Preparing, preparing!!

With all the uncertainty of job, living situation and finances, I have not been able to prepare for Cocoapuff as much as I thought I would have by now. Until this week! I have had a BLAST preparing for the little guy! :)

It started last week with some mega-coupons and JoAnn (saved a TON by printing coupons from their website...it was way better than the ones they send out in the mail). My mom and dad went with me so we could each use a coupon-and dad waited in the cutting line like a champ! Then, we went to Lowe's...that made up for dad having to suffer through JoAnn and got the needed supplies for refinishing Cocoapuff's crib!!

We bought a very simple crib early on with the intent of refinishing it for a custom look at a fraction of the price. I completely took over our apartment to tackle this project, but now the basic white crib is a rich "Molten Penny". I LOVE IT! Can't wait to see it assembled in his room with all the fabrics. :) I'm not sure how well the final color photographs because it's a metallic w/ shimmer...pics just don't do it justice. I am glad I didn't wait to refinish it 'til we were in the new place as being any bigger would not have worked! Excuse my yucky painting look.

Next, I started on my burp cloth stash!! One of the very few up sides to working at that bad place, was being exposed to lots of different products. One of the items I loved were the Bebe Au Lait burp cloths (Bebe Au Lait and Hooter Hiders are the same fancy company:). Unfortunately, they are expensive....$22 for 3 cloths!! I got a set at a massive discount so I could use it as inspiration. Then, I made my own version. I learned how to make bias tape and had a lot of fun figuring it out. I made 14 of my version for about $14! Boo-yah Bebe Au Lait! The big name one is on the left and mine is on the right.

Yesterday is where the real fun came in! My mom and I spent 6 hours working on Cocoapuff's bedding. I had sketched the design and written out what fabric went where, but when it came time to actually cut it, we certainly needed BOTH of our brains! Ha ha! Here is a little taste of the bumper pads.... BTW, I am aware that bumper pads are pretty controversial, and I have made an informed decision to use them. ;)

The bed skirt was a super fun project and ended up being a hybrid of several different paper patterns and online tutorials.

Here is a taste of the skirt...that rug won't be in the baby's room, but it looks kind of cool with it. :)

I am so thankful for a great sewing machine, for having been taught how to sew, for being able to prepare for my baby and I am most thankful for having such a great mom to do these things with!!

It's really fun to be pregnant as we approach Christmas. I think a lot about Mary and how she prepared for Jesus. I wonder what her swaddling cloths were like and what other things she did in anticipation for his arrival. Fun thought. And here is the 30 week bump. This little boy is getting BIG!

It finally happened...

Generally, I'm not a very fearful person. However, since I've been pregnant, I have been afraid of falling-I'm not sure why, but it's The Big Scary to me.

On Black Friday, we had an immigration appointment. The appointment went amazingly well-it was super fast and easy and COMPLETELY drama free. As we left the immigration center and headed to the car, it finally happened. I'm not sure what led to what, but before I knew it, in all my pregnant glory, I ate it!! I had slammed down on my knee and ended up on my butt half way on the sidewalk and halfway in the parking lot.

Thankfully, G was with me and I think even slowed the fall and thankfully, The Belly was safe and Cocoapuff is fine. My one pair of awesome Pea in the Pod maternity jeans on the other hand, ripped!! (And of course I got them on a great deal, so I can't replace them for what I paid.) I wasn't quite sure at one point if I was crying because I was scared of hurting Cocoapuff, because I was embarrassed, because my knee hurt or because I ruined my jeans!

So since it finally happened, I hope the fear of falling and the actual falling part is out of my system...I've reached my quota. I'm also hoping I can find a great Cyber Monday deal on some new maternity jeans.

Thanksgiving!!

I sure do love this time of year and I really love that we slow down and take a moment to just be thankful.

This is the first Thanksgiving since we were kids that all the siblings AND my dad will be here (he usually works on Thanksgiving). Aaaaand, it's the first time ever that all of us are together with our spouses. Wonderful!

This has been a VERY tough year for most of my family. There has been a lot of loss and heartache. There's been a lot of hurt (and when one of us hurts, many of us hurt right along with them). There has been a lot of painful waiting...and silence from our great God. There's been higher than usual amounts of stress on most of us. There's been struggling on many, many fronts. Frankly, it's been really hard.

Except for God. Because of Him, that's not the end of the story. Our God has come to us and blessed us in more ways than we can count, and maybe even more ways than we will ever know. He has and continues to bring healing to our hearts and to the hurt that lingers. He has a plan in the midst of all the waiting...sometimes He shares the plan, other times, not so much. Even in that though, we are not without hope, we are not without faith, and we are certainly not alone. He has reminded us to lean not on our own understanding and to keep giving our stress and our troubles back to Him. NONE of us has gone without needs! God continues to provide for us in BIG ways. He hears our prayers and answers us and He comes to us in our time of need. I am so thankful for that and I am so thankful that I am in a family that celebrates that as well.

God is so good to us. Happy Thanksgiving!

Joy Thieves

I go to a Bible Study at church on Thursdays and I've really been enjoying it. We have a lecture (which is always great!) and then break up into a small group for discussion. It's been a huge blessing to me and I want to share some of it.

Last week, a woman was sharing something her husband had just said to her. He told her, "Comparison is the thief of all joy." It got me to thinking about joy and how if I allow it to happen, it really can be stolen away. I will admit, while comparing "stuff" isn't a gigantic struggle for me, comparing character and what I think the related blessings are, is. For instance, I don't really covet people's specific jobs or salary, but I might look at someone and think, "That person doesn't even work half as hard as my husband does and/or he doesn't care about God at all and look at the great job he has." Doing that really steals the joy and diminishes the blessing I have in an amazing hard working husband. I do NOT want to do that!

This statement got me to thinking, what else do I allow to steal my joy? One area has been anxiety over pregnancy weight gain...yes, I'm serious. I was super freaking out about the weight gain (something everyone KNOWS is gonna happen and is healthy!!) and I really was letting it steal some of the joy of this amazing pregnancy. I'm working on giving it back to God anytime that anxiety creeps up and focusing on the joy of a healthy, smooth pregnancy.

Here is my huge one. People and my emotions toward them. I allow people and their asinine comments or actions to rain on my parade and steal my joy, not just once, but over and over again! You have probably gathered this about me. I don't want that to keep happening. I'm not going to let the joy of life in general, or big or small events be trampled or stolen either by people specifically or by my lack of control in my emotions towards those people. I am working on "...taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ." Some days, it's pretty easy, other days....not so much.

I am thankful for a great Bible Study.

The Thanksgiving cut...

In celebration of life, health and with Thanksgiving on the brain and in my heart, I made the cut! 11 inches to be exact. Sending my hair off to Pantene to be made into a wig for a cancer patient. Happy early Thanksgiving!! P.S. I hate self taken pictures.

Nieces & Nephews

My little sister and her hubby are embarking on a new adventure....Foster Parenting!!

Ryan and Tiffany

They got licensed today and could get placed at any moment! I will admit, when I first heard they wanted to do this I was worried for them and wondered how much they had thought this through and if they realized how hard this would be (but I didn't say any of that to her, just asked some pointed questions;). While love and concern made me think that way, it was kind of silly because we are all called to do hard things and that shouldn't slow us down from obedience. I'm sure people are thinking the same about us right now! I prayed for them and for this adventure and God has made it clear that this is what they are called to do. I am very proud of them and so excited for their faith walk and new adventure.

While George and I are not called to this same mission right now, we have a huge part to play-my whole family does, really. The children who will come in and out of my sister and brother in-law's home are going to be needy. They are most likely not from Christian homes and their time in foster care may be the only time in their lives that they have a real family and a Christ loving one at that! While Ryan and Tiffany will care for these kids full time, our family will be a much needed support system. We have the opportunity to make a BIG impact in the lives of these little ones!

I am excited to see what the future holds and am praying for my future "nieces and nephews" however many that is and however long they are in our lives! The holidays may be verrry interesting this year. ;)

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

Birthday Boy!

Today is my hot husband's 30th Birthday!!

I am SO THANKFUL for him! He is so wonderful! He's loving, supportive, patient, kind, outgoing, funny, thoughtful, gorgeous, talented, smart, wise, humble, HARD WORKING, loyal, sweet and all around the best guy ever!! I am very, very blessed to be married to him and this baby is one fortunate guy to have George as his daddy!

I wanted today to be super special since 30 seems like a big deal, but as is usual for this man, he's working 13 hours today. No major gifts this year, and no time for a major celebration today, but it's a good day anyway. I'm filling it with all his favorites (to start, Chick-Fil-A for breakfast:) and making sure he knows just how awesome he is. Hopefully, we will get to REALLY celebrate soon! Happy 30th my Love!!

How exactly does this kid get out?

Last night was our first childbirth class. It was fun and funny. We made it a real date and followed it up with a hearty dessert!! (And btw, I found out yesterday that my glucose test was clear, no gestational diabetes...so we had to celebrate!)

The class was full of information and very relaxed, I am so glad we are taking it and look forward to the next 5 weeks.

Of course, there was a movie of an actual labor and delivery (on a GIGANTIC screen). I looked around and several of the dads in the class were hiding their faces! Thankfully, George was not one of them. He did comment afterwards that the husband sure did do a lot of work, he must have been tired. Ummmmm.....I'm just gonna leave that alone. The baby from the movie was 8lb 9oz and nearly everyone gasped or made comments about what a huge baby that was, I think some of those people are gonna be in for a huge surprise! lol!

The biggest thing G learned last night was that he will have to time contractions (I guess I forgot to mention that...oh yeah, and that we will stay home as long as possible, that was a surprise to him too)...they also told him how to do it. One step closer to being prepared.

We filled out a questionnaire with general info and had the opportunity to specify a topic we were most interested in having covered. Someone may or may not have said, "What do I do when the baby comes out?" So. Flippin. Funny. I didn't write that down.

We got to know some of the other couples in class and the topic of staying home with baby came up. One mom seemed kind of sad when I said I would and her husband made a joke about why they need her to work. I felt bad for her and blessed at the same time. Staying home to raise our baby is a conviction, a step of obedience and a sacrifice for us. One we think is well worth it. For now, everything seems to be lining up for us to continue with that plan. We are so thankful for a loving God who meets our needs and we pray that we will continue to be good stewards so we can follow through for the long haul.

Oh, and here is little dude at 27 weeks...

Happy November!!

I can't believe it's November already! I love November and we have a lot of big and fun things happening this month, most notably:

• George's 30th Birthday!!
• 3rd trimester starts. :)
• Unemployment hearing. :-/
• THANKSGIVING!!!!
• Gingerbread Lattes at Starbucks. Woot woot!!

I'm anxious about my hearing (which is Thursday!) but happy to get it over with. I think I am prepared as I can be.

I can't believe how fast this baby and his arrival are approaching. There's been another glitch in the whole living situation thing, but it will be okay. I'm not sure how, but I'm just givin' it back to God.

I'm excited for G's Birthday and hope we have more than just aging to celebrate! I want to make it a special day for him, even though it looks like he'll work all. day. long.

I love me some Thanksgiving!! I love that we spend sweet times together as a family, I love all the delicious food and I love that we slow down and recount God's goodness to us, especially in the midst of trials. This has been a tough year for a lot of my family members and I know many of us are looking forward to the encouragement and joy of Thanksgiving and to the dedicated time to thank God as we move forward.

And it's just Fall-ish and wonderful. We are really trying to slow down and take joy in the small things...things like a great cup of coffee on a chilly morning. Things like watching little birds and being reminded that God is caring for those little birds, how much more for us?

I post a lot about our worries or the hard things happening, it really helps me to process when I write it down and get it out. I don't want to give a one sided picture though, we are happy and very blessed in spite of our circumstances...I just don't need to "process" that as much. :)

Happy November!!