Ready.

I'm 37 weeks pregnant.

37 weeks!

It's gone by so quickly, in all honesty. And I'm grateful for that, because let's face it, nine months is actually a long time-- especially when you're pregnant and hormonal and fat and tired and yucky-feeling and everything else that comes along with it. (don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful blessing, but, it's also a lot for your body to go through... you know what I mean).

I know this baby will be here before we know it, that these last couple of weeks will fly by just as quickly, especially with everything that is going on in our lives. And while I'm so grateful for how quickly this time has seemed to pass, and while I'm certainly trying to enjoy these last couple weeks as a family of four before a new little one enters our lives and completely changes everything... I have to say, I'm ready.

SO ready.

I'm ready to have room on my lap for my daughters during prayer or story-time.

I'm ready to hug my husband from the front, nothing between us, and REALLY feel wrapped up in his embrace.

I'm ready to eat a slice of pizza without fearing the dreadful heartburn that is sure to follow.

I'm ready to be able to bend over and pick up something without looking (and feeling) like a sumo wrestler or something as equally ridiculous.

I'm ready to wear normal clothes (hello, adorable spring fashion!).

I'm ready to sleep on my stomach or my back-- ah, how I miss the comfortable sleeping positions!

I'm ready to do the "things married people do" without such difficulty. (what can I say, I miss my husband!)

I'm ready to wear cute shoes again (my feet are like ballooooons!)

I'm ready to work out! This booty needs to get back in shape, for sure.

I'm ready to not have to pee every twenty seconds.

I'm ready to have the energy and desire to do a full day's work, and to be the kind of wife, mom, and homemaker I really want to be.

But most of all, I'm ready to meet my daughter. To see little Rosalie for the very first time. To hold her, and kiss her soft baby head, and have her tiny fingers wrapped around one of mine. What will she look like-- will she have blue eyes or brown eyes? Hair or no hair? Jeremy's nose or mine?

I'm ready-- ready to welcome this new little person into our family and fall in love with her, to watch her little personality develop as she grows. I can't wait to see Emma and Annabelle with their little sister, how they will love her and care for her. And I am so looking forward to seeing the man I love with a brand new daughter who will wrap herself around his heart and claim it, claim all our hearts, in her own unique way.

Just as these two adorable girls have already done.

I can't even tell you how much Emma and Annabelle love their matching "Little Miss Giggles" shirts. Just putting them on brings out the giggles in my girls. (totally worth the $1.38 I paid for them :)

Me=Absent. Etsy=Love.

Hello internet.

Remember me? :)

So sorry for the lack of blogging, as well as the terrible lack of commenting (I still love you all!).

The reason I've been so absent from the online world is threefold (anyone else immediately think of a certain episode of Friends??)

one. It has been incredibly busy this past week. Like, really, really busy.

two. At my recent doctor's appointment I was told that "it's ok if I go into labor at any time now that I'm 36 weeks". (I'm also 1 cm dilated!) And, as terribly exciting and wonderful as that is, I may or may not have had a bit of a freak-out when I realized how many things I still want to get accomplished before this baby is born. So, every chance I can take I am working at whittling down that list while I still have free time! This means the computer time has taken a serious down-turn. I have to say, the break has been kind of nice... I've also found myself soaking up as much time as possible with my two sweet girls before a third sweet girl comes along to join them.

three. Sitting at our computer desk for any extended amount of time is absolutely killer on my hips and legs. I don't know why, but it is simply not comfortable. Here's where I'm jealous of anyone with a laptop. The ability to blog in BED? Such bliss. I can only imagine. hehe.

All that being said, I do have some blogs that I hope to get around to posting soon, and I certainly can't wait to get caught up with all of you lovely people!

Since I'm here, allow me to share with you all some of the perfectly delightful mail I've been receiving lately. I set aside some of my "piano" money this month with the purpose of purchasing several things I've been wanting from there. Funnily enough, this month also just so happened to be when Ashley decided to host a "Spreading the Love" challenge for Etsy. Perfect! It was only appropriate that one of my first purchases was from her adorable shop:

Stickers! I've had so much fun creating my own little things with these.


The cutest little key chain ever! (ugh, look how fat my fingers are right now!)



I also finally ordered myself these beautiful earrings from Danni's shop that I've had my eye on for a very long time:

I heart them.


Finally, just the other day, look what came for me!



My very first Black Apple purchase! I've always loved this girl's work, and decorating a baby room was the perfect excuse to at long last order something.

I fell in love with this charming print, and it's the perfect colors for Rosalie's little room. (Don't worry, pictures of that to come!)


Of course, I had to get myself a little something fun too...

Such whimsy! I can't wait to hang this in my kitchen.


I also ordered some adorable little birdie decals from Etsy too. Another part of Miss Rosalie's room. It's all coming together!

Oh Etsy, how I do love thee.

Speaking of love, I am loving this quote. It's been so encouraging and convicting to me this week:

"Though the market place does not value the home beyond what goods can be purchased for it, the ministry to be found there is of immense worth to the Lord. The stability of family relationships, the care of elderly and disabled family members, the discipling and training of children, the warm reception of guests, the making of a lifetime of memories, the daily modeling of biblical instruction... the joy of a Christ-centered marriage-- all of these things have long-lasting value, if not eternal effects... If we are wise, we will recognize this fact and consider whether the choices we make are either building up or tearing down our home... for Scripture gives us no middle ground."
-Carolyn McCulley

Ah, so much to think about! So much to strive and pray for!

That's it for now... my pregnant self is done sitting in this chair. :) Have a lovely weekend, all!

tidbits and such

Hello and Happy Thursday, my dears! This will be a bit of a catch-up post, as there are several things I've been wanting to write up in a blog. So! Here goes!

Last week I mentioned a date night that Jeremy and I were going to have, and some of you have since asked what I thought of the restaurant and the movie. Bakersfieldians, you MUST visit Moo Creamery. YUMMY. We both ate way too much, but enjoyed every bite. If you go, just be aware that there may be a bit of a wait-- it's a very busy place (yes, even on a Tuesday night!). We barely made it to our movie showing on time. I'm so glad we were able to see Slumdog Millionaire. It's one of the best movies we've seen in a long time. Yes, it's well-acted and filmed in a style that suits the story perfectly, and the music is exactly right for each scene-- but it was even more than that. It's a story that is heart-breakingly sad at times, and even disturbing since it graphically portrays parts of the Indian culture we'd really rather not know about in our sheltered lives... but it's also a story that is simply beautiful. Karen wrote a bit about it that says it much better than I could. But I will say that this movie stayed on my mind for some time after we left the theater... in a good way. The amazing love story that is woven so bittersweetly throughout all the ugliness is really uplifting.

All in all, a perfect date night-- lots of laughter, talking, hand-holding, scoping out how handsome my man is in his black leather jacket, and great food and a movie to top it off. I'm cherishing the few date nights we have left before Rosalie gets here-- I know it will be even harder to get away, at least for a while, once she's arrived. And that's ok, because I know eventually we'll get settled into life as parents of 3, and she'll grow out of the needy baby stage and we'll find ourselves having date nights again... in the meanwhile, however, I shall soak up every minute of alone time with Jeremy that I can!

This past Tuesday was my little niece's 4th birthday. To celebrate, we met Grandma NetNet (my sweet mom-in-law) and Jessica, Faith, and Jason for lunch. And where did we go? Why, to the Country Rose Tea Room, of course. Where else does one go for a girly celebration? It was perfect. The kids were well-behaved, the food delicious (as always), and everyone enjoyed themselves delightfully. At one point Faith sighed, clasped her hands, and said "I love this place." Jessica and I couldn't help but smile as we watched our daughters enjoy the very place where we have made so many memories as friends and sisters with our other loved ones. I hope our girls will always love it like we do and be able to come back often for many such special occasions.

It was so amazing watching Faithie on her 4th birthday. I couldn't help but think of her last birthday, one short year ago. She was still so new to everything around her, and to all of us, having been with us only a few months. And while she was, even then, already an irreplaceable part of our lives and immensely loved by all, it is wonderful to see how that has grown and born fruit this past year. How she has grown and matured as she's become more accustomed to all the changes that have taken place in her short little life, and become more confident and secure in the loving family and home that God has given her. Oh, how I love this girl-- there's no one quite like Faith and she truly is a joy. I adore seeing her and my daughters together, watching their family relationship and friendships blossom as they grow up together-- it makes me so grateful that they get to enjoy such a blessing. And, of course, we can't forget about Mister Jason-- he fits in so perfectly with all these girls, the little man of the bunch. :)

In other happy family-related things, I am so excited to say that one month from today my sister Lydia will be flying out for a visit!! And, the best part? She will be here for a little over TWO whole weeks. Oh, I cannot wait to have her here, for so many reasons. It's going to be so fun to have so much sister time and for Emma and Annabelle to get to enjoy Auntie Lydia as much as they want. And Lord willing, little Rosalie will wait to make her appearance until after Lydia gets here- it'll be so special to have her here for that time. Now, if only my cuppycake Jerusha could come too, my joy would be complete. But hopefully, once baby gets here, the rest of the family won't be too far behind in getting to visit at some point.

Now, onto the weather, always an exciting topic, don't you think? Other than yesterday, when the sun peeped out from behind the clouds and decided to grace us with its presence after all, the weather here has been very cloudy and rainy. Cold, too! I really love the rain, immensely, but it does create a hardship where small children are concerned: they have all that energy and no place to get rid of it, since obviously I can't send them outside to play in the cold and wet (can I??). At one point I looked at my kids who were running like wild banshees through the house, being silly and making more noise than I care to admit, and felt like I was about to go crazy too! And then, oh then, a wonderful idea came to me, something that would possibly save us all from insanity: the button jar.

As a little girl, I remember looking through my mom's button jar, loving the feel of the different shapes and sizes running through my fingers, and making all sorts of patterns and pictures with the various colors. I am happy to report that my girls are just as enthralled with the button jar as I was. They dump them all out on a blanket (so they won't get lost and can be picked up easily-- my rule), and then the fun begins. Making letters and button pictures, sorting colors and shapes, seeing who can find all the flowers or the stars, counting how many heart buttons there are... I kid you not, they have spent HOURS with these buttons lately, and every day "the button jar" is the first thing they ask for. I can safely say that the button jar has been my savior these past few days when we've been stuck inside yet again and again.

So, thank You, Lord, for the beautiful rain you've given us lately and the time it's allowed us to spend together, even though my attitude really stinks sometimes... and thank You especially for buttons and two little girls to enjoy them!

It just goes to show, I've realized yet again, that sometimes it really is the simplest things in life that bring the greatest joy and the happiest memories.

Maybe 35-week-pregnant people shouldn't wear horizontal stripes

Ummmm.... nope. They DEFINITELY shouldn't. At least not this girl.

I rest my case.

(In other baby news, did you hear??? Wheeeee, I'm SO excited!)

B is for Brayden

... And for BLANKET!


In all honesty, part of me didn't even want to blog about this creation of mine, because many of you have no doubt seen the perfectly adorable blankets made by these super-talented girls-- I admit to them being my inspiration behind this (thank you Lorie and Davi, I hope it's ok that I stole from your amazing creativity :)), but my little project does not even begin to compare to their work. Still, I decided to share it with you all, because someday, after many projects like this, I hope to look back on this blog post and say "look at how much I've learned!". It's good to remember where we started, don't you think?

Anyway, this is the snuggle-blanket I made as a Christmas present for my newest little nephew, Brayden (my older brother's son). I hadn't sewn anything in so long, and it was so fun to buy cute fabric and bust out my humble little sewing machine again. I found all of these fabrics in the clearance section at JoAnn's. Yay! The fun colors jumped out at me right away. I do love fabric so.
This was my first time really using felt (the "B")-- and I loved it. I foresee many future projects with felt.

Aren't the little mousies adorable?

One thing I really need to learn how to do properly is how to give a blanket a CUTE edge. Binding, ribbons, rick-rack... something to give it that extra pizazz. I've tried some of these methods in the past and failed miserably, so as you can see I decided to keep this very simple. Blah.

But, I AM proud of how perfectly my four corners matched up! (I've also failed miserably at this in the past too. It's the small victories we have to celebrate, you know :) )

Yes, this blanket is simple and quite imperfect, and I wish I could have done so much more with it. But... the good news is: Brayden seemed to love it.

And, really, that's all that mattered to me! I can't help but smile when I think of him loving on his little blanky, uneven stitches and all.

{tasty tuesdays} Pork Chops

I've been a terrible slacker when it comes to Tasty Tuesdays, lately... maybe that's because I've been a terrible slacker when it comes to cooking! Part of this is due to the fact that we had a serious lack of real groceries for a time (I kept putting off my "real" shopping trip) and part of it is due to the fact that it's very hard to want to cook or to know WHAT to cook when every food you eat results in awful heartburn right around the time you'd like to be going to bed. Tums have become a best friend of mine, let's just put it that way. :)


However, the other night, I finally broke out of my no-cooking, just-throw-something-together mode and made an actual recipe. These are so yummy, and amazingly quick and easy. Start to finish, they took me maybe 15 minutes. Now that's what I'm talking about!

Pork Tenderloin with Creamy Mustard Sauce

1 pound thin-sliced pork chops (or, use the thicker kind and pound them down a bit)

salt and fresh-ground black pepper

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 cup evaporated milk

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2-3 green onions, sliced

Heat oil in large skillet over med-high heat. Season pork on both sides with salt and pepper and place in hot oil. Cook on each side for 2 minutes or until browned and cooked through. Remove from skillet; set aside and keep warm.

Reduce heat to low. Add evaporated milk and stir to looked brown bits from bottom of skillet. Stir in mustard and green onions and cook, stirring frequently, for a few minutes. Return pork to skillet and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more or until sauce is slightly thickened, turning pork to coat with sauce. Serve pork chops with sauce spooned over the top.

Makes approx. 4 servings.

And for dinner tonight? Well, tonight, I don't have to cook! My honey and I are going on a date (let's hear a resounding YAY!!!). Caitlyn, always a sweetie, is coming over to watch the girls, and Jeremy and I are eating at this place and then seeing this movie. I'm so excited for date night that I may just burst into lots of happy little pieces!