overwhelmed by my own expectations

Does this ever happen to you? You'll be blessed with an abundant amount of "free time" and you start thinking about all of the things you'd like to accomplish with this time. I have always been a person that has a hard time relaxing and feel like I constantly need to be up doing something. I knew that once I got back from Montana, I would have approximately two months of "me" time, time to prepare for the baby, get my house organized, nest, spend time with my husband, spend time with Raleigh, etc. but my list of "to do's" just kept getting longer in my mind. Matt keeps telling me to take the time to rest...to take a nap, watch a movie, lay on the couch, or just do whatever I please but I just feel like I can't! There are too many things that I wish to get done before August and it ends up overwhelming me...my own expectations for myself.

Matt reminded me that God is not pleased by our inability to rest. He blesses us with seasons of rest and rejuvination yet we do not take advantage of it. We have the mindset of the typical American...go, go, go and get as much done as possible. It's like that country song... "I'm in a Hurry and Don't Know Why"... or "No Hurry" by Zac Brown Band...

What does it matter if all of the dishes aren't done or if the bed isn't made perfectly each day? It doesn't...and that's what I need to keep reminding myself. I heard someone once say that they were going to "start focusing on the things that matter past tomorrow". I think that's a good goal. No, Matt, I won't let the dirty dishes or laundry pile up so don't worry! Just saying that I need to stop worrying so much about the little stuff before I start missing out on the big stuff!

{Hopefully} Single Digits!

Yep, that's right...single digits folks. In 9ish weeks, our baby boy will be coming home to us. Well, he is already here, but coming home to the outside world! He is as active as ever, making sure his mommy doesn't sleep through the night so that I'm prepared to wake up with him and feed...he's so thoughtful :) I went to the doctor this week, everything is measuring right on target, and I'll continue to see her every 2 weeks now. She continuously reminds me that this baby will be here before we know it and all I can think about is how the baby room looks like this...

Hence the reason the carpets are being shampooed as we speak and my organization skills will be put to use this afternoon...as well as the next 9 weeks to come I'm sure! We decided not to "create" a nursery necessarily because we are just renting and I don't feel like putting the effort of painting into a house that we aren't going to stay in. Baby will have his own room, however. It just won't be as cute as it will be some day when we own our own house.

Raleigh Belle is as curious as ever...constantly sniffing each new baby item that arrives but doesn't try to touch anything. Sometimes, she'll walk into the baby's room and just lie down and look around. I really think she knows that someone new might be moving in. She hasn't been around too many children but when the kids on our block are around, she just lies down and is so gentle with them. We recently visited the Angel Oak tree on John's Island and there were these two little girls there that wanted to pet RB. She just sat there as the 18 month old climbed all over her, throwing sticks and grass on her and hitting her head. She didn't mind a bit so I'm hopeful that she'll be gentle. I know that RB would never hurt a soul but she is still a puppy and tends to not realize how big she is :)

Oh, I'm finally home in Charleston! After 8 hours of layovers and flying, my husband picked me up at the airport on Tuesday and I could not be happier to be here. Montana was amazing...it was so good to see all of my friends and family but I was ready to be back and spend some time with my husband. Just a few more highlights of my 2.5 weeks away... in no particular order~

baby shower dinner in Seattle with the girls!

meeting Mr. Alexander Hoemann & seeing Bells & Angela!

Holly Gannett took our maternity photos!

I tricked Rich Romersa into posing for a belly shot...for those of you that know him, this will make you smile.

shooting my 2nd and 3rd weddings with Brianne...the first 2 of many hopefully :)

Meeting Lillian Bennett & chatting with Sara!

Meeting Collins Rose Dougherty & having breakfast with Harper!

 As you can see, I met many cute babies...there are two that are missing in photos...meeting Miss Adeline Dayton and also seeing baby Bennett! No pictures unfortunately but tis' the season for babies! My wonderful mother and sister also hosted a baby shower but I'll have to put pictures up of that later because I have none of my own!

SC to the MT

Greetings from Montana! Wow, this past 1.5 months has been such a whirlwind. I know I'm constantly saying that time goes by so fast but it truly does. The fact that there are only 10 more weeks until this tiny bundle of joy arrives seems surreal to me.

May was consumed by trying to wrap up my school year. The kids had projects, reports, standardized tests...you name it. My evenings consisted of grading papers, creating projects and time-filler activities, and just overall, trying to get enough rest to manage 23, 9-year-olds each day. For a pregnant lady, it's sometimes a challenging feat. My poor husband was only getting whatever energy I had leftover at the end of the day which was far from fair to him. He has been so great though, continuing to exercise Raleigh and making more than his share of dinners. I know that me returning to Charleston rested and unemployed will be joyfully welcomed by him!

On May 31, Matt and I flew completely different routes across the country only to land in Billings approximately 5 minutes apart. I waited for him at his gate and it brought back memories of waiting for my dad after his business trips. Those were the good ol' days, when you could walk straight up to the gate and pretty much stand on the ramp to wait for your loved ones. Last weekend, we attended Steph and Duncan's beautiful and oh-so-fun wedding which was MUCH needed after not seeing any of our friends since August! I feel like we've been living on a different planet for the past nine months and after being back for only 1 weekend, we both agreed that we can't live this far away forever. Charleston has been an amazing opportunity and experience but more on that later. My sweet Brianne flew into Billings and we were honored to photograph their wedding. It was our first wedding that we've shot together and I look forward to many more in the future! This is the amazing wedding party that we were working with which made our jobs easy...

Last Monday, Matt made his way back to Charleston as I jumped on a plane to go to Seattle for a few days. Did I mention how selfless my husband is? He goes back to work while I go to visit even more friends. I spent just 3 short days there but they were wonderful and much needed. We left in August and I've been dying to visit ever since.

I came back to Billings on Friday and was so blessed by a wonderful baby shower on Saturday! Thanks Mom & Jen! Once again, so fun to see so many of the people that I love...including Erin who drove up from Plentywood! Baby Bennett is getting soooo big, he didn't even look like the same baby. It made me realize I better enjoy every little second with Baby Waller as he will grow so fast.

This week, I just plan on catching up with as many friends as I possibly can and spending time with my family. I leave to go back to Charleston in a week...it seems like forever...I'm missing Matt & Raleigh like crazy. I can't wait to be back and spend my days with Matt, Raleigh, and getting ready for this baby. I better soak up my last two months of "me time" before we life as we know it changes forever. Obviously an amazing blessing of a change of course!

Long Overdue Belly Photo...29 weeks