiss is on his way back home, he left early yesterday morning so that he could go and look for a place for us to live in the Columbus, Ohio area. We had found a place online that we both really liked the look of (we actually drove right by it when we were in Ohio a couple of weeks ago) and when he saw it yesterday it was as good as we had hoped so today at noon he was going to be signing a lease agreement and then driving back. So yes, if some of you didn't know this does mean that we are going to be moving and soon. Curtiss has a job out there and now we have a home. So LOTS of big life changing things happening around here :) Like I said I will try and get on here and give more info some other time.
For now I just want to say "Welcome to the world my baby!"

Baby Shower

This last Sunday my mother-in-love held a baby shower for Jimmy and me. We had a lot of fun and I would have posted about it sooner except I have been busy packing and sorting since Curtiss and I are moving on the 24th. I have found that I can't work as fast or as long as I used to for some strange reason :)



Here is the cake that Curtiss's cousin made, she is the same one that made the cake for our wedding.



On Monday I spent the day going through and sorting everything that I got so that some of it could be put in storage and the rest could be used when needed. This picture is of all the bath type things that I got, as you can see in the top of the picture Jimmy is going to be one clean kid with all the shampoo and baby wash that I received. I believe that there were 8 in all, so if you are expecting a baby don't be surprised if you get some shampoo from me :)



These are the clothes that we were given. Almost all of them were in a larger size so they will fit him when he is a few months to a year old, which is really nice since I have almost everything that I need for the newborn size.



And of course all the toys and books he got. I must admit that I put almost all of this in storage since he won't care for quite some time whether he has any toys or not and hopefully by the time that he does we can be living somewhere where we can have all of our stuff unpacked. Now I just need to figure out what last minute things I need before the birth and we are all set :)

Sorry if this feels kinda rushed, I don't have all that much time and I wanted to share with you all. Sarah G- is on her way here right now to spend the day with me and help me with some packing so this had to be brief.


Last week Curtiss and I were able to go and spend with my family and here is a picture of Trina and I. We are exactly 10 weeks apart so I am 34 weeks here and she is 24 :)

Our Next Step....?

All right peoples I suppose that I have neglected you long enough, it has been forever since I have really given you any updates on what is happening in my life and since I haven't blogged much else either I wonder if any one still looks to see if I have posted anything :)

The biggest reason for the silence on the blog is just because I didn't know what to say because I simply didn't know myself, I would say that is a pretty good reason, you know the old saying "If you don't have anything worth saying then don't say anything at all" :) As many of you know Curtiss and I have been looking for someplace for him to work since we got back from Romania last June. We have gotten by with him doing odd jobs and him working as a lift attendant at our local ski resort over the winter. But we all know that spring follows winter and spring is definitely here so his work at the resort is now over. And that leaves us with the question -What next???- Over the winter we have had what I will call a couple of "close calls" where we were in a way holding our breath to see if we would get a job or not. This last Friday we had our most recent breath holding time ended when we found out that the job we had applied for was being filled by another applicant, so we are back at square one so to speak and with me getting ever closer to my due date, seven weeks come Wednesday :) :) :) and because we can't afford to pay rent when we don't have income coming in on a regular basis Curtiss and I are going to have to move. Over the last several month (ok, years:) my prayer has been that the Lord give us clear answers as to what he wants us to do for our next step, and the Lord has faithfully been doing that. Every time we have come to a crossroads we have gotten our next marching orders. I must admit that I would usually like to know much sooner what those marching orders are going to be and I definitely want more information, sometimes it seems like he has us taking REALLY, REALLY small steps but we do know what our next step is and for that I praise him.

So you are probably wondering what is their next step? well right now it is moving back in with my in-laws, they have been so good to us and I am so thankful for the relationship we have with them that makes a step like this possible and one that I don't at all dread, in fact with a baby coming it is in a way a relief because I don't have to wonder about finding help and getting meals for Curtiss and myself when Jimmy makes his appearance. Yes, I must admit it I am a lazy bum and like being pampered, which I for sure will be and I will have all the yummy food that I could ever eat (food and I are VERY good friends :) What happens after this? I have no idea... but I know that we are going to eventually know what that will be and some day we will know we will know the step after that.... and on and on it will go until one day we will have all our questions answered and we will see Jesus face to face.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. ~ Psalm 37:23-25

Baby Things

OK, so I have held out as long as I can and have succumbed to the "Baby Prep" bug :)



Up until now I have thought that it would be too soon to start getting baby things out when I don't really have a place to put them without them taking up part of our living quarters which we need for actual living :) But now that I am in my third trimester and baby shower time coming up sooner rather than later I have been literally "forced" [ :) ] to see what I have (thanks to Daniel and Whitney being very generous with Nate's baby things) and what I still need.
I don't know if it was a good thing though since now I really want to start preparing, like setting up sleeping and play places about the house, and I really can't do that so I shall have to just content myself with washing and folding things and trying to figure out what else I absolutely have to have to raise a child properly :)

I'd Like You to Meet...

Our Son

James Daniel Archer

Yesterday Curtiss and I went to O- for my first prenatal appointment with the midwife that we are going to use. Since I happened to be 25 weeks along we were able to find out what we were having on our very first visit. The ultrasound was amazing both just to see the baby and because they had a college student in the room observing so the technician did a very thorough job of explaining exactly what to do and what to look for. Both Jimmy (I just had to call him that:) and I are doing very well and the ladies in the office didn't gape too much when they asked if I was transferring from somewhere else and I said no :) Curtiss and I are just amazed and excited and looking forward to seeing our little man in person not just on a black and white screen :)

Howdy :)

Yep, you may be surprised but I am still alive, just not in a blogging mood very often :)
I have reached the third trimester mark (BIG WHOO HOO if I do say so myself) I love feeling this little one wiggle and kick inside of me. Curtiss has been able to feel a few times too although Baby seems to like to tease Daddy and either only moves when he is not around or quits moving whenever Daddy tries to feel :) After many months of waiting and searching for what we should do I now have an appointment with a Certified Nurse Midwife for prenatal care, which I am very happy about. I thought it was quite funny that I had to go and have an "official" pregnancy test in order for us to apply for the insurance we needed to afford the birth. Here I was five months along having already heard a heartbeat a couple of times, felt the baby kick on a daily basis, besides the fact that I looked pregnant, going into the health department to get a pregnancy test. The nurse didn't quite know what to do with me. And you will never guess so I'll tell you... the test was positive! So I can now know that I am pregnant:)
I know that you all will want to see a picture so I just went and took one... You'll have to take me as you see me :)

So, there you are, all caught up. Hope you all are doing well!

Christmas trees and tummies

On Friday Curtiss and I were able to go and get our very first Christmas tree (last year we used my in-laws artificial tree that we set up before they left for Romania) Because it is just the two of us this year we wanted a small tree that could sit on top of a chest that sits in our living room, but we have come to find that places that sell trees around here are rather scarce so we went to the only place we were able to find that sells them any where close to near by. We got the smallest one they had and then Curtiss took the saw to it and trimmed it down to size :)



Here it is waiting patiently for the lights and such to be put on it, it had to wait 24 hours to get it's trimmings due to the fact that Curtiss started work yesterday, so after getting it into it's stand on Friday night the rest of our time was spent getting things ready for him to go the next morning.



We found "mini" bulbs and bells at Big Lots that we both really like, and we had fun putting them all in just the right place (I am married to a perfectionist after all:)




The finished product, I have always loved looking at a lighted tree and this one is no exception :)



And I had to post a picture of the ornament that my sister Bethany sent to us this year, she found it last year but when she went to buy it they were all sold out so she got it this year and some of those of you out there will really appreciate it...



... and as promised here is a picture of me and baby, we are both getting bigger :)

An Update

Yes, you may all be surprised but I am still alive, just haven't felt much like blogging :)
Over the last month or so since I last posted I have gone from being exhausted all the time and kinda nauseous to having my stomach be all right most of the time (although it doesn't feel like it used to:) and having more energy for the most part, for which I am very grateful.

As you can see (in the bad quality photo) I am well cared for by my wonderful husband, who has been using his cooking skills in the kitchen from time to time so that we both don't go hungry :)

I am very thankful that he like to create in the kitchen, that means that he opens the fridge, freezer and cupboards and pulls things out adds them together and adds spices to taste and voila we have a wonderful tasting dinner at a time when I go to the microwave and can't remember which button I need to push to start it :)

Over the last few weeks we have had the chance to be at my Mom and Dads house for a couple of weeks while Curtiss helped do some work in the house project, we have finished our Christmas shopping had a wonderful Thanksgiving and as of tomorrow will have reached the 16th week mark of pregnancy. Not bad huh???

I shall try to not have it be as long before I post again, sometime I shall have to post a picture of my expanding belly for all of you :)

All right....

I will now release all of you who are wondering and those of you who know/figured it out and make it public.

I am pregnant!!!!!

Come May Curtiss and I are expecting a bouncing baby_________
(insert boy/girl your guess is as good as mine :)


The picture of the stork was one that I took while in Romania this last spring. Storks are a common sight over there and most villages have at least one nest up on top of one of the cement electric poles. The one in that picture wasn't from the village we lived in but in the next village over. We have been saving it for just such an announcement as this :)

For those of you who will be wondering....

I am feeling good considering the circumstances :)
Most days I don't have much if any energy but I have for the most part gotten over the morning sickness and it's not an infrequent thing to hear me say that I am hungry :)
If any of you ever have a hankering to do dishes or clean the bathroom by all means come on over since there will most likely be at least one of those things that needs doing :)
I have decided that I don't like being a lazy person, life is much too boring when you don't do anything but I keep reminding myself that the cobwebs in the corner aren't the most important thing in life and even though I don't have the energy to cook gourmet meals (or anything at all for that matter), or keep my house spotlessly clean, my body is very busy bringing another life into the world and that is one of the most awesome things that any woman can do.

One Year ago today...

It hardly seems possible that a year could've gone by already since Curtiss and I said our wedding vows.

And yet so much has happened in that time that I sometimes wonder how we fit it all in :)



I just want to say how thankful I am to the Lord for where he has placed me and the lot he has given me. I am blessed beyond anything I could've ever dreamed.