In one of the stars I shall be living,

in one of them I shall be laughing

And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing

when you look at the night sky...

and there is sweetness

in the laughter of the stars...

and in the memory of those you love.

-"The Little Prince", Antoine de saint-Exupery

My hopes

Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only the best, to work only for the best, and expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past
and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times
and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

-Christian D. Larson

This is a poem that my mom had cut out from somewhere and attached to the front of a very special baby book that she made for me...starting from the day she found out she was pregnant with me. I remember glimpses of this book from my childhood, but it wasn't actually given to me until recently after announcing to my family that.....

I'M PREGNANT!!!!

And although I'm pretty sure that the majority of my blog readership is already aware of this news as well, I now finally feel comfortable announcing it to the cyber world.
Today we are officially 13 weeks along.
Every day we feel so incredibly blessed that a little person...half me, half Nick...is growing inside me. It is mind blowing. And still hard to believe at times. So I go back to the picture from the ultra sound and remind myself that yes indeed, there is a baby coming...and feel a happiness like I've never experienced before.

So many hopes and dreams for this little baby. Can't wait to meet him/her!

The "Sunshine" State

This is what Florida is known as.
However, that statement should be followed by the disclaimer: "Unless a hurricane is passing through the area". St. Petersburg claims to have 361 days of sunshine per year. We just happened to be there on those remaining 4 days.

My company earned an incentive trip from one of the insurance companies that we represent and it was our turn to go! And although the weather wasn't exactly what I think we were imagining, it was an incredibly relaxing and wonderful week of hanging out non-stop with the hubbs. My batteries have been re-charged!

I don't know why...but I love this pic of Nick's boat shoes. Maybe because he has a pair of shoes he wears exclusively on boats. Love him.





Although it wasn't extremely sunny while we were there, it was definitely still warm and muggy...hence the glistening skin!

Celebrating Miss Diggy!

So...yes, I'm a bit behind on my blog posts. How does this always happen? eeks.

A few weekends ago I enjoyed a relaxing, wonderful weekend in Chelan with the girls to celebrate Diggy's 30th birthday, and to just enjoy some time all together. We hadn't had a girl's weekend in quite some time so it was so such a treat for me!

Pics from our {chilly} wine tasting adventures on Saturday...

Confession

I have a confession.

I am a Christmas junkie. Seriously, I love it more than I can adequately describe. I love everything about it: the childhood memories, the smells, the sounds, the lights, shopping for gifts, celebrating Christ's birth, the tree, the food, the gatherings, family, the hope for the new year...just everything.

But possibly one of the things I love most is the music. I am not ashamed to admit I listen to holiday tunes pretty much starting the day after Thanksgiving through the New Year. The confession part of this post comes when I tell you I sometimes start listening to that music a little early.
It happens every year. I get a little itch. Something in my bones just needs a little dose of my favorite Christmas album (Sarah McLaughlin).

So this week, in the privacy of my car to and from work, I indulged in my craving and have been listening. And it has been just wonderful. I only listen for a few days, and then I'm ready to wait again. And the funny thing is, I actually am appalled when I see decorations in stores already, see holiday lights up, hear music on the actual radio. I believe strongly that we should wait until after Thanksgiving to outwardly start the celebrating.

But secretly, in the privacy of my little Honda, I've been singing my heart out all week. And loving every second of it. Merry Merry!

Texas Part II: San Antonio Cougs!

For Part II of our Texas trip we headed back to San Antonio to cheer on our beloved Cougs when they played Notre Dame. Fortunately, the fun-ness level of the trip was not determined by the greatness of the game...not too pretty.

But hanging out with this crew is always a treat for me. Four of my favorite people ever. Together non-stop for 3 days. Just hanging out on the RiverWalk. Yahooooooo!


Even with the loss, we had a wonderful time cheering on the Crimson and Grey with fellow Cougs!

Texas Part I: A View from my Grandparents House

Last week, Nicholas, Zachary and I flew to Texas to visit my grandparents and relatives. While it was a looooong trip down there (flight delays, mechanical problems and a drive to the small town of Franklin made for a day of 19 hours of traveling!)...it was absolutely wonderful to get time with them!

There are certain things that always remind my of my grandparents house. The smell for one. It has a distinct smell of what is, in my mind, the South. And even though they have moved from Louisiana to Texas now to be closer to my aunt, the house still smells the same. In fact, we have a lovely china cabinet in our house that is from their Louisiana home that still has that distinct smell every time I open it. I love it.

Books. I honestly think my grandpa has read/owns every Louis Lamour western novel known to man. He says now he just re-reads them because he thinks he's covered all his bases. I think he's right.


Family heirlooms. My grandpa looooves family history and geneology. He is so knowledgeable about all our kin, and stories surrounding their lives. It is such fun to listen to him re-tell stories with such detail and accuracy. Many of his brothers and his father were decorated war veterans and grandpa has inherited much of the memorabilia.


Blue Bell IceCream. I am certain that if you are either from the South or have traveled to the South you will agree with me that Blue Bell IceCream is HANDS DOWN the BEST icecream on the earth. My grandparents fridge is always stocked with at least 3 different flavors. It is, unfortunately, probably a good thing we can't get it up here in the Northwest.


My sweet grandparents, me and brother.

Excuse the no makeup look. Doesn't everyone do that with family??

Wow.

Is it really November??!

I just looked at my last post in which I was amazed at how fast October was flying by, and now it has completely come and gone. Time is literally flying by.

I was successfully able to stretch out the birthday celebrating for almost an entire month...starting in Walla Walla with mom, dinner with my girls, dinner with Nicholas, dinner with in-laws, dinner with Auntie...clearly I like celebrating by eating delicious food.

And so far...30 has been awesome! I've even been okay entering in 3-0 as my age in the eliptical machine (for some reason for me, this is always when it seems the most real?). I am thankful for where I am today and I couldn't be happier about what the future holds.

Cheers to the next 30!