I Love My Sister

My sister came to visit me on thursday night and left on saturday morning. We had such a good time in the short period she was here. It's always nice to talk to such a wise sister! She doesn't have kids but knows so much about what to do with them and how to treat them. It's amazing! Friday we had a long and fun day. We started off by doing lunch with our mom at Nuks, having yummy chicken salad sandwhiches and pasta salad. Then we made our way to Avery's elementary school to watch Avery square dance. She was definitely the cutest kid there, wearing the very special dress that my mom made her. Avery specifically asked for a country girl dress that would move with her when she did her square dancing, and that's what she got! It was too precious! Pretty soon she will be too old and cool to wear little girl stuff like that, so it was fun to see her be proud of it. Later that day my sister and I went to the Outlet mall and spent way too much money at Ann Taylor Loft. We ended up purchasing many of the same things and realized we have very similar taste in clothing. After shopping we had a nice sushi dinner and then came home to hang out with my husband. All this time, the baby was running around with us and was such a trooper. I really have the best baby in the world! Anyway, my thought for the day is that sisters are the best! They are always there when you need them, and even if you drive them crazy, they still love you. I love my sister!

Family Pictures

Emotional Ties

It's been awhile since I have posted anything. Sarah is 5 months now and I'm wondering where the time has gone. She has grown so much since we took her home and her personality has definitely shown itself. She has slept good from day one. After she got back up to her birth weight in the 1st two weeks we stopped waking her up to eat and let her wake us up instead. She immediatly started to sleep 4 hours at a time, then 5, then 6, and now we are at 10 hours!! She is very laid back and happy almost all the time unless she is hungry or tired. She smiles a lot and loves to be played with. The hardest part about being a mommy is the emotional ties you have to your child. I worry all the time about her health and well being. I worry that I don't get to spend enough time with her because I have to work. I worry about having to put her in daycare in a few months versus having a babysitter. I've been a step-mom for a long time and there are emotional ties associated with that, but there is nothing like having one of your own or one that is all yours that you are completely responsible for. Even though there is heartache associated with being a parent, it's the best thing I have ever done and wouldn't change it for the life of me. I look forward to worrying about my kids for the rest of my life. Another cool thing about having baby Sarah is that she has brought our family together full circle. Although Avery is not blood related to me, she is blood related to her sister, which is blood related to me and her dad. Sarah ties us all together and we have all felt the affects of that in a very positive and strong way. I see the love Avery has for her sister and it makes me so happy! I watch her daddy love that baby just like I've been watching him love Avery for years and that makes me so happy. I think God puts certain people in our lives for a reason. For example, he put John and Avery in my life a long time ago to give me a kind of love I had never known. I never wanted kids until Avery came into my life and changed my mind. Now he has put another person in my life that has further changed me and my life forever. Life is so amazing!!!

It's been awhile since I have made a post. I figured since I am home on Labor Day and have nothing pressing to do, this would be a good time. I am 5 weeks from my delivery date and I am super excited, nervous, and anxious all at the same time. I am good with kids, but have zero baby experience so this is going to be a major learning experience for me. Luckily my husband has done the whole "baby thing" before with Avery, so hopefully all his skills will come back and he can teach me. I have to say, this pregnancy has gone by very fast. In the beginning it seemed like it would be a lifetime of being pregnant, and now the baby is almost here!

I have totally enjoyed this year. Knowing that God gave us a gift and trusted me to carry her for 10 months and take care of her for the rest of our lives. So amazing! I also feel blessed to have John and Avery in my life right now. They have been so wonderful to me, supportive, helpful, amazing family while I've gone through all my crazy pregnancy issues. For example, when I get out of the car, Avery stands next to my door to make sure I can get out ok. She offers to help me all the time so I don't strain myself and hurt the baby. She told me the other day that life wouldn't be the same without me in it. I just about melted. Although it is hard getting my husband to do regular chores, he's amazing when it comes to doing projects....and we have a lot of those. I've been asking for all sorts of things lately and this week he was on the ball. I think it is his way of nesting. He installed shelving for me in the laundry room, organized the pantry, put a hook in closet for the ironing board, stayed up all night long painting the baby's room, installed three fans and three light fixtures! Not sure what lit the fire in his pants, but it's really sweet that he did all that. It's not just them doing things for me that makes me happy. It just makes me happy that they enjoy finding ways to make me feel special, just like I do for them.

John and I are having fun enjoying our last days together with "just us". We have been spending mucho quality time together watching movies, sitting on the couch just talking about life, going to dinner, running errands. Don't get me wrong, we drive each other crazy sometimes, but we are also best friends. I hope that we can always have that, even with a new baby coming along. The same goes with Avery. We have really been enjoying our last days with just her. She's such an amazing kid that I think the adjustment will go smoothly for her, but I do worry about her feelings and want her to be happy. With all these silly little worries, I know that our Faith in God will help us make it work out just right!

Anyway, that's what has been on my mind lately! Lots going on and lots of exciting moments ahead of us! I'll keep you posted!

This isn't the greatest photo I've ever taken, but I was told I'd regret not having any prego pictures of me later so here it is! I'm 6 months pregnant now....25 weeks to be exact. So far everything has been going well. The morning sickness didn't last long at all. Once the first trimester was over, I felt great. This second tri-mester I have felt really good. lots of energy! We have been busy at home working on house projects such as installing new flooring downstairs, painting, replacing light fixtures, etc. I figured this was a good time to do it while I still had energy. Now I'm at the end of the second trim-mester and I'm starting to slow down a bit. Mainly because my stomach is getting bigger and I don't move around quite the same. It's summer time right now and there is a heat advisory in Houston, which means it is hot as Hell!! This is probably the worst time to be pregnant, but we don't really get a choice do we?!?! :) So these days I spend a lot of time indoors either at work or at home. For excercise I run around my house nesting....all the time! I can't do enough to get ready for this baby. Somehow I think cleaning out closets and drawers is going to prepare me for a baby. hahaha. For real though, we are moving the guest bedroom into our office and the office will no longer exist in it's own room. The old office will now be the guest bedroom. I am converting the dining room into a reading room, which will have a desk with a small computer, kind of taking place of the office. Anyway...all this because of a baby!! :) I have a million things going through my mind these days like: how do I change a diaper, what if I drop the baby, how will the dog react to the baby, how will Avery react to the baby, will I ever sleep again, when do I get to have my first glass of wine after pregnancy (haha), what are we going to name this baby? What and who is she going to look like? You name it...I've thought of it! I guess this is what it's like to be pregnant for the first time. I do enjoy it with all my heart. It's totally worth the sleepless nights and the uncomforts of being pregnant. I love that I'm carrying a life that will affect my life, my husband's life, my step-daughters life, my whole family's life, other people's life...it's just so cool! I feel honored by God. Anyway, I'm rambling on. It's been a long time since I've written so I thought I'd check in! In 3+ month's you'll be seeing lots of baby and family pics...so stay tuned!!

We are having a baby!!

I am almost 11 weeks pregnant today! The last several weeks have been rough, as I haven't been feeling well and have been so unbelieveably tired. However, things are looking up, as this week I have had a burst of energy and have only been sick once. Other than that, I am really enjoying this time. I like reading my book that tells me how big my baby is and what my body is going through from week to week. This week I had an ultrasound and got to see our baby's arms and leggs wiggling around and the heart beating. It was the most awesome thing I have ever seen! I was sad that John couldn't be there with me, as he had to work. When he came home he looked at the pictures and said, "We made a baby!"...as if

it just hit him that we are having a baby. It was cute. I feel like I already look pregnant, which seems a little soon, but everyone tells me it is different for everyone. I guess it's all good! I'll get my body back another time! :)

Picture Perfect

Avery was taking a break from the sun. We loved this picture of her! This is a framer!

Family

Here's a family pic taken at the surfside beach. That was a super fun day! We met the Bergers, their neighbors and my brother and his girlfriend there. At the end of the day we had a campfire and had s'mores for the kids. Fun Fun!!

Nelson Art

My husband is always thinking creatively! We are getting this in a big black and white print to frame and put in our stairwell. We are all about the beach and water so thought this would be cool as a decorative piece in our house. This was a fun day at the beach as well so every time we look at this print we'll remember the day.

The Crew!!

This looks like so much fun! I can't believe they got that many people on that boat!

"Ahhhh....what a life"

Ave relaxing at camp mimi! Looks like Miss Diva!

Crazy Kids at camp Mimi

Kids posing crazy at camp mimi!

Camp Mimi - The Kids

Here's a recent pics of Avery and her cousin's at Camp Mimi. John's Mom (Mimi) takes the grandkids for a week every summer to go camping. This year they went to Kerville on the river. They had a blast! From left to right: Maddie, Ian, Ellia, Avery and Jack.

John - South Padre - 8/29/08

Doug just sent me this picture of John a few minutes ago. They arrived in South Padre at 1:30ish in the morning and camped out. They said there is no surf right now so they are packing up their stuff to head to the grocery store. Then their on a mission to find a good surf and fishing spot.

Avery's 1st Day of 3rd Grade!

Here's a cell phone pic of Avery this morning. Today is her first day of 3rd grade and she was extremely excited! Apparently she has a really cool teacher and she knows most of the kids in her class already....so....today is no sweat for her. It seems like just yesterday she was in kindergarten...time sure does fly!!!

Jules N' Mimi

Here's a picture of my mother-in-law (Mimi) and I at Bronwyn's shower. I couldn't have gotten luckier in the M-I-L department! She loves me, I love her and I'm very lucky to have her in my life. What I like most about Mimi is that I can talk to her like a friend and she has always made me feel so welcome and loved in her family.

Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer

My friend Amy was right! This is an awesome series of books written by Stephanie Myer (http://www.stephaniemeyer.com/). It's basically a love story between a girl and a vampire. Sounds kind of wierd, but it's really awesome. You get all the feelings when you read this book: romance, suspense, nervousness, anger...etc. When you read it, you really feel like you are a part of these characters. It's hard to keep my attention in a book unless it's really really good...and I can't put this book down! Here's the order of the series...I suggest you go buy them now if you haven't already!

1) Twilight 2) New Moon 3) Eclipse 4) Breaking Dawn

One more thing to add...there is a movie coming out in December for Twilight...so you must read it before then!

Favorite Moments

John at Willie Nelson Concert

This is a pic of John at the Willie Nelson Concert. I had a group of about 15 people (kids and adults) go to this concert for my birthday celebration. It was one of my most fun celebrations yet! If you weren't there...you missed out on a good concert and good times...there's always next year!

Ray Lamantagne Coming 10/23 - Houston

If you have never listened to Ray Lamantagne, you are missing out. He's one of the best music artists I've ever listened to. His voice will give you chills. His songs tell stories that really make you think and he can belt it out like no other. It's hard to describe his music so I just encourage you to go listen to some of his music on http://www.pandora.com/ or you can check out his website http://www.raylamontagne.com/home.php.

By the way, he's coming into concert on 10/23/08...I think I just might have to get tickets! He's also playing in Dallas on 10/24/08