Congrats to Zack & Kimberly!!

This past weekend we traveled to Lubbock for my cousin Kimberly's wedding festivities. We really enjoyed visiting with relatives and watching Kim and Zack become newlyweds :) Kimberly's twin sister Amanda was her maid of honor. Her older sisters Stephanie & Bethany were bridesmaids.

Here are some photos:

Here is a beautiful peacock. The wedding was held outdoors at the Spirit Ranch and there were tons of these birds everywhere! They laid eggs, walked around during the ceremony, etc!!



Below is a picture of the cousins in attendance at Kim's bridal luncheon. There were 7 out of 15 there.

Here is a picture of Jarrod & I at the rehearsal. What a beautiful place. It's not quite as HOT as it is here in central Tx....and there was much less humidity!

Here is the sweet kiss.....congrats to the new Mr & Mrs Zachary Hughes!!! Welcome to the family, Zack!

Here is our entire extended family in attendance. Most years we only see each other at Christmas time but fortunately we have enjoyed visiting a lot lately. We had Chassati & Rene's wedding last month and then this one :)

Here is our little family at the reception. This was taken just before it got rainy and windy and everything was moved indoors.

Of course Emma & I had to get a quick picture with the stunning bride!

Our little flower girl

Last night Emma was the flower girl in Lance and Lauren's wedding. Lance and Jarrod coach together in Cameron. It was Emma's first time to do this and she did so well :) She freaked out when the rose petals would hit the floor, so she ended up just carrying the basket. Her name has been in the newspaper twice in the past month :)

Her partner in crime (the ring bearer - Jackson, almost 3) chickened out right before the ceremony started, but I got some cute pics of them together at the reception! We all know how toddlers can be - their agenda changes by the moment ;)

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's day to all of you wonderful dads out there! Emma made Jarrod a framed picture with her sweet little hand prints and a new pair of sunglasses that he has been wanting. After church we went to Outback Steakhouse for lunch....yum!

Half way there!

Today I am officially 20 weeks pregnant which means that I am half way to the finish line :) Since Emma came 3 wks early I am hoping I don't have another 140 days to go, but only time will tell.

Here is a fun pregnancy quiz I borrowed from another preggo friend!

How far along?: 20 weeks today

Total weight gain: negative 3 (so far!)

How big is baby?: the books say about 10.5 oz (and as long as a banana!)

Maternity clothes?: absoulutely - I love a good excuse to wear elastic pants ;)

Stretch marks?: none (and I didn't get any w/Emma, so maybe I'll luck out!) Oh, and I use "belly butter".

Sleep?: much better than it was about a month ago

Best moment this week?: When I woke up one morning he/she was in a ball very low - it was so obvious and neat!

Movement?: not a whole lot yet :(

Food cravings?: one week it was a Subway club, then a Sonic coney, then it was salad w/fruit, then it was Arby's!

Labor signs?: thankfully none yet

Belly button in or out?: way out

What I miss: having energy, eating caesar salad and drinking more than one soda a day

What I'm looking forward to: sonogram 16 in days :) I'm getting pretty antsy.

Milestone: I'm half way (20 wks) today!

Oh Baby!!

Yesterday I co hosted a shower for my dear friend, Sandra. She is expecting her second child, Christian, in mid August. Lots of mamas and kiddos from our Waco playgroup were there and it was fun to catch up! This was my first attempt at a diaper cake. With assistance from my wonderful husband, we did it!

Doctor's orders!

I had a prenatal appointment yesterday in Waco and Dr. Wang was a little concerned about my weight gain. In fact, I am still 3 lbs under my starting weight. Here's how the conversation went:

"Do you like ice cream?"

"Oh yes!"

"You should eat it TWICE a day."

"Really?! I wish my husband was here to hear you say that - he will never believe me."

"It has lots of calcium and will make you start gaining weight."

Then I was on my way to Baskin Robbins. If you know me well you know I love ice cream! I have many different favorite flavors....I can't choose just one! I even worked at BR for 3 yrs during high school and college!

My two pregnancies have been similar in almost all ways. The biggest difference I have noticed is that with Emma I gained weight much more rapidly and my dr at the time kept lecturing me about it at each appointment. She kept saying "Ya know, the holidays are coming. Halloween, Thanksgiving, then Christmas - lots of sweets will be around". I ended up gaining 45+ lbs by the time Emma was born. It wouldn't break my heart if it doesn't happen this go 'round :)

Marriage retreat

We definitely had a whirlwind of a week! We returned home from the beach late Thursday afternoon, did laundry, re packed, passed around a mini stomach bug and headed to a marriage retreat on Friday. We dropped Emma off at my parents' house in Temple and headed south to the T Bar M conference center in New Braunfels. Traffic south bound on I-35 is absolutely chaotic!

The Coaches Outreach program puts on four different faith based conferences for coaches and their spouses during the summer (2 in TX, 1 in OK & 1 in AR). This was our first year but apparently it is extremely difficult to get registered for this particular conference and location. The coaches came from all levels including jr high, high school and college. There were approximately 300 people total. There was a speaker (pastor), music leader (who could have been a professional comedian) and a legendary NFL football star present. Our small group was led by the defensive coordinator from Huntsville and his wife. They were a lot of fun :) On Saturday afternoon we were given 5 hrs of free time so we decided to explore the outlet mall in San Marcos.

We enjoyed our time away focusing on one another and reflecting on what God's will is for our family. This was the longest (2 nights) ever away from Emma and we were so glad to be reunited with her today :)