Overwhelmed with Gratitude

Sometimes I feel like words cannot accurately describe how blessed I am.

I have amazing friends who give and give, and a family that is always supportive and overly generous.

I'm not sure what I did to deserve such amazing people in my life but I wouldn't trade them for anything.

They are spoiling me once again, this time with baby showers and lots of gifts for our little guy.

My best friend, her little girl and my sister-in-law hosted a baby shower for me in my Kansas hometown earlier this month.

And they out-did themselves.

Every little detail was so thoughtful.

All the way down to the little cake-topping boots that came straight from Nashville.

This little boy has no idea how spoiled he already is.

It was such a fun day and a great chance to catch up with everyone.

And thanks to their cleaver crafting, a day I will always be able to remember.

They asked the guests to make pages for a scrapbook offering parenting advice, memories and well-wishes.

The kids' pages were some of my favorite.

They included phrases like "Go KSU" and "Drive green tractors."

(Although I'm pretty sure I have an aunt responsible for the green tractor comment)

Sometimes it's hard living so far away from home, but it makes the trips back all the sweeter.

I had a great time spending the day with family and friends.

And it was fun getting to have my aunts and cousins all in one place.

They are the most thoughtful group of women I know.

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Fast forward one week, and it was time for another baby shower.

This time back East on my in-law's farm.

I couldn't believe it when I had three different friends offer to throw a shower.

So they teamed up and put together a beautiful day.

If you haven't guessed yet, we're going to call the baby August.

He's the 4th in line to a long name, so we opted to shorten the second middle name (Augustus) to August for a nickname.

Does the cake look familiar?

I love that both groups of girls know me so well that they picked the same style of cake knowing I would absolutely love it (and invitations too, by the way.) I'm lucky to have such great friends.

The weather was perfect for a picnic on the farm that day.

Once again, everyone was so incredibly generous.

I can honestly say, we really don't need a single thing now.

My husband's sister came up with a really cool idea that made a thoughtful gift we will cherish forever.

She is a world traveler, and collected soil from Germany and England (where my husband's family is from) and Sweden (where my family is from).

And then she took it a step further and collected dirt from the homeplace when my husband's father grew up, and well as the country store where his mother grew up.

And the 6th jar contains soil from the first piece of ground my husband bought.

He's already tried to claim the jars to display in his office.

But so far baby is winning, and it's on the chest of drawers in the nursery.

And never wanting to miss out on anything, my dear sweet sister-in-law from Kansas City and my mother came out just for the shower.

And it's possible that I used my mother (and father) for slave labor to get the nursery ready while they were here.

I mean, what use are awesome parents if you don't take full advantage of their awesomeness?

Mama Massey

My baby had babies this week.

Now I know how my parents feel.

Just last week she was my cute little kitten with a suspiciously big belly.

But in my mind she was still the tiny little fluffball who came to the farm seven months ago.

But now she's created a new family of little furbabies for me to spoil.

She had her babies up in the rafters of the barn and has yet to bring them down for us to meet.

So until then, I don't have any cute pictures to share.

But I have something better.

When Massey was super pregnant last week she didn't do much more than relax.

I caught her napping on the tractor manuals desk out in the barn -- letting my husband serenade her with some old school country on the radio.

He has no idea this video even exists:

I recommend the fullscreen view so you can really see him getting in to it.

Just in case you missed it, here are a couple of other little gems of my husband jamming out when he thinks no one is looking/listening:

Car Singing

Mandolin Breakdown

Who Brought the Old Lady?

What a difference a few years can make.

This picture was taken before my senior sorority formal in the spring of 2005:

Fast forward eight years.

My husband was asked to be an alumni guest speaker as his college fraternity's formal this past weekend.

Subtract some hair (on his part) and add in some hips, extra pounds and a baby belly (on my part) and here you have it:

Damn, we've aged.

Yes, I was the 29-year-old pregnant woman in a sea of drunk 20-somethings wearing mini dresses this weekend.

Awesome.

I could see the pity in those girls' eyes.

And all I could think was ... I used to be you.

Just wait, you will be me  in a few years. 

(Insert evil laugh here)

That size four and spray tan won't last forever, girlfriend.

One day you will wake up and realize it doesn't matter anymore.

Because if you picked the right date tonight, he just might marry you and love you anyway.

And you'll love him ... even though he refuses to ever smile and look normal in pictures.

Seriously, dude.

Just ONE picture. 

Before we left town I went ahead and took the obligatory baby bump picture in the hotel mirror.

This is me officially at the half-way mark.

And that's probably all you'll get folks.

I'm not trying to plaster my belly all over the internet.

A Long Winter

There is a whole lot of this that goes on around the farm office during the winter months.

These two mutts are the biggest farm dog impostors ever.

This one couldn't round up a herd of cattle if his life depended on it.

His strong suit is looking pitiful.

And begging to snuggle.

Pathetic.

Both of them.

This little girl is the only one getting any work done around here.

She's successfully kept the barn mouse-free since last fall.

About the only excitement we've seen all winter is a little fence building.

After a long winter of staring at each other, it was kind of nice to have some new faces on the farm when the fence distributor stopped by and the crew putting in posts was here.

There are a handful of ornery calves who are responsible for this new fencing. 

They decided they like it outside of the pasture better than they do inside.

And they would find a way out at all costs.

Not for long sucka's.

As stir crazy as I've been with this extra long winter, I'm kind of glad I had an excuse not to help.

Building fence in blistering cold winds isn't exactly my idea of fun.

But thankfully it went up quickly and the cows are enjoying their new digs.

Except for these little punks...

They have been casing the perimeter ever since looking for their escape.

That's right, you better run the other direction when you see me.

Baby in my Belly

I am officially back on the radar. 

I've returned from the seven depths of hell, otherwise known as the first trimester of pregnancy.

I've been cooking a baby for four months now and I'm finally ready to let the world know.

I know most people shout it from the rooftops as soon as they find out, but I've been oddly private about it.

My husband's favorite response when friends ask us why it's taken us so long to announce it: Well, she's not a proven breeder yet. So we thought we'd wait.

Or how he likes to say that I'm going to calve in August.

That girl who called me a heifer in high school must have known what she was talking about.

Alright, no one called me a heifer. 

But I do think it's hilarious when Nene Leakes on the Real Housewives calls people "Heifa."

I'm starting to feel like one myself.

I've been hiding my growing bump for weeks now.

But I finally decided that today was the day to start embracing it.

Except my husband was more worried about getting his new fence in the background than whether or not I was even in frame.

Typical.

Alright ... enough nonsense.

Down to the good stuff.

We found out today it's a BOY!

You have no idea how happy I am.

It brings me great relief to know I won't have to turn into a baby-making factory.

We got a boy on the first try.

Pressure is off.