Shreveport Shower!

Back on April 7th some family and friends gathered in Shreveport to throw a beautiful baby shower for me! A few people even drove from Houston, Baton Rouge and New Orleans just to be there! Everything was gorgeous and tasty and so much thought was put into every detail. It was so special to get to celebrate Libby with everyone and we were blessed with many wonderful gifts to bring home.

The beautiful table!

Adorable (and delicious) cake

Entrance table! There were baby pictures of me everywhere.

With my YiaYia Tina

YiaYia Tina, Thea Mary & Thea Eleni

The hostesses! Kris Diane, Stacy, Maria, Tracie, Barbara & Patricia

The boys showed up to help load up our loot! Dad, Ted, John Paul & William

Dad & I

Later that night we got to hang out with the whole family at the Cosses house which was great! 

With my adorable cousin, Matthew 

All the guys! Uncle John, Papou, John Paul, Dad, Ted, Uncle Stas, Chris

Everyone who was brought home from the hospital in the blanket that Big YiaYia made!

The girls!

31 weeks 2 days preggo!


It was a great weekend all around! Family time was wonderful and of course we are so thankful for all the lovely gifts for Libby!

In case you didn't already know...

Our baby girl has a name! And we are so excited about it! John Paul and I are both named after our grandparents and we think it's really special to have a name that is tied to people we love and respect. So with that said our sweet girl will be...


Libby Allison Schulze


As most of you know, Libby is after my YiaYia here in Dallas. Her name in Greek is Eleftheria which means "freedom or liberty" so her parents called her Libby. 


My YiaYia and I have had a special relationship my whole life and she means so much to me. She is loving and fun and I have so many wonderful memories with her. I spent a lot of time at her house growing up doing crafts, playing blackjack (she taught us) with pennies in our tents we made, playing restaurant or bank or beauty parlor, sick days home from school (I may have faked a few just to stay with her!), family dinners, and so much more.  She has always been there for me and has helped shape who I am in so many ways.  I can't imagine what life would be like without my YiaYia close by! 

There are so many qualities that YiaYia possesses that we pray Libby will have! A few of those are her servant heart, her joyful spirit, and her loving demeanor. YiaYia makes everyone feel loved and is so spunky and full of life. Everyone who knows her loves her. She goes above & beyond and serves our family so well...and always with a smile on her face. She is such an example of putting others before yourself. We are so excited that our little girl will be named after someone so wonderful. We love you YiaYia!

And Libby's middle name, Allison, is after one of my very best friends, Allison Bowen. Alli and I went to high school together and became friends through Young Life but didn't really have the same circle of friends. Once we realized that we were both going to A&M we decided to be roommates in the dorm...which turned out to be the biggest blessing and the start of an amazing friendship! My arm accident was right at the end of high school and I was still pretty limited in my functioning by the time I left for college. There could not have been a more perfect person for the Lord to have placed in my life at that time! Alli literally became my right arm...everything from helping me get dressed to blow drying my hair to massaging my scar. It makes total sense that she is now a nurse! :) Our freshman year really bonded us and we have been best friends ever since. From being bakers at YL camp to getting our Aggie rings to standing in each other's weddings...we have walked through every major step in life together.

Allison also possesses many qualities that we pray Libby has! A few of those would be her loyalty, servant heart, and deep trust in and love for Jesus. Allison is such a thoughtful and faithful friend and John Paul and I both know that we can count on her for anything. She is invested in our life and is always willing to help us, pray for us, or anything else that we need. She lives her life for Christ and is a constant encouragement to me. I love hanging out with her and could not be more thankful for her friendship! I hope and pray Libby has a best friend  like Alli some day!


So obviously this name means a lot to us and we can't wait for Libby to meet to the two wonderful ladies that she is named after. We also pray that she would take on the meaning of her name which is "freedom or liberty" and that she would come to know and love Jesus and experience the freedom that comes from His grace!

Babymoon to FL!

Last Thursday we got to go to Watercolor, FL for 4 nights and it was so wonderful! Nothing but relaxing mornings of coffee and reading on the porch, days by the beach, and nights of fun dinners around town! Allison's aunt and uncle have a house there and it is amazing...we were definitely spoiled. Here are a few pictures of where we got to stay!

Front of the house! 

We got the carriage house! It had it's own mini-kitchen and sitting area! So cute

Our awesome bedroom! 

I loved the bathroom too!

The first day was rainy but we still had fun going to breakfast, playing bananagrams, reading, and cooking! The other days were perfect and sunny and we spent lots of time at the beach! The Newmans, a couple from Alli & Blake's community group, were also on the trip with us. Here are some pictures to document the fun...

John Paul making omelets! His specialty

Amber & Alli heading to the beach

Blake & John Paul smoking their pipes and looking cool

Alli & me! 

Sunset @ Bud & Alley's

29 week 2 day bump

Yummy BBQ food truck

Heading to another day at the beach!

Beach time

The whole gang

The hubby and me!

It was a great trip and we cannot thank the Bowens enough for inviting us and making it possible! They are incredible friends in so many ways and we are very grateful to have them in our lives!

March Madness

I cannot believe 3 weeks have gone by since my last post! We've had a super busy March so far with house sitting, babysitting, nursery planning, parenting class, and of course the arrival of Mr. William Becton Spencer! I just have to show you some pictures of the big day and how precious he is! It has been so fun to see some of our best friends welcome their sweet boy and be there to experience it with them. We love you Spencers!

Getting all cleaned up! Just a few hours old!

Proud new dad and dad to be watching Becton in the nursery!

Lindsay and I with the beautiful momma! Did she really just give birth?!

Getting to hold 2 day old Becton! I may or may not have visited every day they were in the hospital...but hey, I work there :)

Love this picture...friends starting a new phase of life together!

  

Nothing sweeter than seeing my good looking hubby hold a baby :)

So that was definitely the big event of the week! Thank you Lord for a healthy baby and momma! Tami and I also have the same doctor so it was fun to get the inside scoop from her :)

I also had my glucose test this week to screen for gestational diabetes. I had to drink a REALLY sweet drink with 50grams of sugar (I chose fruit punch flavor) and then go to the lab an hour later to check and see how my blood sugar responded. Then I had a quick check up...belly is measuring good, blood pressure was great, and baby girl's heart beat was strong and fast as usual! The exciting appointment comes in 2 weeks at my 30 week appointment when we get a sonogram! woohoo. Can't wait to see her again! She is moving like crazy. Dr. Fogwell said her bottom and legs are up top which is why I am feeling her kicks right under my ribs :) She definitely has her daddy's energy level, ha. 

And I know I am overdue to post a belly pic so here I am at 28 weeks this past Wednesday...

28 weeks

By the way, maternity shorts are awesome. It's definitely the first time I've worn elastic pants since about 1st grade but they are so comfortable. Thank you Old Navy. 

Alrighty, well that's all I've got for now! There are so many exciting things coming up in the next couple of weeks...Miss Lola Houston's 1st birthday party, trip to FL with the Bowens (we leave Thursday!), shower in Shreveport on April 7th, baby girl's crib being delivered! And actually in just a little bit I am headed to a prenatal massage that my mom scheduled for me...could she be more awesome?! I am seriously so so thankful for how the Lord is blessing us during this time through so many of you guys...our family and friends. John Paul and I are so grateful and we love you!

25 weeks

I cannot believe it's already time to do another update! Here I am before our date last night...

Baby girl is approximately a pound and a half and over 13 inches long! She is starting to gain baby fat instead of being so long and lean. At our 24 week appointment her heart rate was still up around 160 and she is moving more than ever in the past few days. I can literally see her moving sometimes which is completely crazy :)

As you may have noticed in the picture I got my hair cut...it had gotten ridiculously long and thick thanks to those pregnancy hormones/vitamins! I am feeling good and have been trying to workout on the elliptical or treadmill at least 3 times a week to keep my back and legs strong to support the extra weight. For those of you who know about my back problems you know this was a worry for me. But so far so good and I am very thankful!

Also, Breshard moved out last week so John Paul and I spent a good chunk of this weekend cleaning out the guest room. We also picked up a dresser and book shelf that was GIVEN to us by the lady John Paul nannys for. The Lord's provision continues to amaze us. So now we get to start putting baby girl's room together which is very exciting!

By the way some of you may have heard what baby girl's name is but I'm going to do a separate post on that this week! We LOVE it :)

I just have to end this post by thanking the Lord for giving us this sweet girl. I get more excited every day to meet her. It is so humbling to know that she has been entrusted to us and that we get to be her parents. What an amazing gift.

Thanks so much for all of your prayers along this journey. We are so grateful to be able to rest in the promise that the Lord loves our baby girl even more than we ever could and that she is in His hands!