1.27.2013

Two kids. What's on my heart.

.You're the Best Song.by.Bethany Dillon.

Good morning
You and the sun are up before I'm ready
But ready or not, you need me
So here I am

I'm learning that in the long hard days
There is beauty
Do you know my favorite place to see it
It's when I look at you

And though I'm tired now
You're worth every sleepless night

You're worth it all, cause I know...

You're the best song I'll ever write
And we're humming and dancing through the years together
You're the best song I'll ever write
And I pray you'll hear Jesus in it when you're older

I remember when you were just a heartbeat that I heard
and now our eyes meet
Forever is not enough to love you

Every prayer for you is like a seed in the ground
Every tear I cry is like rain
And in its due season
I pray a harvest will be found
Your heart and mouth confessing Jesus' name




It's Sunday night as I write this. Tomorrow is my very first day staying at home alone with both my babies. 

To be quite honest, I'm terrified.

But this song has been resonating in my head lately. I can't listen to it without getting a bit weepy. 

These babies are absolutely driving me to my knees. My sweet little Molly has all of a sudden entered the stage of challenging authority. It's left me speechless probably too many times to count. And my itty bitty Cooper has developed bouts of inconsolable fussiness that just break my heart. I don't quite know what is making him so uncomfortable, and it just kills me. :( 

All I know is two things:

First, they're worth it. Even one sweet smile. Or one, "I love YOUUUUUUU!!!" The hugs and the kisses.  The big newborn eyes that sometimes go crossed-eyed, accompanied with the little flared nostrils. Ha. They get me. Deep in my soul. I love these teeny humans so much more than I ever thought possible. The difficult times, this past difficult pregnancy, gosh, even the pain of childbirth---it's all so incredibly worth it.

Second, I cannot do this on my own strength. I don't know how people even try. The last few days, I've sat here during difficult times and thought through tears, "how in the world am I ever going to do this?" And the truth is, I--by myself--can't. This is going to have to be a daily, heck, hourly, act of surrender to the Lord and how He wants to work in me. 

I kinda thought my next update would be sweet pictures of Molly and Cooper together. I have a lot of those. :) 

But this is where my heart is right now. I'm off to pray. 
And sleep. :)

1.25.2013

Friday Highs.v44


This little guy. 


He loves close snuggles and being warm.
He hates having his clothes off and diaper changed. 
He flashes the sweetest grins and lets out the occasional giggle.
He stares intently with the widest, most beautiful eyes.
He is already a mama's boy. 

I plan to share a lot more, and soon. 
But for now, I'm back to enjoying my kiddos, trying to soak up these precious moments.

Happy Friday, everyone!!


1.15.2013

He's here.



Cooper. 

And he is absolutely perfect in every way. 
My heart is just completely spilling over with joy right now. 
He came so quickly that my mind is still processing that he's here! 

Since I may or may not get around to sharing an official "birth story", I'll just let ya know the short version:

Water broke at 5:30am.
Pulled into the hospital at 8:30am.
He breathed his first breath on earth at 9am on the dot. 

More photos to come soon. It's back to snuggling and resting for us! Thanks again, from the bottom of my heart, for all your prayers, my sweet blog friends! It has meant the world to me! 

1.14.2013

His space.

Little man will be residing in our bedroom for a while before he and Molly share a room. Of course, I wanted to make his space a little bit special and boyish. 

And if you know me, my desire was to do it on a dime! :)



His wall art:


This canvas was completely inspired by this post from this lovely lady. Originally from this lovely lady! 
How's that for inspiration?! Haha.


  Twigs found outside. Already had the canvas and felt on hand.
 

This was the only money I spent on his art. It's actually a card, but I knew it'd be perfect as a small print on his wall.
From here.


My dear friend, Kylee, made this for him. I cannot get over how well it fits with everything. I am absolutely in love with it. :)


And finally, a homemade mobile made from yarn pom-poms. :) 


This whole space makes me pretty happy. I'm giddy with excitement  just dreaming about the little guy that will soon grace us with his presence. 

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And YES! His name starts with the letter "C". 
Guess away, my friends. Guess away. :)


1.12.2013

Friday Highs.v43

Well, I forgot to post this yesterday. So it's Saturday, but whatever. That just means, 

Happy DUE DATE to me and my little! :)

*and an added Friday High at the end that happened after I originally wrote this post. 

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I'm glad it's pretty much melted, but the snow sure was beautiful. 


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Funny story: We went to a wedding a few weeks ago (a childhood friend--been friends with her for longer than anyone else!). And or course, being 38 weeks pregnant, it was a struggle to find something to wear. 

I finally settled on a dress that I had to pin in multiple places and I felt extremely uncomfortable in it. I paired it with a black sweater that was so fuzzy, it was atrocious. So I convinced Chris to stop by the mall to see if I could find a new black sweater. 

45 minutes before the wedding started. 

Who knew a black sweater would be so difficult to find? I finally  found a dress--yes, a brand new dress--in Macy's, walked out of the fitting room, and had the lady scan the tag while I was wearing it. She was so kind. Said this wasn't the first time it'd happened, and she even offered to cut the tag off for me.

At that point it was 35 minutes before the bride was to walk down the aisle, I was literally booking it as fast as my preggo body could take through the mall. Bless my dear husband's soul. 

Bottom line? We made it to the wedding on time. 
And I felt super in my new dress. 

Here's a crappy pic to prove it. :)


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And this. Oh my goodness, this. This moment actually happened, and I'm about to pee my pants again just reminiscing. 

Since we were kind of pushing it time-wise (to the wedding), we took the last spot in the parking lot. Which just so happened to be half of a spot where the snow plow hadn't quite got it all. But we parked anyway and Chris just climbed through the passenger side. No big deal.

But then, THIS happened on his way back into the car. He was straight up stuck. Oh glory. Words just can't do it justice. 
One of the greatest moments of the day, hands down. :)


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Daddy lets her do things that Mommy is a little too type-A for.
Like playing in the kitchen sink. 
But gosh golly, look at her sheer delight!!


Also, can you see my new coffee mug print? From this etsy shop! 

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Still scenes from a quiet morning.


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Earlier this week, we were watching Praise Baby in the morning, and Molly girl was sweetly stroking my hand. *bestillmyheart*


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This face. Just kills me. :)


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Yesterday goes down in the books as a pretty special day in our family's history. Molly said "I love you" back to Chris for the first time ever.  (AND, that's her first three-word sentence!)
Even though I was a little jealous she said it to him, I was glad he got to experience it, especially because I get to to see so many of her firsts. 



1.10.2013

On my heart: Being 40 weeks pregnant


Ok, so technically, Saturday is the "due date". But Thursday night? I'm rounding up. Because I certainly feel every bit of 40 weeks pregnant. 

The last 24 hours have been somewhat of an emotional roller coaster, and quite honestly, I feel like I owe it to the Lord to share His goodness. So bear with me, this is long. :) 

To recap, the last few weeks, I've been doing really well. I've felt pretty good physically, and after Christmas being so relaxing, it's been really nice to just soak up the time with just me and my little girl. 

But last night, I think everything started compiling and I hit my breaking point. Maybe it was because of night number two of false labor. Maybe it was seeing yet another person that was due right around the same time as me have their baby. Maybe it was the fact that Molly wouldn't fall asleep and ended up sideways in our bed kicking me in the back. Or maybe it was yet another night of extreme hip pain, causing me to just get up because it's not worth trying to fall back asleep. 

Sound like I'm complaining? So sorry. I'm merely doing my best to explain that why my switch flipped.  

Driving to my 40 week appointment this morning, all I could do was cry. Not good when there are no tissues or even napkins in the car. AND you see a dead cat in the middle of the highway. *cue sobbing!* Bottom line: I have been wanting to avoid an induction, and I knew today would be the day we'd set the date. 

Before going in, I cried out to the Lord. I'm not really even sure what I said, but I needed encouragement. 
I needed His strength to keep going.

It was a great appointment. An answer to prayer. The doctor said we didn't even have to schedule an induction yet, but she would go ahead and see me next week (41 weeks) and we'd go from there. I seriously could hardly believe it. 

Although now looking back, I'm shaking my head. That's just the way He works, isn't it? 

Over the next few hours as Molly and I walked every square inch of the mall, I continued to be blown away by His goodness and faithfulness as friends and family called and texted me encouraging words, not even knowing the evening/morning I'd had. If you were one of them--thank you. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you. The Lord used each one of you to speak truth to me. 

Ya know? As I think back to right before Molly was born, it was a heart issue. I read a wonderful post by Casey on open hands (here--especially love the quote at the bottom), as well as an incredible post by Leslie (which I cannot find for the life of me right now!) But I knew that was exactly what I needed. To have open hands about the birth of my daughter and let the Lord work in my heart however He pleased. 

And about three days later she was born. 

I'm not really quite sure what it is this time around. I do have open hands. I do. I desire nothing more than for God to receive the glory through the birth of my son. I'm not exactly sure how that will look, and quite frankly, that's somewhat terrifying to think about. But I just know that is how I am praying and it is the deepest desire of my heart. 

Phew. This has been long. If you've made it this far, stop on over and I'll make you some cookies. Or brew you some coffee. Seriously. 

Or perhaps just say a prayer, if you wouldn't mind. 

A prayer for me to continue to trust the Lord with His timing. 
A prayer for my son that he would continue to grow healthy and strong. 
A prayer for my dear husband, as he puts up with my insane hormonal requests and attitudes. :)
And of course, a prayer for my sweet little Molly, as her world is about to be changed forever by getting the gift of a sibling. :)


1.09.2013

Christmas Recap

Celebrating Christmas was wonderfully relaxing this year. I'm not exactly sure why, but I am super grateful. :)

Here are just a few snapshots from our festivities and time with family.


Reading the Christmas story.


Breakfast with my family. 
Recipe here.


This makes me realize we really should take our picture together more often. 


The reality of trying to get a toddler to be still enough for a photo shoot. Lol. 


And why candid shots are the best. :)
Don't you love how Zoe is looking at Chris too??


Aunt Whitney and Molly.


Christmas morning.


With her stocking.


1.07.2013

The gift of a sibling.


My friend Chelsie shared this with me a while back, and as the time gets closer and closer for baby boy to be born, I get more and more excited to be giving my daughter the gift of a sibling.

Truth be told, this song/video makes me just a little weepy. *grin*

The Family Tree
by Frances England

Last night while everyone was asleep
I looked out my window, up through the trees
The sky was so big and covered in stars
I knew a baby brother or sister soon would be ours 



Hey Ho, our family of three
Is growing beyond my mommy, daddy, and me 

Hey Ho, just how will it be
When we add another branch to our family thee


I’ll be the protector, so strong and wise
I’ll be the cheerleader always by his side
This cute, little baby will soon enough see

No one could love him any more or better than me

Hey Ho, our family of three
Is growing beyond my mommy, daddy, and me 

Hey Ho, just how will it be
When we add another branch to our family thee


I’ll teach him all the things I’ve learned along the way 
I’ll help him blow out the candles on his first birthday 
We’ll grow up together, side by side
Take care of one another - full of love, full of pride 


Hey Ho, our family of three
Is growing beyond my mommy, daddy, and me 
Hey Ho, just how will it be
When we add another branch to our family thee



1.04.2013

Friday Highs.v42

Molly's first experience playing in the snow. After her initial face plant, she wanted to be carried and then she enjoyed it. 



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Listening through Daddy's headphones.


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At lunch the other day, Molly picked up her cheese that just so happened to be in a certain shape, and exclaimed, 
"Tag-a-doo!" 
Yes, that is her adorable, precious word for triangle.


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Catching Zoe mid-wink.


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I am ready ready ready to meet this little guy. Drinking some Raspberry Leaf tea to try to help get things moving. :)


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Molly just recently started saying "hold you" when she wants to be held. 
It's one of the most precious things this mama has heard.



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Molly and I had THE best time at Target yesterday. It was one of those shopping trips that I'll never forget. These days, it's pretty exhausting, (physically, therefore also emotionally) to get out and run errands. But yesterday was just the best. We meandered around the store, not necessarily in search of anything specific. I honestly can't really explain it any better, but it was just an exceptionally good time. 
The hormonal, emotional part of me is really hoping that little boy comes soon, so that yesterday could be considered Molly and I's very last shopping trip together.