WILW!

Happy Wednesday lovelies! 

Check out Jamie's blog to see what everyone else is loving on this beautiful fall day!

 I'm loving that our Christmas decor is out and adding lots of cheer to our home! I also love that Rob loves it all as much as I do...he got it all out for me and helped me decorate! Sweet man.

 I'm loving the app Red Stamp. Have y'all heard of it? You can basically create and e-mail, text, or print and snail-mail cute little cards for ANY occasion. There are tons of free options, but the ones that do cost are still just $.99! I used Red Stamp for our Gender Reveal party invites as we were under a time crunch due to football...

Some of my girlfriends and I use them just to send each other a happy hello, too. 

Check it out...it's so fun!

I'm loving hot chocolate with marshmallows! Mmmm....my favorite evening "snack."

 I'm loving my new pair of maternity jeans! 

Ha, they are so comfy and were perfect for Thanksgiving ;-)

I'm loving the reason I need said maternity jeans WAY more though!

Here's the sweet angel girl snuggling on her tummy at our last u/s...isn't she cute??

And, obviously, I'm loving my baby daddy! He's the best, really. I can hardly wait to watch him get wrapped around her tiny little finger. He's going to be great!

What are you loving today?

happy hearts

After our gender reveal party, we decided we'd just spend the whole week in Abilene. We both had the week off and there's no sense in driving back and forth for no real reason, right? Right. We had such a fun week seeing friends, hanging out with our families, and making a MAJOR dent in Christmas shopping.

Thanksgiving day was spent at my parents' house with my brother and grandparents. My mom and I did the cooking, and I must say, it was one yummy meal ;)

Rob & I took our annual Thanksgiving pictures for the Christmas card...

 The best gift this year! All wrapped up in her first bow...

 We watched football...

 And made the most delish turkey...

 Nana & Papa...

 Boyce men...

 My wonderful parents...

 My brother, Kenneth...we missed you, Nicole!

 That evening, we went to hang out and eat more with Rob's family. Unfortunately I didn't take any pics, but it was more of the same! Food, family, football...the Thanksgiving basics.

Thanksgiving night means business: planning for Black Friday.

Yes, I am one of those crazies out at 4 in the morning. I hated that more stores started sales at midnight this year...takes some of the thrill away! Anyway, my mom, her bestie, and I always do Black Friday shopping together...it's so much fun!

Lisa with her stores/purchases mapped out...

 We found some great deals and ended up with a truck-load full of Christmas presents! I was loving that I got A LOT of Christmas shopping done in just a few short hours. Totally worth getting up at 3:30 for! The only thing on the agenda for the rest of the day was relaxing, so hey, I can definitely do that once a year!

My momma and I ready to feast on huevos rancheros after a busy shopping morning...

 Here's part of my loot...had to hide the big stuff from the hubs ;)

Because it's for him, not because of the $$$...ha!

 Black Friday was definitely a success this year!

While we were home, my mom also pulled down a box of my baby clothes that she'd saved. She washed them up, and now they're ready and waiting in baby girl's closet :)

The dresses are so sweet, and it will be special to have her pictures made in some of the things I wore as a teensy one. I really love that first outfit in the picture...it just may have to be her coming home outfit if it fits her...so girly!!

I hope your Thanksgiving was full of blessings this year!!

Our Christmas decor is now up, cards are ordered, shopping and wrapping are nearly complete...I adore this time of year! It's just so full of joy, and my heart is happy.

20 weeks!

How far along: 20 weeks...I'm happy to be at the half-way point! I know this is probably the best part of being pregnant!

Size of baby: According to thebump.com baby is the size of a cantaloupe!  

Total weight gain: Up about 6 pounds.

Gender: It's a GIRL!! I guess those wives tales held some truths? ;)

Movement: Yes! I started feeling some tiny movements sometime after 18 weeks. She is most active at night when I'm lying really still. Such a sweet feeling!

Sleep: Sleep is still good!

What I miss: Nothing!

Cravings: I just like food :) 

Symptoms: Besides a suffering complexion, I'm not experiencing many symptoms right now. I feel so energized, and I'm loving that!

Maternity clothes: I'm in between right now for pants. My regular pants fit with the belly band but are pretty tight, and maternity pants are still too big. I'm wearing most of the same tops...some of my regular ones are getting a little short though.

Best moment this week: Seeing how much our baby has grown since we last saw her at 10 weeks and finding out that she was a she! Our gender reveal on Saturday was also a blast :) Loved being able to share that with our loved ones!

Dad is excited about his baby girl, too! I think he'll be a great girl-dad...he's been taking lessons from my dad for the last 8+ years, after all ;) He's pretty sure he'll be carrying his pistol around for the next 20 years or so! 

You know, just in case. 

Pink or Blue?

First things first, we're having a PINK baby!!

We are so excited about this baby girl, and I'm already looking forward to lots of bows, frills and girly things :)

So, my parents hosted an AWESOME gender reveal party for us in Abilene on Saturday night. It was so much fun! The table decor was adorable...

 Cake made by yours truly...

I'm too cheap for bakeries when I can make a g-free version myself! ;)

 Since Rob and I already knew the gender, 

we sported the colors of our original guesses.

 My wonderful parents!

 Part of the party spread...

 With Lexi

With Anna

With Julie

I'm kicking myself now for not getting more pictures of everyone that joined us for this fun celebration...but I got a little distracted visiting and catching up with everyone. Just trust me when I say we are so blessed with AMAZING friends :) We are so thankful for each of you. I can't thank you enough for sharing in our excitement for this precious girl!

the time i cried at kwik kar & wives tales

So far I've been pretty stable with my emotions during this pregnancy. Maybe some silly tears here and there, but nothing too crazy. Well, all that changed today.

Rob asked me to take his truck to get his oil changed since I had the morning off, so I said sure...no big deal, right? WRONG. The guys went to work on the truck, and I was already mentally preparing myself for whatever else they were going to try to sell me on. Inevitably, they call me out to the shop and show me this gunky build up where the oil goes and told me "it wasn't safe to drive this way" and that "it needed to be flushed immediately."

I had a weird feeling about, but said okay.

I went back inside where I texted my dad (my go-to car/everything guy)...he told me that it was probably a sales ploy, but couldn't be for sure without seeing it. 

But those guys at quick-lube places are just trained to up-sell, I think.

So what do I do?

Go right back out to the shop and ask them if it's really necessary or if they're just selling me extra stuff because I'm a woman? Obviously.

They look at me like I have 6 heads and explain that they would "never tell me I needed something if I truly didn't." Then the manager proceeds to tell me that he'd fire someone before letting them take advantage of a woman.

CUE THE TEARS.

I go on to say that I'm sorry, I'm not accusing anyone of anything (per se), I just don't like feeling like I'm being gipped because of my gender. And that I'm pregnant, so I'm a little emotional.

Blah, blah, blah.

Thankfully I was the only one in there, or I would have felt even more insane. Needless to say, I won't be taking Rob's truck to have any more maintenance performed. And PRAISE THE LORD my dad takes care of my oil changes for me...saves me some embarrassment!

I may or may not need this shirt.

ANYWAY, now that I've assured all of you that I'm NUTS, how about some FUN?!

Our BIG anatomy scan is tomorrow!! So in honor of that, I'm going to see what some old wives tales tell me about the gender of our babe. We'll just see if any of them are true for us!

Did you experience "morning" sickness during the early part of your pregnancy?

YES-girl

Are you craving sweet foods or sour/salty?

Sweet-girl

Has your husband been gaining weight with you during your pregnancy?

NO...he's lost!-girl

Is your nose getting wider or staying the same?

Staying the same-girl

Does your stomach look like a watermelon or a basketball?

I'd say closer to a basketball-boy

Is the baby's heart-rate above or below 140?

Consistently 150+-girl

Chinese gender predictor?

girl

Mayan gender prediction?

girl

Is your face round and fuller or long and narrow?

Round & Full-girl

Do you sleep on your left or right side?

Mostly left-boy

Girl: 8 Boy: 2

Of course, this is all just for fun! I definitely don't buy into any of these tales :)

home sweet home: the master

This is our first house to own that has had an actual master "suite." 

It's so nice to have plenty of room for all of our furniture, to be able to get ready at the same to without getting in each other's way, 

and, of course, to have his/hers closets!

 Not much to say here! You get the idea, right? :)

win the day.

Last year, the Temple Wildcats went 1-9 on the season.

This year they were picked to finish number 7 (out of 8) in our district.

Instead, they tied for 2nd in district and went to playoffs.

They faced (and overcame) adversity, showed their town just how talented they really are, and gave everyone a new-found hope for the Wildcats.

Rob coaching up his kids at yesterday's playoff game

The Temple Wildcats faced a tough team in the Longview Lobos yesterday (ranked 4th in the state) and gave them a run for their money. Our defense gave the Lobos a lot more trouble than they were expecting, but unfortunately we didn't pull out the win.

The kids should be proud of the way they improved and played this season. I know the coaches sure are proud of them. And I'm, of course, proud of the coaches for not only providing the leadership they needed but, also, love.

This season was a fun ride, and it's always sad to see it go, but I know we have a lot to look forward to next year! The Cats are just getting started now!

GO WILDCATS!