Wedding fun...

So all the wedding festivities are over and truth be told I am a little sad :( I am so excited for Megan and Luke though and am so excited for this new chapter in their lives.

Friday afternoon I went and got my toes and nails done with Megan and her family then ran around and did some errands with them. That night at 6 pm was the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner followed. Luke's parents were in charge of the rehearsal dinner and it was yummy. We went over to Famous Dave's barbecue and it was such a good time of just hanging out.

I spent the night at Meg's house after the dinner and got a chance to truly act like teenage girls again. We stayed up late, looked at all her honeymoon clothes, watched my wedding video, looked at all pictures and just laughed. I think I went to bed around 4 am and then woke up at 6:40 because of course being pregnant the baby likes to put enormous pressure on your bladder at all the wrong times! I could not go back to sleep so my day began after only 3 hrs of sleep. We all got ready at her house and her 2 friends came and did our hair and makeup. I was so glad that Megan really got to enjoy her day and God really helped to calm her down. We got ready until about 1 pm then we headed to the church. Pictures began at 2 and then the wedding was at 4. Let me just say that Megan was one of the prettiest brides I have ever seen. It was a big joke among some of the bridesmaids and myself that I am just not a cryer. I seriously never cry at the normal things. I cry at the most random things and even then it is more like just tearing up and then the moment is over. BUT before the ceremony Megan and Luke had their first look of each other by themselves (well plus the photographer) and I kinda peeked and when I saw the look on her face I could not help but tear up. To see the happiness on her face just made me so happy for her. I think that is what made her so gorgeous on that day was the love that they share together.

During the ceremony the Pastor was talking about how true love is when you make the the other person want to be a better person. I began to think about my marriage and just how truly blessed I am. For the last 6 years (2 dating and then 4 married) Gabe has always challenged me to be a better person..not by words but by how he lives his life. I love that about our marriage. I was up on stage but I wanted to run down the aisle and just sit by him and hold his hand as the pastor spoke about love and the covenant of marriage. Our marriage is definetly not perfect but I know at the end of the day we are truly and deeply in love with each other because of Christ's lvoe for us. God has been so good to us.

Megan and Luke are now in Mexico on their honeymoon and one of the bridesmaid heard from her. Not because she wanted to let everyone know she made it there safe but because she wanted to know if it was ok to shower! I swear that girl never changes! She is hillarious!

So today thank God to those who love you and remember your wedding and exactly how you felt when you saw your husband or wife for the first time.

Here comes the bride...

So this weekend one of my best friends is getting married! I have known Megan since I was in the 8th grade and we have been pretty much inseparable ever since-well except for that one year that we argued and we to this day can't remember why...oh the minds of teenagers. :)


I am one of the bridesmaids and that is such an honor. I am not a serial bridesmaid...I was definetly not the "always a bridesmaid never a bride." I was actually a bride before I was ever a bridesmaid. Megan was my maid of honor so it is so nice to be standing up there with her and being there for her as she was for me over 4 years ago. Tomorrow is the rehearsal dinner and during the day we are going to get our pedicures.

On Saturday she will be marrying Luke and I couldn't think of a better fit for her. I don't know Luke all that well (at least not as much as I would like) due to us living in different cities, but I see how happy he makes her and that gets him my stamp of approval. It is going to be a beautiful wedding and I am so excited to see her all dressed in her wedding attire-she is going to be a gorgeous bride.

As I have been talking to her through this whole planning process it has reminded me of my wedding. It is hard to believe that over 4 years ago I walked down the aisle and became Gabe's wife. It has truly been the best 4 years of my life and now to know we are about to embark on a new chapter in our journey together is just reminds me how good God is. I am definitely pulling out my wedding video to watch this weekend. It's funny because even though I have watched it a few times I always get those butterflies in my stomach and just giddy every time the video starts. I know a lot of people are stressed on their wedding day but it was such an amazing day for me. I think I just knew there was nothing I could do to fix any last minute problems so I just enjoyed the day. I pray that Megan would truly enjoy this day because it is over before you know it and its just not worth it to stress all day.

What were your wedding days like? Were there any last minute fiascoes? Any funny stories? (as you can tell I am asking questions because I want you people to comment!) :)

I will post pics of the wedding hopefully later this week!

Happy Birthday to Us!

Hey fellow readers. Sorry it has been a while since the last update. We have had a busy last few days. Last Friday (July 11th) was my birthday (Kara) and then July 15th was Gabe's.
Gabe surprised me on Thursday night at my dear friend's house with a party. It was so much fun and I was so proud of Gabe--he organized it all. Just reminded me what a great husband I have.

For Gabe's birthday I took him to dinner but his real party will be on Saturday when he and his friends will head to see "The Dark Knight" in the IMAX. They are all pretty pumped! I asked Gabe what kind of cake he wanted, thinking he'd want Reasor's to make a Batman cake, but he informed me he wants a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I'm not much of a baker, so please pray for me! (Last time I made Gabe a cake like this, we were dating, and let's just say by the time it got to Gabe, all the frosting was no longer on the cake. Nice guy still ate it though.)

So on to the real news....we got to hear the baby's heartbeat! It was the most amazing thing I have ever heard. My doctor was so good about just letting us listen. Gabe just kept saying "Wow, oh wow." It was so cute. I just sat and stared at the screen. To see how much the little thing has grown in 2 weeks just amazes me. We got a final due date...drum roll please......March 3, 2009! It is so fun to have a due date. This puts me at 7 weeks and 1 day pregnant. I am halfway through my first trimester. That is just crazy. I am feeling great. I am tired and have a had a few nauseous moments but so far nothing too bad...can you say thank you Jesus! Below is our baby's first picture. Not his/her best side! :) Just look at it and imagine what a good looking baby it is! Just think as the months go on it will be more then just a blob on the screen! But seriously look how much its grown since last time.



Oh and I finally got my rule book "What to Expect When Expecting" from my doctor. It is funny because I really do not like rules and regulations in everyday life. I am more "fly by the seat of your pants" but I could not wait for this book. I never realized how many do's and don'ts there are to being pregnant. So this new book has become my new best friend.

Other than that, Gabe has started his new job and let me just say-GOD BLEW US AWAY! We knew that God was calling Gabe to a new career but we just had no idea where to look. Gabe looked for 3 solid months and was very frustrated because nothing opened up. We prayed a simple prayer: that God would open the right doors and close the wrong ones. God did exactly that and we are so grateful. God is such a good God and for anyone who is waiting on God to open doors for you--just keep waiting and praying and I promise He will not disappoint!

We go back in 4 weeks and I can't even imagine how much the little jelly bean (my sis and I decided this was the baby's new nickname) will have grown!

The Dark Knight is Coming!

Baby meets Batman. Gives me great inspiration on how to dress my kid. We are going to LOVE Toys 'R Us!

So, I already bought tickets to the IMAX showing of The Dark Knight next weekend. A full 10 days in advance. Who DOES that? Batman, I tell you!

So by now, you've probably figured out I'm a Batman nut. How did this begin, you ask? Ah, let me share with you how Batman began...

In 8th grade, my brother somehow met a man who lived in our neighborhood named Jack Burnley. Jack was the Superman/Batman artist for DC Comics from 1939-1945 (approximately). He had every Batman comic book you can imagine, especially from the Golden Age. Heck, he drew them! Mr. Burnley has since passed on, but not before he gave me 2 autographed color prints of both Superman and Batman. So, in those days, I immersed myself in the life of the Dark Knight. (Nobody's found me since.) I read Batman comics, drew Batman pictures, and listened to Batman audio dramas. I collected any and all Batman-related memorabilia. I still have some of that stuff.

So, when you hear me talking about the Batcave, the Batmobile, Batpod, or any of that stuff, you've gotta know I'm only kidding. Or am I? Could I have somehow assumed the mantle of the bat and continued to fight crime? Well, you sleep safely at night don't you? You tell me.

"Out of the darkness... comes the Knight."

this girl did too much...

So, as I stated in the prior post, we had a lot of fun things going on for the 4th of July. We went to Big Splash all day on Friday and then went to some friends' house and showered and then headed out to watch fireworks. It was a great day to hang out with friends and think about how blessed we are. As I was sitting watching the fireworks, I began to think how different my life will be next July 4th. We will have a 4-month old baby and may or may not get to watch a firework show...so unreal!

Malachi and Matt standing in line to Rock Climb
Malachi made it all the way to the top!

Me and Issie (pronounced "EYE-zee") hanging out waiting for the fireworks show.

Saturday morning, we woke up early and headed to the lake. Gabe and I were both very tired and Gabe did not want to get up, but as I was looking for some beach towels to take I found our Batman beach towel. I think I must have gotten this somehow from Jessica last summer (she has 3 boys who all love superheroes thanks to Gabe) and so with my newfound towel I entered the bedroom where Gabe was still in bed. I said (no joke), "Gabe, honey, if you will get up I found a towel that you are going to love and I will only let you use it if you get out of bed." He rolled over, looked up as I opened the Batman towel, and--no joke--he was out of bed within 30 seconds! It was so funny. I love my childlike husband. It's the little things in life that make him happy.

So off we went with our Batman towel. We were on the lake all day with my family and everyone rode the tube (pictures below) and I sat on the boat and took pictures. Even when I am not pregnant, I am not much into tubing. We hung out on the boat until about 5:00 and then headed in so the girls could go grocery shopping for our cookout. We got back to the R.V. (where my parents spend every available weekend), ate some dinner, and then headed home.

Fun at the lake:



Sunday morning, we went to church and as our worship pastor was singing the national anthem, I really listened to the words for the first time. At the end when he sang "o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave," I got a little choked up. We truly live in the land of the brave. Men and women fight every day for my freedom, for my family's freedom, for my baby's freedom. I am so thankful that we have such brave men and women that make so many sacrifices so that we can all enjoy our lives.

Me and baby were quite tired after such a long weekend and I have begun to realize that I need to slow down a little. I came home from church and basically threw some sandwiches together for lunch and then fell into the bed. I am feeling better today but still a little tired. But hey, I gotta live it up while I can! :) I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and a great Monday.

what is a girl to do...

*Update: as you can see I wrote this before the 4th but never got around to posting it. So no I am not that pregnant that I didn't realize that it is actually July 7th :)
So many things going on for the 4th this year and I was thinking today "wow me and baby H are gonna be tired." BUT then I thought you know this could be the last 4th that I can just do what I want and not have to worry about packing a diaper bag, does this conflict with the baby's nap time, pack enough bottles, pack extra diapers, pack extra clothes in case of spills or accidents and anything else pertaining to a baby. So I decided what the heck we better live it up. Please don't think we are like super cool and going to some hot party but we are going to be busy! We will head to the pool tomorrow with a group of friends (if it doesn't rain) then we will go over to the River where they are having Freedom Fest...I did get some VIP passes for this from work so in that way we are super cool. :) Actually in all honestly this just lets us park free and then gets us some refreshments but hey I get to wear a wrist band that says VIP on it! haha Then Saturday we are heading up to the lake to see the folks and go on their boat (again if it doesn't rain). So pretty busy for the next fun days.

As I am gearing up for this weekend I keep thinking so many different questions. Like "how long can I stay in the sun?" or "is it ok to ride in a boat with a baby?" But then I think umm so many women don't even find out they are pregnant until 6-8 weeks and they do all their normal day things. And the two questions I have been asking myself I took part in while pregnant without knowing it. So I have come to the conclusion me and baby will be fine. And as one of my friends pointed out that the sun really isn't good for you to bake in any day so I just need to take care of my skin no matter what. So I will be lathering up on sunscreen and staying hydrated.

So heres to white gloppy sunscreen and ice cold water! Happy 4th blog friends!!!

I Am The Thunder [by Gabe]

It's my turn to blog now, so I'm going to take a quick departure from family stuff--I'm random like that--so I can tell you what the Holy Spirit is speaking. I have a journal full of Bible studies, and this one rocked my world yesterday. It's rather deep, so get ready...

"He [John the Baptist] said, 'I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said." - John 1:23

John the Baptist faced the question that we all face (especially those of us in ministry): Who are you? The Jews just had to know who this crazy baptizing hermit was, so they sent some priests to ask.

Priests: Who are you? What do you have to say for yourself?
John: "I am not the Christ."
Priests: Are you Elijah then?
John: "No."
Priests: Are you the Prophet?
John: "No."
Priests: Then who ARE you?
John: "I am the voice..."

Isn't it funny that the local pastors had no idea who John was? As God's representative to the people, they should have known by the Spirit exactly who John was. They were clueless. Yet the church of that day could not receive his ministry unless John had a title, a name they recognized, a person who fit within their frame of reference.

John had no credentials. He did not give them an answer to make himself more palatable. Not John. No, he freaked them out: "I have no name, no pedigree, no affiliation, no denomination, no credentials. I'm the thunder in the desert, and the storm's right behind me. Clear the way for the Lord's coming! Repent of your sin and get ready to meet the God you say you serve."

Did you know that lightning and thunder actually happen at the same time? Thunder is the report that lightning makes because of the vacuum it creates when it flashes hotly and retracts so quickly. Depending on how far away you are, lightning is seen first (because it travels at the speed of light) and thunder is heard second (it travels at the speed of sound, which explains the delay).

Here's the point: lightning is the event. Thunder is the sound the lightning makes. Jesus was the event. John was the sound Jesus made. John was the voice. He was the thunder.

What sound am I making? Am I willing to fade into the background like John did, so that Jesus can take center stage? Here's what I admire so much about John the Baptizer: he was purely devoted to God's purpose. As soon as Jesus appeared at the Jordan (John 1:35), he immediately told His disciples to switch mentors. He didn't keep the fans to himself: "For this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he [Jesus] might be revealed to Israel" (1:31).

Your purpose, child of God, is to reveal Jesus to your generation. We are the voice. We are the thunder.

"Hmm... I'll have to ask Mom that one."

Pics above are of us telling my family (notice my mom shirt says "Happy birthday Grandma") and then us at our visit today.

Ok so the doctor's visit today...went well. I arrived a few minutes late. Have you ever noticed that whenever you need to get out of work early, like 2 minutes before you walk out the door, a huge project comes. Oh, and it needs to be done by 5:00 the same day. Needless to say, I was not able to get it done. I ran and got my boss who graciously said she would finish it for me, so off I went. So I arrived a little stressed but I got there. My wonderful husband was sitting at the doctor's office waiting for me and helped calm me down.

I arrived and there were so many babies--I mean TINY babies. I think they must have been coming in (with their moms of course) to get their 1-week check up or something. But oh my goodness, they were adorable and it got me really excited. I sat and stared for about 15 minutes. Gabe sat and read about the victorious Celtics in Sports Illustrated, and I stared at babies. :)

When they called us back the check-in nurse said: "Oh, I remember you from your yearly exam." I said "Yes, I was in around December and we had talked about us trying in June." She looked at me and laughed. And said "Wow, you guys got it right the first time!"

I know Gabe and I have laughed that it happened so fast but at that moment I thought about all the people that come in who have been trying for years and nothing is happening. God has blessed us, and even though it happened much faster then we thought, we are so thankful. I admire every one of those women that go through infertility yet they keep trying. I know that not all women are able to conceive, so for all of you we can share this baby. :)

Sorry, I keep getting side tracked.....so we get called back and the nurse asks us several questions about medical history. The best part was when she asked us how much we wighed at birth. I knew I weighed around 7 lbs... I looked to Gabe and with this clueless stare (pretty common these days with all the baby talk) he says "Umm, I'll have to ask Mom that one." So Mom Harris, if you're reading this, fill us in there please. :) After the questions, she explains that we will be getting an ultrasound today AND every time we come in! YAY! She explains to me that she thinks we are about 7 weeks along. Okay I think I kind of understand this whole "how babies work" thing and there is no way we could be that far along. We took certain precautions until about 5 weeks ago. But whatever... maybe something happened with the "precautions." So she leaves and the doctor comes in. He walks in and the first words out of his mouth are "Wow! Batting 1000 I see." I assumed he was talking about the speed of getting pregnant so we just laughed.

By this point for some reason, I'm a nervous wreck--I mean, I was getting ready to meet our child. A child, that special something that my best friend and I share. It is half me and half Gabe-just too exciting! Just the thought that a part of me and a part of Gabe will live on after us is just a miracle.

In walks my doctor, who I really like and am comfortable with--and he brings an intern with him! I am all for teaching and learning but wow--that's a little overwhelming. They both were excellent though, and made me feel very comfortable. So he starts doing the ultrasound and up pops a little bubble thing. He says "There is the gestational sac but..." At this moment I froze. At this moment I realized--there is no but besides my child's butt! I realized how attached I had grown to this baby inside me.

So I looked at him and I said "But what? Is something wrong?" I think at that moment he saw the look on my face and he said "Oh no honey--everything is fine you are just not measuring 7 weeks... it's more like 4 1/2 weeks." At that moment I breathed a sigh of relief and everything was right with the world. We did some math and realized that made much more sense and that we are due at the beginning of March. I am to go back in 2 weeks for another ultrasound and then I can see my baby and hear his/her heart.

But I don't mind that all I saw today was the gestational sac...I met my baby! The feelings that went through me were amazing: overwhelming love, a need to protect my child for the rest of my life, and just pure joy. Mixed in with all this was just a final realization that I am a mom. This was a little overwhelming (in a good way) and when the doctor left I got a little light headed. Anyone who knows me knows that whenever I go to the doctor and either give blood or have to go to the "girl doctor" I get faint right when it's over. Its weird I know, but it's me! So he leaves the room and, as Gabe is looking at me I just say "Oh I am going to be sick." My wonderful husband is still a little clueless as to the whole OBGYN so he just looks at me and says "What's wrong with you?" I look at him and just explain I need a few minutes. I lay there for a few moments and just stared at the monitor that still showed our baby. Eventually the sickness subsided and I was ok. Gabe and I took some pictures for everyone's viewing pleasure. I know you can't see much but look!-- there's the gestational sac!

I had dinner tonight with my mom, aunt, sister Kim, and my grandma. It was so fun to listen to them all decide what the baby will call them. I have such great family and friends. I think the Harris baby is going to be one of the most loved babies around and that makes me SOO happy! Thanks to all of you out there that have been so encouraging through all the years of our lives. We are so excited to share this leg of our journey with you.

Love you all! (And praise God for the gestational sac...)