A lovely February

Monday, February 27


 February has been a sweet month (no pun intended, hehe!). One of the most fun surprises has been hosting 2 Japanese college students for 3 weeks. We have connected so well with them, and they get so excited about everything…and I mean everything, haha! It makes me laugh when they start squealing with joy over this and that. They've been coming to church with us, and have been so open to hear about Christ's love. They fell in love with that Matt Redman song 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord, Oh my Soul…), and so we've had that on repeat at our house, ha! I found it in Japanese on youtube, and they were so excited. Today as we were making lunch together, I turned to one and told her I was going to miss her so much (as they leave on Thursday). She literally burst into tears and came and gave me the biggest hug. What a blessing they have been:)

Valentines day was a ton of fun. Kev took me out to breakfast at a new place we'd never tried, and it was delightful. We're still working through the 100 questions I found online (the ones we started on our babymoon in Tahoe) and had a few good laughs that morning at breakfast. We went on a walk before Kevin had to go to work. Later that night I made a big Valentines day dinner for both Kev and the Japanese girls. I made the girls Valentines and wrote them little notes, and cut out hearts and put conversation hearts in a bowl (I always forget how random conversations hearts are…haha! I tried to explain them in English to the girls, they thought they hilarious). The girls were obsessed with the Valentines (I had some Disney Princess ones, so classy!). That night, Kev surprised me with this necklace that i've been wanting for quite some time. I had no idea he remembered, and his thoughtfulness overwhelmed me with gratitude! We never buy each other gifts for Valentines (besides flowers and chocolates or a date at a restaurant), so opening that gift was so special:)

Weekends have been filled with farmer's market visits with the girls, lunch dates, church, and some lovely baby showers for me. My sweet Aunt Susan threw me one, and my dear friends Rach and Nance threw me one. I couldn't have been more blessed! I'll share more about those after our sweet baby girl is born (3 MORE WEEKS!!! EPP!!), as both were themed according to the name we picked out for our peanut (which I'm keeping a surprise from the internet until she is born, haha…you'll just have to wait:)

I'm finally on maternity leave, and now comes the final prep! On to decorating our baby girl's room, packing our hospital bag, getting in some much needed sleep, and spending lots of time with people:) I have a feeling March is going to change my life:)

How was your February? xoxo


 My frilly black dress is from here // The colored scarf is from here // The grey jacket is from here // The grey shirt with the leather elbow patch is from here

A funny story about our last day in Tahiti (and by funny I mean insane…you'll see!)

Tuesday, February 21



Our last day in Tahiti was a combination of hilarious/insane…maybe it was so insane it was hilarious. Actually, it wasn't hilarious to me at the time, like at all (see pointless story below). But now I look back and Kevin and I laugh (took me a while to get there, but now it really is funny). 

First of all, I haven't said much about this on my blog at all, but my baby morning sickness (which should be called ENTIRE DAY SICKNESS) started while we were in Tahiti, mid-trip. Which was incredibly unfortunate but I guess that's what happens when you grow a baby! Anyway…

The very last day of the trip, when we disembarked off the ship in Tahiti, I was FEELING IT. And by that I mean I was throwing up constantly, and could barely walk I felt so sick. Kevin and I got off the ship, and proceeded to drag our bags along the port to the street so we could find a taxi. Kevin had booked us a hotel earlier that morning on his phone, and tried to tell the taxi driver we were staying at Hotel Milano. 

The taxi driver looked super duper confused, shook his head, and told Kev there was no hotel by that name in the city (and this was a SMALL city, so we believed him). Kev was super confused, and I was just passed out, hunched over our bags just praying I wouldn't die and praying Hotel Milano was real and we didn't just get swindled online. Kev and the taxi driver went back and forth, but at this point it was apparent that either our hotel didn't exist, OR wasn't in Tahiti. Kev checked his email for the booking, and evidently this taxi driver didn't know this hotel because it was in Milan…Milan, Italy that is. I wanted to scream. 

Kev booked a new hotel, and decided that it was so close we should save money and walk to it (why did I think that was a good idea? Why did I go along with it?). I could barely stand up, was convinced I was going to barf every other step….not to mention it was like 100 degrees and humid. I kept chanting to myself "I can do it, I can do it, God can do it through me" (I wish I was kidding, but that was my mantra for the 30 minute walk). We got lost twice, a wheel fell off one of our suitcases, and when we finally arrived at the hotel they wouldn't let us check in for a few hours. So I did the only thing I could muster…I took over a couch in the lobby and promptly fell asleep….for 2 hours.  

On the bright side, the day was redeemed by a tour of the island that was a part of our cruise booking. Tahiti is actually a gorgeous island…might have been the most beautiful in French Polynesia in terms of lushness and scenery. I didn't take many pictures, because…you know, barfing happened. But…I will tell you that if you get the chance to visit Tahiti, you should. And hopefully you will not be suffering from nausea like I was:) 

On a fun note, that last day in Tahiti we got some time with Chuck Swindoll (see picture below!). He really is an amazing man full of joy and humor. I could sit and listen to him for hours without getting bored, even ease dropping on his conversations with other people while on the cruise were amusing. 

These are the last of my Tahiti pics….if you missed the others, you can see them here: 

Thanks Inspiration Cruises & Tours for a memorable cruise to French Polynesia!! What a wonderful trip it was (despite my baby nausea! haha). I really did meet so many lovely people, saw some gorgeous scenery, and got to explore with my main man Kevin!! xoxo 

{my life was pretty much made when I met Chuck! He's literally one of the most hilarious and joy-filled people i've ever encountered!!}  {Two of my "best friends" on the trip…Marilyn and Verna! They were hilarious!!}

A little babymoon in Tahoe

Tuesday, February 7


 This past weekend Kevin and I got away to the mountains to just spend some uninterrupted time together before our sweet baby girl comes in 6 weeks! Our very generous friends lent us their gorgeous cabin on Lake Tahoe, and it was just what we needed.

We did a puzzle, read books, watched a movie, and then took some time to do some more intentional things together. I found this list of 100 questions couples can ask one another, and it was super fun to work through. All throughout the weekend we'd pick 3-4 questions at a time and ask one another. I feel like I know SO much about Kevin already, but some of these questions helped me to really understand him on a deeper level, which was so great. And some were just hilarious!

We also spent some quality time each day praying for our baby girl. It's so beautiful how we can lift our requests to the Lord and trust Him, relinquishing our control and putting everything in His hands. It was also very sweet to stare at my stomach and watch her kick, haha!

We've been going through a Christian birth class written by my friend Kierra, and finished up the last few classes this past weekend. If you are pregnant (or considering it), I think you would LOVE Kierra's class…her website is called A Heavenly Welcome, and her class is amazing! Check it out here! Even if you don't take the class, she's got some great resources on her website!!

One whole day we stayed inside in our PJ's, and the next day we went to Squaw Valley. I'm obsessed with the olympics, and the 1960 Olympics took place at Squaw Valley and they have a museum. We tried to visit, but the gondola to the top of the mountain (where the museum is) was closed that day! So instead we explored Squaw Valley, and then headed into Tahoe City for some delicious treats (including gluten/dairy free) and yummy drinks at The Tahoe House. It's run by a Swiss family, and has a huge roaring fire place and tons of great seating. They also had some awesome coffee table books of pictures from Switzerland, so of course Kevin and I flipped through those and remembered our Christmas in Switzerland last year!

Rest is amazing, and being in God's creation was so rejuvenating. Thankful we got the chance to get away before our sweet girl comes (which we are SO excited about!!) Hope you had a great weekend! xoxo




ps- My black and white stripped top is from here