27 weeks

what's cooking? [new baby things]: babe's lungs and immune system are coming right along.  they are growing and developing daily preparing her for life out here. she is sleeping in regular invervals, although i think she and i are opposite schedules.  go figure.  she can now open and shut her little baby eyelids, which do have eyelashes [awwww].   her brain is developing a lot right now.  i bet she's pretty smart in there.  babe weighs in at approximately 14½ inches and just over 2 pounds.
gender: teeny tiny little girl!

movement: she is a maniac.  she moves around all the time and she is getting so strong.  it is such a fun reminder that she is in there.  even at 4 in the morning, i get really excited to feel you wiggling around.

momma developments: major leg cramps in the middle of the night.  i've up-ped my water and banana intake in hopes that i won't wake up screaming in leg pain.  i'm still doing great!  my balance is getting worse and worse which should be comical.  i think it was this past week that i was trying on sandals and couldn't bend over sitting down to do the side clasp.  that was a new low.

total weight gain: 25-26 pounds.  yowzers.
maternity clothes: maternity bottoms always. some maternity tops and some normal. regular dresses are still doing the trick. i'd love to have some more maternity tops, i've feeling pretty constricted these days.

cravings: still wanting to drink a lot of dr. pepper [which is a caffinated no-no] & craving deli meat sandwiches [which again i'm not supposed to have].  where are my vegetable-fruit-all-things-good-for-your-baby-cravings?

anything hard?finding time for it all - and i know that is a reality for me even when we aren't planning for a little addition.  my to do list is ever growing, we have so many friends to celebrate & family to visit.  we are so blessed to have so many people to love on [who love us well too!] juggling that and planning and working and celebrating all just requires mental energy & a gigantic planner that i currently lack.

registering.  i'm still trying to figure out baby things.  i registered for a good amount more this weekend online and hope to have our second location knocked out later this week.  what kind of a crazy world we live in where we can ask for all kinds of baby essentials [and non] and our sweet family and friends will actually help us get them?!  we are too blessed.  so i'm not complaining about registering, just mentioning that it is so hard to know what is right. 

i need to read one million baby books.  i've read...well zero.  i did sign up for some baby-classes but i still feel like i'm utterly under-educated for little missy.

never forget:
we've just completed your second trimester.  do you know what that means?  we're two-thirds done and only a little bitty bit to go.  i can hardly stand it.  i have such a mix of excitement to meet you and twinge of anxiety to be more prepared for you.
we narrowed down your name to three options!  albeit three completely different options than what we started with but i'm hoping that means we're closer to a name [rather than farther].  i can't wait until we have a final decision and i can call you something everyday.  from there we'll just be waiting to put a face with a name.  could not be more excited!

your poppa and i have been having so much fun with you lately.  we've gotten to spend some time together which means you all have gotten sweet time together too.  your pop loves you so much & just cannot wait for you to be out here with us.  he's been able to see & feel you move all over the place lately.  i think he's a little jealous that i get to spend so much time with you.  ;) he's been talking to you, playing tag with you and fixing up all kinds of things around the house for you.   your crib is all set up, your dresser finally has hardware & you know have a dimmer so you can pick how bright your room needs to be.

this past week you got to see lots of friends and family.  they think you are getting SO big.  you got to go to your bff parker's first birthday party. and the brzinski family was in town for your great-grandma carol's birthday too!  weekend o'fun.  i think you basically lived in a party hat this weekend.

26 weeks [a few days late]

 26 weeks


[two attempts at bump pics, both completely heinous - 26 weeks must have been rough. yikes.]

what's cooking? [new baby things]: babe can breathe now, her lungs are expanding and all - even though she doesn't need to because she's swimming around.  her eyes are completely developed even though her eyelids are still closed [for now].  this week her brain has begun to register light & sound.  i've been telling ben to watch his mouth around her.  she now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches, about the length of a burp cloth. she's still working on getting chubby.

gender: teeny tiny little girl!

movement: non.stop.  she's moving all the time, morning, noon and night - but before dawn and after dark continue to be her prime.  i'm sure she's just keeping house, doing her stretches & practicing ballet.  this weekend may be her most active yet.  LOTS of friends and family have been able to feel her move around now.  she's spreading around the love.

momma developments: itching.  a lot.  belly, palms & the bottom of my feet.  that + hyperdermagraphism = what a mess.  still feeling happy and healthy.  this week i was a little less crazy emotionally - that was a nice change.  i almost fell right over trying to pick something up.  that happened.  my belly button continues to flatten out.  i think an outtie might be inevitable.  last but not least, i can't remember a darn thing.  my brain is basically mush.  to-do lists are my new best friend.

[monstrosity attempt 2 - at least the babe is still real sweet]

total weight gain: 20-22 pounds.

maternity clothes: maternity bottoms always.  some maternity tops and some normal.  regular dresses are still doing the trick.  i'd love to have some more maternity tops, i've feeling pretty constricted these days.

cravings: just eating much more than any girl should.  nothing special really.

anything hard?
this week basically flew by.  i can barely remember what's happened in the past seven days...but i'll try.

we registered this week.  this should be in the "hard" and "unforgettable" category.  it was exciting to imagine ourselves with a real baby who would need all these gadgets but completely difficult to know what is best.  i'm sure this is just the parenting 'tip-of-the-iceberg" when it comes to feeling unprepared & inadequate for such a responsibility.  we don't know much about kids or kid products so...picking out everything to get her through her first year or more was nothing short of overwhelming.  dancing to the loud music while ben sang to me was just about the only thing that got us through.  i'll definitely need to go back and scan some more.  we wussed out early.

balance has continued to be rough.  juggling it all can be difficult.

picking out fabric for your room.  this is about as tough as naming you [except i know this won't last as long as your name].  i am hoping that by the end of this week i'll have something 100%, ordered and on its way to me!

never forget:
we are down to double digit days until she comes!  holy moly.  its so exciting and scary all in one.  when we get to single digit weeks i may just pass out.  on monday we were exactly 3 months away from her due date.  ahhhh.

we got you a twin bed frame from craigslist.  we're going to paint it up pretty and give momma a place to rest when you're really little and up in the middle of the night.  later on you can use it yourself.  you'll be much bigger by the time that happens.

this week you got to go on lunch and dinner dates with lots of friends and your grandparents and great-grandparents.  you also went to another bridal shower for our sweet friend rachel h.  you loved meeting all the new people.

two other highlights of your week were 1. babysitting parker.  you kicked while i played with p almost the whole time.  i'm thinking that means that you and he will be best friends someday. 2.  you got to meet baby maeli twice.  oh what a fun little girl you have going ahead of you.  i bet she's going to teach you how to climb trees someday.  it was really fun to see such a brand new baby.  after we met maeli your dad and i got so excited about you.  your dad told me all about how excited he is that you're developing in my belly and growing into a little person.

and finally, momma got you a diaper bag this week.  it's really just a purse that i'm going to call a diaper bag.  it was a quarter of the price and is covered in pockets, perfect for all your trinkets. whoop whoop.

baby info sources:
baby center
parents connect
what to expect

things i want to make, buy or borrow for the babe

etsy, pinterest & blogs-

you [ruin / make] my life so [difficult / awesome]. 

love-

jen

i have a love-hate relationship with all things online.  surely you've heard me vent about this paradox before.  i don't really love being 'plugged in' but i do like to know what's going on, get inspired, see creativity at its finest.  i don't like the time i waste getting lost in a bunch of pretty sites filled with things that kind of don't matter - but sometimes i do it anyway.  i don't like longing after things i don't need and cannot afford.  i do like figuring out how to be a good wifey & mom & friend & follower of Jesus. i like to find sweet ways to shower people with love or gifts or crafts.  i love figuring out how to make our house a 'home.'  you know, feel like home.  not just 'nice looking' but lived in and fun and full.  something that feels like 'us.'  a place where God will be glorified and friends and family and babies will grow - not just physically, but in lots of other ways too. 

which leads me to this...a long list of 'things' i covet.  i'm sorry.  i hope you won't covet them too. this is a little 'inspiration board' [so-to-speak] of things that i'm dreaming about these days for the little bean on the way.  i hope that we give her much more than 'things' someday.  i hope that she grows up in a place that embodies all i mentioned above: lived in, fun & full.  not just full of stuff but full of love & care & Life & grace.  if that involves some sparkles, ruffles and tiny hairbows along the way, so be it. 

this most certainly will be hanging on itty bitty's wall someday.

my pinterest links lead me [here] but i'm not really sure if that's the original source.  i wish, i wish i knew where it was from.

a pouf similar to this one will either be bought or made to replace the $200+ ottoman that usually comes with a gliding chair.  the fabric will be different but i will be following the same tutorial to get it done - if it is homemade!

found [here]

i found this pouf on clearance at target and bought it just. in. case.  there are a lot of factors that may disqualify this pouf but it was too good to pass up for now.  it is pretty tall for a pouf, i'm not sure if the height will work with whatever chair we end up using.  i don't want my feet elevated above my legs while i'm rocking little lady.  it is also not so squishy - which doesn't really bother me but who knows if i'll change my mind.  it's more dense / firm.  and third, we have no textiles picked out for her room.  i don't know what kind of fabric / colors will be in there, on the chair, bedding or drapes so who in the world knows if this will 'go' in there or not.  gray with gray trim?  you knew this was happen.

i actually REALLY REALLY REALLY wish that this pouf from target wasn't out of stock, wasn't $169 and was sitting in my babe's room.  i think it suits me well & it's already made.  whatdoyouknow!?

and i have a very unhealthy obsession with headbands & hair clips for little girls.  like i want to buy little princess a truckload of them.  a literal truckload.  especially this little mustard colored bow.  awwww.  i keep putting it in my etsy 'cart' and never checking out.  i need to practice making these things so that my wallet isn't bare & full of bows.

i think my momma has found me a hand-me-down boppy and now i'll just need a cover.  i'm thinking something super sweet, such as this, would work.  i think this vendor lets you pick your fabric, or at least color pallet so maybe i could find something pretty gender neutral, in case there are future babes [who are not princesses].

i'm sure to be back with more baby-ful dreams soon.  if you see precious little gems, send them over my way!

speaking of, in my dream last night i was pregnant.  like with a big bump.  i don't think i've had a bump in any of my dreams so far.  my subconscious must be catching up!  woo-hoo!

happy friday!

i feel uncomfortable when...

1. receiving an absurd amount of literature about my cord blood.  whatever you want me to sign up for to 'win' anything having to do with cord blood - i'm not interested.  i'm sorry.  the name alone makes me want to ralph, adding 'giveaway' to that phrase does not make it any better.
2. picking up a super cute patterned maxi dress to try on & realizing its actually a pants jumpsuit. more than 5 times.  sad.  a special thanks to target & forever.  this bump aint havin' it.

[here]

3. when you see someone you think you should know, but you're not really sure if you know them or not.  you accidentally make eye contact and then sort of smile in case you do know them but they don't really respond so maybe you don't.  awkward.  however #3 is still better than when you think someone is waving at you & they are actually waving at the person directly behind you.  c'mon you know that's happened to you.

4.  reading aloud - i'm a fourth grader in a 26 year old's body.

5.  the existence of this dress and the fact that i smooshed it up against my pregnant body.  what kind of world are we living in!?

and what about you?  anything making you squirm these days?

at home: gallery wall

so about a million years ago my sweet friend rach came over and helped me hang frames on my walls.  i had a bunch of old frames, mirrors and trays that were just waiting to be spray painted white.  i finally printed a few things and now it's looking a little 'better.'

i found the caricature from high school when we were cleaning out our house this past week. ben said "please don't hang that on our wall" so naturally, i hung it on the wall.   love.  i also have a mix of real pics of benny & i along with our friends.  the babe and her announcement are also making an appearance on the wall - the first of many i'm sure.  after getting a few little prints & ta-da!

a little fluffy flower.  done and done.

one wall down, 40 more to go.  we're working on it though.  more house updates to come.  hopefully it won't take me another year to follow up.

bride-to-be: stephanie

i mentioned before that my dear, sweet cousin is on her way to the chapel.  we are incredibly excited for her and of course needed to channel such excitement into a shower.  we wanted to do whatever we could to help her and her future hubs build their first little home together.
lots of folks helped pull this all together & my momma steph was running the show.  everything was perfectly darling and i hope that steph felt well loved & celebrated.  marriage is such a blessing & i hope this was just one of the many highlights in preparing for that.

the food was am-az-zaz-ing.  i had no part in that.  i brought some props & bowls - that was food contribution.  ha ha ha.  they must know about me & the kitchen.  they've figured me out.

i loved the way that the tables turned out.  my momma made these little terrariums with rocks, soil & flowers & i think they are perfect!  cream table cloths, burlap runners, doilies & many love story frames made the perfect place for a celebration. for the little love quotes i just got some metallic dollar store frames and very light pink textured cardstock.  then i took these precious free, printable table numbers & replaced the number with sweet sayings.

i was 'in charge' of game duty.  i wanted something that wouldn't take too much time away from socializing & celebrating but that would be a little special & fun.  first we just did a perfect match game where you fill in the missing half of the couple.  nothing too crazy but it was fun to have a span of ages in the room and have that reflected in the game.  different generations definitely could identify certain couples over others and that was sweet.

for the second game, we had a little bit of a he said, she said theme.  the idea was stolen borrowed from here & i just tweeked the details.  i cut out enough mustaches & lips for each guest to have one of each.  i took 6 "quotes" or statuses [12 total] from the bride and groom's facebook. the guests had to guess who said it after each was read outloud.  some quotes were sweet, some funny & some in between in hopes to trip a few people up.

i absolutely loved seeing everyone with their little lips & staches.  it was perfect.

nana in a mustache - really nothing better.

the rest of the day was just spent in pure merriment!

..a portion of the beautiful bridal party..

and lots & lots...& lots of goodies.  steph & andrew will definitely need to do some entertaining once they've cozied into their new place.

had such a sweet time planning and celebrating with you ladies.  i have just the sweetest little family.  and do you spy a little princess that tried to come to the party too.  yep, itty bitty was there, just a partying away!

25 weeks

25 weeks
what's cooking? [new baby things]:  baby's hands and sense of touch are fully developed now.  HOORAY!  one site said that the baby can't feel when her pop pokes my belly but i can assure you that this little lady does.  she always pokes right back when her dad starts jabbing her in there.  tag is one of her favorite games.  her arms & legs are almost porportional to what they will be when she's born & now her nostrils are also clear!  she can practice breathing through them now.  babe weighs a pound and a half and is about 13.5" long.  she's trying to get chunkier daily.  and if she has hair AND you could see it you'd be able to tell the texture & color. 

gender: little bitty girl! hi little princess!

movement: i'm pretty sure you've started to do somersaults now. on tuesday at 6 am i woke up to you doing gymnastics. it was the craziest feeling and i had no idea what was happening. it's probably one of the most weirdly awesome things i've ever had happen to me.

momma developments: ever growing and not so gracefully.  i get off balance pretty easily which has been making me feel like such a clutz.  i'm still feeling pretty great - i just can't get around exactly like i could before.  bending over is now kind of an issue.  all that to say - shaving my legs may have just become quite the health hazard.  still a sleepy sally - i just can't get enough rest and the hormones are a-raging.  i'm sorry to my husband [and anyone in my path].  i may cry at you. or to you. or for you.  it's sad.  literally.  oh, and i forgot to mention...the belly button is flat.  like non-existant.  not and inner or an outtie.  just a button.

total weight gain: 18-20 pounds.  wow-zas!  i thought it would be a bit before i hit the big 2-0 benchmark but it kind of snuck up on me.  with 15 weeks left and a pound a week [so they say] i should be at the tippy top of the recommended 25-35 pound gain for a pregnancy.  we'll see how that works out.

maternity clothes: pregnancy pants & skirts all the way.  shirts and dresses are still a mix.  i tried on my sole maternity dress this weekend and it still didn't fit quite right.  maybe soon :)

cravings: still wanting some jimmy johns, and haven't gotten over to buy their bread like anne suggested.  i'm still wanting tons of sweets but still nothing crazy - like dirt or pickles & ice cream, etc.

anything hard?
being so emotional.  i kind of hate it.  sometimes i even know that i'm being irrational but it still doesn't change the fact that you're crying in a gold star booth you know?

prioritizing all that needs to be done before the baby comes.  ben has been such a trooper / baller / awesome husband getting things done around the house.  it really is amazing.  when i'm so easily overwhelmed he steps right in and makes it work.  it has been great!  my to-do lists are psycho.  lets just call it what it is.

still no name.  ugh.  time is not making it any easier.  this should be simple and clear but it's not.  it's hard.  we're so non-commital. and indecisive.  one day baby will have a name.  mark my words.
finding nursery fabric that i like.  i think i've spent a grand total of 5+ hours looking for fabric to no avail.  i am struggling!

never forget:
this week you got a crib!  hooray your grandparents bought you [and any future siblings] a crib for your nursery.  we are so so so excited.  we cannot wait for them to bring it up from louisville so we can set it up in your room.  other developments for your mini-palace: i bought you a pouf but it may be a bit too tall for whatever chair we end up getting for you.  i put the cart before the horse a little on that purchase but clearance at target doesn't keep so you got to get it while you can.  that's one of the many lessons i hope to teach you someday.  mom says, keep your reciepts.  also we've done a bit of glider shopping for you.  we may be narrowing in on some doable options!  hooray for cuddle time.

we also put your dresser in your room and it looks absolutely perfect.  too bad we accidently got you new / old, awesome hardware that doesn't fit into the existing holes.  darn it.  don't worry, we're going to work our creative magic soon and get the dresser completely complete.  brainstorm here we come!

me and grandma both bought you bathing suits this week!   you're coming in july and just so you know, it will be disgustingly hot around that time.  you most certainly will need a tiny baby pool under a shady tree in the backyard to splash around in.  nana karen got you an itty bitty newborn suit and your crazy mom got you one that you can wear in 18 years months.  so yes, it is a little excessive but i couldn't help it.  look how sweet you'll be!

this weekend you also attended a shower for your cousin steph who's getting married right before you come!  all the guests loved you in your little bump.

for a few minutes you were able to see your nonna & some of the damiani family.  i wish that it had been a much longer visit for me and that you would have kicked each of them, little love taps.  i'm sure they would have loved that.  the next time we see most of those ladies you'll be out and about in the world.  that is pretty crazy to think about.

as the party-hopper that you are you also went to your uncle nick & nana's birthday dinner.  we decided that you should call uncle nick "dunky" and that it would be appropriate to call aunt chelsea "aunt jelly" so just write that down somewhere!  we did get to stay there long enough for you to kick the whole family.  i like it when that happens :)

we're getting so close to meeting you.  i can't stand it.  we love you already and can't wait to snuggle and cuddle and teach you and take care of you.  love you sweet girl!

baby info sources:

baby center
parents connect
what to expect

24 weeks [a few days removed]

24 weeks

what's cooking? [new baby things]: baby is growing like crazy.  her ears are fully functional now - including her inner ear so she can tell if she is upside down or not.  which kind of freaks me out.  i liked picturing her in an anti-gravity machine so she wouldn't really care if i switch over sides, etc.  i hope i'm not making her dizzy!  i know near delivery she's upside down for quite sometime so maybe this is just training.  she is about the size of a foot-long hotdog and weighs about 1 1/3 pound.

gender: little bitty girl! hi little princess!

movement: still moving a TON in the evenings, before i go to bed and before i get up.  she's so strong now and if you squish her she'll respond nearly every time. everything i read says she's kind of cramped in there and i believe it.  every time she gets situated it feels like a giant rumble in there.  now when i lay on my back in the evenings and stare at my belly it looks just like a rave. she's bouncing off the walls in there.

momma developments:  last week was a lot of hard work.  and my body was feeling it.  i was absolutely exhausted and my whole body hurt by sunday.  it was worth it but my prego body just can't do the things my non-pregnant body could.  i've also been more emotional, more easy to cry, more easily angered.  neither are things i really like.  i hope it is a phase.  i've been praying especially about the anger part.  i don't want to be a irritable mess.  my belly button is nearly flat.  i fear we're quickly approaching outtie territory.  oh yikes.   i have a super duper faint linea nigra kicking now, so that's new.  and although i don't think i've blogged about it yet for the past month or more i've had this pain in my....leg, we'll say leg.  when i look it up online they say its a nerve thing.  it feels like a strained muscle but when you touch it there is no extra comfort or discomfort.  it's weird.  but enough with all the complaining - my 'bad' things aren't really so bad.  other momma developments are that i am having so much fun being pregnant and i feel unbelievably blessed that the Lord has lead us to this place.

total weight gain: 15-17 pounds.  momma had a growth spurt so maybe that means baby did too?  lets hope so!

maternity clothes: i didn't really wear real clothes for the past week.  i was dressed head to toe in junk that could be covered in paint & grime.  and those nasty clothes were all regular tees and sweats.  sadly, after writing that i tried to figure out how many showers i took last week.  lets just say...it may rhyme with ew.

cravings: jimmy johns, and i'm not allowed to have it :(  so sad.  ben keeps telling me, we have lunchmeat you can use at home but we both know its not the same as a slim 4 with cheese.  we both know.

anything hard?
not being able to physically or mentally take care of things like i normally would.  its all just an adjustment and i'm not actually that good with big changes.

juggling work and life and family and ministry and preparing for parenthood.  we are so blessed by all the things on our plate.  the plate is just pretty full.  we're still figuring out a lot of what that means.

spacial planning - not my forte.

never forget:
we found a baby in a magazine that looks just like a little baby girl version of your dad when he was a baby.  we hung her on our fridge.  every day i look at her and think - that could be you in there.  and laugh that we stole your glamor shot from a dr.'s office.

this sunday past sunday was easter.  i think you were probably in a dress.  even though i was in sweats.  you're dainty like that.  i pray that someday you will know the power & meaning of the resurrection.  i pray that it would mean everything to you & that you'd celebrate it every day of the year. i can't wait to tell you all about your heavenly Father and how much loves you, what he'd go through to have you.

you have a room!  and its not filled with a queen bed!  you have clean pretty walls, brand new carpet and the sweetest little chandelier a girl could want.  obviously you still need a place to sleep, maybe somewhere to be rocked and some curtains to block out that early morning light...but we're getting there.  can't wait to play with you little one.  we made you a space on your floor right in front of the window for you to play with all your toys while the sunshine pours in.

your dad really wants to meet you.  he can't wait to see your tiny little face and squeeze your cheeks.  he's looking forward to giving you lots of raspberries.  i've told him he has to be gentle with his big beard.

baby info sources:
baby center
parents connect
what to expect

to celebrate a mrs.

in just about a week we will be celebrating my amazing cousin stephanie and her up-coming marriage [the happy couple is on the far right]. it is killing me that we won't be able to be there on their big day to see them tie the knot.  they are getting married one week before our due date a few hours away from home so we'll have to miss out.  it's just such a monumental event / moment / union.  i wish we could be there as witnesses & to celebrate along side of them.  no doubt we'll be throwing rice in our driveway and dancing in our den to celebrate from afar [bump included].

at least i get to be a part of the pre-party.  our family shower.  i was blessed to whip up some invites for such an event.  i thought i'd share them here.  i punched out a bunch of hearts [we're celebrating love after all] in different cardstock patterns that all 'go' with our colors, stolen from her save the date.

i printed all the pertinent info right inside standard cream cardstock cards.

from there i just stitched across 3 little hearts across the front to sweeten them up. each was slightly different, pretty muted but still darling & romantical if you ask me.

i'm so looking forward to this!  happy party planning friends :)

this week: spring break

this week has been ... interesting.  fun. exhausting. exciting. hard work.  this is spring break & unlike my spring break posts from the last three years - there's no beach here.

last weekend was full & busy.  i had a girls' day in nky with two of my best friends that we'd been planning for quite a while; we went eating and thrifting of course.  it's crazy that life gets so busy that we're forced to plan lunch months in advance but when you live in different cities, have husbands, babes, ministries, jobs, etc. i guess it just comes with the territory.  although i do wish it could happen more often, i really do cherish our time together.

sunday i got to go to ikea with my super sweet hubs.  it's not actually very close to where we live so it was a bit of a road trip.  we packed snacks :)  while we were there we gathered up our very first baby toy purchase - i'm in love.  a tiny little tea set.  um precious.  and i got her a little flowered tray to hold her knick knacks and baby things as they pile on her dresser or side tables.

we also got a little hamper & chandelier for the princess.  benny already hung this sparkling light and i was too lazy to drag a chair in there for a good pic.  settle for this taste until later.

when we finally made our way back home we had a lot of work waiting for us.  we had a goal to basically deep clean / organize / refinish a big chunk of our house in a week.  since it's benny's spring break and i had a week of vacation that was just going to slip away if i didn't take it - it only made sense for this to be family work week!  i did have to go in to the office on monday to take care of some things, you know... should we gloriously win a national championship that night [WHICH HAPPENED].  we print t-shirts for that type of thing and i get to be the lady writing up all those orders.  sweet people stepped in the rest of the week so i wouldn't have to come back.  that was such a blessing.  i was having a little bit of a mental breakdown thinking about missing my one & only week where i could knock things out and prepare for itty bitty.  maybe i cried.  anyway it all worked out and we have been busting our tails for the last 5 days.

ben has been such a diligent & steady worker.  i am so incredibly blessed to have such a caring husband who would spend his free week serving his family so hard.  i wish that i could work as hard as him.  i just get tired so easily and want to lay down.  i don't really do it but its all the more exhausting when the whole time you are working you're thinking you'd like to just lay down in the middle of the floor surrounded by your heaping piles of half-way organized fabric.  that my friends is a battle.

i've done lots of normal chores: taken care of the dishes, washing and folding laundry, cleaning the bathrooms.  and then i've done some 'spring cleaning' where if i'm honest has never really happened [i'm sorry if you're gagging].  you know, removing everything from the cabinets, cleaning, organizing, etc.  it is amazing how much more room/storage we have when things are organized well.  we cleaned baseboards and doors.  those kinds of 'fun' things.  i also painted a dresser & created a floor plan out of yarn with sweet emily & i. am. obsessed.  i can't wait to show it to you - complete.  but here's the idea.

::dresser in progress::

ben's been doing all the manual labor.  he's moved the entire back of our house to the front so we can have carpet installed in our bedrooms. 

he painted the babe's room: walls, ceiling, trim & doors [which is no small feat if you saw the condition they were in originally!], he painted the master bedroom & organized our garage.  everything he's touched has a major transformation.  i love it.  it will take a while to finish putting things back together, decorate, accessorize and all.  but at least we're primed and ready for it!  our list of major chores and projects has been basically cut in half [or less].  and that is all thanks to my sweet husband.  thanks boo.  i'm overwhelmed.

on the agenda for today is carpet installation [HOORAY!]  and a kitchen deep clean.  my momma is coming to town to keep me company while benny is out of town with his family.  my father-in-law is having surgery - prayers appreciated!  so i'm going to hold down the fort and get as much done as i can!

far less important than what came above or what will come below this statement:  i tried lipstick.  yes i'm 26, married, with a baby on the way but any time in my past where i have tried the stuff i've always just felt silly.  well after about 2-4 years of not really 'getting ready' on a daily basis i decided that i needed to be a little girlified from time to time.  enter cherry tart lip butter.  a fantastic suggestion from my sweet shannon [who i'd let do my make up any day]. this one's for you!  

and while we're at it.  the mid-week mega bump.

and like i said, of much more importance ... i don't want to miss the opportunity to share this.  while cleaning our garage we got to listen to a sermon about Jesus, his death, resurrection & ascension from tim keller.  this quote, this truth grips me.

"Don't think of love abstractly; Jesus is the love of God. In the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross, do you know what was happening? All the greatest forces in the universe were arrayed against Jesus, and he could have stopped them. He could have stopped the rejection, he could have stopped the torture, he could have stopped the death, he could have stopped the rejection of his Father, he could have stopped eternal justice coming down on his head. All he had to do was give up on us. That's all he had to do, just walk away...Jesus was up on the cross bleeding and dying, looking down at the people betraying him and forsaking him and denying him, and in the greatest act of love in the history of the universe, he stayed. Bomb after bomb after bomb was coming down on Jesus Christ trying to get him to drop us, to separate him from us, and even hell itself couldn't do it. He stayed. Nothing could separate him from us, his love from us. He held onto us; he was our Savior. He died for us! Now that's how you know nothing can separate us from the love of God. It's not an abstraction. It's not just saying, 'Oh, I just believe that God loves me unconditionally.' No, he loves you counter-conditionally; he loves you against conditions, because of Jesus."

God is so good.

showering a bride {mrs. owen's tea party}

a few weeks ago the sweetest little tea party was thrown for our dear friend randi.  every little detail was perfect.  unfortunately i didn't get many people pictures but i did get a few pics of the details.

little miss bride-to-be.  we had so much fun celebrating her and clinton's up-coming nuptials.  yummy food & tea party treats, fun games & of course goodies to fill up their new home together in colorado!

this is my small contribution.  lemon glaze cupcakes.  i could eat like 40 by myself.  and sadly i may have done just that.  i lost count.  it was my first time making them myself and i was so scared i was going to screw it up.  i was surprisingly pleased.  i think they may be dummy-proof.

and no tea party would be complete without every kind of tea & kettle your little heart could desire. what a perfect day spent with friends, celebrating God's goodness & the joy of marriage.

randi, thank you so much for letting us be a part of such a fun time in your life.  we are so excited for you both.  you will be such an amazing wife.  i cannot wait to dance my little prego tush off next month.