About a month ago we took Aiden to see his first movie in the theatre. Carl had received a gift card at Christmas time that we had been hoping to use before the baby comes, and so we were happy when Toy Story 3 came out. Aiden hasn't seen the first 2 movies, but he knows about it from the characters on his nighttime pullups. He was excited to see Woody and Buzz Lightyear :) We had a very fun time together as a family and we all thoroughly enjoyed the movie, I even shed some tears at the end. There were a couple intense/dark parts in the movie but I think Aiden was too young to understand, I imagine children a little older might be bothered by it. Overall though, it was such a good movie and I'm glad that we took the time to do that as a family, it will probably be years before we have the opportunity to go as a family to a theater again!

All excited for his first movie!

With his little booster seat.

Too excited to look at the camera and, boy, can this little guy pack the popcorn away.

Fun times!

I have been so terrible at blogging lately, it is not for lack of trying, just that we have been so busy. All the car accident stuff that needed to be taken care of, along with trying to organize and clear out the 3rd bedroom to make way for our soon-to-be-here new little one, blogging has taken the back seat. I am going to try do better, though, and hopefully get a bunch of new posts up this week.

I'll start off by saying that I am feeling much better from the pain I was having in my back since the accident. I think it has caused more stiffness in my spine, but the terrible pain has subsided and I am so thankful. As far as my car, as we had suspected, it would have cost them more to fix the Jetta than the car was worth, so they did end up totaling it. I was a little sad about that because I really enjoyed that car so much, but at the same time, we had prayed that they would total it because I don't know that I would have ever felt really safe in it again seeing how badly it had been damaged. So we praise God for that!

The next portion is really long so if you don't feel like reading it all, the short and sweet version is that God provided a new car for our family and we praise Him for His faithfullness! Pictures down below :)

After finding out that the car had been totalled, then started the excitement of trying to find a replacement vehicle... and quickly. We contemplated being a one car family for a short time, but dismissed that idea as we thought about the logistics with me being 7 months pregnant and Carl working in downtown Dallas should something happen. Our original plan had been to buy a bigger vehicle in about 6-12 months since Jetta's have an extremely narrow backseat and it was going to be a very tight fit once we had 2 carseats in it. But we were planning on making do until we had finished paying off Carl's student loans and we were able to save up to pay cash for another car (we are determined to not go back into debt). Another reason we were waiting to buy a bigger car was that Carl is still a contract worker for the firm he works for and we are waiting to hear in August sometime what the long-term plan is. They might keep him contract or they might employ him full time, which are both good options, but there is also the chance that they might let him go as there is much restructuring going on. All that to say, now did not seem the time to be making any large purchases that would drain some of our savings that we would need should Carl end up being let go. It was one of those times where you just have to stand back and trust that God's timing and ways are always perfect and know that He would provide for our family.

Which leads us to another praise!  I had read a lot and heard a lot from others that insurance companies are notorious for trying to lowball you when it comes to paying you out for a totaled vehicle. In hearing this I tried to do lots of research to find out the true value of the Jetta so when they came to us to settle for my car, we would know if it was fair or not. It was quite a wide range, depending on which sites you look at, but it gave us a good idea of an amount to be hoping for. I had prepared myself for the phone call and was all prepared with a number in mind and reasons why my car was worth that amount. So when they called a couple days later to settle and they offered me an amount, I was just about speechless. I couldn't believe it, they offered me the very highest amount that we had seen and in addition, money to pay for taxes, registration, inspection, etc on a replacement car. They also paid us the exact value for Aiden's new carseat that we had to purchase and baby #2 carseat and pack n play that were in the trunk of the car (we had loaned them to friends of ours who out visiting with their little baby) and were damaged. I couldn't believe it!!! It was enough to pay cash for a new (to us) car without going into debt and without dipping into our savings!! What we had been praying for!

That night we poured over the internet looking for a new car. We had already planned on purchasing a Honda Odyssey when we first starting thinking about a bigger car so thankfully I had done research ahead of time on certain years to avoid and price ranges etc. We knew that we were looking for a 2002-2004, around 100000 miles and in our price range. We spent hours that night looking and comparing and mapping different dealers that we were going to go to that weekend. We also had found a couple vans on Craigslist that looked like good possibilities. As it was getting close to midnight, Carl refreshed Craigslist one last time and a new entry popped up. A 2004 Odyssey in our price range that looked like it was in excellent condition and ONLY had 69000 miles, which if you have done any minivan shopping, is really low. Most of the newer models had even more than that. It almost looked too good to be true. So Carl called first thing the next morning to see if we could meet the sellers that night. They agreed and we drove out to Frisco after Carl got off work. The van really was in immaculate condition, inside and out, you could see that they had taken really good care of it. Carl checked out the engine and called our mechanic to ask him a few questions. It all looked so good! We knew we either had to buy it then or it would be snapped up by someone else. We then prayed together as a family that the Lord would bless this purchase and if it wasn't His will, that something would fall through. We told the owners that we wanted to buy the car and they were thrilled to sell it to us (well, except for their little boy who burst out crying because people wanted to take his car :( ). The Lord provided!

So now we are a minivan family. I know this was really long and detailed, but since this blog also serves as a scrapbook/journal, I really wanted to remember this story of God's faithfulness and provision for our family and how He truly does "work all things for good". It is so wonderful to step back and see God's hand weaved all through our lives. Through all the blessings and trials, He is leading and guiding us and He cares so much about each little detail!

Our new minivan

Another view for Grandma's who have been asking to see pictures :)

Aiden LOVES the van!

Too cute! On our way to church with bear and puppy strapped in for the ride :)

Well, I am really behind in blogging here, but to say that life has been a little crazy lately would be an understatement. Last Wednesday Aiden and I were out and about running errands. We had just been to Wal-Mart and were heading over to the dollar store to pick up a couple things. We were on one of the very busy main roads in town, with stores and restaurants on each side, and with 3 lanes each way. For some reason the traffic in my lane stopped suddenly (I couldn't see why because an SUV was in front of me) and so I had to stop quite suddenly too. Once I was safely stopped I then took my eyes off the car in front and looked back in my rearview mirror to make sure whoever was behind me was stopping too. It was then that I noticed another SUV racing up behind me and it wasn't stopping. I honked my horn to try get the person to notice that we had stopped, but I guess she couldn't hear. So I gripped the steering wheel as hard as I could and braced myself and was praying over and over "God protect us, God protect us". The lady did not stop at all, she plowed straight into the back of us which then pushed my car into the SUV in front. The rest is a little blurry in my mind, but Aiden immediately started crying and I turned around to see him covered in glass from the shattered rear window. He then actually got a little mad at me and started saying "no mommy, no mommy". Poor little guy, he must have been so confused and wondered why mommy would do all this. The other people in the accident got out of their cars and came to see if we were alright. I immediately started crying and told them that I was pregnant. They helped me out the car and we went around to get Aiden out of his seat. Miraculously, he did not have one single cut on him from the glass, just a couple mild burns from the straps from his carseat and he otherwise seemed fine. I quickly called Carl and told him (along with more tears) that we had been in an accident and thankfully he was able to leave work right away. The police arrived shortly after and once they found out that I was expecting they called an ambulance for me. The poor lady who hit me kept saying over and over how sorry she was and that she had just looked down for a moment and didn't see that the traffic had stopped. I said that it was okay and that it was such an easy thing to do, but all the while, I was just praying for the little one in my womb and that he was alright. Thankfully, the ambulance arrived quickly and Aiden and I were immediately taken to the hospital.

They checked me out at the ER and wanted to know how I was feeling. I told them that I felt sore, but I was mostly worried about the baby and that I hadn't felt him move since the accident. They sent me up to labor and delivery and hooked me up right away to the fetal monitor. The best sound was hearing the little baby's heart beating away and that it sounded healthy and strong. Carl and I thanked the Lord. I had to stay hooked up to the monitor for 4 hours so that they would be able to see if baby was in any distress. I would have thought an ultrasound would have been best, so they could see the baby, as well as check that the placenta hadn't separated, but they told me that the fetal monitor is actually the most accurate way to determine if the baby is harmed in any way. At the end of the 4 hours the nurse said that our little boy was doing very well and that we could go home. Praise God!

The already very long day was even longer when I had to stay in the hospital waiting room all tired and sore with a 3 year old who was hyped up from the days events, as well as being overtired because he missed his nap, while Carl had to run out and buy a new carseat for Aiden. Finally Carl came back to the hospital and put in the new carseat and we were on our way home, exhausted, but SO thankful for God's protection and grace that he poured out on our family. Two very specific ways, amongst many others, that we saw God really protecting us is that Aiden had NO injuries from either the cars impact or the rear window being smashed all over him and he didn't have a single cut! The other is that, for whatever reason, my airbags did not deploy. Baby could have been really hurt (or worse) had they gone off, along with the fact that I could have been really injured due to my Ankylosing Spondylitis in my spine and hips. We truly praise God for His care for us.

So now we are waiting to hear about my car. It is almost certainly totalled, but tomorrow, we should hear for sure. My back and neck were sore for the first few days and then Sunday started to feel better. Yesterday, however, I started to develop terrible pain in my back and around my ribs and it really hurts to move. I am going to try get in to see my Rheumatologist and see what could be going on. I am praying that the accident hasn't affected my AS, and that it is just muscular pain that will heal.

The day after the accident we went over to the tow place to collect all the stuff that was in my car since we most likely won't see it again :(

Front end damage. Radiator was smashed, not sure what else was damaged in the engine.

The rear. So thankful that my Jettta was such a strong and sturdy car!

At the hospital just before we were discharged. Tired and sore (although I do look amazingly peppy considering the days events) but SO thankful that my little boys are OK!

I have always been a fan of swimming, but this summer the pool is particularly my friend. Right now it is hot, it is humid and I am 6/7 months pregnant!!  Aiden and I have been to a couple parks in the past few weeks, but I found that it is pretty much unbearable, even the shaded ones, so I have decided that the best place to be is at the pool. It gets us out the house and gives Aiden the physical outlet that he needs, and I feel great when I am in the water!

All excited to go swimming!

Being goofy... I asked him to smile and this is what I got!

So comfortable being in the water!

He is doing really well swimming with the floaties. I think next summer will be the perfect time to start him with swimming lessons.

This past Saturday we had a pool party with the Young Married's Bible Study from our church.

Couldn't wait to get in the pool.

The pool was packed with little kids and the daddy's, while the mommy's all sat under a nice shady tree and chatted :)

All the pool toys were a great hit!

Waiting to eat lunch.

Aiden found a little swing to play on in the backyard.

Just a few random pictures from the past couple weeks...

The boys went out to get the mail one afternoon and I looked out the window and this is what I saw... totally cracked me up, apparently Aiden thought this made a good hat. (It is the cover to my microwave heating bag in case you are wondering what he is wearing)

Chatting to me while doing the dishes :)

Enjoying a home baked GF oatmeal cookie

Watching a little of the Soccer World Cup. US vs UK, our house was a little divided that day :)

Showing his patriotism :) I didn't realize until later in the day that I had I had unintentionally dressed him to coincide with the game!

We had been long overdue for a date night and one day while Carl was at work, he sent me a text message saying that he had called our babysitter and that she would be coming over on Sunday night to watch Aiden. I was just thrilled that my hubby had taken the initiative to do this and even more thrilled at the idea of some alone time with him, especially before our new little baby boy joins our family!

He told me I could decide where we should go and what we would do. Of course I chose going out to dinner. I wanted to do something where we could sit and talk without interruption. I also wanted to go somewhere different. While thinking about it, I remembered that Carl and I had once been on a date to The Melting Pot when were were first dating and we really enjoyed it. If you have not been there before, it is a restaurant that serves fondue in very relaxed and romantic environment. The lights are dim and music plays softly - perfect for a romantic date. As with all restaurants, though, we always have to check first to see if they have anything gluten-free that we can eat. I hopped online and was beyong excited to see that they just didn't have one or two items, but they have a gluten-free version of their whole menu. Now that is just AMAZING! Never before had I seen a restaurant with that many GF choices!! When I told Carl, he was really excited too! That is the one thing that is particularly hard about our family being gluten-free, we can hardly ever just try any new restaurant for fear that they have nothing we can eat or worse yet, say they can make something for us but then it ends up being contaminated (which is just terrible for Carl since he can't eat a smidge of gluten without getting very sick) so we just stick with the few that we know are safe. How nice to have another option for special occasions!

It ended up being such a special evening and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! Of course I took lots of pictures :)

First course was cheese fondue with apples, broccoli, cauliflower and celery. Absolutely delicious! It usually also comes with bread and chips, but of course those were not GF.

Next was a delicious side salad!

We shared just one Entree between us and it was plenty. Beef for Carl and chicken for me to cook in a yummy broth along with lots more veggies!

All kinds of dipping sauces too.

Followed by dessert. We were feeling pretty full by this point but I told Carl I just had to have their chocolate fondue as a special treat :) So we ordered the white chocolate fondue with strawberries, banana's and pineapples. SOOOOOOOOO good!

The last time when Carl and I went to The Melting Pot we were beyond stuffed, to the point where we were walking around the parking lot afterwards to try feel better (Carl felt especially bad). This time we felt full, but not bad. I am pretty sure it is because we shared the meat entree, but also because of the fact that we ate it GF and so we weren't eating any bread or chips with the fondue or cakes/brownies with the dessert. Looking back it must have been all the gluten that we ate that night that made Carl feel so terrible.

I am now on a quest to replicate a fondue night at home. I have a little fondue pot that we were given as a wedding present that I have never used and I actually found some of The Melting Pots recipes online. I am eager to go shopping this week so we can enjoy some more yummy fondue :)