Hello 2015!

It’s unbelievable to me that it is now 2015! That sounds just crazy. When I reflect on 2014, I can’t help but smile. It was such an amazing year for both Travis and me. We started the year in Shanghai, and we definitely lived up those last few months there! I love looking back at pictures. It makes me smile and cry at the same time. I enjoyed those last days and told myself to look ahead and that I would never go back. But, just last night I was telling Travis that we should take a trip there next year! I couldn’t believe those words came out of my mouth. I thought it would be perfect though, since we will still have a few friends there, we can eat all the amazing food we miss and shop til I drop once again! Anyway, then came summer 2014, a fantastic break at home. We spent endless hours on the lake and with family and friends. My favorite part was buying our own home! I can’t wait to spend time there this coming summer. Then we started a new chapter of our lives in Riyadh at a new school. Finally, we learned we were having a baby! It truly was an amazing year!

It ended on a high note with this Christmas break. We headed home for the quick two weeks. The time we spent with family was awesome! We had numerous family gatherings and even more shopping trips. It went by a little too quickly for me though and I had quite a meltdown as we began to pack. It was the worst packing up and leaving for me to date. When we first left for China I was a mess too, but not like this. I cried the night before as we packed (and maybe yelled a little too!). I cried the morning of leaving, in the car and of course at the airport as I hugged my mom and told her I would see her in a few months. I don’t know if it’s because I still have not fully adjusted to life in Saudi, my pregnancy or both, but it was SO hard!

So here we are in 2015 and I am halfway through my pregnancy. It feels like I just found out I was pregnant and at the same time I feel like I have been pregnant forever! I love the attention of being pregnant and at times I feel like a celebrity. However, I am really looking forward to May when we meet this sweet baby.

Here is my 20 week bump, she is growing and growing!

I realize I am way behind with pictures! I do not have an 18 week picture, but I do have a 19 week one. Here it is. I should really learn to stand facing the same direction each time!

In other news, Travis spent a lot of time at our little blue lake house over the break. We made a lot of (unplanned) decisions and he worked on the demolition of a lot of it. One reason we picked this house was because we didn’t have much to change. It was fine how it was. We just wanted to update it a bit. Well, as you can see from the pictures, we have changed our minds a bit. We are changing EVERYTHING, including the siding. So our little BLUE lake house will not be blue anymore! Here is a little peek at what is happening.

 French doors moved to bedroom wall (there is also a window on either side of the doors now) and the screened porch is now a part of our living room and has the amazing new door wall that takes up the whole wall!

 Three new (reused) windows added to the side of the house for more of a lake view from the living room. That green is what was under the siding they removed. The new color will be tan.

This is inside the living room, looking out to the lake. All the drywall was ripped out.

We cannot wait to see the finished product in June (or July, depending on baby girl)! So that is all for now, until next week…

Mama and Baby this week:

• Mama’s belly and boobs have taken over her body.
• Mama craves fruit, juice, ice cream and sour candies.
•  Mama has LOTS of new clothes!
• Baby has LOTS of new stuff too!
• Baby is not kicking mama yet.
• Baby is more than 6 inches (10 inches from head to toe!) and is the size of a mango (YUM!).
• Baby weighs 10 ounces.
• Baby is developing more layers of skin.
• Baby girl’s uterus is fully formed and her ovaries are holding 7 million primitive eggs.