The Henry Crew

Last week I met up with some friends from school at Kim's house. We ate lunch, caught up, and held lots of babies! We all taught at Henry two years ago when I was in 3rd grade. At our school 3rd and 4th grade classrooms are downstairs in their own wing. We all worked in that wing and had so much fun getting to know each other. This past year I moved upstairs to teach 1st grade, so I really enjoy getting to spend time with my friends from "downstairs." Plus Sasha, Michelle and Catherine have all moved on to other jobs at other schools, so it's extra special when we get to see them. Earlier this summer we all went to a Cardinal's game, but the babies weren't invited. This was the first time we've had them all together, and I got lots of pictures!!!

Christine holding Kylie

Katie showing Conor to Madison

Remi

Kylie

Conor

Casey (don't you just love those blue eyes?!?)

Madison finally smiled for me

Katie showed us how mad Conor gets in his carseat...I think he just didn't want to leave the fun!

All the mommies and kiddos...Catherine with Kylie, Katie with Conor, Michelle with Casey (and Madison on the stiars...she enjoyed showing us her backside), and Sasha with Remi

At one point last year there were 7 pregnant teachers at our school - and no, that's not an exaggeration! It's like an epidemic around there! People keep telling me it's something in the water, so I keep drinking lots of it. :-) Next year we'll have 4 more babies to add to the Henry crew. Fun times!

Fun at the Dog Park

Lola turned 4 last week, so we got her a membership to our local dog park. We took her one evening last week when it was a little bit cooler. One other dog showed up, and Lola enjoyed playing with her. She also loved the doggie pool. This afternoon we went back because it was really nice outside. Lola had 8 other doggie friends to play with! She did really well and only jumped up on a couple of people. We're making progress! You can't really tell she's 4 when you first meet her...she runs in circles and is super excitable. But we can tell subtle differences, like the fact that she doesn't jump up on as many people as she used to and she seems to get tired a bit easier than before. Happy birthday, Lola! We love you!

Lola and Jonathan

Cooling off in the pool

Happy (belated) Father's Day!

Jonathan and I wanted to wish our dads a very, very happy belated Father's Day! We were so fortunate to get to spend time with our dads over the weekend. Unfortunately I was with my dad in Oklahoma and J was here with his dad, but we're just glad we both got to see them.

We are so blessed to have wonderful men in our lives. We love you both! Thanks for being our dads! (As if you had a choice...ha ha!)

A great trip!

I had a wonderful time in Oklahoma last week. I spent lots of time with my family, and it was so good to just relax and be with them. We ate lots of yummy food and spent time catching up. On Thursday I headed to Oklahoma City to visit some friends. I met up with Jill (she just moved back to OKC from Nashville) for a fun lunch. Then we headed over to Mary's to meet sweet Brooks, who was a week old. What an adorable baby! It was so fun to hold him and watch Mary with him. She's a great mom already!

After I left Mary's I went to Marianne's house to meet Davis for the first time. He has a head of dark hair and looks just like his dad! What a cutie pie! He was so sweet and even enjoyed a little nap on my shoulder. What a great way to spend my day! (Side note: Davis had one surgery today and is scheduled for another one on Wednesday - please keep them in your prayers! I know it's a scary time for Marianne and Aaron. Luckily Davis is a fighter and is doing well.)

Next I went to a fun Mexican restaurant with Sara and a few of her friends. I had the best time laughing with them and just catching up. Sara is so fortunate to work with such funny girls! It was a great way to end a wonderful day.

I managed to snap just a few shots of the babies. (Again, I'm still figuring out my camera...they're a little blurry and I'm not sure why! But that's okay...)

Sweet baby Davis

Sweet baby Brooks

On Saturday afternoon I got to spend some time with Megan and Pierson. We had so much fun playing - in the sandbox, with his golf clubs, with some wrapping paper - that I totally forgot to get some pictures! Bummer. But let me tell you, that Pierson just gets cuter every time I see him! I didn't think that was possible, but apparently it is. He's such a doll, and Megan is a fabulous mom. It's such a joy to watch my friends start their parenting adventures! And I can't wait for my next trip back to Oklahoma.

Dogs

I enjoyed playing with my new camera at my parent's house. I had to take a LOT of really bad pictures to get a few good ones, but that's okay. When the dogs were sitting still, they made really great subjects for pictures. When they moved, it was a different story! Maybe I'll work on action shots next...

(Note: Rusty & Reagan are my parent's dogs; Bella & Bentley belong to Sarah)

Reagan

Bella

Bentley

Rusty

Pillows

While I was home, my mom helped me make some pillows for our living room. My mom is an amazing seamstress, and I asked her if she'd teach me a little bit this summer. The pillows were a little more difficult than I expected, but luckily my mom fixed a lot of my mistakes (and I mean a lot!) Thanks, mom, for helping me! I just hope I remember a little about what she taught me...

I really want to bring in some color to our very monotone living room. I think these pillows are a great start! I love how they turned out. Here's the finished product:

Oklahoma

I am very excited to be back in Oklahoma this week. I drove down yesterday and had a fun dinner with my family in Owasso. Today I'm going to lunch with Jonathan's parents and then to do a little shopping with my mom. Tomorrow I'll head to Oklahoma City to visit some friends and a meet two new babies. I can't wait! The rest of the week will be relaxing and hanging out with the family and some friends. It's always nice to come back, and I'm really glad I have more than a couple of days to visit.

I need to give a shout out to Jonathan. I had to leave him in St. Louis to work. Have a great week, J! Try not to miss me too much. :-)

A glimpse into our life...

Parenthood is something Jonathan and I really, really want to experience. And in our opinion - the sooner, the better. This is a topic I've avoided until now on our blog, but lately I've started wondering why I even keep this blog going. In the beginning we wanted to share news and events from our life with people we don't get to see as often as we'd like. But I'm realizing that I only post about the good things - and we all know that life isn't just about the good stuff. It can be hard...we all struggle every now and then...and why not be real and share those things, too? So here goes.

Our struggle recently has been trying to start a family. It's been quite the emotional roller coaster, to say the least. There are some good ups every now and then, but lately it mostly feels like downs. We went back to our doctor this week and talked about our options. Apparently I'm going to need injections that will hopefully help my body do what it needs to do. There are a few scary things about this idea. First, I have to give them to myself. Are you kidding?!? I read through the packet of information from the doctor about how to do this, and my hands immediately started shaking. That is not a good sign. :-) The second thing we have to think about is the "risk" of multiple births (as the doctor put it.) For two people who are desperately hoping and praying for just one baby, this is very overwhelming. I definitely don't want to become the next "Octomom" or start a reality TV show about my children. Don't get me wrong - I love John & Kate Plus 8 as much as the next person. (Well, I should say I did until their marriage started falling apart. Now it's just too sad for me to watch. But that's a topic for another post!) We are just hoping and praying for a child we can bring into this world and love as much as two people can possibly love.

Along with these lows comes many blessings. My first blessing is knowing a God who is in control and knows what our future holds as a family.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans

to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you

hope and a future..."

Jeremiah 29:11

My second blessing is having a wonderful, supportive husband who approaches every challenge with a team mindset. He constantly reminds me that everything we go through, we go through together. He is my emotional rock and best friend.

Two are better than one because they have a good return for

their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will life up his companion...

Ecclesiastes 4:9

A third blessing is our wonderful, supportive family and group of friends who are always there to listen to us, cry with us, and pray for us. I don't know where we'd be without them! They restore my hope and remind me to keep the faith when I feel like it's gone.

Now to Him who is able to do far MORE abundantly beyond all that we ask or think...

Ephesians 3:20

So that's a little glimps of life in the Teal household these days. We're hanging on to each other and looking ahead to the wonderful things that are in store for us in the future. And I hope that by sharing this someone out there in blog world might also be encouraged...

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

A Fun Birthday Weekend

This past weekend we celebrated my birthday. The actual day was Saturday, May 30th, but I managed to squeeze a couple days out of the celebration! On Friday night we went to dinner at our favorite sushi restuarant, Nippon Tei. It was delicious and so fun to see everyone! It seemed like it had been forever since we'd all hung out. Afterwards we went to Bar Louie in Kirkwood to sit outside and enjoy a drink. On Saturday afternoon we headed to the wineries in Augusta. We went to three different ones: Montelle, Balducci's, and Mount Pleasant. Brian's best friend from New Orleans was in town, and it was fun to have Winston there. It was a beautiful day and so much fun to relax and hang out. Thanks, everyone, for helping me celebrate!

I can't believe this is my last year in the 20's. For those of you who aren't good at math...yes, that means I'm 29. Yikes! I'm not usually this reflective on my birthday, but this year I found myself thinking about the many things I have to be thankful for. I've been blessed to have some really great life experiences...studying abroad in Italy, working at an orphanage in Africa, moving back to Bartlesville to live with my sister and be close to my parents for over a year, and most recently starting a new adventure with Jonathan here in St. Louis. I'm blessed with a wonderful job that I love and a school with wonderful families and teachers. I also feel so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful friends and family - some near and some a little farther away than I'd like. And I'm especially blessed to have found my wonderful husband...my best friend...my rock. I just love him so much and am so grateful for each day that we get to spend together! Or maybe not every day, but most days anyway. :-)

Okay enough of the sappy stuff. Here are a few pictures from the weekend. Thanks to everyone for the fun birthday wishes, messages, and thoughts! I felt so special all weekend long!

A blog post is not complete without the infamous close-up shot

Sarah and Dave came to dinner on Friday. I was so glad they came!

The girls...Sarah, Kim, Missy, Mallory, me and Michelle

Some pictures from the wineries:

Brian, Winston, Jonathan and Dustin

Lindsey, me and Mallory

Dustin entertained us all with the Mashed Potato at Balducci's

Dustin and Lindsey got me this fun glass to use all day. I love it!