10 Year Anniversary and Vow Renewal

On the 19th, we celebrated our 10-year anniversary.  So crazy!  Yes, we were young'uns when we got married.  I don't care. 

We didn't have any big plans for our anniversary.  I always pictured Hawaii for our ten-year, but...life happens.  And that's ok!  We were going to keep it low key.  Like I said, no big plans.

Or so I thought.

Behind the scenes, Doug was planning a big surprise.  It's what he does.  And I was walking around without the slightest idea...because that's what I do.

He planned a private vow renewal, complete with a photographer (Latisha Carlson), hairstylist (Brittany Moreno), and flowers (Amy Balsters).  They all had me under the impression that I was doing a shoot to showcase some flowers for Amy.  After my hair and makeup was finished, Latisha handed me a bag and said, "Here, put this on.  It's from Doug."  Then it all came together, and I couldn't stop giggling!

In the bag was a beautiful, cream-colored lacy dress and peach-colored shoes.  Doug had picked them out.  And they fit!  His attention to detail astounds me.  He had spent 3 months orchestrating this whole event.  How thoughtful of him to put in so much time and effort to make this memory.  It's one of the many ways that he shows his love for me.

I rode with Latisha to the site for our vow renewal.  She gave me the beautiful flowers and floral crown.  We walked to this enchanted area under the trees, and Doug was standing there waiting for me.  I felt a flood of emotion as I remembered the last time I walked toward him with a bouquet of flowers.  So much has happened since that day.  So much life has been lived; so many memories made.  Tears cried.  Laughter shared.  And all of it has been with this amazing man I am so blessed to call my husband. 

Luckily, a few days prior, Doug had casually mentioned that we should write some vows to one another.  I, being the sentimental type, obliged.  It was difficult though.  I didn't know how to put into words how much he means to me.  I worked on it for days, and luckily had it in my purse when all of this went down.

He grabbed my hand and took me to a place beneath the trees.  He pulled out his vows and read them to me.  He was so eloquent.  I laughed, cried, and smiled.  Then I read mine.  It was funny because, a couple of years ago, we got the exact same card for each other on our anniversary.  This year, we wrote vows to each other, and they started exactly the same!  We are two peas in a pod. 

I love the special memory that Doug thought to capture for our 10-year anniversary.  Though the vows we said to one another 10 years ago haven't expired and don't need renewing, I love the romance in proclaiming our love once more.  If you would like to see some of the pictures, go to http://www.mattandtish.com/blog/dougandamanda

Thanksgiving

Well, another Thanksgiving came and went.  There is so much to be thankful for this year.  We really enjoyed the time spent with our family.  It's always a whirlwind when we go visit, but always worth it.

Nora's first Thanksgiving!  Hangin' at Grandpa's.

We spent time with Doug's side of the family in the morning.  His dad makes the best Turkey!  We got to see his tree all decorated.  I always love his Christmas tree.  He has the big, colorful lights that just glow.  We tried to do the same, but could only find LEDs, which don't have that glow.  Ah, well.  He also always strings popcorn and puts it on the tree, but not until December 11, so we didn't get to see that.

In front of Grandpa's tree.  With only one sparkly shoe on.

His brother, Ronnie, and sisters DeDe, Emily, and Virginia were there.  Beth still lives in PA, and Melissa was out of town, so we missed them.  We should get to see them at Christmas though!

Nora fell asleep on her Aunt DeDe.  She rarely does that.  Must love her Auntie a lot!

It was also Virginia and Beth's birthdays on Thanksgiving.  We improvised with a candle on a sweet potato. Yum?

Nora hanging out with her Aunt Virginia and her cousin Mikey. 

In the afternoon/evening, we hung out with my side of the family at my Aunt Vonda's house.  It was a big shindig, and there was way more food than anyone could even eat!  Granny Bernice had her famous peanut butter balls.  They were delish, as always!  We got all of the little girls together and got a picture.  It's wild how quickly they are growing!  Time flies...

Nora got to spend some time with her great-grandmother, Marj.

This picture cracks me up.  Nora is blowing raspberries because she is teething. 

My sister and I decided to be dorks and do weird poses. 

Had to get one of all of us girls!  Nora and Edie are unimpressed.

A silly picture with the little ones.  Marquel's Abigail, Michele's Edie and Judy, Jimmy's Rachel, and Marquel's Aubrey. 

We have a tradition in my family.  When my grandmother passed away 20 years ago, we planted a tree in her honor near City Hall.  Every year since, we have decorated it for Christmas.  At one point, they took out the tree we had planted.  So now we decorate some random tree in the park.  But it still holds the same sentimental value to us.  And it's a good time for us all to get together and do something as a family.  Nora was asleep in the car the whole time, so we didn't get any pictures of her.  It was cold though, so I'm glad she stayed in the car!

Jason and Judy helping.  Judy is actually named after my grandmother for whom we planted the tree.

It's hard to get the whole tree in the picture.

Aztec put up a new nerdy sign, and we like it!  Our grandpa is probably one of the soreheads they are talking about.  He tried to have a cat leash law passed.  People were not happy about that!

Brandon, Ed, Abby, Aubrey, Gabe, Marquel, Judy, Greg, Edie, Jimmy, Rachel, Michele, Jason, Melody, Amanda, Doug.  The group changes each year, but we all try to make it when we can! 

 After decorating the tree, we went to A&W to warm up and have some lunch.  It is a must to eat there when we visit Aztec.  I've never seen an A&W anywhere else, except for in gas stations.  And those are way different and don't count!

Uncle Jim ordering hot chocolate.  I love how you use phones to order.

Yup.

Dad getting serious about ordering the food.  Rolled tacos for me.  Steak finger dinner for him. Root beers all around.

And hot chocolate.

  We went home after this, but had to drive back and stay for a couple of hours because there was an accident involving two semis that closed the road for 6 hours.  1 person lost their life in that wreck.  Sometimes it's hard to stay thankful, with all of the stresses of every day life.  But we can always be thankful for life, and for the lives of our loved ones.  We are thankful that God had His hand of protection on us.  We could have been involved in the accident had we left earlier.  Let's stay thankful this year.

37 Weeks--Link to other blog

http://trialsoftrying.blogspot.com/2013/03/37-weeks-milestone.html

Here is a link to our other blog, about to essentially be closed out.  Check it out if you are interested in my latest post!

Amanda

Baby Shower #2

I know this is out of order, but here are some pictures of my second baby shower, hosted by my insanely creative and sweet friend, Crystal Baldwin.  I didn't have my camera at the last shower, so I am waiting on some shared pics from guests.  Don't worry; I'll post those as soon as I get them.  I just figure I'd better post this stuff before Eleanor gets here!

Showin' the belly at 33 weeks, I think.  I love the banner that my friend Crystal made! 

The invitation.  I love it!

Late night diaper thoughts!  Everyone wrote a message on a diaper for those midnight changings!

My favorite part!  Crystal asked everyone to bring a letter of the alphabet (she assigned letters) and held a contest.  People got so creative!  I couldn't choose a winner, so we took a vote.  The L made by my friend Aliza won.  She took an Alice and Wonderland book, cut it into the shape of an L, and pasted pictures from the book all around it.  It looks amazing, and took forever, I would imagine!  I  love how everyone got so crafty!  I still need a couple more letters, and then we will put these on the wall in the nursery.  I can't wait!

We decorated bibs.  Some of these were downright funny!

Reserved seating.  Awesome!

"Baby Shower", get it? 

Words of love for Nora.  And the flowers are pens!

Talking with my friend Aliza.  She took a lot of these pictures for me, and was the winner of the alphabet contest!

My aunt Kathy setting out some quiches.  It was a breakfast theme because, well, breakfast is best!

My friends Kisha, Crystal, and Nichole working hard to make everything perfect!  Thank you girls!

Crystal made the most delicious cupcakes!  They were (almost) too cute to eat, but I went for it anyways, and I'm glad I did!

Details.

I was so blessed to have so many friends and family there. 

Even if they hijacked the camera.

Decorating bibs. 

Getting ready to open presents.  I look like a kid on Christmas morning!  All except the pregnant belly part.  Kids don't have pregnant bellies. 

It's amazing how difficult it becomes to bend over to pick things up!  This is obviously at the beginning of opening presents, or else I would look really exhausted.  

All in all, it was a very nice baby shower.  Very pretty, and lots of fun!  My favorite part is just being with all the people who make me smile.  Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate and helped us get ready for Nora!  I can't wait for her arrival!
Amanda

How Revealing!

Well, we weren't expecting to know so soon, but we were lucky enough to find out the gender of our little baby!  Aaaannnndd....

It's a GIRL!!!! (Hence Doug's bright pink shirt, purchased exclusively for this event.)

We are so thrilled!  We would have been happy with either gender, but it is so awesome to know!  And we have a name for her! 

Eleanor Fern Standridge

We'll call her Nora for short.  Eleanor means "light", and she has already been a light in some really dark times.  Fern was my great-grandmother's middle name, and the main character in my favorite children's book, Charlotte's Web.

She is a healthy, active girl.  She was scratching her head, kicking her feet, and moving her mouth.   She's already a little chatterbox!

We had to have the ultrasound because I have an M antibody in my blood, which, if it crosses the placenta, can cause the baby to be anemic.  Thankfully, there is not much of it in my blood, so it could likely be a false positive, or not enough to have much of an effect on the baby.  They wanted to do an ultrasound to make sure she is growing and developing properly, which she is!  She weighs 7 oz., and is measuring the right size for how old she is. 

Her little profile.

You can see her cheekbones in this one.  Crazy!

This shows the bones of her leg and foot, as well as her arm and hand.

We can't wait to meet our little girl! 

First Ultrasound

Last week we had our first ultrasound.  So cool to hear the heartbeat and see our little blueberry!  Everything looked good, and I ultimately got to get off of my meds (awesome!).  I am due April 11.  Spring baby!  We go in a couple of weeks for our second ultrasound, and then I guess if everything looks good, they'll release us to a "regular" doctor! 

If you'd like to see a more detailed post or catch up on our journey, go to http://trialsoftrying.blogspot.com/. 

Good heartbeat, I guess!

Beanie Baby.  Better keep this in case it is worth something someday.  But I have to keep the tag on.

Baby News! Guess What This Post is About!

Well, it's been 2 1/2 years of waiting, praying, doctors, what-ifs, and heartache.  After all this time, we finally have good news!

Yup, that's right!  We're having a baby!  Thank you all so much for your prayers and support during this time.  It hasn't been easy, but it is definitely worth it.  We are so blessed to be a part of one of God's miracles!

And as per usual, Doug used this as an opportunity to do a mini photoshoot.  Here are some samples of the nerdiness:

Get it?!  Get it?!

I am a legitimate longboarder.  No.

Excitement!

So in love.