Christian the Lion

Ok, as emotionally imbalanced as I am at 38 weeks, I probably shouldn't be watching tear-jerker you tube videos. But in my defense, I didn't think it would be that bad. Boy, was I wrong! Please, please, please watch this video of Christain the Lion and his owners, who went back to Africa to see him after they reintroduced him to the wild.

Watch it and if you can say you didn't want to just bawl, I don't know what to do with you! haha, it's so beautiful...a true affirmation of how strong the bonds of love and friendship really are.

Kentucky Waterfall

I deem this shower the "Kentucky Waterfall" after the certain type of mullet named for the great state (others are the Mississippi Mudflap and the Tennessee Tophat, classics!). That and we had more than a shower, it was a lot of things rolled into one - a great baby-moon, a couple of great parties and some great hanging out time with old friends. It was just a waterfall of great times squished into a tiny 4th of July weekend, and of course, I bawled when we left!


The weekend started off with us arriving, staying up later than I had all through my pregnancy and then going to visit my great friends and family in Lexington - Audra and Catherine and Garrett.


The shower was on Saturday so the fun was just getting started! The games here were just awesome too - "drink the baby bottle the fastest" was won by my one and only and I don't think anyone really won the "guess the baby food" game, but there were some good ones and some BAD tasting ones! Those were my favorites. The food was great, thanks so much to Carly and Sarah for helping Manda, Catie, Courtney, Cara and Lee out!



Ross was happy because they got to brew some home brew on Saturday, too. And he got to enjoy the nectar of life, Kentucky bourbon, of course. I don't think he was too thrilled about the "fortune telling gift" that Trey gave us - that our daughter is a future romance novelist! Haha, we'll see...


We miss you all so much, we can't wait to see you again soon for "whetting" the baby's head. Did I spell that right? Haha!!

Shower? More like a flood!

I've been to a few showers in my time, but never to one just for me (+ 1/2). I was pretty nervous and excited about what was in store for me on this day, which was a month ago almost exactly! Since I didn't have a blog at the time, I wanted to show what a great time we had that day...

There was a custom diaper cake (pic borrowed from Sarah's blog) - and a real cake - and peach crisp, fruit and daiquiries for the unpregnant folks! The girls from work threw it for me and it was so nice of them to bring so many goodies and share our joy for the new little one joining our lives soon!

And did they ever come out in force - the beloved boppy was given, which I am very excited about! And onesies, a little floor jungle, books, bibs, socks, even breast feeding pads! I'm sure I can't even begin to believe how handy all of these things will come to be to us.

But the best part had to be the games. The GAMES!! Pardon the cleavage shot, but I have to highlight this game - take notice the brown contents of this little diaper - it was a game to tell what kind of candy bar was melted in one. I got them all right, and even Melissa, who can't smell a thing, got them all right! I was so impressed. I've never seen anything like it.

We were so tired and my face was so sore from laughing so much, so I went home to take a nap while mom, dad and Ross went back to painting and assembling furniture. I love those days... we're such a bunch of lucky ducks.

Nesting anyone?

It's official! I'm in the nesting phase, and now that I'm here, I can't find anything we need! I just feel so behind on getting the baby's room together, getting curtains up in the living room and keeping our hydrangeas alive. Thank the good Lord that Ross is there every step of the way, just nodding and being a good little house husband on the weekends. He's been so fabulous through it all, and just 2 weeks to go!

Since I didn't have a blog back when we were getting started building our little nest, I wanted to share some photos and mementos on here! Now, this is the nearly-completed room, minus our glider, A LOT of clutter, any wall decorations or lighting, our Amby baby bassinet and the crib bedding we got this past weekend...

It was not easy getting to this stage (although it was easier for me since I was put on couch arrest - no painting or heavy lifting for me!), so here are some pics of Ross, my mom and dad painting. You'll notice how Ross got the big roller and dad was "stuck" with the little roller. I think he liked it though, he is such a goofball!

Once the paint dried, it was furniture moving time! We had to go pick up the furniture before our shower at my good friend, Sarah's house (I'll post those pics next!), then put them all together. Can you see the sweat on this man? He's amazing! We were sooo lucky to get the furniture we wanted because it usually takes 2-3 months to receive after ordering because they have to be made at the factory! So we got the floor models which are just as good - and perfect for our new little angel comin'!

That's what we've done so far, it's been a wild 8 month ride and I can't wait for the little bumps to come (and go, sadly...). There are so many gifts and well wishes that our friends and family have sent our way, and I will post them all and try to keep up with everything - here's a teaser: you should just see the closet full of the cutest little girl clothes ever from Granny Helen and Gran Val!

Outta Sight

I'm not sure if I'm getting a bit of the baby blues lately, but I've been really missing some amazing people that I haven't seen for years, and some that I saw not too long ago but I want to see again!

I'll start with the farthest away - Daga and Katja - we've been through so much together and it seems like just yesterday I dropped you off at the airport. What a summer and the last few years we've all had, too. I'm so glad we've kept in touch through the years and have been there for each other over the crazy spaces of oceans, continents and everything. And here we are, getting all grown up! I can't wait to see you girls again soon, come back to the US anytime!!


Then there's my BFF, Emily, too far away in Iowa! The last time I saw you was about a year ago, and that's way too long! Life happens, I know, but I thank the Lord that I've still been on your mind from time to time and we still have our crazy Christmas game nights! Brooke and Mindi, you guys are in there too. You are traveling fools and hard workers and I love you! Here's a shout out to Mindi, especially, celebrating her wedding to Ben!


And of course, I don't get to see my family a lot since they're 5-6 hours away, either in Iowa, Oregon, Guernsey, Kentucky and Tennessee. But when we do see eachother, it's a ton of fun and I plan on posting a lot about them in the next few months because I'm going to be sorely missing them and crying on their proverbial shoulders a lot for advice in the middle of the night! Here's to you, mom and dad, Teresa and Jeff (me and Teresa in the pic), Chris and Melissa, Doug and Steph, Renee, Missy, Aunt Diane and Uncle Tom, Aunt Barbie and Uncle Cal, Grandma Pat, Grandma Hanna, Aunt Lindy and Uncle Jerry, Angie and Jonny, Danny and Lindsay, Catherine and Garrett, Helen and Martin, Jamie, Zoe (just as good as family!!) and Gran Val!


Then there are our wonderful, fabulous friends in Kentucky. Lee and Manda, Jeremy and Sarah, Jason and Sara, Carly and Eric, Audra and Nathan...how can I ever thank you for that and for keeping close through the miles too? I'm sure looking forward to lots more weddings, babies and happy story sharing in the years to come!


And we can't forget our new friends in Kansas City! Melissa, Sheridyn, Sarah, Katie, Linda, Paula, all of you guys have made our time here so great!! I'll be posting pics of all of you later, hahaha!

Last but not least, my dear readers (all zero of you so far, I'm sure!), I hope you know that if I forgot you, my "mom-nesia" has kicked in but that doesn't mean I don't love you! I hope you always know that you may be outta sight but never out of mind!!

It already fits!

Ross' grandma Val lives on the next island over from his mom, Martin and his brother, Jamie. It's called Alderney and it's just as cute as can be, and even smaller than Guernsey if you can believe it! Well, she was gifted with a special talent to do amazing things with yarn and her mind. She can see a little outfit in a shop for $100 and go home and recreate it with more love and care than any money can buy. This little outfit came in the mail a few weeks ago and I had to try it on.

Well, not literally! Come on...but the hat, the little cardigan and booties just took my breath away. How could a little person be so tiny? And how can this person possibly be on loan from Heaven to us?

It's a good feeling, and a wonderful feeling to know that no matter how you're feeling at the moment, someone 6 hours ahead of you and half the world away from you could be up late building you something that will be cherished forever. This little girl is going to need a huge hope chest for all of these memories!!

The first of many...

I've been inspired by many friends doing this crazy blogging thing, so I think it only fitting to get into it and have my first post commemorate the many, many firsts to happen to our little growing family. Where do I start?
My first (and only!) marriage to my husband, Ross, is coming to our three-year anniversary. This is by far #1 in my book because he is the greatest thing to have happened to me, and without him, none of the other 'firsts' could be. We've lived in three states and only one country so far, thank goodness, and have finally landed somewhere we want to be for a while!

Our first baby is on the way, a little girl, who is yet un-named. This photo is me at around 7 months. This is also the first time I haven't been able to decide on a name for a little something in my life. Dogs are so much easier! She'll be here on or around August 15th and we couldn't be more tickled...pink! haha!! I'll post more later on names, the list just keeps getting longer.
We bought our first house a few months back, and the first flowers on our pink hydrangeas are popping up, as well as our pumpkins, tomatoes, herbs and peppers. Wow. We actually have a home and not a cement jungle apartment anymore!!

My first long-term full-time job, at AdFarm, is really taking off and we are doing better than we ever have! Oh! And Ross is technically an official Permanent US Resident (as opposed to the former Conditional Permanent US Resident) and can stay in the US for another 10 years, yay!! He also started working for Citibank five months ago - his first full-time American job, and he really likes it, which is definitely a plus.

Not only that, but this is also the jumping off point in our lives. We're determined to livenlove every minnituvit. With our family and the Lord intertwined, we are so very blessed with a great big, happy family spanning two continents and keeping together across a big wide ocean. How wonderful is it to call so many places "home"? Iowa, Guernsey, Missouri, Kentucky...we miss them all! It's always 5 o'clock somewhere besides where we are and you can't get much better than that.

And last, but not least, to my friends, and all of their firsts - and seconds and beyond - who may like to peak at this blog when they're not too busy. Thanks to each of you and your big and little ways of showing that you care.