40

{40 week baby belly}

this picture is so dark. i will have lee take one of me in the front yard.

40 weeks are up! 

today i went to my favorite hair stylist ever, rachel. love that girl.

last night i went with erin to dinner. she brought me a cute card and picture frame for the baby's room.

i wish i was eating the bbq chicken quesadillas that we shared. must eat that again soon.

 

a list

// i like watching revenge on hulu. wtf! the season finale!

// i found some precious little owl mugs i might order with some of my birthday money.

// purple + green flowers are my fave right now.

// i talked with angi's mom, pam, the other night. i really love that woman.

// our neighbor, shawn, is so wonderful. she's offered and offered to help us with the furkids when we have the baby, before my family gets here. we finally took her up on her offer. i keep thinking about what i can do for her to show our appreciation. she knows how much we love our furkids and how we will worry. it was that or we planned on hiring a dog walking business. thank you shawn and bethany + jeff for offering help with our home and furbabies!

// i need to get my thank you cards ready for family and friends.

// i feel like i have so much to do, yet everything is done. {almost}

// i told lee i've dedicated "mirrors" by justin timberlake to him. i'm a big fan that song. lee... not so much.  :)

// house-hunting is becoming exhausting.

// i like making random lists like this. i can look back on it and see what i was thinking during different times in my life.

// a new chapter is about to start. i feel like this new chapter will open others as well.

// cell phone is having issues, so if you're a person who cannot get through, i'm not ignoring you. just dealing with a crap phone right now!

// i'm watching holly has a baby on E!  i like it. i like her and her baby daddy. there are some things that i feel the same way on...what can i say, me and the playboy bunny have a few things in common! now she's in labor and it's making me a little nervous....uh oh.

words on motherhood // our yard + home

 “Your children are not your children.
They are sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you.
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the make upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness.
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He also loves the bow that is stable.” 

-Kahlil Gibran

{our tree in the front yard}

The Gift: 

It was a warm day when God placed it in her hands. She trembled with emotion as she saw how fragile it appeared. This was a very special gift God was entrusting to her. A gift that would one day belong to the world. Until then, she was instructed to be its guardian and protector. The woman said she understood and reverently took it home, determined to live up to the faith God had placed in her.

At first she barely let it out of her sight, protecting it from anything she perceived to be harmful to its well-being; watching with fear in her heart when it was exposed to the environment outside of the sheltered cocoon she had formed around it. But the woman began to realize that she could not shelter it forever. It needed to learn to survive the harsh elements in order to grow, enough to allow it to expand into its own unique shape but not so much for to grow wild and untamed.

Sometimes she would lie in bed at night, feelings of inadequacy overwhelming her...She wondered if she was capable of handling the awesome responsibility placed on her. Then she would hear the quiet whisper of God reassuring her that he knew she was doing her best. And she would fall asleep feeling comforted.

The woman grew more at ease with her responsibility as the years passed. The gift had enriched her life in so many ways by its presence that she could no longer remember what her life had been like before receiving it, nor imagine what life would be like without it. She had all but forgotten her agreement with God.

One day she became aware of how much the gift had changed. It no longer had a look of vulnerability about it. Now it seemed to glow with strength and steadiness, almost as if it were developing a power within. Month after month she watched as it became stronger and more powerful, and the woman remembered her promise. She knew deep within her heart that her time with the gift was nearing an end.

The inevitable day arrived when God came to take the gift and present it to the world. The woman felt a deep sadness, for she would miss its constant presence in her life....With heartfelt gratitude, she thanked God for so many years. Straightening her shoulders, she stood proud, knowing that it was indeed, a very special gift. One that would add to the beauty and essence of the world around it. And the mother let her child go.

-Renee R. Vroman

 {backyard. starting to feel like summer outside.}

{favorite candle from target}

{coffee beans + missing montana}

today is a good day. preparing for baby. it's been warm most of the day and now it's a little windy with a few raindrops. a perfect day to enjoy home and the quiet. i was looking through my books i've put together the past 12 years. i have three that are filled with poems and quotes and pictures that i love. i read the two i put in this post and was reminded how much i loved them years ago. they now have so much more meaning. 

“Your children are the greatest gift God will give to you, and their souls the heaviest responsibility He will place in your hands. Take time with them, teach them to have faith in God. Be a person in whom they can have faith. When you are old, nothing else you've done will have mattered as much.” 
-Lisa Wingate

my birthday

this weekend was the best. i think i say that a lot. i can't help it when it's spent with my husband. friday was my birthday {i love birthdays}. i really love my family and all my wonderful friends who called, texted, sent cards, and gifts. i have good people in my life. on my b-day i decided to put on my favorite shoes {below. i need to find another pair of these! they are the best...had them for 2 yrs}, went to the city by myself, and did some birthday shopping. the day was beautiful. i saw bethany and her daughter, went to dazbog, and took a walk. the real celebration began when me and lee had our date night. he surprised me with flowers and a gift. then we went to our place, appaloosa. we hadn't been there since our anniversary, when my brother surprised us with a big gift card to eat like kings. so, it was good to go back to our place. last time before baby, we assume :)     then we just walked around, had gelato, and spent time on 16th street. we never hang out in that area, so it was nice.

i'm lactose intolerant. i took a risk. lee talked me into it....the mama mia hit the spot. we sat outside and listened to music on the street.

the boy and man on the piano were A-MA-ZING. i'm not kidding. beautiful. the man has made an appearance on the blog before. i think he's homeless. lee and i talked about him when we walked away, wondering what his story is and how did he become homeless and who taught him to play like that? maybe someone from his childhood? everyone's story is so interesting.

 

39 weeks. as you can see my belly button has not popped out...not sure why?...and get this: those pants are mine from before i got prego. they still fit. under my tummy of course ;)

the rest of the weekend we looked at a house, played baseball in the backyard, and enjoyed each other. we were really on the go and i definitely felt it. the bottoms of my feet were sore and my skinny pants were just a little too tight feeling around my calves. and walking up my stairs feels like a marathon! and funny enough, bending over to pick something up is weird when your tummy is in the way now. i can tell this past week the baby has grown! and moving her little butt around, a lot! and don't get my started on rolling my body from one side to the other in bed-hilarious. all these things are not so unfortunate. i'm still loving every minute of this pregnancy.

did i mention how great my friends are? ali surprised me with a gift: we have the baby swing. kathleen is getting the bouncer. this baby is so blessed with so many amazing people in her life already.

and my husband is the greatest. he surprised me with clothes as well. a few things i will need before and after the baby is here. and thank you to family for surprising me with gifts and money! it really was an amazing birthday.

39

 {resting a snack on my tummy.}

today i felt really good. 39 weeks and i'm likin it.  :)

last night lee made up hilarious songs to sing to the baby. hilarious. one is called, "placenta train". man, i love him.