Best friend!

Thank you for being my best friend, Jesus.  Thank you for laughing with me at all the silly parts of life and supporting me through all the rough parts.  Thank you for loving me no matter what- no matter how cranky or hormonal or whatever.  Thank you for allowing me to live out my dream of being a stay at home mommy.  Thank you for working so hard to support our family.  You are such a wonderful man.  You are hard working and honorable.  You have become such an amazing leader for our family.  I love your leadership and respect you so much.  Thank you for learning how to lead us and becoming such an incredible father and husband.  I love you more all the time and consider it an honor to walk through life with you! te amo munch munch munch ;)

Almost through the summer!

I have been having so much fun dating you lately! We got to go out on THREE dates during our trip to Cali.  and we got to go on another date last night! We went out to Red Robin for your birthday lunch, we went to In'n'Out (we are sooo healthy!) for a lunch date, and we walked to the hot tub and went swimming one night....granted you did step on a bee... but we had so much fun! Last night, we went to ComedySportz! They give out free tickets for birthdays, so we invited the Naefs to join us and your sister came over to babysit.  We are so lucky to have people in our lives who can help babysit so we can go enjoy each other! We laughed so hard- I am really glad you enjoyed it :) This summer has been hard on our marriage.  We have been so busy! Our house (especially the outside) has been a disaster, we haven't found a time to go to church, we are feeling disconnected from our friends, I have been leaving a few evenings a week to go work once you get home and baby goes to sleep, I had been using your day off to go to work, you were working a ton, we had a demanding infant.... the list could keep going. It has been a challenge to prioritize each other and enjoy our time together knowing how much is needing to get done around our house, etc.  Now that the season is winding down and Johanna is getting more independent, we can finally breathe again.  I am so lucky to have you by my side during those hard seasons.  You are my rock! You have really helped me become a person who enjoys life...I don't know that i really took pleasure in life before I met you. I was always accomplishing things, but I never slowed down enough to have fun.  We are such a perfect balance! You really do balance me out and make me a better person.  I thank God for you and for our marriage! Thank you for being my biggest supporter, my best friend, my comforter... you are so good to me! I hope that I can be as good to you as you are to me. I strive to serve you, but I know I fall short in so many ways.  I am so lucky to get to grow in selflessness with you and learn together how to serve each other and continually put each other first. Thank you for learning along with me.  and thank you for choosing every day to love me and serve me and grow our marriage.  Jesus, I love you! I don't even have words right now to express my love for you, I just want you to know that I am incredibly thankful for you and I treasure the time that we have together.

2 years!

Hello dear husband of mine!

We celebrated our 2 year anniversary a few days ago! We didn't really have the freedom to celebrate how we wanted to- what with a 3 month old, your family working like crazy on the farm, and I think my dad was traveling and my mom was volunteering at PRC.  So, we just spent the day together- working on your car, doing things around the house, tending to the baby... but we ordered Pac Thai for lunch and that was delicious! and we exchanged presents and that was fun! you got me Moonstruck hot chocolate mix (which i LOVE) and a really sexy pair of underwear! and then later that day, you had flowers and chocolates delivered! You really spoiled me! I got you a stein, some local beer, "Date your wife" and a Snickers bar. My present is nowhere near as extravagant as yours... you always were extravagant with gifts! I remember my 18th birthday, you got me a facial, a pair of running shorts, a pair of flip flops, and I think a few more little things.. and we barely knew each other! and i remember being blown away by your generosity! :)
we also got a massage table as our joint gift...and it has been really fun using it so far ;) it is crazy to me how quickly 2 years has gone... while I can believe it has been that long (pregnancy and baby took up a whole year of it!), it has been fast! and it scares me and excites me for how quickly the next 20 years will go...and we will look up and be old together! thank you for doing life with me! thank you for enjoying the good times and sticking by my side during the hectic times.  and i know when we do go through hard times, you will be there holding my hand the whole way.  this marriage is a marathon and we are still just warming up- getting to know each other! and i could not be more excited to go through the miles with you. we will feel great for times and we will really struggle and feel exhausted during times and it will be an adventure. and i cannot think of anyone else i would want to do it with.

i love you!
Natalie

I am proud of you

I am so proud of you, Jesus!  You have been working so hard!  You have been working full time at the golf course and giving lots of lessons on the side.  And you are still finding time for your family!  You are such a good daddy- you make our baby girl smile so much and you even got her to giggle for us for the first time last night!  You are so precious with her.  It makes my heart melt watching you two together.  And our dog is sooo jealous.  She wants attention from you when you get home from work- it is really pretty pathetic.  We really need to make sure she gets more exercise....yikes! And you have been such an incredible husband.  You are attentive and sweet and are making time to pursue me and make me feel heard and loved.  And I have really really been enjoying our extracurricular activities lately...! Tonight, you really want to watch the Timbers game, so you asked me if I wanted a massage hahaha you are going to massage me while you watch your game... you are such a problem solver- getting to watch your game and making your wife feel valued.  Last night, a car missed the turn in front of our house and plowed through our berry field.  You were so quick to jump to action and run to see if everyone was ok. i was so proud of you! it was a crazy night and i loved hearing you talk about all of it! You are such a man- you love adventure and you are wild at heart. you are so quick to protect your family.  you are an amazing man, Jesus Gonzalez.  And I am so lucky to be your wife.  Thank you for loving me, protecting me, and pursuing me.  I am really excited for your day off tomorrow- can't wait to spend the whole day with you! I love you <3

daddy!

Hello daddy ;)
Our sweet baby girl will be 1 month old tomorrow. You are such an incredible father and I have loved watching you love our baby.  It makes me love you more than ever before! You have been sewing her cloth wipes and working on cloth diapers and covers. I think that since she is too little to really play with, you feel more connected with her by doing something physical, like making her stuff.  You took 4 weeks off of work to stay home with us and it was so wonderful having you home to love on me, help out with the baby, and just enjoy some down time before the crazy summer! Thank you for all you did for me the past month and for being so supportive! Thank you for giving me our beautiful daughter and allowing me to be a stay at home mommy- I could not love my life any more! and thank you for loving our daughter- I know you are going to be a great daddy!

ready to go!

As of today at 1:30pm, we are 3cm. dialated and 90% effaced and ready to go whenever! can't wait to do this with you! you are the best support person i could ask for and i feel so lucky to have you by my side ;)

Trying to embrace the wait!

Hello handsome! I just finished writing my first "love note" on our baby's blog! I love that I have these blogs as places to write to you each individually and record parts of our lives. and I love that these notes will live on through the years and our babies can view them and know our love story and our lives before they ever were. Our to-do list is almost done- we are working on a few more things that can very easily wait for a while if baby decides to make her appearance. I am working on scrap booking, you are working on getting our screen door put up (with a doggy door!), and we want to find a lamp and get you a dentist appointment.  but the reality is, we are just waiting now! you are sooo excited- you want our baby girl here right now! i know you are going to be such a good daddy- just because you already love her so much! I can't wait to see you in action- diapering, burping, swaddling, rocking- it is going to absolutely melt my heart.

but for now, I am taking time to remember our relationship! a friend at church is getting married in august and asked about our venue and i took 10 minutes and looked through all our wedding pictures- what beautiful memories! and I am listening to "Hey Ho" by the Lumineers right now! I love our story, Jesus! Thank you for walking through life with me and being my best friend! You are really, truly my favorite person in this world and I am so thankful I get to do life with you. and that i get to have a family with you- think about how much we love our Booga and how much more we will love our Johanna! I can't wait for this new season in our life, but I am trying to embrace the wait and savor each of these few days with just the two of us.

Last night, we made brownies and watched "Scrubs" and just had a great time relaxing. I love our lazy nights! I love watching cheesy movies (foreign films anyone?) and playing games (even though you kicked my butt last time) and just enjoying the slow times with you! i love sitting around in our robes and cuddling on the couch... pretty much anything I do with you is wonderful! I love you!

Babymoon!

I had soo much fun on our babymoon, Jesus! It was so good to get away from everyday life for a night and just enjoy each other.  We got there around 4pm and enjoyed some tea, coffee, and cookies in our room.  We then got ready and went out to El Gaucho! We had escargot, sticky ribs, steak, and mac'n'cheese...and it was all absolutely delicious! When we got back to the hotel, we took a bubble bath with a LOT of lavender bubbles in the double jacuzzi tub! The next morning, the breakfast was amazing...although the conversation around the table left a little something to be desired lol. Right before we headed out there, we were going to stop by Fred Meyer to check my blood pressure as it had been too high at my last appointment. I ended up slamming my finger in the car door and it cracked the nail and bled all over. We spent about an hour waiting until it stopped hurting so much to head out to our night away. Now, a few weeks later, the nail is feeling much better and I have feeling in my fingertip again, but it is still cracked and bruised hahah. i just love going through life with you! I love the boring, day to day stuff- laundry, cleaning, cooking, watching TV before bed. and i love the special occasions! we are so lucky! God has really blessed my life through you. I was praying yesterday while driving and i just had to thank God for the joyful seasons of life. and this season in our lives is wonderful- we are so in love, we get to enjoy each other, we are going to meet our daughter soon, we have a sweet doggy, we have supportive families, and we are only just starting out. Thank you for loving me and for treating me to romantic nights away! <3

Good morning, good morning

Good morning, good morning, life is sweet with Johanna, good morning, good muffins to you! Good morning, good morning, life is sweet with our family, good morning, good muffins to you! Good morning, good morning, life is sweet with Cece, good morning, good muffins to you!

This morning you sang the above to my belly as we sat on the bed with Cece on the heater by our feet. Those little moments are soo precious and I am so glad I get to experience them with you! I know it has been forever since I have written, so lots to say! We found out that we are having a little girl on 10/17/13, just 3 days after feeling her first kicks. We have chosen the name- Johanna- and we love it, but we are not sharing it with anyone until she is born.  We are not sure on the middle name yet- either Maria or Rose- we will just have to wait and see! We have been working so hard to get everything ready for our little princess- we have the crib and changing table all set up, have a fence for Cece finished, have our whole house organized, we are working on stocking up, preparing freezer meals, finding a pediatrician.... so much to do to make sure everything is ready, but we are almost at the point where everything essential is done and the rest of it can wait if baby decides to come early. I am 31 weeks and 6 days along today and Johanna weighs somewhere between 3.5 and 4 pounds.  She has been such an active little girl, but is moving less abruptly and more so rolling around as she has less and less space.  My belly feels huge! I have gained just over 20 pounds so far (yikes!) and my back feels it! I am not super uncomfortable yet, but am getting there. This pregnancy has been quite an experience and I am really glad I have you by my side.  You have been so supportive- you have attended every single prenatal appointment, have taken a few moments each day to talk or read to our baby, and most importantly have continually told me how beautiful I am and helped me work through all my crazy emotions.

This morning, we went to Ihop to redeem a freebie breakfast! It just so happened to be free pancake day or something in preparation for a superbowl event they are doing, so we got double the pancakes when we asked them to split an order for us.  Normally, splitting a meal is not quite enough, but with the extra pancakes it was a lot of food- score! We have been working hard to keep a date on the calendar once per week every week leading up to the baby being born.  We have gone out to eat a few times, have a gift card to the movies to use, and will be going to a bed & breakfast for our babymoon/1.5 year anniversary trip next week!

You have started working full time at the golf course as the new assistant professional and you seem to be loving it! I think it has been a big transition for you as you feel a lot of responsibility, considering that the head professional is not pulling his weight and you know that the owners are training you to take over his position in the long run.  You have so many ideas about how to turn business around at the golf course, how you can improve merchandise sales, camps that you can put on during the summer, etc.  You are very creative and very passionate about your work and it really shines through. I am really happy for you and am glad that we are able to live a life that allows you to pursue your dream job.  It is really fun to watch you light up and spread your wings- I think that you have huge potential, but I have never gotten to really see you at work because you have never had the freedom or security to do so.  I do feel a little bit sad about the timing... the baby will only be a few months old this summer and I feel like you will have to hold off on diving into some of your plans to make sure you are around home enough to help me out and enjoy her newborn months, but I know that God's timing is perfect and everything will work out wonderfully.

Christmas was crazy this year! We started celebrating with my family on 12/23 when Nick got in from Florida and had two full days of celebrating with them, which was pretty fun.  However, you were feeling nauseous and had flu-like symptoms (no vomiting or diarrhea luckily!) the whole time, so that put a bit of a damper on the celebrations.  We took off for Texas on Christmas day for your mother's family reunion.  It was a crazy 4 day trip- so much packed into so little time, sick kids, parties lasting until 2am, packing too many people into a car, shopping with crazy crowds, and lots of new faces for me...so not a very relaxing vacation, that's for sure.  and we both got colds toward the end of that trip (poor you getting sick twice in a row!). i don't think i will agree to making that trip again any time soon, but it sure was nice to get to know a new side of your family and meet so many wonderful people! we spent a fairly quiet New Year's Eve at home- Alex and Jordan came over to play munchkin with us and we just watched the ball drop and then headed to bed (after a little Nintendo for you and the boys).  Just think, next year at Christmas, we will have a 9 month old! that is the best thing in the world :)

We are taking a break from small group for the first time in 3 years.  It is a little bit bittersweet as it has been a huge part of our lives, but I think we really need the extra night every week as we are working on transitioning into your first full time job and with the baby coming so soon.  We have made some great friends from the small group community, though! I go walking once a week with a woman named April and that is a huge blessing to me.  The Kambaks are some of our very best friends! The small group girls are even throwing me a baby shower :) We have so much support- not just family, but also friends around this area.  We are so blessed to be able to raise our family here- surrounded by love.

I can't think of too much more to update on... I feel like all my time and energy has been focused on getting everything ready for baby- from projects around the house, to reading the right books, to training Cece, to exercising properly, to planning how to stock our freezer for the first few weeks... so while that is all very necessary, it is not super fun to write about...

I love you so much, Jesus! And I am so thankful for our marriage and our vows to each other.  I can not imagine my life without you walking by my side.  You are my best friend, my comforter, my partner, my encourager, and the love of my life. You hold the greatest place in my heart- and you always will! You will always be my #1- above our children, above our parents, above our siblings, above any other person. Thank you for all that you do to love me- I am so lucky to have you! Our parents both just celebrated their anniversaries (35 years & 27 years) and it is crazy to think about us at their age and how it will feel to have been married for 35 years... we will have so much to look back and reflect on. So many stories to share. So much love to remember. I am excited to go through the years with you- thank you for giving me the opportunity.  I love you <3