Serena & Michael's Wedding cont...

Maggie Mae is Four (Yesterday)

Just a few candid photos of our Maggie Mae turning four on November 11, 2009! Happy Birthday Miss Mags. We love you big girl!

Baby Heath

Drum roll please----- So, here's the official reason I took up writing in my blog a few months ago--- WE'RE PREGNANT!!! That's right-- due May 18th, 2010 with baby Heath #1. Both Justin and I (any countless amazing friends and family) are thrilled. Keep us in your prayers--we have certainly been living on those who have known for the last 12 weeks to get through the scary first trimester!

I had my 12-week, Nuchal Translucency sonogram today, and all was well. Glory be to God! We heard the heartbeat at 171 BMP, got great results from the screening, and even saw the baby kicking and what looked like a sneeze (don't know if they can even do that, but that's what it looked like). :) The baby way sleeping, but the sonographer shook my belly, and baby Kennedy or Jackson woke up kicking like crazy. I can't feel anything yet, but it sure is neat to see!

After a scary last week with the H1N1 Flu (yes, I got Swined)-- it was the most wonderful miracle to see that the baby was healthy and well today. Can you believe I got the Swine Flu while prego? Thank you Jesus for your powerful protection over the baby and I last week. Thank you also to Dr. Abbott (my employer, NOT by OBGYN) who was nice enough to give me Tamiflu and listen to my lungs! Makes me really appreciate working for you!

Anyways, the news is out! We are going to be a family in May! Please everyone keep us, especially the baby, in your prayers. Stay tuned around Christmas--we will know whether Baby Heath is a Kennedy Rae or a Jackson Scott. Love you already.

Corn Maze Dayz

Hands down--no questions asked--Fall is certainly my most favorite time of the year. Bittersweet as it is, I always find myself getting most homesick during the months of September and October. Perhaps it's the crisp cool weather, the fact that my favorite color is everywhere (orange), the beautiful array of leaves changing colors before our eyes, or--and I really think this is why--it is because Fall reminds me of family--of apple picking, pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating, cider drinking fun. Hence, I was excited when I got to travel to Roanoke last weekend, even if it WAS for the H1N1 Vaccine.

After my oh-too-short two day trip home, I convinced mom to come up to Northern Va with me for the rest of the weekend. On Sunday, Justin too was off, and the three of us went to a corn maze/fall festival in The Plains, VA. It was fantastic--and really quenched my thirst for Fall activity that I so look forward to every year.

We enjoyed looking at livestock, going on a hayride around the farmland, watching adorable pumkin-clad kiddies romp in the fields, drinking hot apple cider, eating kettle corn, shopping at quaint Farmer's Market (excellent apples!), and navigating our way through a HUGE corn maze! It was exactly how I would spend everyday if I had it my way! No matter how long I live in Northern Virginia, my heart belongs in the country-- "you can take the girl out of the honky tonk, but you can't take the honky tony out of the girl!"

Inappropriate Joking

My husband told me the most fantastic inappropriate joke the other day, and it is totally worth sharing online:

A kindergarten teacher is teaching her class of 5-year-olds how to recognize different foods by taste alone. She has the whole class close their eyes and walks around placing various foods on their tongues. They do excellent with the first several rounds--guessing everything from pineapple to pizza. Then, she walks around and places honey-flavored lifesavers on their tongues. The whole class is puzzled, rolling the candy around inside their mouths and guessing random wrong foods.

"I'll give you a hint," says the teacher, "it's something your mommy calls your daddy at home."

There is a short pause--then one little girl gets it and exclaimes . . .

"Spit it out! Spit it out! Spit it out! They're ASSHOLES!"

I LOVE IT! So, for that very special honey-flavored asshole in your life--share this joke--and say I love you. "I love you, Justin!"

The Many Faces of Maggie Mae

After all this time, I cannot believe I have never paid tribute to my very best friend. So, that being said, I give you-- the many faces of Maggie Mae:

The Regal Face

The Relaxing Face The Brown Eyed Girl Face

The Pouncing Face

The Close Up Face

The Sleepy Face

The I've Had Enough--Stop Taking Pictures of Me Face

The Googly Eyed Face

The Grizzle Face

The I Partied Too Hard Face

Gallagher Wedding

This weekend Justin and I traveled to Philadelphia, PA to celebrate the marriage of our two dear friends Fred and Jill Gallagher. It was such a lovely fall wedding--complete with pumpkins and beautiful, deep autumn colors. Jill looked absolutely stunning in her wedding gown, and Fred looked quite handsome himself. The ceremony was perfect, the food fabulous, and the company unforgetable. Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher. We love you both!