my belly is growin.....

........... and last friday, it was time to find out......... boy? or girl?

back home in NE last weekend we had a party.
i called it the 'big reveal'.
we invited fam and some friends to my parent's house.
it was such an awesome evening.

you see thursday we had our 20 week ultrasound.
we asked not to be told, but rather that it was written on a paper and sealed in an envelope.
then friday morning, i dropped off the envelope at my aunt joan's.

i spent the rest of friday running errands and preparing for the party.
joan spent the rest of her day makin a cake.
with a layer of frosting inside.
i told her to use blue or pink, we'll cut it open, and know immediately!

so here are some snappies of the fabulous event.
enjoysies.
i know we did.

bbq'in it up.

chillin' ......... i love the look of the barn and shed in the background.

filled with so many childhood memories!!

and then, BAM, there's dad's blue truck. wowza. bright blue. BAM.

my momma and me.

love her :)

mr leif and his buddies.

sis lesley holding baby hudsypoo

and then.

7pm came.

and that was our time.

time to slice open the cakey.

i wasn't nervous or anxious until 30 seconds prior.

then i freaked out a bit.

you see........

it was this week that i really started coming to the realization that i WANT a GIRL.

and i started to fantasize about her.

her nursery was pretty my themed out in my mind (based on a rug and lamp from anthro)

and i already had 8 outfits layed out in my imagination, cute little ones that i would put together so she would knock the socks off of any boy within 2 feet of her. even at 2 months old.

so i was nervous.

and we cut the cake.

and mr.leif was REALLY nervous.

and the frosting.

was.

blue!!!!!!!!!!!!

now i am quite honest, and i think it's is totally healthy for me to admit i wanted a girl, and wasn't as excited as i wish i was for the blue frosting.

but its ok.

i had to be real with my feelings.

i had to accept that i was, in fact, let down.

and then as soon as i acknowledged that.........

i began to get excited!!!!!!!!!

and mr. leif is truly overjoyed.

i love how happy he is.

he talks about him and his boy all the time now.

like this babe is in the other room or something.

he forgets i still have 19 more weeks.

hehe.

.........i've got a couple video's comin through email.

i'll post'em when i get them.

they show mr. leif's giant fist pump that thrusts into the air at about 79 miles per hour.

yes. he was stoked.

he still is.

and i am catchin right up there with him.

i guess my blog is a.......

.........twitter today.
this is my 3rd post today.

because i'm at work, sittin in my new office.
yep. i said NEW
i moved into a new room this week!

im SOOOOOOOO pumped to have a LARGE office next year.

now i will have tons of room for small groups next year!!!
and have tons of room for play therapy supplies!!!!!!!!!!!

anyways.
im all moved in and its thundering and raining
and its soothing.
so.
i guess i will write another blog.
because the teachers are gone
and
i already spoke with my sister and both mom(s).

so hello again.

i've been going through some old drawers at school today.
and found this cd.
oh my oh my oh my

it brought back the BEST MEMORIES of my first year of teaching.

me and the kids' favorite one was "three little birds"

and so i put it on my playlist.

listen to it! its number 1 on the list.

and then imagine how much fun we had dancing around the room together!!!!!!!!!!

(also, wen mr leif and i were in jamaica for our honeymoon, their motto was totally 'evryting iz gonna be alright mon'. which is totally the lyrics to this song. so every time i heard this song i thought of our honeymoon and how it was truly the best EVER. and i would laugh at how many cocktails mr leif and i consumed while laying on the beach and partying it up like it was 1969.......and then i would get all giddy and goosebumpy and really go crazy with the kids! they probably thought i was a nut....... oh well. we had fun)

children are beautiful people.

when things are going good.....

.........it's easy to put things on the back burner.

for instance. prayer
for instance. time spent in the bible
for instance. being real with the Lord
for instance. seeking His will

that's where i am today. well, mostly these last couple weeks.

things are going well. so good, in fact.
my husband is home.
the scale has stopped jumping numbers upon numbers.
i feel better.
i got a new bra... fist pump!?!?
i had marvelous time spent with my inlaws
we find out if the babe is boy or girl FRIDAY!!!!
i get to see my family for four days.
i get to eat cheese balls at sweet treat in just 2 days.

so i've stopped doing the things that kept me going this past year.

i think it's quite typical for this to happen.
when we need help we get it.
i prayed, i read, i meditated on things above

and now.

now, my cup feels so full.
but i know its full of things that can fail me in an instant.
things that can swipe my feet right from under me.

a few weeks ago the children's message at church was about building your house upon a rock.
not on the sand.
mr. leif seems like my rock.
he's been it since i was 16.

i learned this past year i can't only lean on him.
but rather my relationship with the Lord must be my foundation.
our foundation.

however, now that he's home, he's become my only rock again.
and it works.
but there are so many things that could fail me, and my foundation isn't strong right now.
i need to get back to that place.

there are lots of decisions to be made when preparing for a babe.
names.
jobs.
finances.
goals.
dreams.
and they all need to be sought after while seeking God's will.

i have a habbit of trying to figure out life for myself.
get that degree, get that job, get that paint color on my wall :)
but its time to surrender, even the little things, over to Him.

pray for me as i seek to seek His will.
and not my own.

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
John 15:4

to heck with a jogging stroller.......

.......why not get a scooter stroller.

perfect for 'moms on the go'

muahahahahahahhahahha

ahhhhhhhhh

hahahahahahhahahah

i LOVE to laugh.........................

let the summer........

.........begin!

mr. leif's fam came down this weekend.
we had THE best time!

........we tailgated
.......and rocked out at the royals game
.......we enjoyed dinner out on the town

and because my mind is mumbo jumbo today,
this is more like a facebook update......
a bunch of snaps from the weeknd!

and sunday after they left..... (sad face. i have THE BEST inlaws EVER)

.......we had more guests

nick, heather and grant came over for a bbq.we love the sutkos!

today was the last...

...day of school, i mean half day!

well.....
for the students it was.
i go back all next week for meetings and to move my office into a bigger room!
yay!!
i am super excited to have a bigger room next year!
my couch practically takes up half of my office this year!

and then i am on to teaching summer school (just in june, and just til 1:00 each day!)
and then i am off to the pool as much as i can!
and decorating, and crafting, and figuring out my sewing machine, and family, and traveling, and cooking for mr leif, and begging mr. leif to meet me for lunch at the park, and getting the nursery ready, and getting fatter and fatter - well, my belly, that is!
and then back to school on july 27th!
i know it will fly by :) ........... actually more like this face :(

so back to today........

mr. leif had this random idea to capture my morning 'getting ready for the last day of school'

he ran into the bathroom with the camera.
and snapped some shots.
then he looked at them and said, "whoa, you look kinda scary in some of these"
so he deleted the bad ones :)
here is what remained when i looked at the camera after he left for work..............



hahahahaha............

he threw up his hood, and snuck in the photo.
then he started singing 'slim shady'
.....like he was eminem or something.
but i liked it.
it make me laugh, and smear my mascara.

and.
he made me blueberry pancakes!

thanks mr. leif :)

i'm glad your home. i missed having breakfast made this year!

and, peace out 09-10 school year, you were wonderful to me.

it was a great first year as counselor: ...................i learned, i grew, i stretched (both mind and tummy!), i laughed, i loved, i learned some more, i cried a few times, i loved and loved, i hugged, and i played.

ps........thanks katie for the black little sweater thingy. (she was going to sell it on our garage sale, but i really fell in love with it, and she let me have it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! eeeeeeeek!!!!!!!!!!!!)

dear wittle weif,

so, hello! its your momma here......
and i have a few things to tell you.

first of all a confession.
you see, normally, i am quite the detailed/organized/planner crazy woman.
but
since you've been hangin out in my tummy,
(that's wear you are, right? in my tummy?)
i've lacked in that area!

before i was pregnant, i always predicted i would journal about everything while pregnant.
i would take measurements, record my symptoms, record my weight, etc......
well. i've done none of that.

so. i am going to begin documenting a few things i never want to forget.

today, i wanna write about mr. leif, he's your dad.

1. so while you are in my belly, we talk about how old you are in weeks. last friday you turned 18 weeks. its been tradition with your dad and i that sometime over the weekend while i am in the shower, he reads the next chapter in our book. we have a book about the details of a growing baby. i think its so cute of him. normally he isn't a big reader, but he thrives on reading about you! we learn about how big you are and how unhealthy i am acting, whoops. but don't worry, with these eating habbits, you and i will totally share the same sweet tooth! just think...we can sneak chocolate into our rooms at night, we can share rootbeer floats, and beg your dad to make us brownies - together!!! cheers to junk food :)

2. lots of time people take pictures of pregnant ladies. well, your dad has totally been all over this one. every sunday night (except for a few we forgot) he has me line up in the kitchen for a body shot, to see how much i've grown - well really, its seeing how much you've grown - inside my belly! your dad is quite persistent about this. especially when he was gone in st. louis. on those sunday nights he was home, we just HAD to get that photo taken!

3. last week we toured a hospital. you see, we have to pick between two different ones because my doctor delivers at either place. this summer we will take some classes to learn about how scary this whole havin a baby thing is, and we need to know where to sign up for them! you dad scheduled the tour. and he was TAKING NOTES the whole time (and we were with a group)! he was listing the positives and the negatives! at first i was kind of embarassed, and as many woman are, i was tempted to have him stop or even make fun of him. but then, i realized i need to embrace the amazing father he is already trying to be! i smiled. i was so proud of my note taking husband, aka your daddy! we get to visit the 2nd hospital next monday, i'm sure he will bring his handy dandy little notebook :)

ok, so long for now :)

ps. will you start kicking a little harder? i haven't felt you yet and i would like to soon!

the cup slap club...

...gots talent.

so earlier this year, i took some 5th and 6th grade girls to a leadership conference.
we learned a sweet cup slap routine thingy.
and we had lots of fun.
welllllll at the WASH (nickname for my school, washington) we had a talent show!

so.
our 'club' performed.
and we rocked it!

i was helping out distributing cups so i couldnt' take a photo until the last cup was beginning to be passed down, and likewise, i could only video the tail end of our performance.
slap those cups girls!

i lied at church yesterday...

...when someone asked me if i was ready for the school year to be over.

i said "yes, Oh yes."
and then a thought popped into my mind....'wait, that's not true'

see, its like the thing to say. when someone asks a teacher or for me, a counselor, if you are ready for summer.

DUH! of course you say yes! its only natural.

i mean come on.
imagine your day with 25 kids in your face-all day.
trying to teach them, trying to be their friend.
who wouldn't need a break. teachers are my heros.

but im not a teacher anymore.
as a counselor, my job is totally different.

yes. there are days when i need to probably pull my hair out.
because the other option i think of is not very 'legal'.

but. as a counselor........i get to help kids with life.
how to deal, how to cope, how to calm, and how to plan.

so. this whole counseling gig, for ME, is much better then teaching.
and the truth is. i'm not counting down til summer.

actually this is our last week of school and i could totally go like 4 more weeks.
but. july 27th will come soon enough and i know that i will be sad to kiss my summer away.
so.
i am embracing this last week.
i am not counting down, but celebrating such a successful year.

and how can i not celebrate,
two 5th grade girls came to visit me the other morning, with this.......

after i read the card,
i told them i love them.
is that inappropriate?
probably.
oh well.

i got bangs.....

........up in my hair. yo.

last night i did.
and then we ate mexicano with colette and quinn.
and then i did a 3 minute photo shoot in my bathroom, while mr. leif was yelling at me to come hang out with him.

it was nice.
ya know, not to be in class on a wednesday night. ahhhhh..........