church baby shower

Our sweet church family showered us with lots of love and thoughtful gifts for baby Carson! We were overwhelmed by their support and encouragement as we enter the exciting journey of parenthood! We are thankful to be part of such a special group of people and are anxious for our sweet boy to meet everyone soon!

the sweet hostesses and me

the beautiful cake!

the gift table

Keith joined me for the shower and helped open so many sweet gifts!

both of Carson's sweet grandmas were there!!

Aunt Misty was there, too!!

sister/cousin trip 2010

This year's annual sister/cousin trip was in Nashville!! Everyone was sweet to come my way from Texas and California this year, since I can't travel too far from my doctor at this point in the pregnancy.

My mom came a few days early. We had lots of fun hanging out, marking things off of my pre-baby to do list, cooking, washing Carson's clothes, and making homemade laundry detergent, thanks to Laura!! I'm excited to save money by only spending 14 cents a month on laundry detergent!!

We rented a house in Franklin for a few days, and my sister, Misty; aunt, Paula; cousin, Nicole; cousin, Staci; and Staci's two sweet kids, Wyatt and Raquel joined us!!! We had a wonderful time together. We talked, played games, saw the sights of Nashville, and ate some Tennessee favorites. They even got to come to church with us that Sunday and be here for my baby shower (shower pics coming soon!)

my sweet mama and me

I am blessed to have the best mama/friend ever!

I'm so thankful for her!

I hadn't seen my sweet sister since December, back when Carson was about the size of a bean:)!! It was so much fun to spend time with her!!

When we lived in Abilene, Misty and I hung out several times a week, so we did our best to soak up every minute of our sister time while she was here!! I love that girl!

me, Misty, Staci, Raquel, and Nicole before church Sunday morning

There were lots of funny photo ops in our tour of Nashville:)

cowgirls

biggest ice cream cone EVER!

Staci and I got matching sunglasses

Raquel and her grandma, Paula

could that sweet baby girl be any cuter?!!

cute big brother, Wyatt and his aunt, 'Cole

the whole group!!!

sweet Texas friends

Since moving to Tennessee, we've been blessed by sweet friends from Texas coming to visit!!! It has been so special to spend time with these sweet friends, introduce them to our church family, and show them our new home. We've had fun showing them around Music City, and our tour guide skills have improved a little bit each time!

January: Mark and Tara

Keith and Mark were roommates at ACU, and he and Tara have been dear friends of ours ever since. We always pick up right where we left off, stay up late, and have the best conversations with them! This visit was extra special because Tara and I were both pregnant, so we had lots of conversations about becoming parents:) We can't wait to meet sweet Jaxon!!

rockin' out!

waiting in line at Pancake Pantry on a cold winter morning....totally worth it:)

March: Spruce, Jacquie, Lynlee, and Kyndall

Jacquie and I were in club together at ACU and had lots of education classes together. We started hanging out with her and Spruce soon after we got married. We would hang out at least two or three times a week, playing games, watching TV, cooking, and sharing teaching and ministry ideas! They are such special friends. We've spent several spring breaks with them since they moved from Abilene a few years before we did. It was sweet of them to make the long drive to spend their spring break with us this year! We absolutely love their precious girls, Lynlee and Kyndall!!!

family pic at the Loveless Cafe...a Nashville hot spot with the most delicious biscuits ever!

the sweet girls were adorable in their matching coats:)

Jacquie and Kendall

Lynlee and me

May: Nick, Lauren, Emmy, and David

Keith and Lauren became friends when Keith's family moved to Jackson his freshman year of high school and have remained friends since then. Nick and I easily joined the friendship when we started dating the two of them:) During our last six months in Abilene, Nick, Lauren, and Emmy moved there!! It was such a blessing to have such good friends in town! We had lots of fun game nights and learned some great recipes from them. They were even sweet enough to help us with our home renovation!! Emmy was always such a joy, and after we left Abilene, they had sweet David! This is another precious family!!

family pic while David naps

Keith and Emmy

me with both precious kiddos!

July: Augie and Ashley

Ashley and I have been best friends since I moved to Roby in eighth grade and she invited the new girl to her slumber party:) We've remained friends since high school. We had fun working summers at BCEC together during college! Ashley and I have shared so many special parts of life together. We've had lots of serious conversations and had more than our share of silly moments, too:) We stood beside one another on our wedding days. Ashley and Augie got married last October. They make such a great couple! It was neat to spend more time getting to know Augie!

We picked them up at the airport and we matched:) Here we are at the factory in Franklin.

Ashley was brave and asked Waylon if we could have a picture with him at the Outlaws' game!

4th of July...everyone else went with blue and white, and I was the loner sportin' red and white...at least all three colors were represented:)

Loveless Cafe for some coouuntry ham and biscuits! We matched again without planning it:) I guess that's what happens when you're friends for SIXTEEN years!!!

maternity pictures!!!

Our sweet friend from church has an artistic eye and is really good at taking pictures. This morning, she took maternity pictures for us, and we've already gotten them back!!! We had so much fun and are really happy with how they turned out! What a fun way to document such a special time in our life!!

Click on the link to see more of Kendall's creativity at Bristles, Brushes, and Bows Boutique! She sells lots of adorable, hand-made, personalized gifts.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures!

from teacher to mama

The sweet teachers at my school threw me a surprise baby shower!!! It was so much fun!

I've loved working with this sweet group of teachers. I was pretty nervous about joining the big, scary world of middle school, but these teachers have made me feel so welcome! Middle school was not so big and scary after all:) The kids were taller and could tie their own shoes but were still very sweet! I still got hugs and sweet notes, and enjoyed going to school each day.

My mom has been a teacher most of my life, and I spent many hours in her classroom. Then, at ACU, I spent four years preparing and learning to be a teacher, and for the last seven years, I have been a school teacher. Teaching school has been who I am. It's been a huge part of my identity. I loved building relationships with my students and fellow teachers. I loved reading to children. I loved helping children learn to read independently. I loved helping children learn to solve problems. I loved giving them a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, a hug, or a high five.

After much thought, prayer, and conversation, Keith and I have decided that I am not going to teach school next year. I know that I will miss teaching. I'll miss preparing my classroom as school starts next year. I'll miss the excitement of getting to know a new group of kids. I'll miss spending time with a diverse group of young people everyday. But, I am thrilled to be able to stay home with my sweet son. I'm excited to snuggle, play, and teach Carson! Teaching has been special, and I know I can always go back and teach again someday, but I am thankful and excited for this new chapter in my life!

Here are pictures from Carson's baby shower. These teachers, who I only worked with for one year, were so thoughtful and generous. Carson and I will definitely be going to visit them next year:)

Here are the the sweet sixth grade hostesses and host!

Justin was brave to join so many oooing and awwing women!

The other host had football practice:) We missed you, Brad!

the cute and very yummy turtle cake:)

the gift table and CUTE diaper cake made by sweet Tracy!!

my sweet friend Jill

opening lots of sweet and thoughtful gifts for baby Carson!!!

growing belly

It's been a while since I've posted a picture of my growing belly, and it is certainly growing! So, here are some pictures of the last several weeks. Things are going really well. I'm enjoying being pregnant. My favorite part is feeling my sweet boy move and kick inside me! It is absolutely wonderful!!!!

23 weeks

24 weeks

25 weeks

26 weeks

(my photographer was at Pepperdine!)

27 weeks

28 weeks

29 weeks

30 weeks

31 weeks