Youth Conference balloons

Daddy just came home with a HUGE bundle of balloons from Youth Conference. We're in the middle of a pretty large hailstorm/thunderstorm, so we're just hanging out at home. I have a feeling these balloons will entertain for many days to come. Thanks Daddy!

Weekend Warriors

Here are some before and afters of our weekend warrior bathroom projects. I can't find the actual before picture of the full bath, or there would be 3 stages shown for it. Nate has been working his tail off, and I must say he has done an amazing job! We have a little less than two months before nano arrives, so it's nice to finally see the house coming together! The nursery is coming, but it's not finished. I'll post pictures of it when we're done.

We went on a date Saturday to Indy. It was a day of eating great food and shopping for a few baby things that we needed. Lunch was Buca di Beppo...so good. Dinner was Chang's with Cheesecake Factory for dessert. Yum! I think I gained my pound for the week just from all the yummy food we ate that day. It is crazy when it's actually a good thing to watch the scale go up by a pound every week. I don't feel huge yet, but we're getting there. I'm sure by the end I'll feel differently. 8 more weeks!

Our Pampered Chef

Last night Emily and I hosted a Pampered Chef party. I had received Pampered Chef items at bridal showers, but had never been to a party let alone hosted one. We had a lot of fun! Emily was, by far, the cutest chef in the house.

This morning Emmy and I went out to our backyard and picked some flowers to take to Sharla's grave. It's been 4 years since we lost her to cancer. Emily and I walked out to the gravestone and put the flowers down next to some yellow roses that someone else had left yesterday. Yellow roses were Shar's favorite. I told Emmy that Aunt Sharla was Chris and Andrew's Mommy (Chris and Drew are her two favorite cousins in Indiana) and she said "uv oo Aunt Sharla"...ripping my heart out. It was so sweet. We took another flower over to my Grandma's grave, since it's next to Sharla's. I'm sure Emmy's little voice was heard in heaven this morning, by family we miss dearly. Four years doesn't even seem possible. So, instead of wearing green today, I'm wearing pink...supporting a cure for breast cancer...and remembering my Aunt who touched my life very deeply.

who do you love?

I had an interesting day in the office yesterday. All day long I had people coming by my office to tell me that they had voted for me. I was thankful for their affirmation, but unsure of what exactly I was running for...

As it turns out, I had been nominated as a contestant in the "Who Do You Love?" contest at Qdoba Mexican Grill. As a self-described Qdoba junkie I am quite honored to be a part of this campaign! The winner gets an all expenses paid Qdoba party and concert for 100 of their closest friends!

While I am sure that I have very little chance of victory (the current leader has over 1000 votes), I would hate to go down in history as the guy that got last place in "Qdobathon 2006".

All it takes to place your vote is an e-mail address. You can choose to sign up for their mailing list (Julie and I have received 4-5 free meals from their e-mail newsletters over the course of the past year or so) when you place your vote. Click here or on the nifty photo above to place your vote!

Thanks in advance for all the love!

-Nate

A Night with Compassion

Last night my husband took me on a date to Kokomo. It just so happened that there were a lot of really cool people in town for an evening with Compassion. We got a sitter for Emmy, ran to Starbucks for a frap and macchiatto, and were on our way. The doors were supposed to open at 6pm. We weren't sure if seats were reserved or not, because we ordered our tickets online for will call. We got to the church at 6:40pm and found our seats. Front row! It was an evening with Bebo Norman (my personal fave), Caedmon's Call, Geoff Moore (without The Distance), John David Webster, and another dude who I can't remember his name. All of these artists are associated with Compassion International, who I used to work for when I lived in Colorado Springs. It was an awesome night of music, and fun. Bebo and Caedmon's all seemed so laid back. It was as if they were up there hanging out, rocking to their favorite tunes, and we were lucky enough to listen in. They played together on a bunch of songs, and swapped musicians for others. It was a lot of fun. The last time we saw both of these artists we lived in Colorado. Hopefully it won't take us that long to see them again!

Push

When we went to the hospital in Feb. '04 to deliver Emily, Nate decided to give a little motivation and wear this former youth conference t-shirt. I have a feeling it will come out again when we go to deliver Emily's little sister. I couldn't resist wearing it today, and figured it was as good a shirt as any to show how big I'm getting. So, this is what 28 weeks looks like.