The Last Few Months

In mid March Ella's soccer season started.

At the beginning of April we took our much-awaited Texas trip. The below picture was taken at a random diner along our way on the border of New Mexico and Colorado:

Somewhere in the TX panhandle:

First stop: Austin. I was so honored to be a bridesmaid for my good friend, Vicky. We stayed at the historic Driskill hotel. It was an incredible start to our trip.

Ella with Kristen and Marci at the rehearsal dinner:

Wedding Day at the Thurman Mansion:

Photo booth fun:

Ella putting her babies to sleep later that night:

Next stop: McKinney to visit Brett, Karley, and sweet baby Caden.

We couldn't get enough of this little punkin. He is such a beautiful baby. We love him so much.Brett and Karley are amazing parents, and we loved getting to see them in these roles.

Next stop: Wichita Falls to visit Gam Gam, Pepaw, Justin, Brittany, Adelle, and our besties.It was so nice to catch up with everyone. Our stay with John's parents was wonderful and so relaxing. However, we were very sad that we couldn't stay for Adelle's 1st birthday party.

Of course we couldn't leave Wichita Falls without a quick trip to see the Ernst family. We were so lucky to be able to see them again so soon!

Next stop: Abilene to visit my Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Debbie. My cousin Matt was away at college. The Pannell family is so important to me, and I was so happy to get the chance to see them. We miss them already.
Last stop: Lubbock to stay with my little brother, Eric. Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture of Eric. We stayed one night then woke up early to drive the last 9 hours. Since I was 7 weeks pregnant at the time of the trip, we were able to tell our exciting news to family and friends in person.This last picture was taken at 16 weeks preggers (2 weeks ago). This pregnancy is so different than my last one five years ago. I am sick a lot. Exhausted all day long. Emotional (irrational)--lucky John :) Extremely thirsty. I kind of feel like I have never done this before. I have strong cravings (hamburgers, fried chicken, french fries...basically anything unhealthy). I have been feeling flutters since 16 weeks and Braxton Hicks contractions since 15 weeks. Now, we are actually feeling little kicks. The nausea is starting to subside, but the exhaustion is hanging on. Despite the symptoms, we thank God every single day for this little life.