....and then comes the baby in the baby carriage

We are excited to announce that we are expecting a baby on December 8! On April 1, I decided to take a pregnancy test seeing as how certain things that happen monthly had not yet happened. Matt was already off to work. I had taken a test two weeks earlier, and had a negative result.  I just needed one final confirmation that we needed to move on to trying again in April, which would make  it only our second month. I also had a fertility test that came free with the pregnancy tests, so i figured I would take that too. I took the tests, threw it on the floor and jumped in the shower. After my shower, I flipped the pregnancy test over with my foot, expecting it to be negative like the one two weeks prior. To my surprise, here is what I saw:

(Obviously I am not fertile at this point :) )

I was in shock. Excited but in shock. Matt wanted to be home if I ever took a test, but this morning I just knew it was going to be negative. I couldn't just call him. So I paced....and paced....and thought....and got excited....and got nervous. I wrapped the pregnancy test in a plastic bag and then in tissue paper and a gift bag. Then I went to work and waited. Matt and I come home from work to eat lunch together every day, so I knew I just needed to make it home before him. Success. He walked in the door, and I told him how proud I was of him for how hard he had been working at his job. I said I had a small gift for him. I was SO nervous. He opened the gift and couldn't believe it. We hugged and smiled and laughed and smiled and laughed.  Oh it was a wonderful moment! 

We had our first doctor's appointment a week later at 5 weeks. (Early, right? Well, the nurse told me to come on in). I have the best doctor in the whole world who coincidentally shares my name :). She sent us for an ultrasound so she could correctly determine our due date. Here was our first picture of sweet Baby Franklin:

It was too early to hear the heartbeat, so we got to go back a week later and hear his/her heartbeat! That was amazing. Here is the picture at 6 weeks:

Matt and I are so blessed to be able to parent this child. We can't wait to meet him or her! 

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him." 1 Samuel 1:27

And Now I am (Mrs.) Frank(lin)

Well hello again! Since I have not posted in SIX (sheesh! slacker!) months, I am going to give you a picture snapshot of the past six wonderful months. Enjoy!

I had a SUPER fun Bachelorette Weekend! (This was from the scavenger hunt)

I was blessed with a lovely Bridemaids Luncheon. This is a picture of the women in my family.

 I said "I do" to the man of my dreams on April 28, 2012.

 We ate cake (or smashed it in Matt's face).

We danced. Clinter (B.O.B) and I

We honeymooned in Riveria Maya. One word: Amazing.

 We attended Katie's graduation from Berry College.

I took a trip to NYC with Alabama Softball.

We celebrated Mother's Day with my wonderful Mom!

I got promoted as the Director of Licensing for UA.  This is the award I accepted at my first CLC conference.

I changed EVERYTHING from Johnson to Franklin. Whew.

We started (and successful finished) a diet: 100 days of real food. We went to the Farmer's Market every Saturday. (This picture was taken recently before the first Alabama game. We can't miss our market time!)

Alabama Softball won their first National Championship. This is a picture of me hugging Murph at the airport on their return!

Matt and I went to a dinner grill party at the Olive's.  This is Amanda, Abbey, Eli and I with one massive cucumber!  Glad you guys are back in Tuscaloosa!!

A picture from Tyler and Lindsey's wedding. Photobooth!

We fished...and no I did not bait my own hook or touch the catfish.

I got glasses. (I know I know, FINALLY!)

I chopped 8 inches of my hair off.

We attended another wedding...

...and I was a bridesmaid in another.

We celebrated the Olympic Opening Ceremonies with great friends!

We celebrated Matt's 25th birthday!

We celebrated my sweet flower girl's 5th birthday! She is growing up way too fast!

We started teaching a 5th grade Sunday School class at Calvary.

Be expecting a more consistent blogger out of me! With a charged camera and many exciting events coming up, it won't take me six months to blog again. : )

Dating

Dating. This is one of the (many) things that will change when April 28th comes around (36 days!!). No longer will I be able to pick out that special outfit without Matt seeing it beforehand. No longer will I be able to sit anxiously behind the door of my apartment waiting on the knock of my handsome man to pick me up.

Last night, we dressed up and enjoyed a wonderful dinner together at DePalma's (where we had our first date). I hurried home from work and picked out that "perfect" dress. I (re)straightened my hair even though it did not need it. I put on a little extra mascara and perfume. Then, I waited. Anxiously. I got the nervous feeling I got 15 months ago when Matt first knocked on my door. When I heard the knock, I ran to the door, opened it and all nervousness left. I saw that handsome man with a huge smile, and my heart melted. Before I could even hug him, he moved his left arm to where I could see it and was holding a beautiful bouquet of roses. I can't say this enough: I am one lucky lady!

{Without the roses} I love this one!

{With the roses}

Work Bridal Luncheon

Kate and (38-weeks preggo) Allison, two great friends that I previously worked with, threw a bridal luncheon for me.

Here are a some pictures:

The food (and cake) was absolutely delicious!

I am scrapbooking all of my invitations and making this the sign-in book

Friends from work

The wonderful hostesses!

Thank you to everyone who came and showered Matt and I with such wonderful gifts! We are truly blessed to have you as friends!

Two Months and Counting!

You read it correctly! We are exactly TWO months away from the big day!

Here are a few updates from the last post:

Done:
Booked a honeymoon
Found a place to live. Check it out!

And here is Matt signing the lease on OUR house (CRAZY!)

-Ate wonderful food at our cake and reception tastings! (I LOVED this part)

Picture of the remaining cake from the wedding cake tasting (It was delicious!):

-Invitation are ready to be sent. It was NUTS buying all the stamps. This is only the first round that I bought:

-Got Jennifer Anniston arms and Beyonce body.....okay fine, maybe not. But I am working out every day!


To do:
-Decide on first dance song
-Pick the song to play when we leave the church
-Try on THE dress in two weeks and get it fitted!

Time to get busy! : )

Around the Clock Shower

I remember the overwhelming feeling of gratitude I had when my Maid of Honor, Erin, offered to throw our first wedding shower. I am so blessed with wonderful friends who have been so gracious to spend hours planning and preparing to shower Matt and I with fun times, food, gifts and these wonderful times of celebration.

Our first shower was an Around the Clock couples shower in Trussville, Alabama. We were fortunate to have both of our families come into town for the shower. We met for lunch at Jim 'N Nicks BBQ. This was the first time our dads' met. We really had a great time, and all went well!

After lunch, it was time for the shower. Here are some pictures:

The delicious food

My Family

My Future In-Laws

I love this one!

The wonderful ladies who attended our shower

And the guys

We are so thankful for all of our gifts! Each guest got a specific time of day in their invitation, and their gift corresponded with that time of day.

Thank you to Erin and Lynette for being the wonderful hosts of our Around the Clock shower! Also, thanks to CJ for offering your home!