She's not just a cat..

..she's an elegant lady of leisure.

 The smallest feline is a masterpiece. - Leonardo da Vinci

All things baby

I'm having a baby.

(artwork by the gifted Lillian Valentine House, "brrrrrrs" means I am cold)

That's still sinking in.

I have been forgetting a little bit until either I get nudged in my uterus :) or someone says, "look at your belly!".

Then, I remember. Oh yeah! I'm totally pregnant right now.

How could I forget?! I waited for like a million years it felt like and now that I am pregnant, I forget?! I think I am just enjoying it. Not obsessing about it one way or another. Resting finally.

It's a good thing.

BUT the forgetting is slowly becoming a thing of the past because we are all a-buzz 'round here making some minor improvements to the house, buying a new(to us) car that will be safer and roomier for our babe. I have found some sale items that I just couldn't pass up on the clearance rack and remembered that I have a child I can buy for now (how exciting and dangerous)! And most exciting of all, we find out in 2 days what we are having. OH. MAN. The suspense!!!!

ALSOOOOO, I am ever reminded that I am pregnant because my body has started doing really weird things. I will spare the details (you're welcome) but I will give you a couple of key words: inflamed armpits.

SO yes, we are all things baby here.

Here are a couple of highlights:

I am researching the diapers I want.

There are lots of options but thankfully I have a few friends who have used them. It's not brave of me to do it. It's weird that people say that. It's just more economically sensible to us at the moment and worth it to me for sure for other reasons. It's the best option for us!

Check the cute patterns that are available!

If anything, it's like baby's first accessory. 

And I LOVE accessorizing!

cute and modern..

fancy pants!

 I love those cherries and the space ones. I am secretly(not anymore) obsessed with space. Boy or a girl, this kid will have a space diaper!

My baby stash is growing. There are a few bags full of onesises, boy and girl clothes, blankets, diapers cloth and disposables, a nursing pillow called My Brest Friend. :),

some vintage girl clothes someone gave me just in case and that's about it.

I am waiting to buy until a.) I know who I am buying for and b.) I need something. 

I have a feeling this baby will want for little!

BUT we bought this little knight in not so shining armour on a sweet silky horsey. 

And this sweet little pea coat. It's a boy coat but either way, it can be jazzed up. It was $4. How could I pass it up!?

A little man hat with boots and a handsome sweater

OR

striped leggings, boots and a precious hat if it's a girl.

See? Either way it's a winner.

And last but not least-

The new ride.

It's older.

Needs some minor body work.

But my ever resourceful and sweet husband is wise and can get these things fixed super cheap.

Giving up a little mileage for the sake of safety and room is worth. it.

Also, if you saw the Mirage we used to have...well, no explanation needed. It was a great car, just not what I like to call "safe".

So, as you can see. We are becoming baby-minded around here and are enjoying every minute of it.

The financial details, eh, who cares. That will all work out.

God has always been faithful and our dreams are coming true His way in His time. 

That's the best part!

He provided John with an awesome new job that he starts this week. Score.

Oh, and look at this face..

Sweet, sweet baby.

Happy Friday!

1.   My most prized possession is      my wedding ring. The diamond was John's mom's (she passed away when he was 4). So it's a little piece of her that is precious to both of us and is irreplaceable.

2.  If I could be one age for the rest of my life, I would want to be    the age I am right now. Maybe even 30 years old. Some of my best work has been done lately. I find that I enjoy my life so much and even the weird, hard days. I am just now getting comfortable with ME. So far 29 1/2 years is pretty rad! 

3.  The best way to spend a weekend is    out in the sunshine, eating good food, doing some rummaging or shopping and lots of laughing with someone you love   .

4.  My outlook on life is     that it can be awesome or it can suck. It's what you choose to do with your time and relationships that determines the outcome. It's not my life anyway, it's God's, so it takes a lot of pressure off of me when I think of it like that.

5.  If you want to annoy me, just     be inconsistent consistently or act like you are 12 over a certain social networking site  .

6.  I am completely defenseless when it comes to      baby animals.  Don't even get me started.. .

7.  When dressing for the day one should      check the weather and dress in something that makes you comfortable and confident. Also, make sure it doesn't have any weird stains or awkwardly placed holes.    .

Go check out Lauren's blog to play along and read other people's fun answers!

Have a great weekend! I will be at a youth conference with our youth group. A pregnant lady with the possibility of little to no sleep= a potentially grumpy situation. Pray for me.

A word to the wise..

"Advice is like snow-the softer it falls, 

the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind"

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Inspired for sure

I am looking up different pictures on Flickr to get ideas of what I want my maternity pictures to be like.

I have to say that there are some pretty interesting ideas out there on  "unique" ideas for a shoot.

Verrrry interesting to say the least.

But I think I have found my inspiration....

{davidschloss}

A holy habit, #44

Last night my Monday Night Bible Study started the book Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow.

Oh geeze.  It's good.

I had started it sometime back but for some reason I didn't finish it. Now that I pick it up again, it's like it's the perfect time for me to do this study with my group and grow with them. Everything has it's reason and it's season.

Anyway, since I have been trying to learn my intentional thanks prompted by Ann Vosberg's book One Thousand Gifts, what we studied last night fit right in with this new intentional habit of thankfulness. And that is the holy habit of contentment. They go hand in hand but do take some practice an much daily surrender.

Surrender, full and complete, is something God is teaching me still. It's been the theme of my last two weeks (also, my entire life!) in many ways. I even sang a song about it at church, and the words resonate..

All to Jesus, I surrender;

All to Him I freely give;

I will ever love and trust Him,

In His presence daily live.

I surrender all, I surrender all,

All to Thee, my blessèd Savior,

I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender;

Humbly at His feet I bow,

Worldly pleasures all forsaken;

Take me, Jesus, take me now.

All to Jesus, I surrender;

Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;

Let me feel the Holy Spirit,

Truly know that Thou art mine.

All to Jesus, I surrender;

Lord, I give myself to Thee;

Fill me with Thy love and power;

Let Thy blessing fall on me.

All to Jesus I surrender;

Now I feel the sacred flame.

O the joy of full salvation!

Glory, glory, to His Name!

So this week (also, the rest of my life) I am working on being thankful by full surrender and contentment NO MATTER the circumstance. Not just singing about it. Not just teaching about it. But doing it with the leading and strength of the Holy Spirit. It's not going to be easy but it will get easier with practice.

This list was given in our book that I thought was a fabulous set of standards to live a life of full of thankfulness, contentment and surrender.

It's called "Ella Spees' Holy Habit of Contentment"

v  Never allow yourself to complain about anything-even the weather.

v  Never picture yourself in any other circumstances or someplace else.

v  Never compare you lot with another's.

v  Never allow yourself to wish this or that had been otherwise.

v  Never dwell on tomorrow-remember that tomorrow is God's, not ours.

#44 I have more content days than not lately. That's an accomplishment and an awesome work of God. And I am thankful to be learning it still.

It's Friday. Tomorrow is Saturday. Sunday is the Equinox!

Yippie-doodle that it's Friday!

Although most of my days are like Fridays, I find Fridays super exciting still.

The sun continues to shine (somewhat) and all day yesterday my windows were open, breezes flowing through. I adore that smell of fresh air and laundry air drying!

I love spring. It's my favorite season.

Happy Vernal Exquinox on Sunday!

{wanna' get inspired by pretty pictures? Go HERE to see "Beauty in Everything"}

1. The best deal I've ever gotten is my wedding dress ensemble. It was  $900 dress that I got for not even $300. My 6.5 ft.cathedral veil which was embellished with Swarovski crystals was $25 and my rhinestone tiara was like $30.All things were brand new too. Not bad for someone who has too-expensive-for-her-own-good taste! 




2. If I were hosting a dinner party and could invite people from my fantasy guest list it would include I don't have a fantasy guest list but it would only be one person probably. The first two people I thought of were John Piper and Will Ferrell and I don't think that would make for a comfortable situation. Interesting and controversial though. I don't have anything super original or fun to add here...


3. Something that inspires me is nature. Seems common but I seriously am the weirdo who sits on my "porch" and daydreams about what it would be like to have grass as carpet and wonder what it's like to fly like a bird. One day I will design a room in my house with the colors of a summer thunderstorm. In case you didn't know it has a definite color scheme! 


4. If I could only choose to eat one flavor of food for the rest of eternity (sweet, salty, spicy, bitter....) I would have to go with what sadness this would be! I love all the flavors in the universe. To pick just one would suck the most. I sure do love spicy though...  .


5. I dream about oh goss. My dreams are the most random, disturbing, vivid and exhilarating things I've ever experienced since pregnant. Lately, some topics include, me cheating on John :o( , my friend Rebecca hating me (I think I have had 3 of those ones), shopping for hair pieces with Rob Schneider during Mardi Gras, partying with John and our BFF,John Melencamp in Vegas (which looked like Miami) and flying like a bird in the same dream (it's all that nature I took in yesterday). So yeah, as you can see- my dreams are fun-ish,sometimes shameful. But always interesting. It's fun activity for me since I rarely dream when I am un-pregnant  .


6. My weekend will be spent Not quite sure yet. I know that a women's prayer breakfast is tomorrow and then church on Sunday but that's it for now. I am hoping to start with a DIY project I have been wanting to tackle for 2 years. We will see how that goes.


7. If I could only watch one movie or TV show for the rest of my life, it would be BORING. Really? All of these definitive questions!? Well, maybe friends. There were lots of seasons of that and I adored that show. But still, I know I would end up despising it and never watch TV ever if that was the case no matter how many times Pheobe said, "Princess Consuela Bananahammock"  .

Yesterday the twig was brown and bare;

To-day the glint of green is there;

Tomorrow will be leaflets spare;

I know no thing so wondrous fair,

No miracle so strangely rare.

I wonder what will next be there!

~L.H. Bailey



Let it go

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This week I have been stressed.

I don't like stress.

I don't like being anxious about things.

Issues adding up, feeling overwhelmed, things not going the way I had hoped.

So today I plan to pray, walk in the sunshine, maybe eat a grilled cheese and let the stress go..

SUPER BONUS Fill in the blank Friday!!

{picture}

Um. Praise the Lord that the sun is out and shining like crazy FINALLY!!

Also, read until the end, something else cool happened this week.....

1.   My biggest accomplishment in life thus far is     uhhh. why is this such a hard question for me?? Nothing I have accomplished is solely due to me doing anything. It's all God using my weirdness for His good, for which I am truly grateful. Me getting out of high school was a major PTL moment, my graduation from college was a flippin' miracle, the fact that I have been married to John through bootcamp, trainings, Iraq deployments, cross country moves and some very tumultuous life events is extraordinary. The fact that we actually got one of his sperm to be attracted to my snobby and selective eggs is a head-scratcher. My biggest accomplishment is just being thankful for all of these miracles and cherishing them  .

2.  My favorite place to sit in my house is    on the big couch on the left-hand side, preferably with a Lola-Jean to pet to the right   .

3.  My fashion philosophy is    to wear what makes me feel good and what I think is cute. Sometimes it's trendy, sometimes it's weird. But as long as I like it, that's what matters   .

4.  Something every girl should have is     a signature scent (not including dirty hair scent or dirty armpits smell)  .

5.  If you looked in my purse right now you'd find....    loooottts of chap-stick. A notepad, loose change, a wallet that is fuller of receipts than cash and ear buds  .

6.  My favorite music right now is     today it was Fiona Apple. Who knows what tomorrow's choice will be  .

7.  My favorite part of my body is uhh, my neck? I don't know that's a silly one. Me being fine with my body is a work in progress but I like my feet, they are OK.  My dimples always get compliments from anyone over 60  .

Ok now for the

 bonus..BOnUs..bonus!

Ok now for the fun-ish thing that happened this week:

I felt the baby move, tap, kick, whatever.

I had felt some weird sensations a week ago but this week I am sure I felt the babe.

And since that first time, I can feel it more and more.

It was just a little tap, tap, tap below my belly button.

We set the ultrasound for finding out the sex for April 4th. Whoo hoo!  Baby is now the size of an avocado.

I have been waiting for this week, week 16.

I like avocados so this is a fun time. 

We just happened to have some avocados lying around and so I took some quick pics for comparison.

Well, John took them (he hates taking pictures). Check this debacle out:

I will commentate for added effect.

*picture snaps*

"Wait,John, I'm not ready! Say "1,2,3" then I will stand correctly."

*picture snaps*

"OK let me see the picture.  Holy Cowpie,I have 70's hair, why didn't you tell me I had 70's hair!? I'm all slouchy and weird..."

*picture snaps*

"I TOLD YOU!! I have 70's hair! Why did you take the picture?"

"Let me see the picture. Really?! You took one while I was talking about 70's hair?! Let me put my hair up. Are you ...*picture snaps*.. ready?"

"Really!?"

"Last time, we are keeping this one no matter how frumpy I look"

*picture snaps*

"Sure, this is fine, also blurry. Thanks for the help. Sorry I am picky."

Poor John. He really stuck it out with me and my 70's hair drama. My hair is growing thicker and faster than I can handle. The result is Farrah Faucet-ish.

Anyway...

Me and my sweet avocado..

The end.

Have a happy weekend!

go HERE to play along with Fill in the Blank Fridays!

Who likes to organize??? I do, I do!!

Sometimes I think that a. I am either too easily amused or b. I have a disorder

I like to organizing something fierce.

It's going to be insane once I start nesting..

I will be honest, the mood has to strike me (or I have to get sick of looking at piles and messiness).  But when I am ready, watch out. I'll fold things you didn't know were foldable and I will get rid of stuff like it's going out of style. I love having garage sales!

There is no way to psycho-analyize my need to straighten and create order but I have my theories.

I appreciate a house that looks lived-in , not so much a house that makes me start twitching from the mass amounts of chaos and clutter. Everything has it's place. Some people just prefer that place to be in the cracks of couches or on the floors of closets..

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a psycho about clean houses, just sort of maybe a little bit.

But I know for a fact there is unfolded laundry in the basket and maybe, just maybe a dust bunny (or 20) under my bed (even though I DID swiffer under it just last week).

A well-cleaned and organized house creates a sense of calm and order and I love both of those things!

So yeah. I got my organize on today.

I was graciously given some fantastic maternity clothes and they have been sitting in bags at the end of my bed and in stacks on my closet floor for a couple of months.

I trip over then every night while trying to find my way to the bathroom at 2 a.m. It was getting old.

So I got motivated to go buy some more spacebags (LOVE THEM)

and turned this bunch of unfitting clothes..

.. into these little pancakes

and freed up a whole bunch of hangers

Score.

Now I just have to figure out how to hang two people's worth of clothing in one tiny closet once the baby gets here..

Oh, and in case you were wondering, don't put your babies in space bags to store them. Apparently that's not a good idea?? Shew, glad they clarified. I was going to put these on my baby registry.

Find helpful hints on organizing here:

Simplify 101

Real Simple

Random, awkward thanks

On the lighter side of giving thanks this week..

#40 A good phone call

 I've noticed that in effort to connect with people on the phone that sometimes it can be a most disconnecting experience.  One person usually does most of the talking. Or you are both silent. OR you do a lot of talking over each other. Then it's just weird because you are like,

  "you go first"

"No, you go first"

"Whoops, sorry, didn't mean to interrupt, go ahead"

"Nope, you go first"

followed by both of you asking completely different questions at the same time.

Aw-kward!

Have you ever had a phone conversation where you got talked at and not talked with? Frustrating, yes. BUT it can make you oh-so-thankful for the times you have a "good" phone conversation with someone. Whether it's the doctor's office, a best friend or a wrong number, make sure you are doing as much listening as talking. 

It's fun to be the listener, I think. Takes the pressure off. Also, I'm just better at it.

But then, it also makes me have restored faith in phone communication when I have an "easy" and enjoyable phone call with someone.

Some people are just awkward on the phone. I definitely can be one of those people sometimes but I refuse to be like, "I'm awkward, I can't help it. I'm just better at texting" Nope. That's a cop-out for me.

I actually prefer talking on the phone. I'll risk the awkwardness and simultaneous question asking over a disconnected texting relationship. It's worth it.

If you find a friend or telemarketer or whoever that you enjoy talking with, appreciate them. If someone compliments you on your phone skills, consider it the highest of compliments!

Nothing like having a super, fast talker/ one way conversationalist on the phone to remind you to do your part on the horn next time...or to not answer next time they call. Of course, I'm never a conversation dominator and I never screen my phone calls...

Pshaw.

#41 Chicago dogs

'nuff said.

Wonder why I am awkwardly giving thanks for random things?  Look HERE to find out why I am so thankful (sorry, there is no explanation for my awkwardness).

I look forward to..

Their are so many things to look forward to about having a child...

Cute accessories and eyes full of wonder..

{this sweet baby's source}

baby feet...

{10 toes}

 {sweet feet}

unique talents and bouts of "dress- up"..

{little rockstar}

{pink}

and

belly laughs..

just to name a few.