Kimberly's Wedding...

Here are some photos I stole from Amy Marie...I will add more when I get mine off the camera....and loaded



Bridesmaid Luncheon
Our Bible Study at the wedding....I am 30 weeks preggers and Erin (far right) is almost 20 weeks!
Fun girls!
Amy and kimberly, isn't her dress beautiful!!
Rehearsal Dinner: Laurel, Kimberly, Amy Marie, Maggie, Me
Bridesmaid luncheon with the bride...

My Babies....

"I love my Dad, he is so great....I think I am going to lay on the top of the couch and then lay my head on his shoulder while he returns work emails on his blackberry"
What? Just hanging out in the water mom, sorry you have to stay on the side....


Bella and her Daddy playing in the river this weekend....
This was the B's first time in a large water area....needless to say, she loved it!

-M

28 week update

Hey there! I had my 28 week appt. on Tuesday. Everything looked good...continue to measure right at 28 weeks, even though I feel like I am measuring 40 right now! Seriously, I am not sure I have 12 more weeks of growth in me. (I am know all you mom's out there are chuckling under your breath!). ha!

This appointment was the first time that I met with Dr. Williams. The practice that I go to, Women to Women in Arlington, VA is a practice of 4 women: Dr. Cobbs, Dr. Caskie, Dr. Williams and Dr. Holmes. Dr. Caskie was listed in Washingtonians "Top 100 Doctors", so lots of people know of her, and then my doctor, Dr. Cobbs, is on the board of this really cool group called Birth Mothers at my church, which helps single mom's gain skills and help to raise their babies, instead of opting for abortion. She is also a Christian, which I love. The other two women are Dr. Holmes and Dr. Williams. Starting this past Tuesday, I begin alternating which doctor I see each time I am in the office. I am gauranteed that one of the doctors in the practice will deliver me, if Dr. Cobbs is not on call. That gives me great comfort, bc I know that all the docs opperate under the same medicine and same "practices"....i.e. they feel the same way about c-sections, epsiotomies, epidurals, natural birth, induction, etc. etc

Stats from this appointment:

-Gained another pound and a half
-blood pressure looked good
-measured 28 weeks
-not sure what the heartbeat was, but after listening to the doppler for about a minute, she said everything sounded good
-was told that they would induce at 41 weeks, if I did not go into Labor naturally, they will not let me go past 42 weeks.
-they will also perform procedures around 39 weeks (stripping membranes, etc.) to help Labor along
-Took my glucose tolerance test (worst drink EVER) and passed, no Gestational Diabetes!
-No Anemia either, so I don't have to take iron pills, whew!

Dr. Williams asked me to get another Level 2 sonogram, which I will do on April 27th. She just wanted to check the fluids in the uterus and make sure baby is growing and developing as she should. I am always happy to get another sonogram! Then I will have my 30 week appt. on the 28th of April.

Moving right along. :) Stayed tuned for pics of Meredith Copley in a strapless bridesmaid dress at 30 weeks pregnant, should be some of my favorite pics ever (yeah right!). But wouldn't miss the chance to stand there with Kimberly Wilder as she becomes Mrs. Rob Henneberg. Can't wait!!

I am getting my hair highlighted today after work, I swear getting my hair done puts me in the best mood. Happy Friday!

2 years....

....Since the Best Day of My Life (April 14, 2007). I am, everyday, grateful for the blessing of marriage and that the Lord brought Whit Copley into my life! I love you more and more everyday, and can't wait to see you as a Daddy :) xoxo

Babymoon

Whit and I took a little "babymoon" over the Easter weekend to Asheville, NC. It was SO wonderful and relaxing. We took off work on Friday and headed that way early in the morning. We arrived at our Inn about 3pm, checked and and got situated. We stayed at the cutest Inn, called the 1889 White Gate Inn and Cottage, located right off the main streets in Ashevile. We stayed in the Cottage part of the Inn and it was so cute and quaint. Had a whirlpool tub, with our own little kitched as well as fireplace that went from the living room through to the bed room. They even alllow you to bring dogs with you, if you stay in the cottage, so we brought along the "B" (Bella).

That night we had a yummy and HUGE dinner at a bistro in town and the next morning enjoyed one of the delicious breakfasts in the fine dining room at the Inn. That afternoon, we spent that day touring the Biltmore House in Asheville. If you have never been to the Biltmore, its is UNBELEIVEABLE. Owned by George and Edith Vanderbilt and built between 1888 and 1895, it is the largest privately owned home in the US. It was originally 175,000 square feet (now the property sits on 8,000 square feet) with 250 rooms and 44 indoor working bathrooms.....in 1895!!!!! Can you believe that? This place was amazing, he had the designer Richard Morris Hunt (who did the base of the statue of liberty) and Landscaper Frederick Law Olmstead (who did Central Park in NYC) design the house, property and surrounding gardens based off of a chateau in France! As far as technology goes it was way ahead of its time, with an indoor swimming pool, bowling alley, excersice equipment and two story library.

I loved looking at every single detail, the indoor winter garden, the fabrics and design of each room, the china, and the winery....I highly recommend the Biltmore if you haven't been before!!!
We toured the winery and brough back some bottles for friends, and then headed back to the Inn....Whit scheduled for me to have a facial and massage in the room, which was heaven! That night we had dinner reservations at the Grove Park Inn, which is actually one of the oldest places in Asheville....it was delicous.

Sunday, we had our Easter breakfast at the Inn, which was lovely and then headed to South Carolina....Such a great little trip!


The Biltmore House


The White Gate Inn
The Grove Park Inn
Cottage at White Gate
Cottage at White Gate

Easter

Whit and I spent Easter lunch and evening in Spartanburg, SC, his home town. We were already close, bc we had traveled down to Asheville, NC for our "babymoon" trip (next post), so just headed over to Spartanburg, 1.5 hour drive on Easter around 12pm. Its always fun to spend time with family on Easter and we were so glad to see Whit's immediate family (Jay his older brother and his wife Katy and 7 month old son Quinn, Clara his sister who flew in from DC and his parents) as well as most of his aunts, uncles and cousins. We had a YUMMY lunch and then spent the afternoon, enjoying the beautiful weather outside, playing basketball, throwing balls to the dogs and visiting Cop, whit's grandmother.

As you can tell, from the pictures below, Quinn, our nephew was definitely the center of attention. He is SO DARN cute, and Whit and I couldn't believe how much he had grown since we had seen him on Thanksgiving, not a little baby any more! Karen and others got some precious pics of him, he has the BEST eyes and was just smiley and happy the whole time. I am so excited that Quinn and Mary Harper will only be about 10 months apart, it will be so fun to have them both together at Easter next year!

We spent the night in SC on Sunday night, and slept in a little on Monday, then piled in the car with Bella and headed back to DC. It was a GREAT time.




Ronnie, Whit's best friend from growing up came by to say hello!
Whit and Quinn
Belly Pic 1
Belly Pic 2, definitely seeing some growth the last couple weeks!!!

Karen and Walker
Karen "Honey" and Quinn
Brothers: Jay and Whit
Daddy Jay with Quinn
Ellie, Whit's cousin, Laura Anne's little girl, took a turn "holding" Quinn. It was so precious!
Bella and George
The Basket ball game
Clara and Quinn
Karen, Me and baby Quinn
Baby Bella, not so "baby" anymore!

Cutie Pie!

Love this one....

Prayer Eludes Me....

So, the passage at the bottom of this post was stolen from my dear friend and mentor, Cheryl Fletcher's blog. Cheryl is one of my heros in life. I met her my freshman year in college, she was the college womens ministry director at EV Free, the church I attended at UT. About 15 years ago she started a huge outreach to sororities at UT. At the time, I am sure she didn't know it would be the begining of generations of womens bible studies within the greek houses at The University of Texas. I was (sorry mom, AM!) a Theta, and she had started bible studies within the Theta house about 5 or 6 years before I got there. She discipled Kathryn Livesay, who was a jr. when I was a freshman....and Kathryn was the bible study leader for about 6 or 7 pledges (myself included), 4 of those pledges are some of my nearest and dearest friends to this day.

People up here in DC, can't beleive that I say the reason I was able to keep and grow my faith in the Lord in college was bc of a bible study that I got involved with through my SORORITY. Thats right, God does amazing things....and he just was not letting me get away during that hard season (my parent's finalized their divorce August before my freshman year of college....needless to say, I was a little "angry" with God as I entered my freshman year).

One of the things that I love to look back on and think about, is how the Lord has truly provided me with Amazing, Godly, Loving, Challenging, Wonderful women to look up to and learn from throughout my life. Starting with my mom who has a deep knowledge of scripture and understanding of God's word and my grandmother, who is kind and generous and loving, to the mom's of my best friends in elementary (and now!) Karen Debenport and Beverly Marr....Brenda, Nicole and I were at each others houses a lot and surrounded by these loving, Christian women. Then in Jr. High and High School, I had the GREAT blessing of the coolest Young Life leader ever, Missy Thomas Richardson...moving away to other parts of the country, I realize how unique it was that Missy was my YL leader from 7th grade all the way through my senior year. She discipled a group of about 15-20 girls all seeking to know Christ more, while balancing the temptations and struggles of high school. We were so lucky to have Missy.

Other women who have meant so much to me are: Kim Galindo, who has known me my whole life and counseled me through some really hard times, Cheryl Fletcher, Meg Lowry Sack and Kathryn Livesay in college, Tootie Kuhn, Amy Hartman and Janee Sedmak as I moved to DC, and of course, my dear mother in law Karen. All women who have led by example, taken time to hear, listen and know me, and spoken wise words into my life. I believe the Lord has truly shaped me through the Godly women he has put in my life, and I am thankful....

I grew in my own faith and knowledge of scripture so much in college, they were, at the same time, some of the best and hardest years of my life. Cheryl was a huge part of my faith growth. She works for a church in CA now, and is becoming a little celebrity as she continues her speaking engagements and conferences around the country. I believe she should really write a book one day, the Lord has given her a gift in relating to people and relaying His word in honest, approachable, and teachable ways.

From Cheryl...

Prayer Eludes Me.

7 04 2009, Cheryl Fletcher

[Matthew 14:22-25; Mark 1:32-35]

Prayer often eludes me. So it fascinates me when I trip over accounts of Jesus - the all-knowing, all-powerful, all-in-control, all-God - praying.

Here’s what I saw this morning: Jesus dismisses the crowd and heads off to pray. Unlike Jesus, I dismiss my prayers and move on to the crowd. I am drawn to the crowd – to the activity and the buzz. Crowds (whether large or small) hold an unspoken and often unconscious hope for an experience of significance.

But, here is Jesus…praying. He gets up in the morning and goes to a “lonely spot” and he lingers in prayer. The translator calls it a “lonely spot” and I wonder if it was lonely to him? Or was it actually the least lonely place of his earthly existence?

When Jesus prays he’s re-convening with the Father and the Spirit. He’s bantering with those he’s known and been known by for all eternity. He’s dancing with those he’s danced with since before meadows and waterfalls and oceans and Alps. He’s with the One who finishes his sentences and anticipates his concerns.

Jesus went to the lonely spot to pull away from the loneliness. And certainly his life was marked with loneliness. How lonely to enter another world - that is really your world – and not be recognized. How lonely to know that you will never be fully known by your closest companions. How lonely to extend love with no guarantee of its return. How lonely to be misunderstood, misread, misinterpreted and just simply, missed.

I run to people hoping to be known, affirmed, pursued, explained, satisfied and not alone. But, Jesus leaves all those people to be in the one posture where he is most fully known.

Jesus goes to prayer to be with. In prayer he is with the One who knows. In prayer there is no convincing or justifying or explaining or performing. To pray to the Father is to be known by the all-knowing. It’s to be loved by love. It’s to be heard by the non-interrupting, always-attentive, forever-patient King.

I think Jesus knew something about crowds – that to be with them he needed time away from them. After meeting with the Father and the Spirit, the crowd becomes an object of love, a source of delight, a gift from the Giver or simply just a crowd and nothing more.

Why do we pray if God already knows? Why does God pray? Perhaps it’s more about being known than about knowing. For Jesus I imagine it was the most familiar place for him to be – he’d been doing this for all eternity. But, Jesus wasn’t only 100% God, he was also 100% man, and he needed guidance - just like I do. And he needed to worship - just like I do. And he needed to unload all that was on his heart – just like I do. And he needed to listen to the voice of the Father and the Spirit whispering about love and grace and truth and beauty – just like I do. He needed to go to the lonely place that was anything but lonely – just like I do.