An Update

The past few weeks have flown by. I feel like time is speeding up--how can we already be this far along into the pregnancy?! These last few weeks have been such an enjoyable time spent together just the two of us. All the concerts, bike rides, and nights out with friends have not gone unnoticed. Neither have all of the times spent sleeping in or doing whatever we pleased.

I know this chapter of our life is coming to an end as another is just beginning. I know that once we have that baby in our life we won't be able to imagine who we would be without it.  But until that moment, I want to take every chance I get to appreciate what a great life I have already, living with my fancy guy and our two crazy pups. I want to take in every opportunity we have to understand each other more and to know how to work within our strengths and weaknesses. Because if there's one thing I've learned from my family about raising kids is that it can be one heck of a ride, and I want to be a family that stays together through it all. I want to be for my kids what my mom and dad was for me.

 I must admit, I've desperately wanted kids since we first got together. We weren't sure if it would ever happen, so when it did I was surprised by my reaction. Maybe everyone goes through this because it is such a life-changing event, but I was not excited from the first moment as I had previously imagined my reaction would be. In fact, I had many talks with God along the lines of, "listen, we really don't have to do this."

There were moments of excitement and joy, but for the most part I was terrified of what this meant. This kid is going to go through heartache and awful situations, and in many ways I am going to mess up as a parent. I was struggling with myself on trying to figure out how I might protect it from certain situations, but then also realizing that some of the worst situations I had been in is where God showed his greatest displays of love to me. I want to keep them safe, but how could I steal that opportunity from them to know just how deeply God cares for them specifically. I can imagine this is a struggle that will only increase as I come to know and love this person inside of me. But for the longest time I was gripped with fear about what lay ahead.

That is, until week 15 when a day came and I was utterly excited about this new life. No event or conversation sparked this new feeling, but I was content and at peace with everything I had previously been anxious about.

 

*-

I still have moments where I over-think what the future will bring, but I am overwhelmingly excited now. I don't know if it's because of all the events that have taken place this last few weeks or what, but it's getting more real and I'm falling in love with the idea.

Week 16 started out with a little DIY makeover of one ugly old dresser to be used for the changing area. We tried to pick a fairly gender neutral color because we may be waiting until the baby arrives to find out if it's a girl or a boy.

I'm not so sure I can hold out another 5 more months after perusing the baby clothes aisles with April last week! I stayed away because I had a feeling that it would make me go weak in the knees, and I was right! Thinking of this little person living in some of those cute outfits made it feel real in the cutest, gushiest way I'd ever experienced.

We also ordered the crib and mattress and assembled it right when it came to our door. As we were putting it together, I looked around at the dresser, stroller and car seat, and the crib that was now standing in my old craft room, and was stunned that this is legitimately happening.

In fact, it may be happening sooner than we think! At our appointment today, my midwife measured me and said that I'm measuring 3 weeks further along than I am... I'm measuring at 19 weeks! At our previous appointment, I was measuring about 2 weeks further along. This means that we're either looking at a big freaking baby or we may be further along than we thought! For my sake, I'm hoping for the latter. We'll know for sure when we go to our ultrasound next month what we should be preparing for: an earlier date, or practicing more squats to get my body ready for that enormous endeavor!

Either way I can't wait to do this with Jakub and the rest of our family and friends! What an adventure it will be.

Sweet Success

It's not easy to keep a secret from my husband, especially one that I'm so excited about.

However, the moment he opened the door to see hundreds of stars covering the room was totally worth the effort of keeping my mouth shut and being a little sneakypants.

Did you also know that I am mechanically inept? That, mixed with the original instructions being entirely in Japanese (and when I got ahold of the english manual, it showed me how to connect parts that definitely were not what I was given), made for an interesting assembly. If anyone could've witnessed the poor sight, they would've also gotten a handful of choice words. But, again, it was all worth it.

The assembly really isn't that bad, at least it wouldn't be for any normal human being. And now that it's finished, I feel like I could put another one together blind folded.

It's really neat because you can set it up to where it shows you the exact position of what the stars look like depending on what month it is and which direction you're facing and all that jazz.

 

I'm certain it's the best $22 purchase I've ever made! It makes you feel like a kid again, with the contagious excitement that anything is possible. And it can have so many uses: It can be a night light for when my nephews spend the night, or give an added effect of "realness" when we build blanket forts. It can make the days when we're stuck inside because of the weather more exciting, or just break up the everyday monotony. And most important, it can put a smile on Jakub's face.

And look how magical it looks covering an entire room!

pic via

Or in a little nook

pic via

It just makes your room (and life) come alive. I'm sure it'll be around for many years to come, and one day we'll get to share it with our kids. And if it breaks, hey, it was only $22 and I'll be able to try my hand at doing it blind folded. Everybody wins.

Party Time

Today, we are celebrating my nephew's birthday! He turns 11, and to commemorate this milestone I made some manly cupcakes.

Because, really, nothing says "it's time to party" like funfetti cupcakes and chocolate mustaches!

I used this as inspiration; here's how:

Step 1: Pipe melted chocolate onto wax paper in the shape of a mustache of your choosing.

Step 2: Once dried, turn over and glue toothpick on with extra melted chocolate, and let chill.

Step 3: Make sure it works!Then decorate cupcakes however you choose.

Easy as that! 1-2-3.

We're also going paintballing, something I've never done, and frankly, I'm terrified of doing. It is an experience I don't want to miss though. I'm sure after today, I'll see my family in a new light!

It's also so neat that this is the first birthday of his that I'll get to be present for, and I am so excited; he's one fancy kid! These are the times I live for.

But for now, it's time to go fight my battle. Wish me luck!

Beautiful Things

Life has been much more time-consuming than I had anticipated. This season has definitely stretched me mentally, physically, and spiritually. I wish I had more time to update this blog on a regular basis, but it, among other things, has fallen by the wayside.

Fortunately, I do have a moment right now to give a little update on a few things going on around here that I am just so excited about! Like this:

Jakub and I made the coffee table of my dreams! It wasn't difficult at all, which is good for newbies like us, but it was so much fun to go through the whole process together. Plus, I think it makes our living room look so much fancier than our last "plain jane" coffee table.

We've been redecorating our house here and there and lately we've stumbled upon some great little treasures!

We found the owl money bank, butterfly pictures, and antique chinese bowl at the flea market this weekend.

And these little finds, plus a few others, were discovered this morning at an estate sale. A fancy box, old diana camera, camera filters in every imaginable color, and three fancy head scarves came home with us. We also brought home an old polaroid camera and something else that I can't quite describe--I can't figure out what it is!

I've had so much fun with Jakub, creating and scavenging for things that will make our home more "us". I especially love that my husband is the one to find the estate sales or garage sales; I don't feel like I'm having to drag him to do anything he's not interested in. I sure am blessed with this boy! He'd rather go thrifting than watch a football game--God knew what he was doing with this one! It feels so nice to have such a good fit with the man that I married, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

With everything that is going on and vying for my attention, I'm so glad that I have him by my side each day. I can't make any promises, but hopefully I'll be able to post a little more regularly. There's so much going on that I'd like to talk about. Or maybe this is a time where I need to just keep quiet and enjoy life for all that it is. I guess we'll see. Until next time, grace and peace!

A Quick DIY

Have I ever told you how much I love Pinterest? The other night it cut my work load for a project down to nothing and I thought I'd share in case any one else is having the same problem.

For some reason, our house tends to be the hot spot for solicitors. There's more salespeople knocking at my door than I can shake a stick at! The other night I had had enough and decided we needed a sign to ward off all solicitors. I looked around on the internet, at first only finding fancy signs like this one:

photo via

This was a problem for two reasons: first, it was boring and ugly, and second, it was so boring and ugly, it might be overlooked and ineffective.

I decided I would make my own instead and went to Pinterest for inspiration. That's when I found these lovely FREE printables for such a task:

photo via

This meant I could now spend my extra time working on some other projects we have going on around the house! After about 5 minutes of cutting and pasting, we had a sign that was attractive, would stand out, and most notably, not clash with our ugly front door! Now we wait and see if it's effective. The silence will be music to my ears!

Pinterest is certainly becoming my cure-all and I wouldn't have it any other way. If you're having any sort of problem, do yourself a favor and get on Pinterest!

I know I've been absent quite a while, I hope to be back this week with a little view of what has been going on in my life and all the lessons I'm learning!

The Beginning of The End

How do you tell your husband that his life will never be the same after today? That he will be fighting an uphill battle and possibly everything he knew about life will be thrown out the window? This is what I am struggling with today because something has captured my heart and I don't know what to do. Let me explain...

photo via

That's right, homemade peppermint patties, and boy are they delicious! I've had this recipe saved on pinterest for a couple months now and today was the day I welcomed them into my home and I think they're here to stay. Thankfully my friend, Meg, loves this delectable treat as much as I do and so she was my partner in crime. [sidenote: I see why having an accomplice is so necessary: it lowers the feeling of guilt, and that is always a good thing.]

The recipe itself is pretty inexpensive, very easy to follow, and extremely rewarding. Before I saw this recipe, it never crossed my mind that you could actually make this at home. Never again will I be so silly. Now I just need to figure out this thing called self-control or my husband will be in for quite the surprise. You see, he doesn't share the same enthusiasm for sweet treats that I have, so he doesn't know the pull they have on me. I think once my metabolism slows down he's in for a whole lotta woman, if ya know what I mean.

If you enjoy peppermint patties, I highly recommend this recipe, but you've been warned: they mean business.

Life in 33 Days (Image Heavy)

I've been absent quite a while from this here blog and I think it's about time I cut that out! I haven't been absent for lack of topics to talk about. In fact, I've had an overload of life lately and sometimes in order to process it all, you just have to move through it and then at some point, look back and piece things together. So much has happened in these last several weeks and I feel like I have a million stories and thoughts to tell you! How about I start with something that I've been talking about for (quite literally) months without any sign of making headway!

Drum roll please......

That's right, I FINALLY finished my 50's inspired two-piece swimsuit last week! Just in time for a Sunday lake trip with some of the best friends around. Unlike my attempt last year at making my own swimsuit, this one held up to the water test (that is, everything stayed where it was supposed to when it got wet ha). I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. It takes a while to get used to wearing such high-waisted bottoms, but really, I feel so much more comfortable and confident in this style of suit than a modern two-piece. ( I mean, I can sit and not feel like I'm a lazy slob, which is always a plus). It also helps to satisfy my desire to live in that era. I love the clothes and style of the 1950s, but would I really want to live without the modern conveniences? ehh....

Aside from that, here's just a few other noteworthy events that have happened since my last post:

I got a ukulele and I'm actually getting the hang of it! I can already see there will be plenty of "jam sessions" with my dear friend meg, so watch out everyone, we may get famous.

We took a trip to the zoo, with my parents and all of the nieces and nephews, including these two:

Jakub and I fixed up this little table we found at an estate sale. I'll show the finished product another time. That process, from start to finish, is rather addicting so you may be seeing more additions later on.

I've been spending a lot of quality time with my brother's kids and it has been the time of my life! This little lady isn't too fond of females so when she sat on my lap, I had to document it! Unfortunately, this was the only picture I was able to snap before she was off. But don't you worry, she's taken a fancy to me and we'll have plenty more.

My nephew, Jesiah (top row, second from right), finished up his first t-ball season. This has been a highlight of my summer and an experience unlike anything else!

Did I mention, he scored the last two outs of the last game! We were all so proud!

She has Jakub wrapped around her finger, and I don't blame him!

Everyone got together last night and it was full of laughter, good food, games, and love

To welcome my Grandma Puckett, Aunt Karen, and Uncle Scott to town! Every moment with these people is so special.

Since my birthday, my life has been centered on family, both physically and theoretically. It goes without saying that I have had some great times with these people, but we have also experienced some heart-wrenching moments together in this time period. Moments that have challenged my ideas on what it really means to be family, and what aspects are pivotal to community. This has been an extreme period in time in which my whole being has been challenged every which way the wind blows. Through it all, I have seen that God is good and though it doesn't all quite make sense yet, my view of God's love and how he calls us to love has been heightened. I'm sure I'll expand on some thoughts in the coming days, but I just wanted to say, I'm still kicking and hopefully I won't be absent that long in the future.

Steps To Creativity

photo via

The majority of my time over the past few weeks has been swallowed up by a class I'm in, Life-Span Development. Though the content is extremely interesting to me, I've been getting frustrated with the lack of time to be creative (or really, to do anything). Today I'm in an especially creative mood and it has been taking all of my energy to focus on the work at hand.  

But, in my reading today, I came across a list of ways to be more creative and I thought it might interest some of you. People have their own avenues they like to explore in creativity, but some people don't realize how creative they really are! So, I hope you read this list and find some way to add creativity to this beautiful day (seriously, can the weather get any better?!).

The first step toward a more creative life is cultivating your curiosity and interest. How, do you say?

• Try to be surprised by something every day. Maybe it is something you see, hear, or read about. Become absorbed in a lecture or a book. Be open to what the world is telling you. Life is a stream of experiences. Swim widely and deeply in it, and your life will be richer.
• Try to surprise at least one person every day. In a lot of things you do, you have to be predictable and patterned. Do something different for a change. Ask a question you normally would not ask. Invite someone to go to a show or a museum you never have visited.
• Write down each day what surprised you and how you surprised others. Most creative people keep a diary, notes, or lab records to ensure that their experience is not fleeting or forgotten. Start with a specific task. Each evening record the most surprising event that occurred that day and your most surprising actions. After a few days, reread your notes and reflect on your past experiences. After a few weeks, you might see a pattern of interest emerging in your notes, one that might suggest an area you can explore in greater depth.
• When something sparks your interest, follow it. Usually when something captures your attention, it is short-lived--an idea, a song, a flower. Too often we are too busy to explore the idea, song, or flower further. Or we think these areas are none of our business because we are not experts about them. Yet the world is our business. We can't know which part of it is best suited to our interests until we make a serious effort to learn as much about as many aspects of it as possible.
• Wake up in the morning with a specific goal to look forward to. Creative people wake up eager to start the day. Why? Not necessarily because they are cheerful, enthusiastic types but because they know that there is something meaningful to accomplish each day, and they can't wait to get started.
• Spend time in settings that stimulate your creativity. In Csikszentmihalyi's research, he gave people an electronic pager and beeped them randomly at different times of the day. When he asked them how they felt, they reported the highest levels of creativity when walking, driving, or swimming.These activities are semiautomatic in that they take a certain amount of attention while leaving some time free to make connections among ideas. Another setting in which highly creative people report coming up with novel ideas is the sort of half-asleep, half-awake state we are in when we are deeply relaxed or barely awake.

[This was taken from the book, Essentials of Life-Span Development.]

p.s. Do you know what also fosters creativity?Pinterest! I was on it for way too long today, but you know what? When something sparks your interest, follow it! (I think this bullet point is the one I need to work on the most)

In The Studio

 

I had a rather relaxing but productive day spent in the studio. Somehow I was able to get my sewing machine working again and I finally hemmed some curtains we got a while back, as well as my thrift store skirt that I got last week [here's what it looks like. I'd say it's an improvement!]  

It was so nice to get back into the groove. Even though I did some pretty simple projects, it still eased my feelings of restlessness. And it got me antsy to finish my swimsuit that I had to quit several weeks ago. Hopefully I'll have it finished this week and hopefully it will look like I'm imagining! I guess you'll either see a post about how much I love it, or what I should've done differently. What a surprise it'll be! 

Also, I feel I should mention that in the picture above, I am not practicing the bellissimo kiss, nor am I asking for money. I was actually just holding a leaf, but you can't tell because there are a bunch of leaves in that particular area : ) I didn't want you guys to get the wrong impression and start sending me money or anything. I mean, I guess that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, but I thought I'd do you a favor and explain. 

I hope your day has been as comforting as mine has been for me! If not, get to it because the weather outside is wonderful!

I Wanna Make Something!

So I started this blog with the idea that I'd be showing things I make, because I LOVE to make things. But life got in the way and I really haven't made anything since I started this blog. But I've been getting antsy to get back in my little studio and whip something up! Today I want to share some things that are inspiring me and we'll (hopefully soon) see which route I go.

I made this dress for our reception, I was wanting to look straight out of the 1940's. It was my first attempt at a dress.

but now I'm wanting to make more dresses and skirts because frankly, I'm getting sick of jeans! Here's a few I have in mind that should be pretty simple:

photo via

photo via

photo via

photo via

photo via

 I made a pinup style one piece last year off of this design:

photo via

 I want to try another take on vintage inspired swimwear this year. I'm in love with these:

photo via

photo via

photo via

Man, I'm getting excited just going through these pictures and others I have saved up. Maybe it'll happen sooner than I thought : ) Do you guys fancy this style too? Everyone always says I'm a grandma, so I guess this is more proof.