Kevin, Leslie, Katie, & Karly!!!!

It was such an honor to meet this fantastic family of four!!!  They trekked around seven acres with me, through a field of tall grass, over bridges, and even through a creek!!!  Kevin & Leslie have two beautiful daughters, and they all enjoy spending time outdoors, hiking, playing in the water, and just making the most of their time together as a family!!!  And the girls just loved the horses!!!!  What a fun day!!!!





Joel, Lore, and the Blueberry!!!

Meet Joel, Lore, and their baby-to-be, which I lovingly refer to as "blueberry" because I have been sworn to secrecy on the blueberry's name.  I'm feeling pretty special since apparently only me and an older South African gentleman on Delta flight 713 from Houston to Atlanta are privileged with that information!!!

Lore & I were in a sorority together at the University of Tennessee, and the best word to describe her is simply FABULOUS!!!  She is super girly but had a fun outlook and doesn't mind getting dirty!!!  Actually, when we met for the photo session, it started raining, but she was ready to go for it anyway!!!  Joel even joined and and played in the rain with her . . . with strep!!!  We got soaked but had so much fun!!!  And I have just loved hearing her talk about her pregnancy!!  She is so funny, and her husband is amazing!!!  Sooo . . . to put a new spin on things (and this may become a regular theme), I asked Lore to share a little about herself and her blueberry at the end of the post!!!  I'm sure you'll love her as much as I do!!! 

Letter from Lore:

I've taken care of children my entire life. I was the token babysitter in my church and neighborhood in middle and high school. In college I became a nanny watching many children part and full time. Post college after stints in Marketing and PR, I went back to being a full time nanny...because it was fun, easy, and I loved the children. So I'm well equipped to take care of infants through teens.

That said, you could have knocked me over with a feather on that December afternoon when I saw the two pink lines, especially since I took the test to "rule it out" as I had several times before.

I was in such shock! Especially since we weren't "trying" to have a baby, and in fact I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get pregnant easily or at all without doctors even if we were trying. Good news: I can!

I made my husband keep our little secret for 14 weeks. Fourteen! A lifetime for him because he was ready to send a skywriter back to East Tennessee to share the good news. When we finally announced it to friends and family, we also told them "it's a boy!"

I was so shocked in the beginning I couldn't even say the word "baby". So I began calling him "blueberry" since he was the size of a blueberry when I found out about him, and that name has certainly stuck. 

Last August we moved from the mountains of East Tennessee to the humid, dry, flat land of South Texas. We were living in a small apartment with nearly everything we owned in storage and trying to find a house. All while still being home/land owners a thousand miles away in East Tennessee. Finally, everything fell into place with selling our TN home and finding a lovely place to live in TX. I was 33 weeks pregnant! And it was 98 degrees with matching humidity on moving weekend. If you think many tears were shed about not having a place to bring my baby and him having to sleep with his furry big brother Mack, you'd be right!

Speaking of our sweet little baby Mack, a 45 lb terrier mutt, I've been a "stay-at-home-mom" to him since our move to Texas. So I really can't complain to much. I realize I'm spoiled! I've been able to relax and enjoy my pregnancy and fill my mind with roughly 1,437 ideas for baby (go ahead, you can feel sympathy for my sweet husband!).

Also, I've loved being pregnant! I was able to continue running through about 16 weeks. Then, I walked a couple of miles with Mack every day, and our home has a pool, so I'm able to swim when it's too hot (all the time) for anything else. Also, I'm able to eat fried chicken sandwiches from Chick-fil-a and enjoy a large sweet tea (Praise the Lord we found a place down here with sweet tea!) with reckless abandon and gain no weight. This sweet little boy is a like a cuter (and soon to be more expensive) version of a tape worm! I've felt great minus a very few random pregnancy symptoms, and I love how adorable clothes are on my round soccer ball-esque middle!

Now that we're so close to the end, 38 1/2 weeks, I'm somewhere between wanting this child yesterday and wanting to carry him another month (even in the three digit heat and matching humidity of South Texas!). I can't wait to meet my sweet little boy and tell him about the embarrassing day at Kroger he kicked me so hard he made my boob shake, and the bag boy's eyes became as round as pancakes. Also, I want to see his sweet little face. You see, though we've had three ultrasounds he's never let us see his face. He always covered it with his hands. But he's sure spread his legs and shakes his junk at us! Yep...he's a boy! On the down side my cute tummy and tight abs will turn to flab, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to work harder than swinging through the Chick-fil-a drive through for a number one with extra pickles and a large sweet tea. When he wakes me up three times a night, he'll probably scream at me and pee on me rather than just let me roll over and go back to sleep.

And also...my husband isn't paying me the salary I'm accustomed to for childcare. Go figure!

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for ICE CREAM!!!

I just LOVE Ryen & Courtney!!!  And no, it isn't just because they are the only people to take me up on my Summer Ice Cream Special, buying me some of my favorite ice cream (although that does help - hahaha!) . . . Ryen & Courtney are simply fabulous people!!!  They are the kind of people who manage to have both roots and wings . . . they have big dreams and are willing to take risks, but they are grounded in their faith and their love of family!!! 

I met Courtney back in high school through a mutal friend, and somehow through the craziness of our lives, we have managed to keep in touch!!!  She married the sweetest man ever (Ryen), and they moved to Maui, Hawaii for a few years.  Then, they decided to start a family and moved back to Tennessee!!!  When they moved back here, Courtney introduced several of my friends and I to a fabulous little game that we now play on a monthly basis . . . POKENO!!!  Yes, we're obsessed!!!  Actually, the only game Courtney ever missed while she lived here was the night little Ashley was born!!!  After Pokeno, I was sooo excited to get to swing by the hospital and meet little Ash!!! 

I am sooo thankful to be friends with such a fabulous family!!!  Ash & Conner are not only dashingly handsome little boys, but they are sooo incredibly sweet!!!!