11.29.2011

Thanksgiving 2011!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!! We sure did!! It was so busy, but I just love my family and LOVE getting to see them! They all make me laugh so much and I am SO blessed with the best family!

We started off Wednesday night with Nate's family...I didn't get any pictures so there is nothing fun to show but we always have fun with them! We ate a HUGE dinner, played some games and had a few laughs! I am so glad I was married into such a loving family!

After dinner, we went to my Grandma Mae and Papa Royce's house to pick up my cousin Amanda! She spent the night with us Wednesday, Thursday AND Friday night! I LOVED every second I got to spend with her!

We all woke up Thursday and headed over to my Mom's side of the families Thanksgiving lunch. I LOVE my Mom's side of the family! We were all rasied together on the same farm and have just grown up so close. Since then the farm has been sold and we have all moved but I just LOVE that we all stayed so close. I took a million pictures (as usual with my cousins because we love taking pics!)...they are in NO particular order at all so enjoy!


Me, Amanda and Dalton...love them!


Me and Mom

Me and my HUGE little brother...can't forget MiKael and Shelley in the background :)


MiKael, Jarrod and Shelley (they are all siblings)


Me and my BFF Ashtyn who is also dating my cousin Jarrod (pictured above)

Ashtyn (rubbing my belly:), Me, Shelley and MiKael

and again....





The most PRECIOUS baby in the world.... Reese (MiKael's littlest. She will be 2 next year) Here she is showing us her muscles!

I couldn't get enough pictures of her...so you will just have to keep looking at her cute face :)







Yummmm!



And this is her big sis Lily Grace! She was not happy here because the kiddo's all wanted a turn with my camera...well it wasn't her turn so she was sad..had to get a pic :)

Gossip corner :)

My brother and goofy Dad...he thinks he has to be funny in EVERY picture!


Dalton, Mom and Dad...love them!

Me and my Memaw!

Me and MiKael...she is SO cute!

Here is the cute baby again!

And Lily one more time not being happy because it wasn't her turn! HA!

Kevin Porter (other cousin)...one of the kiddos took his picture!

And Shelley....another kiddo picture

HA! This picture just makes me laugh!

Nate and Manda

3 of my absolute favorite kiddos! This picture is blurry but i had to include it because this is totally them ALL the time! Makes me smile!

Me and Manda!


I belive Michael took this

And I think he took this one too! HA!

The family getting ready to stuff our faces!

Me and my Daddy! I have never really realized how much I look like him until I look at this picture! So many poeple have pointed out how much we look alike!

Hungry family again!

Me and my honey...Nate couldn't keep his eyes open in ANY pictures with me so I just picked one...he won't even know :)

2 of my kiddos...Lily Grace and Michael...LOVE them to the moon and back!



We had such a good time, as usual! Love my family!


After lunch at Memaw's house, we went to my Grandma Mae and Papa Royce's house to have dinner with my Dad's side of the family! We don't get to get together with them as much but MAN do we have fun! I love them to pieces! We laugh SO hard when we are together! I didn't get any pictures here either because I lost my camera for a bit but we had a blast!


We went back to my parents after this so Mom and I could take power naps (which didn't happen) so we could go out Black Friday shopping!! Mom and I look forward to this day for MONTHS and are always so sad (and worn out) when its over! We love mapping out our route and picking out things are are going to look for! We left her house at 9:00p, came back at 1:30a, took a power nap until 4:30a, then went back out and shopped until 2:00p Friday afternoon! To say we were tired is an understatement! We had so much fun though and love just going out and laughing! I love my Momma!


So how was your Thanksgiving??


The Avey's!

11.23.2011

Thankful!

**I am a week behind on my baby updates. I'll update sometime this weekend with this weeks highlights!**

Today, I wanted to take a minute to write down everything I am thankful for. I have many friends who have been doing the 24 days of Thankfulness on Facebook, their blogs etc. I wanted to join in but couldn't promise a daily blog! So I figured I could sum it all up in one big post! These are in no particular order, and I am so thankful for much more than just these 24 things, these were just some that came to mind.

1) First and foremost, I am thankful for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Because of him, I have hope. Because of him, I don't have to worry. Because of him, I have been promised everlasting life. How amazing is it that we get to spend eternity with him?

2) My love, Nathan. Without him I would be lost. Its so funny when you meet the person you are supposed to be with, you realize you can't live without them. He is the best friend, husband, leader, soon-to-be Daddy I could ask for.

3) Baby Avey - I have never even met this little being yet but I am SO in love with he / she! Knowing that we are going to be parents in less than 7 months is the best feeling. I pray that I can show this baby the love that has been poured upon us throughtout our lives. This baby will grow up having a mommy and daddy that love each other unconditionally, but also knowing that we love our Jesus unconditionally and without him, we would be nothing. I also pray that we teach this baby through our actions and words, to be Christ like in everything that we do. June 19th can't get here fast enough!

4) Our parents - Nathan and I both have been SO blessed with the greatest parents. We were both raised in strong Christian homes. Jesus came and still comes first in everything. Our parents love on us still to this day and made us feel like we are the most important thing when we walk in their door to visit. I appreciate that more than ever now that I am going to be a mommy. I know that our parents can't WAIT to be grandparents either!

5) Family - Not everyone has the privledge of growing up in a large, close family. I have been blessed enough to grow up in an enormous, fun-loving family and I LOVE them to the moon and back. My family is my everything. My mom's and dad's sides of the family, as well as Nathan's family are so close and I never really knew how important that was until I got older. Now, I am so thankful to have this huge family but also, these amazing friends!

6) My church family - WOW...I don't even know where to begin on this one. We have the BEST small group in the world (I'm a little partial ;) I have really enjoyed getting to know all of the people in our class in this past year. I am thankful that they come to praise Jesus every week and when someone needs some love, they are the first ones there.

7) Vacations - I wish I could take them all the time! I haven't been on many but I can tell you I never feel more relaxed then when I am on vacation! Not only that, its the only time Nathan and I have each others full attention and can focus 100% on each other. I LOVE that. When your at home, even when you try not to, you still get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life. When your on vacation, all of that is put on pause until you get home. THAT is why I love vacations!

8) My house - It might be blue, and it might not be my dream home, but we have made SO many memories in the 2.5 years we have been in that house and for that I am thankful.

9) Our jobs - In this economy, anyone should be grateful to have a job. Today I am grateful for mine and Nathan's jobs. Of course they have their trials and there are some days when we come home and think "Really?"....but I am SO grateful for the job I have been blessed with and the ladies that I work with. It pays the bills and lets us enjoy some fun times as a family!

10) Dave Ramsey - I know this is silly but if it weren't for him, we wouldn't be on the road to being debt free!! If you have never taken his Finacial Peace class, you should! It will literally change your way of life.

11) Sweet Tea - I stole this from my friend Mere but its SO the truth. I think I might be lost without it!

12) My brother - he is the SWEETEST, cutest thing ever. We are 7 years apart (I'm older) and have always been so close. I love spending time with him and love watching him grow up and change. I hope someday (in a looooooooong time ;) he meets a sweet girl who treats him right and makes a great new addition to our family!

13) Black Friday - This is just on the top of my mind right now because its in 2 days! This day is special to me not only because I LOVE finding tons of good deals but also, my mom and I get to spend the ENTIRE day together talking, laughing and making memories! I love my momma and am SO thankful for our traditions we have!

14) Seeing and hearing - This is something I take for granted all of the time but I am SO thankful I can see and hear. I can't imagine not seeing the beautiful, vivid colors of the world or hearing the sweet voices of my loved ones.

15) My puppies - I have the sweetest babies ever! We have 3 puppies...Biscuit (blue heeler), Case (Beagle), and Timber (Beagle) and they are so funny! I love having these babies because no matter what, they always make me smile!

16) Pictures - I LOVE taking pictures. They capture memories that I might otherwise forget and I am so thankful for them.

17) Food - So many people in this world don't have this luxury and it seems like I always have a plethera! I am SO thankful for food and wish there was a way to provide it to everyone that needed it.

18) Peanut Butter - It is good on everything....apples, bananas, pancakes, waffles, sandwiches.

19) My friends - Over the years I have made some GREAT friends and I wouldn't trade those friendships for anything. These girls mean the world to me and I know they would do anything for me. I also have newer friendships that I value and know will last a lifetime. I am so grateful I can have friends to share our good and not so good times with.

20) Sewing Machine - I might not use it every day but it sure comes in handy when I need it! I love being able to make things for my house, gifts, etc.

21) Apple desserts - My weakness.....fried apple pies, apple dumplings, apple crisp.

22) My car - It might not be my dream car, but its almost paid off and it has low miles. It gets me where I need to go safely and is always reliable.

23) My Grandparents - I still have 3 of my grandparents living and I love them so very much. They have molded our families into what they are today. They are the glue that holds our families together and I love them for that. My Papa Porter passed away 2.5 years ago and we miss him everyday but I am SO thankful for the legeacy that he left here. Plus, I know I will see him again one day and I can't wait!

24) Words - I love being able to express how I feel about things. We could not do this without words. I might not be the best with words but I am thankful I can use them.

Those are some of the things I am most thankful for! Like I said, I have a MILLION other things to be thankful for too! What are you thankful for this holiday season??

11.12.2011

Telling the parents

We found out we were pregnant on Friday, October 21st which just so happens to be my moms birthday. I took 2 tests and both were positive so I knew it had to be true! I called Nate and he was beside himself....he made me call our clinic and make an appointment for that afternoon so the doctor could verify that I really was expecting. Our appointment was at 3:15 so the afternoon drug by. Once it was finally time to leave, Nate came and picked me up and I saw that HUGE smile on his face! We headed to the doctor and she confirmed that we were in fact, going to have a baby! We were both so excited we knew we had to share with our parents! We were trying so hard to think of a creative but quick way to tell them. We decided that we wanted to give each of our moms a charm for their Brighton charm bracelets we bought them for mothers day! We bought them a baby carriage (pictured below)! Since we were going to dinner with my parents and grandparents for my moms birthday on Sunday, we decided to wait until then so we wouldn't appear so obvious. The trick was, how do we tell nates parents?! They were down camping out at their deer lease in west fork so we decided to head down there to "hang out" for a bit. This isn't uncommon so we didn't figure it would cause them to think something was up. We got down there and I told Nate that he needed to be the one to give his mom her charm. So when we walked in the camper, Nate walked over and dropped the charm in his moms hand...she just stared at it for what seemed like an eternity!! Finally, she hopped up and came over and bear hugged us and jumped up and down! Now remember, nates dad is sitting there but hasn't seen the charm so he is just looking at us confused...so Nate has to tell his dad an all of the sudden tears come to his eyes! He has ALWAYS wanted to be a grandpa since the day we got married and I couldn't be more excited to make him one! We celebrated with them, then had to wait the loooooong wait til Sunday when I could finally tell my parents! If you know me well, you know my mom and I are extremely close so it was soooo hard not to talk other Saturday or Sunday morning! We went to eat at Joes Pasta for lunch. Nate was a nervous wreck and I was too! We were sitting at the table already when they walked in. I had moms birthday presents on the floor next to me and her charm all wrapped up ready to give her. Once we were all settled, we started handing her gifts to open. The first one was the bag olding that little charm! She opened it up just stared! My dad looked over to see what it was then they both jumped up and started hugging us! They were sol excited! Mom thought it was going to be a cruise ship charm since her and my dad are going on a cruise in January so she was floored! They are so excited to be grandparents! They have also already started spoiling their grandbaby rotten too! (see pictures below)

11.09.2011

BIG NEWS!

We have some BIG NEWS which is the reason I have fallen off of the blogging bandwagon!


WE ARE EXPECTING a sweet Avey baby!!


We are so excited and STILL shocked that we have been blessed with this little bundle of joy! We are already so in love (as are the grandparents!) and we could not be more excited about this stage of life! This Avey baby will be SPOILED and LOVED beyond words and that is just the greatest feeling!


Here I am a few days after we found out! (All you can see is my jelly roll, no bump yet!)


And here I am today! We went to the dr. yesterday and I am officially 8 weeks along! Our due date is June 19, 2012!
I'll try to do weekly posts throughout so I can have a the memories of my first pregnancy! (that still sounds insane!)



Pregnancy Highlights!


How far along: 8 weeks

Size of baby: about the size of an olive

Gender: ???

Maternity clothes: not yet...but i can tell my pants are going to start getting tight QUICK!

Weight gain: 0 lbs

Movement: not any time soon....it will be fun when she / he does though!

Sleep: still sleeping fine...tired often during the day but I wake up fine in the mornings

Symptoms: Tiredness and a little nausea but not much

Cravings: none yet...orange juice sounds good most of the time though

Best moment this week: going to our dr. and them doing a surprise ultrasound! We got to hear the heartbeat which was 167. Definetly made it more real!


Hope you all have a great week!