30 day photo challenge: {days 5-8}

day five: {from a high angle}
my belly at 27weeks...where are my feet?

day six: {from a low angle}
will about to take a step off the playground at yanney park

day seven: {fruit}
mmmm...nothing says summer like watermelon. delish! i personally think the outside of the watermelon is more beautiful than the inside....remember how much i love green? :)

day eight: {a bad habit}
this one was tough...i have a lot of bad habits, but i was trying to think of my absolute worst one...and that has to be cheese. and things fried in butter...thus the crispy-on-the-outside-but-ooey-gooey-on-the-inside grilled cheese that i ate for lunch today. i eat far to much cheese and butter...which is delicious, but so so bad. (at least it's real butter and not that artificial crap. that counts for something right?!)  ;)

are any of you going to be joining me in this venture? hmmmmmmmm?

my first guest post!

hi friends.

today, i had the fun privilege of guest blogging about my life as a mommy of two. lauren bonk, an avid blogger, writer, fellow mommmy and all around all-star, gave me the guest spot on her blog today. :) thanks lauren, for letting me share my heart with your readers!

take a minute and check out her blog! www.laurenbonk.com...if she doesn't win you over with her charming personality, her sense of humor will have you laughing so hard you just might get a side ache. :)

30 day photo challenge {days 1-4}

so i found this pin on pinterest a few weeks back. a thirty day photo challenge. i thought that sounded fun...and challenging. what i didn't realize was how much time it would take. but since photography is my second love, i don't mind.  :) plus it's a great way to practice my skills in shooting and editing. i think this may become an annual summer to-do. and shout out to, kim schukar, for nudging me along. ;) kim is doing this too, she's a few days ahead of me...check out her photos on delightful blog.

day one: {self portrait}
this pretty much sums up how i was feeling that day...lost in a mess of children's toys...and confused as to what i had gotten myself into. :)

day two: {what i wore today}
momma didn't look too hot today...i didn't shower and my hair was all sorts of crazy. i wore: maternity leggings from target, black skirt from h&m, gray tank and maternity knit shirt also from target...and as far as shoes are concerned, i was mostly barefoot all day. (please don't let my unkempt bed alarm you.) ;)

day three: {clouds}
oh the clouds. the beautiful stormy, thunder-brewing clouds of nebraska in the summertime. photo taken out at cottonmill park.

day four: {something green}
green is my favorite color...in case you didn't know. and what's better than the vibrant hue of green grass? nothing. photo taken at the park.

stay tuned for more! 

and if you're wondering if this is something you should do...yes, yes it is. :) 

a summer photo {wipeout}

mmmm...summer. we have been basking in your sunshiny gloriousness.

i've been taking a gajillion pictures lately, not that that's anything new. 

momma's been working her manual settings, baby! 

i'm hoping that practice will make perfect...or close to perfect.

summer means if we are outside, water must be involved. 

lake, sprinklers, baby pool, splash park, a hose. 

water = summer. 

will and anna's favorite park activity, throwing rocks into the water.

these two b&w pics of will remind me that he is growing up. he's turning into a little man.

and there's nothing i can do about it. 

it makes me so thankful for photography...so thankful that i can capture these moments before they vanish...i can remember the little things they do now that i'd otherwise forget about. 

and anna's mud obsession continues...watering the garden and turned around to this:

then she ran through the sprinkler and turned into a wet muddy baby. :)

sunshiny. sprinklers. and an {almost} three year old boy in heaven

 our neighbor gave us this pool...it's hilarious...it barely fits will...but clearly he enjoys it!

splash park!! anna didn't know what to think. she was surprised by a sudden burst of water.

(she's wearing will's old bumblebee swimsuit...with an added flower so you know she's a girl) 

don't let her fool you, she loved it.

the park is much more fun with friends. super tan friends who look so toasty next to pasty will. :)

june is the best summer month in nebraska. hot enough to swim and have the ac on, but not so hot that you can't breathe when you step outside. perfect.

how are you enjoying your june? 

never say never.

i find myself saying that a lot. i'll never do this...i could never do that...i'll never live there. 

some of my best "i nevers" are probably the ones where god laughed and said, 

"oh, ye of little faith...trust me, child." 

my sassy 18 year old self had everything decided.

"i' could never go to school at unk. it's too small." 

and one year after going to unl and deciding it was too big i switched campuses and met 

the love of my life a month after school started. 

"i could never be married to an army guy."

well...obviously not true.

"i will never stay in nebraska..." 

we tried living in seattle for almost 2 years and look where we are now.  :)

and the best one yet: 

"i could never be pregnant while ryan is deployed, that could never ever happen." 

24 weeks into my third pregnancy and 6 months into ryan's deployment....ha!

i think it's beginning to sink in. 

as i was pondering about what ryan will do career wise when he gets home from iraq, 

i found myself again, making a list of i nevers. telling myself exactly what we will do and exactly what we/he could never do or where we could never live. 

and it kind of hit me...oh wait, that's totally not up to me. i can make as many choices as i want and they will ultimately lead me to whatever plan god already has in place for me and for our family. 

i've been leaning far too much on myself and not relying enough on god. 

i forget that He is the One who can bring me through anything and it's only because of Him that i will be well cared for. He's already got it all worked out. it's a humbling thing, man...giving up control.
now's as great a time as any...

i hate to say this scripture is overused...but it's message rings true and clear. 

and tonight these words are feeding my heart.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 

-jeremiah 29:11-13

it's a { ___! }

well time for that BIG announcement. 

third time around it was harder to decide if we were going to find out or not, but we did. :)

here's the story:

with ryan being gone i wasn't sure how to tell him or if we should just wait and be surprised when that baby's born. but with it not being 100% sure that he'll get here in time for the birth (he will get to come back for two weeks, but who knows!) we just decided to go ahead and find out now. 

and thank goodness my friend, devin (thanks devin!) had a great "reveal" idea. 

when i went to my ultrasound i came with a prepared sheet saying: it's a ____ ! then the ultrasound tech could just write it down and seal it into the envelope so that i wouldn't peek. the grand idea was to send it overseas to ryan so that he could open it when we were video chatting and we could find out at the same time. cute right?

but then maybe the envelope sat on the dashboard of our car for a week...whoops. 

so i opened it...with ryan on the computer. he didn't get to open it, but he saw it first. :) 

so without further ado: 

he has giant muscly legs already. the technician said so. 

he is going to be HUGE. again, another big boy.  

all of his measurements were 2-3 weeks ahead of what they should be. 

and my belly is big...

big, strong and healthy!

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3d image of his sweet little face...he looks like will. the technician said so. :)

these first sweet pictures of our son make me so excited (and a bit nervous) 

to have a third baby to love on.

and we do have a sweet name picked out. don't know if we are revealing that too or not...

i'll have to check with my superior.  :)

here's my bumpalicious belly at 20 weeks...(yes, only 20 weeks)

let's just hope he doesn't get all competitive with his older brother in there and try

 to grow bigger than 9lbs 9oz at birth. time will tell!  

they did move my due date from october 8th up to sept. 25th. 

but who knows...it's all up to you little man! :)