My Baby Shower

What an amazing group of people! The Blairmore Team has gone out of its way to encourage and support both Peter and I during this pregnancy. Erica and Lindsey organized a surprise Baby Shower for me last week. It was amazing to see people from work together with a few ladies from our Bible Study get together and give an America Baby Shower. They do not throw them in the UK, so they had to get the details from my mom...it was such a special night.
This is a beautiful blanket that my sister's mother-in-law made for us...Ellie Kinne...It is the sweetest thing!
You can see I was very blessed...even got a Dopey Doll...

So cute, we got these little Tartan booties!!! so funny!

Alysa sent a package which contained EVERYTHING we would need in a diaper bag plus the the most amazing bag as well...I have it packed a ready to go...


In all, this was such a fun evening...I love surprises. I felt so blessed to have all these ladies there for me...God is so good.

Our Christmas Celebration

On Friday, the team here at Blairmore went out for a Christmas lunch before people started to leave for the holidays. It was a fun time of eating, exchanging gifts, and sitting in front of the fire. It was a long day for me as I am getting bigger and bigger, but it was so nice just to relax with the team and not have to do any work!
Here is a good view on my belly. I am 38 weeks today, so even my maternity clothes seem to fit tight now. It is strange to see pictures of myself because I don't feel that big, but I can see a major difference between these pictures and even a few weeks ago...
Peter...what a funny guy...hard to get him to smile nicely! This is our friend Pablo, in his kilt! He was born in Argentina, and lived in a America for 10 years. It was actually very cold this day, but I am now ALWAYS warm...and none of my shoes fit, so I have to wear flip flops!!! not so nice eh? Below are three of the girls who work here, Erica, Jess and Jenny...Nice to show you who we work with!!!

34 Weeks!

Well we are down to 6 weeks and I can't see my toes anymore!!! We had our 34 week checkup today, and everything is going well....the baby kicked quite a bit when the midwife pushed and poked to check out the baby's position. I now go every 2 weeks, and I guess I need to start packing a bag just in case!!! A friend of mine keeps telling me I need to do that because her little girl came 5 weeks early!!! We shall see...Luv to you all from Scotland

Two big boxes....

About 2 months ago, my family and Peter's family each sent us a massive box full of baby items. Peter's parents sent over alot of cloths from his cousin, and loads of sheets, blankets, diapers, everything you'd need for a crib. My parents sent of a second hand car seat and each of my siblings added their own little gift.
A friend of ours 'stole' these boxes and surprised us one evening when we went around to play games. We did not play any games, but we spent over an hour opening these two boxes. It was so fun, but it also made me miss my family SO much. I am so blessed, though, to have such great friends here who were swilling to sit through an hour of us opening all these gifts. It was great and we laughed so much.
What baby is complete with out some U of I clothing? You can see I am still a big fan of the Bears and the Fighting Illini!!! Go Illinois!
This bib was by far Peter's favorite, it says 'All American Baby.' I can't even tell you how hard we laughed. We got another bib from South Dakota with this catchy slogan 'South Dakota, closer than North Dakota.' Seriously, who sells these things....
We got some really nice, really warm outfits for the baby..which is good, because they are predicting a snowy, cold winter. I can only hope!!!
You can see the massive pile of clothes we received from the Netherlands. It was interesting putting away all the outfits, we have Dutch, American, and British sizes...they are all different!
Some cute little outfits from America....
I couldn't help but show this pic, even though I look like a major dork...this was the other bib...Ski Illinois with a person skiing behind a cow...too funny! Below is another favorite of Peter's. My brother and sister-in-law live near Holland Michigan, and Alysa sent us a pair of wooden shoes with 'Baby Brokaar' written on them, along with some real delft made in China magnets. Again, we laughed so hard!

Week 31, climbing Benn Rinnes

A week or so ago, Peter and I decided to go for a long walk on one of our days off. I am try very hard in my final months of pregnancy to keep walking, so I don't completely fall off the scales. So we decided to climb one of the local hills, Benn Rinnes. It normally takes Peter about 45 minutes to climb up the hill, and I had never been up, so I thought, this should be fun. Well, it was a beautiful day, and a beautiful walk, but we did not get to the top...it is so steep!
The nice part is that the walk is divided into three part, with a flat bit at each part...nice for picture taking. We walked up to the first part, which was not too far, and decided to at least to the second section as well. These pictures were all at that part. It was beautiful, because at that point, you are above most of the other hills, and you get this amazing view of the Grampian Mountains in the distance. Of course the picture don't do it justice!




Here is a better view of my belly at 31 weeks. It is a bit different doing hill walking with such a belly! It was fun, and so beautiful. we took our time and really enjoyed the views.

Lydia's first day of school

Lydia, Allison, and Molly with my brother Joel...on Lyd's first day of school. I can't believe that she is old enough to ride a school bus on her own. I think she really likes it, and you can tell she is ready for it...what cuties!

My bump at 27 weeks

Well, here it is, my ever expanding belly! I am now at 27 weeks, and things are starting to come together as far as baby supplies...we have our crib all set up, complete with the mobile that I had as a baby! It has been fun, but tiring, working in our days off and evenings trying to get our new room ready to go...Luv to you all...

Alec again...

These are such cute pictures, I could not resist putting them on the blog. This is my nephew Alec, who is about 3 weeks old. My parents are out in NY now seeing him for the very first time.

our car

I am sure some of you have heard stories about the car we owned when we lived in the Netherlands. It was a 1986, mostly white (one gray door) Suzuki Alto which had Bugs Life Movie stickers all over the windows. Well, that car lasted 9 months, and unfortunately, we have no pictures of it! sad...
Well, when we came to Blairmore, we had no car, so we used the team car. This was fine, but got a bit difficult since we shared it with 6-7 others. So when a friend of ours offered us her old car for free, we jumped at the chance to have our own car. So, here is our little car-a Ford Fiesta! This one is completely white and runs nicely...plus it has heat, which our other car did not have!
I realize this is not very exciting, but hey...oh well!

Alec Dale Kinne

Yeah, another baby! My sister Sarah had her baby on September 10th. She had a c-section, which was a bit of a surprise...and had a little boy! I was a bit shocked, I had really thought it was a girl, but I think everyone is VERY excited about another little boy.
Alec was 8 lbs 14 oz and 20 1/2 in longs....he already outweighs his cousin Rachel!

Pat, my brother in law, holding his little son!
What a face! He obviously knows how to cry! Sarah says he is a good eater as well...I bet that he grows like his sister!
Hannah staring at Alec, I bet this will stir things up at home! Below is Pat's parents, Chuck and Ellie Kinne. They will need no urging along with my parents to love these kids!!!!

Rachel Sharon Meskis

Leah and John on the way home with......Rachel Sharon Meskis, the newest addition to my family! My sister Leah gave birth to a little girl, Rachel. Her birth went well, but she was jaundice and had an eye infection. She is now over those two things, and Leah says she is an absolute sweetheart. Please pray for John, Leah and Rachel, though, as Rachel was born with a heart murmur.
My family told me Lydia was overjoyed with little Rachel... I guess she did not want to let her go! I love this picture as it shows how blonde Rachel's hair is!
Here is little Rachel: 6 lbs 1 oz and 20 inches long

My mom is thrilled with another grandbaby...I think my mom was born to have grandchildren!!!
Below, it is so good to see that my Dad does not change. Anywhere he is at, he will try to catch a nap! I think he also enjoys holding his little ones as well!

My Belly at 22 weeks

Well, it is getting bigger! My belly is growing and growing...I can feel baby move often, and usually Baby is the most active when I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom! Figures eh? I am feeling good, and just now am I out growing my 'normal' clothes. So for those of you who never get to see me or my bump, here you go....