Snowmaggedon, New Houses & Baby Boy

Well I think it's been almost a month since I have written anything. As usual, it's been a crazy busy month with lots of changes and excitement!

The steps leading up to the front door

First, after no snow last year, I had 4 snow days in a 7-day span. I'm not sure what the final amount of snow was but I believe it was around 12-17 inches. It's been a long, long time since I have seen that much snow! I enjoyed 4 days off work (and thankfully, I won't have to make up any of them at the end of the year) but it's nice to be back in routine. Hopefully spring is on it's way!!! Here's a few pictures of the giant amounts of snow we had.

Luke's car - this is just after one snow, not both!

In other news, we bought a house! Once we found out in December that we were having a baby, our desire to buy a house just kept growing (it was already there before!). We got with a guy we know well who also happens to be a realtor and started looking. We knew we had quite a bit of time, the goal was to be moved by the beginning of summer. My parents were in town a couple weekends ago and went with us on a little house hunt. We didn't find anything we couldn't live without. But then our realtor called early that Sunday morning and said we had to see a house TODAY! And he was right, we loved it. The current owners are flipping it, so the inside is completely brand new. New carpet, paint, bathrooms, kitchen...it's so beautiful! :) I will post a not-so-great picture of the outside below. Before we move, the owner has said he will be painting the shutters and front door black. The house has three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, a two-car garage large enough for storage and a finished basement with fireplace. Our inspection went well so I feel confident that I can post a picture without being disappointed later! Closing date is set for March 26 and we will move that following weekend. The house is located just north of Platte City, Missouri. I think the town is actually Tracy but it is so small it has the same zip code as Platte City. Platte City is about 12 minutes north of where we currently live. Moving to this house will cut my drive time to work down to 20 minutes (it's currently 35-40)...YAY! It will take a few more minutes to get to church (about 25) and take Luke about the same (20 or so) to get to the seminary. It's really in a good location so that we are equal distances from all the places we need to go often - which all happen to be literally in opposite directions! The school district is good in this town and while it's not super huge (which I love!) it still has everything we need within 5-7 minutes. We are so excited to be in our own home once again. I can't wait to paint my kitchen green, paint the baby's room, hang things on the walls...! So exciting! :) 

Not a great picture but here it is!

Profile shot!

 And more great news - we found out baby Henry is a boy! It was quite undeniable in the ultrasound! He is growing right on track, weighing in (as of this past Tuesday) at 8 ounces. My books say the baby should weigh 5 ounces at 18 weeks so maybe he's just going to be a big boy?! I am also staying healthy and doing well. I lost about 8 pounds when I got pregnant. I was sick for about a week with a cold/flu mixture in January. Plus I also started eating healthier which I think had something to do with it. When I went to the doctor in February and lost weight (again) they were slightly concerned. But I had gained 2.5 pounds last week when I went so I think things are moving right along. I still weigh about one pound less than I was at my first appointment. I'm sure I'll catch up quite soon though. Hopefully things continue this way and I don't blow up like a balloon towards the end! :) We will be keeping the baby's name a secret - there has to be some mystery right? Provided we (I) can keep my mouth shut for 5 more months!

I take the worst bump pictures ever (with my phone in my bathroom!) but I only seem to remember to do this in the morning before school. Here's me at 18 weeks!

Things are moving right along for us it seems! God has provided in ways we never thought possible with a healthy pregnancy and a great house. Of course, we still have some hurdles to jump before Mister Henry (I'm trying this out to see if it works...but I work with a Mr. Henry and so it's kinda weird!) gets here but we are confident that God will continue to provide. Now that we will be living in a large enough place to host guests - we are ready for visitors!!!! :)