Summer Showers

This summer has been full of showers, both wedding and baby. At family's request, here are some fun pictures to highlight the good times:

Jed and Melissa's Couples Shower
Mom, Michele, and I hosted a couples shower for Jed and Melissa over Fourth of July. We had a great time with friends and family over barbecue, family videos, a few games, and a chocolate fountain. Everyone had fun celebrating their upcoming wedding on October 17th!

Melissa with her rehearsal bouquet

Evan and Amanda

Playing "The Newlywed Game"

Melissa and Mama

Mom and Dad

Church Friends Shower
A group of gals from our small group surprised me with a shower in mid-July. Because they've seen the madness that is Anna's closet, they had everyone bring a book to stock her library - perfect! They included the men and kids, which made for a fun (and loud) crowd. Jimmy and I feel so blessed and supported by our friends down here ... certainly no match for family, but it does make things easier!

These pictures are from a hilarious game where people got pictures of Jimmy and me and had to create Anna's face ... kind of scary!

My dear friend Nichole made this cake from scratch - impressive (and delicious!)!

Trokhan/Leitsch Shower

Compliments to Jessica for the lovely photographs!

Herdeman Family & Friends Shower





Sweater, hat, and booties from Aunt Sue (with interchangeable purple ribbons!)
Afghan from Mama
Beautiful quilt from Mom

(How did it work out that I didn't get a single picture of me with the three hostesses - Erin, Meghan, and Anissa?!?! Ladies, if you have one, please send it my way!!!)

Adventures in Home-Ownership

I consider myself a pretty together, resourceful person, but, in the nearly two years Jimmy and I have been homeowners, I've realized that I'm not nearly as skilled or smart in some of the practical areas of adulthood: namely, the area called "What to do when things break." Our dishwasher had been making a pretty bad grinding sound for a couple cycles, and all the manual said by way of troubleshooting was, "Something's probably stuck in the motor. If the motor doesn't grind it up after one cycle, it's time to call service and pay a lot of money" (paraphrase mine). Things didn't sound too promising. And while I'm not opposed to doing dishes, I really don't enjoy it.


Then, on a do-it-yourself whim, Jimmy decided to try and tackle the problem himself, saying, "I think I can take apart a motor." Again, not too promising, even though I love the guy! He came home from work one night this week, ate dinner, and set to work on the dishwasher. He found a great website that had step-by-step diagrams for each layer of our exact dishwasher, and within an hour had the problem solved and the culprit, a big chunk of plastic, snagged from the motor. I just had to brag on him! Here he is with his "I am man, I have tools, I will conquer" face - that's a keeper.

Anna's Room

Jimmy and I put the finishing touches on Anna's room earlier this week. We have been so blessed by family hand-me-downs, and I'm proud to say everything looks pretty darn good in the room together! Here are some pictures:


Layla has been fascinated with baby preparations. She followed us back and forth from room to room as we carried the pieces of the crib into the nursery for assembly. Then she sat and watched Jimmy assemble the whole thing from her perch captured in the picture above. It's been pretty cute!


This is the beautiful crib and bedding from Jimmy's cousins Darren and Cynamon. Thanks, Case and Lena for sharing your crib with baby Anna!

This rocker is from Patty ... she rocked Jimmy in it when he was a baby!

I couldn't get both the dresser/changing table and the adorable quilt, courtesy of Grandma Herdeman, in one picture. Thanks, Grandma Herdeman, for the beautiful quilt! Thanks, Michele, for the too-cute quilt hangers! Thanks, Grandma Roxane, for the expert painting help on the dresser!

The last three shots are of Anna's outrageously overstocked closet. One of my parenting goals is to raise a humble, gracious child, and I'm not sure how that's supposed to happen if she keeps on being spoiled like she has been ;-) All the diapers and clothes are such a blessing to us!