20 weeks!!!

HALF-WAY POINT!!

No fat jokes, please. ;-)

Thanksgiving 2012

What do you get when you make a trip to Arkansas with 2 pregnant women?  Lots of potty breaks, carsickness & snacks, snacks, snacks!!

We carpooled with Aaron's little sister (Adrienne), her husband (Kenny) & little brother (Trevor) to Russellville & Ozark, Arkansas for Thanksgiving.  Such a blast!

Adrienne is about 3 weeks behind me in her pregnancy, so we had lots of pregnancy jokes thrown at us.

Ah, familia!

                 Aaron & his (big) little bro, Trevor



                                         Janey (mom), Trevor & James (dad)

CARTER FAMILY!

HILBURN FAMILY!!

Grand-dad & Grandmother Hilburn had a fire destroy a lawn tractor, farm tractor & a few outbuildings this summer (presumably started by a lightening strike).  One of the outbuildings contained a few year's worth of split firewood. 

The Hilburn boys typically help Grand-dad split his firewood every Thanksgiving anyway, so, this year, they banded together again & went back to work.  

I could tell that they were all so happy to do this for Grand-dad & Grandmother, especially considering the circumstances.  

Uncle Mark

Grand-dad mans his new tractor

Adrienne (little sister), hubby Kenny & Trevor

Decorating Grandmother's Christmas tree has become tradition...

Grandmother Hilburn & James

18 weeks and ever-expanding!!!

The Hilburn Men

Flashback: Xmas Presents 2011

Here's a look at what I gave most of the gals in my family last Christmas.

I rummaged through my very large stash of bed sheets (see "Flashback: Xmas Presents 2010" for what else I did with bed sheets) & made braided rugs.

I cut the fabric into strips, using my rotary cutter (thanks, honey, for that Xmas gift!), braided the strips into one very long strip, and then sewed in a circular pattern on my sewing machine.  I used felt for the backing, which worked pretty well; however, if you're intending to put the rug on a wood floor, you may want to add a strip of rubber to the bottom (so nobody goes flying...and then falling).

It was fun!

Flashback: Xmas Presents 2010

Here are the Christmas presents I made for a few of the gals in my family.  It's always fun giving hand-made gifts, even though my sewing & knitting skills are super simple!!

A few knitted scarves & washclothes...

My mom was empyting her linen closet and needed to get rid of bed sheets she'd had for years.  Some of them had been my Great-Grandmother's.  I used these as well as my own extra bed-sheets to make cloth napkins for my sister & sister-in-law.  I washed all top sheets, cut & surged them.  I was pleased with how well they turned out...

Happy Days Are Here Again

This was Baby Hilburn at 9 weeks...that was 5 weeks ago. 

That's right, folks! I am pregnant again!!!! I am 3 1/2 months pregnant (or 14 weeks 4 days to be exact).

Three months after our miscarriage, we were oh-so-pleasantly suprised to find out that we were expecting another little miracle.

I am enjoying being in the 2nd trimester--no longer sick & getting fatter.

Our midwife doesn't offer ultrasounds (to do that we'd pay a fee to the OBGYN she works with), so we won't get to see Baby Hilburn again until he or she enters this world around April 20, 2013. The above ultra-sound was taken by a charitable organization that graciously offered me a one-time free unltrasound, so that's that!

We have been able to hear the baby's heartbeat several times as well as the super-cool "baby movement" sounds.

Again, thank you to our countless friends and family members who have cried, laughed & cried again with us through life's journey.  We know that we've never walked alone.

This song, by my favorite artist, says it all.

Porches, Phase I

We've needed some porches around our trailer for a LONG time; however, we had to wait to move the trailer to it's final resting place first.

So, now it's time!

Phase I began with adding a roof over this old trailer to:

1. Give added protection against rain & snow
2. Be a buffer between our thin roof & the summer sun

Here's a log of our progress from March to August. At the end of August, when it was still quite toasty outside, we could really feel a difference in the inside temperature of the trailer.  Our a/c units alone actually made it bearable inside this little home on wheels.

MARCH

We collected poles for trusses, and this yellow beast really helped!

Then we (the Biggers) dug 30 holes for concrete piers for the upright poles.

Collecting upright poles...

APRIL

Now it was time to start on the concrete piers (again, 30)!

MAY/JUNE

The concrete piers get a bolt sunk into the middle of each one.  The upright pole will have a hole drilled into the bottom to rest on the bolt.  The strapping will then be attached on either side of the pole to keep it firmly attached to the concrete pier...

And now for the upright poles right against the house...

Project Supervisor #1

JULY

The trusses!!!

Work Bee with the Hilburn boys!  Time for nailers...these guys know how to get stuff done!

 
Project Supervisor #2

Time for some roofing tin, starting on the side that needs it most--south-facing.

AUGUST

Tah-dah!!!  The roofing tine needs to be trimmed up & the roof painted white, but it does the job for now!

Next tasks:

finish up the fire-wood & then move onto the screened-in outdoor kitchen!!

It's been a good summer.