22 weeks and growing....

We're crusing through our second trimester and growing EVERYDAY!

I have been feeling you move around a lot these last few weeks and just last night daddy felt you move for the first time. It was VERY special!!

We love you! Keep cooking and we will see you in a few months! :)

We also got our stroller today!! I am SO SO SO excited about it! :)

Trust....

Seems to be this pregnancy is teaching me SO many things about trusting our Lord...from the beginning we had to trust God to allow us to have a baby and now with every ache and pain I still seem to worry. The Lord is asking me to trust him and yet I still worry and doubt. So today marks week 23 and I am challenging myself to STOP worrying and trust that God is going to protect our baby and keep our little man and me healthy! Trusting in his sovereign plan should be SO simple since he constantly stays faithful but my human-ness (is that a word?) is getting in the way! I'm clinging to these verses from now when I'm worried or feel an ache or pain...

Matthew 6:25-34 That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? ²⁷ Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? ²⁸ “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, ²⁹ yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. ³⁰ And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? ³¹ “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ ³² These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. ³³ Seek the Kingdom of God^[d] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.⁴ “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Psalm 27:2-8 Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.⁴ Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.

⁵ Commit everything you do to the Lord.

Trust him, and he will help you.

⁶ He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,

and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still in the presence of the Lord,

and wait patiently for him to act.

Don’t worry about evil people who prosper

or fret about their wicked schemes.

^{Proverbs 3:5-8 5} Trust in the Lord with all your heart do

not depend on your own understanding.

⁶ Seek his will in all you do,

and he will show you which path to take.

⁷ Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.

Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

⁸ Then you will have healing for your body

and strength for your bones.

Better late than never...

So I'm a little behind taking and posting pregnancy pictures....my to do list tonight consist of taking my 22 week Christmas pic...we'll see if that happens but here I was at 18 weeks. Let's just say we've had A LOT of turkey and yummies since then :)

And if I look tired in these pictures...well thats because I am! Energy levels aren't what they use to be! I don't believe in the 2nd trimester energy boost!

Its a BOY!!!!!

I'm a little behind on the blog world lately....we've had a lot going on (more on that later). But on November 30th....after anxiously waiting and placing our last minute bets on what sex we thought the baby would be we finally made it to the ultrasound appointment. We got to see our baby's little heart, legs, arms, mouth, kidneys....everything looked healthy...PRAISE THE LORD!!! Then she asked if we wanted to see if it was a boy or girl - I think Steve and I both almost screamed YES!!! It was official....we are having a BOY!!!!!!!!! :) We are thrilled!!! Steve was a little shocked because he was determined it was a girl! It was one of the BEST days!! We immediately started calling our family while I waited to see my doctor. Some were surprised while others claimed they knew all along! Steve had to head back to work since it was a Wednesday and I headed to Target to buy our first baby outfit! :) I found the cutest little green shirt that says 'my middle name is handsome' and it goes with the tinest little pair of blue jeans! And of course I bought something blue...it has a little teddy bear and says 'mommy's snuggle bear". I can't wait for him to wear it!

We are anxious to meet our first little son and are so thankful that the Lord is growing him and molding him into who he wants him to be!

My dear sweet little boy...mommy and daddy are praying for you everyday! We are praying God continues to grow you into a healthy little baby. We are asking that you have a healthy delivery with no complications and no problems. We are praying you have a sweet and teachable spirit but that you are strong and assertive so you can be the Godly leader that our Lord wants you to be! We are praying you will have a heart that follows after Christ and that you will live your life surrendered to Him everyday. I am praying you will be the leader of your family one day and that you will have wisdom to guide your family in the direction God has for you.

We are praying for ourselves too that we will have widsom as we take care of you and teach you. We are praying God provides the insurance and finances we need to provide for you. We know He is sovereign and we will depend on Him. We can't wait for you to come into our family! We already love you so much and can't wait to hold you in our arms!

Busy Bees

It seems that when I'm not napping or eating we are on the move these days. Work has been crazy with being out so much during my first trimester, trying to catch my students back up as been quite the task. This is definately a different class from last year! But my morning are always good with wonderful hugs from my previous students...always gets my day off too a good start! Then I have one student who thanks me for every fun activity...cracks me up but its precious. "Mrs. Short - thanks for letting us make clouds." "Mrs. Short thanks for letting us count to 100" "Mrs. Short thanks for letting us color our turkey". He's a trip! I've been trying to be better about leaving after carpool but I still find myself getting home after 4:30 some days...I thought teacher's finished at 3:00 - HAHAHA is all I have to say to that!

In baby news - we find out in 2 weeks if we're having a boy or girl!! I CAN'T WAIT!!! :) I was hoping at my last appointment we might get a sneak peak but I was not quite 16 weeks so we had to wait - guess the Lord is still teaching me patience - I must be a slow learner!

On other matters we have a busy busy few weeks ahead - this weekend is VINTAGE - our annual girl's retreat at the church...should be fun...just praying for energy. Then the next week is Thanksgiving...yummy yummy! We will be making the long drive to Ohio. Can't wait to meet our new little niece Kaitlynn...she will be almost 4 weeks old by then! Once we get back we'll gear up for my best friend's wedding in Mississippi. Steve is singing and I'm the matron of honor. Bridesmaids dress is having to be altered majorly - who knew back in June that I'd be over 4 months pregnant at the wedding HAHA! Then the next weekend we will be back to Mississippi for my side of the family to celebrate Christmas...I'm a little sad it won't be on the actual Christmas day - this will be my first Christmas in 22 years not to be at my grandparents on Christmas day - my first Christmas I don't remember but I'm told we were at our own house! :) I think we will travel back to Ohio to celebrate Christmas but we haven't decided for sure yet...we gotta get on that.

Lots of things happening around here - the biggest being my belly getting bigger :) Steve keeps reminding me to be thankful even though most days I just feel fat haha! I am VERY thankful that the baby is growing and hopefully forming into a beautiful and healthy little one!!

First Trimester...

Here you are my sweet little one - only a few days old! I have been praying for you since I was twelve years old. I prayed God would bless me with children and that they would grow to love our Lord and serve him. I know you are so tiny right now but God already as a great plan for you, a plan for you to bring Him glory!

You are getting bigger - this is what you looked like when you were just 6 weeks old. Pregnancy has made mommy really sick but I don't mind. I am just grateful to have you!! I got to see your heart beating today at the doctor. It was one of the most amazing thing!

Here you are at 9 weeks. I was really sick at school today so I went to see the doctor. Thankfully everything was ok - I was really scared but our God is faithful - sometimes I forget! Your little arms are starting to grow. You are the most precious thing I've EVER seen and I love you so much already!

Here you are at 11 weeks! Look how much you've grown! I love seeing your precious face that God is growing and forming. Daddy and I got to hear your heart beat today!! It was AMAZING!!! Best sound I have ever heard!!

You were a wiggle worm though - it was cute!! You had your little foot up and moving around!! You are already a gift to our lives and we both love you! We can't wait for your arrival!

We love you sweet little one and pray for you everyday! We pray God protects you as your are growing and forming inside me! I pray you will have a healthy birth (whenever you decide to arrive) and grow to be the person God wants you to be!

Our Journey to Parenthood....

Today marks 14 weeks of carrying the most precious gift I've ever been given! Since the morning sickness has finally sub-sided (at least for the moment) I decided it was time to blog about our little journey to parenthood!!

Well, Steve and I had planned to wait till after our year anniversary to talk and/or try to start having a baby...well after a lot of prayer and a lot of baby fever we decided to start a little earlier! After about 2 months I was having some pain in my side and made an appointment to see the doctor...thought it would be a good time to talk with them about our desire to start a family!

Well, we got a little bad news at the doctor and she told us we might need to try fertility drugs but to come back in three months. I was devastated! But my sweet husband reminded me of God's faithfulness and that if He wanted to give us a child he would, in his timing provide! So for the next three months we both prayed and prayed, for my healing and for a baby!

August arrived and I called to make my follow up appointment...but no openings for another 3 weeks. Again I was disappointed thinking: oh great waiting longer now.

But our God's timing is PERFECT!!!!!!

I wasn't feeling too good about the 2nd week of August but it was just the start of school so I didn't think much of it....stress was high! Then I was a few days off my schedule...again didn't think too much about it due to the stress of school starting and other health problems. But after 10 days I was getting a little anxious so I decided to take a home-pregnancy test (without trying to get my hopes up). In that 3 minutes I prayed and asked God for faith and strength to trust him no matter what the answer was.

Well - it was positive!! I could barely contain my excitement but I knew with my diagnosis from earlier I couldn't go baby crazy yet. It was bed time so I crawled into bed next to Steve and casually said "honey, I think I might be pregnant". I explained the pregnancy test and my cycle and he was excited but we both agreed we wouldn't get our hopes up until after I went to the doctor the next week. Well, being the impatient person I am, I took another test that Sunday night...I just couldn't wait. And in a matter of seconds...two pink lines!! I was REALLY excited at this point!! So again I casually walked into the kitchen and told Steve that I really thought I was pregnant cause I took another pregnancy test. We were both happy but knew we would know for sure after my appointment Monday afternoon.

Appointment time FINALLY rolled around. I prayed and prayed and prayed for strength for faith AND for a baby!! Well after another pregnancy test the nurse told me "Its Positive". I think I about LEAPED off the table. I couldn't stop smiling!! The doctor was shocked that I was there for my 3 month check up and to talk about fertility drugs and I was PREGNANT!!! It was great to share that we had been praying and are THRILLED to be having a baby!!

Now it was time to tell my husband!! I had told him we would talk when he got home whether good or bad news....the next 2 hours seemed to be as slow as Christmas. I COULD NOT WAIT for him to get home from work. I didn't even try anything cute - I was too stinkin excited. As soon as he walked through the door and ran to him, jumped in my arms and yelled that I was pregnant. We both couldn't quit smiling ALL night!!! He even brought flowers home for me (he must have had a feeling!). By far one of the most exciting nights of our lives!!!

We are INCREDIBLY thankful that despite not having much faith, God decided to bless us and teach us that HE is ultimately in control and His timing will prevail no matter what!! I couldn't be more grateful that the Lord has given us the desires of our hearts despite not deserving them!

So here we go...April 20th we will begin a new chapter in our lives!!

The classroom...

Here is where I have been spending most of my days and most of my nights lately....its not exactly perfect but it will have to do for now.

1 year :)

July 24, 2011

Its hard to believe Steve and I have been married a whole year...where did the time go! I'll be honest, there were some rough days with me being a first year teacher, Steve starting seminary plus all the adjustments to be married, but its been wonderful! I am so blessed to be married to a man who loves me and provides for me. He is probably the most caring person I have ever met! I couldn't even dream of marrying a guy that looks after me so much...I'm one lucky girl!

Ok enough with the lovely dovey...on to our anniversary celebration...

First I have to say that we went on another two week stretch of not being at home so any type of alone time with my hubby was sounding pretty good to me!

We had middle school camp 2 weeks ago - it was AWESOME! Hopefully I will have time to blog about that but no guarantees since school starts tomorrow...yes thats right the dreaded word 'school', but we won't dwell on that for now. I drove back from camp on Friday, unpacked, washed, and repacked for us to head out Sunday morning for my very first "Short" family vacation....another blog post coming about that as well :)

So now to the anniversary...we spent most of Saturday saying "this is the last time we'll ever be able to say 'last year at this time I was single'". So Sunday Steve had to wake up early to finish studying for his lesson...I rolled over about 6:30 to found him still in the bed...my first reponse was 'honey do you know what time it is?" His response was "yes baby, its ok...Happy Anniversary'. He is so thoughtful even when I am NOT!! Although I'm sure he could have jumped out of bed to get ready for a busy morning instead he took the time to say something so sweet....I think he's a keeper :)

After church we went to Longhorn for lunch where we had our very first date! It was really fun to reminisce of what we talked about and how nervous we both were.
Then we headed home and were going to pack for our night out but instead we decided to watch our wedding video at the exact same time we got married last year :) It was very special to sit with him and watch...I was quite giddy but also a little emotional. It was such a perfect day!! And it was a great reminder to live up to the vows we promised each other. I have failed so much but thankfully he forgives me as we are both learning to 'Think of others better than ourselves" as Christ commands us to do. After lots of ooey-gooey giddy moments that I'll leave out, we packed up and headed to the Peabody where we stayed last year on our wedding night. It was so fun to relive those feelings as we drove off from our wedding knowing we were husband and wife. Its an incredible feeling! :) We got to the peabody just in time to see the ducks - it was really fun!!

When we got to the room, room service arrived we chocolate covered strawberries and cheesecake...MY FAVORITE!!! We exchanged gifts too - first anniversary theme is 'paper' so I got Steve tickets to a Rascal Flatts concert. For almost 2 years now its been on our bucket list to attend a country concert and here it is!! :)

Steve got me tickets to see Les Miserables!!!! I was shocked! I mentioned it to him about 2 months ago but thought it'd be too expensive...somehow my amazing hubster find a cheaper matinée so we get to go!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

For Dinner we went to this place called The Majestic. It used to be the old movie theater. It was so so neat! Here we are on our way there....
Although I'd love to blog more about the neat dinner place we went to, our the romantic walk in the peabody but my lesson plans are calling my name!! So to sum it up...we had a very special and fun anniversary...I have the absolute BEST husband...I'm blessed to be his wife...can't wait for the next 75 years together!!! :)

Teacher freebies...

I haven't spent as much time as I'd like to get ready for another year of Kindergarten but hopefully after our next few trips I'll have a whole week strictly dedicated to Kindergarten preparations. But for right now all I'm doing is a lot of praying and lots of google searches.

Here's a new freebie I found!! Super excited since this is such a cute story!!

http://kinderkraziness.blogspot.com/2011/06/miss-bindergarten-unit.html

July 4th!!

What a wonderful independence day!

We had an early celebration with the youth staff which was fun then traveled to good ole Kosciusko on Monday. It has been a LONG time since all the Olivers were together so we knew we were in for a great day! Steve had not had a chance to hang out with the whole gang but he braved the craziness and tackled his first Oliver holiday...congratulations! We had about 28 people in all and enough food to feed a small army...we had ribs, pulled pork, chicken wings, spaghetti, potatoes, green beans, taco dip, corn, and oh Im sure there's something I'm forgetting...everyone had something they would like! Crazy combinations but it worked for us! And I didn't even mention desserts...lots of those as well! We also got to go see Meredith and Robert's new property and house. It definitely gave Steve and I house buying fever. We would LOVE to live in a small town out in the country...maybe one day!

On our way home from Kosi we randomly saw two fireworks shows...we pulled off the side of the road and enjoyed about a 20 minute show in Southhaven then drove a little futher and ran into another one in Olive Branch. We felt very blessed to run into to great shows.

What a day of blessings to spend time with family and enjoy great fellowship!

My 4th of July fruit kabobs...such easy and quite yummy!

Will liked them!! :) What a cutie!

Celebrating the red, white and blue with some yummy CUPCAKES!!!!!

The kiddos loved them!

Like I said, we had LOTS of food!

The girls enjoyed playing beauty shop!

The whole gang!

Our first 4th of July together!! :)

Summer of the traveling Shorts...

The summer is FLYING by and boy have we been busy!! We have been gone for 3 of the 5 weeks I have been out of school, with 2 weeks being consecutive trips. And we are not done yet...we will leave for Middle School Camp bright and early Monday morning. When we return Friday afternoon I will spend a frantic Saturday cleaning and doing laundry so we can get on the road early Sunday morning to head to Gaitlinburg for family vacation....then a short weekend trip for our anniversary! Its been nice not to have to work but it has de

finitely been a summer on the road.

One sad note about the summer...I have somehow lost my desire to get out my camera and take snap some photos...whats wrong with me??? We have about 2 pictures f

rom the mission trip in Arkansas and 2 pictures from our 2 weeks in Florida. Hopefully I get back on my picture taking craze soon! :) But until then enjoy the FEW pictures we do have from the summer of the Traveling Shorts...

In Arkansas at the "Purple Cow"...We got to have delicious purple milkshakes...yumyum!

One of the girl's groups made us act out 'Tangled'...hilarious!! :)

One of our only pictures on the beach...please ignore the terrible hairdo :)

Family time...

Despite a busy, busy summer we were able to spend some quality time with Steve's mom and sister when they came to visit!! It was great seeing them and two of our nephews! We hate being so far away from them so we value every second we get!

Here's a glimpse of our fun-filled few days...

Travis got a mask at the disney store and wore it ALL day! It was so cute!

Chillin at our apartment!

A fun night on the carousel...

Silly faces!

It worked...

So my apple upside down cake was a hit! :) With a little help from my hubby in peeling the apples it turned out great! Definitely a keeper!

And my attempt for new things tonight....pork chops (haven't quit mastered those yet...we both agreed they'd be better on the grill but they were ok.)

I added a green veggie and these potato wedges.

They were very YUMMY and easy! Of course I got the recipe from my favorite cookbook...here's basically what I did....

INGREDIENTS:

2 potatoes cut into about 7-8 wedges each

1/4 tablespoon of salt

1/8 tablespoon of pepper (both of which I just guess)

1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup of melted butter

1/2 tablespoon of garlic salt

I mixed the butter, salt, pepper, and cheese together then placed the wedges in the mix.

I then put them on a cooking sheet (with foil) and sprinkled garlic salt on top.

I cooked them for about 15 minutes at 425 degrees and then for 20 more minutes at 350.

And there you have it...a yummy yummy side dish! :)

Trying new things...

Ok, so we've been married almost a year now and I still find myself cooking the same things on about a 2-week basis. Its easy when I know the recipe by heart and the ingredients are almost always on my grocery list! We have about 12 meals that I rotate but no excuse now that its summer. So I pulled out probably one of my FAVORITE wedding gifts...

and decided to try some new things...

Tonight I'm sticking with a main dish that we like...Chicken Roll Ups (we haven't had it in a while and its quick, easy and YUMMY!)

But for desert I'm going to cook Apple Upside Down cake and of course add some ice cream for the hubby! :)

Lets hope it turns out to look this good! :)

Tomorrow night I found a great recipe for potato wedges in my favorite cookbook...now if I could just think of a main course thats different...we always do BBQ chicken but I might turn it into Steve's favorite Rocky Top Chicken from LongHorn or maybe Pork chops...haven't tried that...we'll see!

Just a side note...you can tell its officially summer when I actually have time to blog...about food none the less...I had forgotten what free time felt like! Its awesome!

Just a preview...

...of two of my cutest nephews that will be hanging out with Aunt Ashley and Uncle Steve this week!

We haven't seen them since Christmas...Jakey was barely crawling when we saw him last time and now he's walking.

I will admit that I tried to take him home with us last time we were in Ohio....he is SUCH a good baby!

I'm sure we will have many stories of cuteness after our trips to the zoo and chuck-e-cheese! :) We're so excited they are coming to visit!