Bear Sighting Number 3

So, one of my cousins has come to visit us this entire week! It has been great getting to spend so much time with her since she lives in PA and I never get to! We had a fun day at Chimney Rock...yes we hiked and I am not in shape. We were expecting to see some sort of wildlife but we just saw bugs. So, I told her how every year we get a black bear in the yard. Anyways, we had a good time.

Then we came home...I took the dogs out since Jack was begging to play fetch in the front yard. I had asked Josh earlier this week when he thought we would see our next bear since every year we have lived here, we have had one of these black fuzzy visitors. He told me we would probably see one before winter..before they hibernate. That is usually when they come. WELL...I go outside with the dogs (who are loose of course). Maggie is whining, not coming off of the front porch and I figure she is just cranky cuz we are in the yard and she is not. Well, I thought about fetching the ball towards the woods but for some reason decided not to. Boy am I glad I didn't. I hear a loud crunch and decide to check it out (usually when I hear crunching it is birds or other small animals)--well it was a big black bear down the front yard by our creek. (Maybe this is why Maggie was whining??) I don't know how long he had been near us and he did not seem bothered to be close to us but I was bothered. I grabbed Maggie by the collar and told Jack to come inside and thank GOD he followed me in without seeing the bear. I do not know what he would have done if he had seen it. Thankfully we all got inside safely. My parents and my cousin were here so they all got to take a peek at him! So, my cousin believes me...that we have bears from time to time. We went out on the front porch so I could try to get a picture of him but he went into the brush. So, we listened to him walk slowly toward our neighbor's house and I have no picture. But if you have been keeping up with our bears, he is in between the size of the first and second one we have had here so far.

You never know when you will have an exciting experience at the Stones!
It has been about 30 minutes and I am just now calming down. Haha.

Better to see you with, my dear.

So I went to the eye doctor the other day since I have not been in over a year, and have ran out of contacts. I decided to go somewhere new...the eye doctor in the mall...because I HATE having my eyes dilated and they can do this new thing so you don't have to do that. ANYWAYS, so the doc asked me if I had noticed a difference in my eyesight since I have been pregnant. I told him "Not really...maybe a little worse?? Not much difference." Wellll....after all the eye exams, he asked me what my current prescription was...which I am not about to share with you for fear you will make fun of me...and he was shocked. He said "Well, I am not putting you on that high of a prescription this time!" So I jokingly said..."Maybe the pregnancy is making my eyesight better!!" I do not understand it. Did my eyes improve??

I ran into Dawn Moore after my appointment...because if you have been keeping up with her blog, you know she is a mall walker now...and she told me her eyes changed differently for each pregnancy. Then I told my parents, and my dad informed me that I am the reason why my mom can no longer wear contacts. Strange, huh? Well, this baby must be helpin me out in the eye category. I pray that he/she gets Joshua's 20/20 vision!!!

Our new porsche...I mean porch

So, as I said we would be getting a front porch soon. Well, since Conrad Clark works insanely fast, he has done it...in 3 days. We love it already!! I am looking forward to putting flower baskets on the railings, fixing up an old bench someone gave us, and re-painting our rocking chairs to put them on it too. It is so big!! We are thrilled! Take a look if you wish...






The new way to get in the front door...yay!

Wksh wksh wksh

So we went to another baby doctor appointment yesterday morning and got a surprise! I got to listen to the baby's heart beat! It sounds like a washing machine...wksh wksh wksh...and my doctor told me it sounded great!

I wanted to say again...THANK YOU to all of you who are praying. I know it sounds weird to say but I swear I can tell when I am being prayed for...my anxiety slips away and I have better days. So, keep them coming!

Here is the latest photo of preggers...Josh took this in the evening..when I look bigger...haha..

Baby Stone

So, I have been posting like a mad woman today. When I feel the urge to blog, I better go ahead and do it! So, I took pictures of the sonogram picture taken about a month ago of Baby Stone! So, remember this was the baby at 8 weeks and one day old. Now the baby is 12 weeks and 3 days old. I have told friends that even if you were against abortion, and even a pro-life enthusiast before pregnancy, this experience makes you a pro-life fenatic!! I couldn't believe that at 8 weeks I could see a head, fingers, little feet and a heart beat. It is AMAZING! I hope you can figure out the picture. The black oasis is the uterus...and he is head up, kind of rocked forward. I just said he...we don't know the gender yet...I just have a funny feeling it is a boy. But, I am happy with whichever it ends up being! He/She is due around December 20th! (Our Christmas present!)

Bathroom Addition

So, as I said in a previous post, our master bathroom addition is being worked on this week. We were going to TN Sunday afternoon through Monday night, so Joshua de-bricked the side of our house so that the bathroom could be on it's way the next day. As of Sunday, this was completed...well, except that all the brick was off of this part of the house...

Let's just say that when we returned home Monday evening, we were shocked at how much was done in a day! The frame of the bathroom was up! Well, so I had to take pictures today to show how much has been done in three days time...have a lookie...

I am so excited that this is being done! We will also be putting on new roof shingles, and having a front porch built! It will be like a brand new home! (Thank you, Conrad Clark, Joshua and others...)

Just call me Fertile Myrtle

Well, as many or most of you know, I am pregnant!! If you were not called, do not take it personally. Our lives have been whirlwinds since we found out. But, I am over twelve weeks along now so we have the "approval" of telling everyone. This is completely God's timing which makes it perfect timing! If you would like to pray for us, please do!! We covet your prayers!! I am always excited about the final outcome...BABY! However, my nerves do come into play and I do get anxious from time to time. You can pray for that...that I will rest in the Lord and trust that He will take care of EVERYTHING...health for me, baby...finances (yikes!)...readiness...etc. Eating has also been a struggle. This is common in most pregnancies though so I know I am not alone. I do struggle figuring out what even sounds good at the moment, but if I do not keep something on my stomach at all times, we have problems. Joshua is taking VERY good care of me..well, us...and I am grateful that he is by my side. God could not have given me a better husband. So, the cat is out of the bag! Pray all you want! We need prayer!! =)

Summer is here!!

Summer is FINALLY here!!! I think teachers definitely get more excited about this than the students, which is funny to me. Well now that summer is here, other things can get done...like our house! As some of you know, we have had the foundation built for a master-bathroom addition for some time now. Well, as of next Monday that construction will begin! Our basement is getting painted by the professional Mike Hoag...so you know how perfect it will look. We plan to have a front porch, new roof, and more. It will be like a new house! I am so excited to have these things get done...finally.