Twenty-eight weeks.

I’ve officially made it to the third trimester. What a blessing! I’ve started feeling the fatigue that apparently returns with the third trimester, but other than that I’m feeling generally well.

The weather’s been absolutely gorgeous for Ohio in March. I love warm weather…much preferred over cold, so basically skipping winter has been a-okay with me! However, I’ve noticed the higher temps are causing my feet and hands to balloon. I can’t wear my wedding rings anymore, and my dress shoes are imprinted into my feet after work. I’ll still take swollen limbs over cold weather any day!

Oh, and I realized I forgot a food I craved the last two weeks. Eugene was looking at me weird, so I asked him {jokingly} “What are you looking at, my cottage-cheese thighs!?” And then I realized that I forgot to list cottage cheese as my craving. ;) Hahah, pregnancy.

People are commenting on how big I’m getting. {Gotta love that.} I’m feeling rather “large & in charge” and I know I’m just going to keep getting bigger like my ankles, but it’s beyond worth it. I will say though, I’m still carrying really low. I’m holding on to my waist as long as I can! Guess it’s a perk of being 6 feet tall – sucks in getting guys to ask you to high school dances, riding planes, sitting in class desks, great for reaching high shelves at the grocery, playing volleyball, watching a concert, and apparently carrying a baby!

The little one & I have enjoyed daily long walks with the pup in the glorious weather. It usually means that my ankles are going to be cankles by the end of the walk, but it’s worth it.

Also, the last few mornings, Eugene’s placed his hand on my belly while we’re still laying down & {without fail} our little one moves and bumps his hand. It is honestly such a wondrous, happy thing. His daughter wants him to know she loves him too. I love that. {So much.}

Dominican art.

When Eugene & I went on our luna de miel {honeymoon} in the Dominican Republic, we didn’t spend much on souvenirs. We spent our pesos on horseback & 4-wheeling excursions, the bed & breakfast, the beach, and food rather than trinkets that we didn’t really have room to pack for our return anyway.

Oh my word, looking at those pictures makes me want to jump on a plane right now. It was heavenly there. HEAVENLY!

Okay, back to Ohio. Although we didn’t buy much in the DR, we did snag three small paintings. They’re bright, colorful & unique {sounds like my style, huh.}

I cleaned up our basement the other day & found the paintings. They don’t really “go” anywhere in our new house, but it made me sad to see them boxed up, so I decided maybe the little one would enjoy the colors & culture. ;)

Eugene & I picked out the spot together – we agreed that we didn’t want it to be the main focus or even really noticeable, since they’re kind of different paintings. But we love the idea of having them displayed. So the little wall/corner next to the closet & door seemed the ideal spot…

{Yes, the bathroom’s still demolished. Eugene’s going to tackle that on his Spring Break.}

And here they are displayed {don’t mind the scary-looking bathroom!}…

How fun is that?! Like I said, unique.

I have lots of fun projects to blog about {DIY bed skirt, reupholstered chairs, DIY crib sheet}, but I just have to find time to sit down & write them. We have so much to do before the little one arrives in less than 3 months! Such an exciting time for us…we’re so blessed.

Joyful.

I don’t have much to blog about today. I just finished reupholstering two chairs, but I don’t have the photos edited yet. So I thought I’d just share some things that have been giving me joy lately.

I have a special small group of women who I meet with twice a month. This month we’ve set it as our goal to be intentional about finding joy in daily life. Not surprisingly, I’ve had at least four {if not more} devotions that “just happen” to be about joy the last two weeks. God is cool like that. I love it when he brings the same topic back to me through devotions and scriptures. So, JOY it is. :)

Here’s just a small list of things that have been filling me with joy the last few days:

• my bulbs are blooming purple, yellow, and white in front of our house
• the pup & I have had lots of quality time walking outside in the beautiful weather
• speaking of weather, this sunshine & vitamin D are instant happiness
• nice texts from friends/family who are randomly thinking of me
• {new} windows open
• my Little One moving around all day, reminding me she’s there & safe
• funfetti cake
• facetime with my sister & niece {watching my niece show me her belly & laugh}
• pretty Easter eggs
• my husband rubbing my hugely swollen feet
• seeing how happy Eugene is because baseball is in full swing
• family who are supportive & excited to meet the Little One
• answered prayers for friends
• taking the pup to the baseball field to run like crazy

There’s so much to be joyful about in my life. :)

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

Philippians 4:4

Miracle product.

I bought this “anti-pull” mesh harness for the pup a couple days ago for around $12. I’ve only used it three times, but I need share that this thing is a miracle product so far!

Besides locking myself & the pup out of the house by accident {pregnancy brain?} when I took him on the first walk with this, we had a fantastic experience. When I took the pup to the vet when he was sick recently, someone in the waiting room was talking about their amazing experience with her dog and a harness. I decided this was something I needed to investigate.

Espn has always pulled on the leash, ever since we first got him as a puppy. We worked with him a bunch on it, and we’ve taken him on regular walks, but no matter how hard I tried to train him, he still managed to pull.

Well, not anymore! I don’t know how it works, or if it’s just something mental for the pup, but he doesn’t even have the leash stretched all the way when we walk now. It’s fabulous! I was worried about continuing to take him on walks now that I’m getting bigger with my pregnancy, but I have no fears with this anymore. Definitely worth the twelve bucks.

I know this is a pretty boring topic to post on, but I wish someone would have told me to try this sooner. So for all ya’ll out there with bigger pups who pull…give it a shot!

Consignment sale.

On Friday, I stopped at a consignment sale on my way to work. It was held at a church about fifteen minutes from me, and they opened the first hour for first time moms only. It was $1 to get in the door, and I had no idea what to expect. Here’s some cell phone pics of what they had…

I walked away with some loot – all for $24…

The baby bath was a buck, the boppy cover $2, the play mat $5, and the books and shoes were deals too…

 

Teeny tiny baby shoes are seriously one of the cutest things ever!

I was hoping they would have some larger items that interested me {like a jogging stroller}, but I still feel like the trip was worth the time and travel. All the items were very clean, many that I got were brand new still in the package. And thanks to the opportunity to shop the sale first, I walked away with some nice items for a good price.

Easter décor.

I swapped out my Valentine’s decorations for some Easter fun a couple weeks ago. I bought some basic plastic eggs after Easter last year, and planned to do some fancy craft with them. But let’s be honest, this year it wasn’t high on the priority list. So here’s the cheap-o eggs prettied up with some glass…

And I threw the Easter eggs I made {the flops from last year} into a gold basket and called it good {for now} on the “mantle.” It definitely still needs more to spruce it up.

Oh, and in case you’re curious about how my DIY painted linoleum flooring is holding up, I have good news for ya. It’s in the same condition it was the day I finished…well minus some dirt & dog hair {just keepin’ it real here.}

I think next time around I would pick a darker base color. I’ve found this color shows dirt easily, but it really doesn’t help that the pup tracks in a ton of mud from our yard that is still struggling from having our septic system replaced. All that said, I’m still happy with my DIY flooring solution. It saved us a bunch of moola, and it’s pretty practical until we decide we want to install “real” flooring.

I can’t believe Easter is coming up…this little one will be here before we know it! :)

Twenty-six weeks.

I’m twenty-six weeks along now, and I have some praise-worthy news to share! I mentioned a while ago that at my 20 weeks ultrasound, they measured the little one’s ureter that connects to her kidney and found that it wasn’t quite proportional. The doctor said that this issue often resolves itself as the baby grows, but if not then the baby will need to be on antibiotics for a while to protect against UTIs. We’ve been praying for six weeks now that God would correct this issue before our next ultrasound so that our little one wouldn’t have any complications to deal with after birth.

Annnd, {you can probably guess what happened because God is that good}, God showed up in a big and perfect way. Our little one is proportional and looking very healthy…no need for further monitoring! Hallelujah!

Below is the little one’s full body with knees pulled up to her tummy…

The ultrasound tech said that our little girl has a super long femur. Go figure. {I’m 6’ tall for those who haven’t met me before.} I’m guessing her little feet will be pretty long too…

I saw this profile pic and immediately thought that she looks just like her daddy. I know that’s goofy to say from a black and white blurry pic, but I can totally see him in her…

And here’s the dreaded self-portrait…

The biggest thing that happened these two weeks was some Braxton Hicks contractions I had for three straight days after a really stressful, physically and mentally exhausting event. I definitely over-did it, but thankfully the contractions went away after three days. They were pretty close together for a while, but resting and drinking water helped them decrease. No worries!

I also had a big weight spurt – 8 lbs in 4 weeks. I’m still on track for healthy though. I’m pretty lucky since I’ve not tried too hard to watch my diet…just eating healthy {while indulging as needed} and following my body cues. It’s been strange to watch my once-athletically fit body change so much, particularly difficult the first trimester, but now that my stomach looks like a baby’s living there, rather than just a bunch of Twinkies, I’m starting to embrace the new physique. ;)

We also got some big confirmation that God is leading us to try out me keeping my job. It’s not at all what we envisioned for me, and to be real honest, it’s not at all what I would pick. But we’ve prayed for God to show us His path and make it obvious, and boy did He! I don’t want to share details of the way He worked it out specifically, but as of right now, I’m planning on working from home around three days and from my office two days a week. It will be, without a doubt, a huge challenge for me, but I’m trusting that God isn’t finished with me at my job, and He will provide what I need to do both jobs {mommy & manager} well. Like I said, it’s not what I would pick myself, but I’ve learned time & time again that God knows what’s best for me way better than I know. Eugene’s in agreement with me and helped me make the decision, which helps immensely. I have some anxiety about how I’ll make the whole thing work while breastfeeding {Lord willing}, staying up at night, taking care of the home, keeping a life, and managing my personal high expectations. I think anxiety right now is probably normal. The good thing is that my anxiety isn’t about whether things will be okay or not; it’s just about the logistics of all the little stuff. I know if God’s leading us this way, He will make it okay. And that, my friends, give me a world of peace.

I love this little one so much already. Just about every day, if not three times a day, I tell her daddy how much I’m looking forward to meeting her. He feels the same way. We are so excited to welcome her into our life. We’ve never even met, yet we love her. {So much.}