Abby’s Saturday // Two Hundred And Six

Highlight of the Week

Braelynn & I have been away all week! We took a little “mini” vacation with my Mom & Ruby and have spent the week at my family’s Lake House in Deep Creek Lake, MD! I call it a “mini” vacation, because Derrick wasn’t with us – we have “full blown” vacation plans together for later on this summer. It’s been so delightful to just relax all week though! It hasn’t been the best week as far as the weather goes (we got here Monday afternoon, got hit with a cold front on Tuesday, it rained almost all day Wednesday, was still rainy/chilly on Thursday, and yesterday was the first day it actually felt like June) but I absolutely refuse to complain. We’ve spent our days resting, watching Property Brothers, playing games (this was my week, I dominated all the games we played this week), sitting around the fire, reading, and simply relaxing. It’s been wonderful. And to cap it all off: this weekend looks to be one of the best weekends we’ve had at the Lake all year – no rain in the forecast, sunny & highs in the upper 80’s! Bring on the water!

Yes, This Happened

• I am now 16 weeks pregnant & baby is the size of an avocado.
• Maybe it was from all the relaxing – but I have felt better this week than any other week of my pregnancy so far! I’m almost scared to report that I didn’t throw up at all, and I didn’t have my normal “laid out on the couch” day (the last few weeks I’ve been feeling better & better, but my weeks have consistently been spiked with one day where I feel absolutely horrible & end up on the couch the entire day). So, I’m not sure if it’s been due to taking the entire week completely easy or just moving further & further from 1st trimester – either way, I’m crossing my fingers it continues!
• Braelynn had to learn a very important lesson this week: how to share friends. If you’ve been following our story for any length of time, you probably have gathered that Braelynn & my sister Ruby have a particularly special bond. They simply always have. Braelynn considers Ruby her BFF & would be content to follow Ruby around all day every day. Ruby is wonderful with Braelynn – not many 13 year olds would be cool with a 3 year old following them around, talking their ear off. Ruby’s birthday was a few weeks ago & since she has some very close friends down here at the Lake, my Mom invited a few of them over this week to sleepover & have a little party. It was all well & good until the group of them went off and left Braelynn behind. Cue the waterworks & not understanding & cries of “but Ruby’s my best friend & I want her!” It was so heartbreaking (& also a tiny bit hilarious) at the same time. Thankfully, the girls didn’t completely shun Braelynn the entire time they were here – sure they went off & did their own things, but they also allowed her to tag along a few times too. It’s a super hard lesson to learn though for a 3 year old: that my best friend has other friends too.
• Speaking of Braelynn – she had a bug last weekend. I photographed the wedding last weekend by myself, so Derrick had planned to take Braelynn to Kennywood on Saturday afternoon for some Daddy/daughter fun. All of those plans were squashed though when Braelynn came down with a little stomach bug Saturday morning. Thankfully, it was quick-moving & she was back to her normal snack-begging self by Monday, but it was still so sad to see my poor little baby just laying on the couch not wanting to eat anything (which if you know Braelynn, you know is weird, because she is constantly asking to eat)!

Feeling Blessed

I am always thankful for my job as a wedding photographer, but especially this week! Working for myself means that I had the freedom to come spend time at the Lake with my Mom & Ruby this week & I am just so overwhelmingly thankful! Sure, I had to hustle by butt in order to get things in order before going away and I still had to do some “business tasks” while being away (there is no such thing as stepping 100% away for a small business owner), but all-in-all, this past week would never have been possible if I was still working at the bank. I am so so blessed. And it’s been good for my soul – after a super crazy busy January-June, I needed a tiny bit of time away – I’ve been going literally non-stop! So, it’s been absolutely refreshing to take some time to step away from it all & just rest. I’m excited for an absolutely perfect sun-filled weekend, but then am excited to get back to work on Monday, designing albums, working on wedding day timelines, editing images, and prepping for Katie & Casey’s wedding next Saturday!!