Friends who have become Family

Spring break is over and we are heading back into our normal routine....it was a wonderful, amazing break! I am so thankful that even though Drew works long, exhausting hours we are able to have breaks like this and spend time together as family.  I am also particularly thankful for frequent flyer miles that allow us to take trips to visit people who are very dear to our hearts!

And so, this post is a quick update on our life but also a thank you to those people in New England who hosted us, fed us, played with our kiddo, and spoke truth and life back into our tired, weary lives. We love you all so much and cannot express our gratitude enough for taking some time to see us last week/host us!

The week was packed full of visiting friends and family and taking Ivy to new places! Mother Nature apparently listened to our desires to have snow this past winter and dropped a few inches at the beginning of the week (our winter in Indiana had been very mild and rainy :( and as you may or may not know this family loves snow!) Unfortunately this caused a change in some plans and we were unable to see a few friends.  New England though is a really beautiful place all covered in white!

Our week was bittersweet, but also incredibly joyful as all our kids played together and we had so many amazing conversations with people we love!  Ivy decided she wanted to give up sleep and be a super picky eater, but all in all with all of the traveling and seeing a ton of new people she was an awesome little trooper. She slept for most of the plane rides and loved getting to play with new toys and new friends!

I think my heart in particular needed this trip. I needed to be challenged and loved on by people who know us well.  Our little town is beginning to feel more like home, but it has not been an easy journey and thus it was so nice to see friends who are like family. The ones that you can be real with and share the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Moving is hard but it is so worth it when you realize that you have made lifelong friends who live all around the country/world.  We now have only a few more weeks left till summer and then once again we will be able to catch up with friends and family with a car trip to PA and a plane trip out West.  Drew will be finishing up his Masters at Purdue this summer, and I am still in the waiting and praying mode as I learn more about myself and where God wants to use me in his ministry in our new town.  Ivy is doing great! She loves to climb on everything and definitely has more personality each and every day.

Here are some pics of friends and highlights from our trip! Thank you again to all of those people who blessed us with such a wonderful Spring Break!

Reading books on the plane to Boston

Hey there! Sweet baby Hayner it was such a joy to meet you!

Serious conversation

Fort building time!

Thankful we were able to get some cousin time in!

These two were too cute!!

The Sons are amazing! Ivy quickly became friends

Got to touch a Star Fish at the New England Aquarium

The adorable MG. Thanks for serenading us with your wonderful songs! 

Ivy hanging out at GCTS

Despite Ivy's expression we were so happy to meet Baby White! 

Hi, adorable baby who is flying over my face :)

And we are off! Back in the airport and ready to head home to the Sitka!

When Motherhood doesn't come easily

One whole year and several days have passed since we became parents.  That moment of seeing our baby will forever be in my memory, and yet this memory is not accompanied with what would probably be considered the supposed reaction.  I have always wanted to be a mother and we knew we always wanted to have a family, but being a mother never felt like it should be my occupation in my life.  Thus, when we welcomed our daughter into our arms I was overcome with adrenaline we had prepared for this moment and Drew was an incredible couch during labor and delivery.  I was so shocked that it had actually happened I had been able to give birth without any pain medication or intervention.  These were the first thoughts I can remember, and that it was finally over! Ivy took her sweet time arriving, haha. After over 24 hrs. of labor she made her appearance into the world.

And now here we are a year later and I can say that the journey into Motherhood has not been smooth sailing for me.  It is hard to put my finger on why maybe hormones, being in a new town, having a spouse in grad school.  Whatever the reason the fact is it took time, and to top it off God gave us a baby who is not exactly low-key. From the get go our little girl has been loud and active. She is social and not a home body, and this makes for one very tired Momma. Ivy's joy seemed to pop through at about 5-6 months, and has been increasing since then!  It was during this time that I think I realized I had started a trend. I have always been a future thinking person and a planner often to the fault that I have difficulty living fully in the present moment. And so it was with parenting, if only we could get to the next stage and then it would be wonderful, etc.  However, with each new stage the same nagging empty feeling has continued.  I see other women and hear other women express how motherhood has somehow completed them, that they have found their calling in life now.  To be honest I am sometimes jealous of these women because for me motherhood has been one of loneliest journeys I have ever been on.  Little babies are wonderful, but they offer very little in the reciprocal friendship department.  They take and take and don't give.  This 100% dependency is exhausting and at least for me very very lonely.

And so here we are a year later and I feel like I have learned so much about my self. I once read that motherhood is like a mirror and you get to see the good, the bad and the ugly reflected back at you.  I am obviously still at just the tip of the iceberg in this journey, but I have already realized that one of the greatest gifts I can give my daughter is making sure to take care of myself.  My loneliness and sadness does not allow me to give her what she needs.  I have realized that God created me uniquely me and I am not called to be home 100% of the time and I just can't bring myself to do all of the housework (thankfully my amazing husband is also an amazing cook and is very capable in the home department because if he wasn't we would eat out a lot more or eat cereal).  Maybe it is my forward thinking mind that knows that motherhood will come to an end as a "job"; children grow up and move out and then what? Where would that leave me....... God has used this time to really get me to think about where I draw my strength from and I have grown immensely.  I am waiting. Waiting for what he has store and I know that as hard as I try to fit into the description of a stay at home mom it feels like an ill fitting costume.

And so here we are a year later and I have no idea if there are other women out there who struggle with this, but I hope that all mothers know that their journey into motherhood is unique. I cherish the fact that I live in a day and age where our family has the ability to shape our lifestyle to fit who we are.  I am a mother no matter if I work full-time, part-time, from home or stay at home, and that freedom is amazing and liberating.  Motherhood is an emotional, mental and physical transformation but for some of us it does not come easily.

And so a year later I hope that this new year brings new opportunities and less stress. I pray that I can become free of the invisible judgment I feel for not always loving being a mom, and I pray that my heart can become full again and that my passions and talents can be used.

Life is Messy

I wrote this a couple of months ago, but didn't have the desire to post it at the time.  A lot has changed since August, but a lot of the same questions linger with us.  I decided that since I haven't been very good at keeping in touch with so many people we love I would post this just in case anyone is curious about how our last few months have been in the new town.

It has been awhile since we have written an update and so much has changed! One word should give you the gist of what is happening around here...MESSY....and for those who know me well know that this is not a word I like to describe any aspect of my life. My house is clean, my appearance is put together, my daughter is dressed and has a bow to match her oufit (haha), I don’t forget things, etc.  But that has not been our life this past month and well I am not learning to live with it gracefully.  Nothing about the move went according to plan, we moved in just 2 days before Drew had to start the new school year.  Our lovely “move-in” ready house turned out to be a joke, and our bank accounts are feeling like we put them on a diet what with all the house expenses and having to get a second car.  I will add that some of this stuff did not come as a surprise, but when you put it all together we have been a hot mess and have missed important deadlines, etc. I know that it could always be worse, but right now we are just tired of the mess.

All of this has really made me for the first time in my life ask; WHY? Why this town God? What is here for us?  One thing I have learned a lot about this past month is sacrifice.  Drew had a taste of what it meant to put your spouse’s desires before your own, but this is really the first time where Drew’s career was the main reason why we moved.  When we moved to New England a few years ago, Drew took a boring job so that I could go to seminary and now Drew is working in a great school, but I am really struggling with what I am supposed to do in our new town. And, if I am being honest I have not been happy here. I have been ok with the move, but not happy.  Our search for a church family has been leaving me feeling very empty and sad.  One thing in particular that is making it so hard is that this time around we are choosing a church for our family and a potential future job (be that paid or volunteer for me).  Humans are not perfect and so no church is perfect, but we have found time after time that the churches take the children out of the service and as a parent I do not want my child to miss this communal, intergenerational time of worship.  So anyways, that has been hard and also it seems like everyone we have met has grown up around here (I am sure that there are other people who have moved here, but I just haven’t met them yet).  A part of me is jealous of the locals long history of living in one place and their access to extended family, but a larger part of me knows that a life like that is not what God has in mind for me or our family. However, the more we move the more I have realized how culturally diverse America is and the more complicated our life story has become.  Where are you from? Is not an easy question to answer, for I don’t think saying we are from any one state actually sums up who we are.  Yet, the one amazing thing that I have learned from my parents, my siblings and my own life is that family does not mean sharing the same blood or the same last name.  Wherever God has placed us we have built a rich community filled with people we cherish and love.  And, so here we are waiting and trusting that with time that will develop. It is not easy and most days I struggle, but we trust and dream for our future and presently give thanks for each other.

Our kiddos though seem to be enjoying the new house! 

Change is once again in the air

Well it has been forever since I last posted an update. Our life since Jan. 3rd has been greatly re-prioritized and time on the computer is near the bottom of the totem poll.

However, now that big changes are once again on the horizon I figured it was time to share how we are doing.

Drew started summer classes this week and will continue with those right up until we move to Richmond, IN and he will start his teaching job on August 5th. Please pray for him since he will literally have no transition time between graduate school and his teaching job.

I am headed out on Saturday with Ivy to fly to Idaho. I must admit I am so incredibly excited for the upcoming weeks. My heart is just waiting to be surrounded by family and friends on the west coast for the next month.  I can't wait to be with my parents and have Ivy spend time with her grandparents who live so far away.  I can't wait to celebrate the wedding of a dear friend/"sister" and I can't wait to have Ivy meet all of her "aunts" in IF.  I feel like I have been just living in anticipation for this time when I can relax.  I am also excited for Drew to get some quality sleep as he finishes his last few weeks of class and prepares for the school year.

To be honest the past few months have been incredibly difficult. I know many people who have had babies while a spouse is in graduate school or both parents for that matter.  And, while our situation may not seem like the most difficult one out there; it was our reality.  For a long time I really didn't want to tell people how we were truly doing because I knew that in so many ways we were lucky.  However, I realized that it was our reality and it was difficult and we were not ok.  Motherhood did not come easily for me and Ivy was/is not exactly the easiest baby around.  We spent many an evening/night while Drew was doing student teaching with a baby who was screaming for hours on end, in a one bedroom apartment none the less  We often felt helpless in trying to care for this little life.  I never imagined how difficult it would be to live far away from family during this time of our lives.  I cried basically the whole day after we took my mom to the airport. (hormones probably didn't help)  However, I will say that God has provided an amazing community for us here.  I want to say thank you so much to our church, small group, neighbors, Drew's cohort, etc. without all of you bringing us meals watching Ivy and Sitka I really don't think all four of us would have made it out alive from student teaching.

These next few weeks will once again be filled with ups and downs. We are hoping to buy a house and are so excited about this next stage, however I am also scared about those first few weeks/months when we wont yet know the community of people in Richmond like we do here. I am scared about being home alone with Ivy and Sitka while Drew inevitably works the long hours of a first year teacher. We are both not looking forward to once again having to find a church to call home. However, we are resting in the fact that God made it very clear that Richmond is where we are supposed to be and this is the job Drew was supposed to have. We are now just praying about what this move will mean for me and my job search and our family life as a whole.

So once again thank you so much to those of you who have helped us in the past several weeks!!!! This move is truly bittersweet. I felt quite strongly that our time was not over here, but it seems God has other plans. So, please be praying that we quickly get plugged in and God begins to show me what my new role will be in this town.

Oh and just for fun here is a little picture comparison for how much our little miss has grown these past five months :) Though it hasn't been easy this cutie is worth it, despite all the sleepless nights and added stress.

Just a few weeks old

Same chair and 4 months old

Just a couple days old

So big!

The Little Miss arrived!

Well it has been quite awhile since we did an update on our happenings......

November and December passed by with not much excitement.  It was wonderful to be able to host Thanksgiving in our apartment for a part of the Stonesifer clan and a Japanese family that live in town.  In December we celebrated the end of Drew's semester and my birthday, and well then the waiting began....

I won't go into much detail but here is a snapshot of the weeks leading up to our Little Miss's arrival and her Birth Story.

A lot of signs seemed to be pointing to an early arrival of our Little Miss.  At 35 weeks she had dropped considerably and at my 36 week appointment I was dilated to 1 cm and 50% effaced.  I was told it was a waiting game at this point, but my body seemed on the right track to prep for Labor and Delivery.  However, not much had progressed by 38 weeks; I was only 2 cm and 80% effaced.  I was having lots of Braxton Hicks and contractions that would feel more significant as time went on, but were never regular or really long.   My parents arrived the 26th and with my dad leaving on January 5th, we really wanted the baby to come promptly.  We were thinking about inducing if we got to like a week past the due date, which is also what my OB recommended. I really really didn't want to be induced but by 39 weeks I was emotionally done and we set up an appointment for January 5th to discuss induction with the OB.

Well fast forward...we made it through December and managed to keep occupied waiting for the baby to come.  However, I am not going to lie this was probably the hardest New Year's Eve I will ever have.  Drew was ready for this roller coaster to be over too.  He had been thinking that January would make for a more fun birthday than December, but at this point he was sorry for ever having wished for that.  So when I woke up on January 2nd (my due date!!) and started to have those cramping contractions I was so nervous to think that it was actually happening. I mean who goes into labor on their due date!?!?!  Soon after waking up (at 3am!), Drew got me settled into a warm bath cause strangely that is all I wanted to do.  We passed the morning by watching Gilmore Girls and going to a 24/7 grocery store to walk around.  It was pretty deserted.

By lunch time we were pretty sure it was the real thing, but I was still able to walk and talk through contractions.  We took down our Christmas decorations between contractions and my parents came over for lunch. However, not that much longer the contractions were getting stronger, so we called the OB to ask about whether or not we should let them know if we're on our way or anything, and they suggested that we schedule an appointment for a "labor check" at 3:45pm. 

We went to the doctor and he told us I was about 3-4 cm still.  That was hard to hear, since we'd been in labor for 13 hours at that point.  We kept thinking that things would take off at some point, but they never did.  It just kept moving slowly.   The doctor said we should try just walking around for a while till the contractions are 5 minutes apart, a minute long, for an hour, which we had heard from them in earlier appointments.  So we went to the mall to walk around, which ended up being a pretty stressful place to be. By dinnertime the contractions still weren't that close, but we figured we should eat something. So, we went to my parent's hotel since it was close to the hospital and had some take-out from Olive Garden.

After a bit,  my contractions were about 4 minutes apart and over a minute long, so Drew told me we would leave for the hospital after the next contraction.  Thankfully I was far enough along that they decided to admit me, and we were able to get settled into the hospital room.  As some of you know we took the Bradley method class, so we decided to do the labor and delivery with no pain medications.  I was in and out of the shower pretty much the whole night (the shower and Drew's amazing coaching were what got me through the labor).  We used a month's worth of hot water and a year's worth of towels in a few hours.

By about 1am or 2am I started feeling an urge to push.  However, I was not fully dilated and thus was told that I could not push.  This was the worst part of the labor.  By 3:15am they said there was still a persistent lip around the whole way, so we decided to let the doctor break my water.  Things sped up after that and the pain was much more intense!  Finally it was time to push!  In that moment, we decided to give birth squatting with the assistance of the birthing bed bar.  I was so ready to be done at this point (and actually I was also thinking that I really wanted to have this baby before our nurses changed shifts. We had an incredible labor and delivery nurse).  I pushed for about 10 mins and we had our little girl! We were so exhausted that honestly I think our first thoughts were "we are so glad that is over and she is here," though Drew's first comment to me was "Theresa, she has hair!!!"  A few hours and a long nap later, our brains turned on again and we realized we were parents!

She is now 3 weeks and we are starting to figure each other out. She has been giving us some nice long stretches of sleep at night (for a newborn), and has been eating well, even after taking a bottle or two (and sucking our thumb, her thumb, a pacifier, pinky, blanket, shirt... we're lucky!).  It has sure been an adjustment and I am so glad that my mom was able to be here for the 2 weeks after the Little Miss was born.

Here are some pictures:

The pediatrician still doesn't want us taking her out in public, but visitors are welcome!  Let us know if you want to stop in :)

The past month

Wow, it has been awhile since we last gave an update on our happenings here in Indiana.

Well I always love lots of pictures so here is a little snapshot of what has been consuming our time the past couple of weeks....

Our new family of 3 (+1 in the works)

No matter what anyone says there is nothing like receiving love from a pet :)

His favorite place to be! Also, thanks Grandma Stonesifer for the quilt.

Just hanging out

Taking a snooze with his stuffed husky named Snowflake

He is getting so big.

He looks so funny when he sleeps sometimes. Also, love his speckled belly! haha

So sweet! Sleeping by Daddy's feet while he works.

And yes he does do more than sleep.  However, while he is sleeping is the best time to try to take pictures.

So much love!

Learned to Shake!

Well there you go in case you couldn't pick up on the theme. Our month has been filled with Sitka. There were some rough moments, but we have been truly blessed with a wonderful pup, who we are preparing to be a great big brother to the Little Miss.  It has also been amazing to see how having the new pup had enabled us to make friends in our apartment complex.  Our apartment complex is very dog friendly, so lots of the residents have dogs.  And, now that we have joined the crowd and are out and about walking Sitka everyday we have met so many more people.  It has been wonderful and we are feeling much more at home here.  Our neighbors that live across the street from us have a terrier mix who is about the same age as Sitka and they absolutely love to play with each other!  It has been great for the pups to run off energy and for us to get to know some people beyond just small talk.  We are looking forward to more months of training and progress before the Little Miss arrives.

In other news Theresa got a job as a part-time receptionist at an assisted and independent living home.  While it isn't ideal work it has been great to get out of the house, bring in a little money and meet more people in the community of Lafayette.  

Drew is still working for Data One part-time and plugging along with school and observations.  (He can update you more on this soon)

And lastly, we had quite the weekend back in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, I completely forgot to take pictures, but some dear friends at Gordon-Conwell threw a little baby shower for the Little Miss.  It was my first baby shower and it was wonderful to catch up with some amazing women.  I felt so blessed and loved, and I know our little girl will too.  We were also able to reconnect with church friends and family, and got the chance to take some maternity pictures.  

We are now officially in the third trimester (ahhhh!!).  I think it dawned on both of us the past couple of days that this is gonna happen and she will be here before we know it. I would be lying if I didn't say we got a little freaked out combine this with the fact that we were exhausted from our whirlwind trip, and had realized how much we missed our friends back in MA, and the week has been an emotional rollarcoaster.  I also had to go to a breastfeeding class, and uggh I have to say when did it become ok to make future mothers feel so much pressure and guilt to make certain decisions about how to take care of their babies (and I am not just talking about choosing formula or breastmilk).  I left the class feeling discouraged and upset.  We could use some prayer as we learn to tune out all the noise of "advice" from the outside and begin to learn to trust each other as we enter this adventure of parenting.

Well I think that is all the updates as of now! I have been working on some more sewing projects, so I will share some pictures soon.

Much love from the Stonesifer fam!

Sitka's new family

So we had a big decision to make.  Friday night, we gave a call to the breeder, and though four out of five puppies had been claimed from her June litter, she just had a fresh one which is what all her customers were interested in, so Cisco was being sold at a lower rate.

This was the cool part for me.  We got to the breeder, and I feel like I learned a lot about huskies just in the time we were there.  This gal and her husband, both retired, had about 20 huskies, and probably more Corgis, and some Shelties.  We got to see Sitka (then called Cisco) being trained by his mom, Uneka, to fight back at attackers.  It was fascinating, while she and a bunch of the other dogs were playing and we were talking with the breeder, she had him pinned against a fence with his neck in her jaws, like completely, doing it as long as it took for him to learn to defend himself.  He gave a pretty serious yip one time.  We totally don't understand dogs and their behavior.  This was completely normal, but if someone in a pet store at the mall saw that behavior, they'd be terrified.

After some time, Cisco became a lot more comfortable running to us and playing with us.  Not like it was some magical connection, but it was cool to see.  Some of the dogs were really calm (Cisco's dad), anxious, friendly, suspicious, or energized (Cisco's mom).  All of them enjoyed some bouts of wrestling, nipping, and tackling.  haha one time Cisco's dad bowled into his mom and completely sent her rolling around on the ground lol.

When we took him outside of the fence, momma's fears were confirmed, and she knew that her baby was leaving.  It was heart-wrenching to see.  She and her champion bloodline were running up and down the fence as we pulled Sitka out of the gate with his new and very unnatural leash.  We were told that after we took him away, especially after giving him a bath, he'd never be treated the way that he was among that pack of dogs again.  It's a tough thing to do to a dog.

I don't know if the little fella had ever been in a car before, but we had put a sheet down in the car and plopped him down on the back seat, and Theresa climbed in next to him.  He really didn't know what to make of it.  After a bit he sat his butt down, but was fighting the urge to lie down or close his eyes.  About 45 minutes later we stopped at North White high school for a water/potty break, and he was still lacking confidence in his surroundings (of course!) so we couldn't really pull him anywhere on the leash.  Eventually he was walking around and whatnot, and for the next half of the ride home, he was far happier, and actually laid himself down.

Walmart was next!  Theresa went in to get some things and Sitka and I went to a grassy spot in the back of the parking lot to hang out.  He showed some interest in other people while we were there, and when we got back to the car to get going he put his little paws up on the doorsill!  Awww... daddy's so proud!!

Then the pet supply store.  We knew this would be over-stimulating.  The guy was totally out of his element when we first went in, so I carried him around until we met another little 10 week fluffy mutt puppy.  Both of them had just left their old families!!  They were good for each other, and although he was really uncomfortable with strangers at first, it really helped him out when he was forced to interact with them.  By the time we left the store, he was a ripe little social butterfly!

It was quite a day already, but after we got home and had our first accident, it was off to a church picnic for dinner (mom and dad had been practicing foregoing their own needs all day.  This really is a foretaste of our little baby girl soon to come), where he did great eating dinner (dog food, fear not) and then it was home for a bath.  Goodness gracious, we didn't let him off easy, huh!

Sitka at the picnic!  He was a hit, and loved it!

Sitka, the little bathtime pro!!

Bathtime was, miraculously, a breeze.  Who's heard of Huskies that like water??  Well here's one.  He was totally fine and indifferent to the whole affair.  I'd even dare to say he liked it.

Needless to say, after a day like that, he slept great.  There was another accident in there, but while he was in his kennel he kept it clean.  Morning rolled around without him waking us up or whimpering or anything.



That morning we had to leave him for church, and I think we were both thinking about him the whole time lol.  There's definitely a new little Stonesifer!  If we keep telling ourselves that, we'll believe it happened.

Playdates and visits are welcome!  We'd love to get him meeting as many new people and dogs as we can.

Welcome to the newest little Stonesifer!

Though you may not have known it, there had been a competition between two opposing dimensions of Drew and Theresa's life going on for quite some time now - which would come first - the Husky, or the Human?  Really since we first started dating, the heavenly bodies representing the two fates started collecting followers and assembling for the inevitable battle, and in the past few months, they were in all-out warfare!  It looked like team Human would win out, but team Husky had apparently sent for the Riders of Rohan and swooped in for a swift and dominating win at the end!  After the whole battle, here's who we got!

Doesn't he look so grown up? :) hehe

a long day!

So, for the sake of chronicling and storytelling, the talk of Siberian Huskies began some time ago (like the over-analogized battle above).  To make a long story shorter, there was time when we were very seriously dating, and Theresa was facing inner turmoil because we thought I was allergic to dogs.  For multiple years, we thought there was a serious possibility that we wouldn't be able to get a dog (or deny ourselves and get a poodle or something).  After that, I began conducting scientifically rigorous experiments like burying my face in Theresa's husky, Klondike, at her parents' house, or letting him get into my clothes to make sure I brought as much of him back with me as I could.  The results were good!  We determined that I was allergy-free!

When we moved to Boston, we pretty much knew we wouldn't be able to get a dog.  Finding an apartment in the Boston area that allows dogs, let alone huskies, is difficult, and exceedingly expensive.  So we delayed.

Moving to Lafayette, a decidedly more dog-friendly area (or maybe less dog-unfriendly - sorry Boston!), we could afford ourselves accommodations that would allow for a puppy.  So we picked a place that had no breed restrictions (even though huskies are the friendliest dogs after pomeranians), relatively small additional expenses, and a dog park! what?! crazy.  Oh yea, and things for us like a bedroom and a shower.

For a few months, Theresa and I were too busy with classes for the both of us, so while we still talked about husky names as much as baby names, we put off getting a dog for a slightly more sane time.  She finished her classes a few weeks ago, and after hosting my parents for a lovely visit and some job applications and things, we felt we had a short window to housetrain a puppy before the baby came.  After all, we're not that crazy.  :)

Since the going rate for huskies in Indiana varies from $650 to Christmas-gift-for-my-princess, when Theresa saw a listing that met our qualifications - breeder, offered AKC registration, seemed as professional and clean as we could tell online - for $400, well, that was when the Riders of Rohan showed up, and team Human was ambushed and sent running with its tail between its legs (hehe), with little time to mount a counter-defense.

Part 2 about his first day will come tomorrow!

And it's a..........

Well the day has come!! We are halfway there (cause we are seriously praying that this little one arrives on or before their due date, so that Dad will not be back in classes at the time of the birth.) I know due dates are an estimation, but heck this little one is hearing from us everyday that we want a little December baby! And, well apparently this worked for my mom, haha.

So........we are at 20 weeks and we finally know if Baby S is going to be a little Miss or Mr.!! There was much excitement and anticipation that surrounded this news. I had always known that I would want to find out. I understand that there are different opinions out there about this and each to their own, but there is no way we were going to wait 20+ more weeks to find out if this little critter was gonna get our boy name or girl name.  (Oh, P.S. we are leaving the name a secret between the two of us, and we will announce that after the little one makes its appearance into the world. Gotta have something left to announce ;)

We decided to have a party to share the news, and so we jumped on the bandwagon and 

planned a Gender Reveal Party.  

There are so many cute ideas on Pinterest for how to share the news, but we loved the one of popping balloons that had confetti in them.  I must confess that we knew the news before the rest of the party goers. We debated about wanting to have the ultrasound tech tell us or have her write it down, but we decided that it would be fun to have her tell us. The little critter was shy at first and stayed in a little ball while the ultrasound tech took some measurements.  After some coercing the little one finally moved and we got a clear shot of between the legs, haha.

And, well here is the news....it's a ???????

Miss!!!!!!

Here are some pictures from the Party! (courtesy of the wonderful Bethany Shaw!)

Counting the Votes. Boy won the Vote, haha.

Oh my face! Can you tell we are excited?? :)

So much pink!!!

Also, since some people have asked we registered at Amazon.com (click here).

Much love!