Category: Family

Spring has Sprung + 25 Weeks

Well, March flew by and it’s now full on spring.  I can’t believe it’s over 80 degrees today!  This preggo lady is ready to jump in the pool!

I’m really sad that our bluebonnets here in Grapevine have been mowed over…seriously…who does that!?  I’m trying to search for another good field, but there is nothing comparable to the one we visit every year.  I’m 25 weeks pregnant now with baby girl and she’s sure is a kicker.  I don’t really remember Connor kicking this much, but he was such a BIG baby that he ran out of room really quick.  Things are going really good besides some back pain and just overall tiredness.

Speaking of Connor….he turned NINE in March.  I can’t believe my baby boy is nine already.  Oh how the years fly quicker and quicker.  He’s a joyful, smart, funny, and crazy kid and we couldn’t imagine our lives without him.  He is constantly cracking me up. He can’t wait for his sister to be here so he can make her laugh too.  Connor has the funniest questions and says the funniest things sometimes, I have no doubt he’s going to be an amazing big bro.

We’ve got our Easter decor up.  I’m also slowly but surely getting baby things too.  The second time around I think you realize you don’t need all the stuff you thought you did the first time.  A lot has changed over the past ten years too.  We did get a crib and I can’t wait to start working on her nursery.  It will be here before you know it! And these little stinkers….aka Cadbury mini eggs are going to be my weakness.  

I post a lot more and some bump dates on my Instagram be sure to follow along over there too 🙂

25 weeks

HAPPY SPRING!!!

Germany Part 3: Heidelberg, Philippsburg, & Frankfurt

Well, because I have been living under a ROCK apparently I completely forgot to post about the last leg of our Germany trip.  I want to jot all this down before I forget.

I’m also around 24 weeks pregnant right now and doing well!  I’ll update more on that soon.  Baby girl does have a name we will share if you haven’t seen already.

Here we go….After leaving Fussen we headed to Heidelberg first and it’s a cute little town with a ton of tourist shopping.  I remember my Mom saying this is where she and her friend Dwan would go shop sometimes when we lived there.

Pictures of Heidelberg:
Delicious pastries

Read More

Bumpin Right Along + A Fortnite Giveaway!

Hey all!  This pregnancy is moving right along…slowly but surely!  We had an ultrasound yesterday on Valentine’s Day and baby girl was waving and moving around.  It was the first time Connor went in with us and I think he thought it would be a picture of the actual baby or something, not a black and white blob.  Ha ha!  Nothing like peeing in a cup and being prodded for nine months.  I have to say I struggle with the whole “being pregnant thing”.  It’s definitely not my favorite time…but I know it will all be worth it when we see her!

Here’s my first bump-date picture…. Around 18 weeks here and already feeling HUGE!

Also, in other sad news we lost our precious Hemi dog last Wednesday.  It all happened so suddenly within an hour.  We are all dealing with this loss in our own way, but for Connor it has been especially hard.  He was the best dog ever and he definitely became a part of our family.  Everyone has been asking what happened…all we know is he had a heart/lung issue we were not aware of and within an hour or sweet Hemi was gone.  It’s been so hard and we will sure miss him 🙁

Connor is OBSESSED with Fortnite.  I mean isn’t every tweenage boy right now?  We found the cutest Fortnite shirt from TV Store OnlineConnor had to explain to me what this was, but it’s a DURRRRRR BURGER!  And apparently it’s really popular in the Fortnite world.  

Also, here are our Valentine’s for 2019.  I usually try to do something creative for Valentine’s Day.  I found the cute cards on Minted.com and the suckers were on Amazon.  Super easy to put together too!  We got so many compliments on them yesterday.

We are giving away a Fortnite shirt thanks to TV Store Online to one lucky reader today!  To enter to win just fill out the form below.  We hope you all had a great Valentines Day!  xoxo

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wait You’re Pregnant?

Yup.  That’s right, I already announced on Facebook and Instagram…but I wanted to write about it here a little bit.

If you know me then you know that I have always been pretty set on the fact that we would probably just have one kiddo.  Well, this summer happened and we had quite the surprise, then a loss, and I was just heartbroken over it.  I feel like God sort of planted that seed in my heart.  Connor has always wanted a sibling, but as time has passed and we’ve gotten older we just figured our time was up.

Well, that’s funny right!  We tried one time to get pregnant after the loss this summer and surprise surprise!  I am extremely nervous to be doing all of this over again almost 10 years later.  My body is feeling it and oh my goodness have I been so tired.  Nauseous and tired.  That pretty much sums up my life the past few months.

It’s slowly getting better and I’m starting to feel a bit more like myself.  I pretty much forgot how hard this whole process is on your body…and 10 years later I’m feeling the burn.  We are incredibly thankful and we are SO excited for a little sister too!

Here are some pictures of the day we told Connor 🙂

I got him a t-shirt that said “Promoted to Big Brother 2019” and a cookie with pink icing in the middle.

Connor has been wanting a little sister so badly, and he was soooo excited.  

Here’s a cute video of his reaction.

Christmas 2018 Recap!

I’m finally getting around to writing about Christmas!  Woohoo!  We had a lovely visit to the farm to visit Nannie Sue, my Mom, Dad, Sister, Vinny, Jarrett, Ella, and other friends and family.  Nothing feels as good as being home for Christmas.  We were super excited to be able to drive a 2019 Toyota Avalon on our road trip to Arkansas.  I mentioned on Instagram that I used to have an Avalon for about 11 years, and oh how I miss that car!  I never had any problems with it and I would totally get one again.  Driving this one during our trip just reminded me of how much I absolutely loved my Avalon all over again.  This new version though had all the bells and whistles.  Avalons have definitely gotten more sporty since I had mine, but they still have a TON of room in them for a 4-door sedan.   Everything is super comfy and luxurious feeling.  I’ll point out some of my favorite features below.

Of course I loved having the navigation and all of the access on the control panel.  Anyone who knows me well can testify I have zero sense of direction.  Also, the heads up display is a feature I love too.  It tells you your speed right on the windshield in front without being obstructive. 

Tons of room in the back seat- I would even compare it to as much room as an SUV.

There was an ENTIRE station for Mannheim Steamroller to get us in the Christmas spirit! Heated and cooled seats.  Even the steering wheel was heated, and that was nice especially during the cold weather.

The safety features were awesome too.  The camera up front showed an overhead and directional view as you back up the car.  That way even if you have bad depth perception (like me) it’s almost impossible to hit something!

We explored a little bit and found this adorable red telephone booth.  It wasn’t in working order, but it sure does make for a fun photo prop.

The hearth at the farm

My Mom made up some fun games to play this year and I loved that.  I hope we can do that next year too!

Look at that spread of food! The boys playing their video games My Mom made each of them a blanket.  We will cherish our Nana blankets forever 🙂

It’s so fun watching your kiddos open their presents.  It’s just the BEST!

I thought this picture was funny because it looks like Ella’s ponytail is a mustache on Nannie lol!

The beautiful farm

We also were able to celebrate my parents 40th anniversary with them.  That was such a joy!  I have the best parents in the world and am so thankful for them.  Dad got Mom a beautiful ruby ring and presented it to her at lunch.

We attended church with them on Sunday and lunch afterwards.
The boys were candy cane greeters at Mom & Dad’s church.

If you’ve never been to the Big Orange in Little Rock you neeeeeeed to go!  It has amazing burgers and shakes.  Bonnie and I enjoying our chocolate malts, we always order the same thing.

Thank you again to Toyota for allowing us to drive my dream Avalon to celebrate with family and make precious memories.  We will always cherish them!  #roadtrippingwithkids

Here’s a little Christmas flashback photo for you….oh how time flies!  Hope you all had a wonderful Merry Christmas and start to 2019!

Christmas Home Tour

 

I love seeing how other people decorate for Christmas.  There used to be a Christmas home tour carousel in the blog world a long time ago and I miss that!  Anyway, I don’t think I ever posted pictures of our kitchen after we had it partially remodeled either.  Sooo….for memories sake and so I can remember where everything goes NEXT year here’s a little Christmas home tour 🙂

“Oh Christmas tree”

Entry way

Living Room

Connor’s Room

(Of course he’s playing Fortnite!  I found the cutest sloth Christmas sheets at HomeGoods)

Dining Room

Kitchen

And last, but not least I love this little pillow that cousin Adrianne sent from England!  It’s in my office.

Hope you enjoyed and we hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!!!

xo The Branches