Bailey has a secret to tell...

...she is going to be a BIG SISTER! 

You can't see it in the picture above but her shirt says BIG SIS! We are so excited to finally let all of our friends and family know our exciting news! We had an ultrasound this week and we are 7 weeks along which puts our due date January 22, 2013! Obviously we still have a ways to go but we just couldn't wait any longer to share our news with everyone! 

We will keep you posted as we will have another appointment in a few weeks! I am feeling great, just had a little bit of nausea during the last week but feeling much better this week! We are so blessed to have another little blessing on the way and pray that the Lord would prepare us for this next season in our life as parents of two children (yes, the doctor confirmed there is only ONE baby in there)! 

Stay tuned....more updates to come very soon!

Full of Giggles

Wow, time is flying by! Nathan and I are enjoying every moment that we have with our sweet baby girl! She will be six months old in a few weeks! We have taken some fun videos of her over the last month or so! Enjoy!

Bailey laughs at my hiccups!

Go figure her favorite toy would be a water bottle...

Bailey started cereal and fruits! :) Yum Yum!

Bailey (6 months) & Cousin Daxton (2 months) 

Hope you are all having a wonderful February as we anticipate spring! 

The result is in....

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!



Nathan and I are so excited to announce that we will be having a baby girl in September! WE ARE SO EXCITED! More pictures to come...

Our Top 10 for 2010

-Nathan & Amanda's 2010 TOP TEN LIST-



10. Amanda had the opportunity to spend a week serving at Royal Family Kids Camp

9. Being able to live about an hour from both of our parents (not to close and not too far)

8. Amanda upgrading to a new Camry after driving her '92 Camry for 7 years

7. Nathan shot his first antelope & his first wall-hanger buck



6. Finding a great group of new friends we meet with weekly for fellowship

5. Celebrating our first year of marriage in Estes Park, Colorado


4. Road Trip out to NC & VA for Thanksgiving


3. God provided Nathan his engineering job at Orthman Manufacturing

2. God also provided Amanda her job at Collage Center

1. Finding out on Christmas Day that we will become PARENTS in September 2011!!!!!!!


THE STORY:
Well, it was Christmas morning and we were all at Dad & Mom's house (Holden & Rachel & the boys as well as Eric & Carley). Dad had gotten a fire call that morning so we didn't open presents until late. After opening presents, Holden and Rachel were getting ready to drive to Holden's family in Hastings.

So while everyone else was having a late breakfast, I went upstairs to take a shower in order to get ready to go to Nathan's extended family Christmas for lunch.

Since it was the last day that I would see Rachel, I decided to take the pregnancy test I had with me just in case it was positive (I had a strong feeling it would be). So I took it and proceeded to take THE shortest shower ever because I was so anxious to see the result. As soon as I saw the word PREGNANT, my heart started racing.

I went downstairs to get Nathan and brought him up to show him the test. We hugged and I was very emotional (as was he)! After he went downstairs, I called Rachel upstairs and she and I hugged and cried. We've never been able to celebrate in person over a pregnancy since she has been out of state both times....so it was very special.

I then went downstairs where everyone was still sitting a the dining room table. I picked up Riah and asked him if he was excited to come back from Christmas next year. He said YES! Then I said, "I'm excited for you to come back to because that means that you will get to meet your new cousin!"

Mom looked SHOCKED and was like, "Whaaaaa what did you just say?" Everyone was very excited and I started crying all over again. It was a very special moment. Since we were celebrating Christmas with Nathan's extended family, we decided to wait to tell his parents until later that week. They were equally excited for us!

We had an ultrasound on Thursday, January 13th and everything looks great! We even got to see a fast little heartbeat!!! Our due date is estimated as September 9, 2011! We appreciate your prayers as we prepare for parenthood! I will do my best to keep you all updated on the pregnancy progress here on our blog! We will be finding out whether we are having a boy or a girl which is very exciting!

NEW NEPHEW

Cliff Hudson Barry

August 13, 2010

4 pounds 15 ounces

18 inches long

Nathan & I have a new nephew! Rachel was induced on Thursday, August 12th and early Friday morning after her water broke, little Cliff's heart rate dropped. As they were prepping for an emergency c-section, Rachel was losing a lot of blood. After getting Cliff out safely, it took two hours for Rachel's doctor to get her torn uterus stitched up. She lots two units of blood and had to receive a blood transfusion the next day. Despite all the complications that led to Cliff early arrival, he was perfectly fine....just small! His lungs are great and besides the possibility of jaundice, he should go home with Rachel on Tuesday, August 17th! My mom and dad are both in Virginia for the next couple weeks! Unfortunately, Nathan & I will not get to meet him in person until we travel out for Thanksgiving! But hopefully we will Skype with him before then :) Azariah is a proud big brother......can you tell?

Patten Family minus Nathan & I

This and That

Wow! Nathan & I have had quite a summer....check it out!

4th OF JULY WEEKEND

After our Estes Park Adventure at the end of June, we headed home for the 4th of July! Since my parents met up with Eric & Carley in St. Louis, Nathan and I spent time with his family. His brother Jeremy came home from Lincoln for the weekend and brought his boat. So we headed out to the lake with Jeremy, Nathan's parents Bill & Shelly, and Nathan's older brother Scott & his family! We spent the day tubing, water skiing, and wakeboarding! After grilling some burgers, we took the boat out on the water for fireworks. The local fire department put on a great show!

Amanda & Fletcher (1 1/2)

Nathan & Barrett (3)

JULY10th WEEKEND

We traveled to Lansing, Michigan for Nathan's Uncle Doug's wedding to a wonderful woman named Kara! They had an awesome wedding in a chapel on Michigan State campus. After the ceremony, the reception was held AT the Michigan State Stadium! It was awesome! Doug even surprised Kara (HUGE Michigan State fan & alumni) by inviting Sparty the Spartan to the party (Michigan State's mascot)! All of Nathan's aunts from Nebraska drove up for the wedding as well as his aunt from North Carolina so all the immediate cousins were together for the event!

The Bride with Sparty the Spartan

Aunt Jen (from NC), Kara, & most of Girl Cousins

JULY OREGON TRAIL DAYS: Scottsbluff, NE

Nathan & I travelled to Gering, NE (about 4 hours from Kearney) to visit our good friends Levi & Ashlee! Levi is one of Nathan's best friends who stood as one of his best men in our wedding. Two months after we got married, Nathan was able to stand up as one of Levi's best men when he and Ashlee got married in August 2009! Levi and Ashlee recently had an adorable baby girl name Jovee (honeymoon baby)! By the end of the weekend I am afraid to say that I had caught a bad case of baby fever...

How can you say no to that adorable little angel?

WEEKEND of JULY 24th

Since most of the Nathan's family & friends in Nebraska did not get the attend Uncle Doug's wedding in Michigan, we had a Nebraska reception in St. Paul, NE! It was so much fun! We did alot of polka-dancing!

LAST WEEKEND of JULY

Nathan & I have the privilege to help with our church's high school youth group on Wednesday nights! This last weekend we were able to meet up with all of the other youth group leaders for food & fellowship. On Saturday morning we had a planning/brainstorming meeting about the upcoming school year and how we can be the most relevant to our teens! Our mission statement is:

Helping students and their families MEET, LOVE, & FOLLOW Jesus

We are really excited about the upcoming school year and the opportunity the Lord has given us to speak TRUTH into the lives of the next generation!

WHAT'S NEXT???

This next weekend (August 6-8) we have TWO family reunions. Thankfully one is in Boelus, NE and the other is in Cairo, NE (about 10 miles away from Boelus). So we will flip flop back and forth and be able to see both sides of the family! Hope all of you are enjoying your summer :)