the photos

YAY! I got some photos to upload!
One of DH and I. We don't have many photos of the 2 of us together since I've been expecting so this one was nice to get!

And Mom took this one too - just showing off my cute new tank and jeans she bought me. The tank says "coming this fall' - totally LOVE it!

Happy Weekend!

We had such an awesome weekend! My mom came down on Thursday night and stayed until Saturday afternoon. It was SOOOOO good to spend some time with her and do lots of shopping. Check out my mom's blog for details on what we did. She forgot to mention how she completely SPOILED us! My mom is seriously the most generous person I know. I love her dearly!

She also took a couple photos for us which, of course, I can't seem to upload so I'll try again later.

I hope you all had a great weekend too!

28 weeks

I can't believe I'm in my third trimester already! This summer has really flown by. Before I know it, baby will be here and my life will be so different. I'm thoroughly enjoying being pregnant. I absolutely LOVE feeling the baby move, even when it's 3am and I can't fall asleep because he/she is kicking SO hard. I love feeling the different parts of the baby, 'oh, there's a foot or a hand or an elbow and there's the back and the head.' It just blows me away still. I'm starting to get more uncomfortable now. I've got such sore legs in the afternoon and at night and have been getting lots of leg cramps but am doing lots of stretching and making myself get up during the day and walk around so the blood is flowing. I was trying to put off getting one of those body pillows but I think I might have to cave and buy one. It's hard to get comfy at night and I still have a few months to go!
Swimming is going really well. It's so much easier on my body than running but I miss running like crazy and hope to get back into it once baby is here. I'm craving a good run!
Anyway, here are some photos Jonathan took of me this weekend.



Thanks for peeking!

DOH!

Okay, I've been trying for 2 days now to upload some photos of me that Jonathan took but am having no luck. I promise to keep trying but wanted you to know that I haven't forgotten!
Happy Monday!

What I've Been Up To...

First I want to say a very heartfelt thank-you for all of the very caring, supportive and kind words you posted regarding Jonathan's uncle. It means the world to me. When I read them, I just sat and cried, overwhelmed by the support of friends, many of whom I have never met, yet who still care about us and love us through the hard times. Thank you for caring and loving and being here for me. BIG HUGS to all of you!!!

Second, I just wanted to share some layouts I've been working on. I finally took some time to sit down and scrapbook JUST FOR ME yesterday! It was wonderful! It's been a long time since I've had a good chunk of time to create and I needed it. It's like therapy and I've been needing some time alone to just create and be free to express myself. I wish I had 10 more days!

So here's what I've been up to.
One of the photos I took of my sister when I did a photo shoot for her in June. LOVE the new KI Memories!
This is a shameless scraplift of Ali Edwards from her new book. I haven't scraplifted a layout in AGES but I loved this one so I did it!
Another one of my sweet niece, Meadow, using Scenic Route (one of the layouts I sent in for the DT contest).
A layout of our backpacking trip. I printed the journaling on a transparency but left the bottom free so you can lift up the transparency and see the whole photo.
I can't remember if I've shared this one or not. Just a simple layout about my sister becoming a Mom. Doesn't she look amazing?!?! I used some Fontwerks paper but cut out all the bits of color in between the circles because I just wanted the circles to show. Love how it turned out!
A 2-pager!!! LOL! Haven't done one of those in AGES but I really wanted to scrap these photos and use up some of my Basic Grey! I've been hoarding that stuff and I'm not sure why!
Remember those Deja Views Open Windows from a few years ago?!?! I used one on this layout (the inside black frame). I knew I was hanging onto those for a reason! LOL!

Whew, so that's some of what I've been doing! I decided yesterday to challenge myself to doing 100 layouts before I buy any new stuff. YIKES!!!! I really want to do it. I have SO much stuff and I need to widdle down my stash before baby comes (and I get to buy fun baby stuff!!!! ;) ). So far, I've done about 10 layouts. Only 90 to go! I better get scrapping!

Let me know if you have any questions! And thank so much for looking!

Darling Meadow

That she most definitely is!

Well, I've been meaning to update for a while now but just haven't been sure what to say. We spent the weekend with Jonathan's family. Friday night was a viewing for his uncle and then Saturday morning was the funeral. It was tough, not so much for me, although I will dearly miss his uncle, but for his family. There were so many times where I just wished I had the ability to take their pain away, to bring his uncle back, to make their family complete again. But I can't. Nobody can and it hurts. It's not fair that those kids had to lose their dad and it's not fair that his wife is now alone, a single parent, so much to face on her own. And I know that the hardest times are still ahead. I just pray that as family, we can surround them with loving arms and give them the support and help they need.
And it just blew me away that in the midst of their pain, they wanted to know more about the baby. How's the baby doing? When will he/she arrive? We can't wait to meet your little one. We need some life in this family. Blew. Me. Away.
Life is so crazy like that. Life and death. That cycle. It's made me reflective, as I'm sure it makes most people stop and reflect and reprioritize. It's caused me to think about what's important and who I am and what my life means.
It's also made me so tired. And Jonathan too. I've never seen him so wiped out before, ever. He gave the eulogy for his uncle. It was amazing, so beautiful. He has such a gift and I am so proud of him (as were many others). I think it was hard on him and now his body is exhausted, emotionally drained.
I've been very fortunate in my life to not have to experience any one close to me die. Sometimes it makes me scared of the future but I try not to live or dwell there. I try to take it one day at a time.
However, I think it is time to reprioritize my life.

Some highlights

Our trip was so incredible. I wish I could convey in words how much this trip meant to me. It was exactly the break I needed.
We had really good weather, which made me happy. I admit, I'm a fair-weather camper! It was a bit cloudy/rainy/cool/windy the first day but after that we had spectacular weather.
Some of the highlights from our trip...
Definitely the helicopter ride! I could seriously get used to this!
The view from the helicopter on the first day. It was amazing! Things look so different from the air.
This little waterfall, which the 4 of us, who took the helicopter in, hiked to on the first day. It was so relaxing!
Waking up to the world covered in frost on the first morning. So maybe the cold wasn't the best part (I had a miserable sleep because I was freezing) but it sure looked incredible, especially once I warmed up a little! It got down to below zero that night - YIKES!
And it wasn't just the beautiful frost but the mist floating on the lake too! Breathtaking!
Getting to know this amazing girl, Rachel. She's from Australia and she works with Jonathan. What a delightful woman! She is so positive and full of energy and laughs! We have plans for a photo slideshow of our trip and a Lord of the Rings marathon one day! Can't wait! We're both bringing Jiffy Pop and going to make that stuff pop no matter what! ;)
The view from the hike on our first full day. We were up on 'the Nub' looking back at Lake Magog, Sunburst Lake and Mt. Assiniboine. We walked past 3 of the most incredible lakes to get to this view. I cannot get enough of that beautiful turquoise colour!
Hanging out with these amazing people for 4 days. Everyone got along so well. We laughed so hard on so many occassions. We shared stories over dinner and while hiking down the trails. I loved getting to know each person a little bit more.
This man, my father-in-law. He just never stops with the jokes. It was awesome to see him so relaxed and having such a good time. We all laughed constantly at his jokes all weekend long!
The sunset on our second night there. Mt. Assiniboine was just glowing.

It was a fantastic trip! I am so glad we all went. And I'm really glad I only had to carry my 40lb pack 2.5km instead of 28km. I wish it would have lasted longer!

Sad news.

We found out last night after returning from our backpacking trip that Jonathan's Uncle Trevor passed away on Sunday night. He was 44, far too young. He had been sick since March and had been through test after test after test, spending weeks in the hospital, but was never diagnosed. Now it's too late.
If you think of it, please say a prayer for the family, his wife and their 2 kids, ages 16 and 14.

Gonna Miss..

waking up to this view every day! We just got back from our trip to Mt. Assiniboine. It was spectacular! We had such an amazing time!

More later...

so busy

Life has been rather hectic lately. My sister, Melinda, and her husband, Tyler, arrived last week for a visit with us. They just returned from a year in Taiwan and are heading to Poland in the fall for 4 years so I was trying hard to savor this visit.
Aren't they cute together?!?! I'm so happy they have each other.

Then on Saturday we headed up to my parents' for a visit, had dinner with the WHOLE family, which was so awesome. However, I am totally bummed that we didn't take a family photo.

On Sunday I had a baby shower for my sister and Meadow. It went well. I think everyone had a good time. I only took 2 photos though. Guess that's what happens when you are the one in charge! LOL! She was totally spoiled, got SO many cute outfits and blankets and toys and stuff.
Here's one of the photos I took of my grandma, my mom, my sister and Meadow. Doesn't my sister look amazing?!?! Meadow is 4 weeks old and she's back in her pre-pregnancy clothes. EEKS! I hope I can do the same but I'm not holding out.

This weekend we're going backpacking to Mt. Assiniboine, looking forward to it but have so much to do before we go. We bought all the food last night so tonight I'll be cooking and packing. Jonathan and a few friends are going to be hiking the 28km to the campground. His dad, a friend and I are going to be taking the helicopter in. I was tempted to do the hike but Jonathan talked me out of it and I'm kinda glad he did. We'll be there for 4 days. I'm hoping we get good weather and I'm able to get some sleep in the tent! That and some good photos! I'm looking forward to the ride in - this will be my second time in a helicopter. The first time was amazing! I feel rather spoiled getting to take it in again. I wonder what baby will think of it.

Which brings me to the topic of baby. The movements are getting SO strong now. And I'm starting to be able to tell which body part it is hitting my belly. It's very cool. I have one more doctor's appointment with my regular doctor and then I get referred to a low-risk OB clinic. It's hard to believe that time is here already. Just over 3 months to go. And I'm growing, too much it feels like some days. I started swimming last week, which has been really good, except that I need new goggles and a new swimsuit. I tried some suits on last night. Sheesh, I thought swimsuit shopping was depressing enough before I got pregnant. Last night I was ready to sit down in the change room and have a good cry. I hope I find something soon that isn't too expensive because I'm seriously busting out of what I have now and it's so old that it's falling apart too.

The running has stopped for now. I was pretty down about that. I always wanted to run through my entire pregnancy but it's just too painful. I end up get stabbing abdominal pain for about 3-4 hours after I run and end up doubled over in pain. Yah, not so cool. So I'm putting that on hold right now. I may try again in a week or so and see what happens.

Wishing everyone a wonderful long weekend!