Thoughts of Joy

I'm wide awake at 3 AM as my mind races through the thoughts of the next 12 hours.  Today we find out the gender of our baby and I could not think of a better way to express my thoughts than by dusting off the 'ol blog and letting them free.  This journey has been a long one in the making.  Chris and I tried for 20 months to get pregnant.  The process was not as complicated as some go through but it definitely took a toll on my emotions.  It was a roller coaster of ups and downs and what, at the time, felt like a lot of disappointment.  My faith was tested throughout the 19 months of false tests and the unknowns got the best of me for sure.  Chris was my rock.  He stayed positive the entire time and always encouraged me to let go of the sadness and find joy in the current day.  His faith and belief in the experience kept me going and I love him for that.  With all of that being said, today I am 19 weeks and 5 days pregnant!  My heart is full of gratitude for God entrusting us with this new life and for being given the opportunity to become parents.  It is amazing how my thoughts have already changed and I view things in a different perspective.  We are truly taking this journey one day at a time and soaking up the experience (even the yucky evening sickness I went through early on).  I can guarantee you there is no taking things for granted on our end!  So as we go check on our baby today, our thoughts will be full of joy and we'll focus on the blessings we have been given.  For God is good all the time, all the time God is good.

Help Needed...

My twin brother, Jared, is heading to Ethiopia as I type.  He and his group will travel to the southeast border town of Dolo Ado, which borders Somalia.  Each month, nearly 30,000 refugees are dying due to hunger and lack of medical attention in the region.  I get chills just thinking of the images Jared will see, but I know his heart and know he'll make a difference in the few days he will be there.  


Jared is a youth minister at First Baptist Church in The Woodlands, Texas.  He has a heart that longs to serve others and his personality is infectious.  I know he will be fine, but please join me in praying.  Please pray for safety and for change, for I know he desperately desires to share the unconditional love of Christ to those who have no hope.  If you are interested, you can view updates (as he has a chance to add them) on his website, www.jaredmccaleb.com.  


Thanks for your prayers, I can't wait to hear his stories!


XOXO,
Erin


PS... I promise I won't neglect my blog anymore :)

Summer Photo Recap

Well, my summer is quickly coming to an end (I have a workshop this week and Inservice starts next week, Booo!!) so I thought I'd recap this simple gal's summer. Enjoy!

Our summer started off with a bang celebrating my sister-in-law Kylie's birthday, our 3rd Anniversary, and Chris' cousin Daniel's departure to Marine Officer School by seeing Eli Young Band in concert at White Water Amphitheater in New Braunfels.  They are my FAVORITE band so naturally I had a blast!

Chris and me before the concert started.  He loves any reason to wear a cowboy hat, and he's cute in it if I do say so myself!

Chris, Kylie, and cousin Daniel

Me, Kylie, and Daniel's wife Jenn (check out my birthday boots!!)

We also took time to hang out with our Goddaughters, Lilly (3) and Teagan (2).  We are so fortunate to live in the same neighborhood as these two squirts, so we intend on spending as much time with them before their daddy is stationed elsewhere and takes them along.

Lilly and me swimming ~ she was much more relaxed this summer and improved alot!

Teagan sitting in my lap while watching Yo Gabba Gabba. This little stinker cracks me up!

Our next happening was the PBR Rodeo at the Cedar Park Center.  We had never been to the new venue, but we had a great time and saw some bull riding (which Chris loves).

We then headed down to South Padre (which I blogged about below) and had so much fun! I wish we could go back today!!

Last, but not least, I got to try something I had never done before... ride a four-wheeler! Chris was surprised I had never been on one before, but hello.... I'm a city girl! I'm constantly reminding him that we didn't "rough it" or four-wheel around the cul-de-sacs of our neighborhood growing up. Poor thing just doesn't understand! Our friend, Kristin, and her family's house is on land near Wimberley and she was kind enough to take us out on their four-wheelers.  I had a blast riding behind Chris but have to say I felt most comfortable being in charge of the controls (probly so I could avoid Chris' "throttle-happy" moments). Either way, I had a great time and can check that off my bucket list.

Beware: City Girl Driving!!

As usual, my summer break has flown by quickly, but we had lots of fun and made precious memories.  I'm looking forward to another challenging but rewarding school year full of shoe-tying, manner learning, number counting, word spelling, finger painting, dance partying, all around fun!!

XOXO,

Erin

Knee Deep in the Water

We went to South Padre Island the first week in July with Chris' parents, sister Kylie, and friend Kristin.  We both love the beach and his family practically grew up there so we were looking forward to this trip for quite a while.  We stayed in an awesome condo on the beach with a beautiful view.

The weather was hot but the waves were fairly calm.  We set up our EZ Up tent first thing in the morning and stayed on the beach all day.  We listened to Texas country, threw the football, built an awesome sand couch, and I read books on my Kindle... it was perfect! I loved getting to spend time with family and taking a much needed mental break.

 Chris and I on the beach.  It was good to see him relax and have fun after working so hard!

 Here are Chris and Kylie on our sand couch creation.  The family next to us had little boys and they made their own mini versions of the couch, it was adorable!

It was a perfect week of fun and relaxation, just what I needed! :)

XOXO,

Erin

Addition to the Fam

Meet the newest member of the Uhlaender family... Pixie!

We adopted this sweet Rat Terrier in early June.  She was rescued from an animal hoarder just weeks after being born in April.  Chris and I had been wanting to get another dog to play with our Mini Daschund, Sophie.  So now both girls are happy to have a sister to play with!

Look how cute these two are! It took Sophie a little bit to warm up to her new sibling (she was the only child for 4 years), but she loves playing with her now and they're best of friends!

Pixie is absolutely adorable and quite photogenic if I do say so myself. But she is very mischievous and gets into lots of trouble very quickly.  Her latest tricks are bringing in mulch from the backyard to shred and pulling down the curtains in the front dining room.  She's quite the hand full but we love her and are glad we were able to give her a good home!

XOXO,

Erin

Must Read!!

I finished school last week (well sort of, I'm teaching 2 weeks of summer school :)), so I decided to start reading some books I've added to my list this year.  I love diving into a good book in the summer because you aren't forced to put it down too often! ;) Some co-workers mentioned the book Heaven is For Real by Todd Burpo and said I'd love reading it.  Well, they were right, I loved it!  In fact, I loved it so much I read it in 1 day!!  I was hooked by the first paragraph of the prologue, seriously... it's that good!  I know everyone has a different perspective and idea of Heaven, but this book has forever changed my view of it.  As a little girl, I envisioned while pearly gates and streets of gold and happiness all around.  My imagination was both comforting and uplifting.

The book is about a 3 year old boy who has a health scare and his parents are pleading with God to return him to health.  The boy shares about his encounters in Heaven with his family during the months and years he returns home.  The most paramount thing I took away from the book was to have faith like a child.  I work with children 9 months a year.  I'm surrounded by their silliness and free-spirits, but it's so easy to bog yourself down with the stress and reality of adulthood.  I was so inspired by the book to pray as a child does, being specific about my requests and removing the "fluff" that we learn to make our prayers sound better.  God hears our every want and need, we might as well voice them and maintain communication.

If you have extra time this summer, read this book.  It will remind you of what it felt like to learn about Heaven and all its glory as a child.  Such an inspirational and touching story!!

XOXO,

Erin

Mother Lovers

Chris and I were lucky to spend Mother's Day with both of our moms this year. We weren't sure what to get them, so I decided to make something out of love. I found this awesome wreath made from felt on the Blissful Meandering site that I was dying to try. The wreath cost $4.99 and the felt was 4 for a $1 at Hobby Lobby (I ended up using 15 sheets total). I made two different variations of the wreath, one with more rosettes and another with fewer to show more of the wood. I was so pleased with how they turned out and how easy they were to make!

I also ventured out and tried a smaller, circular wreath for my dad's wife. It was so cute! I want to make one for our pub table to put a hurricane candle in the middle of. So if you have a couple of spare hours, make one... I had so much fun and can't wait to make more!

We are so blessed by the strong, loving, supportive women in our lives. I hope I'm as compassionate and selfless as they are with my future children.

 

My mom, Cathy, and me on Mother's Day. Isn't she adorable??

 

XOXO,

 

Erin