Spring Break in Michigan

We had a fun time in MI over Joel's spring break. We did some business and did some fun things. We were in MI for 5 days. In the middle of those 5 days we traveled to Detroit to look for housing. We weren't too excited in the beginning of the day, but at about 5 we found the perfect house to rent. We will be renting from a couple from our church in Dearborn. It is a perfect situation for all involved! (If you want to see pictures contact me and I can get you to a website that gives you a virtual tour.) So the days before and after Detroit were spent with family. Here are several pictures from that time.

This is one of Joel's favorites: Henry (Aren and Leah's bunny) meeting cousin Blueberry.

Here is a picture of just Henry.

The lovely Phillips Family: Aren, Leah and Henry

New stairs on Mt. Pisgah (Joel proposed on top of this dune!)

Joel and I on the new Heinz boardwalk

These are the Heinz pickle vats--they are huge!

The Heinz Pickle Factory

Lovely Lake Michigan Waves

Joel took lots of pictures of ice on the pier...here is one where you can see his mom and I.

Joel wanted a profile picture. I didn't realize his main goal was to get Blueberry in a picture with Big Red.

Joel, Aren and his dad went to the beach and found a coconut--yes a coconut on a great lake beach.

Joel surfing.

Aren dune jumping.

A pretty flower in my in-law's yard.

Picture Post

Here are the pictures from the past 10 weeks of the growing baby belly. I also posted the ultrasound pictures below.

12 weeks

13 Weeks

15 Weeks

16 Weeks

17 Weeks

18 Weeks

19 Weeks

20 Weeks

21 Weeks

Our Beautiful Baby's Profile (I love the button nose!)

His or Her's Two tiny and perfect feet.

The spine

The face.

The 4 Chambers of the Heart--this is Joel's favorite :)

Four Years with my Best Friend

Yup, two posts in one night. (And there is more coming, but not tonight...the pictures of Blueberry and my belly will be posted after our family sees them next week. :))



Today, I have been blessed to be married to my best friend for FOUR years. I feel like I have known him my whole life and am so excited to spend many many more years with him! I am excited that we will be expanding to a family of three this year. I wouldn't want to be growing old or raising a family with anyone else. He makes me a better person and I hope he can say the same about me. The experiences I have gone through and will go through will be richer because Joel is in my life. It is amazing to be able to be married to my best friend!

Joel, I love you honey! I thank God everyday for you!

Vivid and Odd Dreams

I heard that your dreams can become more vivid and odd during pregnancy. Totally true. I ahev had very odd dreams and I remember them a lot more than I used to. I have determined that my dreams typically fall into 2 categories. First, scary. One time I dreamt I saw Joel flip the Jetta. He was alright, but it was still scary! Second category is animals! I have had multiple dreams about different animals chasing me or just appearing in the dreams. One time a gorilla was chasing us (but the funny thing is I first had seen a hippo and someone else called it a moose.) My dream last night included me getting chased by a racoon that changed into a wolf. There you have it...my dreams. (I am actually looking forward to not remembering them agian.)

EDIT: I told Joel more details of my animal dreams and he was like "Julie do you think it is a odd that each time it is a mother protecting its babies" The gorilla was protecting its eggs--yea I know they don't have eggs. And, the wolf that was chasing me all started because the baby racoon/wolf got too close to us. Huh. We've had a good laugh about my animal dreams.