The Lion King

last night we took a little break from reality to see The Lion King musical!  it was absolutely FANTASTIC and if you ever have the opportunity to go, i would highly recommend it!

annnnd i'm back!

well hello there, blog.  it's bee quite some time but i'm happy to be back!  i've recently decided that i prefer to blog over journal.  i had been using a new journal app on my laptop but it just wasn't cutting it.  blogging is a great way to share with all of you what's new in our lives rather than keeping these fun experiences, thoughts and photos to ourselves in a little journal.  so that's that.  and boy, do we have a lot of catching up to do!

so far, i am very thankful to have had a pretty breezy pregnancy!  nothing much to complain about so that's great! i can't believe 34 weeks have already passed and the end is in sight!  our daughter is already so loved by so many friends and family and we are humbled by the generosity of everyone!  we've had 3 baby showers thrown by friends and family...

surprise baby shower in Tampa thrown by 

Becky, Brian, Beth and Josh!

baby shower thrown by my beautiful sisters!

Jenna and Julie threw me another fabulous shower!

thankful, thankful, thankful...so very thankful!

my cup runneth over

i am just feeling so blessed these days!  i really don't have anything to complain about in my pregnancy, i have a more-than-supportive husband, so far we have a very healthy-and active-baby girl and God just keeps pouring on the blessings.  please allow me to rave for a quick moment about my amazing husband....  i'm telling you, folks, that this guy works SO hard.  not only does he spend countless hours on conference calls and writing emails, he holds the (volunteer/unpaid) position as president-elect of a business-realted organization out of Texas!  my husband is on a plane at least twice a month attending networking conferences and individual meetings which are a result of touching base with potential clients.  and at home, he is always picking up my slack when he sees i'm getting behind in any way or not feeling the best.  no one is more giving than this man.  and when it comes to our baby-he is always reading up on my pregnancy, how our first few days and weeks will look when she arrives and also how to be the best father he can be!  ok, ok i know-enough of that.  but seriously, sometimes i have a hard time enjoying life when i know that other's are struggling.  i won't deny that we've been through our share of difficult times but when all is going so well, my heart hurts for those who have it less easy-especially on these frigid winter days and nights!  my heart goes out to you if you're hurting.  but rest assured, God has better days in store for you too!

great reminder.

Our Job Is to Obey
by Charles R. Swindoll

Let all who take refuge in You be glad, 
let them ever sing for joy.
Psalm 5:11

As you walk the path of trust, you will experience situations that simply defy explanation. When you look back, after the fact, you could never have figured out a better plan. At the time it seemed strange, mysterious . . . even illogical.

Let me assure you, that's God working. Things will happen that seem to be totally contradictory, but these are God's arrangements.

It was a wonderful day when I finally realized I don't have to explain or defend the will of God. My job is simply to obey it.

It is a waste of time trying to unscrew the inscrutable workings of God. You'll never be able to do it. That's simply the way God works.

He honors faith and obedience. He will honor your faith if you will trust Him in a walk of obedience.

And when you trust Him completely, you will enjoy inner quietness and security. You will have a secure confidence that you are walking in His will.

You will be surrounded by His peace.

my oh my-time to catch up!

so since my last Labor Day post we've had quite the excitement in the Snyder household!  around September 8th-ish we found out we are expecting!!  after a little speculation and several at-home tests (those things are expensive by the way!!) we realized there was no denying it-

we are headed for parenthood!  

over the next several days and weeks we spent some time brainstorming ways to share the news with our families and decided on a last minute "bump ahead" photo shoot.  (ok, let's be honest...that's not ALL that consumed our thoughts and spare time but it was sure fun!)  the idea credits go to Pinterest and the wonderful photos were provided by our creative, picture-taker friend, Sherri Harnisch!  check out just a fraction of her work:

at 9 weeks, we had a (pretty pointless) doctor appointment and then a 12-week appointment where our doctor surprised us with a random ultrasound because she was in a "good mood"!  it is at that moment when you realize that there is actually a human being growing inside of you--not a mass of cells (or something...).  we saw a little hand wave and all!  it was pretty crazy!!  here's our babe at 12 weeks:

 what a miracle!  

i can't even believe that we've been blessed with this little being!  i will not even deny that this small person will turn our world upside down but  i'm thankful for the next several weeks we have to prepare for the arrival!  

in the several hours i have recently spent on Pinterest, i ran across a fun photo strip of belly bump pictures this girl had posted, and that was my inspiration for the next few photos:

 IT'S A......

that's right, folks, we're having a GIRL!  

our 20 week ultrasound (that actually landed on week 19 due to Christmas) was phenomenal!  our tech did several measurements, checked the heart rate, counted fingers and toes, analyzed blood flow to the organs, checked to make sure she had all chambers of her heart, both kidneys, etc.  God is amazing, isn't he?!  i am just astounded that this child is growing and developing right inside of me!  Check her out:

side profile

right arm and hand "hi mom, hi dad"

look at that spine...crazy!

teeny tiny feet

and here is our Christmas card:

we had a fun little gender reveal:

and here are a few photos of us from Christmas:

so yaaaa.....our child made out this Christmas!  

this photo just shows a couple of examples:

we feel so incredibly blessed these days!  i'll be sure to post updates more often but for now, we hope you're looking forward to the new year as much as we are and counting your blessings as well!!

Labor Day

as a hairstylist, i usually have monday's off.  this year, i've been working them since opening the style bar which makes me extremely thankful for labor day!  i have big plans to stay in all day, lounge with my husband and spend some time cooking.  we just returned from a fabulous weekend trip to Chicago with some friends so i'm feeling very blessed.  i'll post a few of our 'touristy' pictures soon.  

ok so i'm headed to Pinterest to find some yummy recipes.  for now, i'll share a recipe i found online a bit ago.  i'm going to make this tomorrow if i can find some fresh tomatoes at the grocery store.  have a wonderful and relaxing labor day!  i'll be sleeping in!  i hope you can do the same!

Heirloom Cherry Tomato Salad

Serves six
Ingredients:
3 pints ripe heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved, from a local farm stand
2 scallions, sliced
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
3-4 tablespoon good quality extra virgin olive oil
10 leaves of fresh basil, chopped, plus a few extra small leaves for garnish
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
One loaf of great quality crusty Italian bread or French baguette

Directions:
Place the scallions in a small bowl with the vinegar and a few pinches of salt and black pepper.
Allow to sit for 15 minutes. Whisk in the extra virgin olive oil to make a vinaigrette.
Place the tomatoes in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper and allow to sit for 10 minutes.


Add the vinaigrette and basil to the tomatoes, and mix. Season to taste.
Spoon the salad into serving bowls, garnish with the small basil leaves.
Slice the bread and serve with the salad.

The Style Bar

well it wasn't planned, but i've been on quite the blogging hiatus.  the craziness in our lives peaked with work travel and then the opening of my business....but i'm back and i'm feeling so blessed these days.  i'm going to try and catch you up to speed on the events leading up to the opening of The Style Bar by giving you the quickest version that i know:

on the way to our LifeGroup christmas party last year, my friend, Julie reminded me of a discussion we had close to a year prior about opening a boutique with some shared office/salon space and we decided that now was the time to act on this idea.  a short time later we found some space on 120th and Pacific St. that looked appealing.  we checked it out, put in a bid to the owner for building improvements and shortly after were denied.  we took a step back and after a little bit more time, found some space in the Morgan Place building that looked interesting.  in the meantime, Julie and i were introduced to a wonderful lady, whom we now call our friend, Georgy Collier.  Georgy is a private jewelry consultant who was looking to venture into her own business.  it was a perfect fit that she join us in our quest for shared working space!  shortly after our introduction to Georgy, the three of us agreed to call Morgan Place our business home.  after some back and forth with the previous tenant, some much-needed improvements and several hours of planning we can finally call ourselves The Style Bar!  at The Style Bar you'll find me-the hairstylist, Julie and her assistant Rachael-the interior design specialists with Julie Hockney Design, and Georgy-the private jewelry consultant with GC Gems.  we also have a fabulous boutique in our storefront!  find us on facebook to follow more of our journey.

the support that has been shown to me over the last month is absolutely humbling!  THANK YOU doesn't even express gratitude i have for each of your kind words, helping hands and visits to my new business.  i'm so blessed and i hope to return the kindness at any chance i get.  i don't think i'll ever be able to repay my husband, though.  his support and hard work are hard to match!  he is my number 1 fan and i wish i could even do half of the work for him that he has done for me.  it's incredible.

the glory though, goes to God.  for without him, i am nothing and i wouldn't be where i am.  my cup is overflowing.

Julie, me and Goergy toasting to our new business!

Rachael (Julie's assistant) joining us for a photo.

the mural in our boutique.