Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Baby #3 is on the Way!


You read that right! We are PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!! Not just a little pregnant but 16 weeks 1 day and yes that one day counts to me. We have been waiting for the time to come when we felt ready to share our big news. As most of you know we have faced our share of disappointments in this area and we wanted to wait until we could share with confidence and have our friends and family be excited for us and not scared for us!

Many of you know we experienced a miscarriage at 10 weeks and had a D&C on Dec. 19. To our great surprise and God's infinite plan we conceived again just two weeks later. I don't think this is normally the best thing to get pregnant again so soon after a loss...and the Lord know we have been on the waiting and waiting side of trying to conceive as well...but this time God say GO! This pregnancy got off to a very rocky start with a sub chronic hemorrhage at 5 weeks in which we were sure we were losing this baby as well. God had other plans and at each ultrasound and blood draw things continued to progress. So here we are at 16 weeks with what appears to be a healthy(with two kidneys, bladder and tons of fluid), active little GIRL!


We are over the moon and I am so so excited about another girl! I know ella will be a great big sis and I am so excited about her having a little sister to grow up with! Have I already said that I just cannot stop smiling! The Lord GIVES and the Lord takes AWAY and blessed be the name of the Lord!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Easter Re-Cap and more

Easter morning!

I think she is wondering why I put her on the bench we never let her sit on!
Jesus is ALIVE!

We had a great Easter yesterday. Just for the record...I didn't miss it this year (see last post)! In fact we got to church 30 min. early and even had time to snap a few pictures before and drop a desert off at my mom and dad's house. Preparation really does help...now if I can just do it this week and get us to church on time.

We've had such a fun and full Easter celebration. I think I've almost captured it all in this long post we hunted eggs twice, enjoyed a great Good Friday Service as well as Easter Sunday. (I still have Kevin and Ella's egg scavenger hunt to do. It is ready but yesterday was just too full and she got way too much! I think we'll do it tonight! I decided to start this as our little tradition last year when she was only 5 months and of course it was all her daddy doing it and for me to get the pictures...but I think she'll really enjoy it this year. I've hid the eggs in her favorite spots with easy clues that I think she'll understand.!) The eggs and fun activities will never be the focus of our Easter celebration...it is Jesus...but we do feel they are fun activities and traditions to take part of in our family!
I also took ella for her first haircut on Saturday. I had never even had it trimmed and it was in a million layers and was a bit of a mullet. Now she has a cute little bob that can grow more at one length. I was a little sad to leave her baby hair on the floor...they did give me a little bag with the first lock to take home. She looks like a toddler for sure now and let me tell you....she is acting like one too. Toddler boot camp here we come!

Such a cool kiddie salon!


Check out her stick on earrings...she thought she was big stuff!

These are some of my favorite pictures from this Easter!

Inside egg hunt at church!
I've got a prize egg!
Daddy and e scoping out an egg!
So cute!
Toot's egg hunt...the biggest and best egg hunt around!
Lots of eggs and prizes!
Oh course ella found the "trashy!" Have I meantioned that she is quite fond of trash cans!
I know just what to do!
Do I want this egg or that one?

Making resurrection rolls with my cousins!

Egg dyeing!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Don't miss this Easter!

Last year I almost missed Easter! I am not kidding! Let me explain. The day before Easter...last year....my somewhat type A personality went into a little overdrive. I decided that it would be so special if I made ella's first Easter dress (I know you are all thinking I am crazy...and don't worry I soon figured this out!) I had a smocked dress that I had been slowly working on for months. (Let me add here that I am no smocker. I have made 4 dresses all of which were somewhat train wrecks...one I wouldn't even let ella wear because of how tacky the buttons on the back look!) So I decided I would get the dress done and she could wear it for her very first Easter. I worked and worked amidst...nursing, changing diapers and caring for a 5 month old. When she went to bed for the night...I worked and worked and anything that could go wrong did. I got the smocking done and still had to put the dress together. Well, I can sew a little with my machine when it does what it is supposed to do...but of course it wasn't...major issues. The bobbin was messing up, the needle broke...and on and on! Finally at 3 am I went to bed with the dress almost complete, realizing that I am no Martha Stewart! I was physically unable to finish it. I felt so defeated. (It's funny how I let this get to me.....it's not like ella didn't have several beautiful dresses to wear for Easter...but I did!

I overslept...like way overslept...probably because I was delirious from staying up too late. I was panicked trying to get us ready for church...not wanting to miss the Easter service....(In my heart I really wanted to be there...to worship...to celebrate Jesus! ) Kevin was ironing as he often does at our house (he likes to iron and does a much better job than I do!) Well, he forgot to turn the iron down when ironing my brand-new silk Easter shirt from Ann Taylor (that I had just paid way too much for!) Yes, it was scorched and had many holes throughout! Poor guy he felt terrible! That was it...I demanded that I was just going to church today and I would just stay home! Nothing to wear on Easter! I know...so superficial...and it's not like it even matters! I guess this goes back to my childhood and always having the perfect new Easter dress each year! Anyways, after being furious and pouting for a bit I couldn't stand the thought of not going to church...we are not ones to just stay home....and it was Easter for crying out loud. So we managed to get ourselves together and get to church. We did miss all the music and drama but we did catch most of the sermon. I felt like I'd missed out!

The day continued to unravel...I left my camera at the restaurantwe ate at and thankfully an honest person turned it in and we eventually tracked it down. I also did not get any of the cute Easter pics of ella like I'd planned on getting. You know the ones where we are outside standing in front of a blooming azalea bush! I think at about 7pm I put her dress back on her and tried but this was the best I could get!

So, what is the meaning of all this! This year I am focused! No making dresses, no staying up too late (better get this done soon), no worrying about my clothes (I will be wearing my Easter dress from 4 years ago tom.), no sleeping in...the alarm clocks are set for 6:30, no last minute preparations for church (my diaper bag is packed andthe sippy cup made and in fridge)! Tomorrow I want to focus on Jesus and not Julie. I want to praise Him for dying such a terrible death for me. I want to honor Him as the King of Glory who left his throne and came to this world to die for me. I want to not let satan get a foothold in my day and distract me with the cares of this world. I have my armor ready....don't you miss this Easter!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Fashion Tips from my little Fashionesta!

First of all...accessorize, accessorize, accessorize! A girl can never have too many!




Secondly, a wrapped belt is a great way to turn a smocked dress into something more...modern!

Thirdly,Who said the croc was out??They are comfy and chewy! (ewww)
Don't forget...A longer shoe will always make you look taller, just be careful ladies!
Go for the sporty look! It pairs great with jeans!



Try this new way to wear a belt! It will accentuate the positive and looks great with a pair of PJs!!
Once again the sporty look is back! Get you a baseball cap for all those (just taken your piggy tails out) crazy hair days!
Finally, ladies...if you can't find the right bracelet just go with several ponytail holders...their colorful, cheap and no one will know!

(In conclusion, my little 18 month old loves to dress up...constantly! Can you tell why I cannot seem to keep my bedroom clean anymore! So much fun!)

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Bless You!

Ella's favorite new saying is "wess you!" It is so sweet and she immediately says it upon sneezing and is getting lots of practice with all the allergies and colds we've had lately! Unfortunately she is also saying it when she "toots!" Sorry for a lack of a better term! We are now working on excuse me!

Monday, March 30, 2009

Sunday School Picnic

"Hi friends...I'm here!"
Mommy trying to catch her for a pic!

Daddy's Girl!

We did a lot of this!

And then a lot of this!

And then a lot of this!

So cute!

Not so sure about getting my hands dirty!
But it looked fun!

I really think I could jump by myself!

Oh no..my capris fell down...I told mommy they were to big!
And daddy..don't just stand there...help!
Saturday our Sunday School class had a cook-out at a local park...and sure enough it was cloudy and rainy (which happens each time we have an outside event). Thankfully we were able to be under a shelter and the rain held off long enough for us to enjoy the afternoon. Ella was quite a mess. At events like that she has a one track mind that says GO! It's like she cannot even focus on anyone or anything but running and playing. We spent most of the cook-out chasing her...while the other one socialized and then we'd switch. She had a fun time and crashed just in time for the ride home. I must admit my little baby is looking much more like a toddler these days. Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

A Yummy Dinner


For the past few weeks I'd fallen back into a cooking slump...meaning I really didn't want to cook at all. This is a bad pattern to get into because it means eating out and eating not so healthy meals. I may have mentioned this before but just as I am not a wash and go kinda girl.... I am not a throw a meal together kind of cook. I wish to one day aspire to my mom's meal cooking (she can whip a meal together large enough to feed all 13 (plus titus and andrew who aren't eating yet) in no time. But as of now meal preparation takes a little time and effort for me. I also get tired of eating the same few meals over and over. It has to sound appealing in order for me to want to cook.

So this past week I was searching the Internet for recipes and found some great ones from Kraft foods. I have made three of the meals so far and they have all been yummy. Last night we had

Bruschetta Chicken Skillet (sounds fancy)! It was easy and yummy and I love skillet meals because you have less pots and pans to clean. Here is the recipe for those of you like me looking for new cooking ideas. It was pretty tomatoee(is that a word??) so if you don't eat tomatoes you probably wouldn't like it!

Bruschetta chicken Skillet

We also like the Tiramisu! It was easy, yummy and supposedly low-fat! Can't beat that!

Let me know if you try them!