MarchSnow

Hi All!  I have another "retro" post to share today. Last month (early August), we received the sad news that Jordan's Grandmother, Ruth, had passed away.  She was a lovely lady and will be very missed! Jordan and I traveled to El Paso to attend her funeral services and though it was an unfortunate occasion, it was certainly great to see family!  Jordan and I both have large families and they are scattered all over the country.  Subsequently, this was the first time I'd met some of Jordan's relatives!  It took me a couple of days to get all the names straight! Top: Jordan and Me with his mom, Ryan, Jane, and baby L. Bottom: Jordan's uncles and mom!  From L to R - Tony, Bill, Robert, Steve, Dave, and Kathy I think the names were difficult because just like Jordan, I also have an uncle with each of these names, except Bill.   The service for Grandma Ruth was beautiful and I think everyone felt at peace with the closure.  Ruth...

As promised, I have a series of retro posts coming up!  This one is about my Mom's surprise birthday party in July!  We'd talked briefly about gathering the troops to celebrate mom's birthday.  Even a usual weekend at the lake is a lot of fun (filled with family time, great food, laughter, etc.).  But leading up to her birthday weekend, my Dad thought it would be even better for us to give the occasion a little extra fanfare !  Mom does so much for all of us (all.the.time) so everyone had no problem rallying to celebrate her birthday! My task was to put together her birthday cake!  I had tossed around a few ideas for Mom's birthday in years past, but it's always tricky coming up with a design.  I'm an amateur baker/decorator so the design can make or break me!  It's important (for me) to have a plan that is within my limited skill set, doesn't take 80+ hours to make, and that can travel 1.5 hours in the car, all while making it theme appropria...

If you follow this blog regularly, you know that I've been on a bit of a sabbatical from posting!  Sometimes you just need a break, you know?!  But, the long duration between posts is not without reason.... Jordan and I have news!..... (pause for dramatic effect) I am pregnant with our first child!  Wow, it feels weird to even type that! We found out about our little one over Father's Day weekend which only added to my excitement!  The last few months we've had lots of new emotions and thoughts about our little brewing baby.  Of all those emotions, my overwhelming feeling has been joy and peace!  We both feel so thankful for this blessing and we are looking forward to meeting our baby (admittedly with some trepidation)! I have sonogram pictures to share.  Is that weird?  It's extremely personal to show the world these precious pictures, but it's just amazing to watch this little miracle grow! Top : This was our first son...