32 - 35 weeks

I'm back!! Last time I posted a maternity/pregnancy related post, we were about 9 weeks away from meeting our little girl. Now we are less than a month away! Four weeks from tomorrow, we can expect to have a new baby in our house, along with a whole new life to adjust to. To say that we are excited is very accurate. But with that excitement comes a level of nervousness, uncertainty, and anxiety. I am so ready, physically, to have this baby out of me and in my arms. I'm just not sure we are ready for the immense responsibility. Our life is about to completely change! We trust that God will guide us and prepare us to be the best parents we can be. So thankful we don't have to do this alone!

Like I said, I'm physically ready for our girl to be here. I don't know how much bigger she or my belly can get. I feel like I'm just about to pop. I do get pretty uncomfortable most days. I get tired pretty easily, my feet and hands are pretty much swollen all the time, and I have trouble sleeping at night. This will all be worth it in the end, though. Soon, we will have a beautiful, healthy little girl to call our own. I'd do this all over again just to have her here! At this point, she has grown to her maximum lengthwise. All she has to do now is finish packing on the weight. And believe me, I can't wait to snuggle with her cute, chubby little self! Is there anything cuter than baby fat and chunky leg rolls?!

The nursery is slowly coming together. We have had so many people love on us through our baby showers. It's unbelievable how much this girl already has. Now I just have to figure out where to put everything! I can't wait to have it done and show off pictures of her sweet little room. Ah, I get so giddy just thinking about rocking her and playing in there! I have a feeling it will be my very favorite room in our house soon!

Ok, here are all the pictures you've missed out on over the past several weeks, just in case you were panicking when they didn't show up! (ahem...Mom and Renee!)

 Week 33- right after our anniversary dinner. Bonus points if you know where we are!

 Week 35- in case you can't tell, I no longer fit into my old shirts (check out the bottom of my shirt in the second picture! Haha!)

Week 34 is missing, but I'm so excited to share our maternity pictures in its place!! Mikka Hill took our wedding pictures two years ago, and she was so wonderful to take our maternity pictures two weekends ago!! Here they are if you want to see them! And leave her some love in the comments. She is really awesome! (p.s. if you need photos done, email her. You won't regret it!)

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Sweet Baby Girl, 

Can I just tell you how ready your Daddy and I for you to get here? In less than a month, you'll be in our arms forever. We have worked hard on your room and it's almost done! We also bought a stroller and car seat for you today. That means we can bring you home whenever you're ready! Your Daddy sure had fun racing your stroller around the store to "test it out." It also apparently has good Transformer qualities. You're in good hands with this stroller, Baby Girl.

I'm sorry I haven't written you a letter in a few weeks, but we have not missed one night of praying for you. We love you so much already and are patiently waiting for you to join our little family. We can't promise we'll always know what to do, but we can promise to always love you as much as humanly possible.

Love always, Momma

No excuses, but...

We are just now coming out of an unofficial and unplanned blogging hiatus. Here's what has gone on recently:

• Two weeks ago, all of Eli's cousins hung out at his parent's house for a week. This is what is known as "nephew week" - where 6 rowdy boys (plus Eli and his brother) take over the house for several days, play ping-pong non-stop, tackle each other in the yard, eat all the food available, and become completely absorbed in Lego Land. Yes, even (especially) Eli and his brother broke out the legos all over the living room. And the battles began! Let me tell you, these boys definitely know their legos and won't let anything or anyone get in the way of a great war!

• During the week, I got the chance to take pictures of two really good friends, Emily and Curtis. I have had the privilege of working with Emily for the past two years at school. We have grown really close and I'm so sad to see her moving to the elementary school this year :( But I know we will remain close. This year, Emily and Curtis celebrated being married 5 years and they asked me to take a few pictures to document this stage of their life. Here's a sneak peak, but I'll be sure to post more later! 

• Last week, Eli took the youth from our church to youth camp at Highland Lakes Camp. They had a great week and God really worked in their lives. From our group of 7 youth, the four boys ALL accepted Christ in their hearts! And our girls connected with God's plan for their lives on a deeper level. Even though I wasn't able to spend the week with them, I am so proud of these kids! God is so good! I am praying that his love will become even more real to these kids now that they are facing real life again. They have been on a mountain, face to face with our Creator. Now it is their job to go into the valley and live out God's power in their lives.

• Since I am giant and round, I politely declined the opportunity to be a youth sponsor at camp this year. Five days of crazy heat, inch-thick mattresses, walking non-stop, and camp food didn't sound too appealing to me! You understand, right? :)  So... I did what any pregnant woman with nesting fever would do with a week to herself: I invited my mom over and put her to work crafting and getting the nursery ready! Okay, so I worked too, but there's no way I could have done it without my mom! She worked so hard and I'm extremely grateful for her. I really enjoyed the week and our time together. Thanks, Mom. I love you!! And now you're probably wanting to see what we made, right? Well, you'll have to wait a few more days... I'm working on that post, but I want to showcase those details in their own little spotlight! 

• And speaking of pregnancy things, we are now at 34 weeks! Yes, I realize I haven't posted a picture since week 31... stay tuned for two weeks of photos later today and week 34 at the end of the week! I promise you'll see them soon!!

• One last exciting bit of news from this week is our 2nd anniversary! I can't believe it has been two years since I said "I do" to the man of my dreams and committed to love and honor him for the rest of my life. Again, that will be a separate post. There is too much to just put it in a bullet point!

So there you have it! Our last two weeks condensed into a few bullet points! Thanks for bearing with and still loving me guys. I will put up full-length posts on the few major things very soon. 

An Ode to Summer

Before I start this post, I have to say that I can't take credit for any of this, except finding it. The simplicity and honesty are beautiful.
 

Summer, after all, is a time when wonderful things can happen to quiet people.

For those few months, you’re not required to be who everyone else thinks you are,
and that cut-grass smell in the air, and the chance to dive into the deep end of a pool,
give you a courage you don’t have the rest of the year.

You can be grateful and easy, with no eyes on you, and no past.

Summer just opens the door, and lets you out.

{source}

31 weeks

This week has been a long, tiring, but good week. I was in Austin from Wednesday to Friday at a state educator conference. To be perfectly honest, this was an odd thing for me. I felt so grown up and out of my element. But at the same time, I felt more confident as a teacher, learning new things and meeting new people. This was actually the longest time Eli and I have spent apart since we've been married (crazy, I know!) and I missed him quite a bit. I'm so grateful for him and his love. I couldn't be brave and do things like this without his encouragement.

When I got home, I immediately got to work helping out with our youth and children's garage sale at church. Overwhelming to say the least! It was a great success, though, and money is still coming in that will go toward the kids going to camp this summer. Thankful for God's blessing in a loving, giving church family.

Now we are back home, but not back in a summer routine just yet. Eli's mom does something called "nephew week," where her 6 nephews (only 5 this year) spend a week doing fun things with Aunt Dana. It's just getting started this week, but so much fun already! Maybe once the nephews get too old, she will continue this summer tradition with grandkids! How fun would that be?

Tomorrow is actually 8 weeks from our due date. Wow! This is really happening! We will have our daughter with us in no time at all. That is such a fantastic and overwhelming feeling at the same time. We've spent 7 months preparing for her and now it's almost here. I am ready, but also not ready, if that makes any sense. The good thing is, God is still preparing us as we prepare for her. I'll leave it up to him. His plan is much better than my own.

I've been very tired lately, but trying to keep my energy up and stay on top of things around the house. I can't say that I enjoy cleaning, laundry, or other housework, but I do like the feeling of a clean house. Thanks to the nesting fever, I get to enjoy this more now! And thanks to a wonderful husband, I don't even have to do all the work to enjoy the results. Like I said, he's pretty great.

Due to being gone and busy all week/weekend, this week's photos are a little impromptu, on our way to the lake with Eli's cousins. 

My sweet girl, 

To say that I am ready for you to come seems appropriate right now. I am ready to see your perfect little face with your beautiful eyes, chubby cheeks, pouty lips, and tiny nose. I am ready to hold you and soak up all of you. I am ready to sit in the chair in your room, spending hours just staring at you, figuring you out. I am ready to venture into motherhood and all that comes with it. I am even ready for those long nights spent rocking you back to sleep. And those times when I will cry as you cry. And those moments when I don't know how. If only just to spend more time with you.

Thankfully, my timing is not perfect. God will give you to us when He is ready, not me. He will bring you into our little world in the perfect moment. And it will be beautiful and right.

More than all of these things mentioned, I am ready to show you God's love. I want to share him with you from the first day you are here. I want to be an example for you. I want to love you more each day, with a love that only comes from him.

Loving you always, 

Momma