Blue Bell

We were able to spend Easter dinner with some very good friends and family yesterday. Pat and Michelle invited us over and we were able to spend some time together as friends and family and to meet new people. Michelle asked us to bring the dessert. So, since (almost) everyone was from Texas, Lewis and I decided (per Michelle's request) that we would supply the party with some Blue Bell ice cream.

3 gallons (yes, gallons) of Blue Bell ice cream. The ice cream you can "only find in Texas" (which now isn't true because they sell it down the street from my house). But it was fun to have a bunch of Texans eating their Texas ice cream on a wonderfully beautiful Easter Sunday!

When Lewis brought the ice cream outside with us to put it in our car, I was surprised at what he did. I'll let the picture show you.

Dear world, meet Baby Blue Bell. All buckled up for safety.

Foot rub

Well, thanks to Ohio State for choking so bad in their final 4 game, my bracket lost in mine and Lewis's competition. I was ahead the whole time! And then at the very, very end, I lost. Such is life.
So based on our bet we had going on, I owed Lewis an oily foot massage. I performed the massage while his team was winning the championship game. And boy he loved every minute of it. Had his head set back on the back of the couch with his eyes closed. Not sure how much of the game he even watched.

Here's to next year. Maybe I can get my picnic!

conference weekend

So my little brother came home from his mission a few weeks ago, so my parents decided it would be fun to have the family together for conference. First time in 2 years that we were all together, and how fun it was! I got to see Steve on Thursday night at a family dinner we had right at Steve pulled up at the house. I went to give him a hug and guess what was the first thing he said to me:

"You got fat."

Thanks, Steve. Baby does make the belly get bigger. Then, when Todd flew in and I went to give him a hug, here's what he said:

"I haven't seen you with your extra lump."

Boys will be boys, I guess. But I love my brothers. Twas definitely a fun weekend getting on each other's nerves.

Here's our weekend through pictures (very, very few pictures):

All the boys sitting as close as possible to watch the game. This picture was not planned, by the way

Spending time out by the fire. Dad wanted to roast marshmallows

Walked in on Lewis looking like this. Conference was really entertaining. Notice that there is one pillow under each appendage. And one under his head and behind his back. High maintenance. But I love him

And then Lewis showed me this article. Before the final 4 playoff game. Naturally, I was excited

But this actually happened. Which made me officially lose my bracket. Ahead the whole time, only to lose it at the end. Thanks Ohio.

All in all, it was a really fun weekend. It is so fun to have Steve back and to be able to spend time with him (even though he thinks I'm fat)!

inspired

Every so often, the LDS church makes Mormon Messages, videos that are used to help us find inspiration and to learn and grow more in our faith. A few years ago, Mormon Messages made a video called My New Life. It is the story of a wife and mother who suffered a very tragic plane crash in 2008, leaving 80% of her body burned.

If you want to take the time to watch it, you'll find the video here. It is touching and inspiring.

In the video, Stephanie, the woman who was in the accident, talks about how she found strength through writing and keeping a blog. This was something that she shared with her friends and family and was able to write about ways she struggled and how she overcame those struggles. I've been searching for the blog for a long time; ever since I saw the video, I've been wanting to read it.

A few days ago, I finally found it. And I spent way too much time reading through it and trying to find the post she wrote about her accident. I thought that her blog was something that she started soon after her crash. But it was actually something that she had been writing since 2005.

Her blog is called the Nie Nie Dialogues. I was blown away by her power and strength. Since 2005, she used her blog as a place to write about her religion, her faith, her family, her children, and her husband. People found strength through her words and the things that she would write, as well as the pictures she would post.

When she was in her accident, her sister, Jane, took over for a little while. Here is the first post Jane wrote about the accident, asking for love and prayers and Stephanie and her husband were suddenly in a battle for their lives.

In August, Jane begins asking for prayers. It wasn't until January that Stephanie came back to live her life again on her blog. From the beginning on August until January, Jane began posting some of Stephanie's past blog entries so that her readers could remember her and still feel of her power and love. Soon, Jane was accepting emails from readers, asking them what their favorite posts were in Stephanie's past blogging life. It was interesting to read some of the things that really stood out to Stephanie's readers, the posts that left the most impact. I was touched as well. Both by Stephanie's posts that people loved, but also by what really meant the most to people.

And then, towards the middle of January in 2009, Stephanie started writing again. And I was amazed at how positive her first post back was. In so much pain, more than she'd probably ever experienced in her life, and she was cracking jokes, talking about all the funny things she wanted to share, how her life before and after her accident were now separted by BC and AC, and lots more. Her first post back is here. But take some time to look through the archives and really explore. She is a shining light, an example of how to remain positive in a hard situation.

finding joy

"If you're not enjoying the journey,

you probably won't enjoy the destination"

- Joe Tye -

I came across this quote today on one of my friend's facebook statuses. I googled the quote to see who had said it. It speaks of finding joy in the journey, so it reminded me of President Monson's talk where he focused specifically on finding joy in each and every journey in this life, regardless of whether or not we're passing through hard times.

This quote really got me thinking: if you're not enjoying the journey, you probably won't enjoy the destination. I thought back on my life, on the trials I've been through and the times I've prayed and prayed my way out of those trials, asking for the burden to be lifted or for me to understand why these trials were happening. I look back hoping that I did indeed find joy through those trials, through the journey. Otherwise, Joe is right, and I won't enjoy the destination.

Every path we're put on, we're there for a reason. Whether it's a smooth path or one that's slightly more rocky, we're on that road for a reason. And we need to discover that reason and enjoy the things that we're learning on that path, whatever bumps we might take. God knows and understands why we are where we are. And if we pray for strength, he'll give it to us. He'll give us the joy we need so that we can enjoy the journey and ultimately the destination as well.

To read President Monson's talk, click here. You'll be glad you did!

a taste of spring

Yesterday, the weather was beautiful so when Lewis and I got home from school, he took me on a walk around our apartment complex. Needless to say, with beautiful weather and beautiful trees (and a husband who likes to show off for his wife), Lewis spent a good amount of our walk finding and climbing up trees. The only camera I had was on my phone, so the pictures aren't too terribly good, but better some than none.

his first tree

right before seeing all the bees

another tree

trying to see how high he can get

scaring his wife by looking like he was going to fall

Success at the top.

 Boys will always be boys, wanting to go back and play like they used to. But oh, how I love my husband.

she's back!

This girl came home on Tuesday night and I got to sneak over to her house yesterday to give her a big hug!

It was like she never left. My relationship with Amanda has always been like that: we don't talk for weeks and we pick up like it's never been different, like we haven't even gone a day without seeing each other. And yesterday was the same. She came downstairs and I gave her a big hug, and we picked up like it was normal. It was like she hadn't been gone for a year and a half. And turns out she's staying in Utah for school, so I'll be able to see her whenever I want! I love this girl and am so glad that she's home!

the madness of march

So Lewis and I have a little bit of a competition going on right now in regards to March Madness. We've got our brackets going and we've each put something on the table for what we want if we win.

Lewis: a foot massage with oil
Kara: a picnic in a park (complete with Cafe Rio or Noodles and Company)

We printed out some empty brackets, made our picks and then hung them up on our kitchen wall. When a game is over, we get to make the necessary changes on each other's bracket, crossing out the losing team with a thick red pen and highlighting the winners with a nice green highlighter.
When we were making those changes yesterday, Lewis mentioned:

"it feels more rewarding when you cross it out really thick."

notice how happy he is with his little red pen, crossing out all my mistake choices

It has been quite the battle so far. The first few days, I was way below where I wanted to be. I got a nice text from Lewis during one of our neck and neck battles, challenging and taunting me in our competition:

"start warming up that oil."

Those of you who know me, know that I never pass up an opportunity to talk a little smack. So I responded in my own (gentle and loving) way.  As the days progressed, I kept sneaking to where Lewis was. Now, at the end of the round of 32, I am currently in the lead, especially thanks to Cincy for winning quite the battle last night. I found myself thoroughly entertained as I watched my pick win :)

Kind of don't know what to do with myself now that we have to wait until Thursday before the sweet 16 battles begin. But it should make for another exciting weekend, filled with basketball, watching games on computers, switching the TV from channel to channel, and eating lunch/dinner at our favorite sports bars.

Heavenly Father is all kinds of on my side

Let me just try to explain how amazing Friday was. I'll just try and see if you can comprehend why I couldn't contain my excitement. A few weeks ago, I entered a contest for a drawing to win a free photo shoot (she even does newborn shots, so I was even more excited!). And on Friday afternoon, she picked a winner! And guess who it was.

I'll give you one chance.

And in case you can't figure it out, here's the link to her blog where she announced it.

That's right, people! It was me! Yay for adorable daughters and their sticky fingers! And yay for a photographer who is selfless enough to give out not just one free photoshoot, but TWO! One for baby g!

Lewis and I (mostly just me - Lewis just entertains my excitement) are all kinds of excited. I could not stop talking about it all through dinner! And poor Lewis had just finished a really really hard Physics test, so he wasn't really in the excited mood. But boy, I went on and on.

Here are her newborn photos on her website. So adorable. And I can't wait!

Why else was Friday so wonderful? I'll tell you.

So after I found out I won a free baby photoshoot (!) I had to go grocery shopping. And EVERYTHING was on sale. Everything! I wish I would have taken a picture of my receipt. I wanted to frame it, but Lewis said that was going a little overboard. But because everything was on sale, and I had coupons for all those things that were on sale, I saved $20 at the grocery store! $20! May not seem like a lot, but it made me really happy! Because we got lots of cereal that we've been craving! And I've been waiting since January for them to be on sale. And they happened to be on sale when I had coupons! So I splurged. And I'm OK with it.

And Lewis got home from school and I couldn't stop talking about the sale at the grocery store and my free photoshoot! It was a wonderful day.

Tami Chandler Photography

So I found this amazing photographer (thanks to facebook) and saw that today she is having a give-away for lots of cool stuff, all of which I really like. As I was looking at her blog and facebook, I was really impressed with her pictures. She has such talent. I would love for her to take newborn photos of the little girl that we have coming. Hopefully I win the give-away! (or can somehow come up with enough money to pay her on my own) :)

The photography business is called Tami Chandler Photography. Check out her blog and her website. You will love the pictures. Can't wait to nail down a photographer for dear baby G. Lewis keeps telling people that I want to take newborn nudes. And I do :)

now all I need...

My mom mailed me the dress (and shoes and bonnet - yes, bonnet) that I was blessed in when I was a little baby. Lewis and I thought it would be special to bless our little girl in the same thing I wore 23 long years ago. The dress is really long so that's why the sleeves look so tiny. Lewis is worried the dress will drown her. I'm hoping her arms will actually fit in the sleeves.

Now that I have the clothes, all I need is a baby.

(less than) 3 months to go!

27 weeks

Today marks 27 weeks of pregnancy. Only 13 more weeks to go! Which is all kinds of scary. According to my baby app on my phone and my What to Expect book (both of which I read every morning), baby is the size of a cauliflower. 15 inches long and about 2 pounds.
 

Lewis made me do my asian pose. Kind of an awkward picture. I'll try to take a better one tonight.

Comparing this picture to the only other one I've taken at 20 weeks (I know, I've been bad. People who've been pregnant keep telling me to document every week because I'll want to go back and see the changes) I feel like I still look the same size. But the scale would tell me otherwise.

But things are starting to come together for dear little baby G. All things, that is, except her name. We just can't decide! We like too many. We might just give her 5 names and she can choose which one she likes the most (kidding).

Here are some pregnancy changes:

Sickness: I still haven't thrown up at all. But there have been a few more times where I almost have. When Lewis and I were trying to get pregnant (and not having success) I remember telling Lewis that if Heavenly Father let me have a baby, I would throw up every day. Lucky for me, I haven't thrown up at all, but Heavenly Father blessed me with a different sickness during my pregnancy. The hormones have taken a toll on my complexion. And thanks to baby G, the doctors can't prescribe me any medication.

Weight: I have officially gained 12 pounds from my original. I'm hoping it's not too much more that I have to gain, but baby had a growth spurt between 20 and 24 weeks. Since then, she's been pretty stable.

Cravings: Still none. Not to the point where I've literally had to drop everything and run to a fast food. I'm hoping those come :) everyone loves a good excuse to pay for some blizzards and french fries.

Movement: Baby G is moving around a ton now that she's getting bigger. It's gotten to the point that Lewis and I can feel her and see her move. That's fun when the stomach starts moving because of little G's dance moves. She already takes after her father.

Lewis and I are getting really excited to bring this little angel home! We already have so many blankets (and blankets in progress) that she will never be cold! Too bad she's not going to be born in the winter time. Maybe we'll get a cold front.

The time is coming quickly (her due date was three months from yesterday!) and we're trying to figure out how we're going to react to the changes that will be happening in the near future. We're anxious, nervous, excited, scared, but really happy and humbled by this experience.