Shower Video

So I failed to mention in my last post that Micah created a video for the baby shower. I wanted to share it with all of you that weren't able to be there. It is about 6 1/2 minutes long so please watch this when you have time and volume... and depending on who you are maybe some tissues. He is so creative and everyone loved it at the shower. Thank you Micah for creating these memories on disc. I love you!

Baby Shower of the Year!

So my mom and Shannon hosted a baby shower for me this past Saturday at my dear friend, Laura's, house. It was incredible! They did such an amazing job and I was so blessed by everyone's help in preparing and all the thought that went into it. They seriously went over and beyond to make this day so special for Elsie and I.

There were so many moments when I would get overwhelmed and have to take deep breaths, not because it was crazy but because every moment was a reminder of how great our God is and how he has blessed me with so many great people in my life. I kept thinking "We don't deserve all this" and "Elsie is going to have such wonderful people to influence her in her life" So to keep myself from blubbering every five minutes I would just take deep breaths and bask in God's greatness.

I will let pictures explain the shower otherwise I could be writing a novel about it because it was that awesome! I will say just in case you can't tell from the photos, the theme was mainly pearls and lace. Pearls because of Elsie Pearl. Even the favors were cell phone charms hand crafted by my mama and had glass beads that resembled pearls. I just realized I don't have a picture of those. They were beautiful.

Entrance table... Guest filled out a return envelope, grabbed a raffle # if they brought diapers, selected a hand crafted name tag and browsed the photos upon entering.

This is the only photo I have of the table settings, this was set up the night before so there were still a few details added for the shower

Hungry anyone?The food was every pregnant girls dream, or regular girls dream, it was all so amazing!

Cake please! Chocoalate Cake filled with strawberry souffle!

Stairwell filled with gifts!!

Guest enjoying their food

I had two very special treats! I had not one but two people fly in for my shower. Coincidentally they both flew in from the Bay Area. Jessica my cousin and Tricia!!! Wouldn't have been the same without either of them. I was so touched they came out.

Best hostesses ever!

Me and the proud Grandma-to-be

7 months??

Ok so I realized I never took a 7 month photo... I did but they were professional photos, and now that I am practically a full 8 months I thought I would post some of the photos that were taken of Micah and I while we were in Nashville.

I love surprises!

So on Friday Micah and I headed to his office. For him it was just a regular work day except for the fact that he agreed I could throw an office Valentine's Day Party! Seeing as how I am no longer working and don't really have any where I could bring goodies to I used his office as an excuse to bake and make Valentine Goodies. But to our surprise when we arrived at his office there was baby girl decorations everywhere and they had surprised us with a baby shower!!! We were thrilled. They figured since I was coming in to throw a party it was perfect timing to flip the tables and throw us one instead. They were all entirely too generous which both Micah and I were overwhelmed by. They had ordered a cake and food and just made us feel so very special. I was on cloud nine all day. I can't tell you how grateful I feel for the wonderful people Micah works with. Truly a blessing!

Reunited and it feels so good...

So Micah was part of The Deal's Reunion show on Saturday Night, and I must say, it brought back a lot of memories. That band is what brought us together (well besides God of course) and was a huge part or our dating and beginning of our marriage experience. Anyway, it was great seeing so many old faces and catching up with good friends. Here are a few pics of my lil' rockstar. I must say, he surprised me with his performance level while on stage. It was like he never left the band and had been on tour just last week, I guess when it's in you, it's in you. He was totally awesome and he blew me away!

Oh how could I forget. Saturday morning we went to pick up Elsie's nursery furniture from JC Penny's, and let's just say it was a lot bigger than we expected.

Ya, see what I mean. It was bigger than our car. Mind you we have both back seat rows collapsed and there was another huge box (the dresser) inside the car. We looked ridiculous driving 40 mph with our hazards on. It was quite humorous. We chuckled the whole way home.

Love is in the air

...not just because Valentine's is days away but because one of my oldest friends Natalie is getting married. We spent most of Friday shopping for a gown and we had a blast. It is hard shopping for a the perfect wedding dress when she looked looked perfect in every one she tried on. We ended the day between two dresses, they are both completely different styles and yet both looked breathtaking on her... Unfortunately the gowns were at two different boutiques as well and so we couldn't try them on one after the other to compare. Plus neither boutique let us take any photos of either dress, so that was totally lame. But, I was able to take a few shots when the consultant ran and answered the phone. Very sneaky I know. I would post the picture of her in one of the potential gowns but don't want to ruin the surprise, just in case her fiance every comes across my blog.

This was a beautiful lace gown she tried on but didn't make it in the final running.

Oh and yes, she asked my to be part of her wedding party and I graciously excepted. Don't worry, the wedding is next May so I have plenty of time to burn off baby weight! This wedding is going to be beautiful and can't wait to be a part of it. Congrats Nat & Mike!!!

Tea Time

Thursday I was able to meet up with some gal pals, Jenn & Melissa, and take some time for tea. It was absolutely wonderful. I was asked to bring scones and then they had everything else including the Dark Chocolate See's Candy place settings! Absolutely made my day!

Where I've been

So I have been out of town for a couple of weeks, well I actually have been back for almost a week but haven't found the time to blog about it.

As most of you know, two of my brothers moved out to Michigan in November. Considering how close I am to my brothers (seriously, we're extremely close) and how far Michigan is, this was quite a hard transition for me in my delicate, hormonal pregnant state. I already knew I would be going to visit them before Elsie was born but then realized that I was already almost 7 months along and needed to get a move on it before my doctor vetoed the whole idea.

I already had a trip booked to Nashville with Micah for Jan. 21st - 28th (it was our Christmas gift to each other) so I just decided to fly out to Michigan first and then from there meet Micah in Tennessee. I booked my flight and called my bros and told them I would see them in a week.

So basically I left Cali with 82 degree weather and landed in Detroit with -2 degree weather, that doesn't include the wind chill factor that dropped it to about -20!!!! All I can say is my face hurt when I walked out of the airport.

I had a fabulous week with my brothers. I wish Micah was able to be there with me and I wish even more so that I could've stayed for at least another week. I miss them so much more now after visiting them than I did before.

Besides eating dinners together and just hanging out at night watching TV like nothing ever changed, my favorite part was getting to see their reactions when they felt Elsie move and kick. It was so awesome. I seriously held back the tears in watching their amazement in getting to feel their niece. I can't wait for her to meet Bear and Uncle Greggy.

I also was able to visit my Grandma Carolyn who I haven't seen in over 15 years so that was awesome, and she totally showered Elsie with gifts. So Sweet!

Bear's new Farm House, isn't it awesome!

What I awoke to my first morning.

Carousel Mall, we went here as kids!!!

At Grandma's visiting

Elsie already being spoiled by her great Grandma...

From there I flew into Nashville where I met up with Micah and then were greeted with our favorite little faces, Vail and Katy... our nieces! Jenn and Matthew picked us up from the airport and we went directly to eat. That is always a good sign for a great week when you start it off with good food.

We basically just hung out during our stay and relaxed the whole time which is exactly what we needed. We did however go to Lynchburg, TN and take a tour of the Jack Daniel's Distillery, which I must say, was one of the coolest tours I have been on.

Micah left on Sunday because he had to get back to work and I stayed until Wed., which was awesome to get some extra quality time with my sis. We even had a girls night out while Matthew hung out with the girls. We had the whole thing planned for days. We were going to go to this particular Italian restaurant Jenn was raving about, and then maybe do some baby shopping afterward. Well let me just say, when we pulled up to the restaurant and we saw that they were closed on Mondays, I think it was the worst thing that could've happened to two pregnant gals who were craving that exact place. After we yelled and debated on whether to throw a brick through the window of this so called fabulous restaurant, we pulled it together and Jenn made some calls and we were referred to another Italian restaurant. It actually ended up being awesome and we had a fab time there. Then we headed over to the Opry Mills mall and shopped for our future babies.

I think it was one of my favorite trips out there yet. It was nice just to hang out and do nothing and have quality time with family, but I missed Micah so much and was ready to get going, that was until I pulled up to the airport and my little nieces didn't understand why I had to get on the airplane. It was heartbreaking and made me want to stay longer. Jenn said Vail kept saying I was going to get Micah and would be back later that night. Katy just cried. How precious is that!

Here we are at the JD Distillery

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Girls night out!

Maybe she's born with it, Maybe it's Maybeline, Katy the lil' girly girl.