baby steps

tee pee time

2012-02-28T18:59:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been obsessed with the idea of making ellie a tee pee for when shes a little bit older. Having your own space for you and your friends when youre little is so much fun! I remember creating forts in the woods with my sister and having a playhouse in our back yard that we loved decorating with my cousins. I love all my fun memories from when I was little, I love creating memories and making keep sakes for ellie. Being a mom is so much fun :)

Heres a link to one that's easy to DIY - it's more of a tent like style

http://mycakies.blogspot.com/2011/05/diy-frame-tent.html

breathing in love

2011-11-30T19:00:00.000-08:00

Every night at 11:30 pm I wake up Ellie to feed her for the last time before we all go to bed for the night. It's usually one of the most special times I have with her in the day. She's so peaceful, trusting, quiet, cuddly, and pretty much perfect. Often times during this time with her I get so overwhelmed with love for her that it brings me to tears. It wasn't until this experience of being a mother that I feel like I have the smallest glimpse of the Lords love for me, for us. It just rushes over me so strong I can't even describe it. As cheesy as it sounds, it literally feels like a wave crashing over me, a rush through my whole body, like someone just came up to me and hugged me so hard tears pour out of my eyes. I just sit on the bed and hold her, soak her in. I feel like while I am doing this the Lord is holding me, soaking me in while I just rest in his presence and love my daughter. I feel like its just the 3 of us, soaking, resting, loving, being. It's almost like a healing thing. If I love Ellie this much, and it changes me THIS MUCH, how would I be if I truly understood the Lords love for me? How would we all be if we TRULY understood and walked in the love the Lord has for us? I don't know. I am still learning to be with Him and feel His love for me. I am still choosing to let down my walls and let myself breathe in unending love. Some of you may have already had this revelation whether you are parents or not, but let me tell you, this revelation is a choice for me every day, and almost every night when I hold Ellie at 11:30 pm I am reminded of it.

snow baby

2011-11-15T13:00:00.000-08:00

getting ready for snow!

I am so excited about taking ellie to PA for thanksgiving! Taking my daughter to my home town makes going home to see family even more exciting! She has not met any of her niece and nephews on my side of the family and I cannot wait for them to meet her!!! She also hasn't met her uncle wes, josh or vish, her aunt laura, or her great grand parents. Not to mention any other relative of mine, except for her great aunt! Needless to say, going home has never felt like more of a big deal than it does this time :) I'm not looking forward to the car ride though....

55 days of motherhood

2011-11-05T20:43:00.000-07:00

Ellie will be 8 weeks on monday, I have been a mom for 55 days. 55
days of change. 55 days of the greatest joys and challenges I have ever known. 55 days that have already changed my heart in more ways than I could have ever imagined. 55 days that are only the beginning to the rest of my new life. For this I am grateful. For her I am grateful.
She changes so much every single week. If I don't pay attention I could miss the little things, like the first time she spotted her hands, the day she discovered her tongue and has been drooling more ever since, they day she looked me in the eyes and smiled, the first time she cooed, the list could go on and it will. For this I am also grateful.
I am reading a book called 1000 gifts. I think everyone should read it. I want to be thankful for what I have. I want my life to be changed by thanksgiving. November is a great month to start.

Here are some captured moments of the greatest gift I have ever received, my daughter, Elloise.

She's here! (5 weeks ago)

2011-10-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

Elloise Marie Baldwin was born on September 12th 2011 at 5:34 pm

She was 7lbs 5oz and 20 inches long with a head full of hair


her first photo by daddy :)

2 days old

first time in her nursery

she LOVES her daddy

me and my baby girl, 1 day old

Ellies 5 week post coming soon! Maybe I'll even tell her birth story :)

nesting

2011-09-03T08:29:00.000-07:00

Most of the 2nd half of my pregnancy has involved me "nesting." Elloise's nursery has been so much fun to do but for the longest time I had nothing else to do with it and I kind of hit a rut so the rest of the house reaped the benefits of me wanting to "nest." I love projects, I love decorating, and I love doing it with things I have made myself or found at antique stores.

For some reason our room has been the last place to get decorated, I guess its because company doesn't go in there so all the "good ideas" I have wouldn't be seen :) haha. Decorating is way more fun when it creates a pretty atmosphere for you AND others to enjoy. I saw this idea on pinterest, it can be done with fabric and is most commonly used in a nursery, but when I saw it with lace in a foyer I fell in love! I LOVE lace more than anything and I knew it would be the perfect thing to go in our bedroom. I got the embroidery hoops from Michaels all for under $2 each, and the lace from Hancock fabrics. Most of it was scraps that I had from previous sewing projects.

I may eventually add more or rearrange them. I'm not sure. These were really tricky to hang and place.

Here is my mirror wall, I got the idea from anthropologie's website awhile back. I did this in the beginning of my pregnancy. My friend Mary Ellen helped me find mirrors and her husband helped us put it up on the wall! All the mirrors came from 3 different antique stores. It's so hard to find these guys affordable, so often they are way over priced! Needless to say, it was a tough search.

My most recent project has been my favorite :) I have been wanting to do a plate wall for about a year now and I just never really got around to it. I started collecting a few assorted plates but a few months after I had them and looked at them I didn't like them anymore. This last month has felt like a lot of waiting and I needed another way to "nest" because the nursery was done, so thankfully I got motivated to do my plate wall! I have the perfect place for it and I LOVE it. My friend Alysa Volk (who should have a blog) helped me put it up. It was so precise I would have gone insane trying to do it by myself! I got the plates from sleepy poet for $2 each, steal of a deal!

40 weeks + a finished nursery

2011-09-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

I am 40 weeks pregnant, woohoo! Today at my appt I was 2cm dilated. At this point, any progress is good progress. I am thinking my little sweet pea may decide to join us next week and I am okay with that. Of course I'd love for her to come this weekend for many reasons I won't go into, but if she is wanting to wait and I am healthy (which I am) I'm ok with waiting....a little... haha :)

I showed most of you Ellie's nursery a while back but it wasn't fully finished. I think I am completely done for the most part now! I didn't add much more other than a shelf and I did some cleaning and re organizing which made everything feel better. Here are some pictures of her room:

The shelf is the newest addition: I just need to add some dried flowers to the vase. In the frame is a vintage sound of music record cover I found at a thrift store <3

here I just need to fix the changing pad cover: I'm waiting on mom to fix it because I'm so frustrated with it!

Burp Cloths

2011-08-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I am 16 days from my due date - who knows when she will decide to join us though...
hopefully sooner rather than later :) I guess you could say I am still trying to find ways to channel my "nesting" energy. I needed more burp cloths and the plain white ones seemed too thin and boring so I decided to add some color to them by getting some of my fabric scraps and sewing a patterned side to them. It was so easy and fun!

two L's

2011-08-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

Elloise Marie Baldwin will be joining us soon, and lately, I cannot stop thinking about her even more than before (which I didn't think was possible). I keep wondering what she will look like and be like. How is her little voice going to sound when she starts talking? What will her favorite things be? I cannot wait to get to know her personality and her heart.
Elloise is not the only way to spell her name, it is most commonly spelled Eloise. It was kind of a hard decision to figure out how to spell it, we both really kind of lean towards calling her Ellie which is why I liked spelling it with 2 L's. It just seemed right - all you have to do is take out the o and the s :)

The other 2 cool things about her name Elloise is both Josh and I loved that name for a girl before we ever met each other and got married, I think that is so sweet because it is not a common name at all. Also, Elloise and her nickname Ellie both have such awesome and multiple name meanings. Here is what I found:

Elloise

meaning: intelligent, smart, famous in war, noble, exalted, sun ray, shining light, and most beautiful woman.

When we looked up the meaning of her name I knew it fit her, I can see all of these things in her and I haven't even met her yet. I have a poster in her room that says, "you are my sunshine." how fitting for someone who's name also means sun ray and shining light?
The most common meaning that is on almost every website is "famous in war." She is going to be such a strong woman, I just know it!!

The reason for her middle name being Marie is because that's my middle name :) I never knew what my middle name meant and I never EVER thought I would give my middle name to my daughter but for some reason (which I mention below) I just felt like I should - sounds kind of weird but I thought it would be special. We were struggling with finding a middle name that we thought fit well with Elloise. One night we were praying about it and I saw the word Star - I thought - what? star? that sounds kinda sleazy.... so we looked up names that meant star and on the list was Marie meaning "star of the sea (which is not sleazy)." Josh had been wanting her middle name to be Marie so when we looked up the names that meant star and saw Marie I knew it was confirmation :)
The only thing is - Marie means bitterness in Hebrew which I just discovered today...... not cool - BUT in Latin it means Star of the Sea so that's the one we will take as far as name meanings go :)

Ellie's Lovie

2011-07-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been really excited about going into labor and seeing my baby girl after its all said and done. Although I have been really tired, I still feel the need to "nest". The only problem with that is my nursery is finished, her clothes are washed and put in the drawers, and I feel like there's not much else I can do except for read and I haven't been feeling like reading..... I was really into it awhile back and started 3 books and loved them and then the desire to read left me and I am having to choose to pick it back up. Maybe next week? :)

Anyways, I have been wanting Ellie to have a little security blanket like her cousin Will because I think it is SO cute! He has had his since he was a newborn and he still carries it around today at 13+ months. It's a comfort for him and I wanted Ellie to have a little comfort blanket :)
Here's Will with his lovie:

Yesterday I went to the store and picked out a silky fabric and a soft flannel fabric to make Ellie's blanket, I wasnt really sure how to go about making it but I just decided to go for it and try. I bought enough fabric to make 2 so I could have a back up in case hers got lost or ruined, so far I have only made one. I LOVE it! I still need to wash it so it can get soft and not be so wrinkly but I couldn't wait to show it off so here it is :)

It is 14X16 (not sure why I didn't just make it square?)

baby girls

2011-07-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

I am 35 weeks pregnant :) only 5 weeks to go (hopefully)! I know my ultrasound pictures were so great but I still cant stop wondering what she will look like, especially as a toddler! I know everyone always says the time goes by so fast and I don't want to rush it but its still fun to think about it :)

ellie's nursery part 1

2011-07-14T13:25:00.000-07:00

I finally have a little sneak peak into Ellie's nursery for you guys! My sister took these pictures with a fisheye lens so you could see the whole room from every angle. I still have some details to do so I will do another post with them and tell you where I got things. As you can see, on the large dresser under the mirrors I don't have my changing pad set up yet, and I still have yet to fill the scale with diapers and creams instead of a that cutie owl...ect. So anyways, I hope you enjoy what you see! I am excited to do a post with all the details and stuff so I will try to get on that asap :) Her nursery is my favorite place to be in the house :) I cant wait to rock her on the rocking chair and read to her...

baby weekend

2011-07-13T07:05:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was crazy busy! My whole family came into town to have a baby shower for me on sunday July 12th at my house. It was a PACKED, hardly everyone fit but it was so nice to be so close with everyone :) My sister also took pictures of my nursery, I will post them later this week :)

My mom made most all of the delicious food except for the cupcakes by Sarah Williams, and some other items from Amelies.

moms jalapeno quiche was my FAV

Laura (preggo sister in law), me, and sherah (preggo sister)

we had to completely rearrange our house to fit everyone

I got so many wonderful gifts!

some of my lovely mama friends!

allie and cora :)

my lovely sister, friends, and long time roommates

Jess keeping these girls happy with bracelets

sweet ava

I cant believe we didn't get a picture of my mom and my sister selena! They did so much to help with the shower and they also came all the way from pa just to be with me. Love you guys :)


my mama and sister selena :)

I am still here!

2011-07-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, I am so overdue for posting - you'd think I'd have a lot to post about (and I do) but I haven't gotten around to sharing my thoughts or daily activities....

I am 32 weeks pregnant! Woohooh! Today I am choosing to stay grateful, There are lots of aches and pains I could choose to complain about but there are more things to be thankful for and focusing on those things makes life so much more enjoyable and beautiful!!! One main example: my healthy baby girl! Everytime I think about holding her I cry...I cannot wait to meet her and love on her!!

I feel like I have SO MUCH to do in 8 weeks - mainly a lot of reading to do. 1 of the books I am currently reading:

I am so thankful for Josh, he has had a special little grace for me these last couple months and for that I love him even more than usual! When I wake up in the middle of the night and I cant sleep and I am moaning and groaning and wiggling around, he rubs my back and asks me if I am ok and if I want him to rub my back till I fall asleep - WHAT A SWEETHEART! I just love my husband to pieces.

I will leave you guys with a few pictures from the maternity photo shoot my sister did when we were at the beach a couple weeks ago.

oh hey third trimester

2011-06-15T15:25:00.000-07:00

I am so overdue for an update - Ive been wanting to show off both my vintage and newly purchased treasures in my nursery but it's not finished yet so you'll have to wait.

SO - I AM 29 WEEKS PREGNANT -- YAY!

We had an ultrasound on Monday to make sure my placenta was moved up (it was low at 18 wks) and thankfully it was! Everything was excellent. She was weighing in at approximately 2 lbs and 11 ounces, (give or take a few because they have no way of being sure :) my fluid was good, she was developing perfectly and everything was just great and it was all music to my ears! I was measuring in at 30 weeks (I've been a week ahead every time which is normal) but I keep telling myself any time before Sept 12th! I am due Sept 2nd but I'd rather think I'll be late than early - otherwise I'll feel miserable waiting! Although, I cannot wait to hold her these days. I am feeling a little anxious to see her! I started to cry the other night because I was just wanting to hold her so bad....then again, I also cried because the laundry basket didn't match the nursery anymore and I didn't want it in the room if it didn't match (kind of insane, Josh sent me to bed immediately). It is still sitting the in hallway....

Here she is, she looks a lot like her daddy but I can definitely see some of me in there.

My mom came this weekend and we had SO much fun looking for vintage keep sakes and other nursery things. She brought this with her for Elloise, this will be her "coming home" outfit!!!

In other news, I have been enjoying my baby bump. I can't imagine being bigger though - even though I know I will.... 29 weeks and counting -- so excited about my baby!!

grandparents

2011-05-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

Today I have been thinking about my Grandparents. My moms parents both passed away when I was pretty young. I have few memories of them that I cherish (mainly of my grandma). I remember little things like taking naps with a hand sewn blue pillow with floral patch work. I slept with that pillow up until a year or so ago. I swear it still smelled like her every time I held it. I lost it during the move from my old house to Josh and I's house. Apparently it still makes me cry thinking about it......*tears*
I remember one time after she had a stroke mom and I were at the house for some reason and I was sitting on the couch holding that pillow sucking my thumb (I think I was 5) and she said to me, " you know sheila, you can have that pillow now." I remember feeling like it was important as I sat there looking at her in a wheel chair (I had never seen her in one before). I was so happy to have that pillow. Awhile after that I remember going to her funeral and not really understanding anything. Needless to say, I loved my grandma Lehman and she was a wonderful woman and grandmother.

grandma with my sister, brother, and cousins

grandma and pappy with my aunt and uncle

My grandma and pappy Strite (dads parents) are still around and loving life :) They have been married for over 50 years! Grandma has been catering for the last 30 years and she is an amazing cook. Every time I visit home I go see her and she always makes me something delicious! She has cooked my pappy a hot breakfast every single morning since the day they have been married (unless they are apart which is almost never). She has a true servants heart and I love her and pappy so much. I am so thankful for them and everything they have been to me. They are wonderful grandparents and great grandparents. I can't wait for them to hold Ellie for the first time.


Grandma in her teen years. Everyone says I look like her!

gram and pap with me at wesley's rehearsal dinner

grandma and will

gram and pap with ashria :)

at Josh and I's wedding

These next 3 pictures have a little story behind them. When I was in 7th grade I hand sewed a pillow and I asked my grandma to stuff it for me. Over time we had forgotten about it and it got put away and we both forgot it even existed. I never thought about it in my life since that year I had given it to her. At my bridal shower she sent down a gift for me with my mom. I figured it would be some cooking stuff...ect.

As soon as I opened it I recognized the pillow and was flooded with so many emotions!! I couldn't believe it! She had stuffed the pillow for me. It is so special to me. Expecially since I lost my grandma lehman's pillow!

I love my grandparents so much, they are so precious to me and important in my life and my heritage.

happy mothers day

2011-05-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe I am a mother...well, a half mother - - I'm about to seriously be a real life mother... I have looked forward to being a mom my entire life. I never knew the emotions that came along with motherhood. I am already beginning to feel the change happen in my heart, emotions and spirit. Being a mother is such a blessing and a burden at the same time. Not a negative burden, but a healthy burden. Once a mother - always a mother....then a grandmother....mother mother mother......my name will soon switch from sheila to mom. I will be responding to MOM - woah!
I am so excited to begin this next phase of my life. I get so overwhelmed by the love I feel in my heart towards my unborn daughter. I cannot even imagine how I will feel when she is in my arms....the thought of her literally brings tears to my eyes. I love her so much already....

speaking of moms and motherhood.......

I love my mom so much!

I couldn't have asked for a better mother. Thanks for all you have taught me and for loving me no matter what. I love you, you have helped make me who I am. You have always supported me and encouraged me to be greater.

I love you mom, I look forward to many more adventures together

Elloise, I love you...you've changed my heart already. I can't wait to begin our journey together as mother and daughter. you are already the sunshine in my life. I love you with all my heart.

bundles of joy

2011-04-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

Today I've been thinking about how I am thankful for my husband, family, and nieces and nephews. I am especially thankful for my baby girl growing in my belly and I tear up at the thoughts and fears I had of not being able to be pregnant and my journey to get to where I am now. I'm so glad she's safe and healthy and I am so thankful for everything she is and what she will become.


she was only 18 wks here. now shes 22 weeks. I want another ultrasound!

My nieces and nephews bring so much joy to my life and tears to my eyes because 4 of them live 7 hours away :( they grow and change so fast and I hate missing out on so much. Here are some pictures of my sister Selena's babies. They are so beautiful!

Jadon

Ashria

Jesi

Here's Wes (my brother) and Laura's son Will! He's 1 year old and he looks just like his parents!

My newest niece and nephew additions are Carmen's kids (Josh's sister). They only live 1 hr away so its not as bad :) Ive been seeing them a good bit lately. Bailey made the sweetest book for Ellie with hand drawn pictures in it....*tear

me and Bailey :)


Slade and Bailey

All my nieces and nephews are so excited about meeting Ellie :) especially Ashria and Bailey

here's a picture from baileys book *tear*

bailey hugging ellie :)

And of course nothing would be the same or as wonderful without my husband Josh. I say it all the time and Ill say it forever - he is the best thing in the world to me :)!! I couldn't imagine my life without him. He makes me laugh every day and fills my heart with love.

summer goodness

2011-04-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

I potted some plants! I LOVE these pots I found at homegoods! I kind of want some more now...

this adds so much color to my front porch :)


Josh had to drill holes in the pots for the water to drain


I potted this too. I can see it from my bedroom window every morning :)

As I had mentioned a few posts ago, I bought another thrift store project for Josh and I. I have to say real quick, Josh is such a great helper - I always have projects for "us" and I know it drives him crazy sometimes (especially when they are every week) but he always ends up helping me with a smile on his face :) maybe not at first but after awhile! haha. I just love Josh so much. I enjoy him every single day and we see a lot of each other! He is my best friend and the best husband I could have asked for. I am so thankful for him all the time!!!
Back to the project, I have been wanting a little table and 2 chairs for our deck since we love to eat outisde! I found this awhile back for $80 and had to snag it! I have seen things like this several times and passed the opportunity thinking I could get it for cheaper and 80 was the lowest I've found.
We reupholstered these yesterday. I bought outdoor fabric but then put vinyl on top so it would protect it from rain and stains. Its way better to have a wipeable surface!

Before

After!!!


the whole set : so cute! I still want to paint the white a brighter color

One last thing, Our rose bushes finally started to bloom! This makes me so excited! The other project Josh and I want to do it re-do our front flower bed. Well, its not really a flower bed...it has 2 yellow rose bushes and 3 ugly bushes next to them. We want to pull out everything except for the rose bushes and re soil and plant flowers and jasmine. Hopefully the jasmine will grow up the front of our porch - it will be so beautiful!

thankfullness

2011-04-07T09:41:00.000-07:00

Let me just begin with saying, the Lord has been so so good to Josh and I. My heart is SO full of adoration in his goodness...Im actually crying as I write this and its not just pregnancy hormones!! :) We have been blessed in so many ways in the last month! I will share a few.....
#1 Josh has a job again and he is doing the very thing he loves to do and even more! we have been praying for a long time now and we just recently started praying specifically and the Lord just threw this on our laps out of no where! I cried when he called me - I was like what?? this is so wonderful! I Immediately felt the Lord say "there's even more goodness to come, this is just the beginning. I told you I'd take care of you"
#2 We have been given a white gliding rocking chair (which is exactly what I have been searching for) and it has been passed down from two wonderful loving women who have used it...I know the holy spirit is going to be with me as I am rocking Ellie in it.
#3 Speaking of Ellie - we found out we are having a beautiful healthy little girl! UGH my heart is so full of love for her already I am bursting at the seams! Her name will be Elloise Baldwin. Ill tell the small story about what her middle name will be later :)
#4 Long story but since Josh and I are self employed we definitely owed in taxes. We knew we would get a tax break with getting married and buying a house but we still owed a big chunk of money. Anyways, with taking money from other areas that were saved for other things we had almost enough but we were still short a good amount and we weren't sure we would get money in time to meet the deadline. We of course prayed for money and opportunities to come in and not even a week later we received a check for the exact amount we needed....again...I cried and my heart was so full of thankfulness!!!
#5 I had bought a petunia pickle bottom diaper bag when they had their sale for Relief in Japan and when I got it in the mail I didn't like it...it was shiny and just not what I thought it was so I put it online with all the 100's of other PPB diaper bags that were being sold for less than I was willing to sell mine for and in 2 days someone bought it! I was like what??! I thought for sure it wouldn't sell! Another long story short two sweet friends found out which one I wanted (which costs more because its not on sale) and said they would buy it for me as a gift! AGAIN I thought - what?! It touched my heart so much!
#6 One of my clients brought me two gifts for my nursery, one is a vintage baby scale from the 1920's with a basket on top (it is soooo cute) and an old window that is weathered and painted white (which I also had been wanting for the nursery). She gave me these things out of no where? I was so surprised and felt so blessed!
#7 Another friend of ours let me use her moses basket that she had for her baby. We had been needing something to keep Ellie in when we have her in our room for the first 6-8 weeks but didn't want to buy anything because we knew she'd grow out of it so fast. She again just offered it to us on the spot! It has handles on it too so we can just take her around the house in it! Its perfect!
#8 My parents bought us our crib! I had been looking since I found out I was pregnant and I wanted a grey one but they are all like $800 or more. I kept waiting and finally found one in my price range and it was exactly what I wanted and mom and dad bought it for us! My parents bless us in so many ways I could write a list for days. I am so thankful for them everyday and am so touched by who they are. They make me want to be amazing parents and because of their example I know I will be with the help of them, the lord, and all of our amazing friends.
#9 I cant forget to mention, my cousin gave me a bunch of her maternity clothes and they fit perfect! She gave me a whole tub full of them, and my other friend has given me some pants and skirts that fit too!
I feel so overwhelmed with love from friends and love from the Lord. There are so many more ways we have been blessed but I said I would list a few and it got to 9....
I have always loved giving gifts and have always tried to be a big gift giver, I end up going a little above what I plan on spending because I love giving gifts! Josh is the same way, we both love to give. Whether its having people over to cook for them, having a listening ear, having them spend the night if they are out of town, offering to drive, buying lunch for people, or offering a helping hand, we always try to give big within reason/budget. Soon I will be a Millionaire and be able to give in even bigger ways than I have dreamed of. It will happen, I believe it. I will always dream big.
All that to say, when people give to me it makes me feel so loved because thats how I like to love. I always feel so surprised every time someone gives to me without expecting in return. It is one of the biggest ways I feel love and I think thats why the Lord loves to give to me and Josh. He loves to give to all of us. It's the most amazing thing to me. He cares about the little things, I know for a fact he does because he gives us those little things that we specifically want. He cares about the diaper bag I want or the rocking chair I want. He cares about all of it because he loves every part of who I am and he made me the way I am. Does he want me to blow money on the $650 stroller I want? probably not :) If I had the budget for it would it be wrong to do so? In my opinion, no. The "lack" mentality is something I will always stay far away from. I don't think the Lord wants us to have that mentality. There is so much in him and so much he is waiting to give us or is already giving us!

*a special thank you to all who have given to us at any point in our lives. I love you all and you have blessed my life so much.

*oh my gosh, I just finished writing this blog and Josh said someone literally just handed him a check because they wanted to bless us?! I am gonna have TEARS for days! Thank you, thank you, thank you! This completed the list with number 10!

yet another project

2011-03-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

blog location: the back deck

As of last week, Josh and I still had not yet purchased our dining room chairs. All the chairs I wanted were around $45-$65 per chair (even at ikea) and I just felt like that was quite pricey....I could have settled for plain chairs without a cushion for $25 a peice but it still seemed like a waste because it wasn't even what I really wanted....SO...I decided I could just restore some old chairs for a way better price and make them how I wanted them :)
I found these chairs at Re Store for $11 a piece. I bought 5 of them (since the other end of my table will eventually have a highchair :))

This ended up being a bigger project than I had planned for....these chairs had been reupholstered about 4 times already so every different layer had to be removed and the foam had to be replaced...I could not have done these cushions as well or as fast without the help of my mom, and josh for the help sanding and spray painting (obviously, since I cant being preggo and all)

BEFORE

AFTER

I Love them!!

Also, I have yet another project that I just purchased....patio furniture! Ill be posting that whenever I am finished...I still have yet to get started though.

oh hey change: welcome to my life

2011-03-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

Today I was just thinking of how much has changed in the past year and a half and how thankful I am for the Lords goodness in my life.

In December 2009 me and two of my friends (allie and erica who are also hair stylists) opened up our own salon (the picture below is me and ashley before I did her wedding hair :)

1 year ago on March 12th Josh proposed to me in PA and as I'm sure you know, I said yes.

In June 2010 we bought our first house together

7 months ago on September 12th we got married and my life became so much more wonderful

And now I am almost 16 weeks pregnant and we are expecting the arrival of our first baby in august

Needless to say, a lot has happened in a year and a half. When I look back at how much I have grown and changed mentally, spiritually, and physically I am in awe of the Lord and His power and goodness. He has brought me to so many new levels and places that the evidence of Him in my life is more real than anything else. There's no way I brought all these blessings to myself...He has been pouring out so many wonderful things. I have been stretched in so many ways and taken on so many new roles and there is no way I could have done anything without his help. His peace, joy and strength have been with me through everything. I am so thankful.

I cant even imagine what this next year or so will look like but I am so excited and I know one of the main things will be parenthood :) I honestly cannot wait to be a mom. I have a feeling it is going to be one of the biggest blessings and the most challenging of all :) more than anything, I am so glad I get to start this journey with Josh....the love of my life.

I guess all I can say is I like to live in constant movement and growth :)

old photos

2011-03-05T15:50:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been wondering what my baby will look like :) I of course have had lots of dreams and such, but recently I've been looking at some pictures of me and Josh. I think I can conclude our baby has the potential of being born with a lot of hair! OH - and the baby will be really cute like his or her parents :)

6-8 months

1 yr

2 years old

3 years old

5 years old

7 years old

10 years old

me at a few months old...weird how josh resembles my dad...

1.5 years old

2 years old

3rd grade

time for a project

2011-02-28T15:18:00.000-08:00

I love projects. I love sewing and re creating things. I'll post some of my pillows sometime.
Today I decided it was time to finally paint and reupholster this little stool I have had for some time. Now that I did it I can't believe it didn't do it sooner.....

BEFORE.....

AFTER.....

I feel kind of addicted to the whole project thing...I want to go out and look for more furniture to redo....I feel like this obsession will come in handy when its time to do the nursery....speaking of nursery's....I CAN'T WAIT FOR MY BABY TO ARRIVE!! :)
Oooh I should look for an old(ish) rocking chair!!!! Now I'm officially on a mission.....

bahamas

2011-02-27T10:16:00.000-08:00

blog location: back porch

It was so wonderful being in the bahamas with my mom, sisters and sister in law. It was also nice coming back to such warm and wonderful charlotte weather :) My mom told me something on the cruise that I thought was so great! She was in the bahamas pregnant with me and in her 1st trimester! So random that I would be pregnant and in the bahamas too? How special! I can't wait to tell my kid that someday! SO CUTE! maybe I should go to the bahamas every time I'm pregnant to continue the story? :)
I wore a bikini on the trip because I figured I obviously look pregnant? Needless to say, I got a couple curious looks....I figured they could have been for 1 or 2 reasons: 1. is she pregnant or does she have a beer gut? 2. is she pregnant? she looks 17 or 18? --- I wanted to wear a sign that said I'm 23 and happily married..... it wasnt all negative looks though :) I got some smiles and some friendly questions which I enjoyed. It was my first obvious pregnant outing (or so I thought).

here I am at 13 weeks

my favorite thing: fresh coconut water!

all of us girls :) I love my family!

There really is nothing better than family: Whether it is blood relatives, friends that have become family or family by marriage. I am so thankful for my family. I love my family, my in laws and I love my friends.

a little update

2011-02-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

I feel like there's a lot of little things to give an update on so that is what Ill do. It has been such a beautiful week! Im sitting out on our deck soaking in a little afternoon sun :)

My parents came to town this past week and it was really good to see them (as usual). Sunday night my parents and Josh and I went uptown to Blue Restaurant Bar and Lounge. I had never been there before, it was really good! My parents celebrated 36 valentines together- awwww :)! Someday Josh and I will do the same :) On monday night (valentines) Josh and I exchanged gifts and then went to 15 North for dinner. Josh did amazing in the gift department!! I was impressed! He got me a beautiful free people dress tank (my fav brand of clothing) a light sweater with owls on it (my fav creature) a notebook for journaling with an owl on it, and he wrote me "thank you" cards to give me every morning this whole week. They all say wonderful sweet things inside :) this last one this morning had a coupon for a free trip to autobell!! my car needs it big time :) oh and I bought Josh charcoal jeans and a button up from Jcrew.

one of my thank you cards

Josh at 15 North in the shirt I got him

On monday I leave for a cruise with my mom, sisters, and sister in law!! I CANNOT WAIT! I have been DYING to go somewhere and get some sun and relaxation! It was part of our christmas gift from mom and it couldn't have come at a better time. We are taking the Norwegian Sky and we are going from Miami to Grand Bahama Island; Nassau; Great Stirrup Cay! I fly out to Miami monday morning. I have never been on a cruise before. I am so so very excited!! On a side note: I feel like I look kind of funny in my bikini...oh well! the baby needs some sun too, right? Needless to say, I might not blog much next week.....

As far as the pregnancy goes, Ill be 13 weeks pregnant on wednesday while we are on the cruise! yay! so exciting. The baby started clasping its hands this week :) how precious! Last night I was half asleep and I said to Josh "I feel like I can feel the baby flutter" haha who knows? Like I said, I was half asleep but I remember feeling something whether it was in my sleepy mind or not. Also, I have been craving sushi non stop...not raw sushi but cooked sushi. I have had it at least 5 times this week and I was having it some last week too. It has just been so delicious.

Next week starts my 2nd trimester. I cannot believe it....Thank God my 1st trimester went SO WELL!! Today I have been looking up videos of ultrasounds at 12 and 13 weeks. I can't believe how much the baby moves! Im so excited for our ultrasound! We won't have one for another 6 weeks or so...but when we do we will finally know what we are having! :) Have a good week everyone!

continuity

2011-02-15T18:59:00.000-08:00

I have been having this thought lately....well, more like a discovery of something that is true but I might not have realized it before or seen it in this particular way. I was sharing it with Josh in the car tonight and the more I talked about it the more it unraveled and made perfect sense. I mean this is basic knowledge here. Sometimes I visualize the Lord picking up a strand of wisdom and placing it into my brain and then seeing a light bulb light up :)

Basically, if I want to see and walk in a daily flow of results in my life I have to start with the one thing that creates everything....the Lord. He is what gives me everything, I have nothing without him. He literally created me! Every part of who I am....He gives me creativity, peace, life, strength, joy all of my ideas and a million other things. He is the reason I wake up in the morning. If I need opportunities, He opens them up. It's almost so simple I forget to think about it? The thing is, I don't want to go to Him just when I need something, I want to go to Him simply because I want to worship him, hear from Him, spend time with Him, just hang out with Him. Sometimes I forget these things. I don't want to forget these things. I want him to be the start of my day so the holy spirt can just flow through me at all times. I want to be so wrapped up in Him that everything great I have in my life is a obvious connection to my relationship with Him. A kind of abundance that cannot be created or made up of or from anything but Him. If I want all these things in my life it only makes sense to start with the one thing that created everything...its a circle, a kind of flow that is continuous. A direct connection. He is FOR me. He wants me to have everything and He wants me to Himself. He loves me more than I could ever even imagine.

His grace, love, and wisdom is ever ending. Who wouldn't wanna be a part of that? :)

There are so many verses that pertain to this, but one that always makes my heart full is Psalm 139.

I love learning and being reminded of things that have to do with Him. Don't you? :)

a litte heartbeat

2011-02-13T07:54:00.000-08:00

On wednesday Josh and I went to hear our baby's heartbeat and he made a video of the whole thing. It was so crazy/amazing. I couldn't believe there was an actual heartbeat inside of ME?! Pregnancy is definitely an amazing thing and I feel so blessed to experience it! After we heard the heartbeat I couldn't stop listening to it on the video and crying, I just felt so overwhelmed with a love that I couldn't describe. It almost felt perfect, like I felt like the baby could do no wrong in my eyes no matter what. Now, I know this is not true because I'm sure when I have a child I will feel many types of human emotions through out its life and in my own, but I felt like for a little bit I got just a little glimpse of what the Lord feels about me...about every single person. What an intense overwhelming love? and He feels that all the time no matter what? Needless to say, I'm in love with the Lord, my husband, and my child in such a major way and it feels awesome. I already cant wait to see and meet her or him. I got 6 months left, I think I can handle it.

here's the video, you can tell in the beginning I was nervous

because I thought she couldn't find the heartbeat :) haha

On a side note: This whole pregnancy I have been thinking I am having a girl. I am not quite sure why? I want boys and girls! In fact, I honestly want 2 girls and 2 boys if I could pick it exactly how I think I want it. I have just had a feeling that it is a girl since the beginning and so has everyone else. There have been 5 people that have said they thought it was a boy but every other single person says girl...is this true or not? I don't know and honestly I do not care what I have first. I am just SO curious!

About 4 weeks ago I had a dream about my daughter, whether she comes first, second, third, or fourth it doesn't matter but I do believe it was her :) she had really blue eyes, freckles (which I secretly prayed for:) and brown STRAIGHT hair!? when I woke up I was like what? I always thought she'd have curly hair like me and Josh? About 15 minutes ago my mom called me and said "I had a dream about my grand daughter! she had blue eyes and brown straight hair!" haha :) this all made me laugh. We can't plan things the way we think they should be or assume things and believe them so much that we are shocked when OUR ideas don't look the way we think they would. The Lord is going to do things how he wants and sees them to be best. I trust in Him and I want my baby to be exactly how He wants it to be :) everything is going to work out the way it is supposed to be and I am just along for the journey.

11 weeks

2011-02-10T18:45:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all the blog support everyone! who knew blogging could be so enjoyable?
SO yesterday marked 11 weeks pregnant for me...I have had so many feelings happen all in the last 7-8 weeks since knowing I was pregnant. First Ill tell you how I found out. Its a long story but Ill try to make it short for the sake of the length of this entry :) I never knew I could be so long winded? haha
It was Christmas weekend....we went to Josh's dad's house for Christmas eve and Christmas morning. I didn't know this at the time but Josh's step mom later told me that as soon as she saw me she thought "oh my gosh she's pregnant."
All that weekend I knew I was supposed to get my period and I kept feeling the cramping but nothing else was happening. I decided I would just let it go and take a test when we got to my family's house in PA. Christmas afternoon we headed to PA, the next morning still nothing...I was thinking "hmm?" that afternoon we all opened gifts, at one point my dad handed josh a book and said, "here - you and your daughter need to read this...oops, I mean wife, I don't know why I said daughter?" as soon as that sentence was finished I jumped up and ran to the car to get the 1 and only pregnancy test I had stored in my dashboard (random, I know). I took the test and got a faint line...I started sweating, I was afraid to get excited because that had happened before...I also felt nervous. I yelled downstairs for Laura (my sister and law) and her and my sister Selena came upstairs. They both looked at the test and concluded I should get another one. I told everyone we were going to the drug store to get ice cream (hahah). Laura, Josh, and my sisters knew the real deal (josh was excited but waiting for confirmation).
By the time I came back pretty much everyone (except for my dad) knew I was a "pending pregnant lady" I was in the bathroom and I took the digital test. While I was waiting for the hourglass to give me my true results Sherah (my sister) had opened the door. Pretty much everyone was crammed in the bathroom...my niece and nephew, Sherah and her husband, Josh, Laura, and my brother. Laura was holding the test for me...when the results came up she handed it to me with a blank face....I quickly grabbed it and it read:
PREGNANT! Immediately started bawling - it was a crazy surge of emotions...Sherah of course started bawling as well! The kids were like woah, what? you're having a baby?! Wes was out of the loop and Sherah handed him the test crying and he thought it was Laura who was pregnant (HAHAH!) Laura quickly corrected him...she has a 9 month old so she's ok with waiting some more :)
I was crying and searching for my mom and dad, dad was downstairs and looked up the balcony and said, "what's going on up there?" I yelled "I'm pregnant!" he was excited! Finally I found mom and told her and she started crying as well! Basically, it was one of the best days of my life and my family was there to share it with me.
So there's my story! The best way I could have ever imagined finding out I was pregnant :)

this picture was taken a couple hours after we found out :)

Also, here's a little video of my best friends husband finding out I was pregnant. I would show the video of her but there was a lot of tears and blubbering involved.

newness

2011-02-09T19:59:00.000-08:00

Everyone has been blogging these days...apparantly, I've decided to as well. Let me just start by saying, I may not have anything "life changing" to share or have any "deep provoking" thoughts. On top of that, I am mostly terrible at grammar. Almost every sentence will be grammatically incorrect...I do not care though. I type how I talk. yay!

Anyways, I have decided to blog because my dear friend Courtney Clark said to me, "you should start blogging to share all your thoughts and experiences." I thought to myself - what a great idea?? I have been loving reading other peoples blogs and birth stories. Also, I have so many new thoughts and feelings happening in my life. I got engaged, married, and pregnant all in under one year. This march it will be one year since I have been engaged, sept marks 1 year of marriage, and the baby will be born in August or September right before our anniversary. WOW! what a year full of blessings and all my hearts desires.

Getting Pregnant:

Im sure all of you know how this happens :) .....some of you may say/think - wow she got pregnant right away! was it on purpose? (I've heard this question a lot) The answer is kinda :) LOONNGGG story short - When I was 16 I was told I had "endometriosis" and was put on birth control, I was on it for 5 years. One morning I woke up and thought - I have to get off birth control. Weird huh? Well, to me it was the Lord. When I got off of it within 2 months and 2 nightmare cycles I knew something felt wrong. I got my hormones tested and I was pre-menopausal.....what a nightmare...I had been told before and was told again that I would have a hard time getting pregnant or would not be able to. This was all completely devastating to me, my whole life I could not wait to be a mom. Anyways, I was put on natural hormone therapy for a little over a year (bio identical hormone replacement) 6 weeks before our wedding I took a chance, got off of them, and tested my hormones. 1 week before the wedding I got the results back that I was back on track without the hormones (PTL!) my body finally kicked in began producing things on its own! However, during those 6 weeks before the wedding I developed a hemorrhagic cyst on my right ovary and a bunch of regular cysts on my left ovary.....needless to say, I became very discouraged. my hemorrhagic cyst burst and I wasnt able to do anything. It was the most painful thing I had ever experienced. All the fluid was in my abdominal cavity and had to absorb into my body...OUCH! One nurse said to me that hers was "as bad as giving birth" hmmm...we shall see. Anyway, through all of this the Lord was so close to me, he heard all my prayers and gathered my tears in a jar (cheesy but true). I knew he would heal me and I knew he knew my heart, I wanted to be a mom.
When Josh and I got together one of the many things we had in common was our excitement and desire about being parents. He knew my whole situation from day one and he prayed over my hormones and my womb almost every single night. He blessed my body and prayed life over my endocrine system. All of this brought hope to my every single day. SO - when we got married we weren't really all about preventing something that could be a miracle and blessing to have happen to us. The first month we used protection and then after than we just didnt worry about it. When I got my period in october and november I was ok with it but deep down inside I was worried thinking - why am I not pregnant?! - Finally, December came and brought a big surprise! We found out we were pregnant!! This blog entry is getting long so Ill tell that story another time :)
Not sure why I went into all that? It just felt right :) I dont mind being candid. Basically, Josh is the man of my dreams and the love of my heart, starting a family with him is the #1 thing I want to do with my life. I hope you enjoy my blog and my stories....ignore my grammar....or lack thereof.