9 months of Lucy

So, obviously I'm behind on this blog. Like really, really, really behind!

It's a GIRL!!!!! We thought we were going to have a baby boy, but boy were we wrong!

Our beautiful little Lucy Maude was born March 22 at 12:20 p.m.- 7lb 8oz and 20" of perfection! We couldn't be more proud parents!! For those of you wondering, the name is not a family name......we just loved the meaning. Lucy- "Bright," Maude- "mighty in battle." And that is our prayer for our little lady.

Babies are such wonders. Their tiny fingers and toes, those sweet newborn coos, the first smile. I am reminded of Psalms 139: 13&14- For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Babies truly are God's handiwork!

Looking back over our literally thousands of photos, I realize how quickly they change as well! As new parents you always hear that time flies, but I don't think you realize just how quickly until you experience it. That cuddly newborn quickly becomes a laughing, babbling, crawling machine! And now she is in love with climbing stairs and pushing her walker all over the house. She is so proud of her new moving abilities too!

Here are some of my favorite photo's of our sweetie~

~1 day old~

~1 month~

~2 months~

~3 months~

~4 months~

~5 months~

~6 months~

~7 months~

~8 months~

~9 months~

Hello friends!

After my 2 month absence, I have now returned to the world of blogging. Hmmmm, what have I been up to? Christmas, entertaining, starting a new job, birthing classes, painting a crib, growing a baby.....just to name a few.

I wanted to post some baby bump updates for you. A little less than 5 weeks left! I can't believe that bengl is almost here!! In some ways it seems like I have been pregnant forever (so tired of wearing maternity and having to constantly pull my pants up), and then to think we will have a little person joining our family in about a month is mind numbing. I'm still in awe of this little miracle growing inside me, and even more so of our creative God! What an amazing responsibility Brian and I will have as parents to nurture this precious gift!

20 weeks

24 weeks (pics courtesy of the lovely Abby Merkel)

27 weeks

33 weeks

35 weeks!

I promise it's a happy color..

So, my pictures from the last post made the baby's nursery look a bit more austere/dreary/amish than the happy color I really chose. So here is a pic of the actual color in the paint bucket. I promise it is happy!!


Here's another room with the same color as an accent (wall paper from Ferm Living). I love it with yellow, as well as the reddish orange I am using. In the end I decided that the red and aqua felt more gender neutral than the yellow and aqua. I love the look of the wallpaper, but at $100/roll it is more of an inspiration room.

Hopefully these new pics set the grandma's at ease!

$5 Thrift Store Find!

Before we headed north on our big move, I of course tried to make a few quick stops at my favorite stores. Most of you probably know that my favorite store of all time is Hudson's Treasure Hunt, a salvage store in Mississippi and Alabama only (sad!). There I found my beautiful Anthropologie crewel work pillows for a steal, a plethora of Macy's bedding, down pillows, trendy Target items, and a $350 BCBG dress for a mere $35!

I also had some other fav's including Goodwill, Mr. Bill's Antiques and Junk, and Mission of Hope thrift store. All are good for finding fun vintage items, such as the antique pink depression glass tea cups I picked up as a Christmas gift last year. And Mission of Hope in particular has great furniture! I have a friend who got a gorgeous green velvet tufted sofa for $40. Of course, they all need work and you have to check back every week to see what's new. Not only do I love that you can negotiate, but all the proceeds go to Mission of Hope's drug and alcohol recovery program. Last time I was there I got this cradle for $5! It was missing a piece, but my genius dad was able to fix it with a 2x4. I've been painting it this week.

Here's the before:

And the after:

I love the dove gray color! We will use the cradle in our room, but I wanted to show my aqua wall. I love the color! It's a more happy, cheerful color than the photo gives it credit for. The lighting wasn't good and I couldn't get it to adjust just right in photo shop. I ordered this organic cotton bumper and sheet on ebay for the crib (just wanted to show it in the pic), but i'm still not sold on it. Thinking about doing white to brighten things up. Planning on painting a Jenny Lind style crib the burnt orange/rust red color and making a cribskirt as shown here. I ordered samples of 2 different fox prints and plan on making the cribskirt from one of these.

I'm excited to see how it all comes together eventually!

Tis the Season

Deck the halls with boughs of holly

Falalalalalalalala

Tis the season to start thinking about Christmas cards

Falalalalalalalala

Hmmmm......what doesn't belong here?! If you are anything like my husband, the very fact that I even had the nerve to sing a Christmas song/modify a Christmas song before Thanksgiving is driving you nuts. With nearly 10 inches of snow a couple of weekends ago and multiple painting projects in the works, I couldn't resist pulling up the Christmas playlist....happy husband or not.

And we all know that Christmas music gets you thinking about Christmas cards of course! I love getting Christmas cards in the mail. Maybe it's seeing how friend's children have grown through the years, a newlywed couples wedding photo, or all the new little miracles that were born. Maybe it's reading the letter and finding out about the trials and joys that have comprised the past year. Maybe it's the way I feel connected to friends and family far and near and a call to celebrate the goodness of God in all of our lives. I do know that I love to paste them all over my fridge!

In my pre-Engl days I always said "When I get married I am going to send out Christmas cards every year!" The first year was going to be one of our wedding photos. The second year, I had this idea stuck in my head of an "Alabama White Christmas" with an artsy picture of Brian and I in a cotton field. Needless to say, the first year I got busy with work and never even bothered. The second year, I waited too long and all the cotton was harvested before I got the chance. Then, I get the Christmas card from the family with 6 kids, one of which is a newborn (hello to the amazing Ann S!)..... and I feel really lazy. So this year, I want our smiling faces to finally make it to your fridge, or at least your mailbox!

Shutterfly has a great promotion this year......50 free cards for bloggers! Yay! No excuses! They have so many options from holiday cards to photo Christmas cards to calendars to holiday invites. If you're an over achiever like myself, you may get stuck in the "idea" mode which never quite makes it to the card. Shutterfly makes it easy with their pre-designed cards. All you have to do is add the photo, pay, and they are shipped right to you. Easy!

My current favorite:

I think this one is really cute too!

Oh, and did I mention they have photo books?

For easy access to the site, click here.

October's Guests

With all of October's beautiful weather came beloved friends and family from Alabama. My parents came for 5 whole days! And the next weekend my friend Lydia of 16 years flew in for a short, but delightful weekend.

At the historic Hill House

I love them so much!

Mom and Dad were able to come to our ultrasound appointment!

My Bud at the Walker Art Museum

I miss her!

So thankful for all of our guests. I felt so loved!!!

Ina Garten's Mac & Cheese

In an earlier post I talked about new beginnings. Well, here's another first for me: homemade macaroni & cheese! To be honest, it's truly another first to break out the pots and pans and cook dinner at least a few times a week. Brian's the one who has "broken in" all of our lovely red calphalon cookware. There was something enticing about the ceramic baking dish and rich, creamy, old fashioned mac & cheese that I couldn't resist! And with some lingering second trimester nausea and food aversions, I have to eat whatever sounds good at the moment!

I enjoy Ina Garten's show on the foodnetwork and found her recipe here. I first heard of her in early issues of Victoria magazine. They interviewed inspirational women entrepeneurs and her shop Barefoot Contessa was featured. Ina also has a lovely home.Back to the mac & cheese, it surprisingly came out delicious even though made by yours truly!