5 Years Ago Today……

...... we were married! And it has been 5 years of wedded bliss ever since – loving each other more and more than the day before. =)

“When as a child, I had daydreamed of a lifelong mate, my young heart was filled with love – toward whom? When I read love stories and imagined myself married, who was the object of my budding adoration? When I dated and learned to interact with the opposite sex and thought about a future with someone to love, about whom was I thinking? It was you. I didn’t even know you, but it had been you all along.”

Most of you already know “our story” – how we met, fell in love, got engaged, got married, and have now begun to start our family. For those of you who don’t, you can get a small glimpse of it from one of our older blog posts, here. But way back when, never in a million years, did we ever think that our lives would merge in such a way that we’d forever be together. In our almost 7-year relationship, 5 of those being married, we have been so overwhelmingly blessed. We consider ourselves so lucky and thank God every day for those blessings - especially since we can look around at many other couples our age and see how things COULD be for us. The Lord’s provision over our marriage and over our individual lives has been amazing – and what a gift for us to be having a baby soon! =)

So everyone keeps asking, “what kind of fun plans do you have for your 5th?” Well...... we originally hadn’t planned on doing anything on the actual day itself - we HAD planned on celebrating a couple of months late. We WERE supposed to be sailing on a cruise trip to Tahiti in October with Mom and Dad Kelly. But, since we got ourselves pregnant, the cruise lines don’t let women on that are more than 5 months pregnant, so Mom and Dad decided to just go without us! (no fair!) So plan B. Since we have to keep things a little more low-key and more hospital accessible because of the pregnancy, we’ll be going to California for a few days at the end of August. We plan on going to Disneyland, renting a convertible to head up the PCH to Malibu, head back down the PCH the other way to visit San Diego, do some fun sightseeing in the Los Angeles area, and definitely spend some much needed time on the beach.

Now, you are also probably wondering what gifts we got each other for this big milestone. Well...... we have some friends that get all caught up in the craziness of getting each other the “traditional” gift each year that coincides with the year they’ve been married, or even a gift in general. Basically, we don’t do gifts. Our “gift” to each other is to go somewhere nice on vacation. That’s a pretty nice gift, right? We like the memories, not the “stuff.” And besides, who wants wood on their 5-year anniversary? ;)

“With this ring, I thee wed, and I will keep you only unto me for as long as we both shall live.”

........ I have found the one whom my heart loves....... Song of Solomon 3:4

Greg’s 30th Birthday!

Friday, Greg turned the big 3-0!

The day started off just like any other day – or so Greg had originally thought. But little did he know that Jen had arranged other plans for his day (with his boss’ approval of course!) to swoop in, surprise him at his desk (boy was he sure surprised to look up and see Jen standing there!), kidnap him from work at lunchtime and take him away for the rest of the afternoon! We picnicked out at Garden of the Gods, took a leisurely drive around the park, and then headed home for a little nap before dinner. We went out for a fairly late dinner, and then came home to finish celebrating with dessert, presents, and a movie. His actual birthday was more private – it was just the two of us......

...... but last night, we celebrated with about 30 of our friends and family. Jen threw him a party that was a huge success - music, appetizers, cake, and a lot of fun to go with it! He made out with quite the loot, too! We partied fairly late into the evening and then went out for our “after party” to go do some midnight bowling with some friends and family. We had never done that before and it seemed like the perfect ending to the most perfect evening!

Check out the slideshow below for a few of the photos from Greg’s birthday weekend:

Cars, Weddings, Festivals, and Baby Updates

The days have been flying by lately, and sometimes we wish that time would just stand still for awhile. So much has been going on at once that we decided to cram it all into one blog post. This could take awhile, so grab a cup of coffee...... =)

Cars:
The time has come friends...... we have decided to put our vehicle up for sale. It’s something Jen has been contemplating doing since last summer, but finally got the initiative to do THIS summer. We’ve been a 3-car family for as long as we can remember, so being without that extra car for awhile will be a bit of a change for us - IF we can get it sold. (Jen is also going to miss that XM radio!) Our other cars are a bit older than this car, but as well as we’ve maintained them, they should be good to go for another 10 years or so! Anyways, we digress...... Why are we selling a perfectly good car, you ask? The reason is simple. Jen just gets the urge to get a new car every 3 years or so - she gets bored and wants something new. It’s a great car in excellent condition, and anyone would be lucky to own it. We’re praying it sells quickly so we can save up and put a nice sized down-payment on our next car! We have a few vehicles in mind, one that stands out more above the others, but we’ll let you know what we end up with. ;) We have it listed on Auto Trader. If you are interested in the information for yourself or for a friend, click here for the website.

Weddings:
As most of you know, Brian got married on July 26th. It was a beautiful day and a gorgeous wedding. We’ve never been to a more perfect/elegant wedding in all of our lives. It was so exquisite! Brian looked just as handsome as ever, and Becca looked absolutely stunning. The whole morning we spent choking back tears, and when we all saw Brian lose it when Becca walked down the aisle, none of us could hold them back any longer. (Yes, even the groomsmen all had tears in their eyes.) Becca did great though, she held it together the whole day! All of the pictures will eventually be ready and we hope to get a copy of them on a CD so we can post some of them later. For now, we’ll leave you in suspense. =)

Festivals:
This past Sunday, we went to the Renaissance Festival! We had a great time milling around, visiting the various booths and eating our much anticipated turkey legs for lunch. It was a fun experience that Jen and her family had never done before. Greg had been in the past, but he had more fun experiencing it with Jen. ;)

Baby Updates:
The monthly checkup went great today. Baby and Jen got a clean bill of health. (Jen is now almost 19 weeks along!) The heartbeat is still going strong too! At Jen’s doctor’s appointment today, her doctor said it was 150 beats per min. Wow! Go baby go! =) We get to find out the baby’s sex in a couple of weeks too. Exciting, huh? It will be nice to start calling the baby a “he” or a “she.” It will also be nice to settle a bet that’s been going on between Mom Kelly and Greg. ;)

Jen’s cravings thus far: Fruit (lots of it!), Bean Burrito’s from Taco Bell, and Starbucks Mocha’s on the rocks.

Jen’s aversions thus far: Homemade green salads (homemade being the key here)

Jen’s physical condition: Tired? Yes. Exhausted actually. Mostly in the early to late evenings. She also still isn’t very big and people ask her all the time if she’s sure she’s pregnant

A Fab Fourth!

With all the other exciting news we posted recently (big smiles), we realized that we totally skipped over the 4th of July!!

It was a fabulous day that began like any other day that we have off - we slept in and then enjoyed a late breakfast at our favorite spot in Woodland Park, The Donut Mill. After pigging out, we headed down to Green Mountain Falls for a little bit of a hike to walk off all that sugar and carbs. We’d never really explored that city a whole lot before, and let us tell you, it’s NOT very big. =) Nonetheless, it was still a fun adventure. On our way back home, we stopped off at the “America the Beautiful Park” in Colorado Springs. We had seen on our way OUT of town that there was some sort of an art festival/farmer’s market type thing going on, so we came back to see what all the excitement was about. We had fun walking in and out of the booths, but it was SO hot out that we decided to cut the “shopping” short and go wade in the fountain instead. We’d never done that before, but it was a lot of fun!! Quite cool and refreshing on such a warm day. =) (We figure we’ll bring the baby back next year to play in the water!) After we got a bit of a tan and cooled ourselves off, we headed back home to shower and get ready for an early dinner. Mom and Dad Kelly treated us to dinner at Saltgrass Steakhouse (of course Brian was our server!) to celebrate the fact that we’ll be parents and they’ll be grandparents. Then we headed home and went for a ride in “The Benz.” Dad just recently got Mom a new car - when he does something, he does it right! =) For those of you who are car people, it’s a Mercedes Benz, E55 AMG. It’s a sweet car, and she’ll be a stylin’ Grandma! =) So anyways, after the ride that almost took our life, going 0-60 in 4.5 seconds, we came back home and watched fireworks from Mom and Dad Kelly’s deck while eating homemade Butterfinger ice cream. It’s great to watch fireworks at their house because you can see all the fireworks that everyone along the whole Front Range puts on – all the way from Fountain/Security, up to Monument. We watched quite a show! Plus you don’t have to get out and fight all that traffic. ;)

Job update: Jen got hired by Penrad Imaging last week!! So now she is proud to say that she finally has her dream position and her dream job – a “per-diem mammography tech.” She is having a blast and loves every minute of it – especially when she’s the one who gets to give the patients good news about their exam. She’ll work her tail off right now as much as she can, and then after the baby comes, she’ll only work 1 or 2 days a week. Yes, this is by choice and not because she has to. =)

Wedding update: Brian’s wedding will be here before we know it! Official days left: 8. WOW! We were in charge of making their slideshow, and if we do say so ourselves, it looks fantastic! Now, if there was only a way to get Jen NOT to cry when Brian’s set of pictures come up..... Greg had to eventually take over making the slideshow since Jen was a blubbering mess every time the pieces were put together. She’ll probably be a mess at the wedding too. ;)

Baby update: Things are going much smoother these days! Thank you everyone for your prayers, emails, and excitement! We are now 4 months along as of yesterday, which means next month we’ll get to find out the sex of the baby! We’d like to know NOW since this is just WAY too exciting!

Greg’s cinnamon roll that was bigger than his head!

You can’t tell, but we ARE in the fountain.

America the Beautiful Park.

Let Us Tell You a Story......

Once upon a time there was this boy and this girl. Eventually they were destined to be together, but it was only God who knew when and where that would take place. Finally, after 20 long years for the girl and 22 for the boy, their paths crossed in the college group at a tiny little church in Black Forest, Colorado. Shortly thereafter, they began dating and fell blissfully in love. Eventually, the boy proposed to the girl high atop a ski run in Vail, Colorado called “Cloud 9” and they were married 4.5 months later. A little over 2 years into their marriage, something very strange happened to the girl. Something she never thought would happen..... something she never even really wanted to happen. It was called “baby fever.” So after many, many months of thought and prayer, they decided to be free from “the pill” and see what God had in store for them in regards to expanding their family. Then one day, they got the signal…… a “positive” signal.....

That’s right folks, WE’RE HAVING A BABY!!! We took a pregnancy test on April 27th, and confirmed it’s “positiveness” with blood work and an ultrasound on May 11th. At this point, it looks like Jen is about 14 ½ weeks along with the due date being around December 31st/January 1st. We couldn’t be more thrilled and we can’t stop talking about how much more fun our lives and our future is going to be. We are so thankful to be blessed with this awesome little gift from the Lord and to be trusted enough to raise one of God’s children. The miracle of life is so amazing and we can’t wait to share our pictures and stories along the way. Continue to pray for us as we embark on a new adventure that is so totally new (and a little intimidating!) to us and that God would faithfully prepare our hearts and minds during the next 6 months!

Proud parents!! =)

Baby's first good picture.

Keeping a secret..... =)

The proud GrandMum

14.5 weeks along and not much to show for it. ;)

Ephesians 3:20& 21 – Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory…… for ever and ever!

Hot and Humid

(By Jen)

It's hot and humid here in Arkansas, but I am LOVING it! Call me crazy, but I love the heat and humidity. For a person who is cold 99% of the time, this kind of weather bodes well for me. ;) Like I've told Greg, the only time I get cold around here is when I go into the stores (yup, we've been shopping already!) around here and they feel the need to blast you with the A/C - it feels like I'm walking into a freezer! I can't stand it!

Anyways, I flew in early Saturday with my Mom, and we had a great flight. Greg and Brian will drive the 15+ hour trip to get here bright and early Thursday morning, the rest of the fam gets here on Thursday evening, and then our family reunion will be on Saturday. We will be here through the end of the month..... which is always so fun and relaxing for us (and I have definitely needed it lately).

We'll try to fill you in on events as the trip progresses, but we aren't promising anything. Our days are usually very "busy" with sleeping in, eating, napping, and trying to be lazy all day - and since Greg is bringing Guitar Hero with him, that will probably occupy 99% of his time (and Brian's) while I sit and play cards all day. =) Gotta love vacations! =)

Update - CFA: Today's Test

(By Greg)

After having a few days to cool down, think about it, and discuss the exam with fellow candidates on our CFA forum, I feel better about the exam. I'm still not 100% certain about whether or not I'll pass or fail, but only time will tell.

The results will be posted the week of August 17th, so check back for the results.