Blessings.

JD and I have been SO blessed since we moved to Lehi. We live with an awesome family! We feel so lucky that our lives have crossed with these folks. They are kind to us. They are easy to talk to. They make us feel so welcome in their home. Together, we share meals and treats. We borrow stuff from each other. We play games. We go out together. We take their kids fishing. We laugh and talk. We play rock band. JD and I feel inspired and moved and motivated by their family dynamics. We want to create a home environment as loving and welcoming and warm and happy as the one we're experiencing here. We thank Heavenly Father daily for the opportunity we have to live here, right now, at this time in our lives. Of course, we are antsy and anxious and excited to own our own place someday. . . but for now, things are just perfect.

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Sweet summertime.

No doubt about it. . . it's summertime! We've been riding bikes, feeding horses, going to parades, attending baseball games, watching fireworks, eating watermelon, stopping at taco stands, and soaking in the sun. I'm 27 weeks pregnant and definitely have the baby belly to prove it! I feel our precious girl squirming around all the time now and just absolutely love it. Weird (and wonderful!) to think we'll have a little one with us this time next summer.

We fed some veggies to the horses in our neighborhood.

We went to the Orem Owls baseball game last week.

So happy to spend time with these sweet ladies!

Tacos at Lehi Days festival.

July 4th Fireworks!

Idaho Trip

Last week, JD and I took a little road trip to Idaho for my friend Angela's wedding in Teton. We also made a slight detour to visit our friends in Boise. It was a lot of driving in a few days, but we sure loved seeing our good friends and spending time together in a new state. 

Crossing the border.

 Yummy restaurant in downtown Boise.

 We miss this cute family!

Zoo Boise on Friday. 

 Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, ID

 Double rainbow at the falls (!!)

 Peaceful time together in the Idaho Falls LDS temple.

San Antonio friends. Look at that pretty bride!

 Gorgeous Idaho sunset. Love this man.

Angela's wedding ceremony and reception was held at the cutest barn in a small Idaho town. She did such a good job decorating with vintage books, dried flowers, romantic pictures, and rustic accents. The whole place had a dreamy feel to it. So happy she found someone to make her so happy!

Red, white, and blue

This week I've started making red, white, and blue hand towels for my shop. Hope JD doesn't mind July 4th coming to visit a little early in our living room!

The Last Few Weeks

JD and I have done a lot of fun things in the last few weeks!

 Here's a re-cap of what we've been up to:

Dinner at Jared and Karen's with Bryce and Sheree. These guys were JD's good friends in high school and we got together because Bryce just accepted a job offer in Louisiana and they'll be moving soon. It was nice to visit and catch up with them.

Dinner at Chick-fil-A. We were trying so hard to not spend money on eating out in May, but I had been talking about Chick-fil-A for weeks. . . so we gave in. Worth it!

Tyler and Mikella's Wedding. JD's little brother got married over Memorial Day weekend. We were both in the wedding party and loved sharing in their celebration.

JD's mom's side of the family at the reception. It had rained most of the day, so it was pretty chilly. . . but the backyard was absolutely lovely!

It started raining hailing during their wedding dance. While everyone rushed to get the tables and chairs and stereo equipment under cover, these lovebirds shared their romantic moment in the rain. Rain on your wedding day is supposed to be good luck, right? :)

NBA on television. We've been watching a lot of basketball lately. JD has been cheering against the Spurs (only because he's bitter they swept the Jazz) and I've been teasing him by wearing my San Antonio apparel sometimes. I'm not as committed to the Spurs as I probably should be and wouldn't mind if OKC won (gasp!) because it would make JD happy. 

Park City with the newlyweds. Tyler and Mikella stayed in a condo up in Park City for their honeymoon. We went up later in the week for dinner and games. We played games until like two in the morning and spent the night up there.

Tiffanie's graduation. JD's little sister, Tiffanie, graduated from Layton High School. We are super proud of her and are so excited for what's in store in her life.

Camping with the Weeks and Leues. We planned to go camping with these guys, but ran into issues when we tried to find a camp spot. It didn't end up working out as we planned, but we had a bonfire anyway and spent the evening playing games and visiting.

Fishing with the Williams family. Camping didn't work out, but JD still really wanted to go fishing. We invited the family we live with and JD taught all their kids how to fish. I sat out in the sun and helped cook breakfast in the morning. We were up in the mountains for a few hours, but JD was the only one who ended up catching a fish. Still, it was pretty special to see JD's sweet interactions with those kiddos.

Dinner and dominoes with friends. Cory and Sean and Jeremy and Stefanie came over for dinner on Saturday night. We enjoyed delicious food and played dominoes. Love spending time with these guys!

We are blessed with such good friends and family and are trying to enjoy the sweet time we have together before our little one joins the family. We know we'll miss these days!

Being a Mama

I've been really lucky with this baby so far. I haven't had any of the morning sickness, nausea, food cravings, or heartburn normally associated with pregnancy. Mostly, I've just been tired, but my energy has started to return in the last few weeks.  

Because I can't feel any movements yet, I sometimes forget she's there. It's so weird to think about a little human being growing and learning inside of me! It's a miracle my body knows how to support her without me having to consciously do anything. In so many ways, the development of my little daughter is a testament to the reality of God. I mean. . . how else could such magic exist? 

I often find myself daydreaming about what life will be like when she's here. I can't wait to see her, to hold her, to cuddle her. I want her to know so many things and constantly feel this overwhelming weight of everything I could teach her. When this pressure sits heavily on my heart, I try to turn my thoughts to Heavenly Father and feel the comfort of the Spirit. I know ultimately the most important thing I can teach her is this: she is a child of God and even when she doesn't know all the answers in life, He does. 

I figure one of the best ways to teach a principle is to live it. So lately, as I've been feeling the incredible stress of being a mama, I've just given my fear to God and let Him replace it with peace. I'm scared. I'm nervous. I'm anxious. . . 

But I'm also confident I can make it as a mother when I have the Lord on my side. 

Baby Girl.

Earlier this week, JD and I had an ultrasound where we were able to find out the gender of our little one. After getting to see all its tiny movements and hear about its healthy growth, we were so anxious to know whether it was a girl or boy. However, we told the ultrasound tech we didn't want to find out at the hospital and asked if she would write down the gender on a slip of paper and put it in a sealed envelope. We closed our eyes and squeezed each other's hands while she checked and took measurements to see if it was a teeny guy or gal. Oh, it was so nerve-racking! 

After the appointment, we took the envelope to a bakery and special ordered a cake. The inside icing would be blue for a boy or pink for a girl. We invited friends and family over on Friday night for the big gender reveal. I made cute pink bows for "team girl" and goofy mustaches for "team boy" and guests had to pick their team upon arrival. We had hawaiian haystacks for dinner and chatted with our friends. . . and then! it was time to cut the cake! I was so shaky and excited. 

When I saw that pretty pink icing for the first time, my heart skipped. A girl! A baby girl! I'm going to be a mama to a precious baby girl!

We were not-so-secretly hoping for a girl all along! And now that we know she's a she, she seems so much more real. A daughter. Our daughter. We've just been giggly with excitement all day.