Six Weeks

Six measly weeks.

 That's how much time is left before my little family grows to three, before our lives are changed forever, before we each take on new roles and new experiences that make us into different people. 

Each day that passes brings more preparations that need to be taken care of for this expansion, but I can honestly say that I'm ready. At least for the moment, I'm ready. I'm ready to put in the work to get this baby into the world. I'm ready to see everything with new eyes, and I'm ready to experience it all with Jakub.

Most of all, I'm ready to show this baby what beauty the world has to offer. The past several weeks in particular, our time has overwhelmingly been spent in the company of some amazing individuals, some of which were perfect strangers. If there was ever a time in which I understood why God made us for community, it is now. My heart has been thirsting for a life like this, and it feels so good to be moving toward individuals the way I was created to. It's amazing how much richer life becomes when you take the time to be more intentional with the people around you, from the people standing next to you in line to the people you see day in and day out. I'm ready to show this baby what love can do in the world. And I know that sentence just oozes idealism and, perhaps to some, naivety, but I don't care! It's authentic and powerful, and that's enough for me.

Before I go I should probably give a little update because lets be honest, who knows how long it will be until I post again! I've been in my third trimester since I last posted and since then, I've had a few midwife appointments, ate my way through Oregon for the third time, had the most wonderful baby shower, and spent too many nights with incredible people up way passed my bedtime. Did I mention I'm up to about two naps a day on average? By that statement alone it's clear to see I'm living the good life! Until next time, friends!

Update: weeks 17-20

Life has just been getting away from me lately! I'm now in week 25, but I wanted to do a couple posts to catch up from my absence.

I left off on week 17. There wasn't much happening this week, but I remember loving spending this day with Jakub, exploring the woods and eating some wood sorrel that he foraged. It is such a peaceful memory that reminds me of how much fun I can have with this guy I married.

I remember feeling so big in this picture, and now I find that pretty amusing.

During this week, something unimaginable happened: I had signs of those erratic hormonal breakdowns that are synonymous with pregnancy. I thought up until now that maybe I would defeat the odds and remain completely sane during my pregnancy. I was sadly mistaken. However, they didn't come in their full force until a few weeks later. This week it was as if they were new to the neighborhood and just stopped by to introduce themselves. By week 23, they were showing their true colors and now (week 25) I feel like someone needs to be calling the cops to make a noise complaint.

The picture for week 19 was taken on our way home after our trip to see our baby kick and cuddle on the ultrasound screen. It seemed so much more real than the first two ultrasounds, where we were supposed to believe that the blob we were looking at was actually a baby. Up until that baby was on the screen, I was still convincing myself that I couldn't really be pregnant, that it was all in my head.

It was so exciting to see all of its little features, and to glance at Jakub as he watched this little being who was resting inside me. We didn't want to find out the sex, and luckily the technician did a great job at keeping things hidden (with the exception of two images, that each look to be telling of a different sex, which is a good thing I suppose because it keeps you guessing.)

Our due date got moved up a few days to September 20th. I was worried that we were going to have a big baby since I'm measuring three weeks further along, but thankfully this baby is being respectful to me at the moment and measuring at a normal weight.
 

Week 20 came with a much-needed trip to Chicago. I got to see my cousin, Margaret, and my aunt and uncle, as well as Grandma Puckett! I loved getting to have a glimpse into my cousin's life in Chicago. She really is one of the most interesting people I feel you could ever meet, so I felt rather privileged to have her to myself for several hours.

We ate at some amazing places while in Chicago! From Ria (a 2 Star Michelin restaurant) to Moto, the Aviary, and Hot Doug's, we ate to our hearts' content.

Jakub was pretty upset that we couldn't eat at Alinea. To make it worse, they called while we were in the air with news of an open table, but when Jakub returned the call it was already filled. To make it up to him, I just so happened to spot Grant Achatz at the airport just in time for Jakub to grab an autograph! It was such a funny thing to see him go from disappointed about not eating there, to super excited about the call, to completely bummed, and back to a grinning little boy after shaking his hand and knowing that his wife could spot a famous chef (perhaps better than he).

We had such a great trip, but it opened my eyes to how different a vacation is when you're pregnant!

I'll be posting the second half of the update soon, and then hopefully I'll get back in the swing of doing this regularly. It's awfully hard to keep track of things as time passes.

To Grandmother's House We Go

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It's time to go and I can hardly stand it. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve, fighting sleep because of anticipation of the coming morning.

In just a few short hours I will be making my way, along with Jakub, my parents, my brother and sister, and all of their kids, to the grand ol' city of Pataskala, Ohio. We'll be celebrating Thanksgiving with some of my favorite people on earth.

Did I mention Grandma Puckett will be there?! (you can read more about her here, if you are one of the few to not have heard of her yet). And on top of that, her food will be there in all its glory.

Since living in Oklahoma, holidays have been somewhat of a disappointment. I love big family gatherings, and frankly, we just don't have the numbers in this town. I love my family here but there's something about all the noise and laughter that I can't get enough of.

I can't wait to be with my cousins again, and for Jakub to see what Ohio is like. He hasn't met a lot of my family yet from Ohio so that will be exciting.

I hope everyone has a great week, and if you're having a difficult time coming up with something to be thankful for, I highly recommend you read this post. It opened up a whole new selection of topics for when you have to go around the table and tell what you're thankful for. Definite conversation starters, I'd say.

Two Years

Yesterday, like most days, my husband outdid me. I wrote him a rather lovely letter, and he turned his into a piece of artwork. I got him a fun little anniversary gift, and he gave me a ring I've been pining over for quite some time.

It's a tough problem, having a more creative and thoughtful husband, but it's a problem I'll gladly keep without complaint.

I will, however, show you how we celebrated our two year wedding anniversary:

 We love exploring all the state parks and finding unexpected details of this state of ours. We'd been hoping to get away for quite some time and it just so happened that this was the first weekend we were able to, so we headed northwest to Jet, Oklahoma, to visit the Great Salt Plains State Park.

 It seems each side of this park offers something completely different. I thought those cracks were so entertaining! They would go down several inches deep and as you would step from one to another, it felt like you were walking on giant brownies! (I know, weird metaphor because most people don't step on such delicious desserts, but it's all I could imagine). It also made me feel like I was Indiana Jones because if you made one wrong step, it was lights out for you.

 Here's my fancy guy in what seemed like our own little world. It's really a strange feeling being in a place so still and calm, no leaves rustling or cars driving by, not even waves coming up to the shore; everything was still.

 The second part of our visit looked completely different from the first. There were parts that honestly reminded me of the beach in Oregon...but we are in Oklahoma?! We sat down to a great little picnic and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

 You can see the salt plains from this point. (It's the white line between the sand, that stretches for forever, and the sky).

 These two pictures are views from a pay telescope of the salt plains.

 We finally made our way to the salt plains. You can actually come and dig for crystals, but we missed the season by a day. We did however, sneak out onto the plains and explored a little bit.

 You can actually pick salt up straight from the ground! Again, in the middle of Oklahoma!

 Do you see that little mark in the middle of the plains? That would happen to be one of the most random things I've ever witnessed! There was a group of people filming some sort of video. We sat there for a while watching them do take after take, trying to figure out what the film was about. All I have to say is, it's unlike anything you've ever seen before!

 Throughout the entire trip we were, for the most part, completely alone. It felt as if we were on the moon or deserted in some crazy land (which is probably why the group decided to film here). It was such a unique trip and I'm so glad I had Jakub along for the ride.

It's been two years and it's only getting better. He's my best friend and biggest support. I honestly don't know what I'd do without this fella. Frankly, I'm glad I don't have to find out.

We've been through so much over the past few years and it's amazing to see how it has all brought us closer together. I know it's cheesy, but with him by my side, I can do anything.

Lets Pack Our Bags

I've got travel on the brain and since we don't have the time or funds to go everywhere I want at this moment (and because I'm feeling rather lethargic today), I thought I should just go on a vacation in my mind. But this is no ordinary vacation; it will be full of adventure. Come along at your own risk.

First, we'll go to Hood River,Oregon and do this of off Celestial Falls:

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Then we'll go to southern Utah and "hike the Zion Narrows"(I have no idea how this works, but we can do it):

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Next, we'll make our way to Florida and dive in the freshwater caves to find fossils and ancient mastodon tusks throughout the limestone passageways:

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After that, we'll head to Lake Powell for a kayak experience like nothing else:

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Then we could head to Montana and ice climb Hyalite Canyon like this:

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But since we're not out of our minds, we won't. Instead we'll head back to Utah to mountain bike the Slickrock Trail in Moab:

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Then we'll finish the day up by going to Oceanside, Oregon for a relaxing birds' eye view:

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After all our adventures, I think we deserve a little bit of this:

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I don't know about you, but I am wore out! This is a lot of adventure for one day. And who knew all this could be done in the good ol' U. S. of A.?!

Good Company

I thought I was going to have time to post once we got back from Las Vegas, but it's been pretty busy around here. First off, I have to say, Vegas was much more fun than I imagined! I'm too cheap to be a gambler (however, I did put in $5 and won $16.50 for my first time! I also cashed out immediately) and too much like a grandma to like to stay out late, but I still really enjoyed myself. I think I will post some pictures later but I haven't had time to even look through them yet.

When we came back, we rested up before going to see the midnight showing of Harry Potter with our group of friends. It seemed like there weren't as many crazy fans out as there was last year.

The next day, I drove to Joplin with two of my best friends, April and Craig (who are actually getting married--it's a great story) to go see my third (but certainly not least) best friend, Isaac. He was playing a show with his band. It's been quite some time since I've seen that guy play drums and let me tell ya, he's so so talented! Sometime I should make a post about him, because even though you don't know him--well, maybe you do because it seems he knows EVERYONE--he is certainly a person worth knowing about. He's one of those rare people that change your whole life by knowing them. I feel so privileged to have each friendship that I have, but he is quite unique.

The day after that, I went to see one of my closest friends growing up get married. I think I'm still in shock! It's so crazy that we're at this age! It's a wonderful thing though, don't get me wrong.

This past week has been rather busy, but with things that I feel so blessed to be doing--spending time with family and friends and celebrating their lives with them! What more could I want?

Birthday and Business

I feel like this is the busiest I've been in a long time.

Yesterday was my husband, Jakub's, birthday, so I've spent the last week or so planning a neat little getaway that he'd enjoy. We really did have a great time, from start to finish. Yeah, we did do some fun stuff like go to a state park, have a fancy picnic with cheeses and such (I think it's important you know early on cheese can make me go weak in the knees.), and see a wonderful movie and later eat a scrumptious dinner at a fantastic restaurant, but I love how no matter what we do, or if we do nothing at all we have such an incredible time together. We don't have kids yet, but I can't wait for my children to see that about us. I don't see how they'll be able to get out of seeing the love we have for each other.


I love birthdays. Absolutely love them. Even though I am fully aware that we get them every year at the same time (on the same day, which should mean they're predictable), I always feel as if they sneak up on me and catch me by surprise. It's always nice to see how things have changed and what milestones we have made it through. I think about a lot of things, but the subject of birthdays always capture my mind in some interesting ways.

Tomorrow, my love and I are leaving to Las Vegas on business. I don't think we're like the typical people that go to Vegas. In fact, we don't have any real desire to go, but I'm excited to see what will happen there. It will surely be a nice "people watching" spot.

I guess we actually leave in about 5 hours and it hasn't hit either of us yet. I think right now, what I'm most excited about is the fact that we both are taking only carry-on luggage! There's two reasons: First, we've both been known to over pack (only our return flight Portland, Oregon last month, Jakub's bag weighed 49.5 lbs! That's HALF a pound away from the limit!). And second, I'm pretty cheap so not having to spend money on checked baggage makes me excited!

I'll post pictures when we return but for now, here are a few pictures from the park.