Quiet times.

B finished up this semester a few days ago. He's taking a break for a while with baby coming soon. I'm done with most stuff at work, and I have only one more stop to make at Babies R Us this afternoon then I'm DONE with all my running around related to baby. I think this is the real nesting setting in. The sitting at home, enjoying an always-messy-but-lived-in look this place has going on with all the adjustments to baby things: high chair, children's books, monitors glowing from the corner of the room. This is crazy, guys. :) But I feel a sense of quiet and peace after these last few crazy weeks. I'm really, really trying to be patient and wait on God's timing for this kid to be born. Only three weeks left to go. Keep praying for health and safety for us! God's taught me to let go of soooo many things during this pregnancy: an abundance of riches and a birth plan only include a few of them. haha

All that to be said, we were able to get out and enjoy the beautiful, golden Utah air up in the canyon Sunday night. We got out and went on a little hike (that I had to convince B to let me go on). It's my favorite hike around, 36 weeks pregnant or not pregnant, because it really is the easiest, and in my opinion, the prettiest. Wheeler Canyon opens up to a pretty field. Oh, I just love it!

Our friend Greg brought along his new camera and snapped some adorable pics. haha (Thanks for blessing us with your creativity!) All the guys that went with us were very patient with me as I slowly hopped down rocky hills and hobbled through part of the stream. It was so much fun!

I told them a secret...I couldn't remember when the last time I had washed my hair was. ;) But you can't tell....................riiiight? haha

The guys were snapping pictures of everything. The air truly was golden as we hiked higher up and looked back down. I love that natural gold color. Even when we got home last night from our (maybe last) dessert date before baby comes, our house was filled with that same golden hue as the sun was going down. I just love it! So much that I wrote a poem about it once....here it is:

this iridescent hour 

gold light filters through white, wooden blinds

a mist of stars

 hanging in the air

this is the light housewives have worked by

for many, many centuries

and i am home, sick

partaking in this iridescent hour

 

-feb. 22, 2012

(Side note: It's scary to share poetry, no matter what context it's in. ;) Thanks for reading and letting me do it a little more often.)

I think it was B who made this comment as we kept hiking and everyone was taking pictures.

"God really must love photographers..."

That really made me stop and think. It's true! He must love them! He must love the absolute joy they take in HIS creations, snapping picture after picture, making God feel proud and desrving of the glory He gets in those moments. I've been thinking about that all week. I sometimes overlook how art really can relate to my Christian walk, and abandon my pen and any other artform I practice in the midst of the busyness of life. Maybe sometimes I just need to get out and hike with my camera as an act of worship to God, thanking Him for creating that unique, golden hue that can only be found in nature.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy some of the sights we got to see.

xoxo

P.S. Did anyone hear the news that we have a baby due THIS month?? Whaaa whaaat? Crazy sauce! :D

The Prego Questions!

Because everyone is just dying to know these answers....not. haha I've just had lots of nothing but thoughts about baby and adjusting to my new uncomfortable body this week, so why not just continue with the theme here? ;) I found these cute questions on this blog.

How far along are you: My doctor and I have made a compromise haha So I'm a few days short of 27 weeks now. :)

Size of Baby: Huge! lol The Bump has a cute chart that shows the size of the baby at each week based on a food. So this week my little babe is the size of a head of lettuce.

Maternity Clothes: Ha...well, I think I have four shirts that I remember off the top of my head, and a few dresses. I don't think I'm going to buy anymore though. My of my sweet student's parents got me a be band last week, so that's been really nice to just wear under normal clothes and get the extra length I need on shirts. Other than that, I'll probably have to start sleeping in B's old t-shirts soon. ;)

Stretch Marks: Not yet haha I have an odd combo of things I've been doing to try and prevent them, but obviously I can't do much if they do happen. I use Mango Shea lotion, Neutrogena Norwegian body wrap, and Doterra's Wild Orange oil mixed with some coconut carrier oil. I just grab whatever I have on hand. The Neutrogena is the same lotion I've used since high school. My skin would get so dry that when I'd shave my legs they'd just bleed afterwards. This was the lotion my mom found that really helped. I used the mango shea butter because I read that any lotion with shea works for stretch marks, as well as any essential oil. Luckily, while reading my book on essential oils during pregnancy, I learned that Wild Orange is one they specifically suggest using. So I did, but some days the smell can be a bit strong for me and it makes me sick, so I really have to be careful when I use it. (I ONLY suggest using Doterra's oils during pregnancy. Noting else has gone through the testing like they have to check for purity and quality, so who knows what else you're really putting on and in your body when you use another brand of essential oils.) Anyways, there's my spiel about that.

Weight gain/loss: I don't really care who knows this. lol I'm about 19 pounds as of my last appt. My doctor said I'm gaining a bit quickly and he really wants me to try and stay at 30 total since I'm little, so his suggestion was cutting out dairy and bread. I do looooove my Greek yogurt, as well as cheese, and I could eat a few bagels a day, so yes, I'm guilty on both those accounts. haha I've been having some fun switching up my diet this week, as well as trying to cut out white flour and sugar as I go into my last trimester. (starting TUESDAY!! EEEK)

Sleep: I'm feeling much more comfortable. I take off the top pillows on the Boppy body pillow that's for your arms and use that to support my tummy. Using the whole thing just made me soooo hot at night, and it was like having a person laying between my husband and I, which we didn't really like. But this has made me much, much more comfortable. It's just finding the TIME to sleep during our crazy schedule. ;)

Best Moment of the week: When B was scratching and poking my belly before School of Worship last night. :) It has freaked him out so far, but without even realizing it he just seemed to be scratching it (which made me VERY happy) and poking around while waiting for these to start last night. :) It just felt like a very natural, dad-like thing to do. :) Am I crazy? Yes, I think he's wonderful. :)

Movement: Oh my goodness!! Since he's my first I have nothing else to compare him to. The first long, long while he was really chill. Everyone told me that. My doctor, the ultrasound tech, and I knew he wasn't a crazy mover. But these last few days I seriously feel like he's trying to bust out of the oven!! It's like he takes both his feet at the same time and tries to pop my belly!! He's crazy strong.

Symptoms: Still no period. ;) haha I couldn't resist. Other than that, I'm just really, really uncomfortable in basically any position. I think I'm coming to the end of being able to bend over and help my student's clean up toys. I'm feeling lots of pressure under my ribs.

Food Carvings: I have wanted a vanilla cone from McDonald's alllll week (probably because my doctor said no dairy) haha

Gender: Boy!! :) I prayed for a boy. I would have been just as happy with a girl, but I really, really prayed God would bless our family with an older, godly brother to love on, guide, and protect his other siblings. :)

Belly button in or out: haaaaa! It's almost out!! That's so crazy!! One of the most painful things I've experienced during pregnancy is (well, I don't actually know what it is) when he starts kicking the belly button! It's like he is literally pushing it out from the inside!

Anything make you queazy or sick: Essential oils. haha I put some rose oil in my humidifier about a week ago, a normal, safe number of drops, but I just think the scent was too, too strong. So basically any of my oils are making me feel sick now.

Labor signs: Not that I know of haha

Wedding ring on or off: On. :) I don't really think I've had any sweeling at all....yet.

What I miss: Get up and bending over with ease.

What I am looking forward to: meeting my handsome little man!!! Ahhh...can't wait!!! :)

Nursery: Sigh...basically at a stand still until the shower. I'm not sure what I do, so I'm not thinking about it too much. It's honestly the least of my worries when it comes to planning for this little guy.

Emotions: haha This week I've totally relied on myself to be nice, instead of asking the Holy Spirit to help, which resulted in....me not being very nice. I've noticed I say the first thing that comes to my mind without even thinking a lot more and use "pregnancy" as an excuse. Really, it's just sin. So Jesus had a good headrt to heart with me yesterday. :)

Stupid things I have done: Well, I called all the men on my husband's side of the family wiener-meanies while we were playing a boys vs. girls game a while ago. I was VERY tired and sick of playing games, so....yeah, again, first thing that came to find just came out. They all got a good laugh, but the phrase has since stuck around.

Name: Not telling the world on here just yet. :) We have two names, but B has decided he just wants to wait to see what he looks like. :) So cute!

Fighting a cold while pregnant...

My parents are on their way back to Colorado Springs right now, and I haven't seemed to be able to pull myself away from the kitchen table for very long this morning. It's probably due to three very busy days in a row, but I'm exhausted and praying I'm not actually succumbing to the cold this season. I've accepted that livable exhaustion is probably going to be the new normal in my life for the next eighteen or so years, but this added sluggishness from the start of a cold is no fun.

 Since I'm pregnant and too tired to look in to what I can take to fight a cold, I've decided to stick with my tried and true remedy: Aztec Sweet chili tea loaded with honey (yes, I know I'm not technically supposed to have this). This spicy, sugary goodness coats your throat well. The last two times I've felt a cold come on I've also squeezed a few oranges by using my favorite fruit juicer, but we didn't have any on hand this morning. I like to think I'm naturally getting tons of vitamin c this way. I'm a semi-all-natural fan (haha) meaning I truly have fun reading up on natural healing methods in my spare time, but I am by no means strict about it. These are just two of the ways I usually fight colds, and so far this season they have worked.

I'm thankful for the awesome maternity clothing sales we scored yesterday! I truly hate the idea of spending so much money on clothes that will only fit for about four months, but just this past week I was realizing how short all my regular shirts were getting, and since my students only talk to me and stare at my belly, I figured it was time to start looking for some deals. And we found some! (Another silly pregnant story: I've been using the rubber band trick to keep some of my regular pants up, but when I went hiking in the cold Friday, I only realized once my butt was half frozen that this trick failed and my pants had fallen down!! HA! Good thing we were in the forest!)

A friend recently told me how comfortable H&M's maternity pants were. It truly has been hard to find any maternity pants for me since I'm petite, and even the smallest ones I found at Gap (see below) make me feel like I have a poopy diaper on sometimes. I do looooove the true denim feel of them though, and the demi panel is my favorite!!

Anyways, I decided to take a peek in H&M to see if I could find any maternity pants. Low and behold, there was an entire two racks full of $10 maternity pants! They were skinnies, and fit so well! They are now my favorite brand of maternity pants I've been able to find so far. I also debated between getting some shirts that were on sale in a bigger size so I can just wear them after pregnancy, or just sticking with the regular maternity shirts that were the same price, but I could only wear for the next few months. After we decided I resembled a boat in the oversized shirts, I stuck with the cute, tailored maternity shirts. My mom also found some great deals on a maternity sweater and smock dresses at Gap (have a mentioned that my mom always seems to be able to smell the hottest deals at soon as we walk into the mall?), which will be much appreciated in this colder than usual Utah winter.

 

 I love a lot of Gap's matenity clothes because I've found you can just add a belt to the waistline and you can't even tell they are maternity clothes! My closet usually consists of mostly basics and classic styles so that I can wear them season after season, and mix and match the colors that will never go out of style. It truly was hard for me to recently buy a purple belt, when the same one came in olive. I'm trying to do the same with maternity clothes so I can use them again in the future.  

 

 

By far my favorite thing that my mom found yesterday was this adorable bib. Love it!

 

 

Alright, enough of my ramblings from the weekend! It was such a huge blessing that my family made that quick trip down to see us. God knew ahead of time and cleared B's and my schedule for us. He's sufficient like that! ;)

"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" Matthew 7:11

*Edited*

When we were deciding on starting a family, something I thought about often was how it's God's design for a husband and wife to be blessed and mulitply, and since He loves families and desires for families to grow, He's going to take care of families. I can't express how thankful I am for both sides of our families to come around us in support like they have. God is such a good provider emotionally, spiritually, and physically, and He has reached out to us in love through our families and our extended church family. God is faithful to His plans.

xoxo

Overalls.

Hello! We've had quite the busy weekend around here. My parents decided to make a last minute trip to Utah from Colorado. My dad had surgery on his shoulder a few weeks ago, so he was tired of sitting around. My mom is starting a new job, and my brother goes back to school this week, so they decided it would be the last time in a while they could all make the trip. I was so, so excited! :) So we spent yesterday shopping for things for their new place and had dinner. Of course, my mom and I are doing the girly thing and going shopping today. :)

In the midst of our converstions yesterday, I mentioned wanting to find some maternity overalls. Brian's sweet cousin sent me a few, but I think my belly is going to expand a little more than they can hold. Ha! My mom and my husband gave me a strange look last night when I said I really wanted some. Buuuuut...they quicly changed their minds once I showed them these cute overalls! (I know everyone else out there probably thinks I'm crazy too. But I put the ones one that I have to clean the house in the other day and they were SO comfy!)

You can find these cute, green ones here.

My hubby said he wanted me to get them, so I'm pretty sure he likes them now. ;)

Anyways! Off to hang out with my momma! Hope you guys are having a fun weekend!

xoxo