Wedded Wednesday

When Andy and I were engaged and going through marriage counseling we talked a lot about what it would be like when we had children. We knew we wanted at least 3 if not 4 and that we would raise them much like our parents did...in the church, disciplined, and able to adapt.

I have taken much pride in the fact that Savannah is an easy going child and she just goes right along side us. For those of you that know us, you know we have very busy schedules. Very rarely do we have a free night during the week. On the rare occasion that we do we like to stay home and just be the 3 of us! We love our lives and wouldn't trade it for the world. During the summer we aren't' as busy and enjoy spending time together at home.

Lately, I have wondered if we will get as lucky with Bruce as we are with Savannah. Savannah will sleep anywhere and loves to be at my games as well as Papa's. Don't get me wrong we have meltdowns but I am also a believer in spanking and/or leaving if we need to. But I wonder about what it will be like with 2. Will Bruce be easy going or will we have our work cut out for us? Will Savannah adapt to not being an only child and only grandchild?

Another thing that is very important to Andy and I is dates. We don't go on as many as we would like and most of the time it is about a month in between. But we do still make a point to go out on dates and enjoy just the two of us time. In fact tonight we are so excited to go to the Round Rock Express vs. Rangers game. (remember we sometimes fill our free nights :)) just the two of us with some friends. Originally Savannah was going to the game with us but my parents said they would like to take her to dinner! And this weekend, although Andy is working it, we have our MissionAll retreat for church and Savannah is staying home with Andy's dad. This will be the longest time I have been away from Savannah since she was born. I have been away for 1 night but not 2! I am excited and a little nervous. She will do great but how will Mommy be by Sunday morning?

So all this rambling is to ask a couple questions:

- If you have two children...some advice?

- How do you and your husband find time with kids to take a date night?

- Am I worrying over nothing?

Wordlesss Wednesday

Savannah's idea of helping Mommy with laundry...she either tries on our clothes or throws them all over the room. Silly girl!

Crazy week

It is a crazy week and to be honest I haven't felt like blogging or taking a lot of pictures :) This weekend Andy's Dad (Pa) is coming to stay with Savannah while Andy and I attend our churches MissionAll retreat. This will be the last out of town before Bruce arrives. We still have a couple of things we need to do in order to get ready for Bruce so April 9-10th we will be working to get it all done. For now here is a picture of Savannah on Saturday before we went to eat lunch...isn't her outfit cute!! Also, please be in prayer for Andy's grandmother. We found out she has stage 4 cancer last week and the family is trying to figure out what is the next steps.

35 weeks!

1 more week until full term = 35 weeks!!!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along: 35 weeks!

Size of Bruce: around 5.25lbs he is the size of a Honeydew Melon

Maternity Clothes: I wear all maternity pants and mostly tops as well...I can still wear some of my t-shirts. I told Andy this week...our dryer is shrinking my clothes :)

Gender: BOY!!!

Movement: He is an active little guy. Any time I put something on my stomach he kicks it and Savannah has commented that he keeps kicking her.

What I miss: Sleeping without waking for the bathroom or charlie horses in my leg. And maybe bending over :)

Cravings: Nachos and Ice Cream!!!

Symptoms: More pressure. Lots of swelling in my ankles.

Best moment of the week: Savannah wanting to be potty trained all on her own at home!

So since this is my 2nd pregnancy I don't have as many misconceptions as I did with Savannah and I am also prepared for more things. Here is what I know:

1. Pregnancy is 10 months not 9! The last month seems to go so SLOW but I also want to enjoy every moment with Savannah before Bruce comes!

2. I don't have to have it all together. With Savannah I was packed, room done, everything clean and in place. (Just in case) With Bruce...none of those are done but we are getting there

3. Labor is an interesting process and I will be getting the epidural (more power and love to the Mommy's that don't!)

4. When I visit the dr. office and he tells me I haven't changed, it doesn't mean Bruce isn't coming it just means he is still baking.

5. I don't have to pack 3 bags for the Hospital :)

6. Before I go to the hospital I will try to take a quick shower and eat!

7. Enjoy the little sleep I am getting right now bc soon I will get less

8. Make sure and take time for just Andy and I!

9. Enjoy the beautiful blessing of pregnancy and the birth of a child!!!

Hope you have great weekend! Andy is in Odessa visiting his Memaw so Savannah and I plan to have a restful Mommy/Savannah Saturday!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Remember when I said Savannah knows her way around the baseball field...check her out on the pitchers mound!

Spring Break in Review

We had a great time over Spring Break. We spent time together, relaxed, played outside, and laughed a lot! Here is our week in review with pictures!
By the way 5:30 am came very early this morning and the dark threw me off as I was driving to school.

Saturday: We went and worked Papa's baseball games. Savannah owns the place and she knows exactly what to do where. After the games she will go down to the field with my dad and follow him around cleaning, watering, and raking the field!



Sunday: Sea World!


Monday: We worked on my lovely to do list all day! Much to both of our dismay's we got almost all of it done. Savannah has decided that Bruce's seat is actually her's.


Tuesday: We hung out around the house, played outside, and then that night we set up a movie on the garage and watched it with our neighbors!

Savannah and Lilia watching Mega Mind

Wednesday: Was a hard day. That morning started with Savannah and I running arrons while Andy waited on the Termite inspection people. Thankfully no termites. In the afternoon Andy and I attended the funeral for little Morgan Emily Hatch.

Joy and Brian you guys are in our thoughts and prayers daily and we want you to know that we love you very much!

Thursday: St. Patricks Day

We took Savannah to the rodeo in Austin for the first time. She loved it and was such a big girl. While Andy and I watched her on the horse ride I almost started crying because she is turning into a little girl so quick!

Daddy and Savannah before the pig races

Our little 'big' cowgirl!

Petting zoo

Rides...they were so overpriced but Savannah loved them!

After the rodeo Savannah joined Mommy and Aunt Jill for a pedicure. The ladies love Savannah and she soaks up all the attention!

Friday: We slept in, stayed in our PJ's most of the day and then went to Papa's baseball game that night.

Saturday: My parents came over. Papa took Savannah to the park while Daddy worked on church stuff and Mommy and Nana worked on Bruce's room.

Here are a couple pictures of his nursery. We still have a little more to do but I love it so far!

The dresser will also be his changing table...the changing pad is still in Savannah's room but is coming out at the beginning of April! Can you tell who he is named after?

We still need to buy new blinds and put the curtains up but this is his bookshelf. I had to borrow books from Savannah's room but I have a feeling we will be filling his up soon enough!

The crib...we have a canvas print with his name being made and it is going over his bed

Sunday: Church, rest, and get ready for the week!


Only 6-7 more weeks before Bruce arrives and 11 until Summer. I am not counting or anything!

Wedded Wednesday

I am going to take a break from Wedded Wednesday today and ask you to pray for our friends Brian and Joy Hatch. They lost their sweet baby girl, Morgan Emily, on Thursday at 21 weeks. Today is the memorial service for her.
I ask that you will keep them in your prayers as they deal with the loss.

Thank you

Wordless Wednesday

MegaMind in the drive way with neighbors!

Sea World

Sunday after church Andy, Savannah, Rob, Amy, and I made our way to San Antonio to visit Sea World! We were all so excited about we had a great time. However, at the end of the day I told Andy next time I am 33 weeks prego and tell you I want to go to an amusement park just say No. :)

This was Savannah's face when the music started and the dolphin and beluga whale came out! She loved it...even though the dolphins were not cooperating.

After the dolphin show we made our way over to the new Bay of Play Sesame Street. The picture above is Savannah and Amy waiting for the show to start...she looks confused but I think it was just bright.

She loved the show and wanted to go hug Elmo. We were shocked because she really hasn't wanted to be around masked things (blame it on Mommy) Funny thing about Elmo is you have to pay money to take a picture with him. So we waiting in line and when the door opened she was so excited. That was until she saw Big Bird sitting there. Let's just say she FREAKED OUT! By the way he is a BIG bird! We did take a picture with Elmo and Big Bird but it took a while and she had a death grip on my shirt. I will have to have Andy scan it since we were allowed to take a picture with out camera.

After Elmo she still wanted to see Abby Cadabby so we went over and she did pretty good.

Playing on the playground

Looking at Aunt Amy's favorite the penguins!

Waiting on Shamu and sitting by the flamingos...can I just say that yellow looks me look huge...or maybe I am!

Looking at Shamu with Aunt Amy

Aunt Amy and Uncle Rob


Dancing before the show with Daddy!

We had a blast and plan on going back sometime this summer! What a great way to start Spring Break.

I will probably post a week in review at the end because I have taken a lot of pictures of our little adventures this week!

Spring Break is Here!

Spring Break is here and I already have lots of updates...hopefully I will have time to blog tomorrow! Until then...enjoy the beautiful weather!

My little helper

Last night started our week process of getting Bruce's room ready...I am giving my self 1 week. I told Andy I want to go back to school after Spring Break as if Bruce could be coming any day! Let me tell you the excitement on his face!
So day (night) 1: Get Paint, Move all stuff to middle of room, and tape
Here is what the middle of his room looks like right now...and no I haven't put anything away. I have to get the closet organized first :)

After school yesterday, we all made a trip to home depot for paint and supplies. After dinner with my parents Savannah and I came home. I started taping the room and she was reading right outside. Well, that was until she told me she wanted to help with Baby Bruce Ryan's room. See my little helper!

Savannah's idea of taping...we would have some interesting lines if we kept the tape where Savannah put it.

Once everything was taped I told Savannah thank you and that it was time to get ready for night night...this was her reaction. Yes, that is my precious child about to throw a fit...which was quickly followed by Mommy giving her the "look" and then she got up imediately and helped me get her ready for bed.

By the way...can I just say I am so excited to see Savannah with Bruce...she talks about him all the time. Everytime we pass his room (which is next to hers) she tells me that soon he will be sleeping in there. She also has really enjoyed looking at all the presents he got last weekend.

More pictures of our process to follow!

Wedded Wednesday ~ the breakup

So I figured I would continue on last weeks Wedded Wednesday...I may do this for a while because I don't think I talk about Andy that much on the blog and in case you are wondering I LOVE THE MAN!! Again this is going to be long so if you don't care don't read :)

Have you ever felt like God had complete control over a particular situation? Like you were just sitting waiting because you were so at peace with his plan. Well, this rarely happens in my life...to be honest I think it has only happened 2x because I hate releasing and actually giving God control. If you know me you know that I like to be in control and although I say it and pray it I never really let go of the reigns.

With that all being said the start of 2004 was going well. I felt the call to missions and although I was so scared I was excited as well. After going through the process of Go Now Missions I was chosen to be one of 6 college age students to go to Germany on a Sports Mission Trip. I was so excited! God was in total control and everything seemed to be falling into place except my relationship with Andy. If you remember from the first post ~ I knew before we started dating that I was going to marry him. But we were fighting over stupid things and just getting annoyed with each other. Neither one of us wanted to end it but we knew something had to change.

Fast forward a couple months and I am ready to head to Germany for 3 weeks. I remember being excited to go but scared to leave. As if I was leaving something that wouldn't be there when I got back. At the airport I told my parents and Andy bye and gave them all hugs and kisses. The first week I was in Germany Andy and I talked on the phone a couple of times and emailed every day but then one day we both just kinda stopped. About a week into my trip I was prayer walking with my partner Jon and one of our interpreters when I stopped praying for Germany and started praying for me. I don't really remember much but I do remember Jon and the interpreter asking if I was okay because I was balling. (I think they thought I was so broken over Germany...to bad it was over me). That night I barely got any sleep and I emailed Andy to tell him when I got back I wanted to talk.

After 3 weeks in Germany my trip was over and I was returning to the States. I can't tell you how excited I was to see English, my parents, and Andy. I remember getting off the plane in Austin and rushing to the baggage claim. My parents were there but no Andy. What was going on? I had told God I would talk to him and that we would be okay. The problem was "I" had told God. Long Story short without lots of details two days later Andy told me that "God" wanted him to break up with me. Yes, people he pulled the God card. :)

I was devastated! Here I was coming back from a huge mission trip on a spiritual high and then I hit the bottom. A couple months later I moved into an apartment with Lacy and Tuck and we were all ready to get back to school and the BSM. Only problem was I hadn't seen Andy in over 2 months and I was so scared. People at the BSM picked sides and it was a little bit of a mess. God was not in control but I was trying to say he was.

In the middle of all of this my uncle was slowly dying and I was trying to come to grip with the loss of him but also of Andy. I remember one night at the BSM, Andy was moving back to Houston and leaving Tx State, I walked outside to get air and my cousin called. She was talking to me about her dad passing and I was just crying with her. Well, out walked Andy and as he walked to his car I just balled more. I thought there he goes...I am never going to see him again.
That night as I cried with Tuck and Lacy I was so mad at Andy at God but I kept telling them I would marry him. I know it is weird!

Well, a couple of weeks later my uncle passed away and his funeral was on what would have been Andy and I's 2 year anniversary. At the funeral God got ahold of me like no other. He let me have it...how self fish are you Claire! It's not about you! It's all for my glory! Have you no faith? Remember the promises I gave you? All these things I felt God saying to me.

All of the sudden I realized the problem wasn't Andy but it was me. I was so far from God and I needed to get back. God really worked on me over the next couple of months. At Christmas my Aunt asked me if I had heard from Andy...UMM No! But in the back of my mind I thought I want to. God continued to work on me and around new years I let go of the reigns and God took control. What a burden lifted!

I decided in January to run a half marathon with our BSM director for missions. We would ask people to donate a dollar for every mile we ran. On February 13th I completed the half marathon and it was only because of God that I got through it. We talked the entire 13.1 miles and I never looked back. I praised him for taking control and reminding me that it is all about Him! That night I emailed everyone in my inbox that I had done it. I was so excited to finish and to praise God that I totally forgot that Andy's email was on that list.

The next day was Valentines and as I sat at school checking my email there was Andy's name. What in the world!? I hadn't talked to him in 10 months and Valentines of all days I get an email. He told me he was proud of me for finishing the Marathon, that he thought of me often, and if I was ever in Houston to give him a call.
As crazy as it sounds I sat there and hit reply like it was no big deal. I think I wrote something along the lines as Tuck and I will be in Houston this weekend.

With in the hour I got another email from Andy that said if we had time he would love to meet for lunch or dinner. And to give him a call. I never told Tuck about this email so when we got in the car to head to Houston Thursday night she looked at me and said "We should call Andy." I was completely shocked...Okay God what did you want from this.

Friday morning we were getting ready for the D-Now when the pastor asked us to participate in a Labyrinth. Basically it is this maze looking thing. He told us that he wanted us to pray the entire way into the middle about what was going on with us. He basically wanted us to get right with God...once we got to the middle we were supposed to leave it all there and come back out of the maze praising God for everything. He told us to take as long as we needed. Well, I took almost 3 hours...Tuck told me later that after she was done she decided to sit in the corner and pray for me. She knew what was going on and as I got to the middle I was mad, crying, and almost yelling at God. I stayed in the middle for an hour waiting to let go. As I stood up from the middle to come back out I was so happy and praising God again for all he had done! I told Tuck I will call Andy tonight and see if we could meet Sunday.

That night I called Andy and prayed he wouldn't answer. Then when I heard his voice I froze...Claire? Are you there? I remember saying yes and seeing if he wanted to meet for lunch before we headed back to San Marcos. We all met at the 59 diner in Houston. Tuck and I got there first and when she went to hug Andy I just sat for a moment and then hugged him. During lunch we talked as if nothing had happened. Tuck decided that she had to use the bathroom (yeah right) and left us alone. Andy said that he was so glad we met him and that he would like to talk to me again soon. I agreed, hugged, and Tuck and I left for Houston.

In the car Tuck told me he was still in love with me and that she could have been dying and he wouldn't have noticed. She said he was so stuck on me. I wasn't so sure but I told her it was in God's hands and Andy's. Before we got home my phone rang and it was Andy...he was "making sure" we got home safe. I told him I would call him back later. That night we talked from about 9 pm - 2 am. We talked about everything and the next morning I was so excited and happy. Once again I told Tuck and Lacy that I was going to marry the boy but he had to work really hard. Tuck told me "Don't make him work too hard Claire...it was all part of God's plan."

The next weekend Andy drove to Austin and agreed to meet my parents one on one without me at Chili's. From what I hear it was a heating conversation but in the end my parents told him they forgave him but they would kill him if he ever hurt me again. Again total God thing!

Andy and I got back together on February 28th and were engage on November 17th. What a God thing. By the way the one and only thing that we said had to change with God had to be the center of our relationship.

Over the past 6 years it has taken work. We try daily to pray together and talk about what God is doing in our lives. God is in control and he knows the plans. It's the letting go of the reigns that is the hard part...but had we not let go I am not sure we would have this happy ending!

Wordless Wednesday

One of our weekend guests...Freckles...Savannah was in love!

Bruce's Rock and Roll Shower!

Saturday afternoon I was blessed with a shower thrown by women at my church. Bruce is going to be the cutest little rock star/baseball player I have ever seen! The theme of the shower was Rock n Roll. From the decorations to Bruce Springsteen pictures, to Bruce Springsteen songs, to the amazing cake...it was awesome! I can't tell you how blessed Andy and I feel to be part of such a loving church family! Here are some pictures:
The lovely hostesses...Amy, Becky, Jill, and Merae

The next two pictures are of most of the ladies that came. As you can see some of my family travelled in from Dallas as well as two very special friends (Tuck and Candy).

This picture has Becky in it...

And this picture has Jill in it...

Jill, Savannah, and I. So blessed with her friendship and opening of her house!

Jessica (Tuck), Savannah, and I ~ 10 years of friendship!

The amazing cake!

It says...the Boss Bruce Springsteen to the new boss...Bruce Ryan

Opening presents

The cutest decoration...on the other side it said the Boss!

After the shower we put all of the presents in Bruce's room and now it is just calling me name to get them put away! :) Spring Break is next week and let's just say I have a list a mile long for Andy and I :)