The Joys of Autumn!

Greetings beloved followers!  I hope you are all well and enjoying the cooler weather.  Right now I am perched at a coffee shop enjoying some spiced cider..mmm!  Random observation, every time I go to a coffee shop there is always one or two people who feel the need to talk loudly above all the other conversations.  It is slightly distracting and never helpful for getting some reading done.  I kid you not, one guy sitting two tables to my right just broke out in song on his phone.  Maybe coffee shops are better for people watching than for reading. 

Anyway... I promised I would write about our trip to Mount Magazine, which actually went down ten days ago.  Sorry I am just now writing!  So, Caleb's dad, Mike, came into town and we decided to drive down to Mount Magazine, the highest peak in Arkansas, for some hiking!  The timing was perfect, because the trees had the most vibrant colors of the season!  The weather was perfect for hiking, upper 50's and sunny.  We stopped in Alma on the way home for some Red Rooster.  If you have never been to Red Rooster I insist that you try it out the next time you are down that way.  Their specialty is sandwiches (get the Rooster bread) and pie... Delish.  It was the perfect conclusion to our perfect day :)  Well, here are some pics!

Some colorful leaves..

A pretty flower... please note the butterfly and bee on it :)  I'm such a photographer!

I wish the camera could capture the brilliant colors. This pic doesn't even do it justice.. The hillside was just speckled with yellows, oranges, reds, and greens.  Perfect fall view.

The boys!

Here's a belly pic for ya :)  We seem to be taking a lot of these lately.  We never took pics with Caleb's hands on my belly before we got pregnant.  It just seems like the right thing to do.  Odd?  yes.

Full bellies, happy hearts!

 Well, that is the end of our Mount Magazine adventures!  This weekend we are driving down to Tyler, TX to shower our engaged friends.  And then next Tuesday we are driving up to KC to spend time with the Gutshall side of the family for Thanksgiving!  We are actually running a Turkey Trot 5K for Thanksgiving.  Watch out, lady with a baby!  As a matter of fact, I have continued running throughout the pregnancy, which is encouraged these days.  Supposedly exercising makes for a smoother labor.  However, I must say there there is more huffing and puffing and a slower pace :)  But that's ok, I'm sure Emerson enjoys the ride!

It's a BOY!!! And his name is...

I come to you this wonderful day bearing fantastic news!  We had our 20th week doctors appointment yesterday (meaning that we are half-way through the pregnancy!) and all is going well! We went into the appointment with prayers that we would leave with only good news.  And God answered our prayer :)  Our little boy weighs a whopping 12 ounces (3/4 lb) and has all his organs in place.  She showed us his face, feet, knees, heart, kidneys, stomach, hands, arms, and brain!  He is a growing little boy and had his cute little hands in front of his face during the ultrasound.  He looked so cozy and comfortable in there which is reassuring.  

The doctor said things are progressing perfectly and even went as far as to describe us as the "textbook pregnancy". I have gained 9 pounds so far, which is in the right range.  And he measured my belly this week (from pelvic bone to top of belly) and the number of centimeters is supposed to match up with what week you are in.  Mine measured 18 cm, even though we are in the 20th week.  But he said that was ok and it's probably just because I'm "petite".  We are so excited to have a son and I have just been so happy about it the last 24 hours!  We got a short DVD of our ultrasound and I want to figure out a way to get it on my computer so I can show it to you.  So that is a work in progress.  However, I did take pictures of the ultrasound pictures that we got and I will post them below.  And there is also a picture of my belly from this morning, because I thought I was looking especially pregnant today :) 

This is a picture of his face with his arm lying under his head:

This picture shows the bottom of his little footsies:

This picture proves that he is a boy.  It's an undershot of his little wee wee.  

This is the final picture of his face.  You can see his belly and his right arm on top of his head.

This is me in my maternity clothes at 20 weeks:

 Now, I will unveil his name to you (drumroll please).  He will be named Emerson Paul Gutshall.  I heard of the name Emerson before we were even pregnant and I have liked it for awhile.  We were more set on a boy's name before finding out the gender than we were on a girl's name.  So, it was easy to decide.  We just kept coming back to this name :)  We like it.  Ha, I just felt him move while I was writing this.  I love when that happens.  Anyway, I began writing this last Friday, but I couldn't get the pics to upload, so I am just posting it today.  However, stay tuned to hear about our trip to Mt. Magazine that we took this past Saturday.  Farewell!


ps: 136 days until Emerson arrives
45 days until Christmas

Fall is in the Air!!!

Howdy Friends!  It's November and I can't believe October flew by so fast!  I'm sitting in Chick-fil-a drinking a mouth-watering lemonade, but I think it would be more fitting for me to be sipping a hot drink... however, I cannot do it when its 70 degrees outside!  Cold weather, please come soon!  No matter how much I keep singing let it snow, let it snow, let it snow, it's not working...  Speaking of which, I introduced my baby to Christmas music the other day.  We had a jam session on our drive to KC, which I will tell you about later.  It made me feel all warm inside :) 

Back to fall, we had some friends over to carve pumpkins last week.  We had to go all out and include baked pumpkin seeds, caramel apples, and warm apple cider.  It was very festive and a good time!  Here are a few pics of our little pumpkin carving party:

Din had to use a head lamp to properly see into her pumpkin...

My and Caleb's pumpkin:

The Caramel apples were so delicious... baby loved it :)  This past Thursday I made a trip up to KC to visit my in-laws.  DeeDee (my mother-in-law) and Danielle (my sis-in-law) and I spent the afternoon roaming the square, visiting all the cute shops!  The highlight for me was when this lady asked when I was due (meaning she noticed I was pregnant)!!  She made my day... Then us girls met up with Mike (my father-in-law) and had some scrumptious pizza.  Then us girls drove to Lenexa to listen to this hilarious Christian comedian.  We laughed, we cried, it was a perfect night ;)  Sadly, it was a very short trip for me and I had to leave early Friday morning to get back to Arkansas.  I had a wonderful time in KC and it was so good to get to see my in-laws and spend a little time with them.

On Saturday, I woke up early and went to Lowell to have a reunion with my youth group :)  They were having a weekend event and I got to go be a part of it.  It is always such a joyful experience for me to get to meet back up with these kids.  Even after two months of being away, they still have such a special place in my heart.  I think they have probably made a bigger impact on me than I did on them!  It's fun to get to see them every so often and I think they like getting to be a part of my pregnancy.  I am grateful to live close enough to maintain those relationships... Here is a pic of the girls from the corn maze.

It was a perfect weekend!  So, finally, I just wanted to share a lil pregnancy pic with you from this morning.  I am 19 weeks (5 months).  We find out what we are having in THREE DAYS!! I am extremely excited.  Some say its a boy, some say a girl... soon we will know :)  We went trick-or-treating with my precious nephew last night and it made me so excited to have a baby of my own...  Anyway, here is that pic:

Sorry if they are blurry- I didn't have the flash on.  Oh, guess what!!  I'm a cleaning lady now!!  I am going to begin this week cleaning a lady's house from my church.  It is a big blessing because it is a nice source of extra regular income and is so flexible!  I am very excited about it.  The Lord is so good to provide.  

Anyway, thanks for reading, as always!  And I apologize for such a scattered post full of random topics!  Next time I'm sure the entire post will consist of one topic... our baby!  See you soon!  God bless!