What's in a name?

I wanted to write and let you all know that we've decided on a name for our little boy!  His official name will be:

Bennett Ryland Stephenson

We chose Bennett because we wanted a name that was similar to Benjamin, my husband's name, but not exactly the same.  I have completely fallen in love with the name Bennett.  It is different, but not completely out there that people look at you funny when you say it.  The first time I saw this name was actually on a wine bottle at my parent's house back in December.  Random much?!  But, something stopped me in my tracks when I saw the name on that bottle.  I remember glancing at it once, then doing a double take and literally standing there and looking at it for about 10 seconds.  Now at this point we did not know if were were having a boy or a girl - but something made me stop and think about that name for a boy.  I was only about 7 weeks pregnant at that point.  The next day Ben and I drove to Charleston and we talked about names on the way there.  I mentioned a few, and Ben didn't like any of them.  The last thing I said during this conversation was "what about Bennett for a boy?" and Ben said "I really like that."

So, from there we had the name Bennett as a front runner for a boy.   I also thought about girl names because my side of the family all thought we were having a girl.  Welp, they were wrong!  We unexpectedly found out we were going to have a boy at my 16 week ultrasound.  The technician said she was absolutely sure it was a boy...I was shocked and Ben had a perma-grin on his face for days.  I didn't have a clue and had been waiting on that pregnancy dream everyone has about their baby that shows whether you will have a girl or a boy - I never had one!  I had scary dreams...but those have stopped thank goodness!  So, anyways, then came the flood of thoughts on "what are we going to name this little boy?"  It is STRESSFUL to name a baby.  You know this name will be with them for the rest of their life, and that is nothing to be careless about.  I was glad we had already started really thinking hard about it before we found out.

So, we tossed a few other names in the mix and never really liked any of them as much as Bennett.  Bennett just feels "right".  I swear some people really mess up when they name their kids.  I'm on a pregnancy board and some of them I've seen are SO ridiculous!  Raider was one I was like "what?? like Raiders of the Lost Ark or the Oakland Raiders?" and another one was Xalen...REALLY people!  And the one that takes the cake was Malice...yes you saw correctly - MALICE!  Malice = hostile and mean...Haha!  Some of them just make me laugh!!  People are crazy.  Of course someone may think Bennett is absolutely crazy too so whatev!  To each his own.

Also, if you were wondering what the meaning of Bennett is, it means "Little Blessed One" - how perfect is that?  Makes me smile :)

Now about his middle name...Ryland is not a family name and came out of us just liking how it sounded with Bennett.  I saw it on a name list for boys....it was #482 in popularity.  I have always liked the name Riley for a girl, and this is similar but sounds a lot more masculine.  You also have to think about initials when naming a baby...you can't name a baby something and then have his initials spell out something absolutely ridiculous like BUS.  Even the first two initials can be made fun of.  Kids are harsh these days and will make fun of anything they can!  So, the J names were out too.  No one will call my kid BJ.  Forget that!  Haaaaaha.  He is already a BS with his first and last name for crying out loud...seriously, it's mind-boggling trying to come up with the perfect name AND perfect initials. 

So, there you have it...BRS it is.  We love it, and hope you all do too.

I will have another post soon about just how many instances of Bennett I've seen lately - it's pretty crazy.  But, that's for another day!

Love to all!

KJS

Easter Weekend

Hope everyone had a nice Easter!  We had a great weekend.  My parents came up on Friday to spend the weekend with us, and also to help us get a few more things done in the nursery.  The 4 of us headed over to pick up the dresser Saturday morning, and I also did some shopping for a crib mattress and glider. I found both! I decided on an organic crib mattress - thank goodness I had a coupon!  They are not cheap!  I got one that will last through the toddler years. The glider is ordered and will be here in June. I actually had a coupon for that too so I saved $160 bucks on both of those items.  Score!  So, that's it for the big ticket items for the nursery.  Hooray!   Now, I have to get all of the accessories in there. That will no doubt be the toughest part!  I bought a shelf to go above the dresser - and it's too light, so I've got to take it back.  Boo!  I've got super dark espresso furniture in there, and it's tough to match.  The thing about this nursery is that I have chosen bright colors, and baby accessories don't come in bright colors...they come in baby colors, like baby blue and yellow and soft greens and that just won't do!  I'm going to have to get creative...good thing I'm a creative person. ;)   Here are some pictures!

Saturday night we grilled out and I took a pic of Grillmaster Ben - he had both of his grills fired up that night...he cracks me up!  We had kielbasa, andouille, squash and onions on the gas grill, and a whole split chicken on the charcoal...YUM-O!

I had Ben take a pic of me Saturday night at 24 almost 25 weeks - Whoa...  ;)

I am feeling pretty good on most days!  We had an ultrasound last Monday and our little man is measuring a week ahead!  He is an active little guy - and it seems that 4 am is his favorite time of day. He rolls around, punches and kicks very early in the morning, every morning!  My guess is that he's hungry!  My obgyn has finally decided to put me on thyroid medication - looks like radiation blasted my thyroid pretty good and my TSH levels are slightly elevated.  He said it's nothing to worry about and they put me on a very low dose.  So, we'll see how that goes!

Easter was wonderful.  My Mom and I made her homemade dressing - there is nothing like it in the world.  Church was great yesterday as well!  Ben and I are so thankful for everything God has given to us - we are blessed in so many ways.  We thank Him for everything...

Hope you all have a great week!  Love to all,

KJS

Cutest Video Ever!

It honestly doesn't get much cuter than this!

Spring is here!

Happy Monday!  Wait, is that an oxymoron? 

If you've never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom.  ~ Terri Guillemets

Spring has arrived in Atlanta.  I absolutely love this time of year.  I love those first few warm nights when you can sit out on the patio and grill out.  I love when the flowers start to burst through the ground and leaves begin to grow on the trees.  Our cherry blossom tree is in full bloom right now.  Little birds are making nests in our backyard.  Everything is so pretty!  Here are a few pics of our backyard.  I am 22.5 weeks in this pic, and I think I am looking bigger by the minute!

We've been super busy over the past week and a half.  The first weekend in April we headed to NA to a Jennifer Norris and Jordan Lybrand's wedding - it was super fun!  It was such a gorgeous weekend to get married outdoors, although it was a little windy.  You can see that I found a dress to fit my belly!

My Mom and I headed back to ATL that Sunday and the boys all headed to the Masters.  By the sound of it they had an absolute blast.  I don't think the weather could have been any nicer for them.  They saw my niece and nephew there too!

My Dad came back with Ben because he had the week off of work.  He made it his project to get the nursery painted and he did a FINE job!  My Mom and I taped the room off (torture), and he painted the walls on Tuesday.  It's a small room so it didn't take him long.  It is so pretty!  I am really happy with the colors.  As you can see, we didn't go with the slate blue.  I changed my mind last minute to a khaki/cream color scheme.  It looks awesome.  The picture does not do it justice.  Ben and Dad also put the crib together last week...and of course we are missing a few screws but you can get the general idea of what it looks like.  I LOVE IT!  What do you all think?

Thanks again Mom and Dad for all of your help last week, we are SO thankful for y'all! 

As you can see we have started to fill the closet with tiny baby boy clothes - isn't it CUTE!!!

While my parents were here, my Mom said that my Uncle had hummingbirds already and he lives in Georgia.  So, I decided to put my feeder out last week.  Sure enough, when I opened the blinds Thursday night after work, I noticed some of the nectar was gone.  As soon as I walked into the kitchen a few minutes later - there he was - a gorgeous ruby throated hummer!  YAY!  Y'all know how obsessed I am with these little creatures.  They make me happy.  :)  So put your feeders out and you may get an early hummingbird too! 

We had a good weekend this past weekend.  It was low key and I needed a weekend like that.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous all weekend, and it got HOT yesterday afternoon!  I love it...I've been waiting on this weather.  Ben, Kristen, Matt, Walker and I actually went to a cook out with our Sunday school class Saturday night and we had so much fun!  The people we have met are so awesome!

I will enjoy the low key weekends while they last, May is going to be insane!  Hope everyone has a great week!

Love to all,

KJS

So sweet...

This is so sweet.  It just shows how smart animals are!  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Moving right along...

It's Wednesday yall, and I'm just trying to get over the hump!  This week has been a little more tiring than usual.  We went to Charlotte this past weekend to visit Ben's side of the family, and we had a great time up until Sunday morning at 3 am.  Ben woke up with the stomach flu.  Talk about horrible!  I felt so bad for him, and needless to say I didn't get much sleep that night.  From that moment on, I knew I would get it.  I mean, how contagious is that stuff?  It seems that someone can look at you and give you that virus...it made me VERY nervous.  Just the thought of throwing up freaks me out!!!  It's one of those things I am really scared of...like compared to needles - I'm serious!  The thought of me being pregnant with that virus really scared the crap out of me.  I was the one who drank after him and kissed him on Saturday, how could I not get it?  So I just about worried myself sick and thought every little stomach rumble was the beginning of the end for me.  But, here I sit Wednesday afternoon and I'm battling allergies - not the stomach flu.  HOORAY!  Ben is back to his old self - thank goodness!  I hate seeing him so sick :(  I've been really tired ever since...I'm not sure if it's allergies beating me down or if I've got a massive cold on the way - but either way - it needs to GO!

On to other things...

Suddenly the time has started to move quickly...and come Monday I'll already be at 22 weeks, WHOA!  My 20 week ultrasound went very well, and we are DEFINITELY having a boy...our son is NOT shy!  ;)  That was a fun day as my Mom and Mother-in-law came with me to my ultrasound then we started my registry.  We actually got the majority of it done, yay!

Here are my 18 week and 20 week pics - you can see how much I've grown in a month...HA!  I'm slightly nervous about how massive I might get, but hey - we'll cross that bridge in July.

We are headed to N. Augusta this weekend for a wedding and then Ben is headed to the Masters on Monday with my Dad, Matt, and my Father-in-law.  I'm so jealous, they are going to have a blast!  I actually got tickets this year and I gave them to Ben.  His Dad has never been before - he is in for a treat!  My Mom and I are headed back to ATL on Sunday, and we are going to prepare the nursery for paint.  My Dad is coming back with Ben to help us paint...here are the colors we are thinking about!  The darker color will be on the bottom of the room below the chair rail, lighter color on the top and ceiling.

Hope all is well with everyone!

Love to all,

Kerri

Welcome!

Hi everyone!

I've had quite a few people ask why I don't blog anymore.  Well, for a while there, I didn't have much to talk about.  My other blog chronicled my life while I was going through cancer treatment, and when that was over and I had been in remission for a while, I didn't have anything major going on in my life at the moment.  Believe me, the "quiet" was welcomed.  After my life had been turned upside down in the blink of an eye, it was nice not to think about it as much.  Cancer ruled my thoughts for so long, and I tried to just live my life to the fullest and keep myself as healthy as I possibly could.  Of course it's always in the back of my mind - it always will be.  I will never, ever forget what I went through.  I will never forget what my family went through.  It has made me a better person in so many ways.  I am much calmer than I used to be, if that's possible.  I forgive rather than hold grudges.  I've learned through my faith in God that anything is possible.  I've learned to not let worry run my life, because it will destroy you if you let it.  As the scans moved further and further apart, I began to realize that there were some days that I hardly thought about having cancer.  Of course, I will never downplay it - and I will always give it the respect it deserves.

With that said, I'd like to focus on our next big life event...as most of you know, Ben and I are expecting our first child in August!  We've found out that we are having a little boy, and we couldn't possibly be any happier right now.  We know we've been blessed with a miracle.  This little boy is meant to be here.  He is the rainbow after the rain, and we thank God for him everyday!

We were uncertain how difficult it would be for me to get pregnant after going through 9 rounds of chemotherapy just 2 years ago that put me into temporary menopause for 5 months.  I had read studies that the drugs I had usually do not affect fertility, but you never know.  Well, it turns out that it happened without us even really trying, and we are so very thankful for that.  I prayed that we would be parents one day, and I was a little afraid that we might not ever get that chance.  You just never know how your body is going to react after going through such a terrible experience.  I am so happy and humbled by the fact that we are going to get that chance now.  We are so unbelievably blessed.

Here's a pic of me at 16 weeks, I'm at 20 weeks now and a little bit bigger - but at least you can see my little baby bump.  This little guy moves around all the time, so we are assuming he has his Daddy's soccer legs already.  ;)

I'll be updating this blog with pictures and other fun stuff from this pregnancy, and beyond! 

Love to all,

KJS