The best post EVER :)

So everyone in real life and in the facebook world knows but it is about time that I post the most exciting news ever on my blog & it kind of explains the lack of posting for several months. 

:)

Come September 30th, Matthew Ryan and I will be adding a precious addition to our family & will be welcoming OUR FIRST BABY into the world!!!!! :)

We are pretty much ridiculously excited and think that already we have the cutest little munchkin ever. :)  The little person is already so cute & was moving SO much at our 12 week ultrasound...it was the coolest thing to watch.   

I am 15 weeks & 3 days and baby Garlich is the size of an avocado which seems pretty big to me considering he or she started out the size of an orange seed (according to my What to Expect Iphone app :))  

I am starting to feel much better after a first trimester of being exhausted & queasy so I am thanking the Lord for that.  I have been blessed so far to have not been extremely sick & other than just coming home from work and going straight to bed and having to eat crackers around the clock, it has been a pretty easy pregnancy. 

I have been really bad about taking belly pictures and I don't even have a before but with updating the blog, hopefully it will help me to stay on track.  Here is the belly at 14 weeks when I was in a Target fitting room trying on maxi dresses.   I need to get Matt to take one of me this week because is has definitely grown since then which hopefully means the baby is growing too! :)

  

We already have so much love for this little person & listening to my husband pray for him or her is probably one of the best things ever.  I can't believe that in a few short months (well, really a long HOT summer, haha) our lives will change forever with a tiny little person who will be one of the most important people in our lives. 

Stay tuned for updates! :)

Things I'm Loving :)

I am linking up to Jaime today because it's been a while.

Today I am loving that with some pretty great work connections, I scored two free tickets for Mattypookins & I to go see Blake Shelton & Justin Moore in concert on Friday night! 

I texted him today that I should win the best wife of the year award.

:)

I am also loving that I got to create a "Kitchen Remodel" board on Pinterest because we are making some changes.  Our house was only 5 years old when we bought it & there are so many things that I LOVE about it but our kitchen wasn't quite my favorite space.  I didn't think we would make changes so soon, but Matt was in a demolish/change mode over the weekend and I didn't stop him. :)  We decided to rip out the linoleum and ordered more of the beautiful, dark wood that is in the rest of our downstairs to put in our kitchen.  Our cabinets are a lighter wood and we have decided to PAINT them white.  I'm a little scared but I think with so many tutorials online I can do it!  We also are getting new lighting....we have a pretty gross plastic orb and I can't wait to see new canned lighting in there.  I am ridiculously excited about all of this! These are some of my pinterest finds that are my kitchen inspiration.

I am loving the new Mark Driscoll book Real Marriage.

It is so, so good....for any marriage.

I am reading it now and Matt is going to read it when I am finished.  I think something HUGE that I have taken from it is that you have to remain friends with our spouse.  Matt is my best friend, but sometimes when work, demands, sin, others, selfishness, money, etc. all come in to play we lose track of that and find ourselves getting frustrated & take things out on each other.  Mark and Grace write candidly about their marriage and how the Lord desires for your friendship to remain strong and when you fight, fight FOR each other & your marriage, not against each other.

I am so thankful that my hubby and I are on the same page with life right now.  Because life is so "daily" that is not always the case but it is so refreshing when we are.  I am so thankful to be his best friend (Well, maybe behind Lucy, lol. :)) and that I know he loves Jesus with all of his heart and desires to be a man after God's heart.  So thankful that even when he is on a work trip we can watch American Idol "together" and text comments to each other & without fail he will make me laugh.  I'm definitely loving him today. :)

I am loving that Audrey Assad's new album Heart is almost out.  I am listening to her pandora station and it is so wonderful.  If you haven't heart any of her songs, you are so missing out.  Such real, fresh, worshipful lyrics. 

On a whole other trash reality TV level, I am loving that Emily Maynard will be the next Bachelorette.  Enough said. :)

Hope you all have a happy rest of your hump day! :)



2012- A New Year :)

Come to Me with a teachable spirit, eager to be changed.

A close walk with Me is a life of continual newness. 

Do not cling to old ways as you step into a new year.

Instead, seek My Face with an open mind, knowing that your journey with Me

involves being transformed by the renewing of your mind.

As you focus your thoughts on Me, be aware that I am fully attentive to you.

I see you with a steady eye, because My attention span is infinite.

I know and understand you completely; My thoughts embrace you in everlasting Love.

I also know the plans I have for you: plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you a hope and a future.

Give yourself fully to this adventure of increasing attentiveness to My Presence.

-Jesus Calling, January 1

These words are so refreshing to my soul.  There is something exciting and refreshing about a new year.  In reality it's just the roll of the clock to another day but with the new day comes such hope and anticipation for what's to come.  There is also a feeling of wanting to see change in my own life.  In years past I have made New Year's resolutions only to break them shortly after...like really shortly after.  Last year I tried to be as specific as possible but that only made it worse.  I'm just not good at following through with things.

What I really want is my life to reflect true repentance in areas that aren't glorifying to the Lord, bear fruit, and live under God's grace.  I do desire change in certain areas but I know that those kinds of changes don't just happen in a year--living the gospel out is kind of a life-long process. :)  

This year, I have set some goals for myself (maybe that will help because they aren't called resolutions :))

• Fall more in love with Jesus- talk with him more (& LISTEN :)) throughout the day & memorize passages of scripture
• Pray with my husband more- for each other, for others, be united in prayer
• Be more intentional about loving my husband in HIS love language and not mine. (Mine is words of affirmation.  His is acts of service...I naturally use words to express my love for him & he always says "actions speak louder than words".)
• Be a better long distance friend.  Return phone calls.  Call friends FIRST.  Write letters & notes just to say that I am praying for & thinking about them.  (Joanna, Sarah, and Vanne--I love you so, so much.  I am so sorry that I suck at this.)
• Be more generous with my time AND money
• Keep healthy food in our house, make healthy meals, & don't go out to eat as much.  (If we want to be around & healthy for our future children, this needs to happen.)

These are things that I am excited about in 2012:

• I am running my first ever Half Marathon February 26th- the Disney Princess Half :)
• My sister in law is getting married June 7th- fun times for the fam
• A very exciting thing happening for two people I love very much (can't say just yet)
• We haven't planned it yet & my very frugal husband doesn't know yet, but we WILL go on a vacation with JUST the two of us :)...don't know when or where but it's happening
• Investing in our friends lives more & lots of fun hang out times
• Making our house a little bit more "ours"...doing some work in our yard & painting rooms

Happy 2012 Blog Friends! :)

Some Pictures to Wet Your Whistle :)

So, I lied.

I said I was updating soon.

And that was almost two months ago.

So shameful. So sad. I have no excuses except I just haven't really felt like blogging.

But it's my blog so I'm just going to pick up like I have been posting all this time.

:)

I can do that, right?

So in honor of my precious and wonderful mother who told me I had to blog :), I am posting just a few pictures of our new home decorated for Christmas to get back up on the blogging horse.

Can I just say what a joy it is to own your own home and be able to decorate multiple spaces for Christmas? And to have your entire family come to your home and stay there for Christmas? Oh my goodness I can't even contain my excitement.

I was very excited to find this precious little secretary dresser below at an awesome antique store for $50...already painted! It is one of my favorite pieces in our house and it sits in a perfect little nook in our foyer. (The picture is cropped weird because to the left is our bannister that leads to the upstairs but my sweet husband had to take the bannister off to put the secretary in place and it hasn't gone back on yet...but that is on his honey-do list :))

And lastly I'll leave you with a larger view of our living room showing our tree.

Don't worry, there will be more pictures, more updates, and more catch-up.

But for the next little while, I am going to enjoy the season and just soak up all that God has done for us this year. I'm going to be joyfully busy getting ready for my family's arrival & then truly enjoying the time we have together. :)

Merry Christmas from our home to yours. :)