June is over... that means the first day of school is closer...

It was great seeing our families, but it's also been nice being home. Not to mention being away from 117 degree weather this week! Bleh! I've been enjoying my week off! I forget sometimes how nice it is just to rest and do things I enjoy! OR enjoy cleaning and organizing the house while I have energy! Jason has been getting into the swing of things; he was kinda forced too. But this upcoming week he'll have the Fourth of July off and that next Friday, so he's happy about that.

Together we've done quite a bit this week. Most of it has to do with the baby... I still can't believe we're about to cross over into this next stage of life. We first decided we needed to tackle the registry. It was stressful and it's still not complete. It started out fun with the laser shooter and we thought we were off to a great start when we got to our first item, the crib. But then we went on to the strollers where we spent about 20 minutes playing with them, pushing them, taking them apart and putting them back together. One was really frustrating. We knew we wouldn't get that particular one becuase it was so ridiculous; but we just HAD to figure it out. From there it was kind of just all stressful. Bottom line is I didn't really like Babies R Us all too much and I think I'm going to go register at Target as well!

 

 This week we also went to a Baby Expo on base. First off, it was nice to do something on base and feel like we were a part of something. Second, it was good information and our minds were sparked with some new ideas. My personal favorite part was watching Jason put on the empathy belly and do things like sitting, bending over, and laying down! It was good for him to have somewhat of a feel for what we go through. Then I got some information on cloth diapers! Never did I ever think I would even have a second thought about it, but seeing them and the practicality of it... we really are weighing our options now! But it's something to think about since we'll have to do day care too.

Our babies! hehe

 We haven't done much with the baby room. Just started moving things out of that room and figuring out where everything will go. But when we were pregnant the first time, we came across a pack and play for REALLY cheap! As in... on sale, hopefully it's not cheap quality. We decided to put that together to see how we did. It started off as my project... then turned into Jason's! But it worked. :) Now to take it apart...

 The week ended with our FIRST warm day on Wall Beach which is on base. So we took out a blanket and soaked up the sun for about an hour. Just listening to the waves and enjoying life!

Baby Girl

Now that the secret is out... here's the story behind the journey!

Originally, I think Jason and I both kinda assumed the baby was going to be a boy. I think I did because I have two older brothers and just thought it would happen like that for me. And Jason did because... he's a boy too! So we were a little surprised to find out it was a little girl! But we are both very excited about it too!

So the story starts with Whitnie Selby who is the owner of My Baby Bump Imaging AND one of my good friends! We've been talking about this moment since she first became an ultrasound tech and it's so great that we finally got to do that! I am SO glad that we waited until we were home in Vegas because Whitnie made the whole experience so much happier! Her office was so comfortable and we were watching on a 110" screen! It was awesome! She was also really good at pointing things out and telling us what we were looking at. Plus she was just SO happy! Which made us more excited. So much fun!

Whit and I

It's a girl!

Our little monkey. This is my favorite picture.

 So, Whitnie gave us a DVD and after weeks of figuring out how we wanted to tell our families, we decided to play the DVD for them and it says midway through "It's a Girl!". So Jason's family was first. Unfortunately, the video doesn't work on my bloggy blog blog. But here's a still shot.

Then it was on to Vegas. We made a little bit more of a big deal for them becuase we made them wait till we came home from Ohio. But it was so important for us to tell them all in person! Being in Cali all alone makes it hard to share news in fun ways. So we were thrilled that we would get to share this part of the pregnancy with them in person. So we first made them all chose pink or blue.

 

So we played the video for them. And then when my extended family came, we held up a blue and pink balloon and Jason popped the blue one. Surprise! Everyone was excited! We'll now have FIVE little girls running around in the Vegas bunch!

So excited!

And of course... we told the virtual world by using our piggies! I know I'm crazy; you don't have to tell me twice! But it was SO cute! hehe. And they all seemed to look over towards the direction of the ultrasound picture and it just worked perfectly.

Jason and I also had fun finding cute little baby outfits from our colleges! It's so much fun.

 Last but not least... we discovered that the little girl takes after daddy. It makes me giggle! haha We can't wait to meet her and we're just praying for a safe and healthy rest of the pregnancy. So if you think of us, pray for the little monkey girl growing up in the belly. :)

The Wedding

Their story just had to be shared. Last week we had the honor of being a part of the wedding of Jason's sister, Jama, and her now husband, Kar. For those of you who are unaware of the situation, Jama suddenly lost her husband back in October of 2010. It was a really sad time for the family but Jama's faith through it all was just such an inspiration. Since then, we were hoping she would be able to find someone again and luckily at the end of last year she did! She met Kar Singh. Kar had lost his wife and has two kids of his own. Makenna who is 11 and Carson who is 7. Over time they realized there was something special there between them and the rest is history. They got engaged and then in three months they sold both of their houses, started in a new place, and planned a wedding in their soon to be new backyard together. So here is their wedding story:

Ryan Overfield and Kelly Singh 

 

The first part of their wedding was precious and very sweet. They had a reflection time before the wedding even began. Ryan's father read a letter Jama and Kar had put together honoring Ryan and Kelly, and thanking them for being the people they were. And that even though they were starting a new family together, their memory and values would always be remembered.

Kar and Carson

The wedding itself was also just very heartwarming and beautiful. All four kids were part of the wedding party. Kaylee is now 7 and Julianne is 4. The boys were stud muffins and the girls looked like princesses! One of my favorite parts was Julianne running down the aisle towards Kar. He picked her up and gave her a kiss. It just shows how much love there is and it was SO sweet. Jama and Kar gave the usual wedding vows and then they wrote their own vows to each others kids. They told them how much they loved them and that they weren't there to replace their mom and dad but that they would always be there for them. Then they had some matching necklaces made that said "Family Forever" and gave those to each kid. This part was the tear jerker for me. For the last couple years we have always been so sad that the girls wouldn't have a father figure in their lives and we just prayed that that would be filled. And when we listened to what Kar was telling the girls about being there for them, it just showed so much love and was an answer to prayer.

Then they filled up their jar of sand. Ryan's parents poured in white sand and Kelly's parents poured in blue sand before the ceremony. Then each child took turns pouring theirs in and Jama and Kar finished "mixing" the families together. It was a beautiful image.

We could not be happier for Jama and Kar! And we are so happy to have them all in our family now! PLUS... now we get a nephew! YAY. So for those of you who did know about Jama's story, thanks for your prayers along the way and I hope their story shows God's love to you and shows that even through the pain in the world, His love, comfort, grace, and hope conquers all things.

Out and About

 The one good thing about living here at Vandenberg is being able to find new places to explore. Honestly, it's one of the only things that sometimes makes me happy that we live here. Most of the time, I just miss my family and friends back in Vegas. BUT anyway... here's a little taste of some fun and exciting things we've gotten into this month!

Jason turned 30 on the 27th! So I put together a "cake" of his favorite dessert item at the moment: Push Ups. 30 of them! He's still working on them, but is already about half way through. He was a little bummed about turning the big Three-Zero... so I put together a little box of "Things to him hold on to the child inside of him." At least for the time being... then he has to grow up and put on his big boy pants for when we have the baby! ;)

 

Also for his birthday, we found a new hiking trail just off the coast called "The Wind Caves". Up here at Vandenberg, it can be a little chilly and gloomy... so we weren't prepared to be hiking in the sun and heat. So needless to say... I almost died. Hiking when you're pregnant is NOT the same as hiking when you're not! It was a lot harder than I expected and we didn't even make it all the way UP to the Wind Caves. We did find this cave though; and boy was it a life saver! I plopped right down on the rocks and it was cool enough to bring my temperature down! We sat there for a good thirty minutes. Long, and quiet, enough to make some new animal friends. I know you shouldn't feed wild animals, but it was hard not too. This blue bird would get really close to us, just for a pretzel! Then we were quiet enough that a little mouse came out of his hiding place to find some food too. It was pretty fun! 

 

  

Mouse friend

The view from the top of the hill we had to climb!

 We have recently been trying very hard to find new restaurants to go to instead of just the same old ones we know are good. So we used Jason's birthday as an excuse for going to one. Sadly, his birthday fell on Memorial Day this year and our little towns here seem to close their doors in observation of this holiday! So...... we ended up going to a restaurant we've been to before that's delicious. It just makes us laugh; we don't get frustrated anymore because we have finally got it in our heads that we're not in Vegas anymore and these small towns are different than our 24 hour big city! And boy do we miss our big city and all the yummy food it has to offer!

 The following weekend we took a journey to the Santa Barbara Zoo. It's a small zoo, but it was nice. We were very excited to see the new baby giraffes there. They were born in April and they're SO cute! They were our favorites. Plus the little ones were full of energy and we stood there watching them for like 10 minutes because one of them was scared of this bird that kept pestering him! He would walk up to it and the bird would scare him so he would take off prancing, or running.. galloping? in the other direction! It was amusing.

This just looked like a photo op waiting to happen!

 Other than that; school is out for the summer! It was a bittersweet day. It always seems to creep up on me that I'm saying good bye to them for the last time even though I can't wait for it to be summer! It was a long, rough year for me this year. I'm happy to say that I'll be moving to 5th grade next year. My head is still on school mode and I should probably take advantage of that considering I won't want to come August. I do plan on finishing up another year here, and I'm sure I'll really enjoy my maternity leave. I just feel like that's what is right for me in the now; and next summer we'll re-evaluate everything.

Tuesday we're taking off to Vegas. We'll be dropping off the piggy girls at my parent's house and flying out to Ohio the next morning. Jason is VERY excited about vacation. He's been working so hard lately that he really deserves it.

So when you read this, think of us and say a prayer. It's been a struggle here without things and people we're use to and we often talk about moving back home. We just need some direction of what to do from here. There's not much opportunity at our church here as in Vegas for fellowship, ministry, and outreach, so I think sometimes we both just feel stuck, or useless. I write these blogs to keep in touch because we miss everyone so much. So thanks for being interested in what we have to say. :)