Life Lately

All has been quiet on the blog front since Jake arrived in September, but life has been very much the opposite. Jake is now seven and a half months, and Gerald & Joan celebrated its third birthday in January. Both of my babies are thriving, and despite many changes, I'm excited to share that we (Jake and I) are taking on Gerald & Joan projects. 

Since June, the studio has been working with Common Table Health Alliance, a regional health and healthcare collaborative that serves the Memphis area, and I'm currently finishing up several large design projects for them. 

Another clients include Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation and Laurel Markovich, a local author. I'm also serving as a committee volunteer for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis' Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project. 

Over the past three years, our focus has changed as we've grown and developed, but we've recently come full-circle. I'm channeling my ten years of work experience and currently only accepting nonprofit and small business clients. When I started Gerald & Joan, I desperately needed a break from nonprofit and small business work, but I've discovered that when I partner with the right clients, marketing and graphic design for nonprofits and small businesses are my true passions. I'm excited to see where this chapter takes us! 

One Month To Go...

Only 31 days until Labor Day....

I'm going to state the obvious and say time flies when you're preparing for a baby. I'm sure it has something to do with extra weight and extreme temperatures, but it definitely takes longer to accomplish things these days!

Despite my sluggishness, the nursery is almost finished, we have completed one childbirth class and we are halfway through the other one, and we are steadily checking items off our to-do list. I feel fairly certain he won't come before his due date (I think he's going to take after his mom in this department), but even if he did, we have the necessities all lined up and ready to go -- car seat, clothes, pack n play, crib...only diapers are missing. We want to cloth diaper, but we can't decide if we should start out that way or if we should transition from disposable to cloth after six weeks. Ah, decisions...So many decisions.

This week I'm sharing photos of my adorable husband with his siblings. He was the world's best big brother, and he's going to be such an amazing dad. 

P.S. Happy (early) 30th Birthday, Julie (and Gerald too)!

Ready and Waiting

In the very near future, our family will be expanding as we welcome my sister's son Hudson. On September 24th, 29 years will have passed since she joined our family. I have been present for all 29 of those years. I don't really have memories before that day, but I remember the morning of her birthday and meeting her at the hospital. I vividly remember life after her arrival, so I think it's pretty safe to say she changed my life forever.

Almost 29 years later, I suspect this next generation will have a similar effect on our lives. We are ready, waiting and very excited. Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers over the next days, weeks and months. They will be greatly appreciated!

Lauren and her grandma Joan.

Me, my mother and Lauren as a baby bump in front of the Princess Margaret Hospital in Windsor, England where we were both welcomed into the world.

Meeting my sister for the first time. 

me, my dad and my sister in the hospital on Lauren's birthday. Notice my LA Dodgers hat in the foreground.

My grandma Joan and my mother Julie shortly after her birth in Anchorage, Alaska.

Baby Brother

As you probably know, I have a sister who will make me an aunt later this month or early next month. She is three years younger than me, and our babies will be two months apart. When I found out she was pregnant, I prayed that we would be able to raise children together. One of the all-time great moments of my life was surprising my family with our news at her gender reveal party. We told our entire family that weekend. It was one of the best ones of our lives.

Jonathan has two siblings -- a sister and a brother who have blessed us with two nieces and a nephew. Anthony came along when Jonathan was 11, but they are very close despite the age gap. I remember Anthony coming to Oxford and Collierville to stay with us when he was a wide-eyed middle and high school student. He'll be 25 next month, and his son Haze will be eight months old. It's crazy how time flies.

Haze definitely takes after his mama right now, and it's been so fun to watch his personality develop. He's already proving to be a little flirt. I wonder where he gets that from? 

Anthony and Gerald. He would give his son Gerald's middle name. 

While we're on the subject of genes, I see Julie's daughter Eliza in Julie's smile in this photo. Eliza also loves to help open presents!