“Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.”
-Proverbs 23:12
Author: Becca Eby
Frugal Friday – Cheap Getaways
As you probably know by now, we are on a pretty strict budget saving for the arrival of Bun and for our first house. We still like to have fun and manage to do so quite often. When we were in my home state of Arkansas recently we took a little day trip that was almost free. If you aren’t from “The Natural State” you may not know that Arkansas is blessed with many great state parks and beautiful scenery. This was December, so the scenery was not at its peak, but it was still a lovely getaway. We drove up to Petit Jean State Park with my parents, and packed snacks and drinks for the road. The park was empty even though it was a lovely day (note Jed’s outfit) and we had plenty of space to explore without being disturbed.
Aren’t my parents the cutest? They did a great job instilling a love of the outdoors into all 4 of us kids with camping, canoeing, and hiking throughout our childhoods. I asked them about it, and they said it was just the most practical type of getaway with 4 kids, because the lodging is cheap and the entertainment is free.
It was so good for my soul to get away from concrete and enjoy the woods for a day. I love Dallas, but I miss nature.
Jed gets to have little adventures climbing everything in site and looking over the edge. I don’t think the little boy inside ever leaves the man.
Weirdest Dreams Ever
Pregnancy Update – 22 Weeks
Wiener Dog Wednesday – Winter Woes
Jackson suffers much during the winter. It is not wiener dog weather around here. He wears his horse blanket jacket all the time. I’m not a big proponent of clothing on dogs, but my friend Leslie made matching jackets for Jackson and her wiener dog (Slappy) a few year ago and he absolutely loves it.
The only problem is that his giant Young Life sweatshirt blanket has a tendency to stick to his horse blanket, with pretty hilarious results. He ends up dragging the big blanket around the house until it finally comes lose or we remove it.
Sometimes he retreats to our master bathroom, because it is the warmest room in the house.
We took him out on the front porch with us to see the snow and he wanted no part of it.
Once the cold front came in, Jackson doesn’t want to go outside unless forced. I thought the snow was lovely, but I’m also several feet higher off the ground than he.
Bringing in the Light
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
A Last Look at Christmas
Our family had a wonderful Christmas together in Little Rock, though we were missing my youngest brother Matt who was traveling in Bolivia. Here we all are, after I forced them to pose for a group picture. How cute is my niece, seriously? She is such a doll.





Verse of the Week – Proverbs 3:5-6
Pregnancy Update – Our Ultrasound Photos and Not Finding Out
Isn’t that little hand amazing?! We were blown away at our 20 week ultrasound on Tuesday. Our little Bun was moving around like crazy, waving to us and yawning.
Here you can see the profile. Look at that belly! The doctor said the baby weighs 13 oz, so almost a pound. Bun looks perfect and everything measured just as it should. Woohoo!
These little feet made me melt. I’m not sure why, but I just love them. I can’t wait to see them in person and 20 more weeks (ish). The photo below is of Bun’s face. It is a little harder to decipher, but still cool.
We could have found out Bun’s gender at our appointment, but we have decided to wait. This was a decision we did not arrive at easily. I wanted to find out and Jed did not. There were many negotiations and a list of pros and cons was made. The planner in me is having a hard time with it, just a little bit. We have to call our baby “Bun” instead of his or her name. I worried that I might have trouble bonding. Those fears are gone as I now get to feel Bun moving around on a regular basis. On the other hand, there are a lot of great things about the big surprise. We can get all gender neutral baby stuff so it can be used for future wee ones. We get an amazing surprise, and really how many big surprises are there in life? Come late May or June, we will have a sweet surprise on our hands.