Despite the constant heat and humidity of Hawai'i which I often get very irritated by (especially when I'm 9 months pregnant in it), I am truly blessed to live in arguably one of the most beautiful places in the world.  I grew up in Hawai'i, born and raised and never in my life has it been as humid and hot as it has been this last year or so.  Despite the seemingly unending heat and my secret envy for a chill in the air and vibrant orange and red tones of the fall leaves on the ground, Hawai'i is truly a beautiful place. Even on a seemingly boring and uneventful day like yesterday, you can capture true beauty while watching your son at soccer practice.  This was just a quick snap with my Galaxy S4 phone that I took from the parking lot of my son's soccer practice and no less than five minutes later, the clouds rolled in and it started to rain cats and dogs.  It's so easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of life that you fail to see the true beauty around you, wherever you may be. A view like this is something I often take for granted and it's not until I have a moment to sit and look that I realize how truly beautiful this place I call home is.  

As fall is officially here for most of you, share with me what beauty surrounds you that you often take for granted. Link your post in my comments so I can come share some love and enjoy the beauty that surrounds you whether it's overlooked or unexpected. 

Live beautifully, take in the precious moments in life and I pray you all have a wonderful Friday and  a blessed and safe weekend. 

xo,

jean

So... I figured since I missed the first half of the year of updates, I would do a quick catch up post for all of you lovely readers out there on what's been going on in my life this year other than getting married and pregnant.  A lot has happened in these last 9 months or so of our lives.

My son, my first baby, the boy who saved my life in so many ways is almost 13 years old. I still can't believe how quickly this time with my precious boy has flown by. He's a young man and not a little boy anymore although to me, he will always be my baby.  He brought home his school pictures yesterday and it literally made my day.  It's amazing to me how fast he's growing up and how wonderful a young man he is becoming. He's in 7th grade now, his feet are as big as mine and he's almost as tall as me.  Where did the time go? What happened to the days of my baby boy wanting to run in the yard with no shirt and just a diaper on? I miss those days where he'd have food on his face while he was learning to eat or when he was so excited because he figured out how to use the potty. Now he's this young man independent in many ways but still so much my baby.  He has his grandpa Peter's looks and his grandma Teresa's smile and he lights up my life with so much love and joy.  My boy Alaka'i which means The Leader, the one who leads the way in Hawaiian, has waited so long for a sibling and now as he's on the brink of 13 he is finally about to have one.  He will be the best big brother ever.  He's already an amazing big cousin to my nieces and nephew.  I'm really excited to see how he interacts with the baby girl when she makes her debut. Thank you Jesus for this boy I love, the boy I prayed for who would love me no matter what, the boy who saved my life, the boy who gives me so much unending joy, the boy that I will love until the end of time and beyond, my son Alaka'i. 

The year is more than half over and I've been so neglectful of my precious blog.  I got married in early January and things just got more and more hectic. I feel so terrible for not blogging at all but I had so much going on that I couldn't find the time or the energy. I'm sure by now with the photos in this post, you know why I didn't have the energy... I'm pregnant!!  

My husband Andrew and I definitely weren't planning on having a baby so soon after getting married but God's timing is perfect. Shortly after our wedding we conceived our beautiful baby girl and I'm currently 36 weeks and 4 days pregnant.  To tell you the truth, it went by pretty quickly from finding out I was pregnant in mid-late February to now where I'm at the point that I could give birth any day and she'd be healthy and strong.  To be quite honest, I'm still rather worried and anxious about her coming into this world safely.  I trust in Jesus to bring her out of me safely but I've seen so many heartbroken mamas who carried full term and some beyond and their babies were stillborn.  It frightens me so much even contemplating that possibility. I just trust in God that He will bring my baby girl into this world healthy and strong.  Any prayers you could send our way would be greatly appreciated. 

As for her name, we have one picked out and will announce it when she's born. Super excited to meet my little darling girl!! My son Alaka'i is the most adorable big brother to be ever. He talks to her in my tummy and tells everyone she will be "personally" his baby sister and will protect her. He's wanted a sibling for so long and now God's finally blessing him with one. 

After months of appointments and some ultrasounds where it looked like I was having an alien, I reached my 28th week and we had an ultrasound to have a better idea of what she'd look like since she was plumped up a decent amount by then. As you can see from the ultrasound photos, my baby girl is camera shy and doesn't like having her photo taken. She literally turned away from us and into the placenta and cuddled up to the placenta often times hiding her little precious face. 

So we went back at 31 weeks and did another ultrasound and got a few more pictures. Although she was still quite camera shy, she let us see her little chubby face much more. She literally had her hand up on her face covering like we were paparazzi or something "no pictures please!" 

Loving this simply beautiful and easy double stacked fishtail braid look.  Very easy to follow and very boho chic. Perfect for spring!