Soon to be...

MOMMY and DADDY!!!!!!!!!! We are having a baby and could not be 2 more excited people right now!!! The due date is January 8, 2011. We are so thankful to the Lord for answering our prayers for a child. It has been a long (about 2 years) journey, but we know that the Lord had His perfect plan and timing for us to become parents. We have been learning patience through it all and how to truly trust Him for the desire of our hearts.

On Friday we got to see the first picture of our little baby! Isn't he or she cute???? The doctor said it looked healthy. We got to hear the babies heartbeat for the first time which was 166 bpm....nice and strong! We love our little blueberry sooooo much already!!!!! Currently I am 8 weeks along and everything is going great! I have very minor nausea at times, but if I eat something, that normally takes care of it and I feel better. I have also had a few food aversions and smells that have bothered me: bananas, gum (I can't carry gum in my purse anymore because it smells bad), chicken salad (tasty one day, then can't stand the thought of it the next), and I also don't like brushing my teeth anymore (it makes me gag....but I still brush them for everyone elses sake!)

My sister Tara got us this frame to show off our 1st sonogram picture. I love it!!!!

I will be updating often with all the fun details and weekly updates throughout the pregnancy. Thank you to those that have prayed for us throughout this journey and we ask for continued prayers for a healthy pregnancy and baby!

Oh man, I'm so excited!!!!!!!!!!!

Our little baby is the size of a raspberry right now. So small but starting to look like a person already! It is amazing the growth that happens with each passing day and week.

"For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition that I made to him."

1 Samuel 1:27

Part 2: Long Beach Island, NJ

After our trip to NY we all drove to Long Beach Island, NJ. I grew up going to this same beach house (condo) and have absolutely incredible memories of this place. I was so glad Barrett got to come see it for himself and now knows what we are talking about when we talk about LBI.
This is the view walking over the sand dunes. This is right next to the condo. Breathtaking view!

We stayed in the condo on the bottom left. Straight out those windows is a beautiful view of the ocean.

Our first stop once on the island - Wawa. Wawa is like a 7-11 but MUCH better! Hannah is here displaying food #5 I just had to have while here. TASTY KAKES!!!!

Food #6 - A hogie from Wawa.

Korbin, Calahan, and Dylan. This was Cal and Dylan's first time to ever see the ocean. They were completely amazed by it!

Oliver also loved it....as long as he was just on the sand and not anywhere near the water.

Look at his cute sand covered feet.

Barrett spent much of his time on the beach fishing. We didn't catch anything, but it was still a fun time.

So glad to be at the ocean!!!

My brother Alex found a star fish in the ocean.

Yup, we got this lovely :-) rental car. I like to call it "the refrigerator." It is a Nissan Cube. What a ride. It made me smile (or actually laugh) every time I looked at it.

We took a drive to the end of the island to visit the light house.

All those steps and we made it to the top. Talk about being out of breath!

Boy was it windy at the top of the lighthouse!!! Dylan is flying away (or maybe Alex is holding him up like this.) But really, it was VERY windy!

Taking a break on the way down the stairs of the lighthouse.

I thought going up was going to be the hardest part. I was wrong! The walk down you can see all the way straight down to the bottom through the holes in the stairs. This was a great experience, but I was ready to get back down to ground level!

The long awaited tasty food #7 - a cheese steak! Yum! I want another one RIGHT NOW!!!

The local toy store. It is always fun to check out all the cool toys in this place.

The area of Long Beach Island that we stayed in is called "Ship Bottom."

This was funny. Not long ago the Benker boys went to Sea World and saw the shows with the trainers working with the whales. The trainers raise their hands as a signal for the whales to come out of the water. Well, apparently the boys thought this might work in the ocean too! They kept raising their hands - over and over and over again! But for some odd reason all those whales in the sea didn't obey.

I thought this was a cute and funny sign that we saw for sale in one of the shops. Where is this guys french fry? I want him to be happy!
The little boys slept all together in one of the bedrooms on the floor. This is what I woke up to one morning. Feet of a sleeping boy hanging out the bedroom door.

Barrett loved exploring on the rocks and all along the beach. He is such a fun and entertaining guy!

Taking a walk in Beach Haven. There are tons of stores in this area. Unfortunately most of them are not open yet. It is too early in the season. It was still fun to walk around though.
Another cute sign

Dylan and Cal running away from that cold water. No bathing suits needed this trip to the beach. It was very cold and windy!

Aaron bought a tent to set up one the beach to try and block some of the wind.

Uncle Barrett digging a hole in the sand with the little guys.

I just want to jump into this picture, sit back in one of those seats, and watch that incredible sea the Lord created. It was soooo calm and relaxing. Love it!!!

My older brother Jeremy and his family were at the beach house the week before we were there. While he was there, he caught 3 big stripped bass - 30 something pounds each. He had so much, he left some in the freezer for us to cook and eat while there. It was sooo yummy. Here is a picture of the cooked fish. On the i-phone is a picture of Jeremy with his kiddos holding the fish he had just caught.

The crew eating dinner at the triangle kitchen table. This table is a very fond memory of this beach house. How often do you see a table in the shape of a triangle???

One night Mom, Tara, and I took a late night trip to Wawa for one of Wawa's soft pretzels. Why are there no Wawa's in Texas?

While at the beach, I taught Sarah and Tara how to knit. Before too long Aaron joined in. I even heard that after Barrett and I left Korbin got himself a set of knitting needles. I look forward to some evenings of knitting on the porch with the girls (and I guess boys if they want to join in.)

The boys all snuggly and ready for another good nights sleep.

Just off this porch and over this sand dune is the ocean.

A walk on the beach. The waves were huge this morning.

All bundled up on the beach.

This was such a fun trip! We have so many wonderful memories of our time here on Long Beach Island.

Part 1: New York City

Okay, it has been a dream of ours (or at least mine) for the past 4 years that we go to NYC for my younger brothers college graduation from The Kings College. Well, my wish came true. This past weekend we traveled to the big apple for the long awaited graduation!!!Our first night in NY. We stayed in Times Square. First stop - a slice of real New York cheese pizza. Yum! I had a list of foods I wanted to be sure to get on this trip to the northeast. Here was #1 marked off my list.
Rockefeller Center

So happy to be in NY!!!

Mom and Dad

Aaron's graduation was at the Lincoln Center. Outside by the road there was a little farmers market set up. Such pretty flowers.

We got breakfast off a cart on the street. #2 on my list - a new york bagel with cream cheese

I love all the cute little places to sit and relax in the middle of a big city.

The Graduate - Aaron.

He graduated with a degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics with an emphasis in Media. Pretty cool, the Kings College is located in the Empire State Building. Each day for the last 4 years, that is where he spent his days.

Some of the proud family - Hannah, Alex, Mom, Aaron, and Dad.

Alex attends Film School in Michigan. His graduation will be coming up in August. Be on a lookout for movies filmed by him.

#3 food on my list - a hot NY pretzel.

Central Park

We took a boat ride in this beautiful little lake......just kidding! That's not us, but it sure was beautiful and looked like a lot of fun!

We walked for a couple hours but didn't get through much of the park at all. It is HUGE and very pretty!

Waiting for the subway

Aaron's girlfriend Sarah was in the process of moving this weekend. So to save a few cab rides of boxes, we all grabbed a box from the old place, took a little subway ride, and delivered the boxes to the new place. So this is what it is like to move in NY.....

There was a graduation party for Aaron at my cousin Tiffany's house (which is actually the place Sarah is moving to for the summer). Here are her little NY girls along with my nephews.

At the party. Tara, can you believe our dream has come true???!!! We made it to New York!!!

Hannah with the kiddos on a subway ride.

We took a visit to Toys R Us in Time Square. Barrett is standing in front of a huge tower made out of Lego's. Pretty amazing!

Saturday night - Mary Poppins on Broadway

It was a fabulous show. I always loved that movie, so it was fun to see the musical, and on Broadway of all places. (Sorry, I know I look ridiculous in this picture - hair all crazy. It was super late after the show and I was super tired after a long day in the city.)

Life underground - subways galor!

Sunday morning - a trip to see the Statue of Liberty. We planned to go to the crown, but the tickets were sold out, so we just looked from a distance.

Next stop - the World Trade Center Site. This is the fire house right across the street.

These incredible works of art were at the site.

Rebuilding. This is a view from Barrett's work building in NY. I enjoyed getting to see where he works when he goes on business trips here.

Yummy food #4 - okay, so this is not native to the northeast, but it still was something I wanted to enjoy in the city - Hot Chocolate from Starbucks. It was nice and hot for a very cold day.

We did a little shopping in China town on Canal Street. I have never been asked so often if I wanted to buy a Gucci or Rolex watch or a designer purse as often as I did when I was here. Pretty much every 10 feet you walk people call out in a not so loud voice (so the police don't hear) asking you to follow them to their products. It gets kind of annoying and a little uncomfortable after a while. All I walked away with was an I Love NY shirt. Nothing too exciting, but I still had fun.

Waiting for the subway to Aaron's apartment. Thankfully they were selling these scarves on the side of the street super cheap. When I first bought it, I had no idea it would get as cold as it did. I pretty much wore it for the rest of the trip.

Camryn and Chandler on the Subway.

On the walk between the subway and Aaron's apartment there is this super weird store. They sell grave stones.....along with fresh homemade bread. Um, I'm not sure I would feel perfectly comfortable buying bread here, but apparently Aaron gets it here all the time. The owner of the store knows him since he goes in there so often. That's my brother!

The boys

Right next to his apartment is this cute little diner.

We had lunch there Sunday afternoon.
He goes there throughout the week to study.

Brooklyn, New York Aaron's Home - 2nd floor

Here is his kitchen. Chandler and Camryn turned that floor into a game board. How creative. Aaron has a little grill, so when he wants to grill, he crawls out the window here and grills on the fire escape outside. Once again, weird. :-)

Next up, our trip to Long Beach Island....Stay tuned.