Meet The In-Laws

I met my future in-laws for the first time this weekend. Bryan's parents are visiting until Thursday, I believe. So far, they seem really nice and they seem to like me as well. Saturday, we went to Clearwater Beach and stayed until sunset. It was almost a repeat of the weekend before. We even went to dinner at Outback again. We were going to go to Bahama Breeze, but even at 9:00 there was a 2-hour wait!

Unfortunately, I received some bittersweet news this weekend. My best friends are moving away. Jon accepted a call to a church in Wisconsin. On the one hand, I am happy for them because it is a good opportunity. The church in only about an hour away from his family. And you really can't argue with God's will. But I will miss my friends. Becky and I have become very close over the past couple of years. And while it's not like I'm never going to see her again or that we won't keep in touch, but it just won't be the same. They'll be here for about another month before they move. An interesting thing about it, however, is that I had a dream about it the night before. I had expected it. From listening to them over the past couple weeks, I was pretty sure that they would be going. But it really didn't hit me until Jon announced it to the entire congregation. I always knew it was a possibility. It's the nature of being a pastor and pastor's wife. I just didn't think it would be so soon. Bryan & I have plans of moving back to the midwest, too, and I'll have to deal with leaving even more friends behind. But that won't be for about 2-3 years from now.

Checkup

I had my 16-week checkup today. It wasn't all that exciting. They did the standard urine test and checked my weight and blood pressure. I've gained 5 pounds since my last appointment. I've started showing a little bit. Other than that they checked the baby's heartbeat and drew some more blood to test for possible birth defects. I'm continuing to feel great. I have been feeling some cramps now and then, but my doctor assured me that they were completely normal. I haven't felt the baby move yet, but I expect to any time now (or maybe I have felt it but just didn't realize it).

It's Official

I'm engaged, officially! Bryan proposed over the weekend. And I didn't even expect it. I mean, I knew he would propose at some point, but I didn't know when or how. And I definitely wasn't expecting it would be this weekend. We drove out to Clearwater Beach late Saturday afternoon. When we left Orlando, the sky was pretty much overcast. The weather channel had said that it was supposed to be mostly sunny. I suggested that maybe we wait until Sunday since it was so cloudy and already so late. But he REALLY wanted to go so we drove out there anyways and while we were driving, the skies began to clear a bit. When we finally made it to the beach, there was a large cloud blocking the sun, but the horizon was still fairly clear. There were some cool rays poking through the clouds which was actually quite pretty. We laid out a blanket on the sand and cuddled to keep warm, well, to keep ME warm. As the sun finally made its way out of the big cloud, we sat up and he said to me, "I don't know if you knew this or not, but there was another reason why I wanted to come here." He reached into his pocket, pulled Grandma's ring (which I've held in safe keeping the past 4 years) and he asked me to marry him. Of course I said YES! Well, technically, I didn't say yes. I said ABSOLUTELY! When the sun finally dipped below the water, we left the beach and went to dinner at Outback.

I was so surprised and he was so sneaky. Apparently, last weekend, he had gone into my jewelry box and taken Grandma's ring out. I never even realized that it was missing. Although one day last week, I saw the chain that I had it hanging on spilling over the edge of my jewelry box and I thought that I might take a look at the ring, but I didn't. And it's a good thing, too. I'm sure that if I had noticed it missing off the chain, that Bryan had taken it (I knew that he was planning on giving it to me and I told him where I kept it), but it would have completely ruined the surpise. But he took it to a jeweler, had the engagement ring split from the wedding band, had it all polished up and appraised. The jeweler told him that even for as small as the diamond is, it's nearly flawless. I do need to get it resized as it is a little big.

We have not set a date yet, but it will probably be next spring. We had beeen debating whether or not the wedding should be before or after the baby is born, but we have decided that after would be best. With all the things we have to do to prepare for the baby, planning a wedding is not at the top of my list.

Baby Names

Here's what we've decided on so far:

BOY - Austin Eugene (neither of us are crazy about this middle name, but since every first born boy on his side of the family has the same middle name, including Bryan, we can't argue with tradition)

GIRL - Madison Marie

Disclaimer: Names are subject to change

It will be about another 5 or 6 weeks before we find out. I'm on the fence about finding out ahead of time. I don't really want to know, but patience isn't one of my strongest virtues and the suspense would probably drive me nuts. But Bryan really wants to know. So I willfully conceded and we're going to find out at my 20-week appointment (which I just realized is the halfway point in my pregnancy).

I just noticed that both of these names are also state capitol cities.

News

I'm sure most of you have heard by now, but I have some really exciting news to share. Bryan and I are going to be getting married (though we're not "officially" engaged as of yet)...and we're going to have a baby! I'm so happy that all my dreams are coming true. I've fallen in love, I'm getting married, and I'm going to have a family. I didn't think it would all happen at the same time, though. We haven't set a date yet. He hasn't officially proposed yet, but we know it's going to happen. But I'm due October 10. I just started my second trimester and I'm beginning to show a bit. I've been feeling great! I lucked out not to have any morning sickness. At my last appointment, we were able to hear the heartbeat for the first time. It was amazing! It was beating so fast (170 bpm). My next appointment is in 2 weeks, but it won't be anything really exciting. It's just a normal check up and they're going to run some routine tests. Everything's been going perfectly so far. Of course I'll keep you updated as we go.

Easter Pictures

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Sears Tower Souvenier

FLW Home & Studio

Field Museum

Waiting for the El

View from the plane

Easter In Chicago

This past weekend was quite a weekend. It started out really early Friday morning when we had to get up at 3am to make a 5:20am flight. We arrived at O'Hare airport around 9am and took the Blue Line into the city. We were able to check in early. After we dropped all our stuff off, we grabbed some lunch and then went to find a scarf for Bryan. Temperatures were in the low 30s and the wind didn't help either. We went to several stores but couldn't find a scarf anywhere. Everybody had all their spring and summer stuff out. My parent arrived while we were out shopping and they just happened to pack an extra scarf (along with my big heavy coat). With that, we headed back to the hotel and took a nap. Afterwords, we bundled up and trekked back outside to go to the Sears Tower. Bryan had never been to Chicago before (outside of the airport). That was the one thing he told me that he wanted to see. We picked the best day, too. Friday was fairly clear, but the rest of the weekend was mostly overcast. After the Sears Tower, we headed back to the hotel and finally met up with everyone to go to dinner. It was so nice to see everybody. Seth has gotten so big. My parents were ecstatic to finally meet Bryan. We've known each other for nearly 4 years and they have never met.

On Saturday, Bryan & I walked up and down Michigan Avenue, the Magnificant Mile. We walked all the way to the Water Tower and back. We ate lunch at the original Pizzaria Uno. Later in the afternoon, we all went out to Oak Park. Bryan & I went to see Frank Lloyd Wright's Home & Studio while everyone else went to see Amy & Adam King (Sam's friends from college). When we got to the house, though, we were too late for the last tour. We browsed the gift shop a bit (to get warm) before walking all the way back to town. When we got into town, we stopped in my favorite paper supply store. It was like being a kid in a candy store for me. I didn't buy anything, but I browsed for a lot of ideas and even signed up for their mailing list. Afterwards, we met back up with everyone and hopped back on the Green Line back to the city. We rested for a little bit before heading over to Mike & Sonia's place for dinner and to dye eggs.

Easter morning, we all met at the hotel's restaurant for their breakfast buffet before heading to church. After church we spend the rest of the day at Mike & Sonia's. We had a delicious Easter dinner. Bryan ended up cutting his finger while peeling potatoes during preparations.

For our last day, Bryan & I went to the Field Museum. We actually walked all the way there. After the museum, we started looking for a place to eat dinner. We happened upon this place called Miller's Pub (at Adams & Wabash). It was really good. I had stuffed cabbage (minus the cabbage), mixed veggies and mashed potatoes. Bryan had ribs. We shared a delicious apple pie for dessert. After dinner, we had to rush a bit back to the hotel and onto the Blue Line to the airport. We made it to the gate just as they were boarding. We ended up having a whole row to ourselves, so it was nice to be able to spread out a bit. We arrived at MCO shortly after midnight. It was such a nice getaway. I had been missing my family. I'm so glad that Bryan was able to come and meet them, finally. In 3 weeks, I get to meet his parents.

I'm sorry I don't have any pictures. I haven't had a chance to download them yet. I'll post them soon.

Not Much To Report

Well, there's not much to report from this weekend because I didn't really do much of anything. Friday we had a Mardi Gras party at work. Yes, I know the real Mardi Gras was over a month ago. I guess they just needed some sort of reason to party. It was kind of fun, except the weather wasn't too cooperative. It was kind of cool and drizzly rain. The only other big news from the weekend is that my best friend Jen had her baby on Saturday afternoon. It's a boy, Jett Brandon Harris - 6lb 4oz, 19 in long. It's a short week this week. We leave REALLY early Friday morning for Chicago and a long 4-day weekend. I should have more to report then.