Noah's New Taxi

I will NEVER own a new car! That is what I told Nathan when we started car shopping a few weeks ago! My Tahoe was getting older and I didn't want to end up keeping it until it had no resale value (kind-of how I did with my Honda). I am working on letting go of things at the right time and moving on! We had decided we wanted a new(er) Tahoe, but I wanted captains seats in the middle and 3rd row seating. We quickly found out that captain seats in the middle was well out of our price range. I test drove a Tahoe and the 3rd row in it sat on the floor - there was NO leg room whatsoever. So, maybe a small child could fit back there, but that would be it. So, I told Nathan I really liked the GMC Acadia.

We took off to Ft. Smith to look around. We looked at a few Tahoes to make sure that wasn't what we wanted, and while we were there we looked at a Traverse because it was the same as an Acadia with a different grill. I loved the inside, just wasn't sure about the outside, until I saw a black one. I loved the black one! I have found that over the years I tend to think almost any car looks good in black. We went over and looked at Acadias, but they were at least $10,000 more for the exact same car - so we just decided to stick with looking at Traverses. We looked at about 20 of them in Ft. Smith and called up to Fayetteville and found one that had everything we were looking for and for a fair price! So, the next day we took off to Fayetteville Autopark and came home with our awesome new car for the same price I was looking at used Tahoes for! I never would have imagined that we would be able to get something so nice - but the car salesman was very nice and professional and not pushy at all!

Here it is:

2011 Chevy Traverse

Seats 8, backup camera, remote start, dual sunroofs, heated seats!



Noah's New Taxi



I love it!

My Husband

I have figured out over the last 13 of being with my husband, the last 8 of that living together, that he doesn't pick up after himself very well. You can bet that if he has wore it or used it, it is in the floor or not where it goes. I ask him if he throws the stuff down and thinks in his head "Jess with pick that up", but he insists he doesn't. He just never really had to pick up after himself, so he just "forgets" according to him. For example:

There are 2 laundry baskets in this corner, each of which is approximately 2 feet or less away from the pile of dirty laundry that my husband insists on throwing in the middle of the floor. The same pile I will later trip over, say bad words, threaten bodily harm, and usually end up picking up come laundry day. It is a vicious cycle! I have tried being nice, I have tried threatening, but I have come to the conclusion that maybe he was just born without a crucial part that helps him clean up after himself.

My husband may never take the extra two steps to put his laundry in the hamper, but I keep him around for what he does do. Out of nowhere he will have a gift for me with a note that reads "To the Best Momma and Wife Ever" - and it is a jacket or something he knew I really wanted. He will see me worried about cleaning house and he will ask what he can do to help me. He will buy me a beautiful necklace of Noah's birthstone. I will go to get a massage and the massage therapist says that Nathan stopped by and paid for it for me. Pumping my gas in the rain and cold and going and pulling the car around so Noah and I don't get soaked in the rain. He will sit and watch shows that I know he doesn't care that much for because he knows I like them and I like him to watch them with me.

He doesn't have to do any of this. Don't get me wrong, I take good care of him too - but he does this list of things and more and he doesn't complain. He does it because he loves me.  So, for that, I will continue to pick up after my husband, because I kind-of like him too! :) That is all for now, I have some clothes to go pick up...

Noah Atlee Stillwell is 9 Months old!

Noah has officially been outside my body as long as he was inside - give or take a few days since only God knows when he was originally created!

* To celebrate turning 9 months old Noah decided to actually crawl! It still isn't the prettiest thing, but he can get anywhere he wants to get! I'm so proud, but sad too. Alot of other babies around his age started crawling and walking early, but I was enjoying Noah still "needing" his momma a little more. But, he is a big boy and momma now has to chase him down!

* Noah is 26 1/2 pounds and 30 1/2 inches tall! I couldn't believe how tall he was when we measured him! No wonder he is hanging out of his car seat!

* Noah is wearing size 18-24 month clothes and size 5-6 shoes! He is in size 4 diapers, and is about to go up to size 5 night diapers!

* Noah's hair grows so fast that Memaw Iva has to cut it once a month right now to keep it out of his eyes, off his ears, and from him getting a mullet! Noah has 5 teeth and I'm pretty sure one more is on the way! 3 on bottom, 2 on top!

* Noah doesn't like it when Momma leaves the room, and sometimes when Daddy leaves the room. He has become quite attached to us! He doesn't cry when we leave him at the sitters house though! He loves Mrs. Laurie!

* Noah now plays peek-a-boo or "Where's Noah" with us! He will cover his face with a blanket or burp cloth and pull it down and laugh and laugh! He is so funny! He can also give high fives and claps when you say "yay"!

* Noah's eating is still the same - around 27 ounces of breast milk a day, yogurt for breakfast, 4 ounces of food for lunch, and about 12 ounces of food for dinner! He is eating puffs and will eat apples in his mesh fruit bag.

* Noah is still sleeping great! His nightly routine is to eat dinner at 7:30, bath at 8:00, cereal bottle at 8:30. When he isn't teething he sleeps from 8:30 p.m. - 7:30 a.m.! When he is teething he usually wakes up around 5:00 a.m. to be nursed and for some more tylenol.

Happy 9 Month Birthday Sweet Boy!

Queen of the King!

We finally got our new King size bed and I love it! We have been talking about getting one since we moved into this house 2 1/2 years ago since our bedroom is so big and can accommodate it. We don't do much Christmas gifts for eachother and just buy something nice for the house instead - this year it was new bed time!

This is an old picture from when we first moved in, but it is the only one I had of our old bed.

Our old bed was lent to us by Nathans parents. It is a four post oak bed that Nathan's dad refinished - and to hear him tell it, it was quite a pain to refinish! I like the bed - especially since it didn't cost us anything, but I have never really cared for post beds, or oak. We got new dressers a few years ago, so we were looking to match or get close to the color of them for the new bed. The mattresses we had were very old - I'm talking atleast 10 years old and were not very comfortable.

We found a headboard that was very close to what we were looking for at a local truckload furniture store. It was solid wood and it was a JC Penny brand, so when they were only asking $75.00 for it I was shocked! We didn't really want a footboard because we have a cedar chest at the end of the bed.We got Nathan's parents old king bed frame, so all that was left was a mattress.

One rainy day I came home and Nathan said he almost ordered us a mattress off of TV! He had the day off and got sucked in a Serta Infomercial! I searched the guide and found when the infomercial would be back on and set the DVR to record it. I was sold too! It sounded amazing and the price wasn't bad - and we had a little extra to spend on the mattress since we found the headboard so cheap! So, the next day I ordered it. A week later it was delivered and set up for us!

The new KING bed! I love it!

It has been 3 weeks since we got the bed now and I love it! It wasn't world changing, but it is alot more comfortable and I love the space of a king bed versus a queen! Even though Noah doesn't sleep with us - there is now room if he ever needs to! We also have space for our weekend morning when we get Noah and play with him in our bed before we all get up - one of my favorite things ever!

So, I am now the Queen of the King and loving every minute of it!

Sweet Sixteen

Me and my friends checking out my new car!

I lost one of my oldest and dearest members of my family this week - my first car! On June 19, 1998, my sixteenth birthday, I opened a box with car keys in it and ran out the front door of my house to see a 1996 Honda Civic with 16 balloons tied to it! I was SO excited! I told my mom that she had given me a TV birthday - where the kid gets exactly what they wanted and had no idea they were getting it!  I was totally shocked. She had told me I could have a set of keys to her car and she would share it with me! Which was a nice gesture - but not the same as getting your own car when you are 16!

One of my senior pictures taken with my car - 2000
(I'm loving my clothes - what a dork!)

My friends and I piled in it and we had no idea where to go! We finally could go anywhere but had no where to go! We decided on going to get sno-cones! I remember the first time I had to prepay for gas. I went in and told the guy I wanted $20.00 on pump 1 - he said "Are you driving that Honda?", I proudly answered "Yes I am!". He said "I'll hold your money because there is no way that thing will hold $20.00 in gas!" Embarrassingly enough - he was right. It only held about $12.00 worth. A lesson learned!

The picture of me and my car from my senior annual!
Check out those clear tail lights!

In this picture I was a senior in high school about to start college. Living at home with my mom, stepdad, and little brother. I had a boyfriend Nathan and an after school job at Gibbons Law Office.

Re-enacting my Senior picture - 10 years later!

In this picture, 10 years later, I have moved 4 times and graduated college. I am now a full time employee of Gibbons Law Office and have been married to Nathan for 5 years and we have an amazing 9 month old son!
Some things changed - that car stayed the same. I went from a kid to an adult with that car.

Over the last 13 years that car and I have been through alot! Nathan and I had our first kiss standing against that car and Nathan gave me my promise ring in that car - after he dropped it in the emergency break hole and we dug it out that is! Nathan blindfolded me and took me to propose to me in that car. We drove to our wedding in that car. We took that car on countless vacations. I hit my first deer in that car and the insurance company wanted to total it and I begged them not to because I couldn't imagine driving anything else! I raced that car at Centerville just to say I had - it is no racecar! I once traded out body work for that car in exchange for me writing a book report for Nathan's brother - he got an A, my body work got a C! Another lesson learned!

3 years ago I bought a Tahoe. Since then my old car - which of course I swore I would still drive after I got my Tahoe, has basically just been neglected. Nathan drove it some and I drove it a few times when the Tahoe was being worked on. But other than that, it just sat. I felt very bad seeing it just sitting there never getting driven. Nathan came in one day and told me a mouse had been in the Honda! I told him that was it - we had to sell it! It deserved way better than that! So we (by we, I mean Nathan) cleaned it out and got it ready to sell. Nathan mentioned it to a friend of his and the next thing I knew I was signing the title over! It was very fast - but that is probably for the best. I had to rip that band-aid off and move on. Now I have money to put towards a down payment on a new car and we have more space, and most importantly my car is being driven daily.

The day I sold it - she was a GREAT car!

I will miss that car - but it gave me great memories! I hope it has a great new life with it's new owner!