Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Welcome to...."Evan's Room"

Recently I saw a fun blog idea in which bloggers showcase their homes room by room as part of a "show us your life" series. More than something fun to write about, I thought it would be a great way to archive my first family home and even better, a good excuse to tidy things up(isn't a picture always!). So, I'll start my show & tell home series with the coolest room around here-Evan's!

Even before the ultrasound told us we were having a boy, my mind was pregnant with thoughts of nursery decor. Once we knew we were headed for blue, Chris and I quickly agreed that animals were the way to go. And voile, jungle tales it was! I am so happy with our nursery and I think Evan would agree. His room is my favorite in the house-besides the kitchen that is. The one thing I would add is paint-but as we are really hoping to move within this year, we figured it best to save the capachinno walls for another home.

In the past 2 years this room has taken on many forms. First, as a guest room with an extra closet for our excess clothes. Then it became more like my little craft area; we set up our small breakfast table in there and it was the perfect place to sew and create. Oh, and you know that "closet" everyone has in the house where you toss things that don't have a home(or at least not at that second)...you know the one where you throw the lone shoe and misplaced pillow in when the doorbell rings? Well, at times that room functioned as a giant one of those type closets. And now, it's been made into the perfect little room for our precious boy-by far it's greatest accomplishment!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Coo coo for Goo goo's!

Evan is quite the "talker" lately, and so smiley. :-) We just love seeing his personality grow everyday-he is too precious! This video is short but super sweet, enjoy!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Look ma no snaps!

Topping the list of a new mommy's frequent frustration turned worst enemy: snaps.
Followed closely by hot car seats, the sock monster and "where's a good hair tie when I need it?", those super snapy baby clothes are no friends of mine. I may not be rid of you yet dear snaps, but for tonight-I rest.

Here's a fun riddle...I wonder if anyone has ever calculated how many snaps a mommy snaps in the first year of her babies life. I'd be willing to bet A LOT! Like, gumdrops in a giant glass at the state fair kind of A LOT. Any guesses? Just last night I counted not 3 not 4 but 12 snaps on Evan's cutie pa-tootie pj's. If I had to put my guess on paper, I'd say close to 7,200. That's alot of gumdrops...and quite a work out for those fingertips!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Resting in Romans 8:28

I am often ashamed at how quickly I forget the kindness of God, or am tempted to grumble at the smallest of financial flurries(like new tires, or the Target pharmacy). It's easy to walk past many a miracle in the everyday hustle and bustle, to waver in the waves and to dismiss the blessings of a new week with "a case of the Mondays."

This post is long overdue and written with thanks after thanks, as both a reminder to myself and a testament to the kindness of our savior. God has been unfailingly faithful and all sufficient to our family in the past few months, and I'd like to share our great, big answered prayer:

After months of anxious anticipation over Evan's hospital bill, God made a way for us-a surprise, abundantly supplied, covered in FULL kind of way.

Praise upon Praise!!!!

A little background-Having great insurance but no maternity coverage, Chris and I were stretched a bit thin over the past year paying out of pocket for prenatal care and all of those fun tests, ect. that go along with a pregnancy. But with a bit of creative budgeting and God's never failing provision, were able to manage our "second mortgage," as we lovingly called it, with little to no problem. That is..until the news of the hospital bill hit us like a bomb.

Here we were getting ready to meet our precious little guy and I'll admit my excitement was coupled greatly with stress and anxiety over the final bill. As much as I trusted that everything would work out, I'd be fibbing if I said I wasn't a teency bit worried about the financial aspect of labor and delivery(okay, maybe a tad more then a teency). And when our all natural, uncomplicated, in and out birth plan turned into a 36 hour induced labor and ended in a C-section....well you can only imagine what our hospital bill turned into. Let's just say that the bottom line started with a 2 and contained one more digit then we had planned on, which is to say that it was quite a large amount. And the Lord provided for every penny! We still have some odds and ends to take care of on our on-but they are small and manageable in comparison to the lion of the hospital's fee. We are relieved, weightless, humbled, overjoyed, grateful.

Our paster Justin Childers wrote this reflection on God's kindness while we were studying the book of Ruth a while back, that "None of us deserve God’s kindness. We should respond with humble astonishment when God shows favor to sinners like us. His grace is only possible because our Redeemer was willing to die for our sins. " Humble astonishment is the perfect word for my reaction upon opening this special letter from the mail, and I am ever thankful for the kindness of God, expressed in the love of Christ, and extended to silly old me.

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His steadfast love endures forever." Psalm 107:1

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Monday, June 7, 2010

Baby Talk

Hi,
Evan here...mommy is busy washing my onesies and solving the mysteries of healthy baby sleep schedules, so I thought I'd post an update for her ;-).

I am 6 weeks old now and getting very excited about the world around me. Everyone I see tells me how adorable I am, and how cute my big, chubby cheeks are! I just love my swing and bouncer, and am really into this "play gym" thing.
Like most babies my age, I am starting to smile and coo, and have a wicked witching hour right before bedtime. Being tired is the pits! Over the past few days I've started to help mommy out with that whole "routine" thing-turns out naps aren't so bad after all. Mommy is so proud of me. If she thinks sleeping is a big achievement, just wait- I've got more where that came from. ;-)

And then there's this furry guy-don't even get me started. He is so loud and always trying to run off with my toys...I can't wait until I can get a hold of that tail!Oh, I hear a rumbly in my tumbly...time to go-gotta have my milk!