Nursery Preview

This past weekend my mom came down to help us get a little more ready for the baby. She was a HUGE help. We were able to get most of the nursery put together....but because I am so picky I am relying on my talented sister Jen to do some sewing projects and my handy husband to hang a few more things....and then it will be complete. In the meantime here is a little preview of what we have so far...

I sure hope the name James fits him....or that he'll grow into it.



One excited Grandma!! She got us the beautiful crib that she is standing in front of...if it weren't for her James would be sleeping in my nightstand drawer for awhile!
The changing table courtesy of Bonnie and Grandpa Freestone. Did I mention how grateful we are for grandparents!?!

Dave hung all the wainscoating and designed the molding himself, I think he did a pretty amazing job!!!

So there you have it...so far...all we need now is a couple finishing touches and a baby!!!

10 more weeks...but who's counting!

First of all to those of you (mom) who frequently remind me of how infrequently I update this blog I am sorry...this post is for you.
Dave and I are back to our normal routine after the holidays. It was so much fun spending time with family, friends and loved ones. Quick recap:
We were able to enjoy Thanksgiving here in Arizona with all of Dave's immediate family. We were so busy and had so much fun that we did not take ANY pictures :( the whole time the family was with us. But it was so much fun having everyone here. We played lots of games, ate lots of food and ultimately enjoyed each others company. Thank you everyone for making the trip down here and for all your help with everything!!!
Christmas came and went far too quickly. Our short trip to Utah was filled with loved ones, great food and lots of fun. The highlight for me was our trip to fetalfoto. Dave and I were able to see our little guy again but this time we were able to share it with my mom and dad, Dave's mom and grandma, Dave's sister Nancy and my Uncles Cary and Zac. It was so fun enjoying that moment with our loved ones. Unfortunately our little guy did not cooperate very well for his first public photo shoot. He kept both his hands and feet in front of his face throughout most of the session it actually was kind of funny. Fortunately we were still able to get some cute shots....

He is quite the contortionist. He was literally folded in half the entire time, we tried to get him to move but nothing was working, the only time we got some decent shots was when he would spread his legs long enough to see his face.

I can not wait to see him in person!!!!
Finally we rang in 2010 with our dear friends the Wheelwrights...again no pictures sorry. The countdown to midnight seems to be less and less climatic as we get older but it was fun being with friends and eating Brie's delicious burritos.
Today we are officially 30 weeks (yay!!!) Everything still seems to be progressing just as it should be. I am still feeling really well and my belly is getting rounder everyday just as it should!!

Here is the proof...one of these times I will just get Dave to take the picture of my belly so you don't have to see my lovely faucet and bathroom towels!

Hope you all had the happiest of holidays and a great new year!!!!

Christmas Tree and End of 2nd Trimester

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

I LOVE this time of year!! Each year I try to talk Dave into putting the tree up early (and by early I mean just before Thanksgiving, nothing too crazy). But every year he calmly reminds me that we should celebrate one holiday at a time. I guess that is what I get for marrying someone that is practical. So once again the tree came up the day after Thanksgiving. Dave was on an outing with part of his family but fortunately I had some very cute and eager helpers staying with us for the holiday. Unfortunately I did not get ANY pictures of the nieces helping me decorate but it was so much fun having their help and it was a great way to start off the Christmas season. Here is our tree. I can't believe it is our last Christmas just the two of us!

This is officially the last week of my second trimester. I am very excited to be getting closer to having the baby...but very sad to end this part of my pregnancy. Everything continues to progress well. I feel great and the baby is definitely growing! I'm sorry I am not better about keeping everyone updated on our pregnancy....hopefully I will be better when the baby is here...hopefully.

It's a....

Many of you may know by now we are having a baby BOY!!!

Here is a 3-d picture they took of our little guy.

I've really started to pop these past couple of weeks...here's my belly today at 20 weeks 4 days (More than half way yay!!!)

We truly couldn't be happier. We had our second trimester ultrasound a couple of weeks ago and everything looked absolutely perfect. It was so amazing to see him. He is a little wiggle worm, but he cooperated perfectly for this exam. Overall the pregnancy has been great and most importantly our little guy looks to be perfectly healthy. We are very blessed!

Bella Italia

Since our blog will soon be dedicated to our new little one I thought I should at least do one quick post about our amazing trip to Italy this summer.




Everyone always asks us "what was the best part?" I usually say the food (which was amazing)...but honestly it was EVERYTHING!! The architecture, art, history, people, Rome, Florence, Tuscany, Napoli, Sorrento, Mediterranean sea, Pompeii, shops, resturants, on and on...We loved it all!!! It was so fun to see many of the areas that Dave served in as a missionary and discover new places together. His Italian came back to him quickly and he was a great tour guide. So here is a brief recap of our trip of a lifetime.

We didn't want to waste a minute of our time in Italy, right after our 14 hour journey we headed straight to the Collosuem and Forum to see Ancient Rome...It was Spectacular!

Us at The Colloseum and Our Travel Buddies (my parents) Lindy and Cindy. They were the best! We were all Jet Lagged and hot but they were up for ANYTHING, we walked for miles each day and saw everything! We are so glad we got to do this trip with them.

We learned quickly the first day that there are two things that don't exsist in Rome, places to sit and bathrooms...kind of difficult with a bilateral amputee and a pregnant woman...but we improvised well.

The Second Day we saw the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's and all. It was beautiful! That evening we did a night walk of the City.

Amazing art work throughout the Vatican Museum.

Dave in front of a Painting of Sardania, an island he served on for several months. We didn't make it to Sardania, but we figure it is our excuse to get to go back one day.

The beginning of the night walk. It was a beautiful evening. So amazing to see the fountains, buildings and piazza's all lit up. This was also the night we started the standard of having Gellato at least twice a day yum!

The third day we visited the Borghese Gardens and Gallery (beautiful!) and returned to see many of the spots we caught on the night walk during the day.

Day four we were able to go to the same church Dave went to in Rome. In the evening we went for one final walk around ancient Rome, probably one of our favorite spots in the city.

On the fifth day we traveled to Florence where we stayed for three days. Dave has an old companion that lived there who was very eager to show us around his city. We saw far more than we ever would have on our own! It was a beautiful city.

Florence

Sunset on the River in Florence

The Churches in Florence were by far the most Beautiful!

Tuscany!!

Dave's old companion Pietro.

Dave's new companion, me.

Pietro took us to this amazing medival city call San Gimignano. Touristy for a reason!

We found that the best gellato, hands down, was in Florence. Ironically it was also the cheapest!

On our Eighth day we took the train to Napoli.

The View from our Beautiful Hotel, the New Castle, with the Mediterranean and Vesuvius in the background. Our first day we explored the city and ate the most delicious pizza at one of the oldest pizza places in the world. They claim to being the birth place of the Margherita pizza. Napoli was colorful, beautiful and very tasty!

Dave in front of his favorite place to eat on his mission, unfortunately they were closed for the holiday when we were there...I guess we will just have to try again later.

The second day we went to Pompeii. This city was far more vast than I anticipated. It was amazing how well preserved and large it was. We took hundreds of pictures. This one is probably my favorite it is of one of their public baths.

After Pompeii we visted Sorrento and the coast. Apparently you should yeild if you drive into the ocean. Sorrento was a beautiful, small town. We did a lot of shopping (but no buying) and had a delicious pasta lunch.

Our last day in Napoli we shopped (by far the cheapest place we visited in Italy), ate more great pizza, and walked around the busy but beautiful city. We were warned extensively that it is a very dangerous city, but we fortunately had no problems and felt very safe.

Our final night in Italy we returned to beloved Rome....you can guess what we did:



It was a perfect ending to a perfect trip!

Greatest summer of our lives.

Dave and Mandi agree that this has been one of the greatest summers of their lives!!!! Both of them had time off of school and were able to take full advantage of that time off. Here are a few of the highlights (in no particular order).

Dave traveled to Guatemala with other students from Midwestern to serve his third medical mission. He had a great experience and was able to polish up his spanish. More pictures to come later..probably.

Here is Dave hiking a volcano you can see a little lava behind him. Very Hot!

While Dave was away, Mandi was able to go to San Diego and spend some time with Liz and the Moores. It was a great trip!

Dave and Mandi were able to go home for the 4th of July. They ran a 5k, Mandi's first, and she beat both of her brothers...by a LOT...a LOT (it is the first and likely the last time she will ever do that so she is savoring it while she can)!!

Sweaty, and so happy it is over!

After the race Dave and Mandi were able to see Grandma Lu and the gang for food, fireworks and a lot of fun! They love Richfield on the 4th of July!!!

They got a Beautiful new car. Seriously the nicest thing either of them have ever driven, AND it pretty much saved Mandi's life today...long story. It is a 2005 white Toyota Camry...LOVE IT!!!

Dave had gotten tickets for Mandi to see WICKED, it was even better than she remembered from New York Dave loved it too!!

WICKED!! not a very cute picture...but you get the idea.

We got a new, beautiful neice, Elsie. We will be meeting her this weekend, so no pictures yet but they are coming!

To end the Summer Dave and Mandi were able to take their dream vacation to ITALY!! It was absolutely AMAZING!!! More details and pictures to come later...most likely.

Dave and Mandi with Rome in the background. They had always hoped to take this trip before they were blessed with children so it is a good thing they did it when they did because....

They are having a baby!!!

Due March 21st.

By far the highlight of the Summer!!

Happy Father's Day!!!

To the Dad's in my life:

My Dad Lindy is one of the most incredible people I know. He works harder than any person I have ever known. He has always made me feel loved and cared for. I couldn't ask for a greater dad. The older I get the more my love and admiration for him grows. I am eternally grateful for his love, support and example. I love you Dad Happy Father's Day.

Dad with an old Peruvian man. For Christmas Dad took the whole family to serve the people in Peru. He has always taught us the importance of service through his amazing example!

My Father-in-law Phil has always made me feel like one of his own. Our whole marriage we have lived far away from Dave's parents but they have always made a strong effort to be close to us in other ways. I am grateful for his kindness and example. I am especially grateful for the incredible father he was to Dave and the contributions he made to create the person that David is today.

Phil was serving as Mission President for the Puebla, Mexico Mission when Dave and I were married. This cutout was made so Dad could still be in the pictures. We missed having him on our special day but we are so grateful for his service and dedication to the Lord.

The Future Father of my children Dave. Anyone who knows us knows how much I love and admire my husband. And anyone who has seen David with children knows how amazing he will be as a father. David is one of the most selfless and service oriented people I have ever known. He works hard everyday to be able to provide for his future family. I am grateful for his hard work, his love, patience, kindess and dedication to the Lord.

Dave with one of the Peruvian children. Dave is currently serving his third medical mission this time in Guatemala. He is always looking for opportunities to do things for other people.

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there!!!