Easter and such...

Easter was fun! We went to my parents for the weekend. We went to the mall Saturday and drove to my sister and brother in laws house on Sunday morning to spend Easter with them and my brother in laws parents. It was nice! We went to church, ate a great lunch made by my sister and then headed over to my mother in laws for a quick visit before heading back to Columbus. I feel like the weekend went so fast but it's back to the daily routine here in Columbus now. Josiah still isn't sleeping well away from home. He got up at 5:30 on Saturday morning and 4:30 on Sunday morning. I'm hoping it's just a phase and him being more aware of his different surroundings now that he's older.

Here are some pictures from our weekend:

At the mall

busting a move in his Easter outfit

Our family on Easter

Our cutie in his Easter outfit

Marland surprised me with a weekend get away for just the two of us after he graduates! I'm so excited. We are going to a bed in breakfast for two nights that sits on a lake. I'm very excited to spend this much needed alone time with him before he's back to the books studying for the bar exam. The only time we can go is during the week since we got it at a discount rate so we've been thinking about what to do with Josiah while we are gone. Normally, we would have family come stay with him but since it's during the week everyone is working. So, it looks like we might be sending him to mamaw Brenda's house for the weekend since she wants to keep him at her house. I'm nervous because I know how he sleeps away from home but I know that Brenda has plenty of experience and she will do fine with him and I think it'll be good for him. I'm excited for him to get to spend some time with her and hopefully he'll be able to spend some time with his cousins while he's there!

It still hasn't sank in that Marland is graduating and finished with school in only 17 days! I'm so happy for him. I can't believe he will be finished with school forever and I'll never have to worry about him studying every night and weekend again! Although I'm very excited, I know that it's still going to be awhile before things are normal for our family because he'll be studying all summer for the bar exam that he takes at the end of July. This should be an interesting summer. I wish we could spend more time together since it will be our last summer in Columbus together for a while but I know he has to study hard so he passes this exam the first time. I am looking forward to many play dates with his buddy Niko. We plan on getting out the baby pool and taking them to the zoo often this summer. It should be fun!

Marland is studying for finals all of this week and next week. This makes things hard for me because I can't ask him to do much to help knowing that he has so much on his plate right now. I know this will all be over soon enough and he's doing this for his family so we'll be fine.

I've been going to the chiropractor lately because my lower back has been stiff and hurting. I was feeling a lot better until this weekend while we were visiting family. I was getting something out of the trunk and I did something and hurt my back again really bad. I went back to the chiropractor first thing on monday but I'm still really stiff and uncomfortable, especially at night. I hope this goes away soon!

I found out my friend who is having twins will be having two boys! I'm so excited for her. I'm happy she's asked me to be her doula! I hope things go well and she's able to deliver them without a c-section so I can be there to support her as much as I can.

I took Josiah to the park yesterday after Evan left. It was really nice outside(besides the wind) and we had been inside all day because of the rain so I decided a nice walk and some time at the park before bedtime would be good for him. We had a lot of fun and he went down the biggest slide in the park at least 8 times! I took him down the slide of course. I thought it was neat because I was the minority there. I love being surrounded by all of this culture and diversity here in Columbus and I'm really going to miss that. I hope Josiah is still able to experience the different cultures and diversity and learn about them more than I did growing up. I know it will be up to us to help him be educated about that and we do plan on teaching him all we can about it.

Time out? Check! Sleeping? Not so much...

I've been working on "time out" with Josiah recently. At first he didn't get it at all and would get up every time I tried but after a lot of patience and consistency I think he's finally got the hang of it! He will actually sit and stay there the whole time and if he gets up I just quickly motion him to sit back down and he will. Not that he's happy about the situation but he's listening so I'm very happy about it!

His sleep routine needs work. He was doing really well for a while but we went out of town over spring break and he had a terrible time sleeping while we were gone. We got home and he is now needing to be held to fall back asleep and waking up between 6am and 7am every morning. We're working on it but I'm not sure what to do because we travel a lot so I feel bad by getting him back into a good sleep routine just to mess it all up again as soon as we go out of town. Not to mention we'll be moving in August now and I'll have to really help him adjust to that. Hopefully that won't be as bad because he'll still have his own crib when we move.

On a more positive note, my cousin Carley came to visit us this weekend! Marland was out of town spending time with his mom after her surgery so I thought it'd be fun if she stayed with Josiah and I while he was gone. We all had a good time. Josiah loved the extra attention and I have to say that Carley was a huge help! I managed to get all my laundry done while she was here and we still were able to go out to eat and hang out at the mall with Josiah. I love her to death and I'm really going to miss us getting to do this!

I also took my last child birth education class for my doula training on Sunday! It was a great 4 week class and I really learned a lot. There was so much I wish I would have known before I had Josiah but I'm excited to know these things now and hopefully help educate other mom-to-be's on their decisions and choices they can make during their labor and delivery process. I enjoyed talking about it recently with my friend Cassia and her husband Thad because they had just finished their class with another doula. We had a lot to talk about and it was neat hearing about their thoughts and views about what they had learned. I'm excited for their little bundle of joy, Isaiah, coming very soon! Taking this class did bring back a lot of memories and sometimes I would get choked up thinking about my pregnancy and birth experience. I found some pictures of my pregnant belly while reminiscing so I thought I'd share.

I can't wait to be pregnant again! :) I think. haha!

Be careful of the words that come out of your mouth!

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. Things have been crazy here for us the last few weeks. Marland had his last official spring break and we spent it driving back and forth to WV, OH and KY. He interviewed with two judges around where I grew up in WV which is crazy but he really wanted to try for this awesome work opportunity for him. I'm happy to say that Marland is officially hired and we'll be living in WV for the next two years! Never thought I'd be saying that!!!

I've said it several times, "We'll never live in WV" or "There's no way I'll move back there!" Well all I can say is be careful what you say because you never know what God has planned for you. For us, apparently God has plans for us in WV. Don't get me wrong I love WV and think it is BEAUTIFUL but I just didn't think our family would ever be there. I'm so excited for him and this amazing opportunity! He has worked really hard and deserves this job. It's a two year position working with a judge. It's a great opportunity for him and our family and has a great set up for us as well. We couldn't be happier spending our next two years there. I'm so happy that Josiah will have the chance to become really close with his family and my friends while we are there!

I'm stoked to be living next to family! It's bitter sweet for me though because I've found some great friends here in Columbus and a good church family. I've really grown a lot while being here and feel that this is a great place for me to be but I know that it will be fine being close to home again. I'm glad that I've matured while being here and I can go back there with a different outlook on life and hopefully I can find some good friends there too that share similar values as I do. That is one thing I am nervous about moving there. I know what it's like and I've heard it's not getting any better so I just hope I can stay strong while we are there and hopefully have a positive influence on others while I'm there too. I'm glad I have some great friends here in Columbus that I can come back and visit!

Here are some pictures from our spring break...

Evan and Josiah playing on my grandmas porch.

They did pretty well in the car together for such a long trip.

Doesn't he look great in a suit! Heading to his interviews!

My grandma and Marland

Spent some time with family. This is Josiah's cousin Orlando. They are only 3 weeks apart!

Josiah was very happy to be back in his own bed. :)