Rich and Famous...

I remember when I was little, my sister and I used to talk about when we were, "rich and famous." (I just learned that is the grammatical rule in America - period or question mark then quotes, regardless!) We were sure that all of our hopes and dreams would be fulfilled. Well, as I think about my hopes and dreams at the time... Ice cream for breakfast, getting to play in the park instead of going to school, getting to eat nothing except pizza for the rest of my life, never having to work but having all the money I want, getting to go to wild waves everyday... the dreams of a child. I am very happy to report that instead of my dreams coming true - the dreams of those who love me, are coming true. And, of course, I am rich and famous.

Such Riches. I am saved by a merciful and gracious Savior. I have a church body that is more support than most people have in a lifetime! I have five dynamically different sets of parents who are each a blessing in their own way. I have a family who I am happy to say holds my dearest friends. I have a loving and godly husband. I have two cutely irritating dogs. I am about to become a mother - one of my greatest dreams. There are many in the world who cannot boast of such riches.

Oh the fame! As some of you may know, I became a model soon after my wedding. One of the photographers from my/Michael's wedding, Natasha, asked me to modal my wedding dress for her as she was putting together a show for a gallery entitled, "Fearless Bride." Well, I did, and it was so much fun. Some of you have seen the pictures as they are online. Well, Natasha is finally debuting her show in Seattle. So, on March 6th at the Alchemy Gallery in Pioneer Square people will see me! One of the most random things I have ever done, but I had so much fun, and now I can't wait to see the show. She photographed seven brides in different places around Seattle and Tacoma, it will be fun to see her talent showcased.

Snow Snow Snow

I got up yesterday morning nice and early so that I could get to school through the snow. What I should have done was call the school and see if we had classes and then gone back to bed since school was closed. Next time I will be that smart. Anywho - after I got to school, with the three other people that showed up (in the entire school-everyone else was smart enough to check snow schedule info), I promptly turned around and went back home. The snow was beautiful, even made my lack of grass look pretty!

When I got home I took the dogs out in the yard so that they could play. This was Cricket's (9mo pitbull/german shepard) first experience with snow. Suffice to say she was not impressed. She went outside, smelled the edge of the whiteness and ran right back in the house. I took some pictures of our house int eh snow because it was so pretty - which Max finds very funny for some reason. I wanted to take pictures of the dogs in the snow, but as they were not enjoying it, I changed my objective. I figure I may as well take lots of pictures of my puppies because once the baby is here - I will completely forget about them.

Well, as nice as it was to have a day of fun-in-the-snow, I am back at work today. Tonight I will just pray for more snow!

Craving Runs...

So, as I have been talking to more and more women I have realised that I have a diamond in the ruff for a husband. More often than not, women tell me that there husband is not the get out of the bed in the middle of the night and get a snack for you kind of person! Well, to the dismay of everyone I am here to say that my husband is! He gets off his computer to get me orange juice and vitamins while I am in bed. He goes to the store and buys (and cooks) me ribs - because that is what I said I wanted. he takes me to pick out a movie because I am bored. Of course, sometimes he has to talk with me to make sure that I really want it before he goes out on a whim - but that's just smart. Especially these days when one second I want something but then I smell it and decide I don't!

Cribs, Car Seats and Strollers, Oh my!

Max and I are so thankful to the Lord for his provisions.

The Lord has really been teaching Max and I that instead of worrying over things that we cannot change/control, we should cling to His promises and be sure that He will take care of us. Well, more and more as we learn this lesson the Lord shows us how gracious and giving He is. To make a long story short, Max set some financial goals for us, that (if reached) will make the time right after the baby a lot easier! We have been praying over those goals and giving them to the Lord, and He is allowing us to reach them even earlier than we (I) had hoped! Not only does this help financially, but it makes my husband so happy because he is not worrying over details - he is giving them to the Lord. Praise the Lord for a godly husband!!!

Not only that, but we have been receiving such blessings as far as stuff for the baby! For Christmas we received a paint set to paint (re-paint) the baby's room. A friend of Max's (Tony and Laura Bader, Max's best-man in the wedding), has offered us there crib. My sister, Mandy's sister-in-law is selling her stroller/car seat thing (I think they are called travel sets??) to us for a very cheap price!! So many of the big things being taken care of! The Lord is providing what we need, even before we realize we need them.

GIRL v. BOY

On February 21st we will be doing the ultrasound that shows (hopefully) if the baby is a girl or a boy. Of course, if the baby refuses to cooperate, then we will know that he/she got my husbands personality!! Max and I will be so happy to be able to stop calling the baby, "Jr." or the ever hated, "IT".
Now I know that it cannot be a hundred percent, but I am still so excited!!! It will be interesting to see who is right about this particular issue. I know that Max is convinced it is a boy, so we will see if he has some sort of unexplainable connection! My sister, Mandy says that she has a sister connection and she thinks it is a boy! I have no idea what the child is. Although, many friends and co-workers say that they were sick when pregnant with boys, and not with girls!
The other evening Max and I were discussing the boys name. In order to make it easier to decide, max gave a lecture. He tried the names that we have been thinking about to see which one would fit best into, "You need to be a strong, godly, man. We named you _____ because it is a strong name!". Although it made for a pleasant time for me, it did not help him decide.
We have decided that if we are having a girl her name is Kaylynn Alexandra. The first name was chosen because my mothers middle name is Lynn, while my grandma's, aunt Tam's, aunt Cynthia's, cousin Ali's and my middle names are all Kay (although I know Ali's is spelled Kaye!). The middle name is after Max, whose middle name is Alexander - and of course Ali!!
If the baby is a boy the middle name will be James after max (Jim Roland) and my (James Gronewold) dads. The first name is to come.

Enjoying the Christmas Chear!

What a whirlwind few weeks we have had. So many opportunities to celebrate the birth of our Lord and the upcoming new year. Max and I enjoyed getting to see all of the family, but we were equally happy to head home for naps. Being a government employee I have been spoiled all of my working years assuming that I have holidays and usually the day before/after off from work - with pay! However, I have had a wake-up call being married to a man in sales! My wonderful husband was spending the majority of his time working hard to make sure that the baby and I are fully supported. What a blessing to have a husband who takes his job seriously. I cannot imagine being married to anyone else.

We were able to go to Tam and James’ house for a Christmas Eve party, full of games, food and laughter. The food was especially fun now that I am over my nausea! We went to the 11:00pm service (candlelit) at church – which I have to admit, I almost did not stay awake! This baby just takes all my energy-who knew! Christmas Day we had lunch at Jim and Shari’s home (Max’s parents), and it was so delicious. We had tamales. I was being so careful-knowing that we were going to Aunt Diana’s for prime rib, I had only half of each course, but they kept coming. Suffice to say, except for three bites of amazing prime rib, I ate nothing else that day. Max was happy because his childhood friend Nick was there and because I had forgotten to tell him, it was a nice surprise. After Jim and Shari’s we went to Aunt Diana’s and enjoyed time opening gifts, eating and playing with the kids – you know we need practice.

After all of that we went home and slept most of the rest of that day! I will put up some pictures of the parties later!!