A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE LEE'S....

Beautiful Girl

2012-02-12T12:16:00.000-08:00

This week our beautiful girl rolled over for the first time. It was so funny because earlier that morning we were at the park with friends and I told Mrs. Amanda and Mrs. Meredith that Lainey was not rolling yet. I guess she didn't like me talking about her, because when I went to pick her up from her nap she was on her back and not her tummy. She has only done this one other time since, but it is good to know she has the strength to roll. :) It's hard to believe how fast she is growing up! Right now she has a little bit of a cold so it's making it hard for her to breathe and sleep at night. I hope this goes away soon, but momma and daddy are sick too so I don't know that it will.

Here are a few pictures that I've been meaning to post. It's a catch up day because some of these are over a month old!

Lainey's Valentine's Day Picture that Mrs. Jess took!

Lainey in the pillowcase dress
I made her for Valentine's Day!

Happy girl after church on Sunday

This face cracks me up!

Sweet baby!

My mom has a picture of me making this same face when I was little! So funny!

Little one in my baby dress!

"I like playing dress up in your clothes mommy!"

Finally getting good at tummy time!

Dancing with daddy to go to sleep!

Getting so big! She will be 4 months old in one week!

I love that face! So serious!

Super Weekend!

2012-02-06T07:38:00.000-08:00

This weekend was so nice! It was the first weekend since Christmas that Brian didn't have to work or go to a grad school class. We enjoyed Gibson's first birthday party, shopping, going to dinner and a wonderful Sunday. Lainey actually stayed in bible class by herself today. She had gone before, but I stayed with her to make sure she was ok. This time, we dropped her off and let her be a big girl. She stayed half of the time and then got sleepy and wanted her mom. They said she loved it while she was there. I am so glad we have such loving bible class teachers and even more glad that there are TONS of babies for Lainey to grow up with. Friends are such a blessing!

Sunday afternoon my in-laws stopped by for about an hour to say hello and then we had a small super bowl party. It was thrown together at the last minute because no one really had a plan so we just had anyone we talked to come. It was fun! The kids made lace up footballs, played wall football, which was like pin the tail on the donkey, and ran around. The dads got to watch the game, stuff themselves and just enjoy being together. It was fun and the food was delicious!

It's hard to believe that one year ago we were doing IVF at this time and now we have our precious miracle girl that is 3 1/2 months old. God is so good. We are so lucky to have such great friends. A year ago, two of the three couples that joined us for super bowl had been over to bring food and play games while I was on bed rest in the living room. It truly is awesome to think about how blessed we have been this last year. I can't wait to see what the next year holds. Hope you all had a great super bowl weekend as well!

Sweet girl with her lovie on the way to church.

Lainey with her buddies in bible class.

Precious girl ready to learn!

Snuggle Time

2012-01-29T12:26:00.000-08:00

This week Lainey has pretty much just wanted to be held. She is teething and is miserable. Three nights this week she didn't sleep longer than an hour and a half without waking up in tears. It was so sad. We are using orajel and tylenol, but hoping the tooth trying to come through will hurry so she won't be in pain for long. She is getting better about holding teethers, but still not great. We got her a sophie giraffe this week. I've heard they are wonderful for teethers, so we shall see.

When we aren't snuggling she is loving her exersaucer and reading books. I've been working on setting up our front room as a playroom and we love spending time in there. I am loving being home with our precious girl even on days that she fusses most of the day. It can be super tough, but so worth it. We are very ready for Brian to be finished coaching so that he can spend some more time with us. Just one more week!

One of our happy moments in the exersaucer!

The shirt says it all!

Our precious girl all ready for church.

3 Months Old!

2012-01-22T16:07:00.000-08:00

Wow, time has flown by. It seems like just yesterday that we were heading to the hospital to have Lainey. She has brought so much joy to our life and each day gets even more fun.

At three months Lainey is sleeping in her own crib! Finally!! She slept with momma and daddy until about a week ago, but I finally gave in and let her cry. She now cries about 10 minutes and then falls asleep for 5 hours. She still wakes up for a middle of the night snack, but she goes back to sleep in her crib until 6:00 or so. After that she eats once again and then sleeps until around 8:30.

We are still breastfeeding, which I love! It is such a special time for us that I don't think I'll be giving it up any time soon. She is getting harder to control, because she's so active, but I love it.

Lainey weighs about 12 1/2 lbs. and is still in her three month clothes. She has just moved up to 3-6 month PJ's because her legs are too long. She is also still in size one diapers.

Lainey loves her bumbo, her jumper, and is finally pushing up during tummy time. She still doesn't love tummy time, but she is getting better. She enjoys standing with help much more than laying down. Go figure. :) We also still don't do great when it comes to car rides, but once we arrive somewhere she does great. She loves to be entertained and will go to just about anyone. She is smiling more, which I love and really beginning to play. We love reading books, going for walks, and just hanging our. She also really loves football. I don't know if it is because that is the only TV she really gets to watch, but when football is on TV she just stares and stares.

Lainey is still quite the snuggle bug. She is in the sling or the baby bjorn a lot and loves it! I figure she will be mobile soon enough so I might as well enjoy it.

Today was the first time she went to bible class and she loved it. I knew she would, but didn't want to take her too early because of germs. She sat for 40 minutes and did not cry at all, I was so proud! We are loving the joy that our little girl brings us and thank God for the chance to be her parents. I can't believe how fast she is growing up!

Happy Birthday Brian!!

2012-01-17T09:52:00.000-08:00

This weekend was great! It was the first birthday in three years that Brian did not have a tournament on. We spent the weekend just hanging out, enjoying our sweet girl, eating out and then seeing Contraband. My parents kept Lainey for a few hours after church on Sunday and it was nice. I did realize that being away 4 1/2 hours is about the most I can stand so I'm so glad that I decided to stay home. We were both ready to be together after that long. We also enjoyed time with our great friends the Coleman's. Jess made Brian a birthday dinner and we got to go spend some time with them. It was so much fun having Lainey around this year for Brian's birthday, it just somehow made it sweeter. I can't wait to see what God has in store for our guy this year!

God's Provision

2012-01-14T10:42:00.000-08:00

When I was pregnant with Lainey I prayed and prayed that God would make a way for me to stay home with our sweet girl. I knew how hard it would be when I looked at the numbers, but I trusted that if it was his will he would provide a way. He has provided a way with a couple of work from home opportunities, but he has done so many other things as well. I've started a journal about his provision for us since Lainey was born and I have a feeling by the time I decide to go back to work it will be filled with stories of his Love and power. Some things are big and some are little, but it is so neat to see him working in our life.

When friends tell me they can't afford to stay home I want to be able to say, "Me either, but God can!!" He works in such amazing ways when you let him.

I know that God has blessed us with jobs that provide income, but on top of that he has provided in ways that cannot be attributed to working. This month alone God has provided the unexpected blessings of a free oil change, another check from CISD, (I haven't worked since October 14th and am still getting paid. That is GOD!) money from a training that I did, but was not expecting, a credit on my meat for meat day making my total much less than expected, a hand me down extra Britax carseat, $30 worth of formula for $1.20, a refund check from our OBGYN, a $50 check because an order I placed could not be filled, and a free Valentines Day present for my hubby. I won a giveaway!

So many blessings that I can't help but give God credit and be amazed at his works. Everything that we have comes from him, but it is so incredible to see him hard at work in our life. I encourage you to sit back and really look at the unexpected blessings God has given you. I hope you will be encouraged by his Love and by the ways that he provides for you as well. Have a blessed week!

Lainey's first Christmas

2011-12-26T09:57:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful first Christmas with our sweet girl! We started celebrating Thursday with my Nannie, my parents and little brother. We had tons of yummy treats and opened presents at our house so that Lainey wouldn't have to go anywhere in the car. Lainey loved meeting her Uncle Wade and spending time with everyone. That night we drove over to Cypress for the annual Francies Christmas party. We had so much fun at our friends Lyndsay and George's house. We had a gingerbread house decorating contest, ate amazing Christmas goodies once again and then had a very fun gift exchange with everyone. It was a blast!

On Friday we headed over to Mimi and Grandaddy's house in Houston and checked in to our hotel. We got to spend time with the entire Wade side of the family that night. We all went out to a Hibachi grill for dinner, played bunco and enjoyed catching up with everyone. It was wonderful to get to meet Lainey's two baby cousins Joseph and Benjamin, who were just adopted from Ethopia in September. They are 9 months old and so precious.

On Saturday we spent time with my family until about 2:00 and then headed over to Brian's parents for presents, dinner and a candlelight service at church. Lainey got to spend some time with her cousin Ashtyn and we all enjoyed fajitas for dinner. It was nice. After dinner we headed back to my grandparents house to hang out for a little while before the kids went to bed and then the adults enjoyed some time with Lainey.

On Sunday we went to breakfast at Mimi and Grandaddy's and spent time looking at what Santa had brought. We enjoyed some more love from our Wade family and then headed back to Brian's parents for church. Brian's mom has really been wanting to show Lainey off at church so we figured Christmas Day was the perfect time. After church we went back to Mimi and Grandaddy's for lunch and then hung our with everyone the rest of the afternoon. It was exhausting driving back and forth, but both families got to spend time with Lainey on her first Christmas so it was very worth it. We had 23 people at Mimi and Grandaddy's this year and everyone took turns loving on our girl. We are so blessed to have the amazing family that we do and truly enjoyed our first Christmas with Lainey. Hope you all enjoyed yours too!!

Lainey with my sweet Nannie!

Nannie got Lainey a bear that plays peek-a-boo! So much fun!

Mimi and Grandaddy provide lots of entertainment and love for Miss Lainey

Annalee wanted to make an "Oreo" with Lainey and the boys so we did! Too cute!

My precious Aunt Julie with Lainey! She has prayed for Lainey since before she was born.

Lainey's cute Christmas Eve outfit!

She is starting to smile more and more.

Heather, Mike and Ashtyn with Lainey

Jonathon, Jodie, Nathan and Anne came all the way from North Carolina to meet Lainey and the twins.

Christmas Morning!!

My parents and brother with Lainey Christmas morning.

Lainey and her Joyz!

Brian's mom with her two girls.

Happy 7 Year Anniversary

2011-12-26T08:55:00.000-08:00

December 19th we celebrated 7 years of marriage. God knew what he was doing when he put Brian in my life seven years ago. We only dated for three weeks before we were engaged and ended up getting married just 6 months later. People thought we were crazy and would never make it, but seven years later we are still going strong. I loved Brian so much when we got married, but love him so much more today. He is an amazing husband and a wonderful daddy to our sweet girl. His love for kids is what was so attractive about him when we met. That as well as his willingness to carry my pink backpack around while I directed summer camp for inner-city teenagers was what made me know he was a keeper. :) (He's still carrying around pink backpacks today. However, now they are for Lainey, not for me.) I am so blessed to have him in my life!!

We also celebrated Lainey's two month birthday the 19th. We prayed for God to let us be parents for years before we actually had her, but as always, he had a plan. She has blessed our life in so many ways and brings so much joy to our life.

2 Month Check Up

2011-12-18T15:07:00.000-08:00

Lainey had her two month check up today which was very tough for momma. She got her first round of shots and of course screamed which brought me to tears with her. I'm very thankful for vaccinations that keep kids from getting really sick, I just wish there was another way to get them. She was not a fan.

She is now 10 lbs. and 15 ounces, and 22 inches long. She's in the 35th percentile for height and 45th percentile for weight. I'm afraid she may be short like her mom.

I continue to love our doctor more and more. He's very attentive and so good with Lainey. He explains everything very well and makes me feel much more at ease. Today he did find something kind of scary, he noticed that Lainey had developed a heart murmur. He said that he wasn't going to worry too much just yet, but if it was still there or had changed by her next appointment he would have to send her to Texas Children's Hospital to have an echocardiogram to make sure something major was not wrong. That worries me, but I know God will take care of this precious baby girl. Other than that, all was well. She did so good and looked adorable! She's been fussy this afternoon, but I've given her tylenol and will just keep watching her. Hopefully she won't be too miserable this weekend. We had hoped to enjoy some family time since Brian will finally be off of work. Yeah!!

She did so good letting Dr. Watson listen to her heart.

Home sweet home after shots!

Reindeer Shirts

2011-12-15T10:30:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we had a girls craft night at church to make all of our little ones reindeer shirts. Last night at church some of them wore them and they were just precious! I'm thankful for the big girls that held Lainey so she could be in the picture. They did great. You can tell this photo session was a little hectic, but so cute! I'm thankful for the sweet friends Lainey will have growing up. What a blessing.

Santa!!

2011-12-08T13:04:00.000-08:00

Today we went to the library to meet Santa with Mrs. Jess, Kinley and Jaxon. We also got to see Mrs. Amanda, Jake and Seth and Mrs. Jessica, Julia and Jordan. It was quite an adventure. Santa put on a magic show, read all of the kids a story, had yummy treats for everyone and even took pictures with each kid. It was wonderful and such a fun first outing with all of Lainey's friends. I'm so glad she's getting to the age that we are comfortable leaving our house to go have some social time. We look forward to many more fun times. Here are a few pictures from today.

She actually slept through part of it!

I think I was more excited about seeing Santa than Lainey!

Precious girl!

Kinley did so great holding Lainey!!

It's official... I'm going to stay home with Lainey!

2011-12-06T14:46:00.000-08:00

Before Brian and I got married we decided that we would like for me to stay home once we had children. I admire moms that can juggle working and their families, but I've always known that would be a challenge for me. Since we found out we were pregnant I've been torn about this because of the financial struggle I knew we would face. I'm a very frugal person, but it's no secret that teachers don't exactly make a ton of money and with Lainey our health insurance will now be $650 a month. Yikes! Needless to say I've struggled to decide what would be best for us. After much thought and prayer I've decided that although it will be a huge financial challenge, I just can't leave Lainey with someone else in January. I don't want to ever regret not having this time with her so I am just going to try to live as frugally as possible for the next few years. I talked to my principal today and let him know that I would not be returning in four weeks as planned and he was so supportive. He obviously didn't want me to leave, but agreed to let me out of my contract which will allow me to work in Conroe ISD again if I want to in the future. I am very thankful for that. It's a bittersweet feeling because I do love teaching. However, at this point of my life I love my little one so much more and know that I will enjoy spending time with her as she begins to grow up. I may only get to be home for a couple of years, but for now we are going to soak up every moment!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

2011-11-26T18:44:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love this time of year. We always go get our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving and put all of our Christmas decorations out on Friday. We listen to Christmas music and watch whatever Christmas movie I want. I love it!! Yesterday we did just that, but this time we got to take Lainey along for the ride. She was a great sport while we picked out our Christmas tree and loved watching the living room be decorated. She has been staring at the lights since we put them up and I'm pretty sure she even loved the Christmas music. My mom got her a little pink Christmas tree for her room and she's loved looking at that too.

I cannot wait for all of the holiday fun we will have this year. Today we enjoyed an afternoon with our friends Jeremy and Amanda and their sweet boys. Amanda was sweet enough to take a couple of pictures of us with Lainey's first Christmas tree. I'm sure there will be many more pictures posted in the next month, but here are the first. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Lainey's first Christmas tree!!

We love our sweet girl!

Brian is already wrapped around Lainey's little finger. We are in trouble.

This is pretty much the look we get every time we pull out the camera. :)

Mommy's girl!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T19:41:00.000-08:00

God is so good! We are so blessed to have our little miracle in our life this Thanksgiving. There are so many things to be thankful for, but our sweet Lainey is at the top of our list. A year ago doctors told us we might never have a baby on our own. It was such a tough period of life. Now, we are loving every minute of life with our sweet five week old. She is one amazing girl and we are SO thankful for her. Today we spent the day with Brian's parents. It was the smallest Thanksgiving I've ever had, but it was nice. My parents also came by to see her tonight. Tomorrow we plan to put up our tree and Christmas decorations and enjoy the day. It's been so nice to have Brian off this week. We are enjoying our time with daddy. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

One Month Old!!

2011-11-19T20:27:00.000-08:00

Lainey loves to read books while hanging out on her newborn lounger.

I get this bright eyed stare a lot!

Add caption

One of Lainey's many crazy faces.

My favorite little curious look. She's always trying to figure out what is going on.

Today is Lainey's one month birthday. She is finally almost out of her newborn diapers and her newborn clothes are getting a little snug. Her zero to three month clothes are huge, so we are struggling to dress her right now. :) Lainey still loves to be held all the time and is very social. She sleeps anywhere from 2-6 hours straight at night, but will not sleep in her crib or her pack and play. She wants to be snuggled up next to one of us, so until she's six weeks old we are allowing it. We are really going to try to work on this over Thanksgiving break, but the poor kiddo screams if she's not with us so we aren't really sure what to do since we also need sleep. Once Lainey is awake in the morning she doesn't usually go back to sleep for about four hours. She loves to read books, look in the mirror, swing in her swing, play on her play mat and get ready with mom in her baby bjorn. She looks at everything and really notices sounds as well. I talk to her all morning and she loves it. Lainey is doing so much better about not screaming when she gets her diaper changed and we are very thankful for that. Baths are also getting better. It's been such an amazing month, we are still learning so much about her, but we have learned what her cries mean and that's helped so much. She is such a fun little girl and is so active. We can't wait to see what all she begins to do in this second month.

Loving Life!

2011-11-06T16:00:00.000-08:00

Life with Lainey has been such a joy but also a challenge. Our sweet girl is not a huge fan of sleep or of any alone time. She wants to be held all of the time, which I love until laundry piles up or dishes need to be done. Everyone I've talked to has told me to enjoy every moment of time with her because she won't be tiny enough to snuggle with forever. So, rather than making her scream when I put her down I've been enjoying lots of time snuggling with our long awaited blessing. She may be spoiled, but she will also never doubt that she's loved. :)

At two weeks old we've made several trips out of the house to church, the grocery store and to doctor's appointments. However, most of the time we hang out here. There are so many germs and I think even though I've been careful she still may have a cold. If she doesn't sound better in the morning I may have to call her doctor. Lainey has slept for up to six hours at night and she's also stayed awake until 5:00am before falling asleep. It all depends on the day. She is very active and alert when she is awake. She loves to look around and examine the world. She also loves when people talk or sing to her and riding in her baby bjorn. Lainey does not enjoy getting her diaper changed or changing clothes. This is a shame because she has so many cute clothes that I'd love to dress her up in. We will continue to work on it, but for now she is not a huge fan.

Lainey LOVES her daddy and is always so excited to see him when he gets home. She knows his voice and calms down when she hears it. We've gone to visit him at work a couple of days that she was very unhappy and it's really helped. The poor kid has horrible tummy problems and has to take gas drops several times a day to keep from being miserable. Even with the meds, some days she still just screams in pain. It breaks my heart. We are having so much fun being parents to this little blessing from God! She is so fun and we can't wait to see how she continues to change over the next few weeks.

Precious girl!

It's amazing how much I love this girl already!

This captures everything about Lainey's personality!

One of her quick naps!

Lainey was born on our six year and ten month anniversary. We are so blessed to have this long awaited miracle in our life.

She couldn't keep her eyes shut when she heard the camera gears turning. She is so curious about the world. I love it!

I'm so thankful for my precious family!

Lainey's first week

2011-10-27T09:31:00.000-07:00

This week has been full of surprises. Lainey has already brought us so much joy! We are just amazed and in love with this little girl. Brian took a full week off and we loved every minute of our time with him. Lainey loves her daddy and loves to snuggle up with him any chance she gets. We are still trying to figure out this whole sleep thing. From the moment Lainey was born she has had trouble sleeping unless she is being held. We are really working to get her to sleep in her nap nanny or her pack and play, but right now she's only sleeping well on our chest. One night this week she slept six hours straight, but that was a one time thing. Her doctor showed us how to position her on her side, and she will do that for about 20 minutes. However once she realizes that she's not with someone she tends to get fussy. Lainey is a great eater! She lost 6 oz. from birth to her first doctor's appointment, but at her weight check today she was right back up to her birth weight. She eats 30-35 minutes at each feeding. We are trying to get her on some sort of routine, but we also know it's going to take some time. She is so alert and will be awake for up to three hours at a time just looking around and talking to anyone who will listen. You would think this would wear her out, but she still doesn't love to sleep at night. She even has alert times at 3:00 am. :) We are enjoying time with Joyzie, my mom, now that Brian is back at work. She has been such a lifesaver and source of strength. I love having her here. She plans to stay until Friday when Brian comes home and I'm really thankful for that. It's nice to have someone to hand her off to when she fusses for a while and someone to help take her to the doctor and things like that. I'm a little nervous to take her anywhere by myself, but I know we will have to do that soon. Lainey is such a blessing and Brian and I are so thankful that God has blessed us with the joy of being parents. We have such great friends and such a wonderful family that this week has been great. We look forward to seeing what next week will bring.

She's Here!

2011-10-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

Our little miracle decided to show up a few hours early. We were scheduled to be induced on Wednesday morning and she decided Tuesday evening would be a perfect time for mommy to go into labor. It was quite a funny experience because Brian had decided to take Excedrine PM before going to bed Tuesday night. Little did he know that about an hour into his deep sleep I would be waking him up to take me to the hospital. I was in so much pain that I was begging him to speed and could hardly walk into Labor and Delivery. I quickly went from 4.5 cm to 8 and was at a 10 within two hours of being at the hospital. My doctor was not on call and the one that was did not do the best job. My water never broke and he did not show up to break my water until 5:00am. The nurse said I could have probably delivered around 1:00 if my water would have just broken. She had a bowel movement in her sack so the NICU had to be called in for our delivery. I was super scared when I hear the call for NICU so I was determined to push her out as quickly as possible. After we started pushing we delivered her within 40 minutes. Needless to say it was a long night of waiting and not the easiest labor, but our beautiful little girl was welcomed with love at 5:41 am. She weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. and was 19 inches long. She has the fullest head of thick black hair and perfect skin! We are truly in love. Lainey hates laying on her back so we've been holding her a lot. We got to go home from the hospital yesterday afternoon and are enjoying this sweet baby at home. Today is the first day that we've really worked with her to show her that swings, bouncers, and nap nannys are her friend. :) She's getting much better at laying by herself for a few minutes so I think she may sleep better tonight than she did last night. She's nursing really well, almost too well. She is very alert and such a precious little girl! I'll post more about her first few days later. Right now we are enjoying our visitors, trying to sleep and recover and getting to know this beautiful blessing that God has given us.

My last belly pic. about an hour before we went to the hospital.

Any Day!

2011-10-15T11:26:00.000-07:00

We went to the doctor on Wednesday and found out that I was at a three! Our doctor was super pleased and scheduled us for an induction on Wednesday, October 19th. Since our appointment I've been having lots of contractions. Last night they were 4-8 minutes apart so we went to the hospital to get checked. They ended up letting me go because although they are regular, they are not strong enough to have dilated me more than I already was. We came home and for the first time in weeks both really got good rest. We have everything packed in the car and are ready to go if my water breaks or if the contractions get stronger. The nurse said some women have contractions like this regularly for days, and some get much stronger pretty quickly and end up back at the hospital pretty quickly. We shall see what Miss. Lainey decides to do. :) We are so ready to meet her and bring her home, but if we have to wait until Wednesday that will be OK too. We are enjoying the last weekend as a couple and trying to get as much rest as possible before she comes. Hopefully in a few days I will be posting pictures of our precious girl.

9 1/2 Months Pregnant!

2011-10-10T18:40:00.000-07:00

I am so excited that I've been lucky enough to carry this sweet girl to nine and a half months! It feels great. My feet are swollen, I'm getting tired easily and I've officially starting having REALLY bad false labor pains. Lainey seems to be out of room in there and is making me quite uncomfortable. I'll be thrilled if she makes it to forty weeks because I want her to be as healthy as possible, but if she comes early that would be great too. Brian and I spent the weekend getting last minute things done and enjoying our time together. We went out to dinner on Saturday and then went to see Courageous. What an amazing movie! It was perfect to see with just a week or two before our first child is here. I can't wait to see God work in our marriage and family as we being this next phase of our life.

Tonight I got to meet Amanda and Jeremy's baby Seth. It was so special to get to hold that precious boy that we've prayed for for so many months. Amanda and I wanted to be pregnant so badly for so long and then we found out within a week of each other that we were both expecting. To get to hold her precious little one was truly one of those moments that God opened my eyes to his amazing plan. Although we wanted to be pregnant so long before we finally were, God has always had a plan. I cannot wait to watch our sweet little ones grow up together. God is good!

While I was at work today I had several really strong contractions. One was so bad that my kids noticed. I could hardly get my lesson out and turned bright red because I was in so much pain. I don't know if that means anything, but I'm hoping it at least means that I'm making some progress. I went ahead and set my sub plans out just in case something happens tonight. I don't think that it will, but WOW, the reality that I could go into labor at work set in today. :) I am going to miss my students while I'm out. I'm so lucky to have a job that I really do enjoy. However, I'm looking forward to the best and most challenging job in the world, being a mommy to our little one. Here is my latest belly picture. I've really grown this week, it will be interesting to see what that scale says on Wednesday. :) I really am close to staying at my goal weight gain so I hope these last few weeks or days don't ruin it for me. I guess either way it will be worth it. Hopefully I'll be posting a 39 week photo next week, but if not pictures of our little one will be up soon. We can't wait!

37 Weeks

2011-10-04T17:46:00.000-07:00

It's so exciting to know that we are finally 37 weeks! It's wonderful to know that we are officially full term and if Lainey was born today she would most likely be very healthy. We have everything ready if she decides to come early, but if she wants to hang out for a few more weeks I'm ok with that too. My feet have been swollen and I've been tired, but overall I'm still feeling good. We have a doctors appointment tomorrow so we will see if I've made any more progress. Brian and I are enjoying as much time together as we can, it's hard to believe that our 7 years as just the two of us are about to come to an end. It's so exciting, but it's also making us appreciate every moment that we have together. I'm so thankful to be married to such an amazing man and cannot wait to start our family of three with him soon. We are truly blessed and cannot wait to meet our little bundle of joy. Here is my latest tummy picture, she seems to be growing every day right now. :)

9 MONTHS PREGNANT!

2011-09-28T17:46:00.000-07:00

Well, we have made it to the 9 month mark and I cannot wait to officially be "FULL TERM" in a few days. This week has been even crazier than last week. We had our last shower given by my co-workers last week and so I spent some time this weekend organizing Lainey's closet, washing a few items for her, and finishing our "before Lainey comes" list. We have checked everything off of our list so we are now ready whenever she decides to come. I even made some freezer meals so that we can just pull things out if needed. I want us to be able to enjoy the few days we get with Brian home. I'm still trying to finish the book Baby Wise, but other than that I am ready!

I know everyone thinks they will have their baby early, but Lainey is so low that I'm convinced she may come early. Our doctor checked me today and said that she was so low that she had to go around her head in order to feel my cervix. I think this little one is going to want out soon. We've given her lots of pep talks and made it clear that this week and weekend just aren't the best, so she needs to hold on a little longer. If we can make it to the next week that would be even better. :)

Right now Brian's daddy is in ICU. He had a heart attack on Sunday and ended up having major surgery on Tuesday. The doctors only gave him about a 50% chance of surviving surgery so things were really scary for a few days. He did make it through surgery and is trying to recover. He is in such poor health that we don't know how long we will get to have him here for, but we are glad that for now he's hanging on to meet our sweet girl. We've spent the last two nights at the hospital and I think Brian is going to go up tonight after his class ends at 9:00. I am physically drained and feel like I'm getting a cold so I'm not going to make the trip to 290 this evening. I really want to keep from going into labor so I am just going to try to relax and get some grading done. Brian has games the next three nights and is hosting a tournament this weekend. We've been running like crazy and my poor body has just had enough! My feet and hands are finally starting to swell and I'm just in that uncomfortable stage. I'm so happy to be pregnant and wouldn't trade it for the world, but at this point I need a night of rest. Here are a few pictures from our last shower and of what I look like at 36 weeks. There is no doubt that I've grown.

Our work did a joint shower for three of us.

Karen and I are both having baby girls! Lela and Lainey!

One of the coolest gifts we got was a set of 12 bibs! One for every month and every special holiday. Angie started the idea with the pumpkin last October. She knew we were going IVF and bought it hoping we would be pregnant. Although it didn't work the first time she kept going with the idea and ended up with one super cool gift!

All of Lainey's cool things from my co-workers.

36 weeks! I've gained 22 lbs. and I think 5 of those have gone to my face. :)

34 & 35 Weeks

2011-09-19T18:49:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks have been so super busy that I haven't even had a second to think about blogging. We have been so busy trying to get last minute things done for Lainey and have also been very busy at school. We had a doctor's appointment last week and everything still looks great. I go back next week and will be checked for progress each week after that. Lainey is growing so much! I've gained 21 pounds and she's really cramped for space. She's been hurting me a lot because she's all over my ribs. I know we will both be glad when she's free. :)

Since this weekend was Brian's last weekend without a tournament until mid October we went ahead and bought the rest of the things we needed for her, loaded car seats, washed her sheets and packed my labor bag. I don't think she will be coming for a few more weeks, but we only have 32 days left and I want to be prepared. We've also been super blessed to have two more showers with my former cheerleaders and some co-workers and Brian's school. We are truly amazed at how loved our little girl is! The presents have been a huge help, but it's the thought and the fact that almost 300 people have sent her something to tell her how loved and welcome she is that means the world to both of us. We are so blessed!

Our schedule this week is pretty crazy, but nothing like the last two. I think we may actually get some sleep at nights. That will be wonderful! We've been going to bed late, waking up early and I've been up a lot at night. The other night I went to the bathroom every 15 minutes for two hours. It was crazy. I am convinced that God uses pregnancy to prepare us for being sleep deprived once our little ones come into the world. I've also had so much on my mind. I still have so many things I want to do, books I want to read before Lainey comes and it's hard to shut my mind off. I've been reading the book Baby Wise and love it! There is so much more to a peaceful baby than what I thought. We cannot wait for our sweet girl to get here, but in the mean time we really are enjoying each other. We even got to go to the Third Day concert this weekend! It's been great! Well, we are about to go to bed! We're both exhausted! Here are a few photos of the last couple of weeks.

35 weeks!

Third Day and Matthew West Concert

Some of my former cheerleaders helped host a shower for Lainey! It was SO good to see them!

My sweet co-workers! Love these ladies

One of my favorite outfits for Miss Lainey

Love these girls so much!

Lainey's first pair of boots! Thanks Marianne!

Lainey's Love Letters from Amy! This looks great in her nursery!

Our Maternity Photo Session with Jess

2011-09-04T11:29:00.000-07:00

We got to take our maternity pictures this weekend and I could not be more happy with them. Brian has tournaments every other weekend before Lainey is born so it was really our last chance to get these taken without being too stressed on time. We took these at Market Street on Saturday morning and the weather was perfect! We are so pleased with how these turned out and can't wait to take newborn photos in just a little while.

Our good friend Jessica started her own photography business a little over a year ago. She calls it frugal fotography! She takes amazing pictures and then gives you a CD at the end of the session. You get to do what you please with all of the photos! She took some amazing pictures of us so if you are interested in her contact information let me know. :)

32 Week Update

2011-08-31T17:46:00.000-07:00

Lainey's nursery is finally finished!! I've still got to wash sheets and some of her newborn clothes before she comes, but we are finally satisfied with what the nursery looks like. I love it! It's super bright and cheerful and I think it represents what she is bringing into our life. Today we had our 32 week ultrasound. This is the last time we will get to see her before seeing her in person. That was bittersweet! I put the one ok picture that we got in the her ultrasound book and was amazed! Looking at the tiny embryo that she started out as and now seeing these chubby little cheeks and head full of hair was amazing. I teared up thinking of the emotional journey we've been on waiting for her to come into our life. God is so good and we are so blessed. Our appointment today was great. The doctor said she is super healthy, has a head full of hair already and weighs 4 lbs. 11 oz! WOW! I weighed 5 lbs. 6 oz. when I was born so that was super hard to believe. She's a chubby little one. I am so excited that in just a few weeks she will be in my arms. We've waited so long for Lainey's conception and arrival that I really can't believe it's about to actually be time to meet her. I love being pregnant and feeling her move, but the rash that I've had since April needs to hurry up and go away. That I will not miss. :) Here are a few pictures of her nursery and how big I've gotten!

The view from her crib

Her cubbies hold blankets, books and burp cloths.
The sign on top of her cubbies will be for her visitors to sign at the hospital.

Lainey's places to relax :)

My favorite wall in her nursery!

All of the fun new outfits for little missy!

All of her bows for her full head of hair!
My friend Lyndsay made her bow holder.

Lainey's Crib

32 Weeks! I've gained 19 lbs!

31 Weeks

2011-08-23T18:26:00.000-07:00

Well Lainey has really grown the past couple of weeks! I'm finally getting a little bigger which I'm thankful for. I was wondering if this little girl was ever going to grow. I am supposed to take maternity pictures soon, but I don't want to take them before the "pop" that I keep hearing will come. We have our 32 week ultrasound, which will be our final one, next Wednesday. I'm excited to know how much she weighs, what direction she is facing and how our little one is looking. She's getting so strong and her kicks are getting much more powerful. My students asked me today if I've ever felt her kick. HAHA! I told them that I was sure at some point they would actually see her kicking. It's hard to believe we've got less than 60 days left before she is here, but such a blessing. I feel like she's already got such personality and I can't wait to see if she's really like how her movements are. Right now every time I hold a baby she kicks them. She can be sound asleep, but as soon as I get another child in my hand she wakes up. It's so funny.

Her nursery is just about complete, we have a few more things to purchase and we need to wash sheets, clothes and pack our hospital bag, but we are close to being ready. I even made our Lainey's here E-mail contact list so that Brian can send an E-mail once she's here. I guess I've just heard so many horror stories of babies coming early that I want to be ready. I've started having lots of braxton hicks contractions so I want to be ready when the real ones start. Hopefully it's not during my teaching hours! I do really like my students this year and hope that they will go easy on my for the next few weeks. I'm glad I decided to go back to work. I can't imagine sitting at home waiting for Lainey to come until October. I'd go crazy! It's worth the sore feet and exhaustion to be out of the house. Anyway, I'm about to eat my nightly bowl of ice cream and go to bed. We've been in bed by 9:00 every night this week. We are pooped!

Back to work!

2011-08-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

Well this week we both started back to work! Our summer went by way too fast, but hopefully going back to work will make the next nine weeks go by quickly so we can meet our precious little girl soon! This year is going to be very difficult with new TEKS, a new state assessment, a new baby, Brian finishing his masters degree, etc... but it will be good. We are so blessed to finally be welcoming a little girl into our family and the rest will hopefully just fall into place. I finally got my long term sub set up today and spent most of the week finalizing details for him. I want to be ready when Lainey comes and not have to worry about lesson plans and what my students will be learning. I think I've finally got most of what I need to have set up in place. This week was emotional as well. I know that I want to stay home with Lainey, but I also love my job! My school district is one of the best in the nation and it's hard to think about ever leaving such a wonderful place. Brian and I are lucky to have great jobs and enjoy what we do. We are looking forward to meeting our students on Monday and starting this school year! I'm exhausted thinking about how challenging it will be, but it will be rewarding as always.

Woodland Oaks Baby Shower

2011-08-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend we had our baby shower hosted by some of our precious friends at church. It was such a fun shower and we were so blessed to have so many people show their love and support for us. 65 people signed in at the shower which was amazing! I knew we were loved, but it really was special to have that many people show up to welcome our little one with love. We look forward to raising Lainey around such special people. We know that many people will love her, look after her, and help us raise a Godly little girl! We are beyond blessed! We can't wait to dress her up in all of her cute clothes & use all of the fun goodies that she got. The girl is close to being set. :) She now has lots of books, toys, activities, places to hang out, things to play with in the bath tub, and TONS of clothes. :) It was all so much fun! I will never forget the special shower that everyone put together. From the banners, to the food, to the diaper cake it was all so very special. Lainey is one lucky little girl and we are so lucky to be a part of such a wonderful church family. We spent this week organizing all of her new little things and writing Thank You's so that we can be ready to go back to work next week. I'm not too excited about working, but it will make the time go by fast and she will be here before I know it. I cannot wait!

Babymoon

2011-08-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

This week has been amazing! We got to getaway to Destin, FL one last time before Lainey joins our family this fall! We had an amazing time! The beach was beautiful and so relaxing. I truly felt like we were in Jamaica again because the water was so crystal clear. There were even huge sand dollar pieces everywhere. It was unreal! We will be going back with Lainey! Other than our babymoon, we also hit 28 weeks this week. It's hard to believe we are finally in our third trimester & she will be here in just a few short weeks! It's getting harder to sleep, and I've had a terrible pregnancy rash for about two months now, but other than that all is still going well. I've currently gained 16 lbs. and am feeling like I'm carrying more weight for sure. This week I really grew! I don't know if it was all of the eating out we did on vacation or if she just decided to pop out this week, but it's fun! I have my shower at church tomorrow and I cannot wait! I'm so excited to put all of her little things in her room and get things together for her! It just makes it all the more real! She already has so much, but we need a few more things before we can really be ready for her to come! I had to laugh when my mother-in-law told me that babies really didn't need much. Between car seats, strollers, pack-n-plays, monitors, clothes, diapers, health & safety gear, boppys, bumbos, bottles, nursing gear, sheets, cradles, nursery stuff, bathtubs, wash cloths, burp cloths, pacis, medicines, etc... I would have to totally disagree with that. I feel like we are stocking a whole house just for sweet girl, but she's got to be taken care of! It's exciting to see all of those things coming together! I just can't wait to have her here!! Well, I've got to go grocery shopping because since we've been gone all week we have nothing. Have a wonderful week!

Birthday Fun

2011-07-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

I am so blessed to be married to Brian! He is so good to me and I am constantly blown away by him. This week we celebrated my 27th birthday and as usual he had a great plan in place. I've really missed my mom lately so on Wednesday I got to hang out with her. We went shopping for a dress for me to wear to my baby shower and got to have dinner at Cheesecake Factory. It was wonderful to spend time with her! On Thursday we woke up and had lunch with my parents and grandparents and then I went to go get a pedicure. I have been having trouble reaching my feet so that was so nice. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and then went to the popcorn bag, a speciality popcorn store for some goodies. After we got our snack we headed to Gramaldi's for dinner and then went to see Larry Crowne. It was a really cute movie and it was great to have a relaxing day with my hubby! On Friday we went to breakfast at The Egg and I and then spent the day at the pool! I love being in the sun and haven't had much time to do that this summer. We had fun floating in the lazy river (even though I didn't fit in my tube very well) and just getting to enjoy the day. I felt like the day had been great, but Brian wanted to top it off with a trip to Kemah! We enjoyed dinner at Landry's on Friday night and then had a great view of the fireworks show. It was WONDERFUL! I know next year will be a little more difficult with Lainey, but I hope we can still make time to enjoy being together. I am constantly amazed that I've been married to the man of my dreams for almost seven years and he still is so good to me! Being married to him is such a blessing. He's so supportive and just a wonderful man! Right now we are keeping Kinley and Jaxon while Ryan and Jess are in Dallas and he has been so great with them as well. Three days with a two and three year old is an adventure, and he's been wonderful! I can't wait to watch him with Lainey! She will blessed to have such a great daddy!

I can hear Jaxon waking up from his nap on the monitor, so that's all for today! Have a great rest of the week!

25 weeks and counting!

2011-07-11T10:33:00.001-07:00

25 WEEKS!

Well, the nursery is almost finished! I told Brian I wanted it finished by my birthday and I think it will be. It looks so cute! Of course we will add more to it after showers, but I think we will be finished with things that we wanted to buy and set up. So exciting! It's hard to believe that I'm already 25 weeks along. I really want to have most things set up before my 28th week because I know I could be really tired after that. We did decide to go to Destin in August for a quick little getaway before school starts and before Lainey comes. I am super excited because I didn't think we were going to do anything other than a San Antonio trip before she got here. We both decided that this year is going to be really hectic though, so why not just get away and enjoy the beach for a few days. I can't wait!

Today Brian went back to work for the next three weeks. He's enjoying coaching speed camp, but ready to be finished. He's got one more week of his masters classes for the summer and then will get a break from that for a month as well. We are both looking forward to two weeks off. Last week was so nice. We got to watch movies, play games, have people over, shop and just hang out! Our summers are so precious to us! It's times like last week that really remind me how blessed we are to both be teachers. I know the school year is crazy with Brian coaching and working on his masters, but summertime is sweet! Anyway, I've got a hair appointment at Aveda in a bit so I better close for now. Have a great week!

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

Last week was a very difficult week for my family. My cousin Jason passed away leaving many of us in shock & so very hurt. Jason was my second cousin from the same family to pass away in the last two years so it was very difficult for everyone. Needless to say, after a funeral on Sunday we needed a pick me up. Since fireworks were banned this year due to the drought we had to get creative in what we were going to do for the 4th! Since most of our friends have kids we decided what better to do than to put on a parade. The kids had so much fun decorating their wagons & waving at everyone who passed by their parade route. :) It was just fun! We enjoyed homemade ice cream, cobbler, flad cakes, bbq & hotdogs and so many other 4th of July goodies. We are blessed to have great friends in our life and can't wait for Lainey to be here and get to be in the mix! What a blessing all these kiddos will be to her. This week Brian is off work so we are planning to relax & enjoy one of our three weeks off this summer. We are so tired at this point we may not leave the house, but it will be nice to just enjoy some time off. Have a great rest of the week! Hope you all had a HAPPY 4th OF JULY!

Family Camp

2011-06-26T16:17:00.000-07:00

We just got home from another fabulous WOCC family camp! We are both so thankful to have such a wonderful church family that we can enjoy spending time with. Family Camp this year was a blast! I was really worried that I would be too exhausted to enjoy it, but it was great. Brian preached this morning and had a really good lesson on putting God first. As we get ready for Lainey to join our family I think it is very important to remember that God is the one that needs and deserves to come first in our life. So often it's easy to forget that, but he is the reason that we have family and the blessings that we do. As always, I was very proud of him for getting up there and letting God use him. It's hard to imagine that next year at this time Lainey will be 8 months old! It's going to be so different having her at camp, but it will be so much fun. What a blessing camp will be for her over the next few years.

I did finally get my car back from the shop. It was in there for 10 days total and the problem never was fixed. Apparently the transmission control is not a part of the transmission that is covered by warranty so it was going to be almost $1,000 to fix. What a mess! We just decided that if we were going to put $1,000 into a car it would have to be a new one and not my crazy Kia that always has problems. I'm hoping it will keep running for a bit longer since it's only 4 years old.

Before we left on Friday I wrapped up my last day of summer school. It went by so quickly and it was a real blessing to earn some extra money for all of the projects and things we want to do this summer. I am thankful that while some people search for work we are blessed with extra work. This week I am working on writing curriculum for our district's Social Studies department. It's going to be a long week, but I'm looking forward to seeing what we come up with by the end of the week. Thursday will be my last day of work and after that I am free until August! Brian and I are looking forward to having some time off to relax, have fun, and get ready for little bit! I'm hoping to get to downtown Tomball this week. I am in search of some small window's to make picture frames out of for Lainey's room. I can't wait to see what her nursery will look like by the end of this summer. It's so much fun creating the perfect spot for her. Well, I better go unpack! We've got a busy week ahead and lots of laundry to do. Have a great week!

Life with one car....

2011-06-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

22 Weeks!

This week has been a little hectic! My car went in the shop last Monday because my check engine light kept coming on. My car only has 73,000 miles and my transmission was just replaced last summer so I didn't figure it would be a huge deal. HAHA, I should have known better. I still don't have my car back and am not expected to until Tuesday or Wednesday. They are replacing the transmission AGAIN! I truly think I drive a lemon, but it's a lemon with no car payment so I am trying to deal with it. Brian's had to take me to work every day and pick me up which has been nice, but only having one car is not very fun. We have been trying to get ready for our church's family camp next weekend & finish up Lainey's room so it's been a little crazy. We are thankful for transportation, but would love if my car would decide to hold up for a few more years.

Our doctor's appointment last Wednesday was great. Lainey is growing at the rate that she should. She currently weighs 1 lb. 1 oz. (they think). It's so good to know that shes healthy. Last week I had several dizzy spells and almost passed out in my summer school class. I talked to the doctor and she said that Lainey is just taking my blood & it's not going to get better. I was instructed to lay on my back and put my feet in the air if I start to feel dizzy. I had to laugh when she suggested this since I'm teaching summer school in a room of 15 boys and one girl. Can you imagine if I just decided to lay down and put my feet up in the air? WOW, that would be something they would never forget. Luckily this is my last week to teach. Next week I'm writing curriculum, but I won't be on my feet as much. This fall will be tough, but I'm sure I'll make it.

Today we celebrated Brian's first father to be day! We went out and ate Chinese food after church and then enjoyed a day at home. I am so thankful for that man! He is one amazing husband and will be such an incredible daddy to our little one. Iam so blessed to have him in my life! God is good!

21 Weeks!

2011-06-13T17:47:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe just a few weeks ago I was so anxious to feel sweet Lainey start moving. Now that she's started moving she has not stopped! :) It is so fun to feel all of her kicks and punches even if she thinks my bladder is a trampoline. I love waking up to her movement in the morning and going to bed to her little kicks at night. Brian has finally started to feel her as well, it is such a special time. We've been very busy getting ready for our sweet little one now that school is out. We are both teaching or coaching this summer, but we have had more time than usual to work on things for her. Last week Brian finished painting her nursery and while he was at camp I started decorating. We have a long way to go before we have everything ready for her, but things are coming together. Tonight I sat down and started drafting a will. I know we probably should have done that years ago, but now that we have a little one on the way it has to be done. I also registered us for our hospital tour and started looking at dates for a breastfeeding class. I know time will fly by and I want to have as much done before we go back to school as possible. We have our late 20 week ultrasound on Wednesday and we are so excited! I love getting to see her and can't wait to see what she's doing in there now that I can feel her. I'm finally starting to grow so I'll also post pictures of how big I'm getting. There is so much to look forward to and we truly are thankful for the blessing of our sweet girl! Here are a few pictures of what the nursery is looking like. We've got a lot of work to do, but it's starting to look cute.

Some of our recent pregnancy highlights:

Lainey is currently the 10 1/2 inches long & almost a pound! She is about the size of a carrot.

I have curently gained 9 lbs. and am really starting to show.

I currently crave fruit and anything fried. I know that is not a very healthy craving, but YUM! I also still still feel like hamburgers or mexican food almost every night. I love buffalo wings and have never cared for those before, and cannot stand meals with chicken in them right now. (Unless it's fried chicken tenders) Lainey is going to be a junk food lover.

Lainey moves pretty much all day. She will sleep for a few hours in between but when she's awake she is kicking away.

I really miss diet cokes and coffee! I've been so tired lately, but am not going to start drinking caffine since Lainey has lots of energy on her own.

I've started getting spider veins on my legs which disgust me! Other than that I don't really have any weird symptoms.

I am still sleeping really well. I think I'm so busy during the day that I'm too exhausted not to sleep at night. I do miss sleeping on my stomach, but I'm not uncomfortable yet.

I'll update more on Wednesday after our doctor's appointment!

Here are some new pictures of Lainey's room, it's got work to do, but it's coming together. :)

20 weeks!

2011-06-06T10:52:00.000-07:00

20 weeks with Lainey!
The adorable flower bows I've been making Lainey thanks to a lesson from Jess.

This is a great week for many reasons! We are officially out of school until August so that makes life so much more exciting. Brian and I are both working summer school or summer camps, but neither are full time so we've got the flexibility to take care of things that we want to. We celebrated the start of summer by going swimming and out do dinner with friends on Saturday. It was so nice just to enjoy a day off from the all of the things that keep us busy. Yesterday we hit our 20 week mark of pregnancy! That is a huge milestone for us! We are finally starting to feel Lainey kick and move around. She is such an active little girl! Brian has been working away on painting her nursery & I have been sewing all sorts of fun things. Jessica and I are going to work on her crib skirt this afternoon and then I plan to make her curtains this week as well. I start summer school tomorrow, but Brian will be coaching at Baylor's basketball camp this week so I'll have time to work on projects until my heart is content. :) We don't have our 20 week appointment until next Wednesday, but I can't wait to see how much Miss. Lainey has grown since May 12th. I'm finally starting to show so I'm sure she's grown quite a bit. We have so much to be thankful for. Family, friends, a sweet baby girl, and this wonderful thing we call summer are at the top of our list! I'm sure our time off will be over before we know it, but we are going to make the most of our last summer as just us. What an exciting time!

Blessings

2011-05-19T12:00:00.001-07:00

This week Brian's athletic girls and moms threw him and another coach that is expecting a surprise shower!! It was the most precious thing ever. There were over 100 girls and moms present and each brought their well wishes for Coach Lee and sweet Lainey. The girls showered us with love, tons of sweet pink outfits, so many blankets, rattles and tons of diapers. It was so great to see what a loving environment Lainey will be spending her time in. I know she will love going to watch daddy coach if she's got that many girls ready to love on her. :) It was truly a blessing. The girls all wrote Lainey letters and created a scrapbook too. The scrapbook tells her all about her parents that have waited so long for her and how much we love her. It also tells her what a HUGE impact her daddy has had on each of their lives and reminds her to listen to him because daddy knows best. It truly was the sweetest thing ever. Brian works so hard day in and day out when it comes to his job as a coach. He takes time to work with each girl individually and really tries to make a difference in their life. That blessing has come back to us. It was so fun to hang Lainey's little outfits up and get to do some shopping for things that she needs. She is truly going to be one loved little girl!

It's a GIRL!!

2011-05-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

We found out today that our little bundle of joy is a GIRL! We are so excited! Her name is Lainey Elizabeth Lee! I'm so thankful that it is a girl because I had already ordered girl bedding without knowing. I found it on sale on Amazon and I just couldn't pass it up. They say you get those feelings, and I just had a feeling she was a girl. I've already bought a few cute headbands at Canton, her bedding & her furniture. Let the shopping for adorable things begin. I am really hoping this summer goes by fast because I'm so ready to meet her. She's a thumb sucker. Every time we have seen her she has had that thumb in her mouth. It is just precious! She's also very active. She's only been asleep once out of the 10+ ultrasounds we've had. We truly are blessed. We are so thankful for this little one! She will be loved and cherished. God is good!

What a week!

2011-05-08T17:35:00.000-07:00

El Matador Beach in Malibu

Wade's home for the past year!

15 weeks and counting!

Our little one a few weeks ago! Baby Lee 12 Weeks

My personal favorite, Little Lee's hand! The other one was in its mouth. :) So sweet!

This week has been crazy! We went to Malibu last week for Wade's graduation from Pepperdine. It was a very quick trip, but it was great to see him and celebrate. Malibu was beautiful! I can see why he's had such a great college experience. We were lucky to get to spend some time with all three of my grandparents while we were there as well as my aunt Julie & uncle Jonathan. It was very nice. Graduation was VERY windy! We got to experience Santa Anna winds & we honestly though we were going to blow away. Chairs were blowing away, people were having trouble standing, it was nuts! Beautiful, but very windy. We flew home late Sunday night and then have had a very busy week this week. Today I got to spend some time with my sweet mom for Mother's Day. We went to see my friend Angie's play about Moses. It was good. I am so blessed to have such an amazing mother. I have had a great example of what it means to be a mother and look forward to trying to follow in her footsteps.

This week we get to find out what we are having. I am so excited that I'm hardly sleeping! We've decided on a name for a girl, but are still stuck on a boy's name. We had hoped to have names ready before we found out. It is going to be such a special week. I can't wait to get the news and start decorating the nursery! Right now it smells like baby wipes & I find myself just going in there to hang out. I will love it so much more once it's all set up for our little one. We are so blessed and can't wait to share our fun news later this week. :)

My AMAZING Early Mother's Day Gift

2011-04-27T05:43:00.000-07:00

Last week Brian asked me if I would be upset with him if he bought me a little something for Mother's Day or for the day we found out what we are having. I told him no but not to spend too much money since we are trying to save most of what we make right now. Well yesterday he came home and asked if rather than giving me my present on one of those two days if he could go ahead and give it to me early. I was thinking something small or something for the nursery so I of course said sure. :) He came up with a package from the Ritz camera store. We have been wanting a nice camera for years, but have always said when we have a baby it will be a must. Well my sweet husband has been pulling money out of each paycheck since we found out we were pregnant and went and bought us our AMAZING camera! It's an Olympus 600 which is like the Nikon 31oo. It takes up to 3 frames per second so we will not be missing any of the cute faces that our little one will make. I am so excited! It came with two different lenses and 4 different photography classes so we can really learn how to use the camera. I'm so excited! That man contiunues to amaze me even after being married for over 6 years. He listens even when I don't think he's listening and never fails to come through with great surprises. I can't wait to post some pictures with the camera. We are going to Malibu for Wade's graduation this weekend so if we take the camera I will post some when we get back. What an exciting 1st Mother's Day present!

A crazy year!

2011-04-12T09:33:00.001-07:00

Well, a lot has happened since the last time I posted. We started our school year with a packed schedule and nothing has changed since then. We have both encountered many challenges, but have managed to press on. We've enjoyed the time that we've had to relax, but with teaching, coaching & school schedules, those have been few and far between. Brian has coached 3 sports this year, & been working on his masters. He really loves his classes and is hoping to get an assistant principal position when he finishes school next June. In December we celebrated our 6 year anniversary with a cruise to Cozumel and Progresso. It was so nice. I think we had more fun on that vacation than we've ever had before. We just really needed the getaway. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed so many fun adventures. In January Brian turned 30! We had a big celebration with friends and family & thanked God for the blessings we knew he would bring in the next year of Brian's life. In February we got huge news... we found out that we were expecting our first baby in October!! We kept things quiet for a while because of all that we went through to get pregnant, but it is official! We are excited to welcome a sweet little one this fall. I am currently 12 1/2 weeks pregnant and I'm already starting to show a little bit. We've had many doctors appointments and our little one is growing just as he or she should. We should know if it is a boy or a girl by the end of May and then we get the whole summer of to get ready for this baby. We feel so blessed to know that God has given us the gift of life and look forward to sharing many moments in our baby's life. God truly is good!

North Carolina Trip

2010-07-12T18:28:00.000-07:00

Just a few of my little cousins at the Jarrett House for lunch.

Brian and I at the Braves game!

We got the up close & personal tour at CNN.

The AMAZING view from Jonathan & Jodie's backyard.

The Biltmore was a lot of fun to tour!

Every year my mom's family tries to get together. This year we decided to meet at my Aunt and Uncle's house in North Carolina. We have wanted to visit them for years and after going, I am so glad that we did. It was beautiful & we all had such a great time. Brian and I were able to spend a couple of days in Atlanta before heading up to the Asheville area. While we were in Atlanta we saw a Braves game, went on a tour of CNN, looked at Olympic Park, shopped, saw the original Chic-Fil-A, went to the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial site and just relaxed. Once we went up to Jonathan and Jodie's house we swam, went whitewater rafting, toured the Biltmore mansion, picked berries, caught fireflies, dug potatoes, had a fourth of July celebration, visited the Cherokee reservation & floated in the river. It was simply wonderful and I really think we could have enjoyed another week or two there. Hopefully we will get to go visit again soon. Other than that, we are hoping to take a couple of day trips this summer and head up to Ft. Worth to see the Mallettes again. We are enjoying relaxing & getting some much needed rest after a crazy year! Anyway, we've got company coming tomorrow and I've got a huge sewing mess on my dining room table so I better go get that cleaned up! Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

Summer Is Here!

2010-06-15T13:19:00.000-07:00

Wow it's been a long time since I've posted! We made it through the end of the school year & are now well into summer. I'm teaching 8th grade language arts at summer school & Brian is working speed camp. We are convinced that working 1/2 days is the best thing ever. You get paid so that you can go have fun the second half of the day & still get to enjoy some freedom. It's been great. We are having so much fun hanging out with our friends, watching the world cup, exercising, having people over & just hanging out. It's been nice. We are not up to much other than that, I'm on a hunt for good or free deals constantly & that's kept me from spending money while stocking our cabinets with food & other goodies. I've done some sewing & we've worked on several projects. Brian coached the Baylor basketball camp last week & had a blast. He came home exhausted, but had so much fun. I'll post more later about what we are doing this summer. For now though, I'm off to the store & the bank before a game night with our sweet friends! Hope everyone is enjoying the summer as much as we are!

TAKS WEEK IS OVER!

2010-04-30T08:54:00.000-07:00

When you teach in the state of Texas you dread TAKS all year! It's a time when your kids show how much they've learned or how much they hate tests. This week was TAKS week and since we are both teaching this year, it's been a LONG week! Our kids have done their best to use strategies, sit quietly & not totally lose it, but it's been tough. On top of a crazy TAKS week, I've been sick with a terribly sore throat, our computer died & the IRS denied our $8,000 tax credit for the time being because Brian owned rental property in 2006 that never got rented out. (We are fighting the denial since it was not our primary residence, but it is the IRS we are dealing with soo.... be praying that they allow us to use the information we have to show we didn't live there) Needless to say, it's been a rough week & I'm so glad it's coming to an end! On a positive note my grandaddy is recovering well & we did get an escrow check right at the time that our computer crashed. I love how God looks out for us when unexpected expenses come up! This weekend is the first time in months that we haven't had plans. The only thing on the calendar is Braden's 2nd birthday & since I'm sick I have a feeling we will just be laying around this weekend. I need that! It's a beautiful time of year & I absolutely love Spring, but I am really going to be loving life when Memorial Day comes! That will mean summer is here and other than working a half day for three weeks, the lazy time of life will begin! I'm so excited about that! Anyway, that's about all that's going on with us for now! Hope everyone else is having a great week. :)

Summer is getting closer...

2010-04-14T15:25:00.000-07:00

I truly love Spring! It's a time when the weather is beautiful, people are generally in good moods because things aren't too stressful & fun things are going on. I think we are both to the point that we know summer is upon us, & are so excited for school to be out. However, just because we are excited we know that while we still have a few precious moments with our kids we have to use our time wisely. Each of us have students that are going through some really difficult things. I have students doing drugs, huffing, dealing with the death of a sibling, thinking about suicide, going through custody battles & just learning that people aren't always who you think they are. It's been draining. However, when I'm exhausted because I spend my day trying to convince them that there is more to life than junior high and the struggles they are facing now, I think of what they are dealing with and press on. It's crazy to me that 12 year olds have the amount of pressure on them that they do & how hard it is to go through this time in their life. I don't think I'd return to junior high even if I were offered a large amount of money because it seems to be such a tough time of life. I'm just glad that things do get better, that I am able to have the time I have to try to make a difference in their lives & that soon they will get a break from dealing with the every day stress of school. The kids need a break, they are mentally drained and so ready for summer. It's exciting to me that summer will be here in just over a month...Hopefully I will be able to get through what God wants me to in that amount of time.

What a great weekend!

2010-04-06T19:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend was great! We started it off by going to the Dynamo game with Scott & Cortney on Thursday! That was a new thing for us, but we had a blast! Brian actually ended up being on the news that night talking about his predictions for the season. After that we slept in on Friday, (what a good Friday), went out to eat, did a little shopping, cleaned the house up for company and then had a few friends over for dinner. We celebrated our sweet friend Amanda's birthday with games & good food. It was fun. We decided while playing games that soon we want to host a TNT game night for all of our friends at church. So often we get to hang out in small groups, but it's rare that everyone can get together. So... we want to make that happen soon. On Saturday we slept in again, got up and worked on the yard a little & then went to the home show in The Woodlands. It was fun. We walked around looking at AMAZING homes that we would never own but getting some cool decorating ideas. We got a picnic lunch out of the deal & again had fun just hanging out with The Worley's squared. We rushed home to get dinner together for mimi and grandaddy to come hang out. Brian grilled steaks & mimi made fudge! The boys hung out and watched the ball games while Mimi and I worked on getting Easter stuff together. It was such a special evening. As my grandaddy begins to have more and more health problems, I begin to cherish my time with them more and more. I've always been a mimi & grandaddy's girl, but I sure do appreciate moments with them now more than ever before. Sunday we went to church with Brian's parents and then had lunch there. After finishing lunch we came home to get things ready for the week. This week is TAKS week so things are a little hectic for the kids & the teachers. We are trying to make it!! I think I heard someone say 41 days left of school. It's so hard to believe. Other than that, we got to go to opening day of the Astros season last night and loved our sweet date night. Since we've been married we've made Astros game a date night favorite and look forward to the season starting back up again! Memories with my sweet husband are special & I cherish all of the time I get with my coach! :) Soccer season has begun so our life is about to get crazy again! We're having fun, loving life & just living day to day!

New Home Improvements

2010-03-16T13:48:00.001-07:00

Since we moved in to our house in October we've slowly been working to make it feel more like a home. It's been crazy since we have been so busy, but things are finally coming together. I wanted to share some of our latest projects. We just finished landscaping and are SUPER sore! I forgot how hard it is to do that, but the yard looks great & will look even better once our roses start to bloom. I'm sure I'll add more at the end of the week, but we are making progress on this wonderful Spring Break!! Come visit us soon!

WELCOME TO OUR HOME!!
(Sandra and I made these on her cricket!! )

OUR LIVING ROOM FINALLY HAS CURTAINS!!

STILL WORKING ON THE MANTLE DECOR.

OUR TINY LITTLE OAK TREE THE HOA DEMANDED

THAT WE PLANT.

THE SIDEWALK ADDITION WE

PUT IN TO REPLACE DEAD PLANTS.

OUR BEAUTIFUL FLOWER BED & NEW LANDSCAPING ROCKS!

OUR NEW SOLAR LAMPS, ROSE BUSHES, STONE & RED FLOWERS

TEACHER OF THE YEAR

2010-03-12T19:08:00.000-08:00

Well, if you know my husband you know he is a super hard worker that will do his absolute best at whatever job he is given. When I married him he was working construction and was buying and flipping houses. He ended up back in school for broadcast journalism and while he did that he waited tables. In his short time as a waiter he became a trainer at the restaurant and while in school he earned positions in numerous honor societies as well as the position of News Director, a highly sought after position. When he graduated he worked really hard to find a broadcasting job & even made contacts across the country. He tried his very hardest to find a position, but with the economy the way that it is never did. While Brian was looking for a job he started substitute teaching in Conroe ISD. He spent a ton of time at my junior high and we got to see each other while we were working and making a little extra cash. He soon realized that this whole teaching thing was challenging, but a lot of fun. Needless to say, God didn't give Brian a broadcasting job & did bless him with a teaching position at one of the best schools in my district. (It's rare that they even look at applications for first year teachers & how he got the job is another story) Brian has done an incredible job of teaching, coaching, working with ESL kids, counseling, parenting, befriending and mentoring these kids and the people he works with. It's been so encouraging to watch him work & to see how much he cares about others. My husband has inspired me and challenged me to get back to the basics, caring & loving kids instead of being so focused on the paper work aspect of teaching. Well, this week we found out that Brian was named TEACHER OF THE YEAR on his campus. Keep in mind, first year teachers are not even considered for this award, coaches are not usually considered for this award & he's at a school with some of the best teachers in our district. WOW!!! I am so impressed with him!! He has yet to say that he's deserving of this award. He's credited everyone else other than himself for winning this award, but in my eyes, it's all him! God is doing incredible things through him & I love that I get to sit back and watch in amazement as he touches so many lives. I hope that next year I will be able to work at Knox with him and really see on a daily basis the great things he does. I'm so lucky to be married to a man like him and couldn't be more proud of my sweet teacher of the year! Way to go coach, way to go! Thanks for always working hard at WHATEVER you do! You amaze me & so many others around you!

Just Relaxin!!

2010-03-03T13:54:00.001-08:00

For the last few weeks we have actually gotten to enjoy a life of no coaching responsibilities! It's been a blast! We've hung out with friends, gone on dates, cooked at home and sat by the fire & just relaxed! We haven't gotten to do this in a LONG time and it's been wonderful! Other than just hanging out, we are officially wanting to get pregnant soon, finishing up the house little by little, getting ready for Spring Break & then getting counting down till summer! It's hard to believe that Brian's first year of teaching will come to an end in just 12 weeks. He's done an incredible job & I'm SO proud of him! The kids at Knox adore him and he's really made a huge impact in the lives of so many. I'm so lucky to be married to him. We are hoping that I'll be able to transfer over to Knox next year and maybe just maybe we will get to work together. Anyway, I've got to run, but I feel like I'm doing a terrible job of blogging so I had to post something even if we've done a bunch of nothing. ;) Hope all is well with you guys!

Happy Birthday Brian!!

2010-01-26T18:13:00.000-08:00

Ice Skating in Winterpark was a blast! No one else was there!!

As you can see, it was FREEZING!!
At the top of the mountain at a clear point of the trip!!

The sky was black and huge flakes were coming down, but it was fun!!

Us at Beaver Village Condos, where we stayed on our honeymoon 5 years ago!

Sledding!!!

Taking a break from skiing in the blizzard!

Happy Birthday Brian! The girls decorated the bus, all wore Happy Birthday hats and even made cards for their favorite coach! Awww!!!

Well, January 15th was Brian's 29th birthday!! Every year he complains that his birthday is no fun, so this year, his last year as a twenty something, I decided to change that!! He had to work on his birthday, better yet, coach a tournament in College Station, but I tagged along on the bus, brought cookie cake and set out to celebrate! The girls did their part too. They brought cards, goofy dollar store gifts, balloons & decorated the bus. It was a lot of fun and the girls ended up getting 3rd in the tournament that was rigged. :) It was a lot of fun. On Sunday we celebrated with my parents at Pappadeaux and then Brian's parents at Los Lamas. Monday we went to a movie and dinner and just relaxed! He loved the weekend that is, "never any fun." The next weekend we packed up and got on a plane to Denver, CO for a ski trip in honor of my sweet husband! He's loved to ski since I introduced him to the sport on our honeymoon 5 years ago. We decided to relive our honeymoon and went back to Winterpark, CO., stayed in the same condos we had 5 years ago, and even ate at Deno's, the same place we had on our honeymoon. The weather was terrible. It was 6 degrees, with windgusts of 45mph. It was cold and snowed the whole time we were there, but it was a blast! I'm so thankful to be married to a man that I can laugh with & ski in crazy weather with. (Most people gave up and went to the lodge, so we really had most of the mountain to ourselves.) He's such a blessing and I'm so glad that he was born! So again, 2 weeks after, HAPPY 29th BIRTHDAY BRIAN!!! I love you!!

Lately...

2010-01-12T17:03:00.000-08:00

Well, if you could tell by my last post, things have been very busy lately. We are wrapping up our first semester and getting ready to end basketball season. This is bittersweet for me because it will be nice to both get to come home in the evenings before 7:00, (this will be the first time in 5 years for that to happen) but at the same time a fun, crazy part of our life is ending. I've already told my principal that I don't plan to coach cheerleading next year because we'd like to have a baby, I'd like to be able to attend my husband's games and a difference of coaching styles between my co-coach and I. However, I don't sit still well and I worry that I'll be bored not having 3 jobs. What will I do with myself? I'm so ready to start my masters, but Brian is planning to get his first since he will have a much better chance of getting a job as an assistant principal than I will in the curriculum department of a school district. However, that means I have 2 years before I can even begin. I guess that coming to a cross road in my life kind of scares me. I've always had too much to do and now I'm ready for a baby and don't have one, I am ready to be in a masters program and am not in one, and I'm ready to be at a school that challenges me in ways other than my patience and I'm not. (That sounds like I have a miserable life... not at all what I'm saying.. sorry) I am just saying, I'm ready to figure out what's next. I don't sit still well, I never have, and with life beginning to slow down I don't know what to do with myself. I literally haven't watched TV since I was like in the 8th grade because I've ALWAYS been busy! I need something to keep my sanity. I love to craft, but I end up just spending money. I love helping others, but sometimes get too involved with carrying the weight of the world. What else is there to do? I have taken up bunko with some girls from church and am SO excited about that, but that's just once a month. I am praying that God will show me some answers and place great things in my life for me to be involved in this year. I'm excited about the friends we have at church and the possibility of actually getting to hang out more now that things are settling down, but I also want clarity on what I am to do with my time this year. I've never had extra time to do great things with with exception to my two years at Impact. Now that I'm going to have it I want to make the best of it and really have a great year. Pray for clarity for us! Pray that we will spend time blessing others and growing closer together rather than just wasting time. Pray that if I am at York another year there will be changes that make it a better working environment. Life is great! I feel so blessed with the things/relationships God has given us, I just want to make sure I keep up with that and continue to grow even when life begins to slow down.

Back to Work!!

2010-01-08T11:51:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a very busy week! We've gotten back into the swing of things as far as work goes. For the most part the kids have been pretty good! Brian and I are exhausted, but the week is almost over. Tonight we have his College Park basketball game & then tomorrow I'm painting a second coat over my dining room, taking Linzy to the doctor, & going to our friend Jake's 1st birthday party. I'm hoping to get a little rest in this weekend because next weekend we have tournaments & the following weekend we leave for our ski trip! Fun is ahead!!! Well, Hope everyone is having a great week! Enjoy your weekend!

Holiday Fun!

2010-01-02T10:38:00.000-08:00

Wow! It's been a whirlwind around here for the past two weeks! We started with small family Christmas the 22nd when Wade came home, had a Christmas Party with Lyndsay & George, Christmas with Brian's family the 24th & Christmas with my big family the 25th! All of these were an absolute blast & it's been SO nice to spend time with family and friends. After our Christmas celebrations we went up to Ft. Worth to see the Mallettes and meet our sweet new god daughter Cassidy! We had a blast with them. Sam still thinks he's super man so running (flying) with him was what we did most of the time. It was so nice because Sandra is on maternity leave & Caleb was off so we got to spend 3 days just hanging out with them & of course doing a little after Christmas shopping. Sandra and I came home with lots of goodies from garden ridge and I'm already ready to start decorating for fall & Christmas next year. We love those guys! After we got home from Ft. Worth we relaxed, watched some football & then had a great time celebrating New Years Eve! We just hung out at our house, watched movies, shot fireworks, watched fireworks and ate! It was nice. After a great New Years Eve, I started 2010 with a project and painted my dining room. I like the color, but now I need to add curtains, do some paint touch ups & some more decorations. :) It just seems like the projects never end around here! Well, I've got to run to the store. We are out of milk & coffee creamer! Tonight we are going to dinner with Wade one last time before he heads back to school so I better actually get dressed today too. All you can eat sushi at Tokyo One... I'm all about it! I'm sure I'll have more updates later, but for now, goodbye....

White Elephant/Tacky Sweater Fun

2009-12-22T07:38:00.000-08:00

Last night we had a white elephant party for our friends at church. We also welcomed cute or tacky Christmas sweaters to add to the fun! It was a great party with lots of gift stealing, good food and tons of fun!! From a Blades of Glory movie poster to a can of relish from last year that has been open for a couple of years tons of goofy gifts were brought and exchanged. Juli even ended up with a Mili Vanilli cassette tape! Although it was hard to get everything organized after our anniversary weekend it was a lot of fun & something we will have to do again! I wanted to post a few pictures of our guests in their Christmas sweaters! We did have prizes for the most Christmas Spirit! HAHA!

The Perfect Anniversary!

2009-12-21T11:06:00.001-08:00

Wow, Wow, Wow and Wow again is all I can say about the day Brian planned to celebrate our anniversary! I have always known what a special man he is & realized how lucky I am, but he really made me feel like the most special person in the world for our 5th anniversary! It was a day filled with love, laughter, tears & wonderful memories to last a life time. It started out at 7:30 because our dog Linzy started barking. Our Anniversary shares the same day as her birthday so we are convinced that she must have known it was her big day. I wanted to give Brian his gift from me so I ran and got the book I had made for him on Shutterfly! I was so excited about giving him this because it was the story of us! It had pictures of the 5 wonderful years we spent together and it was a really cool little gift. He loved it! We got out of bed although we had planned to sleep late and took Linz on a walk. We came back, got ready and went to lunch at Ellen's in Old Town Spring. It was fun to eat there and walk around for a little bit because that is where we spent our 3rd anniversary. We then got Linzy some doggie treats and came back to spend a few minutes with her. I knew Brian had something planned, but I had no idea what! He made me get back in the car and handed me a card. We pulled out of our neighborhood and into a Spa that is right across the street. I opened the card and there was a gift card to the spa to pay for what I was having done & cash to tip. He pulled flip flops out from under the seat and then sent me on my way. I had no idea what was going on. He just told me to go inside and they would take care of me. I went inside and they knew exactly who I was. They all were telling me Happy Anniversary and what a special man I was married to. I was escorted back to get a pedicure, then a one hour massage and was topped off with a manicure! I was there for three hours getting pampered while he was working on the last minute details for the rest of the evening. I was convinced that this was my gift until I got a text telling me to match my nail polish to wear a red sweater. Weird, I thought, maybe we are going to dinner. Needless to say, I was in for a HUGE SURPRISE! He picked me up and gave me a new card. It said, get comfortable while we take a little ride. We started driving and I just started asking questions, where are we going, what are we doing, is it ok that I'm wearing flip flops? HAHA! He drove downtown and I was still SO confused. Then... we pulled in to my favorite hotel, The Magnolia! I was SUPER excited, but still confused. Are we staying here I asked? What about Linzy? Is she taken care of? Do I have clothes? He just laughed! The valet guys came to take the car and opened the back, he had suitcases and presents galore. I helped gather the things and then we went to check in. I had mentioned on the way that I'd love to stop for a snack but when we got to the hotel that was the last thing on my mind. We checked in and went upstairs. I opened the door and there were rose pedals leading to the bed. There was also I love you spelled out on the bed in pedals and then chocolate covered strawberries, & chocolate chip cookies. YEA!!! I couldn't have been happier! I felt like such a princess. If we had done nothing else that day it would have been perfect, but there was more! Brian handed me a package and asked me to open it. I did and the most beautiful dress appeared! He had picked out the most stunning outfit for me to wear and had packed shoes, jewelry & everything I needed to look like a princess! He also had bought a matching tie & shirt for himself. He told me that we had about an hour before we were going to dinner so that I needed to get ready! I enjoyed the strawberries while putting the dress on and fixing my hair. We then went downstairs and got in a escalade to take us to..... there was another card with only the address. 1201 Fannin. Where were we going? The car dropped us off at McCormic & Schmick! YUM! We got out & walked inside. We were greeted with Happy Anniversary & menus that were personalized! The dinner was amazing. We had stuffed shrimp, complementary champagne & dessert, a steak & lobster tail & fried shrimp. We were so full!! Then Brian handed me another card. It said, "You didn't think I'd get you all dressed up with no where to go right?" This time the card had tickets to A Christmas Carol! WOW! I was so excited & couldn't believe the day that had been planned for me! It was perfect & so thought out! Brian is amazing, I'm a VERY lucky woman! The day couldn't have been better! I truly felt like I was in a fairy tale & will never forget the wonderful day from my sweet husband!

Busted Lip

2009-12-17T08:56:00.000-08:00

I jinxed myself!I was sure yesterday was going to be amazing but it ended up being a very rough day! My car battery died and I had to get it replaced, which led to us being late to Brian's Christmas party. Since we were late getting there we were late leaving, so I was late getting started on the 6 dozen sugar cookies I need to make for my kiddos for our party on Friday. I was laying on the floor waiting for Brian to finish putting up clean dishes feeling sick, exhausted and 100% ready for bed when Linzy decided it was time to play. She ran over to greet me with full force and hit me in the lip with that thick skull of hers. It hurt so bad! 60lbs. of power right in the face. My lip started gushing blood, swelling up and I started balling. Poor Brian, I couldn't seem to pull it together after that. I was in pain, couldn't breathe, mad that my lip will be purple on my 5th anniversary and just sick of the day. I woke up this morning and had to laugh, my lip is swollen, but not black, THANK GOD! I'm sure my kids think I got punched, but such is life. I love my bulldog, but man, I wish she would understand when to just be calm and lay down. If you get lucky I might just post a picture later so you can laugh. I've got a game tonight and a cookie exchange at Jessica's so I'll be going looking like I got in a fight. :( At least today is a new day! Please be praying that I get to feeling better. This chest congestion is killing me. I've been feeling bad for almost a week and don't want to be sick this weekend. I was going to go to the doctor Tuesday, & then Wednesday, but due to the car battery I didn't make it. Needless to say, I'm thankful for mucinex!!

The kids are crazy!!

2009-12-16T06:22:00.000-08:00

This time of year is so much fun in every aspect of life other than teaching Junior High. The kids are absolutely crazy with the thought of Christmas break being so close. If I could video tape my classroom and let you hear the questions you would laugh for hours. It's all we can do to contain them and try to force some sort of instruction on them. This week I had Texas Revolution projects due and we are watching the movie The Alamo in class. We have numerous parties & fun things planned for them, but they have their minds set that all 40 hours of school time this week should be spent playing. Needless to say, we have 2 more days and then we let the crazies loose to be wild at home for a week! I'm hoping to make it.

This week has been fun despite being REALLY sick with chest congestion. I went to see the nutcracker ballet with mom on Saturday, went to Ashtyn's 1st birthday party on Sunday, made fudge & cookies for Jessica's cookie exchange on Thursday, watched Christmas movies, & enjoyed time with my sweet husband. It's been a great week. Tonight we have Brian's holiday party for work and that will be fun too! I love this time of year. I love all the parties, time with friends & family, the music, the cold weather, the lights & the goofy Christmas sweaters. It's just exciting. Growing up in a family that made a big deal out of every holiday has made it even more special. Each tradition, moment spent with friends & family, dessert made and light hung all make life that much more exciting & I love it! Well, I better go get to work! Kids are coming soon!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-12-08T04:15:00.000-08:00

Well, as always life is really busy! Last week we were blessed with some snow in Houston so Brian's tournament last weekend that he was supposed to host got cancelled. That gave me some time to see him, and him some time to watch football. :) That was nice. The snow was beautiful! My principal took most of the fun out of the snow by keeping us locked inside all day, but it was still pretty to watch. This weekend Brian got to watch the Texas/Nebraska game and of course had a blast. The longhorns are off to the Rose Bowl and Brian couldn't be happier. Sunday we were blessed to finally get almost all of the members of our supper club group at church together and then last night I had my Christmas party for my cheer squad. That was a lot of fun! While I was there I got a text from Caleb that Sandra is being induced this morning so I will have a sweet god daughter later this afternoon! YEA!! My cheerleaders adopted a foster home and a second family from our school and we are donating almost $4,000 worth of stuff! I'm so excited that my girls get to give back and really help other people! It's encouraging. We started the adoption tradition last year and I hope that even after I am no longer coaching it will continue. We also had amazing food, played white elephant and Jessica came to make bottle cap necklaces with the girls. Thanks Jess!! It was a lot of fun and I am lucky to coach the girls that I do. This week we have a pep rally and that might just be the last one for the year. It's a little bittersweet. My girls are wonderful and I hate to see them move on to 9th grade, but this year has been stressful and if we plan to have a baby it would be nice to maybe step down from that role next year. Other than that, tonight I may attend my first WOCC bunko night. I'd need to refresh my memory on how to play, but I'd really like to be able to play next year. I need some fun with the girls every now and then. Brian has another tournament this weekend and then I'm going to see the Nutcracker ballet with my mom on Saturday. That should be fun! It's hard to believe that December is flying by! It's fun and exciting, but I wish my favorite time of year would slow down. It's hard to believe that in a week and a half I will have been married to my sweet husband for 5 years! That's crazy! Life is great with him and although we are SO busy, life is fun & I wouldn't trade it for the world. Well, I better hop in the shower so I'm not late to work. I've got a meeting this morning.

Thanksgiving Fun!

2009-11-29T17:35:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving break has been absolutely wonderful! It was a much needed break from work and great time with family! I can now go back to work for 15 more days re-energized! Tuesday night when I got off work I got to meet up with my mom and do a little shopping. Since we live so close you would think we do this often, but we really don't get to since life is so busy. It was nice to have some girl time. After we finished we ate at LaMadeline & then came home to make some banana bread before heading to the airport to pick up Wade. Wednesday Brain and I had a great day just being lazy and getting the house ready for the big day. Since we had Thanksgiving at our house this year with Brian's family and my extended family we had a lot to do. Brian's parents came over on Wednesday night and for the first time in a while we just got to hang out, eat and play games. It was really nice. Wednesday evening Brian and his dad stayed up all night and smoked a turkey for Thursday. I really don't know how they did it! They ate candy and slept thirty minutes here and there. Needless to say they were both ready for a nap after lunch on Thursday. We ended up having 4 turkeys for 16 people on Thursday. It was a little crazy but everyone got what they wanted. :) Smoked, Fried, Oven Baked & Organic.....Lunch was amazing! So many great things to eat, good times with family and football! We really enjoyed having everyone over to our place for Thanksgiving! We are so thankful to have the family that we do and enjoy the times we have together. Other than the big turkey day we have rested, shopped and almost finished Christmas shopping, put up the Christmas tree & just hung out! It's been nice to have some time together before 3 weeks of craziness. Brian has tournaments the next couple of weekends so our next real day off together will be the 19th which just so happens to be our 5 year anniversary! :) I'm lucky to be married to such a great man & continue to enjoy this crazy, fun & special life we have together. Well, speaking of that special man, he's hungry so I better go cook some dinner.

So Excited!!!

2009-11-21T08:03:00.000-08:00

We have made it to the Saturday before Thanksgiving! I'm so excited because next week at this time I will have had an amazing Thanksgiving with family at our new house, eaten TONS of yummy food, spent time with my brother that lives in California & enjoyed 3 wonderful days off!! Plus, my Christmas decorations will be up in full swing! I'm so excited! This time of year is my absolute favorite. Last night we went to a wedding and then slept in today. I'm working on cleaning the casa because tomorrow we are going to have a visitors/new members lunch with people from church. That should be fun! There are so many young couples and families visiting WOCC that we just don't get to meet them all or talk to them just at church. Today we are going to finish cleaning the house, go eat at our favorite all you can eat sushi place, watch a Christmas movie and just hang out. Brian's got some yard work to do and I think I could bake all day! The best part of the holidays is just about to begin & I'm already loving it! I feel so blessed to have such an amazing family and group of friends. I couldn't be more thankful for my life and the blessings God has given us this year. Off to clean...

I'm getting excited!

2009-11-17T19:01:00.000-08:00

So I was really bumbed about the idea of this week. We weren't planning to do anything very cool in class this week, Brian isn't ready to decorate for Christmas yet, I had to go back to cheerleading practice today, you get it. Well.... at a training I went to last night I learned about this site called xtranormal.com. This is a site that allows you to type and then make movies that say what you just typed. It is SO cool! I got to do that today with my kids! It actually made the day fun. If you are a teacher you should really try this! The kids will love it! I also learned about google adsense. This is a way to make money on line by allowing ads to be on your website. I signed up and it will take a few days to get approved, but if I get approved I may just end up making some money by allowing ads on my blog. Too bad I can't do that on my teacher website! I'd be rich! I'm so ready to be able to get pregnant and stay home with babies that I'm searching for anyway to make a little money to speed up the process. If you have any ideas please share them!!!

Tomorrow is hump day so I think I will make it through the week. I'm excited about the weekend & really excited about next week. Wade is coming home, people are coming in for the holidays & we get a few days off to enjoy the good things in life. Anyway, I'm about to head to bed. I've got to be up early for a baby shower/wedding shower at work. Hope all is well with all of you!

Life is great!

2009-11-12T04:27:00.000-08:00

Things remain oh so busy in our life! We had the one day in 6 months that we didn't have AM or PM practice between the two of us this week. It was so nice to just hang out and be a couple. We watched a movie, ate, cuddled on the couch, went to bed at 9:15, it was GREAT! Now we are getting into basketball season and it will be getting busy again. I love this time of year! The holidays are coming, family will be in town, wonderful food will be made, Christmas decorations will get to go up, presents will be bought. It's just fun!

Brian had a great evaluation from his principal this week. He scored Exceeds Expectations which is the highest rating you can get & brought me flowers to tell me. He said it couldn't have been done without my support (which is not true at all). He is just so thoughtful & even in the midst of this crazy time he is still doing whatever he can to make me feel loved. He's amazing! I love this crazy life that we have together. There really is nothing that I do not feel incredibly blessed to have at this point of my life. God is good. It's amazing to see our four years of hard work paying off & struggle paying off. It's exciting! Anyway, I've got 9 school days left before Thanksgiving so I better get it in gear and go get ready for my day! Just wanted to brag on my husband and tell him THANK YOU for working as hard as he does in all aspects of our life! I love you Beebs!

Ready for Thanksgiving!!

2009-11-01T15:14:00.000-08:00

It's been way too long since I've posted. Things have been great, but oh so crazy! Volleyball season is coming to an end for Brian and football season is coming to an end for me! Brian gets a day off in between seasons & I get a week! YEA!!! We are still loving our home (other than the never ending to do list) and love getting to be together a little in the evenings since I'm no longer working for A Points after teaching and coaching. Life is going well. Yesterday was halloween and after attending Ella's 2nd birthday we ran errands and handed candy out to our new neighbors. It was a lot of fun!

This week is going to be busy! We both have games 2 nights this week and then we have church stuff, a volleyball banquet & a craft fair on Saturday. I'm selling some of my burp wrags with some friends from church. That should be fun but I've got some sewing to do before Saturday comes.

We are so ready for Thanksgiving! We are planning to have everyone here & cannot wait! We are looking forward to a much needed break & some great food and wonderful family time. Hopefully I'll get to blog a little more later this week! We are still just goin, goin, goin!! Life is fun!

The house is coming together!

2009-10-11T21:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted pictures of the house yet, we JUST got internet connected after a week and a half today so I'm trying to catch up while still unpacking boxes and getting the house set up. We are off for Columbus Day tomorrow. (Thanks for sailing the ocean blue so I can have a day to unpack!) We are hoping to get a lot done, but here are some basic pictures. We still have some painting to do, some things to hang on the wall, a microwave to put up, some lights to replace, a leak to fix, a flower bed to weed and replant, and an alarm system to get installed, but all in all it's really coming together. It's starting to feel like a home. So many special people have come to visit, we've met super sweet neighbors & we finally cooked in our kitchen. Anyway, here are some pictures... enjoy & come visit soon! We can't wait to have all of you come see us!

What an exciting week!

2009-09-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

This week was so long and stressful but so much fun at the same time! We closed on our house Wednesday, bought Brian a new truck Thursday, bought a whole house full of furniture for less than $4,000 thanks to my bargaining skills on Friday & finished ordering appliances on Saturday. We are now a week away from move in and we are so excited. There have been so many ups and downs with this. We still don't have electricity due to some girl that has the same name as me leaving an outrageous balance with Gexa Energy & we haven't finished packing since things have been so busy. We literally have gotten 4-5 hours of sleep every night for the past week & have worked the remaining hours of the day. It's been nuts, but again exciting. Tomorrow we plan to go to church & then we are going to get a generator from my friend Kate. Thanks to her and her husband we will be able to paint and tile tomorrow which means we can have appliances delivered later this week. We need to get the yard mowed, install new light fixtures, have the windows measured for blinds, and have furniture delivered and set up all before Friday. We are hoping for no major issues. :) I'm taking off all day Friday and we are going to have a moving party that evening. We are welcoming help from our TNT group at church in exchange for food and laughs. HAHA! I have to say, we truly are blessed by this group of people. Friday afternoon before I was even out of school my friend Jessica called to let me know that she had 3 trucks lined up to help if we could use them. She said she knew how anxious we were to move & wanted to help. I was touched. We didn't get to use them because we had to get things ordered and only had that night to do so, but it was really sweet. We are excited about moving in and having people over soon. We have missed entertaining as much as we did when we lived in a house before and are excited to get back to that! We are also ready for football & volleyball season to be over since things are NON STOP right now. Hopefully basketball season will be a little slower. Two coaches under one roof is fun, but it's tough to balence. Anyway, I will post pictures of the house soon. Hopefully my kitchen will be the beautiful red that I've always dreamed of by the end of tomorrow so I can have something to share. More to come soon!

Closing week is here!

2009-09-20T19:19:00.000-07:00

Well things have been crazy since my last post. The house is almost packed after two weekends of Brian working tournaments and me packing non stop, the school year is well underway & having two coaches under one roof has been tiring, but do able. This week is the week that is going to be nuts! Tomorrow we are having two pep rallies at York & a game. Tuesday we have another game and Open House at the same time, Wednesday we are scheduled to close on the house, Thursday I have another game and Brian has an away game & then Friday we need to buy Brian a new car as well as begin work on the house. It's going to be a little stressful, but if we can make it through this week, next week should be a little easier. We are trying to make time to see each other and catch up whenever we can, but this athletic season is making it hard. I did finally quit my second job as a marketer for A Points on Friday. That means I won't be working that extra 10-15 hours a week in the evening. That will be so nice as I have been working two jobs for the last two years. Now I'll be able to do things with people in the evenings and I am very much looking forward to that. We are so ready just to be settled and to get to have a life again. We miss hanging out with friends on the weekends, but that is part of life. It's been interesting to see who has been supportive of this crazy time of our life and who has not been. We feel so blessed for the true friends that God has placed in our life and look forward to becoming closer to some people that have really been encouraging although they are not the people we usually hang out with. It's also been a blessing to be on the team of teachers that I'm with. They have been so supportive and helped out in whatever way they can. Life at York is so much better this year than last and I'm very thankful for that. Anyway, wish us luck as we set out on this week! I'm off to bed to try to get some sleep to prepare.

The tough part begins...

2009-09-08T04:07:00.000-07:00

Well, we just finished having our first day off, Labor Day. It was so nice to spend time with Brian and friends this weekend since we both know that there won't be much time for that over the next month. We've always been busy so we are used to that, but we are about to be working every night, every weekend and are scheduled to move at the end of this month despite those crazy coaching schedules. It's going to be interesting to see if I keep my head on straight planning pep rallies, coaching, finishing up my last few weeks at my other job, going through the ups and downs of buying a home and just trying to be a good wife. I've put my big girl pants on but I'm going to have to let God control this because it's just WAY too much for me.

Brian is still loving coaching but he begins his first month of tournaments every weekend this week. That should be tough, but he will do fine. It's so nice that FINALLY we both have jobs that we get paid enough to live on & enjoy. That's something we've been praying for almost 5 years for. God is good and I know that he will bring us through these challenges just as he has every other challenge we've faced. Let's just say it will be a relief when the month of September is over. Anyway, I've got to get out the door. One of my co-workers' dogs died this weekend and she's taking it very hard. He was young and just suddenly fell to cancer that made him completely blind in a day. I've got to set her room up for a sub but pray for Kate.

Have a good week!!!!!!!!!!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-08-31T04:12:00.000-07:00

Well, if you can't tell by my lack of time to blog, school has begun. Brian and I both seem to have really good kids which is GREAT! Out of 140 I think I have three that I am going to have to really watch. God must have known I needed an easy year. Brian came home every day last week telling me how much fun he was having and how much he loved his job! That's so exciting because he's never been able to say that. It's really nice teaching the same subject because I can help him with lesson plans. It gives us a way to work and talk at the same time and I love that. I would hate if he had a job that I had no interest in at all. Coaching doesn't seem to be taking a toll on him, although I can tell it's going to be a tough year for me. I wasn't prepared for a junior high coach to be working every weekend and most evenings for either his school or the high school. It's a little crazy, but I'll have to learn to deal with it. Luckily, I'll be so busy moving (lord willing) and decorating a home this year that I should be ok. I've had to talk to him about over working himself already, but that is just my hubby.

As far as our house goes, we are on the emotional roller coaster of our life. One day we are good to go, the next it's going to be a "real miracle" if we get the house. One day they count my cheer income as income, the next they don't. It's CRAZY! I don't understand how someone with excellent credit, a decent down payment, & teaching job is having a hard time buying a cheap home. It's so frustrating. We are just praying that God will make things happen because we are so strapped for time and energy that we don't want it to fall through. If it falls through we also lose out inspection money, appraisal money, home owners association money, etc... so it's scary! That's almost $1,000 worth of stuff and I hope to have something to show for that. Please be praying about that for us!

Other than school and the house, Brian finished up his first quarter as an adult bible class teacher yesterday. I am so proud of him for getting out of his comfort zone and teaching people his own age. He did a great job! I know he's glad to have a break for a while since school is so busy but I know he will do it again in the future. I'm still working at APoints in addition to coaching cheer so things are crazy for me as well. There are nights that I get home at 9 having left at 7 that morning. We have really been exhausted so going to bed at 9:45 after some sort of meal is thrown together is not a rare thing. Pray for energy for both of us because we are burning the candle at both ends. We really are trying to get things set up to be able to afford to start a family and enjoy this stage of our life. It's hard to believe that we've been married for almost 5 years and have never not been busy. I'm hoping that will change soon. :) Anyway, it's 6:15 and I've got to get ready to leave by 7:00am so have a great day & an even better week!

We got the house!!!

2009-08-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

Sp the last thing that I blogged about was that we put an offer on a house. We got a call Thursday and we got it!!! It was exciting because Wade was in the car when my real estate agent called to tell me. He got to share such an exciting moment with me and I'll never forget that. WE celebrated with Chic-fil-A not long after we got the call. We are so excited and cannot wait to move and get settled. It's in the Klein district which is a great district. We love it! I will be posting picture and news as we get it.

This weekend we had a family reunion in Abilene. It was great to spend time with such important people in my life. As always, there was not a dull moment. Beebs went to the wrong airport on his way and still ended up making it at the time he was supposed to! God is good!! There is quite a funny story that goes with the wrong airport thing but since he needs to finish his 1st year coaching stuff I will have to share later.

Today was our last day with Wade until Thanksgiving. It makes me sad to know that I have to wait that long to see him again, but it was great having some time with him while he was here! I love that boy & wish we lived closer than we do. Well, Brian has got to finish up a ton of work before we go back to work tomorrow. It's hard to believe that school is in session and we have such a busy year ahead! SCARY! I'm off to iron clothes and make lunches! Pray that we both have a good year. Love you all!!!

We put an offer on a house!!

2009-08-13T07:27:00.000-07:00

Well, we found a house that we just love! We prayed about it all weekend and decided to make an offer on the house Tuesday evening. The house is currently in forecloure so they don't have to make a decision on the offer for a week or two. We love it and really hope that we end up getting it. It's 2600 square feet, it's in a small neighborhood, it's not too far from I-45, it's got 4 bedrooms, it's a great deal and has GREAT potential. Be praying that we will get this house and that if we don't God has something better in store. We are so ready to be settled. Love you all!!

Very Busy Week

2009-08-09T11:20:00.000-07:00

This week Brian began two a days at College Park and I had cheer camp. It was tough to go back to work but it was a great week! My girls were awesome at camp and didn't give me any problems! That's so nice after last year. Brian really enjoyed working out with the kids and watching their great talent. On Friday we had a day off so we went to look at more houses, decorated Brian's classroom and went to Magnolia to see Wade since he just got into town. It was so nice to be productive yet have fun at the same time. Brian's school is pretty old so it needed LOTS of work, but by using random ball cut outs all over the room where paint was missing we were able to make it look GREAT! I hope he enjoys teaching as much as I think he will this year.

As far as houses go, we found a house we both LOVE. We plan to put an offer on it as soon as we can. We are still waiting for credit approval since it is a foreclosure we have to do that rather than just be pre-approved. We are really hoping it stays on the market. If not we will still be on the hunt for a great home with a yard! It's exciting to be looking but it's hard to not be settled yet. We are so ready for that day to come.

It's great having Wade in town. I know he doesn't consider Texas his home anymore but I love getting to see him! Friday night we enjoyed steaks at my parents and it was great to just catch up. He gave me the birthday present he bought while he was in Switzerland this year. He got me a Louis Vuitton coin purse that is adorable. It was so sweet of him to go all out for my birthday this year. Totally unexpected, but VERY sweet! I've never owned anything that is real Louis Vuitton so I feel like a really big deal. :) JK Anyway, I've got to go host a bridal shower at church so I'm out. More to come later....

This Weekend

2009-08-02T19:12:00.001-07:00

This weekend was fun but I'm exhausted at the end of it. We began our search for homes this weekend. We have been looking online but this weekend we met with a realtor and really started shopping. It's finally hit us that in the next few months we will have a different home. That is exciting. The sad part was, the two houses we really liked both had offers placed on them Friday night. Such a bummer, but we are hoping that means that God has an even better home set aside for us. We really want to be able to entertain a large group of people and some houses just don't work for that. Pray that we will find the perfect home soon!

In addition to house shopping, we also got the rest of what we needed for our classrooms. We got funny looks everywhere we went because we got two of so many items. They kept asking, "Do you know you have two of these Texas posters?" It's exciting to know that we will be teaching the same thing this year. I'm going to start working on my classroom tomorrow after cheerleading practice and hopefully we will start on Brian's this weekend. His classroom needs WAY more work than mine since I am in a new school. His room really is going to need some TLC. It's got great potential though.

Other than house shopping and getting things for school we went to church & hung out with our TNT peeps. We continue to be amazed at how God has answered our prayer for good Christian friends. Every time we leave church or Sunday night dinner we always look at each other and talk about how blessed we feel to be a part of our church group. We really enjoy being around the great group of people at WOCC and are encouraged by them in so many ways.

Well, I'm off to bed! I've got cheer practice tomorrow and then I've got to start setting up my room. It's hard to believe it's time to get back to work already. This summer has been amazing and I really hope the school year will be good. I also hope it passes quickly so I can have another amazing summer next year. :) It's sad to say, but I think it's safe to say since I teach Junior High.... Summers and Holidays are my favorite part of teaching. HAHA

We get to buy a house soon!!

2009-07-28T21:09:00.000-07:00

I am so excited. I went to talk to our apartment complex today about what it would take to get out of our lease. Our lease was signed until the end of November, but to take advantage of the first time home buyers credit we need to close by December 1st. Needless to say I was a little stressed. Well, I talked to the manager and since we have been such great residents we get to move as soon as we purchase a home!!! That means that we can move much sooner that we had originally thought. They need 30 days notice so we hope to find a house, place an offer and have it accepted by September 1st so we can move October 1st! WOO HOO! Now, that is my plan so of course things could change. However, we are officially taking steps to be home owners and I couldn't be happier. Now we just have to get pre-approval on a loan and convince some poor seller to give us a great deal. We are looking for houses in the Klein school district and so many of the homes I've liked have already been sold. There is one that we are going to look at this weekend and I'm really praying for good sellers. If the house doesn't sell I think I've found what I'm looking for. It's awesome. SO.... be praying for good sellers and that the right house comes available or stays on the market within the next month. I'll keep my 5 faithful readers posted as we go. :)

100 Things

2009-07-27T06:42:00.000-07:00

I saw this on someone's blog and thought it would be fun to pass along. Feel free to do the same:

Bold whatever you have done.

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.- as a joke- sure
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.- Someday
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you're not sick.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Eaten Sushi.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagra Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to truly be satisfied.
38. Seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.- At Astroworld HAHA
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served in a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt- well, I pieced a quilted changing table liner. Does that count?
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the changing of the guards in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Been to the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the paper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had Chicken pox.
89. Saved someone's life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Served in the military.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a lawsuit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Read an entire book in one day.

Mom's Birthday Celebration

2009-07-26T15:16:00.000-07:00

This year for my mom's birthday present she wanted to get Mimi & I to take a three generation photo. That sounds easy but she really wanted to go to glamour shots to do it! I was a little hesitant at first because my husband and little brother were worried we would look like a photo right our of the eighties or hookers with TONS of make up on. We decided to go ahead and do it and had so much fun! We got our hair and make up done and took some really cute pictures together. They made us take a couple of individuals and I even really liked those. Since I never really had bridal portraits taken I bought one for Brian and he can't wait to get it. It was a really fun experience.

After our photo shoot (haha, that sounds really funny if you know us) we went to my other grandmothers house for dinner. As always dinner was AMAZING! My Nannie is an awesome cook. She made us each our own dirt flower pots (the dessert), massed potatoes, green beans, rolls, pork chops, broccoli salad and fruit salad. It was so nice to get to spend time with her and eat an amazing meal! I love my family and enjoyed this special birthday celebration for my mom.

The last day of summer...

2009-07-24T21:07:00.000-07:00

Well, today was our last official day of summer. Beginning Monday Brian will be a busy man learning to drive buses for CISD. Today was a very bittersweet day. Don't get me wrong, I am so excited that Brian will be teaching and coaching. Hello... what better job is there for a man that wants to have a family soon. However, I am sad our summer and hang out time has come to an end. We've had so much fun this summer and I can't wait for the many more we will have together as educators. So what did we do today you ask? 1st of all we were awakened around 10 this morning to a phone call from Caleb & Sam letting us know that god baby #2 will be a little girl! Cassidy Madison is due in December and we couldn't be happier. That started out our day in such a great way. After that we hung out for a few minutes before Brian had to go meet with his principal and then ended up going to lunch with Lowell. Lowell is a wonderful friend of Brian's from Lake Jackson. Brian didn't bring a ton of excellent friends into our marriage, but Caleb & Sandra and Lowell are definitely my favorites. It was so nice to catch up with Lowell and let Brian get some tips from an old pro in education. After we got back from lunch with Lowell I headed into work for a couple of hours. We are wrapping up our summer and trying to reach our home savings goal. We have really done well at saving for our house this summer, but we've also spent money just because we've been off. We have decided that the only way to enjoy your summer is having some sort of additional income to have fun with coming in. :) Anyway, that was our day! A great day but I will miss spending great quality time with Beebs! On Monday we will be going non-stop in different directions until Christmas break. Pray that we can make time for us in the midst of chaos! Off to bed for now! Tomorrow we are celebrating my mom's birthday in a very crazy way. Let's just say tomorrow will be a ton of fun! Good night!

A New Project Idea

2009-07-20T21:34:00.000-07:00

Since the majority of our friends have kids I see a lot of really cute things that I want to learn how to make. Our friends Cory & Paige have a little boy named Jace. He is constantly on the go and hates sitting still. However, if he can color he's usually pretty good even through church. Jace has this really cool crayon holder that his aunt made him and for months I've wanted to figure out how so that I could recreate it. Well, I finally figured it out! These are so cute! They roll up perfectly for a purse and carry crayons and a notepad for church! I'm so excited that I've learned how to make them. These things will make GREAT gifts! Yay!!!

25th Birthday

2009-07-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

It's official, I'm a quarter of a century! This week has been nice. My 25th birthday was yesterday and it has been a great couple of days. So many people have sent messages, called, sent cards, made cakes & cookies, and showed up to the little cake party that Brian & mom threw for me after church. It's been a huge blessing! Wade sent me a $50 gift card to Forever 21 and I got to shop on my birthday. It was so nice since I rarely buy new clothes. I was totally in shock that he did that since I know he got me something else very special back in March. He's such a sweet little brother. Today I went to Aveda and got some highlights and a trim. After that I got to lay out once again! I'm so addicted to the pool it's going to be REALLY hard to go back to work. Tonight we went to dinner with my parents at Pappadeaux and then went to church. After church Brian & mom had cake waiting so that all my friends could celebrate with me. That was sweet but I couldn't believe so many people stayed to eat. We've really got some amazing friends. I continue to be grateful for God deciding that Houston was where he wanted us. The people that he has put in our lives blow me away & I cannot wait to raise a family with such wonderful friends nearby! I wish Caleb & Sandra were here, but we will just have to travel to see them!! Thank you all for blessing my life! 25 was a great birthday!!

Learning to Sew!

2009-07-09T12:35:00.000-07:00

For my 25th Birthday my mom bought me a sewing machine! If you know me then you know that is something that in the past I never would have wanted. However, recently I have wanted to learn how to sew so that I could make cute gifts for the millions of baby showers that I attend between work & church and so that someday I can make stuff for our kids. At first the sewing machine was just not feeling me! However, after 2 lessons from some friends at church I think I've got the hang of the basics. I'm having so much fun crafting. I've already quilted a changing table liner (for those nasty public restrooms) and made several burp rags as well as a pillowcase dress. I'm having so much fun. It will be nice to have a girl pile & boy pile to grab gifts from when things get crazy again this fall. Hopefully soon I will be able to make curtains and decorative pillows for our new house! In the mean time, its a fun way to spend the last part of my wonderful summer!

Fun in the Summer

2009-07-06T07:41:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy this summer! We started the summer out going to our godson's second birthday! It's hard to believe he's already 2! We spent the weekend in Ft. Worth and had an absolute blast with Caleb, Sandra & Sam! Our Mallette peeps are near and dear to our hearts. The next weekend we went to Lake Mathis with a big group of friends from church. We rode wave runners, jet skis, tubed, and got a TON of sun! It was such a blessing to get to spend a weekend with our friends. God truly has blessed us with great friends at WOCC! The next weekend we went to family camp in Palestine. That was wonderful! Over 120 people went and we had the time of our lives. We played games, swam, made S'mores & worshiped our God together. It was so nice. June flew by! This weekend was 4th of July weekend. The Crums came to town so we went to hang out with them on Friday before going to the Cannon's holiday party. Saturday Beebs and I went to see The Proposal & ate at Cheesecake Factory for lunch. For dinner we went to The Waddell's & ate more than we ever should have. We shot fireworks with friends and had a blast. Imperial Oaks was one of the few places people could shoot fireworks so there were SO many people there. I love the 4th of July! This week I am going to learn how to sew & then we are going to put on a building healthy relationships seminar for Impact kids. I've got a TON to do for that so rather than blogging I better get to work! I'm thankful for a VERY fun summer so far & hope the rest of July is just as great. I still have not gotten excited about August but that's ok! I've got time.....

Beebs got a job!

2009-06-17T20:47:00.001-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in forever. Life has been so busy and not very exciting. Brian had a really hard time finding a job! The market & economy are awful right now. However, he interviewed for history positions at Wells Middle School & Knox Junior High and got job offers from both schools in a two day period. He decided to accept the offer from Knox and will be teaching Texas History & coaching in the fall. Yea!!! We finally feel like we are getting somewhere! 2 incomes will be great and working at a great school close to home is also awesome. God has even been working to make us feel more at home at church. We have made great relationships and have started a TNT (twenties-n-thirties) group at church. This has been such a blessing! I guess the neon light we have prayed for for months points to stay in Houston! I will TRY to keep you all up to date on the exciting adventures of a first year teacher and coach!

Ladies Retreat

2009-02-08T11:37:00.000-08:00

This weekend was so nice . We had a ladies retreat at church and for the first time in the year and a half that we have been there I felt welcome. Juli Dozier and I rode up together and had an absolute blast. If we do not get jobs in Ft. Worth she could really be the answer to my prayers for a friend at church. We had so much fun and really got to get to know each other. There were so many great people that stayed the night on Friday night. We played Crazy Bridge, put on a fashion show, ate chocolate until we could eat no more and just enjoyed each other. God knew I needed that. I do feel that if we stay we could have a close group of friends to hang out with. There really are more people than just us that want friends and want to be apart at that church. We will see what happens. We are praying for God to place us where he wants us and with that give us a group of friends that we can have lifelong relationships with. Keep praying for guidance for the our little family.

Looking for the neon light!

2009-02-04T19:04:00.000-08:00

Good news first.... We got Brian's car looked at. I agreed that if it cost less than $200 to fix it we would fix it. We had it looked at and it cost $150 to fix it. God is good! He knew that we couldn't really afford a car for another month or so. Brian has worked at York every day for the past week so he has still been able to make a little money despite not having a car. He has gotten to drop me off at A Points and come back to get me around 8:30 so I've been able to keep working that job too. :) Again, God is good.

We have been talking about moving out of the Houston area into the DFW area for quite some time now. We would love to be close to Caleb, Sandra and Sam and at a church that we just love. We would also love for me to make more money teaching and Ft. Worth area districts pay quite a bit more. Needless to say we have been praying for God to give us a neon light on what he wants us to do and where he wants us to end up. We want so badly to be in place where we have good friends and feel like we are at home when we are at church. Other than Impact we just haven't felt that while in Houston. Don't get me wrong, there are some amazing people in Houston and we love being close to our parents, but we just have never felt at home here. We have decided that if I am going to continue to teach I might as well teach in a place that I can make what I make at three jobs in Houston at one job in Ft. Worth. We have also decided that it would be great for our kids to have cousin Sam and the Crum and Shewmaker kids near us as they are growing up. DFW would be close enough that we would still be able to see our parents often but we would also have the other things we are looking for when we begin our family. What we don't want to do is get our wishes and God's will mixed up. We want to be in a place that is good for our spiritual well-being as well as our marriage. We need a neon light. If God wants us to stay in Houston then doors in Ft. Worth need to close and door's in Houston need to open as far as a job for Brian goes. If God wants us in Ft. Worth we need to both find jobs. We truly need guidance. This is such an important time of our life and we need to make the decision that is going to be best for us and our children in the long run. Please be praying for a neon light for the Lee's and for God to continue to provide for us while Brian is looking for work. Life is good! We love each other and have been very blessed to have this time in Houston. Now we just need to figure out if Houston is where we need to stay or if God wants us to move on.

Brian's getting old!

2009-01-14T19:25:00.000-08:00

Well tomorrow my wonderful husband turns 28! He has never really liked his birthday because it comes at a weird time of year when everyone is broke and tired from Christmas. I gave him his present from me tonight. He got a brand new golf bag and gets to use it this weekend to play golf with Blake. I was so excited about this present because it was going to be the first time I actually surprised him with a gift. That was until I ruined the surprise. You see, while we were on vacation Brian kept up with all of our receipts. While we were on the plane flight home I was cleaning out my purse and giving my bookkeeper all of our receipts. I failed to notice that the receipt for his birthday present was included in the pile I gave him. After a minute or so I noticed Beebs reading one receipt for a little longer than the others. I looked over and noticed the receipt for the golf bag that has been hiding at my parents house for a month was in his hand. WHAT AN IDIOT! I ruined his surprise. It was quite funny though.

Anyway, Brian is going to sub at my school tomorrow so we will get to see each other a little bit. I wanted to take cake but he said he didn't want cake. BOO!! We will go supervise my cheerleaders tomorrow night at the girls basketball game and then after a very exciting day with junior high students and cheer parents we will go to Rudy's with his family for dinner. Sounds like a SUPER EXCITING BIRTHDAY! :) We do plan to have fun with Olivia and Blake this weekend in Beaumont. After talking to Olivia tonight it sounds like they have a ton planned. Hopefully that will make up for such a boring January 15th. HAHA

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN!

Getting Started

2009-01-11T18:42:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! We are finally attempting to start a family blog! We have both wanted to for a while, but with our crazy work and school schedules it has not been possible. Brian is now out of school and one of my three jobs is coming to an end. We will try to keep everyone up to date with what is going on, but can't promise daily blogs. :)

As far as what is going on now, Brian is actively searching for a job. He has sent out what seems like 100's of resumes but no one is hiring. He wants to work in radio, sports broadcasting or baseball operations. He also would not mind doing public relations or media management. We are hoping to find jobs in Ft. Worth, but if we can't I guess Houston is a good place. While Brian is searching for a job he is substitute teaching in Conroe ISD. He enjoys working with kids so teaching/coaching may end up being in his future. We truthfully do not know. We are praying that God will lead us and put us where he wants us to be. It will be wonderful to see what he has in store.

I (Nikki) am currently teaching seventh grade history in The Woodlands. I enjoy working with kids so it's a great job! This year I took on the job of being a cheerleading coach. This has been an experience. Needless to say I am glad that the season is almost over. :) In my spare time (6:30-8:30 at night) I work as an appointment setter at a sales office. It provides a little extra money and makes me value my real job.

Together we enjoy traveling, sleeping, going on dates, spending time with our family and friends and experiencing life! We hope to have kids in the next couple of years, but for now we enjoy just being us!