No excuses, but...

We are just now coming out of an unofficial and unplanned blogging hiatus. Here's what has gone on recently:

• Two weeks ago, all of Eli's cousins hung out at his parent's house for a week. This is what is known as "nephew week" - where 6 rowdy boys (plus Eli and his brother) take over the house for several days, play ping-pong non-stop, tackle each other in the yard, eat all the food available, and become completely absorbed in Lego Land. Yes, even (especially) Eli and his brother broke out the legos all over the living room. And the battles began! Let me tell you, these boys definitely know their legos and won't let anything or anyone get in the way of a great war!

• During the week, I got the chance to take pictures of two really good friends, Emily and Curtis. I have had the privilege of working with Emily for the past two years at school. We have grown really close and I'm so sad to see her moving to the elementary school this year :( But I know we will remain close. This year, Emily and Curtis celebrated being married 5 years and they asked me to take a few pictures to document this stage of their life. Here's a sneak peak, but I'll be sure to post more later! 

• Last week, Eli took the youth from our church to youth camp at Highland Lakes Camp. They had a great week and God really worked in their lives. From our group of 7 youth, the four boys ALL accepted Christ in their hearts! And our girls connected with God's plan for their lives on a deeper level. Even though I wasn't able to spend the week with them, I am so proud of these kids! God is so good! I am praying that his love will become even more real to these kids now that they are facing real life again. They have been on a mountain, face to face with our Creator. Now it is their job to go into the valley and live out God's power in their lives.

• Since I am giant and round, I politely declined the opportunity to be a youth sponsor at camp this year. Five days of crazy heat, inch-thick mattresses, walking non-stop, and camp food didn't sound too appealing to me! You understand, right? :)  So... I did what any pregnant woman with nesting fever would do with a week to herself: I invited my mom over and put her to work crafting and getting the nursery ready! Okay, so I worked too, but there's no way I could have done it without my mom! She worked so hard and I'm extremely grateful for her. I really enjoyed the week and our time together. Thanks, Mom. I love you!! And now you're probably wanting to see what we made, right? Well, you'll have to wait a few more days... I'm working on that post, but I want to showcase those details in their own little spotlight! 

• And speaking of pregnancy things, we are now at 34 weeks! Yes, I realize I haven't posted a picture since week 31... stay tuned for two weeks of photos later today and week 34 at the end of the week! I promise you'll see them soon!!

• One last exciting bit of news from this week is our 2nd anniversary! I can't believe it has been two years since I said "I do" to the man of my dreams and committed to love and honor him for the rest of my life. Again, that will be a separate post. There is too much to just put it in a bullet point!

So there you have it! Our last two weeks condensed into a few bullet points! Thanks for bearing with and still loving me guys. I will put up full-length posts on the few major things very soon.