Without You

So I know I told you a couple of weeks ago how truly amazing my husband is, but every time I listen to this song it makes me remember how thankful I am for him. Obviously the singing part doesn't apply to me so much (although we all know I'm a fabulous singer) but everything that I do would be nothing without him. Jessica and I have been traveling so much for work lately and there seems to be something we have to do every night after work and I just feel like I am never home.

We drove to Shreveport and back yesterday for a fabulous photo shoot with Stephanie Davis, who is quite possibly the most talented photographer I've ever met. I didn't get home until close to midnight and I haven't slept well in probably a week now. So when I got up for work this morning, I wasn't in the best mood. I am just so tired! I started getting really upset because I couldn't find anything to wear. To this point I have still been wearing my normal clothes, but they are starting to get a little tight. I am really trying to wait until the season changes to have to buy too many new things, but I end up with a pile of clothes on the bed every morning because I try on everything in my closet. Well, I was feeling particularly sorry for myself this morning so I texted Clayton and said that I was really bummed and couldn't find a single thing to wear. He reminded me that it is a GOOD thing to be growing and gaining weight...which I know. I told him that it's just so hard when you own a boutique to get up and get dressed for work when you don't feel cute. He texted me back and said "Well, you look pretty every day to me babe!!!" He puts up with my pity parties for myself without a second thought and always knows how to make me feel better.

Obviously our little world is growing and changing and will be SO much bigger in December and knowing that Clayton is so excited makes me that much happier! I absolutely couldn't do it without him and can't imagine my life any other way. Of course Jesus is #1 in my life, but all of the "things" in my life come second to my precious husband and none of it would be worth it if I didn't have him to share it with.

You is Kind, You is Smart, You is Important.

I went to see The Help with my family on Monday while Clayton was out of town. If you haven't seen it-go! Oh my goodness, it was absolutely amazing. I will say, it is so much better (in my opinion) if you have read the book first because the movie leaves out all sorts of details. If you've read the book, you can plug those details in as the movie goes.

I read the book before I got pregnant (or at least before I knew I was pregnant) and one of my favorite parts of the whole book was Aibileen tells Mae Mobley over and over again, "You is kind, you is smart, you is important" because her mother doesn't pay her a bit of attention, and if she does it's to scold her. Mae Mobley stole my heart in the book. Well, the little girl that played her in the movie definitely stole my heart as well!

The very first line of the movie is Aibileen telling Mae Mobley, "You is kind, you is smart, you is important."I immediately starting sobbing! This meant so much more to me now with a baby on the way. I don't ever want to lose sight of what's important when we are raising Knox. There are so many things that I already think about-where he will go to school, what sports he will play, what we will do to prepare him for Kindergarten, etc, etc, etc. I don't ever want to forget to slow down and tell him all of the good things that he is and how much he means to me. I know those are the things that get overlooked when raising kids.

I also don't want to ever forget to just let him be little. I think so often in this day and age we expect children to grow up way too fast. While I know I won't be one of those parents who talks baby talk to my kids and coddles them until they're 18, I don't want to forget to just let them be kids. I'm sure this will be no problem since Clayton and I are both just big kids at heart, but I just don't ever want to be that parent that expects her two year old to act like a 5 year old. I want to be able to look back and remember when Knox was in his "terrible twos" and be able to separate that from when he starts Kindergarten.

I keep typing other things and then deleting them because they give away parts of the movie, and I don't want to do that for those who haven't seen it! SO-go see the movie! But read the book first. (:

**After re-reading this post, it's a little scattered, but I'm sure you get the point. My ADD has taken control of my brain in the past few weeks and I can't seem to focus on anything for longer than about 2 seconds!

23 weeks!

I looked at the countdown on the pregnancy app that I read and it said that I only had 17 weeks left and I just about flipped! How have I gotten to less weeks left than I have completed?! All those people who said my pregnancy would drag on and on are crazy. Time is absolutely flying! I have so much to do before he gets here (like, everything) and my life is only getting crazier.

Our little boy is the size of an ear of corn this week. I can't believe how much he is growing in there. He started out as a poppyseed and it seems like that was just a few short weeks ago. He is a very active boy at this point. He moves around alll the time and I love it! But I sure hope that's not a sign of what's to come once he gets here! Just in the past few days I have been able to SEE him moving. Now THAT is a weird sight...but probably one of the most amazing things I have ever seen/felt. I so badly want Clayton to be able to feel him moving, but every time I call him over, Knox stops moving. Stubborn much?

We went to Nacogdoches Sunday for my cousin's baptism. I am so incredibly proud of him for making the decision to commit his life to Jesus and to share that with his church family and with us! I love to see Jesus through the eyes of children. I wish that's how we all still saw things...with such innocence and abandon. I can't wait for Knox to get to the age where he can start making decisions like that on his own. It has to be one of the most precious moments to see your own child surrender to Jesus! Ahh I can't wait!

The whole time we were in church Knox was like a wild man in there. He was kicking my bladder and punching my ribs. He was waaay over on my right side, which was a first and a very strange feeling.

I am really ready for summer to be over with. I'm running out of clothes that fit, but I really don't want to buy new ones since the seasons are about to change. I'm ready for fall....sweaters, leggings and boots! My favorite. And I'm quite ready for my feet to quit swelling! My face too. It started to swell a little yesterday afternoon. I guess I'm just not getting enough water for how hot it is.

My appetite is steadily growing. We went to Tokyo (hibachi) the other night and Clayton and I typically pay for the "share charge"-you each get your own soup, salad, rice and veggies, and then share the one portion of meat. It's always been more than enough for both of us. I never finish my plate, so there's always lots leftover for him to eat. Well, not Friday! I finished my ENTIRE plate of food. This might be the first time I have ever finished an entire dinner. We went to Cheddar's Saturday night with my family and I definitely finished my entire chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and broccoli cheese casserole. eek! I am so going to be a whale. But it's for the baby, right?! (: I don't really have any cravings, although my sweet tooth is back in full force. I do want sweet tarts pretty often...that's the only thing though.

I am still feeling great and feel so fortunate to be having such an easy pregnancy. I hope it continues as long as possible! I guess that's about it, so here's my 23 week picture! I actually got Clayton to take it this time...and after 5 or 6 failed attempts, I decided it's way easier to take them myself. But he did finally get this one that will do!

Swelling

So I was looking back at our pictures from Mexico a couple of days ago and all I could think was "Oh my gosh, everyone keeps telling me how great I look and they are all lying to me! My face is huge!" But I also knew that the girl in those pictures is not the one I see when I look in the mirror. At first I thought, "Okay, s so maybe I have a warped view of myself?!"But never have I thought I looked better than I actually do. Soooo being vain as I am, I took a picture of my face to compare the two. I am very happy (?) to report that I was so insanely swollen in those pictures from Mexico! Oh my goodness! I knew I wasn't drinking enough water while we were there, but I didn't realize how much I really needed it. Here is a picture from Thursday night as proof...

I also discovered yesterday morning (when I was trying on every single pair of my cute shoes) that my feet are swollen. So for now, I'm sticking to flip flops. I'm ready for this horrible heat to disappear! I guess that's all for today. And yes, I do realize this was an incredibly vain, self-absorbed post. But it made me feel better. (:

22 Weeks

Today was my 22 week doctors appointment and there isn't really anything new and exciting to share! I had to wait in the waiting room for two and a half hours, and was in the room for about 5 minutes. My doctor told me that today had definitely been one for the books, and she had sent 6 people to the hospital!

Knox is now the size of a papaya. Not nearly as exciting as the spaghetti squash that he was last week. I really got a kick out of that one! He is moving around like crazy and it has to be the most amazing feeling in the entire world. I just smile everytime I feel him move. I can't wait for Clayton to be able to feel it too.

I found out today that I have gained a total of 9.5 pounds, which I'm sure is mostly due to New York and Mexico! I think I ate my weight in all sorts of delicious (there it is again) foods on both of those trips! But it's okay...I'm eating for two, right? After looking at pictures from Mexico, I think it's all gone to my face! Goodness, it's getting round.

I guess that's about it, so I'll leave you with my 22 week picture...

My Best Friends Wedding

Thursday morning we left bright and early for Cozumel. The trip was super easy and we made it to the resort by lunch time. We got all checked in, changed into our swimsuits, and headed down for lunch and the beach! Clayton of course hit the bar, and this is how I found him by the pool after a few hours...

When we got there, Macy's parents told me she had been sick, so I stopped by to check on her. They think she had eaten something bad the day before and she was just miserable. It broke my heart for her to be feeling so terrible during HER wedding weekend! They ended up deciding to take her to the hospital that night for dehydration, and she was a million times better by Friday morning!

Friday night was the "Welcome Dinner" at Guido's, an Italian restaurant in town. They are known for their lasagna, and it did not disappoint! It was delicious!

After dinner, we all headed to the town square for some live music and dancing. The culture in Cozumel is really neat and a lot of the locals were there to enjoy the music!

Saturday morning we just laid by the pool again and then we went out on a boat for everyone (except Mom and I) to go parasailing. I had always want to do it, but I was so insanely jealous while everyone else was getting to do it and I had to just sit in the boat! The pictures are on Jessica's camera, so I'll share those later. (: After that, Macy and her other 2 bridesmaids (her sister and cousin) started getting ready for the big night. We had all afternoon, and it was nice to be able to take our time and just hangout while we were getting ready. We took pictures and then headed to Casa Mission for the wedding. I wish there had been time while it was still light for me to take a few pictures of this place. It was one of the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen!

The wedding was perfect and Macy was an absolutely stunning bride! As soon as the ceremony was over, we went into the restaurant for dinner. I had seafood, and it was delicious!

After dinner, Macy and Clint cut the cake before we headed out to dance!

The cake was delicious (I think I use that word too much. Fat Girl.) and when we were done with that, we went back outside for the "dance" part of the reception! Knox and I had a great time showing off our awesome white girl moves, and Katherine even taught me the "baby dance" (get your mind out of the gutter!!).

Sunday morning we went into town for breakfast, went back and packed up our stuff, and headed home! The trip was a lot of fun but I am, once again, so happy to be home! Now if life will just slow down a little bit, everything will be great!

My Amazing Husband...

I wake up every single day and thank God for the wonderful man that I get to call my husband. I think I must be the luckiest girl in the world. Today was no different except that I couldn't seem to stop recounting all of the things he does for me on a daily basis.

Yesterday was a long, hectic day and I ended up working ALLLL day (I know, most people work alllll day). I was just completely worn out when I got home. I started dinner, and then took some food into town for some friends. When I got back, dinner was completely ready and all I had to do was sit down and eat! After dinner we just laid on the couch and watched Bachelor Pad (guilty pleasure). He rarely ever complains about the trashy shows that I like to watch, and even gets into them sometimes. He'd kill me for saying that. Good thing he never reads this! Anyway, we just relaxed and he even rubbed my aching feet for me (which I would never do for him because feet are totally and completely disgusting).

I am constantly amazed and how easy our marriage is. My very favorite thing is to just curl up on the couch with him and watch a movie. I love the time we get to spend together, and hate being away from him. I am so incredibly blessed to have this wonderful man by my side for the rest of my life! Sometimes I have to pinch myself and make sure it's even real. God sent him to me exactly when I needed him and it's been wonderful ever since!

I can't wait for Knox to get here and for Clayton to truly get to be a dad. Some nights he will kiss my belly before he goes to sleep and tell Knox goodnight and I tear up every time. It is the sweetest thing. He is going to be such a great dad. It's so obvious that this little boy already holds his heart and I am so excited to watch Clayton raise him in God's image.

Anyway...I just wanted to brag a little bit on my fantastic hubby! We are off to Mexico tomorrow for Macy's wedding, so I will post pictures when we get back!

New York Part Two

Well, it's Saturday night and I am home all by myself! So what better to do than update my blog? I'm so lame. Tori got home from Uganda yesterday, so last night we went to my parents for dinner and tonight we went back over there to hangout with everyone that wanted to stop by and see her. At about 8:30 I decided I was ready to come home. So Clayton stayed and hungout for a little bit, and then went to see some of his friends. He's semi-housesitting for his parents this week while they are in Wyoming, so I have the whole house to myself for the rest of the night (and yes, all I can come up with to do is this). Anyway...back to New York!

Here are a few more pictures from the first couple of days that I found on Jessica's camera.

 This was us waiting in Newark for the train into the city.

As soon as we checked into the hotel, we found an amazing pizza place right around the corner and had lunch there.

 Jess and I ditched everyone else after the bar and did a little shopping!

Okay, now that you're all caught up, on to Thursday night. After ground zero we rested in the hotel for a little while and then headed down to Times Square to get tickets to see a show. Bruce had advised us to go around 6pm and there would be hardly any line. He was so right! We waited about 5 minutes and got tickets to see Billy Elliott! Mom and Cathy had seats downstairs in the orchestra, and Jess and I sat upstairs. There were definitely no bad seats. The show was phenomenal and was definitely a good choice!

After the show, we stuck around Times Square just long enough to get a few pictures. It was way too crowded!

When we got back to Koreatown, we decided to try a restaurant that had been recommended to us. It said on the sign "chicken like you've never had" or something along those lines. Okay, we all know I don't like chicken, but I thought surely they had things other than chicken. Wrong! It was the Korean version of fried chicken and apparently everyone else thought it was amazing. I, on the other hand, had a delicious broccoli salad and brown rice!

Friday we attempted to go thrift store shopping. Jessica found a blog of a girl who really liked thrifting and had set up a whole map of the different areas she liked to go. To start the day off right, we got on the subway going to wrong direction, and got off in a semi-shady area of town, and then couldn't get turned around. This might have also been the morning that mom managed to lock herself out of the subway gate by scanning her card and then not making it all the way through. It was very dramatic to say the least. We finally got to the area we were trying to get to and followed the directions exactly to the first thrift shop. Well, it wasn't there. Neither were the second, third or fourth. So that was a bust. We got back on the subway and headed toward one that we knew still existed. Well, we ended up in the wrong area again. We did find some neat little shops in that area and had a wonderful lunch...so it all turned out okay! We did finally make it to one store that was actually on the list, so that was great! It ended up being a fun day regardless.

Friday night we ate dinner at an ethnic seafood restaurant, which was another of Bruce's recommendations. It was amazing! We had prawns and asparagus and lobster with minced pork. And Jessica finally learned how to use chopsticks! 

(I guess we didn't take any pictures on Friday!)

Saturday morning Mom and Cathy left for the bike ride to tour the city. They absolutely loved it and got to see so many neat things. Jessica and I slept in and then headed out to look for fabric for Knox's nursery. We didn't find what I was looking for, but we had a lot of fun! We went to Mood first, so that was fun!

Saturday night we ate at yet another restaurant suggested by Bruce, Cara Mia. We walked from our hotel and stopped in Bryant Park on the way.

 Cara Mia might have been the best Italian food I've ever had! We had fried calamari, veal and regular ol' spaghetti bolognese! It was all absolutely delicious and I thought they were going to have to roll me out of there.

When we left dinner, Jessica decided she wanted to take a pedicab home. She had been absolutely dying to take one somewhere. Sooo we walked to Times Square and flagged down 2 of them and had them take us back to the hotel. We loved every second of it...until we got back to the hotel and it was $60! Jess decided it was worth it though. (:

Sunday morning we got up and went to church where a missionary from India that we knew was speaking. It was such a God thing. Mom was looking for a church for us to go to, and got an email from this missionary saying that they would be at a church in Manhattan that Sunday! So we went to Morning Star New York. The worship was amazing and it was so neat to see people who love the Lord so much right in the middle of a city like New York.

We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant around the corner from the church and headed back to the hotel. I can't really remember what we did Sunday during the day, so I guess it wasn't too terribly exciting! Sunday night we met Bruce at the Marriott in Times Square. He told us the view from the bar would give a different perspective on Times Square. He was right! We were eight floors up just looking down on it all. It was very cool!

Jess and I managed to sneak over to the flagship Forever 21 around the corner and do a little shopping before we headed back.

Cathy left bright and early Saturday morning, and it was sadly time for us to get to work! We went to market and worked our butts off all day Monday. We found lots of great things and can't wait for them to start coming in! Monday night was The Bachelorette finale, so we got takeout and just relaxed in the hotel. We were pretty worn out, so it was nice to just sit for a little while!

Tuesday we went to the High Line Park, which probably deserves its own post, so I will work on that one tomorrow!

I'm sure there are plenty of things that I left out of our trip...but those were the highlights! It was a great week!

New York Part One and Halfway There!

We had such a fun trip to New York this past week! It was nice to have some girl time and get away for a few days. Seven days was probably a few too many for this pregnant lady, but it was a great trip. Here are some of the highlights...

Getting to our flight was absolutely miserable. Jessica and I didn't check bags, so we were able to just check in at the kiosk and go right on to security. Mom and Cathy checked bags, so they had to wait in an absolutely ridiculous line for that, and then by the time they got to security the line there was insanely long! Jessica and I had been at the gate for at least an hour by the time they were halfway through the security line. We also found out that out flight had been overbooked and they were offering travel vouchers for anyone who would take a later flight. We decided against that since we weren't with mom and Cathy. Well, we sat and waited at the gate...and waited and waited....and started to get nervous that they were going to miss the flight. I overheard a flight attendant talking about the flight they had added since ours was overbooked and that it only left 10 minutes later and had 18 people on it. I immediately went to talk to her and she was so nice and switched all of our flights to that one. Mom and Cathy came running onto the plane right before they shut the door and we got to be on a basically empty flight! So it all worked out!

We landed in Newark and had to take the train into NYC. It was a fun experience and we all enjoyed it! Jessica was excited because we got to ride on a "real train." Such country girls! We got all checked into our hotel, which was right in the middle of Koreatown. On the walk there we passed so many Korean restaurants and I wanted to stop and try them all!

That evening we met up with my mom's cousin, Bruce, who took us to a bar right across the street from the hotel. It was called the Me Bar. It is all enclosed with glass, and you have an amazing view of the empire state building. It was fun to see Bruce and hear his advice on things we should do in the city.

The next morning we got up and took the subway (ahhh) to Ground Zero. None of us had been to see it. Even almost 10 years later it is still so devastating to see. It is amazing to see what they have done. Mom asked a guy working out there what the best way to see everything would be since it was all fenced in. He sent us up into the World Financial Building and told us to go along the 2nd floor and you could see it all. So we did just that! It was overwhelming and definitely something I am glad we got to see.

After we had seen everything, we went out into the little park (for lack of a better word) area on the Hudson River side of the building. It was so calm and peaceful. We had lunch and looked out over the water and could see the Statue of Liberty, so that was neat!

The pictures from the next few days are on Jessica's camera, so I will leave the New York post at that for now and do the next few days tomorrow!

In other news, I made it to 20 weeks last week! That means we are halfway to meeting our little man! I have had such a great pregnancy and it has really flown by. I can't believe it's been 5 months! December is going to be here before we know it. Here is my 20 week picture of my finally pregnant looking belly!

I never thought I could love gaining weight so very much. It is such an amazing feeling. I am really able to feel him moving around now and I think he has a dance party every night around bedtime. I find myself just standing still with my hands on my stomach and thanking God so much for this blessing. I am so thankful for our little boy. I am also VERY thankful for an amazing husband. He is going to be a fantastic dad and I can't wait for this chapter in our lives!

Just a Little Vent...

It is SO true that people have no filter when it come to pregnant women. For the most part it makes me laugh. This morning, it made me really sad (I know, poor pitiful me!). Yesterday I did a little "facebook cleaning." I've been wanting to do it for awhile, but have just never taken the time. I had so many people on my friends list that I just went to high school with and didn't really know, had a class with in college but didn't really know, and some I just flat out didn't know! I figured that I don't really have much interest in what was going on in their lives, so they probably didn't have much interest in mine. Wrong! Apparently getting pregnant with less than a year of marriage under your belt makes for some juicy facebook stalking!

I had a message waiting for me this morning from someone I went to college with (we were sort of friends, but not really) that basically asked if I had deleted her because I was worried what people would think about me being pregnant (she of course thought it was great...right). Uhhh no! I deleted you because you're obviously nosey! (:

Anyway, to set the record straight...Whether we were trying to get pregnant or not is beside the point. We are MARRIED for goodness sake. What if we HAD been trying to get pregnant?

We are so incredibly thrilled that God has given us, His undeserving children, the amazing opportunity to raise Knox in His image. We cannot wait to be parents and our timing doesn't really matter. God's timing is absolutely perfect and I know that He thought we needed Knox right now for a reason. Never once have we thought "why us?" I have actually had quite a few comments from people about getting pregnant so soon, so I hope this clears things up for everyone. God has a perfect plan for us and Knox is a huge part of it. It makes me sad that people get so hung up on the details and don't see the bigger picture. We can't wait for our sweet baby boy to be here in December!

Okay, that's enough of my rant. Now I'll post something fun...like pictures from New York!