Christmas Tea

Every year for the past 22 years a group of mothers and daughters have gotten together to have a cookie swap. I know this has been all the rage in Real Simple and Redbook but we were doing it way before it was cool. It used to be one of those things we had to do, but the older you get the more you start to really appreciate small things like these that stay the same. Some of the girls in the tea are my favorite in the world....you could not ask for people to have more fun with!! Anywho here is me with my mom and sister celebrating year 22 of the Nibbes at the Christmas Tea.

bump catch up

Ok well I am way behind on this whole updating thing. I thought being pregnant would keep me on my toes about posting, but well that hasnt really happened. Here is my commitment, that once the baby comes I really will post more, or I am sure both moms will have my head. Also, since Aaron made me wear the same shirt for the picture every week I really have no idea exactly which week is what but I am fairly certain that the gray shirt pic is from week 18 and I know the other is from week 19. So anyway, Im blowing up in the mid section, and will post a picture later today of how much I have grown even in just the last two weeks.

The BIG Reveal!!

We look forward to this night every year....the one where we head outside, stand in the street and admire our Christmas lights!! We try to add a new addition each year, and this year it started with the tree!! We bought new lights, that by the way can be used year round :)!! and of course bought some oversized ornaments....who said those were only for the inside tree? We also purchased those light nets for the shrubs, can i just say....WELL WORTH EVERY PENNY!! if you have small shrubs outside that need lights the nets are definitely the way to go. I also included a picture of our tree, and of course one of the good lookin handy man who hung them all up for me! Hope you're all out putting up your Christmas decorations too, bust out the music....the season is here!!!!!!

HAPPY BDAY RAE RAE

How else can you celebrate 27 than have someone else post a naked picture of you on the Internet? :)!! You're welcome!! The picture on the right far better represents Rae Rae than the one on the left, one because of age, yes, but also because shes not so provocative, running around naked an what not, and she absolutely loves to travel. This is us in Austria, or Germany, whatever, they're like the same place. Rachel is one of the smartest people I know, she works hard at all she does, and is willing to give anything to everyone. Despite the amount of hours she works, she still manages to volunteer her time and money to help those less fortunate. So on your 27th birthday heres to doing something selfish!! Take a day off, or make your lowly assistants do the crappy jobs! You deserve a day off. Happy Birthday Rae Rae, we love you!!

Week 15

Bug,

This week you are the size of a naval orange! You are already in there sucking your thumb and wiggling your tiny little toes. Your liver and kidneys are still developing, and right now you're covered by a thin layer of fuzz to keep you warm. Dont worry once you come out you'll look less like your big brother rocky and more like me and your dad. Your legs now out measure you arms, which may not seem so important now, but trust me when you learn how to walk thats going to be a huge advantage : )!! Oh and all four of your limbs now have functioning joints!! I cant believe you're moving so much in there an I cant feel you yet....soon enough I hope! We have another appointment with your doctor in a couple days to check on your progress. We know you're doing great in there an cannot wait for may to roll around so that you'll actually be here. Oh and please start kicking every time your father says no to the "cowmooflage" car seat, this way he'll know you want it just as bad as I do. Trust me, you will look so cute in it!

Happy Halloween

Aaron is a HUGE halloween fan. We have been stocking candy all month in anticipation of the trick or treaters!! Granted we've had to buy more because we ate the first batch but the point is that we're excited to see all the lil ones out and about in their costumes. We also love to carve pumpkins. We take a trip together to get all the pumpkins we want, search out a good new pattern and then get to work. Mine turned into a bit of a disaster this year, but his turned out great and SUPER scary!! Parents out there dont worry we removed the blade on the knife in case the chittlins started playing with our pumpkin!

Also todays blog wouldnt be complete without a shout out to my Daddy! Its his birthday today! Thats right, hes one of those halloween babies! Every year he selflessly spends the night passing out candy at the church instead of at home celebrating his birthday, so he deserves a lil shout out. Hes the nicest, most wonderful guy you'll ever meet. So happy birthday daddy, I love you.

The BIG 30

Thats right, I am officially married to an "old man"!! Aaron turned the big 30 yesterday and in order to celebrate we went to do something he hasnt done since he was a kid. Thats right we hit up the batting cages!! It took him a minute to get back in the umm "swing" of things but after that he looked like a regular ole pro!! You can also see pics of him openin presents!! But I must admit that the celebration started long before waking up yesterday. I wanted to do something special since this is a BIG birthday, so for the last month we have had 30 days of Aaron. Thats right, a lil gift every day :)!! If you dont know Aaron well you may not know that he is as bad as a child when it comes to Christmas or his birthday, he LOVES presents, and wants them all right then. There is no time to stop an play with one before we're on to the next one!! So this was both fun, and well some days hard for him, because the rule was ONLY 1 no matter what!! Anyway its been a good month, and great 30 years!! Although I've only known him for 10 of those years I must say he continues to get better with age :)!! So Happy Birthday to my one and only, heres to the next 30!!!

Week 13-The week I started breathing

After a long 3 months of keeping it quiet, and worrying about the baby its nice to get a good report and be able to tell everyone about our bug!! Here I am today, honestly I havent gained any weight yet, so this is more lunch than baby, but hey, at least it gives me a little bump : )!!

Week 12

Ok so probably not the best outfit for side photos considering it has a big ruffle down the front, but well its cute and you get the idea!!

Our Bug Due May 8

So Taryn also uses this name (hope you dont mind sharing ;)!)....but its so hard when you dont know if its a boy or girl growing in there....so until we do we will refer to the lil one as our bug!!

Today was our 2nd appointment marking the end of our first trimester and we received wonderful news!! Our baby is alive and well with a strong heartbeat and active little arms and legs!! By now you all know the news but I thought you might want to see the lil one too! We made a small tweak to one picture, that is for all you in Texas. Heres to hoping our bug was giving us a clue that the Rangers are gonna pull it out tomorrow night back in Arlington.

In the top photo...thats right our bug is doing the claw!! And to the right you can see the super healthy, long spine, wow its gonna be a big bug!! :)!!

October 4

Our anniversary this year was very low key and wonderful. Aaron took me to this amazing shopping center here in town, let me pick out part of my presents :)!! and then followed that up with a romantic dinner and of course gelato!! Who could ask for more?

Here we are on the patio enjoying the beautiful Tucson weather!

We may not look as nice as we did 2 years ago on this day, but we are still very much in love.

So heres to two years of marriage!!!

Dinner with Friends

I can count on on hand the amount of time that we have had dinner with friends at our house since we've been married. Hmmm...yup done counting. Any who we met a couple a church this past year who is well basically just like us. They are totally not PC and well lets just say we may feed off each others bad habits. I would say Aaron and Chris more so than me and Shelby. Well all that to say we had the most fun at dinner the other night, and they even brought us the most beautiful bouquet of flowers! Just had to post a pic of their sweet gesture!

Chicago

I havent been to Chicago in a couple years, but it was definitely fun to get to take Aaron back with me this time!! We hit up a few definite hotspots, Sears tower and Wrigley Field. If you know me at all you know that the sky box was well....not my idea. But hey at least it provided a pretty cool picture. Wrigley on the other hand, bucket list check for Aaron, and probably my sister who adds to hers as she goes. : )!!

Santa Barbara

In July we managed to sneak away from the insanity of what we call life and jump over to Santa Barbara. Aside from youth camp last year this is my first trip to California. Let me say this trip was a lot smoother than the last one I took there, and well so were the accommodations!!

If I would have known how perfect the weather was out west I wouldnt have spent so much time holding to the truth that God lives in Texas, because well if he does I guarantee He would go to Cali for vacation!!!

Please notice in the middle photo that I am indeed wearing Jeggings!! HUGE FAN!! Just sayin :)!!

The BIG 25

So on the 18th I turned a quarter of a century, yup thats right, the BIG 25. I am not complaining that I am getting old by any means, but this is the first year where I thought wow thats sounds old. 23, 24...no didnt sound old at all, but 25, holy moly. I remember when I was in high school and we had teachers and youth ministers that were 25, and now thats me. I mean can you believe that the freshman in high school now will graduate the same year as I have my 10 year high school reunion?

Anyway, enough about that...my sweet wonderful husband manages to top himself every year even when it doesn't seem possible. For my birthday he took me to eat at the Cheesecake Factory which is the greatest place on the planet...bought me some new clothes...and a new....LEXUS!! Yeah, here is her first debut on the web. We call her Pearl!!

Anyway Happy Birthday to me, and here goes 25, I feel like its going to be a good year!!

DNOW

Since all of you reading this live inside the Bible belt, I am quite certain that you know what a disciple now is. Unfortunately we do not have those out here in Tucson, but thankfully I was asked to come help out with the one at my home church.




I flew in the last week of January to see my old friend Alissa Kruse get married. I haven't seen her in probably three years, but it was really great to be there for her special day. I know how much it means to have all your friends there with you to celebrate, so heres to her wishing her all the best!


Anyway, but in Dallas I got to also see my sista, and some of my best friends. Its amazing how just getting to have dinner with my girls can make my whole day. I miss having you guys around. Sorry no pictures from dinner :*( but here is most of my girls from an old dinner.




Ok then on to the dnow in htown. I had ninth grade girls, and it was just such a good weekend of being real together. They were the most pure, open, and honest group of girls I have ever met. To bad after ninth grade we grow up, and quit being so much like them. But more than them, it was just good to be home and see how beautiful a church is when it functions as one body. Christ is truly at work at First Highlands, and I am excited to see what he does as these ninth graders grow into beautiful Godly women.



There we are on the right for the "amazing race". We may not have one but we sure looked the best playing!!

Valentines Day

Ok, so unfortunately my husband didnt remember that Valentines Day fell on a Sunday and therefore we would be spending all morning in church so he had a whole day planned out for us. Oh well, we just moved it to a Monday celebration. He bought me a new tennis racket (pink and white!!) and for those of you who know us, you know that the new racket came with a challenge. So we celebrated by a morning tennis game. It did not go well for him, haha. yeah right. Then he took me shopping, and of course out to eat. Could a girl ask for more?

Here is our table, and chocolate fondue set we used to bring in the holiday. And of course we couldn't celebrate without me baking something for Aaron, so here are my homemade cookies!! I was so proud of myself. That was the first time I have ever made sugar cookies from scratch, and what can I say...they were quite a success!!