Anniversary Vacation!!

So it's official - we're headed to LONDON for our 2 year anniversary!!! I am sooo excited!! We've been talking about taking a trip for awhile since I was able to schedule one of my vacation weeks during our anniversary. Once we found out I was pregnant...we got worried about traveling too far. But the doctor says we are good to go...that this is actually the best time to travel during pregnancy (the 2nd trimester). So - off we go! We're leaving Saturday May 30th and will come back on Friday June 5th.

So now we have to do some homework and figure out what we want to do/see while we're there. I also have no idea what kind of weather to expect so we need to figure that out so I can pack! Lots to do lots to do in just 12 days!



Anyone been to London?? Any suggestions on sites to see, places to eat, clothes to pack??

Exciting times!

So as most of you know...we are expecting our first baby (or "player to be named later" as Nolan likes to refer to it). Life as we know it will surely change come November 15th-ish. I still can't really imagine what this is going to be like. In fact, I'm still in shock that we're "adult enough" to even have a baby. Most days I still feel like a kid - could be that people tell me that at work all the time..."you can't be the pharmacist, you don't look older than 12." Always a compliment right! - maybe when I'm 40 I will appreciate that...we'll see.

Today was our second doctor's appointment. Nolan was kind enough to choose the 8:30 appointment on my morning off - fun times ;-) Just kidding, it was worth getting up for. I've been a little concerned the past couple of weeks because it doesn't seem like I'm gaining much weight, despite the HUGE amounts of food I'm putting away...but they put my mind at ease and said I was doing "just fine." Finally made it to a whopping 112 - my record :-)

The best part of the visit was hearing our little "poppyseed's" heartbeat for the 2nd time - Wow...breathtaking!! The nurse had the little ultrasound stick (for lack of a scientific term) moving it all around trying my belly to find the heartbeat. She kept saying "it will probably be hard to find at first because we're searching for a little peanut, so don't worry if it takes me a little while." Despite her reassuring, I think I held my breath until she found it. What a beautiful sound :) Afterwards Nolan tells me "I was praying so hard she would find it." I love my husband.

The second best part about the appointment - no wardrobe change required...which means a MUCH more comfortable office visit ;-) AND no needles involved...my kind of appointment. Oh, AND my sweet hubby stopped for Shipley's on the way - can't beat a day that starts with chocolate donuts and hearing your baby's heartbeat!

Let me introduce you to our lil' poppyseed...

this was the 4-d ultrasound from our 1st appt on April 14th


Hard to tell what's going on in there...but we were actually surprised at just how much you can see at the first ultrasound. Our lil' baby already had fingers and toes and everything! It looked like a little jumping bean, moving all around - we couldn't believe how much it was moving!

and this was the 3-d one - can't really see much, except that there is definitely a baby there!



Hopefully we'll post some pregnancy pics soon...not much to see yet even though I've officially passed up the 1st trimester. I'm just waiting for the nausea to go away as everyone says it will.

Happy Belated Mother's Day

Sunday was a beautiful day...Mother's Day



a day to honor all the moms that we love so much,
admire so much,
respect so much,
and appreciate so much...

a day to be thankful for my Mom and all that I admire about her:

~She is a mighty woman of God...a woman after God's own heart~

As a child/teen, I remember waking up each day for school to find her in a quiet room, in prayer for her children and the day before them. Each morning I always knew she'd be down there, having her quiet time, but I would still walk through her bedroom and peek through the door, not because I wondered what she was doing, but because I just loved the sight of her there, in prayer, with God's word open on her lap. It's probably my favorite memory of my mom growing up. I remember her leading us in devotionals at the breakfast table not long after my big sister and I accepted Jesus. I'll never forget watching her read her Bible quietly, that worn black leather Bible that still intrigues me to this day. I love seeing her notes scrawled across the pages. I remember her taking me to a women's Bible study at first baptist church with her one summer. I felt so honored, to get to sit among such amazing women and learn from them...this young teenage girl sitting among these mature women. It was a blessing and I'm glad she shared it with me.

~She is self-sacrificing~

It's funny how little you appreciate your mom while growing up...I hate to say that most of the work my mom did for us, I didn't really understand or appreciate until I had to do it myself. Like how every night she would cook dinner for us...and make us eat around the table together when all we wanted to do was finish our tv show. I never understood that sacrifice until I became a wife. I hate to say, but sometimes, ok most of the time for me, cooking is a chore - especially after a hard day's work. And I know my mom had a hard day of work, doing our laundry, cleaning up after us, sewing for us, taking care of our home, and often my dog (thanks for that mom!), driving us all over the place - to church, practice, you name it. Today I appreciate those things...I wish I had appreciated it all along, but I just want her to know now - Mom, I appreciate every bit of it, you truly are amazing!

~She truly cares about our lives~

One thing I appreciate the most about this amazing woman, is that she realized the importance, the magnitude of each decision in our lives. I have watched her pray earnestly and weep over decisions we have made (good and bad)...desiring only that we see God's will and follow it. For she knew something we couldn't always see - God has a mighty plan for each of us...we just need the faith to follow Him. From decisions about dating, which college we would attend, what city we'd live in....she always cared so much. Especially the dating part - looking back, I appreciate that the most. Had I not listened to her wisdom, I might have missed out on the greatest blessing of my life - this amazing man that God saved just for me! She had our best interest at heart - always. I remember the day I called to tell her that I was moving to Houston to continue pharmacy school...I could hear her tears...she didn't want me so far away...but she knew it was God's plan for me, and she respected that. She put her desires away...and let me follow God's plan. I was, and still am, blessed with a mom who truly cares! Thank you, God!

I could go on and on about my mom...but the one thing I will say is...in just 6 more months I get to begin that same journey and I only pray I can be as amazing as she.

So, Happy (belated) Mother's Day to my sweet mom (aka Grammie).
I love you so much!