So, apparently I got a little ahead of myself when counting my weeks. Everything is still so up in the air when it comes to my due date, that I am sure I will have to change my new, handy-dandy pregnancy tracker at least once. How do you like it? Neat, huh?

Well, I am still getting pretty sick when I go too long without eating. This pregnancy seems different than my pregnacy with Emmaline, but, unfortunately, I wasn't very good about journaling how I was feeling or what I was going through with Emmaline. I definitely don't remember being this hungry all the time, nor this tired this early on. Speaking of hunger, I could really go for some food right now!

I have jokingly stated that I wonder if I am having twins since I seem to be eating myself out of house and home, and have already had to start wearing my maternity pants. I know my second pregnancy is going to be different than the first, since I will start showing earlier, but it is still kind of weird. In a few weeks we should be able to hear the baby's heartbeat, and a few weeks after that will be the ultrasound, so I guess we'll know for sure eventually!

Well, I made it through the day today without a nap, but I'm fading quickly. Still, that's pretty good, considering how last week was going. I felt a lot better nauseous wise today. I wasn't as bloated today. Yea! I had yogurt for breakfast, and I am wondering if that was what helped. So far I seem to crave cold, fresh food, such as frozen fruit and yogurt smoothies, pears and peanut butter, salads, so forth and so on. I have a strong aversion to anything sweet. Pretty much the same things I lived on while pregnant with Emmaline.

My sister asked me if I was dreading this labor at the end of this pregnancy because of the labor experience I had with Emmaline, and I told her, "No". However, I woke up last night in a drowzy panic, remembering my labor and realizing I might have to go through the same harrowing experience. Then I got up this morning and read a portion of the book I have been reading with my sisters and mother called "Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. (Any Christian woman reading this now, I would highly recommend you check out this book!) The passage I read today was about how God's grace is sufficient. God's grace is sufficient for every circumstance, and if we would only accept the difficulties we experience as a chance to become better, a chance to shine God's grace, we might actually enjoy the difficulties. God never brings us to a point in our lives where His grace is not sufficient for the task ahead. That is very reassuring, isn't it?

I cried as I read that, knowing that God had seen my fears and apprehensions and He used that book and authoress to speak to my heart and reassure my soul. Labor will be hard, but I have so much to look forward to, before and after. I get to experience the joy of feeling life move around in my womb; I get the distinct privilege to get to know our child before he/she is even born; I get to bond with my child and watch his/her personality unfold after birth. God has blessed me with another opportunity to be "Mother". What an honor!

(Plus, I'm praying that God will make this labor and delivery completely different than Emmaline's!)

So, I am supposedly six weeks pregnant, according to the date of my last cycle. I don't think I am truly that far along, but I guess we'll find out as time goes on.

So far I am already feeling exhausted. I took an hour and a half long nap today and am still ready to go to sleep at 8:30. At least the nap helped me make it through the afternoon.

I am experiencing most of the same symptoms of pregnancy as I did with Emmaline. I am bloated and gassy (sometimes looking like I am already three or four months along), hungry yet queasy because I am so bloated and gassy. I'm supposed to eat protein more regularly to help ease the hunger and the bloating, but I haven't been very good about it yet. I don't remember feeling this tired this soon with Emmaline, but maybe that is because I have Emmaline now. I don't know. I do hope the exhaustion lets up, though.

So, after having called all my side of the family to let them know of our newly expected bambino, it was time to tell Lucia and Michael. I decided to paint "I'm going to be a BIG SISTER!" on a shirt for Emmaline and have her wear it to Lucia's, since Lucia was going to watch Emmaline for us the very day after we found out I was pregnant. Here's the video:


There's supposed to be an "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!! OH MY GOD!!" at the end there, but I accidentally stopped recording when Lucia hugged me, so that got cut off.

This Thanksgiving we were able to celebrate with the Sellers and Farinas. My older sister Erin and her family came over and Lucia, Michael, and our new addition to the family, Justin, joined us as well. I had a lot of fun playing with my nieces and nephew; it was so good to see my sister again, and Luke too!!

Unfortunately, I didn't get around to taking very many pictures. In fact, I completely managed to not get a picture of my nephew, our table spread, nor of when we swapped ornaments, which is a Johnson (my side of the family) tradition started a few years ago.

Luke and David were wonderful at watching the kids while we women worked at getting Thanksgiving dinner ready. Amber and Ava rode the tricycles that Lena brought down for Emmaline, and Andrew chased them around. Andrew, unfortunately, had an allergic reaction while at our house. I'm not sure if it was the cat we had here over the summer, or if it was our dogs that triggered his wheezing. Poor little fellow!

For those of you who do not know my daughter intimately, she is a wonderful little girl, full of spunk and spirit, a joy to be around, is a great source of entertainment, and is over-all a very good baby. And if you were to pass by her on the street you would probably think, "What a beautiful little girl!", as so many people are inclined to tell me when the DO pass us by while out and about. You would think she was a perfect little angel.

There is a big BUT that comes along with my little bunting, though, that few who intimately know her have seen. This would include myself, David, and Lucia.

Emmaline has a temper, and it reared its ugly little head about five months ago. However, it has of late become a little more intolerable since lately her temper has led to hitting.

This is where I would like to share an experience that is all too familiar to me, in its generality, of course. A couple of Sundays ago, while dropping off Emmaline in the Church nursery, I informed the lady who runs the nursery that Emmaline had been hitting of late and that if she did it while in the nursery they were welcome to tell her "No!" and to come get me.

Do you know what the lady to who I told all of this did after I finished?

She LAUGHED at me!!! Do you believe that?!! She laughed and said, "No, I don't believe that. Miss Emmaline hitting? She's such a little angel." Then she turned to the lady across the hallway who was running the preschooler room and said, "Emmaline's mommy has just informed me that Emmaline has been h-i-t-t-i-n-g."

Do you know what the lady across the hallway did?

She LAUGHED too! Then she voiced the same opinion, "No, Emmaline can't hit, she's too cute!"

My darling little girl started early. I don't know where she learned this, but I swear she knows what she is doing. She behaves perfectly for everyone at church, then when she gets home the demons come out!! She has them all duped, DUPED, I tell you!!!

Now, don't get me wrong, because I love my little girl, and I, too, believe she is a precious little angel. However, she is not perfect, and it can be very frustrating for me as her mother to have to deal with what is a serious behavior problem to me, then have people laugh in my face. I understand that they don't know her, truly, so I just try to let it roll off my shoulders. It doesn't hurt that I have this blog to vent, either.

This morning I got dressed only to realize that Emmaline had leaked through her diaper onto my last pair of clean pants. "Oh well, they don't stink; I'll just have to do laundry after I get back from running my errands", I said. I threw on my favorite warm sweater, spritzed it with my favorite perfume to cover up any residual smell from my jeans, then glanced in the mirror only to see that Emmaline had spit up on my sleeve; I, having forgotten all about it, had just folded up the sweater and put it away after having last worn it. Aaaarggh! Now I am starting to understand why some mothers are out shopping in their pajamas: they simply don't have anything else to wear! Sigh...I LOVE motherhood!!!

Here are the photos of Emmaline celebrating her first year and Christmas. I went to a place called Portrait Innovations, and, since I had been warned of what I was walking into, it was a very enjoyable experience. The girl that photographed Emmaline was very patient, professional and overall very understanding. The girl took almost 60 pictures, so it was hard to whittle it down to three. I was forced to, though, otherwise I would have ended up spending over $100. I still walked out of there having spent more than I had planned, but I am highly satisfied with the service and product I received.

I'm going to get photos of Emmaline taken today!!! Yea!!! Maybe I'll have some neat pictures to post soon. Sorry I've been so bad about writing lately. It's been getting harder and harder to get to the computer. Oh well.

A few weekends ago David was possessed by a tree spirit. It told him it wanted to be moved. I tried my best to excorsize the thing, but to no avail. (We all know how hard it is to deter David once he has set his mind on something.) He was convinced we needed to move this huge Japanese Maple from a back patio to our front yard. He and I dug the hole for it, and Michael helped David move the monster. Thank goodness Michael was here, because I know I would have been no help!



Now, we just have to wait till next year to find out if the tree actually survived the transplant.

In celebration and in mourning of summertime's passing, here are some pictures of Emmaline in her summertime dresses! She's so cute!

Aaaarrrggghhhh!!!

Curse DST, and curse my lack of organization!! Curse being a first-time mother!!! There are so many little details that are so easy to overlook when trying your best to scramble through this stage of life called "Motherhood"! The time change problem just kind of snuck up on me, and I had no clue I would need to do something to prepare my child for this. In hindsight, of course I see I should have done something. Where is the "New Mother's Manual: Everything You Need to Know to Keep You and Your Baby Sane"? I did not receive one when I gave birth to Emmaline. Man did I get cheated!!

Oh well, now I am having to kind of turn the clocks forward a bit. I tried putting Emmaline to bed half an hour later than she is accustomed to going to bed, but so far it doesn't seem to be helping. Perhaps I'll have to do it in fifteen minute increments. Are any of you other mothers out there having a problem?

All Emmaline did this morning was cry: she cried because she was tired, she cried because she was hungry, she cried because she wanted a cream wafer instead of oatmeal for breakfast, she cried because I put her down when she smacked me in the face for telling her, "No, you cannot have a cream wafer for breakfast", she cried while eating her oatmeal, she cried when I changed her diaper, she cried while I was giving her a bottle of milk, and she cried when I tried to lay her down for a nap.

She's NOT having a good morning.

My Mom wanted to see how Emmaline crawls, so here is a video!

This is the only picture I managed to take while we were at the fair this past Saturday morning. There were a lot of things to watch and see, I just didn't think to take pictures....oh well. There were cows being shown, chickens and roosters on display, plus a flower show. It was really neat to see the "kids under 8" competition. They were "showing" there cows. I couldn't get over seeing these tiny little kids trying to pull and tug, push and prod these huge cows into a ring, then trying to keep them still while the judge looked everyone over. They did a heck of a job, too!

I do have to say, though, that I DEFINITELY want a farm now. Lots of land for a few cows, goats and chickens. Plus a vegetable garden. Oh, that would be great!!!

Here is a picture of my first ever finished dress that I sewed myself!! Yea! The dress had actually been done for a couple of months now, but I had one tiny bit of hand-sewing to do to the sash in order for it to be completely done. So, Saturday afternoon I sat myself down and finished sewing up my sash. I wore my dress the next day to church and got a compliment on it.

There is a horse pasture that butts up against the back of our property. Every once in a while I go back to there fence and drool while looking at the horses and surveying their land. It's just so beautiful. I love to watch the horses swish their tails and hear them whinny and to look out upon the rolling hills and expansive oaks decorating the pasture. Within the past two weeks the grass has been alight with these yellow flowers. The last time I walked back to the pasture it was just covered with flowers, so I took some photos to capture the memory. I hope you guys enjoy them!

My brakes have needed replacing for a while now. A LONG while. They have gotten so bad that I refused to drive my van anywhere, nor let anyone else drive. So, David sat down to replace our rotor and brake pads on one side. Let me just tell you folks, my husband is WONDERFUL!!! Everyday I am amazed at how he can just set his mind to doing something and do it! He tackled that wheel in no time, well, with the exception of having to go back to the auto parts store to get a bigger rotor than the one originally purchased. Just amazing; I'm the one who taught him how to change his oil, and now he has graduated to changing brake pads and rotors. Sniff, sniff, I am so proud!

Thanks to Luke, my brother-in-law, who helped him along with a few obstacles David had!

We drive into Greenville almost every Sunday to attend our church. I have always thought it a shame we don't take advantage of already being in the city and go to Falls Park in downtown Greenville. It is such a beautiful park. By Sunday, though we have usually spent our "fun" money on something else, so we can't go out to eat after church. I came up with a genious solution to this problem by preparing a picnic before leaving the house. Now I am trying to start a Farina family tradition of picnicking in the park during the Spring, Summer, and Autumn. Although, this past Sunday was beastly hot, so we will not be going again 'til it gets out of the 90's. We usually finish off our picnic with some ice cream from Spill the Beans. By the end of it all we are all pooped and ready for a nap, but all in all it does make for a relaxing day.

So, after finally getting my roses planted they pretty much bounced back immediately. My hybrid tea roses have produced lusciously fragrant blooms, and my shrub rose has had copious amounts of its small blooms. I am disappointed in my shrub rose, though, as its blooms do not have a scent and it is prone to powdery mildew. I have noticed powdery mildew on a couple of plants around the property, so I need to get rid of all plants plagued with this problem, then spray down my shrub rose with some horticultural oil. Hopefully that will get rid of it.

OK, so I must be totally crazy!

I don't know from whence this impulse has come, but suddenly I have a laughable desire to raise some chickens. I just think it would be so neat.

Upon approaching David about the topic he said I would have to read up on how to take care of chickens before he would even consider it. Over to the library I went! I picked up two books, one of which is entitled "Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance: Reflections on Chickens", by Martin Gurdon. Man is it hilarious!! I've only read one chapter so far, in which the author describes his first attempts at chicken farming. I can't wait to finish the book, and I can't wait to have some chickens!!!

Emmaline got her second tooth on Saturday. Yea!! It is the tooth next to the one she already has. She is growing up too quickly!!!

Emmaline woke up from a nap with this crazy hair-do a couple of days ago, and I could not resist taking pictures. Darn it, ain't she just so cute?!!!

This past Sunday we went to Table Rock State Park here in South Carolina. It is a beautiful park with lovely trails winding up a mountain, through woods and past a refreshing cool spring with waterfalls. The spring feeds the lake there, and the Park has set aside a space for swimming and diving. We had a good time swimming there. Emmaline loves the water. After a while of swimming in the deep part of the lake we sat in the shallow waters and let Emmaline splash herself silly. While there some little fish about three to four inches long came along side us and nibbled at David's legs. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of Emmaline in her cute little bathing suit, nor of us swimming. Oh well. After swimming we were going to grill a couple of steaks and eat some beans along with them, which almost didn't happen. It wasn't until we had gotten ready to eat that I realized David had forgotten to pack a can opener for the beans and also had forgotten to buy plastic plates while at the grocery store. Luckily, David was plucky enough to ask a family at a neighboring picnic table if we could have three of their plates, and he just forced the can open with his grilling spatula. That man can be pretty creative and productive when he is very determined.



Upon arriving home I discovered that the dogs had plotted to get back at us for not taking them with us by unraveling hundreds of yards of my yarn. Oh, how I love my dogs. The next morning Emmaline decided to help me unravel the rest. I guess she thought, "Well, you can't put it all back together til it's all apart, right?". Hee hee!

David decided to build a swing set for Emmaline this weekend. He had previously hung the swing her Mormor and Morfar had given to her for Christmas up on a tree branch. Unfortunately, it was hard to get her little seat to swing evenly, so he bought the lumber Friday evening on his way home from work. David had it finished by Saturday morning. More and more I am becoming impressed at how handy, imaginative and creative my husband can be. I hope one day Emmaline is just as proud to have him as her father as I am to have him for a husband!

I had the brilliant idea to put Emmaline's feet on my feet in order to walk her around the house. David was so impressed by my ingeneous thought that he decided to try it out himself. It turned out to work better with him since his feet are bigger than mine.

David and I often go to an ice cream parlor in downtown Greenville called Spill the Beans. We started going on Friday nights during the Winter, and while there we would chat with the parlor owner. Usually, we were the only ones there, so he would come and admire Emmaline and tell us about his grandkids. One night he said to us, "It wasn't until I had kids that I truly believed in the total depravity of mankind." It was said somewhat jokingly, yet how true it is. This video is a perfect example!

OK, so another reason why I haven't posted an update in a while is because I have been tackling the bears that are my outdoor planters. The planter running along side the brick sidewalk to our house was relatively easy. It just had some monkey grass that needed to be dug up. The other planter however was beastly. It was hug and completely over run with monkey grass, grass and weeds, plus an azalea and who knows how many rocks and roots. I tried to dig up as much dirt as I could to mix with the potting soil I had purchased, which turned out to be ok with the smaller planter. However, once I started digging out dirt on the larger planter, I realized I had gotten myself way in over my head. Unfortunately, I had already bought the rose bushes, and they were on their way to dying, so I had to get it done. Another unfortunately, I didn't find out until after I had already mixed in the soil that I had both not purchased enough potting soil nor dug out enough of the original soil. It took me one day to get the smaller planter done and about three weeks to finish the larger. Technically I am still not finished because I need to put compost down, but all the plants are in, so, for my own sense of accomplishment, I am considering that finished!!



I guess I should mention that the plants in the small planter are different types of coleus and two potato vines. The large planter has two Belinda's Dream roses on the outside and a shrub rose called La Marne in the middle.

OK, so I haven't posted anything in a while due to a lot of stuff going on. Here's the dish:

David's uncle Dino moved up from DeFuniak Springs, FL two weeks ago, along with his beautiful cat Bosco, then almost a week later David's mother moved up from Tampa, FL. Everybody has been here for about a week and during that time we talked together and searched for someplace for Dino and Lucia to stay. This aforementioned search has been somewhat complicated by the fact that Dino has no ID nor does he have the documents in order to get an ID. We've been trying unsuccessfully to find a quick way to get an ID for him, but things haven't quite turned out as planned. Then today Dino announced that he no longer plans on moving into an apartment with Lucia, but is going to move up to Erie, Pennsylvania instead, where most of the rest of the Farina family live.

So now we are switching gears and looking for a way to move Dino's stuff up north and also find an apartment for Lucia. Let's see how all this goes. It may be a while before I surface again.

Drumroll please..............

Emmaline got her first tooth today!!! Well, it's just the top of a tooth barely poking through her gums, but still...it's a tooth!! When I saw it my eyes teared up a bit, not necessarily because of the tooth, but because of what the tooth means. My little baby is growing up. I don't know if I'm ready for this!

Here are some pictures from this past week. Elin's wedding went off without a problem! So now we are all married off; poor Rod, he doesn't know what he's gotten himself into...

Here is Emmaline's first time in a swimming pool. I must warn you before you play this: the video is VERY LOUD!!!

Sorry, I just realized that I didn't update information on Emmaline.

Monday, May 12, Emmaline saw a pediatrician for her six month well check. She is in the 4 percentile for her weight, weighing only 13 pounds 4 ounces. She is 25 and three quarters inches long, so she was in the midrange for her length. And her head circumference was like in the 1 percentile range. So, all in all, we have a very petite baby on our hands. The doctor said she looks very healthy, but also called our beloved Emmaline "lazy". Emmaline didn't really like to put any weight on her legs or be on her tummy for very long (she would just lay down her head in protest and not even try to roll over!), so she was deemed "lazy". The doctor was probably a little right. Anyhow, I've been trying to encourage her as much as possible when she will cooperate, and I am seeing improvements. She can roll onto her stomach from her back like a pro, but she still has not figured out the stomach to the back thing. Oh well, every small step counts!

Well, after weeks of Emmaline pulling on my hair incessantly, I decided to get it chopped off!! Here it is. Let me know what you think.

I decided to make a dress, and this time I am going to finish it. I started another dress about two years ago. The pattern was a level "difficult", and I am ashamed to admit that after fighting to sew the bodice onto the midriff section of the dress I got intimidated by the sleeves. Therefore, that dress's halves have been carefully tucked away, never finished.

So, this time around I got intimidated again. I have never sewn sleeves on before. I did every step up to the sewing of the sleeves then put off sewing for two days. Finally I just had to make myself do it. So here it is folks!! I have faced another self-made obstacle and overcome it. I'm so proud!

Two weeks ago I discovered I had lice. Emmaline decided to help by looking through David's hair for me. Pick those nits!!

Publisher's Warning: You may want to turn your volume down a little before playing. This video may contain high-pitched shrieking

My mother requested more pictures of Emmaline, so here she is. Most of these are from within the last month.