Baby Showers

The past 2 weekends have been filled with celebrations for Sadie's upcoming arrival and have been so much fun! There's no greater blessing than being surrounded by family and friends who love you and I was reminded of this again and again. What a blessing it is that God gives us other people to walk through life with. People who are there to support us when life is difficult and who are there to celebrate with us the joys in life, such as new babies, which has to be one of the greatest!

Anyway, last weekend Brandon and I made a trip to Arizona for a baby shower thrown by my sister Amy and my Mom, with the help of Kendra and my aunts. It was a great time of reconnecting with family and friends and we only wish we could have stayed longer.

Amy and I

So many cute little girl things!

Kendra made this cute John Deere Blanket!

Amy made this great cake.

The weekend truely flew by but before we left we talked our brother-in-law Brian and my sister Amy into taking a few maternity photo's of us. Amy helped us think of poses and Brian took the pictures. I thought they did a great job and so had to post a few of our favorites. Thanks Brian and Amy!

Then this past weekend my friends Melinda, Courtney, and Andrea hosted a shower for me with the help of many of my other girlfriends here in California. Again it was wonderful getting to see so many people that I care about all together at one time.

Katy, Tiff, Christina, Me, Melinda, and Allison

Nancy, Courtney, Candace & Jacob, Kelli, and Andrea

Brandon's Family

Mom, Lynn, Licia, Nana, & Me

Debbie, Catharina, and Violet

Our New Kitchen!

Brandon has been hard at work on our kitchen for over a month now and I'm excited to show off his nearly completed project. He's been doing remodel work for other people for a long time now but it's fun to finally get to watch him and to enjoy the finished product. It's pretty impressive!

Kitchen Before

The Demolition Begins...

Notice Paul in his flip flops :)

There's no turning back at this point. Scary!

The beginning of putting the kitchen back together.

Jeremiah, Paul, Brandon, and Matt laying tile backer.

Hanging the ceiling.

New cabinets being installed.

Finishing up: Tile, Appliances, and Countertops

Our New Kitchen!

Oregon

This past week I had a chance to spend a little more time in Oregon with my family. It is always fun to visit, but time is especially precious to us now with dad being sick and our new baby on the way. It's an interesting balance we're learned to strike between the highs and lows of life. We continue to learn to recognize God's presence in both and to acknowledge His hand in it all. While I was up there my siblings continued to amuse themselves with my growing belly. Sadie received many rubs and pokes and Kendra and my cousin Michaelah even spent some time practicing for when she arrives. Although I'm not sure that I'll be leaving her with them anytime soon. :)

One of my favorite things about Oregon in the summertime is all the fresh fruit! I especially love the blackberries that grow around my parents' dairy and am so glad that I was able to bring back what I picked on the airplane.

Finally, on my last day there Dad surprised us by requesting to take a trip outside to see what the boys were up to. Robert started building a new barn a little while back, Ryan purchased a new welder which he is putting to good use making all the stanchions and gates for the barn, and Mom, Grandpa, and Caleb have been working on getting a garage ready for the winter. Dad has been so worn out over the past few months that he hasn't felt up to getting outside at all recently so this was hugely encouraging to us. These are the little moments that have become anything but little to us. They are the moments that encourage us on and remind us to be so thankful for every "today" that we get to spend together.

2nd Trimester Photos

My brother Robert asks me almost every time we talk how big I am, well all my brothers ask for that matter. I think that they are secretly wishing and hoping that by the end of my pregnancy I am enormous! :) I on the other hand am not wishing the same thing although it has been fun to have a visual reminder of Sadie's presence as well as all the kicks and pokes that tell me she's growing bigger and stronger every day.

Week 20

Week 24

Week 28

Fun Projects and Messy Projects

Brandon is on to the kitchen and is currenly in the demolition phase. Yikes! What a mess! However, I'm learning that this is the process of things in a fixer-uper. Sometimes life has to be messy and crazy before it can get to where we want it to be.

Meanwhile, I have been working on a few fun projects of my own. I got a sewing machine last Christmas and it has been in the box ever since. However, with some time on my hands this summer I decided to get some use out of it. First I made this cute nursing cover.  For a first project it was super easy and fun! I actually made 3 of them over the course of about a day. Then feeling a little more confident I moved on to making curtains for Sadie's room, that's what we've decided to name our baby girl by they way. My friend Melinda and I found a great fabric store in Anaheim called M & L Fabrics. Their prices are similar to JoAnne's but they have so many more choices. It was actually a bit overwhelming at first but we found fabric that matched Sadie's bedding and I can't wait to go back.