Better late than never....Easter Pictures!

As most of you already know, we had quite a snowy Easter Sunday. Thankfully, with Curt as the driver, we managed to make it into Bury for Easter service. I'm actually really glad that we had some "significant" snow that day because I almost made it an entire winter without seeing really any snow at all. Now, growing up in the northeast I have come to love these snow filled winters and it's really something that I miss very much over here in England. So, no matter what the occasion or the time of year, I am always welcoming some snow fall with open arms! I actually managed to bring a camera along so here are some pictures from Easter! Curt had taken our camera on his most recent business trip so I had to wait until he returned to get these up. OH, and because I always feel the need to give some sort of explanation behind Curt's mustache to all my non-military friends, he grew it for "Mustache March" which is something they do in his squadron. I'm not a big fan. :)

We have the Greatest Family and Friends...ever.

I just wanted to say that even though it will take me a little bit of time to individually write everyone back who responded to our big announcement, I just wanted to say how joyfully overwhelmed we are at the immediate and congratulatory feedback that we got! OMG...is really all I can say. We are so blessed.

Just another reminder of how important our family and friends are to us. You guys are simply the best.

On another note, thankfully next week is my Spring Break at school and it couldn't have come at a better time. I managed to make it all through flu season without so much as a sniffle, but this past Friday the nasty cold virus had hunted me down and got me good. Those Kindergarten buddies of mine just love to share! After a quick trip to the ER (not as bad as it sounds...) and then again to the flight doc, I learned that this tired little body has an upper respiratory infection and needs more sleep and lots-o-fluids. (no cold meds for this preggo!) I have yet to be at work this week and my little pre-spring break va-ca will continue through at least tomorrow. Today is the best I have felt since Friday but I am still "ordered" to take tomorrow off and rest.

Colds suck! ;)

...and then there were three...

Well, this long awaited post is finally being written...and thankfully it will be filled with some great news! As you have probably already guessed from the title, Curt and I are expecting a baby! We are just over the moon, there are no words to describe how happy we are. I found out about 2 months ago and had the fun task of telling Curt the great news. I decided I wanted 2 things: I wanted it to be a surprise, and I wanted our families to be a big part of it. Thankfully, I learned I was pregnant when we were back in PA about 2 months ago visiting our families.

January 26th, 2008
Surprising Curt:







It was just after the close of a family party at the Dougherty house and just when the last of the guests had gone home, I got to give Curt a belated Christmas present. I kind of led on to the fact that my mom and I had found something at a golf store when we were shopping that we thought he might like...and much to his dismay when he opened the present, there was nothing golf related on the inside. Instead, he was presented with two hats (pink and blue) and the coolest bib ever which said "Jr. Pilot" on the front. It was too perfect and I just couldn't pass it up. He sat there for a couple seconds, stunned...cunfused..trying to decide what in world was going on and finally his sister, Angela said (yelled), "Are you preggers??!!??". He finally came to realize just what I was trying to tell him, and then I'm pretty sure he sat there for the next couple hours trying to take it all in. ;) This unraveled, of course, into many exchanges of hugs, kisses, and tears of joy for everyone who was there...it was amazing and I'm so thankful that I was able to share this with our families in person. A-A-A-mazing.



















Telling the Parents:
Tracking back a little bit, I decided to take a pregnancy test at home (although it was a bit earlier than I should have) only because I thought, maybe...just maybe WE could tell our families in person. Well, schedules got filled and Curt and I just didn't find the time to take "the test" together. So, one morning I thought, well what the heck, I'll do it alone and see what happens. So, sure enough that positive result came screaming back at me in a matter of seconds and I felt a tingling feeling throughout my whole body. My legs felt like jelly and my mind was racing. I decided after a couple minutes that I would run down and tell my Mom and Dad so that they could be the ones who documented my breaking of the news to Curt. Their reaction was shocked...overwhelemed...and excited all in one. They are so excited for us, it's wonderful! We like to joke with them that they are officially old...and they are embracing it with open arms. This baby will be so loved, and spoiled by the whole family. All in all, it worked out perfectly.
I hope you enjoy the pictures below that my mom was able to take. You can see how this all came together...so cool.









Oh--and Curt and I had our first ultrasound about a week ago. AGAIN-so amazing! We were able to hear the most wonderful sound of a heartbeat (150 beats per minute!) and see our little baby squirming about like crazy! I am on my way to 13 weeks right now and at our last appointment we got an official due date...October 2nd, 2008. It seems like light years away but we both know that this time will pass very quickly. Curt was in the OB room with me and as soon as we saw that little baby on the screen, there were tears. Lots and lots of tears...feelings of excitement, love, assurance, and comfort. I struggle to find words to describe just how we felt when we were experiencing all these new things and I am realizing that something this big is so hard to put into words. I can safely say that we have literally never been this happy, ever.

So, keep Curt and I in your prayers and I promise--seriously--to keep better updates through my blog, especially as we move through the next couple months. We are doing our best and I am learning that there is more to life than work...and one of those little things I am coming to love is SLEEP! I have never slept this much in my life. My nights are now about 10+ hours long of much needed sleep.

Expect our first "bump" picture in the near future!!!

Where have I been?!?

Updates tonight....I promise.

we're settled....finally! (okay--i wrote this back in february...so enjoy!)

Well, these past couple weeks have been pretty busy for Curt and I. Since our trip to the states we have, moved out of one house and into a new one (without movers!) and managed to get fully immersed into our hectic work schedules. Our trip to the states was definitely one to remember. We were able to spend so much time with our families, it was so great. We had lots to catch up on and through family parties, lunch dates, dinner dates, and casual weekends together I think we managed to get up to speed on what is going on in our lives. In order to recap, I will quickly write what we did while we were home.
Let's see, while we were at home we:
1. Had our family Christmas on January 19th.
2. Went upstate to visit my Grandma Quigley.
3. Shopped! (a lot...)
4. Spent time with our great friends Wes, Jill, Anthony, and Casey...
5. Went to BYOC at Mariel's place.
6. Football championship game at Colleen and Steve's. Go Giants!
7. Spent the day at the Spa with my mom and sisters.
8. FINALLY saw our wedding album and the HUGE portrait my mom bought us for our first anniversary.
9. Caught up with the Dougherty family during a great party at Curt's house.
10. Had breakfast at the coffee cup with Brian and Elisabeth.



I think this might be some sort of a record, but I also managed to go to King of Prussia 9 times in 10 days. I just knew it would be about a year until I got into one again, so I of course freaked out. :) But, I am all stocked for summer so I guess that's a good thing!

All in all this was a great trip. Next time we will definitely be spending some more time with friends, but it was so nice to be obsessed with our families after we had gone a whole year without seeing them. It was awesome....

We're "home"!!!!!

I will have so much to write about once we get back to England, but we are just having the best time. Here is a shot of Christmas from my house. Curt thought it would be FUN to wrap my present in aluminum foil:)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Wow, two posts in less than a week?!?! Crazy! But, I do have to say that I been off work for the past 2 weeks so that really helps:) So, even though we weren't able to be home with our families for Christmas, we still made sure to celebrate the meaning of Christmas. We are really trying to make a point to get ourselves back into our Faith, and with that being said even though we didn't exchange gifts on Christmas day, I knew that I had everything I really wanted and needed. My hubby was home safe, I have a family that is so supportive of everything we do, and we great friends around us all the time who really understand this crazy life that we lead. Just like last year, my side of the family decided that it really doesn't feel like Christmas until we are all together. So, we will have a faux-Christmas when we get back to the states in a couple weeks. My mom even refuses to take down the decorations, inside and outside of the house. So, although it might look like they are having trouble letting go of Christmas when the rest of the world has moved on, we all know that they are doing it for us...and that's awesome! BUT, on the Dougherty side of the family, Curt's mom ALWAYS makes sure that no matter where we are in this world, she will have presents wrapped and under our tree for us to open on Christmas day. We are really spoiled from both my family and Curt's because they are always looking out for us to make sure that we're happy.
So anyways, on Christmas day Curt and I spent some time with our good friends Pete and Gretchen. Gretchen and I talked for hours, did some Christmas crafts, and watched some holiday movies on their GI-NORMUS movie theater screen while Curt and Pete talked "shop" all night in the kitchen. We followed up with some old fashion Pictionary which ended up being more competitive then any of us has anticipated, but it was all in good fun! :) Gretchen made some delicious Lasagna (as we are all turkey-ed out!) and it was just perfect. We were so thankful to be around good friends for Christmas.



Here is a picture of Curt and I at a Christmas party that a friend of mine threw the weekend before Christmas. First off, it was themed an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party, so that is why we have weird things pinned on our sweaters. We're not THAT festive, I promise! It was such great fun...we had a Dirty Santa gift exchange and we both walked off with some great things. Curt got a set of Golf balls (which is perfect for the man who golfs all year long...) and I got these great earphones for my ipod. Those sweet hats we have on are from the Christmas Crackers Missy had for everyone. I had no idea that Christmas Crackers originated in England---I guess you do learn something new everyday ;)


New Years was also such a great night! The Chapman's graciously opened their home to us and the Wee's for some yummy Mexican food and drinks to start off our countdown to the new year. I attempted to bring Nachos. The key word there was ATTEMPTED b/c while I was ironing Curt's shirt he said he would cook the taco meat for me...and I failed to mention that he needed to put some taco seasoning in it, and because I didn't tell him, it didn't get done. We didn't realize this until we were halfway to their house...so it was too late to fix it! Thankfully Matt and Abi had also ordered some Pizza before we got there so we were all very satisfied by the end of the night.



There was good food, good drinks, and great friends. We finished off our night down the street at their neighborhood pub and it was just perfect. We had a great table in the corner, talked about our goals for the coming year, and rang in 2008 in England! After we left the Pub we walked back up to the Chapman's house and continued our night of just hanging out and having a great time! We had some music playing, more eats and drinks, and it was just perfect....



I really have such a great time hanging out with the Chapman's and the Wee's! I feel like we all have just enough in common to keep the conversation going and that is such a good feeling. I know that with Curt's job you never can tell where we might be moving, but I hope these guys are never too far away.



On more thing, Matt and Abi have a beautiful Golden Lab named Macy and it's just another reminder of how eager we are to get our first dog when we move back to the states. I am desperate to get a Lab or a Retriever but Curt still might need some convincing. Their dog is just so great--well behaved, loving, friendly....hmmm, I think this may have helped me get him on board. Only time will tell!!!!!