Abiding in the Word.

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

Ephesians 5:1-2

Projects.

Well I'm not finished with my projects. My goal was to be done by this weekend, but (as lazy as it might sound) even without a full-time job, I can't seem to finish my daily to-do lists.


Nevertheless, I thought I'd share with you some of the fun things I've done. 


Have you heard of Jones Design Company? I wish I could say it was my own company, but sadly it is not. I don't have much creativity running through my blood, so I have to steal it away like a mosquito on a GA's summer night (gross?). Jones Design Company is one of my favorite blogs to follow for some good 'ol DIY inspiration. Check her out. She's super cool.


Of her brilliant DIY projects, here are a few I've attempted to do myself. *Note: the words in black are links to the original tutorial. Click on the link to get the how-to.


- Ruffle pillow:


One of our guest rooms will have black furniture in it with a white/gray duvet. I wanted to add some accent pillows so I decided to make a couple. On the tutorial, she lets the ruffles ravel. I preferred a cleaner look, so I closed the up the ruffles with a seam.

- Hair Clips:


These are salon style hair clips covered with ribbon... simple idea but I would've never made the effort without a little tutorial. I just hope Lima Bean has hair! :)

- Fabric and Satin Flowers:

Flowered beanies for Lima Beanie. I think Lima will wear the little pink one home from the hospital.

The other pillow I made and then embellished with fabric flowers.

Here's the complete set of pillows for the guest bedroom...

- Cloth wipes (not a Jones Design Co idea, but from my friend, Jessica, in Cheyenne):


I know, I know... Impractical and silly to some. Since I'm going to be at home most of the time, however, I thought I'd try my hand in a little "going green" practices. Plus, if I'm trying cloth diapers, why not throw wipes in the wash along with the diapers?

I still have four projects on deck. Three I've started but have yet to complete. Hopefully all four will be done before the end of August. Check out my to-do/am-doing list:


- A really cute banner for Lima Bean's room. Pictures will follow.

- I've almost finished this ruffle wreath. When we get out to Colorado, I'd like to have something to hang up on the door immediately so it feels a little more like home regardless of all the other chaos that will be going on around us (like having a baby). Here's hoping mine will look like this!

- Mom and Dad are letting me have the old rocker that we used when I was a baby (it walks and creaks so it's not that much of a treasure except for the memories) so I've begun a pillow to put on the rocker. Just envision vintage pink toile from Andrew's grandmother's fabric collection on a square pillow with ruffles all around the edges. As my mother-in-law advised: every room should include some sort of toile. I'm following her advice in Lima Bean's room.

- Last but not least, the project I haven't started but hope to do soon... the Pinwheel Bib from Lemon Tree Creations (another inspirational blog).

I just love this bib! Plus, it appears to be within my sewing abilities. :)

Well that's that! So if you were wondering what a preggo does with her down time... now you know.

On to more delicious (and possibly more interesting) things. I want to make this "Peach Cobbler for One (or two if you're nice)." YUM-O!

It's the weekend! Enjoy.Ok folks that's all for now. I hope this has inspired you and made you feel a wee bit crafty.

Baby Shower #1.

Two Saturdays ago, a dear friend of mine I've known for more than half of my life gave me a simple and sweet baby shower with my girlfriends. It was just delightful.

We began at Mimi's Cafe for a delicious lunch. I had quiche with a mixed salad and fruit. Yum-O.

After our splendid lunch, we headed over to Sarah's for cake and presents.

The Fowler girls.

Not every present was for Lima Bean. It just so happens that I got a new purse from Mama! :)

The cute cookie cake that Sarah ordered.

The lovely host, Sarah.

Thank you Sarah for such a delightful day! I certainly felt very special (as did Lima... she told me later that night).

Days well spent.

So what does a hard working man do on his days off from FRL?

He helps his wife refinish a $3 beat up chair from Goodwill!

 Before sanding and painting. 

After sanding and painting.

And what does that same wife do during the week while the husband works so hard? Well different things (some of which I will post later, as I haven't gotten pics of the projects I've been working on)... yesterday was filled with fun times with Mom. We took a trip in to Atlanta to check out a fabric boutique of sorts called Whipstitch. 

LOVE the gray and turquoise prints. 

The fabrics I purchased for a particular project in the making.

Once we got home, homemade cinnamon raisin bread was made and then I worked on finishing up some cloth baby wipes I've been making. 

Mom is the bread making guru.

More of this later.

I'm almost finished with the projects I keep talking about. I'll post some pics of those by the end of the week!

Abiding in the Word.

"For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passion, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry."

1 Peter 4:3

For anyone who is wondering what exactly this "Abiding in the Word" is that I put on the blog each week, I follow the verses Tabletalk provides for memory that correlate with the week's lessons. This verse seems somewhat random, but for those who read Tabletalk, then you will find that it matches up with what we have been reading.  I highly encourage Tabletalk as a personal or family worship resource.

Happy week!

Lima Bean's true identity.

Believe it or not, but Lima Bean actually has another name... like a real name. :)

And believe it or not, but Andrew and I actually call Lima Bean by her other name in real life.

There have been multiple times where I've started to write out Lima's other name on the blog and then had to delete it. Obviously it wouldn't have been that big of a deal, but I was hoping for a little more of a grand reveal.

So here it is my cronies... here's the grand reveal.

Lima Bean's official name is:

Mary Elizabeth

We chose this name for two reasons: 1) our family members that it honors and 2) we just like it!

Both Mary and Elizabeth honor members of our families. Mary is my paternal grandmother's name and Elizabeth was my maternal grandmother's name, as well as my mom's name. Elizabeth is also Andrew's paternal grandmother's name.

For some of you, Mary Elizabeth might sound familiar for one other reason. Joby, my oldest sibling, is not actually my oldest sibling... he's just the only oldest sibling I've ever known. My official oldest sibling was a sister - a sister named Mary Elizabeth. Unfortunately, my family had to undergo quite a bit of heartache for a period of time. Elizabeth was diagnosed with Leukemia when she was two years old. When she was four, her little body had had all it could take and she went to be with our Heavenly Father. In the words of Watermark, she "just has heaven before we do."

It is certainly a privilege to name our first little girl after my oldest sister.

Well there you have it folks! Lima Bean's non-blog name is Mary Elizabeth. In blog land, however, little M.E. (or Emmy - as Andrew will most likely call her) will remain our sweet Lima Bean.

Lima Bean.

Today was my most recent doctor's appt. All went well! I'm always a little relieved and very thankful for good reports. Something really neat about today's appointment was during the ultrasound, Mom and I saw Lima Bean open and close her little mouth. The photo below is not great since it's a photo of a photo, but if you look closely, you can see her little face and BIG nose at the top right.

So here's what's going on right now...

How far along? 30 weeks... is it possible that we could be less than two months away from meeting our little Lima?!

Total weight gain/loss? Gained 20 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Yep! I've moved up a size in t-shirts for the most part, because otherwise my baby bump tries to peek out of the bottom. :)

Stretch marks? Not yet!

Sleep? Officially a side sleeper. Occasionally I find myself partially on my back, but I just roll back to my side. The pillow I bought that was made for side sleepers got flat pretty quickly (what can you expect for $10?) so I've pulled out my baby pillow and use it on top of my regular pillow. It adds just enough height to be comfortable so I'm golden.

Best moment last month? Andrew came home from Phoenix! It's been so fun to let him feel Lima Bean move.

Movement? All the time. I love to see my stomach move around. My dad refers to me as Sigourney Weaver... we're just waiting for the alien to appear.

Food cravings? I can't believe I'm saying this, but I haven't had many cravings lately. The only thing that comes to mind is brunswick stew from Hudson's or Wallace.

Gender? Chica!

Lima Bean's size: Lima should weigh approximately 3 lbs. and be about 14 inches long head to toe.

Labor signs? None.

Belly button in/out? Out and proud.

What I miss: Walking without a slight waddle and sleeping on my stomach. 

What I am looking forward to: I have a shower next weekend. I'm really excited about that!

Most recent baby purchase: Goodwill finds today with Mama - some clothes and books. Also, I purchased this really cute rattle for Lima Bean. Her very first toy from her parents.

Milestones: I found a doctor in Colorado Springs! Praise God. That's one more thing off our "To-Do" list before we move. I have my first appointment scheduled for Monday, September 12. Also, I had my first baby shower! (Thanks Sarah!!) You will find details of that in the next blog post.

I'm not sure if I've told you all this or not, but Andrew and I have Lima's name picked out. I'm pretty sure most of you have already heard it, but I thought I'd still have a big name reveal later this week, so stay tuned!

Lastly, I've been attempting a few different projects here and there (not sure if I've already mentioned this or not). Be on the lookout within the next week of current projects and upcoming ones. This will give you an idea of what a non-employed preggo does with her time while living with her parents.

Anywho... here we are at 30 weeks.

Toodles for now!