One last Texas visit...

...with our Rackers besties. :(

Ok, really and truly I am happy for Holly because she is moving back to her hometown where I know she wants to be! But---it is farther away from us! :) And, I know, I know, I did it first, I moved away from McKinney so I really can't say anything. hehe

AnnMarie and I headed up to McKinney to get one last bit of quality time in with our friends before they officially became Oklahomans (again, sort of).

We started our visit with lunch at Peter Piper Pizza. McKinney has a brand new one so it was actually nice and not crowded at all!

The girls on the "ice cream ride":

The next day we went to the Allen spray park (which was so nice!), but everybody else in town had the same idea I think. :) We had fun and got to see our old playgroup, but as soon as the school buses arrived and elementary kids filed out, that place cleared out! It was kind of nice to be on the other side of that coin, and not be the "teacher chaperone" for once!

Here is most of the crew enjoying some good ol' watermelon...(Riley, AnnMarie, Emmy, Carson, and Jack)

Now, even though Riley looks pretty as a picture here, she took a turn for the worst as we were heading to our cars. Let's just say she "got sick". Poor thing!

So, since we didn't know how strong this stomach bug was, we decided to head out and stay with our friends, Emily and Jack, for the rest of our time up there.

Giving my precious peanut, Carson, a farewell hug...

These two just belong together. AnnMarie still calls her her "best friend" and talks about her every day. It breaks my heart that she can't see her all the time anymore! We'll be penpals, Riley! :)

We had a couple relaxing days with Emily and Jack. (Well, for the most part===these two superheros did get a little "siblingish" some of the time.) :)

Batgirl and Buzz...

Having a picnic in the living room. AnnMarie thought this was really cool.
Thanks, Emily, for being a perfect "spur of the moment" hostess as always! We were so glad to get to enjoy an unexpected visit with y'all as well.

Holly, you know I can't say much because the tears will start flowing, but we remember all of our times SO fondly with the Rackers in McKinney (from being single Dallas teachers all the way to being married pregnant mommies) and cherish all of these times in our hearts. We'll be lifelong friends! :)

May Happenings

The end of May just flew by for us, and I wanted to document some pictures to remember why it did!

AM's friend, Cody, invited us to "Practically Picasso" to paint with our other playgroup friends. We were excited because we were first timers. The kids painted the cutest little plates, and of course AnnMarie loved it!
Our buddy, Watson, (who Mommy has a crush on) had a firetruck birthday party, and the real fireman was a BIG hit with the little boys---not so much with the little girls. :) Here is the bday man soooo proud!

Making a craft at the party

We spent Memorial Day relaxing and grilling in the backyard with Mom, Mimi, and Gramps. Dad and Luke were hiking in Gatlinburg. Here is AM relaxing on my "layout chair", as she calls it. Mommy was barefoot and pregnant in the little blow up redneck pool! :)Aaaaaaahhhhh....

Memorial Day was a little different for me this year. I always knew why we had the holiday, but now, after knowing my friend, Stephanie, and reading her blog I have a new perspective and it won't ever be the same for me. Her husband, Jimmy, is in Afghanistan, and remembering our fallen soldiers and why we have our freedom hits VERY close to home. Thank you, friend, for changing my focus! :)

They're contagious...

...Pregnancy symptoms I mean.

At 5:00 this morning AnnMarie wakes up, and she's got two problems:
1)"baby" fell off the bed (don't ask me why she can't just climb down and get her when it's no problem for her to hop out of bed and come see us after we tuck her in at night...)
2) she needed to go potty

So as I stumble into the bathroom to help her "tee tee", she looks up at me with a sigh and says, "Mommy, my feet are swollen".

I'm telling you I almost "tee teed" myself. :) Didn't know these symptoms of mine were becoming an epidemic!

A Pregnancy Update

So this is the best I can muster up in the blogging world right now.
I have this long list of blogs that my Type A personality is bugging me about for not being done. And then I go more and more crazy because the list keeps getting longer with every event we go to, etc.
I have so much to do (or that I want to get done) before Baby Clark gets here. But I am having ALOT of trouble getting motivated to do anything. Maybe because my belly is HUGE and getting heavier by the minute. If I had a nickel for every person that said "there was no way I was going to make it 6 more weeks" or "you were not that big with AnnMarie" or "whoa, you're going to pop any day now, right?" or "gosh, that's a big boy in there"...I'd be a rich girl. :) Those comments don't bother me, I just think it's funny. But--my feet are swelling on a daily basis now and the babe is getting really heavy.

All this could sound like I'm complaining, but I'm really not. I'm even one of those people who is borderline annoying about how I really do like being pregnant. (or maybe I should say I don't mind it)

Soooooo, I am wondering now if I'll go all the way or if I'll have him early. hmmmmm....
I saw a friend today who had her baby at 35 weeks which is what I'll be on Sunday. Ah! Reality! Maybe I should start getting things done like finishing the details on his nursery or finding a "going home" outfit or getting a cute pair of PJs for the hospital....the list goes on. Nah, I think I'll just fix another full glass of crushed ice and chomp down happily. (It's ALL I want these days!) weird because I'm not anemic

Well, this was really random and "journalish/diaryish" of me, but I just wanted to post something to 1) make myself feel better about not being in the blogging mood; and 2) document a little of what's going on at 34 weeks along with baby brother.
Let's hope I can muster some serious motivation soon! :)

John Brooks Jurgensen

I think this might be my proudest post so far. I am SO excited about my little nephew's arrival. He came yesterday and is just precious! Julia did awesome, and it was the most emotional day! :) It's amazing because all those emotions of when you did it come flying back to you. And-there's nothing like becoming an aunt and realizing this little guy is part of you too!!!!

Here is the fam anxiously waiting in the hallway while she was pushing. Can you tell we were chomping at the bit??

The sisters and I leaned up against the door hoping we would be the first to hear Brooks's cry. We were. :)

Ah! The announcement that he's here! It was so sweet. One of those priceless moments. I'm so proud of Josh. He's going to be the best dad!

Your heart just bursts with joy!

While they were still taking care of Julia, Josh got to bring Brooks out for us to all go NUTS over!

I'm telling you, he is the CUTEST thing. He's little, but he's not wirey at all. Just very compact with little chubby legs and the most precious face you've ever seen...

He then went down to the nursery to be checked out from head to toe, so of course, we were all there to watch! :) Cute little yawn...

I think this one is my favorite! He has little strawberry blondish hair.

We went back last night because I had to come back and hold him of course!!!! Thank goodness Amanda and Rebecca were there to provide some entertainment for a certain three year old.

Gosh. I just love this picture. I am so proud to be his aunt! To think one day he'll probably be towering over me with a BU JERSEY on, not a BU beanie. :) hehe

Me and Jules. Oh, and Brooks! She was such a trooper. Her labor started out slow, but once she got to a 6, things started going really fast! She didn't have to push longer than 45 minutes!

AnnMarie taking a peek at her first little cousin. She is very proud as well, and it was a little hard to explain why she could not just pick him up and cart him around the hospital.

The Svobodas with Brooks. We love you, little man! We are here for you always, and there's no one (ok besides mom and dad and the rest of the fam) that loves you more! :)

Thank you, Lord, for another blessing!

Uncle Baby

...is a college graduate. :) If you're confused, that's what we call the "baby" of the family (Luke), and he graduated from Baylor this past weekend. I am so proud of my baby bro! I can't believe he is old enough to be a working man! (and I know I have some old friends out there who feel the same way!) :) Luke, well done, and we're so proud of you! Your life has just begun...
Here are some snapshots from the weekend:

This Mother's Day

So this morning I was awoken by a tiny person named AnnMarie who gave me this card:

Did you see baby Clark's picture? :) Looks like he's going to have spikey brown hair!

And that's a picture of an apple tree (because Mommy loves apples and pears). True--but, ok????
The card was attached to a cute little box filled with two pairs of earrings I had picked out from the F.A.I.T.H. jewelry that my friend, Erica, sells. Not that you can see them that great, but here's one pair!:

I know you're going to wonder why I put up this tear stained, makeup rubbed off picture, but I had just finished reading my friend Stephanie's blog post today (it will make you weep!), and it's reality these days, folks. :) I have literally been on the verge of tears ALL day. I am SO HORMONAL!!!!! Wow---it's like I turned 30 weeks, and boom! It hit me. Constant states of up, down, up, down. Every little story or verse our pastor told in church today made me tear up! phew---what a mix of emotions I'm feeling right now as a mother.
Absolutely so excited about meeting my precious Clark.
A little sentimental that I only have a short time left with just my firstborn.
SO thankful that I have been blessed to BE a MOM!
Thank you little AnnMarie for making me a mom. :) I am SO PROUD.