Back to Life... Back to Reality...

After a very long and relaxing Memorial Day Weekend, it's back to reality. We were able to enjoy the weekend quietly since most of our family was off to South Dakota to see my little brother Bret graduate from college. I was kept informed by text messages from my Dad and told when they did indeed call his name. Congrats Bert! Other than just doing some final preparations for Baby Shep, we kept it low key and enjoyed spending time with each other.

The picture above is of the Floral Hills Cemetery on Memorial Day. This is where most of my family is buried. My grandfather was in the Navy during WWII and is honored by one of these flags (we couldn't find it but I've seen it before...). It's a pretty impressive site to drive through the cemetery and see all the flags representing those who served our country who are buried in there. It always causes me to reflect on the enormity of it all.

So as I stated in the title of this post, it is back to reality. The reality is that I have less than 3 1/2 weeks left until Baby is scheduled to arrive. Pretty exciting stuff that would have me jumping for joy if said baby was not causing such discomfort these days. I won't complain too much except to say that she only likes one side of my belly and chooses to curl up tightly against my abdomen. This means my belly is completely lopsided and there's tons of pressure. We have little discussions daily about this but she doesn't listen. I'm sure it's a preview of days to come when she will be defiant in person. :)

We'll keep you updated as things progress. Hope your Memorial Day Weekend was as relaxing and enjoyable as ours!

Graduation Season

Well the temperature is starting to stabilize in the warm degrees and that means it is Graduation Season. My two youngest brothers are matriculating this year from their respective colleges. Unfortunately I won't be able to go to Bret's graduation up in Sioux Falls, SD because the drive is just way too far. I was, however, able to make it to Josh's graduation in Warrensburg because the drive was only 45 mins. At this point, Dan and I are just not willing to take the risk that I'll go into labor more than a few hours away from the hospital, even though I still have 6 weeks left. We have a busy schedule over the next month so I'm sure it will go quickly.

Here's a group picture from Josh's Graduation this past weekend.

Hope you're enjoying all that life is giving you this spring. I can't be thankful enough for all the happy things that are happening in our lives.

Let the Sun Shine!

Spring is officially here and everything is "blooming", including me. Just when I think my belly has reached its maximum stretching capacity, I see another picture of myself or glance in the mirror at this huge medicine ball I'm now carrying around. Little baby girl is a real mover and a shaker in there and has a pretty regular routine. She is most active after breakfast in the morning and I sometimes enjoy just sitting & watching my belly move as she plays around in there. As the big day gets closer I have mixed emotions because I really can't wait to meet her but I will also greatly miss having her in my belly. She's so safe and protected and close to me right now. I think those maternal feelings are starting to kick in... :)

Last weekend my sister and friend threw me a baby shower. It was really wonderful to see all my close friends and family all together in one place. I got so much stuff for baby Shep that my anxiety about her coming too soon is starting to settle down. We now have most of the essentials, should she decide to join us early. It felt like Christmas as Dan and I opened all her stuff and started to put it away. Dutifully, Dan help me put together some of the things that required assembly. Luckily there wasn't too much of that because he grumbled about kids being raised without any of these modern conveniences for years the entire time. Do some of you still wonder why we didn't register for more toys? :)

The girls from High School at the shower!

Alicia & Jill from New York flew in for the occasion and spent the weekend with us at our new house. I almost cried when I had to put them back on the plane because it was so good to have them here.

All in all the spring is treating us very well. I have a little more than 6 weeks left which seems like a lifetime but I'm sure will fly by. I can't believe it's already been a year since we moved back from New York. Many things have changed in one year but much has remained the same. We still miss the big city life but look forward to all the new things this new life has in store for us. Enjoy the spring flowers while they last, summer will be here before you know it! (baby shep along with it.)