My best friend had her baby today!!!!  I got a text around 10ish and then by 12:45 I had another one with her picture!!!  Amy said she kind of knew that she was going to have her soon because last night she couldn’t get comfortable.  She wanted to wait until her appointment today before heading to the hospital.  Her doctor told her she was definitely going to deliver soon and to get to the hospital!  Amy said, “I went to the hospital and an hour later, I had a baby!”  Amy and Rebecca are doing great!!! If you can’t tell, I’m super excited.  It’s so exciting that Amy, my best friend since THIRD grade has her very own little family.  It’s crazzzzy.   It’s just a different kind of feeling when your best friend has a baby.  It’s a different type of crazy excited than I’ve ever felt before!  Here are some pictures.  Some sent to my phone and others I stole from her facebook page!

I’m calling this baby week! I’m going to tell you now, the next few posts will have something to do with more babies because this is not the last baby thing happening this week.  I hope you like babies as much as I do.

My mom turned 50 this week.  We threw her a surprise party and invited her closest friends and family.  When I say closest, I mean around 100 people.  If you’re new to the blog, or you don’t know me, I have a huge family…plus my mom has great friends.  Keeping a secret with that many people is hard.  Really hard.  We didn’t really expect it to stay a secret, we could only hope.

Everyone went really out of their way to keep this a secret.  My dad created a new email account to email all things “birthday party”.  There was no texting back and forth and the only time we could talk about it on the phone was during my plan period at school, or while my mom was staying with my grandma.  Bottom line, we were so sneaky.

So how did we get her to a banquet hall without her having ANY idea until she opened the door?  She had to have known.  Right?  Wrong.  As many of you know, I’m engaged.  I’ve been engaged for a month now, and for the past two weekends Shawn and I have been looking at banquet places to have our reception.  My mom and dad have been coming to check out the place as well so they have been meeting us at these places.  Well, it just worked out perfectly to tell her to meet us at the banquet hall.  When she opened the door to her party, she wasn’t sure what was going on.

It took her a few minutes to do this.

And then this…

Later she came up to me and said, “So…we’re not booking a banquet hall today?”

It was a fun day filled with so many people!  I would add more pictures, but I’m saving it for something special I’m making for her.

Look Under this Post for the Video!  I’ve been having an extremely hard time trying to embed videos into my blog lately.  I finally got it, well half way, so I just posted it.  Look below this post and enjoy.

2009 was a great year!  Wonderful trips, fun with friends, celebrations with family, and getting engaged!  Looking back on 2009 and where I am now, is a huge change.  I can only pray that my life will continue to get this much better every year.  I have a lot to be thankful for and a lot more to look forward to!

Last year’s video is on my Facebook page if you haven’t seen it.  Sorry, I can’t post it here because of technical issues.

This year the song is “Getting Late”,  by Rob Thomas.

Well, pretty much!!!

Yes, everyone, AMY IS HAVING A BABY!  For those blog readers that don’t know, Amy has been my best friend since the Third Grade.  I’ve been so excited for so long and haven’t told anyone…but officially I can tell the “world”!  AMY IS HAVING A BABY!

(Exciting statements get put on pictures around here.)

That’s right…. AMY AND ADAM ARE HAVING A BABY!!!!!

Sorry the picture isn’t the greatest…it’s from my really old camera.  I chose it because Amy is wearing a crown and pink (it’s actually from her bridal shower).  Amy thinks she is going to have a girl but won’t find out for a little bit.  She is due on the Fourth of July…one of my all time favorite holidays.  From the look of this picture, she/he is going to be a little “firecracker”, just like her/his mom!

Well, for those of us that know Amy, we could have told you that years ago.

Congratulations Amy and Adam!!!

I’m so excited to share with you the Holiday Cards for 2009!  Enjoy.

I love Christmas cards!   I was super picky when choosing my Christmas cards for my clients.  I am very happy with the end results and I know there is something for everyone.   These cards come printed both the front and the back and are sold in sets of 25.  These Holiday Cards are $45 for a set, including envelopes and can be printed on glossy or linen paper.  I like personal, so if there is something you really want your cards to say, let me know and I will see what I can do!

It’s not too late to order!  Hurry though, because as crazy as it sounds, it’s CHRISTMAS SEASON! 

Fa la la la la la, la la la la……

This family’s session had to be rescheduled earlier this fall due to the massive amounts of rain St. Louis was hit with.  Being my cousin, Cathy stepped up to the plate on short notice.

Another family with a toddler.  Love it.

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This would be perfect on a Christmas Card!

What an adorable little boy!

Logan’s grandpa is in a band and Logan is very into it!

There was a guy walking around with big sunglasses and a leather jacket.  Logan yelled, “Hey, the bands here!”.

I realllly like this one.  How cute!

We seriously couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day!

Here is a funny picture.  My hair is so short and my brother looks hilarious! Part of the reason I put this up is for my brother to see it.  Ahhaha.  Oh, and I promise I have normal feet.  The water in this picture makes them look like monster toes!

Here are two of the very best dogs ever, Millie and Otis.  Otis is the bigger one, who was infatuated with my mom.  Millie is the smaller one who was attached to my dad.  If Mom was in the front yard, that’s where Otis would be.  If Dad was in the back field, that’s where Millie would be.  This picture reminds me why I want to have two dogs again.

Mike and I even had a wedding for them.

After the wedding came the…

No, our parents didn’t let us keep one.  Two of my aunts, and my grandpa took one though.  Maybe this picture will remind mom why she needs a dog again.   On a side note, all dogs were AKC registered, so no, we didn’t have an accidental litter.  (I felt the need to say that.)

Ok, so the story about Duke.  Duke was our pony and he was quite the escape artist.  Family, please feel free to comment if I am leaving a part out of the story.  (Not that you wouldn’t already.  )

Here is the story, as I remember it…

So, my brother and I were sleeping over at our Aunt Gerl’s house for the night, probably so my parents could get some Christmas shopping done.  When we woke up in the morning, our aunt said that on Channel 5 (again if this is wrong, let me know), that there was a horse on Highway 109.  Gerl called my parents, just to see if possibly, it could be ours.  Keep in mind, in 1996, there were way more horses than houses in “Wildwood”, as we call it now.  Well sure enough it was our pony!  Dad had to go around looking for him, hoping he wouldn’t jump in front of someone’s car.

Where was Duke hiding out?  Dad found Duke, tied up in someones back yard, in the brand new subdivision a few miles down the road.    When Dad went to go get him, the little girl whose house it was thought she was getting a pony for Christmas.  So there was dad, taking away her Christmas present.  The funniest thing about the whole story, is thinking about how Dad had to walk Duke home through a neighborhood!!!

Lucy is such a sweet laid back little girl.  She will be turning two next month!

Lucy is adorable.  I can’t get enough of her BLUE eyes and curly hair.

Fall is such a fun season because it is so colorful!  Check out her blue eyes against the leaves!  So precious.

I love this one!

Love her expression here!

Ahhh, cuteness.  Her shoes, her bow, her tights.

When Lucy showed up in her tights, I was so excited!  I knew they would look awesome with all the color from everything else.

My favorite!

This one really captures her “camera smile”. 

Manche Family, you were so fun!  Lucy is adorable and I can’t wait to see her grow!