An Enjoyable Weekend...

Well, minus the horribly graphic dream where I lost Samuel, this past weekend was wonderful! We enjoyed going back to the new church that we had found (for the second week in a row...that's saying something!), and made it a point to have a real date night on Friday. Sure, we've been bad and have eaten out quite a bit since living here, but this was more deliberate -- planning ahead of time, sitting and relaxing while having a good conversation, going out for dessert, etc...it wasn't just the "I don't want to cook, let's go grab something" type of scenario. I want more weekends like this one!

To top it off, I was also able to witness something rather amusing -- at least to me. I only say this because we were once in their shoes so it just makes me smile. I remember the day when James was fresh out of basic, an E4, and new to this lifestyle. Wow, hard to believe that was so long ago! Anyways...With James being part of the leadership in a training unit here, he and a couple others take turns checking up on the soldiers whenever they get a pass (which means they're allowed to leave the barracks and go to the PX, barbershop, etc.). With it being after church, we just went together -- I hung out in the truck while he went into the office to check up on everyone. Afterwards, we hit up the PX and commissary since we were already nearby. While at the PX, several of James' soldiers would be walking by or doing their own thing, then notice James nearby and get nervous and change the way they were standing, acting, etc. You could just sense how nervous they were -- making sure they weren't going to screw up in front of him. Oh...the life of a brand new soldier! :)

I must say...even better than all of that, this weekend was great simply due to the fact that we hit 17 weeks into this pregnancy! One more week down, and so far, things are still good -- a continued sigh of relief! After we got home from dinner Friday night, I realized I had better grab a belly shot for the 17 week mark. It wasn't until after I loaded the pictures to the computer that I realized that with James actually home during this pregnancy, I no longer need to do these types of shots where I stand in front of the mirror with the camera. Heck, I should start pulling out the tripod so Samuel's dad is actually in the picture, too! It was different with Liv, as James was deployed and this was really my best option. However, things are better this time around with no deployments getting in the way. Maybe I'll remember to get a family shot next week. Until then...here's Samuel...

It wasn't until after this picture was taken that I realized there's quite the little bump going on. Sure, I can't zip up my coat anymore, but I figured it just looked like I had a little too much ice cream with dinner. Much to my surprise, Samuel's really starting to stick out!

I also decided to take a quick shot of the hubs and myself. I couldn't resist since I still had the camera on when I came back to the kitchen...

Here's to *hopefully* another uneventful week with Sam, and a quiet one with Oba. I have a feeling it will be much like last week while James is at work -- Oba sitting at the front door, crying...longing for visitors. Say hello to Mr. Pitiful...