Gender Reveal!!

Friday I had a doctor's appointment and over the past 4 weeks, we have been anticipating the gender reveal ultrasound. Family and close friends, as well as Jonathan and I, were anxiously awaiting the news...we had a quick appointment, everything is going well thank the Lord and then my doctor proceeds to tell me, "So your next appointment is the big one where you find out the sex of the baby!!" Jonathan and I locked eyes and mouthed "WHAT?!" We were thinking it was today. It's common for them to be able to tell you the gender at 16 weeks but they typically don't schedule that until your 20 week appointment, as they review the baby's anatomy and size to make sure he/she is healthy and growing. She realized we were really bummed and told us of course we can have an ultrasound today at an extra cost if we want to go ahead and find out. Well you better believe we did! Although I am a big fan of blogs/pinterest/surprises and parties, when it comes to the precious babe, I just want to know the baby is healthy and happy. Rather than planning a gender reveal party we made a million phonecalls with the fantastic news. IT'S A BOY!!!!

My mother-in-law did the needle test about a month ago and it indicated we were having a boy. I felt it was a boy from the moment we got a positive pregnancy test. Jonathan and I are preparing our hearts for a baby but now knowing it's a baby boy makes everything real. We are so thankful for this precious gift and continue to pray that baby Nevins is healthy as he develops each day. I am most excited to know that our baby boy is going to resemble my husband who is such a great example of Christ's love.

"Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward."
Psalm 127:3"

Summertime

So we moved in our new house back at the end of April...what a sweet treat after we closed back in November, to finally be in our own home. Thankfully, it was pretty much move in ready and we haven't had to do much...the things we plan to do are just added touches to our preference; nothing that just has to be done which is a big blessing.

The next milestone was our 2nd anniversary on May 15th...I am more in love with Jonathan and it's his incredible dedication, compassion and understanding that keeps me humble and thankful for our marriage every day...what a blessing our marriage is and how God has meticulously planned out each detail of our life. For our anniversary we planned a trip to Blackberry Farms in Tennessee, and it was amazing! They are known for their culinary experience as well as the relaxation of first class service, incredible views and activities. It was the most relaxing trip and you can't imagine how many delicious calories we had but it was well worth it. We went fly fishing which is our newest hobby thanks to my mom and stepdad who fly fish almost every weekend. One of the rainy days we went to the spa and I just can't tell you how rejuvenating it is to be in such a peaceful place. So needless to say, we had an extraordinary time. One for the books!

So the rest of summer has included a couple of beach trips, a trip to Dallas for my cousin's graduation, working in the yard and just enjoying our home. Our last beach trip we went to Destin with our best friends and had such a great time just being together. Allison and Adam are getting married in December and we are so happy to be there to share in their special day.

Not that anyone reads this (and those that do probably already know this news) but we have some exciting news that we have shared with our closest family and friends (and a few strangers here and there) but we are expecting our first little one!! After our trip to Texas, we found out I was pregnant and celebrated in secrecy for about a week. Jonathan's dad's birthday is June 1 and we had dinner reservations and Jonathan called ahead to order me a mocktail so when we did our traditional toast, no one would be suspicious. :) My sis was the first person to find out and she was thrilled...it was difficult for us to keep it quiet. I told my dad and father-in-law on Father's Day and my mom with a thank you card for an anniversary gift she gave us. She didn't catch on to the card at first and went off discussing what she would like to be called when she is a grandmom. Finally, I said "mom, you ARE going to be a grandmom...next year!!" It was perfect.

Friday is our doctor's appointment and we will hopefully findout if it's a boy or girl. I feel like it's Christmas Eve! It's been incredible to experience pregnancy, knowing one of God's precious children is growing inside. It's not all been roses, at times i've been sick sick sick and I am still early along in the pregnancy, but knowing we will have a precious child that we will be able to hold, teach, love and comfort is indescribable. God knows what he is doing with months of preparation, prayer and learning...Jonathan and I couldn't be more excited about having a baby and him/her growing up in a family overflowing with love.

Moving Day

Moving day officially starts today by finishing boxing the last few items around the apartment. The movers come tomorrow morning which we are extremely thankful for. God is great and has provided for us in our transitions with jobs, housing situations and finding a home where we can settle and continue to obediently budget and save.

In past news, we've been having a blast with family, friends, church and this awesome weather...

Cooking in the small kitchen

Jonathan put together the sweetest evening for Valentine's Day and cooked a special lobster dinner, had champagne toast to our engagement which happened over 3 years ago and took me to see The Vow which I loved! Thank you sweetie :)

We've made the most of our quaint little kitchen while we've lived in the apartment but boy are we ready to be in our house...lately, we've been cooking lots of good things from a vegetable stew to Cajun shrimp pasta to the pinterest espresso shortbread cookies which were delicious. Another amazing thing about Jonathan is that he enjoys cooking so I am treated to wonderful meals quite often. 

With the expected bad weather this weekend we made arrangements to stay at some friends' house as we are on the top floor of a small apartment. We spent the day eating, watching weather, playing wii dance and about 11:30pm the weatherman finally said everything passed. Thankfully bad weather for Birmingham consisted of 5 minutes of a hail storm. 

Found this great entryway table for our new house (Edgewood Antiques Red Balloon Sale)

Great recipes we've cooked lately

 

 Valentine's Day with my sweet husband...I am so blessed to be his wife

Cuddled with this sweet girl on Friday while waiting for bad weather to pass... 

We are looking forward to this short week to include our small group and going to the beach with family!

It's February!

With Jonathan out of town last week for work, I didn't mind putting in a few lot of extra hours at work. I missed him a lot but another blessing about being in Bham is the friends and family that surround me and spend time with me esp when the hubs is out of town. Allison and I spent practically every waking moment together working, working out, dinner, lunch and breakfast. I enjoy and look forward to going to workout classes with my sis and Allison...it's a lot more fun than going alone and definitely more motivation.

In other exciting news, Jonathan and I have been volunteering in the nursery aka Wamba Land at church and it is amazing! We keep such beautiful kids with so much personality and it's my favorite part of our church; we love reading and talking about Jesus with the little ones...I've missed nannying and it feels great to visit with the young in's each week. It's sweet when Jonathan looks over at me or I look at him and we are both engaged with the little ones, usually I'm reading to the girls and he's throwing the basketball with the boys...exciting times to come for us with parenthood whenever that time may come.

We've started small groups at Redstone and tonight is our first meeting with our group...looking forward to getting to know each couple and share stories, concerns and learning about living a life for God and experiencing a fulfilling marriage. It's important to us to continue growing and we've wanted to join a small group for a long time but with our move to Florida and back to Alabama, we didn't make the time to settle down...finally we are doing it! Blessings!! I'm not completely sure what to expect but what I do know is that we will be encouraged, disciplined and blessed by making time for God and working with other couples to honor Him, study His word and live life for Him.

Looking forward to date nights & quiet nights with my incredible husband, girls night with my sister and a family weekend in Atlanta visiting my cousin. Even if I only get fuzzy pictures using my iphone, I am going to take pictures; I miss our camera.

My best friend's wedding

With the New Year we have been busy and participated in lots of activities with family, friends and church. We started volunteering in the nursery at our wonderful church; hunting season has led to avid travels to my dad's and grandparents and my best friend's wedding showers and preparations have come to a close because her wedding day is TODAY! Despite the rain, this is going to be a beautiful and emotional day. Last night's rehearsal and dinner was precious and it's exciting to stand beside Lauren on this special day. I can't believe it's almost been two years since she stood beside me on my wedding day...time is precious and cherishing each moment is cliche but true...time discreetly passes us by. 

I love you Lauren and am so happy for you and Brad!