Hurricane Isaac

Well, the storm came and passed very slowly all last week. On Tuesday, August 28, Charles and I headed over to the Zachary Youth Park to pick up some sandbags just in case. They said we were going to get tons of rain and we wanted to prepare! We had 3 ice chests in the house waiting to store our cold items from the refrigerator when the power went out. The storm moved so slowly that we only got wind and showers on Tuesday. The rain came Wednesday and also brought lots more wind. Thankfully, our house braved it through the storm and we didn't have any damage. We are so blessed. It had been s long time since I had been through a hurricane, and it was a little scary! Especially being 9 months pregnant! The rain has come pretty much every day, on and off, since the storm. Our yard is soaked and Bourbon doesn't understand why we can't play ball. Hopefully soon the sun will stay out long enough to dry up all the water! Here are a few photos of the calm before the storm and the rainy mess that followed!

So close!

So.... Landri's due date is less than 10 days away! It's very exciting and very scary all at once! I'm ready for her to be here so I can get to know her and learn how to be a great mom. Here's a pic of me at 38 weeks and 1 day....

A bachelorette bash!

For Hollie's Bach party we ate at Superior Grill then headed over to Corks'n Canvas for a paint party! It was so much fun and I really enjoyed it. Everyone got to participate in making their own great masterpiece! Mom painted a beautiful shoe, I painted a fleur de Lis, and Meme tried her best at making a magnolia for her house!

Sweet baby bump...

Here are some pics of us on May 26, 2012. I am 24 weeks and 2 days here!

A beautiful May shower...

A beautiful shower for a beautiful bride to be... I was so happy to be able to throw Hollie's wedding shower for her. Especially since I had introduced her to her future husband! I think it went well, and everyone said they enjoyed themselves! I am so happy for my best friend! Congratulations Hollie and Micah!

Fishing with daddy in May.....

Charles was excited to get out to the pond in the backyard and see what was biting. Of course, Bourbon was right behind him! Bourbon was thrilled to be out in the open air and even began learning how to swim after his ball. I love these pictures of the boys enjoying the beautiful weather.

Making it pretty, and making it ours...

Our flower beds were a mess and looked horrible. Charles and his dad got started right away cleaning them up and making our yard look fabulous! I also tried my best to get the rooms finished and unpacked before baby arrived!

Moving in....

We stayed in our house for nearly a month before our household goods arrived from Hawaii! They actually arrived early and we were thrilled! The guest room was the first room I set up since it was the easiest. I wanted to be ready for anyone stopping in!

Wow! It's been a busy few months!

We moved home in April and immediately moved into our home in Zachary. We were so thankful to be home and for months it felt like we were just in a long vacation. I felt like any moment someone would make me go back to Hawaii! Charles' dad gave us season tickets to all the LSU baseball games, so we attended pretty much all of them! Charles was so happy to be home, and I enjoyed seeing him right where he wanted to be!

Baby Herndon @ 14 weeks 1 day....

We were able to squeeze in a baby appointment last night! I guess you could call it our Friday night entertainment, and what a show! Baby was just dancing around and around! I couldn't believe how much baby moved around. Hope you enjoy these latest pics of our little one!

Baby Herndon's Heartbeat...

We were able to go together to see and hear baby and heartbeat today since Charles is back from his underway. Hope you enjoy!

And its for real!

So I went for my first ultrasound today. I wish Charles could have been there, but he will be soon enough. We will get to see the next one together and hopefully hear the heartbeat instead of just seeing it. It was so weird to see such a tiny little thing already have a strong heartbeat. This is from 6 weeks and 5 days along. I will be 7 weeks on Thursday.

I know it is difficult to make out, but the white arrow is pointing to our little dot of a baby. You can't see it from the picture, but the heartbeat was fluttering away. We are so excited to watch the baby grow! Can't wait to post more updates!

I know these aren't the clearest pics, but just so I have documentation of week to week:

Here's what I looked like the day I found out!

January 10, 2012

Almost 5 weeks

No baby bump, just the usual small belly roll

126.0 lbs

Going to a work dinner at Morton's Steakhouse

6 weeks to the day

126.0 lbs.

More pics to follow! We'll be 7 weeks on Thursday and our ultrasound will be Tuesday!

Word's Out!

So I'm sure by now you've all heard! And if you haven't, well, here it is....

WE'RE EXPECTING! Yep, that's right! Little baby Herndon is expected to show his/her face on September 14, 2012! We couldn't be more thrilled! We tried to let everyone know, but if we didn't personally tell you, we apologize. We hope that everyone is or will be as excited as we both are.

We both would love to have a little boy first, but obviously will not care either way once we find out, I'm sure! The Chinese Gender Chart says that we will have a boy, but we'll see. You know what I think about China...but supposedly it is 90% accurate.

We are 6 weeks and 3 days today (Sunday)! We have a long way to go, but are up for the challenges along the way and plan on enjoying every single thing about watching our baby grow.

Our first ultrasound will be Tuesday. Unfortunately, Charles won't be able to be there with me since he is at sea. But don't worry. He won't miss too much. He'll most likely just get to miss the part where I'm sick and quite moody-lucky guy! I don't even want to be with myself sometimes! So join us, won't you, on my journey to be coming large and round!

And here's the proof!

A New Year & Time for CHANGE!

So I know that everyone has new year resolutions and most people don't keep them at all. I've never really been one to make resolutions, so I decided that maybe I would give it a whirl...I'm not really sure if Charles has any or if he really even cares. I'm guessing no. He has more of a "honey badger" mentality if you know what I mean! The honey badger term tends to be a great adjective for lots of things lately! Since we will be making a BIG change in about 90 days or so (give or take a bit), I figure I can throw some other sweet wishes in the mix. We can't wait to move home to OUR new house, OUR very own place in OUR hometown.

Anyways, back to resolutions...Hmmm, let's see...Everyone always makes a resolution to work out. I'm not going to make this resolution b/c I know I won't work out consistently. I started trying to lose weight back in November and simply stopped drinking soda. I lost 10 lbs. just by doing so. I had set a goal to get back down to 120 lbs. and guess I should probably keep going since I'm only 7-8 lbs. away! Since I most likely won't work out, I plan on continuing to eat smaller portions and not drink sodas. The more water I drink, the more weight I lose.

So:

#1: Lose my last 7-8 lbs.

#2: Become involved in church and continue to go regularly WITH MY HUSBAND (fingers crossed) once we move home. I was a better person when I went to church. And I'm at the point that I don't even care where: Baptist, Presbyterian, Catholic....I DON'T care. As long as they preach the Bible, I'm happy. Anything is better than the nothing we have now.

#3: Save more money. Not ALL of it, though! I like to have stuff and so does my hubby! And what fun is life if you can't enjoy it while you're here. Who knows if we'll even be around for retirement?

#4: Scrapbook more! Can you believe that I was current just a few years back? Now I'm beyond behind.

#5: Continue to grow closer with my husband. I hope the "real" world doesn't drain him quite as much as the military world has!

Let's see how it goes! Hopefully, I can keep at least the important ones! Can't wait to see what wonderful things that 2012 brings for me and my family!

It's a date...

Charles took me on a "date" to Taco Bell tonight! Gourmet, I know! We took the motorcycle over for a short ride then headed down the street to the Harley Davidson store. Now that's what a call a real MAN date! Good thing I enjoy the bike too! Here's a pic of me in my new helmet!

...and this is the best shot I could get of us on the bike....

Big Island Hawaii

Charles and I just arrived back from our mini staycation on the Big Island of Hawaii. We wanted to make sure we saw the volcano before we moved away. We headed over on Thursday morning (the first flight out) and came home today around 7pm. We had a great time and want to share our photos with you. Hope you enjoy!

This is a great shot of the eastern coastline off the 4 mile scenic route road- there is a video of this at the bottom of the post. I cannot begin to describe how amazing it was in real life!

One of the many flowing waters on the scenic route

We took a helicopter out this morning to the volcano to see the active lava

This guy by the last name of Thompson is the only resident still living on the devastated lava field. The lava is literally right by his home. The roads have been flowed over and the only way in and out is by 4 hour hike or helicopter.

One of the lava skylights...

Steamvents from the volcano...

Us in the helicopter...

When they say road closed, they really mean it!

This is a neat shot of our shadows hiking into the road to the lava fields at the end of Chain of Craters Road...

Me at the edge of the lava fields overlooking the ocean...

Sea Arch, previous lava tube? I think...

Me and Charles at one of the black sand beaches...

Toes in the sand!

Truly the "end of the road", as shown by Honey Badger lava! Honey badger lava don't give a shit!

Me at the southern most point in the entire USA!

Views off the Chain of Craters Road...

Charles on lava rock...look at the texture!

miles and miles and nothing but lava...

it was cold an rainy and windy up at the top!

Charles in the lava tube...

Me at one of the craters...can you imagine this filled with lava?

Me in the lava tube...

Our trusty rental jeeper!