Time Flies..I Remember when you first had me..

I am so Grateful to have a Mother as Nurturing & Caring as I do.. Now coming into this new stage of life and becoming a mother myself, i'm sure I will have EVEN more appreciation for things overlooked by my own mom over the years! Its fun to grow up and become friends with the one person you may have thought at one point would never happen. I enjoy spending every moment we get together relating on things in our lives, and encouraging one another through situations that seem tough. I love my mom with all my heart.. and Couldn't be thankful enough to God for giving ME to HER :)!! I hope not only on this Mothers Day coming up you Feel special by your kids, but everyday Mother.. You are so LOVED!!!!!

I saw this on my girlfriends Facebook Status and thought it was cute & true..

At 3 Years "Mommy I love you". At 13 "Mom whatever". At 16 years "My mom is so annoying". At 18 years "I'm leaving the house". At 25years "Mom you were right". At 30 Years "Wanna go to moms house". At 50 Years "I don't want to lose my mom". At 70 Years "I would give up everything to have my mom here with me". I Appreciate & LOVE my Mom!!!

A Cute Couple!

Baby Jump!

"Camera Shy"

Due to the Size of my Camera.. Matt isn't always a fan of me bringing it along snapping shots, so I like to choose my battles, and therefore this trip, I decided not to push the picture taking... This saves me lugging it around, and saves the Moments of an impatient husband, as i'm taking pics, or asking him to take them of me. :)

Today I took a trip by myself to "last chance" the where Nordstrom sends all there merchandise that doesn't sell, you really gotta spend some time diggin for those golden nuggets, cuz half the items look used 2 times over! Its a place where BRAND names sell for cheap, and women are vicious about getting at the new merch that gets put on the floor, plus the store is filled with parents who can't seem to control there kids(or have chosen to subject there pool children while they search for the best of the best), tantrums are happening allll over the store. Sooo I had to take the lonely road without Matt on the freeway(for some reason made me anxious this time)but I made it there and back, safe and sound.. and got to spend a couple hours shopping 8months prego, and wishing stuff still fit me pre pregnancy size. haha

The great thing about being a woman though, is that you can still shop for accessories and feel "almost" just as satisfied as buying cute clothing for the new spring/summer season!

I was able to purchase a couple cute things for the little one....a cute brown and cream elephant soft blankie, 2 useless stuffys which I couldn't resist(Jenaya we will have to make some colorful owls to accent these guys), a cream change pad cover, which feels AMAZING! Some baby burts bees products... EVERYTHING was half the price if not more then what you would get it for in Canada.. ahhh... to find deals, just fills my heart with Joy ;)

Thats it for tonight.. I'll see what I can do about gettin Matt on board with Picture taking in the next 3 days!!!

Hit or Miss

So there is this store.. called Cabela's! I have heard Matt talk about it alot amongst his buds regarding Hunting gear etc. Soooo they have one here and it was the debate whether or not I wanted to go and walk thru a store filled with Outdoor Stuff! Well this store wasn't just another Outdoorsy store, its the OUTDOOR OUTFITTER OF THE WORLD!

Needless to say, it was HUGE HIT, lots to look at, and a fun place for the whole family! I'd go back forsure :)

When you walk inside there is a stand where a lady is making Candied Almonds.. smells Amazing and Tastes even Better! They had tons landscape with every kinda stuffed(fake) animals you can imagine! They had an aquarium, where we got to see a LIVE fish feeding.

Canadian Geese were so tame and just chillin in front of the store, I felt right at home ;)

Matt loved looking at all the gear! It was pretty cool seeing him test out all the GUNS they had out in the open on display!

Lone Survivor

So Matt isn't much of a reader, (until you find him the right book I guess)... This book is my brother Mikes, and its goin through the family. Yesterday i'm pretty sure we said all of 2 words to eachother... "Goodmorning" & "Goodnight... he was so absorbed in this (war story) book after they took the "first shot" he didn't put it down, and HAD to finish it..(which just happend as i'm finishing this post). It was nice to see, but I will be happy to have him back today! :)

If your lookin for some alone time, and want your husband to be entertained while that happens.. get him this book...

As for me... An hour in the Sun & I Needed the rest of the day to re-coop! ;)

*We did enjoy CHIPOTLE for a late Dinner and a Movie to end the night, so I did still get some Matt Time after 12 hours of reading or so...

Phoenix-Day 1

First thing this morning, took me a lil longer to wake up .. not quite used to sleepin in a Queen Size Bed with this big belly of mine... This Breakfast gave us a great start of a day for our shopping trip to Nordstrom Rack, TJ Maxx, & Ross, in which I realized its definatly going to be more about Matt this Trip, it was fun focusing on him, instead of being distracted by all the lovely things I could have for myself, the few trips to the change room wasn't quite the "dream" I had expected! PLUS, Matt is such a fun shopper when I'm not looking for myself, its alot quicker to... we were like power shoppers with a focus. I must say though I went through the Baby sections and secretly wish I knew what kinda baby we are having, everything is so much cheaper here, and sooooo much cuter then what we have available in Canada.

Pool time after our Morning of Shopping, Mattskis givin me a nice pose!

My Prego Self Tanning a much needed SUNLESS body, the baby loved it-for the record.

The floaty I got at "Dollar Tree" thinking it was adult size..... right...... didn't quite hold me above water.... there were some kids that came to the pool, so I was able to give it to them, after realizing it wouldn't work ;)

While we were at the pool, Matt thought I had lost a charm, it was right under my chair, BUT I wasn't wearing my Bracelet, and this was our First Visit to the pool. Its a Clip, (which i've been needing) I thought getting a charm in Phoenix would be a nice treat, but I just got 2 new ones for my Birthday and didn't want to be greedy... it always astonishes me how God Provides.

A delicious home made dinner to end off a Fabulous day!

Beginning of Something Special for Someone Special..

We've started our little baby room, still need the crib, and Matt has to build the wall to make it an official bedroom, but hey.. its a good start!

Sewing Saturday Success!

If it wasn't for this woman right here, I wouldn't know half of what I know today with cooking, baking, sewing etc..! Thanks for being such a great Teacher for me, & now Your Grandkids.. You a true Treasure Mom!!

Jenaya & Mikayla Pinning the Polkadot & Brown blanket (Mikayla did a great job Sewing this one) Both Girls did AWESOME with a little direction on tough spots, Jenaya Got the tougher pattern (flannelette & waffle material together, with folded over edges) She handled it like a Pro...

Finished Products!! Can't wait to Wrap my lil Bundle of JOY in EACH one! So fun having my Nieces grow up, able and willing to do creative projects together. I hope they always want to spend time with there Aunty like this! Bringing out the sewing machines brought back some good memories of when Shelley and I homeschooled!

Filling in the Gap..

Having Siblings older and younger can pose an issue for the middle child on where to fit in with the different stages of life... I'm thankful to have so much support from my older sisters now that have gone thru having children & raising them, while i'm going through the learning curves of being pregnant... Colleen & Mike are great sports to keep having kids to fill in the gap between the younger siblings and older siblings! ;).. luckily we've just started having kids so they can be finished, and i'll start producin for the next batch of cousins... I'm so excited that my little baby will have a Cousin Friend to be best buds with until we have some more weddings! :)
Colleen has been so Encouraging for me, at each stage i've been going thru, I'm so thankful to have her wisdom and insight during this time! Mailee did a little photo shoot for us, to remember our prego bumps we shared! She did a really great job!!!
Can't wait to meet the newest little BANMAN .. Happy Due Date Colleen!

Something True!

"Life is to short for drama and petty things, so kiss slowly,laugh insanely, love truly, and forgive quickly"

-Unkown

I have a Sweet Husband...

He showed up with Flowers & Some Bath & Body Works Stuff .. Just Because....

When its rare its even more Special & Appreciated!!!

Wedding Day!!!

Congratulations to one of our Favorite Couples John & Jerilyn!! Wish we could be there to celebrate with you today on the Hot Sands of Mexico!!! We Love you Guys, and are excited for your new Journey together!

xoxo

2 Weeks Ahead of Schedule!

So apparently if your "really good" during your pregnancy they will take 2 weeks away from your due date!! hehe......orrrrrr maybe its cuz the ultrasound measured differently then the dates we had down on paper ;)

I'm DUE end of MAY instead of MID JUNE. But i'm gonna stick with the MID JUNE and be surprised if i come early!! :) That makes me 25 weeks today!! wahooo!!!

Side profile- you can see the head on the left, and some feet or fists on the right side!

The Baby faced downward(head on the right)- you can see the spinal cord wrapping under to the left(can't wait to get it adjusted!)

Sum Fun Accessories for Now & Future!

Some "Sister" Love from Colleen Banman- so fun sharing maternity clothes- her being 3 months ahead of me, i'm the Perfect Recipient!!

Thanks Rachel Doell for this Lulu Sweater ---- I've dreamed of it since Spring time!

Hand-Me-Down: Something thats been used and discarded by another.

As a child its not always the "best" thing when your the receipient of a Hand-Me- Down, You just want to get YOUR OWN new items! I think my Younger sister Shelley had it worse then I did back then.... getting all my clothing, especially when we weren't on the "good" sister terms as we are today!

I must say I have loved the process of maturing and seeing the VALUE in what a "RECYCLED" items can bring to your life. Whether its clothing, or furniture, accessories or home decor- I appreciate the people in my life and the stores I get to shop in :) who contribute to the Hand-Me-Downs I receive!

Cass Belanger Contributed this cute cradle to our new Babes life to come!


Hannah Puetz Your A gem for helpin out a girl in need! ;)

And this CUTE addition from Tovey Demman!!! LOVE IT!!!

The Future is looking bright in the Hand- Me-Down World!!!

Try it with someone you know... it feels just as good, if not better to GIVE as it is to RECIEVE!!

a few new things..

I've got a baby bump!!! 20 Weeks 1 day- HALF WAY... tha baby is kicking alot, Matt has felt it, and i've even seen a little ripple!! We got to see the Ultrasound, God sure knows what He's doing, our healthy little baby is "looking" completely human already!!! It was so neat to see it moving LIVE on the screen, and all it's parts working perfectly! What a Miracle, Minus the symptoms that are wearin out the mama, I know its only for a short period of time, and we will have someone added to our lives that will make it all worth it. :)

Matt was in a really bad car accident at the beginning of January, there were some angels surrounding the car which we were both thankful for.. my car was written off, so we needed to replace it.. we did a lil upsizing with a Nissan Murano, even tho the circumstances weren't asked for, getting something new is always fun.. I'm loving it so far!!! Plus it has my "sunroof" and "seat warmers"... ahh simple pleasures!!

I wanna hear it....

To all my mommy Friends & Family....

As a first timer at this baby thing...

I wanna hear from you what items are a must have, that you could not live without with your lil babes!!! Its good to be over prepared then under prepared!

From Strollers, carseats, diapers, toys, baby carriers, soothers, blankets, clothing items, creams of all sorts, whatever comes to mind...

Give me your Wisdom!!!

New Meaning of Thankfulness

Well it has felt like a long journey getting here, but now that it has come, it seems like all those prayers, questions, & wonder are replaced with excitement, happyness, and anticipation of the unexpected.

This Thanksgiving we found out BIG news!!!

WERE EXPECTING!!!!!

We were told by Doctors there was a 1% chance of getting pregnant, and IVF would be an option that would bring a baby into our lives. I didn't buy it, I didn't feel peace about it for our situation. God doesn't give different percentages to different couples.. I felt urged to keep having Faith In Gods Plan which includes 100% Chance .. God doesn't have a plan b, but always a plan a. It is when we are feeling impatient, that we want to take things into our own hands to make things happen! I am so thankful for this Gift God has given us. WE are so excited to start this process, and begin a new journey that will include a little one. I have recieved an overwhelming response by friends and family which I am so Greatful for.. The LOVE is felt & appreciated!

I've stockpiled a few great items from Jessie & Hannah to get me started...belly band, http://www.mamawraps.ca/, name books, tracking your pregnancy books... all the essentials :)

This has been a great oppertunity for me to get back on the blog wagon, and share our wonderful stories with all the people we love. All the updates will be posted here... I am Approximately 5 weeks.... they say the size of a "sesame seed" - predicted due date around June 10,2011. I have my first appointment with the Midwife in a couple weeks!

SO what do you think... BOY or GIRL?

COZY

We are love our Wood Heat- the only source we got. It keeps us nice & cozy now that this chilly wheather has arrived, Snow today made it that much better.
It also serves as our clothes dryer... great for preserving energy, not so great for those crispy clean towels when gettin out of your nice shower but we are thankful!!

Come by for a cup a Tea & Baking!!

ONE of my Favorites.

HILLSONGS-HOSANNA


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQGJdTpMUcU