Jeremiah's Nursery

Baby boy is almost here! I have a little over a week to go. My how time flies. I thought that I should post the pics I took of the nursery before he gets here. When we found out we were having a boy I decided on a loose owl theme. I didn't want to go too crazy with owl paraphernalia. I wanted a cohesive look through color.

 >> This is the closet. Organization has been huge for me recently, nesting much?? My solution to not finding the type of furniture I want was to buy plastic drawers. I labeled them to help us remember what goes where. I put them in the closet to give us more space so the room isn't so cramped. I also bought some cute baskets for under the changing table for toys, books, diapers, etc.

 <<  My labels add a little more color to the closet too.

 >> This was my first project that really inspired the rest of the room. I made each of these from nice card stock paper and framed them. They turned out really well.

 

^^ I didn't want to paint the walls because, 1, paint here is pricey, and, 2, because I would have to paint the walls back to this lovely off white color before we leave. My solution was to bring color up the wall by making this pennant banner from card stock, buttons, and hemp string. It was an easy project and I think it helped achieve the goal of bringing color into the room.

>> Another project that kept be busy while hubs was away was making a bed skirt and "upcycling" some old curtains that I had in the guest room by adding a panel of fabric to the bottom of them.  I'm not an avid seamstress, so these took me some time to complete. I am happy how they turned out.  

A Happy Fall Home

I've been reading "One Thousand Gifts," by Ann Voskamp. I've been challenged to live a life of thanks day in and day out through the good, bad, and ugly. So, I decided to make what I am calling, "a wall of thanks." As I go throughout my day, I (and whoever else wants to) can write down something they are thankful for and stick it to the wall. It fits with the fall/Thanksgiving season, which is perfect. I'm hoping that by the end of the season our wall will be filled with all of the wonderful gifts the Lord gives us.

Grace

"Here dies another day

During which I have had eye, ears, hands

And the great world around me;

And with tomorrow begins another

Why am I allowed two?"

- G.K. Chesterton

33 Weeks

I thought I'd share a baby update with everyone. This was a little over 2 weeks ago now. I went with my good friend to get a 3D ultrasound done out in town. What a cool thing! For the equivalent of $20 we had Jeremiah's picture taken. So worth the money if you ask me. I cannot believe that this is what he is going to look like when he arrives. Amazing.

Sorry you have to tilt your head to see him. I couldn't figure out how to flip the pic...

Anything but a dull life

This fall semester seems to be one of the busiest that we've had in a long time; there is so much going on.

Joel and I are the community group coordinators at our church. Each new semester brings challenges of training old and new leaders and getting people plugged into community groups. In a church of about 700 people, where community groups are about 3 years new, the learning curve is steep! Joel and I repeatedly remind each other that we are in way over our heads, which I'm pretty sure is right where we're supposed to be. The thing that we keep telling ourselves is that community is God's work. He will make it happen. We are praying that we can be creative in thinking of new ways to do things, patient and gracious when dealing with ALL of those people, and FULLY reliant upon Jesus.

You know how things seem to break all at the same time? Well, just a few weeks ago both of our cars needed major repairs, the ipad broke, and the dog's eye went to shit *excuse the phrase* all in the same week. Luckily we'd just been through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace class at our church and, by the grace of God, had funds to deal with everything without a huge fuss. The dog is a real and true pirate, meaning we had to have his eye removed. I will post pictures of him when his eye is healed more, right now its pretty nasty.

Joel is doing great at work. He is busy, busy, busy. He recently changed jobs and is now preparing to head to a 2 1/2 month training school in the fall. There is a lot of homework that he has to do before he even leaves for the school. So between church events, he finds time to study, leaving me to craft.

Yes, crafting. What a wonderful thing! All of my crafting has a purpose, or so I like to tell myself. I am doing small projects here and there to get ready for Jeremiah.

Oh yea, I didn't mention that yet... he is coming in about 3 months now! AHH! We're really excited! And if you did the math from the baby coming in 3 months and Joel going to a 2 1/2 month training school, you've noticed that Joel will  get back a few weeks before Jeremiah is due. Talk about a whirlwind...

Life sure isn't dull these days. The grace of God keeps us moving along. We're learning to rely on Jesus. The sacrifice of Christ compels us to keep moving and working to join God on His mission of redemption. Its surreal how everyday life is happening and at the same time, God's will is being done through us and in us.

20 Weeks Pregnant!

We are halfway through the pregnancy! Woohoo!!

I am feeling all sorts of movement, which is so fun. And my belly keeps expanding.

We found out last week that we will be having a baby BOY! We are thrilled! His name is Jeremiah Lincoln. He has some really big shoes to fill.

Registry making and organizational buying is in full swing. Someone has to get this house ready for a baby! We also started reading him books because he can now hear sound outside of the womb.

Here is the pic. that we sent the family to announce that we were having a baby boy. People were confused about the green color, but hello, he's wearing a top hat and a bow tie!

Hawaii 2013 - Day 11 -Road to Hana

I gave Day 11 its own post because we literally spent all day in the car taking in one beautiful sight after the other. I didn't want to leave any of the beauty out! I'll let you enjoy the pics.

First stop on this winding road is the infamous "Jaws" where wave in the winter get up to 20ft tall. A surfer's dream.

Our ballin' SUV

Second stop was a nature conservatory. There were cool plants, and flowers. And this super cool peacock who just happened to have his plume out. 

A bunch of my pictures were views from the car as we drove. The roads were tiny, sometimes one lane. I was glad I didn't have to drive, but instead got to take in the sights!

Third stop were the black sand beaches. I have to admit that these were really neat. 

lava tunnel/tube

Lunch in Hana at a Thai place. It hit the spot after a LONG morning driving and sightseeing. It was literally a tent with picnic tables. But the food was SO YUMMY!

Our last stop was at a national park where waterfalls/pools were everywhere. We hiked up a trail to see what we could see. 

This bamboo forest was what I wanted to see since I started reading about the sights in Maui. It didn't disappoint. 

Mom and Dad found a shady spot to sit. Mom couldn't do the hike b/c she sprained her foot earlier in the week at Halakala Crater. Sad for her. But this doesn't look like too bad of a spot to spend a few hours. :)

the road out of Hana. So narrow!

Leaving Hawaii and the folks was bittersweet. We sure had a great time though! Til' next time.

Hawaii 2013 - Day 10

Day 10- We were true tourists this day. We followed the advice of our guide book, left the house by 2:30AM and ventured to Halakala Crater to see the sunrise. We went from sea level to 10,000 ft in about 3 hours and from 80 degree weather to about 50...brrr! But it was worth it!

Blurry but we were there!

Joel kept focusing more on mom and me than the sunrise in the background. This was as good as we got. :)

All of us happy that the sun is up and we can get back into the warm car!

                                       

Smaller cones inside the crater. You can see the blacker part on the left side where actual lava came out of this cone.

I forget what day this part happened, but we got to see an actual lava flow. Talk about cool! At first I thought it was a field that had just been tilled, but no, it was where the lava flowed out of a cone into the ocean. So cool!

Hawaii 2013 Day 8-9

Day 8- We went to a great snorkeling spot on Maui. We saw all kinds of fish and even some sea turtles!

mom

dad

Day 9- We headed down some road where there were multiple sights. What Dad forgot to mention is that these sights weren't for the faint of heart! Signs of warning were at every spot. 

First stop was a blow hole. Note the sign. "Warning"...It was very cool though.

Love these two!

 Second stop were lava pools that had cooled and filled with water. We hiked down a "trail" to get to these. This was by far one of my favorite experiences.

Near the bottom where the pools were.

Dad and Joel venturing down to swim in the pools. Mom and I stayed further back and watched. Boys will be boys.

The road ended at a little green shack where a woman was selling "the best banana bread in the world." I don't know if it was the best in the world, but it was really tasty! We sat under a tree, ate our bread, and took in the lush green surroundings.