Mother's Day

Isaac and I had such a great weekend together. We were home ALL weekend and had no plans at all. Of course we had our own to do list, but we didn't HAVE to be anywhere at a specific time. It was heavenly.

We saw Ironman 2 Friday night. Robert Downey Jr is just adorable, and Gweneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johannsen were gorgeous as usual. See how I rate my movies? : ) The movie theater was packed, but Isaac went early to get good seats while I chatted on the phone with my BFF. It was so nice to have time to catch up with her!

Saturday was a work/errand filled day. I spent most of the day cleaning (including scrubbing the air vent--seriously, the air vent?), doing laundry, and running some errands. Isaac worked on painting the baby's room and had it done by the end of the evening--taping, and 2 coats of paint. The room looks awesome. We picked a bright yellow color that matches the crib bedding. It's so cheerful and sunny. I think I'm going to enjoy rocking the baby in that room. Isaac also assembled the crib. This wasn't too bad b/c we got the crib from a friend. I can't even tell you how beautiful this crib is! See for yourself--here's a picture of me on Mother's Day admiring the room. We're going to have a REAL baby in there soon.

My dear husband bought me a Mother's Day corsage to wear to church. It had tiny white roses and some blue accents--in honor of Baby Bird. It totally brought tears to my eyes. Isaac is seriously one amazing husband, and is going to be an amazing dad.

The weather on Sunday was completely amazing--70 degrees and sunny. Isaac went on his 10 mile run and I went for a long walk. Well, it felt long but it was only 3 miles. It's amazing how much slower I am with this big belly! : ) But I'm not complaining, it was such a wonderful hour spent outside!

So it was a GREAT weekend. Now back to work. I'm ending with a picture of a baby giraffe Isaac bought for the baby a few weeks ago. He is almost the same yellow as the room. He's the guardian of the baby and has spent his time on my dresser watching out for the baby. Too cute. He can't wait to play with the baby, and neither can we.

Have a great week all!

Passed Exam and other heavy things...

I passed my PMP exam on Friday. I am so relieved and excited this is done! My sweet husband was amazing throughout the whole process, and I am truly grateful to God for giving me such a wonderful guy.

I am grateful the exam is over, but I received some really hard news over the weekend. My sister in law's dad died on Friday. He was living with lung cancer, and really took a turn for the worse in the last few months. She was with him about 10 days ago prior to Kathleen's wedding. But it is still so, so hard for her. She lost her mom to breast cancer when she was 15, so this is doubly difficult. The funeral is in Chattanooga, TN tomorrow. But I am not going to make it. It's an 8 hour drive and I was just out of town all last week in ATL, and I have some major stuff coming up at work that I can't miss. I just feel so heart-broken for her and WISH I could be there. Fortunately my brother flew in to be with her today. And she'll have lots of friends from ATL (her hometown) that will come love on her. Please pray for my dear SIL.

ALSO, we talked to Isaac's grandmother on Saturday night. She has been fighting stage IV cancer for the last 18 months (she was diagnosed shortly before our wedding). She's been on chemotherapy and fighting like crazy. But her last CT scan shows that the chemotherapy isn't working anymore. They are going to stop treatment and provide palliative measures. I cried on the phone when she told me--all the while praying that she wouldn't hear me. She needs us to be strong and supportive, and we'll do that. We just want her to be as okay as she can. Fortunately, being off the chemo has helped her strength. She is coming to my baby shower in 2 weeks and I can't even tell you how relieved I am that I get to see her. She is an AMAZING woman.

So, my heart is heavy... as is Isaac's. But we're hanging on to God's promise of comfort in the midst of heart ache. Jesus promised us rest when we are weary and heavy-laden. I just want Cathy (SIL) and Nana to experience a supernatural amount of love and comfort this week.

Thanks for your prayers on our behalf.

Cramming

I'm in Atlanta for the week participating in a PMP exam boot camp. (PMP=Project Management Professional certification). It truly HAS been boot-camp like--long hours in the classroom, followed by hours of homework at night... but it will be worth it. I fly back to Raleigh tonight and take my exam on Friday at 12. I can't WAIT to get this over with, provided that I pass... and I PLAN on passing. I've been up since 3:30 am this morning not able to sleep. I woke up with a cold on Monday morning and have been battling it ever since. (Isaac is under the weather too. : ( )

But I can say I am HAPPY to get this behind me in just a short period of time. Then we can turn our attention back to preparing for the baby. He'll be here in about 2 months! WOW!

More pics and a post about Kathleen's wedding to come too.

Pray for me!

Sea Lions and La Jolla Cove

One of the first things we did while we were in San Diego was go visit La Jolla Cove. I'd been told it was a gorgeous place, and boy were they right! The cove is home to lots of Sea Lions, and is a perfect place for swimmers. I can't even believe how many swimmers were there in their wetsuits. The Pacific Ocean is COLD, so you pretty much have to wear one year-round. There were lots of kayakers there too. (I must admit I was a little jealous that these people have access to this on a daily basis.) : ) Don't you love how the Sea Lions snuggle up next to each other?



We walked along the sidewalk overlooking the Cove. We ventured down onto the rocks to get a closer look. And a really nice man offered to take our picture. You can see the waves crashing against the rocks in the picture. Beautiful!

California truly has some gorgeous beaches. The last time I visited Southern California about 7 years ago, I didn't want to leave. I actually made my dad drive by the beach to say "good bye" to the beach. And I contemplated packing up and moving West, but I would have missed my friends and family too much. (And California is pretty expensive!)

Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Wild Animal Park pictures coming next--including a baby elephant and lions. Stay tuned!

Belly Pictures For Julie

Hi all. We're back from San Diego and had a great time. But I realize I'm too tired to write the S.D. trip post tonight... so I'll just share some updated belly pics taken while we were in S.D.

I was a little over 28 weeks in these pictures. The baby is really growing, and I can tell I'm getting bigger by the day. But I guess it's time! According to my ticker, I have 76 days left. Time is flying. The baby is moving around a lot these days, and his precious little foot like to spend time right under my right rib. Goodness. According to the u/s I had a week and a half ago, he's 3 pounds already. I have a long, big baby already. (But u/s's are notoriously inaccurate, so I'm not worried... YET!)

Here is a picture of Isaac and me the first day in San Diego. We stayed on Coronado Island right across from the city. We're on the boardwalk right outside our hotel and the city skyline is behind us. This picture is head on, and my belly doesn't look quite as big.


But check this side view out! The Baby Bird is sticking out. (That's really what we call Baby J--Baby Bird... and I'm the Mama Bird, nicknames compliments of Isaac.)


And one more side view picture. This was taken at Dog Beach. Loved seeing all the dogs playing fetch and frolicking in the ocean. It was kind of chilly though with the sun setting and the wind off the water...

More San Diego pics and descriptions later... Night night everyone.

Easter

We had a great Easter. We started out by taking my mom to lunch in Burlington. We went to Skids which is THE BEST hamburger joint in the world--also home of the cherry coke (or diet coke in my case... yep, I indulged despite the caffeine, sorry baby). And then we went to the Carter's outlet. Isaac truly was like a kid in the candy store. We picked out several outfits for our little guy, and an adorable stuffed giraffe. My mom gave us a VERY sweet onesie that the baby will come home from the hospital in. I laid the onesie on my shoulder, and I can hardly believe how tiny he will be when he arrives! So, so sweet. Here's a picture of me opening my gift with my mom.

We headed to Salisbury after this to spend the rest of the weekend with my dad. We could not have asked for better weather. My stepsister and stepbrothers were there with their little ones. We had an Easter egg hunt (Isaac and I played Easter bunny and hid the eggs), and a delicious Easter lunch. I made apple pie and Isaac made cherry cheesecake. YUM. We went to Mass with my dad, and the church was absolutely packed. The church just built a new sanctuary that holds 850 people. But people were still standing. (Obviously a Christeaster phenomenon...) But it was wonderful anyway to see so many people gathering to celebrate our Risen Lord. Here is a picture of Isaac and me in our church clothes. I had a sweater on but it was just too warm! (I'm 27 weeks pregnant in this picture.) Isaac was the best dressed guy in the whole church--HANDSOME!

And finally here is a picture of Isaac, my dad, and me after the Easter egg hunt. Somebody guess how old my dad is? Would you believe he's 71? I think I have one of the most handsome dads in the world (and my brother is a spiting image of him).



We're grateful for our family, and for this Easter season. According to the church calendar, the Easter season lasts for the next 8 weeks so we have lots of time to reflect on the miracle of the resurrection and the significance of this event.

(Oh, and Isaac's barber made a big mistake on his haircut Friday. He accidently used the wrong blade to cut his hair, and so Isaac wound up with a military hair cut. I think he looks pretty cute myself!)

Thanks all

You all must have been praying because I feel 100% better than I did on Wednesday. (This gorgeous weather we're having is helping too I'm sure!) I'm super excited for the weekend, especially since Isaac was gone last weekend. We're heading to Burlington tomorrow to drop off boxes and to take my mom out to lunch. And then perhaps stopping in High Point to look for a dresser for Baby J. And then maybe going to IKEA in Charlotte to buy a mirror for the bathroom. And then finally stopping in Salisbury to celebrate Easter with my dad. We won't get anything done around the house, but we will get other important things marked off our "to do" list.

It's Good Friday, and Isaac and I will spend some time reading the Passion. I love Easter and the opportunity to reflect on God's grand redemption plan for US. So, so thankful for Jesus and what he did for us on the cross. I can barely fathom how he endured it. But grateful nonetheless.

Have a great Easter weekend everyone. Call someone you've been out of touch with for awhile. Let them know you love them.