some fun stuff...

Well I am officially in maternity pants now. I can still wear lots of my tops but my waistbands have gone elastic and to be quite honest I am loving them :) So here's my first maternity purchase. My sweet boss at Hollywood Baby gave me a gift certificate to Pickles & Ice Cream so I got these jeans and top. Thank you Stacy!


Harold and I went after Christmas shopping and found some some great stuff. It was so fun to think about the baby being here next Christmas and dreaming of all the ways we could decorate to make it fun for them (and us). We found some of the cutest stockings at Pottery Barn Kids and decided that we better get 4...Yes we only have 1 on the way, but hopefully another will follow soon after :)

And lastly...the M&M;'s. Harold has got a slight addiction to Peanut M&M;'s. Last year his mom gave him a 5lb bag for Christmas and they were gone by New Year's. Not kidding. So this year, he decided it would be a good idea for me to divide them up into individual servings and hide them. He gets one bag a day. No more. And yes, he is 35!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Christmas day has come and gone. It's always bittersweet to start packing up all the memories and start preparing for the New Year but this year I feel different. It seems to me that there is no better time for a new year than after the celebration of our Savior's birth. This is what Christmas is about:

'For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.' (Luke 2:11)

But you can't fully appreciate the birth without the Cross and all that it brought:

'He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.' (Isaiah 53:5)

As we prepare for a new year, I am so thankful for the new heart I have through Christ. My dreams, my life, my hopes, my desires have all been made new and I celebrate that and the Cross, just as much as the sweetness of the babe born in a manager. Of all the gifts that this season brings, there is one that always proves worthy.

Salvation.

It will not break. It cannot crack. It does not fail. It takes no batteries. It NEVER wears out.
I cannot think of any better gift. Better yet, there is no better Giver! I hope the miracle of this season and the promise of the New Year brings you all just as much comfort. Merry Christmas!

14 Weeks

The time has arrived to start keeping track of the belly progress. Until this week we really hadn't seen much change in my body but I am definitely starting to get a bump. I never thought I'd enjoy the feeling of a tight waistband but somehow it's come to be a sweet reminder of the little one growing inside me.
Only a few more weeks in my regular pants and then on to elastic :)

The Silver Lining...

I've been sick for the past 10 days. First it was strep throat. Then on to some chest cold. Not completely better, but on the up and up. I went to the doctor last week, but it was not our OB. So after not getting better, I went in yesterday to see her so that they could give me some different medicine. Well, I did get another prescription but we also got the best form of medicine I could have asked for....

We heard the heartbeat.

Within a minute, the nurse found it and it was 157 beats strong. Harold and I looked at each other is complete amazement. I mean, yes, we know we are pregnant. I've got an expanding waistline and 8lbs to tell me something is going on, but somehow at that moment I realized that there is a living child inside of me that I already am responsible for. At that moment, I heard the heartbeat of our marriage. And it was strong. That sound was more about us than the baby. Each beat was evidence of love and goodness and patience and kindness.
Harold and I will be celebrating our 4th anniversary on the 20th of this month and through those years we have created life in more ways than this. We have given life to each other with the unconditional love that Christ commands us. Not that we always get it perfect, but we know the Perfect source for strengh when we can't find it on our own.

So here's to the silver lining of this sickness. I would be sick for 100 more days for this lesson of love and life.

Happy Thanksgiving and War Eagle!!!!

Last Wednesday we headed out for a very long weekend away. First to Harold's parents house in Gainseville, GA for Thanksgiving and then on to Auburn for the Iron Bowl. Thanksgiving was so great. My morning sickness has subsided and I feel great which in turn means I was able to eat lots and lots of really yummy food. Harold's grandma, Bessie, makes the BEST collard greens (among many other things) and I think I ate my weight in them. We got to spend lots of quality time with his Mom & Dad and as you can imagine there was lots of 'grandbaby' talk :) I am so thankful to have such amazing in-laws.



Then on to Auburn...As soon as we arrived on Friday you could feel the excitement in the air. I love that town. Don't want to live there again, but it sure was a great place to call home for 26 years. Paxton, Courtney & the kids were there so my parents had a house full which is exactly the way my Mom would have it. We stayed at the tailgate for most of Saturday and then finished watching the game at home. All the kids were at home so we had a cheerleading squad pulling the Tigers through. 17-10. Enough said.



So now back to business as usual. Thankful to be home, but even more thankful for our families. Oh and even more thankful for the one more piece of Lemon Pie my Mom sent home with me. You are the best!!!!

Update

Today we went for our second appointment. Our doctor was stuck in surgery so after a long wait another doctor on her team came to see us. He tried to find the heartbeat with the Doppler but couldn't get a good spot to really hear it. We all thought we heard it once but he couldn't find that sweet spot again. He said not to be worried at all...10 weeks was a little early and all others signs were great. So....we'll be back on Dec. 22nd and hopefully we'll get an early Christmas present :)

On a completely different note...I finished the Holiday photo shoot for Hollywood Baby last week and got the pics uploaded. Here they are http://www.hollywoodbaby.net/ Of course I had to use Maggie, Max & Walker as models. I mean really...are there cuter kids???? (well besides the one in utero...hee hee)

After a long two weeks

After a long two weeks apart, my husband has made it home safe and sound. Phew! Thank you so much for your prayers. I'm not the needy type, but it sure feels good to be back in the arms that hold me.
Laundry is being washed...I just made us some lunch...And Harold is on the couch watching Georgia Football. All feels right in my world!!!!

I saw this at a

I saw this at a Beth Moore conference and wanted to see it again today for some reason. This is just an overwhelming display of everything that is good about life. I wish I could just kiss her little face. I'm sure God does too ;)

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=9e7c4b40cf5a13cea6ca

thank goodness for winter...

Harold had to spend a couple of weeks at Maxwell for his annual tour this summer. So I assumed the lawn care duties in his absence. Here was the result:

I stopped half way through because the situation was digressing quickly.

Harold actually complemented me by saying "Good Job Sweetie...I've never seen

anything quite like this." Hey, I'll take it.

Nevertheless, he's away again and while I'm missing him, I'm thankful that it's winter :)

The Three Goblins...

We have a Princess, a Robot & a Ghost.

Not surprised at the Diva Maggie's choice of attire.

Max's costume is just perfect.

He wins the cutest costume contest by a long shot.

And for the Ghost...What is there not to love?

p.s. Harold ate so much candy he made himself sick. No kidding.

He said he just had 'Sympathy Morning Sickness'. rrriiiigggghhhtttt.

On the 1st of this

On the 1st of this month I turned 29. First I asked Mom for a sewing machine, then I decided I wanted boots. Cowboy boots. So that's exactly what she got me (thank you mom) and they have just arrived. It took an extra 4 weeks to get them because they don't "stock" size 11. Umph! So here are said boots:

I heart them. Really, really love them. HOWEVER...my fashion forward husband has decided to speak up and tell me that they are not his favorite. He said that I look like Maggie who will wear rain boots with anything. Yes, anything. Here is his proof:

A McDonald's sausage biscuit &

A McDonald's sausage biscuit & Sprite is the only thing I can stomach in the morning. I hope this isn't a trend considering the caloric intake of them both. Yes, I am excited about maternity clothes...But not at 8 weeks :)

a day in the life...

Courtney brought the girls by Hollywood Baby this morning. So I dressed them up and took some pictures of them in the cute clothes. They were such good models. Gosh I love these kids.

going to the doctor and we're...

going to have a ba-a-aby! Today was our first visit to the OB. I thought I was having my first bout of morning sickness this a.m. but it seems I just had a little butterflies...hee hee. I was so excited and anxious at the same time. One of my first thoughts was "Gee, I hope they say I'm pregnant". Yes I did the home test, three in fact, but I wanted a real medical professional to look at me and say "Yep, you're pregnant" and that's exactly what happened. Yeah! So anyway, my camera was near by (of course) and we grabbed our Dr. for a photo op...

Here's Harold, Dr. Swindle & Me. If she wasn't going to be delivering my baby I would have had some words with her about the Roll Tide Scrubs. I know Dad, I can't believe it either...Of all the doctors in Birmingham, I could've at least tried to find an Auburn fan :)

Thankful

Just thankful today that His light is in my heart shining in even the darkest places.

What a joy to be part of His world.

Race For The Cure

This past weekend the girls from Hollywood Baby ran the Race for the Cure. There were over 11,000 people in Downtown Birmingham showing there support for Breast Cancer Awareness. The sight was quite amazing. We finished in a little over 37 minutes. It was a beautiful day to be running.

well...

looks like we're going to have a June birthday in the Goss house. We are both speechless. Happy, Excited, Grateful, Scared, Anxious and Speechless. God is good. More than good actually. Our hearts and my tummy are filled with so much love and we can't wait to share it all with all of you. My first Dr's appt is next Tuesday. Will give an update then. When we found out last week we went to Firebird's for a celebration dinner. I mean, I already know that the Smokehouse Burger is baby's favorite so we needed to for them ya know. (wink)

Victory 5k

today was a good day. harold and i ran our first race together. the McElwain Baptist Church Victory 5k. the weather was a perfect 70-75 degrees with a light wind. here's the sun coming up as we left the house. he's been running to keep in shape for the reserves and was quite confident getting started. i, however, have not been running therefore making me NOT as confident in completing the race. but, we did it. 32 minutes and 53 seconds. that averages to be a 11 minute mile. not so bad for a couple of newbies.

funny thing is we trailed a 6 year old boy the whole time. he was running the 5k with his dad. such a sweet thing. maybe harold will have another running partner one day. then again, i do kinda like getting race t-shirt. well, gotta run :) (pun intended)

lead by thread...

my new favorite thing is embroidery. anything embroidery. so i was looking at one of my favorite craft-y type blogs and she had just embroidered a bib. it was so darn cute. so i googled (gotta love google) the type of stitch she used and decided to try. 30 minutes later i had my initial hand embroidered by moi. it was sew much fun. hee hee.

p.s. only drawback is that now i am canvasing the house for anything that needs some embroidery. not so good.

feels like summer...

so i've been working on new ways to show the fabrics we are using at hollywood baby and i saw some paper flowers made a little like these and thought i'd try it with some fabric. the result is quite good i think, but i'm a little bias (wink) nevertheless, my first ever try on a sewing machine was fun and slightly addictive. now i just have to convince harold that i need one at home so that i can sew all our clothes and linens and we'll never be dependent of mass produced items again. so far he hasn't gone for it. i'll keep at him though :)

hg

Here's some pictures of the

Here's some pictures of the Kids on Easter this year...Aren't they the sweetest pictures.
Our good friend Amanda, who is soon to be a very sucessful photographer, took them. :)

Easter is my most favorite holiday.
It doesn't get any better than celebrating my Risen Savior!!!

Three little monkeys...

and yes they do jump on the bed :)

These are our neices & nephew

Walker 2, Max 4, Maggie 5

Hey, Hey...

So in an attempt to keep up with the rest of the world ( and to shamlessly plug my businesses) I've decided to set up this blog. I'll be posting pictures and updates and any other stuff I decide ya'll might get a kick out of... but, I don't much expect to be keeping this thing updated regularly. However, I must admit I'm having a bit of fun with it.

Let's just hope this doesn't turn into a habit. A new hobby is the last thing I need right now :)