A Morning in the Garden

With two days of rain this week (over 4 inches at camp), the Camp Chestnut Ridge garden looked beautiful this morning. We harvested an assortment of lettuce, broccoli, kale, snap peas, and carrots.

I'm weeding the cilantro. We let the cilantro go to bloom, because the "good bugs" like it. As I was weeding, a toad that jumped out at me. :)

Tony and Mark are hard at work; they come almost every Saturday - if not more!

Three girls hard at work ... weeding then planting beans.

It was a great day at the farm! And then I picked strawberries on my way home, but I think it's the last few days of strawberry picking at the Waller Strawberry Farm in Durham :( ... I had to be careful to pick ones that weren't rotten on the plant. But I can't wait to eat the ones I picked!!

And Matthew!! He's a focused and efficient student - refusing to get behind.
We send our love from NC!!

My 28th Birthday!!

Matthew kept our tradition alive ... waking up to cinnamon rolls!!
But this morning was more than cinnamon rolls ... all of our "friends" woke up to come to my birthday party!!

All of our "friends" around the table ... My American girl Molly, Kitty (our Build-a-Bear), Beary (a bear our friend Strickland gave to Matthew after his back surgery), Froggie, Flo, penguin, a squash to represent the size of Mariel, and the rest of the gang "sent" notes!! It was fun and in Matthew's words "Cheesy." But I loved every moment!!

A close-up of Beary, Kitty, and Molly ...

Barky, Flow, and Froggie

Matthew found the Easter candy I looked for after Easter and saved it for me. Also, he gave me the green book and Baldedash!!
Then we spent the day resting (and I worked on my mom's quilt). Afterwards, we went to the Southern Rail for a birthday dinner. This turned out to be a neat restaruant in Carroboro constructed out of old rail cars.

The front of the restaurant.

Matthew waiting on our food! We had spinach artichoke dip, NY strip sandwich, and
the house salad with chicken ...

and creme brulee for dessert!!! So good!!

And this was the end of a wonderful dinner and day!!
Thanks Matthew for making my 28th birthday wonderful!!
And thanks to all of you for the phone calls, texts, and facebook messages!!

Our first pictures of our gift from God :)

We went for our first (and potentially only) ultrasound on Monday ...

I loved looking at the heart pumping blood, the brain working hard, and enjoying our little gift from God!!!

As our little one is growing, my mind continues to return to Psalm 139:13-14 -

¹³ For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

(I await the day that our daughter can claim these verses over her life.)


Here are four of our favorite pictures the ultrasound technician printed out for us ...

God's heartbeat ... 145bpm ...

God designed this little profile for little Mariel ...

Matthew was a little concerned about her spine ... but so far all looks great!!

... and this is what determines her gender - she's protected by a tummy, so it's okay to peak just this once ...

Thank you for all of your prayers as our little gift from God
is being knitted in her mother's womb!

Love you,
Matthew, Molly, and Mariel

17 weeks

Well ... I can't believe it, but we've reached 17 weeks ... here's a belly picture ...

We heard the heartbeat ... for the second time!

Matthew and I headed to UNC Family Practice today ... and we heard the heartbeat for the second time! When you get past the first trimester fatigue, there are days you don't feel pregnant. I see the little tummy growing in the front, but I continue to wonder if it was always this big or if it is truly growing. We'll be better about taking weekly pictures, so we document our journey! Needless to say, hearing the heartbeat was truly a blessing!! We'll have our first and more than likely only ultrasound in about 4 weeks!


This picture was a week ago ... at 13 weeks 4 days!!

Our outing with Laure ...

Michelle and I spent an afternoon with Laure and met her son William for the first time!!

Laure is from the Congo and lived for part of her life in Zimbabwe. She moved to Durham to begin Duke Divinity School in Fall 2008. She was the first person Matthew and I met in Durham. She waited patiently for her first semester for her husband and 3-year-old son to arrive in December 2008! And in February 2009, a beautiful child of God was added to her family! On Maundy Thursday, Michelle and I got to meet William for the first time!
He's adorable!!

William (7 weeks), Michelle, me, and Andy (4 years)

Laure and I after a waffle cone from Mapleview!! A creamery in Hillsborough, NC that milks the cows and uses the milk to make homemade icecream!! Delicious!!

Baby William slept the entire time ... I saw his eyes for a second :)

Andy hanging out after enjoying his strawberry icecream cone!

Jesus is Risen!

HAPPY EASTER!