1st Shower

Let me start by saying "I Love Pizza!!" This must be Joel's kid. I even had the leftovers from my "pizza themed" shower for dinner tonight. What an adorable idea. I can't imagine a better day than today...it was great to have many close friends and family able to share this exciting time with me. Thank you all so much for all of the wonderful gifts. We are so blessed. I want to especially thank the girls who put this all together for me to make it so speical. So, thank you April, Natalie, Brytni, and Anna (we missed you Jess, but know you were there is spirit!). I am so thankful to have each of you as friends! Camden will just die when he gets to meet all his "beautiful aunts!" We still have a few more showers to go, and he is already spoiled rotten! :)

Things are going great with the pregnancy! 5 weeks from Tues. is the big day! The "nesting instinct" has definitely set in, as we have turned our house inside out this weekend getting ready for this baby. Poor Joel....I think after having him pull all the dishes out of the cupboards and lay down new contact paper, he was about to kill me. :) What a trooper! He is surprisingly really good at painting my toenails, which I can no longer see or reach! He patiently bundles up when I ask for the air to be on and am STILL sweating!!! I can't imagine a more loving husband...I'm so lucky. Let's see if he can hang in there 5 more weeks (hopefully 3, NO MORE than 6!!) Starting Tues. we see the doctor every week...so stay tuned for more updates!

Remembering Zach...

Dear friends and family,

We wanted to take this opportunity to remember Joel's brother, Zach, who was taken from us way too soon in a tragic plane crash a year ago this weekend. This year has definitely been a roller coaster of emotions, as we are dealing with daily grief and loss, as well as joy and excitement at the arrival of our precious baby, Camden Zachary. Having this baby boy has been the most thrilling time of our lives, but it's also equally hard not be able to share our joy with Zach. He would have been the BEST Uncle, and we ache to know that he won't be able to hold Cam and get to know him, here on earth. Even though Zach isn't here with us anymore, we feel that he knows Camden already and will be rejoicing with us not only on his birthday, but throughout his life.

Joel and I are committed to teaching and showing Cam what kind of person Zach was. We are blessed to have his beautiful music, which Camden already loves. We're counting on those CD's to sooth any and all crying. :) Zach was the most hardworking, goal oriented, and musically talented person we know. His love of the Lord and his family are examples to us daily. Our prayer for Camden Zachary is that he grows up to be a fraction of the person his uncle was and is. Even in the womb, we have started to share our favorite stories and memories of Zach with our little man. Zach was an inspiration to all he came in contact with, and will continue to be an inspriation in his nephew's life.

Thank you to all who have been praying for our family during this time. Your prayers are truly felt. Your cards and words of sympathy mean so much to Joel and me. Hold your loved ones close, as we are reminded of how very short life is. We can't wait to hug and kiss on Cam in just 6 short weeks!!

Happy Easter

The nursery is officially done!! All we need is a baby to put on the finishing touches. Thank you Margo for making all of the bedding. It looks awesome. Hillary is now 31.5 weeks along, but if you ask her, she is 33 weeks. Her sister, Natalie and her have a screwed way of keeping time. Hill is doing great still, although she is starting to get a little more uncomfortable...I don't know why. Hormones raging and constant clothes changing keeps me hopping. It even makes me do some crazy stuff, like trying on Camden's duck towel, just to break it in of course.

We just wanted to put another update out there to wish everyone a blessed and happy Easter. As we are counting down until our new arrival, we pause to reflect on the numerous blessings we have in our lives and the tremendous sacrifice that was paid for our salvation. We love you all and can't wait to catch up again with the next posting. Watch that belly grow!!!