Our 9th Wedding Anniversary!

Wow! Today marks Cary and I’s 9th anniversary! All these years later, I could not be happier and I believe we are even more in love than on the day we wed! Cary is an amazing husband. He is incredibly sweet, caring and generous, albeit, not romantic—ha ha. I know that I can always count on him. He takes amazing care of our little household and would truly do ANYTHING for me. He often tells me that his #1 goal in life it to make me happy. What he doesn’t get is that he doesn’t need to do anything else to make me happy. He has already far surpassed my expectations of what a wonderful husband should be and waking up next to him every morning is all I need to be happy! Nine wonderful years later, we are embarking on yet another amazing journey together. I cannot wait to be a parent with Cary and show Margo what love is all about. We are not perfect by any means, but I think these years together have helped us create a good foundation and an excellent example of a healthy marriage and family for our baby girl. So… off we go for a long weekend in the hill country to some of our favorite places where our best memories have been made. This will be our last little trip as a couple without a child… maybe a little bittersweet and a bit scary, but I could not be more excited about Margo and the wonderful things to come!

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Happy Father's Day

I know that every little girl thinks their dad is the best on earth, but really… my dad IS the best dad in the whole wide world! My daddy-o has been such an integral part of my life in so many positive ways and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have him. He writes to me beautiful letters and stories that are some my earth’s greatest treasures. He is so so funny and was a blast as a child! He is ALWAYS there for me and most importantly, has always loved me unconditionally. He has made so many sacrifices in life, so that my world could be a better place and has taught me amazing, wise lessons about the paradoxes of life. He has given me a greater understanding of the world through his infinite wisdom and truly beautiful outlook on life. I have never known a stronger person, who strives in even the most difficult circumstances, with a positive attitude and a smile on his face. My dad has taught me that life is too short to get wrapped up in all the negativity and stress of daily living. He has taught me to “let go and let God”, to make the best out of every circumstance, to never judge others and that integrity is the most important trait a person can own. I could never live up to the amazing man he is, but I am so grateful for the gifts he has instilled in me. It is clearly not the material things, but the spiritual things he has provided to me that help me to thrive in this world. I love you, daddy-o, more than you could ever know and I thank the good Lord for you each and every day.

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I think my Cary is going to be a pretty darn great dad too. My husband could not be a kinder, more giving man. He is a hard worker… determined, loyal, compassionate and fun loving. His life is rich with friends who love him dearly and he is greatly respected by others. I cannot wait for our Margo to meet him because I know she will love him equally as much as I love my daddy. I have no doubt, she is gonna be wrapped around his finger in no time flat! Just look at how much he loves the cats! My love, my sweet Cary, I cannot wait to share in this incredible journey with you and hold our baby girl in our arms. God has graced you with so many gifts and I know being a fantastic father will also be one of them. I love you dearly and thank you for taking such great care of me during this pregnancy. Click on Image to Enlarge

Last, but certainly not least, I want to pay tribute to another amazing father, my brother-in-law, Randy Bosworth. I know that today his kids wish he was here more than anything and my heart breaks for them. Randy set an amazing example to men everywhere of what a great father should be and I know his legacy will carry-on… especially in Trey, his son, who is expecting Baby Lucas in October. I wish so much that Randy was here, gracing us with his amazing zest for life. Margo will be at such a disadvantage for never having had known him and I know Cary would have treasured the opportunity to get some child rearing advice from one of the best! We love you and miss you like crazy, Randy. I know you are watching from afar and protecting us all.

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Happy Father’s Day to all of our loved ones and friends… Ron, Grandpa, Alan and so many more! Father’s deserve to be celebrated and should be appreciated every day!

Week 23 - Hyper Dog, Crazy Cat, Growing Belly... Oh' My!!

This week we have had a really sweet house guest, Lola! While her parents (my sister) are in Europe, she is staying with us for a few weeks before being kenneled. We just can't manage her for the whole 3+ weeks they are gone and we are also going out of town for a few days. Although Lola is pretty hyper because she is a young Australian Shepherd, she is one of the sweetest girls ever and we just love her! She has been going on long walks, playing ball and Cary likes to mess with her by blowing in her face, which gets her all riled up. It is pretty hilarious! This experience with her has definitely confirmed that I really want a dog when Margo gets a bit older and I can stay at home during the day.

On other animal fronts, those of you who have known me for a long time know that Tucker is my cat baby! I have had him since high school and he lived with me in college. He is 15 years old and I never imagined I could love an animal so so much. We are very closely bonded! You also know that Tucker is a bit on the crazy side, but could not be a sweeter more loving cat. We recently got him shaved, which he used to love because as a Mainecoon he has a TON of hair. However, he clearly was traumatized by the event this time and doesn't like the way it feels because he is licking himself raw. It breaks my heart... there are sores and scabs all over his body. We are giving him allergy pills, but I don't think it really helps and we will try a round of steroids next week. I think until his hair grows back a bit more, this is going to be a constant challange for us. Pray for my boy, as I hate to seem him in this state. I couldn't get him to look at the camera, but isn't he a pretty boy? In the background are the boxes that will be going to storage this weekend as we continue to prepare for Margo's room--yaay!

Last, but not least... holy moly... my belly is already getting huge! Today marks the beginning of my 6th month, which means I have four months of pregnancy left! I cannot believe how much I am growing and my body is really starting to change. It is an adjustment, but also a neat experience. I am feeling really good and still have a lot of energy. I am trying to keep up with my walking and am eating pretty well. Can you imagine what I will look like in four months? I hope things slow down a bit or I will look like a whale! My belly is starting to get just a little itchy. I have been religious about putting on stretch mark cream, but I have heard it doesn't really matter. I really hope I don't get them. Time goes by slow, but I know I will be regretting saying that when I am eight months along and have nothing ready to go. One day at a time... feeling blessed and quite happy!

Week 22 - Margo's Room

Since the day I found out it was a girl, I started planning Margo’s room. For the first 18 weeks of my pregnancy, I was convinced it was a boy and had everything planned accordingly. Much to my surprise, Baby Weaver was a girl and oh’ what fun to make a girly room!

I love birds and butterflies and all things nature, but really wanted to do something with birds. I initially thought I would want a lot of color and a lot of birds, but as I started looking around, I realized I liked things much simpler. After putting together a few options and obtaining various opinions of others, I settled on my first and favorite choice. Problem is it is also the most expensive option, but thanks to our generous and loving family, we are going to be able to pull it off! My sister is giving us her beautiful crib and changing table, along with a moses basket and an array of other things, such as the swing, exersaucer, play gym, etc... My dad bought the glider and my in-laws bought the chandelier! How lucky are we??? I feel truly humbled by everyone’s kindness and generosity!

So… here is a sampling of what we will be putting together.

Never in my wildest imagination did I think I would be doing so much white! I have very little white in our house, but I loved the clean crispness of it. It is hard to see, but the accent color in the crib sheet is aqua, thus the touch of blue in the room, as I am not into all pink. The chair is slipcovered so it can be washed and now my biggest debate is the rug. As you can see, I have picked two options:

1) Shaggy white rug
2) Woven rug with matching pink border

I prefer the shaggy (which was pictured with the bedding), white rug, but I think Tucker, the cat, is going to love it and it will end up with throw-up stains before I know it! I am afraid the outside border of the other rug will contrast too much with the border at the bottom of the crib skirt. Should I forego a rug altogether since the room is carpeted? Any thoughts/suggestions?

The bird appliqué for the wall can be custom ordered, as can the mobile, so those will be in different colors. Cary’s grandfather, who is ill, has also painted us some sweet little bird houses for the room! We are not painting the room because we are hoping we won’t be in this house too much longer and Cary feels it is better to keep things neutral for resale. I can’t wait to see it all come together. Right now the current room is a junk heap of all of Cary’s things… boxes of books, pictures, etc…--the old contents of his study when we had a bigger house. We got storage for his stuff and he is sad that the house is officially “no longer his, run by girls”. I feel bad, but unfortunately that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. Our house is so small that we had to put half of my clothes in a canvas closet in the guest room (the attic isn’t tall enough and it is a complete eyesore) to make room for some of Cary’s things in the guest bedroom closet. I am sure all of these adjustments will be well worth our sweet Margo and it is always nice to clean things out!

Everything will be moved to storage in the next few weeks, then we will get new carpet and then we will start putting the room together. Stayed tuned for the completed project… probably several months from now!