EAST COAST TONAGELS

Bump Progress

2012-02-02T14:00:00.001-05:00

Megan here...

I've been getting harassed lately by various family members (you know who you are!) about posting belly pictures, or the lack thereof rather. Troy and I have been TRYING to remember to take a picture every week, which has actually proven to be pretty difficult for us. We both have "Take Belly Photo" reminders set on our phones and for some reason whenever they pop up we always seem to be in the middle of something and eventually end up forgetting. Why are our lives so busy?? People (and by people I mean parents) keep telling me, "Just wait, things will only get busier when the baby comes." but I honestly cannot fathom that that's possible for us. We have plans practically every night after work and our weekends are always completely packed too. I am honestly ready for baby Tonagel to get here so our lives slow down a bit. Reason #1 I know our lives will slow down: Because we will be too poor to afford to go out every night. Reason #2 I know our lives will slow down: Because we will be dead tired and have no energy to see our friends as much as we currently do. So, seasoned parents, I don't believe you!! I think our lives are about to run at a much slower pace :) Eh, maybe I will be eating my words here in three months. I guess we'll see!

6 weeks:

Lord, please let my stomach return to its original state someday!

14 weeks

22 weeks

24 weeks

I realized recently that the week-by-week pictures we had gotten are all of just my belly and that I'd probably want some shots—including my face :)—to look back on someday! So yeay, we finally took a few...

26 weeks

Merry Christmas... It's a boy!

2012-01-04T10:03:00.003-05:00

We SO enjoyed our Christmas vacation to the great state of Indiana this year. Troy and I were home for a solid 10 days, which was amazing. My parents also made the trip from Colorado to spend a few days with the Tonagel-fam celebrating the holiday. We had such a great time with everyone and spent most of our days doing what we do best— eating :)

My sister-in-law Amy and I had been planning to reveal the sexes of our babies over Christmas for months. We finally decided on (what we thought) was a fun/easy-to-understand idea and then began the months long process of lying about not knowing the gender. You can see in the video below how everyone now thinks we are pathological liars. Eh, it was worth it.

Here is my mom, Kristie, and Troy's mom, Kathy, finding out the sexes... I really can't stop watching this video!

Sadly, we forgot to bring our camera home so I only have pictures I bummed off other people... Namely, Amanda Tonagel. Thank you so much for taking these sweet pictures. I absolutely love them!

Thanksgiving in Vail

2011-12-14T09:52:00.003-05:00

Megan here!

We have been BEYOND busy since the holiday season officially started. Nothing we aren't used to of course, but my pregnant-self seriously cannot take much more activity or stress. Between work and after-work social events our calendar is literally packed every day/night up until Christmas. Lord, please help me stay awake through it all! I give that little disclaimer in defense of my (extremely) late Thanksgiving blog-post. At least I got it in before Christmas, right?

About our trip... Troy, myself, my brother, his wife, and their newborn baby girl, all flew from DC to Denver to see my parents for the Thanksgiving holiday. We packed into a rented van and all drove to up to Vail. When we got to our hotel we were put in the wrong room and our original reservation had somehow been completely lost. A little call to the front desk, a trip to get lunch, and voila— we get upgraded to the pent house suite! Needless to say we could see God's hand in all of this, blessing our entire trip.

The view from our room.

Thanksgiving day my brother, Troy and my mom all hit the slopes. I was SO upset not to be able to ski with Troy on his first time out (apparently skiing is a no-no when pregnant, which I still think is a sham) but my brother took some good video for me. Troy did great, as expected!

And while everyone was out skiing, this is what I stayed in doing :) Loving on this sweet baby!

Jillian's favorite (and only) uncle!

Here is my little bump at 16 weeks.

And these last photos are of all of us enjoying Vail. Can't wait to go back next year and actually be able to ski!!

We are now looking forward to Christmas in La Porte!! Next week will be here before you know it and we CANNOT wait. Love you all!

-Meg & Troy

Jack is ONE!

2011-11-22T12:09:00.001-05:00

I truly can't believe that this day is here! It really feels like yesterday that I found out that I was pregnant with our son. I am sure all mothers understand what I mean when I say that a child will simply allow you to understand the meaning of unconditional love. I don't want to bore anyone with how much I love my child, but because it is his first birthday, I have an excuse :)!
When Joel and I got married, our life seemed to be full of adventure. We lived and worked downtown Indy. We worked at the same place, driving to and from work together only three days a week. Our days off consisted of runs on the canal, movies, mini vacations, you name it! After work, we would usually hit up our favorite little taverns, or we would go out for food with our coworkers. We had a great time.
A couple years into our adventure we thought about throwing a child into the mix. I'm not going to touch on any of the details, but we realized that having a child wasn't going to be as "storybook" as it seemed and that we might need to consider fertility options in the future. It wasn't great news, but at the same time we were grateful that we could prepare for the future. Joel and been tossing around the idea of going back to school for nurse anesthesia and what better timing than to get it done before beginning our journey of starting a family.
Almost a year later Joel was accepted into the University of South Carolina Nurse Anesthesia program. We packed up our wonderful life in Indy and moved it 600 miles south. Homesick is and understatement. I was working in the ER as a nurse (which I simply hated), and Joel was gone ALL the time. It was really hard not to feel lonely at times.
I can't write this without acknowledging how faithful God truly is. It is impossible to say that God had nothing to do with our journey. He has literally taken care of EVERY little need that we have had. I can remember praying about my job situation and asking God to take over. The next day I had a call from a manager at the same hospital where Joel was doing his clinicals, offering me a day position with very flexible scheduling. I did not know at the time that this was all in His plan, preparing me ahead of time for the arrival of our little baby.
Six weeks after starting my new job, I found out I was eight weeks pregnant. I had been feeling somewhat under the weather and figured I would take a pregnancy test just in case. When I couldn't believe what I was seeing, I could do nothing but cry. My tears were pure happiness. At that moment I didn't care one bit about our situation, all I could do was think about the life God placed inside me. I cry ALL the time still thinking about the miraculous gift God has given me. God gave me Jack at a time when I felt so alone. How can I ever not give Him all the glory.
The day Jack was born was the happiest day I have ever experienced. I have never felt so close to my husband or felt so much love for someone I had never met. Jack has given us a new meaning for life.
Today we celebrate a year of joyful chaos. Jack will forever be the baby that saved me from loosing my faith in a God that is so incredible. He will always be what I am thankful for on Thanksgiving and the Christmas gift that cannot be bought. Happy birthday to my little Jackson. Your life has so much purpose!

We love you Jack!

First Haircut!

2011-11-18T21:14:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Joel and I took our baby to get his first haircut the other day. Yes, we made this a family affair :). We took him to a cute little shop called "Snip Its". For those who have never heard of it, it is a haircut franchise for kids. Normally I wouldn't really care about the place, but we both thought it would be a fun little experience. The kids are able to watch cartoons, get a prize, and they save all the first clippings of hair and put them in a little baggie for a keepsake. Anyways, I thought it was cute and Jack seemed to really enjoy it. Here are some pics of our big boy Jack.

Pre haircut: Sportin' the comb-over.

Jack and his big eyes

He was such a good little boy!

Looks great!

Tuesday is Jack's first birthday :(. I truly can't believe that my little baby is going to be a year old. He has been the best gift God has ever blessed us with, and he has made this last year truly the best year of our life. I simply can't imagine my life without him.

Have a wonderful and blessed week!

Mal

Annual Fall South Cackalacky Trip

2011-11-10T09:37:00.000-05:00

Megan here!

We made our annual October trek to the great state of South Carolina to see our sweet brother, sisters and nephew. Hugh, Kathy, myself and Troy have been to see Joel and Mal each October and March since they moved down below the Mason-Dixon Line. It works out well because we get to celebrate my and Mal's birthdays in October and Troy and Joel's birthdays in March. It's become a fun tradition!

Our trip, as per usual, was filled with eating, napping, movie watching, eating, walking the canal, eating, shopping, playing with Jack, oh and eating too! Here are a few pictures from our trip. Thanks for always being such amazing hosts Joel and Mal!

Hugh and Kathy got Jack this adorable cozy coupe for his birthday. Look at Troy having to do all of the work while Joel sits (femininely) on the couch!

;) Just kidding brother— you're a handy man at heart!

Can you get any cuter!? No, I think not.

This is one happy and secure little baby! Always in a good mood :)

Caught the boys on a run on the canal.

And I will leave you with this sweet face...

That's all for now! Later peeps.

Well what do you know!

2011-11-02T20:18:00.000-04:00

Hey folks! Well what do you know, its me, Mal here! Bet you were wondering where we have been the last five posts. Ok, maybe you weren't. Anyways, Joel and I would like to take the opportunity to send a hillbilly shot out to the other half of East Coast Tonagels and the wonderful news of their new baby (see previous post).

We obviously take this news quite serious as you can see :). We are so excited for Meg and Troy and couldn't be happier for them! We love you guys!

Joel and I LOVE Halloween! Who doesn't love dressing up and eating lots of candy. Here are some cute pictures of our little dinosaur.

First Halloween! So exciting!

He found the candy bowl

Oh how I love my little man!

Hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween! Enjoy the wonderful, crisp fall air while its still here!
Mal

Another New Addition!

2011-10-31T13:04:00.001-04:00

Troy and I have a new addition ourselves... We will be welcoming our first baby to our little family in May!! We are incredibly excited about being first-time parents and already know we have a lot of prepping ahead of us. We are also truly enjoying this special time in sharing the news with our family and friends. I loved capturing Kathy, Hugh, Malorie and Joel's reactions this past weekend. Check out the video below!

Little profile shot at 12 wks.

We had to hold in the news for a while because we were determined to tell as many people as possible face-to-face. Our trip to Joel and Mal's was about a month and a half away when we first found out we were pregnant so it was definitely a hard secret to keep for that long. It paid off because seeing their reactions first-hand was priceless! I just love this video! So you know what is going on... We told Kathy we had a little present for her and inside was a picture of our first sonogram. As you can see in the video, I think everyone was caught quite off-gaurd!

We were able to tell my family this week as well. My mom flew in for the birth of our niece Jillian (highlighted in our last post). We gave her the same box with the sonogram inside. She opened it and said, "Awww thank you." She thought we were gifting her a sonogram picture of Jillian ha ha. A second later she gasped and realized it was a sonogram from US! We were able to Skype with my dad to tell him that evening when we were at the hospital visiting Jillian. He said he was glad he was sitting down because he would have fallen out of his chair otherwise :)

New Addition

2011-10-25T11:48:00.002-04:00

My brother Matt and his wife Dani welcomed their sweet baby, Jillian, into the world last night at 8:13 pm! Jillian weighed in at 8 lbs 5 oz and was 20 inches long. Dani was a trooper and endured a natural delivery like a champ. We are so happy for the both of you and cannot wait to meet our niece for the first time!

She SERIOUSLY looks just like Matt did as a newborn!

Thank you Lord for your precious blessing and a safe delivery!

Baby Shower Surprise

2011-10-20T08:33:00.000-04:00

A couple from our small group from church is adopting twin babies from Ethiopia. They are getting a boy and a girl (of no relation) both about 9 months old. They are now in the final stages of the adoption process, so our group finally decided it was time to throw them a surprise baby shower. This couple is so incredibly deserving and they are both such wonderful Christian examples for our group. We are truly blessed to have them and it was a joy to be able to give back to them for once!

We thought it was appropriate to play "Toddle Tunes" during the party... Apparently some of us also thought it was appropriate to dance to the toddler tunes.

The girls organized a few games— although let's be real, the girls organized the entire party ha ha. We did a baby quiz game for the parents-to-be and a hilarious bottle race game to see which guy could drink apple juice from a baby bottle the fastest. We clearly didn't know how hard this would be... Half way through the game we had to change the rules so the guys only had to drink half the bottle.

They all took this game verrrryyyy seriously!

Poor Adam had unfortunately mentioned to us previously the exact things he hated about baby showers... Whoops! Well, we remembered and made sure we incorporated all of it into the shower :)

Come on Adam! Who doesn't LOVE the squished candy bar diaper game!?

We even forced him to taste it with a loud round of chanting. Ah, sorry! He was a good sport though :)

Our group ended up pulling off a great surprise baby shower! Couldn't have been for a more deserving couple. Love you guys dearly and cannot wait to meet those sweet babies soon!

Fall Festivites

2011-10-13T10:57:00.000-04:00

Troy and I went with some friends out to the little town of Berryville, Virginia to go apple and pumpkin picking. We started with apple picking, then hit up the corn maze, and finished with choosing our pumpkins. We then headed into the "town" which was the cutest thing I had ever seen— I think there was one stop sign, if that, in their historic old town. We all walked around and went into a few store before deciding on a local place to have dinner. I feel like Troy and I live for the weekends when we get to do fun stuff with our friends... We are blessed!

My sweet hubby went home and made me an apple crisp with these babies! I did question if he made the apple crisp for me, or really more for himself... Like father, like son?

I am sure climbing the apple trees is highly frowned upon, but we had to do what we had to do!

Date Night

2011-10-04T12:37:00.001-04:00

My sweet husband planned a date night for us last weekend and I thought I would share some pictures. Being that we both work in the city we rarely feel like sticking around after work and on most nights head immediately home. I am glad we opted for a Friday night out rather than a night on the couch because we really enjoyed ourselves. It was a gorgeous evening and we spent it walking down the mall and sitting on a bench talking/people watching. We then headed over to Capitol Hill and had dinner at a really fun cajun-style restaurant. Thank you Troy for taking the time to plan a date-night for your wife!

I really wasn't trying to take a picture of our car. It does match the capitol bldg though!

I am sure we definitely looked like tourists,

but we never take any pictures downtown so I was happy!

Colorado Springs Trip- Last Post

2011-09-30T09:27:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to share the last of our pictures from our trip to Colo Springs. We were there only a few weeks ago but culling through all of the photos already made me miss it! I love spending time with my wonderful family and this trip was such a blessing. So glad we were all able to make it happen. I hope we are able to plan man more trips in the future!!

My mom treated us to a girls-day lunch full of fun appetizers and drinks at the Broadmoor Hotel. This place is incredibly historic and simply STUNNING! I know this was Amy's favorite day and I think it was mine too. Mal, how about you? :)

Garden of the gods— a beautiful, nearby state park.

Our BBQ feast after a long day of braving the rapids while white water rafting— Yummmm!

The next few pictures were taken from the same spot on my parents back deck. I love how the mountains look so different at various points of the day.

Gotta have a weird picture... Or two.

My sweet parents!

Love and miss you guys!!! Already looking forward to being together again at Christmas. Can't wait!

-Meg

White Water Rafting

2011-09-19T16:54:00.000-04:00

In continuation of Malorie's post about gondola riding in Vail, we also went white water rafting during our trip out to Colorado to visit my parents. It was a gorgeous 75 degree day and the conditions were perfect! The girls all took one raft and the guys to another. We opted for the slightly easier option of a boat where our guide paddled the majority of the time, while our manly-men of course wanted to do all the hard work themselves—more power to ya boys!

Amy is clearly more enthused about this trip than these two... :)

Once we got out on the water and into the rapids we were absolutely freezing. This was mainly because the water itself was so cold—the guides warned if you fell in that it would literally take your breath away—but also because of the wind. The (smarter) girls opted for these sweet blue jackets that helped keep us slightly warmer than the rest. Still we were all SO cold!! We kept wondering if the guys were complaining as much as we were, but we all knew the answer to that one...

MY MAIN MAN ROSS!! Below is a picture of our guide Ross with my mom. We all were a little concerned about Ross' uhhh, alternative lifestyle should I say?, and what he may have done/smoked prior to coming into work that day. As soon as we got in the boat Amy said, "How long do you think it takes before Kristie starts preaching the gospel to Ross?" We weren't too far into the excursion when I heard, "In Matthew Chapter 1..."

Ha ha, only kidding mom!! Love how much you love the Lord :)

Shoot, Mal wasn't scurrrred.

The boys feeling victorious after coming down a class 4— backwards!! All the other guides clapped after they came through it safely. Whew!

We had a great time rafting and I can't remember the last time I have laughed so much or so hard. Miss you all already!

Gondola riding in Vail

2011-09-12T16:38:00.000-04:00

Recently Joel and I joined up with the other half of East Coast Tonagels (Meg and Troy) and Team Tonagel (Amy and Greg), and headed out to Colorado Springs to hang with Meg's parents Kristie and Mike Tamillow. Here is a small glimpse of a gondola ride up the mountains in Vail.

We obviously aren't having fun ;)
More to come!
Mal

A Shower for Baby Jillian

2011-09-09T11:16:00.001-04:00

Two weeks ago—during hurricane Irene no less—we held a baby shower for my sister-in-law, Dani. Dani and my brother Matt are due with their sweet baby, Jillian, on October 21st and we couldn't be more excited for her arrival! Jillian will be the first grandchild on both sides and the first niece for Troy and I so she is quite special.

Below are a few of the pictures from the shower. My mom and I worked on making most of the decorations on and off for the greater part of the summer. It was nice to spread everything out so that we didn't feel overwhelmed when the date finally arrived. Everything came together quite well and we had a blast at the shower!

Congrats again, Matt and Dani!! We love you both and cannot wait to hold your sweet baby girl.

My sweet Aunt Dianne, in from Texas, for the shower festivities.

Yum! These cupcakes were bomb.

The cute mommy-to-be!

*A special shout out goes to Amanda Tonagel (woot woot!) for teaching me how to actually use my camera the last time we were home. I can already see this coming in handy for when we have kids someday. It's amazing what better quality photos you can get when you take your camera off manual! Thanks again, Mandy.

I Play Kickball...

2011-08-04T23:57:00.000-04:00

... as an adult. And yes, I should be embarrassed but I'm not! One great thing about DC is that there are so many organized, young-adult leagues for various sports. I've previously played volleyball, dodgeball and this is now my second year playing kickball—I recently heard there is a bocci ball league that's becoming pretty popular too. Maybe I will sign up for that one next year, who knows!? I know none of these actually sound like viable sports but I assure you there are your typical soccer, football, basketball leagues, etc. Apparently none of my friends are very athletic, which is why I sign up for things like kickball :)

Our season came to an end a few weeks ago and I have been meaning to post a few pictures. Our team is a little, how do I say this... Eccentric! A bunch of us are/were co-workers, friends of friends, etc. We have quite a few Baltimore Raven's cheerleaders on our team, hence the stunting photos, ha. Somewhere along the way someone decided that it would be fun to have "themed outfits" for each game. I think two of the pictures below are from WWE wrestling and pirate themed games. Yea, when we first started doing this (and believe me, no other teams were) people looked at us like we were crazy when we showed up.

All-in-all we had a great season playing at the base of the Washington Monument. A big "sorry" goes out to all the tourists that got hit in the face with our fly balls—it happened more that you'd think, eek!

8 months is a good number!

2011-07-26T21:57:00.000-04:00

Hey y'all
Can you believe that our sweet little man is already 8 months. I can't believe it, time has just flown by. I do have to say that I love 8 months old. I would almost say it is my favorite month so far, next to the month our sweet Jack arrived. I love that Jack can now sit and play with toys, but not crawl away. I love that he knows exactly who I am and gets a big grin on his face every time I sneak up and plant a big kiss on his cheek. I love that he laughs so hard when I play peek-a-boo with him. I love that he sleeps 8-10 hours at night and when I go to get him he gives me the biggest good morning smile he can make. I could go on and on, but who honestly wants to sit here and read about how obsessed I am with my kid :). I can remember going to work and talking with coworkers about their kids before Jack was born. If I ever asked to see "a" picture, I almost always got a whole photo album. Now I am that crazy mom with my phone full of pictures, with 20 of them showing how he now eats bananas! I have to continue to tell myself, "NO ONE REALLY CARES THAT YOUR KID CAN NOW EAT BANANAS!" But like every other mom out there, your kids are your life. You love them more than words can say and to you they are your world.
I also love 8 months because it is how much longer Joel has in school! I am so excited just thinking about him being done. Finally, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I can't even begin to describe the feeling of accomplishment that I feel for Joel. I am so proud of him, but I am really proud of us and who we have become throughout this journey. We are hoping to know in the next 5 months or so where we are going to be relocating after he finishes. Until then, we are going to soak up as much South Carolina life as possible. Here are some more random pics!

This is the face he made after I tried to take away his ball.

Grandpa Jules and Jackson Jules. Two of my favorite guys!

Trying to make my niece Amaya smile

Not working

Too funny

"Me mom, it's all about me!"

This is Joel and Jack watching TV in our bed. Doesn't Jack look HUGE!

Have a wonderful week,
Mal

That's My Sista

2011-07-05T11:02:00.001-04:00

Not much going on in our world, but I'd been meaning to post a few pictures from when Amy and Will were in town. Annnnd it's only taken me like a month to do it!

All I can say about this photo is THAT'S MY SISTAAA! She isn't afraid to bust a move outside of a Ruby Tuesdays and it's one of the many things I love about her. I feel like we are constantly asking each other, "Do the stupidest dance you can right now" or "Give me the goofiest face you can think of"—Mal, I feel like this may be our specialty! Not sure why or where we came up with these games but it always makes for a good laugh... For us at least :)

Tonagels In Town

2011-06-23T12:12:00.004-04:00

We were blessed last week to have our family in town! Hugh had a conference in DC so we planned a family trip around it that we've been looking forward to for months. Joel, Malorie and Jack also drove up from South Carolina to enjoy some family time. We crammed (sorry guys!) into our one bedroom apartment. Not all at the same time of course. Our complex offers a guest suite that you can rent which worked out perfectly. The 6—and a 1/2—of us spent time at the pool (yet somehow I managed to get no pictures of this), walked around Georgetown in DC, went to Old Town Alexandria, and ate a lot of food! I think the food might be one of my favorite parts of our get togethers. Can't you tell, I even took pictures of it!?

Can't have Mal and Kathy in town and not play cards!!

Joel, I can tell you are really enjoying that oyster!

Typical long lines at Georgetown Cupcake, but it was worth it!

My brother, practicing for fatherhood!

Our little firefighter baby! By the end of the week someone probably should have reminded me that Jack wasn't mine. He is just so cute!

Sad to see everyone go, but we had a blast... Until next time!

-Meg & Troy

OBX— Part II

2011-06-07T09:11:00.002-04:00

Meg here!

It took me a while to cull through all of the photos in my camera and choose just a few for the blog. As you can see below, I chose more than just a few. I tried to piece them together so this post wouldn't be the longest thing ever. I feel like these pictures are a pretty good representation of our trip. Check 'em out!

We took naps on the beach...

Troy and I perfected our gymnastics...

We went dune jumping...

The girls kicked back, while the boys watched Jack... :)

We all gained 10 lbs...

Mal and I got our coffee on! (every day)

Went sight seeing...

Took in all of Jack's cuteness...

Had fun on the beach...

Saw a lot of birds—and a ton of dolphins too but I never got any good shots!

Did a little exploring...

Did a bit of modeling...

Beat out the rain...

Loved on our spouses...

Took in some gorgeous views...

And played with this "little stinker"—literally :)

OBX

2011-05-31T11:52:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone,
Mal here. Joel and I just got back from the Outer Banks with Meg and Troy. Joel is already back in Greenville and I have lots of unpacking to do, so this is just a brief glimpse of our trip. Meg was much better with her camera, so there are many more good pics to come. We had such a good time, as we always do when we get together. I have been very blessed in my life to have family on both sides that I truly LOVE to spend time with! Enjoy the pics!

My little shadow

Ready for the beach

Our condo

Joel and Troy (notice Joel's broken hand)

Napping on the beach

Meg and I enjoying every second of beach time we could get

Veiw from our porch

I seriously can't get enough of this little boy

Bodie Lighthouse

This was one of my favorite days

Breathtaking

I love this girl

Meg and Troy just being themselves :)

Can't wait to go back! Loved our time together!

Mal

6 months.....WHERE HAS TIME WENT!!

2011-05-23T23:10:00.001-04:00

Hey ya'll
Mal reporting here. Sorry for the delay in posts. Truthfully, I am TERRIBLE at taking pictures. Life here has remained undocumented for quite some time now. As I sit here scarfing down almond m&ms, I can't seem to figure out where time has went. My baby is already 6 months and Joel is a SENIOR nursing anesthesia student. Wow!! Frankly, I am ready for the whole school thing to come to a conclusion. Poor Joel is living in Greenville this month and I am here in Cola with Jack. Joel continues to be a sponge, soaking up every bit of anesthetic information he can. Words can't even describe how grateful I am for the sacrifices Joel has made for our family. This time next year we will be in a new location, beginning a new chapter in our lives.
Moving on to my sweet little bundle of joy, Jack is growing like a weed. He is constantly making me smile with his happy little personality. I was in the grocery store with Jack in my cart, aka a buggy to all the southern folk, when a lady came up to me and said Jack looked "as happy as a tick on a fat dog." I seriously need to write some of these phrases down. Anyways, he has been keeping mommy nice and busy. Or like they would say down here, "he's busier than a one-legged man in a butt kicken contest." Haha, ok I will quit now, just had to throw that one in. He LOVES when people sing to him and dance with him. I always look at him when he is sleeping and wonder what mysterious plans God has for him. I can't tell him enough how much mommy and daddy love him and how God answered all my prayers when he put his life in my hands.
Here is a nice little collection of pictures.

Joel with Jack after a long day at work

Jack loves his daddy!

Go Cubbies!

Nana and Jack! He just melted into her arms :)

Once Jack has Nana's food, he will no longer be a mama's boy :)

Amaya and Jack playing after their bath

Jack and his cousins on Grandmarie and Grandpa's bed

Jack and his Grandmarie. I hope Jack loves me one day as much as I love her!

Goodnight kisses

Jack chews on EVERYTHING.

I couldn't resist. Jack if you don't stop crying "I'm gonna cut your tail boy."

C'mon ma, "cut the camera"

He loves mommy's camera

Night ya'll, I'm "fixin" to go to bed :)

Mal

Mountain Retreat

2011-05-16T12:05:00.002-04:00

This weekend Troy and I attended our small group retreat. Our church is amazing however it is extremely large. Calling it a mega-church doesn't even really do it justice. When we first joined we knew it was going to be difficult to make friends so at the beginning of this year we finally took the leap and joined a small group. To be honest we were praying, "God please let these people be normal!" Luckily, He answered that prayer and then some because we are in a group with the most amazing couples who have become great friends!

Before leaving for the retreat we were told that we'd be staying in a house or cabin in Shenandoah at the base of the mountains. I assumed I needed to bring my own sheets and towels and that we would be somewhat "roughing it". We showed up to a mini mansion and were all shocked. God really blessed our group with this amazing, and surprisingly cheap, house!

Over the weekend we went on walks, runs and bike rides; played foosball, darts and games (which got extremely intense!); and did testimonies and bible studies. Really most of the weekend consisted of eating, eating and more eating. I swear that everyone brought the most fattening foods they knew how to make. I am pretty sure I ate my weight in those gummy bears!

The girls made the guys a big breakfast Saturday morning and the guys made us an awesome dinner that evening. I didn't get pictures of the dinner because I was too busy eating—those boys can cook!

I was expecting more cobwebs and bugs, not so much pianos and oriental rugs. Thank you Lord!

On the property there was this strange, random, little pond with this miniature boat tied up on the water's edge. I am pretty sure the boat was meant to be more of a feature and not to be used—oh well!

One couple in our group couldn't make it and asked us to take a group picture for them. This is what we came up with. Didn't surprise me at all...

...Until next time!!
-Meg/Troy

Wedding on the Farm!

2011-05-05T12:29:00.002-04:00

Hey all,

I wanted to share a few (ok, more than a few) pictures from my friend Jill's wedding, which took place this past weekend. Jill is an amazing, talented, beautiful woman that I am proud to call my friend. She and her now-hubby, Buddy, have such a sweet life ahead of them! Buddy got a job working a farm in Staunton, Virginia = the middle of nowhere. When I first heard this news I was thinking, oh that sounds kind of cool, but when we got out there I was immediately jealous! Jill and Buddy got married at a gorgeous old church down the road from their expansive farm house and land. And when I say farm house I mean practically-farm-mansion! Their house was built ten years before George Washington took office, has all the original stonework on the exterior and has been beautifully resorted. It is complete with all wood floors, 6-foot fireplaces (practically in every single room), and even their own wood paneled library with a rolling ladder no less. Their house overlooks all the land that Buddy—oh and Jill too—will be working. Virginia really is a gorgeous state but their land is one of the prettiest parts! Troy was practically drooling over all the space, animals, hunting possibilities, four-wheelers, bonfire pits, etc. Needless to say we both left incredibly envious. Please remember that we live in 700 sq ft ;)

One of the best parts of this wedding was getting to reconnect with friends and even some of my parent's friends that I hadn't seen since I was a little kid!

It's only natural to want to explore the farm land—again, another really cool thing about this wedding! We walked up to the top of this hill, which was a great vantage point, and took pictures. I kept wondering what the people still down at the reception must have been thinking because so many of the guests were wandering around!

The gorgeous bride!!

Another wonderful part of the wedding was getting to spend time with one of my best friends, Rachel, and her daughter Ava. I just love these two! Jill and I actually attended Ava's birth which doesn't seem like that long ago until I look at how big she is now. Time sure does fly!

And I leave you with this picture... A true depiction of my husband's current state: A country boy at heart who can't escape those city clothes, even on a farm!

The hubby got a toy!

2011-04-14T11:43:00.005-04:00

Hey all!

Megan here again. Second post in a row, say what?! I am on a roll, what can I say?

I wanted to post about my sweet husband who got himself a new toy recently. As some of you know Troy is a frugal man—a quality I greatly appreciate and respect about him. On the other hand, as some of you also know, my face would appear next to the word "shopping" in the dictionary :) Oh how opposites attract! Troy literally does not buy himself anything. Ever. A fact that only sheds more light on how many things I would like to buy myself. Constantly. At least I am self-aware, right!? Well, my husband finally made the jump and bought himself a man-toy. It is an angler kayak, which he purchased off of Craigslist for a great deal. He loves the thing and has taken it out every weekend since he got it. Living in a one-bedroom apartment in a metropolitan area isn't exactly conducive to owning a kayak, so I thank the Lord that it fits on our balcony. Prior to that it sat in the middle of our living room for about a week. Sorry neighbors for the bright new eye sore!

I wish I could have taken pictures of us trying to get the kayak out of our apartment and down the winding hallways into our parking garage. A girl walked by when we had the kayak all the way out in the hallway wedged between the opposite wall and our door. Troy was laughing so hard that he ran inside and left me out there to be embarrassed as the girl had to hop over the kayak to get past us! Let me tell you it takes some extreme maneuvering to get this thing in and out of our front door.

So happy about his new toy (and so cute too!)

The one thing I love about Virginia is that even though we live near the city there are still such beautiful places nearby that make it feel smaller than it is.

Blast From the Past

2011-04-11T08:40:00.002-04:00

Mal, thank you for keeping the blog updated with pictures of our sweet nephew. You rock this blog girl!

I have honestly tired to be more diligent and purposeful about taking my camera with me so we can blog about our EXTREMELY INTERESTING lives, ha :) What, you don't think the DC rat race, the traffic, the bureaucracy of our jobs, and all the rude people that live here would be fun and uplifting to read about!? No worries, I won't bore you with those details... However, last night Troy and I stumbled upon YouTube gold! We watched this video a few times last night and I could not stop laughing. This is a throw back to our college days when we clearly weren't making anytime to study over the weekend. This video takes place at Hugh and Kathy's house in Troy's old room and I believe we were getting to keep Charlie for the weekend. We were clearly very excited for his arrival and wanted him to know ha ha, oh my, here you go:

Question: Do you think when he is 16 he will look back at this and think "My aunt and uncle are so cool!" or will it be the complete opposite? I am thinking the latter!

Stop growing already!!!!!

2011-04-05T22:53:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone, Mal here. Both of my boys are sleeping so I thought now would be a good time to update the blog. Ahhh peace and quite! It feels like anymore, the only time I get things done is at night when everyone is sound asleep. I am sure many of you can understand. Last week was so wonderful because I was able to spend an entire week with my mom and dad. They were wonderful to have around, words can't tell you how much I miss them. Jack was so spoiled because someone was always holding him. That weekend Joel had a CRNA board review in Nashville, TN, so we all packed up and spent the weekend up there. It was WONDERFUL! I have been working pretty much every weekend when Joel is home to watch Jack, so It was nice to actually have a weekend off. We ordered a pizza late at night and got margaritas from the hotel bar. It was nice to just veg out in our pj's watching the final four with Jack snuggled between us. Here are some updated pics of Jack that I have promised family. Seriously, he is growing WAY too fast!

I came home from work to find this sweet picture! Joel is wonderful!

"Look at me ma!"

He definitely has his mama's thighs ;)

"Would you please get that camera out of my face and let me sleep!"

"Thanks for my swim trunks nana!"

Jack and Joel in our hotel pool

I just can't get enough of these two!

Take care ya'll!

Mal

There's nothing like a happy baby!!

2011-03-22T10:33:00.000-04:00

The last couple weeks Jack has been dealing with a nasty virus. Runny nose, coughing, sneezing, fevers, and vomiting! You name it, and he has had it! But it looks like he is finally turning the corner and it is good to have my baby back. There's nothing like a happy baby! Why don't I share a little bit with ya'll!

We have had a fun time taking Jack to the park!

What a tired baby he is when we get home.

Can't believe my baby is 4 months today! And I leave you with this video!

God, thank you for the two wonderful boys you have given me, life is so good (even on the runny nose, fever, coughing days)!!!

Columbia Visit Continued

2011-03-02T14:23:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone—Megan and Troy here!

We wanted to post of a few of our pictures from our weekend visiting our South Cakalakians. As I mentioned in a previous post Troy, my brother Matt, his wife Dani and I drove down to Columbia over President's Day weekend. Troy and I left DC around 2:30 in the afternoon and managed to make past Lorton (where our apartment is) in no time. However, traffic here is literally the worst traffic in the ENTIRE country and it then took us 2.5 hours to go 30 miles (on an interstate!) to get to Fredericksburg to pick up Matt and Dani. At one point I was banging my head against the seat because I was so frustrated. Anyhow, we managed to make it to Joel and Mal's at 11:30 that night and couldn't have been happier to be out of DC.

We were shocked at how much Jack had grown when we saw him the next morning. The little peanut turned into a much larger...nut? Ok weird analogy, but you get my drift. Jack really was SUCH a pleasant baby to be around. Over the course of our stay we went out to dinner, went shopping, rented movies and even took Jack to his first movie theater. This last event seemed like it would be a piece of cake. Mal kept asking "Can you take a baby to a movie?!" and Dani and I would laugh and tell her of course you could. I get bothered by people who act like they are physically chained to their home because they have a child, and I love that Joel and Mal tote Jack around wherever they need to go. I figured a movie wouldn't be an issue because Jack is such a good, quiet baby. However, none of us novices thought at all about the logistics of taking him into a theater. Randomly, on the nicest day of the year the matinee we decided to see was packed. There were 6 of us and a baby in a car seat standing in the dark trying to figure out where to sit. Besides the seats in the very front, there was one row mid way up with about 7 seats together, so it seemed like our only option. Joel headed in first followed by Mal carrying Jack in the car-seat and the rest of us followed. What no one realized was that there were very old, extremely rude people sitting on both ends of this row. At this point Joel is trying to step over these people, who are obviously annoyed. Then comes Mal, in the dark, with the car seat over her head trying to climb over them as well. We all manage to get in only to realize that there are only 6 seats—not 7. Matt then accidentally sits on the angry lady's purse and she is enraged further. Mal struggles to move Jack's car seat to the floor so we have enough seats, when he starts to cry. I begin getting somewhat nervous, thinking "If he starts screaming Mal will have to climb over these angry people AGAIN!" She manages to get the car seat up on her lap and is now panicking trying to get him out of the car seat as his crying gets louder. The scene was so ridiculous that I could not even look at Joel because I couldn't stop laughing and I know people were getting mad. Poor Mal had to climb over everyone again and went to sit in the empty front row. Joel went down to accompany her like a good husband and the rest of the movie theater outing went seamlessly—whew! But the next time we decide to take a baby to a movie theater, we will just sit in the empty front row! Lesson learned.

Enjoy some pictures from our visit!

Saddest face I've ever seen!

How many men does it take to change a diaper....

... ONE, because Joel was the only one willing to come within 3 feet of the changing table. I am proud of you brother!

Aunt and uncle of year?! Just sayin' ;)

He really loved watching that fan spin. Look at those sweet neck rolls!

My goodness I love these people!

And now for our personal favorite: Continuous timer shots.

That's all for now... I really hope Troy and I have something to blog about within the next few months. Kathy is coming to visit in June, so you peeps may have to wait until then to hear from us. Kidding— I will think of something in the meantime. Peace out, friends!

La Porte Films Presents...

2011-02-21T19:35:00.002-05:00

Here is a brief glimpse into our weekend in Colombia. See the post below for pictures of our weekend as well... Enjoy!

*Credits go to Matt Tamillow for making this video!!

The love of aunts and uncles!

2011-02-21T12:53:00.000-05:00

This weekend Meg and Troy along with Meg's bro Matt and his wife Dani, came down to the south for a weekend visit. We had a BLAST! Here are some quick pics of our weekend. Much more to come soon!

Here is Jack waiting on them to arrive. Apparently they weren't getting here quick enough so he decided he should take a snooze!

Yeh!! They are finally here and they brought kisses with them!

East Coast Tonagels reunited!!

We always seem to have a silly time!

But we have lots of love!

More to come soon!

y'all come back now ya hear!

Mal

V-day in SC

2011-02-16T10:34:00.000-05:00

I insisted that Joel and I do something for V-day this year. We are REALLY good at not celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. I know, sounds silly but we just seem to get so busy with life itself that by the time one rolls around we are too tired, have something else going on, or we simply don't want to spend the money. Its a good thing that we are content to just be lazy and hang with each other at home. Sometimes this is a treat in itself.
Anyways, we enjoyed a great dinner at Outback. We got the Sweetheart Special, a bloomin onion, two salads, two sides, two sirloins, and cheesecake all for $34. You seriously can't beat that! Here are my two handsome Valentine's before we left (first year I have ever had two valentine's).

This was a picture of Jack before going to bed that night. I think us "party animals" really wore him out! This old man face just cracks me up!

Hope everyone had a wonderful V-day!
Mal

A few old pictures...

2011-02-10T12:12:00.003-05:00

Currently Troy and I have nothing to report on, so I thought I'd follow in Amy Tonagel's footsteps and post a few old childhood photos. My dad recently sent me a CD with all of the pictures they took in Hawaii and included a bunch of old pictures that he had scanned. Looking through all of them really made me nostalgic and reminded me of what a great childhood I was blessed to have. It also made me really wonder what in the world our kids will look like... I still just can't picture a combination of me and Troy!

This is the house I grew up in in northern Virginia until about age 10 when my parents moved our family to Fredericksburg. Troy and I actually only live about 20 minutes away from it now—something I never saw happening. I've driven him past it previously and still would never have guessed that we would end up here (so close to my childhood stomping grounds) and my parents would be out in Colorado of all places!

My brother was seriously such a cute little boy! I am definitely giving my first son a bowl cut just like this :)

These are halloween costumes that my dad sewed for us—and yes you read correctly, my dad knows how to sew and is the one who taught me how!

I love that I am wearing a watch here... Like a 3 year old really needed to know what time it was.

This picture was taken at a friends house and all I can think when I look at it is why did my mom let me go out dressed like this!?

Alright, those are the only pictures I will torture you with for now. We are headed to see Joel, Mal and Jack with my brother and sister-in-law in exactly ONE WEEK! A post will follow shortly...

Whoops!

2011-02-02T20:18:00.000-05:00

We accidentally posted right on top of Meg and Troy's Hawaii pics! Don't forget to check them out, they are awesome! We love you guys!

Please stop growing!

2011-02-02T17:59:00.002-05:00

My baby is getting too big way too fast! Joel and I took advantage of the sunshine and took Jack on a walk outside today (sorry to all our midwest friends and family who are getting snow and ice). Here is our big boy before we left!

I love being his mama!

Have a great week ya'll!
Mal

Just In Time For the Blizzard...

2011-02-02T16:37:00.001-05:00

... Here are our pictures from Hawaii!! Hopefully these will warm you up as the snow storm manages to beat down much of the US.

Troy and I were so blessed to be able to go to Hawaii for two weeks over Christmas with my parents, brother, and sister-in-law. We started out the trip in Honolulu staying at the beautiful Hilton Hawaiian Village on Waikiki Beach. We spent most of our time walking to the awesome downtown area of Honolulu for shopping/eating or at the beach/in the water. Troy and I rented surfboards and paddle boards and each managed to be successful at both! Surfing was an awesome experience but I had trouble with the fact that we were SO far out in the ocean. I kept looking down into the 20+ ft deep water thinking I was seeing sharks! I literally gasped out loud a few times until I realized it was coral (in the shape of a shark of course) and that I was overreacting. I fell off my surfboard once and Troy was hysterically laughing at me because he said he'd never seen anyone jump out of the water so quickly... But I am telling you, that coral-shark was right below me! Here are a few pictures from Waikiki...

My sweet family!

The second half of our trip was a week-long cruise to all of the major Hawaiian islands. I've been to Hawaii once before with my family and I swear that this is the best way to see the state. We went from Honolulu to Maui, Hilo, Kona, Kauai and then back to Honolulu. During the day we would get off the ship and take taxis or rent a car and find the best beaches or towns to see. We had such a blast figuring out what we wanted to do each day! Check out a few pictures from our cruise...

Our last night on the ship was New Years Eve and we were pulling into Honolulu as the new year hit. The ship threw an amazing NYE party on the top 2 decks. I can say it was definitely the most lively new years I've ever had!

And then we flew home back to the cold reality that is the winter. Nooooooo!

Aloha friends!!

2 Months!

2011-01-22T21:33:00.000-05:00

So Big! (Thanks for the outfit Auntie Meg)

Jack is really starting to love bath time!

He loves his Mama!

A little bit of this, a little bit of Jack!

2011-01-17T15:14:00.002-05:00

Hey ya'll! I will admit, I deserve the worst blogger award! Anyways, here is an attempt to fill everyone in on some of what has been going on the last 4 weeks. First, our baby is growing faster than what I am prepared for. I have already had to pull out some of his three month clothes! We have managed to cram a million things into this boys first two months of life. We spent the holidays in Indiana with family and friends for almost three weeks. Yes, we drove, and yes it was a LONG ride. Jack really did a good job, it was just challenging having to stop and feed him every couple of hours. He likes to eat for a REALLY long time, so when we pulled over we were usually stopped for about 45 -50 min. I think with all the chaos of driving and being exposed to so many different people, it really took a toll on poor little Jack. The day after we got back from IN, Jack came down with a bad viral infection and was admitted to the hospital for two nights. It was torture watching them poke him. He had an IV placed, labs drawn, a lumbar puncture, and was cathed. He was screaming and crying so loud, it truly broke my heart. Thankfully everything turned out just fine and we are back at home trying to get our new lives in order.

This week Jack finally made it to his crib. I know what many of you may be thinking, and yes it is true, I have been sleeping with my baby the last 7 weeks. I am a pediatricians worst nightmare! Jack has been sleeping in my arms, in my bed, ever since he has been born. What can I say, we both like to snuggle.

In other news, Joel is working full time on his clinical rotations and really glad to be out of the classroom for a change. He is really enjoying it, minus the 4:45am wake-ups. I am loving all the time I get to spend with my little guy. Currently I am still on maternity leave, but will be returning to work every other Saturday and various days throughout the week when Joel is home to be with Jack. I am truly blessed that my manager has been so flexible and is willing to let me set my own schedule so that we don't have to put Jack in day care. Another reason why I absolutely love being a nurse. I won't be working a ton, but the extra money will defenitly come in handy.

Here is a group of random pics and a video we posted for the grandparents. Enjoy!

Here are some of my favorite guys in the whole world!

Words can't tell you how much I miss my sister! Love you Liz!

Amaya, my adorable neice.

I think my mom gets even more beautiful with every grandchild born!

Sweet, sweet nana! She was amazing with Jack and surely has the loving touch!

Nana and Papa

Snow in South Carolina

Scott Lane has known both Joel and I since we were toddlers. Can't believe he is now holding our baby!

Raise your hands and make a grumpy face if you want to go back to IN!

Grandpa Jules and Jimmy!

Christmas-ness

2010-12-21T08:37:00.007-05:00

I wanted to share a few pictures of what our Christmas has looked like thus far... I hosted a Christmas party for my girlfriends at our apartment. This fell on the evening that we were getting back from visiting Joel and Mal and I had an hour and a half to prepare for everyone to come over! Luckily I managed to throw it all together, however I had no makeup on and my hair was still wet when everyone arrived, but at the least my food was cooked! We ate, exchanged gifts and then proceeded to do what has become a ritual for us and take weird pictures on my bed— we are strange, I am aware of this.

Here are a few of our Christmas decorations... I must emphasize the word "few" because besides our tree we literally only have like three decorations set out.

I went on a baking rampage last night and made thumbprint cookies (with Hughie T's AMAZING homemade raspberry jam) and Kathy's Christmas Toffee. I made three batches of the cookies and three batches of the toffee. I sent some with Troy to work this morning and then put the other in tins to give to my bosses and a few of my co-workers as gifts. I think they turned out pretty well!

I now really wish I had saved some for myself!

Merry Christmas!!

Luke 2:9-12
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

"Hit the road (to see) Jack"

2010-12-13T12:59:00.002-05:00

Last weekend Troy and I drove down to Columbia to meet our sweet little nephew! We were definitely sick of being in the car, as we had driven to La Porte the weekend prior, but it was completely worth it.

As far as we were concerned Jack was a perfect little angel! We hardly heard a peep out of him the entire weekend. I don't exactly think this was the case for Joel and Mal in the middle of the night, but he was still perfect all weekend in my eyes :) The five of us went out to dinner, spent the day shopping at the mall, etc. all things we used to do when Joel and Mal were sans baby. It was like nothing had changed except for a very cute addition to the family.

Check out this sweet face!! I kissed these cheeks so much that I am surprised they weren't chapped.

We figured this weekend would be perfect to take an updated blog picture, that included the newest member. I have to say Mal and I are SO much more mature than the two weirdos in the back! We could not get them to take a normal picture to save our lives!

I think it's hilarious that Mal and I literally never got on the same page with our poses. If I am smiling she is begin goofy and vice versa. I accredit this to Troy and Joel who were laughing so loudly we couldn't hear any directions on what type of picture we were taking.

Troy and I feel blessed that we live within a reasonable driving distance and are able to make trips like this! We love you three and are already looking forward to our next trip down.

-Meg

My Little Angel

2010-12-01T19:40:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to post a couple pics of my sweet little angel! I told Joel that I am in love with another man and his name is Jack!

Have a wonderful week ya'll!

Mal

Thanksgiving in LP

2010-11-30T15:10:00.003-05:00

Megan here (and Troy in spirit as per usual)!

I wanted to share some photos from our trip home for Thanksgiving. We had SUCH a good time and thoroughly enjoyed the QT with our family. The little boys have all grown so much since we saw them last and Jace is even talking up a storm. We were asked repeatedly to "Go in the bayment and play bakaball wi me!" Troy, being the more seasoned basketball player, received the honor of being the adult in the basement shooting endless hoops with Jace :)

Joel, Mal and Jack were severely missed but we were able to Skype multiple times. Not the same as having them there, but it helped. Troy and I get to go down to Columbia this weekend to meet little Jackson and can't wait. I still cannot believe we have so many nephews! The noise level was at an all time high this holiday and I am sure will only continue to grow once Jack gets in the mix. Kathy, you better stock up on the Advil for all of us now...

We miss our Tonagel fam already!!

Jackson Jules Tonagel 11/22/10 ~ 7lbs 1oz

2010-11-25T22:29:00.000-05:00

Our sweetness arrived this week and I can't describe the joy that he has brought Joel and I. The love that we have toward him is overwhelming. I feel closer to my husband now than I ever have before and I am so grateful for our new family of three. I promised some friends some quick pics of Jack, but there are plenty more to come. Thank you so much for all the prayers and support that we got from our friends and family. I definitely know what Joel and I are thankful for this Thanksgiving! Enjoy!

Right before leaving for the hospital

More to come soon! Happy Thanksgiving!
Mal

Baby Update!

2010-11-12T17:19:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Just wanted to give you a quick update on baby Jack. I just had my 38 week appointment! Yeh, I am so glad that I have made it this far! I am anxiously anticipating the arrival of our sweet little boy. Lately I have been having a lot of back and rib pain, which has not been very fun with working full time. The doctor said that I am still 2 cm dilated and 90% effaced. Hopefully this baby will come before or on his due date, but I am not getting my hopes up just yet. I have been informed by SEVERAL people that usually the first baby likes to take their time :( . Joel and I are planning on going back to Indiana for a couple of weeks on December 10th because this is when his winter break begins. We are asking for prayers that we won't be traveling with a week old baby when this time comes. Either way, we are going home to see our family. Joel has worked so hard this last year and I am so happy that he will be able to spend 3 weeks with his new son and not have to think about school! As anxious as I am, I am so grateful for God's timing. Being a nurse, it is not often that you get Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years off, plus get to have your husband on a break with no worries! Anyways, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as our lives are about to change completely!
Enjoy the crisp fall air while it is still around :)
Mal

This is what we do in our spare time...

2010-11-02T09:44:00.002-04:00

Sad but true!

Ok, a normal one.

Family Time in South-Cackalacky

2010-11-01T19:29:00.000-04:00

Last weekend Troy, Hugh, Kathy and I all drove down (separately of course) to Columbia to visit Joel and Mal. We were SO excited to see Mal especially— no offense to you Joey— because of her growing belly, thanks to little Jack!

Joel and Mal were great hosts as per usual. We had an awesome long-weekend filled with A LOT of laughing and A LOT of food. We also carved out some much needed time for relaxing, coffee drinking, catching up, shopping, and restaurant hopping. Here are a few pictures from our weekend...

Joel, I posted this picture for you—check out those sweet kicks!!

Joel and Malorie also took us to the South Carolina state fair...

We are terrible and made Hugh sit in the trunk! Sorry Hughie :)

We are already looking forward to heading back to SC after Jack arrives and to LP for Thanksgiving. Miss you all already!

Please don't hate us!

2010-10-06T20:49:00.000-04:00

To everyone out there who is mad at me for not posting an updated belly pic, I AM SORRY! Let me explain. A few weeks ago we got our house broken into and ALL of our electronics were taken. This includes both our computer and brand new camera. TRUST ME, annoyed is an understatement. So for everyone out there who has pictures from my baby showers, please send them my way. All of our pictures saved on our computer are GONE!
Today we received our new computer and hopefully in the next week we will have another camera. Hopefully the camera comes before the baby. I keep telling people at work that my patients are going to put me into labor early. For all the nurses out there, pregnancy and nursing are not the best combination. I am really starting to feel the aches and pains after a nice 13 hour shift of running non stop and not eating lunch until after 3pm. Sometimes I want to scream at my patients as they send me to the pantry for the 5th time in a row when I specifically asked them if there was anything else I could grab while I was down there. I'm just sayin!
Anyways, the baby is growing just as expected and he is moving around all the time. I was able to get a 3D ultrasound a couple of weeks ago and saw our sweet little boy smile. Take a look!

It is not the clearest 3D image I have seen, but I absolutely love it! What an amazing little miracle God has created! Hopefully I will have a belly pic soon to post. Until then, take care ya'll :)!
Mal

Not much to report...

2010-10-04T09:47:00.006-04:00

In all honesty, our lives just aren't exciting enough to support a blog! I am so sorry I rarely have things to report on :) Here is a little snapshot of our weekend however... Troy, my mom and I attended a wedding of a close family friend—my best friend's sister to be exact. It was PERFECT weather and made for a beautiful event hosted at their gorgeous family residence in my hometown of Fredericksburg, Virginia. It was wonderful to reconnect with great friends and neighbors we hadn't seen recently!

These didn't scan in that well, but they are still cute!

The Longest Post Ever

2010-09-15T13:07:00.001-04:00

Megan and Troy are posting on the blog again- shocking!

Troy and I recently flew out to Colorado Springs to visit my parents who made the big move this past winter. Well, it was a big move for me being that my family has lived in Virginia my entire life. And only now that I've returned home (sort-of) after college—married and all—they decide to move! Kathy Tonagel would have never done something so egregious! ;)

I am now past the injustice I once felt over their decision to move (please believe that I am actually a well-adjusted adult!) and always enjoy any chance to visit Colorado. During our visit Troy and I received a "joint" birthday present. I use the parenthesis because Troy's birthday isn't even until next year and this was just an excuse to buy us a gift—they really are notorious gift-givers. No complaints here of course because they got us a new camera! I ended up taking a ton of pictures and debated on whether to create multiple posts or just one long post. The multiple post option seemed like more work so brace yourself for the longest blog-post ever.

These were all taken from my parents back porch. I love how the mountains look so different at various points of the day.

On Saturday night we headed downtown to watch the annual hot air balloon glow. We didn't stay long enough to see them take off, which was the following night, but I got some good pictures nonetheless!

The next day we went to Garden of the Gods which is a beautiful state park about 15 mins away from where my parents live. I love all of the red rock outcroppings!

We managed to squeeze in some time at the pool... Priorities!

We also went to Vail for the day and it was literally the cutest town I have ever seen. Can we please plan a family Christmas vacation here?

While in Vail I saw a bunch of kids on a trampoline-bungee-jumping-contraption and decided that I really wanted to try it. This looked like nothing because every person on it was no more than age 8. As soon as I got up there it was actually terrifying! You just drop up and down repeatedly but it is A LOT higher than it looked. My stomach was in my throat the entire time.

I attempted a flip only because my own mother was heckling me! She was right though, "...all of the other 8 year olds were doing it."

My parents forced poor Troy to try it as well and oh my was it entertaining! He was in incredible pain the entire time. Could he be any more stiff? It looked so painful that I secretly wondered if we would still be able to have children- eek!

Lastly, we rounded out the weekend with a little fishing. My dad really wanted Troy to get to do something he enjoys and I was glad we were able to squeeze this in as well.

That is it for my long-winded post! I leave you only with these... (I had WAY better ones of Troy, but he deleted them, ugh!)

Tri Again...

2010-09-01T11:30:00.000-04:00

Megan here! Troy and I, sadly enough, have just not had anything to blog about recently so I apologize for our lack of participation in this joint-blog-venture.

We did however manage to sign-up for yet another triathlon this summer. I stopped to ask myself the question: "Did I black out when signing up for another one of these!?!" Troy and I both woke up the morning of and couldn't remember why we had actually paid money to put ourselves through this. I honestly feel that way every time we participate in a race. But there is always the adrenaline during the race, the people cheering you on and the payoff at the end, coupled with the feeling of accomplishment! After finishing I also—strangely enough—feel like I could do a triathlon everyday as my workout... That feeling no longer remains :)

Here are a few pictures for our race!

1/2 mile swim...

14 mile bike...

5K...

All in all, not a bad race! Here I am with my medal... That's right folks, I won first in my age division! I was so proud of myself until I realized my friend Amy, who finished 8 minutes behind me, got 2nd place. Apparently there weren't very many 20-29 year olds :) Troy likes to remind me of this daily!

Our sweet little nursery!

2010-08-18T21:45:00.001-04:00

I can't believe how fast time is flying! I have been doing a horrible job keeping everyone up to date on the baby. In recent news, Joel and I have buckled down and started putting the nursery together. I am being completely honest when I say that I sometimes just sit in the nursery and rock myself with a big smile on my face. I just get so happy and emotional when I look in that room. I am so grateful for our sweet little gift that God has given us!
Our family and friends have been amazing, showering us with such wonderful presents for baby Jack. One really big thank you goes out to Joel's parents for buying our baby boy the most adorable crib, and to my parents and siblings for buying us our changing table and bedding set! Seriously, we love you guys so much and don't know what we would do without you :)! Also, we want to thank Joel's entire family, especially Kathy, Amy, Amanda, and Megan for throwing us one of the best showers we could have ever asked for. I am flying home for another shower in a week and I promise to post pictures from both of my showers when I return. Until then, enjoy some of the pics from baby Jack's room!

Have a wonderful week,

Mal