:::Biola Nursing Graduate-My Sista-Kelsey!!!:::

This photo shoot was near and dear to my heart because it’s my sister-in-law!!! We are actually each others first sisters. We both grew up with only brothers, so we were very excited to truly have a sister when she married into our family two years ago! Now I have a total of 4 sisters (I gained 3 more when I married into the Jaeger family)! Not to mention all the other girlfriends in my life whom I have grown up with who have treated me like a sister. I have been truly blessed in so many ways!

But this sista is graduating from BIOLA UNIVERSITY!!!!!!!! I am so proud of Kelsey!! She has been studying at Biola for the past five years as a Nursing Major (the program itself is five years long!). She is one of the smartest people I know! This program is so intense and she has stayed with it every step of the way. Not to mention the fact that she met my bother, dated him, got engaged, planned a wedding, got married, and gained a whole new family while studying nursing! She’s amazing! And she’s absolutely gorgeous!!! But I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves!

I’m sorry. I can’t help but brag about my sister! We had so much fun on our photo shoot! We went to her old stomping grounds. Which aren’t so old yet, cause she hasn’t actually graduated. But they are actually my old stomping grounds. I proudly attended there for one year! Then I transferred to Cypress College to work on my photography degree. I am proud and glad to say that I did go there for a short time. I have grown up around Biola my whole life and always wanted to experience college life there. I worked really hard to finally get there and was even able to live on campus for a semester! But due to lack of funds and a change in direction for my studies, I packed up and headed somewhere else. God had a bigger plan and he knew where I needed to go. I am just grateful that he allowed me to attend there when I did. Because of all that, I now have so much more appreciation and admiration for Kelsey, (and my other sister-in-law Marianne who is also graduating from Biola in May), for completing their own degrees in the proper time!!! It is so hard now days to complete a four-year degree in four years, and do it well!!! I couldn’t be happier for either of them! They deserve all the accolades they can get!!!

Well here are a few photos from our shoot. Kelsey you are just so gorgeous and fabulous!!! There are so many photos to choose from! So here are a few of my favorites!! Enjoy!

Had to get some Biola icons in there!

What I tell ya! Gorgeous right?! (It also helped that my brother, her husband, was there to make faces and get her to smile! He was pretty goofy, but a fabulous assistant! Thanks Nathan!)

What I love about Kelsey is that you can see that she loves what she does!!! She is going to make a fabulous Nurse! (I am looking forward to having her in my delivery room in August for moral and technical support!!!)

Kelsey, you are so sweet and wonderful and I love you so much!!! I am so glad that you are a part of our family, and I am so proud of all of your hard work and accomplishments! I can’t wait to start celebrating and getting these Graduation parties going!!!!!

Love, Your Sister!

Happy Wednesday!

:::Newborn ~ Conor:::

Baby Conor was such a joy to work with! He is such a sweet little boy who also turned out to be quite a little model!

Before Conor was born I was able to capture his lovely parents at their maternity shoot, which you can view here. We had such a fun time that day. And just a few short weeks later Baby Conor came bouncing into the world!

I few days after he was born I went over to their house to meet the little guy. He was so tiny and stretching his beautiful little arms! He was so cooperative too. He was a great little poser for the camera. He’s already a natural! Here are some of the photos from that day! Enjoy!

Here is a special Before and After shot! One of my absolute favorites!!!

Conor’s parents like to refer to him as their Irish Baby! For two reasons. 1: He was beautifully and wonderfully made in Ireland last summer. 2: He was born very close to St. Patrick’s day! So I thought a few themed shots were in order for this sweet little baby boy!

As well as being an adorable little Irish Baby he is also a little Angel Baby! This boy is being brought up right! He is growing up knowing who the best team in Baseball truly is!!!! And I can say that because I am a 4th generation Angels fan myself! And my little girl will be brought up right as well!

Conor has already been to his first Angels game! He went on Opening day with his mommy, daddy and auntie Sarah! This is how you raise your kids!!!

This sweet little baby boy is so loved by so many! I know he is going to grow up to be a wonderful young man.

Conor, may the Lord Bless you as you continue to grow. Know that you are loved and prayed for everyday!

Happy Friday!

:::We’re having a GIRL!!!!!:::

I am so excited to announce that we are having a GIRL!!!!

After much discussion and prayer, and deciding not to find out what we were having, we decided that we WOULD find out! And we are so glad we did! Joshua and I have had nothing but smiles on our faces since we found out that we will have a little girl come August! Though, Joshua’s first comment was “I need to go out and buy a shotgun!” He’s already seeing her in High School and wondering how he’s going to handle puberty and boyfriends.

(I know I normally use a lot of !!! when I write, but today there is an extra amount just because I am so excited! So deal with it!!!!!)

This has been a crazy journey so far. It’s seems like it’s been forever since Christmas when we told our families a little on was on it’s way. But I can’t believe we’re already past half way and there’s only 4 more months to go! Yesterday I had this moment where I was talking to her and saying, “I just can’t believe there’s a human being growing inside of me, and it’s you! And you’re going to be a Baby that I get to hold in just a few short months!” Everyday it seems I have a new revelation about me and her and becoming a parent and having a baby in our house! It’s so quiet right now with just me and the puppies, but soon there will be so much going on!

I have been doing so much reading lately on pregnancy as well as diving into parenting and mothering books. I am enjoying every minute of it! I feel like a sponge just soaking everything in. I feel like I’m preparing for a test with all this reading. I just can’t take the test yet because my baby girl is still cookin’!

I feel so much closer to her now that I know it’s a HER! Right away in the ultrasound, when we found out, I immediately started saying her and she. We got to see her do so many cute things! She had her hand above her head and she was moving her fingers like she was waving! And she was opening and closing her mouth! I think it’s the most adorable thing I have ever seen! Until of course I actually get to see her do it in person! Oh my goodness I can’t wait! Some days I feel as though I am going to explode because I want her to be in my arms right now! Then I just take a breath and know that there is still so much to do before she comes and that she will come when she’s ready! But sometimes that anticipation seems almost too much to handle.

It’s so fun to feel her move around and kick and squirm! I tried for weeks to be able to feel her little flutters and bubbles before they were full on kicks, but it didn’t happen. One day it was just “bam!” “ummm…yeah, I know that was a kick!” That was about a week before the ultrasound. Joshua finally got to feel her kick the night before the ultrasound. The smile on his face was priceless. She now kicks around anytime he reads to her or starts talking to her. It is so sweet! She sure is a mover though! I knew that any child of Joshua’s would be, but man! She sure can do some somersaults!!! We’ve got a live one!

Any who, enough talk. I finally took some time this morning and got a few pictures. I wasn’t very good about taking any in the first trimester, but I’m gonna try and keep up with it through the second half! So here are some pictures from the ultrasound last week and some belly photos from this morning. Enjoy!

This one Joshua took of us right before we went to the Ultrasound!

This is one of my favorites!!! Seeing her sweet little feet!!!

She’s all wrapped up!

I used to wear these shoes when I was a Baby! I can’t wait to put them on her!

We love her so much already it’s amazing!!! It is such a miracle, this whole experience, this life. It’s amazing to know that God already has a plan for her and that he has called us to be her parents. She belongs in this family and she will be loved beyond what either of us could possibly imagine!

Psalm 139:13-14  For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

Baby Girl, we can’t wait to meet you! You are so special to us and we pray for you everyday! May the Lord Bless you and keep you until the day of your birth. And may He prepare us, your mommy and daddy, to take care of you and to train you up in His ways! We love you!

Happy Wednesday!