It is never dull around Clint Ivy

If there is one thing to be said about Clint Ivy (besides all of the sweet, wonderful and obvious things), it is that he is totally unpredictable.  Just this week some of my conversations with my husband have included this dialog...   "I drove my motorcycle through a car wash today with me on it." My response was, "Are you ok?  Did it hurt?"  To that he only laughed and said, "no, not too bad, it was fun....oh, and I have a bunch of wet clothes for you to wash..ok?"  If that was the only odd conversation of the week, I would have chalked it up as a normal week.  But then on Friday we have this conversation, "I think I got a black eye today."  My response was, "What in the world?  How did that happen?"  His response, "Well, I was dressed up as this super hero in a bunny costume and I am not really sure how it happened."   Whoever said that being married to a minister was boring was wrong...dead wrong.    Go TSM videos!!  All these events happened in the hopes that one kid will have their life changed by the Lord through the video portion of the student ministry.  It may seem crazy; the wet clothes, black eyes, the videos....but with every crazy thing Clint Ivy does, there is a purpose.

Raleigh Update

 Raleigh has officially completed 35 weeks!!  She is quite an active little thing and everything so far looks really good!  We will go back to the doctor on Tuesday for the 36th week appointment...things are getting really close...so exciting!  What is said to be going on with her this week is that:  Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales a 5 1/4 pounds (about the size of a honeydew melon).  Because she is so snug in your womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same.  Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her can process some waste products.  Most of her basic physical development is now complete- she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

You know you are getting old when...

I feel so old, yet so excited at the same time.  Why is that you ask?  Well, Clint and I spent Christmas money on some interesting items this year.  For example: Patio furniture, camera, vacuum cleaner, motorcycle helmet, and a softball glove.  None of these items sound too exciting on their own, but they were things we definitely needed.  I guess a welcoming to the world of adulthood is in order.  Please don't get me wrong, I am not complaining about the purchases at all, actually I am very, very pumped!!  I would attach pictures, but I would hate for you to get all upset that you didn't get the sweet adult presents that we did this year...  

Merry Christmas!!

Ok, so I know that it is past the new year and almost February, but in our household we are just now coming up for air.  We survived 17 Christmas services, traveling to various Christmas spots with a big pregnant lady, and having Clint's side of the family here for a few days.  Christmas was a blast!  We apologize that we did not get Christmas cards out this year...(it was put off for new year's cards, and now being put off for baby announcements) we just didn't get to it.  It was great to see everyone, and those of you we did not get to see....we can't wait to see you soon!

My new BFF..

My new BFF is...Miley Cyrus!!  Ok, not really...not even a little bit.   One of our sweet kiddos went to a party where she was the entertainment and got us an autographed picture.  What would someone our age do with something like that?  Make 3rd graders jealous of course!!  I have taken the picture to school where it is on display for all of my students to droll over.  That's right....Mrs. Ivy is officially the coolest teacher in the world.  

Raleigh's Room

We have officially started on Raleigh's Room!!!  I know I am a little bit biased, but I think it looks pretty darn good.  Here are some pictures..

Her bed and name

Her bedding a little bit closer.

Things that you definitely want to hear on your birthday...

Some of the great quotes from my birthday...

"You don't look a day past 29." - that would make anyone who is turning 28 feel awesome.

"Your hips are growing at a rapid pace, so much so that your skin can't keep up." - anyone would want to hear that from their chiropractor....right?

"You are 30 weeks along?  You don't look that bad."

Overall, my day was pretty delightful.  The random comments were a little hard to swallow, but with a lot of laughter it was no big deal.  My sweet husband did a great job of making a big deal out of my birthday (he deserves an award).  I had a great time.  Welcome to the world of being 28 years old.

It should only take a weekend...

"It should only take a weekend to put in a patio..." Those are the famous last words from Carl and Clint. What is it about us that we think we can accomplish so much in so little time? Where is the realistic voice in our heads? Of course we don't listen to the voice in our heads that say, "You are a silly little fool to think you can finish a patio in a weekend." I should listen to that realistic voice more often, but I tend to listen to the voice that reminds me that, "they do stuff like this on TLC all the time." Stupid. Not Smart. Not realistic. Needless to say, we (Clint and Carl) are still working on the patio and are very close to being finished. They have worked so hard and it is so beautiful. We can't wait to use it!!!

The beginning stages of the patio.

Carl and Levi figuring out the pattern of the layout.

The beginning stages.....

Our First Baby Shower

At Thanksgiving, we had our first family shower.  It was so much fun!!  It was so good to see Clint's side of the family.  I feel like we haven't seen everybody since before we got married.  I wish we could get to Dallas more often to see everybody....I guess there is only room for improvement.  Thanks again to Anne and Cindy for hosting such a wonderful party for Raleigh.

Clint and a picture of the Adamcik girls (these girls Cindy kept since they were little and are like sisters to Clint).

Happy Birthday Ellie!!

On Tuesday we made a quick trip to College Station to celebrate Ellie Mariana Rice's birthday!!!  She is so beautiful and quite a good little baby.  I am not sure where she got her dark hair, but she is so cute!!  The oddest thing happened when I was holding Ellie....Raleigh was totally still and when I started to hold Ellie, she went crazy inside.  While Raleigh was going nuts, Ellie opened her eyes very wide and got a little wiggly herself.  I guess the cousins were meeting for the first time and didn't even know it.  We can't wait for the baby cousins to get a chance to spend time together.  Congratulations Matthew and Carrie!!

My brother Matthew holding baby Ellie

Big brother Mason showing that holding a baby is serious business.

Precious girl!!!