surprise, surprise!!!

Garrett and I are going to be a mommy and daddy!!  Yep, you read that right and we couldn't be more excited!  This little family of 4 (plus the horses and chickens) is now becoming 5!!! :)

Some of you already know, but many more of you do not.  I've been wanting to keep it hush hush until I at least got to the doctor to get a due date and make sure everything is okay.  We first found out on the 5th of August.  I had to go out of town for business that Sunday and then the following week we were both out of town for vacation.  So, Garrett and I decided to get both families over that Saturday and give them the good news because he and I both knew that we (I especially) wouldn't be able to keep it from our families for that long.

Currently I am approximately 10 weeks along and feeling pretty good!  I've had slight morning sickness, but nothing terrible and the Dr. says that this is the worst it'll get, which is GREAT!  I have found that saltines, pretzels, and french fries are the best on the tummy (for me anyways, haha).  The biggest things that I've noticed early on are my sore boobs and constant hunger.  At first didn't think much of it, but now it kind of makes sense :)  Right now I can expect a due date of March 25th through April 5th.  I go back next Wednesday for an ultrasound and will know more exact then :)

I saw a picture posted on a friend of mine's page that said "Faith in God Includes Faith in His Timing."  This is so very true.  Garrett and I have have been married 9 months now (come September 1st).  We have talked about kids and want kids; we weren't really trying, but also not taking precautions.  We both knew that when God wanted us to have kids we would have kids.  Well... I guess the time is now!

Anyways, here's how that August 5th weekend went...
That Friday evening we were supposed to go out for a friend's 21st birthday and then out the next day for another friend's graduation party.  Before all this though, my cousin and his family were also coming over to bring Maggie to live with us.  Since they were already coming over, my mom and sister wanted to go ahead and stop by that evening also to see everyone and to bring their new puppy, Milo, to meet Cambrie and Maggie.  I'm not a heavy drinker by any means, but do enjoy a glass of wine here and there or a nice frozen drink, which my mom and I like to enjoy at the house together (Garrett's treat).  So, with mom coming over and me being a little late, I figured I better check just in case (if positive, of course I want to tell my mom and if negative, I'm going to have our nice frozen treat).  Well I tested and sure enough, it was a pretty clear positive "+".

My mama of course was the first to know!  We were on cloud nine all evening and it was wonderful to share that moment not only with Garrett, but also with my mama.  Garrett of course wanted to tell someone too, but preferring to tell his mom in person, he decided to call his dad!  He was ecstatic!  We then went ahead and invited both families over for the next evening (bearing in mind that only my mom and his dad know right now, we were so anxious to tell the others!  Imagine keeping this from my daddy and his mom though, even if only for an evening... it was not easy!).

So, just to be sure I checked again that next morning and sure enough two solid pink lines!  Everyone arrived at our house that evening thinking it was just another normal get together for all of us until we shared the wonderful news.  All of them were so happy and we had such a wonderful evening with each other.  The whole evening almost reminded me of our engagement when we were all together and celebrating another wonderful event in our lives.

So, now you know the news that I've been so very anxious to share with you all!!  Thank you for those that have already been praying for us and keeping us in your thoughts through this new journey that we are embarking on.  Also thank you for keeping this a secret until now.  You all are the best and Garrett and I are blessed to have all of you in our lives.  I cannot wait to see how God blesses us through this journey and new stage of our lives together.  Yes, we are already thinking names and have a few in mind... so exciting!!!

P.S. I also cannot wait to see my handsome husband as a daddy... I already know he'll be GREAT!  Here he is with my cousin's baby boy Logan (disregard the gator onzie, hehe).

boone, nc

Well, it's been a long while since I have last blogged (very sorry!), but to be honest, I just did not have any time unfortunately.  Luckily, now I do!  Two weeks ago I was in New Bern, NC for work and made it back home Friday to just pack and then turn around and leave for vacation bright and early Saturday.  Garrett and I, along with my family (mama, daddy, amanda-kay, grandma, and papa) all went to Boone, NC for a week.  It was an absolutely beautiful week to be there... weather was great and company was even better!  We rented out a 4 bedroom cabin and spent the week hiking, winery visiting, rock climbing, cavern seeing, etc.  We also went out for daddy's birthday while there.  All in all, it was one wonderful week!!  I don't know if I could pick a favorite part even if I had to.  It was all amazing and so relaxing!  Here are some pictures (sorry for the overload... that's what happens when you don't blog for a few weeks).  More pictures can be seen on my facebook.  Enjoy and God Bless!!

Grandfather Moutain; It was SOOO windy that day!

and like I said... windy; can you tell?? :)

Split Rock

My cute mama and daddy

the falls at Chimney Rock

Linville Caverns

taking a break to climb a tree while hiking to Linville Falls

Overlooking the river that flows from the falls

Grandfather Mountain Vineyard

Amanda-Kay rock-climbing

Me rock-climbing

Garrett rock-climbing

Finally, this little guy, Milo, sure did keep us busy, but also tuckered himself out

busy/great weekend

Well, I'm currently in New Bern, NC for work.  We are working at Cherry Point on the marine base.  So far everything is going great and running smoothly.  I've got to say it's really been pleasant being here.  Also, It's been so great to talk to Garrett every day and to also talk to my mama, Favorite, Stephanie, Allison, and Papa.  I am definitely blessed to have such great (and supportive) friends and family in my life.  It was tough leaving this weekend because it was such a wonderful weekend, but having all the contact I've had this week has made the week even better.

This Friday we received our new sectional, Mama, Amanda (with her little Milo), Sarah, Erik (and their little ones Logan and Ava) came over, and Maggie moved in.  Saturday we bought a new tv, which came with a free wireless blue-ray dvd player, and then both Garrett's family and my family came over to spend some time together.  So needless to say, come Saturday evening I was not ready to leave home :(  I was thoroughly enjoying the great weekend we were having.  It's okay though because that just makes me more excited to get back home to all those same wonderful things and see all the same wonderful people!  Oh and I also just found out that we should be receiving our wedding album in 4-6 weeks... so excited!

P.S. after Erik, Sarah, Ava, and Logan headed home, Ava got pretty sick and ultimately ended up in the hospital.  She was dehydrated due to a virus she had gotten and is currently still getting over.  She is back home now and doing better, but still not quite 100%.  Please keep her and the family in your prayers.  Thanks!

Maggie

She loves her belly rubbed

My favorite little face

Amanda-kay with her tini-tiny Milo

Mama-kay and Cambrie

Logan, Eva, and Maggie meet Milo

Cambrie's new toy

Well we've been tired of trying to find cat toys, dog toys, any toys really for Cambrie... if it's not edible, she wants nothing to do with it.  Today we went to pick up horse and chicken feed and while there came across the little feed store's one and only "Uncle Jimmy's Hangin' Ball."  Yep, that is what it's called.

The lady there didn't even know how much it cost because it was the only one they had and she forgot they had it; so she just named a price that sounded good to us all.  It is really a food/toy for horses to keep them occupied while in the stalls so they don't cause ruckus, etc.  Garrett immediately said "I bet Cambrie would like that!"  So, we bought it!  Worst case scenario, she does like everything else, sniffs it and moves on and then we give it to the horses.  Nope, not the case, she is in LOVE with it!

As soon as we put it up to see how high we should hang it, she began licking.  Then Garrett picked it up to tie the rope and she oinked until we put it back down.  Now, she is currently pushing it around with her snout and licking the dickens out of it. 

Guess we'll be going back to see if more of them can be ordered.  I just hope it lasts her a while, but with molasses in it, it's hard for her to resist.

It may take a lot to get her away from this now

Baby got back!

She's in heaven

Wedding Weekend Getaway

Well, we are finally back home from a wonderful several days in Canada (Thank you Co for pig-sitting).  It was one memorable/fun/crazy time for many reasons.  I'll go through day by day and what happened, etc.  Please bear with me because this will be a longer post with several pictures (but not even close to the total amount of picture I have; please see facebook for all the pictures, which I still don't think includes all the pictures, lol).  I don't know of any other way to express the awesomeness of it all (yes, I said "awesomeness").  Consider it several posts in one for our time away.

Day 1 (July 27th)
Kirk (one of our friends also attending the wedding) showed up to our house in the morning to hitch a ride with us to the airport since we were all on the same plane.  We got to the airport (thank you Amanda-Kay for the ride) only to find out that our plane was now delayed two hours... no biggie (we just waited around) and then Erin (sister of the beautiful bride, Lauren) showed up with her boyfriend Wally (also on our plane).  They called her family to let them know the plane was late.  Lauren's mom did not believe Wally, so he just handed me the phone and said "You tell her" (mind you, I have never met or talked to her mother before); so I just proceeded to tell her "yes, we were going to be getting in an hour and a half late probably."  She then believed us.  So, when they showed up, we just all kind of hung around the airport and waited to take off.  She was a hoot (her whole family was; Garrett and I absolutely loved their company and meeting them on this wonderful trip).  So, we finally get to Plattsburg, NY.

Welcome to Plattsburg

then head to "Rent-a-Wreck" (what a name) to pick up our car and the wedding flowers.  Then we all take off and embark on our 3 hour drive to Labelle, CA in the Quebec Province.  We finally hit the border and traffic was at a DEAD STOP.  We picked a line and slowly inched our way up to find out our lane was merging with another, hence one of the main reasons we weren't moving.  So, we took our turn merging every other car.

Welcome to Canada and so the french begins

Then out of nowhere this huge SUV comes up next to us and decides he wants to get in front of us (Not happening... we waited way too long to let some guy just cut us all off).  So he rode right next to us trying to inch his way in without much success; meanwhile we notice the van behind us taking pictures (go figure, it was Lauren's family).  They thought there was going to be a fight between the two cars in front of them, one being ours and then they realized it was us and they were then whole-heartily ready to back us up if need be.  Fortunately it did not come to that and the other vehicle ended up behind us.  I'm so glad I wasn't the one driving because I'm not one for confrontation and couldn't even look at them in the other vehicle because I was scared, haha, but great driving Garrett and it definitely made our long wait more enjoyable and go by faster.  So, we finally get through the border and think it's smooth sailing from here (...NOPE).  We missed one exit due to not being able to get off the road and ended up heading toward Quebec City (nowhere near where we needed to be; add an hour and half to our trip).  We finally made it to meet Andre and Lauren and drop Kirk off and then we got in about 1am.  Thank goodness for the Bed and Breakfast owner Claude; he waited up for us and showed us to our room once we did get in and was so pleasant, despite our extremely late arrival.

Day 2 (July 28th)
We woke up and had a delicious organic breakfast at the bed and breakfast and then headed out to a hiking trail that Claude told us about.

Top of our hike

It was one heck of a hike, but once we reached the top, definitely worth the view!  At the top of this hike we get a call from Andre (the groom and Garrett's best friend).  He and Lauren were in the city and wanted to know if we wanted to meet up.  So, perfect timing, we headed back down the mountain (which was much shorter than the climb up) and then met them at Kayak Cafe right on the river there.  We ate outside and enjoyed the wonderful view.

View from Kayak Cafe

Then all four of us headed back to Andre's place in Labelle and saw the others that had arrived and were camping.  We eventually left there and went to our room to get ready for an evening with Lauren's family.  We went to their cabin and spent some fun time with them (got to then meet her other uncle, her aunt, and some family friends).  They were no exception to the crazy wonderful family that we had already met.  They were great!  On first meeting her aunt, we found out we were not "supposed" to bring flowers over and that Carrie was not supposed to bring the cake she had made over, and that one of their passports had expired (oh boy, we were a mess, lol).  Thank goodness all worked out and everything and everyone made it to Labelle.  So, then we all ride over for a lovely dinner and ice-cream dessert afterwords, before hitting the hay.

Day 3 (July 29th)
We got up and enjoyed another lovely breakfast at our B&B.

Our room is on the top floor there in the first door on the left

Loved this place!

We then headed out to do the tourist thing and tour Mont-TremblantTremblant resort and walked by some of the street vendors, saw a beautiful Church, and stopped for some ice-cream at a quaint little parlor.

Mont-Tremblant

After a nice day of playing tourist we went back to get ready for the rehearsal dinner.  Both families were there, as well as some family friends.  It was such a wonderful time and both families were so outgoing and lovely to meet!  After dinner Lauren went back with her family (to prepare for her big day) and Andre along with some friends and family including Garrett, myself, Carrie, Jane, Pat, Daniel, Michel, Tiffany, Sebastian, Kirk, Matt, Ryan, and Grant all went down to the resort area of Mont-Tremblant for a relaxing evening of hanging out.

Some of the group at rehearsal dinner before Mont-Tremblant

Lauren called Andre while we were on the way and said to try to get there quick because a storm was headed that way.  As soon as we got there, we walked by a large group of children singing and dancing in the street, and then it started to rain.  And, this is where the craziness all begins.  So, we moved a little quicker to get inside somewhere... then it poured!  So, we just ducked under a passageway between a few shops.  The winds all of the sudden went from 5-60mph in the blink of an eye.  Dirt was flying into our faces, tables were rolling down the streets, table umbrellas were flying down the streets, and you could hear glass breaking like crazy.  Needless to say, yes, we just experienced a TORNADO, definitely something we had never experienced and I believe it's safe to say we hope we never experience again.  Luckily we all were in a safe passageway and it appeared that nobody in the resort area was seriously injured.  Once things calmed, we then went to enjoy ourselves and talk about our crazy adventure before calling it a night.  This was definitely something none of us will forget.  Julie was the only one with a camera at the time; so I'll have to get a picture of us after the Tornado experience from her.

Day 4 (July 30th)
Today is the wedding day!  Garrett and I checked out of our bed and breakfast after getting ready for the wedding.  We then went down to the campsite were some others were staying and hung around there for a little while (watched a little game of volleyball, played with the pups, etc.; just relaxed).  Then we headed up with Andre to get some ice and on the way back, the boys stopped and picked some beautiful flowers off the side of the road just to add a little extra touch to the venue.  It was cute seeing the guys pick flowers.

Picking flowers... how cute

We then headed to Mimi and Mario's to help with some final preparations.  Now, the wedding... It was BEAUTIFUL!  Lauren was absolutely beautiful and Andre looked pretty handsome himself.  They were one beautiful couple and the whole day was perfect (can't compare to ours of course, but I'm biased, lol).  In all seriousness though, their day couldn't have been in better in my opinion.  Oh, did I mention their first dance... AMAZING!  Let's just say it was anything but traditional, but it was definitely them and perfect for their personalities.

Traditional Part of the First Dance

One of my favorite parts of the ceremony though was one of the youngest children there (this little cute guy) running out in front of Lauren and her father, stopping them in their tracks on the way to the alter.

What a cutie with a personality

It was so cute... dad had to go pick him up and let the wedding continue.  The rest of the ceremony went without a hitch.  The DJ was great, the food was delicious, the decor was beautiful, and the fun never ended.  After a long great day, we headed back to the campsite for our final evening in Canada.

Day 5 (July 31st)
We spent the morning just hanging out by the fire and on the lake with everyone else, just enjoying the wonderful view and even more wonderful company.  Then we left for our trip back to Plattsburg.  We of course had to stop at McDonald's first though to get my kind of breakfast.  It was fun ordering a biscuite avec saucisse.  We finally made it back to Plattsburg, got a taxi to the airport, and were shortly thereafter headed back to the sunshine state.

Beautiful sunset welcoming us home

We made it in about 11pm and thought it was all fine and dandy.  Little did we know, we had lost power.  Yep, no power at our house when we made it home.  We called the power company and said they'd be out in the next two hours to check it out and try to fix it.  So, Kirk went ahead and started his drive home and Garrett and I began unpacking by candle-light... how romantic.  Once we finally got things put away and settled in, we hit the sack with our little girl Cambrie that we missed so much!  Again, we thought, okay, finally SLEEP; nope; phone call in the middle of the night to inform us that our power was now working.  I mean I'm happy, but did they really have to call and wake us up??  Oh well; we were both up and at 'em today for work and happy to have power at home.


On the way to work we realized that Kirk still had one of our pillows, lol.... the fun never ends.  It's all good though; we'll get it back eventually and it's not like we don't have other pillows.  Now just to do TONS of laundry and clean-up around the house because I'm off again this weekend for a week (this time for work) and then we are both off again the following week for vacation with my family.  It's a busy busy month, but all of it is very much worth it!!  Sorry for the long read; hope you enjoyed it though and it somewhat got across how crazy and how fun our trip really was.  I wouldn't have traded it for the world!  Thank You Lauren and Andre for letting us be apart of your big day!!