Christmas in Springtime!

Time has come for my showers to start.  It's like Christmas!  Harper is one lucky baby.  Plus, it's so good to get to see friends all together.  I had a fabulous time!

 The spread - SO GOOD!  Cake ball rattles - so cute and delish!

 

My new banner for Harper's room.  No glitter glue here-hand cut letters.  Thanks Staci!

 

Diapers with awesome messages on them = a fun time at 2 am.

Plus tons of new books for Harper's collection - she's going to be a genion

 Leopard Print Tutu Dress

Harper's new bikini from KK (Grandma).  It's a bikini.  What is KK thinking?  She will definitely need a cover up!  But it is pretty cute and came with a sun hat!

 Yes.  I liked the plain pink and grey onesies the best.  Kristen and I like solid colors.  So what?

 Frog Bathtoy Scooper

 

Her new ducky robe

 My favorite little man in the whole world.  He definitely stole some hearts today.

Grayson helping me unwrap gifts

The hostesses: Jessica, Stephanie, Staci, and Kara.  Such great friends!!!

Me and Mom (KK)

 Me and Kristi (Grandma)

 

 Me and Kristen

 

 Me and my fav high school friends!  Emily, Amanda, Lexi

Me and Kristen from work

 Me, Jill, Hannah, and Alyssa.  Alyssa was so good but it was naptime.

My friend Michelle from work.  She is so much fun!

Things I made and Things I bought

This has been craft month!  First, we went to Canton to get some inspiration.  When I wasn't fully inspired, we went to McKinney Trade Days.  Then I got started.  Here are some new projects that I have just finished, and then some that I just bought because they were too cute!

Easter Cross - He is risen indeed!

Painted Harper's hamper and finished the curtains

Finished her baby bedding with sweet ties

These two projects are art canvas' for Harper's shelves.  We went to my parent's in Argyle and had a crafting session.  Kristi, Taylor, Carleigh, and Cody were amazing crafters!  Let me just tell you how completely surprised I was at how crafty my sweet husband is.  I might have unleashed a demon!

Sleepy owl

Mama Bird and Baby Bird.  Love.

These are all the things we have bought.  Some of them were just so cute, I had to get them.  Harper is going to be so well accessorized!

Knit cap for her newborn pictures

Hairbows: Orange for summer, Maroon for A&M games, and Blue just for fun

Leg Warmers - Um, yes please!

Her first pink tutu bought by Aunties Taylor and Carleigh

Dress Form (I always wanted one when I was little, now she'll have one!)

I really wanted a cheap dresser to put in her closet so that I could have more storage.  I looked for months but couldn't find anything that was decent for a good price.  Then I found this.  So awesome.  Love that it's already vintaged and super cute.  And it was a good price.  Sweet!

Vintage Dresser

Next on my list of things to finish:

Paint her name on the wall

Vintage Frame for around her name 

Floating Shelves for above her dresser

Vintage Framed Screen made into a Hairbow holder

Lots to do and only 8 weeks left!  

Happy Easter!  Jesus is Risen!

You and Me and the Belly makes Three...

Life around the Hempkins' household has been very crazy lately. School is very busy as the TAKS testing season approaches. All I can do is count down the days till summer - my favorite time of the year! Cody and I have also been doing a TON of projects. We are planting grass in hopes of revitalizing our yard. It didn't take long, but we definitely killed our grass in less than three years. Nice, huh? Cody has also been enjoying lots of new toys lately. A riding lawn mower, a new dart board, and his old recliner now in our living room (yes, it's very ugly but comfy). Other than that, I have been progressing farther and farther along in this pregnancy and lots of changes have been taking place.

As the pregnancy goes, I am getting much bigger. I now have trouble doing small things like tying my shoes, picking anything up off the ground, and moving quickly in any circumstance. At Lowe's the other night, I was going so slow that Cody asked if I wanted to ride in the cart so we could make it out before they closed. Funny.

I haven't been sleeping very well lately, but I definitely have a routine. I usually fall asleep on the couch a little after 9, go to bed later, wake up about 12 and 3, and then get up for good about 6. I have a body pillow to help me sleep so I guess I'm taking up more room than possible. This is where our problems lie. I think that I should get more room since I am obviously so much bigger. So I push Cody over every night and he so lovingly pushes back. Later, after I have gotten up and come back to bed, it seems that Cody always takes over the entire bed. So then I have to push him back over and he complains that he's on his side and I'm crazy. Sadly, this happens almost every night and will probably continue to happen for the next two months. Some nights I have even been so tired that when he is on my side, I throw a child like tantrum, kicking feet and all.

So I have less than 10 weeks left and I'm definitely counting down the days. I really just want her to be here! I have baby showers in the next few weeks that are getting me very excited. Plus, it will be a great distraction from the overwhelming feeling of inadequacy and fear I've had lately. Mostly, I just worry that I won't know what to do with this beautiful baby that is mine. I won't just be babysitting and she won't ever go home. She'll be ours forever! Such an exciting and scary thought all at the same time. Thankfully I know God is faithful and will show me what I need to know. Now all I need is Harper!

Harper's New Room

This week was spring break.  A MUCH NEEDED break from work.  My main goal was to get Harper's room looking more like a baby room and less like a hodge podge of random furniture.  I am so excited!  It looks great so far.  I have the bedding, paint, and furniture done.  Still lots to do, but enough to get excited about!

So here are some sneak peeks of Harper's new room.  

Here is the before picture...

This is the fabric I chose.  The floral is the bedskirt.  The green is the bumper.  And the striped is the curtains.  

Her bedding is very elegant, not too babyish.  It's almost finished.  I still need to add ties to the bumper and find a crib sheet.  

Kristi, Taylor, and Carleigh came over this week to help me paint.  They are paint pros!  We got the whole room done in 6 hours.  I still need to add stuff to the walls, but that will come with time.  Plus, I am making some pillows for the chaise lounge for some extra color.  Don't you love it?  I do!

Other then working on Harper's room, spring break was very eventful.  My friend Amanda Sampson got married to John Mooney on Saturday afternoon.  It was a beautiful wedding and I got to hang out with Lexi at the same time.  

Then, later that evening, my friend Jessica Russell got married to my friend Cory Largent.  What a great wedding!  I have never been happier to see two friends get married.  They are perfect for each other. 

 Then, sadly, they went on vacation without me.  :)  So I stayed here and went to lots of doctor appointments and got things done around the house.  Either way, it was a great spring break!

Contemplating pregnancy and the universe...

We are at 6 months and moving right along.  I am finally getting big enough that people feel comfortable asking if I'm pregnant.  Plus, I'm feeling really good right now.  Some nights when Cody and I are just hanging out on the couch, I almost forget that I'm pregnant.  Then of course Harper decides to remind me and kicks me in the gut...but I'm sure she does it out of love.

So I haven't really been reading any books or researching any information about pregnancy.  I am kind of relying on all the stuff my sister Kristen told me while she was pregnant.  She's pretty smart and I think spent tons of time reading.  But there are some of the surprising things I have discovered from pregnancy.

     1. Rolling over in bed is starting to become VERY difficult.
     2. I get physically out of breath just walking up one flight of stairs.
     3. I am totally in love with milk and eggs.  It's weird eating so much breakfast all the time.
     4. I never know what is coming next and that is annoying.  All anyone ever says is "Everyone's different, so who knows?"   Well I am a control freak and I'd like to know thank you very much.
     5. Being pregnant does have its' perks. People are so helpful.  They carry stuff for you, let you through   the line first, allow you to eat first, always ask how you are.  I love this part!

Other than that, Cody and I have been reading Job this week.  The other day I asked Cody how he thinks he would react if he was Job.  If we lost everything or if something happened to Harper or me.  Would God still be his God or would he be angry and turn away?  To be honest, I wasn't sure what my answer was.  I wanted to be able to say that I would trust God completely and would not be angry.  But I wasn't sure.  Then, we started reading about what God says when He starts talking back to Job.  God questions Job about why he thinks he has any say.

Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? 

Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! 

   Who stretched a measuring line across it? 

On what were its footings set, 

   or who laid its cornerstone— 

While the morning stars sang together 

   and all the angels shouted for joy?

Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place?
Tell me, if you understand.

Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? 

   Tell me, if you know all this.

Job 38

Who is Job really?  Not anyone special, just a man.  Did Job hang the moon?  raise the sun?  create the heavens?  tell the rain when to fall?  No.  It's God.  It's always God.  This is God's world.  We are His creation.  He is in charge.  It's funny when I forget and remember that.  We aren't here on Earth to grow up, get a job, have a family, live life and only worry about ourselves.  We are here for God's purpose, God's glory.  We are here to love Him and worship Him, to adore Him.  If we have a great life too, I think that's just a bonus.   

Have you ever truly comprehended how amazing God is?  Think of all the big things He has done.  He created everything-Earth, Sun, Moon, Oceans, Continents, Planets, etc.  But He also created even the tiniest details.  He placed all the stars in the sky to allow us to enjoy their beauty and He knows each by name. He is the God of all.  And He is even more beautiful than we know!

So with that said, I've realized that no matter what-God is bigger than my problems.  No matter what happens to me, I will trust Him.  Even if my life turns out like Job's, I will love my God for all eternity.  
And thankfully, Cody's response was the same.  So I know I'll have someone to lean on...

Your love it beckons deeply, 

By grace now I will come 

And take this life, take your life.

Sin has lost it's power,

death has lost it's sting.

From the grave you've risen

VICTORIOUSLY!

Into marvelous light I'm running,

Out of darkness, out of shame.

By the cross You are the truth,

You are the life, You are the way! 

a call to come and die.

  

And it's a...

GIRL!  Well, most likely...  :)

We had a sonogram on Monday morning.  We were all excited about finding out the gender, but the sonogram tech didn't seem as worried about that.  She kept saying, well, I can't really see, so we'll just worry about it later.  She measured every little part of our baby and everything is perfect.  The tech even complained that she moves too much-she's a very active little baby already.  In the end, she said she was 90% sure it was a girl.  She never saw any boy parts, so that is what she is basing her opinion on.  So the question is...how accurate is her 90%???

So this picture is kinda creepy, but it's also kinda cool.  If you look a little sideways, you can see her face.  Her eyes, nose, and mouth are very prominent.  Sadly, this is the only sonogram picture we got. 

We are not really worried about if the sonogram tech is right or wrong.  We think it's a girl too and we are super excited.  We can't believe how big she's getting; it's like she's growing by the minute.  I finally have a little baby bump and I'm definitely showing it off.  It's fun to finally be so outwardly excited about the baby.  And it's fun to be able to say "Baby Girl".  There's definitely a peace to it.

In case you haven't heard, her name will be Harper.  We haven't set a middle name yet, but we have been in love with Harper from day 1.  My brother Eric has asked if I will name her Erika and my friend Jessica continues to call her Little Jessica.  But I think I've known deep down that she would be Harper from the very beginning.

She's been moving a lot these days.  It's been fun for Cody and I to just sit there with our hands on my belly waiting for her to move.  I think it has been a good experience for us to have together and to enjoy as newbie parents.  We even put her crib up together and of course, the first thing Cody wants to do is let Maggie try it out.  We may not always be on the same page with parenting, but it'll been fun figuring out this parenting thing together.

We got to hang with our favorite little guy, Grayson, on Sunday and see him scoot all over the place.  He's crawling and walking (with help) like crazy!  If there was ever a reason for me to want a little boy, he would be the reason.  But we know he'll love his cousin no matter what.  He's amazing.  Even with a double ear infection, he's a absolute doll.

Well, depending on the ice conditions for the next two days, I might get some nursery stuff done.  Here's to hoping!

I'm so in love...

I am 20 weeks today, which means halfway...wahoo!  Things have been going pretty well.  I'm still small enough that I can hide my belly.  My students at school still don't know, which is funny.  Funny because they all thought I was pregnant back in August (rude) when I wasn't, and now have no clue.
We had a dr's appointment 2 weeks ago, all excited to find out the gender, and they wanted to wait 2 more weeks.  Boo.  So we were supposed to go yesterday, but Snowpalooza 2011 cancelled our appointment.  Double Boo.  I'd be upset except that I haven't had to work in four days-which is a pretty nice little vacation.  Sadly, since we don't know the gender, there isn't much we can do.  So I look up baby rooms, baby bedding, and just hang out.
Last night we went over to my parents house in Argyle to hang out with the family (Carleigh enticed me with homemade cookies!).  We looked at baby bedding (I sadly noticed I don't have any boy rooms-uh oh) and looked up more baby names.  A few were pretty funny-Enoch, Obadiah, and Lazarus.  But even though we have a few ideas for boy names, we have always just loved 1 for a girl.  Hopefully our next post will tell you the gender and name...we'll see!
Last night was also the point where a few things changed for me.  On the way over there, I felt these little movements inside my belly.  At first I thought they were like little gas bubbles that had popped right near my belly button.  Then I realized that gas bubbles don't pop near your belly button, so it must have been a BABY KICK.  Wow.  Just realizing what it was changed my whole perspective.  She's in there, really and truly.  And she's getting big enough to kick me.  I suddenly felt complete and utter awe and love for this little person inside me.  And complete and utter awe for the God who created this baby.  What an amazing feeling.
Psalm 139 says: You formed my innermost parts; You knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  In Your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.
What a huge promise!  That God knows and loves and has special plans for our baby, and has had them even before I thought about them.  To know He loves our baby even more than I.
I would do anything for my baby.  And I would do anything for my God.  And I know He would do anything for me because He already did.  He chose to send His only Son, His perfect Son, to save the world.  I only hope and pray that my child will also know and love God as well.
What an amazing God!