Online Bargains!

I have several websites that I check everyday for bargains! Right now one that I love is offering a special that if you sign up you get a free $10 shopping credit! It is a bargain site that updates with new deals daily and has clothes, accessories, household items, vacation deals, etc that change daily! It is called RueLaLa, but you have to have an invitation to get the $10 so follow the link below, sign up, and you get $10 FREE! Here's the Link:
http://www.ruelala.com/invite/bmalko

And while I am at it here are some others I love to check... follow the links to sign up for great daily deals...

http://www.zulily.com/referafriend/?15664 (Carries items for moms and children)

https://www.theminisocial.com/myaccount.php?invitation=49499 (Carries items for moms and children)

http://totsy.com/join/brookemalko (Carries items for moms and children)

http://www.gilt.com/invite/brookemalko (Carries Items for men, women, children, home, vacations, etc!)

Happy Bargain Shopping!

Delinquent Blogger

I know that I am totally a delinquent blogger. I have neglected our blog for quite sometime now for no particular reason other than I have wanted to post pictures but have been so busy that I haven't loaded any onto our computer in a while. In fact, we have been so busy we have not taken nearly as many as we should. My friends (particularly Jenna Hellekson) have been reminding me of my delinquent tendencies, so I gave into the peer pressure and decide3d to update the long overdue blog!

We have had so much going on lately! Conferences for me at work, Jon being so busy at work, and attending a conference himself! Baby stuff is also so consuming, not to mention trying to get our house ready for Anderson's arrival!!

Here are some things that have happened in the past few months...

• 2 Years! Well since the last time I updated was May 7th, I guess since then Jon and I have celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary. We went to dinner at Vincenzo's - a wonderful fancy Italian restaurant here in town. We had a fantastic time talking about the wonderful, and not so wonderful things we went through over the past year, and looking forward to this year in ways we can better serve one another!
• Jon and I started to feel Anderson kicking around 19-20 weeks (very shortly after my last post). Now he is HUGE and kicks constantly all the way up to my ribs now, not only can we feel him but we can see him which i enjoy the most! I love the feeling and wouldn't mind if he moved around all day every day! It is so neat how he recognizes us - particularly Jon, and he moves differently when Jon talks to him than anyone else! I reallyt think Anderson can even recognize the feel of Jon's hand when he touches my belly!
• My little brother turned 18 and graduated High School - this is unreal to me!
• Jon and I took a trip to Orlando with Highview to serve at the Pastor's Conference for the 2010 Southern Baptist Convention. It was such a wonderful and exciting time as our pastor served as the President of the Conference. We (particularly Jon) were able to meet some incredible godly men who have impacted God's Kingdom in a lasting way! It was an honor to be a part of something so much "Greater Than" us! If you want to check out the "Backstage Videos" that Jon filed check them out here.
• Jon sold his car - this seems to be a small hobby of ours - I guess we have joined int he family business - haha. We have been trying to cut our budget back so that I can stay home as much as possible with Anderson. Once it was sold he purchased a "new" to us cheaper car that he loves and is having a ton of fun driving and doing small fun inexpensive things to make it nicer! He got a 1991 Mazda Miata. It is red and gets unbelievably low gas mileage and is one of the most reliable cars ever made! We are having fun zipping around town with the top down and were blessed to find one for so cheap and in such good shape!
• Jon installed a new bathroom sink into our little bathroom that was in desperate need of a makeover! We put in a pedestal sink that looks incredible, have 1 coat of paint on the wall, and are in love with it already (pictures to come)
• We went to Fort Myers to visit, take our family vacation, have a baby shower and participate in a wedding! We just got back last week. We were in Fort Myers from July 10th-17th and had a wonderful time with our family and friends! Jon and I were even able to get away just the 2 of us for 2 nights and 3 days at the Jupiter Beach Resort just north of Palm Beach for a babymoon! The Scroggins' Family recommended the place to us and we LOVED IT! We also enjoyed getting to visit First Baptist West Palm Beach and to have lunch with the Scroggins and Brandon Shields! Also while we were there Jon was in his great friend Ray Flowers' wedding. It was a great ceremony and reception and a fun time for Jon to spend with his oldest friends! Another wonderful part of our trip was the sweet baby shower that my friend Meg threw for us! I had such a wonderful time catching up with so many sweet ladies that I miss seeing so often! Jon and I are so blessed to have so much love and support from our family and friends that live 1000 miles away!

Some things we are looking forward to:

• Baby Shower #2 this Sunday! My wonderful friends Lindsey Poenie and Alyssa Laing are hosting a shower for some of the girls our age and I am so excited to celebrate our little man! We have another shower coming up in August hosted by my sis and sweet family friend Lynn Ringo as well!
• More home renovations - Jon and I have a plan to finish the upstairs in about a month so that we can move upstairs and finally set up the nursery! I'm getting kind of nervous about it since....
• We only have 10 weeks left in our pregnancy!!!! I cannot believe how quickly it has FLOWN by. We cannot wait to meet our little man!
• We have our 1st baby class at baptist east this Thursday night, and several more to follow in the weeks to come! I am excited to learn all that we can to prepare us for Anderson's arrival!

Whew - that was a lot of updating! If you have stuck with me this long I am impressed! I will try to be more consistent updating! You can join us in praying for the rest of our pregnancy, that Anderson develops completely, and that our delivery goes smoothly. We plan on doing natural childbirth, and I am equal parts excited and nervous, so lots of prayer for that would be appreciated! We have been so blessed throughout this pregnancy and have been praying prayers of thanksgiving for the Lord's provision and the way he has used our family and friends to show us so much love and support! The Lord is so faithful!

Belly Pictures

I know that these are long over due, and we haven't taken many, BUT my belly hasn't changed THAT much - the bump is relatively small - or at least it was in these pictures, I feel like over the past few days it has changed quite a bit so you may be surprised when I post next weeks - I'm going to be more constant and taking them and posting them now that things seem to be changing more quickly.

This is me on April 8th at 15 weeks

This is Jon at 15 weeks as well! haha! He will probably die that I posted this - he has NO belly bump ever - lucky man!

This is me at 19 weeks - the day we found out that we were having a boy!

A close up of Anderson right before we got to see actual pics of him.

Jon the right before we went to the Dr. to find out we were expecting a little boy - this picture was too handsome not to post!

Here is our little guy! Throughout the entire ultra sound he was making a little sucking motion with his mouth - he looked like he was trying to suck his thumb - he kept moving his little hand so close to his mouth but couldn't quite make it - you can see his hand and the blur motion of him trying to get it to his mouth in this picture....

You can see more of him in this one... my mom says his round forehead looks like mine and we all agree that his mouth and chin resemble Jon - that is our best guess so far - you can see his two little hands folded together near his mouth and at the right you see a knee and a foot above it. At the bottom you can see his little spine - so precious! We can't wait to meet him!

There are a few more pics on facebook if you click the link below you can probably see them but I think these 2 are the best!

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/album.php?aid=2013850&id=176700075

This past weekend we registered at babies-r-us! It was really fun - my favorite things are the stroller and infant seat! I love the colors!

I feel like my belly has grown so much over the past week! I will take a picture tomorrow - I will be 20 weeks - HALF WAY! I can't believe how fast the time is flying! Continue to pray with us for this little miracle! That he grows healthy and strong, and that he will come to know the Lord as his Savior at a young age and serve the Lord faithfully with his life! Pray also for Jon and I, we are confident that the Lord will supply us with all we need! We just want to be the best parents we can and to worship the Lord with the way we raise our little man!!

I WON A GIVEAWAY!.... and just in case you hadn't heard it's a BOY!

I won a giveaway and it couldn't have been more perfect! Jon and I found out Monday that we are expecting Anderson James Malko, or sweet little man! We got to see him playing around in my belly! He weighs 10 oz and is about 7 inches long and we are more excited than ever to meet him!!!

Well, on Tuesday morning when I got into work I had an email from the blog http://www.thefashionablebambino.com/ that I had stumbled across and entered a giveaway on. I had entered it so long that I had forgotten about it. Well, I WON! And this is what we got...

http://www.kokopax.com/Products/city-classic-carrier.aspx

to see more pictures! We are sooo excited! And it couldn't have come at a more perfect time. We chose to get the stone color and are anxiously awaiting it's arrival, even though we won't be able to use it for a while! It is just a reminder that Sweet Anderson will be here before we know it!

My belly is also starting to get bigger - to those that don't know me I still may look just a little chubby, but my friends and family definitely recognize the baby bump. We have taken a few pics and I really will try to post some soon. Our lives are just so exciting right now and jam packed with preparation for all of these life changes! We would appreciate it so much if you would join us in Praying for Anderson, that he will be safe and healthy and that his mom will do everything she can to take the best care of him by taking good care of herself :) Also that the Lord will continue to prepare Jon and I to be parents - we are in much need of grace :)

Thanks!

The Diet of a Pregnant Woman

I haven't so much been craving weird or unusual things just very specific things like....

• Orange Juice - during the first trimester I drank OJ for 3 meals a day
• Eggs - or any Breakfast food for that matter
• BLT's - this is what I have for lunch nearly every day!
• Milk chocolate - which is weird b/c I normally prefer dark chocolate
• Green Beans - which I have never eaten before in my life but now I love them
• Grapes and Apples
• String Cheese
• A salad from the Outback - not sure why but this specif salad is what I want
• Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos from Bonefish Grill - this is a new one, but I have been thinking about them all day haha
• Root Beer - maybe this is because it wasn't until I was pregnant that I realized it was caffeine free!

Things I DO NOT want that I used to love

• Coffee - this is the main thing - i usually drink coffee every day and now the only coffee I could stomach is the fancy stuff not just a plain cup-o-joe.
• Diet Coke - i just don't ever really want it anymore
• Fried food - I can and have eaten it but I wouldn't pick it
• Yogurt - I know it is good for you but the thought of it isn't good

I have no idea why I want or don't want all these specific things, but as far as I hear it is common! Any Preggers out there wanna share what they love or hate??

Baby Crib

Tonight we went to USA Baby and ordered our crib! We are so excited! In less than 2 weeks we get to find out the gender, and it just feels like everything is going by quickly.... so exciting! Here is a picture of our crib - we aren't getting the other furniture pictured with it, just the crib its self... I love the round feet on the bed - it is my favorite part and what helped us to make the deciding choice on this crib! Can't wait to find out what we are having so that we can pick out bedding!

Some upcoming events

We always seem to have a lot going on. My mom always comment son how busy I am, but she has begun to make fun of me because my answer is always it's just a couple of weeks and then things will slow down.... but do they ever slow down...no!

Here are some upcoming events in our lives:

This Friday - our great friend Meg from Fort Myers comes to visit for the weekend
Sunday - EASTER!
Tuesday, April 6th - 2nd heartbeat appointment
April 10th - host a baby shower for a great friend!
April 24th - Mother Daughter tea with our 9th grade girls
May 3rd - Find out if we are having a boy or girl!!
May 16th - our 2 year wedding anniversary
June 1 - my little bro graduates High School - CRAZY!
June 11th - My little bro turns 18
June 12-17 - possibly in FL for pastor's conference/convention - this is still tentative
June 28-July 1 - summer camp at Southern Seminary - crazy work week!
July 10th-17th - in FL for babymoon, to visit our family, and for Ray and Heather's wedding!

I'm sure there will be plenty more during and after these dates! But it sure makes for an exciting life!

Just to fill you in I haven't taken any prego pics because I am still not showing. I mean I can definitely tell there is change happening, but I don't think anyone else can.... I will start trying to take some soon :) We are 14 weeks this week - into our second trimester and feeling great! I am secretly hoping it is a girl, but will be so thrilled either way - we just want a healthy baby! We have also been doing a lot of work on our home, but for those of you who own homes as well you know this is a never ending task! It is great to get to do work outside though! Looking forward to start building the master suite upstairs soon!!!

I am long over due on pictures! I will try to post some next week! Until then...

~Brooke

11 Weeks today!

So 11 weeks today means I am 1/4 of the way through my pregnancy! I can't believe it! Time is flying by, but I guess since we didn't know until about 5 1/2 weeks it has made it feel faster! Here is what is happening with Baby Malko this week...

How your baby's growing:Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Baby's hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under the gums, and some bones are beginning to harden. The Baby is already busy kicking and stretching, and the tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as the body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

Join us in praying for our precious gift from the Lord!

~Brooke

Could it be Spring??

This weekend's weather was simply divine! I didn't even realize how much I missed the sunshine! Living in Fl for the past 2 1/2 years really made me accoustomed to sunshine almost every day, and this gloomy winter has almost done me in! Since I worked all last weekend I was ablt to ake Friday off as well so this glorious weekend lasted 3 days for me - and it was soo needed!

On Friday I was able to run some errands, and Jon and I were able to celebrate my Dad's birthday with my family.

On Saturday Jon and I worked hard around the house to get it in tip top shape. Dusting and Vacuuming and doing laundry - it is amazing how far behind you can fall on these things when you work nearly 2 weeks without a day off! We relaxed a lot on Saturday as well and just enjoyed each others company making a semi-late night run to McDonald's for some Hot Fudge Sundaes!

Yesterday (Sunday) was probably my favorite day of our weekend! We enjoyed worship and fellowship with our Highview Family. Then we had a nice lunch at McAlister's with my mom dad and brother. Afterwards I was so thrilled with the weather that I wanted to get outside and do some of the work on our house we have been waiting all winter to do! Jon pulled all of the old ugly metal awnings off of the windows, and I sanded down the swing that we will soon be painting and hanging on our front porch! Then Jon cleaned out the garage - we still had several boxes stowed away in there, and I Sanded our back door to prepare that to be painted as well.

I have been debating what color to paint my swing, back door and front door.... I'm open to suggestions if you have seen anything adorable! I have considered yellow for the swing but am not committed! We want something colorful to make our house look young and fun! Please tell me what you think! Or send me links to pictures of adorable ones! I need some inspiration!

Thanks!
~Brooke

Other Happenings

Well, now that the big news is broken there are some other happenings in the lives of the Malko family. We are so thankful that we were able to sell my car - the X3. WE had been praying that the Lord would let it sell quickly so we could be able to save more money as we wait to meet Baby Malko, and it did! Praise the Lord! For the past 2 or so weeks Jon and I have been a one car family. Honestly I have enjoyed it. Despite the occasional inconvenience it was so nice to have that little extra time together. We shared so many laughs and good times just riding together to work and back! Well, yesterday, while I was at work from 12:30pm - 10:30pm (The Adopting for Life Conference is happening as I type at SBTS), Jon bought us a 2nd car! WOOHOO! He picked me up in it last night and I absolutely love it! It will primarily be my daily driver since it was my daily driver that we sold, and honestly it doesn't even feel like a downgrade, but it is financially 1/3 of what we had paid for the x3! It is a black Mercedes ML500 (suv)! I was elated when Jon pulled up in it last night! My dad found it for us from another dealer that had gotten it as a trade in. - THANKS DAD! So we are finally a 2 car family again. It will make the flow of life so much easier, but I will definitely miss those sweet times with Jon!

In other news, Lauren and Chad, my sister and brother-in-law are grandparents - haha! Their dog cooper just had puppies! Cooper is a boy - but they bred him with our Uncle's dog. So once the babies are weened from their mother Lauren and Chad will have a new little girl Yorkie pup! They are so excited, and the puppies are adorable! You could hold 3 of them in your palm they are so tiny right now.

Jon and I have both been super busy at work, but it is because we have been working on exciting things! Highview got new projectors and screens in the sanctuary this week, and Jon is very excited about them. The old ones were very faded and washed out and everything he filmed looked extremely dark and dull, but now it will be bright and vibrant. At Southern we had 3 major conferences this semester, and we are on day 2 of the second one! It has made for a busy February, but the 2 conferences we have had thus far have gone really well! It will be nice to be back to a routine once we are past them!

On March 10th Jon and I get to go and hear the baby's heart beat for the first time! WE are sooo excited! We have SEEN the heart beat by an early untra sound but we have not heard it yet. We cannot wait to hear the heartbeat of our sweet baby that the Lord has been sustaining! It is so unbelieveable to read about how the baby is developing, and humbling to know that the Lord is fulfilling his promise as he knits he or she together! The Lord has been teaching me so much through this proccess. My prayer life has been impacted in a huge way. The Lord has been teaching me to pray more intentionally, it began with our baby, but has spilled over into so many other areas of my prayer life. I really feel the sanctification proccess taking place in our home, and it is such a blessing. Praying that the Lord continues the great work he has begun, trust that he will because he is always faithful!

~Brooke