2 years

Yesterday was our 2 year wedding anniversary! I know I will probably say this every year, but it truly feels like time has flown by! I can't believe that is has been 2 years since I was trying on my wedding dress, planning a wedding, walking down the aisle, and starting the most beautiful adventure of my life! I have learned so much over the last 2 years and the Lord has definitely used our marriage to refine me and teach me so much about his love for us and areas of my life I needed to give to Him. We have also had so much fun getting a home together and making it our own, going on trips together, and meeting new friends that we are so thankful for! 

Each year on our anniversary we watch our wedding video (and I always tear up because everything was so wonderful!) Last night we watched the video and enjoyed some red velvet cake!! Here are some pics from 2 years ago...

I can't believe that 2 years later we are literally weeks (or days) away from our sweet baby girl joining us! We always knew we wanted to start our family early and feel so blessed that the Lord is blessing us with Ella! 

Hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday and is getting ready for Christmas!

36 weeks

I cannot believe that time is flying like this. Technically from the beginning of my pregnancy with a due date of January 14th I would be 35 1/2 weeks today, but she continues to measure a week ahead (and since I charted I have always thought I was a week further along than the initial guess) therefor 36 weeks in my opinion. 

I have been so bad about keeping up with pictures the last month. It seems like getting ready for maternity leave along with the holidays has seemed a little crazy, although I really love this time of year. Looking back at my pictures from my baby shower 5 weeks ago, I cannot believe how much I/Ella has grown. I remember thinking it was impossible to get any bigger....hahahaha....boy, was I wrong! 

This past weekend James and I installed the car seat, set up the pack and play, and organized like crazy. He has been such a trooper and helped so much. I am so thankful for his patience with all of my nesting! We have officially finished all of our birthing classes and feel so ready (or at least as ready as you can feel to completely change your life) for her to be here. We can't wait to hold our sweet baby girl!!!

As for how I am feeling, I really can't complain. I have been very blessed with a pregnancy that has gone very smoothly for the most part. I have definitely had the sleepless nights, the sitting on the couch and having to readjust every 5 minutes to get comfortable, and the other lovely things that come with being pregnant, but overall she is healthy and we are so grateful for that. Although, I am looking forward to sleeping on my stomach again one day.....

Her movements have been so fun to experience and I love how active she is, even if that means a few rib jabs every now and then. She loves to move around after lunch, when I am reading my kids a story at school, and anytime at night. She moves a ton when James talks with her which has been one of the sweetest memories I think I will have of this pregnancy! I am so amazed at how God allows me to carry a baby and the beauty of how she is growing! 

Here is a realistic picture of 36 weeks. Sweats & No make-up. 

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season and I will try to keep a couple of updates on the blog as they come. Yay for 3 more days of work. I will miss my 22 babies so much, but can't wait to meet our baby!!!

Christmas Cookies

It's that time of year for some yummy Christmas cookies! Each year we use my grandma's amazing recipe (even though she does not have exact measurements for any of it!) This year I also wanted to make some cookies that would hold their shape really well with cookie cutters. You can always rely on pinterest to have some amazing ideas and recipes. I used this link for the sugar cookies and frosting and they turned out great! (This is the same recipe I used for the pumpkin shaped cookies in October). 

Here are some other fun Christmas ideas from pinterest....

Taking a basic white paper plate and adding ribbon to deliver cookies or other yummy treats

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Mason jar snow globes....these would be a great DIY decoration 

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*You can also buy these at anthro

These are precious and would be so fun to make with kids

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Love this idea. They cut up their wedding invite (or any other paper good with sentimental value from that year) and put it inside a glass ornament ball

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I hope you enjoy some of these Christmas ideas. I would usually be crafting much more during this time of year, but I am trying to take it easy and focus on getting ready for our baby girl (which has been really fun for me). If I could bottle up "nesting" into a pill to take when I want to tackle some of these crafts I would be pretty darn productive (and have some really cute crafts made up). 

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and stay warm! 

maternity leave prep

I officially have so much respect for any woman who has had to get things together for maternity leave. I had no idea the amount of time and work that would go into trying to explain my job to another person for 3 months. I am so grateful for this time to be home with Ella and know that every second of this preparation will make that time so much easier, but truly, it feels like I think of something else that needs to be added everyday. I started keeping a notepad by my bed (for all of the late night "oh yeah" moments)!

I am so happy to say that everything is ready to go. My binder is on my desk and ready for my sub whenever Ella decides to join us! I have talked with my kiddos and tried to prepare them in every way known to make this transition and I know they will do amazing!

I still can't believe how fast my pregnancy has gone by! I feel like we just found out we were having a baby and before we know it our sweet little girl will be joining us!

I promise we will take some pictures this weekend and post an update. I am 34 weeks tomorrow! 6 weeks to go!!!!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Lauren