Ashworth Alcove

IT'S A . .. … …. ….. …… ……. …….. ……… ………. ……….. ………… …………. ………….. …………… ……………. …………….. ……………… ………………. ……………….. ………………… …………………. ………………….. …………………… ……………………. …………………….. ……………………… ………………………. ……………………….. ………………………… …………………………. ………………………….. …………………………… ……………………………. …………………………….. ……………………………… ………………………………. ……………………………….. ………………………………… …………………………………. ………………………………….. …………………………………… ……………………………………. …………………………………….. ……………………………………… ………………………………………. ……………………………………….. ………………………………………… …………………………………………. ………………………………………….. …………………………………………… ……………………………………………. …………………………………………….. ……………………………………………… ………………………………………………. ……………………………………………….. ………………………………………………… …………………………………………………. ………………………………………………….. GIRL! We had our second ultrasound just before C hristmas and found out that we will be welcoming a littl e girl to the family. I'll never forget th e moment the ...

It's Christmas at the Ashworth household! We have holiday decor around the house, but from the outside we must look like the Grinch. We live in a neighborhood full of families. Everyone has children and everyone has fun lights and decor on their house. Our neighbors across the street have an inflatable helicopter with Santa flying it. Some houses have elegant white lights, some have every color imaginable, some have giant inflatable snowmen (I'm talking 20 feet), some flash, some strobe... And then there's us. We have a wreath on the door! We made a conscious decision for the outside of our house to look lame. 1. Fort Rucker requires all outdoor lights to be LED, which are expensive. 2. We're leaving for the holidays. 3. I'm pregnant and lazy. Hanging out under the tree. Ironically, the only gifts under there right now are for pets. We attended a Christmas party over the weekend. Everyone was decked out in a bunch of ridiculous holiday s...

I reactivated my Facebook this week as an experimental attempt to see how I feel about it after my vacation. I have to admit that I am incredibly underwhelmed by it. I think I also had lousy timing with it, in light of the recent Connecticut school shooting. I have really mixed feelings about some of the posts that I see regarding it. I will begin by saying that I, just as much as anyone, view this as a horrific tragedy. It honestly makes me question humanity altogether. My heart is broken for the family of each child, educator, and even the family of the shooter. Now, with that said, I have really mingled emotions about some of the attention placed on this terrible situation by the media and social networking. I had a long conversation with someone this week about the world we live in now and how it has changed from times past. There has been an obvious increase in violence around the world, including crazed shootings on innocent people. What the hell is going on? Why are acts like ...

Holy backache. That's right. I'm complaining. Week 19 has been a week of heating pads and bubble baths. I have to admit that I was shocked that I'm having so much back pain already. I anticipated it, but not until the third trimester. However, it's apparently very common for women to develop back pain throughout the second. Rubbish . Apparently it doesn't take much for a person's center of gravity to shift. Pair that with the bump pulling the spine slightly forward and ding, ding, ding ... You've earned yourself an evening of misery. I do enjoy rolling around in the floor with our animals when my back starts with the shenanigans. I'll make a pallet and stretch and cuddle with our 100 lb. puppy. Who, by the way, has without a doubt noticed that something is going on. Just this week he started following me around (even more than usual) and feels the need to be close to me. He even snapped at a dog at the dog park who got too close. He's not an aggr...

No super new developments, except Ben and I have been talking more about names. Which basically means that I think of names and he vetoes them. The halfway mark is just around the corner and we'll soon know the gender, but until we know the full name for sure I'll probably wait to post on it. There is one boy and one girl name that we keep going back to. Naming a person is a task that we do not take lightly – we certainly want to make sure it will suit him or her for the rest of their life. As for me this week, I'm having some annoying back pain, but I seriously can't complain. I feel pretty great and my baby is the size of a mango. I've grown quite fond of the goldfish feeling, which happens on a daily basis now. It's beginning to feel more like someone is thumping me from the inside. It’s so surreal and it really makes me realize, hey – there’s a person in there! So crazy. And I love it. I'm also having an increase in peculiar dreams. I've had s...

Apollo lingering on Ben's bags before he had to say goodbye. Ben recently attended a three week course in wilderness survival and enemy capture and evasion. Basically, he was dropped in the woods and lived off of the land before being captured and turned into a prisoner of war. I'll never share experiences like that with him, but I know that are a necessary element in his career, no matter how much I wish I could be with him every day. Unlike his deployment and other training courses, we had zero communication for the duration of the course. Perhaps it's because I'm pregnant (I'll admit I've been a little needy of his attention), but it was super hard this time! Thankfully, he has completed the course and is now back home (asleep on the couch to be exact). While he was gone I decided to have an extended visit home to Tennessee for Thanksgiving. All of the pets came along and enjoyed Tennessee as much as I did. Being around family made the time pass faster...