Pomp & Circumstance

Shane graduated from Asbury Theological Seminary this past weekend with a Master of Arts in Theological Studies!!! :) I am SO unbelievably proud of him... words really can't sufficiently express. He has worked so hard these past three years - juggling schoolwork, 3 jobs, and taking care of so many other things. I am blessed to be his wife and look forward to this next journey we're about to take. Here are some pictures from the weekend (and yes... my belly is visible in most of these - so I hope they suffice for prego pics, too!):

Before the ceremony

We had great seats! :)

Richard, Shane & Tab - the 3 amigos!

35 weeks!

Yesterday (Wednesday) marked 35 weeks!! I can't believe how quickly time is flying by. Before we know it... she'll be here! :) I am still feeling great AND wearing heels. I get comments all the time at work about that and I just have to laugh. I'm actually more comfortable in heels than I am in flats for some reason! Maybe it's because I've gotten so used to wearing them... who knows?!

She is still very active during the daytime - particularly from 11:00am until about 3:00pm. I'm pretty sure I have a gymnast in there! She has also begun to be more active around 8:00pm for about an hour and a half each night. Haven't had much movement in the middle of the night, though, which I'm very thankful for! I hope she likes that schedule and can stick to it after she's born. :)

Thanks to our YMCA family, we were able to purchase our travel system and swing last night at Babies 'R' Us without spending a dime of our own money! What a HUGE blessing. :) We still have a few small things we'll need to get before she's born, but all the big things have been taken care of. My mom bought the changing table for us and gave us a cradle, my in-laws bought us our Pack 'N Play as well as our crib bedding, and we have more clothes than we'll know what to do with! If you've been on my mom's Facebook page in recent months, you can see all the adorable clothes that Parker has awaiting her. As my dad so lovingly says, "You've unleashed a monster!" :) My in-laws gave us a bunch of clothes at the shower this weekend, and we also received TONS of cute outfits from the ladies at that same shower. Our family and friends have been so generous to us and we cannot begin to express our gratitude to each and every one of you! THANK YOU - it is a blessing to have you in our lives.

And here are the most recent belly pictures (from all angles) that Shane took last night. Typically he takes a picture of me from behind because he's still pretty convinced that you can't tell I'm pregnant from the back. Personally, I think it's getting harder and harder to "hide" from ANY viewpoint, but I'll let you be the judge of that. ;)

Catching Up

I haven't posted since we got back from Myrtle Beach. It seems as though our life has been a whirlwind ever since... but we're settling back into the groove of our routines now. :) Myrtle Beach was AMAZING! We started off on a rough note with the car breaking down about 50 miles away from Corey & Danielle's, but we were able to get it towed and the situation could have been MUCH worse. My parents saved the day again and rented a car for us so we could get the rest of the way to Myrtle Beach. Once we got there, we were just SO excited to see the family! It was sad that Tyler couldn't be with us, but we're looking forward to seeing him sometime soon (hopefully when Parker is born, if he's able to get out of class!). The week was full of relaxation, golf (for Shane), seeing "Avatar" in the 3D Imax (pictures shown below), good eating, even better shopping, and LOTS of laughter. Can't ask for a better vacation than that! Here are just a couple shots from our trip:

After we returned home from Myrtle Beach, we had 1 week of work before 2 baby showers! The first shower was given by my friends/co-workers at the YMCA on Friday during lunch. It was so much fun and people were SO generous to us! Thanks to our Y friends, we'll be able to get our travel system which includes the car seat, stroller, and additional base. I wish I could show you pictures from that, but unfortunately my camera was packed in the car already since we were leaving directly after that shower to drive up to NY for the NEXT shower! I think my boss, Gail, was able to capture a few shots on her camera phone, so I'll see if I can post those sometime soon. The food, the games, the gifts, the fellowship... all of it was sweet!

The shower in Jamestown was given by my mother-in-law (AKA "Nana", as she'll be called by Parker). When we first got to Jamestown there was some prep work left to be done, but Judy is SUPER organized, so it was easy to knock out those tasks. Mom & Dad DeHaven bought us our Pack 'N Play which we were able to set up at the shower to hold a lot of the presents! The shower was on Sunday afternoon and my sister was able to make the trip out! Unfortunately, my mom was in Portland, Oregon for Tessa's graduation and to meet her family. They hadn't met before this past weekend, and everyone thought it was probably a good idea for the families to meet before the wedding in August! ;) And although my mom wasn't there, her presence was VERY much felt! She sent along more gifts for Parker (and when I say "more", I mean that she has already bought so many amazing things for her - from outfits, to carriers, to her changing table - that I couldn't believe there was MORE). The shower was wonderful and all the ladies were so gracious - and again... EXTREMELY generous! Parker is such a blessed little girl already and we feel humbled to have these amazing friends and family surrounding us during this time. Here are a couple shots from the Jamestown shower (including the diaper cake Judy made!):

Thanks to EVERYONE who has made this time in our lives so special! We can't wait to introduce Parker to each of you! :)