Oh, the places you'll go

Captain J and I hit up Gatlinburg last weekend, hoping for a reprieve from the heat and humidity. Boy, were we way off base with those hopes and dreams. It was so hot! I think I forget every year how hard it can be to breathe in said conditions or perhaps my shortness of breath can be blamed on the little babe inside my belly. Either way, Tennessee is miserable this time of year.

Worse even is Georgia. Today the thermometer in my car read 104. I'll not be going back outside this week unless I have to. People keep warning me that Louisiana will be worse. I can't, nor do I want to, imagine this. It's funny to think about the various places and extreme temperatures we've experienced in the last year and a half. We've gone from fifty below zero in Alaska to one hundred and four above in that time period. That's a 150+ degree difference. Yikes!

Oh, the places you'll go.

Speaking of, while in G-burg we visited our place of marital oneness for a quick snap of a photo. We pretended to get married at this lovely church with a pretty red door, but in actuality I just admired that church as we passed and made Captain J pull over for a few pictures. Really, we found the cheapest place in town and said our I do's in under 15 minutes.

So here's the big reveal. We actually got hitched here:



and have I said lately that I wouldn't change a thing?! I love that man more and more every day; it doesn't matter how we made a commitment to God and each other. It just matters that we did it!

P.S.- Have you entered my giveaway yet? As it stands now, you've got a pretty remarkable chance of winning!

Later, taters.

Hooray, Giveaway!

As a military family, we're often away from those I love. I miss birthdays, holidays, weddings, and random coffee dates with friends, among other things. This has been one of the hardest parts of being a part of the "silent ranks." I can't imagine raising Baby K while my Captain was off deployed to some third world country, forcing him to miss so many milestones. All of these reasons are why I'm hosting my very first giveaway!

What's up for grabs, you say?

-a free story recorded with your own voice to send to those you love that you can't be with at the moment, valued at $9.99! Fun, right? This opportunity is provided by BeThereBedTimeStories.com. Click on the link to try out the demo if you'd like. This program is super easy to use and there are tons of bedtime stories to choose from to make the special kid in your life feel a little bit closer to you.

After recording, the bedtime story can be accessed at any time for an unlimited amount of time. This means that any time your little munchkin, pumpkin, niece, nephew, grandson, granddaughter, et cetera can get a dose of Y-O-U whenever their little hearts desire!

Rules of this giveaway are simple:

1. You do NOT have to have a blog to enter.

2. You do NOT have to be a military family to win.

3. You DO have to leave a comment on this post telling me who you would record a story for and why. It can be brief :)

4. You Do have to leave an email address for contacting purposes.

5. For an additional entry, you can tweet about this giveaway. Be sure to let me know you did so by tweeting me (@KSJD22) or leaving it in the comment section.

How easy is that? This giveaway will end on Saturday, June 4th at 11 PM Eastern Standard Time.

I hope you all enjoy this opportunity as much as I have. It really is quite easy to use. Results will be posted after I randomly select a winner. Good luck!

Good grief.

I'm alive. I think.

Can't chat long, must return to slave driver (read: school work).

I trust you all had a great Memorial Day. Mine was spent traveling much of the time, but I was with my soldier so I was happy for that.

I've been one busy gal, as you can probably gather from my one sentence paragraphs (which isn't a paragraph at all, is it?). I don't have time for much of nothin' right now, but I hope to get caught up or (*gasp) ahead of schedule with my school work if I can. I'm sorry I haven't been commenting as much. I'm still keeping up with all of you, though. I didn't want to neglect my responsibilities as blogger extraordinaire either though so I'm finally posting those pictures from my baby shower. And I thought I'd tell you a bit about Week 29.

In short, it sucks.

I kid, I kid. But I did wake up to some pretty painful heart burn. At least I hope that's all it is. Lately, every morning has been a hassle just getting out of bed. Not only am I trying to maneuver my big ole belly around, but I'm also nursing some nausea and aches and pains. Usually I feel better if I just suck it up and crawl out of bed to start the day, though.

Is August here yet?

No.

Oh, that's right. I still have to pack up my house, move to another state, change doctors, find new house, nest, and complete required graduate course work before all that happens.

Good grief. At least I've got the best friends and family a girl could ask for-

 

 

 

There are so many more, but my computer is being lame (as usual) so I must leave you with those. Thanks for taking a peek. Hopefully, I'll talk with you soon. I have a giveaway happening this week- my first ever! Get excited :)

Love,

Mama K.

Pregnant With Laughter- Part 11 Vlog Edition

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/24233140]

Travelin' Thru GA, Ramblin' Across the Land

Today has been a good day. I'm slightly overwhelmed with school work and trying to prepare for the upcoming PCS, but I just knew churning out a few words on my blog would temporarily fix my ailments. Besides, I know you're all just dying to know why and how I went camping in Georgia in May.

I was supposed to head "home" last weekend, but Doc said 'no way Jose' in different words so we made plans to spend some time outdoors with my dear ole dad. His bluegrass band was attending a festival in Cochran, Georgia, not too far from our house. After relaxing for a while on Friday afternoon, we packed up the car and headed that way with plans to sleep under the stars.

We waited until evening, though because this pregnant gal gets incredibly hot.

Temperatures for the weekend were lower-to mid nineties.

Thee above do not mix.

Still, we had a good time. I enjoyed falling asleep in the back of the truck (on an air mattress, of course) while listening to the sounds of my childhood. Growing up, Dad was constantly taking us to festivals to hear him (and many others) play. The notes, the instruments, the voices,  the old songs I knew so well lulled me off to sleep that night. And you know what?

I slept pretty great! The mosquitos were a real downer, though. I'm covered in bug bites now that aren't so attractive and quite itchy. I will not complain, though because I remember the insane swarms of mosquitos that plagued Alaska in the summer months. Those were, by far, the worst I've ever seen.

It felt good to get back outside. I have missed camping while being preggo. It's not for the faint of heart, though-- Be sure to take lots of water. Also, you'll want to bring along some of your favorite men to hang with. I enjoyed visiting with Dad and spending quality time with the Cap'n. I just don't do it enough.

Dad in Do-Rag

"Willie Bob's"- Only in the South

Roughin' It- Kinda.

Prayer Request

I had so much to say today, but when I woke up to catch up on all the blogs I frequent, all of it floated away. My heart is heavy this morning and all I could think to do was pray...and ask that you pray, too. I believe in God's awesome power of healing and I have seen the power of prayer.

Over the last couple of days, this young mother has been living a nightmare. She has four boys, three of which are triplets. She recently found Owen unresponsive in his crib. After finally getting a heartbeat back, the family has received nothing but bad news. Please pray for this family and for this little boy.

Thank you.

Dog Savior

See this face?

 

And what about this one?

 

If I didn't deserve their looks of adoration and their greetings each time I walked into the room before, I surely do now.

I saved their lives.

Even though the two troublemakers were driving me bonkers, I just didn't want to send them back out to their pen. It's hot outside, y'all and my two little Alaskans can't take the heat. I brought them inside during their mandatory outside time (read: Mrs. K's saving of sanity time) and I'm glad I did because...

a tree fell on their little home in the corner of the yard. The large tree landed right where my dear Holly curls up to sleep in her little husky ball. She surely would have been crunched. Then I would have been stuck with this one-



and let's face it, when he's an only (dog) child his life expectancy plummets.

Never a dull moment 'round these parts.