Special Weekend with my M-I-L!

This weekend was a VERY quiet one in the Martin family. Joshua was in MN, Phillip, Mandy and the kids were @ the beach with Mandy's family, and Pappy had to work all weekend, so Sally and I hit the ground running and took advantage of some fun time together.

Early Saturday afternoon, we decided to take a trip to Pigeon Forge (I LOVE that place) for a shopping day @ the outlets. Sally treated me to a yummy lunch @ Cracker Barrell and then we spent the rest of the day shopping. We had the best time and let me just tell you....my mother-in-law can shop!! :) She reminds me of my mom...they both can wear me out! LOL. But I love it. Anyways, Sally was so sweet to get me some maternity clothes and then we both got the baby some things too. That was my 1st purchase (other than diapers, wipes, baby lotion, etc) for our baby and it was SO fun picking stuff out! However, I have found that I have a difficult time trying to figure out what to buy without knowing our baby's gender. I know people do it all the time, but I saw so many cute girl & boy things that I wanted to buy, but I ended up sticking with the unisex stuff for now. You can bet we'll be taking another trip to the outlets after August 12th. :) We finished off our shopping day with an ice cream cone and a beautiful drive home in the mountians. It was a great day!

Baby Martin's closet...we're beginning to stash up on things! PS--I only have pink hangers in the closet because the people who lived in our house before had a baby girl and left them for us because they knew we were having a baby. I'll def swap to a more neutral or masculine color if we're having a boy! :)

On to Sunday...Sally and I sang in the choir and then sat through the 9:30 service. We decided to skip out on singing for the 11 AM service and instead, she took me to my FAVORITE restaurant (The Olive Garden) for lunch. I swear I could eat there every day. ;) After lunch, we did some more shopping and then we headed to a bridal shower for a friend.

Even though we missed the rest of our family, I enjoyed spending time with my mother-in-law so much. It was such a refreshing weekend and she made me feel so special the entire weekend. Thank you for everything, Sally, I love you!

Saying Goodbye is Hard to Do....

The love of my life left this past Sunday for a MONTH to go to a little town called Wynona, Minnesota for some training for work. It was so hard to say goodbye...many tears were shed (by me, of course) and I already miss him TERRIBLY...and it's only been 2 days. Am I pathetic or what? And being prego probably doesn't help. ;)

Joshua seems to be doing really good and he's met some friends, but I think he's already a little homesick because last night he called me 3 times in the period of an hour....just to tell me goodnight & that he loves and misses me. Talk about making my heart melt. :) I have a lot fun things planned to keep myself busy while he's away (home projects, jewelry parties, movie nights, trip to the outlets with my mother-in-law, etc) so that will help, but I can't wait for him to get home! He gets back on Aug. 8th and then we find out whether we're having a boy or girl on the 12th, so we have alot to look forward to over the next few weeks! All I know is that I love Joshua more now than ever and I thank the Lord for what a great husband He's given me. Please keep him in your prayers while he's away--pray for his protection and that he'll be able to get everything done he needs to. He's got ALOT of work ahead of him, but he's excited at the same time, because this is a great promotion for him in his company! I'm so proud. :)

Nice Surprise!

Have you ever had one of those moments where you feel like the Lord put you in a certain place @ a certain time when you usually wouldn't be there? Well, today I had one of those moments. Sally and I found Joshua a pair of shoes this past weekend @ Finish Line, but they only had his size at a different mall by my work. So I asked that Finish Line to hold them for me and I would pick them up one day at lunch. I NEVER go to this mall...I've probably been there 2 times since I've moved to Knoxville. Long story short, I decided to use my lunch break today to go and get his shoes...I had just bought them and then started to head over to over to Chick-fil-A to get something to eat. I walked past this table with a sweet lady and 3 kids...and I KNEW I recognized these kids. I tried not to stare, but I think I was too obvious because they were all looking @ me. haha What a wonderful surprise!!!! It ended up being one of my good friends from Va Beach, Beth, and her 3 little kids (they now live in Raleigh). Talk about a SMALL WORLD!!! I met Beth through her husband Anthony, who was one of my really great friends growing up. What a precious family they are! I just couldn't get over the fact that here I am in this tiny, tiny mall 30 minutes away from my house and they just happened to be there @ the same time. I love the way the Lord works!! It was SO great seeing the Williams Family....put a smile on my face!

Cardboard Testimonies

My friend Leslie shared this with me today...please take a look! It's SO powerful!!!

My Growing Belly!

Okay...for all of you who have been asking for a belly shot (especially my mom), here ya go!!! Here I am @ 14 weeks. I know you're thinking, man, she is popping out fast...and yes, I agree! I was a little concerned that I was growing too fast--or I thought maybe another baby might be hiding out somewhere in there without us knowing, but my doctor assured me that I was OKAY and doing great. He also mentioned that shorter individuals for the most part will show much sooner than others because they don't have as much room to work with. So, I'm embracing my growing belly and getting SO excited!!! :)

Cutie Patootie's!!!

Last night we had dinner by the lake at my in-laws and Mandy brought the kids new pictures...they are ADORABLE. Thought I would share them with everyone. ;) On another note...Happy 4th of July everyone!

Mahala -- 7 weeks old and such a good baby!

My sweet neice & nephews...I love them to pieces!!

3 Month Check-Up

Joshua and I had our 3 month doctor's appt today and everything went great! It looks like we've got one active little boy or girl on our hands. He/She was moving around like crazy!! Of course, as soon I saw our baby on the screen, I began to cry (I swear I can't help it...it's just such a miracle) and my doctor was so sweet to console me, but I know that will get old soon enough. ;)

I go back to the doctor on July 29th for my 4 month check-up, then two weeks later, right after Joshua gets back from Minnesota, we go back for our long appointment to get the baby's measurements and then to find out whether we are having a BOY or a GIRL. We are SO excited!! Joshua really wants a boy...it seems like most men do at first. But as we left the doctor's office today Joshua began to laugh and said, "For some reason I don't think things are moving in my favor" meaning, he thinks we're having a girl. He said as soon as he saw our baby on the screen he automatically thought "girl". So, we shall see....I honestly am feeling more like we're having a boy, but either way, both of us will be THRILLED!! We know that the Lord will give us what we need!

My mom called me the other night while she was babysitting Madisyn (my neice) and she said that Maddie told her I was having a girl....we will find out for sure in a little over a month!!! Here's a some-what recent picture of Madisyn...couldn't you just squeeze those cheeks to death? :)