Some of the Owl items we have for Anna.

Onesie Jessica made for Anna.


Curtains in Anna's nursery.



One of three pictures we have for the nursery.


Lamp that started it all! Too Cute!


Owl stuffed animal for Anna's nursery.

We are having a............

little girl named Anna Marie!!

2 Recipes

Bruschetta Chicken Bake & Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Banana Bread

1. Bruschetta Chicken Bake:

1 can of tomatoes (I used basil, garlic & oregano kind), undrained
1 package of stuffing mix for chicken
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp. of dried, minced garlic
2 large cans of chunk chicken
1 tsp. basil leaves
1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Mix everything together, except cheese. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish, cover with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cheese is completely melted and browned.

2. Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Banana Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar

2 large eggs

3 ripe bananas, mashed

3/4 cup buttermilk (I didn't have buttermilk, so a trick is to measure out 1 cup of milk with 1 3/4 tsp of cream of tartar, mix well)

1/2 cup of chocolate chips, plus more for putting on top

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9×5 inch loaf pan and place it on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets one on top of the other. This extra insulation will keep the bottom of the bread from overbaking.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

Working with a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed for about a minute until soft. Add the sugars and beat for 2 minutes more. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute after each addition. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the mashed bananas. Add the dry ingredients in three additions, mixing only until they disappear into the batter. Still on low speed, add the buttermilk, mixing until it is incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips. Scrape batter into prepared pan. "Sprinkle" with chocolate chips on the top.

Bake for 30 minutes. Cover the bread loosely with a foil tend to keep the top from getting too dark, and continue to bake for another 40-45 minutes (total baking time is between 70 and 75 minutes), or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for at least 20 minutes before running a knife around the edges of the bread and un-molding it. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

SO good with a big glass of milk!!

17 weeks Pregnant

Wesley and I at Brown County State Park on 10/10/10. I am 17 weeks pregnant!

Pumpkin Banana Bread

PUMPKIN BANANA BREAD

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup cooking oil
4 eggs
3 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2/3 cup water
1 15-ounce can pumpkin
2 medium size bananas

Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans, set aside. In a very large mixing bowl, beat sugar and oil with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger. Alternatively add flour mixture and the water to sugar mixture, beating after each addition just until combined.

Beat in pumpkin and banana.

Spoon batter into prepared pans. Bake in a 350 degree oven 50 to 60 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks. Enjoy!!

Belly Pictures

All taken between 15-16 weeks.

3rd Prenatal Doctor's Appt.

Not much happened at this doctor's appointment. They checked my weight, blood pressure, and the baby's heartbeat. Dr. Stowell said the heartbeat sounded perfect! We set up a date for my next appointment. At that time, we will get to have a 45 minute ultrasound and a 15 minute visit with the doctor. We get to find out the gender of the baby that day, if we choose. We are very excited and I'm still in shock every single day! This morning I woke up and wondered if it's all been a dream...but it didn't take long to know that it wasn't...I just had to look down at my big belly, haha. I hope to post some pictures soon.

My new favorite thing!

Okay, so my friends think I'm nuts...but I'm using this...and it's helping me go to sleep! I love it!

It's the Baby Einstein baby neptune soother! It plays music or a water sound, lights up and the little fishies/turtle swim around. Then it fades off after every 10 minutes until it eventually turns itself off. It's wonderful :-) Can't wait until the baby gets here so I don't look so ridiculous cuddling with baby blankets and listening to lullabies, haha...

Anyway, it can attach to a crib and it has a remote so the baby MIGHT get to enjoy it when it comes, if I can give it up! LOL

2nd Doctor's Appt.

My second doctor's appointment was August 23rd at 9am. First I had to pee in a cup. Then talk to an LPN about family history and about what tests were offered (HIV & Cystic Fibrosis & Down Syndrome test). We declined all tests.

Then we got to meet the Women's Health Nurse Practicioner, Jyll Hopkins. She was really nice and helpful. She first used the doppler to let us hear the heartbeat again. She said it was hard to find because the baby was wiggling around in there, which absolutely freaked me out...oh yeah..I AM pregnant! Crazy, haha. Then, since I hadn't had one recently, she had to give me a pap smear and check my breasts. She said she is concerned that I will have problems breastfeeding, which made me a little sad, but I can't worry about that right now. She also had to check on my cyst on my right ovary since it had been hurting. OUCH, boy did that hurt. She had to press down on my both of my ovaries and I almost started crying...Then more poking and prodding as I had to get some blood work down. Apparently, a 'prenatal panel' blood tests...Just routine bloodwork for a pregnant woman!

I still cannot believe that we are going to have a baby and that everything is going well so far. I am in awe of God's awesome miracles. He sure loves to surprise you! :)

Great News!

We've waited a long time to write this post! We've waited three difficult years to finally get pregnant, and we've waited three long weeks to write this post to everyone. So, it's official...Wesley and I will be having a baby next year!! March 19th, 2011!!

When we found out, I was already 5 weeks pregnant. I was not expecting to see two pink lines on those pregnancy tests, but boy when I did...I was in shock! All I could do was put my hands over my mouth and gawk at those tests! Then I woke Wesley up from his deep sleep and dragged him into the bathroom to look, too. He couldn't believe it, either! The first person we told was Jodie, and then Greg. They took us out to eat to celebrate our good news at Longhorn Steakhouse, yum!


So, fast forward to today, August 9th, 2010...Our first ultrasound! Wesley and Jodie were hoping for twins, but I was going to be happy with just one baby...And that's what we have...One very healthy baby growing! The ultrasound lady said I was measuring 8 weeks 2 days (which is exactly what I thought) and that my due date would be March 19th, 2011. She said the baby's heartbeats per minute was 174. She also showed me a cyst I have on my right ovary, called the corpus luteum cyst, that should go away with time. It's just there because that's the ovary that I ovulated from!



I will have another appointment in two weeks, August 23, to go over family history and all that fun stuff. I will get to listen to the baby's heartbeat again! The entire time today I kept thinking about how unreal this all is! After trying to get pregnant for exactly three years, we are finally here! It's all by the grace of God!! We had tried some different stuff to get pregnant in the past and obviously none of that worked. I had kind of given up hope and thought "if it happens, it happens, but I don't think it will". Then BAM, here I am over 8 weeks pregnant! It truly is a miracle!!!


It was so cute to hear Wesley tell everyone at church that we are going to be a mommy & daddy. When we told my mom she started crying and saying she was so happy (kind of scaring the kids that were at the next table at the restaurant, lol).

I want to thank everyone who has prayed for us over the years. Often times I just didn't know what to pray anymore, or how to pray anymore. So thank you for praying for me, when I couldn't anymore.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Please pray for a healthy pregnancy, healthy mama, and healthy baby...and a healthy daddy, too :)

Apple Cake

Mexican Chicken Pizza

1 premade whole wheat pizza crust
Mild Chunky Salsa
Chicken Breast Chunks
Taco Cheese Blend, Shredded

topped with sour cream & cilantro