Our future

Mike and I are so excited that this will be us in the next few weeks. We can't wait to hold, love, and snuggle our little Megan Janell Stormes!!

Wishing you and your family a Happy Holiday and a New Year filled with many joys!!!

Long Time

Here is baby and Momma at 37 weeks, only 3 to go!!

Well, it has been a long time since I last posted. These last few months of pregnancy have been really hard on me physically. With my underlying hip problem the extra pressure is making it very hard to walk and is causing a lot of pain. I tend to go to work, where I can only sit, and then come home and just sit/lay down. Baby Girl Megan is due to arrive in just a few weeks and we are very excited to meet her. I hope that she holds off until Jan, but being her mother's daughter, she has a mind of her own. I'm sure that she wil come whenever she is ready. Until then Mike, Mom, and I are going to enjoy a quiet Christmas and New Years. Wishing all my readers the same!!

Here is me and my 25 week belly, it's getting bigger all the time. Today I hit 27 weeks, I'll post another belly pic soon.

The Nursery is Coming Along

You know that a babies really coming when your scrapbook room turns into a nursery. I guess there's no going back now. Yesterday the delivery truck pulled up and unloaded these wonderful pieces of furniture that in 3 short months my little baby GIRL will be sleeping in. It's not fully decorated yet, but I'll take some more pictures when it is further along. For now ENJOY!!

In other news, we have our 28 week US scheduled for Oct 20th. At that time we will know more about how Megan Janell will come into this world, when they check the placental placement. We would really appreciate your prayers that the placement has changed on it's own and we can just wait for her to be ready. Thanks for all of your support, We Love You to the Moon and Back!!

First Day of Fall

I am so glad that fall is here. I absolutely LOVE this time of the year with it's cooler weather, fabulous colors, and outdoor activities. Happy Fall!!

What's Been Happening

I know, 2 posts in 1 day, I must be crazy. As many of you have guessed/seen on Facebook, there are a lot of things happening around here. Of course the upcoming birth of our little girl is one of the biggest changes, but on top of that my Mom is making the HUGE move to the great cheese state of WI. Having made this same move a few years ago Mike and I totally understand the magnitude of the change, but for someone who has never lived anywhere but Holland MI, the shock for Mom may be quite a bit larger.

Back in July Mom put her house in Holland on the market despite being told "what a bad time it was to sell". Our overall goal was to have her here by the time the baby is born. Trying to trust in God's timing we waited, though not always patiently, through showing after showing. Finally last week we got the call that every seller dreams of. Mom's realtor called to let her know that there was an offer being presented. In a whirlwind few days there was offering, counter-offering, and a signed contract. Then came the slightly overwhelming task of finding a condo here in Janesville that not only met her needs, but hopefully encompassed her wants. Those of you that know my Mom know that she is a picky person, so this was no small feat.

Of course we all know that miracles happen and in this case I think that's exactly what it was. Mom arrived here in Janesville last Friday to look at a few "options" that Mike and I had found for her. By that afternoon, she had rejected those options, and we started from scratch. It was at that exact moment that God took control and pushed me to drive around a subdivision less then a mile from our house. In that subdivision there was a set of brand new condos, not even finished yet, that not only meet her needs, covered her wants, but fit into her price range. Today I am happy and relived to share that Mom is the proud owner of a BEAUTIFUL new condo less then a mile from Mike, myself, and her future granddaughter. She could not be happier and is looking forward to the fresh/new start that will be coming toward the end of Oct.

This situation makes it obvious to me that if we trust in God's timing, he will provide. Though it is hard to be patient I am going to try to trust more and worry less, I let you know how that goes.

I will leave you with a photo of Mom's new condo. Enjoy!!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY!!

Here at Stormey Stories we can hardly that our little nephew Cohen is 1 year old today. I'm sure that he is not as little as this picture, but since we don't get to see him as often as what we would like it will have to do. Cohen and the whole family will be celebrating his 1st Birthday on Sat and I'm sure there will be LOTS of pictures to come.

Happy Birthday Little Man!!

Belly at 21 weeks

Our Future:

It's A Girl!!!
Stormey Stories will be welcoming a bouncing baby girl around Jan 8th 2010. Baby is healthy, happy, and moving around like crazy. Thanks to eveyone for all their prayers and support!!

Mike and Kate

The Last Time

Mike and I decided last night that since our weekends of doing whatever we wanted at a moments notice are limited, we would take an impromptu train trip to Chicago. Just so everyone knows that we have our priorities straight, we went for a really good reason...Pizza and Popcorn. What can I say, I am pregnant. The day turned out great and we had a really good time. However, on the train ride home I got to thinking that this could be the last time that we make this trip without a little one in tow. The thought didn't make me so much sad, as make me realize that everything is going to be so different when this little peanut enters our lives. We couldn't be more excited and feel more blessed. Also, speaking of the last time we will do things, I am about to show you the LAST gender neutral clothing that we will be buying for Peanut!!

Mike and I found this cream colored, knit hat at the Children's Place today while in Chicago. We just couldn't resist getting it after we thought about our winter baby and the fact that his/her head may get cold. But I repeat, this is the LAST gender neutral clothing that we will buy, as well as the last time that I will have to write him/her. By this time on Tuesday we will have seen our Little Peanut for the first time and be able to stick to using one pronoun when we talk about HER!!!

Oops, did I just say that, wishful thinking I guess!!

Preparing for Peanut

Since we're only 1 week away from the half way point of this pregnancy I thought I would show everyone what we've been up to "Preparing for Peanut". This past weekend we spent 3 hours at Babies R Us registering for all of the "essentials", or things we just have to have. Though slightly overwhelming, we got most of it done and should need only one more trip once we know whether Peanut is a boy or a girl.


While on our recent baby moon to Door County we came across this sign and fell in love with the saying. We are planning on using it to let our Little Peanut how much we love him or her.
Mike recently took a Saturday afternoon and put together this glider that will be a part of the nursery. We were undecided as to whether or not we were going to purchase one when we came across this one at Sears. It was the exact finish off wood as our crib and with the great price we couldn't pass it up. I think it looks GREAT!!

Now I know that we don't even know the sex of Peanut yet, but he or she is already spoiled and has a wardrobe that other babies will drool over. This baby won't want for anything, least of all LOVE!!

Last, but not least this is the first piece of baby equipment to enter our home. When Mike put this together several weeks ago it really hit home that we are in fact having a baby. Our baby will use this swing, THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING!!

I will keep you updated on the getting ready for Peanut process, as well as sharing to big news of his or her gender. Stay Tuned!!

Baby Moon in Door County

A few weeks ago Mike and I went on our Baby Moon to Door County WI. For those of you not familiar with WI Door County is a peninsula that the cheese heads like to call "the thumb". Those of us from MI know that only one state looks like a hand and that is certainly not WI.

Other then the geographical discrepancies, Door County is a quaint series of villages on the Lake Michigan Coast. We spent 2 nights at a wonderful B&B called the Juniper Inn, I would recommend it to anyone wishing to have a quiet getaway.

I had one goal for the whole trip, other then to get away, and that was to eat cherry pie every day. Of course, being the preggo that I am, I got my wish.

Here I am enjoying my first piece of many
Mike wanted to enjoy more of the authentic Door County happenings, such as a traditional Scandinavian Fish Boil. Above is us sitting around the cauldron waiting for the "Boil-Master" to bring out the fish. (Note: it was raining, so please forgive the hair). Below is the cauldron getting fired up. Mike loved the fish, which had come out of Lake MI that morning, while I stuck to the milder chicken dinner.



If you ask anyone who has ever been to Door County what you should do there, the 2 things that they will tell you is:

1. Al Johnson's for a traditional Swedish meal.

Unfortunately since it was raining that day the goats that normally graze on the sod roof were at a nearby farm, but the food was still fantastic, and the atmosphere one of a kind.

2. Wilson's for Ice Cream.

Since we went after dinner, we had to share, but it was totally worth it, and how romantic to share an ice cream while sitting on the shore of Lake MI.

Of Course, what trip would be complete without a funny troll picture. For those of you that are wondering, I was picking my nose, what a girl will do for a photo op.

We completed our afternoon with a long Sunday drive along the coast to take in the Lighthouses and the scenery along Lake MI.

Cana Island Lighthouse
The shore of Lake MI

Our final day in Door County we went out to see one last Lighthouse before heading back south. This one was way out on a pier and next to an operating US Coast Guard Station. Again, it was cold and windy, so please excuse the hair.

Now after a GREAT weekend away we are back home and ready to prepare for the arrival of our Little Peanut in early Jan. Stay tuned for updates on our progress and to watch Little Peanut grow.

You asked for it!!

You all have been asking for a belly pic and here it is. This is me and Little Peanut at 17 weeks, there is no hiding the belly now, no I've decided to just embrace it. I have finally started wearing pregnancy pants and can't believe how much more comfy they are.

Post coming soon from our fabulous baby moon in Door County.

MIA

I would like to start by apologizing for being MIA for the last few months. I actuality I was not really MIA, but what I like to call MTB. That means that I am proud to announce that I am a Mom To Be!!! Mike and I are expecting our first little peanut in early Jan. 2010.

As any of you Moms out there can understand, these first 3 months have not been the most pleasant ones that I have ever experienced. From the constant nausea, to the over whelming exhaustion, not to mention the worry that stemmed from our last pregnancy, I really just spent to whole of May, June, and part of July in bed.

Now that I am almost 14 weeks and we have heard the heartbeat/seen the baby, I am finally able to relax and share our happy news. Baby Stormes is due Jan. 8th 2010, we are going to find out the sex Aug. 25th, and we can't be happier.

That should catch everyone up for now, and I promise to try and post more often in the coming months.

Thanks for all you prayer and support.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Week

Memorial Day

I got to visit with my favorite little man Owen this Memorial Day. Leslie, Owen, Mike and I had a really fun play date. Love You Little Man!!

Wordless Wednesday

Spring is definitely here!

I grew up in a family that always relished nature. Though my Mom and Dad were both children of hunters, they never felt a calling to it themselves. They both loved nothing more then to go for a ride and watch for deer, turkeys, and any other wildlife that crossed our path.

When I was little we had a front porch with crossing beams on the top. I can still remember the day that my Dad took me out to see the Robins nest that was being built in one of the crosses. He lifted me up and I got to see the bright blue eggs, that he told me would soon hatch into baby birds. Just as vividly I can remember the day that me and my horrified friends found one of those same baby birds on the ground below the nest. It had fallen out of the nest and my Mom and Dad used it as a lesson that animals live and die and that is the natural order of things.

Well earlier this month I started to notice a pair of Robins hanging out in my front yard. They were there on an almost daily basis, but I didn't think much of it. That is until one day I opened the front door to get a package off the porch and noticed that my cranberry wreath now supported a large nest. Since we just built our house this past fall, there was a layer of straw on the yard to help the grass grow. Apparently that pair of Robins that I mentioned earlier thought that the combination of the straw, my wreath, and our covered porch was the perfect environment to make a nest and start a family. Me being the nature lover that I am I couldn't bring myself to take down the nest, though the mess on my front door is quite something. I am thoroughly enjoying watching the Momma Robin sitting on her nest and am eagerly awaiting the precious chirps of the tiny baby birds.

I hoped to get a picture of the Momma Robin sitting on the nest, but she tends to fly away whenever someone goes into the front yard. I was however able to snap this beautiful shot of 4 perfect eggs nestled in their safe and lovely nest.



My Dad would be so proud!! I'll bring you more pictures when the eggs hatch to reveal their precious cargo.

Welcome to Spring!!

Wordless Wednesday

It's another Monday. So it must be time for Not Me Monday. I had a lot of fun doing this last week and thought I would keep it up.

1. This Saturday I definitely did not stay in my pajamas all day only to take a shower at 5pm and put them back on,.
2. I did not go to the Best Concert Ever last week and did not have the time of my life.
3. Friday I did not go to work after only getting 4 hours of sleep.
4. I definitely did not talk to my Mom 6+ times on Mothers Day, and do not do that almost every other day.
5. Lastly, this morning I did not make the 30 minute drive to work in less then 20.

Nope, I definitely did not do any of these embarrassing things and did not confess to them on the world wide web.

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her http://www.mycharmingkids.net" blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Best Concert EVER!!

To say that Thursday's Elton John and Billy Joel concert was the best concert ever would be an understatement. The concert began at 7:30 and was not finished until 11:30. You could name any song that either of these legendary artists sing and I could say, "they sang it." Prior to the show we went to Tuttos pasta on State St. which was so wonderful I would go there again in a minute.

Heidi, Kathy, me, and who's the in the back...Diann

Lynn, Nadine and Diann enjoying their meal

The concert started with Elton and Billy "Face to Face" singing many of their hits together. Can you say AWESOME.

Then Elton put on a GREAT solo performance. I would say that he is more of a performer, but my friends would beg to differ.

Then it was Billy's turn to take to solo stage and let me say, that man plays a mean piano.

Finally they ended the night back together with all the classics that only they could sing. It was one of the best nights I have had in a long time and can't thank the Cardio Department enough for including me. The whole evening only cost a $13, but the experience was PRICELESS.