And then there were three.

We're kind of into that shock effect...

Women always imagine what that first moment of clarity will feel like; how your heart races, that second of disbelief, the mixture of fear and excitement all rolled into one indescribable emotion. I could clearly picture the elated look on his face and the salted tears on my own. I imagined the celebratory "Congratulations!" from our family and friends, the tight hugs, and contagious, squealing laughter. While I never did cry, what I never expected to feel was the innate calmness associated with being one with motherhood.

Introducing...Baby Hindman!

Coming to a womb near you July 2014!

Work. Tired. Exhaustion. Master's. Tired. Puppy. Tired.

I feel like this is my first ever blog post. Can I just say that I absolutely despise not having the time to be with my blog family anymore? Things are kind of insane here on my end!

I'm working now. Like every weekend. Like every day. Bedtime has its perks, I tell ya. Not mine, of course, but all of my crazy kids. Only 90 more hours of work to go. Unfortunately, I say that on a consistent basis, with no end in sight. Working this much and getting my Master's is no fun at all. But hey: I'm married. To the most wonderful man in the world, at that.

Lots of new things: my dad is semi-walking (!), we have a new puppy (please see the end of the most previous post for a laugh), and we're getting ready to move into a new apartment (hopefully the last apartment before house...and baby!).

I'd write more, but my ability to focus on things for an extended period of time has certainly dwindled. One free second and my eyes are convinced it's sleep time.

Until next time!

xoxoxox

Well this is crazy...

There's too much insanity going on right now. Crazies running around killing children. Crazies running around killing soldiers. Crazies running around killing innocent civilians. Oh yea, and crazies crossing 3 lanes of traffic and running over a pedestrian...without stopping.

I got the call at work. Hour 15. Great.

I left work, got my boys, and headed south on a 11 hour, spur-of-the-moment, exhausting road trip with no money, no sure idea of what happened or what was going to happen, and no actual clothes. I had David to thank for starting the laundry minutes before I got there to pick him up. Wonderful.

We started out with crushed legs, internal bleeding, head wounds and lots of staples, vertebrae trauma, road rash and embedded gravel, other cuts and bruises...we were worried about his prognoses, but trusted and prayed and leaned on Him to carry us through such a devastating time.

Good news is that my dad is alive. For those following my facebook posts, those creating prayer chains, those [amazing people] who helped us out financially while we were traveling, securing a new, handicap accessible apartment for my parents....THANK YOU! God has done some amazing things for us, and has given us good friends and family.

Today, they are supposedly bringing my dad's new hospital bed to the parents' new apartment. Dad will come home soon, for about 5 weeks, before he returns to the hospital for more surgeries. Excellent!! He might not be home for Christmas, he might not ever walk, but he's alive.

In other news...

End of the world posts are running rampant! I find this to be a very exciting time of year. We've got apocalypse shows and series on TV, crazy facebook and twitter posts, and news media all over the official OFFICIAL end of the world festivities. Not to be confused with other, past "official" end of the world events. It's like a Parks and Rec episode. I find it to be pretty insane that stations are running apocalypse specials when there are so many other pertinent, real issues at hand to be televised. It's ridiculous how much hype unrealistic events get compared to real tragedy, pain, and war. That's American media for you!

I suppose this is my only segue into the "I just got married" debut. 

Yeah. That's right. 

Married. 

Take a second for it to set in. 

We figured it was now or never, since the end of the world starts (ends?) today. (Can someone please find me an itinerary? Should I cook dinner? Start laundry?) Also...is the end of the world respectful of time zones, or will we have to tune in an hour earlier? Anyway, we marched on over to the church, said our "I do"s and went on our merry way. Not the way either of us (mostly him) envisioned it, but the Mayans really didn't give us much to work with.



On a completely serious note, HOORAY! we're married! It's been a long--albeit quiet-- time coming. Some people knew, most people didn't. Others were waiting for an invite to a wedding we had been secretly planning. But after much consideration and my father's recent accident, we decided to postpone the celebration, but not the commitment, and make it official. It's a strangely satisfying, backwards process. Now this family of three can become a family of four. Ha. I'm kidding. Leo couldn't handle shared affections with another dog.

Married life, son. 

Happy End-of-the-World/Marriage Day.

xoxo

Procrastination.

I'm blogging instead of doing homework. How...expected. I'm recovering from 5 days of gross, leaky, mucus-y sickness; enjoying my last three days of my "5 day weekend" week. I have to say that I really do enjoy only working two days out of the seven. It makes working two, back to back 16 hour shifts totally worth it!

Today I've managed to wake up before noon, hygiene, wash the dishes, clean the house, and write about 20 words of my discussion post for coursework. Which is more than I can say for the last two days I've been home. The past two days mostly consisted of waking up, brushing my teeth, and then going back to bed. But now I'm watching Pitbulls and Parolees on mute. Fully awake. Fully dressed. I'm not sure why I leave the Animal Planet on all day. Or why I waste electricity by keeping the TV on mute for hours. In fact, I don't even like this show. It's like the bumpkin version of Animal Cops, except all of the employees are ex-cons. But I feel better, so I deserve quiet TV. Oh the benefits of the Hubs finally having a legit job. No more Sports Center loops!

If you hadn't heard, David passed his life insurance license exam. Earlier this week, he signed all of his contracts and so on and so forth. Today was his first "real" day of OTJ training with his new company. I'm definitely thankful to have some peace and quiet around the house!

Oh, and I did this:

By "did this", I mean I spent $3.99 on a cinnamon broom (that I've been searching everywhere for) and dug out some light-up pumpkin decorations from the bottom of my Christmas tote. Now we can enjoy Halloween properly. The only thing left to do is get some candy for trick-or-treaters. Last time I invested in candy, not ONE child came to my door. And I was heartbroken!! This year, I'm hoping that none show up so that I have an excuse for buying a ridiculous amount of chocolate and "having" to eat it all. What can you do, right? The good news is that it smells like cinnamon in the house.

Other than that, no new news to share. My job is great, but stressful. Especially while  sick. I'm excited for the autumn weather, and even more excited for the upcoming holidays. (Is Black Friday a holiday?) I'll leave you with this:

The view from my porch. Happy fall, tree.

Happy fall, friends.

That time I accomplished my dreams while cutting all the corners.

Wow! It's been too long since I've updated. It's only slightly ridiculous that I'm consistently away for extended periods of times now that I've moved to Charlotte. It has gone from daily or bi-daily posts to once every month or so. I'm sorry for neglecting you! In reality, my life is not as interesting as it used to be.

Last I left you, I was so very thankful that I had been blessed with an amazing partner in crime. This is how that day went:

Lucky girl!

*****

You would think that we were busy bees these last few weeks being unemployed and all, but that couldn't be further from the truth. My days have consisted of a lot of this:

This happens to be my new textbook that arrived for my next semester, but I'm on a break from school, so this isn't very representative of what I've had my nose in. Also, that was not a cocaine joke.

College Gameday: Saturdays consisting of nothing but pajamas, junk food, and couch potato-ing.

The only legit thing we've been up to. Shared prayer time makes for stronger relationships.

Foot fetish. Leo's got one.

Chocolate chip cookie mug cake.

Productive, as you can clearly see.

Seriously though, our spiritual journey is probably one of the only things in our life that is making constant progress. We've started with the Fergusons' One Year Couples Devotional: reading and studying and praying our way to open and honest communication. Very enlightening! It came to me one night before bed. It was hidden away in one of our many bookcases; it's initial intention to guide me toward marriage all that while ago. Finally, it's use has a purpose. I am finally finding solace in a healthy prayer life that compliments our healthy lifestyle.

And now onto the most exciting news of the week! 

I'm so very happy to announce that I've been offered a position with a local, prominent nonprofit organization as a Behavioral Health Counselor working with children. And I really have no one else to thank for this except for God, Himself. I have no previous experience, no master's degree (yet), and very little exposure to the counseling environment. This Monday, I'll start a two week training session that will introduce me to the work they do there, and the most reliable means of communication and interventions available.

And while I have mixed emotions, I'm also grateful that my hours will be confined to Saturday and Sunday (for a total of 32 hours), with the opportunity to make an additional 8 hours during the week. I will have the rest of the week to myself, to keep up with housework, homework, and to define a regular exercise regimen.

I'd also like to thank everyone who has been supportive (with prayers or otherwise) while we've been making these transitions. David has almost completed his insurance license coursework. All that's left is the state exam and he'll be ready to start! We do ask for continued prayers for this long-anticipated career opportunity.

It's been a while, but I did a Frenchie for this upcoming week! Yay for professionalism, class, and neutral tones.

Thank you for all that you do, reader! 

The next post should be as equally as exciting, so stay tuned! 

xoxo

Meaningful moments.

For most of you in the adult world, the big "one year" bit really doesn't have much weight. But just this year, I've accomplished more spiritually, emotionally, and physically than I have over the last five. I've come to know love that is patient, trusting, kind, protecting, honoring, justified, calm, and blessed by God. In this, I've learned "togetherness" and teamwork, sacrifice and compromise. It is everything I want and everything I need. Let me thank you, reader, for enjoying this crazy, chaotic journey with us.

"Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved."

Shakespeare, Sonnet 116

I am a blessed woman. God has given me more chances than I deserve, and more love than I can reciprocate. How wonderful it is that He has also given me David. 

I love you, dear. Here's to many more years of excitement and bliss.

Scoute Route Scavenger Race

On Friday night, David, Amanda, and I headed downtown to collect our race packets from Fitzgerald's Irish Pub. Good thing packet pickup was at a pub because after the day we had, Amanda and I were in serious need of a good drink and filling food. We managed to get our packets, but we're lousy alcoholics and the food was much like cafeteria food. Needless to say, we probably won't be eating there again. All the let-down-ness was quickly forgotten, however, after the excitement for the following day's scavenger hunt.

Last week, I mentioned that I bought tickets. David and I were one team, cleverly renamed "Wild Things". Hooray for finally having a legitimate use for buying matching shirts.

I know you can barely see it, but my hair was a FRO of teased and tangled hair; spray dyed a tealish blue. David's was just dyed. Men have it so easy! I was able to spray David's hair in under five minutes. Thankfully, he also agreed to help me with mine. I would tease it, and he would dye it. Layer. By. Freaking. Layer. I was already dreading the clean up. But when we got to the judges, we got the full 3 points for creativity and costume effort. Amanda and our other friend from work, Jamie, were also a coed team; vying for the first place, "cruise-to-Belize" prize. They both happened to wear grey shirts, and renamed their team on the spot to "50 Shades of Grey". They got one point for spontaneous creativity. Hey, it was something!

We got our map with the addresses of the challenges and tried to figure out the best way of covering all of the 10 challenges efficiently. The only thing we didn't know prior to race day was what each challenge consisted of, or how many points we could make at each, or how long the line would be.

The only modes of transportation we could use were the light rail and the city bus. We got day passes, knowing there was no way we could run around the entire downtown in three hours. Talk about huge. It'd be like having a race that covered the entire city of Tallahassee. There was just no way to run it all. And (!) I had completely forgotten my inhaler. I was one stressed out mess, however smiley I was trying to be for David. First team back to the finish line with 100 points in under 3 hours wins!

The scavenger hunt was less scavenger and more Amazing Race. At every checkpoint, there was a challenge you had to complete that you received  points for based on your performance. The only one we did terrible at was the bowling challenge. After running for 45 minutes already, we had to run up to this bowling alley and we each had a chance to throw a ball down the lane for points. One ball, one throw, per teammate. If the first person threw under 10, the second would have to knock down the remaining pins. If the first person threw a strike, the second person could have their own chance at 10 new pins. Shakey and sweaty, we both rolled gutter balls. So 15 minutes wasted at this checkpoint for a grand total of 0 points. But all we could do was move onto the next one. What I did enjoy, though, was how at every checkpoint that required team work to complete the challenge, we did great on. We got a lot of "best so far" or "excellent"s. The challenges that were one person, then the other, we didn't do so hot at.

But! We made it through 8 of the 10 challenges with a half an hour left, knowing relatively nothing of the city or places we were in. With the finally two challenges being too far from the finish line to make it before the course closed, we headed back to the finish line with 73 points. Not bad for a 0 pointer and skipping two challenges.

At the end of the day, we had managed to run a large portion of the race and finished in the top 20. I used Google Maps to figure out how far we ended up traveling (with the closest matching route we took) and it totaled up to 8 miles!

Can I just say--I am one lucky girl. I would say "in the world", but I feel like this feeling rings true for every woman who finds their "other". From start to finish, and everywhere in between, David was strong for us and worked with me. He helped with the costumes at 6am, helped strategize throughout the day, held my hand for the entire race (we must have looked so silly holding hands while running!), washed all of the dye out of my hair, and then helped me wash and dry Leo before we fell asleep on the couch. I can definitely say that it was one of the best bonding experiences I've ever shared with him, and one of the most exciting days we've had (second only to our spontaneous trip to Harry Potter world).

I don't know if Jamie and Amanda has as good of a time, but I'm glad we all got to participate. After this experience, David and I are definitely going to do it again next year. I hear people train and strategize all year for this race. I suppose a cruise could be worth it. Day 1 after race day, though....it doesn't feel worth it. I'm in pain, I tell ya! 

Much better than the half gallon plastic tank we had him in. No more hard plastic palm tree. Now he has a heating rock, and some Roman memorabilia. Oh, and a filter. So no more changing his water daily. $300 later, Rocky (aka Franklin) is a happy turtle. We aim to please.

Only a few more weeks until Lauren and Tyler get here. I'm anxious to finally get some quality girl time in. Shopping. Movies. Gossip (you know, about our men). It's all very thrilling.

Thanks for keeping up, guys!

Next week probably won't be as exciting, but I'll do my best to keep you updated. 

xoxo