Just a few prayer request...

I have had several things on my heart the past few days and I wanted to share them with you hoping that you will remember them in your prayers. I think it is important to share whats on our mind rather than keep in it. For me it is healing to talk about things and it is comforting to know that others are praying for these things.

1. A sweet family lost their sweet baby boy this week. Please pray for them in the days ahead. My heart breaks for them.

2. Please continue to pray for all the expectant mothers and those who long to be mothers. Being a mother is a gift and I think many times we take that for granted. Pray for those who are waiting to bring their babies home through adoption.

3. School starts next week! It is so crazy to me that they are already starting back to school. Pray for the kids as they start this new school year. Todd will also be starting at a new school this year. He is leaving the elementary school and going to the middle school. This will allow him more time to work on the schools website. He is also went from coaching high school football to junior high football this year. This will allow him to be home with us more so we are very thankful for this. Please keep him in your prayers as he adjust to all these changes.

4. Do you have a prayer request? Feel free to share it with us so that we can pray for you too!

Four years!

On July 21, Todd and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary! It is hard to believe that we have been married for four years. It still seems like yesterday that we were busy wedding planning, moving to St. Louis and starting new jobs.

Now here we are four years later living in Tennessee with our handsome little man

and expecting our second blessing in December.

We couldn't be happier!

We celebrated our anniversary on Friday in Memphis. We went to dinner at this amazing restauraunt. Flight was recommended to us by some friends and we were very pleased with our experience there. We both ate way too much and still stuffed ourselves with dessert. Our server was wonderful and we were told Happy Anniversary probably five times while we were there. We are already planning another trip there. It just may be awhile!

Here is a picture of our dessert Flight.

A Smores cupcake , vanilla cheesecake topped with strawberries and oreo cheesecake.

Ella Kate turns four!!

I can' t believe our sweet niece is four! I know every birthday I say that but time really is flying by! She is such a blessing in our lives. We miss her living close but we love every second that we get to spend with her. We celebrated her birthday with a pool party at the country club where they are members at. It was so fun seeing her with all of friends at her party. I am so thankful they have made a lot friends in the short time they have lived there. Here are a few pictures from the big bash:

The view of the lake from the country club

Hello Kitty cupcakes

The birthday girl on the slip n slide!

He loved it!

Hudson making the climb up the slide

Todd sliding with Hudson and EK!

I love their faces in this one. It was over cast that day so the water was really cold. I was worried about Hudson getting too cold but he was having so much fun!

Can't believe this sweet girl is four!!

We love you Ella Kate!!

Race car driver!

A little over a week ago we went to Guntersville to celebrate my sweet nieces fourth birthday. We haven't been to see my Zack and Cherith in awhile so we were excited to get to go see them. We went on Thursday because on Friday the guys headed to Atlanta to Atlanta Motor Speedway. Todd has always wanted to do the Richard Petty Driving Experience so guess what he got for Father's day?! Zack got a really good deal through his work so I knew he had to do it. They had a great time! My brother who has never been into NASCAR says he will now be a fan. They got to do a ride along for three laps around the track with another driver and then they got to DRIVE a race car...yes...just them...in a race car. Scary! They did have a lead driver in front of them that told them when to speed up and slow down. Todd said the hardest part was figuring out how to drive a stick shift! It had been years since he had so he was a little worried about that. I don't have many pictures of their adventure. I had planned on going with them so I could be the photographer but I ended up staying in Guntersville with Hudson. Todd took a few pictures with his phone and he did get a plaque with some pictures of him in the race car. He also got a DVD of his experience. It came in the mail yesterday and we watched it last night. I don't think he stopped smiling the whole time he was there. I am so glad that he had a chance to do this and I know he will remember it forever!

Todd's view from the track

16 1/2 weeks

I can't believe I am almost 17 weeks pregnant!

I didn't do this when I was pregnant with Hudson but I wanted to try to keep up with my pregnancy journey this time. There is so much that I don't remember about my first pregnancy and this pregnancy has been a little different then the first one so I want to document every detail. I hope I can keep this up and at least do an update every couple weeks. We will see!

Here I am at 15 weeks:

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 16 weeks and 4 days

Size of baby: 5 ounces (about the size of a turnip) 5 inches long

Weight gain: 3 pounds at my last appointment. I forgot to ask today. I'm sure I really don't want to know!

Maternity Clothes: I am wearing some maternity and some regular clothes

Gender: We know but aren't sharing yet:) We are calling the baby "Elf" for now but we are pretty sure we have a name picked out. I can't wait to share it with all of you!

Movement: I feel a few flutters every now and then. It feels like popcorn popping in my belly. I can't wait until I can feel "Elf" all the time!

Sleep: Sleep is still ok! I wake up a few times at night to pee but can usually go right back to sleep. I just wish Hudson would let me sleep a little later in the mornings.

Symptoms: Last week, I had a lot of fatigue but still feeling pretty good. Mornings and most days are good, just uncomfortable at times. I have had lots of heartburn so I have been keeping Tums by the bed just in case. I have had a major headache all day but it is starting to go away.

Cravings/Aversions: For some reason I have not been a huge fan of Mexican this pregnancy. Just the thought of it made me sick! It is getting better but I have to be in the mood for it to even consider eating it. I have craved "southern food" like corn bread, corn on the cob, fried okra and hash brown casserole. I have also ate a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches the last couple weeks.

I can't believe my baby will be three by the time "Elf" gets here!

They grow up so fast. I am trying to soak up every second!

Fun in Denver

Our last day in Colorado we headed to Denver early to do some sight seeing before we had to go to the airport. We had a late flight so we had plenty of time to spare downtown. Todd wanted to see some of the sports stuff so we headed to Invesco field. We were going to do a tour but they weren't doing them that day. So we took some pictures anyways:

The Mile High Stadium!

Hudson playing in the gift shop!

You should have all the Tim Tebow stuff in this place. I think they have high hopes for his career there. Hope he doesn't disappoint them. There will be some mad Bronco fans!

Hudson wasn't so sure about the Bronco!

Todd in front of the stadium

Coors field

We got to tour the stadium. It is pretty interesting to hear the history of the Rockies and their stadium.

Inside the visitors dug out

Todd taking it all in

We had a great time visiting Chad and Brandy. We were so sad to leave and can't wait to visit them again! I know they missed us but I told him they might enjoy the quiet for a little while. Thanks Chad and Brandy for having us and taking us everywhere! We miss you guys already!

Royal Gorge Railway

For Father's Day we headed to the Royal Gorge Railroad for a trip through the Royal Gorge. This was probably one of my favorite things we did while we were there. My dad surprised us with seats in the Vista Dome where we were treated like First Class Passengers. We were there in the morning so they had a delicious breakfast menu we could order from. Todd and I shared the huge cinnamon roll and it was yummy! It was so nice getting to do something special with my dad and Todd on Father's Day. We also enjoyed getting be with my brother on this special day. We don't get to spend too many holidays with him so we were thankful to spend the day with him.

The Royal Gorge Bridge

Love my little man!

Todd and Hudson on Father's Day!

Hudson and Uncle Chad

Mom and Dad on the train

Amazing!

Leaving the trains.

Hudson still talks about his train ride. I hope it is something that he will remember forever.

Cog to Pike's Peak

Our third day in Colorado Springs we rode the Cog Railway up to Pike's Peak. I had done this with my brother and parents a few years ago but we knew it was something Todd and Hudson would enjoy. Hudson was so excited about riding the train up the mountain! I was a little nervous about making the trip up to Pike's Peak. I was a little concerned about being 13 weeks pregnant and going up a mountain that is 14,000+ feet above elevation. I called my doctor and they just told me to drink plenty of water and be extremely cautious. I was thankful we made it to the top without any problems!

Our view on the way up the mountian

We made it to the top!

It was about 30 degrees at the top of Pike's Peak. I forgot to pack "warm" clothes for the trip so we were freezing up there!

The view from a little over 14,000 feet!

Garden of the Gods!

A must see in Colorado Springs is Garden of the Gods. It is absolutely gorgeous and it is amazing how these rocks formed years and years ago in the way that they did. It was really crowded up there when we went so I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked to. We spent some time driving around the park and walking around on the mountain. The weather was perfect while we were there.

The gorgeous view going into the park

Hudson being silly!

He loved climbing around on all the rocks

Family pic:)

Perfection!

Flying W Ranch

After we toured the Air Force Academy we drove to Castle Rock and did some shopping at the huge outlet mall there. Then we went back to Colorado Springs and picked up Brandy and headed to dinner at the Flying W Ranch. My parents had done this on one of there other trips so my dad wanted us to all go while we were there. It is an old fashioned chuck wagon dinner. They also have a western/bluegrass show after you eat dinner. It was a lot of fun other then it was trying to come a storm while we were eating. So imagine trying to eat a chuck wagon dinner outside with the wind blowing like crazy! They did move us inside for the show so that was much better! We had a great time! The show was great and food was delicious!

Before the dinner we walked around the ranch. They had lots of shops and activities for the kids.They had Native American dancers there that were showing us some of there tribal dances.

Todd and Hudson watching the dancers

Hudson and mommy waiting for them to ring the dinner bell!

Hudson watching the Bluegrass band.

The Flying W Wranglers

I think this is when they were singing Rocky Top:)

Leaving the Flying W!

Colorado Day 1: Air Force Academy

Our gorgeous view of Pike's Peak from the guest room at my brother's house. No wonder we can't get them to move to Tennessee!

We stayed busy the whole time we were there. We did lots of sight seeing and ate lots of delicious food. A lot of it my parents and I had already seen but since this was Todd and Hudson's first trip there we had to do it all again. One of our first stops was the United States Air Force Academy. It is one of the prettiest campuses I have ever seen. I know it may not be so pretty for the Cadets but at least they have a gorgeous view of the mountains.

One of the many planes we saw at the Air Force Academy. Since the events of September 11 this section is now closed off to the public. Most of the buildings are where the Cadets live and offices.

The front of the Cathedral

Side view of the Cathedral.

Inside the chapel of the Cathedral

Uncle Chad and Hudson

I love the view of the mountains behind us!