All that waiting paid off {my baby shower}

A celebration I had thought several times I would never experience. This is a dream come true. For years I struggled and wondered if I would ever get to attend my very own baby shower. When the time finally arrived, the scare of preterm labor threw a wrench in to things. Thankfully, the show went on! Modified bed rest or not! It was supposed to be a surprise, but due to the fact that we weren't even sure I'd make it to my shower I sort of had to know when it was. I was still unaware of all the details, the location, etc so my mom was able to keep most things a secret. It was so much to take in!

My parents gave us a glider for the nursery, so I was able to use it at the shower to stay relaxed and resting during the festivities. Must follow doctors orders! There was lots of family and friends gathered. Lots of delicious food. Lots of gifts - all things baby. Lots of cute onesies and clothes. Lots of children's books. Lots of love. I am so blessed. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking, but let me tell you, the shower was the most beautiful baby shower I have ever been to. Okay, so maybe I'm being just a tad partial. But, I'll let you be the judge of that as you scroll down. {sorry in advance...I had a hard time narrowing down which pictures to share!}

Pictures courtesy of my Aunt Cindi and sister-in-law, Laurie. Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wanted to personally thank my mom, my Aunt Cindi, my sisters Mandy, Erin, and Laurie, and dear friends Michelle and Bekah. Wow, I am so humbled by how much time, energy and thoughtfulness you all contributed into making this shower so special to me. Words cannot accurately describe how much it meant to me, and how much you all mean to Steve, Sydney and I. Your love and kindness did not go unnoticed and I appreciate you all each so much. Love you!

Holly xoxo

Where I host my first ugly Christmas sweater party

Our young married couples group at church had our first {annual?} ugly sweater Christmas party. And being the proud new home owner that I am was chomping at the bit to play hostess. Due to the fact that winter decided to show up early in full force we had to cancel. Miraculously, almost everyone could still make it when we rescheduled a week later.

Now not everyone chose to participate, but most did and it was entertaining to see what ugly sweaters walked through my front door.

I'm proud to say I won ugliest sweater for the girls. I also won the Christmas movie trivia game...what can I say? Who likes loves Christmas movies and has two thumbs? This girl.

Jake won categories for ugliest turtle neck and most photogenic pup. In my book he also wins cutest dog award, but as his mom I may be partial. Also, check out my red lipstick! An ugly Christmas sweater party was the perfect opportunity to test the lipstick wearing waters. What do you think? Initially I felt absolutely ridiculous, but it grew on me.

Mom and I rocking our vests. Steve rocking his buck sweater... mullet not included.

Ugliest sweater winner for the guys goes to Justin...because it's really a women's sweater and it has shoulder pads.

Most creative sweater goes to Ben! It wasn't a category to vote for, but I say it's creative. It's still up for debate who exactly the character represents on his sweater...is it Moses? Joseph? Jake didn't care who it was supposed to be, he saw it as a toy and a tug of war match ensued between he and Ben's sweater.

Two other couples opted out of the contest, as well as my dad. Party poopers. Just kidding! I meant to take more pictures...you know how that goes. Must have been too busy playing hostess. My parents are the leaders of our young married couples group, just in case your were wondering why they were there, being that they're not in fact a 'young' married couple. ;)

I couldn't be more proud to be friends with such great couples. They are some of the kindest and most fun people I know. I'm thankful for my church family. I'm blessed to belong to such an accepting and caring body of believers.

"Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function,  so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other." Romans 12:4-5

 

Nine days until Christmas! I'm sorry, I just can't help myself. I'll be counting down on le blog from now until Christmas. It came so fast this year. Am I right?

 

Dream Home Becomes a Reality!

We did it! It's been five days and I can't get this silly grin off my face. Yes, this is how happy I am about said dream home turned into my home. Eek! It has been a whirlwind of a week, but boy oh boy, did we accomplish a lot!

First, I just wanted to take a moment to say how truly grateful we are to all of our friends and family that helped out during the big move. You guys rock! Seriously, though. Our new neighbors were very impressed with how many were here to support us. Nosy neighbors, I tell ya what. ;) No, but really. You are also the reason I am sitting here with a glass of wine, reclined on the couch and typing away. You see, there's really nothing major and/or urgent left for me to do {as far as unpacking is concerned}. So, thank you!

It was very odd saying good bye to our first house. After everything was moved out and cleaned up, Steve and I stood in our empty house with feelings of both relief and nostalgia. It didn't take long for me to make a beeline for the door in an attempt to stop the tears from flowing. I needed to get out of there, pronto! It was just too emotional.

So, in memory of and for your viewing pleasure...

^^^good bye first house. you've been good to us.

I will say that once settlement was over and the movers were gone, it has been nothing but smiles ever since! I keep asking myself, "is this really our house?" Or I'll tell Steve, "I can't believe we're here!" followed by "I love our house!" Needless to say there are no regrets. We have already met and spent time with several of our neighbors, and let me tell you, we seem to have won the neighbor jack pot if you will! More on that later. :)

Without further ado, here are some snapshots I took with my trusty side kick, the iphone.

^^^"why yes, i will indeed relax here, thank you very much." -me talking to my deck chairs

^^^preccciousss

^^^new house calls for new bedding, I say! from target, of course.

^^^enjoying the sunset from the deck. *happy sigh

^^^view of patio from the deck. hello future party space.

^^^view of the back yard from the deck. that's pinot grigio fyi.

And there's much much more where that came from. Stay tuned!