Gender Reveal Party

Girl or Boy??

Well...you already know, but we are trying to fool people in this picture. Everyone was supposed to come dressed for a boy or a girl. Since Joseph and I already knew, we dressed for both.

One of my very best friends, Shannon, helped me come up with the idea of the scavenger hunt. A lot of these pictures are from her blog, but some are new. :) She is super creative, and helped me pull the whole thing off.

We had mostly family members, and a few very close friends that came. This is the group that came dressed for a "boy".

...and this is the group that came dressed for or a "girl". Pretty even teams!

Shannon made "clue" cards for all the riddles we came up with for the scavenger hunt. Five for each team. They each had a girl or boy rhyme on them, such as, "Daddy will need to be brave, to teach his son to ______". The answer was shave. They would run to Joseph's razor to find the next clue. An example of the girls was, "Girls will never fail to get their magazines out of the _______" (mail). We told them that this part was a race (which it wasn't), but it was hilarious to see them running through our house bumping into each other.

This was the final clue card:

And this was the final clue:

The teams started racing to add up their totals, and I was standing nervously on the boy side. They soon ,excitedly, shouted out, "ITS A BOY!!!!!!"

Woohoo!!!

Asa James Ray will be here in December!

If anyone needs a fun idea for a gender reveal party, you should do this. We had such a great time, and everyone really got into it. We had a great time celebrating!!

Asa James Ray

Asa James Ray

is his name!

Joseph and I agreed on this middle name soon after we found out that we were having a boy, but never nailed it down 100%. After all the sweet comments and seeing others write his name out and say it, makes it very real to me. James is always a great book in the bible to turn to for just about any encouragement or advice. We have kept James 1:2-3 close for encouragement throughout the past 1 1/2 years and continue to do so. It says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." Everyone faces hard times at some point, and we just have to remember it's all part of God's perfect plan and it builds character on the way.

I PROMISE I AM GOING TO POST ABOUT THE GENDER REVEAL PARTY. My camera battery is dead, and we are having problems finding our charger. :) As soon as I get it, I will post it. In the mean time, go to Shannon's blog to read about it.

IT'S A BOY!!!!! (bump pictures included)

Well....We are having a BOY!!!

I knew I was going to be shocked either way, because it seems crazy that we now can call him by name. It only took two seconds to see what was in between his legs.

Me: "Is that a weenie?"

Doc: "Yup, that's a weenie!"

It was official...we are having a little boy. We are SO excited and just kept giggling all the way home. Between my brother's three boys and our Tuesday night "fam" night dinners with our friends (one has two boys, and one has one boy), I feel like I am covered with boy knowledge, clothes, and anything else a new momma might need for a boy!

I have finally posted some "bump" pictures for people who are like me and want to see them.

I think this was around 12-13ish weeks.

This was 15 weeks -can't hide it anymore!!
(I swear I'm not sticking my booty out-although it looks like it)

When I have to stuff the "bump" into jeans, somehow it looks a lot bigger and feels bigger than when I have comfy shorts or pants on! For obvious reasons I'm sure! :)

I immediately knew that I wanted to attack the guest closet so I could start putting the few gifts that I have in there. This is a very unfortunate before picture. Lots and lots of games, and a bunch of other random junk.

And..here is the after!


I was able to hide the games, and throw away as much stuff as I could. I even hung up a few of his clothes!




We had such a FUN gender reveal party to tell some of our friends and family. I will post the details tomorrow. I am currently 16 weeks and doing very well. Not very many symptoms other than a bit of "growing" pains every once in a while.
We have decided on the first name but haven't nailed down his middle name. Asa wil be his first name. It is joseph's middle name, as well as at least six generations (that we know of) of the males in his dad's family. The options for middle names are:
Asa Jordan Ray
(jordan is my middle name)
Asa James Ray
(james has some spiritual significance to us-especially this past year)
Asa Benjamin Ray
(after my dad)
Asa Luke Ray
(just because I like that name, although it doesn't really fit)

Our favorite so far is James. It is my favorite book in the bible, and has a verse that has been great for joseph and I this past year. They are all great, and most have meaning or are family names. But..we haven't decided 100% . We keep asking for opinions, but no one seems to want to give their opinion, which I understand. But I would love ANY suggestions.

Ok...that's all for now. I will post details of GENDER REVEAL PARTY tomorrow!

My favorite Summer Products!

Favorite Facial Product for Summer: Murad's Exfoliating Pomegranate Mask!

I have now had two facials with this mask, and I love the way my skin feels afterwards. My skin feels so smooth, and it brightens the tone of my skin. They come in a set of six for $22.50

Favorite self tanner: Duwop's Revelotion. I like this because it gives a great color, and its easy to apply. The best thing is, it washes off at night. It stays on well, but I like that it can wash off in case you mess up! :)

Favorite new Sunscreen: Colorscience and Bare Escentual's Mineral Sunscreen

How easy is it to put your sunscreen on with a brush? Both of these are a mineral sunscreen loose powder that dispenses through the brush with spf 5o and spf 30. They have been quite popular at glo lately! ($28)

Favorite Summer Fragrance: Fresh's "Citron de Vigne" or any of their citrus, lemon scents.($75) They also come in shower gels, lotions, and soaps.


New favorite lip color: Laura Mercier's Bon Bon (Barbie Pink) ($22)

Favorite Summer Nail Polish: Essie's "Cute as a button" ($8)



Those are some of the things I love for the summer! The only update on me and the baby is that everything is going well! I have officially entered my second trimester, and already can tell a big difference with my energy level. I'm starting to get a little bump and I'm sure throughout the next month or two, I will start to see quite a bit more. I will post ultrasound pictures and "bump" pictures soon. Ultrasound pictures will definitely be first!! :)

SURPRISE!!

I'm Pregnant!

I am officially 10 weeks pregnant and loving every minute of it. I haven't had any horrible symptoms to speak about, so I feel very blessed for this. This baby as been prayed for, for a long time and Joseph and I are SO excited to meet him/her in about 6 months. December 26th to be exact. Poor Kid!! I'm going to need some ideas on how to make their birthday special. I won't stop giving some makeup tips/trends, but I'll definitely give you a baby update every once in a while.

We conceived this baby via petri dish, or "invitro fertilization". :) I love reading other blogs about their journey through that process, so maybe I'll give a quick description one day about it all. It was definitely worth every stick and prick, and we feel very blessed! Thank you to those who have been praying for us! We are continuing to pray for a healthy baby.

Movie Premiere

Back in the middle of April, we went down for the premiere of "Flag of My Father". I did a post about the filming of this back in November. Joseph's uncle directed and produced this Christian based film. It was REALLY GOOD!! Hopefully, it will at least make it to some theaters and it will definitely be on d.v.d. My parents went down with us. (mom and dad above)

They had the red carpets and everything for the actors and actresses in this film. This is joseph's parents walking the "red carpet". :)

Joseph was able to be one of the extra's and it was fun to see him in the film. (You had to be looking for him though!)

Me, Joseph, and my parents.

It was a fun experience! I'm excited for them and hope the film does well! We need more films like this. A good, family movie that brings a great message.

What's in for Summer.....

Ladies from the 80's....

BLUE IS BACK!

I'm seeing a lot of blue and turquoise eyeshadow, eye pencils, AND nail polish this year. Although, its all about how you wear the color. She is wearing the color without making it about the color.

Laura Mercier just came out with a new color for the spring called "Marina" and they are pairing it up with a deep bronze. Also, Essie nail polish just came out with their "Resort Collection" which includes two shades of blue.

This shows Laura Mercier's "Sun Drenched" Collection (Marina is the blue color that is showing in that palette-which is available for purchase individually as well.

Essie's Resort Collection

Also on the nails....

An opaque grayish taupe on the nails has been a popular color in the fall and is also being seen this summer. (Above, in the resort collection, is a light grey).

Big Lashes

Eyelash extensions have definitely been popular. Everyone wants their lashes to be longer, and a great way to do that without having to pile on mascara is through lash extensions. At glo, we use a company called lavish lashes. They are attached individually with adhesive that won't ruin your lashes. They last typically about 3 weeks, and you don't need to wear mascara because they come black and curled already. ;)

Bronzed Skin

The best thing about bronzed skin? You can go light on the rest of your makeup. I love bronzed skin paired with a pink lip gloss and mascara.

Also, in this picture Kate has on a silver shimmery eyeshadow. When using shimmering eye shadows, its important to enhance your skin as well. Use shimmer to highlight to tops of your cheekbones to give you a rested, dewy effect.

These are a few things I have seen for the summer. I hope to post more soon. Also, someone had asked a while ago where they could get a clarisonic brush. I can either send it to you (free shipping) :) or you can get it online or at Dillard's.