Christmastime is Here

Merry Christmas!



What a wonderful time of the year! I was concerned before the day of Christmas arrived that things just didn't feel like Christmas. Last week I was constantly on the go, preparing, cleaning, cooking...only to rest during the nighttime, which recently hasn't provided much rest (more on that later). I felt overwhelmed and frustrated and tired, which is NOT showing my usually overwhelming positive Christmas spirit.



However, when Saturday morning arrived, it didn't take long for me to pop right into the excitement and joy of the day. We spent the night with my parents on Christmas Eve and woke up to one very excited little sister who was actually disappointed she had slept until 7:00?! Santa is a big deal in my house. We began our morning by reading the Christmas story from Luke. Chels read it at the top of the steps before we went down.



As soon as she finished, with the video camera rolling, we all four (sisters+me+Blake) walked down the steps to our respective Santa stacks. I wish I had taken a picture of this every year. The gifts come from every corner, and the stockings are overflowing. We are blessed beyond measure and I can only be more and more thankful every year.



One of our favorite gifts this year was a Canon EOS T1i. Hello amazing camera?! To show you why its my favorite, I took some pictures of our house decorated for Christmas. I got home today in a state of nostalgia and wanting to remember everything about this Christmas...not only because it was our first white Christmas, but because it is our last Christmas as a family of 2.



Here is our Christmas Tree. Funny story-we went to the Farmer's Market like we do every year and wanted a bigger tree than the one we had last year. Assuming (key word) that our ceiling is a 12-footer, we got a 12 foot tree. We realized, once we got it in the house, that the ceiling is in fact 11 1/2 feet high. Needless to say, Blake did a little cutting after that. The tree turned out beautiful, though!





Our mantle...on the sides you see Carolers...these are all passed down from my mom's mom. Mom has lots at her house, and I usually get one for Christmas every year. This year I got a Mrs. Clause!


This is one of my favorite Christmas areas. This is our piano, also passed down from my grandmother, with the most beautiful Nativity Scene ever. It is the Willow Tree Angel scene, given to me as a wedding present from a group of amazing women at school. It is absolutely beautiful!


Here is our sitting area in the kitchen.


Lastly, here is the front door in the living room.


Christmas was wonderful this year, but I think my best memory will be with my class. This year, we really dove into the Christmas story. We were able to look into the perspectives of each character - Mary, Joseph, the shepherd, the wise men, Jesus...We would write journal entries in their perspectives about what they were feeling about Jesus' arrival. When we talked about Mary, I played this song for them. One young lady, as she was switching classes, said this:
"Mrs. B, can I talk to you for a minute? You know...I've heard the Christmas story every year, and I know it is very important, but until this year and hearing that song, I never realized how emotional Christmas is!"

Now while I had to hold back the oh-you're-so-precious laughter, this young lady was right on. The kids ate our Bible time up...they would groan when it was over. I've realized that is how I should be every day! While the story of Jesus' birth is SO important and special, each story in the Bible holds importance and is vital to my role in this family of Christ. And the Bible holds so many "emotional" stories, and if I truly valued them as I should, I don't think a day would go by without me on my knees in sobs thanking our Lord.

I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas, and I pray that you were touched in a special way by remembering our Savior's birth and everything that came with it.

Happy Halloween

This was our first married Halloween, and it couldn't have been more wonderful! It started on Saturday night at FBCS for the annual trunk-or-treat. The best part about the night was our niece, CB! Just look at her:

Sunday morning we went to church with our friends Chris, Dori and Owen and had lunch at American Pie. This was my first experience there, and I must say I enjoyed it! :)

After that, we decided to take it easy on our Sunday afternoon. We both rested and then decided to carve a pumpkin before the arrival of tricker-treaters!

Here is Blake cutting the top of our pumpkin...he is actually very good at carving!

Then is was time for the messy part!

After some carving, here's the welcoming face on our front porch!

Even though we had approximately 3 doorbell rings, I'm sure they liked seeing a happy pumpkin face smiling at them! And we enjoyed that time too. This time next year will be quite a different pumpkin carving experience, but one that we will document even more! In these pictures I am 19 weeks, but I am 20 as I write this post! More baby updates are coming soon!

An Update

Hello Friends!

I wanted to give you an update about baby-land! It's been a while and I am in my 18th week now! I go in a week and a half to find out if our baby is a boy or girl!!! I can't wait for that!

So...here is my 18 week update along with some pictures of recent "growth!"


Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 18 Weeks
Size of baby: Baby B is the size of a sweet potato (this seems so big to me!)
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 5 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Wearing a Belly Band (it's saving my life!-basically you can wear your normal pants, but you don't have to button them)but other than that normal clothes - this is about to end!

Gender: Can't wait to find out on November 3rd!
Movement: Once! I was laying on my stomach and felt flip after flip after flip...it was obvious that Baby B was not a fan of that position!

Sleep: I'm sleeping great!
What I miss: Nothing yet
Cravings: Anything unhealthy it seems?!

Symptoms: Back Pain

Best Moment this week: Setting the Date for "THE" appointment

Now some pictures from Mountain Day!

My best, best friend and I! I hope you have a friend like Chels - one who changes your life and you KNOW that God sent her to you!

My bump...this was on October 3rd...there's been a little growing since then! Thank you to Ashley for this creeper picture! :)



My sweet, sweet friends! I've thought about writing a post about how I met all my dear friends because I am blessed with so many!

12 Weeks!!!

I've recently gone through a phase. A phase I don't love. If you are female, I think you might understand...it's the "I'm a fatty" phase!

Now, you're probably thinking, "Ummmm...you're pregnant. You're supposed to feel that way." Well, I just need to tell those of you thinking that that I think you're so wrong. Feeling that way stinks...like, the way it stinks when somebody thinks you're pregnant and you are SO not.

Fortunately, I think I have passed through the "is she pregnant or does she need to lay off the DQ for a while?" time of pregnancy, and after long talks with Blake about what I really look like, I've made a decision...

I WILL BE PROUD OF MY BELLY BUMP!

I say that constantly to myself...like the self-motivation tapes - "You are a successful person..." haha!

Never-the-less, I have made that decision, and I will stick with it!

So, with that, here I am at 12 weeks pregnant:

My BFF recently inspired me to begin the "mommy"-type blog, and I am using some help from Kelly's Korner.

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 12 Weeks
Size of baby: Baby B is the size of a plum
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 2 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Wearing a Belly Band (it's saving my life!-basically you can wear your normal pants, but you don't have to button them)but other than that normal clothes

Gender: Can't wait to find out!
Movement: A couple of times I thought "is that what it feels like?" but I'm pretty sure I have not yet

Sleep: I'm sleeping great!
What I miss: Nothing yet
Cravings: Mexican food and Kroger Chocolate Milk

Symptoms: Some heartburn
Best Moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat at my 12 week appointment

Now, my husband is LOVING my bump...I mean he will sit on the couch and rub my belly and sing to our baby (who, by this time, can hear every word). But he was feeling a little jealous one night...

Haha...I know what you are thinking, and yes, I will accept any prayers you say for us! :)

I am actually starting week 13 today, so I will continue to update at the end of each week! We're thankful for your prayers!

Big Changes!

Well, the last time I posted, I was telling you all about our beautiful wedding day. That was the most memorable and most exciting day of my life. My friend, Chelsea, recently went through everything she remembers, and I will do that soon. I want to be able to remember every little detail!



But, come March 23, I believe that the title of "most exciting day" will be stolen!

This is the new addition to our family. I am 10 weeks pregnant, and I am still so in awe that I am now crying as I type this post. Here is the story:

Back in June, Blake and I had decided that it was time for us to completely rely on the Lord as to when we were to have a baby. We had talked about it and prayed, and we both felt comfortable with letting God take over (I know...it really doesn't matter that we were comfortable with it...God is so sweet to let us get there!).

Well, God was ready for us to have a baby. By mid-July, I knew something was different. I had lots of weird things happening with my body, and I was beginning to feel suspicious. I did some research, and sure enough EVERY symptom I had was listed under "Early Symptoms of Pregnancy."

I had set up an appointment with my lady doctor for the 17th, so I knew we would find out then. I had told Blake about my symptoms, but no one else knew. I knew we would both want to tell our families, and that we would want to know for sure before we said anything. I decided to not take a home test - mainly because we were so busy we were never home to take it...and I didn't want to risk taking it somewhere else. So, I waited until my appointment.

Monday, July 17th, came along. I had told my mom that day that I was just chilling and would probably be at home all day long. Of course, I headed to my 10:30 appointment as soon as possible. I was nervous and excited. My prayer was that if there was a baby, He would start to prepare me to be a mother, and if there was not, to give me peace that one day there would be.

I got to the doctor's office and don't even remember much about sitting in the waiting room. All I do remember was prayer...lots of it! When my nurse called me back, we went directly to the restroom and she began the detailed questioning about any changes since the last time I had been there. Then the conversation went something like this:

ME: Ummm...there could possibly be a kind of big change. I think I might be pregnant.

NURSE: Oh, ok. Well, what symptoms have you been having?

skip skip skip

NURSE: Well, it sure sounds like you might be right. Now, if this is true, am I going to have to pick you up off the floor, or can I say congratulations?

ME: Congratulations, definitely!

After that, she told me she would do the test for me and meet me in the lab for blood pressure, etc. I went to the lab, where she was testing. She had gotten very excited for me. She was smiling and asking about Blake and if he knew. She really made the whole experience wonderful! She escorted me into the room and said "I'll be right back" in the voice that gets higher and higher every time you say a word because you're so excited.

Well, I sat there with my heart about to pound out of my chest. Looking around, there were Pregnancy magazines everywhere. I just prayed "Your will be done." What seemed like an hour later, my nurse opened the door, peeked around it, and said...

CONGRATULATIONS!

If you know me, you know exactly what I did next...B-O-O-H-O-O-E-D...no joke. I just cried and cried, especially after she left me to wait on the doctor. I was thanking God...oh it was just precious time for me to be able to worship the One who knows me better than I know myself.

The rest of the appointment didn't matter to me after that. I had decided to have lunch with Blake afterwards, so I made my way over. When he got in the car he looked at me, and here is how that went:

BLAKE: So, how did it go?

ME: (nothing...just lots of tears)

BLAKE: (still smiling)What does that mean?

ME: (still no words...just nodding my head and more tears)

Talk about a memory. We shared this moment with Chick-Fil-A as we headed through the drive through as Blake was laughing and smiling the whole time he was ordering. We were just happy.

We decided to tell our families later that week, which was precious time. We wrapped up presents for my parents and sisters that had diapers and "I love my Auntie" onesies. For his parents, we gave his dad a kid's golf club and wrote in the card that he could use this with Caroline (his first grandchild) and the baby to come in a few months.

It has been so fun. On my facebook, I recently wrote this:

[I] think it is amazing how you can dream and pray for something for so long, and then one day, God just says "Here you go!" I cannot begin to explain the emotions going on inside of me right now! We have a healthy, dancing baby...and give ALL praise to the God who has blessed us with him/her!

At our second appointment, Blake went with me and we got to see the baby and hear his/her heartbeat. It was amazing. It was also wonderful to see that our baby is already full of the joy of the Lord - he/she would not stop dancing! :) I am totally in awe of my Creator and the miracles He is capable of. Just take a look at one of His newest creations!

Wedding Continued!

Here are some more of our favorite wedding pictures!

These are all the sweet faces that made our day even better!



These are a few of the wedding details!

My beautiful bridesmaids!



On my way to marry my groom!

Finally!!!

During our ceremony, we asked all our family and wedding party members to surround us a pray. It was one of my favorite moments of the day!

This is my "Oh yeah! We're married!" face!

YAY!


And on to the party...

This is one of my favorites from the wedding! Anytime there is a picture of me, Blake and my best friend, Chels, we are always doing something ridiculous. It is hilarious!

There were SO many pictures from the reception, but I am just going to put up an assortment of the details to end this post. Thanks for taking the time to take a look!

A Long Awaited-for Post!

After about 7 months of patiently awaiting the arrival of our wedding album, it has arrived!! And it is beautiful! We chose 6 of Four to capture the moments of our wedding day, and they did an absolutely beautiful job!

Here are some pictures of the beautiful album and what is inside:

This is the album container.

This is the album itself. It is a beautiful green with ivory ribbon on the side.

The first and last pages of the album.





Even though our reception pictures are awesome, we decided to cover only the wedding ceremony and events leading up to it in our book.

YAY 6 of Four!!

It is so fun to look through this album and remember that day. My friend Chelsea wrote a post about her day going through every detail, which I would love to do soon! But until then, here are some of the other pictures that are my favorite from the wedding events!

Our rehearsal dinner might have been my favorite thing all weekend! We had the people we love most around us and just were able to enjoy time with them! We are just so blessed!





This was when my dad saw me for the first time in my dress.








Pretty much anytime he looks at me I cry...yes, I am a daddy's girl! :)

My handsome groom and I.

The boys and the girls... the most amazing people I have ever met in my life.

To be continued...