Baby Shower at Simon's Office- April 29, 2008

Today, Simon's office threw us a baby shower. They are wonderful people! We got a lot of great things from them and are grateful for their love, support, and generosity! Pictures to come.

The last picture is from a game everyone played. It was hilarious! They had to draw a picture of a baby on a plate while it was on their head.

Maternity Pictures - April 28, 2008 (35 weeks)

Simon and I took maternity pictures today. We LOVED the photographer! We took a ton, but here are a few of the pictures that we like:

Baby Shower - Atlanta, April 26, 2008

Thank you everyone for a wonderful baby shower on Saturday! It was sooo great to see all the family and our friends gathered to celebrate Sofia's pending arrival. We are still overwhelmed at the love shown to our little family. We are definitely blessed! We got wonderful gifts from everyone and feel ready for our little girl to arrive in just a few weeks. We love her dearly and and are grateful that we have such supportive family and friends to share this journey with!

Thank you again everyone!

We also got to stay at the Renaissance Hotel after the shower, which is where we stayed for our wedding night three years ago. It was pretty amazing to celebrate two wonderful events in our life together: a wonderful marriage and having a baby! Here are some pictures from the shower:

:(BigMamma made the pink hat and blanket that we will use to bring Sofia home in):

This game was pretty funny! Sandy Sebold was the winner (far left), finishing the baby bottle the fastest!

Nursery

We finally are getting to a point where we fee like the nursery is coming together. Simon did a fabulous job of moving the office across the hall to the guest bedroom and painting the nursery! We still have to put up all the accessories, put the bedding on the crib, etc. But, here is a preview of what we have done so far (doesn't it look great...):

Pancake Breakfast - April 26, 2008

Well, the breakfast was a huge success! We made enough money to cover the cost of camp for each youth. Simon and Bishop Willis, along with a few of the youth, did all of the cooking. Here are a few pictures:

BABYMOON 2008 (April 5th - April 12th)

We went on one last vacation before our little Sofia is here. We had a wonderful time at our resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. We took time for ourselves and just relaxed for 8 days. The weather was absolutely beautiful the entire time (90's). Our room was HUGE and we had a fantastic ocean view from our balcony. For some reason instead of putting us in a standard room, they gave us a Superior Room without additional cost! We were literally just a few feet from the water. We couldn't have asked for more! It was such a relaxing time and much needed break for us...Here are some pictures:

A Giving Heart - The Generosity of Others

It might be my emotions/hormones because I am 34 weeks pregnant, but today I feel completely grateful for the generosity of others! Simon and I work with the youth at church. We were asked two years ago to work with the youth in an inner-city area. These kids don't have a lot materially, but they are the kindest, warmest, respectful youth around. Currently, we are preparing for a fundraiser this Saturday, April 26th. The fundraiser is to help our kids get to go to Camp Hulaco for the girls and Camp Sequoia (Boy Scout's camp) for the boys. Most of the kids we work with cannot afford the cost of camp, so we are having a Pancake Breakfast. The cost of the breakfast is $5 per person and includes pancakes, sausage, eggs, and orange juice. The kids will do the serving, while Simon and I will do the cooking.

The kids are making a great effort to sell their tickets. This morning, I sent out a broadcast email in my firm, asking if anyone wanted to help support us by buying tickets. I thought that maybe I would get a couple of takers. But, within 10 minutes, I have gotten commitments for $200. Most cannot attend the breakfast, but just wanted to donate. How awesome is this! It makes me extremely grateful for my firm and the wonderful people that I work with that are committed to making the lives of our youth better. Simon and I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to serve these youth and to be a part of their lives. We love them so much! Here are a couple of pictures of the girls: the first is at a basketball tournament and the second is at an awards ceremony a couple of months ago. I know that some of you asked to see pictures of the girls dressed up. I'll add some pictures of the boys later when I get them from Simon. I will also update with some pictures of everyone from the Pancake Breakfast this weekend.

Sisters!

I have been thinking about how wonderful it is to have such a close-knit family, especially sisters...For me, Samara has been such a wonderful sister! Erica and Dee-Dee are too, but there will always be a special bond between Samara and I. Maybe it's because we are triplet sisters. But, whatever the reason, I am grateful for her. We never let two days go by without talking on the phone. She calls and emails all the time, just to check on me and see how I am doing/feeling. She has been there to give me advice and to lend an ear whenever I need one. Because of this, I couldn't have asked for a better person to stand beside me when I got married to Simon. Love you Samara! ( I will add the picture of us from the wedding alongside this one...)