it takes a village

{written a few months ago:}

"I'm about 5 weeks along in my pregnancy with you. We made it back from vacation and kept our secret safe...until this morning. As we were having carpet put in, my good friend and co-worker, Blanche, called to tell me she is pregnant. So, I spilled the beans! We think we are 2 weeks apart with me being earlier. I'm glad to have a friend, more specifically a friend here in Waco, to go through this very exciting and new experience with. My biggest worry from Day 1 was and is that our family and friends are so far away. I want to have a village of people close by to help me, hold you, love on you, and ease my fears in this new world called "mommy hood." However, I know God is already taking care of us and building the community we need. That truth was reiterated today when Blanche called. 

{written today:}

Looking back, I am humbled at the work God is doing in our lives. Home doesn't feel so far away anymore. We have become close to many couples in Waco through our small group- all of which have babies or are having babies! We finally feel rooted. And the miles between here and family don't seem so long anymore either. We had various family here taking care of us for 3 weeks and lots of visitors coming to love on Evie girl! To top it all off, Blanche's baby girl was born a day after Evie, only 6 rooms apart! We have been continually loved on and taken care of since the day this sweet girl entered the world, and for that we say "thank you!" We are thankful for the many meals delivered, advice offered, and miles driven in order to hold Evie and provide these new, tired parents with love and support. More than anything, we are grateful that Evie is already loved by so many and will have a unconditional support system as she grows. God is so good! 

Welcome to our village...

Unfortunately we don't have photos of every member of our "village," nonetheless, we appreciate each one of you, near or far, that have been praying for us, thinking of us, and checking in on us! Love you all! 

happily ever after-ers do waco

We all started out in Houston together...now 4 years, 4 different cities, 8 new jobs, 3 new houses, and 3 babies later, these friendships still remain strong! 

This weekend our friends from Houston {well now technically from Forney, Dallas, and Houston} met here in Waco. These are the first people we met after we were newly married living in Houston...all alone. Have you ever had people you felt were divinely put into your life at a specific time? Well that would be these fine people! We were all in the Nearly/Newlywed group at Second Baptist together, going through the first few years of marriage alongside one another...and laughing a lot! Since we haven't all been back together in a very long time and I can't travel over an hour from now until D-day, they all came to Waco! It was a blast, as always, and my abs were sore the next day from laughing so hard. And let me tell you- an 8 month pregnant lady cracking up is dangerous sight! Well, it was a dangerous weekend. The guys played golf, the girls shopped, we all ate dinner and played games at our place, and then grabbed breakfast the next morning. 

It was a much needed fun weekend! 

Everything is a game with this crew...even the arrival of sweet Evie girl: 

happy fall y'all

What did one autumn leaf say to another?

I'm falling for you

How do you fix a broken pumpkin?

With a pumpkin patch!

How does an elephant get out of a tree?

It sits on a leaf and waits until Autumn!

What is a tree's least favorite month?

Sep-timmmberrr! 

Can you tell I love Fall? FALL- the season that brings cooler weather, football games, scarves, leggings with boots, seat heaters, and pumpkin flavored everything- pie, lattes, bread, muffins, you name it...it's all good! This weekend was rainy and there was a slight chill in the air, if you tried really hard to feel it, so we pretended like Fall was here for good. We baked pumpkin bread, bought pumpkins, and added a little Autumn spice to our place. Although the weather doesn't quite agree and my scarf collection is anxiously awaiting for its debut, we are ready for Fall at 2709! Come on over for a slice of pumpkin bread and some really corny jokes {there's more where those came from}!

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

-Anne of Green Gables  

baby makes 3

Well, I think it's time to awaken from the blogging hiatus because...

We're preggers, people!!!!! 

{usually, I'm not a multiple exclamation point kinda person, but this is absolutely necessary}

There's a lot, but something little in particular, to catch you up on! Let's go back to the to the day we found out this tiny bundle of joy was a-growin in my belly. I didn't know it, but I was only 4 weeks along at the time.

...July, 10th 2013...

Here is what I wrote in my "journal" that day {technically, I don't know if a journal can consist of only 2 entries, but whatever, it sounds impressive}: 

"Well, two things have changed our lives forever today. ONE- we are not getting a second golden retriever. And more importantly, TWO- we are pregnant! I want to say that we are exited beyond words, but I think it is still settling in before we allow ourselves to believe the wonderfully good news. While packing for our vacation to Mexico tomorrow with the Halls, Derians, and Andersons {you'll meet them and love them...and probably be a little embarrassed by some of them one day}, I decided to take a pregnancy test because I was just a little curious {no symptoms yet}. Immediately after taking the test, 2 little pink lines showed up. What? I was excited, but told myself not to get my hopes up and to check back in 3 minutes like the instructions said. Over the next 2 hourse, while packing and watching "The Life and Death of Anna Nicole Smith" {which I don't recommend}, I checked that little stick of joy over 20 times. Pack a swim suit, check. Throw a flip flop in the bag, check again. Every time I checked, it still had 2 lines saying, "PREGNANT!!!" and every time my heart skipped a beat with pure joy. I waited for your dad {that sounds new and a little strange to say, but I know it will become wonderfully familiar in no time} to get home from the lab/work to tell him. I wanted to see his excitement in person. That's one thing I hope you get from your dad- his enthusiasm, when he's pumped about something, he can't help but show it. Our conversation went like this:

D: Hey, have you thought any more about getting another puppy?

T: Yeah! Actually I think we should...

D: Well--I've been thinking about Wrigley's brother, and I don't think we should get him. 

T: {in a disappointed voice}Why not?

D: Because, if this test is right, it looks like she'll have a little human brother or sister in 9 months!

As you can guess, he was ecstatic! Being the realistic one, I told him not to get too worked up, because we weren't for sure. But the test and its 2 pink lines weren't changing their minds. After packing, I took a second test, and if the box would have come with 8, I probably would have taken all 8 of them. Guess what, the second one had 2 pink lines too! Tomorrow, we will be on our way to Mexico, with you as our little, best kept secret {for now}." 

home improvement happenings

It was a very, very productive weekend around the Barrett house! A productive weekend at home without stress is rare, but we successfully accomplished just that.  No one tells you this, but when you buy a house you almost feel guilty any free time you spend NOT doing home improvement projects. However, new home owners and triathletes everywhere would be proud of the things we squeezed in a mere 2 days. Lots happened.

First of all, this happened...

We painted our door and put on new hardware {well, doorknob and deadbolt}! And it was about time. The old version of our door looked like it had been painted with teal crackle paint and the doorknob didn't latch. Now it's kettle black, latches so Wrigley can't escape, and is much better, if I do say so myself. Wrigley supervised, of course. All that is missing is my antique mail slot, which is being shipped as we speak! Can't wait for that last addition. 

This also happened...

We cleaned off and organized our screened in patio. It still has a long way to go {if you ask me, not Tate} by painting the floor, hanging lights, etc., but for now, at least there is room to sit...for the first time in a while. It was serving as The Warehouse's Warehouse for months. However, thanks to a new storage shed and a free weekend, it looks much better! We even ate dinner here tonight! On our table are patio must-haves: plants and scrabble game pieces. 

And this happened...

I added more gold treasures on to my gold wall! I found this frame at a garage sale on my way home from work Friday and thought, "I'll just add this on the end of my gold frame wall before we go to dinner." Yeahhhh right, you know how that goes. I ended up taking every frame off, scattering them all over the living room, nailing about 23 too many holes in the wall {shhh, don't tell you know who} and then putting it all back together Sunday evening. Ah well, looks decent enough...for now. :) By the way, I am looking for something "L" shaped to go in that hole by the 4. Keep an eye out. Needs to be gold, duh. 

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, this slightly embarrassing, but mostly amazing, thing happened too...

On top of the home project stuff, Tate also had to squeeze in an 8 mile run...so we aired up the tires on his grandmother's {that's the truth} big red cruiser and I went with. It was just coincidence I was wearing "Barrett Support Crew" t-shirt as I escorted him through our neighborhood at 2 mph. 

Tate did this...

While I did this...

It was a really, really great weekend! So fun. I love having our own 'home' now and investing our time and love into it. Come visit! I'll let you ride my cruiser {because I know that's what you came for anyway}.

arizona

We spent our Spring Break {which we are thankful to still have at 27 years of age} in Arizona visiting Lynley and Shawn. Since Shawn is part of the Dodgers organization, he and Lyn are lucky to spend a few months out of the year in AZ and we were even luckier to visit for a week! They have this little program during this time of the year called, "Spring Training," so most of our time was spent at baseball games good restaurants. I think we ate our way through Scottsdale. No surprise there, our vacations kind of revolve around food. But, besides good food, we also got to do some other exciting things too, including watching some baseball games, which is what most people actually travel to Spring Training in search of.

Baseballin'...

We went spent some time at Camelback Ranch, which is where the Dodgers and White Sox have their training facilities and share a field. We got to cheer on the Dodgers in three games, but got especially excited when Shawn came into pitch! Go #38! We saw him throw 4 pitches. Batter out. Inning over. Job well done!

{Camelback Ranch}

{The only game we had to have blankets. Cheering on the Dodgers!}

{Go Shawn!! Strike him out!}

Runnin/Hikin'...

We also so did some outdoorsey things. I know, giving up precious time by the pool to hike and stuff...who are we? I'm not sure either. We did the 4 mile Peoria Run the first full day we were there. Which, may I add, was the furthest Lynley and I have ever ran in our lives, but was a nice "light day" for Dad and Tate. Later that week, we hiked Squaw Peak. It was a really pretty hike and hard work too. We washed our hard workout down with a Smash Burger and milkshake. What a day! 

 {Peoria 4 mile run}

 {Tate and I pre hike}

 {Lyn and Dad at the bottom of Squaw Peak}

{The crew at the top taking in the view}

Wigwamin'...

Life at the Wigam is nice. This is the hotel, built in the 1920's mind you, that my parents stayed at for the week. Tate and I stayed with Lynley and Shawn, but were sure to reap the many benefits of the Wigwam which included but were not limited to: the best breakfast burrito I've ever had, heated pool, bonfire surrounded by rocking chairs, and endless supply of cold oranges. Oh, and how could I forget bocce ball! Oh, bocce ball, how we love you. This became a fam favorite as we had a little tourney going on all weekend. Tate, Mom and Lynley vs. Dad, Shawn and me. After our lives have been changed at the Wig, we are now crossing our fingers for a bocce ball court to appear at our parents' new house when it gets built. 

 {Welcome to the Wigwam} 

{Built in 1929, served as quarters for cotton farmers' and a vacation home for families of Good Year executives. Now serves as quarters for vacationers and Samantha the cat}

{Bocce-ing is serious business}

{Tourney finished. I think you can tell who won and who is looking on jealously.}

Grubbin'...

If there are two things Arizona is not short on it's cactus and good restaurants. And I am not complaining. Lynley and Shawn had done their research before we came out and already had a long list of restaurants they wanted to take us to. I think we actually had more restaurants than number of meals to eat. Not only was everything delicious, all the ingredients were so local and fresh. It was great! I literally was full for 2 days after I got back home. 

 {At Arrowhead Grille celebrating Tate's birthday}

 {"Hey, everybody look at me...it's my birthday!"}

 {Lunch at Olive & Ivy, maybe my favorite place, before a quick shopping trip and a baseball game. This place has the most interesting and delicious stuff! Bacon wrapped dates and Sweet Potato Cannelloni. Yum!} 

{Last supper at Chelsea's Kitchen minus Tate since he had to get back to Waco run some samples, or check some carbon or save the earth or something.} 

{We took a food tour of Phoenix was was...um...interesting to say the least. This one deserves it's very OWN blog post, so more on that later...}

It was such a great trip and a wonderful way to spend Spring Break! The week flew by. No regrets, except I wish we could have stayed longer. Thanks Lyn and Shawn for showing us the ropes in AZ. Can't wait until next year!