forcast: hot & sunny with showers!

This has been a very crazy two weeks. I had three showers, traveled, some family in town, and real beginnings of transforming our 2nd guest bedroom to Jewel's room. It was truly such a blessing to get to spend time with some out of town friends and family, and some friends and family from Shreveport. If people only knew what a crazy joy it is for Aaron and I to receive such blessings and prayers from people. It really is overwhelming and humbling. Each moment that we feel her move, it makes us laugh with joy; what once was "not possible" suddenly is happening. Man, our God is much bigger than I could have ever imagine. Here are a few snap shots of the sweet blessings that we received from friends and family.

 My sister and I in Memphis (28 Weeks)

 The girls in Memphis

 With the hostesses for the Tea Shower! (Zwie, Hannah, Whitney, & Karin)

 With Pam & Patti

 With Annelise at 29 weeks

 Shreveport Shower, so sweet. 

With the hostesses! (Kristi, Courtney, Gloria, Britney, Kelly, & Rebekah)

There were so many great pictures I wanted to share, but didn't want to overload you guys with pics!

I wanted to try to think of something clever for hostess gifts. Feel free to steal! 

Top left, I picked fresh blueberries, and filled a glass pitcher with lemons and blueberries with a recipe for some yummy blueberry lemonade. Top right, I found this fun juicer at Anthropologie, and the shower was a fiesta(ish) theme. I wanted to play off of that, so I filled it with limes, jalapeno, and avocados and a recipe for guacamole. The bottom was for a shower that was in Memphis from friends that traveled from all over. I thought these were super fun, and had them made in colors that coordinate with their decor. Pen & Paint did a great job on those!

my gold

I had a conversation much like this one about 3 weeks ago. (Due to my absolute frustration of there being no semi-normal workout tops for pregnant people.)

Dear Maternity Workout Clothes,

Where are you? And why are you not dri fit? Yes, I see you carry cotton tanks, but I don't want a cotton tank. Why is pink your most popular color? I don't want short sleeve;, do you realize that I live somewhere where that is 100% humidity from May to mid/early September? I understand you make $60 shirts, but I don't want to spend $60 on shirt I'm going to be sweating it out in.

In Frustration,

M

 

(The ones I found are Danskin, looks just like these but a scoop neck.)

Luckily a few weeks ago I just happened to be at Wal-Mart and struck gold. Some of you do not care about this, but trust, if you are working out/riding/running pregnant, I'll go ahead and say, "you're welcome" to you in advance. I have searched the internet and have ended up empty handed till I found these guys. They are just normal, not maternity; dri fit tanks, but are super long and stretchy, perfect for someone with a growing belly. I bought every color they had in my size, and I'm singing praises about them! Um... did I mention that they are only $5? What in the world?! (You're welcome...again.) Even if you're not preg you may need to make this purchase!

5 years in the making

This was probably one of my favorite weekends. Aaron and I don't really ever get to just sit and do whatever we want together for a whole day. It was a great way for us to ring in being married for 5 years this past Saturday! We kicked off a day at the blueberry farm, swam, went to see What To Expect When Expecting (I know fitting right), shopped, and ate. Overall I would say pretty wonderful. 

 As many of you know when it comes to anniversary presents we aren't very flashy, but we've enjoyed giving the "traditional" yearly gift to eachother. We may not be the most traditional people, but we do have a lot of fun with this. Five years marks the year of the gift of wood. This was pretty fun for us. I was able to find this little guy on Etsy. 

For some reason we've always wished we had a Christmas ornament that had our wedding date on it.... well check, 5 years later we have one! And, I found a woodworking bench for Aaron. A man needs a place to create! 
All in all, I must say, I am one of the luckiest girls in the world to have found him. He's pretty amazing. (I'll spare you all the mush...but really... amazing.)

 And here was baby J at 27 weeks....we're starting to feel a little cramped here.

sit and listen

I'm in a current state of needing Jesus. Just to be honest. Sometimes I feel like I'm going, going, and then I look around and I say, "what am I doing?". Ever feel that way? The one person that truly knows everything about me, and would love for me to spend time with them...  gets the hiesman. For me, if I don't have it right with Jesus, then I don't really ever get anything quite right. I feel like someone just read this, laughed, and then said "amen" to their computer. Have no shame if that is you. So, after a rough morning, I sat, I journaled, I read, and I listened. Sometimes you just need to sit and take it all in. 

a different kind of fritter

I realized I haven't shared any new recipes lately; I came across this one and it is delicious! I was very intrigued, because I don't believe that I have ever had a fritter of any sort ever. Aaron seemed very interested in me making these Shrimp Fritters, so I said, "why not". These are GF, so I'm sure if that isn't important to you, you can modify with all-purpose flour or wheat flour. Enjoy!

Shrimp Fritter (Elana Amsterdam)

1 lb. Raw Shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed

1/2 c Blanched Almond Flour

1/4 c Thinly sliced Scallions (white & green parts)

1 TBS Finely chopped fresh Cilantro

1 TBS Finely chopped fresh Mint leaves

1 TBS peeled & minced Ginger

1/4 tsp ground Paprika

1/4 tsp Sea Salt

1 TBS Fish Sauce

1 TBS Toasted Sesame Oil

1 TBS Agave Nectar

2 Large Eggs

2 TBS Grapeseed Oil

Rinse the shrimp, pat dry, cut into 1/4-in pieces.

Place Shrimp pieces in food processor & pulse until well chopped. In a large bowl combine Shrimp and remaining ingredients (minus Grapeseed Oil). Refrigerate the mixture for 30 min., then form into 2-in patties.

Heat Grapeseed Oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Cook the patties for 4-6 min. per side, until golden brown. 

Transfer patties to a paper towel-lined plate. I served mine with a spring mix garnish, which made it even better. It gave it more of a crisp summer taste.

looking back, looking forward

I feel like I'm always playing catch up on this deal! However, at least we're getting some post together. We had our awesome typical Memorial Day Weekend with the Carters. We visited, we cooked, we ate, we picked blueberries, and of course we swam. It is always great to have friends in town!

(I mean we had to make Yonanas!)

It won't be too much longer till we get to visit with many of our friends from all over in Memphis. This month has so much to look forward to. I mean next week alone...we have our first official appointment with our doula Holly, our 27 week appointment (or our first 3rd trimester appointment...whoa flying by), and we celebrate our 5 year anniversary! Whew, that is a lot. I'm so excited for each of these things or events next week. Being married to your best friend for five years is something truly wonderful to celebrate. 

And here is the nugget/girl/baby J/Jewel at 26 weeks...