Oh The Changes in 34 Weeks...

Brian and I sure have had our fair share of CHANGES in the last 34 weeks.  We've completely changed our eating habits, which have resulted in an easy pregnancy.  We've officially learned the meaning of the following words:

• Bumbo
• Boppy
• Pack 'n Play
• Diaper Genie
• and BumGenius

We've enrolled in nursing, labor and delivery, and newborn classes, which have completely erased all modesty surrounding pregnancy.  Oh! And we've completely changed our gorgeous guest bedroom into a precious nursery.

Without a doubt....Brian and I have had a lot of growing up to do these past 34 weeks, and I think we've done a fantastic job!

Really quick, I'll give you an update from my last posting....

Let's see. Julianne is moving/flipping/hurdling like CRAZY. She basically NEVER sleeps, which is cool when I want to feel her, but not so cool when I actually need sleep. Brian and I have decided she's going to come out either doing a tumbling pass or a 300m hurdle race. We are almost completely finished with Julianne's room - her furniture is all in place, decorations complete, curtains finished, closet....FULL!, and her bedding will be finished this week!  Before we know it, we will be laying her down to sleep...

I have been doing well.  Despite the fact that I am busier than I have ever been in my entire life with teaching, coaching cheerleading, going to graduate school, and being pregnant.....I'm actually making it! I just got home this Friday from my last out of town game.  I'm officially at the point where traveling is just too risky, and though I trust the trainers with football and cheerleading injuries, I'd really hate to entrust Julianne's delivery to a few high school trainers. Bless their hearts....

So, I will remain at home for the last out of town Central game.  Cheerleading is the fun part of my job. I have the best squad, and learning all the ins and outs of coaching has been a joy!  We practice four times a week, which takes a toll, but I'm pretty used to it by now, and Brian and I squeeze in some personal time as much as possible.

Let me take a moment to toot my horn about my husband.  He has been INCREDIBLE.  Actually, incredible doesn't quite cover it.  I am an English teacher, and I just don't think an adjective exists that describes how wonderful he is.  He has had the last two months off from school, and though he has two jobs at the school, his work load is pretty slim.  Without hesitation, he has just taken over the house work, cooking, grocery shopping, nursery decorating...EVERYTHING!  He makes me breakfast every morning, grades papers when I need it, packs my lunch, and makes me dinner every night....after he rubs my swollen ankles.  Honestly, I don't know why God blessed me with such an amazing man, but He sure did pick the perfect guy for me.  I love him more than he will ever know, and Julianne is so lucky to have such a marvelous daddy.

Our appointments have gone very smoothly.  Because of the Strep B bacteria found early on in my pregnancy, I am taking an antibiotic every day until delivery.  Once in labor, I will be placed on an IV that will transmit the antibiotic to Julianne and me throughout the delivery.  Apart from this minor annoyance and worry, everything is perfectly fine!  

Julianne is pretty tiny (in a totally healthy way!), so we are expecting a 6-7 pound baby, but you just never know! 

Oh! Our first shower - well, it was just great!  It was held at Wall Brethren Church in early October - perfect weather...perfect set up...perfect...EVERYTHING!  We had so many wonderful people come to show their love for our little Miss, and we felt very blessed.  The women who threw our wonderful shower deserve lots and LOTS of thanks and praise - God bless them!

Finally, our registries are finished and ready to be published, so here goes...

We are registered at the following places:

Babies R Us

Target

Fancy Pants (a precious store in the Sunset Plaza)

andddd.......

ETSY!

We LOVE Etsy (yes, even Brian loves it so much that HE has an account!).  When we saw that they had registries, we got super excited! Now....you can only create wedding registries, but we just created a wedding registry....full of BABY stuff!

Here's the link: http://www.etsy.com/registry/OTM3MHwxNTkxNzg0Nw/

I think that's about it...I'll post again in a few weeks - not too many weeks left on this journey...UNREAL!

From our family to yours....

She Has a Name!

Brian and I are so excited to finally announce the name of our sweet baby girl!

Let's get the story first...
Brian and I have been toying with two gorgeous names since before we knew she was a girl (and really since before we even knew we were pregnant!).  We loved them both so much that we couldn't imagine choosing just one.  Because we loved them both (and still do!), we just couldn't make a decision, and every time we would lean toward one more than the other, our hearts just would NOT let us decide...

Well, two weeks ago, my mom and I found the fabric for Baby H's bedding, and we found the lady who is going to make it for us.  When the lady asked us what name she could monogram on the pillow, I had to tell the story I tell every time:

"Well, we haven't decided.  We know that May will be her middle name, but we just can't decide between ___________ and _________."

The lady told me to let her know when we had decided because she could do the pillow last minute.  I went home and told Brian that maybe it was time to decide a name.  We had both thought we would wait until she was born, but there was a big part of us that still wanted to have her name picked out prior to her birth, but we just didn't want to decide.

It seems as if our "time to talk names" happens before church. We have talked seriously about Baby H's name for about a month now, and it seems like every time we talk about it...it is right before church!! Strange...but true! Well, this time was no different.  Sunday morning, we both woke up and quickly began talking about Baby H's name.  We thought we had decided on one, and we were pretty much settled...decided to tell our parents that afternoon.  Then, I said her name, and Brian said, "I'm sort of disappointed it's not _____________."  I smiled because I thought the exact same thing! And so it's settled!!!....for real this time!


Baby H's name will be.....




Julianne May Holik


She will be unbelievably gorgeous and perfect...just like her name!

From our (growing) family to yours....
♥

Crunching Numbers...

On Tuesday, I officially sat at 25 weeks pregnant.  However, for the past week, I've been so frustrated/confused.  Let me explain.

They say women are pregnant for 9 months...or 40 weeks.  Well, I know I'm not a math teacher, but I can do simple multiplication, and no matter how many times I try....9X4 is NOT 40.

So...last week, when I became 24 weeks pregnant, it was a kicker for me.  On the 9 MONTH scale (9X4=36 weeks), I am 6 MONTHS PREGNANT.  On the 40 WEEKS scale (40/4 = 10 months), I am somewhere around 5 and a half months pregnant.

WHICHEVER.....Our baby girl is due on December 4th, and today is August 23rd.  I'll let YOU do the math because I just can't seem to make sense of it in my head :).

So at 24 months, a lot of things happened in my life and in the life of our sweet daughter.  I officially started a new job at Central High School, teaching English IV and coaching varsity cheerleading.  I have my classroom ready, my lessons planned, and my mind wrapped around the fact that school is coming, ready or not!  So....bring on Monday!

Also at 24 months, my sister, Morgan, got married to Lenny!  I served as Matron of Honor, and our sweet daughter held my hand throughout the entire thing!  It was such a great time - full of love, joy, and lots of smiles (and flips in Baby H's case!).  Morgan looked beautiful, and Lenny was so handsome.  They did endure a tiny fiasco at their honeymoon, but thanks to Sandals resorts and Lenny's insistence, they got a refund from the nasty place and headed straight to Sandals-Montego Bay!  Brian and I went to Jamaica, too, on our honeymoon, and we were just down the road at Sandals-Negril!  We loved it, and I'm sure Morgan and Lenny are loving it, too!

Brian FINALLY comes home tomorrow from his residency in Temple.  We (Baby H and I) are SO ready for him to be here.  We miss him so much, and I'm pretty sure he misses us, too ;).  Because he did his residency this summer, Brian gets to take all of September and October OFF from school -  woohoo!! I'm sure you can imagine what that means....a honey-do list.....a long one.....that includes painting....and putting together cribs....and decorating with fru-fru decorations...and all things BABY H!  I know this whole girly thing isn't really what Brian is USED to, but he is definitely in love with his little girl, and I know he will be a great daddy!

I promised some pictures from the reveal party, and I FINALLY got them uploaded and edited....so here ya go!

Everyone got to write a note to our sweet Baby H...can't wait to let her read these someday!

Everyone got to cast their vote...boy or girl! 

Everyone wore their guess...either a bow or a mustache! Everyone looked so cute!

Everyone got to suggest a name...they were all so sweet!...well, most of them!

The table of yummies!

Everyone drank lemonade out of these mason jars that I made with burlap!

TEAM BOY!

TEAM GIRL!

Such a beautiful surprise!

I was already so in love with her!

Ready or not...TEAM GIRL!

From our family to yours....

It's a Girl! ♥

What a wonderful, beautiful, PERFECT reveal party we had!  Everyone just fell in love with our sweet Baby H even more.  We had a great turnout of our closest family and friends to celebrate this glorious time in our pregnancy journey.  Everyone dressed up in pink or blue to show their vote of what they thought Baby H could be!  I haven't uploaded the pictures yet because they were taken on a different camera, and well, I just haven't. SO! I will post another blog soon with those pictures - they are great!  

My mom did a fantastic job of keeping a secret.  REALLY!  I think she could have taken that secret to the grave!  She didn't give off any sense of what it could be the entire time she knew - I was so proud of her!  She revealed it in such an awesome way, too.  She filled the CUTEST pinata (that was shaped like a baby carriage) with pink candy and pink pacifiers.  Also, she had Brian and me pull the "plug" of the pinata, which was the cutest little onesie that said "FYI: I'm a girl!"

Honestly, it was the most perfect surprise we could have ever imagined.  Brian thought it was a girl, and I thought it was a boy!  When we saw the pink candy, we both just broke into sheer pleasure.  We fell in love with her on the spot!  She is so beautiful and perfect already, and we simply cannot wait to meet her in December...or November...whenever she decides to meet us!

Since finding out about our precious baby girl, we bought some of the CUTEST clothes and goodies.  In fact, everyone has!  Our entire families have already bought her the most precious little outfits and accessories.  Good grief - can she just meet us already so we can show her off?!  But really, we are just so happy.

Here's the video of the gender reveal - enjoy!

From our little family of 3 to yours,

Bows or Bowties...What Will It Be?

Brian and I have had one heck of a summer, and an amazing 8 weeks since we last updated our blog.  I was 11 weeks pregnant when I last let you guys in on our little pregnancy adventure, and now, I am sitting at 19 weeks on the dot, and in 4 days, we FINALLY find out what we are having...but more on that later!

After we let our family in on the big news and finally broke out the Facebook post (complete with over 200 likes and almost 100 comments..woah!), our lives have been filled with the sweetest words and congratulatory messages we could have ever imagined.  Brian and I feel so blessed to be surrounded by the most caring, loving people in the world.  Our friends have been nothing but supportive and excited for us, and many are already calling themselves aunts and uncles!! We love it.
And our family is just incredible - every one of our parents, siblings, in-laws, and in-laws-to-be have just been awesome.  We know that our little bundle of joy is coming a little unexpected and earlier than first planned, but we honestly could not have chosen a better time to have him or her! She/He is just perfect.

On a GREAT note, I am feeling INCREDIBLY better.  I got through that yucky first trimester, and I am full of energy and ready to tackle these next four months!  So far, our doctors appointments and test results have been 100% positive, which is great news for shocked, young parents.  We have been very diligent on what I should and shouldn't do, and we are slowly working on reading those parenting books (which...I'm not really sure helps anyway!).  I am still working out close to every day, and the exercise makes me feel even better.  I am drinking a million gallons of water a day to keep myself and Sweet Baby H hydrated.

So, mainly these last 8 months (though super busy!) have been great as far as the pregnancy goes.  I finished teaching at Grape Creek High School, and I am really looking forward to my first full year of teaching at Central HS!  I also finished a semester of graduate school in May, started another in June, finished it, and just started one more this week! In about a month, I will be only 4 courses from graduating with my Masters!
Brian finished his first year of Physical Therapy school in May, and he was asked to be the PT Graduate Assistant and Research Assistant, so he has been helping out the first year PT students with all of their first classes.
On July 1st, we moved to Temple, Texas! Don't freak out...it's only temporary! We are here until August 24th (technically, I will move back earlier) because Brian is doing his first residence rotation at Scott & White Hospital.  We actually REALLY like it here! The town and location are great, and Brian is really enjoying the people he works with.  The best part about this area is that there is a Babies R Us and a Super Target just down the road....which leads me to my next, MOST EXCITING part of this blog....THE GENDER REVEAL!!!

On Friday, my mom and I will go to the sonogram to find out what gender Sweet Baby H is. I cannot explain how excited Brian and I are to find out what we are having.  We have each had dreams of what it is going to be....and both of us have dreamt we are having two different things, so one of us is bound to be right!
So....on Friday, mom and I go...but here's the catch - I'M NOT FINDING OUT! Only mom is (please don't pester her with questions of what it is...she's sworn to secrecy...and she has the threat of not holding Sweet Baby H after he/she is born if she tells...so yeah....just don't even try!).
Then, on Saturday, all our closest family and friends are gathering at my mom's house for a gender reveal party.  After food and fun, mom will do the honors of revealing what we are having, and I'm sure however she will reveal it will be perfect!
Each of the guests have been asked to wear either pink or blue....pink if they think I am having a girl...blue if they think I am having a boy.  We will see which majority is right!

I will post the gender as soon as I can get to a computer, but chances are, you will find out before I can tell you!

Bring it on, Saturday!
From our family to yours,

In case you are wondering:

What am I craving? Bean Burritos....still.

How much weight have I gained? Only a little...we are really watching every ounce, and I am on perfect track!

Am I showing? I hate this question, but the true answer is....maybe some?? Honestly, if you didn't know I was pregnant, you wouldn't notice, but most people are LOOKING for a baby bump.  There isn't much of one, but I am sure that in the next couple of weeks, I will start to show.

Names? Oh yes, we have them, butttttttt....those will be revealed later :)

The Grand Reveal ♥

If you haven't read my prior post, let me explain how we revealed our big surprise! I made a personal card for each of our parents, sisters, and Morgan's fiance, Lenny. On the outside, I put the name that Baby H will call them (ex: P Patti for my mom, Meemers for Marilyn, Aunti MoMo for Morgan, Auntie Sarah for Sarah). On the inside left, I put a picture of Brian and me with the due date, and on the right, I put our latest sonogram picture. Under the sonogram picture, I wrote "Can't wait to meet you..."


We gave the cards to our moms first because it was Mother's day; then, we quickly passed out the cards to the rest of our family. Watch their reaction...what a wonderful, blessed moment for us all!

Our Unexpected Expectancy

Well, our busy little life just got a LOT busier. On April 1st (yes! That is April Fool’s day, but I promise you…this is not a joke!), Brian and I found out that we are expecting our first child! We are seriously so thrilled, and we feel that God has molded our lives in a very special way that prepared us to take on this next chapter. He was so sneaky in how he shaped everything, but He made us ready…even when we didn’t know it! We have been keeping this little/big secret for too long, and it is time to let you all know!

Let me bring you all up to date on all that has occurred since April 1st……

Well, I wasn’t feeling my normal self, and Brian and I had just driven home from PT Olympics in San Antonio, Texas. I needed to grocery shop like no wife has needed to before, so I loaded up and headed to Albertson’s. Brian asked for me to get him some Tylenol because we were out, so while I was in the drug/pharmacy area, I got this weird feeling in my heart that I needed to buy a pregnancy test. I had never bought one before, and I honestly did not even know how to use one! But the little voice in my heart just wouldn’t shut up, so I threw the box in my basket. You see, the bad part is…I went to the drug/pharmacy area first, so then my mind was swirling around that little white box, and I ended up buying Tylenol, bananas, Gatorade, and a pregnancy test. I had a list of over 20 items…

Anyway, Brian went to work, and I didn’t want to worry him because he had a HUGE test on Tuesday, so I took the test by myself at home, and well….two pink lines warmed my heart forever. 

I said I didn’t want to worry Brian, but at that point, my mind was in a million directions…including on the road to Brian’s work. I called him and asked him to come to the car, and I knew he could tell something was wrong. As soon as he got to the car, I jumped out with the two tests in my hands and screamed, “We’re going to be parents by Christmas!” His eyes widened, and his mouth dropped, and we both stood there in complete silence as Brian confirmed the tests. Then, we hugged, laughed, and cried at this unbelievable, unexpected blessing. Brian was such a good father and husband at that point. He just comforted me and asked all of the perfect questions. We hated to part at that moment, but as we said our goodbyes, neither of us could wipe the smile off of our face.

The next few days were FULL of joy and a lot of fear (I mean…a mental breakdown approximately every 5 hours for two days straight fear). We spoke to our insurance agencies and our doctor and got things straightened out. We went in for a “legit” pregnancy test at Shannon Hospital, and it was confirmed! That Friday, we had our first sonogram and got to see our little bundle in the making. We confirmed a due date (December 4, 2012), and we got set up on the pregnancy doctor plan. Before we knew it, I was popping prenatal vitamins, and we were diving straight into the parent world…

We set up another appointment for May 3rd (about 4 weeks later), and in those weeks between, that first trimester really started to take a toll on me. For all of you mothers out there, you probably know what I mean. The worst part was that we had barely told a sole, so I had to hide my sickness from my friends and family, which made me feel even more sick. Brian was such a trooper and made me breakfast and dinner every day. He even packed my lunch on the few days where the mornings were bad! He seriously has made these first few weeks so much easier. I did have to take Keflex, an antibiotic, for 10 days because the doctor found that I have Group B Streptococcus, which is a special type of strep bacteria that sometimes creep up in pregnant women. Long story short, they just want to make sure that the bacteria is gone before the delivery, and when I do go in for delivery, they will hook me up to an IV that will pump the antibiotic into my bloodstream throughout delivery. It’s really not a big deal, unless it goes unnoticed. All will be fine! I took the pills like a champ and suffered through it! Well, the pills had penicillin in them, so I developd a yeast infection, which we treated right away! But unfortunately, the yeast infection gave me a UTI, which I am currently treating with Macrobid! Phew…lots of infections, but I am being very diligent about keeping them under control. And the baby is completely unharmed!! Enough about sickness, though! Let’s talk baby!

On May 3rd, we really got to see our little bundle, and it was moving like crazy in the sonogram. Brian says she (oh yeah! Did I tell you we THINK it’s a girl? And by we…I mean Brian and me...we really just want a healthy, bouncy baby, but we’ve been using “she” since we found out!) was waving to us! I think he was right…she was just happy to be seen. We heard her heartbeat for the first time…an emotional and mind-blowing experience. I honestly don’t know why God has blessed us so much, but I am so thankful that He has because I am already in love!

During my 10th week of pregnancy, I was a busy, crafty bee. I wanted the reveal we had for our parents to be extremely special. From the beginning, Brian and I wanted to surprise them on Mother’s Day because we just thought it was the most blessed day to tell our mothers that I, too, am going to be a mom. Plus, Mother’s Day landed right on my 11 weeks mark, so it was basically PERFECT timing (Thanks, God!). Being the creative planner I am, I wanted to make sure that our families were shocked and could leave with a concrete memory. I decided to create cards for our moms, dads, sisters, and my brother-in-law-to-be. I made each card the same, but the outside of the card was personalized to each family member. On the outside of the card, I put their name that Baby H will call them (my mom was P Patti, our sisters were Aunti MoMo and Aunti Sarah, etc.). On the inside, I put a picture of Brian and me on the left that had our due date on it. On the right side, I placed our latest sonogram picture, and under the picture, I wrote “Can’t wait to meet you…”

So during my 10th week of pregnancy, I worked hard to get each of these cards finished (7 in total!). Honestly, I think they came out perfect…

On Mother’s Day, both of our families gathered at Brian and I’s house for lunch. We did the same thing last year for Father’s Day, so no one suspected a thing! Brian had us all circle up to pray, and before he began the prayer, he said that we needed to give our moms a card. I ran and got the cards from our room, and I handed the one to my mom as Brian handed his mom’s card to her. We sat for a while and watched their faces. COMPLETE SHOCK….then surprise….then TEARS. Lots and lots of tears. We quickly passed out the cards to our dads, sisters, and Lenny, and they all finally caught on to the surprise. It was a great moment for all of us. My best friend, Emily, filmed the entire surprise, so if I can figure out how to post a video on this blog, I will definitely show you guys how it all went!

It was a great, great first Mother’s Day for me! We told our entire family, and a few days later, we were able to tell our friends (thanks, Facebook!). It’s been a great week, and we are thrilled that our little bundle of joy is surrounded with so much love. We can’t wait to meet Baby H!

God sure does know when to knock on the door to let a surprise sneak in, and I know that He has planned our baby all in His time, and I cannot wait to see what He has left in store for all three of us. Welcome to our pregnancy journey! 

From our (growing!) family to yours,

Questions you may be wondering:
What foods am I craving? Bean burritos. All. The. Time.
How many pounds have I gained? Not an ounce so far!
Am I showing? Nope!
Any names? Oh yes, but those will be revealed much later.

And....8 months later....

Well, it seems as if my blogging skills have (again) fallen short. Whoops! I apologize for leading you all to believe that Brian and I may or may not have entered the witness protection services, but good news! We still live in San Angelo, and we're still married, and we have experienced a TON since my last posting in August. Oh! And we haven't witnessed a single crime...whew! I can't tell you everything we've done in the past 8 months in one blog post, but I can hit the highlights! Highlight 1: Brian is almost finished with his 3rd semester in PT school! Only 6 more to go! Highlight 2: Brian got the GA and RA positions for his PT class, so he is doing fantastic - of course! Highlight 3: I graduated from college with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, and I began a Master of Arts degree in Curriculum and Instruction, so I am staying quite busy as well! Highlight 4: I have been teaching at Grape Creek HS this semester, but I just received word that I got a teaching position at Central HS beginning this fall. I could not be more excited. Highlight 5: Morgan got engaged to Lenny, which is a great addition to the growing May family! Highlight 6: Our precious puppies are doing incredible - Riley got a summer cut the other day and looks like a baby again! Highlight 7: Dad got a great job as Provost, so mom is busy again being the wife of a VIP. Highlight 8: Our little house has definitely become a home and in this crazy semester, it has become a very messy home....but that's what makes it memorable, right?! Highlight 9: We will be moving to Temple this summer for Brian's first clinical in PT school! Highlight 10: Morgan will be married on August 18th, so....planning is well well WELL underway! That about covers it....it's good to blog again - I forget how much of a stress reliever it can be. From our family to yours...

Already a Year??...No Way.

On Sunday, Brian and I celebrated our 1st Wedding Anniversary...what?!?!?!?! A whole year! I can't believe it. Like really...I think back to how long a year used to seem when I was in high school, and I truly can't believe it's been a year. Two semesters. And a summer. A YEAR!

On Saturday, my in-laws had us out to their house, along with my parents and my grandfather, to have a nice dinner and to watch the wedding video again. The food was great, and remembering all those times of last year was just unbelievable. My mother-in-law set out little mementos from our wedding, too. I loved reliving every moment and realized, yet again, how blessed and lucky I am to be married to my best friend. He is truly incredible...truly!

On Sunday, we revisited the church we were married in, and it was very special to think of all we've done since we last stood at that altar. Then, we went to lunch at his grandpa's house, and that afternoon we just relaxed with one another, watching golf...which is weird because I HATE golf...oh what you will do when it's your anniversary!

That night, we went to eat at Outback and went to see Captain America. It was a GREAT night! We came home to a surprise set-up from my mom. She set up the cake top from our wedding (and she made us a delicious Italian Cream Cake for us to eat after we had that tiny bite of our cake top!). She decorated it all with little aspects of our wedding a year ago...Look at what she did!



As if you couldn't tell, I love my husband. I love him so much more, though, for being my husband. He's my best friend. My caretaker. The father of my future children. My rock. My hero. My provider. He is unbelievable. I don't know how I got so lucky....thank You, God, for blessing me with this wonderful man. And thanks for making him SOOOOO easy to look at, too!

I love you, babe....to the moon and back!

From our family to yours,

New Mexico's Little Taste of Heaven...Ruidoso

Last weekend (the 5th-7th), we went to Ruidoso. Let me clarify. Mom and I went on Wednesday...the boys met us Friday because dad had work and Brian had class. Anyway, we did a bunch of shopping and relaxing and finishing my class while they were away. The real fun started when they got there, though!

We went to the races...duh!

We went dancing...surprise!

We...I mean Brian...went to the casino!

We saw old friends!

We played tennis!

We went out to eat....

It was a pretty typical trip to Ruidoso, and did I mention it was anywhere from 55-65 degrees everyday! We watched it rain every day and wished we could take it back with us (which we sort of did!). It was a great trip...

I don't know if I've told you about Brian and I's tree. I'll refresh your memory. In 2007, my family and I took Brian to Ruidoso for the first time. We stayed in a little cabin that had a big tree right in front. Brian spent a couple days carving out B ♥ M 07 into the tree. From then on, we have gone BACK to the tree every year and taken a picture with the carving. We missed out in 2008, but we have a picture from 2009, 2010, and now 2011!! In order, here are the pictures....starting from 2009 until 2011.





From our family to yours,

Rangers and Birthdays

Well, on a random Tuesday, I wake up to decide that hey! why not go to the Rangers game that night? I talk it over with Brian...he's game...call dad (who already had tickets) and we were off that afternoon!

We had a great time and figured we are at the point in our lives where we can be spontaneous like this, so why not take advantage of it! We first sat pretty high up in the stadium, but we were in the shade and had room to kick back. Then, we moved to a suite where my parents and Morgan were sitting.....

Then...

THENNNN....

We moved to the first row RIGHT BEHIND HOME PLATE!!! Yes, we were on TV...Saw Josh right up close...took pictures....made ourselves look like idiots.... It. Was. Awesome.

Here's a few pics from our time (notice how my hair changes from cute to AWFUL as the game progresses. Thanks Texas weather!)





Now onto birthdays....MY birthday, in fact! I turned 22 this year, which means I can do basically everything I've been able to do for a year now...only I'll be 22. woohoo!

I had a great day. Brian took me to eat breakfast at my favorite - Kenny Blanek's! They have an amazzzzinnngg Western Omelet. Try it! Brian had a test that day, so he was off to school and I....well IIIIIIII did a whole heck of a lot of NOTHING! It was great! I went to eat lunch with my mom, my sister-in-law, and my mother-in-law. The night before, my mother-in-law had us over, and she made me chicken strips. They were sooo yummy!

That night, my mom and dad had us over, along with Mama Pat, Uncle Tommy, and my best friend, Emily. She made BREAKFAST FOR DINNER (translation: only the most delicious thing on the planet!). We had multi-grain pancakes (I have the recipe for this one...they are FANTASTIC), the famous Charlotte Weishuhn Waffles & Syrup (yep! have that recipe, too!), sausage balls, bacon, blueberry muffins, and a HUGE platter of fruit. Huge. It was a great night!

I got wayyyyy too many presents from my family and friends, but I HAVE to show you the cake Brian had made for me. Check it out!


I am way too blessed to have the family that I do. Love you all!

From our little growing family to yours (nope, still no baby!),

Watch Out Texas!!

I guess it is about time I let you all in on my most recent news - no, not a baby...sorry for the disappointment! On June 25th, I got up bright and early to head up to ASU to take both the PPR 8-12 and the ELAR 8-12 tests (translation: the certification tests I have to pass to become a teacher...whew!). I showed up around 7:15 AM, eager to take my test at 8. Well...we waited.

And waited.

Waited a little more.

Then topped that off with a little more wait time.

Did I mention it was 7:15 AM? And did I also mention it was already well over 95 degrees outside? I guess I also forgot to mention that we waited OUTSIDE!!! Gracious...

Anyway, at 8:30, we were all a little concerned. We finally found out that the "test administrator" didn't show up (translation: they had no idea we were coming and tried to make it right in the hour and 15 minutes we were standing there and it didn't happen so they blamed it on the MIA "test administrator"...lame). Talk about frustrating! I had spent several...severalllllll weeks preparing for this test, and now I had to put it off until July 9th when they said they would let us make it up. Well, I guess I was better off than the woman on the floor wailing because she had to have her test taken by July or she lost her job. I guess I was also better off than the woman who drove over 4 hours to get to the test that morning and had rented a hotel room. I guess I was also better off than the woman who was in route of moving and had her U-Haul hooked to her Tahoe...

Anyway....I took it again on July 9th.

3 weeks later - results.

I PASSED BOTH WITH FLYING COLORS! :)

Say hello, Texas, to your newest certified secondary English teacher! I will student teach this fall at Grape Creek High School, graduate in December, and hopefully get my own classroom in January. Hey seniors of GCHS....bring it on!

From our family to yours...

Brian's Birthday...23 Makes You Feel Older Than You Think

On July 20, 1988 God blessed this earth with a handsome young boy that would one day become my husband. Whenever I try to comprehend the journeys and decisions that God makes for us when we are so young I get a little dizzy. But I know one thing - God definitely knows what He is doing.

Last Wednesday I tried to make Brian's birthday as special as possible. He was not too thrilled about the idea of turning 23. I, however, think it's a great age!! I tried to tell him that HE IS NOTTT OLD, and that he has A LOTT to look forward to, but he was a little hard headed. At first, he told me he didn't want anything for his birthday and he just wanted Little Caesar's pizza for dinner. Umm...no.

His mom came over for lunch and we enjoyed Papa John's Pizza (he was really stuck on the idea of pizza, and we were not going to allow him to eat Little Ceasar's). He wanted money for his birthday because he wants to save up to get a nice gun eventually.

That evening, I got dressed up. He got dressed up. I took him to Red Lobster because he LOVES lobster, but who eats lobster all the time? Not us. We're poor married, college kids. So...LOBSTER IT WAS! We got to Red Lobster and found out we had about a 5 minute wait. I ran to the "bathroom," and Brian had no idea what was going on...

We sat down and about 2 minutes later (right on time!) his best friends walked up to surprise him with a birthday drink! We had all planned this surprise for about a week, and Brian had absolutely no clue! He was so shocked and excited. We had dinner with our good friends Isidro, Tyler, and Richard. It was a great dinner, complete with lobster and shrimp! I gave Brian his present, which was a professional photo book that my photographer, Annette @ Great Expectations (she's the best!!), and I had been working on for about 6 months. The book pictured his track experiences all the way back from 7th grade to this year's national meet. It was a special gift, and Brian was so happy to receive it. His friends loved it, too!

Then, we came back to our house to eat cake and celebrate his birthday with his friends. I made a lemon pound cake, Brian's favorite!, and it was a hit! I also got Brian a tennis racquet that he was hoping for, and I got him one more gift, but it isn't in yet, so I can't ruin the surprise!!

I think he had a great birthday....after all, 23 isn't so bad anyway.

Happy Birthday, Brian:) And PRAISE GOD, for blessing this world with Brian 23 years ago. You really do know what You're doing!

God Bless the USA!

Let me remind you of Brian's Physical Therapy Schedule......basically, it means he has like 0 minutes to do ANYTHING except study...awesome. Well, because 4th of July fell on a Monday (Thanks God:)), Brian got a day off from school, which made for a 3 day weekend! Woohoo!! Well, we obviously took advantage.

We headed out on Saturday to San Antonio and spent the day at Sea World with Morgan and her friend, Lenny. We got to see the great shows that Sea World has going on right now, including Azul, which has acrobats!! It was great! We stayed in San Antonio at a brand new hotel that was pretty proper:)



On Sunday, we went over to Fredericksburg to meet my parents and watch the horse races (and get those yummy peaches!). Brian and I ended up winning about $30, which isn't so bad!! That night we hung out by the pool and enjoyed being away from the study desk.



On Monday, we went to Bass Pro Shop and La Cantera to shop and we got an iPad!! Yay! We really did have a great time. We drove home to San Angelo on Monday and watched the fireworks with all of our PT friends at the ASU Lakehouse. It really was a picture perfect first 4th of July. I feel so blessed to have a husband that takes care of me and loves me unconditionally; God bless US and the USA!!!

From our family to yours,

Praise, Praise, Praise the LORD for Rain!

This is the first thing I heard from my good friend, Alex, today at work.

Alex: "Whoever said it's going to rain today is crazy! It's so hot outside!"

Unfortunately, we all agreed because we knew that rain was not even in sight. When I got home, I told Brian...

Me: "Hey, did you know there's a 40% chance of rain today?"

Brian: "Yeah, but I doubt it happens. I'll believe it when I see it."

Again, sadly, I agreed.

Then, I got to thinking (here's my attempt at being deep)...if we had to SEE everything to BELIEVE it and if we never had faith that maybe KLST and KSAN Weather-Watchers do know what they're talking about (I mean, they did go to school for a few years learning how to predict this kind of stuff....and they're only human...they make mistakes!) then maybe God wouldn't want to give us any rain at all. Maybe this whole time, we have been so skeptical of it ever raining that we haven't had FAITH that it actually would. Am I right?!

Well, I think God smiled when I thought that because I said to myself...."God, I trust You, and if You want us to have rain, You will give it. If You do not want us to have rain, then You will protect us through it." Then, I think God shed a little tear...then some more....and for a little bit, I think God bawled.

Thank you, Lord, for the sweet, precious rain. We Praise YOU for this blessing!

From our family to yours,

New Events...Old Memories

Brian had the privilege of serving as a groomsman to one of his oldest friends (and groomsman of our wedding), Jake Halfmann, this past weekend. It was definitely different being on the other side of things for a change. When sitting at the rehearsal in First Presbyterian Church, I found myself reminiscing on our special day. It was magical, no doubt, and I kept trying to re-kindle those nervous/excited feelings that I felt the night before our big day. I was shocked to find that those nervous/excited feelings quickly came over me again! What a great reminder, showing me how much in love I am with my husband. I am unbelievably blessed to have him, and though for the rest of our lives we will always be on "the other side" of the weddings we attend, I will NEVER forget our own wedding or the feelings I felt before, during, and after that glorious day. God Bless August 14, 2010!

Remi's Party in the Park

Well....guess what?! We're actually CAUGHT UP! We were thrilled to celebrate (check it!).........

REMI'S FIRST BIRTHDAY

We threw a small party for Remi in his favorite park, Unidad Park. Here are a few photos from our fun time:)








From our family to yours.

Graduation:)

Ok...let's keep it short. BRIAN GRADUATED! He graduated with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Kinesiology with an Exercise Science option, which basically means....he has a good ride into PT school:)

He started PT school a few weeks ago, and he just finished his first test yesterday! He, of course, did AWESOME! Anyway, his graduation fell the same weekend as his Conference track meet, so he didn't get to walk the stage. In order to help him feel a little more loved (as if he doesn't feel enough love already!), I threw a surprise graduation party for him! He was surprised, don't ya think?!


From our family to yours,

Oh Yeah! TRACK!

Well, Brian ran his final season of track and field this year at ASU. Not only was this his final season at ASU, but this was his final season of track....EVER! It could NOT have gone better. I am so proud of him for everything he has accomplished so early in this life. He truly is my hero. I could sit here and list all of the awards, medals, and trophies he has gotten this year, but I know Brian, my humble husband, would rather you just SEE the highlights. I'll just quickly mention that Brian ended up with 6 Academic Athlete Awards this season, one being the NCAA Division II Elite 88 Award. Look it up: http://www.ncaa.com/elite88

Here are the highlights...I'll guide you through...

A few photos of random meets.




That about brings us to the Lone Star Conference Meet. Brian ran the 400m hurdles and the mile relay. And....drumroll!!!!!! BRIAN WON HIS FIRST CONFERENCE TITLE IN THE 400M HURDLES! He also helped his mile relay team run to the 2nd place title as well! Here's my proud moment:)


Brian was very blessed this year and qualified for the NCAA Division II National Track and Field Championships in both the 400m hurdles and the mile relay. He finished 10th in the nation in the 400m hurdles (a great feat!) and their mile relay finished 5th!


I was sad to watch Brian's last race, but at the same time, I am so excited to watch Brian grow in this next chapter of his life. He has so much ahead of him, and I can already tell.....he's going to be great!

From our family to yours,

MY Ring Ceremony

Wait what? Did I just type MY Ring Ceremony? That's weird...I have been so used to typing Brian's Ring Ceremony that I forgot I had one, too!

On April 28th, I was presented my ASU Senior Ring. It was a blessed evening, full of family and friends:) I was presented my ring and took pictures with my whole family and with Dominic, the ASU Ram Mascot. Here's a quick pic of Brian and Me on MY special day!