a 2013 recap

Can you believe that it is the last day of 2013? It is. December 31st. A whole year has passed. I looked back at my blog from the end of 2012. A year ago. I had just quit my nanny job. My grandparents were in town from Florida. And we were about to head down to Atlanta for Passion 2013 on New Year's Day. There was also this fun post recapping 2012 that I totally forgot I wrote. It was so much fun to remember, that I figure I better write one for 2013 too.

So, here are some highlights from 2013...



January 2013:  We went to Passion in Atlanta with our college group. I started meal planning and budgeting/bill paying (which I am still keeping up with!). We went to the Children's Pastors Coference in Orlando and spent a week at Disney World.

February 2013:  I encountered pink eye for the first time that accompanied strep throat and awfulness. My back had already begun to feel almost back to normal. We began the journey to get pregnant. We went to Infuse by way of stopping in Asheville for fun and staying with my grandparents for a couple days. Penny hated the entire car ride.

March 2013:  I began my part-time job at Journey officially. Smooth and Kelly were beginning the transition to Africa and Aaron was beginning the transition into student ministry. We found out we were pregnant. 

April 2013:  We miscarried. We went on the Middle School Retreat. Aaron had like a million meetings (seriously, looking at the calendar from then, it's a wonder that I saw him at all).

May 2013:  Kevin came to visit. We went to King's Dominion with students (Aaron went twice). 

June 2013:  We had a Journey18:25 camping trip indoors due to a monsoon. Aaron and I took a cruise for our third anniversary. We made a whirlwind trip to Indiana for my cousin's wedding. 

July 2013:  We drove to Florida to visit my family for a week and made a day trip to the Magic Kingdom. Penny had her second birthday. Aaron spoke at a local kids camp for four days. We had a positive pregnancy test. Aaron left for Camp Kid Jam for three days. We had our second pregnancy confirmed by the doctor at 5 weeks along. Aaron went to camp with high school for five days. (July was literally insane.)

August 2013:  Aaron returned from camp just in time to drive to Tennessee to visit my other grandparents for a few days. We had an 8 week appointment and got to see our little miracle baby for the first time. Journey launched two Saturday services and two Sunday services. 

September 2013:  We took our 10th trip in a four month period (at least it felt that way) to go to Infuse. I entered my second trimester with a good report and we announced our pregnancy. Aaron took me to see Taylor Swift. We went on another Middle School Retreat to Black Mountain, NC. (I don't think I have ever travelled so much in such a short time in my entire life.)

October 2013:  Aaron and I celebrated our birthdays. We met John for the first time and saw light at the end of the tunnel. We found out our sweet baby was a boy!

November 2013:  Journey ended Saturday services and went back to three on Sunday. We took a much-needed recovery vacation to Disney. Aaron began to slowly let go of things in student ministry after John was hired. We began getting Graeme's room ready and registered for gifts.

December 2013:  Aaron went on the Journey Student All-Nighter. We brought our time with Journey18:25 to an end (for now). We said goodbye to Robyn and Lisa in Journey Kids (not permanently, but from a work stand point). I entered the third trimester. 



Woah. What a year. We can see God's hand in all of it, and wouldn't trade any of it. 

And as far as my resolutions for the year?

1. I know that you can never know God enough, but I do feel like I could answer "Yes," to "Do you know Him better now than you did a year ago?" I couldn't help but lean on Him through the hard times of this year, and he always proved faithful. I trust him more today, and even though I went through a lot of ups and downs, He is unchanged and unchanging. And thankfully, He is always ready to forgive.
2. Despite our schedule of insanity this year, Aaron and I went to the gym very consistently. I'm quite proud of us. There were a few weeks here and there where it didn't happen, but overall, we went (and still go) 4-5 times a week. We eat at home a lot more than we used to, and I love planning the week's meals out. My back is completely better (praise God!) and has been for the majority of the year. Of course now with being pregnant, it hurts because of that every now and then. But it definitely isn't what it was at the end of last year.
3. Financially, it of course always works out regardless. We've tried to use what God has given us wisely this year, and have never lacked anything. God continues to provide for us, and we have more than we need. I love Dave Ramsey's budgeting tool on his website, and to me, it is worth the $10 a month. This year, I know it will continue to be important to budget our money with our new little addition in the mix.

So, as we enter the year 2014, I am pumped. I cannot believe Aaron and I will have a son this year. We. Are. So. Excited. We also look forward to what God will continue to do at Journey and in Journey Kids as we change some lead people around and shift all of our focus back to that. It is a new start for everything, and we are ready for what God has in store (at least, with Him with us, we are ready).

Happy New Year!

about our Christmas (all three of them!)

It's hard to believe another Christmas has come and gone. I tried to enjoy every minute of this Christmas because I know it won't be the same ever again. In a good way though!

Aaron and I started the Christmas fun on Christmas Eve. We headed out with all of our wrapped gifts for everyone in tow (as not to worry with them the next day).

Stoplight selfie. Penny is hiding in the back seat with all the presents. She's not a big fan of the car.

Our first stop was the Bauer household. We put our presents under the tree that was already overflowing with gifts. Then we had breakfast with Aaron's older brother and his family (which includes our adorable niece and nephew), his younger brother, and his mom. Dad had to work, unfortunately.

We spent the morning and early afternoon with them, and we enjoyed some rare quality time with Samuel and London (nephew and niece). Since we live way up in Wake Forest and they live way down in Fuquay, it's about an hour drive. We usually only see them at church on the weekends.

London and Penny. 

Penny and her "cousin," Bear. She's not so sure about him still...his head is the size of half of her body.

Later in the afternoon we packed up again and headed to downtown Raleigh for Christmas Eve dinner with my family. 

Great view driving in.

My parents and my brother and future sis-in-law were there with a delicious smelling ham in the oven. We watched Jingle All the Way while dinner was finishing up and then ate way too much food.

Since Sarah wasn't going to be able to be there the next morning, she got to open her gifts and we all opened ours from her and Tyler. Tyler and Sarah know us so well. A Disney Store gift card for Aaron and a Target gift card for me (already long gone). Plus an "I have the best uncle" onesie for Graeme and some adorable socks.

Sidenote:  It's more fun to open gifts for Graeme than my own gifts! I can't wait until he can semi-help open his own gifts next year!

Aaron and I left to go home around 8pm so we could complete our Christmas Eve tradition of watching A Christmas Story (which I ALMOST stayed awake entirely for).


Like I said yesterday, I was awake at the ridiculous hour of 4am on Christmas morning. Graeme woke up too, and then it was hopeless to go back to sleep. His kicks and jabs amused me for about an hour, and then Aaron woke up.

We start our Christmas morning early anyway because we have a tight schedule to keep. Around 5:30am we headed downstairs. After the coffee was made (and a quick breakfast snack for me and Graeme since we were starving), we sat down for my favorite part of the day:  reading the Christmas story together. We've started reading it from The Jesus Storybook Bible every year. If you've never read The Jesus Storybook Bible, do it. Do it. It's amazing. I cry all the tears. Even when I'm not pregnant.

We opened stockings next and then Penny got to open her gift that she's been smelling all week under the tree. She loves Christmas too. Aaron spoiled me rotten per usual. Guys, you can always win with jewelry. Always. And it doesn't have to be "real." Jewelry, chocolate, and a full length mirror were my wonderful Christmas presents.

I think I did pretty well too for him. An iPad stand, notebooks, journals, pens, and Disney trinkets.

We briefly enjoyed our gifts and our Christmas tree, and then it was time to get ready to head out the door. At 7:30am, we left and enjoyed an empty Capital Boulevard all the way downtown to my parents'.

Penny was nuts for whatever she could smell under the Christmas tree. She waited very impatiently for the coffee to be made and the Christmas story to be read again.

Lots of Penny pictures, but she's still our "baby" for now. Next year, it will be a different story!

After she got to open one of her gifts to keep her occupied, we all took turns opening the bajillions of gifts. My parents got me the majority of the keys for my long-awaited skeleton key wall. Then they came to hang them a couple days later.

They also got us some more fun things for Graeme's room which I am not posting pictures of yet!

We had our traditional monkey bread, bacon, and eggs (no eggs for me) breakfast after gifts, and then Aaron and I hopped back in the car around 10:15am to make the drive to Willow Spring and the Bauer family.

Our third Christmas within a 4 hour span began. That one of course is much more lively with seven adults, two little kids, and a curious Penny dog. Gifts were here and there and everywhere, but we tried to take note of everyone's cool stuff and enjoy watching Samuel and London open all of their fun things.

My in-laws contributed to my key wall, as well as getting me a mirror that I've been wanting for next to our front door.

My dad and Aaron hung this bad boy up the day after Christmas.

They also surprised me and my sister-in-law with necklaces that have a "B" pendant as well as our kids names on a pendant. I love my little "Graeme" pendant necklace.

Penny finally wore herself out enough that we could get her to sit still to put her Santa hat on for a picture. She just loves it. Not.

We enjoyed a delicious lasagna lunch and an hour of relaxing before we concluded our Christmas day with a Christmas day movie. Aaron's family, my family, and Sarah's family all met up to see Saving Mr. Banks. It was amazing. 

Then, with full stomachs, a full trunk, and full hearts (just throwing some corny sentiment in), we picked up a worn out Penny from her Gigi's and headed home.

Twelve hours later, we were sitting back in front of our Christmas tree and reminiscing about what a wonderful Christmas day it had been. We have so much to be thankful for, and most of all, we are thankful for our little super hero that will be here in no time at all!

We slept soundly that night, and then didn't waste anytime the next day. Call me crazy, but Christmas has been up around this house since mid-November, and I am ready for my house to be back to "normal" after Christmas day. 

We said goodbye to the last remnants of Christmas 2013 and look forward even more to next year!

in the third trimester!

Hi. Merry (belated) Christmas!

There's a lot to catch up on here on the blog, but this week has been mainly technology-free (which is always nice).

I hope everyone else has enjoyed Christmas week as much as we have.

We stayed late on Sunday to get everything set for this coming weekend, which meant we had the whole week to not go to work. Besides the random email or phone call, the only other "work" thing we did all week was drink 50 little bottles of water so the preschool kiddos can make "Star Shakers" this weekend.

We've spent the week resting, spending time with family, and completing house projects (with the assistance of my parents).


I didn't sit down and write my weekly pregnancy update this week, so here it is a couple of days late (and I'll catch up on other Christmas posts this weekend!)...


Happy 28 weeks to me and Graeme! I can't believe I am in the third trimester. In some ways, I feel like I've been pregnant FOR-EV-ER because July (when we found out) seems ages ago. On the other hand, ever since September, time has FLOWN by, and now we are only 12-ish weeks away from meeting our sweet boy!

The third trimester is great so far (only two days in). I am still bursting with energy for the most part and feeling great. I got the results from my glucose test and passed that, so I was happy not to have to swallow that nasty drink again.

Graeme's kicks/punches/head butts, and whatever else goes on in there are getting a lot harder. Sometimes it is even uncomfortable. I feel like he's stomping on all of my internal organs and my bladder. I try to tell him to be nice because I've done nothing but love him. I guess he finds it amusing though...

This week I've also experienced early mornings every day. The latest I've been able to sleep in was 8am. Today I was up at 6. Christmas Day it was 4. And every other day has been around 7. I wake up. He wakes up. And I can't get back to sleep. I guess that's just preparing me for what's to come.

The nursery is close to being "done." I love it so, so, so, so much. I really just want to sit in there all of the time.

Aaron and I go back to the doctor on Monday afternoon for another check-up. Now that we are going every two weeks, it seems like his birth is really fast approaching.

Next Christmas will be insanely fun indeed!

RIP Jonah

For the past week or two, we have noticed a steady decline in our cute, little pet Betta fish, Jonah. He wasn't swimming. Or eating. Or doing much of anything. But, he was still breathing.

That is, up until yesterday morning when I checked on him.

We said goodbye to Jonah after two and a half years with him (I am totally blown away that he lived that long anyway!).

Bye, Jonah. You were a great fish and thanks for brightening up our kitchen for so long.

From a few months ago:  he used to love to hide behind Steve (that's the statue).

about Tyler's graduation

Wednesday afternoon, we drove downtown to celebrate my "little" brother as he graduated with high honors from NC State University. He has grown up to be somewhat of a genius. He was one of the valedictorians for the class of 2013, plus he received the highest grades in the English department. He even got to give the student speech at the English department graduation (which was the one that we went to)!

Tyler is the second one there. (But we also go to church with the lady in front of him which was cool!)

Like me, he is not a fan of public speaking. But he did SO well.

After the ceremony, we went out for a late lunch. We already had so much to celebrate, when on top of all of it, he got a call from a place he had interviewed for a job and he got a job!

Talk about a great day!

We are so proud of all of the hard work he put in at NC State and he is going to be amazing at his new job.

Love you, Tyler!

in the last week of the second trimester

Only one week away from the third trimester! Woah! I can't believe how close we are getting to March. I am starting to add things to my list that I know I won't think about, care about, or feel like doing after Graeme comes. Dentist appointments, hair appointments, and stocking up on household essentials are on the list so far.

This past week has been another good week. Nothing too new to add. My "baby bump" is here and here to stay. I know it's been around for awhile, but it's gotten a lot more noticeable.

We had a doctor's appointment on Monday. Graeme's heartbeat is strong and healthy, so that's always wonderful to hear. I, personally, didn't enjoy this appointment as much because it involved three needles and a nasty orange sugary drink (I hate orange-flavored things, so of course it was orange). I am still waiting to hear on my glucose test and if my thyroid hormone levels are normal.

The doctor also said they will start seeing us every two weeks now. That will make it go by fast!

We got so much done in the nursery this week. By "we" I really mean my parents. Last Thursday they came up to our house for the day and painted his room. And then over the weekend they came back and hung a bunch of stuff on the walls. Aaron finished what he is making for Graeme's room. It is SO awesome. I can't wait to share pictures, but I want to wait a few more weeks for a couple last minute projects to get finished.

That's all of the pregnancy updates for this week.


(I will add, since we've been asked a lot lately, that his name is pronounced "GRAY-em." It is apparently more confusing than we thought.)

at 26 weeks

Another Wednesday is here and it marks another week of pregnancy gone by! We are 14 weeks away now. 3.5 months. 98 days.

This past week was great. The nursery is coming together, although you wouldn't know it at the moment. All of the furniture and decor is moved out or to the middle, there is blue tape lining the walls, and there are no outlet covers. Yes, that's right, painting day is soon approaching. It's tomorrow!

My parents are coming to spend the day painting, hanging things on our walls, and doing other handyman projects that we ourselves are not quite capable to complete. If you know us at all, you know we don't do tools or things of the sort. At least not without something going wrong inevitably.

Anyway, I can't wait to see the color we picked out on his walls and everything back in place. And I hope to post some pictures soon! I can't make any promises though, because I will want it to be "perfect" before I let you all see it.

On a different note, I am still feeling great. This second trimester is awesome, and I am hoping that this energy and good feeling fun will continue on well into the third trimester (which starts in just two weeks!).

On Monday, I have a check-up with the doctor that includes my glucose screening test. I've read enough not to expect the sugar drink to taste wonderful. I am praying that I pass the hour test so I don't have to do it again. I am also getting my thyroid levels tested Monday. Bring on all the needles in one day I guess. They haven't had to change my Synthroid level in awhile, so we will see what this time holds.

Graeme is still kicking and punching and doing who knows what in there. It's so, so cool to feel him moving around throughout the day. Aaron even saw him move the other night.

We say to each other every day, "I can't wait until he's here!"

It won't be too much longer. Happy 26 weeks, Graeme!

nine months later...

I went back and found what I wrote on March 9, 2013...


It was a great week despite being fast-paced. I loved being back at Journey. It's worked out perfectly for me to be working with Aaron again. His workload is increasing quite a bit because our student pastor and his family are leaving for Uganda in a few weeks. They are an amazing family and we are excited for them as they move across the world to fight for their adopted daughter. You can check out more of their story here.

Anyway, until a new student pastor is hired, Aaron will be the interim student pastor. That means, for the next few months or so, he will be leading volunteers working with birth-college.

We are excited for this opportunity, and have prepared ourselves as best we can for a very busy spring and summer.

Our time at home will be very precious, and it will mean cutting back on a lot of extra-curricular activities in the near future.

I am praying a lot of understanding and selflessness over myself.

I know that Aaron will be pulled in a lot of different directions, and I don't want him to feel pulled by me. At least, not in a bad way.

For him, I am praying for wisdom, endurance, strength, peace, guidance, and so much more. I know he will thrive in this season, but I know it will not be without difficulty.

We believe God will not give us more than we can handle and we are excited for this opportunity.

Off we go on another great adventure!

Nine months later, this season of our life is coming to a close. It's been nothing but a blessing, through the good times and not-so-easy-times. I laugh at how what turned into maybe a "few months" was almost a year-long endeavor! But, God's timing is perfect, and he has brought just the right guy to take over Journey Students. We are so excited to welcome our new student pastor, John, and his family.

God answered my prayers that I prayed back in March for sure. I know there were a few nights or days here and there where I was just ready for Aaron to come home and not think about ministry anymore, but I never felt neglected or that he wasn't here enough.

I could not be more proud of how he handled himself through it. He was busy for sure, but when he was home, he was home. And I know his brain didn't always shut off from work, but it was only every so often that I had to call him out for staring off into space. 

I would say, "Whatcha thinkin?" (Even though I knew.)

And he would say, "Sorry. Journey stuff."

And then I would usually remark about whatever the certain situation was and why there was nothing to worry about. And end it with, "It'll all work out. It always does." Because that's what we say around here.

Working with students is way different than working with kids. Way different. It has definitely gotten me out of my comfort zone. I lean towards the preschool age, so older kids and teens make me a little nervous. I didn't get to know a lot of them, but I do like them as a whole a lot more now!

We (well, mainly Aaron) also had an opportunity to deal with some of the tougher issues that you don't get with birth through fifth grade. Being a teenager now is so much different than even 10 years ago when I was in high school. Smart phones, social media, and having constant access to anything and anyone at anytime is the norm now. I can't believe what some kids are looking at and doing and learning about at such a young age now. It scares me to think what it will be like when Graeme is a teenager. He might just never be allowed to have the internet... (kidding, kidding...but you better believe it will be insanely monitored!)

We could not have survived the past nine months without God's help, obviously. But there are also several people that kept Aaron from totally losing his mind. They know who they are. Our Journey Kids/Students part-time staff and volunteers kept the weekly stuff in motion while Aaron stretched himself between the two ministries. I know for me, those people are some of my heroes. He could not have done it without the help that he had.

It has been a long nine months. It's hard for me to even think back to March. But coming out on the other side, it is easy to see how perfect everything was pieced together. When I quit my nanny job last year, we had no idea Aaron would start working "two" jobs. If I had also been working full-time...well, I think that would have been not fun at all. It was orchestrated by God for me to not only get to work part-time, but to work part-time with Aaron. Our pregnancy happened at the perfect time too. God knew that Aaron would phase out of student ministry just in time for this coming March. I could list a lot more, but you get the idea.

This has been a long, rambling post. I am so thankful that we've had this opportunity. I'm glad we didn't miss it. And now, I'm glad it's coming to an end. And all in God's perfect timing. We wouldn't trade it for anything. We are so thankful and trust in Him even more now. He is always faithful. 

in week 25

We are 25 weeks along today. Graeme is now around the size of a cauliflower. He is definitely doing a lot of growing because his kicks are getting a lot harder and I feel them much more frequently. I couldn't fall asleep the other night because he was kicking so much. It tickles me, so I would just start laughing every time there was a really hard kick.

We are still working hard on his room. My parents are coming over next week to paint it for us, and then there's just a handful of things left to buy decoration-wise.

I'm even putting on my crafty hat. Aaron and I are both making something for his room. Here's a hint of mine:

Ah, the intrigue. You'll see the finished result next week sometime.

I am still feeling great, minus the occasional heartburn or bloated feeling.

Graeme and I also got to enjoy Thanksgiving goodies this past week.

Oh, and enjoy them we did.

I wanted a "family picture" on Thanksgiving, but Penny isn't really cooperative for pictures...

Next year, there will be a cute little baby boy in our picture too!

Happy December!

It doesn't seem possible that it's already the last month of the year. 2013 has flown by. It's been an amazing year of new jobs, new adventures, heartbreak, and joy. We are ready to enjoy this last month of 2013. Here's what December holds (it doesn't look like much, but it is)...

1. FX.   This Friday night we will have our last FX of the year. It's none other than Christmas themed, of course. If you are free Friday night, come on over to Journey for music, games, ornament-making, hot chocolate, and cookies.
2. My brother's graduation.    My little brother graduates from NC State this month. He is basically a genius and is one of the valedictorians and will give a speech during the ceremony. I'm pretty proud of him.
3. Third trimester.    Around Christmas I will begin the third trimester. That seems crazy that it's that close! I am hoping that I will continue to feel great as I enter into the last 12 weeks of this pregnancy.
4. Nursery decorating.    This month, we are going to get Graeme's nursery painted and do a few other projects for his room. I am in another nesting phase, and I am ready for his room to be done (I'm trying not to be too crazy). 
5. Christmas.    Obviously. But really, I do love Christmas Eve and Christmas. The story of God's baby Son coming to earth is something I never tire of hearing and remembering. It's also great time with family. Aaron and I watch A Christmas Story on Christmas Eve and then wake up really early the next morning to have our Christmas together. After that, we spend the morning with my family, the afternoon with his, and then we all meet up for a Christmas movie. This will be our last Christmas where it's just the two of us. We will definitely savor it, but we are both so excited to have Graeme with us next year.
6. The new year.    I was thinking back to my resolutions from the beginning of this year. God's ways are definitely not our ways, but His timing is perfect. Our baby that would have arrived in time for Christmas is already home. We are so, so thankful that God has blessed us with baby Graeme, and can't wait to welcome him in the new year. I'm sure I will do a more in depth post about how my other resolutions went as we get closer to New Year's Day.

That's all I've got for now. There are other random Christmas parties and other happenings, but if I wrote it all out, we'd have a really long list. 

Happy December and Merry Christmas!