A winter update!

well it has been a while since I have blogged at all so thought I would send out an update for all to know what's been going on in our little world the past couple of months. My pregnancy is going great. I have had my bit of nausea and such but overall doing well. I am a little over 16 weeks pregnant. We got to see and hear the heartbeat which was so amazing. We are going to find out the gender here in 2 weeks so that is so exciting, we can't wait! It really is starting to feel more real. Dave and I have noticed the past few weeks that we are beginning to feel more and more attached to the little baby already..
So Dec. 10th was my big 30th birthday and as most of you know Dave threw me an amazing 30th Casino themed party. The pictures should explain it well. It was so special because he planned every bit of it and was working really hard for a few weeks to put it all together. It made me feel very loved. Then on my actual birthday Dave and I went to Disneyland for a few hours and watched the fire works. We had a great time. It was one of those moments when you stop and realize how great your life is. We were drinking hot cocoa, with Christmas music and beautiful fireworks together on my birthday!
Then my amazing 5th period girls PE class threw me a surprise baby shower. It was so stinkin cute. They planned it all on their own and went all out, with food and decorations and gifts and even cute party favors... It was so sweet and special. and was really fun to get a few of my first little baby items.
Then we had a Smith girls baking night at my house while Dave took Bradley for a night out at Bass Pro Shop.
Then...... Let the Christmas festivities begin: we started with a Christmas Eve party at my mother in laws house. I love that party!! The traditions we do is so fun. My favorite is Christmas carols around the tree.
Christmas day we spent at my parents house. We had a really fun, relaxing time. We opened lots of presents in the morning and then played with the kids and their toys for most of the day and we all played with the dogs too. We brought Dottie and Brutus over and Karyn and Todd brought Java so sthey all had fun together.
The 26th we went down to Dave's dad's house and made a great brunch and watched a Christmas Story and had a great time together.
Then th 27th we headed back over to Carol's house to open some Christmas gifts with her and Kirsten.
Although we had many days of Christmas this year we really enjoyed all the time we got to spend with everyone in the family! Great Fun.
The last big exciting thing!! All Dave wanted for Christmas this year was money to put towards this special fishing kayak he REALLY wanted. So for the most part thats what he got from the family.. (perfect:) But when all was said and done he still wouldnt have near enough money for the kayak. so I decided I was going to give Dave the rest of the money for Christmas to go get the kayak. I thought about going and surprising him by buying the actual kayak and hiding it at my parents or something, but decided I would rather him pick it out perfectly what he wanted.. So I started saving money from our paychecks and putting it aside and when it was time to exchange gifts I gave him an envelope with the rest of the money he would need for the kayak. It all worked out great and we were able to go down and pick it up on the 26th!! It was so fun! Dave is like a big kid playing with his new Christmas toy.... Thanks so much to everyone who contributed:)

Hope you all had a Wonderful Christmas as well! and we look forward to seeing all of you very soon.

Our Big News!

So the news is out and we couldn't be more excited!! These pictures should explain it well. Please keep our baby in your prayers!! We are so excited and thankful to God!! Dave and I are going to be a mom and a dad!! so crazy but awesome!! Our due date is June 15th~!!

The first picture is when I first told Dave We were going to have a baby! Wow! What amazing news to get to tell your husband.... Well I actually found out on Friday morning before work but we were leaving that afternoon to go up to Big Bear with some friends. I knew I wanted to tell Dave in a special way so even though it was the hardest thing in the world, I waited until Monday evening to tell Dave that he was going to be a daddy.... SO Monday night I made him a nice romantic dinner. I then gave him a mushy card telling him all the things I love and appreciate about him and what a great dad he would be someday. I then gave him a gift. On the front of the gift was a card that read. "Every Good and Perfect Gift comes from the Lord." (at this point Dave said he started to wonder what was up). He then opened the gift which had a couple pairs of babies socks... blue and pink that said "I love my daddy" "Daddy's Little Princess" and then included the positive pregnancy test! It really was a great night! Dave was so surprised and excited!! Enjoy the photos.


The other photos are when we told my family. We had told my parents previously and they were so happy that they got to know before the rest of the family.. it was like our little secret for a couple weeks~! we were going to wait and tell them all together but I was too excited so we told them early, which was fun. but this is when we told the rest of my family. It was my brother in law, Todd's birthday party. I wrapped a gift with decorated onsies and had him open it as one of his birthday gifts.. The family was so surprised. It was super fun!


We told Dave's family at Carol's house when we were having lunch. It was so fun too!! We were praying before the lunch and I secretly put a bib on Carol's plate that said. " I love my grandma!" When she opened her eyes after the prayer she started screaming! It was too cool! Kirsten didn't know why she was screaming at first so then I gave Kristen her bib that said, "I love my auntie"

What a fun thing to share with the family~!
Love you all! Hope you are doing great.

While I am Waiting

I heard this song the other day and it just seriously amazed me and spoke to me. In all the circumstances of life when we are waiting for an answer to so many of life's uncertainties. Check out the video and lyrics below.(copy and paste to check out the video to the song.
God is always Faithful!
Love you all!

Jules

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb7TSGptd3Y

"I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

A great Sunday!

So this morning Dave and I accidently slept in past church so wondering what we should do with this extra time, we decided to ride our bikes to the Panera Bread down the road for lunch. We had such a great time and conversation and it was just one of those really great times together! Then we headed down to Newport Beach to take Dottie and Brutus to the dog beach with some friends of ours. It was so fun! It was the first time we had taken the dogs down there and we were not sure how they would do with the water. The few times we have put them in my parents pool, they didn't really like it. But they loved the dog beach! It was a really cool little area because there was shallow water without the waves where they can play. There were a lot of dogs down there. A couple of our friends brought there dogs too so they all played together. We then had dinner with some friends to end a really great Sunday!
I didn't bring my camera but here is one picture Travis took and sent to us. It is of Dottie, Brutus, and the small dog is Travis dog, Chelsea.
Boschmans! We so need to take the kids down here with Dottie, Brutus and Java! they would absolutely love it!!

lots of love,
Jules

Hawaii Photos!

Summer Vacations

Well the end of summer is definetly drawing near and although I am not at all ready to go back to work, I have had a wonderful summer and amazing vacations that I am so thankful we had the opportunity to take.
Dave and I spent 11 days in Hawaii. Amazing! We spent 6 days on the Big Island of Hawaii and 5 days on Kauai. We had such a great time. We did some really cool hikes to amazing waterfalls and views, we went off-roading to gorgeous secluded beaches, snorkling, kayaking, and the highlight of our trip was probably the zodiac boat trip down the Napoli Coast in Kauai. We took this small raft boat about 35 miles down the coast, we went in to caves, saw dolphins and snorkled with huge sea turtles. On Dave's Birthday we went to a restaurant called, "The Beach House" It was the best food, service and scenery and we had a really special time there too, with a amazing sunset. I got to give Dave his birthday scrapbook gift there that I had been making him and he really loved it, so that was fun!
Then after hawaii we were home for about 2 weeks before we went to Mammoth and Yosemite for a few days with Dave's family. This truly was a very special weekend for Dave and I. Just the beauty and peacefulness of the mountains, gave us an opportunity to really connect and spend time just loving each other. We went to the very top of Yosemite called Glacier Point where you have a full view of half-dome and the waterfalls and everything. Dave and I just sat there in awe of God's beautiful, amazing creation and just reminded how thankful we are for our lives~ then we spent a few days on the lake. We relaxed and fished quite a bit. Dave took his float tube out and I took the kayak and we fished in the middle of twin lakes and Lake Mary. I loved fishing off the kayak! It is something I really want to do more of. If is awesome being in the middle of the lake, so peaceful and fishing! we had a ball!! We came home saying how we feel we really grew closer to each other and to God in Mammoth and Yosemite.
Love you all!Hope you are all doing well!

Summer Catch Up

Wow! It has been soOO long since I have updated our blog! I am sorry. It has been a busy few months as always! So this will be a biggie of all we have done since summer and in the past few months.
April: Rich and Nicole's Wedding! Beautiful, fabulous Wedding! So much fun! We all had a blast including the bride and groom. Nicole had asked if I would read something at the ceremony, so I wrote a short poem and read it in the ceremony. I liked it and felt special to be able to be a part of the wedding!
May: Girls Weekend in Palms Springs: had a blast, great quality girl time with great friends.
June: Lots went on in June. to start we had the 1st Annual Edkins Camping Trip up in the Sequoias! Although the weather was not ideal we still had such a great time! The burger cook-off was definetly the highlight of the weekend! We are all already looking forward to next year and I am hoping more of my friends will be able to join too!
Then. my Best Friend And and Chris were in town and stayed at our house for the week. They are one of favorite couples to hang out with. Dave and Chris get along great which is so awesome. We had such a great, special time~! and then April and Raul also made it to town and we gpt to spend some good time with them also. It was amazing as I miss those guys soo much! Ang and Chris are now back in DC but we can't wait to spend time with them again soon!
Next was the Havasu trip with my family. SO FUN! we had the perfect amount of time with everyone in the family. got to spend great time with the kids and had good relax time too! Havasu is always a blast and we love hanging out with our family.
July: Palm Springs with Emily and Jeff. We just got back from a night in Palm Springs with Jeff and Emily. We had a really great time. We just relaxed by the pool all day and then went out for dinner. After dinner Dave and I were exhausted from the day in the sun and some drinks that we crashed out early (sorry guys) We really had a great time and were really happy to be able to spend time with My Best Friend!! Felt so relaxing which is what we wanted and really got some good, quality time with Em and Jeff which was awesome!
Now Coming Up: HAWAII!! We are leaving next week for Hawaii and are so excited! We are going back to Kona and then to Kauai! I think it will be such great time for Dave and I to really relax and spend time together!
dave and I are doing great! Work is really busy for Dave and a bit stressful as he is learning the new position but He is happy and likes the new position! I think he is adjusting well and I really think he is a Great Manager. I am really proud of Him
We Love you all!
sorry the pictures are out of order!