Good 'Ol Texas

Our week in Texas was a blast! So much fun with family, lots and lots of laughter and absurd amounts of amazing southern food. 

The Lacy brothers are the best. Sam can always jump back in the middle of them like he was never gone. It never stops amazing me that Sam's mother, Jo, had FOUR boys in FIVE years. It is so much fun now but can you imagine going to the grocery store with a 1, 2, 4 and 5 year old? We want a big family but we are going to do our best to space the babies out a little more. We'll see what God has in store for us though. It truly is a blessing to spend time with the boys and wives and now the children. I cherish the short time we get to spend with all of the Dallas Lacy's!

Brother sandwich minus Matt 

(Jared on the left & Jack on the right)

Tickle fight!!

Jack and Steph's three-year-old, Hannah, loves play time with Uncle Jared

It was truly a refreshing week of vacation for Sam and me. Jared and Kristen were kind enough to let us stay in their guest bedroom for the whole week. It was like being at a bed & breakfast! Sam and I completely sank into the suburban life of huge yards, quiet neighborhoods, spacious homes (mansions compared to our apartment in PA). 

Sam went running every day we were there and really appreciated being able to run more than one block without hitting a lighted intersection. He preferred the dry Texas heat to the humidity of Philly too. I went for walks and did not have to carry my pepper spray! 

We also indulged ourselves with the T.V. Sports Center for Sam and Food Network for me. It was lovely. It made me miss television. Sam said the week gave him his fix and now he doesn't feel the need to buy a T.V. For now. 

And of course... the FOOD!!

Breakfast on morning #1. Welcome to Texas.

I personally LOVE biscuits and gravy. The Lacy's know how to do it! Some other Texas-specific delicacies I particularly enjoyed: 

7am Diet Dr. Pepper with Kristen

FURR'S country buffet

Jared's smoked ribs and chicken

Breakfast donuts from the bakery near Jared and Kristen

Yogurtville frozen yogurt

Souper Salad Buffett

Sam had been on a pretty good diet but let himself go in Texas (good thing he kept the runs up!). On several mornings he woke up and helped himself to a Coke, a Twix and some Fudge Rounds. SERIOUSLY! Also lots and lots of Oreo's consumed that week. We were ready for a little detox when we got back but we really, really, really enjoyed the week of yummy treats!

We got to celebrate three incredible years of marriage while we were there. I can't say that it was intentional to get married on a national holiday but I have to say I'm glad we did. It is nice that everyone gets the day off of work and can hang out with us every year on the 4th of July. Not to mention the big get-togethers, the food and of course fireworks that are pretty much a given on our anniversary every year. 

I think I have said this every year so far but - it seems like we have been married longer than three years! 

From the time we got engaged (December 2008) to now we have moved a total of SEVEN times. Since then I have had EIGHT different employers! 

Sam has read countless books, written hundreds of pages on history and religion, studied for multiple standardized tests and written several applications. Everything that got us where we are today. Whew!

We are finally in an apartment we THINK we can see ourselves in for more than a year. I feel more like a grown-up having some stability. Having this baby will really bring us into full-blown adulthood. Can't wait. 

It was a wonderful anniversary spent with the family! Relaxing day then dinner and fireworks.

 Pre-dinner photo shoot in Jared and Kristen's back yard.

Happy Anniversary!

Gecko is also pregnant?

SURPRISE!!!! Our big family dinner was also a baby shower - so sweet!!! Love my sisters-in-law!!

A beautiful and DELICIOUS creation by Kristen Lacy - thank you!!

Our sweetie-pie nieces Clara and Hannah. Cute cousins just one month apart.

"Another Lacy Baby". Apparently our not finding out the gender messed up some gifting plans. Hence the neutral black personalized onesie - thanks J and K!

This adorable onesie will work for a boy or girl - love it, J and S!

I think Jared is the favorite uncle!

After dinner we went back to Matt and Rebecca's for cake and bib decorating! 

Love from the TX Aunties :)

L to R - Kristen, Stephanie and Rebecca on my right xoxo

Sam's parents.

Time for fireworks!!

The first grandchild, Asher, is growing so fast! 5 years old and sooo big!

On the 5th we had an amazing BBQ at J and K's then went to an outdoor concert on the lake with a splash park and surprise fireworks again - so fun!

Friday night the brothers went to the Rangers/Twins game - guess who Sam cheered for...

One week out of the summer and every other Christmas is just never enough 

with our sweet nieces and nephew!

We miss our Texas family already. We can't wait until we can go back and bring our baby with us! 

God blessed Texas ;)

Sweet Home Minnesota

Well, yes, it has been a few weeks since I've posted anything. Life has been wonderfully busy lately. I was in MN for a week (sadly, without Sam), came back to Philly for five days and then we left for Texas for a week. We just got back form TX this Tuesday. It really has been the perfect time for traveling and spending time with family and friends. I have been feeling pretty great the last few weeks; more energy, no nausea and not uncomfortably big...yet.

Minnesota started off with a BABY SHOWER!! My sweet sister planned it and it was such a blessing to see so many people I love and miss all in one place. Considering we didn't register for our wedding (having moved to Germany two weeks later), it was a fun experience to do so for the baby. Although it is kind of a weird concept right? 

"Hey, we're having a baby. You all should come to this party and buy us the things we need!" 

Well, we are grateful for this practice. The shower was lovely. It was bittersweet to spend those two hours with such wonderful people. Why did we move away from them all? Sam? Never mind. 

Here are some pics!

The high school ladies

 Some Bethel friends

The "Cities" cousins

 My beautiful mother

She did this. A lot.

 Four generations :)

Aunt Dana

THREE other pregnant gals at the shower (one not pictured!)

The host - thank you Mary!

The rest of my time in MN was spent "up North". My cousin got married in Detroit Lakes so I went up with the parents and stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's house for a few nights. Also known as HEAVEN. It was amazing to be there. To get away from the noise and busyness and pollution and concrete. The acres of green fields, the long country roads without street lights for miles, fresh air, LAKES!! So refreshing. I soaked up every second. 

Poor Sam had to miss out. I think someone counted 62 Gervais (maiden name) family members at the wedding. There were only two individuals from the four generations, including spouses,  missing. A cousin in Idaho and my husband. 

I love love love my family. TOO much fun at the wedding. The dance was kind of ridiculous. Lots of video and pictures taken by me. Being the pregnant one who didn't drink and had a feisty fetus who didn't appreciate their mommy dancing, I had the best view of the whole crazy night. 

The last day up north was spent lake side with everyone, pontoon rides, much food and just hanging out with the relatives. Perfect.

Some pics from the wedding...

...yes, I am wearing the same dress at both events. Maternity clothes are not cheap. It was comfortable.

Cousins + a once-removed

 Just some of the girl cousins

 Most of the boy cousins

 World's best parents, my favorite sister and brother-in-law

Minnesota family and friends. 

so. much. joy.

19 week old photo shoot

Here's the latest with Baby Lacy. They tell us our child is very active and wouldn't hold still for their picture, little stinker! So the pictures are not very clear and we didn't get many great still shots. Looks like we should invest in a video camera pretty soon. It is really fun to see the live video. We saw him/her waving at mom and dad! Baby has been moving a lot lately but so far Sam has not been able to feel anything externally.

Here is one hand (don't worry, we were assured there is a thumb behind there). Who knows what other body parts/placenta are in this shot.

 Who from Whoville?

 Tiny foot print!

 Hi, sweet baby! xoxo

We have to be very vocal about NOT WANTING TO FIND OUT THE GENDER. The last picture gets pretty close but the ultra sound tec told us they are usually good at avoiding the revealing parts. Next ultra sound is June 28th.

I am getting so so so excited to go to Minnesota in just two weeks!! We were home in February for a friend's wedding but it was a pretty quick weekend. I will be home for 6 days this time. 

What will my husband eat for that long???

Adventures in Pregnancy

19 weeks and counting. For being about half way through this thing I thought I would be a lot bigger. It really is more fun to tell people you are pregnant when you actually look it. Fun fact: Sam has lost ALMOST double the weight that I have gained since finding out we were pregnant. He says he wants to be in shape so he makes a good first impression with our child.

I asked Sam if he had to describe first trimester in one word what it would be. He said, "schlaf". German for SLEEP. It's true, I slept an absurd amount. I was tired all of the time. Not tired; utterly exhausted. I would wake up, get ready for work and be ready to go back to sleep. One time I nodded off standing up in line at the grocery store. Poor, poor Sam, he had to make dinner for himself sometimes! He was a trooper, really. I have a sweet husband who takes care of me. I think he is happy to have his wife back (though not completely).

I think I've had almost every symptom in the book that can possibly go along with pregnancy.
Some minor surprises; contact lenses no longer "work", dry eyes, itchy skin, head aches, hearing my heartbeat in my ears ALL THE TIME, sensitive skin, excessive salivating, food aversions (I suddenly hated most anything salty), cravings (can't get enough Ramen noodles?) and random leg cramps.

The most problematic include an ear infection, outrageous heart burn, needing to pee literally every 30 minutes, a generally miserable sensation in my gut (first trimester) and most recently...anemia and kidney stones. This girl needs to start eating red meat again. For kidney stones, luckily percocet is okay to take during pregnancy. After my 4th bout with stones, child birth should be a piece of cake. This is what I've heard, at least.

I don't mean to just complain. I wake up with a smile on my face every morning remembering the gift the Lord has given us. I have so much pride in my baby bump. Seeing the ultra sounds and just listening to the heartbeat is like nothing else on earth. As of one week ago I started feeling the little "flutters" of my baby moving around in there! I do not take it for granted. Babies are miracles. From conception to birth and for a lifetime. Miracles. Thank God.

Registering for baby is fun. Who knew there were so many different brands of cloth diapers? Not me. Or how expensive breast pumps were? I have done an extensive amount of nannying but I have never had to buy these things. Thankful for my sister planning a baby shower for me!

I am participating in a new-moms-to-be study at Penn which means extra appointments and extra ultra sounds - good deal for me! We have not found a caregiver we really click with yet. The OB at HUP (Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania) said, and I quote, "I'm not going to be around during labor. I don't have the patience for pushing. I will be there when it is time to catch the baby". Great, moving on...we met with a midwife at HUP who was...okay. The only thing is at HUP there are only midwives available during business hours. Having a midwife is important to us considering we are planning for a natural birth. I won't know until 3rd trimester if I am even able to have an epidural due to my back problems (slipped vertebrae). So for our next appointment we are meeting with a midwife at Pennsylvania Hospital (different than HUP). If we deliver here we can tell our child they were born at the first hospital in the nation!

It has been hard to be so far away from the people we love during this most wonderful time. Good thing dear old dad has an iphone and gets regular belly bump picture updates :) Facebook has never been so useful than it is as an expecting mother. Advice from friends all over the world on my computer screen.   I'll be heading to MN at the end of June and cannot wait to see as much family and as many friends as possible!

Next appointment is Tuesday AM. Hopefully another ultra sound to share. Stay tuned.
And of course, the latest baby bump...

Quick two year update

We returned to the U.S. in July 2010 after living out our first year of marriage in Mainz, Germany (you can look back through this blog archive to see our adventures). It is hard to believe we have been back for two years!
Since our return, we lived in Texas for the Fall through Christmas '10 to be with the Lacy's for awhile and then stayed in Minnesota with the Gervais' and MN friends from January to August '11.

Sam applied to several schools for Ph.D programs and we had a few offers but ended up choosing the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. So here we are in the city of brotherly shove. I mean Filthadelphia. I mean Killadelphia. I mean we are doing our best to adjust to this crazy city.
I think I might devote an entire post later on to our love-hate relationship with Philly.

Sam just completed his first year of coursework toward a Ph.D in American religious and legal history.
He will spend this summer taking a German reading class and studying for the LSAT. Yes, he is applying for law school. The reason we chose UPenn is because they have a dual Ph.D/J.D program. If he gets accepted to the law school he will be able to complete both programs in a shorter time and they will wave tuition for law school while continuing the stipend for the Ph.D.

In October I started working for a non-profit employment agency for individuals with disabilities. I spend about 40% percent of my time helping people search, apply and interview for jobs. The other 60% is spent coaching employed individuals at their work place. For various reasons, the people we serve could not maintain a job on their own. It is a very rewarding job, the agency does wonderful things for this city and I'm proud to work for them.

Finally, the big announcement, and the reason I started up this blog again, we are expecting our first child!! We could not be happier. We have been talking about starting a family pretty much since we got married. We just had to wait until we were settled in one place for more than 10 months and had a little something called health insurance. Due date is October 28th and it can't come fast enough. Being pregnant is an exciting blessing of it's own but really we just long to hold our infant in our arms.

Another post to come will be my adventures in pregnancy. In true Jamie (and Lacy family) fashion, there's never a dull moment. Baby is healthy as far as we know and we pray every day for a healthy delivery and child!

Here's the baby bump so far.

I'll do my best to update at acceptable intervals without boring the readers with insignificant growth spurts and uninteresting pregnancy details.

Sam says, "Feet up, waving like he/she owns the place!"