Nadia Faith

A little over a month ago, Nadia Faith arrived to this world. She was 7 pounds 15 oz. and 20 inches long. She was healthy and perfect! She has a bit of hair that is fairly light in color, maybe a bit red even. We believe that I may have passed down my blue eyes to her. This is my first child that has some saying that she looks like me. Some see Audrey in her while others see Julia. Basically, she's her own person and I can't wait to see how she turns out!

Praise the Lord, because it was all up to Him anyways, both Nadia and I have not had any issues with Pemphigoid Gestationis! I'm excited to get back with my doctor that said I would indeed get PG again if I became pregnant. I want him to know that Low Dose Naltrexone did no harm to us and allowed me to have a healthy baby without any complications. I am so grateful for Dr. Swan in Phoenix for prescribing LDN to me and was thrilled to learn that she and Nadia share a birthday! And I give praise to God for getting my attention on what I was feeding myself and my family. We are much healthier today than we were 3 years ago. You don't have to be vegan to become healthier; Just become aware of what is in our food and how that will affect you. It has become almost a spiritual thing for me. I want to take care of this temple God gave me. And I also want to be around to watch my girls grow up.

Enough of my babbling. I know you want pictures! (These are the pictures on my phone.)

































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Easter

On Easter, we went to church with my parents and met Michael's family for lunch.  There was an egg-hunt and cascarones afterwards.  Here are some pictures of us and the girls with their cousins.

Julia's 3rd Birthday!

Julia's birthday fell on Easter this year.  This was a blessing because all of her Hall-side cousins would be in town for Leadership Training for Christ.  Blake's girls, Maddie and Macie, could also make it this year because Blake was battling a kidney stone and they did not travel out of town for Easter.  So, lots of family this year!  By the way, Julia fell a few days before this and her face crashed into the edge of a door.  I think the images have been edited a bit to reduce the bruising!

We ended the party with a couple who walked up to the house and wanted to see inside.  I guess they thought we were having an open house!  They took a tour and met all of my family while the party was going on!  Too funny!

The theme was Hoppy Birthday, combining the celebration with Easter.  Had yummy vegan cupcakes from Spiral Diner.

Mimi and Audrey.

My beautiful Nana at age 94.

The birthday girl with Poppy.

 Opening presents.  Audrey has my phone in case we got a call for a showing of the house.

Just look at how gorgeous Meredith's profile is here!

That's excitement there!

 We should have called this a My Little Pony party because nearly every gift was a My Little Pony!

The tough task of blowing out THREE candles!

A picture of the man that passed a kidney stone during the party.

A picture of a woman about ready to give birth!

Very, Very Delayed Julia's 2nd Birthday

Julia turned 2 over a year ago!  I better document the party a bit before posting her 3rd birthday party!

Julia had a very simple family party of just her grandparents, my grandmother Nana, and my aunt Sasa. It was an owl-themed party and I did my best to make the party vegan.  It was my first go at vegan party food, and it wasn't bad.  It could have been much better though!  We had cupcakes that, together, formed an owl.  I stole these pictures off my dad's facebook page.  I don't know if he has a picture of the food or not.  But she had fun and we entered the wonderful age of two!

Five Question Friday 3.22.13

Happy Friday, y'all!  I wanted to touch base with whoever reads this blog before our world changes.  I have less than 4 weeks before Nadia arrives and who knows when we'll move out of this house.  We have interested buyers.  One had us do an inspection on our plumbing, and wowzers....$14,000 estimate later, we are working with the plumbers and insurance company to see what can be done.  I imagine that the house will sell immediately once the replumbing is finished.  We have showings CONSTANTLY, which make for a horrible fun day.  When I am home, you will find me vacuuming, mopping, dusting, cleaning tubs...you know the last things a 35 week pregnant woman wants to do.  But, I will admit, I love a spotless, clean house.

Tonight, Michael and I have tickets to see the Mavs, just a few rows behind the basket.  This will be the closest I've been to a pro basketball court.  I'm interested to see just how tall these guys really are.  You know how tall my family is, so it will take a lot to impress me.

Anyways, enjoy your weekend!



1. What advice would you give a newly married couple?
Be honest with each other.  If something is bugging you, let the other one know.  Sometimes the other is just clueless.  Never talk bad about your spouse.  Never fight in front of anyone, but resolve the issue as soon as you can.  You know your spouse's struggles and weaknesses.  Don't abuse or nag about those, but pray for and cheer on your spouse to overcome those things.  Stay committed to love them, always.

2. Who does more laundry around your house?
Oh, that would be me.  I'm am the laundry do-er in our house.  But, since I stay at home, it makes perfect sense. I try to do a load every day and not let it get too big of a task.  I also make my own fabric softener and want to make my own detergent.  Hopefully, when we move, I'll have more space to store a large bucket of my homemade detergent.

3. What items, if any, do you prefer to buy organic or make yourself?
We try to buy all of our food organic.  We are health nuts.  I never look at the non-organic produce at the store.  Our grocery bill is a bit high since we replace all dairy things with non-dairy options, buy naturally colored and flavored things, and buy organic.  But, we are so much healthier and rarely get sick.

4. What book/TV series would you recommend for a friend on bedrest?
There are a bunch of books I want to read, but I can't really see myself reading anytime soon.  I do watch TV with Michael after we put the girls to bed.  We of course watch Duck Dynasty, but that might be the only non-Netflix thing we watch right now.  We finished Fringe not long ago.  That's sci-fi, but not annoyingly so.  We also like The IT Crowd.  That's a british comedy, and can get crass at times, but they're British, so it's to be expected.  Moss is my most favorite character ever!  We are also watching Lie to Me.  This is a show where people read body language and determine if someone is trying to hide something or is telling the truth.  The FBI calls on them often to solve some of their tougher cases.  It's a bit annoying to watch with Michael because he tries to read my face while we watch, but he's cute, so he can get away with it.  And yes, we watch Downton Abbey and the Bible series.  

5. So, they say it's Spring now...what does your "spring" look like at this very moment?
Earlier this week, our weather was very springy, but today, we've dropped down into the 50's and expect some showers.  I do enjoy our warm weather and I don't mind the furnace this place will be in no time at all.  Bring on the warmth!

Thanksgiving/Christmas 2012

This year for the holidays, we spent our Thanksgiving with the Hall family and celebrated Christmas in November as well.  Then, we got to spend a WHITE Christmas at my parents' house.

Hall-iday:  The pictures are out of order a bit, but the kids put on a Pilgrim Play for my grandmother, Michael's grandmother, and some of my family that was in town.  They made sugar cookies and we celebrated Christmas.  We took some family pictures as well.

Now onto Christmas.  The girls made a gingerbread house and watched Christmas movies on Christmas Eve.  On Christmas Day, we woke up to rain, drove to my parents' house in the rain, but as we sat down for lunch, the rain turned into SNOW!  The girls played on the 25th and the 26th in the snow and made a snowman with Michael when he come home on the 26th.  Then my brothers arrived for more Christmas fun and I got to finally meet my niece, Ainsley!