18 weeks

I know I haven't blogged in awhile, sorry. I have no excuse. Here are a couple pictures of my growing tummy, I don't feel like it "looks" much bigger than my last picture, but it definitely "feels" bigger.
Ben thought he was really funny and a great photographer taking candid shots!


Ben was traveling all last week and again this week. He was in California last week and he is in Mexico City, actually Leon, Mexico this week. He is having quite the time traveling! He said when he got off the plane in Mexico there were big guys with machine guns all over! Just what an expecting wife wants to hear, then he goes on to tell me that his ride didn't show up at the airport. He waited as long as he could, but then the airport was closing so he had to find a cab, which of course the driver spoke no English. And Ben is definitely not fluent in Spanish so thankfully he had written down the hotel address the day before and he gave it to the driver. He received a "Si" back! Ben said once he got to his hotel, after a 30 min. cab ride, that he felt comfortable and safe. Praise the Lord. He is really enjoying all the authentic Mexican food, all I can say is I am glad I don't have to share a bed with him after all those beans!!! It is a really great experience for him, but I will definitely be ready to have him home on Friday!

We hope you all are enjoying the first week of spring! We love you and miss you all!

“Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea." Job 11:7-9

15 weeks

Here I am at 15 weeks, which is already a few days old. I probably won't put pictures up every week, but I had said I would put an updated one on so here you are! Now keep in mind I had just eaten a BIG supper, I am not that big when I roll out of bed in the morning! :)

Have a wonderful weekend! We love you and miss you all!

Not only is this my favorite verse but God has put it on my heart all week, so I had to put in on here even though I think I have used it already! Especially the "anxious" part. My doctor told me today that the anxieties have just begun and they don't get any better after the baby is in the world!:) Oh Great! I completely agree and understand, but I do know that God can calm those anxieties and replace them with his love and joy, so that is what I continue to pray for throughout our pregnancy! So, if any of you want to pray that for me I would absolutely LOVE it! Thanks much :) :)
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-8

More Blessings!

Well, we just got back from warm, sunny Florida...I miss it already! We had so much fun! We were so blessed to be able to take this vacation and even more blessed with the weather we had while we were there. It was absolutely perfect every day!


We started out the trip with Brandon and Jenny. They live in Kissimmee, actually as they like to say, they live in Touristville, FL. We didn't believe them until we got there! They are literally 5 miles from Disney "Everything"! We spent time relaxing by their pool, they also took us around town and we ate some amazingly yummy food, but even more delicious ice cream and frozen yogurt!


The one ice cream place we went to was called Pure Magic...and that's exactly what it was! Oh man was it good! You pick all your toppings and then they put nitrogen in it to mix it all together, it was really neat. Ben and I decided that could have been a meal in itself!




Then we headed to Clearwater Beach! The sand was soft and white, ocean beautiful, but cold! We had absolutely nothing on our agenda while we were there, which was exactly what we wanted! Our first day at the beach was really breezy, so we thought the weather was perfect...until we got back to our hotel room 4 hours later and realized the breeze was so nice that we didn't even know how fried we were getting! Oh boy did we pay for it that night! We went out to this awesome Island Grill restaurant, but our conversation was about as dull as could be because all Ben could think about was his entire body feeling on fire, and me, well I felt like my shins, feet and wrists were sitting on burners! But the food was awesome! Needless to say we bought and used an entire bottle of aloe vera that night!





The next day we sat, bodies covered, next to the pool and just enjoyed the warmth and read.

Wednesday was our last day in Clearwater so we were going to spend the morning on the beach then head back to J and B's. When we woke up it was foggy so we decided to try to hit up the Yankees Spring Training Practice, we had no idea what time they practiced, we just knew where the stadium was. We got there and the weather was perfect, but even more perfect was right when we sat down all the players were just coming onto the field! We were so excited! We had so much fun just watching them field and hit! That was probably the highlight of our trip!





We spent our last night with J and B, eating Pei Wei...they let me choose, and eating the best frozen yogurt ever, Menchies! We had SO much fun with them, it was really hard to say goodbye. But like I said earlier, we felt so blessed to even be able to spend a few short days with them!

Another blessing that happened while we were in Florida was Caleb Timothy Thorp was born! What a little sweetie....we love you guys, Chad, Megan and Caleb... Remy too!


The last blessing we want to share is the biggest blessing of all...We are having a baby! We couldn't be more thankful and excited! We are due August 22! I will leave you with this picture...which is already 2 weeks old, but I will put a new one up early next week! God is good!


A few P.S.'s I am now addicted to Karen Kingsbury books and I will put more pictures of our trip up once I get Jenny's pictures! We love you and miss you all!

"Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him." Psalm 127:3

Blessings

For those of you who know me well, you know that God made me for warmth and sunshine! Oh boy, do I love that combination! Well, He has blessed me with an amazing husband who knows my love of those two things, so for Christmas he got us a trip to Florida! He also knows how much I love my best friend, and she just happens to live in Florida!!

So, tonight Ben and I get to head off to enjoy three loves of my life...Jenny-who is one of the biggest blessings in me life(we are excited to see you too Brandon :), sunshine and warmth! I can NOT wait! I wanted to blog before we left because I knew it would be awhile again!

We love you and miss you all! My next post will share about more amazing blessings in our life! :)

"Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is." Ephesians 5:15-17

The Girls!

I was fortunate enough to be able to go to MN for a week to watch my nieces while Emily and Mark were in Thailand for a missions trip. It was a busy, crazy, amazingly fun week! I miss the girls like crazy. It was wonderful to see family too! Thanks to mom for helping a ton! Here are a few pictures of the week. Sorry Emily, if they look like scraggle muffins in the pictures! :) I learned that kids will not get their hair done every day, they may wear their pjs almost all day AND that you, as the mom, "might" get a shower but most likely not until they are all in bed! :) I wanted to visit my mom at school with the girls, so I knew I could get the girls all cutsie and ready to go, then I realized I had to get myself all cutsie and ready. Needless to say, we didn't get to go see mom!


Gabby and Lauren put on a wonderful show for me at mom and dad's when I first got there! Don't you LOVE their costumes and accessories! :)


Macie thought she was really hot stuff on the desk. Not safe right? It was too cute not to get a picture, then I got her down!



A lot of games got played throughout the week! My favorite was Uno Spin!





Crazy hair!


We decided to make some V-Day crafts! We had so much fun and I was so impressed with the girls cutting skills! :)




Another show...notice the matching dresses over their gymnastics outfits. And yes, KTIS was blaring in the background!






Too sweet!



We had a bday party for Ethan my last night there! It was so fun to be with everyone, well except the owners of the house where the party was being held:) You probably can't tell in the pictures, but I wanted you to know not only was I staying at a beautiful house, it is also a farm! They have Ben and Amanda, their cats that live in the garage to keep the mice away. They also have lovely chickens in their garage, it is a very scrumptious smell once you step foot out the house in the garage! :) :) :)






It was really hard to leave after being with the girlies all week, but I am so glad I was able to do it! I love you and miss you all tremendously!

"So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul—

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Deuteronomy 11:13, 18-19

It never stops raining!

We are in month one of 2011 and I don't think it has stopped raining the entire year! :) Seriously, we haven't seen the sun all year either! They say you get used to it, Ben and I are wondering if everyone here is just in denial or if what they say is really true?! We have NOT gotten used to it, but at least the temperature is great! Much different than what all of you Midwesterners are going through right now!

I just wanted to put a couple (not so exciting)pictures up before I head back to MN to watch the girlies! Hope you all are doing well!

We made some unbelievably tasty salmon last weekend!


Some of my thrift store finds!
Platter, pitcher and lantern/candle holder :)


"Cute little" (Ben loves when I use those two words together...ha) pot.


We had some friends over and we played Jenga, as you can see. I did NOT want to play that, but we ended up having so much fun. This is the same friend who lent me a Karen Kingsbury book this week and now...I am hooked! Even though Emily and Megan have been a part of her fan club:) for years, it took me moving across the country to finally figure out how amazing her books are!


We love you all!

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

And it truly was wonderful! There is way too much too share, so here is our time at home in pictures!































There were too many wonderful pictures to choose from! Although I was so bummed because I forgot my camera a few times and didn't take pictures with everyone we saw. Every single person we saw was a blessing to us! We enjoyed ever BUSY second of our trip home! We love you and miss you all!

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2