Our Little Bachelorette?

We have some really fantastic friends!  And many of those friends have adorable, well-behaved boys who all have big dreams for their future.  So naturally, in the course of conversation between the parents, the "what if?" question comes up regarding their boy(s) and our Tess. We would be honored to have her marry into any of their families.  And it will be fun to see which of them, if any, develop a little "crush" as the years go by! This post is a little bit ridiculous, I know.  But since the main reason I keep up this blog is so that our Tess can read all about Mommy & Daddy and her childhood someday, I'm writing it with her future embarrassment/entertainment in mind.  So here are the contenders....there are some pretty adorable big/little brother duos, too! 

Max.  He is actually 6 weeks younger than Tess, but exactly twice her size already. 
Tess Kopper? 

Connor.  He's in first grade this year, and doesn't he look distinguished in those glasses! 
Tess Hamlin?

Kolbe (in second grade this year) and Kaden (in Pre-K, with a hilarious personality). 
Tess Myers?

Brandt (in kindergarten) and Reed (age 2). 
Tess Strickland?

Dominic (age 2) and Ethan (age 4 -- almost 5 -- in Pre-K, wants to skip high school and go straight to college). 
Tess Coyle?

Lucky 13!

On May 22nd we celebrated 13 years of marriage, and boy (or should I say girl!) was our anniversary dinner different than last year!  This time a year ago, I was about 6 months pregnant and was sneaking sips of wine in the corner (so as not to be scorned by other patrons....don't judge!) while feeling very huge and, well, to be honest, unsexy.  This year we were blessed to be able to go back to our favorite place to celebrate (Ruth's Chris) with a wonderful, new perspective on our life together.  We spent most of the time talking about how we missed our sweet baby girl and swapping parenting stories with our very friendly waiter. We wouldn't have it any other way!

Saying "I Do"....Still!

This past weekend, our dear friends Charlie and Stacey hosted a fabulous, much-awaited, 1920's themed vow renewal ceremony.  What a fun and memorable event!  They seriously know how to throw a party.  We were honored that they asked Chad to perform the "wedding" as they reaffirmed their love and devotion to each other (and their 3 fantastic kids), and it was great to see them "get married" since they eloped on us 3 years ago. 

Stacey and I have been the best of friends since high school.  She is the friend that I can tell absolutely anything to and know that, no matter what it is, she will still love me and support me.  Even if we haven't talked in a while.  Our friendship is easy and fun and uncomplicated and always refreshing, even though we have known each other more than 20 years.  And it's so great that our guys really like hanging out together, too.  It was fun to see all of her family in one place, and have my own precious little one there to show off to them. 

Here are the pics I took...we had such a great time!

Frog & Toad....aka Chad & Sarah

Years ago, a dear friend turned me on to the childrens' stories about Frog and Toad. If you haven't read them, they are so fun. The other day I pulled out my Frog and Toad Are Friends book to read to Tess, and was stunned at the realization as I read through the short stories: Chad is Frog and I am Toad.  Those of you who know Frog and Toad will understand the slight feeling of dismay that arose in me, realizing just how much like Toad I can be.  To sum it up for you, Toad is neurotic and irritable.  High strung and high maintenance.  Worried about appearances and worried about things that may never happen. 

And then there is Frog -- Toad's faithful friend, always the voice of reason, always willing to indulge Toad in his neuroses, always putting up with Toad's antics....until it's time to gently and kindly remind him of what's real and what's important.  Frog is happy and easygoing and loved by everyone.

In almost every Frog and Toad story in my book, I could see evidence of Chad's and my very distinct personalities.  It was quite comical and a wonderful reminder that it's our differences that make us such a great team. 

Here's a short one that's a favorite of mine.  How sweet of Frog to chase after Toad's list!  I'm so much like Toad, living and dying by my to-do lists, and even writing things down just so I can cross them off!

The List...

One morning Toad sat in the bed. “I have many things to do,” he said.“I will write them all down on a list so that I can remember them.” Toad wrote down on a piece of paper:

A List of things to do today

Then he wrote: Wake up

“I have done that,” said Toad and he crossed out: Wake Up

Then Toad wrote other things on the paper.

Eat Breakfast

Get dressed

Go to Frog’s house
Take walk with Frog

Eat lunch

Take nap

Play game with Frog

Eat supper

Go to sleep

“There ,” said Toad. “Now my day is all written down.” He got out of bed and had something to eat.  Then Toad crossed out: Eat Breakfast.

Toad took his clothes out of the closet and put them on. Then he crossed out: Get dressed.

Toad put the list in his pocket. He opened the door and walked out into the morning. Soon Toad was at Frog’s front door. He took the list from his pocket and crossed out: Go to Frog’s house.

Toad knocked at the door. “Hello,” said Frog. “Look at my list of things to do,” said Toad. “Oh,” said Frog, “that is very nice.” Toad said, “My list tells me that we will go for a walk.” “All right,” said Frog. “I am ready.”

Frog and Toad went on a long walk. Then Toad took the list from his pocket again. He crossed out: Take walk with Frog. Just then there was a strong wind. It blew the list out of Toad’s hand. The list blew high up into the air. “Help!” cried Toad. “My list is blowing away. What will I do without my list?”

“Hurry!” said Frog. “We will run and catch it.” “No!” shouted Toad. “I cannot do that.” “Why not?” asked Frog. “Because,” wailed Toad, “running after my list in not one of the things that I wrote on my list of things to do!”

Frog ran after the list. He ran over hills and swamps, but the list blew on and on. At last Frog came back to Toad. “I am sorry,” gasped Frog, “but I could not catch your list.”

“Blah,” said Toad.”I cannot remember any of the things that were on my list of things to do. I will just have to sit here and do nothing,” said Toad. Toad sat and did nothing. Frog sat with him. After a long time Frog said, “Toad, it is getting dark. We should be going to sleep now.”

“Go to sleep!” shouted Toad. “That was the last thing on my list!” Toad wrote on the ground with a stick: Go to sleep. Then he crossed out: Go to sleep. “There,” said Toad. “Now my day is all crossed out!” “I am glad,” said Frog.

Then Frog and Toad went right to sleep.

Time For Change...

It's not even been 3 weeks since my last post, and I already feel SO behind on this blog! We have had SO MUCH going on, and I'm excited to document it all. What a crazy, overwhelming, exhausting, emotional, sweet and memorable time of life this is for us, as we prepare for the arrival of our baby girl.

I have been telling Chad that I really want to change the name of this blog to reflect more of what we are trying to accomplish in our life, and the journey we are on together, especially as we are adding to our family. We are both fascinated with the writings of Henry David Thoreau, and have spent much time talking about how we can live more simply, authentically, and deliberately (intentionally), savoring moments and experiences and relationships instead of worrying about "keeping up with the joneses." We have noticed over the years that it's not like us to do what everyone else is doing, or what everyone thinks we should do or when we should do it...and we are realizing that how we do what we do is what makes us who we are and makes us happy in ourselves and in each other. (Did you catch all that?) We genuinely love our life together, with all of the wonderful people and experiences who have helped shape us, and we recognize that living simply and deliberately gives us the space (physically, emotionally, and spiritually) to appreciate it all the more.

So, we are working out a new blog title, although the web address will most likely stay the same. I can't say whether it will stick, but if anything it's a start in the direction we want to go!

Below, for your reading pleasure, are some quotes from Thoreau that relate to this topic....

From Walden: "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach...I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life."

"Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit."

"As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness."

"He enjoys true leisure who has time to improve his soul's estate."

"How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live."

"I make myself rich by making my wants few."

"Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads."

Maternity Photos

This past weekend we got together with friend-of-a-friend Kimi G for a maternity photo shoot in the beautiful backyard of our dear friends Ray & Jan.  Kim is the best friend of my girlfriend Danielle, and just graduated from Fresno State with her Art/Photography degree.  She started Kimi G Photography a few years ago and plans to ramp up the business full-time now that she is done with school.  I have really enjoyed seeing her pictures over the years, so I asked her if she would do a maternity and newborn photo shoot for us.  So...stay tuned for pics of baby Tess shortly after she arrives! 

I'm so thrilled with how these pics turned out!  I have about 10 solid "favorites," and some of them will definitely be hung on the wall in baby's room.  Thank you, Kimi G, for capturing this special time in our life!

Getaway Weekend In Berkeley & Meeting Baby Everlee

This past weekend we took one of our semi-annual "getaways" to the Claremont Resort in Berkeley, CA. Thanks to Living Social, we got 50% off our stay and 2 free bottles of wine (too bad I couldn't drink them!). We had a wonderful stay! The weather was gorgeous on Saturday and we enjoyed breakfast overlooking the SF Bay, and spent the afternoon walking around Berkeley and the school campus. We also had a delicious late dinner at Rivoli Restaurant -- Asparagus Risotto for me and Lobster Ravioli for Chad. On Sunday we took our time heading home and stopped at Ikea to see if they had anything we might like for the baby's room. Below are some of the few pics I took over the weekend. I just didn't have it in me to take any more, which is unusual! Chad and I have been so busy, I was more interested in looking at him vs. thru a camera lens.

On the way home from Berkeley we stopped in Modesto to see our beautiful new niece Everlee Joy Hayden, who is just 2 weeks old and (of course) a total doll! Below is a slideshow to some of her newborn pics. We're hoping this is a good indication of how beautiful our little baby girl will be, and we anticipate that she and Everlee will be great playmates!

Baby On Board!

I'm way past due (hehe) on sharing our BIG NEWS with the blogging world... We are expecting a baby in August! In fact, time flies -- today is already the first day of my second trimester (13 weeks).

Here's the scoop, for those who are interested...

We found out on December 14th and got to tell my parents on Christmas Day. It was so much fun to see their reaction! We only told just a handful of other people, since we wanted to wait until we had confirmation from the doctor that it was a healthy pregnancy and baby before making the announcement to everyone we know. Below you can see the first ultrasound pic, taken at my 8-week appointment on January 12th. What an amazing experience, to see a little baby (with tiny arms and legs, too!) and hear the heartbeat for the first time!

I feel very blessed to have had a fairly easy first trimester. I haven't had much nausea, and have only battled extreme fatigue -- no other "adverse" symptoms (unless you count not being able to drink wine!). That is slowly getting better, and I fully expect to have much more energy within the next few weeks.

Now that everyone knows (and it took us a while to make all those phone calls!), it's becoming more real and fun. I'm just now starting to show a little baby bump, although my pants have been tight for several weeks. At this point there are only a few pairs I can still wear!

Lots of people are, I'm sure, wondering why we are JUST NOW having a baby after almost 12 years of marriage. The truth is... we (well, mostly I) just haven't been ready until now. I always thought I would be a mom by age 28, and when I was in my late 20's the thought of it still terrified me. Not because I was scared of pregnancy or parenthood -- I just wasn't ready to give up life as I knew it. Right around the time I turned 30, it just "clicked" and I realized that becoming a parent was something I really wanted to experience. It took another year or so to feel ready to start "trying."

Here's where I may get into "too much information" for some of you...

I went off birth control in Fall of 2009, but we still weren't "trying" (i.e., we weren't watching the calendar). In January 2010 we got more intentional about it, and conceived in April. It caught me off guard, and I remember feeling really scared -- almost like it was happening too fast and too soon. Unfortunately, I miscarried at about 6 weeks. What a shock -- it was truly the last thing I expected. And, as I discovered, it's SO common -- about 40% of first pregnancies end in miscarriage. I'm grateful for the support of many girlfriends who have been through it and provided me with encouragement when I needed it. We didn't tell many people until a few months later, because it just felt so personal. Right afterward, I was determined to get pregnant again as soon as possible -- I felt like I needed to get back what I had lost. But it took a few months for my body to recover, which turned out to be a much-needed time of personal growth healing -- physically, emotionally, and also spiritually.

Fast forward to November of 2010, one of the busiest months we'd had in a while, where all of the planning and calendar-watching got thrown out the window. "We'll make a better effort in December," we told ourselves. As it turns out, we got pregnant when we least expected it.

I could write so much here about what a faith experience this has been for me, starting with "trying to get pregnant" to "wondering if I can get pregnant again" to "Is this really happening? Because I'm afraid to believe it" to "Is there really a baby in there?" I'm asking God to prepare me emotionally and spiritually as he prepares me physically... I truly want to be transformed/conformed according to His will into the best mother I can be for this little one.

Of course I will continue to post updates as the pregnancy progresses. We feel incredibly blessed, and are encouraged by the excitement and well-wishes from our loved ones!

8-Week Ultrasound Pic

Simplicity And What We Value

Some time ago I started reading that much-talked-about book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Well, I have picked it up 3-4 times and can't seem to finish it! (Is this just confirmation that I really need the book?!) But on my last attempt, I started a section of the book that really caught my attention, and it's a topic that makes me determined to finish the book... soon. Covey talks about writing your own personal vision, mission statement and values.

I can't seem to get away from this idea, because we engaged this exercise at PrideStaff a few years ago (now our "mission" is a daily topic at work) and this year I'm part of the leadership for Junior League of Fresno, which involved identifying a mission and vision for my committee. As an organization JLF has also made an effort to reaffirm our mission and vision by remembering and restating, each time we meet, WHY it is that we do what we do.

Anyway, this idea of having a personal mission statement is so exciting to me. Recently I also read an article where the author encouraged families to have their own, agreed-upon mission statement and list of family values. And you know I love having a plan. I've talked about it with Chad and he's on board for creating our "Hayden Family Mission, Vision & Values." Like a defined goal or purpose for our time together on this earth, and the values and principles we'll adhere to as we make life decisions for our family.

So, it's in the works, and it's been an ongoing topic of discussion over special meals and long car rides. We're starting by identifying what we value and have a few items on the list already: experience, grace, and simplicity.

What I really wanted to blog about when I sat down to write this is the issue of simplicity. This is the word we keep coming back to, especially as we've been making decisions recently about how to save/spend money, what we want to accomplish with our house, when to start a family, etc.

A dear friend at work loaned me two books that I've thoroughly enjoyed reading, which seem to reaffirm the idea of "simplicity" as something to be highly valued: Living a Beautiful Life by Alexandra Stoddard, and Frugal Luxuries by Tracey McBride. Here are some quotes that reminded me how much I'm looking forward to this process of defining what I/we value and what we want to accomplish:

"True simplicity is eliminating both material and intangible excess, and conserving time, energy, money and thoughts. It is using the resources you possess in a way that will take you toward your dreams, your goals.... Genuine simplicity will help you to become the person you long to be."

"Simplicity inspires greatness. Emerson understood this when he wrote, 'To be simple is to be great.'.... Simplicity enhances lives. It allows you to appreciate simple pleasures, such as nature, family, friends, sustenance, shelter, contentment, education, courage, beauty and thrift."

More to come on this topic, but I think we're off to a good start. =)

Happy Anniversary To Us!

On May 22nd we reached 11 years of marriage! So hard to believe, time flies, and all that. We celebrated with a delicious dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, and a bottle of our favorite wine (Opolo's Mountain Zinfandel). We had a great time talking about all that we've accomplished individually and together since we started out on this journey (in no particular order): successful and fulfilling careers, a cute and cozy home in a great neighborhood, wonderful family and friends with whom we can truly be ourselves and who provide priceless encouragement and support, amazing travel (including 4 trips to Europe!).... all that's missing is a backyard (coming this summer, hopefully), a pet (meow!), and.... a kiddo or two! Well, we have no announcements on that last front, but suffice it to say that we are (finally, after all this time) ready to be a family, and excited about the possibility of that happening in the near future.

When we were young and newly married, I don't think either of us really pictured what our life would look like 10 years later -- we were busy building a foundation, and neither of us are very big dreamers. But we can both say that we are genuinely and truly happy about our life together, past and present, and agree it's just what we never knew we always wanted (yes, even our tiny house, for the time being). We are truly blessed beyond measure! Today I heard the saying, "The grass is greenest where you water it." We continue to learn this important lesson, and strive to be conscious of investing in each other and the people/things/experiences we value.

It's probably ideal to put a picture of us here, but the pics of us from Ruth's Chris were awful...just awful! Since you know what we look like, here's a pic of our free dessert instead!

A "Memorial" 10th Anniversary!

This past Memorial Day weekend we celebrated 10 years of marriage! We felt so fortunate that our special day landed on a holiday weekend so we could have an extra day off work. The 3 days turned out to be a good mix of fun and productivity.

Friday night we had a GREAT dinner at our favorite restaurant, Fleming's. After celebrating anniversaries and birthdays there for about 3 years now, we know exactly what we love to order and that we won't be disappointed. Not only was the food and service wonderful, we were blessed when our dear friends the Martinezes and the Vasends showed up unexpectedly and paid for our dinner! On Saturday we ventured to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and enjoyed dinner and shopping in the downtown area. One reason we were anxious to get out of town was to take a drive in our brand new, 2010 Mazda 3!

Along with all the chores and to-do's included in the weekend (cleaning the house, tidying the garage, etc.) Chad scored a new barbecue just in time for summer grilling, and we spent some quality time with our friends Brian & Colette Lord (pictured below). Brian and Chad have been best buds since kindergarten. He and Colette live in San Diego, but do a good job of visiting Brian's family in Clovis a few times a year. We're excited about visiting them in San Diego over the long 4th of July weekend.

Time flies when you're having FUN! We couldn't feel more blessed to be together and surrounded by wonderful family and friends. This summer will be a busy and FUN one for us -- we're off to Europe for 2.5 weeks in July, taking a few weekend trips, and will be seeing 2 great concerts in August. Stay tuned for plenty of updates!

Our Cute Little House...

I couldn't resist posting a picture of our cozy little home. Our lawn is at its peak this time of year, we got a new bench for our front porch, and the flowers are in full bloom. Welcome, Spring!

Happy Anniversary!

This past Sunday, March 15th, my wonderful, lovable grandparents, Quentin & Fern Unruh, celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary. My Aunt Debbie graciously hosted the entire family at her home for an afternoon get-together in their honor. What an example of love and commitment! We had a fun time answering the "Quentin & Fern" trivia game that Debbie and her family put together, which led to some great stories about their falling in love.

The full "Unruh clan" numbered 31 until March 4th, when G & G welcomed their 7th great grandchild, Ellary "Ella" Beth White (born to Matt & Lianne and big brother Afton). Number 8 is on the way and NO it's not us, it's my cousin Jennifer & her hubby, Evan Akuna. They are due this summer! Congrats to Quentin & Fern on their "expanding" achievement: 4 children (all married with kids), 12 grandchildren (many married with kids), 7 great grandchildren, and a lifetime of love!

Here is the happy couple and a closeup of Ella...

A Getaway Weekend...

After an extremely busy January, we decided to get away for a weekend of R&R. For this trip, we decided on some wine tasting in Paso Robles and a few nights the Asuncion Ridge Bed & Breakfast.

Well, the weather wasn't the greatest -- lots of rain, fog, and even some hail -- so we were grateful for the fireplace and high thread-count sheets at our B&B. On Saturday we napped and read after breakfast and didn't venture out until 3:00. We tasted at Turley and Opolo, and hit up a fun/quaint restaurant in Templeton called McPhee's. We were back "home" by 8:00 and curled up on the couch to watch....of all things....Scarface. Hey, we hadn't seen it before and we both love mobster movies. "Say hello to my little friend...."

On Sunday the weather wasn't much better. We took our time getting ready to head out and hit the road around 1:00. On the way home we hit up Linne Colado (super cute labels but really expensive wine), Clautiere (very fun and whimsical tasting room!), and Eberle. We made it home by 5:30 and topped off the weekend with a fun dinner at Yosemite Falls Cafe with Chad's parents Geoff & Toni.

You know it's a relaxing weekend when you get to read 2 books! I (Sarah) managed to finish The Audacity of Hope and finished Don't Get Arrested in South Carolina (written by our family friend JB Simms), and Chad got a good start on the epic Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Some pics from our weekend are posted below:

A Little Home Improvement...

This summer marked 6 years that we've lived at 212 Oxford Avenue. We love our little 1951 house; we love being in quaint Old Town Clovis near great antique shops, some pretty decent restaurants, and the Victorian Tea Room; and we love being close to some very dear friends. The best features of our home, despite its small almost-1,000 square feet, are its warm wood floors and open layout. Nobody believes it's as small as it really is! The living room and kitchen are very open but the bedrooms are teeny-tiny....it's obvious where people's priorities were back in the day! We also have a huge backyard (we'll get around to adding on....someday.....) and a really beautiful silver maple in the front. Oh, and our porch -- we've spent many a warm summer night on the front porch enjoying a cool glass of white wine.

This year we finally embarked on a few home improvement projects....Not because we had time or because we're particularly handy, but because we finally had some extra money and got tired of staring at white walls! So we were able to pay some people to do the job right!

In January we had crown molding installed in the living room, dining room, and hallway. We also had the living room and dining room painted in a golden-yellow tone called "cornsilk." Our much-anticipated project came during the summer, when we had floor-to-ceiling built-in bookshelves installed in the living room. Finally, a beautiful home for all our books! We capped everything off with a new white rug, a new media console and side tables, a flat-screen TV, and some new wall decor.

Next up? We're not sure yet....We're still recovering....Chad's ready to tackle the addition of a master bedroom suite but I'm not quite there yet. Although as much as we love each other, sharing one very small bathroom is getting old!

Below are just a few pictures of the "new look," which we really love!

Trip To Murphys, CA

In February we took a quick overnight trip to Murphys, CA. We hadn't heard of it until Chris & Kristi (Chad's brother & sister-in-law) spent a weekend there and said how charming it was, and then Chad's "Auntie Di" said it was full of yuppies.... so of course we had to check it out!

Murphys is located in the central Sierra Nevada foothills between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park, in Calaveras County, California. Rich in goldrush history, Murphys today is a vibrant, thriving community of approximately 2,000 residents, alive with art galleries and live theatre, eclectic shops, fine restaurants, charming hotels and B&B's, and a multitude of outstanding outdoor recreational opportunities all just a short drive away.

We stayed at a really obscure B&B called "Querencia," which was very remote (at the top of a hill!) and luxurious. The food was the best we've ever had at a B&B and the owners were so hospitable and generous. Except they kept asking us what we'd like to do, eat, see, etc. and then whatever we said they tried to convince us to do something else that they knew was better. For example we said we'd have muffins delivered to our door for breakfast but they had to convince us the scones were the way to go! And we said we wanted to have such-and-such type of dinner but they wanted to call their chef friend at a local restaurant and get us a table there instead! Nice people, a little too talkative for a relaxing B&B experience... but overall it was a lovely stay.

Let the Blogging Begin!

We're finally doing it: we're starting a blog. After watching several friends develop blogs and discovering what a GREAT way it is to see what's going on in their lives, we decided we're prime candidates. Not only are we two of the busiest people you'll ever meet, we have family and friends all around the world that we love and want to stay connected to. So, here we go -- we'll do our best to keep you up to date on our various activities and adventures! See you in cyberspace! ~ Chad & Sarah