Showers, sewing, reading, and waiting . . . it's still January here

   I've been showered! This picture was taken at my first baby shower last week, thrown by my wonderful church family. I am grateful to be in a circle that is so encouraging to me about this adventure I am currently embarking on. I am especially blessed by my sweet nieces (only 3 shown here, there were 3 more of them helping me open/organize) who shared in my excitement about everything soft and pink. My second baby shower was last night, thrown by dear friends who had wanted to throw a surprise shower but realized it was becoming too difficult with the baby mischievously crunching everyone's time tables. The theme was "1 Kid and Counting" (after my obsession with 19 Kids and Counting of course!!) and it was absolutely adorable and quaint. I feel blessed to have family and friends support me, especially during these challenging last weeks.
     Although my energy level is running severely low, I have been accomplishing a few things. I am  working on her baby quilt, which is quite the color wheel! Unfortunately, it's going slowly due to multiple sewing machine problems (even with two different machines). I always pictured myself as someone who would be very much into the soft flowers and butterflies for baby girl decor. However, I have completely taken my love for the antique/vintage look and churned it into my newfound love for colorful patterns and textures. Eva's chief theme for her nursery (which is about 1/4 of our bedroom right now) is birds. I found some birdhouses at Hobby Lobby that we secured to the walls, surrounding an amazingly colorful piece of artwork of a bird that I had found as a Marshalls deal some months back. Other than that, her patterns don't match very well--which is what I wanted. If nothing matches perfectly, I have a very eclectic canvas to fill! This picture is an early example of what I'm working on--I still need to do more work on the walls, and I've added some sweet vintage and colorful storage baskets to the area for organization.

     Yes, I am still working on my gargantuan reading list. I'm trying to read through the "Atonement" at present, and although the writing is truly brilliant I can't keep myself focused long enough to get through 5 pages at a time! Oh, how I DO love reading though. It has been fun to collect books for little Eva. I hope she loves for John and I to read to her, since both of us are avid readers. One of my most fond memories from my nannying days are just sitting and reading books to the precious little girl. I started reading to her at just 5 months old, and she loved it even then. Tonight we spent a long time at Barnes and Noble in the children's book section.
     I confess. I have NOT been a happy, sweet pregnant lady lately. I have been in a very sourly depressed mood. The baby is SO ready to come--the doctors will attest--so ready that she's causing me alot of pressure, soreness, and overall pain. She literally has been ready to come for over a week now--but she hasn't. There have been days when I have sworn I couldn't go a day longer. I am not at all belittling the blessing of this life--I just want her out so I can enjoy the blessing :-) I really started thinking today though--I need to just continually depend on God's grace to get me through each day in the exact moment of life I am currently in. I don't want to hurry Eva. Once she is here, I know that her time will pass so quickly that we will wish time would freeze. It's hard to believe this little kicking baby inside of me will soon be out to snuggle with and keep me up all night. God has Eva's birthday in His all-knowing mind, and I know His decision will be better than mine. Who knows--maybe the next time I decide to write on here, Eva will be by my side begging for all my attention! Until then, I'm waiting--and ready. :)

of a pregnant lady's January.

     I am going to talk about anything but the snow we currently have collected on Keel Mountain.

Anyways.

     So, green tea with pomegranate is really good with a little bit of honey in it. It makes you feel extremely healthy and even raises your self-esteem a few notches. Reading is also good for January. I have finished "Anna Karenina" (a-mazing), "The Great Gatsby" (will someone discuss this book with me?) and am now halfway through "The Hobbit." Tolkien is a good author to cozy up to during the winter, but I have to say I do not like fantasy books, so it's a little straining to get through. But since I am not in school this spring, I'm working on a HUMONGOUS book list to fill up my time and my academic cravings, I have resolved to read what's on the list whether I am personally drawn to it or not.

     Another plus for January (think positive, think positive)? American Idol!!!! I was so concerned that the judging team would be a mess, but so far I think they work absolutely wonderfully together. I have even become personally attached to each judge in their own way. I'm rooting for the Russian girl with the curly hair. What about that southern belle Victoria? Her response to the judge's compliment on her sweet and colorful knee-high dress: "You know, I like to show just a little for the men, but I also gotta be a lady!" She seriously needs to write a book, everything she says is precious.

     As for Eva Therese, she is still snug in the womb. I am two days away from being 37 weeks: officially full-term! I would LOVE for her to come today. The doctor says she is doing great. She's in a great position and bearing down so heavily that they will induce me at 39 weeks if she isn't out by then. At this point, I just want her to be here, and I don't care how! It's hard to believe I'll be a mommy in 2 weeks (maybe shorter). I can't wait to hold her and experience all those "firsts." I'm really excited for the first time she'll look at me and know who I am. My first baby shower is tomorrow. I'm excited!

     Lastly, I'm obsessed with this Glee song mash-up of Darren Criss singing "Teenage Dream" to the music track of "Apologize" by OneRepublic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMlkUDdXp8c

If you are a Glee hater, just don't judge me. I can assure you I won't change my mind and you probably will  really regret bringing it up to me.  :-P   I'll be watching the next new episode with my little baby, who is to be very cultured in all things artistic!

Hello 2011

This was our view out the window on Christmas morning. It got ALOT heavier by the end of the day--no patches of ground were left uncovered.

However, inside was as cozy as ever. I had a red Yankee candle burning (candles are everything you need to make a home, says me). John also started a fire, which is something we don't do very often.

This Christmas was truly a special one, and I can't point to one reason why. I had my cousins in town, which was wonderful. We got to see alot of family on John's side as well. It was a white Christmas--something I haven't seen since my childhood in Indiana. I guess the biggest difference this Christmas was that the tree had presents for someone extra this year--Eva's gifts were so much fun to open, even though I wrapped them myself. She got a Shirley Temple movie, an Olivia pig book, and a cute outfit from me. She was very spoiled by family and friends. I can't imagine what next year will be like--she'll be around 10 1/2 months old, so she'll probably be crawling around crunching the wrapping paper. What a precious thought!
     Well, the corner has turned now. The holidays are over, and it's that bleak time of winter when nothing goes on except my husband returns back to work and school over-full-time, and I sit at home with a severe lack of motivation because I just want my baby here! It's been very hard lately. I still need to finish some projects for her--a cross-stitch stocking I haven't begun yet, an almost-finished crochet blanket, and a 1/16 finished baby quilt. I only have 5 weeks until her due date! But I have zero desire to do anything. I've been pretty sore and uncomfortable. I can't wait to meet her--literally, I can't seem to wait. Also, I am SO DONE with maternity clothes!!!! I have stuck to my original plan to not buy maternity stuff (except pants and camis) and just wear long shirts and sweaters as well as loose-fitting attire, which is actually in style these days. But still--my choices are SO limited, the area in my closet where I hang the "unwearable" items is getting larger and larger. I don't want to go buy more clothes since I'm due so soon, but switching between 2-3 outfits is rather miserable for me. On the plus side, I have avoided wearing sweat pants or sweat suits out in public. I've still managed to somewhat be put-together. When I couldn't wear my heels anymore, I just got some really cute boots without a heel. I just don't wear sweats and tennis shoes in public, no matter how comfortable they are. It just isn't me.
     I pray that this big transition from having a baby in our tiny apartment with John being gone ALOT goes smoothly. Only by His grace can it be done, because the thought of John being so overloaded kills me, and the impatience of being a very expectant mommy is also getting on my nerves. Overall, we're truly having an eventful, stressful, and exciting beginning to 2011!