Bedding Pictures

Remember that we will be changing the paint color.

It's starting to set in!

Its hard to believe that I have done so much planning, thinking, and growing and it is really starting to set in that we are having a baby!

When we found out we were having a boy, David and I knew that he would have a football room. You know that we are HUGE football fans so it was only fitting. So when the process to find bedding for Harrison's room started, I scoured every website for countless hours and weeks to find the perfect bedding. I soon becoming increasingly more discouraged by my findings. One Sunday, I had gone to get my hair done and I thought I was there for a cut and color and my stylist said no, just a cut. Now any girl knows that when you go in planning for the works, you want the works! Being as sweet as she is, my stylist said she would fit in my color too. (Probably because she has had numerous hormonal pregnant women cry on her and she wasn't up for it that day!)

Well, I think ultimately God had a plan that Sunday afternoon. You see, as I was sitting there processing, the other client she had came in and we all started talking. Come to find out, the other lady had just had a baby two weeks before. I was rehashing with them both about my experience and needing/wanting specific crib bedding. The other client told me that she had a lady custom make hers and it turned out beautiful. That was all I needed! When I got home, I called the seamstress and she agreed to meet and discuss my wants and needs and so it was that the nursery idea was formed.

One very rainy Saturday afternoon David and I sat out on an adventure to find all the supplies we would need to make the bedding. Let me just say what an awesome husband and daddy David is. I sure don't know many men that will spend their Saturdays in fabric stores, 6 to be exact. We picked out fabric and batting and trim and the works.

Well, last night I picked up the bedding from Ms. Bobbie who made it (and quickly too I might add). Can I just tell you how excited I was? I had just given her an idea of what I wanted and the fabric and she made it happen!

David was out with business associates for dinner and so I rushed home and put it on the bed and hung the curtains. I love how it turned out!

On the road again...

Here we go, on the road again. This weekend we are headed to the great state of Missouri to visit my mom's whole family who all live there, including my grandparents. I don't get to see Gran and Gramps much but they will probably never know how much they truly mean to me. There are so many reasons why they are amazing to me. Most of which only mean something to me that no one else would understand and that make me realize the type of person that I want to be. It is amazing how much our family no matter how close or far shape us. Since we always seemed to live far away, I didn't get to spend as much time with them as I would have liked but I still think that I have a great bond with them. You couldn't ask for better examples of generosity and humility. I really cherish the time that I get to spend with them. (Except between the hours of 11pm and 7am. That bed that they have is HORRIBLE!)

I always look forward to going back. Even though I technically didn't grow up in St. Charles, I did spend a lot of time there and it is kinda like a second home. I love to see how things have changed and how what we thought of as farm country is turning into the city! It used to to take us awhile of driving through corn and bean fields to get to Grandma's and now, you just hop off the highway and you are practically there! Amazing how fast things change!

This trip will be special for other reasons too. This will be the first time since we told them that we were expecting that they get to see the great-grandbaby bump. I think they will be excited!

Vacation Part Two

Absolutely beautiful evening.

So cute!

More about our vacation. (WARNING: this could be long and boring for some.)

Well, to sum it all up, I had an awesome time and I realize more and more everyday how amazing my husband is. He is so kind to me in so many ways.

Thursday I woke up and spent the day lazing around at the pool all day. I had a private cabana with my own personal wait staff. What more could a girl ask for! I got to read a great book and just enjoy myself. That night, since there was no where for me to go eat, especially by myself, I ordered room service. What an experience! The Breakers staff brought me a $30 cheeseburger and $6 glass of tea! It was either that or the $13 PB&J. I thought I would go for something with a little more substance.

Friday morning Dave and I checked out of the Breakers since we couldn't afford the $15oo a night room since his company wasn't picking up the tab anymore! We drove to Sawgrass Mills which is a huge outlet mall. As most of you know, I was instantly in heaven! We started at the Marshall's Shoe Mega Store. What more could a girl ask for! Although I didn't get to buy anything for me, I am learning how things are going to change in our household! Dave got a few things and we got some things for Harrison.

When I was young, and my mom would go out of town, she would bring me back a book and in it she would write where she had been. I still have all of those books and cherish them. It was a small gesture that I appreciate to this day. We bought Harrison his first book while we were there. I hope to continue this for him too.

After shopping, we checked into our new hotel on Singer Island. Although it wasn't $1500 a night, it was still impressive. The pictures above were from Singer Island.

Saturday, we hung out at the pool and just enjoyed ourselves. After dinner that night, we went for a short walk on the beach. It was so peaceful.

Like I said earlier, this trip was full of insight and reflection on my part. I realized how blessed I am. I have so much to be thankful for, more than I can possibly write about. Another realization that I had that is still sinking in is that for the last 14 years, it has been just David and I. It is fun but also scary to think that there will no longer be just us. I look forward to our new adventure but it is still scary to think that we will never go back to just us. Peas and Carrots we like to call it.

I had an amazing time on vacation. I know to some this might sound uneventful but that is what I wanted and needed. I think that Dave had fun too. It is really nice to have some quality down time together with no distractions.

On a side bar, when all of the babies got home and were together, I also realized how much of a real family we all are. They were all excited to see us but just as equally excited to see each other! So cute!

A message to Harrison

Harrison-
You went on your first plane ride today. I just wanted you to know that you did a wonderful job and kept your mom pretty comfortable. I think you were very excited for takeoff becasuse everytime we taxied to the runway, you would kick like crazy! Can't wait for our next plane ride together! Hopefully you will enjoy it just the same.

Mom

First Day of Vacation

I know that I can't complain becasue I am on vacation but sometimes my husbands excitement for traveling can be a bit of a pain. You see when we travel together, we have to be to the airport EARLY. Not only for our flight but also in the morning. I happen to be a morning person and don't mind getting up but when it is at 4am to catch a flight, it is early if you are a morning person or not. David's poor mom is always so nice and takes us to the airport at those ungodly hours and never complains. She is a saint! We had no problems at the airport but once we boarded our flight, they informed us that the first aid kit was out of date and we could not leave until they got us a new first aid kit. 45 minutes later, we had an in-date medical kit and were able to take off. We landed in Atlanta with 15 minutes to catch our next flight and 40 between them. Ok, so I admit that I don't move as fast as I once did and knew that I was not going to be the cause of us for missing our flight. Not to fear, Dave asked some lady with a cart if she would drive us the length of the terminal so we wouldn't miss our connection. She gladly obliged. I was surprised! I guess I should have listened to my dad when he said "It never hurts to ask. The worst they can say is No!" Once we got here, I was amazed by our hotel. It is amazing. Way out of my leauge but I will enjoy it none the less! Attached are some pictures. Hopefully I will be able to get more tomorrow.

Update

I was right. I cried like a baby when we left the driveway but was able to pull it all together when we were dropping the girls off but once we left, it was all over! I completely lost it. I think I even surprised David with how emotional I was. It was so hard to look at their sweet faces in the window. I could just hear them asking me "why are you leaving me?" Dave is right, they are going to have fun and I am so glad that Allie and Bama have each other. They are inseparable. I guess I have to remind myself that they are the best of friends on vacation with each other just like we will be tomorrow.

We are leaving on a jet plane!

Is it tomorrow already? I know that I should not wish my life away but I am ready to get away! Dave and I are leaving early in the morning, headed to West Palm Beach. He is going for business and I am going for rest and relaxation. No need to feel sorry for him though. He has to work for a day and a half of the four and a half days that we will be there. There is so much that I am looking forward to: reading, relaxing, spending good quality time with my husband, shopping, and catching up on some much needed reflection. According to David, the sunrise is amazing so we are going to fit that in there too. We always have the best time when we travel together. We are staying at the famous Breakers resort (http://www.thebreakers.com/) which looks AMAZING! I don't know how I couldn't enjoy myself!

Although I am SO looking forward to getting away, there is one thing that is really weighing heavy on my heart and that is leaving my babies. Those four dogs to some people are just dogs but to me that are my children. I love them dearly! I know that they will be well taken care of. The Chi-chi's are going to my mom's and will get to play with Toby. They will definitely have a blast. The girls are going to go to a pet resort and we have made sure that their accommodations are as nice if not better than ours while we are gone. I am confident that they will all be fine but I will still miss them something terrible. I have already made David aware that when we drop them off tonight, he could be in for a hormonal pregnant moment. Every time I think of leaving them, I get tears in my eyes and so the actual dropping off moment could be very emotional. I will have a great time in Florida but the plane ride home will not be short enough for me to get back to my babies!

I will post next from sunny Florida!

Someone else is excited!

So if I ever doubted that David might not be as excited as I am about a baby, all my fears have been cast aside. Let me explain. So while David had been gone this weekend, he has called to check on me and has asked about Harrison too but the real kicker was when he got home this morning. You see, when he came in, he was carring a shopping bag. Now I knew that he went to the Outlet Mall in Pigeon Forge this weekend so I didn't think anything about the bag. If you know me and us, you know that I assumed that it was for me. I am not sure that he has ever been out of town without me and not brought me back a little or big present back. Well, the bag had two pairs of pants for him in it. How uneventful! But then there was another small bag. I was sure that one was for me. Was I right? NO! It was two outfits for Harrison! It was so sweet! I think someone has taken my place as favorite in David's heart and I can't complain. I know one thing, Harrison is so lucky to have a Daddy that loves him so much!

Mother's Day

I guess this year is technically my first Mother's Day and it has been really great. (Okay, I know that it is technically tomorrow but bear with me as I explain.) The other day when I got home and opened the mail, my mom and dad had sent me a card. It was really sweet and brought a smile to my face. Then on Thursday, David was leaving to go to the mountains for the weekend to play golf with his bothers and dad. He left really early and so when I came down to leave for work, I went to my favorite spot in the house, my chair to get my shoes that I had left from the night before. (Yes mom, you did teach me better than that!) I noticed that he had left me two cards and gift on the side table next to the chair. The first card was from him and was very sweet. The gift was a bottle of perfume from Tiffany's that smells really good! But the best part was the card that was printed from Tiffany's. It said "This is wired and awesome at the same time to say for the first time...Happy Mother's Day!" It just really struck me that we really are about to embark on an awesome adventure! This is just the beginning!

Just the beginning...I hope

When David and I found out we were expecting, I thought about blogging to keep all of our family out of town up to date on the happenings with us and the new baby but I never did. (Hopefully not a sign of things to come!) Then last weekend, when we were with our church group, one of our friends was telling us that she just had a book printed with all her blogs for her kids to enjoy when they are older. That was what it took for me to jump in!

Lets catch up on where we are today. David and I have now been married almost 5 years. (One more month to go!) Boy how the time flies when you are having fun! We have dated since our freshmen year of high school and have been through a lot together in that time. I am not sure that either of us would trade it for anything. Back in December, we found out that we were expecting our first child and have recently found out that it is a BOY! We are very excited! As I write this today, I am currently 24 weeks pregnant and getting more and more excited everyday. There is so much to do but also so much to look forward to. So far I have been extremely lucky and have felt great the entire pregnancy and the baby is doing well too.

The idea that we will soon be parents and responsible for another being is mesmerizing. I hope that God blesses us with the knowledge and insight to be nurturing parents. We have great examples to follow thanks to our parents and grandparents!

Wish us luck as we begin this journey!