our family is expanding!

Yup..that's right!

We are beyond blessed to be expecting a little miracle!

I couldn't have imagined what it would feel like to first find out that a tiny little baby, OUR baby, is growing in me, and I still couldn't even explain to you the feelings it brings once it's real. The moment we saw that teeny tiny little baby on the screen at about 6.5 weeks, I felt J's hand slip into mine in pure happiness and disbelief as we watched our little baby's heart flicker quickly.

Holy crap..that's our baby!

Think I even got a tear or 2 after listening to this song by Creed...

Well I just heard the news today
It seems my life is going to change
I close my eyes, begin to pray
Then tears of joy stream down my face

With arms wide open
Under the sunlight
Welcome to this place
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open
With arms wide open

Well I don't know if I'm ready
To be the man I have to be
I'll take a breath, I'll take her by my side
We stand in awe, we've created life

And now our baby is looking more like a real baby :) We love you so much already, little one!

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We are wishing all you mother's out there a very Happy Mother's Day!!

And to our mother's, we love you and are so thankful for all that you do!

To our Grandma's, Aunt Kathy, Catherine, Carolyn, Heather, and all you other momma's who have played some sort of role in my/our lives, thank you all!!

As Uncle Tom said, I was added to the "mom's to call" list this year, and I am so excited about that :)

I even got goodies in bed...

Catch a theme? Munchkins, Runts, Sour Patch Kids, Junior Mints...etc! :)

We are praying for a healthy pregnancy and can't wait to meet our little one. And we are absolutely thrilled that our family is expanding by 2 more feet!

springtime!

The grass is getting greener, people! Literally :) That is one thing I dislike about non-Florida winters. The brown grass, the bare branches, and the gloomy skies - it sure ain't a pretty sight! But when the weather warms up, and the grass gets greener and the trees bloom brighter, people make their way out to venture into springtime's glorious outdoor activities. We still have a few cold spurts every now and then, but they are enjoyable -- nothin' I can't handle!



My apologies for the lack of posts lately. I should be inspired by this beautiful weather, so I will venture out more with my camera glued around my neck looking like the tourist that I'm not :) And with that will come more blog posts.

Until then, let me fill you in on these past couple weeks. Easter came and went, but not without any excitement. We got a package in the mail filled with Easter goodies, including James' Easter basket from childhood..how fun! And delivered neatly packaged to our front doorstep was Ocean City Boardwalk's Johnson's Caramel Popcorn. Heck yes :) Come the end of next month, I will be able to enjoy some of that fresh on the boardwalk..Heck yes x 2! I refilled the basket Easter morning..hid it..and headed for church.



After that, a beautiful day filled with food, friends, doggies, and fun! We headed to Park Tarven for brunch on Piedmont Park. We went here last year as well and highly suggest that if you are ever in the Atlanta area for Easter, you must go. Do yourself that favor :)





Then, we went from the city to the river, where we spent the remainder of this year's beautiful Easter Sunday.




The doggies ran free and loved every moment!






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The following weekend, family came to visit :) Yay! We had a wonderful time - hanging out, eating, manicures/pedicures, catching up, and celebrating at the Weldy/Bacon wedding! Woohoooo!



Even got to hang out with one of our favorite teachers from high school - Ms. Bacon - whom we had together senior year. Beautiful mother-of-the-groom, and very beautiful bride busting a move alongside on her handsome new husband! The wedding was amazing and at an amazing place- Park Tavern! Can't go wrong!

And time with family is always time well spent :)



This spring has proven to be beautiful, and of course it's coming and going quicker than we could imagine. We've got to remember to take a few moments to pause and enjoy all that springtime, this weather, and this not-so-permanent area of residence has to offer us..and I'd say we've been doing a good job at just that :)

It's all about the climb...

Picking up your life and moving to a completely new area can bring about a myriad of emotions in both good and bad ways, and leave you with a mysterious/hazy view of your future. Two nights before picking up and moving here for J to start medical school, I was cuddled up in bed with Grizz around, and J was..well I'm not quite sure, but he wasn't with me at this moment. This song came on TV (and yes, I may get made fun for feeling this way from this song being that it's Miley Cyrus, but..whatever! haha) I heard these lyrics..

Every step I'm takin'
Every move I make
Feels lost with no direction,
My faith is shakin'
But I gotta keep tryin'
Gotta keep my head held high

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waitin' on the other side
It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down, but
No I'm not breaking
I may not know it, but
These are the moments that
I'm gonna remember most
I've just gotta keep goin', and
I gotta be strong

Keep on movin'
Keep climbin'
Keep the faith baby
It's all about, it's all about the climb

And I thought, "Ahhh, this is such a nerve-racking moment in our lives..I have no idea what it will be like to live in another state.. What am I going to do for a job? How easy will it be to make all new friends? How is it going to be living this far from family? How busy will J really be? Will I ever see him? We have to plan a whole wedding right now..ahh, please just let everything turn out well!"



Well folks, we got lucky! I got a job the first week we moved here, J worked out a schedule where he'd get to school around 6 am so he could get home around 6:30pm and we could eat dinner together every night, I've been able to visit family every couple months, the wedding turned out beautifully, and well, we made some AMAZING friends along the way!



I had no idea what types of people we would meet, and while all of our friends come from different areas and different backgrounds and have different accents that I may or may not try to imitate at times ;), we've become such a tight-knit circle of friends that I greatly enjoy being around! So when I heard that same song the other night, The Climb, the exact same feelings came pouring back..except they hit me even harder.



After making these wonderful friends and growing closer and closer, I realized we only have 2 months left with most of them, and then we'll be picking everything up to start the cycle over again. The friends we've made together as a couple, and the wives who have become such an incredible support group, will probably be the most missed memory of the time we've had here in the Atlanta area. Cue the sad gloomy music..haha ;)




Carly and Brian met a group of doctors and their families while vacationing at the beach..and they told them they've made it a point since med school to meet at the beach and pick right back up where they left off every year. Oh how we would love for that to happen!!




In our nearly 2 years of living here, we've built memories that will last a lifetime. Alongside our friends, we've had fun nights, drunk nights, stressful test weeks, wives leaning on each other when feeling somewhat lonely, Just Dance nights, nights we'll always remember, and nights that some just want to forget ..(drunk Yogi Bear talks, men staying up late together to watch House Hunters, TMI talks, etc.) We've thrown bridal showers for each other, and even had friends travel the 10 hours to South Florida to watch us exchange vows and celebrate with us...





We've traveled to watch others exchange vows and celebrate with them...



And even stayed put to watch friends exchange vows right here...


We've watched little ones grow up..and bellies grow, too.



Got to witness a bromance bloom from the beginning ;) ...


We've even danced our butts off together plenty of times..


and made fools of ourselves too...


Carly and I spontaneously decided to grab some frozen yogurt last night. While the sun was setting, we took a seat on the grass to discuss just how much we will miss these moments.

Yup, we've all had some pretty amazing times together....
and while I may not know it,
these are the moments I'm gonna remember most,
yea, just gotta keep going...
it's all about the climb!

spring forward with a spring mantel

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It may not 'officially' be spring yet...but we sprung forward last night so that counts for me! While some complained about springing forward, I have been waiting for this day for a little while now. I don't look at it like I lost an hour of sleep, because well, I don't have kids to wake me up and I don't work on Sundays - so, I just slept an hour longer! Not to rub it in for some of you ;) But seriously, I LOVE when it stays lighter later. No more coming home from work, rushing to make dinner, and feeling like it's almost bed time already. Now, I'll leave work while the sun is still shining and have time to make dinner and still take the pup to the park after to enjoy a walk with my little family. Oh, how I've been looking forward to this!

While J spent the weekend studying, I spent the weekend crafting. The neighbors might possibly dislike me after the smell and fumes of spray paint lurked in the backyard area all weekend. I went through a few bottles... but the outcome was worth it to me :) A 100% DIY mantel..it kills time for me and then I get to enjoy the beauty of it all afterwards.





Just about everything was handmade using items I already had laying around in the garage. It's amazing what a little paint and fabric can do!




Now for the important stuff:

The empty big frame above the mantel was an ugly ol' picture I found while helping my brother move. I *kindly* talked him into giving it to me ;) I removed the backing, took everything out of it, and pulled out the staples holding the picture in place. Then, just spray painted.


To make the yellow bottles: drink some beer, clean out the bottles, and spray paint! I also spray painted the sticks to put in them.


To make the 'cake pedestal,' I purchased a small Terracotta planter and plant base, spray painted them, and attached using e6000 glue. (Place the Terracotta planter upside-down) This was a total of $4.


For the Easter/spring wreath, follow the same directions from the Christmas Wreath Tutorial. Only, instead of yarn, I wrapped the wreath with fabric. I made the same flower types as in that tutorial and hung from the frame with a strip of fabric.


The spring banner was made using fabric and felt cut into triangles and clothes-pinned onto jute twine.

If you're interested in making burlap balls, I simply crushed up a piece of computer paper, and wrapped 1 1/2" wide strips of burlap around them using hot glue until it was covered.

The apothecary jar was made back in October (follow this tutorial) and I just lightly painted yellow over the black. Looks messy but I'm okay with it! It's filled with mini Robin eggs.

For the frame with the starfish, I spray painted an old frame we had (Hospice Thrift Store special courtesy of Grandma), put a piece of scrapbook paper in it and hot glued one of the starfish from our wedding on it.


Spray paint colors used: Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze, Krylon Bright Idea, and Krylon Satin Jade.

The total I spent this weekend at Hobby Lobby was a whopping $17 for all of this (excluding items I already had).

Clearly, we are readyyy for spring around here and I will be lovin' these bright evenings :) The windows are open, and we are making our way out more and more. Make room for spring, everyone!