Another spring-like day!

It is another beautiful day here - I'm getting so spoiled! We're in the 60s again but tonight the weather is supposed to realize that it's January and turn cold. I have loved it while it's lasted though!

I figured that I'd better get a Valentine's bow on my flower pot wreath which hangs on our back porch. If we get snow I won't be able to get to the wreath as easily and we're not too far off from February anyway. I stopped by Michaels earlier this week intending to buy some polka dot ribbon in pretty Valentine's colors but then found these two ribbons on clearance. One of the ribbons is a pretty rose print and the other is pink toile. I love toile and pink toile is even better!


My first baby shower is in two and a half weeks and I'm very excited for it! I've been working on thank you notes so that they will be all ready to write and mail out soon after the shower. They're a simple design but I am pleased with how they're turning out.


(card design inspired by prairiepaperandink)

Classic Pooh is Moving In

Our collection of Classic Pooh items is growing! We found a bunch of things on clearance at Target and since they were what we knew we wanted for the nursery, we snatched them up.

Crib bedding (but our crib will be a different style and a honey wood color)

Dust ruffle

Sweet, round rug for in front of the crib (I think)

This blanket was only $5 - I couldn't pass it up!

We also picked out a paint color for our changing table. My mom and dad are giving us the changing table they used for my brother and me, but are sprucing it up a bit first which includes a fresh coat of paint. We've decided on a pretty, light yellow that will coordinate nicely with the colors of the room. I found some gorgeous yellow jacquard fabric to make a new pad for the rocking chair. Its got the faces of the classic pooh characters woven into the fabric - subtle but oh-so-stinking cute.



I need to get sewing on the valance I'm making for the window. Surprise, surprise - it's Classic Pooh!


Slowly, but surely it's coming together. I hope it looks as good in real life as it does in my mind!

Closet Clean-Up

It is sunny and 65 degrees here today which I am loving! I've got the back patio door open to let in the warm air and I feel like I should break out the flip-flops! It definitely doesn't feel like January but I will gladly take it.

This past weekend we worked on the nursery. The nursery is going to be in the 2nd bedroom upstairs which is right next to ours. Currently that room is our office so it's hardly vacant. It has a huge closet that runs the entire length of one wall and since we had no one else to need the space, A and I have done our best to fill it up. :) This weekend we tackled the closet to clear out half of it for the baby. I'm happy to report that we did go through everything in the closet and sorted most of it into trash, donate, and keep piles. We did clear out half of the closet and I was able to start putting some baby things in there. It's not much yet, but it's coming along and it feels good to have some clutter-free space!


We're going to get some closet organizers to hang in there as well to help make the space more functional.



We had baby class last night and toured the hospital where our baby will be born. It was great to be able to see the rooms and the environment, which are very nice, but it was a little scary and overwhelming too. I am just so afraid that something will go wrong with labor, delivery, or the baby. Our hospital has a very good NICU and Denver is only an hour away, so I feel confident that our baby will be in capable hands if it needs any special medical attention, but it's one of those things that is hard to think about. So I try not to. This is also a great place for me to recite scripture, especially this week's verse, and tell Satan to stop feeding me fear.

Tonight we're staying in and will probably tune into American Idol. The new judge kind of cracks me up with her no-nonsense attitude. I'm also not hating the auditions as much as I have the past couple of years. I didn't see the point in indulging people who are obviously just trying to be as bad or wacky as they can so they have have 15 seconds of fame on national TV. I read somewhere that the producers were going to cut back on airing those types of auditions this year and so far that seems to be somewhat true. We'll see what tonight brings though - who knows?!

Prayers for Kelly, Scott, and Harper

I stalked Kelly's blog all day yesterday awaiting the birth of her first baby, Harper and was devastated when I heard of the baby's complications following her birth. Things are looking better this morning but please lift this sweet family up in your prayers.

Kelly's dad is also posting updates at his blog.

Scripture Memory for 2009 - verse 2

In the last two weeks I've memorized Romans 4:20-21 from the English Standard Version, which says:

No distrust made him waver regarding the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised.

Now it's onto verse number two. In the past few days I've been prayerfully seeking what verse God would lead me to memorize next. Nothing was really calling out to me until yesterday when I was flipping through Proverbs.

Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.

Proverbs 3:25-26 NIV

These verses really struck me because I have dealt with several major losses in the past year or so, both directly and indirectly. Fear is something I've struggled with as a result. Beth encouraged us to memorize a verse that we need, and this is it for me right now. So that's what I'll be memorizing until February 1st - if you're joining in this scripture memory challenge I'm praying for you and think you're just awesome!

Laying Low

Wow - a WEEK since I last posted? We've been taking it easy around here and I guess I didn't feel like I had much to blog about.


We woke up to snow on the ground this morning - only about an inch but it's still pretty and definitely makes it feel like January. A and I were just commenting on our way to church yesterday that this winter hasn't been that cold or snowy. Hope that doesn't mean we're in for a wet, snowy spring. Actually - I don't mind if we have lots of snow, just so long as we can get to the hospital whenever the baby decides to be born!


My little snowman flag that makes me smile on snowy January days.


Last Thursday I started Beth Moore's new study, Esther: It's Tough Being A Woman. Can I tell you how excited I am to be part of a regular Bible study again? I'm not sure what my schedule will be like after the baby comes, but for now I want to use these last weeks of "freedom" to immerse myself in God's Word and some good, solid teaching. I love opening up the workbook each day and facing a fresh page of Bible study.


I've also been reading Kate Jacob's new book, Knit Two. I got it for Christmas from my sweet friend, Dottie. Our book group draws names and then you buy a book that you think that person would like. Dottie knows me really well and definitely picked a perfect book. I am loving it!! It makes me want to knit but I don't know anyone else who needs a scarf! :) I suppose I could try something new - maybe a little knitted cap for the baby. Hmmmm...there's an idea...

We have our second childbirthing class this evening. Our first one was last Monday and I'm totally not kidding about this, but it was so much fun! Our instructor is awesome and really "gets it" that we don't just want to sit around in a lecture about labor and delivery. We had ice breakers that were actually fun, played Jeopardy, and did a lot of laughing along with our learning. And from this week on, we have SNACK! We each signed up for a week to bring snack - ours is in two weeks. How cool is it that a group of eleven late 20s, early 30s couples is going to have snack time in the middle of our class each week?! I'm looking forward to tonight's class - we have to take pillows so I guess we're going to start practicing for actual labor. Scary!


I'll leave you with these flowers from our table. I got these last week at the grocery store for free - yippee! The store sent me a coupon for a free bouquet and I'm not really one to pass up something free, and definitely not free flowers. They bring some sunshine and cheer to our little kitchen and make me smile when I see them.

Hope you are warm and happy on this Monday!

Monday, Monday

It was hard to say good-bye as A went back to work this morning. The end of Christmas vacation always comes too quickly. What can I say - I love having my man home! I do enjoy having the bills paid too though, so I can't complain too much. :)

This weekend we started our baby registry, did some organizing/purging in the office-soon-to-be-nursery, and enjoyed some quality time relaxing with a movie. It was a great way to wrap up our Christmas season.

I made a few Christmas gifts myself this year, which isn't really out of the ordinary for me. Now that it is after Christmas and the gifts have been given, I can preserve their memory on the blog.

1. Keyhole scarf for my aunt

2. Assortment of cards for my mom

My mom has been asking for a selection of handmade cards almost since I started making cards as a hobby. When I make cards, I always make them in an even number, even if I only need one card, so a lot of times I have extras. This collection is 30 of my extras - for birthdays, thank you, encouragement, baby, and wedding. A lot of them are blank on the inside so she can make the card appropriate for whatever she needs.


I had three boxes left from our Christmas cards this year that I recovered with scrapbook paper to package the cards. Each box contains ten cards and envelopes.




3. Scarf for my sister-in-law

My sis-in-law just moved into a new home and has been working hard getting everything sorted, organized, and put away. I wanted to give her of a "cozy night in" sort of gift so I bought her a good book, a box of yummy dark hot chocolate, and knit this scarf for her. I hope she enjoys curling up with all of them on a chilly January evening and taking a break.


I got back in my card studio (if you can call it that) last week as my grandpa had an accident with his table saw and messed up his left hand pretty badly. He's had two surgeries to repair as much as possible and is now in the wait-and-see-how-things-heal phase. All I had were get well soon cards and I didn't think that sentiment fit the situation just right, so I made this card to send him. I hope it cheered him up a little bit!


Happy Monday to all!

Scripture Memory for 2009

I have never been good at memorizing scripture, but in 2008 God got a hold of my heart and started impressing on me the importance and power of doing it. It started in January when Beth Moore asked us to memorize Psalm 121 through the 7 weeks of her study, Stepping Up. Once I'd finished with that, I took a few months off but in the summer was really convicted to pray over and memorize scripture that God led me to regarding our desire for a family. I thought that was powerful before I was pregnant, but many of the verses I chose had to do with trusting God and believing Him which started to really get relevant as I struggled with fear about having another miscarriage.

For 2009, Beth is leading a scripture memory challenge and I am committing to taking part. On the 1st and 15th of every month I'll be posting the scripture that I'm memorizing. Here's the first:

No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

Romans 4:20-21 ESV (English Standard Version)