family love

this weekend, trev and i, along with audrey and braeden, went to to visit his grandparents up in mineola, texas. it was a long trip but very worth it. we left saturday morning and arrived around 3:30 PM. granny and grandpa were overjoyed that we had all come to visit. she had a yummy pot roast in the oven waiting on us! they are the sweetest people, and they really make me miss my grandparents, but i am so thankful that i have had the chance to get to know them. they celebrated 63 years of marriage in september...amazing. i hope trev and i are that fortunate. sweet grandpa will turn 85 in december, and granny is doing very well at 80. she has a sharp memory! she shared numerous stories with us, and she knew all the exact dates. audrey recorded many of their stories so we will always have them. we took some pics, savored her wonderful home-cooking, and thoroughly enjoyed being with them. they offered us grandpa's rocking chair, a wooden one that his daddy used to rock him in, but it wouldn't fit in the jeep. one more good reason to go back again soon.

It's a BOY!!!

trevor and i found out on monday that we are expecting a bouncing baby boy! i knew it, but trev was quite surprised! it was great seeing the baby again via ultrasound - he had grown so much, and dr. king said he looked great! i also started feeling him move this past weekend. it's very soft and easy to miss but when he kicks and punches hard enough, i now know it's him. feels just like bubbles like everyone says. i have to say i think this will end up being my favorite part of being pregnant. i love to feel him and to think about how sweet he is in there - makes me want to shout, "hi baby, i love you!" oh we are thrilled! now on to boy names...

loving you.

happy 7 years to us today! what a wonderful (& fast) journey it's been, and now on to this next year, full of thanksgivings and so blessed!

in prayer

may God comfort all the families that endured such tragedy 8 years ago today. may God remain with all our troops overseas and at home, and may He provide strength for their families left behind.

stretch!

i found FREE pre-natal yoga classes at destination maternity here in san antonio, and i went for my first time last night. before i conceived, yoga and pilates were my favorite work-outs, but let me tell you, as soon as i saw that positive test, exercise sort-of disappeared. i knew that couldn't continue, but i also knew if i ordered my own pre-natal yoga tape to follow, i never would. early pregnancy is pretty exhausting!

i was so excited to find these classes, and i had a great time last night. a little sore this morning, but i did it! i even bought a pair of maternity yoga pants - how fun! i don't necessarily need them yet, but as i'm 14 weeks today, hopefully it won't be too long! so, all good intentions in mind, i plan to go every tuesday and thursday evening right after work. wish me luck!

sweet baby shaver!

it's time to share our exciting news... we are expecting! trevor and i are so blessed and just beyond excited. i am due march 13, 2010, and i will be 12 weeks tomorrow. i had a sonogram done today, my last at the fertility center, and it has been such a treat to watch this little one grow. baby is now just over 2 inches long, squirming all around and is just so precious! our God is so faithful, so faithful, and we are so grateful.

costa rica

trev and i also just returned from a week-long trip to tamarindo, costa rica. it was our first vacation by ourselves, so we dubbed it our "honeymoon" seven years later. what a time we had! we had been to this exact location 4 years ago with the shaver family, and it was great to go back to a place and see the changes and all that has stayed the same. trev surfed a lot, and i was lazy on the beach! i read my four books on the sand, by the pool, and in our hammock where we stayed. we ate a lot of pizza and typical Tico food, met some friendly people from all over, and just enjoyed each other. costa rica is beautiful, and we hope to make this spot a regular vacation destination.

playa tamarindo is right next to playa avellana, my absolute favorite, where the sand is pure crushed-up shells and the surroundings are so serene, quiet, and peaceful. the tide change is close to 200 yards everyday, so at (very) low tide, all the reefs are exposed, and at high tide, they are completely covered, which explains how trev cut his foot on one the first time we visited playa avellana. it's such an amazing place all in all. every morning we walked the beach, heading to the left one day and to the right the next. the monday we were there we were actually blessed with overcast skies all morning and walked and walked through playa avellana to the river mouth which separates this beach and playa langosta. no swimming in the swift river current though, this is where crocodiles like to hang out!

i did take the boat across the river mouth in tamarindo on our last full day, as trev paddled his board across. this brought us to playa grande, and nice spot for average surfers where there are no crowds and nice waves. i hung out on the beach and was greatly entertained by 10 crabs wandering back and forth and frightened by my every movement. i cooled off in the water for a while to try and catch a video of trev surfing and looked down upon a huge (no kidding, 4 to 5-foot) black, spotted stingray, just beyond my toes! For a split second, I actually thought about trying to get a picture, but quickly changed my mind as gushing white water was approaching and i just knew this thing would be pushed into me. it was my first time to see one in the water, i've never seen one in my many, many adventures on mustang island.

oh it was so relaxing, and i recommend this place to anyone! there are so many day tours you can go on, so many activities all over. we didn't take any side trips this time, but we will in the future. i still want to snorkel somewhere down there!

still here...

okay really i'm going to get better at this! a quick update on that garage project... it's been put off until it decides to cool off a bit here. i think we are on day 57 of 100 degrees or higher. i've lived in south texas my (almost) whole life, and this is ridiculous, such heat and no rain to speak of! our poor yard is done, our garden is now non-existent, and we are not working in our garage right now! i'm sure you guys understand...

baby kenny

our newest nephew has arrived. robert kenneth sopko koehler was born at 3:57 PM on monday, may 18, weighing in at 7 lbs. he has a full head of dirty blond hair. baby kenny is recovering from some respitory problems, but hopefully he will be discharged to go home friday or this weekend. we were able to see him for only an hour on monday, so we are anxious for him to be settled in at home. aunt lala needs more cuddle time!

the family grows...

a brand-new nephew is coming our way... trev's sister erin went into labor early this morning and is currently having a very long day! but we suspect sweet baby boy koehler will enter our world by this evening. we will head to the hospital very soon... prayers are requested! blessings to you all as we bask in the hope a new life brings.

finally...maybe

i set up this blog about 2 years ago, made 2 posts, and forgot all about it. i'm back to try this again, and yes, i deleted the old, out-of-date posts.

we hosted our first "party" this past weekend at our home, which we have now been in for 21 months. my baby sister graduated from UTSA on saturday and we held a celebration party for her afterward. it was nice, fun to decorate and get ready for, and lace enjoyed herself which was the best part.

when we first moved in, we became crazed home improvement wannabes and did a lot of work. okay, trev did a lot of work, and i did a lot of assisting and directing. i became the painter and trev tackled most of everything else, including installing almost 1,000 square feet of laminate flooring with the help of his brother-in-law, michael. we plum wore ourselves out. but having this party was so great because we received compliments, and that makes all the difference. our home has become something we're proud of.

anyways, it's time now for some more work. we have plans to do a total overhaul of the garage beginning in june. i will keep you posted!