SpringHill, Showers, and not wanting lots of money

So I got tagged :) Haha, I actually got a smile on my face too when I saw that the wonderful Katy Rose tagged me - I guess it reminded me of actually playing tag. Who knows. But, I think this is a fun game...so here it goes.

10 years ago:

• Pretty much in a solid awkward phase as a freshman in high school. I think I started to come out of that "this" year. Ohhh highschool - good/weird memories. Basically I was being musical (this is for you donald and kristian - I was in the marching band / played a mean concerto on the piano) and on the basketball/softball team. Only child in my parents house with big brother leaving the previous year for college. Loving my girlfriends.

Things on my to-do list today:

• Not fall asleep at work (still adjusting from the time change)
• Write thank yous to our wonderful family in England who sent little miss thang some very cute clothes.
• Host an apartment life event

What would I do if I suddenly became a billionaire:

• So, I've had some time to think about this one with reading others thoughts. Unfor. my selfishness/yuckiness thinks "AWESOME" - and then reality comes in. I think that would be terrible, as it would be so hard for me not to make it my master. However, if I HAD to be a billionaire - I think we would buy a cool place in Colorado - always open for anyone to come and your travel expenses would be completely paid for (this idea is stolen from some cool people that we semi-met while visiting kristian and katy in Maui - they had this amazing ocean-front condo, and let us stay there for a few days completely free, pretty amazing for a bunch of 23 year olds). And then give the rest to World Vision.

Three of my bad habits are:

• I don't really like to shower! That is so gross, and I understand that culturally accepted practices demand me to do this - but honestly, if I could never smell - I wouldn't shower!
• I pop my knuckles too much. (at least my mother says this is a bad habit).
• I get really annoyed if towels aren't properly folded (this can be kitchen towels or bath towels, and it is unfor. not limited to my own home - I'll refold the towels).

Five jobs I have had (before now):

• Williams-Sonoma (don't really recommend working there during the holiday season, it is so insane that you basically work every holiday/weekend and don't have time to appreciate the glory that is that store)
• The Detroit Zoo, Educator
• Grace Bible Church, nursery teacher aka hold lots of babies
• Spring Hill Camps, Counselor
• Piano teacher (the best money I've ever made - 14 dollars a half hour)

Five things (some) people don't know about me:

• I kind of have stinky feet! (wow, that's embarassing)
• I was in the marching band during high school (this is really difficult for me to admit over the internet, now everyone knows)
• I really think that High School Musical is a cute movie.
• I'm really trying to make Abby musical by singing to her a bunch and "lightly pounding" on my belly so that she has some rhythm.
• It drives me crazy if the bed doesn't have all of the sheets neatly tucked in on all sides (which is funny, because donald doesn't share this same concern).

To continue in the game playing tradition...I tag Chelle (I know you'll love this) and Sarah Whiting.

Little (literally) updates

OK, so if this is lame/boring for some of you reading this...well, just sit tight - it'll be a short post.

ABBY IS MOVING!! Now, I know she's been moving for a while now, but I haven't been able to feel her like I wanted. I have surprised myself by realizing how paranoid I get over certain issues, and this pregnancy has really shed light on some serious control issues that I have. Thank goodness for the Lord's never ending graciousness to silly ol' me. But, Abby has been giving me some excellent, firm kicks (I have had to tell her a few times that I appreciate her letting me know all is well, but that she's being a bit awkward) - and Donald was even able to feel one of her stronger ones! Such an amazing, special feeling/process. I have developed such a respect for the female body. OH, and according to babycenter.com - she's the length of a very long carrot (about 11 inches). Hopefully her hair will be the color of a carrot too (I'm so bad).

Hey Chlorine - See ya lata!

Researching options for the baby has really led to lots of discoveries and new thought about how our consumerism affects the environment. Now of course we all have been slammed with thoughts on global warming, rainforest destruction, and general automobile emissions; but there are so many things that we're all relatively unaware of. Here are some things that Donald and I have really been struck with:

• DIAPERS! General disposable diapers take 500 years to decompse, and millions are put into landfills daily. We're really interested in a brand of cloth diapers called fuzzi bunz (fuzzibunz.com) - they are uber-cute and they will cost MUCH less than disposable diapers over the "diaper life" of your bambino (donald really likes this part), and this is also good news for the landfills - ever think about how a 2 year old with grown up looking #2 diapers gets put into the everyday trash?? GROSS! Also, because of culture - we associate the color white with being clean. Therefore mass produced disposable diapers use lots of chlorine to make them appear white, and chlorine is really bad for the environment. Chlorine leads to increased dioxin production, which leads to increased rates of cancer, and is not-so-good for our water and land. Obviously Donald and I are not in the process of actually changing 8-10 diapers a day, so who knows how this will pan out in reality, but we're excited about fuzzi bunz right now! Also, there's a fantastic website, seventhgeneration.com, that is really educational and helpful to us being overall better consumers with may daily-use products such as cleaning products, toilet tissue, and paper towels.



• REUSABLE BAGS! This one is trendy and fun. You can order bags online or go to Central Market or Whole Foods and buy them there. Plastic bags are made from petroleum, and we all know the issues that this is causing around the world! Plus, Kroger is doing this really cool thing right now (well, at least in Dallas, not sure if it is nation wide) where they will give you 5 cents for every plastic bag you bring in (it doesn't have to be a kroger bag). And Central Market or Whole Foods will recycle your plastic bags for you. Some stores will say that they recycle them, but actually just throw them away in the back - so make sure you ask!



• SHAMPOO BOTTLES! Don't know as much about this - but found this really cool store (for all of you metroplex residents - it's in Northpark) called Lush (they also have an online store - lush.com) and you can buy a shampoo bar! NO plastic! I thought that was pretty cool. It's a bit expensive, but maybe something to splurge on every once in a while. Also, all of their packaging is biodegradable (even down to their tape) if you order it online.

Just some thoughts from a crazy lady in dallas who is looking at her practices in a whole different light now that we're responsible for this sweet little thang. As I find out more interesting things, I'll post them - feel free to ignore of course, but hopefully they'll make us all think about how our actions affect the beautiful earth God created for us.

Introducing.... Abigail Wallace!

We truly believe there are few joys like the joy we experienced together today. Today we found out that the little bundle of love that God has been knitting in Angela's womb over the last 18 weeks is our little girl! For weeks we went back and forth with the decision of whether or not to find out the sex and finally decided this morning to find out! We can't compare our experience to the alternative, but we are so thrilled to know that we are going to have a daughter! The experience of going from knowing we were going to have a baby to knowing we are having Abby was almost like finding out we're pregnant all over again! We are so grateful and of course a little overwhelmed. It feels as though there is nothing that could possibly stop the love welling in our hearts!

Here is the sonogram! (it is a little long, I was going to edit it to be shorter, but not really knowing what's what... I didn't know what to cut out... so instead, we put it to music! Enjoy!)

PLEASE HELP US!!!!

Okay friends,

We are considering getting another car as we don't know how many more miles pheonix the love indian has left in her and also her safety ratings are good... but not the best. Anyway, we have learned this is not the most fun process as we have been struggling through listings, test drives, and car salesman who call nine times a day and all say they want to do business with integrity (I believe they say this because that way they can tell themselves, "of course I can rip them off in the strict financial sense... there is so much value in the integrity we offer!"). Anyway, please offer wisdom on the car buying experience. If you don't have any... ask friends or family who do and then give it to us!!!

Thanks

PS On the subject of cars, here is my new dream car!