happy thoughts

-I'm so happy to see that the spring weather has decided to stick around.

-I'm so addicted to the Iphone Luke surprised me with a couple weeks ago.:)

-I'm so in love with Luke, an incredibly supportive and thoughtful husband.

-Most of all I'm so excited that I get to meet my son soon!

life inspires art

A couple of recent paintings inspired by the past 9 months. Life has a way of affecting what flows from the paint brush.:)

Getting Ready

We are under the two week mark here and getting excited about our new addition. I started my maternity leave this week in order to get some extra rest and finish getting things ready for the little man's arrival. I'm enjoying being able to put my feet up and focus on the final details.

The past couple of months we have been busily preparing his room. Previously our second bedroom had been a guest room/library/computer/put stuff in there we weren't sure where else to put room.:) So it has been quite the overhaul. We got rid of some furniture, organized our closets better and moved some bookshelves etc. in order to make it all workable.:) We were given a few hand-me-down items, so not everything completely matches, but we are happy with the result and it feels good to have things ready to go. We still have a few minor details to finish, but it is for the most part done. We decided not to paint the room since it we are still renting, so we bought a wall decal and some other things to decorate the room without having to paint. Etsy is a great place for decor especially if you aren't sold on all the theme stuff at baby stores.:) Here's a few pictures of the progress-- some of these aren't very good, but you get the idea.:) (also, in case anyone is concerned, in accordance with safe sleep standards we will be removing the crib bumper when he sleeps in there:)

4 Years

Today marks 4 years of marriage for Luke and me. It's hard to believe. It both feels like we just got married yesterday and that we've been married forever.:) It's been an awesome 4 years full of lots of joys and challenges, but most importantly lots of love. I'm so thankful for such a thoughtful and caring husband-- someone I look forward to seeing every day and to spending time with. I look forward to starting our parenting journey in the next few weeks and to many more wonderful years together!

time for an update?:)

At the demand...er...request of Marge, here is a preggo pic:

The "bump" is long gone and it's a full on belly these days. (I tried to blame it on the horizontally striped shirt I was wearing... pretty sure that would be a stretch though. Literally:). I guess that's what happens as you enter the third trimester and head down the home stretch. It's hard to believe.
Things seem to be progressing well. He (did I tell you here it's a boy? I can't remember...:) is extremely active. Particularly when I am trying to sleep. I assume this is something I should get used to.:) I'm looking forward to meeting the little man.

We have slowly been making progress around here getting rooms in order and going through things. The re-purposing of our second bedroom has taken some time since we never fully organized it after our move.

The ice storm here has given us an unexpected extra two days in our week at home with no obligations. I think God knew I could use some time to relax, get a few things done and get a little extra sleep. I'm definitely grateful for the respite. Plus tomorrow is my normal day off, so I feel like I really scored.:) 3 days off in a row rarely happens for me unless I plan it months in advance.

I was happy to find out last week that it will be possible for me to cut back to part time at my job after I have the baby. I wasn't sure this would be a possibility and had prepared myself for the worst. God has been answering a lot of prayers. It will be nice to keep my job and benefits, but still be able to spend most days with my son.

Life has been extremely busy the past several months. I had three consecutive successful open studio nights. I sold some stuff, met some people and made more than enough money to cover my studio rent. This does not always happen, so it's always encouraging and a welcome blessing.

We had a very nice Christmas. We were able to spend time with both of our families, as well as have some celebrating to ourselves. Luke surprised me with an awesome new easel! One that I both desperately needed and wanted. I love it already. It is much sturdier than my last one and has the ability to hold paintings from about 6" to 6+' if necessary. Plus it takes up less floor space in my small studio. We received all kinds of cool stuff (both for us and baby:) this year. I now have an awesome rocking chair for the baby's room. We also have a new favorite board game from Marge and Philip called Pandemic. It is a strategy board game about fighting epidemics that is played co-operatively against the game. Tons of fun.:)

the easel

bananas

I don't really like bananas and pretty much avoid eating them. But for some reason I love them in my cereal. Especially rice krispies. Is that strange? Incidentally, I've been eating a lot of cereal during my pregnancy.:) Also, doesn't the word "krispies" look really strange?:)

christmas!

I get really excited about the holidays.:) Even though I work in retail, I still love the Christmas season and all that it entails. This year I'm ahead of schedule with my shopping and I even have most things wrapped.:) We put up our tree last Friday and it makes things feel quite festive.:) We got a real tree for the first time since we've been married. Previous years we've had 3 and a half foot fake tree, so the 6+ foot tree in the living room seems pretty awesome.:) Now I need to see about getting Christmas cards out... may end up being more like New Years...:)

Hope everyone is having an enjoyable holiday season!