Putting together Judah and Sarah's room has been such a fun project since we moved in August. We knew that having a boy and girl sharing the same room, we couldn't rely on the overly pink and flowery motif of Sarah's old space. My very talented mother-in-law helped us create the quilts, pennants and curtains for their room.  I LOVE how it turned out.  I had fun figuring out how to recover a lamp shade and making the "canvas" art over their beds.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! Still can't believe we have a little brother in the house! Sarah wanted to say "CHEESE" for the camera! Judah's half of the room. So much fun taking pictures! Sarah's my little monkey. Sarah's half of the room. Judah's my little lion man. She even made matching bedding for the baby bed! Our first picture with Sarah (top) and our first picture with Judah (bottom). Such a beautiful quilt! Hope you ...

I have been hard on myself recently thinking that I should have written this update sooner, but then I take a breath and remember all the good moments of the last few weeks and am glad that I took time to REST. The last, well, month and a half has been a whirlwind of celebrating Judah's arrival with family and friends.  We have had sickness and trials, but through it all, life has been FULL.  Full of joy, full of moments to be thankful.  Too many to really name. We have made it to the 36 week mark.  This was not a date I ever dreamed of making it to when I first found out I was pregnant.  I had this internal finish line of "if I make it to Thanksgiving, I'll be happy."  Well we have made it to that point and don't have any signs of slowing down.  We have scheduled our 'finish line' date of December 30th.  If Judah doesn't make his arrival naturally by that date, we will do a C-section then.  My name is on the OR schedule.  That date ...

Since the day we found out our official due date, I've had an invisible red circle around October 29 - the 30 week mark - in my planner.  While I've been determined to have a healthy pregnancy this time around, there was always a little part of me wondering if we'd make it this far. We have entered uncharted waters.  With Sarah I didn't really get to have a third trimester. When we first found out I told my dear friend, Kelsey Harrison (Owner/Photographer at Kelsey Harrison Photography:  http://kelseyharrisonphotography.com ), and told her one major thing I wanted this pregnancy that I never got with Sarah was maternity pictures.  October 26th, we went out and did just that!  I am so beyond thrilled with how they turned out.  If you need photos of your family, she is truly the best to work with.  She not only captured our entire family, but also some of the little details of our life... One of my favorite pictures is a simple picture of Sarah's swe...

Well, folks.  We've reached the third trimester.  I am, admittedly, pretty on edge and constantly questioning every slight sensation, feeling, and pain.  My doctor has been very encouraging of me to be hyper-sensitive to each symptom and discomfort.  We have gone in for a couple unplanned check ups, one was after hours so it took place in the ER, which sounds way more scary than it really was.  So far all the tests and labs are coming in clean and with excellent results.  My doctor is very happy with where I am. We have started the two week check ups already!  AND, we have scheduled the rest of my appointments, all the way past my due date.  Hard to believe that we're already to this point.  As Sarah would say, "I can't believe it!"  (one of her new phrases!)  This excites me, since I adore my doctor and love seeing her. My nesting instincts are kicking in pretty hard and I'm trying to get the kid's room ready get some color on ...

I've always wanted to keep this blog a place of honesty and transparency... So I'm going to be honest - this past week has be rough.  Jim was out of town for most of it, which left me on "full time mom, full time employee and full time baby incubator" mode which left little room for any time to really REST. This week we have also discovered the true meaning of what I'm sure people are trying to describe with the 'terrible twos'.  Most evenings have ended up in uncontrollable meltdowns.  We are at a loss.  It's like a mean game of 'figure out the puzzle', but if you don't figure out the puzzle quick enough then the tear factory will explode. In spite of this frustrating puzzle, God has been whispering lessons in my ear through all of it...  "Trust and obey."  Sounds pretty simple, right? Most of Sarah's meltdowns typically start because of one of two reasons. She is directly disobeying a command/directive. She wants to...

We definitely have had an exciting day today!  We found out that we are expecting a BOY in January.  I am just completely overwhelmed and still coming to understand what that means for our little growing family. We knew today was the "big" day, so we definitely woke up excited!  We opted not to take Sarah to this one since the ultrasound usually takes a good 30 minutes or more.  I didn't want to have to try and worry about her getting antsy while we were taking a peek. He was not cooperating very well and was incredibly active.  She was having trouble getting all the views of the heart she needed, but finally was able to manage despite his best attempts to thwart her plans.  She finally got down to the tell tale area, and exclaimed... "Well that's your problem right there!  It's a BOY!"  And there was no mistaking that he was, indeed, a boy. Jim was completely beaming from ear to ear and I was a little in shock!  Not that I didn'...

It's been about a week since we said goodbye to my final surviving Great Grandmother.  It was a bittersweet weekend at home with the entire family gathered.  I don't remember the last time we were able to have virtually everyone there.  Unfortunately there were a few spouses and kids unable to make the trip, but everyone we grew up with around the Christmas tree was there.  It was good. We spent 5-6 hours on Friday in the funeral home reminiscing, looking at pictures, laughing, sharing stories... Sarah (who unfortunately missed a nap that day) decided to run up and down the hall of the funeral home singing "Let it Go!" at the top of her lungs...  I, as her mother, cringed a little at the boisterousness and irony.  However, it did bring many smiles and laughter. I am so overwhelmed by how blessed and how truly special it is that I have spent 28 years of my life having Great Grandparents around.  I have fond memories of 4 of them, and was especially ...