Powering through to spring, we enjoyed a spring break trip to Englewood, Florida, and soaked up all the family time together with daily pool play and nightly ice cream treats. Despite Ash eating sand and getting an absolutely terrible diaper rash, we had a great time!

After being a part of a transformational experience through the Outpouring at Asbury University (where I teach), we felt God moving in our hearts to find a new church home. We started attending First Alliance Church in Lexington after Easter and have loved every minute of being there. It has truly been lifegiving to us!

As the summer approached, we celebrated Willow as she finished her kindergarten year—she had a wonderful year with the very best teacher and we were both blessed and thankful for all the growth that took place.

We spent the summer doing all the fun things, which included a lot of travel. Our Worthen family trip to Lakeside, OH, in July is always a favorite. SO many fun memories were made, including taking the kids on a ferry ride over to Putton Bay Island. And enjoying a day at Cedar Point. Later in July, Ryan had a work trip to Denver, so we took Willow along for a very special trip with just us.

This fall, we’ve all been riding the busy train with our careers and family life. Ryan continues filming weddings and growing his side business- I occasionally help film, but take my role as momma pretty darn seriously!

Willow is now in the middle of her first-grade year and we celebrated Ash turning two in September (time is a thief!!!). Ryan and I celebrated 13 years of marriage in October—we are both highly invested into college life and have become the mama and papa bear of one of the biggest freshmen classes in Asbury’s history. We are blessed. We are thankful. And, we are just trying to take one day at a time while trusting God in the process.

We wouldn’t be where we are without the Lord and the love, support, and encouragement from our village…YOU! I can’t end this without giving a great love shoutout to my dear Kelsey Malicote- the champ of all our family photo sessions. Thank you for sharing your gift and talent with this world—you are incredible.

The Worthen Family is wishing you a very Merry Christmas and an amazing New Year!

First, we realize that a strong mix of emotions is swirling at this moment – excitement, a hint of nervousness, and maybe a touch of wistfulness. This moment marks a significant milestone in your child’s life as they embark on a new journey, but we would be remiss to let this moment pass without acknowledging how we got here.

Colossians 2:6-7 provides us with an important perspective for moments like this. Paul writes, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” This verse reminds us that your children, much like well-rooted trees, are now prepared to grow, flourish, and draw strength from the faith you’ve instilled. Paul is challenging us in this passage to continue, but to also be thankful.

Your presence today speaks volumes about your love and dedication to nurturing these young souls. Your guidance, sacrifices, and support have played a vital role in shaping the remarkable individuals before us, and we honor you both for the solid foundation you’ve provided and the wings you’ve helped them spread. To the parents, guardians, and others who helped raise these young adults…thank you.

Secondly, we encourage you to trust the seeds you’ve sown and pray that God will use this time, this place, and these people to cultivate the growth necessary to bear abundant fruit in them. Just as a farmer trusts the process of planting and tending, even through seasons of waiting, have faith that your investment in their education, character, and faith will yield a harvest beyond measure.

Lastly, as your sons and daughters settle into this campus, remember that they’re not alone. They’re entering a community that is rich with opportunities for fellowship, friendship, challenging questions, clear-sighted exploration, and spiritual transformation. On this campus, students will discover friends who inspire, mentors who guide, and experiences that shape their character. This was my experience 20 years ago as an Asbury student, and this is what we will strive to foster as advisors for the Beloved class.

Thank you for entrusting us with the privilege of walking alongside these students during this exciting new chapter God is writing in their lives. We can’t wait to see how their stories unfold.

Friday, April 8

We surprised Willow by taking her to Daylight Donuts in Nicholasville, where we picked up a dozen sweet treats then headed to Mrs. Donna’s for a fun little birthday celebration.

For evening plans, Willow asked to go to “Home Alones” aka Malone’s for her birthday dinner! Heaven, help us…this girl has expensive taste!  She got to invite her bestie Blake to come along, and we got some delicious BoBi Cones ice cream afterwards. Tomorrow is another big day as Willow has her very first soccer game (Brrr! ), a fun birthday party, and another special surprise.

Saturday, April 9

What a day! Willow had her very first soccer game this morning and it was both hilarious and brutal! Hilarious because Willow totally scored a goal for the other team, but that didn’t stop her from running over to us — arms flailing — while yelling “I won! I won!”  The weather was brutal part. The temps were in the 30’s and midway through the game, heavy winds, snow, and sleet stymied the fun. The game was called on account of the weather, but thankfully, Willow and her teammates still seemed to enjoy the experience (but not the cold).

On Saturday afternoon, we headed to Art Play Children’s Studio in downtown Lexington for a birthday party with some of her closest friends. The kids were able to use play dough, play in a sensory bin, and interact with a massive paint wall. They also did a cute craft, then had pizza and cupcakes. It was so awesome to see Willow have so much fun with her besties!

On Saturday evening, Ryan took Willow to Jym Jam at Asbury University. The free event included gymnastics, stunting, trampolines, a ring of fire, and so much more. Willow was completely captivated by the athletes, and at the end of the event, they invited all the kids down onto the mats where they could do some tumbling of their own and take photos.

Sunday, April 10

Sunday was the grand finale for Willow’s birthday weekend. We went to church where we worshipped Jesus and got donuts (is there any better combination of things?!), napped, then welcomed some dear friends out to the homestead for a Mexican-themed birthday party which included catering from Moe’s and a piñata! The kids also enjoyed playing outside on an inflatable bounce house, swinging, and going on “Ranger rides” around our property with Ryan.

As Willow laid down to go to sleep, she said, “This was the best weekend EVER,” and was smiling from ear to ear. We agree, Peanut…it was perfect and we LOVED getting to celebrate you!

More than anything, we’ve truly understood the meaning of family and the importance of being in the moment. Prior to the pandemic, it seemed pretty easy to get together with family and friends, even in the midst of trying to juggle busy schedules. Since March, life forced us to slow down, get creative with our daily routines, and hold the times we could gather with friends and family as more precious.

If you know me well, you know I am not a fan of change. I like consistency, plans, and a very structured routine. I do not function well without those three things. Needless to say, 2020 brought more change than I could sometimes handle emotionally — I had goals that did not pan out, routines that went out the window, and plans that heeded a lot of change. But, I have learned, change does not always have to be a bad thing.

For us, change meant a lot of family walks together, Friday family movie nights while stuffing our faces with pizza, takeout upon takeout from our favorite local restaurants, and very creative date nights after getting Willow to bed.

We celebrated my birthday and Willow’s at home, with a ton of cake and cupcakes, of course. Ryan turned 40 in October and we made the most of his birthday since he peeked into a new decade of awesomeness! We also celebrated 10 blissful years of marriage — woohoo!

Our original plans for our 10^th wedding anniversary were halted due to Covid-19, but we made new plans, and our trip out to Arizona was more than we could have imagined. Someone once told me that you bond with your spouse when you make memories by trying out new things together. Our time in Scottsdale and Sedona was full of “firsts” and a trip we will never forget.

Despite the craze of 2020, we were still able to film weddings even though they looked different than originally planned. Some were postponed and we are delighted to work with those couples in 2021. Ryan enjoyed taking on a few extra filming projects this year, including several elopements of couples that endured the changes this year brought them. 2020 did not take love away, that is for sure!

Willow started preschool in August and it has been an absolute joy to see her grow and learn. She loves helping me cook in the kitchen and especially loves the taste testing part…haha! Her many baby dolls are well loved and cared for; I am sure they have been rocked and fed a million times over by now! She loves “reading” and her new favorite books are The Little Critter series by Mercer Mayer. This series was my favorite when I was little and I love that she enjoys reading my old books. She continues being a daddy’s girl and these two are always having fun together. Willow always wants to be Ryan’s helper and her new favorite love is playing her guitar with him. Melt my heart!

And now we are to the holidays — the most wonderful time of year! As we approach the season where we remember our Savior’s birth, I cannot help but think of the longing we all have inside of us. To feel connected, to be together, to know our purpose, to feel loved, to love another, and to find healing.

No matter what your year has been, we pray that you will feel the power and love of Jesus more than you ever have before this season. May you know that you are loved, cherished, enough, and have a place in God’s family. We all carry a special purpose in this life—may we choose to make the most of each moment, to value the simple things of this life, and to love others well.

The Worthens wish you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed holiday season!

Photos by Jenna Stevens Photography
(Except that last one…Jenna was sweet enough to let Willow snap a photo and she even gave her the photography credit!)

Scroll down to see photos from this special moment, but here’s a sneak peek of our vows which I scribed on the back of two small, paper napkins because that’s just how I roll.

In addition to celebrating the best ten years of my life having Brittany by my side, 2020 also happened to be the year I turned 40. We had originally hoped to go to Hawaii, but unfortunately, the global pandemic threw a wrench in those plans. We looked at several options before eventually landing on a trip to the Boulders Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. Looking back, we couldn’t have picked a more perfect spot and time of year to visit this desert paradise.

We rented a Jeep for the week and ventured to the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess spa for our first full day in Arizona (fellas, I highly recommend this…Brittany loved it and so did I!). That evening, we met up with Megan Claire Photography for a brief 30-minute photoshoot on the resort property before we headed to Dominick’s Steakhouse for an incredible anniversary dinner where Brittany and I surprised each other with new rings (this was totally unplanned but so typical of us!).

Saturday was a chill day for us. We had perfect weather, and we decided to just relax at the pool for several hours. It was amazing!

On Sunday (my birthday), we went on a wild west adventure to Canyon Creek Ranch. We started off with skeet shooting, and while we took aim at the sky we were able to witness the Arizona Fire Service using massive slurry planes and helicopters to extinguish a growing brush fire on the mountain next to us. From there, we headed back to the stables where we mounted horses and went for a ride in the breathtaking canyon. We wrapped up our visit to the ranch by paying a visit to an old western town where the ranch owners had set up an 1800’s style saloon along with pistol shooting, archery, and ax throwing games.

Our trip to Arizona concluded with an attempt at fly fishing (unfortunately, neither the weather nor the fish cooperated) and a half-day trip to Sedona where we marveled at the majestic scenery. By the time it came to an end, we were ready to head back to Kentucky and reunite with our little Peanut (Willow), but we left with some incredible memories that we will treasure forever.

Brittany, I say this to you all the time, but you really are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I love you with my whole heart. Thank you for choosing me, for loving me, for respecting me, for challenging me, for trusting me, for forgiving me, for bringing into the world the cutest little girl ever, and for sharing your life with me. I love you.

Thank you to Megan Claire Photography for the beautiful images!

Willow continues to keep us smiling and laughing. Her language skills are growing every day and she amazes us with all she can say and do. Sometimes it’s a lot of gibberish and I am pretty sure she just likes to hear herself talk, but my goodness, this stage has been the most fun! Nothing but 20 months of growing, learning and love! This girl loves to love…she could give hugs and kisses for days!

Together, Ryan and I filmed 11 weddings, plus Ryan shot one in late October on his own. We’ve cut back significantly since having Willow and we’re striving to find a balance of home, work, school, and filming. I don’t ever think we’ll find a perfect balance, but it’s a work in progress. We wouldn’t have been able to get through our busy filming days without our parents and amazing babysitters throughout the year. Leaving our precious Peanut behind to film was hard, but we  are so grateful our amazing clients trusted us to capture one of the most important days of their lives. Bring on those 2019 weddings…we will be ready for you come spring time!

In November, we made the incredibly difficult decision to put our first and oldest dog Rook down. Rook and Willow were as close as a pup and his babe could be, which made the decision that much more difficult. Rook’s health had declined significantly in recent years, and it got to a point where we just knew it was time. We sure miss him.

Ryan and I have experienced growth this year as we worked through many firsts and parenting struggles. We have been so thankful for our church and close friends for reminding us about the importance of keeping God at the center of our marriages and our lives. Even through it has been challenging times, we have come out stronger and for that we are thankful. Our life together has been the absolute best because we have refused to settle for anything less than God’s best for our marriage. That being said, we’re planning to get better about date nights in 2019. Spending quality time together is important and sometimes we neglect this necessity because we feel pulled in so many directions, but we’re going to make date nights a priority in the coming year.

I finished my coursework at the University of Kentucky and am well on my way to completing my doctorate (yay!). Three years and a baby later, but goodness have I learned a TON!  Let me tell you though, a lot of sweat and tears have taken place in these last few years. I finally got to the point where I told Ryan that I needed more encouragement from him because I felt like giving up. His response, “How can I encourage you when all you talk about is wanting to quit and give up?” Well, I stopped complaining. Haha! Seriously though, my family and friends have encouraged me every step of the way. I am hoping to complete my degree in 2020!

Ryan just surpassed 15 years of service at his full-time job with KEMI where he serves as the Director of Communications. I know that God uses him every single day in all that he does. His talents and abilities continue to amaze me. He is the one behind the computer editing all of our clients’ wedding videos, building websites, updating work ideas, and constantly finding new ways to get better. He is also the social media guru between us, as I tend to “hate” it. I’m constantly proud of this man and what he does to provide for us.

Last but not least, we just wanted to let you know that we have prayed for you this year. Whether through the happiest moments or the really sad situations, thank you for doing life together with us. We are looking forward to 2019, but first we will cherish the days we have left this year.

This time is a sweet reminder that our Savior was born to bring good news. And as my favorite Christmas song recites, “O holy night, the stars are brightly shining. It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining. Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices. For yonder breaks a new glorious morn. Fall on your knees. O hear the angels’ voices. O night divine.”

We celebrate our King, the Light of this World. From our family to yours, we are wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Love,

Photos by The Malicotes
(we’re so, so blessed by their friendship + photo skills!)

1. DJI Tello Drone with HD Camera – $79

You literally throw this drone into the air to start flying it! This is great beginner drone for both adults or kids, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the quality of the images this little thing captures! Here’s an upgraded version if you want to maximize the fun, and here’s the drone that I use professionally if you really want to go big!

2. Wyze Cam Home Security Camera – $19

Keep an eye on home while you’re away! This full HD camera works with Alexa, has motion tagging, sound detection, and my personal favorite…FREE 14-day cloud storage! There are NO monthly fees, and these little cameras are sooooo easy to setup on your wi-fi network! Wyze also offers this camera that pans, tilts and zooms!

3. Amazon Echo Dot with Smart Plug – $45

I have several of these little Echo Dots and Amazon Smart Plugs, but just one is all you need to start your smart home! I love that you can set timers and control your home from afar using the Alexa app, but the voice commands from the couch are pretty handy, too! “Alexa, turn the lights off.” Done. “Alexa, start the coffee maker.” Done. “Alexa, change Willow’s diaper.” Okay, maybe not. If you want to expand your system but don’t want to break the bank on multiple smart plugs, here’s my recommendation!

4. Apple Watch Stand – $10

Check out this blast from the past! Turn that fancy Apple Watch into a vintage masterpiece with this awesome little stand! Looking for something a bit nicer for the night stand? Look no further!

5. GoPro Hero 7 Black – $395

This new GoPro model has so many bells and whistles I don’t even know where to start. HyperSmooth Video Stabilization on 4K footage. Time Warp Video. Waterproof without housing. Voice Control. Live Streaming. This thing is AMAZING and I loved having mine on our recent trip to Palm Springs (video coming soon)!

6. Asus Gaming (or Editing!) Laptop – $799

I have edited exclusively on Asus gaming laptops for the past several years and can’t sing their praises high enough. With compact sizes that still manage to boast super-fast processors (yep, that’s the technical term) and lightning quick graphic card processing, a laptop like this one will make your on-the-go gaming or editing experiences a breeze!

7. Oculus Go VR Headset – $199

There’s a whole world of videos, games, and experiences in virtual reality (VR) and until you try it for yourself, you won’t understand what all this entertainment hype is about (they are also the coolest sleeping mask you could ever ask for!).

8. Magnetic Car Phone Holder – $9

Brittany and I both use these mounts in our cars and on our bikes and we LOVE them! In fact, whenever we travel, I take one with me and it comes in so handy when I’m relying on my phone’s navigation. I also have this magnetic bike holder which is so great in the warmer months!

9. Canon Selphy Mobile Photo Printer – $159

We snagged one of these AMAZING little photo printers before a Mexico trip a couple years back so we could print everything from cell phone photos to DSLR images straight off the memory card. It’s easy to use and the quality of the 4×6″ prints are spectacular! You’ll have so much fun printing that you’ll be ordering more ink + paper in no time!

10. JBL Under Armor Wireless Headphones – $179

JBL and Under Armour teamed up to create the UA Sport Wireless which have a killer rugged design and a bass-dominated sound signature. That’s my kind of travel headphones, but if you want something more low-profile, check out these little Bose buds!

This girl loves ALL the things, but especially loves playing hide and seek, chasing us around the house, and playing with Daddy. She’s a lover and a cuddler and isn’t afraid to tell you “no” or that she wants “down!”

We’ve gotten a taste of her ‘tude and that’s been fun trying to navigate, but hey to all the first-time parents just trying to do their best, right?! This has probably been my favorite stage thus far; I absolutely love seeing her learn new things and love watching her language grow (the literacy professor Mom is totally geeking out). I love practicing flash cards and reading with her. I’m not afraid to say it though…Daddy is by far her favorite on the planet.

Parenting isn’t easy, but this girl sure makes it fun. Willow Rose, how are you 18 months already? Time, please slow down because our girl is getting too big!

Thank you, Kelsey Malicote, for documenting Willow’s life. These pictures are some of our most treasured. I should also say a huge thank you to Elmo for bringing all the smiles to our Peanut’s sweet face. And, another big huge thank you to Doug and Glenn with Doug Smith Design Events for making our flower crowns in a hot minute. You came through when I texted you the day before with the idea and I’m so, so grateful! We love our people!

Happy 18 months, Willow Rose!

On Friday afternoon we will make the incredibly heart-wrenching decision to say goodbye to Rook, our 14-year-old lab retriever mix. As you might expect, I tried my best to document Rook’s life, so before you read on here’s just a small glimpse of our adventures together.

The Forever Puppy
Rook was a rescue dog. I adopted him from the Lexington Humane Society on April 29, 2004, and ever since that day he’s been my loyal sidekick for countless road trips, holidays with family, hunting trips, fishing excursions, and my all-time favorite…evening walks around the neighborhood with Brittany, Willow, and our 4-year-old Golden Retriever, Runner.

Rook’s temperament made him a joy to be around. He was so easygoing and would make new friends anytime he had the opportunity. He especially loved kids and playing with other dogs, so naturally I took him out in public as often as possible. Rook’s thick, soft coat of fuzzy black fur made petting him irresistible. His small frame led everyone to misjudge his age; in fact, just a few months ago, Rook introduced himself to a random stranger who thought he was just a puppy. Moments like that always brought us a big smile because we felt like we had a forever puppy.

Dealing with Change
One of the things I loved most about Rook was his adaptability. As long as he wasn’t caged, Rook never seemed to mind what his “home” was like and he respected others’ spaces. One of our most frequent trips was to visit our friend Mark (and Tank) in Indianapolis, but Rook also made numerous treks up north to my parents’ home in Ohio and my friend Neal’s house in Michigan.

Rook also adjusted to a variety of living situations over the years. When I first adopted him, I lived in a two-bedroom apartment on Spangler Avenue in Lexington. I then moved in with a friend who bought a three bedroom home, and for the next few years Rook patiently stayed by my side as my life started to come into focus.

Soon after I started dating Brittany in 2008, I moved into my own two-bedroom apartment which happened to be on the third floor of a complex that backed up to one of Lexington’s large reservoirs. After only a few days in our new place, Rook learned how to race up and down the three flights of wooden stairs all on his own so he could go potty, and he would take care of business this way every chance I gave him. He never once ran off into the parking lot or bothered the neighbors, but instead seemed to find so much joy in having that freedom and trust (and I loved not having to traverse the stairs three additional times a day!).

Rook and I went fishing on that reservoir at least a hundred times together. Even on the hottest summer days, we would go out on the lake and troll around searching for another five-pound bass in my small two-man pond prowler. Occasionally I would splash Rook with water or throw my t-shirt over him to keep his black fur from getting too hot, but I don’t ever remember him whining or panting during our many hours on the water. He seemed to really enjoy being out on the boat together, and I loved having a silent companion.

In 2010, I bought a home, proposed to Brittany, and got married all in a six month period. Needless to say, but that was a TON of change yet Rook didn’t miss a step. He LOVED having a fenced-in yard where he could roam free, although after just a few minutes he would be at the back door ready to be reunited with his favorite humans indoors. Three years later, we sold our house on Checkerberry and moved to Starrush Place.

Life had become much busier in the years that followed, and around 2015 our wedding video business was affording us the opportunity to travel a substantial amount. By this point, we added Runner (our Golden Retriever) to the mix, so anytime we had a wedding or a trip planned we were blessed to have friends like Liz or Melissa stay in our home and love on our pups.

The Last Few Years
Rook and Runner got along like Elmo and Abby (that reference was for you, Willow). They loved to playing and rarely gave us any trouble, but we started seeing signs of change when Rook would sneak away to the same spot in the house to eliminate instead of alerting us he needed to go outside. At first, it seemed like he was doing it to spite us, but when the occasional accidents became more frequent and other more serious symptoms surfaced, we took him in for an evaluation.

Nothing could have prepared us for the flood of emotions we felt after hearing our veterinarian say that she would support us when we were ready to lay Rook to rest. It was not an easy conversation to have, but we are very grateful for the counsel we received by Dr. Creech at Brighton Animal Clinic.

Since our appointment on Saturday, we watched and listened closely to Rook. We concluded that what little life is left in his aging body is in reality a painful struggle for him. We soaked in these past few days with him and gave him lots of extra love. And throughout the past week, we have cried and cried some more.

As I write this, tears are streaming down my face as I think about how much life Rook and I have lived together. My heart is in pieces thinking about our final goodbyes on Friday afternoon, but despite the pain of this loss I would not trade our memories or experiences for anything.

Rook was such a blessing to our family, and I know we will cherish his life for the rest of ours.

Last night before bed we prayed that God would allow us to paint a picture with our marriage that encourages, strengthens, affirms, and challenges others to put + keep God at the center of theirs. Truth be told, that vision of a masterpiece that we have in our hearts + minds sometimes feels more like a dull and muddied mess. Stress. Fatigue. Disappointment. Unmet expectations. Good luck trying to find a picture on social media that makes any of those marriage traits look appealing.

Mom and Dad, you have been an incredible example to us of what true love + commitment should look like, and I hope + pray God gives you many more anniversaries together. We love you!

Photos by Ryan Worthen

This past year has truly flown by. We heard the saying “the days are long, but the years are short” countless times, and that phrase couldn’t be more true. We now have a little walker who is fiercely independent with a spunk in her ‘tude, but she also has the most sensitive loving heart.

Leading up to Willow’s arrival, I said repeatedly that we would do something small for her first birthday. Ha! I laughed at myself a lot while planning her party because when it came down to it, the party was anything but little!

We decided on an elephant + peanut theme since her nickname is Peanut, and the Etsy shopping began. It all ended up coming together and we couldn’t have been happier with how things turned out. Even though she won’t remember that day, I will forever remember how loved both Ryan and I felt as so many of our loved ones gathered in one room celebrating our girl.

We still can’t believe our Peanut is ONE, but goodness are we having so much fun learning and growing as parents!

Here is the “Willow’s One” video Ryan did for her first birthday, plus lots of sweet pics from the amazingly-talented Kelsey Malicote along with photos from her birthday party taken by my awesome hubs!

Willow’s One Year Birthday Shoot with Kelsey Malicote

…and here are photos from the Malicotes’ photo booth (click the image below)!

Willow’s First Birthday Party

Photos by The Malicotes // Location: Seed + Harvest

In her first month:

• Willow is breastfeeding like a champ!
• She likes short walks around the neighborhood…
• …and long walks on the beach! Just kidding…but she did go on her first beach trip (more on that soon!).
• Willow experienced her first airplane ride and she did GREAT!
• We were so spoiled to have Kelsey Malicote do a newborn shoot of Willow.
• Our girl hiccups and sneezes all. the. time.
• Momma discovered that she can’t eat things that are tomato-based because it upsets Willow’s tummy (goodbye pizza…how ironic!).
• Willow started sleeping through the night (for around 6 hours) at 4 weeks old (thank you Jesus!).
• Daddy got his first smile from Willow. Heart melted!
• Despite our best efforts, we conceded that Willow hates taking a paci. Crazy, right?!
• She got to meet sooooo many dear friends who already love her to the moon and back.
• Willow attended her first church service and got to participate in the annual baby dedication service!

In her second month:

• Willow started going on runs with momma and loves it!
• She loves listening to Lauren Daigle music (but who doesn’t?!).
• This child is still doing an awesome job with breastfeeding.
• The cooing and babbling has started and her voice is sooooo cute!
• She is still sleeping through the night (and we are progressing in hours)!
• Willow finally fits in newborn clothes. She was only 5 lbs. 13 oz. at birth, so we had to scramble to find preemie outfits!
• Spit bubbles are apparently “in” when you’re two (months).
• Our sweetheart absolutely HATES the car and car seat.
• Her smiles are more frequent and getting cuter by the second!
• She got to meet our awesome Colorado friend + photographer, Jennifer Morgan, for a fun photo shoot at Keeneland!
• Willow still won’t take a paci…
• …but she found her hands (which have found her mouth).

In her third month:

• This girl is pretty much smiling on command…it’s the best!
• She absolutely loves her Daddy and gave him her first tiny laugh (we caught it on video + will share it soon!)
• We traveled to Lakeside, Ohio for the long Fourth of July weekend. Willow totally slept through the fireworks!
• Our little jet-setting beach bum had an awesome week in Seaside, Florida (this will be a separate blog post).
• She loves being outside (and so do we), so we think we’re going to keep her.
• Willow is still sleeping through the night (gimme allllllll the praise hands!)
• Her personality is really coming out and you can definitely tell when she doesn’t like something.
• She LOVES her hands!
• Willow has started to grab and hold on to things (pretty soon she’ll probably want Daddy’s wallet).
• Thankfully, she is getting a little better about car rides but is still a bit suspect of her car seat.

In her fourth month: 

• Now Willow smiles ALL the time (except around bedtime).
• She is starting to laugh at things we do…It’s precious!
• The obsession with her hands continues (is anyone really surprised?).
• Willow is still breastfeeding and taking the bottle well.
• She loves bath time…
• …but on the way to the tub she has peed on Daddy a couple times!
• The girl “talks” all the time…she has some pretty elaborate tales!
• She usually gets vocal when you lay her down on the changing table and talk to her.
• Willow is a pro at taking 30 minute naps (but not a minute longer).
• She loves holding on to her little bunny (we named her Winnie).
• Her preference is to be facing out when you’re holding her. She has people to see, ya know!
• She’s so great to take on walks (and usually falls asleep).
• She loves looking around and definitely enjoys any time outside, but she hasn’t experienced winter yet.

In her fifth month:

• She is the happiest girl around! Willow is almost always smiling or “talking.”
• Our little girl L-O-V-E-S bath time.
• Breastfeeding has become a challenge and the weaning process has begun.
• She has been trying lots of different foods, but of course she prefers the sweeter ones (just like her momma)! Willow has had apples, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, peas, green beans, pears, avocado, prunes, bananas, peaches, pineapple, and even had a little taste of peanut butter. Out of all of these things, pears and bananas are her absolute favorites!
• As soon as she learned to roll over in her crib we transitioned her out of her sleep sack, so now this girl just sleeps in her onesie at night!
• She absolutely loves her exersaucer and loves bouncing, bouncing, bouncing the day away!
• Willow started paying attention to the dogs a lot more this month and is following them with her eyes and smiling at them. The dogs are appreciating the increased attention…haha!
• This little one took her first trip to Knoxville (where Brittany’s parents and sister lives) and Willow did AWESOME in the car!
• She was invited to a birthday party at Evan’s Orchard and got to take home a pumpkin with her name on it!
• She’s officially a belly sleeper. Momma may have cried the first night she slept on her belly in her crib…it was so nerve-wracking!

In her sixth month:

• Willow suddenly loves being on her belly and is rolling all around reaching for anything she can get her hands on. She’s pretty good at scooting backwards, too!
• She loves books (this makes her literacy professor Momma happy!).
• Willow tries to reach for the dogs and sometimes gets tickled by them.
• She can sit up on her own for about .05 seconds. She’s close, we know it!
• Willow is obsessed with her Daddy! You can’t wipe the smile off her face when he’s around. It is SO stinkin’ precious!
• She’s getting the hang of our Sunday afternoon nap time (thank you, Jesus)!
• No teeth yet, but there’s tons of drooling going on!
• We’re in our final days of breastfeeding.
• She got the CUTEST Halloween costume! Stay tuned to our Instagram feed to see it later this month!
• Willow had her six month photos taken by the one-and-only Kelsey Malicote and y’all…they are the sweetest, plus she got to hang out and get some snapshots with her BFF, Myla Malicote! We can’t wait to share them with you soon!
• Her smiles and blue eyes melt our hearts right into a puddle.

In her seventh month:

• Willow can sit up on her own. Woah.
• Our big girl is into yoga. She has the downward dog position down pretty well. We’re waiting any day for a summersault.
• Momma and baby have officially stopped breastfeeding. It was a very bittersweet transition.
• Our girl celebrated her first Thanksgiving. She thoroughly enjoyed trying pumpkin pie for the first time (but who are we kidding, it was really all about the Cool Whip. Sorry, pumpkin pie!)
• Willow is starting to eat solid foods and LOVES squash.
• Peanut says “Dada” and “blah blah” ALL the time. Dada is responsible for teaching her the “blah blah”…but still no “Momma!” She is quite the babbler now!
• She clicks her tongue typically when she is happy about something.
• Rook > Runner. Glad the old man is getting her affection while we love on our Golden girl. Thankfully, Willow loves both the pups (but definitely prefers Rook).
• Willow is Miss Independent and loves doing things for herself (especially holding her own bottle and spoon when eating).
• There are still no teeth in that little mouth of hers, but she’s got drool for days!
• Her mode of transportation is by way of rolling all over the place. This happens most often when you try to change her diaper. Little stinker!!!
• Our sweet Willow Rose was the star of our first family Christmas photos. Have we mentioned how grateful we are for Kelsey Malicote?!

In her eighth month:

• Willow crawled for the first time! At first she lunged. Then she did the Army crawl. Now she’s really starting to get the hang of it!
• Just a couple days after her first crawl, she pulled herself up (on Dada, no less!).
• She is trying more food and enjoys eating at the dinner table with Momma and Dada.
• Our baby girl is SO observant. Willow studies the room (especially if there are new people) before she’ll warm up to you.
• Willow has mastered the use of a straw and loves drinking cold water from her sippy cup. She also is a big fan of eating puffs.
• She started banging her toys together to make noise.
• She’s a daredevil in the mornings…look away for one second and you’ll find her attempting to climb out of her rock and play in the mornings as mom and dad are getting ready for work!
• Willow had her first kiss…she totally leaned in and planted one on her little buddy, Will. This happened during our life group in front of two dozen witnesses. It was precious!
• She loves playing with Daddy and LOVES when he gives her zerberts on her belly.
• No sign of any teeth yet for our sweet little Peanut, but she loves “chewing” on all the things.
• Willow Rose continues to melt our hearts in every way and we love her more with each second that passes! Thank you, God, for our little miracle!

In her ninth month:

• Willow is going places!!! She is crawling everywhere, especially to wherever she finds Rook (our 14-year-old lab).
• She is pulling up on everything and LOVES to play a game where Daddy acts as a mountain and she climbs over him.
• We had to lower Willow’s mattress since she started pulling up in her crib.
• Willow has said “momma” a few times, but “dada” still wins as her favorite “word.”
• Eating puffs and drinking water are still two of her favorite things.
• She’s learned to clap her hands together when you say, “Yay, Willow!”
• Willow loves playing Pat-a-Cake and Peek-a-Boo!
• She went to the nursery at church for the first time.
• Our Peanut survived a week away from momma and dada while they were in NYC + Mexico on a quick vacation.
• Willow spent her first Christmas in Tennessee.
• Our baby girl got to spend New Year’s Eve with two of her besties, Will and Alison. They had a special 6:55pm New Year’s countdown and made it to bed right on time!
• Willow Rose is still melting our hearts every minute of every day!

In her tenth month:

• Says momma allllllll the time now!
• She LOVES books, especially her book about Sophie the Giraffe and her book about babies and doggies.
• She grabs her walker and strolls around the house any chance she gets!
• Willow is climbing stairs (eight is her record so far!) and can crawl sooooo fast.
• She has two bottom teeth popping out and more on the way!
• This girl is crazy about some mandarin oranges.
• She loves to look outside and “talk” to the neighbors.
• Willow adores Rook (our 14-year-old pup) and loves on him every chance she gets.
• She would win the Miss Independent pageant. She definitely wants to do things her way!
• Daddy is still her #1 favorite person! She is so smitten with him (and the feeling is clearly mutual!)

In her eleventh month:

• She frequently calls out for “momma!” or “dada!” (especially in the mornings).
• Says “baba” when it’s close to bottle time (and when she sees it!).
• She can stand on her own for about 30 seconds, but only when she decides to try.
• Gives kisses…wet, slobbery ones!
• Can sign “more.”
• Her favorite song is “How Much is that Doggie in the Window.”
• Loves swinging and riding in shopping carts.
• Gives high fives like a boss!
• Bath time is her absolute favorite.
• She LOVES drinking water (definitely takes after her momma)!
• Her favorite books are the Alphabet Book and Dada (by Jimmy Fallon).

In her twelfth month:

• Willow finger yodels like it’s her job (ask her to do it the next time you see her…it’s a hoot!)
• She took FOUR steps all by herself!
• New words in her vocabulary include “baby” and “dog.”
• She has an absolute meltdown when you tell her “no.”
• Her favorite book is the Ear Book by Dr. Seuss.
• Give her a phone and it goes straight up to her ear. She’s so smart!
• She went to her friend Will’s one-year birthday party!
• Willow visited Disney’s Magic Kingdom (and slept thru It’s a Small World…so sad!).
• She spent Easter in Toledo and got to celebrate her birthday with family a week early!
• This girl LOVES snuggling on her heart eyes emoji pillow (“Lovey”).
• Mac + cheese is one of her new favorite foods.
• Daddy made a very special video of her first year…watch it below!
• Willow got to celebrate her first birthday with family and friends…our heart is so full!

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been thinking about some things I’d like to work on in the coming year and as I was getting ready this morning, a word came to mind so vividly. Intentional. That’s my word and I’m going try my darndest to stick to it. A lot of times I allow all that’s going on in my life to excuse me from being intentional in the areas that need it the most. While I feel my heart has been in the right place this past year in learning how to be a mom, and honestly, how to be a wife all over again in the mix of raising a baby, how to work full time, go to school part time, co-film with my amazing sidekick and manage to keep my house running, I feel I’ve missed out on some important things that make me me. Like, pursuing friendships, having time with my girlfriends and doing things that I really enjoy doing.

Ryan and I were talking a few weeks ago and he made a good point when we were talking about the idea of having a balanced life. In reality, balancing life isn’t very realistic, it’s more about prioritizing. Each day is different and each day requires prioritizing and getting the most important things done.

So, about being intentional. I want to make more time for my girlfriends. I want to sit with them, learn from them, grow with them, cry with them, share with them. I want to be more intentional with words of encouragement. For whatever reason, I’ve always had this mindset that my comments won’t mean anything or make a difference. I’m going to choose to not believe that lie and be intentional with encouraging words. I recently read a book by Jen Hatmaker, Of Mess and Moxie. In one of the chapters she mentioned that she has a friend that anytime she is thinking something of someone, she will text them right away and let them know what she’s thinking about. That’s intentionality at its finest. So, don’t be surprised if you get a random text message or comment from me to let you know that I’m thinking about you. I’m gonna do it. People pop into my head all the time and it takes all of 10 seconds to type a quick text to let them know I’m thinking about them.

I’m going to continue to be intentional with my family- spending time with my husband and daughter. I will continue to be intentional about pursuing a healthy lifestyle and working out. I will continue to be intentional in being the best professor and role model I can, only God (and maybe my husband, too) knows how much I love my college students. I will continue to be intentional with my relationship with my parents, siblings and in-laws. And most importantly, I’m going to be intentional with taking quiet moments with the Lord- in His word and in prayer. After all, that intentionality is the most important thing in this life.

Whatever you’re doing, wherever you’re at in life…whether 2017 was amazing (thanks Willow for making this year the epitome of epic) or whether it was the worst year you could have ever imagined, I pray we can all wake up tomorrow with a fresh start and a word in mind that will carry us through one of the best years God is writing in our stories.

Now, I’m gonna go smooch on my hubs and count my blessings! Cheers, friends!

I’ve struggled for as long as I can remember with self-image and my assumptions of how I feel others see me. Growing up, I was bullied over my weight and let’s just be honest…I wasn’t the skinniest kid on the block so I was an easy target for fat jokes and cruel comments. As I grew older, my appearance changed but my mindset didn’t.

We’ve shared some blog posts about how our first year of marriage was no walk in the park. A lot of our issues centered around my insecurities, but thanks to counseling and Jesus, we’ve come a long way. Those consuming thoughts of my weight and appearance shifted yet again after giving birth to Willow. I’d be lying if I said that I never worry about my looks, but my thoughts tend to be less focused on what others think and more on Willow, Ryan and my crazy busy life.

In my quest to achieve this “perfect bod” I realized that I really love to exercise. Sure, sometimes it feels like a chore and sometimes I have to give myself a pep talk just to lace up my tennis shoes, but more often than not, working out has proven to be a great stress reliever and makes me feel good throughout the day.

When I was first pregnant, I knew I wanted to continue working out and chose to hire a personal trainer to help me along the way. The personal trainer held me accountable and developed an exercise routine that helped me stay healthy despite the temptation to eat allllllll the things. This turned out to be one of the best decisions I made during my pregnancy, and I feel it helped me bounce back quickly after the delivery in hopes of getting that pre-baby body back.

But then mom life happened. Exhaustion happened. Ice cream cravings happened and so did the convenience of restaurant-prepared meals. I started having a mindset that I needed to eat a lot because I was breastfeeding and burning so many calories (darn you, Chick-Fil-A strawberry lemonade milkshakes)! I wasn’t eating healthy and I definitely wasn’t spending time rebuilding my body…but then I met Val.

Valerie Smorol is the owner of SmoFitness. She designed and created a program called smoBABY, a program designed with the new mom in mind and has been approved by a myriad of medical professionals, including a women’s specialist, a physical therapist, an OB-GYN, a dietician, and even a lactation specialist. The program combines nutrition with planned workouts and incorporates the important elements of accountability and encouragement as well. 

I was hesitant about it at first, but Val convinced me I was a good fit for the program and I am SO glad she did. This past July, I completed the smoBABY six-week program and since then, have completed two rounds of her FASTer Way to FAT Loss program. I have lost several inches, 13 pounds and I am finally fitting back into pre-pregnancy clothes. The program requires commitment and determination, but it’s realistic and legit! I have pictures to prove it (just ask me!).

This program isn’t just about losing the weight, it’s more about being smart with nutrition and gaining the knowledge you need to get your body where it needs to be. I’m still a work in progress, but feel I have come a long way since having a baby. Val’s accountability is great. She will do everything in her power to encourage you, motivate you and help you reach your goals. She’s realistic and she believes in each of her clients. I am feeling more toned and confident and to me, that’s worth its weight in gold. 

Want to learn more about SmoFitness? Click through to see what smoBABY or FASTer Way to FAT Loss is all about!

[ Photos by my awesome hubs: Ryan Worthen ]

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love,
Ryan, Brittany, Willow, Runner & Rook

Photos by The Malicotes

It just so happens that balloon had come to rest in the very spot where one year ago Brittany and I stood to film our pregnancy announcement video — a video where we released a big bunch of balloons and jumped for joy at the news we would soon have a baby.

I couldn’t help but think about how my perspective changed when my focus shifted to that balloon instead of the piles of dog waste that surrounded me. I was overwhelmed with emotion and thankfulness as I thought about how God answered our prayers for a child, and I had the biggest smile on my face as I finished picking up all the poop (which probably looked really strange if any of my neighbors caught a glimpse).

My hope and prayer is that this season of thankfulness propels Brittany and I to not only look for more balloons, but to be a balloon for those who need a lift. I’m praying that God opens our eyes to see the needs of those around us, and I’m also praying for the willingness to exchange convenience for compassion if it means going out of our way to serve others.

Will you join us in word and in deed? Share if you agree!

In case you missed it, this was our pregnancy announcement from Thanksgiving weekend in 2016. 

Being the protective mama bear I am, I peppered Ryan with a million questions. How does it work flying with a baby? Is she going to get sick from all the germs? What doctor would we go to if she gets sick away from home? How will I know if her ears pop or not? What if she cries the whole flight? Will she stick to her schedule eating and sleeping? How will I keep her from getting sunburned if she’s not supposed to wear sunscreen until six months old? Are we selfish for wanting to travel with her? Am I crazy for wondering all these questions?

Ryan helped me work through my worries and before we knew it, we were heading to the airport for the first of several summer adventures. Here’s what we learned along the way.

Hilton Head
Lesson learned: Traveling with a baby is totally doable, but be careful about setting expectations.

Our first trip with Willow was to Hilton Head, South Carolina. Willow was just a month old, but after consulting with her doctor and Googling “How to travel with a one month old” we decided to just go for it.

Okay, maybe it was a bit more involved than simply searching online for best practices…we actually did our homework and found that at least from a logistical standpoint, traveling with a baby wasn’t nearly as complicated as we thought it would be. In our experience, getting through security and boarding the plane were surprisingly a breeze. If you’re interested, here are our tips for traveling by air with a little baby!

What travel tips are you willing to share? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

By this point Willow was miraculously sleeping through the night, but we were still exhausted as we adjusted to new routines and schedules. One day we bravely attempted to introduce Willow to the beach, but she only lasted about an hour before she was over it. We returned to our rental and slept the afternoon away in hopes of putting that mildly traumatic experience behind us.

There were some small victories. Willow experienced her first dip in the pool and Dad captured some cool footage of Harbour Town and Sea Pines with his drone. Mom got a relaxing massage at the spa, Dad played tennis at the racquet club, and despite the fact that Willow hated being in her car seat, we still managed to venture out for dinner a few times and see different parts of the island.

Our time in Hilton Head was…a learning experience. We were able to relax a bit, but more importantly I think we proved to ourselves that we could travel with Willow…it just required a bit more planning and patience than before but it was totally worth it.

Check out some beautiful drone footage of Hilton Head Island that Ryan captured…it’s stunning!

Lakeside, Ohio
Lesson learned: Family time is the best time.

Over the July 4th weekend, we headed up to Lakeside, Ohio, to be with Ryan’s family. Back in May, we made a similar drive to Blissfield, Michigan, for a high school graduation ceremony for Ryan’s nephew (congrats, Tucker!) so we pretty much knew what to expect with Willow (namely, she hated being in her car seat). Thank goodness this trip was a turning point for our little girl and we were pleasantly surprised when she slept for most of our time in the car. Praise Jesus!

The weather was beautiful when we arrived in Toledo, so Ryan’s parents invited us out on their boat. This was another “first” for Willow, and while the life jacket pretty much swallowed her whole causing a slight panic attack, she quickly fell asleep in her Nana’s arms and we had the most relaxing time cruising up and down the Maumee River.

The following day we made our way to Lakeside, Ohio, to spend the 4th of July weekend on the shores of Lake Erie. For the last several years, Ryan’s family has made a tradition of coming to Lakeside and it’s always such a sweet time with them. We do rock painting, play shuffleboard and stroll around the cutest little shops. More importantly, we spend quality time together talking, eating, and relaxing in a place that’s full of special memories in each one of us.

We want Willow to love and value the time spent with family, and Lakeside is the perfect place for us to show her what family is all about. As we drove away from Lakeside, we couldn’t help but thank God for a family that loves us and our little girl so deeply.

Here’s a gallery of our photos from Lakeside!

Seaside, Florida
Lesson learned: An hour can make all the difference. 

As it turns out, when you’re booking a vacation that includes a baby, you might want to pay attention to things like time zones as they just may disrupt months of hard work in developing a sleep schedule.

When we made the reservations for Seaside, Florida, we never considered the fact that there was a one hour time zone difference (from eastern to central time zones) but once it hit us we felt confident we could make small adjustments to compensate for the change. In reality, the difference had a noticeable impact on Willow’s bedtime and it took several days for her to recover when we got back home to Lexington.

Probably the most notable impact came the evening that we were scheduled to meet up with a talented photographer named Sarah who we commissioned to take some photos of us on the beach. Normally, Willow is allllll smiles and is able to ham it up on demand for the camera, but we could tell her sleep clock was a bit off so as soon as the shoot started she just wasn’t having it (dang you, time zone difference!). Thankfully, Sarah didn’t skip a beat and did an amazing job capturing our little tribe, but we now have a full understanding of what it’s like to take family photos when you have a kid who won’t smile. What a little stinker!

Willow’s saving grace came during the daytime, however. Unlike her first beach trip to Hilton Head, Willow was an absolute angel when it came to taking naps on the beach. This little girl would lay back and fall into dream land with virtually no fussing, and on several occasions I had to wake her up just to feed her. I suppose this means that we’ll just need to either move to the beach or take more vacations there, right Ryan?!

All in all, we had an amazing summer and loved getting to travel with our Peanut. Here are some photos from that shoot with Sarah and Paul Photography…we hope you enjoy them!

Sarah & Paul Photography, thank you SO much for capturing these treasured memories together!

Before the Flight

• 

  Count your blessings! If your child is under two years old, they can sit in your lap and you don’t need to buy a seat for them. You’ll also be able to bring additional carry-on baggage with a baby, but be sure to check with your airline about what they will allow.

• Pack what you need and buy the rest. We packed just enough diapers and wipes to get us there and bought more once we arrived. We flew direct so our time in the air was short, but just in case of a diaper blow-out we also packed an extra outfit in the baby bag. Here are some suggestions on other items to consider packing:
  • Baby bag + travel bassinet — Like most first-time parents, we bought lots of baby stuff that looked totally cool but we never used. This bag, however, is NOT one of those items. We LOVE this thing! Willow slept every single time we put her in it (granted, she was milk drunk most of the time, but that’s beside the point).
  • Baby monitor — If you check 1,000 times per night to be sure baby is breathing, you’ll want to bring your monitor with you. Remember to pack the charging cables!
  • Baby bath chair — we used this collapsible bath chair both in the bathtub as well as at the beach! This chair was so helpful to have and took up very little space in our checked bag.
  • Sound machine — Willow’s noise of choice is ocean waves (which is ironic, considering on her first two beach trips we could have let her listen to actual ocean waves but the air conditioning was way more important).
• Federal regulations require everyone to have a photo ID, but what about babies? We’re embarrassed to admit that we completely forgot to bring any paperwork with us on Willow’s very first flight, but shockingly not a single person at the ticket counter or in security asked us for documentation on her (which is kinda scary if you think about it)! Nonetheless, be smarter than us and if you have a birth certificate for your child, bring it with you. Otherwise, bring any paperwork provided to you by the hospital that includes the baby’s name as well as the name of both parents.
• Bring your stroller and car seat (don’t forget the base!)…you won’t be charged extra for any of these items! We recommend NOT checking these items like you would a checked bag, but tell the ticket counter that you plan to “gate check” them instead. See below on how the gate-checking process works!
• We found that it was easiest to manage our luggage, stroller and bags if one of us wore Willow in a wrap or carrier. It kept our hands free and Willow seemed to like it better, so it was a win-win for us.

Getting Through Security

• When you approach the security line at the airport, don’t be shy about asking if there is a separate stroller line. They may wave you to the front of the line, send you through the TSA Pre-Check line, or do nothing at all. Just be ready to roll with it.
• The TSA considers breast milk, formula, and juice in the same category as liquid medicine, so it is not subject to the 3 oz. rule that applies to other liquids or gels but it may be subject to additional screening (i.e. they may open the bottle and dip in a test strip). You can also bring frozen ice packs and empty bottles (as long as they are in your carry-on bag). Hooray!
• Breast pumps are considered to be medical devices by some airlines and are therefore not counted as a carry-on item. This rule is not consistently interpreted, so check with your airline first if you plan to carry your pump separately from your carry-on bag.
• You will need to carry your baby through the scanner. Meanwhile, if they fit your stroller and car seat will need to go on the belt and be scanned OR they will need to be hand checked and tested by a TSA agent. (How sad it is to be living in a time when we have to check to be sure there are no explosives being hidden in baby strollers and car seats.)

Boarding & Flying

• As you board the plane, a gate agent will give you a tag for your stroller, car seat and base. You can attach the car seat and base together, then simply leave each item right outside the plane’s door before boarding. When you land, don’t forget to retrieve these items from the same spot right outside the door of the plane…you’ll definitely need them later!
• Emotionally, Brittany was a nervous wreck about Willow’s first flight, but she timed her schedule perfectly and made sure that Willow would want to nurse around the time of takeoff and sleep for most of the flight. Sure enough, our little Peanut zonked out right on time and never made a peep!
• Sometimes, however, babies just don’t cooperate. On one flight Willow got super fussy, so Brittany went through the checklist of what could possibly be bothering her. Is she hungry? Does she have a dirty diaper? Is she sleepy? Is she not feeling well? Is she uncomfortable? If you’re in this situation and nothing seems to work, our suggestion is to take a deep breath and remember this: There’s a good chance you’re the ONLY one who is stressing out. You’re NOT a bad parent and even if you feel like everyone on board is upset with your little noisemaker, you can’t worry about what others think. What your baby needs most is to feel like she’s the center of your attention so tune everything (and everyone) else out and do whatever you can to try and console her. In our case, we were high enough in the air that Brittany was able to get up, walk to the back of the plane and rock Willow to sleep in the space between the restrooms and the flight attendants’ service area.

Two More Tips

• Show love and extend grace to others (even if they don’t reciprocate). One of the fastest ways to make your travel experience a miserable one is to let stress get the best of you. All too often when we travel we allow relatively trivial things upset us. Sometimes it’s as simple as a snarky comment by a spouse, or other times it’s a random traveler or employee who pushes our buttons. Regardless of where the frustration comes from, knowing how to deflect it and keep a positive attitude is the name of the game. The next time you’re traveling and sense yourself getting angry, take a deep breath, say a prayer, and remember that there’s nothing the devil would enjoy more than to turn your adventure into a disaster. When you focus your energy on loving others in the midst of your travels, we promise you’ll find joy in the journey.
• Be a difference maker with your words. On one flight Willow was crying and wouldn’t stop. Brittany, Willow and I were all a hot mess when the gentleman sitting next to Brittany leaned over and offered some encouragement that literally brought Brittany to tears. If you see a parent having a hard time, a few kind words can make a world of difference.

100% of proceeds made from referral and affiliate links on theworthens.org will be donated to charity.

I am not perfect; I don’t have it all together and I definitely don’t claim to be one who knows it all. The past two months have stretched me to unimaginable depths in every sense possible: physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

I have experienced happiness, joy and the most incredible love imaginable. I have also had moments where I felt overwhelmed with stress, anxiety, mom guilt, and complete exhaustion. I pray every single day that I will be a good mom to Willow, but I still question every single decision I make in regard to her.

A few weeks ago I finished a book titled Grace Not Perfection by Emily Ley. A dear friend and sister in Christ bought this book for me several months ago and it wasn’t until after Willow was born that I decided to pick it up and read it.

You know how I talk about God’s perfect timing? This was one those times. Emily talked so much about motherhood and allowing yourself to feel grace.

One of my weaker qualities is that I strive for perfection. I’m not talking the kind of perfection where something is simply done “good” enough. I am talking the kind of perfection that drives my every. single. move. With nearly everything I do, I want it to be better than great. I want to do everything with excellence, where everything fits and everything has a place. Every part of my life strives for perfection.

I went through a period where I put this same expectation on others, and if you’ve followed our journey thus far, you know that was a major part of why Ryan and I struggled so much early on in our marriage. Through growing pains, I realized perfection is an unrealistic expectation that cannot be placed on others. It’s not fair.

But wait a minute…this applies to ME too! This book poured into me the sweet reminder that God’s grace is enough.

After putting Willow to bed at night, I have laid my head down heavily on my pillow and more times than I care to think about, I have reflected on the day and gotten down on myself for decisions I made or for the ways I fell short as a mother, wife and friend.

Grace, friends. Sweet grace.

That’s what our Heavenly Father offers us and I am learning in the midst of my imperfections that I don’t have to place unrealistic expectations on myself.

While I am pretty proud of the fact that as a new mom I shower every day, I’m not always proud that when Ryan comes home from work in the evenings, I’m usually in workout clothes with a spandex waist and no makeup.

Have I gone to workout? No. Have I fit back into my old clothes? Ummm, no. I go for comfort and practicality these days.

Grace.

Each day is a new day and I am learning to allow myself grace in this messy thing called life. I am starting each day journaling my prayers and ask God to go before me in all my decisions. I am praying for wisdom and discernment and asking God to guide my every step. My mind is constantly going a million miles a minute, but it’s helpful to stop and remind myself that I don’t have to be perfect. I just get to be me.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Morgan Photography

I couldn’t agree more.

We have so enjoyed today, but about an hour ago we sat on our back patio and reminisced about how much our lives have changed.

We’ve been pretty open about the struggle we faced trying to get pregnant, and as we look back on that challenging time we can’t help but give thanks for the significance of today. In the past month, my love for Brittany has grown so much as I’ve watched her take on this new role as “Mom.” From waking up at 3am to feed or change Willow, to keeping the house in order as we welcome others into our home to meet and spend time with our little girl, Brittany has been nothing short of amazing.

Have there been challenges and frustrations? Plenty. But both Brittany and I know just how blessed we are to have Willow and we remind each other about how the pregnancy and life with an infant would be different if the clock was turned back a couple of years. Simply put, we weren’t ready and God in his perfect timing knew it. Even though that was a hard season for us, our Creator knew exactly what was best for us and for that we are thankful.

And speaking of being thankful, we were fortunate enough to enjoy this Mother’s Day with my Mom and Dad, who drove several hours from their home in Toledo, Ohio to be with us this weekend and watch Willow as we filmed our first wedding since her arrival last month. Brittany was nervous all week about the thought of leaving Willow for 8+ hours, but when Saturday rolled around both mother and daughter did GREAT!

We woke up to the most perfect Sunday morning and started it off by taking Willow to her first church service at Southland! Let’s just say I cried like a baby as I held her and listened to the worship music. We left church and headed to one of our favorite brunch restaurants, Wild Eggs, before Mom and Dad hit the road back to Toledo. What a treasure it was to be able to spend some time with two amazing Moms on this Mother’s Day!

My child, obey your father’s godly instruction and follow your mother’s life-giving teaching. Fill your heart with their advice and let your life be shaped by what they’ve taught you. Their wisdom will guide you wherever you go and keep you from bringing harm to yourself. Their instruction will whisper to you at every sunrise and direct you through a brand new day.
– Proverbs 6:20-22

Here are a few photos from our own little “newborn session”
with Willow when she was two weeks old.

We hope you enjoy them!

But first…My wife is a rock star. I knew from day one she would be a natural when it came to motherhood, but seeing her care for Willow this past month has given me a much deeper love and appreciation for her. I promise you’ll hear more from me on this around Mother’s Day, but I just had to get that off my chest! Okay…now for the updates:

Daily Routines
Brittany and I both wanted Willow to be comfortable sleeping in her crib in her nursery from day one, so as we stood over her that first night we were home from the hospital I wrapped Brittany up in my arms and we both cried. The feelings of joy, exhaustion, uncertainty, and a multitude of other emotions all hit us at the same time, but more than anything I think it was an overwhelming sense of gratefulness that God answered our prayers and entrusted to us the responsibility of raising Willow.

Fortunately, Willow’s nursery is in the room right next to ours, so we’ve been able to turn the volume all the way down on her monitor and we rely on her cries (but thankfully not those little whimpers) to wake us up when she needs to be fed. And speaking of getting fed, this girl is eating like a horse and growing SOOOO fast!

As for other daily routines, Willow is in a pretty consistent routine of eating, sleeping and pooping. We’ve done some belly time and go on walks around the neighborhood whenever we can, but other than that, we’re just spending a ton of time snuggling our little peanut!

The Dogs’ Reactions
We were a bit worried about how the dogs would react to the new family addition. Our two dogs are sweet and fairly well-behaved, but they can be a handful at times so before Willow and Brittany were released from the hospital, I came home to pick up a few things and brought one of Willow’s blankets with me so the dogs would be able to pick up on her scent.

We’ve been having some behavior issues with Rook lately (he’s our 13 year-old lab mix), so we were expecting him to act out and make a mess in her nursery, but as it turns out he has been so precious with Willow. In fact, his favorite place to sleep when we put Willow down has been right in front of her crib!

Runner (our 3 year-old Golden Retriever) has been less interested in the baby, but we can tell that she gets a little jealous of all the attention Willow receives so she has not missed an opportunity to put her head directly under our hands as a reminder that she needs to be pet.

All in all, the dogs have done well, and with Brittany being home with them all summer long, our pups will definitely receive plenty of love and affection.

Back to Work
I returned to work a week after Willow was born. I didn’t know what to expect when I pulled out of the driveway the first time that Monday morning, but y’all…it was ROUGH. Now four weeks in, I find myself thinking often about what my girls are up to at home and can’t wait until I get the next photo or video text from Brittany. I am very thankful that I love my job and have such great coworkers, otherwise I would be going insane being away all day. It also helped a TON that Brittany’s Mom came to stay with us for several days that week; she did so much to help Brittany and made a delicious dinner for us every evening. We’re definitely hoping for more family visits like that in the future!

Getting home from work is always the best part of my weekday. The past few weeks Brittany has tried to have Willow fed and content around the time I walk through the door, so she typically hands her off to me so she can make dinner and do a few things around the house. I have my first out-of-town / overnight work trip this week, so it will be interesting to see how that goes. I hate the thought of leaving Brittany without help, but the good news is the trip is only one night so it will be a good trial run since I have another work trip out of state in June that will keep me away for almost a week.

The Highlights
Willow has already had a few significant milestones that made this Mom and Dad proud. Her very first outing besides the doctor’s office and walks in our neighborhood was to Harry’s, a wonderful restaurant that is dangerously close to our home.

Our little girl was also able to enjoy another fun restaurant experience after we were invited by our dear friends Matt and Kelsey to celebrate their wedding anniversary with them at Tony’s. Our friend and server, Chris, took such great care of us and the food was absolutely incredible (as always)!

Willow’s third big outing was to Keeneland! I had a work event in the Keeneland Room (also known as the “Queen’s Room”) which sits high atop the famed race course, so once our guests left Brittany and Willow were able to come up and enjoy the spectacular views and beautiful spring weather. She also got to meet a few of my co-workers!

And since I somehow keep coming back to food in this blog post, over the past few weeks, Brittany, Willow and I have been blessed by many friends and neighbors who have gone out of their way to care for us by bringing the most delicious meals to our home! We may have gained a few extra pounds in the process, but we loved the fact that so many close to us were able to meet Willow. Lauren and Kelsey, thank you SO much for coordinating the meal train for us!

Last but not least, our church had a baby dedication service and it was a very special time for us with some dear friends. After Brittany and I got married, we prayed for God to connect us with other young married couples to do life with. He answered that prayer, and we were so encouraged by our new community of friends that we decided to volunteer as life group facilitators so we could help other young married couples get connected as well. During the baby dedication service, several of the couples from those life groups were there with their own babies in tow, and Brittany and I just sat in the back of the room and cried as we held Willow and thanked God for how He continues to bless us with incredible friendships that are rooted in Him (and these are just the friends from those groups who had babies recently!). We are grateful for Southland Christian Church helping make this answered prayer possible, and we look forward to helping more couples connect and grow closer to Jesus. ???? And if you can’t tell by the picture, we have officially entered the stage of life when no matter how many photos are taken, not a single one will be perfect because…kids!

Looking Back
The past month has been simply amazing. Willow is such a sweetheart and we are loving life as new parents. We’re trying our best to treasure every little moment with our precious baby girl, and one of the best gifts to help us remember this special time was a newborn photo shoot with the one and only Kelsey Malicote.

Kelsey, we know we can never repay you for capturing these incredible images of Willow, but we will sure try our best to let you know how much you (and your amazing family) mean to us!

So enough with the words, right?! We know you really came to see more photos of Willow so here you go!

It will probably come as no surprise that I had a camera on hand to capture the moments after her birth.

I remember sitting in front of my birthday cake making a HUGE wish — or as I’d like to think of it — a bold prayer. Throughout that week, I read two books that impacted me deeply. One of the books stated, “Sometimes we’re so afraid of making a mistake we never take hold of what all He has for us. We focus on being safe and staying on the straight and narrow so much that we miss out on what God truly wants — which is seeing us grow into all He created us to be.” I boldly prayed for God to grow me into all He created me to be and in that same prayer, I prayed that His plan would include being pregnant in my 30^th year.

So here I sit, writing a post to reflect the pictures of our sweet Willow Rose’s nursery. God knew then and His plan far surpassed anything I could have ever wished or imagined. He knew all along the right timing and knew when our hearts would be ready for this new journey, and He reminded me of this on our trip out west to Colorado this past summer. That trip was incredible in more ways than one and we have a little souvenir to show for it. Wink, wink!

Naturally, we went with a mountain theme for our nursery following that amazing trip to Breckenridge. There are so many special, handmade elements in Willow’s room. I made the mobile hanging over Willow’s crib, and Ryan made the wood wall and the triangle shelves with help from his friends Matt and Justin. The blanket draped over the crib was a gift from Amanda, a friend and former co-worker. The custom-engraved mountain cut-outs and paper flowers were part of the decor from a sweet shower thrown by my friend Kelsey, and the sign hanging above Willow’s crib was made by our very talented friend Meredith (be sure to check out her work here).

We love how the new room has come together, and we’re excited for you to see it, too! (Scroll to the bottom for a full list if you’re looking to buy!)

Shop this Nursery

100% of proceeds made from referral and affiliate links on theworthens.org will be donated to charity.

“May Her Faith” Handlettered Sign (custom order) – Merrily Written
http://www.instagram.com/merrilywritten

Willow Rose Sign (custom order) – The Trendy Timber
https://www.instagram.com/thetrendytimber

Tissue Tassel Garland (custom order) – LoveGarlands
https://www.etsy.com/shop/LoveGarlands

White Fluffy Cloud Pillow – TalesBoutique
https://www.etsy.com/listing/212414267/fluffy-cloud-pillow-cushion-white-polar

White Flower Ceiling Fan Light Kit – Lamps Plus
http://www.lampsplus.com/products/white-flower-ceiling-fan-light-kit__k9774.html

Crib by DaVinci -Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013QQJ58M

Glider & Ottoman – Wayfair
https://www.wayfair.com/Angel-Line-Windsor-Glider-and-Ottoman-GOF1083.html

End Table – Wayfair
https://www.wayfair.com/Charlton-Home®-Axtell-End-Table-CHLH2894.html

Table Lamp (shade sold separately) – Target
http://www.target.com/p/lamp-base-ceramic-double-gourd-includes-cfl-bulb-threshold/-/A-51454403

Bunny Rabbit Wall Decor – Target
http://www.target.com/p/bunny-head-wall-d-cor-pillowfort/-/A-51619142

Shag Rug – Target
http://www.target.com/p/nuloom-hand-tufted-maginifique-shag-rug/-/A-50532249

Floating Bookshelves (Picture Ledges) – IKEA
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40291766

Shelf Unit (in Willow’s closet) – IKEA
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80275887

OTHER Items

Shiplap Style Wall (how we did it)
Triangle Mountain Shelves (made by Ryan and Justin)
Handmade Blanket (made with love by our friend Amanda)
Curtains (IKEA – discontinued)

100% of proceeds made from referral and affiliate links on theworthens.org will be donated to charity.

Your Mom and I are so excited to meet you! We have been counting down the days until we can finally cradle you in our arms, rock you to sleep, kiss your cute little cheeks and even change your diaper (and speaking of diapers, I’ve never changed one before so you better make them good!). Before you arrive, I thought I would share some truths that I hope will help guide you through this crazy, beautiful, and sometimes stinky thing called life.

You are an answered prayer. You are literally a miracle to us. Your Mom and I were starting to doubt if we could have children, but God answered our prayers in a mighty way when we learned we would soon have a daughter. The news of you took our faith in God to a deeper place, and I expect that will be even more true when you arrive. Your life will be full of ups, downs and unknowns, but I hope you always remember to seek God even when the odds are against you, when the road gets rough or when you feel like you’re losing hope.

Your family loves you. Did you know there are 589 brands of breakfast cereal? I tell you this to prepare you for the many choices you’ll be given in life. The one thing you cannot choose, however, is your family. Thankfully, you’ve hit the jackpot with Nana, Bapa, Gigi, Papa, and many others who already love you deeply. I hope you always remember that while you cannot choose your family, you can always choose to love them and I hope you always will.

You will make mistakes. Willow, there are two big lies that this world will make you believe. The first lie is that you need to be perfect, but that’s simply not true. Mistakes are one of the best ways we learn in life. When you fall short, don’t let the sting of disappointment prevent you from getting back up and pressing forward. Your Mom and I are far from perfect, so I hope you always remember that you’re not alone when it comes to making mistakes. We will always, ALWAYS love you (even through the “terrible twos”).

Your beauty comes from inside. The second big lie is that beauty can be measured by the numbers on a scale, the size of your clothing, or the amount of likes you get on social media. As a guy, I can’t say I fully understand the insecurities many girls feel when it comes to their self-image, but those feelings you may someday battle are a result of our culture’s obsession with women’s outward appearance. As your Dad, I promise to show you what real beauty looks like by raising you to value qualities such as gentleness, respect, humility, kindness and compassion. When I first saw your Mom, my knees buckled and I could hardly speak. She was (and still is) the most beautiful girl I had ever laid eyes on, but as time passed and she opened her heart to me, my attraction for her reached depths I never knew were possible. I hope you always remember to seek after that kind of beauty for yourself and in others. And speaking of mama…

Your Mom is an AMAZING role model. She is incredibly smart, loyal, trustworthy, and encouraging. She is a hard worker and a leader. She is trusted and respected, and her kindness and compassion seem limitless. Her desire to be like Jesus is her best quality, and she is loved by many because of how she loves others. I hope you always remember to surround yourself with people like your Mom.

You can make a difference. Willow, there are no limits to what you can accomplish in this world, but my prayer is that no matter what you chase after, it is rooted in truth and love that can only be found in a relationship with Jesus. Our world can be a dark place, but I hope you always remember to be a beacon of light to others because that is truly the purpose for which God has created you.

I love you and I can’t wait to see you shine.

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Matthew 5:14-16

Love,
Dad

Photos by The Malicotes

Matt and Kelsey, words aren’t enough to express our gratitude for your friendship,
and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for these treasured images.

]]> 1057 https://theworthens.org/2016/12/baby-worthen-bumpdate/ Tue, 06 Dec 2016 01:16:38 +0000 http://theworthens.org/?p=958 I’m one of those who knew I’d want to take a bump pic each week once my belly started popping, so bump + update = bumpdate. It’s crazy how fast time is flying by and one of the ways we wanted to remember this time was to update this blog post both as a keepsake for us as well as a way for us to share our lives with others. Ryan is taking the photos of me in the nursery and with each photo we’re including a verse that represents our prayers over this little miracle. It has already been a wild ride for sure, and we hope you’ll continue to pray and encourage us on this journey together!

WEEK 12: This secret was so hard to keep!
We went “public” with this pregnancy announcement video and blog post.

WEEK 13: The first trimester totally kicked my butt, but thankfully the fatigue and sickness finally started to taper off. I never felt like doing anything and wanted to eat pizza and french fries all the time. If you know me well, you know this is SO not me! This baby is totally Ryan’s! He is the pizza eater between us. Oh! I also stopped at Wendy’s for a burger and Sprite quite frequently. Seriously…Ryan’s baby. Insert big eye emoji!

WEEK 14: Finally! I am starting to feel somewhat like my old self! I’m more tired than I was in the first trimester, but overall I am feeling so much better. I still don’t want fruit and can’t really stand the thought of eating it. Things definitely are different, but we are having fun!

WEEK 15: We got some news that rocked our world this week. Routine blood work showed that I had been exposed to a virus which has been known to cause harm to babies. We’re going in to see a high-risk doctor this week and we’re asking for lots of prayers. Even in this, we know God is still sovereign and in control!

The night before I talked to the doctor to find out about my blood work, I had a vivid DREAM where the doctor told me Baby Worthen was a girl (even though I told her not to tell me)! In the dream, I could see the baby’s face and body and she was absolutely perfect…it was incredible! God also spoke to me in this dream and told me, “Don’t you remember, I’ve already given you the name of your daughter.” I pretty much held on to this dream the entire week. It was a sweet reminder that God has formed this baby in my womb, and again, He is in control!

 Later in the week, we saw the high-risk pregnancy doctor and got to see Baby Worthen through an ultrasound. The doctor said the baby looked great, but she wanted to do some additional blood work to see if they can learn more about the presence of the virus. We’re anxious to hear the results, but we’re praying and trusting fully in our Lord. We also didn’t see any “boy parts” in the ultrasound, but it’s still too early to say if it’s a boy or a girl.

WEEK 16: Well, God did it again! We got a call from our doctor this week that all my blood tests were negative…no virus and my previous blood work was a false positive! The nurse was amazing and listened to me as I cried rejoicing in the news. She said, “You don’t have to worry anymore!” WHOOOOOO!!!! Okay, maybe I do still worry a time or two. Sometimes I wonder if there really is a baby growing in there. Ha! This is the most amazing experience ever in the history of EVER!

Keep on praying! We feel them and need them. Maybe we’ll find out in a few weeks what the gender is. What do you think…boy or girl? I know one thing for sure, we’re feeling SUPER thankful right now!

Week 17: Shew! What a week. Ryan and I both got the stomach bug and it ended up putting me in the hospital. Luckily, it only lasted 24 hours and we were both better the next day, but it was completely and totally awful! I haven’t had much of an appetite and I’ve been kind of scared to eat normal food. I’ve still craved Lucky Charms and Fruity Pebbles though. Yes, I totally feel like I’m five again. I eat cereal every morning for breakfast because it’s about the only thing that sounds good.

My sister and I took a fun little trip at the end of the week to go and visit my aunt. We loved visiting with our family and got some good sister time in, too! I think I was still recovering because I felt pretty bad the whole weekend. My sis and aunt were troopers and still made me have fun. The spa day was my favorite! This whole trip was inspired by my sweet husband…For my 30th birthday this year, he gifted a “sister trip” to me. With the threat of Zika EVERYWHERE, we were pretty limited with where we could go. My sister loves the Steelers and we do have some strong Italian roots, so we thought it’d be pretty awesome to go and visit our aunt for a girls’ weekend. When we arrived, Ryan had ordered and sent flowers to my sister, my aunt and me and said “…when the Polis girls are together, that’s a reason to celebrate.” It was a perfect sister trip before the baby comes!

Week 18: I think this has been my best week yet. Since the first time in about 18 weeks, I’ve managed to work out five days in a week. You all know I love working out, but this is something I could barely manage to do during the first trimester. I never felt good and instead of beating myself up over not working out, I just tried to do what I could do. All bets are off when you’re pregnant (so I’ve been told) and I’ve found this to be SO true. I still don’t enjoy sweets and my Laffy Taffy phase has passed. See…I told you all I felt like I was five again! Foods I ate during the first trimester totally gross me out now…I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever be able to eat some of what used to be my favorites. I still enjoy pizza though!!! Ah…acid reflux is awful and something I’ve never experienced before, so Tums have become my new best friend!

This is the week we find out whether Baby Worthen is a boy or girl! Ryan and I are pretty excited. We’re planning to share Thanksgiving week with my family and I can’t wait to enjoy my mom’s homemade cooking! Thank you again for all of your prayers. We still need them and cherish them!

Week 19: I am still feeling good! I think the most exciting thing from this week was feeling the baby move for the first time. I had an “I think that’s the baby moving” kind of moment at first, but a couple of days later I knew it was definitely her I was feeling.

On Wednesday evening, I was lying in bed getting ready to go to sleep and I felt what I think were somersaults from her. It completely took my breath away. It’s the craziest and weirdest feeling and I am so anxious for Ryan to feel her. I still can’t believe this is happening! Pregnant mommas: Do you and did you feel this way? I keep wondering when it’s going to set in. You’d think my expanding belly would make it feel real, but I just can’t get over God’s miracle in all of this.

My emotions have been somewhat stable…haha! I’m not crying as much unless I’m watching a good Hallmark movie or I start thinking about the change that’s going to happen in our lives. I know this is all worth it, but change is so hard for me; it always has been.

Pizza is still my numero uno craving! I used to judge Ryan for getting Little Caesar’s Hot-and-Ready pizzas, but that’s pretty much my favorite right now. Gross, right? I know. Don’t judge! #impregnant

Week 20: Wow. We are half way through this thing! How has time gone by so fast? The little bean is still growing and moving around a lot more. I feel her at random times throughout the day, usually when I’m sitting at my desk, on the couch or lying in bed at night. Runner still loves laying her head on my belly and wants all the snuggle time she can get. I am still feeling good and have energy until about 7pm each night and then I’m ready for bed. The only other big change that happened this week was with my car. The car I had was too small in the back to fit a car seat, so we decided to get an SUV. I am very thankful we could make that change, but I cried. Yes, you can laugh at me because I cried over a car, but change is just so hard for me!

And her name is…

Do you remember when I shared several weeks ago how I dreamed that I was having a girl and the Lord spoke to me in that dream and reminded me the name He had given us for our daughter? We have loved being able to call our sweet baby girl by name since finding out.

Back in September, Ryan and I shared a special moment where we were talking about names and feel God gave us this verse: “This is what the Lord who made you and formed you from the womb, who we will help you says, Fear not, O Jacob my servant; and Jeshurun who I have chosen. For I will pour out water on him who is thirsty, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your descendants; and they will spring up among the grass like willows by the streams of water.” Isaiah 44:2-4.

Our sweet baby girl’s name is Willow Rose.

Roses play a super special part in our relationship. Ryan proposed with 600 red roses and I had roses all throughout my wedding bouquet. She’ll have the middle name of Rose for another reason, and if you know me well, you know that I love the Golden Girls. Love might actually be an understatement there…I have precious memories of watching the show with my grandmother when I was younger and Rose grew to be my favorite character. Her sayings are priceless and I love how witty and spunky she is. Rose just makes me happy! We love it and think it’s the perfect name for her.

Thank you for all the continued prayers and messages…They mean the world to us!

Week 21: I have definitely noticed little Willow popping out more every day. Some days I feel like a barn and other days I feel like I look somewhat normal. Some days I am okay with looking pregnant and other days, well…I just have to readjust my mindset. I feel I am being a typical girl when it comes to this, but I am also just being honest. One of my love languages is affirmation and Ryan does a great job at telling me he thinks I’m beautiful. Of course, my mind goes to thinking what? How? I’m huge! Ha! Why is it so hard to accept a compliment?

Working out has helped make me feel good and built my self-esteem on days when I don’t necessarily feel like myself. With my growing belly, I’ve decided to focus on things I can control like my butt and arms. No joke! I’m working out with a personal trainer and it’s been so helpful! It keeps me motivated and makes me feel good. I’ve been running on the treadmill a few times a week, but good gracious, I literally stop to go pee two or three times just while running a couple of miles.

I’ve learned that Willow does NOT like me eating chocolate. I get sick pretty much every time I try to eat it. I’m already starting to question her girliness over this chocolate thing. What girl doesn’t love chocolate? I didn’t like sweets at all in the first trimester, but I’ve started craving them again. I’ve also stepped up my pizza ordering from Little Caesar’s Hot-and-Readies to Jet’s thin crust. YUM! It’s gotten to the point where we’ve eaten pizza so much that Ryan told me the other night he is sick of eating it. That was a bit devastating to say the least.

I am feeling Willow a lot now, but mostly at night when I go to bed. She wiggles all over the place. She also moves a lot when Runner lays her head on my belly. They’re going to be buddies…I just know it!

Week 22: This has been a fun week! I saw Willow moving around outside of my belly. I knew if I could see her moving, then Ryan would be able to feel her soon. Sure enough, that night I laid down in bed and he felt her right away! It was one of the coolest things for us to experience together. Ryan was super excited! This whole experience is still so miraculous and mind-blowing for me. Some days I am just in awe thinking about how God designed all of this to be.

We’ve been on the go a lot lately, filming a ton of weddings and I’ve been trying to finish up all of our Christmas shopping. Filming has definitely gotten harder, and basically just bending over is not as easy. I tire out more frequently and my back hurts often. We have two more weddings to film in December and then we’re taking a break until after the baby is here!

It’s a bit surreal to think we are getting closer to her due date, and it’s a little scary if I can be honest. I got to hold my dear friend’s newborn baby this week and literally had knots in my stomach thinking how I couldn’t do this. Seriously! I am going to have to deliver a baby and then be responsible for this same baby. I am kind of laughing about my crazy thoughts, but oh my goodness!!! Mommas, please tell me you’ve had these same thoughts! Please make me feel like I am not crazy! I’ve also had a few panic moments this week thinking about how we don’t have a crib or haven’t registered yet. This whole experience is literally flying by.

One of my best friends gave me a Christmas gift this past week – a bracelet that says “Expect Miracles.” Sweet Willow Rose, you are our little miracle and that’s a fact. I know I’ve said this a lot already, but everyone has been so amazing. I can’t get over your love, support and prayers!

Ryan and I are proud to call you our friends, our community, our people. Wishing you the happiest Merry Christmas!

Week 23:  It’s Christmas time!!!!! I had a couple of panic moments this week in thinking that we hadn’t registered yet or bought a crib. Well, the crib is ordered and the baby items we “need” are registered. We decided to shop local for our crib and ordered it from a small place in Lexington called Nursery Time. We registered at Buy Buy Baby as we were headed out of town to visit Ryan’s family for Christmas in Ohio.

That was an experience. I think it would have been better for our marriage to have registered on the couch of our home in our comfy clothes. I had Ryan research the bigger items we needed while I depended on my momma friends and a fair amount of research I had done for the smaller, but necessary items.

With nearly each item I asked him to scan, he replied with statements like, “It cost that much? Why do we need that? What are we supposed to do with this?” For the love!!!

Let’s just say the thought of throat-punching him while registering may have crossed my mind a time or two. You’ll be happy to know, we made it out alive in under two hours. We spent the weekend in our comfy clothes, on the couch, adding and deleting items on our registry…just how we should have done it in the first place. We also registered at Babies R Us and Amazon. I think we are pretty set on the items we need (and a few extra wants…Little Willow needs to be accessorized)!

I am still feeling great! I have an occasional headache, but it’s nothing to complain about. I still crave pizza on a daily basis, eat cereal at least once a day (Frosted Rice Krispies, anyone?), love grapes and have to drink a Sprite every now and then. I craved chocolate this last week and it’s actually helped with my headaches a time or two. Eating it hasn’t made me sick, which happened in previous weeks. Maybe this girl does love chocolate after all!

Week 24: Baby Willow is definitely growing. My non-maternity shirts are shorter and tighter and the amount of times I have to pee in one day is beyond me. I can’t even keep track anymore. Besides the occasional headache and the dancing I feel on my bladder, I am feeling pretty good! This past week I’ve caught myself a couple of times exhausted from a previous day of work. While I still feel that I can keep up the pace of working out, cleaning house, and doing other odds and ends in a single day, the next day I am usually wiped out! Plus we filmed four weddings in this last month and well, I have been pretty pooped!

We filmed our last wedding of 2016 on New Years Eve. In fact, it’s our last wedding until after the baby arrives. It was so bittersweet. I teared up as guests celebrated the bride and groom with a confetti send-off at midnight. Getting to be a part of moments like that are just so special to us. Yes, it’s an incredible amount of hard work, but Ryan and I truly love doing this together.

I’ve enjoyed my Christmas break from my full time job, but I’m anxious to get the semester started. I absolutely love my job at Asbury University and love getting to be a part of students’ lives. I am still plugging away on my doctorate and have a busy semester ahead. I can’t believe we only have four months until Willow arrives! Ryan has been busy building furniture and we’ve been hand-making a lot of decor for her nursery. It’s coming together and we love all the special memories we’re incorporating into her room.

Please keep on praying; I can feel them and need them! Happy 2017 y’all! It’s going to be the best year yet!

Week 25: So this is the week where I start feeling like a whale…Shew! It has been a week. I started back to work, and while I have still tried to maintain working out my energy has just completely gone out the door. I am so tired all the time, but I am sure part of it is readjusting to a new schedule. You mommas out there are probably laughing and thinking, “You just wait!”

I think I’ve kicked my cereal habit (for now, at least). I was eating at least one bowl per day, but I haven’t really enjoyed it lately. Pizza is still my number one craving and I love eating any Italian food. I want a Caesar salad and cookie dough so bad I can’t stand it! I told Ryan the other day those are two things I want as soon as Willow is born. I’d also like to have my body back and fit into all my old clothes. Here’s to hoping for that dream to come true!

The last few weeks have been kind of hard for Ryan and I. I have been so emotional and the smallest and most ridiculous things seem to spark arguments. I’m thankful to have a husband who cares enough to want to work through things and become better as a result, but it’s definitely not a fun process. I know my overly sensitive emotions have played a role in how I have handled things, which doesn’t help at all. Sometimes we just have to step back and remind each other of what’s going on and how much we love one another. The devil doesn’t want us happy, but we refuse to let him win.

Week 26: Yep. Still tired! Ha! This was an exciting week though…we went on a babymoon!!!!! When Ryan asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I told him the only thing I would love was to go on some kind of trip with him before Willow is born. My two love languages are words of affirmation and quality time. We’ve been incredibly busy these last couple of months with work, school and weddings so I was craving some good quality time with him SUPER bad!

Our trip to Naples, Florida, was everything I could have ever wanted. I was so excited about this trip that I even asked several friends to be praying it up for us! I just didn’t want anything stupid to get in the way and I was hoping Ryan and I would be able to relax and enjoy one another.

It. Was. PERFECT! The weather was beautiful, the time of rest was amazing, the food was great and the company was incredible! Sometimes I just sit in awe in thinking about the ways Ryan loves me. Sure, we have ups and downs like every other couple, but this man loves me like no other. All he cared about was showering me with an incredible weekend and that’s exactly how it turned out.

We laughed about past memories, talked about our future with Willow and just soaked up all the good feels! Hopefully, you followed our Instagram stories on Reel Special’s Instagram channel to see all the fun we had as well as a few mishaps. If you missed it, I’ll just tell you that two mean airport security ladies made me cry after I had to throw out two small bottles of sunscreen I had just purchased (travel tip: according to the TSA quart-sized bags full of liquids are much safer than gallon-sized bags…who knew?!). Also, we realized Ryan’s license was expired when we went to get the rental car (which turned out to be a whole separate issue after the credit card company screwed up our car rental reservation), and the list could go on. Thankfully, those prayers were answered and despite the variety of issues, we had the best trip together.

I can’t believe I’m almost six months pregnant. Time has flown by and as each day passes, these experiences are becoming more surreal. Please keep praying for us and for Baby Willow. Your encouragement, prayers and support help me every single day!

Week 27: Ryan and I did a quick maternity shoot this past weekend. This is something I honestly did not want to do, but when one of your best friends just so happens to be the most amazing photographer and she tells you it’s something you have to do…you do it. I’m so glad we did! Not only was that such a precious time with Ryan, we now have some amazing photos to look back on.

I feel God is still teaching me that I don’t have control. As much as I want to have control and plan out every little detail of my life and Willow’s, that’s just not God’s plan. He knows what’s best and I just have to trust Him, in all things!

I’m feeling okay for the most part, just tired all the time. I slept six hours straight the other night without having to get up to go the bathroom. I felt like a new woman. Ha! My hormones are all over the place and I cry most often when I’m completely exhausted, which happens to be at the end of my weekends. I think I am trying to still fit in everything that I can and run around like I used to and it’s just not the same. My bump definitely gets in the way a lot and bending over is not quite as easy as it used to be. This whole growing a human thing is hard work!

Week 28: I’m officially in the third trimester now. Believe it or not, I still can’t believe I’m pregnant. This whole experience has been so surreal and discovering day by day the miracle God performs through a little life is absolutely mind blowing to me. People tell me often that holding your baby for the very first time is like no other experience. I can’t even begin to imagine what that’s going to be like. Ryan and I are so excited to meet her and I can’t stop thinking about what she’ll look like. I’m so curious about her and can’t wait to see her.

This past weekend was so exciting for me. One of my very best friends hosted my first baby shower and it was everything and more. The love I felt was so overwhelming it moved me to tears…lots and lots of tears. In fact, after the shower was over, I came home and cried a lot more. I was so overwhelmed with thankfulness for the thought and love that went into every piece of the shower. And, for so many of my amazing friends to come together for such a sweet time. I am beyond blessed and I don’t take that for granted.

You’re probably over all my talk about pizza, but I am still loving it! Pizza and any kind of Italian food is my go-to! I have developed a love for hot fudge sundaes, especially sundaes from the Cheesecake Factory. I may have had three in the last couple of weeks. I know, shame on me, but they are SO good! I’m still pretty tired all the time, but trying to just push through. This semester is already proved to be incredibly busy, but I am trying to soak up every spare moment I can with Ryan. Even in the midst of the busyness, I am trying to remind myself to slow down and enjoy the weeks I have before she gets here. Willow Rose will be here before we know it.

Week 29: This was a really, really hard week. I came down with a cold and it was a cold from you know where. I felt absolutely miserable, had to cancel a couple of classes and managed to workout only one day this week (and that was only because I had a session with a personal trainer). I tend to beat myself up when I don’t workout as much as I feel I need to, but this is the first week in a long time where I realized my body is not just mine anymore. I have a precious living soul inside of me that I also have to look out for, so instead of getting down on myself I decided to just rest.

I feel God spoke to my heart a lot this week. It’s been so easy for me to say “I feel like a whale” or “Well, I’m alive” when people ask how I am or how I’m feeling. I remember walking up to my office the other day (three flights of stairs because I refuse to take the elevator) and feeling beyond frustrated that I was so out of breath. Like, literally, it takes so much energy to climb those flights of stairs to my office every morning. As I wallowed in my frustration with being “over” getting out of breath, I realized this source of my frustration is the very thing I prayed so much for.

In that moment I felt my perspective completely changed. It’s as though God reminded me that I have no right to get frustrated and for goodness sakes, stop being so hard on myself…I am growing a human! I shared this realization with my college girls as I lead our devotion for class that morning. So much of our attitude depends on our perspective and sometimes our perspective needs a little tweaking. This life isn’t all about you, or me…this life is about loving others, cherishing others, building each other up and living it to the fullest. Yes, I have my blah days being pregnant and days where I definitely don’t enjoy it, but I decided this week that my perspective has to change on how I feel I see myself and how others see me. I’m pretty sure I’ll spend the rest of my life learning this. But for now, I’m going to enjoy the 11 weeks I have left of Willow growing inside of me. I’m going to continue to thank God for her and enjoy her Daddy like never before.

Life is so sweet and I am beyond thankful for the reminder of this.

Week 30: Whoa! 10 weeks left! I really thought I’d be over pizza by now, but it’s what’s on the menu at least two times per week. I did sneak over to Goodfella’s after class last Thursday night and about had a life changing experience after one bite of that heavenly delicious slice of cheese pizza. I texted Ryan immediately and told him I’d been missing out the past seven months on Goodfella’s!

I finally started feeling better after a week of misery. Having a bad cold and being pregnant is not something I would advise. I was very thankful for a good doctor’s visit this week and little Willow is right on track with her growth.

Ryan and I headed up north to Toledo this week. His mom and sisters threw me an amazing baby shower. Being surrounded with Godly women who have prayed for us to get pregnant was just about more than I could handle. Sisters, aunts, moms, nieces, and dear friends all came together to shower me and Baby Willow. It was so sweet and all the decorative touches were so perfect. I really can’t describe to you how loved and special this made me feel. One of the most amazing feelings is looking around a room full of women knowing they’ve been in this journey with me since the beginning. They were praying for God to bless us with a family and we were finally all together celebrating that answered prayer.

Sweet Willow…you are more than an answered prayer. You are going to move mountains and I am so blessed that God chose me to be your momma!

Week 31: We’re in the single digits now. Nine weeks to go! I’m feeling so much better this week, but goodness am I tired! All. The. Time. I came home from work the other day with the mindset that I’d take a 30 minute nap, wake up and walk the dogs then work on homework the rest of the night. Yeah, that nap turned into two and a half hours.

Ryan has been working hard in her nursery and assembled her crib this past weekend. Seeing it all come together definitely makes this feel more real. We have a couple of things left to do in her room before we feel it’s “perfect,” but we love it so far. Even though deciding on colors and her nursery theme was a source of emotional frustration and crying (on my end) between Ryan and I, I’d say it’s come together quite well and I love how invested Ryan has been into all the details of her room. Let the shower gift organizing and laundry washing begin!

I feel her move all the time and I catch myself constantly thinking about what she’s going to look like. I am so excited to meet her and see her and can’t believe there are only two months left until her due date. I caught myself thinking a lot today about God’s perfect timing. After church today, we stopped and talked to some of our closest friends – one who just had a baby and three others that are due in the coming weeks. It’s just amazing to think about how God truly does know what’s best for our lives and how he shows support by surrounding us with a community of love and friendship.

Oh, and while I’m thinking about it, don’t ever tell a pregnant woman “You’re getting really big” or “You’re looking really pregnant.” It’s not a compliment. We’re already sensitive about our growing belly and that’s just one more thing to make us emotional. From the looks of it, I have two more months to stuff my face with pizza and get all the naps in I possibly can. Just tell me to keep up the good work…haha!

Week 32: I’m learning that the emotions of feeling overwhelmingly loved and showered just don’t go away. This was a really great week topped off by an even better weekend. My best friend, sister and mom came up from Knoxville to help throw a baby shower along with one of my closest friends here in Lexington. The thought behind every single detail of this shower was beyond amazing. Willow received so many heartfelt gifts and books and her nursery is just overflowing with love. God knew I would need the community that I have for such a time as this and I am beaming with thankfulness and gratitude for all my friends and family.

This really is such a sweet time of life and I am trying hard not to wish it away or get caught up in life’s busyness to miss it all. More than ever, I’ve just wanted to soak up every minute with Ryan and absolutely love being around him. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ve always loved being around him, but there is just something so sweet about this time. I look forward to our weekly Wednesday night date nights (because that’s really the only time we get to see each other throughout the week) and I also enjoy our wedding-less Saturdays where we do odds and ends around the house, run errands and sit on the couch and eat pizza with the dogs cuddled next to us. I know life will change once Willow is here, but it’s going to be what we make it.

Thinking about this next week has me feeling overwhelmed that it’s already going to be March. I cannot believe how fast this past year has gone by. With all of our baby showers almost complete, it’s time to finish up last minute touches to her nursery and put away all of her clothes. I also just want to spend these next several weeks praying over Willow and the delivery. This is the part I’m most anxious about and I have to remember that God is in control.

Oh, and can I just mention the amazing letter Ryan wrote for Willow? I hope you’ve had the chance to read it. It made me cry, of course. I love every single word he wrote to her and know he will spend the rest of his life loving her and cherishing her.

Week 33: Another week down…another baby shower! Several of my coworkers at Asbury University threw us our last baby shower and it was so special! Ryan was able to leave work and drive out to Asbury to help celebrate. We had pizza and cupcakes with buttercream icing…it was amazing…and the décor reflected two of my favorite childhood books, Just Me and My Mom and The Giving Tree. I, of course, cried the minute I saw everything! We have been incredibly blessed by friends, family and coworkers throughout this pregnancy and I don’t know what we’d do without our sweet community. God is so good!

Another amazing thing that happened this week was getting a sweet surprise when we heard a knock at the door and found a couple angels carrying our stroller and car seat to gift to us. Queue ALLLLL the tears. I was (and still am) speechless. Completely floored. It was the last big item on our registry and Ryan and I had planned to buy it, but little did we know God had something else in mind. To the two amazing people who blessed us with this gift. THANK YOU.

I am still feeling pretty well, just constantly tired. I am up a few times each night and toss and turn a lot. That’s good preparation for a newborn, right? Willow still moves around all the time and I’m pretty sure she likes to kickbox…haha! I’m craving anything strawberry flavored even though I still haven’t been able to actually eat strawberries. The thought of eating them grosses me out, and the same applies with anything made with or consists of cream cheese. I. Miss. Cheesecake. Mexican food is still a big NO on my list of foods I’m craving, but I pray my love for that cuisine comes back when she’s born!

Ryan has been absolutely amazing and deserves the “greatest husband ever” award. He has put up with my grumbling and complaining, has dropped everything to help me, and has even attempted to cook dinner. God bless him!

This has been a fun journey and I can’t believe we only have seven more weeks!

Oh, and can I just mention the amazing letter Ryan wrote for Willow? I hope you’ve had the chance to read it. It made me cry, of course. I love every single word he wrote to her and know he will spend the rest of his life loving her and cherishing her.

Week 34: I haven’t had pizza all week. I know…I am just as shocked as you are. It was a super busy week with work and school and pizza just wasn’t in the cards. I’ve told Ryan over and over again how bad of a wife I was this week. He had to help make dinner one night (which is totally not his thing) and then fend for himself the other nights. Poor guy! Wednesday night is always our date night, but this past week I had to work at Asbury until really late so that meant our date was postponed until Friday. By the time Ryan got home from work on Friday, we were both so exhausted that we napped and went to dinner around the time I usually go to bed. We’re soaking up our last few weekends of dates and eating out before the Little One arrives.

This felt like a really long week and I didn’t quite have the energy I normally do. Maybe I should stop eating Fruit Loops for breakfast and choose something that will give me a little more pep in my step. Haha! We don’t normally keep Fruit Loops around, but I grabbed a box off the shelf while shopping at Kroger last week because they looked so yummy I had to have them! Other than that, I haven’t really had any cravings this week.

This week is my spring break and I’ve had an itch to travel somewhere warm and tropical, but I figured staying home and finishing Willow’s nursery and getting some school projects done would be better use of my time. I managed to get everything washed and put away, so now we just have a few more things to hang in her nursery and it will be complete! It has been so amazing to see our vision come together and it wouldn’t have been possible without my handy dandy and super creative husband. Thanks, babe!

We also attended a child birth educational class on Saturday. That. Was. Interesting. I might have left a little scarred from a few things we had to encounter, but we sure did have some good laughs. Ryan was a trooper and it did make this whole thing feel a little more real. I did have some brief moments throughout the day where I thought I couldn’t do this (the whole delivery thing). Insert big, huge eye emoji here!

One of my best friends keeps reminding me that women have been delivering babies pretty much forever, and I know God is in control and everything will be just fine but if you’ve read this far, I do have one prayer request: the delivery is something I am most scared about.

Would you pray that God will give me a peace about this part of our pregnancy? Yes, I definitely trust Him, but goodness am I nervous! I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that “medical stuff” wigs me out and I just want everything to go okay.

We’ve valued and cherished all of your prayers thus far and can’t thank you enough for all the support you continually show and give us.

Only six more weeks!!!

Week 35: I can count how many weeks we have left on one hand. Holy moly!!! This was a hard and stressful week and I am happy to see it go.

I spent most of my week stressing over school projects that I was trying to get ahead on. I put a lot of pressure on myself because I strive for “A’s” in all of my classes, but goodness, I was all tears and stomach aches because of it. I managed to get a lot of work done and a sweet ending to the week was finishing up Willow Rose’s nursery. Ryan worked on the honey-do list I gave him and put together her Pack & Play and her Rock & Play. I’d say we’re about ready for this little one to grace our lives!

My belly is growing big and breathing has become uncomfortable…haha! She makes herself comfy on one side of my ribs often and still likes to throw her kickboxing skills at me throughout the day. Maybe this one will love the gym as much as I do!

Besides the normal, my only other craving this week was a chocolate Frosty from Wendy’s. My senses are crazy and I feel like I can smell everything. I ended up giving Runner a bath because I felt she was too stinky. Poor pup! Seeing how she’s super obsessed with my belly and overprotective of me, I can’t wait to see her with Willow. Ah, this is getting more real by the day!

Week 36: Four more weeks! I can’t even believe it. Now that her nursery is finished, I have been working hard trying to complete my projects for school. Once those are done, I think I’ll feel “ready!” I just keep wondering what she’s going to look like and how big she will be. So many of my close friends have had babies over the last several months and it’s just been an amazing thing to experience- to see their new little miracle, to see all the joy and God’s perfect timing. I just can’t wait for Willow!

I’m still working out, eating pizza at least once a week and getting my Frosty fix every once in a while. Ryan even craves them now, too…haha!

My best friend’s wedding is next weekend in Knoxville and I think I have everyone I know praying for me that I’ll be able to make it through. I’m looking forward to going to Knoxville as it will be my last time going “home” before she comes. Goodness, how time has flown. We don’t even know what to expect, but I can tell you Willow sure does have a momma and daddy that love her so much already!

Week 37: What a crazy and exciting week! After class on Thursday night we headed to Knoxville to get the wedding festivities started. Yes, I was totally nervous being away from Lexington with three weeks left to go. I had a bazillion friends praying for me because I wanted to be able to make this wedding more than anything.

My craving this week- anything banana! I asked my mom to make a banana pudding for me for my birthday and it. Was. Delicious. I loved being with my family and best friends throughout the weekend and just kept praying that this little bean would stay inside of me. Luckily, she did and the wedding was so amazing. Ryan filmed the entire wedding while I filled the role of a bridesmaid. After eating some cake (of course my piece was loaded with icing) and sending the bride and groom off, we darted back to Lexington for a peace of mind.

These last couple of weeks have been more than crazy trying to get things organized at work and finishing some pretty big projects for my doctoral program. I’ve been pretty stressed about it all, but God always works it out. Always.

Ryan is beyond amazing and I honestly can’t find the words to describe all he does for me. You all… he is absolutely incredible and takes care of me so well! He is going to be the best daddy EVER! Three weeks seems so far away yet so close. Life is about to change and we couldn’t be happier about it!

I’ve told you all before that the delivery is what I have been most nervous about. I sat down a few weeks ago to write out a specific prayer and also had my mom (who is my prayer warrior) write out a special prayer. It has changed everything. I feel so excited now! Yes, I am still somewhat nervous, but the peace I have is what I needed. Thanking Jesus for this!!!

Week 38: Well…we took this picture just minutes before leaving for the hospital. I am still in shock that she’s here! I honestly thought she’d come late and so did everyone else.

This was a pretty normal week…work and grad school. Ryan helped me edit my final project for UK on Monday night and Tuesday is when I started having some symptoms. I actually went to the doctor on Monday for my weekly checkup and I was only one centimeter “and a wiggle.” I felt some contractions on Tuesday, but thought they were just Braxton Hicks and I was trying to recover from a busy wedding weekend in Knoxville.

You know I’m an open book, so this next part is just, well…funny. Besides what I thought were Braxton Hicks contractions, I was also leaking. Well, I thought I was just peeing on myself here and there and figured it was just my muscles relaxing preparing for her due date.

I decided to work from home on Friday, April 7^th, so I could get caught up on grading and other work. I went to the gym that morning and was texting some friends of how I was still “leaking.” They both strongly recommended I call the doctor just to make sure everything was okay before heading into the weekend, so I called the doctor and ran over to their office real quick for them to check me. I totally thought I’d be headed back home shortly and my day would go on as planned, but they tested me and sure enough, my water had broken.

I immediately started crying. Happy tears of course, but also shocked at their words of “Your water broke, you’re going to have a baby!” AHHHHHHHH!!!! Are you for real? I texted and called Ryan as I was leaving the doctor and the tears just poured. I was sweaty from the gym and didn’t have anything with me, so I ran home real quick to shower and get our stuff.

I had no idea what to expect and I can’t even begin to describe what the labor and delivery was like. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I was 38 weeks and one day when I delivered Willow Rose. I definitely did not expect her to come two weeks early, but my goodness, am I so glad she’s here!

All I can say is our Lord is perfect in His timing. Absolutely perfect. He knew when it was the right timing for us to get pregnant. He knew when her birth date would be. He knew everything. Week 38…you were our BEST week!

She’s here! Meet Willow Rose Worthen. She is an absolute gift from the Lord and we have cried the most happy tears. She is beyond anything we could have ever expected and Ryan and I have had the best week as new parents learning all new things.

I want to take a minute to talk about Ryan. I knew he was incredible, but goodness gracious, was he everything and more for me during the delivery. We had a couple of challenges during the delivery and the pain was quite intense at times, but Ryan was incredible and encouraged me the whole way through.

The moment we laid eyes on our girl is a moment I will never ever forget. Seeing her for the first time and seeing Ryan become a father has to be one of the greatest moments of my life. He was made for this…absolutely made to be a dad. Seeing him love our Willow Rose is so beautiful and what they say is true…I have fallen more in love with him this week than I ever thought was possible.

Motherhood is hard and I’m only one week in. The emotions are real and something you really can’t prepare for. I cry just looking at her. I cry at the thought of Ryan going back to work. I cry remembering her birth. I cry wondering if I can really do this. I have all the emotions….ALL the feels!

You have prayed for us, encouraged us, supported us and loved us so well through this journey. We can’t thank you enough and feel so incredibly blessed. Our community is what’s made the difference for us. The texts. The calls. The meals prepared for us. It’s all been so touching and we are just so incredibly grateful.

Now that the bumpdates are complete, you may be wondering what’s next for our blog. Ryan and I plan to continue writing about our marriage, travel, parenting and our fun adventures with Willow Rose, so we hope you continue with us in this journey!

We’re only one week in, completely smitten, and have a lifetime to look forward to with our girl. Little one, we waited nine months to love you for a lifetime and that’s exactly what we plan to do.

Ryan and I have shared lots of joyful times in our marriage. Without a doubt, he is the best thing that has ever happened to me, aside from my relationship with Jesus. I’m a complex person who desires to be loved deeply and…he does that (more than I ever thought anyone was capable of, actually), but we’ve also had some not-so-pretty moments in our marriage.

I wanted to share some things I feel I’ve learned along the way and I’d have to say, I’m pretty thankful that God allowed me to experience these times of growth with Ryan. I don’t have all the answers, but I do know I’ve learned a lot in these last six years and a lot of it had to do with learning that I don’t have to be perfect.

1. He can’t read MY mind.

It was our first year of marriage and Valentine’s Day was approaching. To me, the ideal gift would be a card and some pretty flowers. I would take a handwritten note or card over any gift, any day! I just feel there’s so much thought and effort that goes into writing someone and it means the world to me when people take the time to do that. I can remember actually telling Ryan not to buy me anything for Valentine’s Day our first year as a married couple, that the day was over advertised and I didn’t need anything. My thought was, “He’ll read my mind and know that deep down inside I want flowers and a card.”

Well, Valentine’s Day approached and…no flowers. No card. I was disappointed to say the least.

Ryan acted shocked when he realized I was upset. Friends, I am here to tell you that guys can’t read your mind, so if you’re hoping for something or wanting something, TELL HIM! I will say Ryan is an incredible gift-giver and always keeps me on my toes, but sometimes there are things I need from him and instead of hoping and wishing he’ll read my mind, I’ve learned I just need to communicate those desires to him. This isn’t just for gifts, it goes for anything! Unrealistic expectations leave you disappointed, frustrated and upset. This isn’t fair to your significant other or any other person that encounters your disappointment, so don’t be afraid to communicate!

2. Grace, not perfection.

For a good chunk of our married life, I strived to be perfect. Not just a perfect wife, but perfect in every single aspect of my life. Anything less than perfection wasn’t okay with me. I even imposed this mindset of perfection on other people…especially Ryan. Not for one second has Ryan expected perfection out of me; this is a pressure I’ve placed on myself.

I read two books earlier this year: “For the Love” by Jen Hatmaker and “The Gifts of Imperfection” by Brene Brown. Let me just tell you, God moved through me in incredible ways after reading these two books. Not only did I finally know and understand the freedom we have in Christ, but I finally let go of the person I thought I was supposed to be so that I could embrace the person God made me to be. I can give my best, do my best and be my best, and that’s all anyone ever expects. In moments where I feel less than my best, God shows us grace. Ryan shows me grace. Understanding this has taken so much pressure off our marriage and I’m not spending my days devaluing our less-than-perfect times together. Every day is a gift from the Lord and that in and of itself is God showing us grace.

3. Life is Messy.

Totally. Completely. Ryan has seen me at my best and my absolute worst. I have gone from being happy and laughing to crying and throwing a tantrum like a toddler in the next breath. I don’t think anything can ever fully prepare you for marriage and the experiences you go through. Life happens. And sometimes, that life is super-messy.

When I am weak, He is strong. Our Heavenly Father picks up our dirty, messy, nasty pieces and makes it into a masterpiece. Each story is unique. Each person goes through life’s ups and downs and that’s what makes us us. I told Ryan before we got married and even into our married life that my biggest fear would be for him to fall out of love with me. That maybe, just maybe, I would do something “messy” enough that would cause him to stop loving me. As many times as he told me how ridiculous that statement was, it wasn’t until I stopped and realized that God put Ryan into my life and that God will NEVER ever stop loving me.

Ryan allows the Lord to love through him and because of that, he loves me in incredible ways. Even on my worst of days, Ryan still loves me. Even when I’ve said or done some not-so-nice things, Ryan still loves me. There are some days when I don’t know how I can get out of what I’ve created to be a mess, but I remember the hope and faith we have in our Lord and I am reminded that everything can change with God’s help.

4. Prayer Changes Everything.

I could shout this from the rooftops. Just the other night Ryan and I got into what I’ll just call a little “tiff”. I felt unappreciated and he felt I was being stubborn. I stayed downstairs to watch a Hallmark movie and Ryan ended up falling asleep upstairs. I prayed that God would work everything out and that we’d wake up in the morning and both be able to apologize and put the stupid argument behind us. I steamed on the argument for a while, cried through the Hallmark movie and went to bed still feeling a little upset.

I woke up the next morning with a new perspective and Ryan did the same. We apologized to one another, hugged and moved on from the night before. I am 100% confident prayer changed that circumstance. It took me a long time to first go to the Lord whenever Ryan and I would argue or get in a disagreement about something. There have also been times when all I knew to do was pray about a situation and God has always come through for me.

In the moments where Ryan and I can’t seem to get past an argument, I pray. It may take some time, but it always works out and I believe Ryan and I walk away from those experiences stronger and better.

5. Good Things Come to Those Who Wait.

There were times that I thought I’d never get married. I dated a tiny bit in college, but I really struggled with trusting that God had someone for me. Despite my fears, I didn’t give up on praying for my future husband and when it was God’s perfect timing, I met Ryan. We dated a few years before getting married and I thought I knew everything there was to know about life and marriage, but it wasn’t until we were married that God allowed new experiences to shape me and help me understand how God truly sees me.

There have been several times in our marriage when we’ve both longed for something…for God to move and answer our prayers, but God delivers on His timing. We think we know what’s best for us, but He knows better. When things come easy, we often don’t appreciate it as much. In moments of waiting we develop, learn and grow and good things are usually the end result, even when the journey to get there can be hard and painful. I definitely don’t have all the answers about marriage, but I do know that Ryan was worth the wait. This baby in my belly was worth the wait. When we can’t seem to put the puzzle pieces together in our lives, we just have to wait and trust that God has an ultimate plan for good.

I love my life with Ryan. No, every day is not easy and marriage can be hard work. Ryan has always said, “What doesn’t come naturally must come intentionally.” We try to live with intention in our marriage. I love Ryan and I know he loves me. We’ve learned a lot in these last six years and I know the journey is only about to get sweeter. We love doing life with you all and Ryan and I would not be who we are today without the community of friends and family we have around us.

For that, we are truly thankful. Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

Self-captured family photos at Keeneland on November 18, 2012

Thankfully, my good friend Matt offered to help so I didn’t waste any time purchasing around 50 strips of wood from Home Depot. Initially, my plan was to hire someone to stain it, but after those plans fell through I decided to tackle the project myself.

I’ll be honest…I was not excited about the amount of work that would be required, but with each brush stroke, I started thinking about the little miracle that would soon be sleeping, playing, and growing up beside the new wall and my attitude quickly changed.

As I started to see my progress, I realized how rewarding the wall project was going to be once it was complete.

Recently I watched an interview with Chip and Joanna Gaines and realized how similar Brittany and I are to them (despite my complete lack of home improvement skills, of course). The couple absolutely adores one another, but they are sooooo different at the same time. Brittany and I can definitely relate.

It’s often said that “opposites attract” but sometimes, opposites also collide and explode into a million jagged little pieces. In our first year of marriage, when conflict would arise neither one of us would back down from the fight. It wasn’t pretty, and we quickly realized that when it came to communication in the midst of conflict, we were broken and in need of repair. We decided to seek the help of a Christian counselor to help us sort through areas of our lives that needed work, and it turned out to be one of the best things we’ve ever done for our marriage.

As we started to see our progress, we realized how rewarding our marriage could be if we continued to work on it.

We  started challenging each other to grow closer to God. We prayed together more consistently. We sought out ways we could serve others together. We opened up to friends about our weaknesses in marriage and life. And although we had moments where one (or both) of us were still selfish and stubborn, we exercised more patience with one another which led to even more positive changes in our marriage.

Our relationship today is so much stronger and more deeply rooted, but we also realized that no matter how hard we try, we will never reach a point where our marriage is free of conflict. We will never be able to fully understand what the other is thinking or feeling, and we will never meet each other’s needs and expectations completely.

Brittany and I will never have a perfect marriage.

But that’s okay because God didn’t design marriage to make us perfect.

Francis Chan wrote, “Marriage is one of the most humbling, sanctifying journeys you will ever be a part of. It forces us to wrestle with our selfishness and pride. But it also gives us a platform to display love and commitment.”

In a world where sin exists, conflict is a natural part of relationships…including marriage. God gave Adam and Eve a choice to follow His path or do their own thing, and after they made the wrong choice the dynamic of their relationship completely changed.

Brittany and I are no different than the first newlyweds. We’ve had plenty of moments in marriage where we’ve been hurt or disappointed by each other, and I’m convinced one of the main reasons we fall short is because we lose focus of why He created it in the first place.

I love what John Piper says about the purpose of marriage:

The ultimate thing we can say about marriage is that it exists for God’s glory. That is, it exists to display God. Now we see how: Marriage is patterned after Christ’s covenant relationship to His redeemed people, the church. And therefore, the highest meaning and the most ultimate purpose of marriage is to put the covenant relationship of Christ and His church on display. That is why marriage exists. If you are married, that is why you are married. If you hope to be, that should be your dream.

Simply put, our marriage exists to reflect God and point others to Him. There is no greater or more rewarding purpose in this life than to lead people to Jesus.

In my last blog post, I talked briefly about the process of being perfected (the Bible refers to this as “sanctification”), and what I’m learning with time is that no matter how hard I try, there will always be areas in my life that are under construction. Unlike a home renovation project, our work of self-improvement will never truly be “done” and the same truth applies to our relationships.

I’m happy to report that with Matt’s help, we finished the wall in record time and it turned out exactly as Brittany and I had hoped. It felt so great to take a step back when the project was complete and see the finished work, and I believe that’s exactly how we will feel when we reach heaven someday.

Complete.

Until then, just remember that there is no such thing as a perfect marriage because there are no perfect people. We have all sinned and fallen short, but once we realize we are in need of repair we can begin the process of drawing closer to God to work on us in the areas that need it the most. It might seem a bit intimidating at first, but once you and your spouse invite Him in to work on your marriage it will be one of the best things you will ever do.

Nursery Wall Timelapse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwNW3DGKAY4

Behind-the-scenes photos

Here’s the empty room that will eventually be the nursery for Baby Worthen.

The first step was to apply Minwax White Wash stain to each wood board.

Matt brought over the tools to get the job done right. I am so grateful for his help and friendship!

We made sure to cut out a hole for the outlet.

Brittany used Matt’s nail gun to attach the stained wood planks to the studs.

We literally had the exact amount of wood remaining to fill in the bottom of the wall.

The finished product. We couldn’t be happier!

Stay tuned for Brittany’s blog post next week to see the wall in much better light!

When it came to having kids, that whole “I’m not getting any younger” phrase popped into my mind more often than I’d like to admit. I’m thirty-five years old (thirty-six later this month…woot woot!), and ever since Brittany and I got married in 2010 I told her that I was ready for kids whenever she felt ready. No pressure, right?!

Five years of marriage later, it wasn’t happening for us on our timeline and it started rocking our world. Brittany was convinced it was “her fault” even though we would eventually learn she was misdiagnosed by a doctor. Regardless, our struggle to get pregnant took an emotional, physical and spiritual toll on us.

In Brittany’s recent blog post, she wrote that “Surrendering a desire is one of the hardest things we can do because we’re admitting that God’s plans for us are better than our own.”

I started thinking about what it looks like for us to “surrender” something to God, and I realized that sometimes even Christians get it wrong.

Over the past several months, Brittany and I tried to remind each other that God is in control and things would happen in His time, but if we’re going to be brutally honest, there were moments where we questioned if He really wanted to give us the desires of our hearts. There were moments when we felt hopeless and wanted to “give up” on waiting. There were moments where we simply felt defeated.

When it comes to surrender, there is no greater example than what Jesus did for us on the cross. But in the most important story in the history of creation, there were three days in between Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Three very dark and hopeless days that we rarely talk about.

Can you imagine how the followers of Jesus must have felt? Do you think they had moments where they were waiting for a miracle but felt hopeless at the same time? Did they have moments where they felt defeated?

The Bible doesn’t tell us exactly why Jesus waited three days, but the fact is that He did so knowing that others’ faith would be challenged. Thankfully, we know the story didn’t end there. Jesus rose from the grave and was (and still is) victorious over sin and death.

How is it, then, that we as followers of Jesus still allow hopelessness to creep in?

I think the answer is simple: we’re not Jesus. Jesus was perfect. We are not. Our attempts to surrender our burdens can quickly give way to anxiety, fear, doubt and hopelessness, especially when waiting is involved. To put it simply, as long as we live in a world where sin exists, the line between surrender and defeat is often blurred.

Brittany and I are so excited for the miracle God is giving us with this child. We know that He answered our prayers, but we also have several friends who are crying out to God and wondering how much longer they will have to wait for a baby, a relationship, a job, etc. These friends are in a valley in their lives, and at times they feel defeated. While everyone’s story and struggles are different, our story of infertility is still fresh in my mind and my heart is heavy for others who are waiting for the Lord to move.

The past week or so I have been asking God to help me discern between that blurry line of surrender and defeat, and I recently came across two passages in the Bible that struck a chord in my heart.

John 16:33 says, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world,” and in Philippians 1:6, Paul said, “…I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

God’s word tells us that when we’re facing a struggle and waiting on God, He is not only with us, but He is perfecting us. Isn’t that a beautiful thing to know that God cares about us so much that He is constantly working on us to make us a better version of ourselves? We may not always see it clearly, but when we put our faith in the Lord we can rest assured that He is with us and perfecting us even at this very minute.

The battle that Christians often refer to is not just between good and evil, but it’s also between surrender and defeat. As I grow older, I’m becoming more aware of the hurt, disappointment, discouragement and desperation others are feeling in our world and my heart aches when I think about the opportunities I missed to point others to Jesus. My pride, ignorance and selfishness sometimes creep in and gets in the way of the work God wants to do in me, but I also know that I serve a God who is perfecting me for the moment when our Savior returns.

Knowing that truth gives me great hope, even when the waiting is hard.

Here’s a time lapse video we shot while in Breckenridge, Colorado around the time we got pregnant.

You prayed. He answered.

Our last year and a half has been quite a journey with trying to start a family. I was told so many different things that were wrong with me and at one point, a doctor even told me that I needed to stop working out and gain weight to improve our chances of getting pregnant. I was baffled by this, but we chose to have faith despite what the doctor was telling me.

I know God led us to a new doctor who was “confident” we would be able to have children, and even though he gave us a list of routes we could take, Ryan and I had faith. Well, let me rephrase that. Ryan had faith to move mountains that we could try again one more time on our own before seeking more medical help.

You prayed. He answered.

The past year and a half has been full of doubt, fear and wrong thoughts about myself. I can remember many times just crying to Ryan saying there’s just something wrong with me. That it’s my fault we can’t have children. Time and time again, he reminded me that God had a plan. I knew this and I definitely know this now. The time of waiting is just so hard and unpredictable.

By the grace of God, I now have a miracle growing inside of me. A real miracle. I have shed so many tears thinking about all the prayers you have lifted up for us and for the outpouring of your love and support from my last blog post. And I can’t believe it, but when I wrote that last post, I was already pregnant. I had absolutely NO idea. I trusted that God had a reason for impressing upon my heart to be vulnerable and share our story.

A journal entry I wrote this summer has continuously echoed in my head: “Lord, I surrender my desires to you. Your will. Your way. Your timing.”

Surrendering a desire is one of the hardest things we can do because we’re admitting that God’s plans for us are better than our own. One way that we felt we could surrender was by simply sharing our story with others. I can’t say that we fully understand the heartache others have felt on their journey to start a family because everyone’s experience is different, but I do know that our burdens and disappointment became lighter when we opened up about our struggles.

We know and believe that God has a plan for you even if you don’t see it or believe it yourself. Yes, we know the waiting is hard, but the waiting is worth it when you let God be the author of your story.

So what’s going on in the Worthen household? Well…my emotions are a hot mess and I feel like I cry at the drop of a hat, especially at the Amazon Prime commercial where they put the lion mane on the Golden Retriever (yes, we totally bought Runner one for Halloween).

I texted Ryan earlier this week and said I was going to pray that Jesus would turn my mean switch off. You all. Pregnancy hormones are NO joke! Even thinking about writing this had me all weepy eyed. Besides the mood swings, random cravings and sickness (most often while in the car), everything has been going well and we finally found a new doctor who has been great.

Whether it’s a boy or girl, we feel the Lord has already given us names and we can’t wait to share with the world when the time is right! Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts for being alongside us in this journey. Thank you for lifting up so many prayers for us, and thank you for all the times that you reminded us to let go of control and trust God’s plans.

You prayed. He answered.

Photos below by our besties, The Malicotes.

We traveled to SLC because I (Ryan) was attending and presenting at a national insurance conference, but we decided to add a couple vacation days onto our trip since Utah is not a place we would have otherwise gone on vacation (or at least that’s how we felt before we visited).

Once our plane landed in Salt Lake City (on a Friday afternoon), we decided to take it easy and relax by the hotel pool. We have been doing a lot of traveling lately, and while it has all been loads of fun, we were pretty worn down and needed a day to rest and re-energize before exploring the area. I was really interested in seeing Bryce, Moab, Arches and Zion, but logistically I knew we wouldn’t be able to make it work on this trip so we decided to stay relatively close to Salt Lake City.

The following day (Saturday) we made the short drive from Salt Lake City up through the Wasatch National Forest to two of the country’s most impressive ski spots, Alta and Snowbird. Several years ago I visited Snowbird and took an ATV tour which was absolutely INCREDIBLE, so I knew the resort offered absolutely amazing views and I couldn’t wait to experience it all with Brittany by my side.

It took a little persuading since the wifey is not a big fan of heights, but after Brittany agreed to head to the summit we boarded the Aerial Tram and it didn’t take long before we were ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the breathtaking scenery (nevermind the fact that Brittany was clinging to me for dear life). When we arrived at the top, we immediately saw a crowd of people gathered in wedding attire and we knew the ceremony was about to go down — at an elevation of 11,000 feet! We spent a while wandering around the top of the mountain (real talk: I was short-winded by simply bending over to tie my shoes), snapped some photos then decided to make our way back down the mountain.

Photo Album: Visiting Alta and Snowbird

There are really no words for the Tram experience at Snowbird, so I’ll just let the video do all the talking!

To say I was excited for Sunday would definitely be an understatement. For many years I’ve wanted to learn to fly fish, but it’s always been one of those things that intimidated me simply to watch so the thought of actually going out in the wild and learning the technique in a day (or in four hours, to be more specific) seemed unfathomable. Nonetheless, I called several outfitters and after finding one who was available, we booked it and headed out on a BEAUTIFUL drive through Provo, Utah.

We met David Cooper with Simply Fly Fishing Utah on a turnoff and we instantly hit it off with him. I told him how much I loved bass fishing and shared that Brittany and I had ZERO experience fly fishing, but he told us we would get the hang of it in no time and that definitely put my mind at ease. Within minutes, we were decked out in our waders and descending into the Provo (despite the sunny weather, the water was a brisk 50 degrees, ya’ll!).

Literally within 20 minutes of learning the casting technique with a fly rod, Brittany had a fish on! She wrestled with it for may be two or three minutes before David scooped the fish into his net. He quickly taught Brittany how to hold the decent-sized brown trout that she just landed and without an ounce of hesitation, Brittany grabbed the fish and held it out for the ceremonial first-catch photo. (If there was such a thing, I would insert the extremely proud husband emoji here!) She released the fish back into the Provo River, and I knew we were in store for an amazing day ahead.

Just a few minutes later, I had a bite. I yanked the rod back…no fish. Then again…no fish. David reminded me that I wasn’t there to rip the lips off a bass and encouraged me to be more gentle with my hook-set, and the next time I felt a tug on my line I pulled back just enough to see my rod tip shoot down towards the water. “FISH ON!”

I reeled the little bugger in as quickly as I could, anxious to see my first catch and not paying any attention to the amount of line left in the water. Just as I was about to lift my rod up to bring the fish into David’s net, I felt a pop and we saw the rod tip go straight to the sky…the fish broke off! I was so bummed, but as David quickly pointed out, I had reeled in WAYYYYY too fast which caused the bobber to hit the end of rod (that’s a no-no!). David quickly fixed my line and had me cast back to the same place as before, and it was less than a minute before I had another fish on the line.

This time, I gently reeled and within a few minutes, I was holding my first-ever brown trout caught on a fly rod. I could hardly believe it! For the next three and a half hours, I caught upwards of a dozen brown trout in various sizes as well as a beautiful rainbow trout that just escaped our grips. Brittany took a few breaks while snapping photos and videos of me living out this dream, and before we knew it, our time on the water came to an end.

Photo Album: Fly Fishing on Provo River

Reflecting back on the amazing experience of learning how to fly fish, I can’t help but think about people like David who are truly experts in their respective field and have an amazing, God-given passion for teaching others about something they love. David was so patient with us as we fumbled to get our lines into the water, but when we finally had the fish in our hands, it was clear that his excitement mirrored ours and David definitely took pride in teaching others how to be successful.

David, thanks for not only demonstrating your fly fishing skills, but for reminding us that when you share your passion with others, we all win!

The insurance conference kicked off on Monday morning with an incredible speaker, New York Times best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell, then later in the day I had the opportunity to give two presentations to my peers during break-out sessions.

That evening, we visited Utah Olympic Park where we rode a zipline, an alpine slide and saw the Flying Ace All-Stars, a group of Olympians and National Team skiers and snowboarders who performed acrobatic feats as they soared up to 60 feet in the air before landing in a pool below.

Photo Album: Utah Olympic Park

The conference continued the following day (Tuesday), and after lunch I was able to participate in a golf event at Wasatch Mountain Golf Course in Midway, Utah. I didn’t play exceptionally well, but once I got into somewhat of a rhythm on the mountain course I dialed it in and hit my longest drive ever — 390 yards — on a downhill par-5 fairway although my ball stopped in the rough (and for the record, I had three witnesses there to vouch for the distance!). While I was thrilled with the length of my drive, I should note that we still parred the hole and as it turns out, at high altitudes the ball travels further, so I guess you could say I had a little help from the thin air!

After the golf event, Brittany and I joined my co-workers for dinner at a delicious Mexican restaurant we tried earlier that week called the Red Iguana. This local spot was featured on Guy Fieri’s popular show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and our second visit confirmed that the food was really THAT good!

The conference concluded on Wednesday afternoon and we spent the remainder of the afternoon soaking up the sun at the pool before heading to a fun closing reception in the hotel. We woke up early the next morning, returned the rental car at the airport and boarded our flight to head home. We had no idea just how much we would enjoy our time in Utah, but it’s more than fair to say that we WILL return to that beautiful state someday after how much fun we had during our wonderful six days there.

Things have been crazy to say the least. The last few months have been full of work, work and more work. I am not complaining about this, as I know we have both chosen to fill our plates as full as they’ve been. I guess in one sense I didn’t expect this past year to be as busy as it was. We’ve both had an incredible amount to accomplish and have even put our marriage on the back burner a time or two, just so we could get things done. Sometimes I will just look at Ryan and tell him I miss him. Ha! We are both very career driven and have dreams of things we are both trying to work to accomplish. Working on my doctorate has proven to be incredibly time consuming, challenging and has pushed me to incredible limits. I strive to be perfect in everything I do and I think God has finally gotten a hold of me to sweetly tell me this just isn’t feasible, nor does it need to be. With the ten days we were gone, my time with Ryan and the Lord was so sweet and so needed.

My personality tends to be on the go…all the time. I am a rule follower to the T, have a hard time going against the grain and I definitely am on edge a lot. Ryan helps balance me out, but there are still things I know God is working on in me. One thing I felt from this week is the need to slow down and the need to surrender my desires to Him. I like to have control; I guess that’s just the teacher coming out in me. Sometimes I just want to chill out, but even thinking about that makes me nervous. Surrendering my desires to the Lord means I can’t have control over all of my life.

As you know, Ryan and I have been trying to start a family for a while now. In the last year and a half, God has been gracious in revealing to us both that this is about His timing, His will and His way. I was writing in my journal this week and finally just told the Lord, “Ok…I surrender my desire to have children to you.” This isn’t about me or about Ryan, this is about You and your timing. Your timing is perfect. Right here and now, I am choosing to believe that. No, I don’t spend days crying over this, but yes, there are times I feel disappointed or feel that something is wrong with me. For as long as I can remember, I’ve struggled with insecurities about myself. Even at 30 years old, I feel I constantly fight the devil with lies about how others see me and how I see me. Not being able to start a family like I thought we would has triggered those insecurities in a sense, feeling like there’s something wrong with me. So…again…this trip, our 10 days out west, was so good for my soul and I felt I reconnected with Ryan in such a sweet way.

A couple of months before we headed out west, Ryan had the idea for us to hire a photographer and do a fun photo shoot. I can’t even begin to tell you what an incredible experience this was. I know the Lord led us to Jennifer Morgan of Jennifer Morgan Photography. From the moment we started emailing, it was like I had known her my whole life. Meeting her in person sure didn’t disappoint from my first impression of her. We spent three hours trekking through Breckenridge, Colorado, taking pictures. I don’t trust myself with doing my own hair and makeup since I hardly ever wear any, but I wanted to do these photos “right.” I left the salon with more makeup on my face than I had worn in quite awhile, my eyes kept watering and my insecurities were raging because of how I felt I looked. But, as I take a minute and look at these pictures, I see the one my heart and soul loves. With every fiber of my being. Yes, I love Jesus. You know that. He is who lives in me and who I strive to live for. I also know that He blessed me with my incredible husband. Ryan is my world. He lights up my life, makes me feel complete and washes away all of my insecurities of feeling ugly, inadequate and not enough.

These pictures capture more than words could ever express. We were at our last spot taking pictures, the one where I’m in the white dress, and Jennifer told us she wanted us to create a first look moment. You know, just like on the wedding day where the groom sees his bride for the first time. Can I just tell you how AMAZING this moment was? Ryan got into position and I changed into the dress real quick. I walked down toward him and had him turn around. I cried. In that moment, my heart could have leaped out of my chest. This man loves me- unconditionally with no limits. A famous quote from Les Miserables says, “To love another is to see the face of God.” I see Jesus in him. And I feel, 1,000%, this man loves me like Jesus loves me.

Our time with Jennifer Morgan Photography was beyond our dreams. God’s creation is indescribable and it’s beyond me that anyone could ever doubt His existence. Our time out west was needed. So needed. We’re back feeling refreshed, more in love and even more trusting that God has a plan. I am who God has made me to be. I’m not where I want to be, but thank God I’m a work in progress. I think Ryan and I would both say we’re a work in progress. We love each other and there’s no doubt about that. And as far as my insecurities go, it’s amazing to me that when I take a step back and stop being selfish in order to see the needs of others, the focus is no longer on myself. I’m a girl. Of course, I am going to have my not so great days, but I realize that I’m never going to be the person God wants me to be if I keep thinking about myself in a way that’s wrong. Take that devil!

Here’s to love…because without it, what do we really have?

Photos by JENNIFER MORGAN PHOTOGRAPHY

We departed the San Diego airport after more unexplained delays by Delta (ugh!) and fortunately made it just in time for dinner with Jonathan, Emily and their two adorable little girls. We had the BEST time catching up…it was such a treasure to spend that time with our loved ones.

Estes Park & Rocky Mountain National Park

We woke up early the next morning and headed to Estes Park for breakfast. After a delicious meal at The Egg and I, we decided to continue the “long” way to Breckenridge by passing through the Rocky Mountain National Park. And Oh. My. Goodness. This park offered some of the most magnificent creation we’ve ever seen. We saw the most beautiful, snow-capped mountains, a large herd of elk, and drove up to 13,000 feet where the cold winds cut right through our shorts and flip flops (we were clearly well-prepared for this part of the trip…haha!).

Photo Album: The Worthens Visit Rocky Mountain National Park

North Star Lodge

We knew we wanted to stay somewhere private and “off the beaten path” in one of the main ski towns, and we ultimately decided on a cabin rental about 12 miles from Main Street in Breckenridge. We arrived at the “cabin” and were absolutely B.L.O.W.N. A.W.A.Y. This place was massive and the views from the living room, bedrooms and balcony were nothing short of spectacular. It may have been due to the fact that the cabin sat at nearly 12,000 feet…that’s the kind of Rocky Mountain high we were hoping for and this cabin (mansion) did not disappoint!

Photo Album: North Star Lodge in Breckenridge, Colorado

We went to dinner at the Briar Rose Chophouse and both had savory meals. Unfortunately, prior to arriving in Breckenridge I read that altitude sickness is a thing and I had quite the difficulty taking deep breaths on our first night there. A simple walk to our car after dinner had me out of breath! That part was not fun at all, but the saving grace was returning back to the rental where we watched the season premiere of our favorite TV show, Suits.

The next day we decided to stay at the cabin all day and be intentional about not doing much of anything. Brittany and I really struggle at that (read more on that from Brittany tomorrow), but it turned out to be so wonderful. We both felt so refreshed and relaxed by the end of the night!

Breck SUmmer Fun Park

Our plans for Thursday were pretty exciting. We woke up and made our way to Breckenridge Ski Resort to “play” for the morning. Breck (as it’s often called) offered several fun rides and activities for both adults and kids, but the icing on the cupcake for us were the breathtaking rides offered in the gondolas and on the open-air chair lifts. Words and photos just don’t do justice to what our eyes were blessed to see.

Photo Album: Visit to the Breck Summer Fun Park

Once we wrapped up at the ski park, it was time for us to get ready for our photo shoot that evening. I’ll spare the details on that here because Brittany is going to share more on that tomorrow, but let me just say that this was another major highlight of our “ten days in heaven.” Brittany and I found the most amazing location to share with our photographer and even crossed paths with a mountain goat while we were out exploring!

Photo Album: Scenery around Breckenridge, Colorado

A Picture is Worth

Once the photo shoot was over, we treated our photographer and her boyfriend to dinner and had just an awesome time getting to know two of the kindest people we’ve ever met. That time was so good for our souls!

On our drive back to Breckenridge, we came around a curve and encountered two ENORMOUS bull elk standing in the middle of the road. If they wanted to, they could have crushed our SUV (they seriously towered over us!). It was a surreal moment…and while fortunately they were not aggressive in the least, we never had a chance to snap a photo of the gigantic creatures before they moved off the road and disappeared into the darkness.

Lake Dillon

Friday was our last day in Breckenridge, so we decided to go out with a bang and rented a runabout (a type of ski boat) on Lake Dillon. Known as a reservoir for Denver, this large body of water is bordered by the towns of Frisco, Silverthorne, and Dillon and offers phenomenal views of the mountains surrounding the area. While on the lake, we soaked in plenty of sun and even had a few bald eagle sightings (which I was so stoked about!). After four hours on the water, storm clouds started moving in but we were tuckered out so we decided to make the trek back through Denver (and ultimately Erie) where we would stay one more night with Jonathan and his family before flying back to Lexington. We had so much fun hanging out with Emily and the girls…we had LOTS of laughs (and Brittany beat everyone in Candyland!).

Photo Album: The Worthens take on Lake Dillon

Wrapping Up

Ten amazing days went by far too quickly, but we shared some of our most incredible experiences together over these last two weeks and can’t wait for our next trip (which is actually less than a week away…wohoo)!

Be sure to check back tomorrow to see a very special blog post by Brittany.

We loved the idea of visiting the beach and the mountains, and we certainly were not disappointed with how it all turned out. For now here’s a rundown of how we spent the first part of our vacation in California.

San Diego (La Jolla)

We arrived in San Diego after a somewhat frustrating experience with Delta, but that memory was wiped away pretty quickly as we stood in baggage claim waiting to pick up our bags and my golf clubs. I glanced over and saw a familiar face standing about ten feet away, then said to Brittany, “That guy sure looks a lot like Bill Murray.” She looked at him, then looked back at me and said, I think it IS Bill Murray.”

Before I could snap a picture of him, he started wandering around and talked on his phone for a few minutes before returning close to the conveyor belt just a few feet from us. Not afraid in the least bit to get rejected, I turned to him and asked, “Mr. Murray, may I snap a quick photo with you?” Instead of agreeing to a photo, he started walking towards me and I took a couple steps back towards Brittany and struck up conversation with us about some guy who he said was stalking him. We then told him we would gladly act like he was our Dad and carry on a casual conversation, and for the next ten minutes or so, that’s exactly what we did! Brittany asked for a photo again a few minutes later, but he told us it wasn’t a good time (because he was being “followed”) so we respected his wish and kept our phones away. Needless to say, while I was somewhat disappointed I didn’t get a photo with this living legend, it sure was neat to talk with Bill!

We left the airport, picked up our rental car and got checked in at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines. After our last visit to San Diego a couple years back, we knew we wanted to be close to La Jolla (our favorite part of San Diego by far) and we found exactly what we were looking for at the Hilton. Our room was located on the end of one wing and included a expansive balcony overlooking the 18th fairway at Torrey Pines Golf Course, one of the most challenging and beautiful courses in the world (and the home of the 2021 U.S. Open).

We woke up early on Thursday morning and wanted to check out the area around our hotel, so we decided to go on a what we thought was going to be a little hike just down the street at Torrey Pines State Preserve. Soon after trekking down the first trail we could find, we were speechless when we saw the cliffs sharply dropping off in the distance and the ocean miles below. As our hike continued, we eventually reached a point where we took a steep descent down to the ocean. We took in the scenery for a few minutes, then headed back up the trail for the return trip back to the hotel for a grand total of about five miles before breakfast. Not too shabby!

We enjoyed a delicious buffet then headed to a nearby Target so we could pick up allergy/cold medicine (we were both coughing and sneezing a ton). On the way back from Target, we made a pit stop at Brittany’s favorite cupcake shop, Sprinkle’s Cupcakes. In her words, “Day made.” Once we got back to the hotel, we went to the pool for a bit before some fun afternoon activities: Brittany had a spa appointment next door at the Lodge at Torrey Pines while I had a tee time at 3:30 to play the South Course at Torrey Pines.

Brittany loved her spa treatment and even though I didn’t score well, I am still in awe that I had the opportunity to play golf on such an amazing course. I also really enjoyed getting to know the three others I was paired with; I shared a cart with a business owner from Colorado, and the other two in our foursome were kids (literally) who impressed us with their skills. One kid was from the area and plays golf on his high school team, and the other was a junior golfer from Australia named Isaac Noh who was participating in the IMG Academy World Junior Golf Championships. Needless to say, but Issac beat us all like a drum!

Photo Album: Ryan Worthen at Torrey Pines Golf Course

It was pretty late in the evening when we both returned to our hotel room, so we headed to a local dive called The Spot for some southern California comfort food. The next day, we stayed around the hotel and laid by the pool before eventually heading over to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse for dinner.

Coronado

On Saturday, we ventured over to Coronado (some call it Coronado Island, however it’s not actually an island). Ever since visiting Coronado several years ago, I hoped for the chance to play Coronado Municipal Golf Course which sits along the beautiful San Diego harbor. Within minutes of checking in with the starter at the golf course, I was able to walk on and join up with three others. This time, Brittany came along and took photos of me playing while also enjoying the beautiful scenery around the course. It was so special to have her by my side for the first nine holes, but I knew she wanted some beach time so she took the car and headed over while I finished the back nine with a decent score of 80. I was pretty happy about that score on an unfamiliar course.

We spent the rest of the afternoon on Coronado shopping, exploring, and having our own impromptu photo shoot (thanks to my fancy camera timer).

Photo Album: Ryan and Brittany Worthen visit Coronado Island

The rest of our time in San Diego was spent relaxing and checking out local tourist attractions, including the Torrey Pines Gliderport, La Jolla Cove and the U.S.S. Midway. On our last night in La Jolla, we found a beautiful spot to sit and watch the sunset…it was one of the many highlights from our second visit to San Diego.

Torrey Pines Gliderport (View Photo Album)

La Jolla Cove (View Photo Album)

U.S.S. Midway (View Photo Album)

Beautiful Sunset near Torrey Pines in La Jolla

I was also able to capture some fun time lapse footage while in La Jolla, so as I have time I will share those clips and will blog about the second part of our trip soon. Cheers!

Playing the South Course yesterday evening was something I will never forget. The course was in pretty good shape, but it was the *INCREDIBLE* sunset views of the Pacific Ocean that left me speechless. I was paired with three others: the first was a gentleman named Mark who lives in Colorado and was here celebrating his 10-year wedding anniversary. The second player was a high schooler from here in San Diego who plays on the golf team, and the third was a 17-year-old from Australia who is here to play the IMG Junior World Golf Championship.

We all had a great time together and couldn’t stop marveling at the beautiful scenery. Here are some photos from our day on the links!

As much as we try to be like ducks — smooth and unruffled on the top while padding furiously underneath — the past several months have been absolutely crazy for both of us. Between work and weddings and school and church and holidays, we often look at each other and ask the same question others often ask us: “How do you do it all?” The truth is, sometimes we just can’t. Sometimes we have to put things on the back-burner that have no business going there (friends, family, etc.), and this past year Brittany and I have been frequently reminding each other that we need to do a better job prioritizing and balancing our lives. We’re definitely a work in progress.

All that to be said, we need this break. Big time.

This Mother’s Day, I wanted to share something very special with my amazing mom, so I captured some of the sights and sounds that anyone who has visited Lakeside will certainly appreciate.

Lakeside is a special place for the Worthen family. Watch the video to see more!

Blog repost from Reel Special Productions’ website: http://reelspecial.com/lakeside-chautauqua/.

The times we have been before we have always stayed a little outside the city. In December we stayed a block away from Times Square and it was A-MA-ZING! Ryan booked at the Hampton Inn on 41st Street. This Hampton Inn was newly renovated, very affordable (well, it was when we booked it but we’ve since learned that the rates have skyrocketed), it was incredibly clean and had a fantastic continental breakfast. It was very close to everything and I would stay there again in a heartbeat (if the price is right, of course)!

As far as food goes, you have literally every option imaginable and it’ll be hard to go wrong with whatever you choose. Ryan would tell you his favorite thing to eat are the gyros from the little food stands…haha!

My favorite restaurant there is an Italian restaurant called Carmine’s. The food there is some of the best Italian food I’ve had. The only downside is everything is family style, so if you order different things you end up with a ton of food leftover. I love the atmosphere there, too!

If you’re an avid cupcake/cake fan like myself, you MUST go to Sprinkles. There are only a few throughout the country and the owner is one of the judges from Cupcake Wars on the Food Network. It will be THE best cupcake and icing you will ever put in your mouth! I recommend vanilla and Ryan would say strawberry.

My other favorite place in NYC is Serendipity 3. The movie Serendipity made it famous, but they have really great dessert like the frozen hot chocolate and cheesecake. The food is delicious but be warned: the menu can be a little overwhelming for some. Most restaurants will have a pretty long wait, so I recommend making reservations if you can. I think most of them you can reserve online through Open Table.

We would definitely recommend going to a Broadway show. They are pricey, but so worth it. The Lion King is an absolute must if you haven’t seen it. I would also recommend Wicked and Matilda. We saw Aladdin while we were there on this trip and I think Ryan and I would both agree that it was “just okay.”

For sightseeing type stuff, the Top of the Rock is INCREDIBLE! I loved it more than going to the top of the Empire State Building. If you plan to do this, definitely reserve and buy tickets online…it will save you on waiting in a really long line to get tickets.

The 911 Memorial and Museum is a must. The museum takes about 2 hours to go through. Incredibly powerful and sobering. I would recommend getting tickets for this in advance as well.

I loved going to Macy’s and just experiencing the hugeness of it. We didn’t go to Central Park, but that is something I definitely want to do in the future. The Brooklyn Bridge was amazing. We took a subway into Brooklyn and walked across the bridge. It was soooo breathtaking (maybe because I’m afraid of bridges and heights…lol!). 

And of course, Times Square at night is amazing. The lights and big screens are just awesome. Grab some Starbucks (which are everywhere you look) and go up to the observation deck area in the middle of Times Square and just soak it all in…you won’t be sorry! 

Last but not least, we decided to wander into St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Wow. We felt the Holy Spirit move in that place and it. was. incredible. We prayed together and it was one of the most special moments ever. Definitely make a point to go here!

Here are more photos from our trip as well as a Super 8 video Ryan put together. So fun!

You can also view this here: http://reelspecial.com/fun-aruba-video/

Annnnnnnddddd some of our favorite photos…

You can also view this video here.

Here are a few other experiences we shared:

We stayed in a terrace suite at the Cosmopolitan: http://360.io/Mxk9X7…

…had a stunning view of the Bellagio fountains and the Las Vegas strip…

…witnessed a Celine Dion concert in the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace…

…enjoyed a magical encounter with Penn & Teller…

…and bumped in to a hilarious Zac Galifinakis lookalike!

Needless to say, we had a great trip to the Las Vegas strip!

When the time came for me to travel up to Ann Arbor, I made sure to update my vehicle with new car flags and blasted “Hail to the Victors” for nearly the entire trip. Since Brittany wanted me to enjoy the game with Neal, she stayed back in Toledo and went shopping with my Mom and sister. Neal and I wasted no time meeting up and finding a parking spot near campus. As we headed in to Michigan Stadium, there was a nervous excitement in the air, but I was confident that this would “be our year”…and thankfully, I was right! Michigan pulled off an incredible victory to beat the Buckeyes for the first time since 2003. If it wasn’t for Brittany’s thoughtful gift on my birthday, I wouldn’t have been there to witness the victory and I’m still in shock that I had the opportunity to cheer them to victory over Ohio State in Ann Arbor!

Final Score: Michigan 40, Ohio State 34

Here’s a picture of Neal and I as thousands of fans run on to the field to celebrate!

And here’s a video from the end of the game when we all knew the fat lady had sung!

Being the opportunists we are, Mark and I noticed a two couples bickering over who would get to use the one pair of tickets they had, and they ultimately settled on just crashing the gate and hoped to not get arrested. Low and behold, they walked up to the gate and just blew right past the ticket-takers and security, so Mark and I decided to take the same approach. With cash in hand, we offered to pay as we walked through the gate, but the security workers just stood there speechless and dumbfounded that we would have the nerve to walk right in. Within a matter of minutes, we were witnessing Michigan football!

Michigan chalked up another win after coming back from a halftime deficit, and I couldn’t have been happier with seeing the Wolverines earn the victory in Chicago.

Final Score: Michigan 42, Northwestern 24

Here’s a short video a la iPhone:

Final Score: Michigan 35, Notre Dame 31

http://vimeo.com/thatonecompany/golden-eagles-michigan-notre-dame

I, Brittany, choose you, Ryan, to be my husband. I will do my best to love you the way Jesus sacrificially loves me. I will trust you. I will ask God to give you wisdom as you lead us. I will follow you with humility. I will encourage you daily. I will respect you as a man. I will honor you as a child of the most high God. I will serve you and will serve with you. I will be your friend. I will challenge you to grow in your faith. I will hold you accountable to a high standard of purity. I will provide for you emotionally, physically and spiritually. I will forgive you and I will apologize to you. Our home will be my priority. I will be a Proverbs 31 woman. I will surround myself with Godly friends who make Godly decisions. I will have accountability in my life. I will hide God’s word in my heart daily. I will not criticize you. I will not compare you to other men. I will not cheat on you. I will love you for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until we are separated by death. As God as my witness, I give you my promise and I give you my heart.

Our vows were adapted from our pastor and friend, Jon Weece. If they inspired you, tell us in the comments below!

Photos by Jen Manor