Here's Ranston!!

We had our 3D sonogram yesterday!

Ranston was somewhat cooperative! We didn't get a straight on look at his face but we did get to see our baby boy! They usually only give you one chance (20 minutes) but thankfully we got a second chance. We got a few good looks at him the 2nd time around. Hopefully you can see him in the pictures. Keep you eye out for his hands and feet. He was so balled up that most pictures have a foot in them!

It's getting there!

I thought I'd give you a sneak peak at the nursery!

Mike and my dad worked on our crown molding this weekend...it still has some touch work the needs to be done but it is up!

Also, we are aren't finished with adding a few pieces of furniture...

BUT, I know many of you are anxious to see Ranston's room!

Not only did Mike work onthe crown molding, but he also put together our glider!

I was so excited. I didn't expect to find him working on it so it was a nice surprise
This painting was given to us by Molly and I LOVE it!! If you can't tell, it is a baby in his mother's womb!

Jacey sent this SUPER SOFT personalized blanket with my sister for us!

It is SOOOOO soft and a beautiful shade of blue!

We are still waiting on our mattress but wanted to put the bedding together.

We thought our mattress came in on Friday but they shipped us a mini-trampoline instead!! Oops!! The mattress is on its way to us!

Ranston's nursery doesn't have a closet because it was an added on room. I've made a temporary clothing area until we decide what we are doing!

And finally.....the crown molding! It adds a nice touch to the room.

I'll make sure and add pictures as the nursery becomes complete!

A few other things to share:

Mike's grammy found this infant's jacket of Mike's...isn't it ADORABLE?!?!

It looks like a Member's Only jacket from the '80s...it even has a tag that says "Infants Only"

I had a great visit with my dad and sister!

They came to visit on Friday. It was such a treat to have them here!

It was the first time my dad got to see me since I started looking pregnant!

It is a little late for this picture but I don't want it to get lost in the "should have posted" group! I got to have coffee with my Bible study girls in Midland when we were home for the shower. It was great to see them and catch up!!

Thanksgiving is almost here!!

It doesn't feel like it should be Thanksgiving but none-the-less, I'm excited! We had our church-wide Thanksgiving meal on Monday and it was a fun practice for tomorrow. :) Everyone at our table kept commenting on that!

We'll be heading to Mike's grandparents this afternoon when I get off work. We just saw them less than 2 weeks ago for our shower but we don't get to see them often so it will be a nice treat. And we always enjoy getting to catch up with Mike's aunt Susan. It's been a while since we saw her last. On Friday, we'll meet my dad and sister in San Antonio for lunch and then they'll follow us home for a few days!!! I'm really excited about that! I feel very blessed that they are taking time to come visit. I haven't seen my daddy in a while and won't again until March when he comes to meet Ranston.

This holiday season is much different than last year...in so many positive ways!! Last year, we were still new to Beeville and our house. This year, we've lived here for over a year...and for those who know our track record with moving, we aren't looking to move! Last year, Mike was in the middle of his medical stuff...his surgery was right after Christmas! This year, he's healthy and feels great! Most of all, this year will be our last Thanksgiving as a family of 2. I can't imagine how next year will feel!! We'll have a 9 month old at Thanksgiving!! I am soooooooooo excited about Ranston but it is sad to think that our time as a two-some is coming to an end. We've been through so much together--just the two of us....but now, we'll get to go through so much with Ranston.

WHAT???

Attention anyone planning to bake pumpkin goodies this holiday season!!

Shortage of canned pumpkin??? Seriously??

According to this article, rain washed out the pumpkin crops that become canned pumpkin.

I LOVE pumpkin desserts and have several new recipes to try out this year...guess I better stock up NOW or plan on another treat!

My shower had several personal touches that made it FABULOUS!!

Since I won't have pictures to share for a little bit, I'm referring to blogs!!

One special touch is the diaper cake made with Ranston in mind!

My sister has started creating diaper cakes...they are super cute!!

His matched the sports theme of his nursery.

Another is the hand-made guest book!

Molly did an amazing job and I love the concept!

I'm excited to look back at all the notes of inspiration and love shared in this book!

Also on Molly's blog is a picture of the painting that will be up in the nursery!

This also has a special touch of Ranston in mind!

My shower invitations for my West Texas shower were custom made and guess what!!

I just found the invitation on the designers blog!!

She does a great job on her designs! Check her out!

Mike and I had a great weekend in West Texas being showered with love!! :)

Kate took TONS of pictures at the shower that I'll put up soon!

Thanks to everyone who helped make our shower special.

I can't wait for Ranston to meet you all!

I was FINALLY able to attach these photos. I'm not sure what the problem was but I'm glad to get to share them!

Me and Vicki (she's in charge of all things Communications!)in our cart

Me, Jill (my boss' wife and the mother of 2 of our youth), and Heather (friend, neighbor, and co-worker) eating lunch.
Vicki and I met up with Mike and his team on a few holes. Only once was on purpose! I enjoyed getting to chat with him a little while waiting on the team in front of his to tee off!

The four behind-the-scenes ladies!

Heather, Jill, Me, and Vicki

Mike and I before he teed off on Hole #10

I couldn't quite fit into the golf shirt the other ladies had so I made up my own outfit! Good thing the colors were easy to match!

I have tried and tried to attach pictures of the South Texas Children's Home (STCH) Golf Classic from Monday on the blog but have been very unsuccessful. I hate when there are issues.

The Golf Classic was a GREAT day! Mike was able to play and had a great time. The weather was absolutely PERFECT!! We could not have asked for better weather. Things went smoothly on my end of working the tournament and all in all, it was a great tournament.

It really made me miss golf. I hope in the Spring we start playing again. It is such a relaxing sport...even though it can be frustrating at times! :) Maybe Ranston will enjoy playing when he gets older and we can play as a family. That is something I really enjoyed growing up...spending time as a family on the golf course.

I will try to get pictures up soon but wanted to go ahead and let you all know that I'm still alive! :)

Happy Weekend!!

A lot has been going on the last week.
My mom came in to town to help with painting and setting up the nursery!

She got to go with me to the doctor and this is what she saw...

(I apologize that they are not very clear)

Ranston's face!! (it is a straight on shot)

His arm and hand!

and a side profile of his face!!



Earlier in the week, Mike (with a tiny bit of help from me...lol) put Ranston's crib together! Isn't it a beaut??
While my mom was here, she, Mike, and Stacy (friend from church) painted the nursery...it isn't quite finished yet but I'll post pictures once it is completed! I'm SO thankful for their help!!
My mom and I indulged in a few of our favorites after I picked her up from the airport.
STARBUCKS!

and KRISPY KREME!!!

They had their Pumpkin Spice cake doughnut....YUMM-O!!

Lastly, I'm trying to get better at taking weekly photos of my growing belly! This was at a luncheon for the ladies on staff at the Children's Home. It was held at the home of one of our board members...her home was beautiful! You'll probably have to enlarge the picture to see much but this gives you an idea!

Samantha Lynn is here!

My friend Gina had her baby girl today!

Gina began having complications and was admitted to the hospital Friday for observation. That turned into being in the hospital until Samantha would be born, and she was delivered via emergency C-Section this afternoon (10 weeks early)! Samantha is 2 lbs. 2 oz. and 16 inches long. I've heard from Gina's sister and Mike went with our pastor to visit...all say Gina and Samantha are doing well!

I hope to go visit tomorrow...today is a little hectic in the waiting room from what I hear and from our past hospital experiences, I know that it is nice for some to wait to visit. I'm anxious to meet Samantha!! Gina and I have gotten to expereince most of our pregnancies together and have talked about Samantha and Ranston being friends! She was only supposed to be 6 weeks older than him but now, she'll be 4 months...if Ranston waits his full time!!

Congrats Jim and Gina!!

This has been me for almost my entire pregnancy!! LOL

I completely loose my train of thought or forget what I was doing...I can only blame it on the pregnancy for several more months!

Ranston is now the length of a spaghetti squash!

He is also the size of a papaya.

I attempted a blog entry yesterday....about 4 times...but never could think of something to post! I guess I'm having an uneventful week. We are getting ready for my mom's visit--next weekend!--when we'll get our nursery in order! We worked on it last weekend and got everything out that isn't staying. I looked in there this morning and it is so empty...but then I said, "I can't wait to see this as Ranston's nursery!"

The youth have seemed to enjoy asking me how Ranston is...they call him by name all the time! It's so much fun.

Carrot or Banana...take your pick!

This week, our little fella was compared to a banana and carrot. Obviously, these are mainly in regards to length.

Some of you may know Baby Bryant's name, but for those of you who don't, let me share.

We decided on Ranston Keith Bryant. We wanted a unique name and considered several family names but nothing fit. So, we combined Mike's dad's name (Randy) and my dad's name (Preston) and got Ranston! Keith is a Bryant family name: Mike's grandfather (PoPo...pronounced PawPaw) is Keith, his dad's middle name is Keith, and his middle name is Keith. We found out just recently that his PoPo was named after a family member also. So, there you have it...Ranston Keith Bryant!

I am SOOOOO excited to start this study with our youth this Sunday night!

There are MANY purity studies out there...and it was hard to decide which one to do...some are GREAT on the physical stuff and others are GREAT on the spiritual stuff...and still others are GREAT on both! So, we decided to start with this one. I plan to do a study for the girls in the near future that focuses on the spiritual side of purity and discusses our view of beauty verses God's view of beauty. I think that will be a great study after this one!

Please pray for our students as they go through this study with us (and Mike and I as we lead them). As far as I know, NONE of them have been through a purity study before!! I want them to understand that it isn't just something they'll deal with at this time in their lives but that living a pure life to God's standards is an ongoing process.

We're having a boy!

That's right! Soon we'll have a little man running around the house!

I'll spare you the "It's a boy!" sonogram picture.

But, here is one of him facedown...you can see his spine pretty clearly!

We weren't able to see much other than that he is a boy, his feet, and a few shots of his entire body. I'll have another sonogram at my next appointment for them to check a few other measurements and hopefully we'll be able to see his face.

We keep his pictures on our fridge. The youth really enjoy looking his pictures!

We had our high school LifeGroups last night when we returned from the doctor. We weren't sure what time we would make it back so Jill (one of our FABULOUS moms...and my boss' wife!) planned on going to the house to let the youth in for their fellowship time. She, her daughter, and our pastor's daughter decorated our house in blue in white!! It was such a fun thing to come home to...Thanks Jill, Lindsey, and Abigail!!

We put our stoller together a few nights ago...I love it!

My Nana (the bestest Nana EVER!) got it for us!

I really like the color green and we decided to pick out a gender neutral stroller, even before we know we were having a boy. I was excited to find one that didn't look like it was trying to be gender neutral.

Interesting little fact about my husband...

he LOVES bagels!

He bought some the other day and I finally remembered to bring one to work for breakfast. I'm glad I remembered when I did...they are going fast! I kind of forgot how much I like a good bagel. I usually buy them and then forget about them until they aren't soft anymore...who wants a dry bagel??

It was a delicious breakfast...blueberry bagel with cream cheese!

YUM!!

Check back tomorrow to find out if Baby Bryant is a boy or girl!