The Busy Month of August

Whew, as I was thinking about this past month, I realized that we have had quite the busy month. It was great, but a lot happened. Our month started with lots of visitors and traveling. We had 3 sets of guests in a week and a half and went to Fresno twice in 2 weeks! :) All of this happened during the point where I was feeling the worst with pregnancy nausea and tiredness. But the Lord definitely provides, and we got through it.

We started out the month celebrating Jason's brother's birthday. My sister in law, her husband and brother in law all came down for the weekend. I am so thankful that God has provided a house for us down here where we have the room for guests to come and stay. Ryan loved having his aunt and uncles here for a while. We also announced our pregnancy to them with Ryan's "I'm going to be a big brother" shirt. :) So fun!

A few days later my best friend from high school and her new husband came and stayed a night with us. It was wonderful to see them, and I am so thankful for her friendship. It was great to see her as a married woman and God definitely has provided the right man for her. They didn't get to stay very long, but it was still wonderful to have just a little time together.

We had two trips to Fresno this month! Whew! As much as I love to be home, it is a LONG drive...and during the first trip, they were doing construction on the grapevine. So, instead of taking an hour to get through the grapevine, it took 3! Oh, it's fun to be in traffic with an antsy 18 month old!! ;) Let's just say I broke a rule (shh) I crawled in the back and let him out of his seat. Since we were literally hardly moving, I figured the chance of anything happening was very minimal...and he had a great time standing on the seat and watching all the trucks and wheels. :) Although our weekend plans were thrown off a bit from the traffic, we were thrilled that one of our best friends had her sweet baby boy while we were in town. We were able to go see them and hold little Maddex Zimmerman. That was a blessing to be there during such a cool time in our friends' lives. Here is the sweet little man: 

During this trip, I was also able to catch up with some ah-mazing friends. And when I say ah-mazing....this is like I don't think I would've survived high school without these friends. They are a blessing and I love them so much! Now, one of my besties has two little sweet kiddos, and I love that our kids play together. I didn't get very many pics, but here are some of them sharing a delicious Me N Ed's meal together. :) 

In between trips, we had my Aunt and Uncle (Ryan's Nana and Pa) come and stay a few days with us. It was so great to have them to ourselves, and they spoiled us! They took us out to yummy meals twice, and my amazing decorator of an Aunt helped me finish some shelves that I have been putting off. I think since I was so sick this month, I really wasn't in the picture taking mode...but I did get a few of Ryan enjoying some time with his Pa. :) 

Our next trip to Fresno was super quick! We were only in the city of Fresno for Saturday night. We celebrated a very special lady: Jason's Grandma turned 80 this year, so we had a party for her. :) She is one amazing woman. We stay with her often and have the privilege of hearing about her life and eating her cooking (she was a caterer for 30 years!). The one thing that this woman loves is her family, and she has been blessed with 8 great-grandchildren under 5 years old, and two more on the way. She has enough hugs and kisses to go around and she has a special way of making sure everyone feels loved and special. She is a hero to me. She loves Jesus and others with her whole heart: what else is there to do with life? Here she is in her glory with all her greats! 

Lastly, today my sweet little Ryan is 19 months old! And our little Baby Love is 12 weeks in gestation. :) Ryan is FUN! I feel so blessed and lucky that I am not working this year and can focus on taking care of the family while Jason is working hard to prepare for our future. I have LOVED taking Ryan to the Library, toddler music class, play-areas, parks, and play-dates with friends. The one thing that Jason and I were saying that Ryan is doing that is new this month is how much he 'talks' to us. He says about 15-20 words well, but he loves to babble. My favorite is when he looks at us and just talks like he is telling us a great story, with expressions and all! He also really loves to play with water! He actually fell into a fountain at a restaurant (yes, we are great parents!)....He was playing and was leaning a bit too far, but my fast-moving hubby caught him right as he hit the water. He was scared, but fine! :) We found a water park about 5 minutes from our house, and that is so fun! :) Enjoy the pics of our big boy! 

Thankful for the everyday blessings!