Memorial Weekend Beach Trip 2011

The wonderful crew that we went to the beach with Memorial Weekend! This is the only picture taken all weekend with the whole gang. I can't believe every one of the kids was looking at the camera! That never happens! :)

Mattilee bumped her head the first night in the condo and had this pretty bruise for all our beach pics.

This is how Mattilee "gives kisses." Its so sweet! She was obviously wanting to give me a kiss while I was taking her picture.

Such a happy girl!!!

All of the kids with the wonderful daddies.

At AJ's for dinner. The "big kids" had a table right beside us.

Sweet Girl:)

All of our precious sweethearts!

Family portrait. We don't do enough of these.

Mattilee having fun with Daddy in the pool.

Another family pic. I think it's been Christmas since we've gotten a picture with all three of us. I've got to do better about that.

My precious beach babe.

This year we got to spend the long Memorial weekend at the beach with some of our sweetest, closest friends. It was kind of a last minute decision to go which led to our last minute reservations, but it ended up being the best trip! We stayed in a condo with three other families with a total of eight adults and seven kids. The kids were all precious the entire weekend!! I couldn't believe how well behaved they all were and how well they all got along. Our little diva, Mattilee who likes complete quiet and darkness when she sleeps, had a little trouble sleeping in the condo with fourteen other people but we were eventually able to get her to settle down every night. Even though she was running on a lot less sleep than she usually gets, she was in the best mood the entire time and had so much fun. I think she just loves being around the other kids and of course, she loves the water! We spent each day at the pool or on the beach and stayed until it was time for lunch. We'd all go up for lunch, and naps for the little kids, and then head back out for more fun in the sun. The first night we all went out to eat at AJ's and it was delicious! Then we went to Dippin Dots and to this place called The Track with go carts, a train, a carousel, etc. The second day we decided not to go out to eat so that the kids could have more time to play in the pool without having to go in early to get ready. So, our wonderful husbands did a shrimp boil with corn and potatoes and it was the perfect meal! Every night when the kids were asleep the wives just hung out and talked (and made one late night Krispy Kreme run) while the guys played poker. It was such a great trip; Matt and I really enjoyed getting to spend so much time with such great friends and their sweet kiddos. These families are such a blessing to us and add so much to our lives. We hope we can all go again!!

Growing Hope Family

We're expecting another baby around Dec. 8!! We are so excited that the Lord is blessing us with another little angel. For a couple of weeks I had been having a few symptoms that made me question whether I was pregnant. I took a pregnancy test on Tuesday, April 12 while Matt was at work. I spent the first few hours with a combination of emotions: excitement, thankfulness, surprise, etc. I shared many hugs and conversations with the big sister-to-be since she was the only one here to share the news with. Then I got to work on making Mattilee a big sister shirt. I didn't tell Matt the big news even though I talked to him a couple of times on the phone that day. It killed me, but I wanted to wait until he got home from work and have Matti dressed in her big sister shirt. I had the video camera rolling when he got home but he thought I was just videoing Mattilee's excitement when he comes home from work so he didn't pay much attention to it. It took him a while to notice her shirt, and I actually had to say "look at what she's wearing" before he realized it. His response is priceless and I'll always cherish that video.

We had our first Dr. appointment on April 25 at about 6 weeks pregnant. We got to have an ultrasound to see the little peanut and see that sweet heart beating. It's an indescribable feeling to see that precious growing baby up on the screen.

At about 10 weeks we went back to the doctor and got to hear the heartbeat. I had forgotten what a sweet sound it is! The heartbeat was 161-163. The whole pregnancy process is such a miracle. It's so hard for me to see how someone can go through pregnancy and the birth of a baby and not believe we have a perfect, loving, creative God orchestrating everything.

We go back to the doctor in two weeks for our 14 week checkup and then at 18 weeks we'll have our ultrasound to find out the sex! Please join us in praying for this new precious baby we will get to meet in early Dec.!