Life Without A Camera and other Randomness

I was going to name this post "Another Random Post" but really I'm mostly having a hard time not having a camera to document our lives right now.  So, I'll fill you in on what's been going on without pictures (sorry). :)

Caleb and I sent our camera in to be fixed and unfortunately it is not fixable. :( So, it looks like we will be shopping for a new camera in the next few weeks. I can't wait!

This past week we passed the huge milestone that had been on all of our minds ever since Dad's cancer diagnosis. Dad had his surgery to remove his prostate on Thursday and we all breathed a huge sigh of relief when we heard the surgery was over and he was in a recovery room. Jenn did a great job posting about that day on her blog.

I love this picture of me, my mom and my sisters surrounding Dad. Notice how we're all smiling? 

SO relieved to have his surgery behind us!

I am still in awe at the number of emails and texts we all received the day before Dad's surgery from loved ones saying that they were praying for Dad. We have the most amazing friends and family in the world, and let me tell you, we felt your prayers! Like Jenn said, if I ever need to learn what it is to be a good friend, I need to look no further than our own friends and family. We are all blessed indeed.

We will know in 2 weeks after some more tests are done if Dad is in fact cancer free or if he will need more treatment. We are of course praying for a cancer free diagnosis. :)

I've said this before, but January and February are always the longest, most dull months for me. The weather is too cold to enjoy being outside, and aside from Valentine's Day (which some people would argue isn't a real holiday anyway), there isn't a lot of celebrating going on. I can't tell you how happy I am that January is already almost over! We're almost half way through the winter blues.

While waiting for these boring months to pass, I've been enjoying watching some of my favorite TV shows.

A new favorite this year is Downton Abbey. Have you seen it? If not, you must watch it! Caleb and I love sitting down and watching Downton Abbey together (although if you ask him, he'll deny that he likes it ;)). If you haven't been following this show, then you must watch from the beginning. It's not one of those shows that you can just jump into and catch up. We rented seasons 1 and 2 and watched every episode last summer. We're LOVING season 3 so far!

Another show that I am hooked on is The Bachelor. I know. I know I should be ashamed but it has been my guilty pleasure for many years. I don't know why I am so hooked on the show. The couples rarely survive after the taping but I still enjoy watching almost every season to this day. I've only missed a few seasons. I think I'm going to like this one. I'm a big fan of Sean Lowe! I really wanted him to "win" when he was on The Bachelorette with Emily Maynard.

And last, but not least, I figured I should do a little catch up on my pregnancy. I'd take a great photo to show you my growing baby bump, but wait... I can't! Meh.

My 20 week ultrasound is already scheduled! Sure, it's a month away, but that means I'm only 4 weeks away to being half way through this pregnancy! It's speeding by.

Now to see if we can really escape the 20 week ultrasound without finding out the gender of the baby. I really hope we succeed. 

Over this past week I've been feeling those first little baby kicks. :) Sure the baby's not big enough to feel every little move, but I have been feeling a little kick or two on a daily basis for a week now. This is by far my favorite part of being pregnant!

I'm a little worried about naming this 3rd child. First of all, there has been a great debate over whether or not to name this baby an "E" name since Elliana and Ethan both begin with E. Caleb says no E name, I say yes. However, I don't want to pick a name that I only sort of like just because it begins with an E. It will have to be the perfect fit! With Ellie and Ethan, we knew almost from the beginning of those pregnancies what names we liked. This time around, we have no idea where to begin. Oh well, I'm sure we'll find the right name for this baby, boy or girl. :)

I'm Still Here

I don't know why, but for some reason I just haven't felt the urge to stay on top of my blog over the past few weeks.

I don't know if it's because not much is going on in our lives right now, or the fact that I'm still waiting for spring to lift my winter blues.

Really, I think it's that recently I've just been using the little free time that I have differently.

I've been reading more, which has been a shock even to me. I used to label myself as someone who just doesn't read. However, a few months ago a friend suggested that I read The Help. I did, and I loved it! I haven't stopped reading since I finished The Help. Now I have a never ending list of books that I want to read. Who is this person?

I've also been spending less time on the computer in the evenings and more time talking to and snuggling up with Caleb. I feel like we're in a really great place right now, and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that we're getting more quality time together. ;-)

Don't get me wrong, I really don't want to come across as one of those "holier than thou", "the computer is the devil" people. I don't feel that way at all. I love the Internet, and I love keeping up with people on facebook and by reading their blogs. I didn't make a conscious decision to make these changes, it just happened slowly over time.

I'm not saying that I've made a permanent change and that I'll never blog again. I just hope to find the right balance. Like everyone else, I'm still learning how to juggle time with kids, time with the hubby, time with extended family, keeping up on house work, keeping up with friends, spending time with God and reading his word, and how best to enjoy my free time.

I still love this blog of mine. It's definitely still one of the things I enjoy doing when I do have some free time. I love how it gives me a place to record my thoughts and journal about my life and the lives of my loved ones. So, I know I'll be back soon and I hope I won't neglect this place for too long again.

My Sunshine

You are my sunshine

My only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are gray

You'll never know dear, how much I love you

Please don't take my sunshine away

I was complaining to my sisters yesterday that I'm really feeling the "winter blues" lately. I don't know what it is, but there's something about January and February that is so boring, so bleak, that I begin to feel down.

There's nothing bad going on in our lives right now, and for that I'm truely thankful. I guess it's just always hard for me to come off of the "holiday high". During the months of November and December it seems like there's always something going on and lots of loved ones around to spend time with. When the holidays are over, it's still so cold outside and there isn't much to do or look forward to.

That's why I'm so thankful for my kiddos (and my husband too of course. I just don't get to spend every day with him). They keep me smiling and laughing all day long. They truely do brighten up my every day and pull me out of my winter slump.

I won't lie, I'm really looking forward to spring and summer. I'm looking forward to being outside more, to more get togethers with friends, and to vacations and holidays.

In the meantime, I'm more than happy to spend my days inside making memories with these two. :)

Let Her Be Little

I don't know what it is. Elliana just seems to be so grown up lately. Caleb and I have both made this comment recently.

It could be that her physical appearance is looking a lot more like a little girl and a lot less like a toddler. It could be her extensive vocabulary and the way that she communicates so effortlessly these days. Or maybe it's the fact that she's enjoying being more and more a part of our daily activities.

I just wanted to share some photos and funny stories about Elliana to give you a glimpse of what our day to day life is like with her these days.

Here is Ellie "helping" me bake chocolate chip cookies a few weekends ago. Did I mention how much I LOVE my new kitchen aid?! I think Caleb and Ellie are enjoying it too. :)


Here's Elliana and Caleb giving the new bike carrier (we don't know what else to call it) a try. This was a Christmas gift from Caleb's parents and I just know Caleb and Ellie are going to be spending a lot of time together on bike rides this spring and summer.


This is one of my new favorite pictures of her.


Elliana's hair is long enough now that we can pull all of it up in a ponytail. Caleb and I both love it, but we also think it makes her look so much more grown up. :(



Ellie is such a funny little girl! Caleb and I were laughing almost the whole way home from being out last night.



We were driving home and a smile crept across Ellie's face. She suddenly burst out with "Mommy! Daddy!"
Caleb and I: "Yes, Elliana?"
Ellie:"How about... fruit snacks!"

Then just a few minutes later from the backseat we heard "It's NOT night-night time!"
Caleb and I: "Yes Elliana, yes it is. You're going to bed when we get home."
Ellie: "No, it's not night-night time for... 3 hours."
Where does she get these things?

Her new favorite thing to do while eating a meal is to pick up anything (her cup, her utensils, or her food), raise it in the air and exclaim "Cheers"! Then she waits for us to say cheers back and raise our food or utensils too. :)

She loves to speak to inanimate objects. Just today at lunch she started talking to her bowl. This may not be word for word what she said, but it's close; "Hi bowl. I'm eating macaroni and cheese bowl. Then it's night-night time bowl. Now I'm drinking my water bowl". Ha! I'm giggling to myself even as I write this.

All I know is, every time I listen to this song and think about our Elliana, I can't help but be sad. It's true what they say, they grow up so fast! With how much fun we're having with Ellie lately, I don't want her to grow up. I know she has to though. It's like my mom always tells me, "Enjoy each stage because you'll want the time back when they've grown up".

Here's a little warning, this song will probably make you cry. It makes me cry every time.



On a completely unrelated note, I just noticed that this is my 100th post. Go me!

Lucky In Love

First of all, I have to thank my talented sister Jenn for another beautiful blog design! I'm really liking this new winter design, it must be tough to be so talented. :)

Right after the first of the year, I said there were a lot of things that I needed to catch up on and write about on here.

Then, this past Sunday night we met with our couples group. We've been splitting up the men and the women and the men are reading For Men Only and the women have been reading For Women Only. These have been great books that have brought about a lot of great discussions about our husbands/wives and the opposite sex.



This past week we discussed the topic of romance. This is one topic that I've always felt very lucky in. As in, Caleb is incredibly romantic and he continues to surprise me and plan things to sweep me off of my feet. Please understand, I'm not tooting my own horn here because I know that the romantic things that Caleb does for me are not a reflection of who I am, but who he is and the lengths he goes to to show how much he loves me.

I simply had to share the amazing job that Caleb did with giving me one of the best birthday surprises ever! It was seriously one of the best and most romantic nights of my life.

It started with the Thursday before Christmas. My birthday is right after Christmas and we were going to be out of state then so Caleb knew in order to plan this it would have to be done before Christmas. Anyway, the Thursday before Christmas around lunch time Caleb handed me a box and said "Happy Birthday!" He went on to tell me that I needed to go and shower (we had taken Elliana swimming that morning) and I couldn't open the box until after I was finished showering. He also said to kiss Elliana goodbye- she was sleeping in her crib. I gave him a funny look and then did what he told me to.

After showering, I opened the first box. Caleb and Elliana were already gone. There was a bite-sized Baby Ruth in the box (my favorite) and a note that explained that I was going to be going on a little scavenger hunt that would lead to more surprises. The note told me to go to the basement, pick out one of our suitcases (the note said I would know which one), bring it back upstairs and leave it on the bed. My next note would be in the suitcase.

Sure enough, I went to the basement and found a suitcase with another Baby Ruth sitting on top. I took the suitcase upstairs and read my second note. This note had the key to our safety deposit box with it and it told me to go to our safety deposit box at the bank where I would find me next clue.

So, off to the bank I went and I got into the safety deposit box. In the box was my third note and a $10 bill. The note said that my next clue would be at the Starbucks across the street and I couldn't spend the $10 until I read the next note.

With a huge grin on my face I drove across the street and walked up to the Starbucks counter to ask for my next note. Inside the note told me to buy a non-perishable dessert for us to share (we love mint-milano cookies) and a magazine. It then said to drive back home and pack one dressy outfit, one casual outfit, a swimsuit, something to sleep in, all of my toiletries, and something sexy. ;-)



I was so excited at this point! I did as the note said and Caleb was waiting for me when I got home. He didn't say much except that he was so excited, that he had been planning this for a long time, and that Elliana was safe and happy with his parents for the night. We packed up quickly and drove off.

We headed to Denver and ended up at the Hyatt near the 16th Street Mall. Caleb was a little stressed about the time and I couldn't understand why. When we arrived at the hotel, Caleb turned to me and said, "We're running a little late so you need to go straight to the spa. I scheduled a pre-natal massage for you". Let me just say that the massage was heavenly! It was just what this very prego woman needed.




After my massage we had just a few minutes to hang out in the room and check out the hotel and then Caleb said it was time to get dressed, in our dressy clothes. Because of the location of the hotel, we were able to walk everywhere we needed to be that night. We walked to Maggiano's (a very nice Italian restaurant) and had dinner there. We've had a gift card to Maggiano's for a looooong time and kept saying that we needed to use it up. The dinner was amazingly delicious. On a side note, if you ever eat there, the portions are HUGE and two people can easily share a meal.



Keep in mind that with each surprise, I didn't know what was coming next. Caleb was again a little stressed with the time and I couldn't figure out why. We walked as quickly as our legs would carry us to the Ellie Caulkins Opera House and Caleb surprised me with two tickets to The Nutcracker! Believe it or not, I had never been to The Nutcracker before. The performance was amazing, I absolutely loved it!



After The Nutcracker, we got some Starbucks and walked back to the hotel. The next morning we slept in, had a quick breakfast, and picked Elliana up from his parent's house.

So, this was by far one of the best surprises/ birthday gifts Caleb has ever given me. It was one of those nights that you don't want to end (aside from the fact that I couldn't be away from my daughter too long).

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from the night. I really wish I did. So I just added some of the best pictures of the two of us from throughout the year.



I just had to brag on my husband because he seriously is so thoughtful and so romantic and I feel so lucky to be his wife. No, our lives aren't perfect and neither is our relationship. We have disagreements and fights from time to time just like any other couple, but he is my best friend and I feel so loved by him and every day I'm so thankful that God brought us together.



Now, how to surprise him? I've been thinking long and hard about this one. Let me know if any of you have surprised your husband with an amazing surprise.

Our Little Snow Angel

Okay, so she's not really an angel, but she is such a cutie!

I've really been enjoying this fun little gift that I got as a birthday/christmas present from my parents-in-law:



This was one of the BIG gifts that I was really hoping I'd get this year, and I did! I'm still figuring it out, but I've had fun practicing on Elliana and taking all kinds of pictures of her lately.



It's been snowy and looking like winter around here for the last two weeks. Any time Caleb needs to go outside to shovel the walk, Elliana simply has to get all bundled up and join him outside.



She even grabs her own play shovel and "helps" him shovel the driveway and walk. It's too cute for words! I just love watching those two together.






While I don't love the freezing temperatures we've had, there's nothing more adorable than seeing your child run around in the snow all bundled up. I've said this before, but life is so much more fun through the eyes of a child. :)

Random Thoughts

I definitely have the winter blues. This is my least favorite time of year because the Holiday season is over, and it seems like the next holiday is forever away. Plus, I love snow and all, but around this time of year I get spring fever. I want to see the sun so I can go on walks, take Ellie to the park, and grill outside.

Because of my winter blues, I keep looking at these pictures on a weekly basis:





This is how Caleb and I are going to celebrate our 5th anniversary. We're taking a 4 night cruise to the Caribbean in June. I can NOT wait!! We've been saving for this trip for a long time. It will be the first cruise for both of us and we're both very excited. Elliana will not be coming along. She will be splitting time with Caleb's family and with mine. I will miss her SO much, but I know she's in good hands and with people she loves.

As I've mentioned before, my daughter is very funny and very smart, but I often joke that she is smart in a bad way. Here's a perfect example: as I was trying to rock her and put her down for a nap this afternoon, she took her pacifier out of her mouth, then threw it across the room, and exclaimed "Uh-oh"! She knew that by doing this I would have to turn the lights on and get up to find the pacifier. I had to try really hard not to laugh. Seriously! Where does this girl learn these things?! I only wish I could catch her doing these things on video.

Can't you just see the mischief in her face? This is one of her 1 year photos we had taken a few weeks ago:



Her latest favorite thing to do is to move piles of toys from one side of the room to the other. Or she likes to bring us anything just to hear us say "thank you". She always looks so proud of herself and smiles so big when she brings us something. I love her.

Changing subjects. I've mentioned before that watching The Bachelor is one of my guilty pleasures. Does anyone else think that Jake was an interesting choice for the Bachelor? Don't get me wrong, he's a really nice guy and he's good looking and all, but something about the way he interacts with everyone bugs me a little. I can't put my finger on it. Oh well, I'm still watching anyway. ;)



My next Dr's appointment (in February) can't come soon enough for me. Caleb and I are ready to begin "trying" for our next baby. Well, we can't exactly try when my body won't cooperate. For those of you that don't know our history, I have PCOS and it's become very clear to me once again that I'm not ovulating. I hope that's not too much information.

I have a date with Caleb tomorrow night and I am very much looking forward to it. We're going to dinner and then a hockey game. Before we had Elliana, we would go out to dinner all the time! I never knew how much I took that for granted.

Anyway, I'm sorry this post was so random. I better get going now. I just heard Elliana wake up from her nap.

I hope you all have a great weekend.