Baby Dub Dub

Well, we are getting down to the wire!!  I am 5 DAYS AWAY from my due date!!  The last time I even mentioned having a baby on here was before Christmas!!  HOLY COW!!  So, let's play catch-up!

I have really enjoyed being pregnant!!  I did have some issues early on, but once I got passed that it has been enjoyable!  It's been really fun and exciting not knowing what the baby is as well!  It has helped me and my family not spend too much money, which is always good because, let's be honest, once this little rascal gets here I will want to buy everything in sight!!  That's where my budget minded husband will be really handy!

Things I love about being pregnant:

• Feeling the baby move - this is one of the coolest things I have ever experienced.  I'm SOOOOOO going to miss this!  I wish that every person could feel this because it's so amazing and just shows how wonderful our God is!
• Knowing it's safe and sound inside my tummy - even though it's not technically in my stomach, sometimes when I think about the baby being here and living in this ugly world I just want it to stay safe tucked inside for as long as possible.
• The pregnant glow - Even though I'm not getting much sleep right now, my face still seems to look alive and awake.  Pretty sure once the baby arrives it will go back to dark and dull with huge bags under my eyes because I'm getting even less sleep, but it will totally be worth it!!!!!
• Maternity jeans - I'm NOT looking forward to going back to regular jeans.  These things are GREAT!!
• Not having to suck it in - Let me just say that this is something I have had to do my entire life for pictures, just walking around, everyday!  Once the little baby bump started showing and people knew I was pregnant it was nice to just be able to let it go!  Once this little thing comes out it will be right back to worrying about sucking in and standing up straight.
• My hair!! - Seriously this stuff is great!!  I don't shed hardly at all and let me just say that pre-pregnancy my hair would fall out like I was a horse getting brushed!  I barely even lose any hair when I wash it!  I know it will continue to stay put for a little while after the baby gets here, but then that dreaded day will come when I will have to start buying draino in bulk because I'm clogging up all the drains in the house again!
• Not having a monthly cycle - Great day in the morning it's been awesome!  We don't have to go into detail about this one because you know what I'm talking about :).
• Knowing I'm growing a human inside my body - Sometimes when I think about this I just feel honored!  There are so many women out there who can't have babies of their own and this is such a blessing to be able to experience!!
• Other people - I love talking to people about being pregnant and letting my family and friends feel the baby move.  I haven't had any strangers come up and ask to rub my belly yet, so maybe we will make it all the way through before that happens :).

There are probably so many more things that I could say I love about being pregnant, but I can't think of any more particulars right now...should we blame it on the baby brain?!  I would do a list of things I won't miss, but I like to keep things positive and I think it would be fun to look back only on the positives of pregnancy!

We have been overly showered with gifts!!  We have, so far, had 3 showers!  My work shower, our church shower and my Freed friends shower.  They were all perfect and unique in their own precious way! 

Gary, baby dub dub (our nickname for the baby for those of you who haven't heard) and I feel so blesssed and overwhelmed by the outpouring of love AND once the baby gets here we will have a shower for our Huntsville friends and then a family shower!!  I wanted to do it that way because I want the Huntsville friends to be able to see the baby since they don't get to see me that much.  I'm SOOOO SUPER excited about this one!!

We can't wait for our sweet baby to arrive and to become parents!  Please pray that I will have a safe and QUICK delivery!  Hopefully in a few days I'll update the blog world with pictures of our new arrival!!!

Overjoyed,

James Gordon Evans - Grandaddy!

This world lost a wonderful man last Monday!  My Granddaddy passed away peacefully holding the hand of his wife of nearly 62 years!  He will be missed, but we know he is healthy and in heaven!  We had a great week celebrating his life and spending time with family.  We love you Granddaddy/Pops!!

with great-grandbaby Easton

with great-grandbaby Zoey

This world is not my home, 

Oregon/Cali Trip

I know! I know! It's been a while! Things have been crazy around here and we don't have internet at home anymore and blogging at work can sometimes be too difficult. I want to go ahead and tell you all about our last and final trip this past summer before filling you in on everything else that has been going on in our lives :).


I did a little teaser here, but there is so much more to this trip than planking onto the bed :).  The reason for the trip was a wedding that Gary was a groomsman in and I was videoing.  Kip and Brett, some of our other friends, were also attending this wedding and when we found out they were planning to stay in Oregon a few days longer than the wedding weekend to check out the sites and camp out we decided we would join them!

The adventure began on Thursday July 19th when Brett, Gary and I hopped on plane out of Nashville.  I don't exactly remember all the details from our trip so I'll just be hitting the high points.  We were supposed to arrive in Medford Oregon late Thursday evening (I believe around midnight), however, when we arrived in San Francisco our flight to Medford had been cancelled due to fog.  After speaking with an airline employee and not getting a guaranteed flight out of San Fran on Friday we decided to rent to a car and drive 7 hours to Medford. 

Of course we had to stop and get this shot!!

We arrived when the sun came up.  Kip was already there and had our room keys ready for us to nap and freshen up before our drive to the wedding location.

We arrived in Gold Beach a little before the rehearsal dinner that evening.  After dinner we went out to the beach and had a little fun with the sun!!

the boys doing the karate pose

The new thing, perching, instead of planking

Brandon, king of the world!

Brett in mid-jump!

Saturday was full of wedding festivties.  I was running back and forth recording the bride getting ready with her bridesmaids and the groom getting ready with his groomsmen.  Unfortunately, I haven't even had time to look at the footage from their wedding, but I know it's going to be great once I get the chance :).

Brandon arriving at the church.  I just happen to have that eye cover in my purse from our New Zealand trip and it worked out perfectly for him not to see his bride before it was time.  I love that they put his glasses on top!!

Gary walking his bridesmaid down the aisle.

The wedding party

They're officailly married!!  Congrats Brandon and Kelsy!!

That night we stayed in Gold Beach one more time before heading out on our camping adventures.  We went to the beach and took some pictures and that night decided to go back down and build a fire!

My handsome hubby!  Do you see the fire in his glasses??

Sunday morning we went to church with Kelsy's family and then headed out for our first night camping out in the Redwood National Forrest

Yes, Brett and Kip shared that tiny tent :).  We offered them ours, but they like to cuddle!

Monday morning we went on a hike in search of the Boy Scout Tree.

Family portrait

Just a little family love!

There were a lot of perching opportunities!!

We found it!!

Gary, the proud Eagle Scout!

Monday morning we got up and loaded the car to head to Crater Lake, where we spent our last 2 nights.

GORGEOUS!!!!

There were all kinds of different locations you could climb to see different views of the lake and this particular one still had snow...in JULY!!!

One of the nights we were camping at Crater Lake, Gary and Brett gathered some wood for the fire.  Gary is used to burning anything and everything, however, he isn't necessarily used to evergreens and the massive amounts of smoke and fire they produce.  Needless to say, we thought we were going to start a forrest fire when Gary placed a massive branch on top of the fire.  We were running around grabbing cups, yes cups because that's all we had, of water and trying to get it go down.  Thankfully, the flames went down and we were not arrested in the process!

Wednesday morning we packed up our stuff and headed back to Medford to catch our flights home, however, the Medford airport had other plans for Gary, Brett and myself.  Since we hadn't taken our last flight to Medford from San Fran they assumed we didn't need the flight back and took us off.  So, there we were stuck in Medford Oregon for the night!

The boys with all the luggage!

It ended up being a fun filled night of bike riding, batman watching and Applebee's eating!!  We finally made it home on Thursday!!

Gary and I are so thankful that we have friends that we can travel with and enjoy adventures as much as we do!!!  This could be our last fun filled adventure summer for a while :).

Happy Traveling,