Maternity Pictures!

I still can't believe that I am pregnant even as I type this and feel the baby moving like crazy!  I know I talk about it a lot in person, on Facebook and through pictures on Instagram but we are just so excited!  It is National Infertility Awareness week and I just got my maternity pictures emailed to me this morning.  Pictures that I wanted so desperately for the last 2.5 years while we struggled to get pregnant.  Timing is funny.

If you or someone you know is struggling to get pregnant my heart goes out to them and I would love to pray for them.  It is a hard road and no matter how long it actually is, it feels like it will last forever, and for some it does.  I wrote a post about our journey that I hope is encouraging to others so if you do know someone struggling feel free to share it with them or let them know I'd be more than willing to talk with them.

Thankfully, I had some awesome people supporting me along our journey and the main person other than Jake (and God) was Angela.  She made me laugh when I just felt like crying.  Angela took our maternity pictures.  It meant so much to me that the person behind the camera knew our story more intimately than anyone else. (In some cases even more than Jake because let's just say he isn't a detail guy and he didn't necessarily want to know all the ins and outs of stuff but Angela got to hear it all!)

We took these pictures when we were home in April.  I was 28.5 weeks along which is early for maternity pictures but I wanted to make sure to get some during the pregnancy and I love them!

This one is our favorite.  We have been on a lot of adventures since we moved to Sweden almost two years ago but I think we are about to have our greatest adventure yet coming this July!

This picture is from our engagement photos in 2008.  Apparently we have a thing for me wearing pink/purple, Jake in grey and us posing with blooming redbud trees.

 This picture makes me laugh.  Jake and Angela kept telling me to stick my belly out and that just made me laugh which made my abs pull in so this was the best I could do.

 And then there is this throwback picture from my sophomore year of college at K-State, January 2006, of Jake reading me a book.

Another favorite!

One of my best friends, Kelli, gave us this print at our baby shower in Wichita.  I think it sums everything up perfectly!

If you want to check out Angela's Facebook page click on the link!  Thanks sounds like a lame word to really express my gratitude towards Angela for these pictures and her friendship since college but especially the last 3 years.  I can't wait to introduce "Baker" to Angela when we move back.  I have a feeling they will have a special bond!