Book Worm

Dan and I are busy reading as we journey through the third and final trimester. Here are some of our favorite reads so far! 

Miracle

I absolutely love this picture of my growing belly. 

I am constantly reminded of the MIRACLE of life and the beauty of pregnancy. 

"Ice Storm"

Today, Dan and I decided to have an impromptu snow day together. The roads were slightly icy this morning and, because this is central Pennsylvania, all schools in the area closed for the day. My schedule opened up rather quickly, so I decided to just "work from home" for part of the day and make up my hours later on in the week. Dan, bless his sweet self, woke up and...decided to take the day off with me!

So far, our day has been full of relaxation and cuddling. We watched one of his favorite movies (O Brother, Where Art Thou?) and then took a nice nap because we were oh so tired from all of the hard work we had put in for the day.

It looks like this "ice storm" made for a good day after all :)

Happy Monday!

A Yummy Bowl of Goodness

Just wanted to remember the week that I was obsessed with this cereal: Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch.

It's Thursday....and it may or may not already be gone. 

Check it out. I promise that it does not disappoint.

4 Photos

Photo 1: Dan made a chalkboard piece for us to hang up in the nursery. I was inspired to do this from Pinterest. What is neat about this "artwork" is that you can change it often. Simply erase and create again! We have one of our favorite lyrics on there for now, but are excited to switch it and write new things on there after the baby arrives. This particular lyric, "Love; it will not betray you, dismay or enslave you. It will set you free" is one we thought was perfect, since it is a great message for our son. We want him to experience and learn what true, unconditional love is. 

Photo 2: GUS. I have a very hard time telling him to get off of our bed when he looks at me with this face. Those big eyes just melt my heart and, I'm ashamed to admit, usually gets him what he wants. 

Photo 3: Dan and his bow tie. Dan recently bought a plaid bow tie. We both think they are very classy and fun...and kind of take us back to a different, more simple time period. What people don't know about bow ties is that they are DIFFICULT to assemble. My poor husband had to practice for a good 20 minutes before he mastered it. As you can see, all of his hard work paid off (he looks oh so handsome).

Photo 4: I bought the BEST sneakers after Christmas with some gift money I had received. I was so excited to get these in the mail...because they are not only super comfortable and light, they are bright! And make me happy. The unfortunate thing is, if I get honest with myself...these cuties will not be having to do much work for a good while. Since I'm not working out super hard at this point in the pregnancy and will not be able to do so again until 6 weeks after the baby is born, it looks like the shoes will not get used to their full potential for another few months. 

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; Only love can do that. " -MLK Jr.

"Excitement"-- A Preview

This is my first blog post on the Szumla Family blog and I am extremely excited to get it going.  Usually things like this start with a mission or purpose statement.  I suppose for us it is more of a journal that we and our kids can look back on to remember life's journey.  It will also eventually be a way to share our life's adventures with friends and family as we begin to raise a child.  So there it is... enjoy.

Obviously the Szumla family is extremely health-oriented.  And when I say health-oriented, I mean we eat food.  And when I say food, I mean good food.  And when I say good food, I mean that I love snacks.  That's no different this weekend, but I decided from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon I would only eat/drink fruits and vegetables.  I'm not going to post any pictures because you know what fruits and vegetables look like, but I will list all that my dinner consisted of this evening: 1 banana, 2 apples, 25 blueberries, 8 strawberries, 1 cucumber, 1 celery stalk, a handful of baby carrots, and orange juice.  Needless to say my body is going to feel great when this is done.  The true challenge is for my mind and it is one that I will have to rely on God to accomplish.

Since this is my first post, I will keep it brief.  I really just want to emphasize that despite how I normally eat, I care about my body because it is a gift from God and I should honor it in that way.  I also want to teach baby boy Szumla the same types of values when he arrives (95 days from today... or thereabouts).

Thanks for reading,

Dan

Boys vs. Girls

Dan and I spent this last weekend apart from each other. We both had close friends visiting from out of town and decided to spend our weekends with them to have some fun guy/girl time. After we came back together on Sunday and caught up on each other's fun filled weekend, I just had to laugh at the drastically different activities that filled our time together with friends.

Now, believe me when I say that I know guys and girls are different in a number of ways (and also similar in many ways, too), but I really do not get a sense of just how different until I hear about what they sometimes do for fun in their spare time... as compared to what me and my girl friends like to do when we have a weekend together. Just read a synopsis of each of our weekends and see for yourself what I mean.

A weekend with the girls:
     Events included: eating a scrumptious crock pot meal, talking and laughing at the table for a long time, drinking hot tea and eating brownies, watching a movie, giving each other back massages, talking and laughing until the wee hours of the morning, making baked oatmeal and utilizing the Keurig a bit too much, planning a baby shower, shopping for a baby shower, taking a nap eating at a semi-fancy restaurant, going to the movies (Silver Linings Playbook...very good!), laughing at/identifying with Zooey Deschanel's character on New Girl, listening to Pandora while chatting and eating some more.

A weekend with the guys:
     Events included: $5 Hot N' Ready pizza, a Bob Marley documentary, video games, watching a ton of football, more video games, eating more pizza (and hot wings), staying up past 3 am playing ping pong, beer pong, Polish ping pong, and shooting each other with BB guns, watching soccer, and....needing a 2 hour nap on Sunday to recoup.

Dan quickly wanted to show me his "battle wounds" on Sunday. It made me smile a lot, as he pulled up his shirt proudly. His chest was covered in red marks where ping pong balls and BB's had hit him. And I think hard to myself...trying with all that I have in me to answer the question, "THAT (having huge welts on his chest and belly) is your idea of FUN?"

I may never understand it. But I love it. I really do.

The sometimes very noticeable difference between guys and girls is something I may never understand. However, I know God created us with unique interests, talents, gifts, and personality traits. Maybe, just maybe, shooting one other with BB guns fulfills that adventure and thrill seeking side of men that we women can only slightly understand....

Time Together Is My Favorite

                                                   

Friday--Dinner date! We stuffed ourselves, had good conversation as we talked about our "3 Things" (to be discussed in another post), ordered dessert to go, then went and found a few nice additions for the baby's room at Marshalls (love that place!). After dinner, we did a few things around the house together (nesting is in full swing) and relaxed. 

Saturday--We met Lauren and Kevin at a local diner for breakfast. They had scheduled tours of local venues in our area for their upcoming wedding, so it was nice to see them early in the morning before the scouted potential reception places! Later, Dan used a new gadget he got for Christmas to make personalized hamburgers. He had fun adding various peppers and cheeses into the meat and grilling in the 20 degree weather! Of course, since it is that time of year again, where the playoffs begin to consume our weekend evenings, we watched some football. I managed to convince Dan to squeeze in some House Hunters Renovation too, which made things a little more bearable  I enjoy watching football, don't get me wrong, supporting "our" team (the Ravens) however I don't yet get excited to watch random other opposing teams play. Maybe that will come in a few more years? Or twenty? 

Today we were productive again and put away all of our Christmas stuff. We don't have too much, which makes the transition quick and more enjoyable. I'm thankful to have a husband who even volunteers to help put away ceramic snowmen and scented candles with me. I mean, neither of us like doing it, so having his help was definitely appreciated! 

On a side note, I've noticed that since getting a little baby belly on me, I never have to bring in groceries, move household items, or take the dog out on his nightly "#2 walk". I could get used to this! Dan really spoils me sometimes.

I'm on a mission this afternoon to find some basic, neutral curtains for the nursery.  I have in mind exactly what I want them to look like and am hoping I get lucky at Target and find a good deal! 

Love, 

als

P.S. Go Ravens!

A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Dan and I had a fun-filled, extra special Christmas this year! We really made sure to embrace it all, since our lives will be changing so much once our little blessing arrives in April. I must say it is truly a weird mix of emotions knowing that this was our last Christmas "just the two of us". We spent a lot of time together, just doing the things we love the most, making sure to remember the reason we celebrate. I'm always reminded of God's faithfulness and blessing over the holidays, as a reflect on the love I share with my husband, family, and close friends.  

As many people close to me know, I LOVE this time of year--sitting by the fire, the candles, decorating the house and tree, driving around at night to look at Christmas like, baking goodies for family members... These traditions bring me so much joy so I made sure to do all of these things and more this year. 

Here is a very brief recap: We spent time with each of our families over the days before and after Christmas and enjoyed a few days off from work. My sister had surgery on her ACL the day after Christmas, so some of our time was spent visiting and supporting her through the first few more difficult days of recovery. Also over the holiday, Dan's sister got engaged. It was really nice to be able to visit and celebrate with her and her fiance right after the proposal. To ring in the new year, we hung out with some of our best friends. We snacked throughout the night, played a lot of fun games, and of course celebrated with kisses and champagne (water for me) at the stroke of midnight. 

2012 was a year filled with a lot of growth, happiness, faith, changes, and love for Dan and me. We were able to make many meaningful and special memories as a couple and with those we cherish the most. 

Praying God's blessings of health, peace, and joy in the year 2013.