Nine Months In ... Nine Months Out

My daughter turned nine months old today. And while it may not seem like a huge deal to some people, I think it warrants attention. Considering she spent nine months inside my womb, a look at her nine months later is a fitting way to compare how much time has passed. I can't believe she is this old already - where has the time gone?!

So, here I present: nine months in ... nine months out. Along with some outtakes and other pictures from our small photo session this afternoon (thanks, papa)!

July 6, 2014 - a photo from my mini maternity session. Awaiting the arrival of our little babe!

April 25th, 2015 - V at nine months old.

Outtakes and other good photos:

Also, accidental twinning...

Meaningful Musings

#tbt
A year ago today we saw our baby for the first time. What an experience! Choosing not to find out the sex was the best decision ever. It made the birth a great and wonderful surprise.

As I continue to pack away V's old clothes or items that are no longer of use, I find myself reminiscing over her life in all of its past and present stages. Right now I am longing for her newborn stage and the feelings surrounding her arrival. The other day I was reading over congratulatory cards that we received from family members, friends, coworkers, and neighbors, and my heart was filling with so much love and gratitude for everyone who reached out to us and to her. It's fascinating how a baby really does change everything. Those first few days and weeks as a new family of three are my favorite.

Finding her ultrasound pictures the other day also got me thinking about my pregnancy. I can honestly say it was one of the best experiences. Though now I find it odd to think of myself being pregnant and its hard to remember those nine months. Realizing that this time last year I was almost in the final stages of pregnancy is strange and feels like a lifetime ago. I will gladly do it again someday.

My advice to pass along is this: 1. cherish every moment. Seriously, they go by so quickly. You will find yourself missing the good and bad moments. 2. opt not to find out the sex of your baby or share names. I know it goes against the trend today, but it gives you more perspective on the whole journey. It makes life simpler. Priorities change. (If you need more clarification on what I mean, please don't hesitate to ask)

Now go kiss those babies!! xo

Weekend Wanderings

On Friday, A left work early so we could make our way to the east side of the state to spend the weekend in Saline visiting my mom. We also had the pleasure of visiting with my brother and grandparents this weekend. I don’t see my family often, so it’s nice (and convenient) if we can all make plans to gather at the same time. Of course, V was a big hit with everyone. For those who do not witness V’s daily growth and development for months at a time, seeing her can be quite exciting. Even for my mom who sees her most often out of all my family members, it is a joyful meeting. And V has grown very fond of her, too. She liked seeing my mom as much as my mom did her. The weekend away with family was much needed and a good change of pace. We’re so thankful that we were able to make the trip!

Aside from the opportunity to spend time with family, another reason we made the trip was to stop at IKEA again. Our last visit four months ago had us itching to go back! As before, this trip was successful—as all IKEA shoppers know, it’s hard not to find at least something you can’t go without (if not ten!). But this time, prepared with a mental list of household necessities, we were able to find few more items. Our major purchase was a new couch—a Strandmon in grey. I am looking forward to accenting it with some colorful pillows and a nice blanket! Although purchasing a new couch has been on our list for some time, we did not plan to buy one on this visit. However, upon finding the couch we made note of last time, we discovered it on sale—and as a “last chance” item! So we seized the opportunity and made the purchase. We are excited for its arrival in another week! The prospect of our new addition has us once again brainstorming color schemes, styles, designs, themes, and decorations for our present and future home.

We concluded our weekend by celebrating Palm Sunday at St. Andrew, a church I used to attend when I lived in Saline. It was good to go back again and yet also very strange returning to a place I hadn't seen in nearly eight years. If you've ever moved from one city to another I’m sure you can relate. This was the first mass that A and I attended alone as a couple since our daughter was born eight months ago. Although it has been a joy to bring her to mass and raise her in the faith, I was especially appreciative to have my mom babysit since this Sunday’s service was longer than the usual mass… and V can barely make it through one of those these days!

As Lent nears its end and we embrace/enter Holy Week, let us remember that all we have is through Christ and He deserves the praise! Let us reflect on our Lenten practices and resolutions. Let us prepare for Christ’s resurrection and be ready to join Him in celebration on Easter!

Meaningful Musings

With each passing day I watch my daughter transform, grow, and learn. In a matter of no time she went from barely crawling, to crawling all over and getting into things, to now making attempts at pulling herself up onto everything.  And as a witness to these moments that I so cherish and am happy to be able to witness firsthand, I find myself – from time to time – thinking of my own growth and maturity; especially in the past three to five years.

I dwell fondly, and with most attention, on my time with A.

The introduction of his presence into my life was perfect. At the time I had recently let go of some heartache and was trying to find myself again. (If you’re reading this, you know who you are ;) ). Thankfully, that heartache turned into a good friendship that is sometimes reunited.

Anyway, all of that to say that A and I became interests and good friends in a brief amount of time. As our friendship grew, so did our love for one another. Our faith in God grew as well because of our time spent together; therefore, our trust in His timing and plan for our lives also had to grow.

Well, five years later and we still sometimes fail to trust God’s plan for our lives. Just yesterday evening we were pondering where we would be if we weren’t married or had baby girl V. It is a question that I (probably all too often) am always dwelling upon as it wasn’t my plan to have a baby so soon after marriage. But A and I always come to the conclusion that it was perfect timing and that we are so happy to be where we are now.

The reason I wrote this post is because lately I have been thinking about our engagement photos and the couple we were before marriage or starting a family occurred. Sometimes I forget what life, our relationship, and even I was like before the big events, but it doesn’t do much good to dwell on them too much anyway. With the excitement of marriage just a few months away, we were so ready to begin life together. Little did we know what was in store for us! All good things, of course!

Here is the specific engagement picture I have been thinking about –

This shot is just outside the Academic Building (AB) on Aquinas College’s campus. We decided to take pictures on campus because that’s where we first met (specifically in English class in AB), it is the place we identify with most, the campus has beautiful locations, scenery, and greenery, and it would also be where we would get married – at the small chapel on campus called Bukowski Chapel.

In fact, just a few steps away from where this picture was taken was where A first hugged me. Of course, preceding the hug was a greeting of “dude” which at the time struck me as an odd way to address a girl, yet I also felt as though the greeting was reserved only for people of great importance. With his outstretched arms and warm embrace, I was assured that his greeting was that of deep friendship. I would come to know that such a greeting was common amongst his group of friends and that it wasn’t at all out of the ordinary to be addressed this way.

Who knew that three years later we would be standing in the same spot - not on purpose by photographer or us; I hadn’t even thought about it until I began writing this post! - as a newly engaged couple, excited for our day of engagement photos and the prospect of marriage (and the rest of our lives together) in six months? (These photos were taken at the end of June 2013)

Winter Recap

With winter FINALLY ALMOST GONE and spring on its lovely way, I thought it would be fun to provide a recap of some things that were accomplished this season. I never usually keep a record like this, but with writing one I can feel better knowing that I didn’t just sit inside for four months and do absolutely nothing. Winter is always an unenjoyable time for me, and being that this year I didn’t have to work or go outside much, I had to be creative with how to use my time indoors. I really missed the opportunity to have lots of greenery in the apartment, so that will definitely have to go on the list for next year!

Winter recap –

recipes made [some new, some old]:

+ veggie soup (x4)

+ pizza dough (xWeekly, almost)

+ spinach, mushroom, and zucchini lasagna

+ veggie bean burgers (x3)

+ salsa (x2) [recipe found here]

+ chocolate chip/butterscotch chip/flax seeds/walnut cookies

+ walnut rum wafers ( - rum + cocoa)

+ chocolate cut-out sugar cookies (for Christmas)

DIYs:

+ heart garland [diy found here]

+ recipes listed above

household / homemaking:

+ rearranged apartment (x2) [related post found here]

+ simplified “stuff” and gave away many items [related post found here]

+ hung holiday, seasonal decorations & memorabilia

+ framed artwork, hung pictures/memorabilia

+ got rid of cable and internet

+ bought a small Ivy plant

baby v:

+ eating some solid food

+ cut two (bottom) teeth

+ crawling

+ completely transitioned to her own room and bed :( - done with decorating & set up

+ doing cloth diaper laundry ourselves (no more service)

+ photoshoot session

+ smiles for the camera/phone when you hold it up to her and say “cheese!”

personal / husband & wife:

+ virtual marriage retreat with Pope Francis (National Marriage Week) [post found here]

+ Lenten daily devotional [related post found here]

+ read Cuckoo’s Calling

+ completed lots of word search puzzles

+ celebrated A’s 26^th birthday (a one year subscription to Reader’s Digest & Clarks (lifetime guarantee) socks were my gifts to him)

+ re-vamped the blog a bit more/decided on a style (still hoping to have an actual website soon) / made a Facebook page for the blog for easier access

+ visits with/from family and friends

+ decided to go as organic as possible after reading an Organic Living book received for Christmas

+ watched movies / my favorite: The Grand Budapest Hotel

+ found some direction in terms of career / excited for the new possibilities! Now it’s just about implementation and acquiring clientele – expected to be a continually developing process

Now it's time to create a list of all the things I am looking forward to and hope to accomplish this spring! What are some of your winter recap moments?

The Season of Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday. The season of Lent has begun. We, as Christians, are now walking with Christ on our forty day journey through the desert – from death into life, as we will joyfully celebrate on Easter Sunday.

This morning I began reading my daily Lenten devotional (wrong year, but it still works). The gospel reading was from Matthew (6:1-6, 16-18) and touched on a subject that, as we begin Lent and throughout, we must keep in mind: Jesus says, “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.” This message is not directed towards Lent alone, and can be applied to our daily lives as we are influenced by social media, news, friends, family, and even people we do not know. We are guilty of trying to impress others through these mediums which we believe will satisfy us and fill a void inside. Lent is not about getting attention from others in regards to your deeds or fasting. Rather, it is a very personal, private journey in which we must open ourselves up to becoming closer with God through our actions and prayers.

As R. Scott Hurd, the author of my devotional, further explains:

"Jesus knows that we often bring mixed motives to our religious undertakings. Some of our motivations – the ones inspired by God – are noble and good … But sometimes we have other motives that aren’t as laudable. We may do religious things because we hope others will see us as holy, or at least good, and perhaps admire us for the kind things we’ve done. When we act in this way, we’re seeking to glorify ourselves – and there’s the catch. As Christians, all we do, in one way or another, should be done for the glory of God. As we journey through the days of Lent, let’s ask the Lord to purify our motives, so that what we do is not driven by concern for public relations, but by a genuine sprit of praise and humble commitment to the Gospel."

I invite you to share some of your Lenten resolutions! Through sharing, we can help each other when we fall, pray for one another, and walk the journey together.

Here are some of my Lenten resolutions/practices:

+ reading and praying a daily Lenten devotional

+ praying each day for specific family members and causes

+ cutting back on sugar intake (it’s one of my biggest temptations)

+ taking time to be a better friend and get in touch with those I have been meaning to; better contact/communication and connection with those friends I do see more often; deepening friendships through meaningful discussion

+ making donations to the CRS Rice Bowl

+ attending a few Soup and Stations (of the Cross) events on Friday evenings; also, perhaps attending a Fish Fry

What are your Lenten resolutions this year?

Heart Garland DIY

Perhaps it looks a bit childish, but it's the thought that counts, right? :D

I have had TONS of leftover, unused coffee filters sitting in my cupboards for months. I have been brainstorming other ways to make use of them, and with Valentine's Day coming up, I figured it would be simple enough to cut out some hearts and put them on a string. So, there ya have it. And with the intention of having perfectly shaped hearts, I was able to use a lot of filters as it took a few tries to get the right heart! Get creative and think of other ways to shape the hearts, other string colors to use, and other times of the year to hang up some heart garland.

What are some other ways to use unused coffee filters?