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!

Moving right along!

We are now 14 weeks pregnant!  Finally made it to my 2nd trimester.  The first one was pretty tough.  I felt pretty horrible, pretty much all day.  I am sure that my family got tired of me, but it was rough.  Not feeling good all day makes for a long 8 weeks!  My husband is the one who was good to me through all of it.  I even yelled at him one night because I had fallen asleep on the couch and he woke me up to send me to bed.  Yes, I apologized later!
We had a sonogram about a week ago and we got to see our beautiful baby.  She actually looks like a real baby now!  You can see just about all the features and we got to see the legs kicking like crazy.  That moment was amazing.  I can't physically see, feel, or hold my baby yet...  But I got to see her on that screen and she became so real.  So so excited!
I got a few baby things for Christmas and am very excited.  We hadn't bought anything, waiting to find out if it's a boy or a girl.  But we got a Texas A&M onesie and bib.  It now hangs on the babies door as a reminder of what is coming.  So so excited!
God has been big lately.  He has kept my husband and I relying on each other for love and support.  And he has kept us loving each other at our most unlovable moments.  But lately, as I've been reading through Joshua, I see how truly big God is.  He goes before us to pave the way.  He was there with me while I was sick, I just may not have noticed.  He is there with me every time I get scared or nervous.  And He is with our baby, making her big and strong and healthy.  Sometimes it's easy to forget just how great our God really is.
I was a little emotional this Christmas season as I started thinking about what God did.  He sent his son, His child, His flesh and blood, to Earth to save us, to save me.  Having the baby to think about now makes me really appreciate the fullness of that sacrifice.  What a grand gesture of love!  How He loves us!
Heres the the 2nd trimester being happy and good.  Here's to a wonderful baby in 2011.  And here's to a God that is bigger than life and greater than anything imaginable.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

My first blog!

So, I'm not sure how this will turn out, but here goes!  I am not a great writer and my life isn't all that amazing.  But my life is blessed and I am hoping my story has significance in this world.
I am married to an amazing man.  He is wonderful, sweet, and loves me even though I'm a bit crazy.
And we are expecting our first child.  This news makes me want to cry.

I never imagined how I would already love my baby so much.  I can already picture her life (no I don't know it's a girl, but I hope!).  I want her to be happy, loved, and to know Christ.  I want so badly to be a good mom.  To continue being a good wife.  To teach my children to follow God throughout their lives.  To have an impact on someone or something.

Some have worried that I am not excited about being pregnant and having a child.  That couldn't be farther from the truth.  I think I'm just worried.  I've wanted this for so long, I'm nervous that I won't actually get it.  I have been waiting to get pregnant for quite some time.  Thankfully, God is greater than me, and the time has been good.  My husband and I have had some extra time to enjoy marriage.  And we've both been able to watch my sister and brother in law have a baby.  That was definitely helpful.  But this is real.  This is life changing.

My prayer is that God would continue to be bigger than me.  That He would continue walking beside me and helping our baby grow big and strong.  And that I would remember that He is my treasure.  He is my prize.