My tamagotchi died today...

I've spent the last couple days in my house, coughing, sneezing, and trying to get over this nasty cold and cough that I think I got from standing outside in the rain during the after school curb duty.

Now, being preggo, I can't take anything to speed up the process, so it's kinda sucked the past couple days just waiting for this to pass. 

I would do anything for a sore throat lozenge or a good dose of nyquil. 

So, as I sit at home with the dog, here are my recent activities besides blowing my nose, coughing, and trying hard to breathe:

I used to have ten of these when I was a kid...

I don't know how I kept up with ten tamagotchi's...this one on my phone needs so much attention, and obviously has been neglected because he turned out to be really ugly.

and sadly, he died this evening and I had to restart the app.

I was kinda glad to be honest...I wanted to start anew. 

I've been trying to write all my thank you notes for the past baby showers.

I got distracted by alexio's really sharp nails...we just trimmed them, but they had jagged edges, so I went ahead and sanded them down today...Here are some battle wounds from his nails.

 I tried to air out the house of all my germs by opening up the screens on the doors...which was great today because it rained and the air was fresh and crisp. Alexio enjoyed sitting in front of the glass door and let every runner and/or car know that he was watching them. I think he missed his daddy today...he was probably bummed that he had to be home with his sick momma today.

 and of course, anytime I'm laying down, this is usually my view.

He's a real snuggler:)

He seems to be a momma's boy, always laying right next to me, or sitting on top of me...

he likes to settle right in between my legs or on top of the blanket i'm under, and rest his face on my belly.

By the time Baby is born, he should be well acquainted with her, because i'm pretty sure she's already kicked his face while he was laying on her.

Don't get me wrong, I love being home. 

It's my favorite place to be.

But when I"m sick and home, I kinda go stir crazy and want an instant recovery so I can get back to life. 

I get lonely too, so I'm really glad for Alexio...and then we're both so happy when Ryan comes home. 

I've chugged two gallons of orange juice, used 3 large boxes of puffs tissues, and have tried everything to soothe my throat...I'm ready to be done.

Especially since I'm creating a bright red mustache underneath my nose where it's getting rubbed raw from blowing so much.

Lol, oh well. I'm thankful that I CAN rest.

I'm thankful for the rain and the coziness of the house while i was laying around and watching Hart of Dixie. 

I'm thankful for Alexio and how he kept me company and snuggled with me-even though he stares at me every time I honk into a tissue...if he was a person, it'd be kinda awkward.

I'm thankful for a husband that faced the snow this evening, because I finished off my tissue box and needed a new box and more juice. 

I'm just thankful even though I can't breathe, my chest and throat hurt from all the coughing, and my nose is raw from blowing.

Karen's prom-2012

Karen's been a dear friend of ours since we moved to Storm Lake.

This year, she is a junior and got to go to her first prom!

I got to spend the day with her as she got ready and prepped for her prom.

I was feeling pretty cruddy the night before with a sore throat and headaches, and the beginnings of a cold, but didn't want to miss out on her day of getting ready.

Early afternoon, we ran around town getting her hair done, running around town for last minute things for the evening, and grabbing lunch and coffee...yum! she wanted me to try the one foot burrito at Mi Azteca...wow, talk about a HUGE burrito. That one burrito fed both me and Ryan AND I had leftovers for the next day...it was deeeeelicious. made me think of a burrito off of Diners, Drivers, and Dives... just HUGE! 

Here are some pics of Karen before the Grand March, which is a really cool thing the high school does here. The students and their dates get the chance to walk a runway with their dates or friends and show off their dresses and tuxes. It was really really fun for both Ryan and I to watch-we knew quite a few of the students and got to see them all decked out and looking spiffy.

 Here we are waiting. He's so cute:)

Karen went with a group of friends.Here they are walking the runway.

 After the Grand March, we snagged Karen to take pics of her looking beautiful in her dress!:)

 I Love these pics...I think Ryan looks so good and Karen is stunning!

These are some of my favorites.

Ryan, karen, and her friend, Vanessa. 

 I felt like a huge pregnant woman next to the two of these ladies all dressed up.

 and me and our favorite girl, Karen:)

 Awkward "family" photo. hahaha....

 It was a fun day getting Karen ready. 

I was so excited about her going, and could hardly contain myself!

I also kept thinking about how fun it'll be to get our lil girl ready for something like this one day...I kept tearing up thinking about what that'd be like! 

I lasted all day feeling good, until we sat down during the Grand March, and my cold finally caught up to me. I think it's from standing outside in the freezing rain and snow this past week...
I'm just glad it waited until after we got Karen to prom! Now I'm sitting at home with my tissue box, orange juice, and hot tea and honey...I don't think I've ever wanted a cough drop for my throat as much as I do now! (Pregnancy keeps me from that wish.)

Karen's so dear to us, and we were so glad to get to share this special time with her! 

Can't wait for next year's senior prom!

She's already blessed...

I'm going to have a daughter...

a lil girl.

We get to raise her to love the Lord and be a woman.

And I got the privilege to celebrate her life with all these women!

WOW...I can't believe all they had done for this shower...

What a blessed little girl! Not even born yet, and she's being showered with love, affection, and many sweet gifts!

Look at these blocks and bib and touch blanket...custom made with the colors that I want for her room! teal, chevron, and orange and gray! I LOVE these items...she will too!

The decor was so cute and absolutely perfect...the color theme was right on and they payed close attention to what I like! look at these sweeeet cake balls.

As the women kept coming in, it started to hit me how many people God has placed in our lives. 

And they were all gathering in one place...women from all different parts of my life...and Ryan's life! It was really encouraging, and I can't believe they all came to support us! I'm so thankful and humbled by it

It was really cool visiting and eating with everyone.

After the visiting and eating, Jill had everyone introduce themselves...I am still amazed when I think back about that...and all these women who are in our lives, both Ryan's and myself, from all different parts...work, leadership committees, neighbors, church, etc...God's placed many amazing women in our lives.

And when they prayed for me...for my husband, and our little girl...our little family - my heart filled with so much joy. 

Anne shared a poem that she had written a few years back, about raising her kids, and her life as a mom; it made my mind race into the years of raising this little one and others after her, and the moments when I remember and acknowledge that God has given me lives to care for, love, and raise.

and when she played the song, "My Daughter's Eyes," I can't tell you how much I already love this little girl that I have yet to meet, as I felt her kicking and squirming around while the song played.

Baby got sooooo many fun things from everyone! 

Adorable clothes,

toys, 

books, 

bibs, 

room decor...

it was SOOOO fun. 

I feel like everyone made such an effort to get things that I like - brightly colored everything! And the patterns were right on! 

The girls were such a big help. When I unwrapped a gift, they took the gifts, neatly folded the tissue paper, and placed the cards back with the gifts so they could be identified. The older ladies from my church kept talking about the kids that were so good at helping!

Nellie, the photographer of the event, captured these pictures perfectly. 

While I was opening up this gift bag, I was distracted with the colorful blocks, bib, and blanket, that I didn't see the ladies dragging out these big boxes. I was SO surprised...as you can see on my face...hahahaha. When I flipped through the pictures, I cracked up as I saw the pics in sequential order...from them dragging out the boxes, to my stunned face. I couldn't (and still can't) believe they got me the stroller and carrier!

These two girlies helped out alot during the shower, and then came home with me afterwards and helped me organize the gifts in the baby's room. The older one, Gracie, already told me that if I ever need help when the baby's here, that I can steal her away and she can help out. I might have to take her up on that offer and train her to be our babysitter in a few years!:) 

Here are some fun pics of the three prego ladies...we're all due within the same two weeks...Stacy (with the stripes) is due first, then Ali (with the dress), and then myself. We're all having girls, so it's safe to say, we'll be having some fun playdates in the future:)

and here are the wonderful women responsible for such an AMAZING shower...Ryan had seen glimpses of what the shower would be like and heard about it as some of these ladies did some planning at meetings he was at, and he'd come home excited (I know, right?! He was EXCITED!) about the shower! He wouldn't ever tell me anything that was going on, except that I kept getting huge grins and hearing how awesome it would be, because the pictures looked amazing.

Needless to say, he was more than right about it. 

It was such an outrageously encouraging time, a spiritual time of reflecting about the life that's inside of me, and just such a fun time being around these and all the other women that came! I am still giddy thinking about the shower, and the support and encouragement that just came along with it...for both Ryan AND I.

Huge thank you to these ladies and their giving hearts, loving spirit, and the time and effort they put into planning this shower! I can't express how blessed I was by it! and it was so fun!!!

Oh, little girl, look at all the people who already love you and are in your life! 

You may just be loved to pieces when you make your appearance in June!

So thankful for everyone that showed up and showered us with their love!

bright colors, teeny socks, and lil girl things!

You know that feeling when your heart is filled with so much thankfulness, you're not quite sure how to let it all out and how to express it? 

Today, I felt that...so thankful. Blessed. and just utterly blown away.

A few of my friends from work threw me a baby shower and it was a 100 times over what I had ever expected.

The decorations were so stinkin' cute, the breakfast food was incredible, and the company was amazing! 

I couldn't believe the thought, planning, and effort that went into this baby shower.

Now, is this not the cutest diaper cake ever? 

It's sitting in front of me as I type and as I was working on thank you notes earlier today (it's set up right now on the dining room table cuz i really like staring at it) and I keep grinning at the colors, smiling animal faces, and teeny shoes and socks. Amazing, isn't it?

OOoh, ooh, and in addition to the yummy treats that were set up on the table, we had some REALLY good breakfast casserole...two different ones, and I totally enjoyed both. It was all so good and well thought out!

I haven't opened presents in front of people since I was like ten years old...and i honestly felt giddy and excited to unwrap each item! Every gift I opened up was like reality hitting me again and again that this lil girl is coming soon! Can't believe it! 

We recieved sooooo many cute outfits, toys, and accessories for this lil girl. Can I say again how thankful I am? 

So many of my co workers! Thank you for coming!!!!

Love the ladies I work with.

 Here are the ladies that I work closely with: The ELL team;) 

 and here I am with the shower planning committee...applause to them for throwing such an amazing shower! They were the brains and talents of this event! 

 and this here is some of the 4th grade recess duty ladies...we look like we're throwing gang signs, but we're actually throwing up a number 4...stating that we have almost survived and conquered the 4th graders at recess this year;)

and here is a closeup of the tile that was made by Trish...She's going to add Baby BB's name to it after she's born! is that not the coolest thing ever?? Such a great idea and more creative than anything I could ever had imagined. 

I got home after the shower and Ryan helped me unload the car...

it was like getting the presents all over again as I unwrapped them and unpacked them from the gift boxes and showed everything to Ryan.

He was blown away too...we kinda stood there and stared at everything and can't believe the generosity of everyone. We're just stunned...no words to express it.

I was encouraged and felt so supported by everyone that showed up...I couldn't believe how many women showed up!

we never thought anyone would throw us a baby shower- we were just gonna wing this whole baby thing!

But God used this time to remind us of his faithfulness and provision. 

So thankful for those that I work with...Thankful for the giving hearts and for sacrificing their saturday off of work to be a part of the shower! 

Yay for little girls! This lil one has yet to find out how blessed and loved she already is!