Telling Your Daddy

Little Baby Lawrence,

You may or may not have noticed that I didn’t mention telling your daddy about being pregnant with you on July 29^th, 2012. That is because, I DIDN’T tell him! I took a pregnancy test that night after getting home from Panguitch, UT and was SO excited. I would have loved to tell your daddy right then and there but I knew I wanted to tell him that we were expecting a bundle of joy in a cute way so I held in my excitement. In fact, I held it in all the way until the next night.

You see, since we had been trying for a couple months, I thought of a REALLY cute way to break the news to your daddy. For past birthdays, I have given your dad presents explaining why I love him (for example, 22 reasons I love him for his 22^nd birthday). Since this has been a theme throughout our relationship, I wanted to tell your dad in a way that was similar to this so that it would be that much more special when breaking the news. I decided I wanted to tell your daddy 40 reasons (for the 40 weeks I’ll be pregnant with you) why he’ll be the BEST dad and present it in a really cute way. I made my way down to Wal-Mart (telling your dad I was going shopping for his birthday a little early) and bought pink and blue balloons, a helium tank, some string, a photo album, and the 40 reasons why I think he’ll be a wonderful dad I printed at the photo center. Once I got all my supplies, I headed home to start working on my fun surprise.

I worked hard to hurry and blow up all 40 balloons and tie them with string (a process that takes much longer than you’d expect).

Once all the balloons were ready, I taped 1 reason why your daddy will be the best daddy ever to each balloon. Then I placed all the balloons with attached reasons over our bed and snapped a couple pictures to document everything. 

Since your daddy was home while I was working on his surprise, I had to make him promise not to come into our bedroom. I didn’t want him to get any ideas or guess what I was about to tell him, and let me tell you, he had NO idea.

Once I was ready to show your daddy what I’d been working on, I told him to close his eyes and come into the bedroom. When he opened his eyes he saw all the pink and blue balloons and he had a paper in his hands that read “40 reasons why you'll be the best daddy in the world! (For the 40 weeks your wife will be pregnant)"

It took him a minute to realize what I was telling him, and once he got it he was SO happy. Your daddy gave me a big hug and I could tell he was so excited for this new journey we were about to go on together. I was so happy that I started crying (something you’ll have to get used to with me as your mommy)! 

I couldn’t wait for your daddy to read all the reasons I came up with to tell him why he’ll be the best daddy in the world. Your daddy took the time to read all 40 reasons and we just soaked up the moment together. 

I hope you can tell how much your daddy means to me. He truly is the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I am so grateful that I can call him my husband and that you will get to call him your daddy. I’m so grateful that we’ll all get to be together forever and that we’ll get to learn and grow together. Your daddy and I are so excited to meet you and are looking forward to the month of March when you’ll make your debut. We love you so much!

Love,

Momma

I LOVE Purses!

If you know me at all, you know I LOVE purses. And today is no different. So when I saw the opportunity to win a CUTE Kate Spade bag I jumped at the opportunity! And since I'm super nice (and want more entry points too, haha) I'm sharing the giveaway with you so you have a chance to win too!! Just follow the link below and it will tell you exactly how to enter:

http://delightfuldesignideas.com/kate-spade-handbag-giveaway/

P.S. I won't hate if you decide not to enter. ;)

A HUGE Blessing

Little Baby Lawrence,

I am SO excited to start documenting this journey. You have no idea how long I have wanted to be a momma, and I am so excited that Heavenly Father chose me to be a part of your life forever. I hope to write to you every week for the next little while, until you make your debut on or around March 19th, 2013. I may be a little biased, but now March is one of my favorite months of the whole entire year.

I guess I should start by saying that your daddy has wanted to start a family since the day we got married, January 2, 2010. That day will always be special to me and will be my favorite day, because on that day, not only did I get sealed to your daddy, but I also got sealed to you and any little brothers and sisters you may have. That day alone means the world to me, because through those covenants we made, I get to be with you for time and all eternity, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

You may be thinking to yourself, “Geez Momma, by the time I’m born, your wedding date will have been three years ago…what took you so long?” I can honestly say that I would have loved for you to join our family at ANY moment in time, but I truly think your Daddy and I were supposed to spend time together, just me and him, and strengthen our relationship even more, so that when you came we’d be as strong a family as ever. I prayed that Heavenly Father would bless us with a baby when the time was right and I know he answers prayers. You were meant to come into our family at this time, and make your earthly debut in March of 2013. Heavenly Father knows what’s best for us and so even though I know the next couple months, and next 18+ years even, won’t always be easy, they will be worth it.

We will learn and grow together so much and I hope to teach you all that you need to know. I hope to teach you how to be nice to everyone around you, even if they aren’t always nice to you. I hope to teach you to take the time to enjoy the little moments and really soak them in, because time passes too quickly not to live life to the fullest each day. I hope that you find the gospel to be true early in your life and that you’ll recognize the many blessings that will come into your life through your faith. I hope to teach you how to see the good in others and that you never know when you will find a friend in those around you. I hope you inherit my love for the holidays and won’t hate putting up with all the festivities I’ll plan for us. I hope you’ll enjoy being creative and will find the time to relax and do things you enjoy. Most of all, however, I hope you know that I love you so much and will always love and support you.

Not only is there a lot that I hope you learn from me, but there is a TON your daddy will teach you. I can’t wait to see your daddy hold you and interact with you. I know he will be the BEST dad you could ever hope for and that because of him, both our lives will continue to get better and better each and every day. Your daddy will help you to know that the gospel is true, just like he did for me. He will also teach you what it’s like to go on a mission and serve the Lord for two whole years. He’ll teach you how to laugh and see the funny moments in life and help you use your imagination to the fullest. Your daddy will teach you all that you need to know about cars, trucks, trailers, dirt bikes…you name it. Anything to do with adventure, your dad will be right there with you and teach you how to survive along the way. He’ll take us camping and fishing and fulfill any wish you’ll ever have of being outdoorsy…trust me. He’ll be a great example to you of a hard worker and of someone who is always willing to help those in need. He’ll always be there for us and protect us no matter what. Your daddy is truly the best man I have ever met and I love him with all of my heart. I hope you know how lucky you are to have him as an example and as your daddy, forever.

If you can’t already tell, I am SUPER excited to meet you and so is your daddy. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has trusted us with such a huge blessing and that we get to raise an amazing son or daughter of God. I can’t wait to see what adventures we have together, both while you’re in my tummy and after you make your appearance. Because of all this, you can see why I am so happy I decided to take a pregnancy test on July 29, 2012 and confirm that we would be welcoming a new member into our family. I can’t wait to meet you and I love you more than you know.

Love,

Momma

What's Cookin' Good Lookin'

If you remember my post from earlier this year, you'll recall that I had a goal to cook dinner more.

While I'll admit we had a brief period where we went back to eating out too much, I am back in FULL force and am LOVING cooking.

I figured to stay on top of my goal and keep cooking, I'd share my menu plan with you all and some tips and tricks along the way.

Here is my menu for last week:

On Monday we had Chicken Crescent Roll Casserole.

I found the recipe via Pinterest and am so glad I did. Here is a link to the actual website too.

Andrew absolutely loved them and they were great as left overs too. He even was upset that I took the leftovers to work for lunch and didn't leave him any; he loved them that much.

We served them with salad and it was a great dinner overall.

On Tuesday we had breakfast for dinner.

We made sausage, scrambled eggs, and waffles; it was delicious.

On Wednesday we had Pigs in a Blanket.

They're always easy and always so yummy. Definitely a good thing to make if you're short on time or have to work late.

On Thursday we had the new Kraft Homestyle Macaroni and Cheese.

I had a coupon and wanted to try something new so I went ahead and bought the Homestyle Macaroni and Cheese when I was at the store. 

I'm glad I did because it was quite delicious and my hubby was able to make it because I worked late.

On Friday I got off early so I wanted to make something nice. 

I decided to make a recipe I found on Pinterest awhile ago that I had made before.

I made Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Pasta.

This recipe is very lemony and very delicious. 

I'm glad this blog was willing to share her recipe with us all.

Each week I plan for one night out, date night, or time with friends family. 

As a result, on Saturday we went over to my parents' house to watch the UFC fights and have a grand old time.

I enjoyed my day off from cooking and enjoyed the yummy pizza and wings. :]

Last but not least, on Sunday we had White Chicken Enchiladas.

I made them on Christmas so I knew they were good (original recipe found here), but they were even more delicious the second time.

This was the only recipe my hubby didn't LOVE and that's because he hates sour cream. I didn't think he'd notice it but I guess he could...lessons learned in cooking for your husband I guess.

I'm so glad we had such a successful first week in following our menu plan and can't wait for future menus.

Some things I found that make cooking more fun and successful:

-Use Pinterest to find new recipes and actually TRY them. I try to make at least one new thing a week.

-Make your menu ahead of time. It's easier to shop for everything you need and actually stick to your menu if you have a plan.

-Don't be afraid of leftovers. If you cook too much, you just have lunch for the next day.

-Have fun, try new things, and just get cooking!

I hope you enjoyed this week's menu and look forward to next week's!

Please feel free to share your menu with me each week! I think it's easier to make new recipes and get out of a cooking rut if you talk to others.

HAPPY COOKING!

Valentine's Decor for a Killer Deal

Have you guys heard of GroopDealz before? It is AMAZING!

It's a place where cute shops sell their products at a discounted rate and the buyers get to enjoy the items AND save money. WHO WOULDN'T LOVE THAT?! :]

I've bought quite a few things from them before and I've loved everything I've ordered!

In fact, with Valentine's Day coming up, I ordered some really cute pillow covers and I can't wait to get them.

Here is a picture of the beauties:

Aren't they ADORABLE?! They are just what I need to add some cute Valentine's Decor to my front room. In fact, the LOVE pillow cover would be cute for any girl's room.

Since I loved this deal, I wanted to share it with you all. 

You have about 23 hours left to get these pillow covers at 38% off. You can get each pillow cover for $7.50...or be like me and buy one of each.

I hope you like this deal just as much as I do. Or, find something else you love while looking at GroopDealz

HAPPY SHOPPING!