2nd Annual Momentum Boche Ball Tourney

Stef and I hosted our 2nd Annual Boche Ball Tournament this past weekend for the Momentum young peoples group at church. We had a blast! Linnea and Nate were the big winners of the night (Nate won last year, there might be a big fit to see who gets to be his partner next year). Stef made a single elimination bracket, but complained because we didn't start early enough. The boys think next year it should be a double elimination! We'll see about that. We had lots of good food, fellowship, and some bonfire time afterwards. We didn't get the camera out early enough, so sorry everyone, we didn't get a ton of pics!!! By the end of the night, Norm was exhausted and decided his new favorite bed place was our new chair (hence the green blanket covering it).

38 weeks & Baby J's room (almost ready)

Stef and I found a great deal on two new chairs. They are SOOOOO comfy! One gets to be in Baby J's room and the other replaced our blue plaid chairs in the family room (Norm was very upset to see these two go, but it was time). We also found a beautiful changing table on Craigslist about three weeks ago.

This pic is 1 day shy of Baby's 38th week! This past week I had a doc appointment on Wednesday morning, and was told that I am 1.5 cm dilated and almost 80-90% effaced. My co-workers can attest to my behavior the rest of that day!!! I was a nervous wreck, because I was sure that everytime I moved, my water was going to break. I practically walked down the hall with my legs crossed! I came home that night and had a mini panic attack. Stefan found me wandering the house after work, not able to get ANYTHING done. Being the sweet husband he is, we packed our hospital bag together, did a little baby laundry, and went to bed early. I had to finally realize that neither Stef, nor I, can control when Baby J is going to make his/her presence here on Earth. Only God knows Baby J's b-day! We are super excited when that day arrives. We love you all and miss you!!!! God Bless, Stefan, Betsy, Baby J and NORMAN (someone commented that his name has been eliminated from our goodbyes)

36 1/2 weeks

Less than ONE MONTH (if Baby J actually comes on his/her due date) away until we get to meet Baby J!!!!! So exciting! It has officially become impossible to put on and tie my shoes without grunting and getting winded. I had my first long doctors visit on Wednesdsay. So the specs... I gained another 6 POUNDS over the past two weeks, bringing my total to 19. Baby J's head is down (which makes sense because my pants require a lot of pulling up, so that I'm not "saggin" at school), I'm dilated 1 cm, and it's butt is right underneath my heart. We have a countdown started, t-minus 23 days and counting, YIKES!!! It is time to start solidifying some baby names (that would make me feel a lot better). Last night we went to the Hopkins Homecoming game with Anna and Nick. We had so much fun and it was great to see all my old students. They all wanted to pat my belly and say hi to Baby J. It has changed quite a bit since May. We love you all and can't wait to see you soon. I'll make sure Stef posts a few of his favorite pics from the Boundary Waters.

God Bless, Stefan, Betsy, & Baby J

1st Baby Shower

This past weekend our friend's Sarah and Trevor hosted a friends shower for Baby J and the two of us. It was a mix of friends from high school and my family. They were amazing hosts and we had so much fun. We thought we'd share some of the pics from the party. Nesting has truly began at the Julien household. We are having a blast getting ready for Baby J. We officially have a changing table (we'll post a pic later), diapers, crib, mattress and sheet. What else do you need? :) Love you all! I'm off to pick up my hubby. He just got back from the Boundary Waters and I'm sure he'll have some GREAT pics to post soon!

God Bless, Betsy, Stefan, and Baby J

New car and an almost done garden

Stef and I picked up our NEW Subaru Outback yesterday after work. Pretty fun stuff! It's our first family car. Baby J can now safely travel around MN. A guy is coming to purchase Stef's red truck tonight. I'm sure some tears will be shed. No more hauling big stuff!

Dan, my dad, and Stef moved almost all 40 cubic yards of dirt on Saturday into our new garden. It looks amazing and I can't wait to grow stuff, especially tomatoes next year!!! :)

34 weeks and "nesting" has begun

My belly has grown exponentially over the past 2 weeks. CRAZY!! :) I am officially at 34 weeks today. I had a doctors appointment yesterday and weighed in at +13 pounds. The baby measured a week behind (33 weeks along), but that is totally okay with me. Small baby means less pain!!!! :) I tried an experiment this doc appointment. Last time, I ate good old Coco Puffs right before my visit and Baby J's heartbeat was pretty fast. So this week, I had a nice calming bowl of Multigran Cheerios and it dropped like a fly. I don't know if it was a coincidence, but crazy non the less. I have my next appointment at 36 weeks.

Stef had a bit of a "nesting" craze on Sunday night and wanted to clean and fix up the baby's room. We really only have a crib, thought it would be fun to hang our curtains and tidy up! I promise to post a pic of Stef's new daddy diaper bag that he picked out at Target next week. The baby has been SUPER active and my coworkers and students love watching when Baby J sticks its butt up in the air.  It makes my belly all lopsided.  It looks really odd, and doesn't especially feel the best, but it is so cool that an actual baby, made with God's handy work, is in there moving around.  

All is well here in MN. We love you all and pray that God is blessing your lives! :) Stefan, Betsy, and Baby J

32 weeks, YIKES!

My belly seems to be growing exponentially. My belly button is officially sticking out now. You can see it through anything that I choose to wear. I can't believe Stef and I only have 8 weeks (or around there I guess) until we get to meet Baby J. Hopefully Baby J decides to hold off for a bit seeing how we haven't registered yet and only have a crib. I guess technically all a baby needs is a place to sleep. It was my first day back to school today and even though I know it will be tiring at times and hard to move, I'm really excited to start the year off with my kids. I got to see my class list and I have 25 students (AWESOME number) and I think they are going to be a fun group of 12 year olds. We love you all up in Canada and can't wait to see you again at Christmas with our new little member of our family. Hugs to you all!!

God Bless, Stefan, Betsy, & Baby J (Norm too)

Summer in Point Roberts

We had a great time at the cabin in Point Roberts, WA this past week. We got to see lots of friends and relatives that we haven't seen for way too long. Betsy got to show off her tummy and let everyone feel Baby J give them high five or a kick, who knows?

The family enjoying a beautiful sunset, this is probably going to be our Christmas card pic, but here is a sneak peak. I know OK magazine is offering us $2 million, do I hear $3 million?

Here we are for the Annual Maple Beach Sandcastle Contest, our submission of "Chateau Julien/Grimston/Borchert/Bartnik" was disqualified because we exceeded the designated boundaries and disregarded the time constraint. We almost beat the tide this year, but the Mother Nature is a real birch tree! Anywho, back to the drawing board for next year. Dad FYI - don't stand next to Kenny in pictures.

Here is the Julien/Howay/Matheson crew.

Milwaukee Part I - Jaime & Nathan's wedding & Trolley ride

This past weekend we took a long weekend trip to Milwaukee, WI. We started off bright and early Friday morning 7am, with a Caribou Coffee to help. When we got to our hotel, we unloaded and went for a walk on the boardwalk along Lake Michigan. Stef has now seen 2 Great Lakes! Milwaukee has a great Trolley system that takes you on a riding tour of downtown for free. This ended up being our main mode of transportation.

That night we met up with some friends and went to the Lakefront Brewery for dinner and a tour. We had a blast! The boys were plotting on what type of brew vats and tools to purchase for their next batch of homemade brew. I guess what they have isn't big enough! :) Then we went to a local pub called the Safehouse, which was pretty fun except we ended up having a pretty incompetent waiter who thought he was funny and we forgot that Wisconsin still allows you to smoke in bars!! It was like walking into a cloud. We then met up with the wedding party at an outdoor pub and then headed back to the hotel to sleep 6 in our 2 person hotel room! Cozy and fun!

Jaime and Nathan's wedding was absolutely beautiful! I realized after the wedding that I didn't get a good pic of the two of them, so a far away shot is all I have. The two of them are heading up to Vancouver for their honeymoon, so Stef is excited that one of our sets of friends is visiting his homeland!!! We pray that they have safe travels and lots of fun adventures. We can't wait to see all of you in less than 4 days!! YIPPEE!! Norm and Baby J (from the womb) say hi! Love you all and see you soon, Stefan and Betsy

Milwaukee Part II - Lakefront Brew Tour & Views

Beth & Scott's wedding - Part 1

Stef & I went to a good friend's wedding this past weekend in Madison , Wisconsin. (I'm not sure why everything is underlined???) Beth looked absolutely beautiful and we had a great dance party afterwards. Stefan was a dancing machine and even the air band came out towards the end of the night (pics below). We are back for this week and then leave again Friday morning for another weekend, this one in Milwaukee!! We are planning on leaving bright and early Friday morning in hopes of getting in a couple brewery tours! :)

Beth & Scott's wedding - Part 2

28 weeks - YIKES!

Crazy how much my belly popped out over the past week and a half, eh? Stef and I decided to start taking pics every week, because it seems to be growing at an astronomical rate!! Love you all and see you soon!