Update!

Oh, hey there!

It's been awhile. I haven't even thought about writing a blog post in the past few months. That doesn't mean that nothing has been going on because it's been pretty crazy in the Cleveland household!
I found out Aug 9 that we are expecting! Yay! We moved from Raleigh to Wake Forest Aug. 10 and quickly unpacked the place for Brad's birthday party the next day! A few days later the real "party" started as I spent 3-4 times a day with my head in the toilet! I would have been happy to have only "morning" sickness. Mine was more like "all day" sickness. I thought being pregnant was supposed to be fun! I thought being pregnant gave you permission to eat everything in sight! Oh, I was sick. I lost about 8 pounds in 3 weeks and told Brad I hope he would be okay with only having one child. :) Speaking of Brad, he has been wonderful! He brings me breakfast in bed every morning! He is so understanding and caring. I know he will be a great dad!
Thankfully, for the past couple of weeks I have started to feel better and my outlook on life, and childbearing, is completely different! I have the What To Expect app on my phone and every week I have read about what symptoms I could possibly be experiencing. I am happy to report that I am having a textbook pregnancy so far and have experienced every symptom!
I am 12 weeks and this morning we went to to our second doctor's appointment!  The baby is doing great! It's heart beat sounded beautiful! Our next appointment, at the end of October, we will find out if it's a boy or girl! I can't wait! So start placing your bets!
I am also thankful for a wonderful sister-in-law, Kristin, and cousin, Elise, who have passed down maternity clothes! Mom mailed me a huge box last week and I really have no reason to buy any clothes throughout the entire pregnancy! Now, if I would start looking pregnant instead of bloated I could enjoy those clothes more!

Mark your calendars! April, 9, 2012!

Dana's Wedding!

This past weekend I had the honor of being in one of my best friends from high school's wedding. I drove to Birmingham Wednesday and was able to stay until Monday. It was a great but busy weekend! Of course, I was able to squeeze in some time with my sweet niece as well as my family.

Beautiful!

Oh, and this happened...three times. I can't remember the song but he loved it.

Now...Harper!

Brad and I have had a crazy past few months so this time with family and friends came at the perfect time! Our schedules aren't slowing down anytime soon. We are moving to Wake Forest in 3 weeks and Brad will be starting his LAST semester of seminary! P.T.L.

A run. A wedding. And...more Harper!

Well, May flew by!

Let me start by saying that this month will go down as the month that I accomplished a goal of mine that I had been working on since the summer of 2003. That summer, after moving into a house with some of my best friends in college I decided I was going to start running. My roommates Meg and Jenna loved to run and did it all the time. So, I decided to give it a try. I remember going to the Greenway and running about a half a mile and stopping because I felt like my lungs were going to explode. I hated it, but I was determined. That summer we also had started running/waking 2 miles during summer training for MT dance team. I don't know when but at some point my dislike for running turned into a love for running. I really wanted to run a half marathon but was way too intimidated. While living in Mobile I ran several 10ks, but knew I could do more. So, over the past few years I have actually signed up for two half marathons but never ran them due to injuries/illness.

When Brad and I got back from India, my friend Virginia asked me if I wanted to run a half marathon with her in Cary, NC. The difference between attempting to train the other two times and now was that I had a running partner. VA was great! She ran 2 before and was great about sticking to the running schedule. So, every Sunday afternoon for about 5 weeks we ran together. It was our long run for the week. It was also a great time to catch up with Virginia and discuss our lives. I always thought that people who could run long distances and talk at the same time were insane but I did it. Even when we ran the half marathon I was able to talk...even if it was to say "My whole body hurts. I might die."

So, May 22 Virginia and I completed 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 19 minutes. I actually had a great time. Virginia's husband, John, was supposed to run the 10k that morning but got injured so Brad took his place! First 10k for Brad!

Before the race!

Virginia is wearing red. Where's Meredith? Thanks lady, for getting in the way of my victory picture right as I cross the finish line!

DONE!!!

Memorial Day weekend Brad and I drove to Mobile for Ashley and Jason's wedding. The rehearsal dinner was at The Original Oyster House where I am pretty sure I ate my weight in cheese grits. It was so nice to spend some time in Mobile with family and friends.

Congrats Ashley and Jason! Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your special day!

Sunday, on our way back to Raleigh, we stopped in Birmingham to see the Boggs family. And by that I mean, Harper :) No, really, I love seeing my family and it makes it even better to have a baby in the family to love on. Harper is growing so much! She is just the cutest thing. See for yourself.

My camera has many flashes on it before the picture actually takes, hence the big-what-are-you-doing-to-me-aunt-mere, eyes.

I think Harper is going to have strong Higdon feet/toes. She was stretching those toes apart all night...preparing to pick something up with them one day :)

Notice Farrah in the background. She has some jealousy issues she is still working through.

Easter Weekend!

Brad and I went to Birmingham for Easter a few weeks ago to meet Harper! I, of course, cried the second I saw her. There are no words to express seeing your niece for the first time. When Brad held her for the first time she gave him a big present in her diaper :) It was sweet..

We were also able to visit Elise and Campbell, who is a 2 weeks older than Harper.

Harper and her daddy!

Look at that sweet face and that mouth!

I love her so much!

Brad wanted to make sure that if Harper decided to leave him a surprise this time he would be extra cautious to not get anything on him.

After Easter service at Dawson.

The Easter bunny came to Birmingham!

Visiting Elise to meet Campbell! Katie stopped by, too! I can't wait for us all to be together again in July for Dana and Rob's wedding!

HARPER and India!

It's been awhile and I am not going to attempt to try to explain everything that has been going on this past month BUT let me just tell you it's been wonderful! India (yes, the world can now know) was great! My camera battery died in the middle of the trip but we used Brad's camera on this phone for the rest of the time! It was so much fun! The jet lag was not great but we embraced it! Being wide awake at 4am and going to bed at 7pm is interesting. I'll try to explain the trip via pictures!

But first!!! My niece was born the day we landed back in the states! I mean, our flight landed in NJ at 4am and Harper was born at 10am! Kristin was a champ! We were so happy to hear all the details even though we weren't in Birmingham, and were jet lag, and yes, sick. Let's just say I got dehydrated and thought I had a parasite. We are all better now but I hope to never be on a 14 hour flight again feeling that horrible. Talk about no privacy! Anyway, Harper is beautiful! I can't wait to meet her in person and love on her next weekend!

Here are some pictures! When we got back I charged my camera but when I turned it on only 30 of the pictures showed up. Then when I put the memory card in my computer all the pictures I have taken since getting the camera showed up except those 30. Ugh. Any suggestions on getting them? So, the lost 30 are pictures of the place we stayed, riding an elephant, and some of the cute MKs. Basically, my favorite part of the trip. The ones I have now are of our traveling days from Delhi to the resort. Did anybody watch Amazing Race this past Sunday (4/10) when they were in India? The people, the crazy traffic, the "cow patties"...we saw it all while we were traveling.

This is the hotel we stayed in the first and last night of our trip. Yes, there is a Baskin Robbins attached. It wasn't opened the night we got there but the last day of our trip Brad had some and said it was all American.

This is on the roof of Solo Victoria. Delhi is in the background.

This is our transportation for our 8-10hr ride from Delhi to our resort. It wasn't the most comfortable ride but we survived. The driver was a pro... we missed hitting cars and people by inches and the driver doesn't even flinch. Meanwhile, I'm getting a front row view and gasping at every close call. When driving in India it is also necessary to use your horn. At all times. For any reason. But really, if a car is going too slow in front of you, all you have to do is lay on the horn until they move over. Wish that worked in the states.

This might not look as bad as it seems but this picture was taken from the middle seat and if Brad (who was sitting to my right) stuck his arm out of the car he would have knocked down every last one of those motorist....while breaking his arm, but you know what I mean!

The Ganges River!

Hindus believe that if you bathe in this river it will literally wash your sins away.

Look at that sweet face!

Speaking of sweet faces...

Mom and Harper!

I'm pretty sure Harper is trying to smile here! Mom doesn't look old enough to be a grandmother, or as she'll be know, Momenz!

Harper and her Daddy!

B is going three weeks strong with the baby beard.

I like this picture because Farrah, the shaved golden retriever, is so intrigued by Harper!

Such a smart dog!

Thanks to technology we get a new picture of Harper almost daily and we have been able to skype with the family several times. I am so excited for Harper to meet her Uncle Brad and Aunt Meredith!

Oh the places you'll go...

About a month ago Brad received a text message from a pastor in Winston-Salem about going overseas to lead worship for a retreat for missionaries. Well. long story short. Brad and I are BOTH going to South Asia March 13-21 and we could not be more excited. Due to the sensitivity of where we are going we were asked to not announce where we are going on public sites, like this lovely blog. If you don't know where we are going then maybe we should catch up on life, and you should give me a call. :)

When Brad and I got married I changed my name on my social security card and that was about it. Since Brad is considered a full-time student in NC it was not necessary that I change my driver's license. So, when we were told we not only needed our passport but a visa as well, I had to start working fast to get things done! In the matter of a few weeks I changed my driver's license and passport. Thanks to a great senator's office and staff in NC I had a new passport within days! It's been a crazy past few weeks getting things together. Thankfully, Brad and I are both full of any and all vaccines needed to travel overseas so that was the only thing we didn't have to get done! It has been wonderful to see how the Lord has opened doors to allow both of us to go on this trip.

In the meantime...my beautiful sister-in-law is days away from having baby Harper and we could not be more excited. Not that I have to be in Birmingham when Harper is born, but I would at least like to be in the country to hear the play by play of her arrival! Her due date is March 28th so let's pray she won't arrive too early! I could cry just thinking about being an aunt and loving that baby girl.

So, March is going to be an exciting month, to say the least. I will leave you with some beautiful pictures of the lilies my sweet husband brought me yesterday for my birthday. Did I mention he also made me breakfast in bed, took me out to lunch, and got me a new iPod? He also loves me unconditionally, which is the best part of my day, every day. He's so great.

1st Anniversary!

It has been a great year of living and learning since Brad and I were married a year ago today! It is hard to remember life before seeing each other every day! The Lord has blessed us in many ways and we are looking forward to how he uses us in the future! I'm not going to promise to blog more this year but I hope to keep posting about the changes this year will bring! We are so excited about 2011! But before I get ahead of myself please enjoy this video from today...tasting the top of our wedding cake!