Six years ago today........

and since we were busy celebrating all day.. and now it is midnight.. the day is technically over and I did not blog about the day my life changed forever... in an incredibly wonderful way.

I love you A, with all my heart and I am so thankful that God brought you into my life.

for all you bloggers.... I'll post our celebration and some pics... b/c what good is a post w/o pictures right?

its morning and I am still pregnant!!

kinda been my sayin' for this week... after having many contractions last weekend, and some other 'signs'.. we just thought that this kid was ready to greet the world.

apparently he/she wants to cuddle in the water a bit more!!

We have had 90 degree plus weather this week and horrible humidity.. (but it is IN, so what is new?) We have been taking it easy in the mornings and finally getting out the door for our 11:30 am swimming lessons.

Brigham started off pretty timid, and was told that if he was the 'shallowish ' kid and still had dry hair after the next day's lessons , then we would just stop coming. Tuesday we went to the pool with some friends in the afternoon, and he did ok, in the bigger pool. Still pretty afraid of the deep(3ft.. lol) water! But we did run into some neighbor kids of my mom's that Brigham really looks up to. Well they had all the swim gear and were like fish all over the place.

That night, Andrew took Brigham to Wally World and he picked out goggles and a kick board.
The next day at swim lessons he was like a totally different kid! Who knew that $2.00 goggles would give him the confidence he needed! He has been in the deep water since, and diving to the bottom for rings, and doing all the things his teacher asks. I am so proud of him!

I am taking my camera today to see if I can get some good pics to scrap... though it has been so miserable, that Miss T and I usually stay under the cover and only go watch about 10 min of his lessons!

We spent 3 hours at the park yesterday with some friends, and we are all suffering from red faces and backs.
I did pull out the sunscreen, but apparently it was not high enough spf.. we're all fried... er reddish brown. Poor Brigham keeps asking for a band aid b/c his back hurts!! LOL


well.... better be moving on... have a great day.. stay cool.... and keep watching for updates =)

ready and waiting....

for baby to arrive!!!

sadly, and with a little depression, I must post that I no longer own Gretta the Jetta.

(my first brand new car, picked out and bought be me when I moved to OH)

ahhhhh the memories she has brought me/us over the years.....

(sniff, sniff) We knew for awhile that this sporty and trendy car would soon be a thing of the past, but it has now become a reality. We really didn't know exactly how we would afford a new van either, but GOD has been in control.

Right before we left for CO, I was getting my hair done, and just casually mentioned to the gal who does my hair that I would soon need to trade in my car.... she said her daughter had just turned 16 and they were 'thinking' of getting her something this fall......

well, I never thought of it again... we were home 3 days , and Mindy called me to see what we were wanting to do about our car. We hadn't even started looking for a van.. (seriously, that is!)

The next few days unfolded very fast, and she committed to the jetta, sight unseen. We gave them an offer.. they took it... then we even upped our price after talking with a dealer and a trade in option . She didn't balk, and had the money to us w/in two days.

We went out one evening.. found about three vans, went the next day to test drive... and then this van was ours:



I am now a mini van mama!
well technically the sales guy let me drive it for 4 days w/o even closing the deal or giving them any money.. weird I know! But I have to say, as sad as I was to say good bye to my little car, I have become quite used to the smell and feel of a new car!

We didn't have to give up the heated leather seats(which my jetta had) and gained TONS of storage space in the stow and go hideaways

the kids are ecstatic with all their cup holders!

We keep finding more bells and whistles on this thing and my jetta actually had every single upgrade except the engine.

the kids, (and myself) are loving the hands free doors opening and closing too!

they think its magic!! LOL

It has taken me a bit to get used to being up so much higher, but I am loving all the room, that um, the jetta was seriously lacking!!

we also went up in our price point by about $11,000, but amazingly God provided exactly what we needed to be able to make the payments. and Andrew won't have to go get a second job. yeah!




we also got another ride. Miss T is LOVING her new stoller. yep. I spelled it right. she doesn't say the 'r' ! LOL

we were able to find this awesome Eddie Bauer Tandem Stroller that will work with our travel system (also Eddie Bauer) that we already have. and it matched decently!! so glad we didn't have to buy a whole new car seat/carrier for the baby too.

so yeah... we're just waiting now.....

actually last week I lost my *plug*.. (TMI for some.. ahem, Jonell... lol), so I got all excited.. and well nothing else happened last week. My friend Emily was on stand by to transport Brigham to and from VBS.. but we never needed her! BTW, Brigham absolutely LOVED vacation bible school. He has talked non stop about the activities and he has been singing along to the songs in the 'new van'!! I have to admit , I enjoyed the three hour break I got each morning last week, as well.

Life never seems to slow down, and we start two weeks of swimming lessons tomorrow. Should be fun for him- He'll be in the 'bigger' pool. And he is signed up with his friend Hannah, so I think they'll have a good time. just hope he puts his face in the water this year!! LOL

I am still editing pictures from 3 photo sessions and trying to get that all wrapped up before d-day.

I'll keep ya'll posted on the baby scene... been contracting the last couple days. and it seems as if my night out Sat at the Taste of Tippecanoe had paid off. I intentionally walked and walked and ate all spicey food!! We were there for about 5 hours in the heat and humidity.. but there was great music and great friends and awesome food! totally worth it if it sent me into progression too =)

and since I may be losing this look rather soon, I'll leave you with the maternity pics that my friend Farrah took while out in Colorado.

totally going to frame these next two (in b/w) with a pic of baby in the middle!

and this one sums it all up!!!

my garden is growing!

one of my favorite things about summer, is all my landscaping! When we moved into our home nearly 4 years ago, there was not a single flower bed. We have spent each summer adding here and there, and I transplanted a ton of perennials from my mom's 'master garden'. This is my happy place. Even now, at days before giving birth, I find myself kneeling (not so gracefully) in the dirt and feeling the earth and smelling the fragrance that surrounds me. I relish in the beauty that God has placed around me. And as my son keeps saying.. " mom, you have a green thumb!"... I am thankful that I am able to keep things living.... here are just some snap shots of what is blooming right now! I love that I have things perfectly placed and times, so that there is always a bit of color in each part of my yard at all times =)

(ps. don't look to closely at the little bistro table... I had a pink table cloth and stuffed bear on it, for a shower I threw for my friend Emily on Sunday). pink is not the color of choice for the front yard.. lol ! (clashes with the house! =)

whoops I lied.... there are some little magenta flowers on this shrub in the front of the house.....

our kitty , Buckeye making his debut on the ol' blog.... doesn't he look thrilled ?

my mom got me this little boy statue when I had Brigham.....

and then she looked all around to find this little girl statue , when Tatum was born.

wonder what kind of statue she will be getting me in a few days?

I am actually pretty exhausted right now, so I am off to take a nap while the kids do. I will update later with pics from the shower I threw on Sunday, as well as an update on the baby scene.

finishing up my 38th week tomorrow!!! yikes~

Colorado... last one!!

it was a dream come true for my husband....

it was a perfect day! the weather was great and Andrew and I had so much fun on our second date while being in Colorado . (the first was to dinner at the Village Tavern which was fabulous and shopping at Flat Irons mall.)

It was so much fun to see my hubby get so excited! He was giddy like a little kid!

We got there about an hour before game time so he could go down on the field and get autographs. He ended up with 3 or 4 really good ones. He brought his prized world series baseball and a hat to have signed.

We watched the players warm up...

Here Andrew is with the head coach chatting it up....

an action shot...

this is an Indiana boy trying to steal third! Our seats were about 20 rows up along the 3rd baseline. again .. perfect!

we had this old man (who pretty much was not all there.. lol) take this pic for us. Andrew has always thought it was sexy for girls to wear jerseys. Me.. not so much.

But I humored him, and sported one over my mongo prego belly, and apparently see thru purple shirt from Target!!

It was a great day away from the kids, and just to hang with each other. Andrew is so passionate about baseball, and well, I am 'sorta' in to it.. I should say I like the event of it, but never get in to who the players and stats are and such. A on the other hand knows every detail about every thing! I am learning to get a better understanding of his love of the game.

oh, and the stadium food was pretty fantastic too! =P

Colorado part -3

We don't get to see much of Andrew's Miller side much, so we always make it a point to get together with his younger brother and sister.

His sister had us all over to her house for a cook out with mega amounts of food.. so good! thanks Jayme!! So the above pic is of Andrew with Jeff. This visit was extra special b/c we got to meet....

Little Blake!! He is so cute! Here is Jeff with his soon to be wife , Lisa and little guy.

Here are the two brothers with their kiddos.

And sister Jayme.

And here is one of all the kids. It is pretty hard to get a pic with 5 kids looking the same direction.. lol

Brigham, Jasmine(Jayme's daughter holding Blake) and Chuckie(Jayme's 14 year old! holding Tatum)

We all had a great time, and of course the visit was too short. Tatum especially took to Jasmine's princess room, and even swiped a princess flip phone!! LOL

We hope we're able to come out in October for Jeff and Lisa's wedding!

colorado part - 2

{Photography disclaimer: none of these are edited. I have been working on some photo sessions, and frankly am getting behind on the ol' blog.. so you get them fresh off the ol' camera.... lol.} things we did at grandma and grandpa Holland's house in Colorado(though the entire time, Tatum only called grandpa , "gramma". pretty cute, b/c she certianly knew which person she was intending to talk to!!)

1. make your own pizza... Brigham loved this. I think we'll start doing this at home. It was so easy!2. played in the backyard. went down the slide about 5,395 times!!
3. Hung out with cousins. Here is Andrew's brother Jacob, with two cousins, (L) Helen, and (R)Tyeisha. She is prego with number two also. Though being a former Denver Nuggets Dancer, she hardly is showing and she is due any day!!. She also has an adorable little boy that is two months younger than Tatum.

4.Had lots of good times with Daddy

5. Got to go to dinner with the Miller side of cousins. Uncle Scott and Aunt Shireen didn't make the picture, but the handsome Sean and Andre did! They were our super duper babysitters during dinner! Brigham took to their 11 and 13 year old selves quite quickly!!

6. Got to play at City Park in downtown Denver, while Mommy had a photo session. (pictures to be posted soon.. they are amazing!)

7. Had great fun at the Aquarium with grandma, grandpa and cousin Alex who is Brigham's age.

Here they are feeding the stingrays.

8. Played in the fountains outside of the aquarium

9. Grandma and Tatum enjoying the bubble machine

10. Brigham claims this was his favorite thing of the day. Funny, b/c he is not allowed to watch spongebob at home. But he sure knew who he was!!

Got a few more parts of the trip to post about.... thanks for reading!

colorado part -1

since I have so many pictures, and life seems to not have slown down....(I hosted a going away party for some friends who are moving in a couple weeks, throwing a baby shower this coming weekend, just got back from a get away at Turkey Run State Park, trying to shop for and decide on a new vehicle, get Brigham's new dresser painted and organized, keep up with my garden, editing pics from a couple photo sessions, oh, and I just entered my 37th week of pregnancy!)

so we'll share bits and pieces from our trip. the main reason we headed out was to see this guy get all graduated from high school !!

CONGRATULATIONS JACOBI !!

Andrew and his younger brother. oh, yeah.. not to shock you all, I may have never mentioned that their dad is black. (Andrew didn't get the same coloring...lol) . ok, so it is his step dad.. but whatever.

tried some 'cool' action shots for an almost 18 year old!

caught Jacob and his friend giving knuckles as they processed thru up the aisle

Andrew's mom and dad and Jacob

kinda look like I am about to bust out huh? I really popped during this trip!!

since we didn't buy the cheesy PreK graduation pics, and his colors were the same as Jacob's high school, we snagged another hat, and had him pose! LOL actually when we gave Jacob his card w/ money, we gave Brigham one that was for PreK graduates! He thought it was the coolest!
and Ta Ta with " J".. shorty after we were there, she took a liking to Jacob, and nick named him "J",.. so the rest of the time, we heard these little squeals for JJJJJJJJJJJJ!.. she wanted to be with him and show him everything all the time!

So Mr. Broomfield High, gets a couple months to goof around (not really, he is working like a mad person!) before heading up to college at University of Northern Colorado. We wish him the best of luck, and know he will do great!