So Close I Can Taste it!

We leave Monday night for Florida! I can`t believe it is almost here! We got our moving truck yesterday & today we are picking Matt's Dad up from the airport at noon. I am now 32 weeks & am no help for all the moving. I have also been informed to try & sit back & let him & his father clean the house.....but we will see how that goes!

On the pregnancy front everything is going good. I had my 3 hour glucose test on Tuesday, ugh, that was not fun. But thank goodness they called yesterday & I passed! Praise the Lord! I`m a little stressed still with insurance though. Even though Matt won`t be Active Duty, he is going into the National Guard. So we are still keeping Tricare (military insurance), the only difference is we pay for it now. If you are familiar with the military, we use our ID Cards as our insurance cards. Well, when we leave here we have to turn in ID cards. BUT I still have Active Duty insurance till May 28th. Then on May 29, I will be enrolled in the National Guard insurance & will receive a new insurance card. SO I have insurance but no card, & we all know the dr. offices want to see your card when you go in. So I have to have them call a number to confirm I have it & it is just a big pain in the you know what! I just feel like nothing can be easy for us right now. I pray about it every night but my anxiety & worry are still there. I`m reading "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" & chapter 3 is really helping me through all this right now. It is about worry & how it is a sin when it gets to be too much, which is exactly my life right now. I know I shouldn`t worry because it isn`t good for the baby, so then I worry about worrying......help me. So please pray for me, I know I ask that a lot. But the hormones, the move, the insurance, becoming a new mom, I just feel like I`m running in quick sand. I can`t go a day with out crying (good ole' hormones). I just need the peace of God on me really bad right now.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11: 28-30

Happy Easter

Today is Easter Sunday! Happy Easter yall! I hope you enjoy this day with church, family & a nice lunch (and some Easter candy!). Today, here in Kentucky, it is rainy & overcast, it is suppose to rain all day. Not the prettiest Easter Sunday I could hope for. But this is our last holiday we have to celebrate away from our families.
Here is a verse that I really  like (did a post on it in 2009)

"Out of that terrible travail of soul, he'll see that it's worth it and be glad he did it. Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant, will make many "righteous ones," as he himself carries the burden of their sins. Therefore I'll reward him extravagantly— the best of everything, the highest honors—Because he looked death in the face and didn't flinch, because he embraced the company of the lowest. He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many, he took up the cause of all the black sheep." Isaiah 53: 11-12

I like this verse because it is talking about Jesus before he was even born. That is crazy to me. He's whole purpose was to die for us, the black sheep. I`m a sinner, big time, I complain, I get mad, I get jealous, I get lazy in my devotion, I care about earthly things, I could go on & on & on! But Jesus still loves me, even though sometimes it seems like I don`t need Him. If He didn`t do what He did, I would have no chance of getting into heaven. I`m so thankful He died for me. I`m so thankful He loves me & all my baggage.

"What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all—life healed and whole." 1 Peter 1: 3-5

Pregnancy Survey

How far along?: 31 weeks
Total weight gain:  14 lbs from pre-pregnancy weight
How much does baby weigh?: 3.3 lbs (babycenter.com)
Maternity clothes?: I still wear normal shirts, just my jeans & some dresses are maternity.
Stretch marks?: Still none
Sleep?: I`m napping a lot because I haven`t been sleeping good. I just wake up in the middle of the night & lay there. He moves a lot in the middle of the night now too.
Best moment this week?: I finally talked to the people in the Medical Records department! I have had the worse time trying to get a hold of them! It really made my day! I have to bring a paper copy down to my Dr. back home.
Movement?: He moves 24/7 now!
Gender? a boy
Food cravings?: Sweets, sweets & ummmm more sweets!
Labor signs?: Good ole' Braxton Hicks
Belly button in or out?: It is BARELY in
What I miss: Being able to hug my husband! I mean we can still hug but it is the "side hug"
What I'm looking forward to: We move in 10 days!
Milestone: We have now entered the Third Trimester

11 Days & Name Change

Sorry I have been MIA lately. It has been crazy around here, & it is going to get crazier. Which I didn`t think was possible but it is.

This is our house right now. It is a crazy mixture of boxes & trying to live around them. The big boxes are Parker's furniture.

Thought I would throw in some photos of the animals......like always.

This quilt was made by Matt's great-grandmother I believe. We both love it, old quilts are the best. It pretty much is my "blankie". When I don`t feel good I wrap myself up in it & lay on the couch. We always have the problem of the animals thinking it is their "blankie". They are always trying to sleep on it.

Remember in my last post I said that Matt has now claimed Bama as his. Well here are some photos to go with it. They are best friends.

So the craziness. Matt doesn`t have to go to work anymore, but that doesn`t mean he is free & easy. When you ETS out of the Army there are many steps you have to go through. He has to get signatures from people all over post. He has to get 2 physicals (which were suppose to be 2 weeks apart, remember 11 days left....opps. Thank goodness they waved that!). He has to turn in all his Army issued gear, which we have to clean & make sure he has it all. If he is missing something we have to pay for it. Plus he is trying to sale his truck up here so we don`t have to haul it down. We are trying to pack & make sure everything with the house is set when we leave. Again if something is wrong with the house, we can end up paying for it. Stressful time right now.

Now add that 30 weeks pregnant. Which I was hoping would be the one thing we don`t have to stress about, think again. First, last week  I got sick in the morning after I ate breakfast, didn`t think much of it. Matt picked me up to go get Parker's furniture from the store. We were riding in his truck & all of a sudden I thought I was going to get sick again. At that moment we were leaving base, going through the gate, no where to pull off. I told Matt pull into the parking lot once we get off base, I was going to get sick. Well all of a sudden everything started to go blurry, which I knew meant I was going to pass out. I keep saying to Matt, "I`m gonna pass out!" He was trying to clam me down & all of a sudden it went black. Thank goodness I was already sitting! I woke up & we were in the parking lot, I opened the door & got sick again. I was most likely out for not even a minute. But it was super scary.

So I called my Mom & she said I should call my Dr. Which I did, but we all know they take forever to call back. They did at about 2pm (all this happened at like 9:30am). They wanted me to come in, which is an hour drive to Louisville. So we go there around 3pm, & they admitted me to Triage. They asked did you pass your glucose test? I said yes because no one ever called me back. They gave me an IV & 2 bags of fluids. They thought either my blood sugar spiked & then dropped or that I was really dehydrated or both. We got home around 6pm, long day.

I went to the Dr. on the 19th for my last check up at Louisville. When we were leaving my Dr. realized my glucose test results weren`t in my file. She sent a nurse to find them & sent us on our way, think we wouldn`t have to come back. Well they called me yesterday, they found my results. I failed the first test, so now I have to go back for the long second one. Did I mention I only have 11 days left here? So I`m going Wednesday for the 2nd LONG test. Please pray for Parker & me. I`m not so much worried about myself. I just pray everything with him is good. My oldest sister went through the same thing & she was borderline. All her babies turned out healthy & I`m hoping the same is for Parker.

As you can see I finally decided on a new name for my blog. My husband was a big help in picking one. The new header & background were made by a good friend who is really talented, Katie. She is the one who designed my header for Branding Iron. I wanted to convey a country/home-y feeling with my new blog name. I love to sit out on my parents front porch on their swing & just think. You see so many people pass by & you hear the birds & see the Spanish moss blowing in the wind. I love sitting out there with my family while it rains & just talking. It is a time to just sit back, relax & talk about life & what is going on. That is the feeling I want yall to have when you read my blog. So I hope you like the new look & name!

18 Days....

This is how many days we have till we move! Slowly but surely the time is going by & I couldn`t be any happier!

This past Tuesday was my 26th birthday.....one year closer to 30 ugh : P So for my birthday this past weekend we went to a little town, Glendale, here in Kentucky. Glendale is a beautiful little town. I have went there during every season this year & I loved it every time. Here are a few photos from our trip there.



When we went to leave the sky opened up. But I was determined we were going to go, rain & all.

My husband however might not have felt the same way. He was soaking wet by the time we go in the car. He was trying to get me in the car without getting wet. Bless his heart, but he was dry by the time we go there.

If you are ever in Kentucky check out Glendale. It is beautiful each season!

Main Street

Old Country Store

One of the lovely yards

Great food! This is where we eat each time we come. They actually just opened another one in Elizabethtown, we plan on going to eat there this weekend. Get the peanut butter pie if you go!

Me, pale self & all! I can`t wait to get back to Florida so I can get some sun! I`m 26 & 29 weeks pregnant. Next year we will have out little guy there to celebrate with us!

Other then my camera, this was my other birthday presents. So far so good with the bible study book. I`m still in the first chapter, but I know some people who have done this one before & they liked it. I also got The Message pocket bible. I have been wanting The Message but I didn`t want a whole big new bible, I like my normal one. This one is perfect.

Yesterday we picked up Parker's furniture! We are keeping everything in the boxes since we are moving. But we did open them up to make sure nothing was damaged. Everything looked great & I can`t wait to get home & get his room going. But now our downstairs of our house has 3 HUGE boxes. I just have to keep telling myself it is fine my house is a crazy place. It is just boxes, boxes, boxes here. I promise I`m going to do another pregnancy survey soon!

The Most Unhappy Family

Click here first to read an article!!

I was on the blog The Laughing Stork this morning when I came across this article. They say that the happiest family has two girls. Want to know the least happiest family? A family with 4 girls, this made me laugh out loud. I come from a family of 5 girls. Yes you read that right.

My parents had been married I think for 7 or 8 years before they had my oldest sister Hayley. My mother was 29 at the time. Like any man my father wanted a boy, so they had another child, Brannan the second oldest & a girl. And they tried again, Ambrey the middle child & a girl. So they tried again, Ashton the fourth & a girl. Now I don`t know if my parents decided, "Lets try again but if this one is a girl we are done!" And wouldn`t know you it the last, the baby, was a girl, ME : ) My mother was 36 when she had me. They didn`t have anymore.

Growing up in a house full of girls was quite an experience. Playing with dolls & dress up, to summers spent in the pool, to hand me down clothes, to matching dresses, to fights over clothes (usually what most fights were about). I love my childhood & the memories I have with my sisters. I would never say it was "horrible" growing up with 4 older sisters. Not to say we haven`t had our times where you swear you hate each other, but those feelings always went away. Even now as we are all adults, we still fight, get mad or annoyed with each other. We are not scared to let each other know their faults. And then tease them forever about it haha. But they are my sisters, the bond I have with them is like no other I have with anyone. One of my sisters could do something horrible to me but the next day if something happened to her I would be right there. We have each others backs no matter what is happening in life. They are my best friends, no matter where life take us.

Now that is from the perspective of growing up in a house of 5 girls. If you ask my parents what it is like raising 5 girls they might have a different answer, but I know they love us. Now ask me if I want to raise sisters, that is a totally different story. I want a girl & I would love for her to have that bond I have with my sisters. But wow I don`t know how my Mother did it! She is a strong women!

I think my family is a very happy family & I would not trade them for the world. Even if they say we are the most unhappy family statistically!

 And don`t feel too bad for my Dad, he has 4 son-in-laws & 3 grandsons (Parker is on the way).

Making Changes

*Get ready for a long post!

I have said it before & I`ll say it again, sorry for all the animal pictures! Until Parker gets here & I actually am around people, they are all I got. Not that you were waiting for this but I figured I would tell a little about each of my models.

This is Miss Kitty, my mother gave me her when I was in 11th grade. Someone at her work found Kitty & her brother (I think) in a tree in their backyard. My mom came home one day & said, "Do you want a kitten?" Which is a stupid question because I`m an animal freak. Ever since 2003 it has been love. Kitty is by my side 24/7. She sleeps with me, sits with me while I sew or while I watch tv. I have said this before but I don`t think she is going to like Parker. Not that I help the fact, carrying her like a baby all the time. She likes me & Matt but she isnt the most friendly cat. She usually hides if someone comes over. She meows the longest meows ever. She has moved everywhere with me. She is my little sidekick. The day she passes is going to be a hard one for me.

This is Mr. Bama. Matt "gave" me him in 2006 for my 21st birthday. I say "gave" because if you ask Matt this is his dog. And also Bama was free, so Matt still owes me a gift! Matt was on the college baseball team & two of his team mates lived together & their dogs had puppies. I know the Dad was a full beagle. The Mom was a pit & I think an Australian Healer? So pretty much Bama is a mutt. He did not get the name Bama because of Alabama University (remember I am a Auburn fan). He got it after the state, NOT the school. My mom is from Alabama & we go there every summer to my great-grandma's old house. Alabama is my second home. Bama grew up inside at first but then Matt moved to the ranch & Bama became an outside dog. He LOVES the ranch, he thinks he is a "cow dog". I hate to break it to him, he is not even close to a real cow dog. But he also loves living inside, Matt says I have turned him into a baby. He loves to play, he will sit by you & cry until you play with him. He likes to sleep in bed with us under the covers. He is a sweet dog, he never meets a stranger, which makes him not a very good guard dog.

This is our youngest, Miss Allie. Matt was at his grandparents house in north Florida. He called me on the way home & said I have a surprise. I knew right away it was most likely an animal. Matt is just as bad as me about taking in strays. Matt thought of the name Allie, because if say Allie Bama is sounds like Alabama. Allie grew up outside, not until we moved to Kentucky did she live inside. She grew up at the ranch. She has always been scared of everything pretty much. She hides when there are any loud noises. She barks at everyone & everything too. She is not a friendly dog, she hasn`t bitten anyone but I get nerves when strangers try to pet her. She is a GREAT guard dog. She loves to be petted, like all the time. If she see you petting Bama she will come & push him out of the way & get right in front of you. In the picture you see she has her duck & my shoe. Allie collects things from around the house & puts them on her bed. Mostly just shoes & socks (she doesn`t chew them), but I have found my pot holders & dish towels before on her bed. She sleeps by my bedside every night & she is very much a morning dog. She is a little strange but really  a sweet dog.

So now you can stop worrying about how we got our animals & how they act ; ) Remember I got rid of my Facebook so I have a lot more time on my hands. So get ready for long post like this! I have been one whole day with out Facebook & it really isn`t that bad. Sometimes when I get bored I think, man I wish I could look at Facebook, but all in all, I`m totally fine with giving it up. Some people have asked why I gave it up. I just felt like it was on my heart to. I spent so much time on it. I felt like I should be spending my time doing other stuff. I don`t think there is anything bad about FB at all. I just hate to think there was something that I felt like I couldn`t give up. I like to challenge myself & this will be a challenge for sure! Also, we won`t have Internet at the ranch so I wouldn`t be on that much anyways.



This is one of the things I should have been doing instead of sitting on Facebook for hours, packing! There is a lot more, I just couldn`t fit it all in the picture (I was too lazy to put on a different lens). I have been doing pretty good. Our downstairs looks so bare & boring, but I`m liking it! It means we are getting close to leaving this place! We have set up our appointment to close housing, it is May 2 at 10am! They will come & inspect the house & clear us. But we won`t be leaving till Midnight because that is when Matt can sign out. We are at 26 days today.....I can`t WAIT to get home!

Here are some photos from our past weekend. The weather is finally nice here so the dogs enjoyed wrestling in the backyard. Bama tries to get Allie but she is way to fast for him.

He usually tries to pin her down, but she always gets out & runs circles around him. Sometimes we have to break it up for a second but they usually play nice.

I have to say I love those ears! Bama is the funniest looking dog I swear!

Yesterday I had my first Barxton Hicks contractions. Matt & I went to the outside track for him to work out/run with one of his buddies. While they did their thing, pregnant me just walks & walks around the track. We usually go for about 45 minutes. Well I try & walk at a very fast pace, gotta get that heart rate up! Well I was on my third lap when all of a sudden by my hip bones I go a sharp pain & my belly was really hard. I tried to ignore it & push on through (I figured it was a cramp) but finally I just had to sit down. Matt ran over asking if I was okay & I explained & he asked if it was a contraction. I said I didn`t think so but it felt much better when I sat. So I rested for a second & got back up. This time I went around the track once at a fast pace & it hit me again. So I sat down again & Matt ran over to me asking if I was okay. Don`t you love how worried your husband is about you when you are pregnant? I know if I wasn`t he would probably look over & think, "ahh she is okay" haha. Anyways it stopped &  I got back up, this time I just walked at a normal pace. I felt them again but no where near as bad as the first too. The first ones made me want to double over!

 I called my sister who just had her baby on March 30th & asked her if they were Braxton Hicks. It is great having someone close to you who just went through everything. I call her all the time asking her question. Pregnancy has weird side effects that are normal & being this is my first time I am always wondering, "Is this normal?" She said yeah that was them. She said dehydration can bring them on too. Well I "got sick" yesterday morning & had not really put anything in me because I didn`t want to "get sick" again. I was telling her too how my hips felt sore or like I needed to pop them (cheerleaders know when I`m talking about). She said she had the same thing too near the end. I just pray this little guys stays in there until at least we get back home. So if you don`t mind praying that too I would greatly appreciate it!

So you might be wondering why the title of my post is Making Changes. With Matt getting out of the Army soon I technically won`t be an "Army Wife" anymore. Well he is doing the National Guard, but I won`t be a full blown Army Wife. So I`m going to change the name of my Blog. To what.....I don`t know yet. It is really hard thinking of something. I want to convey a feeling of country & family & life with my new name. Matt & I have been throwing around some ideas but nothing has stuck yet. With this I`ll be changing my url also, you will be redirected to my new one if you have this one saved. But I`ll let yall know when this all happens.

I told yall get ready for a long post!

Saying Goodbye to Facebook

I have been thinking about it & I`m going to say goodbye to Facebook. For some reason I just started thinking about it, & I couldn`t get it out of my head. There is no one reason or anything like that. I`m not going to lie, FB has gotten me through this past year being away. It was a great way for me to keep up with what was going on back home. But now we are moving & I`ll be able to talk in person to everyone. Plus the ranch does not get Internet unless you get one of those card things (I`m really good with technical terms). We just decided it wasn`t worth it to get one, plus it is an extra bill. If I need to get on I can take my laptop to my sister's or parent's house. And another thing is time, I`ll be having a new baby, my husband, & working full time (I pray!). I am keep my blog though, I can`t give her up : ) Plus I have to keep everyone updating on our little man coming!

*I am not getting rid of my blog, just facebook. You can still come here & read : )

To any of yall who need to get a hold of me, my e-mail is MLBrown412@gmail.com

Update on Parker's Name

I called my Grandma this morning. I knew my parents most likely told her we were using Bany for Parker's middle name but I wanted to make sure. Well they had already told her but I`m so glad I called her. I miss my grandma. When I was home I would go grocery shopping for her & would get her gas. Then I would always go & sit with her & just talk about whatever. I`m glad when I move home I can start doing that again.

Anyways my Uncle Bany (my father's mother's brother) was named after their mother's brother. He was born in Yugoslavia & moved they think to Illinois when he came over. In Serbian it was spelled Pane, from the way my grandma said it is sounded like "Pawn-e". Also she said Bany is spelled with an "a" but people usually pronounced it the way it was spelled or as Beny (which is how we say it). She said her mother always said "Beny", she doesn't know why they spelled it with an "a". We will spell it the way he did, Bany, but pronouce it as "Beny". He never had children, this way his name can be carried on.

29 Days

In 29 days we will be heading to Lake Wales. This statement makes me so happy I could scream. I can not wait till that day. I can`t believe it is already April AND I`m in the third trimester! Other then those two things, it has been pretty slow around here. I have a lot of packing ahead of me but for some reason I just keep putting it off & having my new camera doesn`t help!

Miss Kitty does not go outside at all, but every now & then she sneaks out.

But I`m not to worried about her liking it because this is what she is doing most days. She is always curled up on some blanket or clothes sleeping.

In the backyard playing around with my camera. Did I tell you how much I love it?! I can`t wait for Parker to get here so I can take TONS of photos of him!

But for now I guess I`ll just stick to animal photos.

The weather is getting better so we cooked out. BUT then is started raining. My poor husband had to tough it out but it didn`t last long.

Our grill is little but it gets the job done! I can`t wait to get home & have summer cookouts with our families!

On Parker news he is moving around like crazy & growing! I`m at the stage where you feel like your belly can`t get any bigger but you know that it will haha. Thinking I have 12 weeks left seems so long! His nursery furniture is on the road heading our way & his bedding is all bought. I can`t wait to get home & start decorating his nursery. We have also decided to change his middle name. We have decided on Parker Bany Brown. Bany was my great uncle's name, my father's mother's brother. Uncle Bany & my father were very close, & Bany was a well loved old Florida cracker. He passed away my freshmen year of college (before Matt & I dated). My father's whole family is Yugoslavian (makes me half). My Grandma & her 3 brothers do not have middle names & were named after other family memebers. I need to talk to my Grandma about it because she can tell me who Bany was named after & how to pronouce it in Serbian. I really feel this is the best choice for his name, I love that it has a rich family history. When I called my father & told him we decided it, he was very very touched & that makes my heart happy. I want Parker to grow up "Florida cracker" style & he will have an angel watching over him : )