Just an update

We have had an exciting few weeks!  Ryan had a visit from his operator coach from Chick-fil-A which was really fun.  He came and spent some time with Ryan talking through the store, challenges and goals.  He's a great guy and we are thankful for all his encouragement!  A week later we drove to St. Simons, GA for my cousins wedding!  It was a lot of fun to be with family and celebrate with Melanie during this special time.  The following weekend my mom and grandmother came up for a weekend (Easter) just to see where we were living and spend some time together.  We felt so spoiled to be with friends and family again, it was so nice!  We are getting more involved here in Wilmington, we are really enjoying the church we are attending and meeting some great people.  Ryan joined the men's softball team which has helped introduce him to some guys and I have gone and sat with the women, so we are really enjoying this time of fellowship!  Our little one is growing well, I feel like I double in size each week-but not really (Thank goodness).  He is very active and seems to be content!  I am at 30 weeks, so we are almost there!  Well, that's about it for now, below are some pictures from Easter Sunday!

I have a new love

So, when we moved here we got together with an old friend of mine from Young Life.  During our talk and time together we somehow got to talking about grocery stores and coupons.  She is a great believer in coupons and knows how to use them correctly...she somewhat follows the grocery game (www.grocerygame.com).  The whole goal of this "game" is to buy items at their lowest price with a coupon and almost/if not get them for FREE!  I was pretty curious so she explained.  I have been getting the Sunday paper and cutting coupons for the past few weeks.  It does take a little while to get a stock pile, but I'm working on it!  Our local grocery store is doing "triple" coupons this week-meaning that all manufacturer coupons are triple what advertised.  Ryan and I went to the store today, loaded our cart (according to what coupons we had) and a few other essentials and headed to the check-out lane.  As the items rang up our total got close to $80.00 but as each coupon got tallied our total began to diminish!  We walked out of the store with almost $90.00 worth of groceries for under $40.00!!!  We were super excited.  One day we will spend even less once I have the hang of things, but we were pretty stoked!!!  

I know this seems kinda silly to be excited about, but when you know you can save like this it is a lot of fun to figure out what to buy and when!!!  Thanks, Liz!  You are awesome!

26 weeks and counting

We went to the doctor today for a routine check-up.  Ryan went with me because we got the opportunity for yet another ultrasound and who could pass up a chance to see ones baby growing.  All reports are good!  We went for another viewing because of a spot that was found on our son's heart during our last ultrasound.  My current NC doctor wanted to check it out for himself, so we humored him!  All is well!  We did find out that our little one is right on track, weighing about 2 pounds and at this rate it looks like he might actually come early.  Only 3 days, and the ultrasound technician said not to get our hopes up, but we couldn't resist-early is early...and if it is for real he might come on his grandfathers (Mr. Powell) birthday!  Anyway, RYan discovered how boring these routine visits are.  You enter the offfice, go to the bathroom, get weighed and blood pressure taken.  Then you wait for about 45 minutes to see the doctor for about 5-10 minutes depending on whether you have any questions, and then you are on your way!  Silly, I know, but I'm sure they catch random things by you visiting each month.  That's about all I have to report for now!  I will try to maybe post some ultrasound pics soon, they are pretty cool!

Laura Comes to Visit

Laura came up last Thursday to stay for a week.  Though we couldn't produce nice weather, we still are having fun.  On Sunday we went to the aquarium here and found this cute little frog, so we had to indulge in a few fun pictures!  I have discovered again the importance of having friends around, I sure have missed everyone for the past couple years of our travels, though we have met some great people along the way!  Ryan and I are very excited about getting more involved here and growing our Wilmington roots.  Thanks Laura for being a great friend and being our first visitor!

Getting Settled

We are getting settled.  I feel like it has drawn out pretty long, there are only so many hours a day one can spend unpacking and organizing!  We are going to be having a visitor this weekend, so it must be ready for then!  Our new home feels as just that, our home!  I can't even begin to express how wonderful it is to be in our new home and know we don't have to pack up and move in a matter of months!  Thank you all for your prayers and support over the past couple years!  We know that we have been greatly blessed!

Our little Man

Well this little guy sure is growing and MOVING!  Thanks to my cousin, Jill, I have adopted her theory of why this dude thinks it is necessary to run a marathon and practice his kickboxing right as I am trying to go to bed!  I just keep reminding myself that I am grateful for the movement because it lets me know he is still there and growing!  I went to the doctor here in Wilmington today for the first time and think I will be very pleased with this practice.  Everyone I talked to was really nice and seemed to be very friendly!  I have attached some photos of the growing belly!  I have  one more to take to stay updated-so maybe it will be added soon!

The big day!

Well yesterday was a big day for us! Ryan finally finished his graduation from FRL (Fundaments of Restaurante Leadership) and is officially an operator! We had a great day at Chick-fil-A corporate office yesterday with our family and friends. It was incredible to see the support from Ryan's old operator and several of the business consultants he had worked with. We feel incredibly blessed to be a part of this company and know that we have a great future with this company.

After we left graduation we went to Alpharetta for our big doctor's appointment! We had fun seeing our baby (looking bigger than a little bean) and seeing that it had 2 arms and legs and the right amount of fingers and toes. We also found out that we are having a little BOY!!! He was there in all his pride and glory! Ryan had a hard time finding the stomach and kidney, but there was no question that we were having a boy! He even said, "so what is that extra thing there?" It was so sweet. We shared a special moment together with excitement about our future, knowing we are going to have another little man running around our house!!!

Now, to give you another update about what we will be up to for the rest of February. Ryan will travel to Charlotte for a week to spend time with an operator there. He will be back here on Friday the 13th and then we leave on Sunday to go to California for CFAs seminar for a week! We arrive back to Atlanta at 10pm THursday, pack the truck Friday, and drive to Wilmington Saturday. Our next few weeks are going to be a bit crazy, but we are so excited about finally being settled!