Making progress.....

A lot has happened in the short time since I posted last.  First thing that happened was Sunday....our baby shower!  How fun?!?  This was the shower in our hometown and was given by great friends of ours.....

Everything was GORGEOUS and over the top just as I knew it would be.  They are entertainers, let me tell you...they even had a fresh flower arrangement in the bathroom! LOL (That's just for you, K!)  It was just perfect.  The weather was beautiful, the food was wonderful, the cake was so sweet and pretty, and everything just turned out so nice!  Here's a peek at the food...

Isn't it gorgeous?  On top of all that, we had a wonderful shower.  We got tons of cutesy, girlie things...you know I hated that? ha :)  I had a great time opening all of the sweet gifts and we appreciate everything that everyone has done for us more than they will ever know.  If you have a few minutes...or hours..lol...here's a few pictures of our pretties....I was excited because she now has her very own personlized blankets for horse shows...

And, you all know that I am a bow FREAK....love, love, love them and I was so afraid she wouldn't have many....well the owner of Sew Sweet took care of that for me, don't you think...

She also fixed up a burp cloth just for Daddy....can't you tell he loves the pink tractor?

Harper got some BEAUTIFUL dresses and outfits....can't wait to dress her all up!!!  She's going to be all stylish, don't you agree?

The sweetest little blanket and another gorgeous bib...Sweet Miss Annabella personally giving me Harper's little bracelet.  So sweet!  I hope they are as good of friends as we are with her parents.  I just love it...and her!The aftermath....some of it.....the rest was in bags inside the bedroom.

The boys doing what they do best.....relaxing!  Isn't this a cute picture?  They were supposed to be parking cars. LOLOverall, we had a great time and we'll never be able to thank everyone enough.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful, thoughtful people in our lives and Harper is one lucky little girl to be coming a world where so many people are praying for her and already loving her more than she'll ever know.

"God is able to do immeasurably more than we could all ask or imagine." Eph 3:20 

Onto happenings in our house, after the baby gift tornado blew through our house (heehee), I just had to sit in the floor and go through each bag one by one!  It was great, but VERY overwhelming!  I just didn't have a clue where to begin.  What to hang up first?  Where to pile the diapers?  But, the good news is, we are making progress.....

Look at this girl's closet....oooohhhh.....it's like my own personal Disney World!  I can't wait, I can't  wait!  Everything is so cute and little bitty and soft.  It just doesn't get much better than this!Finally, I wanted to end by filling you in on my first of two dr's appts. for this week.  This week, I went today and go back Friday for a non-stress today.  Today was our longer ultrasound and we found out that our little blessing weighs.....are you ready for this.....4 lbs. and 14 oz.  Oh my goodness!  I can't believe she's gained a lb. and 4 oz. in 3 weeks!  So funny...she's growing so fast and she's going to be here in no time!  On the other hand, I haven't gained an ounce....can we hear a whoo hoo?!?!?  I was so excited.  Everything is still going great w/ me....just starting to really feel pregnant, but what more could I ask for?  I am 8 months pregnant!  I love it!  

I wanted to end with yet another pic.  Here is the 3D ultrasound we had made last week.  Isn't our little Miss Harper gorgeous?  Look at those sweet cheeks!  And, she so has her momma's nose and lips!  I can't wait to hold her in my arms and know she's okay and perfect!  

WE ARE SO BLESSED!

Hope everyone has as good of a week as ours has been so far! 

xoxo, Kara C:

I HAVE THE BEST FRIENDS...

You have got to go HERE and see my maternity pic preview!  I can't wait to see the rest....I am soooooo excited!

What a day....

Today has been a rough, sad day for our town!  A father of several children, who found out he had leukemia last year, passed away.  An eight-year old little boy who was fine one day, had a cold the next that turned into pneumonia the next, also passed away.  And then, another eight-year old getting on the school bus this morning, was hit by a car and is in very, very critical condition!  What a horrible day???  My heart has been aching all day for these families.  I know that there are no words that could comfort them during this terrible time in their lives, and I just pray that God gives them the support, peace, and patience to cope and deal with their sorrows!  

I've been thinking all day of how thankful I should be to be fat and sassy C: .....I need to quit complaining about things that I have no control over and be thankful that I have a family, home, job, and wonderful dr's who are watching over me and Harper!  God bless! C:  I have complained about going to the dr. twice a week starting Monday, but I need to appreciate that they are watching us so closely....I need to be thankful that I've been able to work throughout the entirety of this pregnancy....I need to be thankful just for being pregnant when there are so many out there who wish they were in my shoes....I need to be thankful that Harper is active and kicks her momma all the time....I need to be thankful for the small things because it'll all be over soon and she'll be here and then new worries will start!  I feel so very blessed, and now I need to work on quitting all the worrying and being thankful for the things that I DO have and stop worrying about the things that I don't!  If you have any suggestions on how to help with this, I'm open!!

Now, since all the negative stuff has been on the forefront of this post, I'm going to end with a little snidbit (like my words? C:) from our shower Sunday.  People have been messaging me via email, facebook, etc. wanting to see pics, so here are a few.....of course, I just love it all!  In case I haven't already told you, I can't wait for this little girl to arrive!  I just wanna look at her and hold her and hug and kiss on her!!!!  I'm so excited!  She's going to be rotten! C: LOL

My wonderful hubby and Harper's daddy who already loves her so much went to the shower w/ us....

The food table...

The  gift table.....(and HUGE rocking chair that I just knew would swallow me...ahem...it didn't!) lol

The ladies over the shower.  From L to R: My aunt Stephanie, cousin Rachel, Aunt Maxine, bestie Angela, can't miss me!, cousin Emily, cousin's wife Tiffany, Aunt Kim, and sister-in-law Wendy.  They are all GREAT!

Baby bling....Love it!!!

The infamous shoes that I have been wanting forever.  Madelyn has a pair and I just love them, so Wendy got Harper a pair.  So sweet!!!

Lots of stuff with her sweet little name on it.  People will definitely know this child's name! C:Her sweet, cuddly Bunnies By The Bay coat.  It has a carrot rattle in the pocket!  Precious!The sweetest little girl there.....she looks like she has an underbite in this pic, but she doesn't.  But, I chose it because it's the only one she's half way smiling in! LOL  Such a mess!The aftermath...

As I said, I loved it all!  I think I now need to go look up the word "few" or "snidbit" because these pictures pretty much cover everything! LOL  Oh well.....I'm off to bed now to count my blessings!  Hug your families a little tighter tonight and let's lift these families up in prayer that need us today!

xoxo, Kara C:

Is it Monday already?

WHEW!!! This weekend flew by! On Saturday, I started my morning off by getting up and planting some pretty flowers! I just absolutely adore springtime, and I was dying to get some flowers planted! I hope that maybe all the freezing weather is in the past, so we won't have to worry about covering them at night...just keeping them watered! haha:)

Then, my mama and I headed out to Murfreesboro to run a few errands and to get a manicure and pedicure....talk about much needed?!? We had a few returns to make, then I found a sweater for my shower on a clearance rack....for $4.99!!! Yes....I was soooo excited! So, then we were ready to be pampered! It was so nice! Nothing makes you feel better than having your hair, nails, and toes done, right? LOL So, I was officially ready for my shower after that.

Speaking of our shower, we had tons of fun! Everything was decorated so beautifully and we got soooo many nice presents! Everyone has been asking what all we got and we seriously got such a great variety of gifts. We have dresses, diapers, blankets, burp cloths, bibs, diaper bags, toys, our swing (yay!), our space saver high chair, diaper genie, money & gift cards, a bathing suit & cover up, sunglasses, jewelry, and I can't even remember what else!! It was all so sweet and so nice! People have been so, so nice and supportive throughout this pregnancy and I just don't know how we'll ever repay them for all of their kindness! (fyi...I'll post pics after my next shower so that they're all together!) I am just trying to soak in every single second of it, because I know it's going to be over soon! I just love all the cutesy stuff....I love the decorations, the cakes, the flowers, and of course the gifts are an added bonus too! :)

Speaking of showers, we have another one this weekend and I am super excited about it too. It is in our town and all of our church members, friends, and Brandon's family are invited! It will be so much fun and I can't wait to see everything! Also, this Saturday, we are having our maternity pictures made, and let me just tell you, I can NOT wait to see the outcome! My very talented friend, Andrea, will be making our photos in the Franklin/Nashville area and I can't wait to see all the cute shots I know she'll get! (If she could photoshop me out of them all that would be perfect!) LOL I know I'm pregnant, but oh my goodness.....I have REALLY grown lately and it's making me paranoid! I'm glad Harper's growing, but she could slow down just a little bit! ha:)

Now, with today....here's a little insight to how my day has been....

I did not wake up around 3 am and get scared to death because our room was pitch black because the electricity was off.....nope! Not me!

I did not wake back up when the alarm went off to realize we still did not have electricity and try to think of any excuse to get out of going to work on a gloomy, rainy Monday....nope! Not me!

I did not finally roll out of bed forty mintues after the alarm went off!

I absolutely did NOT take a 5-minute shower and leave the house without washing my hair, taking off my make-up, or ironing my clothes! Nope....no way!

I for sure did not stop by McDonald's for a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit on my way to work! never!

And, I, for sure, was NOT miserable at school all day because my child was stretched out and I felt like every rib was breaking! Not at all!

Lastly, I would never have been watching the clock praying to go home all day! No way would I do such a thing?!?

Anyone else ever have days like this? Needless to say, I came home, took a nap, then a shower (and washed my hair), and still made it to church on time. We are having a gospel meeting this week through Wednesday, and it has been very uplifting so far. Maybe I should've started out by going to church this morning instead of tonight! LOL Oh well, hope to have a better day tomorrow. I'm off to bed now....

Happy Monday! xoxo, Kara C:

Yummy Favorites...

If you would like to help out a wonderful couple trying to adopt their first child, go here! They went through the whole process to adopt a little girl from Vietnam, and then Vietnam and the US cut off all cords! Huge bummer! Now, they are going for a second attempt to help a child in Ethiopia. I am a huge advocate for people who adopt....they are helping a child and expanding their family. What better blessing could anyone ask for?

So, if you have a few minutes to spare, jump on over to the Smith's blog and help them organize their fundraiser. I'll be going through my recipes tonight!  I'm sure all of your help will be greatly appreciated! 

xoxo, Kara C:

June 15th is "the day"

Well ladies and gentlemen, on or before June 15th, we will be blessed with the arrival of this little girl....My mom didn't want me to post these pics because she said she was afraid someone would think she's deformed! LOL But, I had to post just one. (If you look very closely, you can see part of her face in the top left corner....look for chubby cheeks! ) I promise you, she's just perfect....no deformities....she's just stubborn....or camera shy....whichever you wanna call it! Who cares? I LOVE it and I know she's in there. I am loving these weekly appts. We had a good, long talk w/ my dr. yesterday and she said that everything looks perfect and that she didn't think she'd be coming early, but that she was probably going to be a big baby. Big shocker there, right? ha :) Sooooo, she called the hospital and had me scheduled for Monday, June 15th, if everything stays the same. I'll be just a little over 39 weeks and they don't like for diabetics to go over that. I cannot wait! It's exactly 2 months from today.....so close, yet still so far away!

Also, she said that each week I either had to have an ultrasound OR a stress test....so I'm sure you can guess which I chose?? The ultrasound of course...I love seeing that little face every week! Then, every 3 weeks they are going to also measure weight and other things. Right now, she is weighing in around 4 lbs. and should be a little over 3 lbs. I am measuring around 33 weeks and am only 30 1/2. They said that was absolutely fine because they were, of course, expecting her to be a big baby! I mean come on, my mama, who was not a diabetic, had a 10lb. 10 1/2 oz. baby first, then I was 9lb. 11oz! It runs in the genes. Then, Brandon is 6'4, his dad is 6'7, his sister is 6'2, I'm 5'10ish, and my mama's whole family is tall....this child doesn't have a prayer of being short or average sized! LOL But, that is okay with me....maybe she'll be a famous ball player or model one day, right? She can be a momma and daddy's girl her whole life....that'd suit me just fine! :) I'll be sure and keep you posted and hopefully they'll get a better 4d picture next week that my mom won't care for me sharing...(like I listened anyway!) lol

Hope everyone had a happy, chilly Wednesday! Only 2 more days til the weekend!

xoxo, Kara C:

Too close to home...

As most of you know, tornadoes ravaged through Murfreesboro on Good Friday, April 10th.  (Good Friday is quite an ironic name for such a devasting day!)  I know lots of people who live and work in Murfreesboro and it was a good thing that I was out of town....I knew NOTHING about it until it was over.  My mom works at State Farm and the tornado went right over the building and touched down and destroyed many homes within miles of where she was!!!  Here is a picture  that was taken on Broad St., which is literally less than 5 miles from State Farm! SCARY!!!I can't tell you how it calmed me to finally hear her voice when I was able to get in touch with her.  Even though she was crying because she was at home watching everything on the news, it was great to hear those tears!  If you didn't know, I HATE STORMS!!!  Of course, no one that I know loves them, but ever since it went through where we live 3 years ago, I have been terrified....absolutely horrified of tornadoes.  It really does make me HATE this time of year!  It makes me thank my lucky stars everyday for what we have.  I cannot and hope and pray that I never know what the people who were affected by this are going through.  My heart goes out to each and every one of them!  The man who lost his wife and newborn baby girl will leave his hospital bed to go to their funeral tomorrow.....I cannot explain how this hurts me!  I keep imagining what if we were in that situation!  How do people find the strength to get through?  This is a very important time in our lives to praise God for our blessings and ask him to lift up those affected by these horrific storms.  Please say a little extra prayer for them tonight!

On an end note, if you have a few minutes to spare, please go here and watch this youtube video.  It'll give you a little more insight to the damages that were left behind!  May God bless each and every one who was affected!

xoxo, Kara

Keeping my fingers crossed...

I go back tomorrow for my weekly ultrasound/visit, and I am so hoping that they will do the 4D ultrasound tomorrow.  Those really are the coolest things ever.  I hope to bring home several pics like this....They just told me that they would do it whenever we had time, so I may rush them a little bit tomorrow...heehee! :)  But, on a serious note, I just hope and pray that everything continues to go so well and that we can make it through these last few weeks as smoothly as we've made it thus far.  ONLY 9 MORE WEEKS!!  And, that's the most!!  And, that's so scary!!  And exciting!!  And exhilerating!!  And unbelieveable!!  And stressful!!  But, I am going to try to enjoy every single second of it...I know that I am going to miss being pregnant when Harper makes her arrival.  I love feeling her wiggle and move around all the time...such a blessing!  

On another note, our laundry room and nursery will be finished tomorrow, and let me just tell you, I am loving my colors!  I love, love, love the laundry room color.  I finally feel like our house is coming together....after 3 years of marriage and a baby on the way!  But hey, I'll take it when I can get it!  AND, we have our first baby shower this weekend and I am so thrilled and excited!!  I love showers and everything about them.  The details of both of my showers have kinda been kept secret and I am loving it!  I'll be sure and get my wonderful hubby to take lots of pics during the shower so I can share all of my pretties w/ everyone!  Hope everyone had a safe and happy Monday!  We escaped the storms again....praise the Lord!  God is good!

xoxo, Kara C:

Here comes Peter Cottontail....hoppin' down the bunny trail

Today has been a wonderful, busy day!  First, we got up extra early so that I could get everything together and make it in time to surprise my mama and daddy at church.  We don't get to visit my old church very often, so it was nice to see everyone there.  After church, we had a small photo shoot at my parents' house before going to eat dinner with the fam.  All the pics of Brandon and I weren't very good, so here's my weekly (or should be) picture.  I can't get over how I'm growing all of a sudden!  This is me at 30 weeks....only 9 more to go (at the most!)We had lunch and an egg hunt at my aunt and uncle's house and, of course, we all ate waaaayyyy too much....but it was sooooo good!  Before we ate, we had another photo shoot, courtesy of my cousin Emily.  The shirt I had on is not very photogenic, so here's the best one we could get...And, Brandon keeps picking on me because I am all of  a sudden growing...I haven't really looked pregnant, and now I do.  He says he loves it, but he loves picking at me even more.  So, today, I said, "Fine then, let's see who's belly is bigger?"  I'll let you be the judge of that...Hmmm....Harper in mommy's belly....who's in daddy's?????  Just kidding...I love his little belly!  But, I love his sense of humor and ability to laugh with me even more.

Here is a picture of my parents!  Aren't they sweet?

After the photo shoot, the life of the party arrived...I can't put in words how much I love this little girl!  She is so special to me and our family and I don't know what we did before she came into our lives.  I can't wait til Harper arrives, but I can't imagine loving a little girl anymore than I do this precious little thing!  

After stuffing our faces, we had our annual egg hunt....I stayed inside stretched out talking with my grandmother because I never get to see her or talk to her much!  Here is a pic my cousin shot during the wild hunt!  I thought it turned out great.....I can't wait til I have a little girl running around outside looking for eggs!

Speaking of sweet little girls, I have gotten picture messages from several of my friends today of their little girls all dressed up on Easter!  They all looked so beautiful and sweet and I can't wait to get our family all dressed up and take pix and go places!  I'm so excited!

Also, we had another busy, busy weekend!  We cleaned all day again on Saturday...thankfully, our house is coming together!  AND, tomorrow is a BIG DAY!  The lady is coming to paint Harper's room and the laundry room tomorrow.....YAY!!! And, her bedding should be here sometime this week!  I can't wait to see how everything comes together!  I'll be sure and post pics when we get everything! 

This will be a pretty relaxing week at school...thank goodness!  Our kids will begin taking TCAP this Tuesday, so I will have some time to get ready for what is next to come, and maybe read a little in between as well!  Hope everyone has a blessed, safe week!  Please keep this family in your prayers!  My brother graduated w/ the husband and father and my heart goes out to their families during this terrible time!  I cannot begin to imagine what they are going through during this time!

xoxo, Kara

If you know anything about the education world, you'll appreciate this...

Today we had mandatory TCAP training for about an hour or so after school.  It was the same ole, same ole.....make sure the kids write their name on the test booklet, you can't help them in any way, turn off your phones, blah, blah, blah!  But, it is nice to have a reminder every year just so there are no questions about test security and so forth!

ANYWAY, to start the session off, our principal found the cutest song/video ever!  If you have a few minutes to spare, please go here and watch it for yourself.

This video is so true to our everyday lives....you just don't know!  We are constantly reminded and bombarded with testing jargon and such and we are constantly reminded of how we should teach the SPI's that are covered on TCAP!  So, this video is too funny.....just thought I'd share!  Happy Wednesday....only one more day til our long weekend!  Whoo Hoo!

xoxo, Kara C:

Cooperating baby = Great Day!!

Well, I was supposed to have an afternoon ultrasound and dr's appt, but the dr. who reads the ultrasounds was leaving early, so I had to go early; therefore, I had to take the day off....hate that! lol  But, then our county went 2 hours late due to weather, so I was kinda wishing I had worked today.....oh well!

On the good note, I was just hoping and praying that Harper would cooperate this time so that they could do the fetal echo and tell her worry-wort momma that she is just as perfect as I think she is.....and guess what???  THEY DID!  After laying flat of my back for about an hour, they were able to see everything that they had hoped to see plus more.  She just laid there like a good girl and let them look at her pretty heart.  She is not breeched at the moment and she is face forward.  Hallelujah!  While I was waiting, I asked if they did 4D ultrasounds in their office, because I wanted to pay to have that done....and guess what??  They do, and they offered to do it for free one time while I'm already in the office.  SUPER! :)  They thought they may be able to do it today, but she had her face buried...oh well.  We are going to try again next Tuesday!  

On another happy momma note, they totally made my day today when they told me about this picture....Do you know what that arrow is pointing to........HAIR!!!!!!!  If you know me at all, you know that I have been saying since I found out that we were expecting that this poor child wouldn't have a bit of hair.......SHE ALREADY DOES!!!  I was so, so, so excited!  I know it sounds ridiculous, and those few strands are all she probably has, but I'll take what I can get.  I absolutely LOVE baby hair...love it!  This child will have a bow on her head regardless if she has a lot of hair or not, but I'm glad she'll at least have a little bit! :) :) :) :)

After the looooooonnnnngggg ultrasound, I went on down to my dr's appt, and they were able to work me in early...or so they said.  I ended up being there for over 2 hours.  Whew!  But, they did the non-stress test, and at least Harper wasn't under any stress.  LOL  I ended up missing lunch w/ my mama and her bestie, but at least we know everything is going well!  I got the packet to register for the hospital and for all the classes they offer, and I have all of that filled out and ready to go back!  It has been a very productive day for the Fustons!

Brandon stayed at home today while our windows were cleaned and then he hung all the blinds back up and put our new armoire together!  I am so proud of him for accomplishing so much today!  I love days when I come home to things that are finished!  That makes me a happy camper! :)

Okay, I'll be wrapping up my post now, but I want to end with a few cutie-patootie things that we have accumulated in our house lately.....you know how bad I'm hating that, right? ha:)

This is a book I bought for Harper at school.  It's so sweet and I thought it'd be a quiet something for her church bag!  It's all about praising God and his beautiful creations.  I love it and I know she will too!

The next picture is of some burp cloths that I made for Miss Harper.  I just absolutely love the one on top w/ the polka-dots!  The striped one is the first burp cloth that I ever made...so it is a little rough around the edges, but it was made with love and it's for me, so I don't mind! 

The white pantiloom outfit is the first thing I ever bought for Harper.  It came from Whipper Snappers and was on sale!  (Gotta love a good sale on cute clothes!)  I took it to my favorite embroidery shop and had it all fixed up w/ a coordinating bow.  I can see her wearing this next spring/summer with some little pink sandals.  What do you think?

And, I know I showed this bag when I ordered it, but look at the finished product!  I just love everything monogrammed!  I think it turned out so cute and added just the finishing touch that it needed!

Also, just an update....I feel a lot better today.  Still snotty (lovely), but overall, I feel better!  I am so thankful!  I hope everyone is having a blessed week.....I'll keep you posted on our progress around here over the next few days!  Goodnight all!

xoxo, Kara C: