While You Were Away!

Alex was gone again this past week on another mission trip, this time to Savannah, Georgia. Although I miss him tons when he is gone, I was a busy lady this week. At the beginning of the week I was able to meet up with a couple different girlfriends, and do a little shopping for the house.

Then, on Wednesday my mom and youngest brother came to Omaha to help me get a few things done around the house. It was so great to have them here for a few days and we accomplished a lot!

We painted the nursery!!! Below are some pictures of the room. It isn’t complete yet, but once the furniture and baby bedding are all in there, I know it will be perfect for Baby Ehly!

 We were also able to do a little garden clean up while they were here. We moved into our house a little too late for planting season, so our garden was a forest of weeds. Alex sprayed and killed all the weeds last week before he left, so with a lot of help from my mom and brother, we were able to pull up and get rid of all those nasty weeds. Below are the before and after pictures of what the garden looked like.

BEFORE - The garden was full of weeds just like this!

AFTER - Weed free!

I am so grateful for my mom and all she did to help me out this week. She is an amazing blessing and I honestly could not have done any of it without her! Although I had a busy, productive and fun week, I am definitely ready and awaiting the return of my hubby! Hopefully he will be pleasantly surprised with all the new changes made to the house while he was away!

 

We will miss you!

This past week, Alex and I were both out of town. Alex went on his middle school mission trip to St. Louis and I went home for the week and spent some time with family. After a week of being gone, we came home to find out that one of our best friends was moving back to Arizona, on SUNDAY!!! After the shock wore off, we decided we needed to have a little going away party for Sam. It was a lot of fun and we were able to say our good-byes and reminisce on old times!

 

Sam is definitely going to be missed and he will always hold a special place in our hearts. Sam is actually the reason that Alex and I are together. When I first moved to Omaha, Sam was pretty much the only person I knew and he was friends with Alex. He introduced us, and I guess the rest is history! Sam…..all we can say is thank you, we will miss you, and we love you!

Hello World!!!

Today, Alex and I went in for our ultrasound and we got to see our little peanut! It was so amazing to get to see Baby E kick, wiggle, yawn, and wave (at least that is what it looked like). For most parents-to-be, this appointment is when they get to find out the sex of their baby, but Alex and I are doing this old school and do not want to find out until the day he or she is born! I will say, even though I am excited for the surprise on Baby E's birthday, it was hard to look away when the nurse got to that area!

Baby E is growing right along schedule. The doctor says everything is normal and looks good; we can't say how thankful we are for that! The nurse tried to get some profile pictures for us, but Baby E was being stubborn and wouldn't turn his or her head to the side. So...with out further a due here are some of Baby E's first pictures:

Looking straight ahead, hand on top waving at us! 

Only profile shot, legs all the way above head (might be a gymnast).

Being shy - both arms up in front of face.

Looking straight ahead, you can see both eyes and maybe a little smile! :)

We are already so in love! Baby E's arrival can't come soon enough! But...until then, "Keep growing little one, Dad and Mom are praying for you everyday and we can't wait to meet you!"

Colorado 2012

Every year Alex’s family goes to Red Feather Lakes, CO to get away on a little vacation and go fishing. Alex and I haven’t gotten to go the last three years because of conflicts with work and school, but this year we were able to find a way to go!

Red Feather is up in the mountains about forty–five minutes north of Fort Collins. It is probably one of the prettiest places I have ever visited. There are lakes and mountains everywhere and all of the views make you constantly appreciate God and his creation. The weather was a little chilly while we were there; it even snowed on us the first day we went fishing. But…every day got a little warmer and by the last day we were able to get a little sun! The fishing was also great - it was actually the best it has ever been! Everybody caught multiple fish every time we went out, and we were able to have a fish fry the last night we were there. 

This is a Mama Moose and her babies!

If you look to the left of the picture, you can see a coyote getting closer to see if he can get one of the little moose.

Sunday was our nephew Michael's 5th birthday, so we drove down to Fort Collins and spent the day there. We went to "Fort Fun" - the perfect place for a 5 year old and his 25 year old uncle. Ha! We played mini-golf, rode Go-Karts, bumper boats, and played some games! Then we went to dinner and Michael got to open some of his presents!

We all had such a good time and it was so relaxing! It was just what I needed at the end of a long school year! Hopefully we will get to go back again next year!

Speaking of Mother's Day.....

We are so thankful that we got to spend Mother’s Day weekend with both of our mom’s and families. It’s always so nice to get together with family! Our mom’s opened all of their gifts from everyone, and to my surprise, I got a few of my own “Mom-to-be” cards.

Yep….that’s  right…Alex and I are having a baby! We found out we were pregnant in February, and I am now 15 ½ weeks along. I have actually felt great so far throughout the pregnancy. During my first trimester I never really got any morning sickness. There was about three weeks where I just didn’t have an appetite and all food just sounded awful. I also probably went to bed at about 8:00pm every night because the pregnancy exhaustion just got to me. But, I think it is so true what they say about the second trimester, I have so much more energy now and I feel great!

We’ve gotten to see our little miracle once and we’ve heard the heart beat two different times. Hearing the heartbeat is so incredible. It really makes you think about how big God really Is and how much of a miracle childbirth is. Below is a picture of the announcement we gave our families when we told them we were pregnant.

“DAVE JUST GET’S US… “ Alex and I have been saying that ever since the release of Dave Barnes’ last album in March. Dave is hands down our favorite musical artist and he always seems to release songs that are perfect for us at certain times in our lives. In 2010 he released his last CD which had a great song entitled “Amen” that wonderfully described the journey of marriage that we were embarking on. Then....with the arrival of yet another  life changing event, Dave made sure to not let us down with his new song “One of Us.” We love it and think it is perfect. So here it is….

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

All Dressed Up - With Places To Go!

This past weekend, Alex and I had some big events that we attended. It's often funny how our schedules work out. One weekend we have absolutely nothing going on, then the next we have something every night! Although busy, it was a great weekend that was filled with some pretty great friends!

On Friday night, we went to the annual Berkshire Hathaway reception party with our friends Matt and Heather. It was fun to run into a bunch of people we knew, and talk with some other interesting people we didn't know! Going to this party is definitely an experience!! Ha! Sorry my eyes are closed in this picture. Guess that's what you get when a "randy" takes your picture!

On Saturday, we went to a wedding in Lincoln. My good college friend, Callie, and her fiance Jacob, tied the knot. We got to spend some time with a bunch of old college friends, and we all had some pretty good laughs talking about: old AOL screen names, Kentucky Derby horse names, and Cinco de Mayo! The reception was a lot of fun! We took some photos in the photo booth and got our dance on for a little bit! It was so nice to see all my Harper 7 girls....it had been way too long! It was a great wedding that had such a beautiful bride. Congrats to Callie and Jacob!