Wow, I can’t believe it’s been over a year since I’ve posted a blog. Life hasn’t slowed down one bit… in fact I think it’s probably sped up a bit in our household. A lot has happened since my last blog. We’ve had a wedding, honeymoon, and are expecting our second little bundle of joy. Because there is so much happening in our lives right now, I’d really like to get this blog going again as part of a reflection journey. It’s easy to get  caught up day-to-day, going and going nonstop. This will give me the opportunity to stop and resonate the beautiful blessings in our life. I guess I’ll do a little catch up of what’s been going on for us the last year… 

WE GOT MARRIED!!! After 2 years of dating, 4 years of engagement, and a precious little girl … we did it! We will be celebrating our 7th “anniversary” in May but our 1st wedding anniversary June 2, 2013. Looking back in hindsight, I am so happy that we waited the amount of time we did to get married. I, personally, had a lot of growing to do. It wasn’t always easy– but the best things never are. Love is easy to fall into but the real test of love is facing the trials and tribulations with a “NO QUIT” attitude. There is a sense of comfort with marriage… a security unlike any other. I am most confident as a wife, mother, and person because of the security that my husband gives me. I know that I can be exactly who I need to be and he will always be there to support me. I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since our beautiful wedding day. The wedding itself will be a different blog post. We were surrounded by a lot of love and made a ton of memories. 

Fast forward to the HONEYMOON! The destination we chose was St. Lucia, at the very tail end of the Caribbean. I’m fairly certain it’s closer to South America than North America. It was absolutely breathtaking. The island itself is less than 240 sq. miles. We flew out of Miami, Florida and if I remember correctly… it was about a 3-3.5 hour flight. We flew over island after island. It was our first time being that far for that long away from Rylee. We had an incredible time and met so many wonderful friends from all over the place. We look forward to a reunion trip (maybe our 5 year anniversary)! We stayed at the Sandals La Toc… the St. Lucia locals and staff of the Sandals resort were the sweetest and happiest people. We happened to be there for an event called Carnival (that only happens once a year), we traveled the island, went to the local street party, got swallowed by waves, had a few too many BBC’s (a drink that was made of bananas & rum), went ziplining, and chilled out with some really neat people. Again, I think I’ll have to do a catch up series of blogs. 

A week before Christmas, I found out I was pregnant!!! We had been trying so it was no huge surprise. However, I kept it a secret from Mike because I wanted to give it to him as a “Christmas present”. It was the longest week of my LIFE. I had a friend of ours come over to the house and in about 30 minutes whipped up the most fun pregnancy reveal photos ever! I created a photo book for him and gave it to him Christmas Eve morning (I just couldn’t wait any longer). I also got Rylee a shirt that said “Merry Christmas to me, I’m a big sister to be” … that was the way we announced it to our family. It was very special… a Christmas we will certainly never forget. We are all super stoked for this baby. Rylee is going to be the best big sister ever. Okay– can we talk about child spacing a bit? Rylee is going to be 5 in JULY! How is that even possible?! She starts Kindergarten the same month I’m due with this baby. Anyway, I think waiting almost 5 years to have another baby was the best thing for our particular situation. We are both so busy that we wanted to be able to give Rylee as much of ourselves as we could before bringing another baby into the picture. She is old enough now to completely understand and embrace that a baby is coming into our lives. She will be starting Kindergarten which is a whole new chapter for her (and us). That will also allow us to spend time with Baby #2. We have her enrolled at Imago Dei Academy (a private Christian school) and I couldn’t be more happy for her. We have decided to wait on finding out the gender and would like to be surprised. We both figure there are very FEW opportunities in life to be that surprised and it’s so rare that people wait anymore. Our life is full of chaos and surprises so what’s another…? I do plan on a natural birth with no epidural as I did with Rylee, BUT this time I am going to do a water birth. Hopefully,  not knowing the gender will make me conscious of getting that baby out rather than the labor itself. It was a very empowering feeling to make it through childbirth without the aid of an epidural. Something very liberating about it as a woman. Childbirth itself is liberating and empowering and I am not taking away from those who choose other birth plans because no one person is the same. Everyone knows what best suits them and in some cases, they have no choice. I look forward to meeting this sweet angel. 

We have a lot more going on in our lives than just weddings and babies. We’ll save that for another time. I’m glad I could do a little catch up and look forward to getting back into the swing of things. 

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1. I don’t consider myself to be fashionable
2. I’m particularly plain
3. I’ve always wanted to own knee high moccassins (like my mom)
4. I love to wear hats
5. I’m not a fan of costume jewelry
6. I could live with only flip flops, Converse, and Uggs
7. I love a nice purse/bag
8. I consider myself a bit conservative
9. My favorite clothing stores are Anthropologie, J Crew, Urban Outfitters
10. I’m a scan shopper … I don’t need much time at all to find what I like

Here are some things I like & why …

 I’d kill for these boots that are no longer available at Free People! Color, buckles, style … I love everything about them!

A very simple outfit yet super chic!

All I will say is, I need to find a pink blazer.

Michael Kors is a genius. I love this chunky bracelet.

I love this outfit. Dark jeans with a leopard top.

Of course this time of year, a chunky infinity scarf is a must. However, I’ve yet to get one.

I love the jeans, striped shirt, and nude blazer! What I like even more is the Louis Vuitton Speedy bag. Again, simple but perfect.

This can be a DIY project if you know how to sew or you can ask your mom (which I will). I’m stoked for summer to get here so I can do this!

Not sure I’m this edgy, but I love this look … lace pantyhose under torn up jeans.

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So, I have been hoarding two things lately: makeup & books. Both of which interest & inspire me.

Here are some of the books that I have on my shelf at home collecting dust that will soon be getting the attention they deserve. I plan to read all of the following books in 2012, in no particular order.

I know there are some I’m missing but these are the ones that I cannot wait to open and dive into! Now that the semester is over … I have time to read for pleasure! Reading is good for the soul!

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