Jer Month 1

Everything is "new" for and with our little man. We love him!

Day 1- 8lb 9oz, Alert and ready for life to begin

going home from the hospital

1st bath. Already lovin' that paci.

Storytime with Dad

Chillin' with mom

He loves sleeping with his arms free from the swaddle.

1st Christmas

1 month with buddy Rufio

Pregnancy

17 weeks

23 weeks

                                                                     30 weeks

                                                                36 weeks

                                                                         37 weeks

39 weeks

40 weeks

41 weeks 2 Days

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.