Week 35: Floors, Family and a Party!

This past week was super busy and so great! Super long post alert! :-) The first half of the week was pretty low-key, but bright and early on Thursday morning, things got crazy!

A home project we've wanted do for a VERY long time is replace our flooring in our living areas and bathrooms. The floor that we've been living with for nearly 4 years was there when Austin bought the house and it was pretty awful. The dark brown carpet showed everything and the gray/brown marble-ish looking vinyl in the kitchen and bathrooms just looked dirty all the time.

Since we will have a little girl crawling around before too long, now seemed like the perfect time to do something about it! After much deliberation and learning tons of information about flooring in general, we decided on a wooden laminate for the living room/kitchen and a special order tile looking vinyl for the bathrooms. We are so pleased and it makes SUCH a difference! I will post before and after pictures sometime soon.

We bought the floors through Lowe's and paid to have them installed. DIY home improvement projects are not our forte! The stressful part was having to vacate the house for a day and a half before tons of family came in for our last baby shower in Jackson. My sister graciously opened up her home to me and I used some of my nesting urges to help her clean up her apartment :-) I'm so thankful so have our new floors, but I don't recommend undertaking such a large home project when 8 months pregnant!

Thursday night, I went to a breastfeeding class and it was so helpful! I won't go into detail, but I feel so much more informed about everything. Its also so comforting to know that the nurses and lactation consultants will be there to help while we're at the hospital.

Friday afternoon, our floors were finished and we had just enough time to clean up (Austin really did the majority of the work) and then we went out to dinner with Dad and Aunt Meg! Aunt Meg flew all the way from Chicago to attend my baby shower! It was so great to spend some quality time together and it meant so much that she came!

After a fun Friday night out, we slept in Saturday morning and got ready for other family to arrive for the shower! It was such a blessing to have so many family members and friends celebrate Claudia Grace with us. 

Mary, Jessie, Amy and Kayla hosted a lovely shower for Claudia Grace at H.R.H. Dumplins in Jackson! Nearly 40 other friends and family joined us to celebrate and it was so fun! Of course, I must share photos!

The food table! There was Fruit Salad, Baked Brie with Crackers, Spinach Dip, Chocolate Cake and Strawberry Cake

The present display! This is the basinet that Mary and I used as babies and what Claudia will sleep in too :-) 

The sign in for the guests! I'm looking forward to putting this in Claudia's baby book! 

The drink station. Dumplin's has the most delicious iced fruit tea! 

The pretty little centerpieces for each table! I adore pink roses! 

The food table centerpiece. Austin gave me the Willow Tree piece shortly after we knew Claudia was on the way :-) 

The lovely Garden Room filled with wonderful friends and family! This makes my heart so happy! 

The cute candy on each table :-) 

Opening gifts! I was truly overwhelmed by everyone's generosity. Claudia has sooo many beautiful things! 

This lady. I'm so blessed that she is my sister. She did such an amazing job putting everything together! 

With some of the hostesses! Jessie, Mary and Amy! Love them! 

Mom and me!

Grandmommy and me! Words can't express how wonderful it is that she is here to walk through this season of life with me and meet her Great-Granddaughter! She has influenced my life in so many ways and I love her so much! 

This is classic :-) 

4 generations of women! Yes, the color coordination was intentional :-) 

I adore this photo! Claudia with her Grandmothers! I'm SO glad they were both there.

My aunts! These women are so incredible and have been huge role models for me! I'm so blessed and so happy they came for the shower! Aunt Joan drove from Lexington, KY, Aunt Sherry came from Paducah and Aunt Meg came from Chicago 

The adorable party favors containing Hershey's Kisses and Hugs. I probably ate 5 bags of these ! :-) 

Most of the relatives who were at the shower! Aunt Meg, Aunt Joan, Aunt Sherry, Grandmommy, Mom, Carol and Mary! We were just missing Granny and Kayla in the photo- I was so happy they came! 

While the ladies were having fun at the shower, the men hung out at our house. They kind of had their own party! Austin, Dad, Larry, Uncle Richard and my cousin Michael were there. Here is the photographic evidence :-) 

Following the shower, all of the family went back to our house (braving the pouring down rain) and hung out. I loved having a full house of people I love so dearly! 

Then we all headed to a yummy dinner at Red Robin! Despite the fact that it was freezing (it didn't help that we were all a little damp from the rain), we had a great time! 

Following dinner, everyone parted ways. Aunt Joan and Michael stayed in Jackson at Mary's apartment and we were able to spend some good time with them on Sunday! We went to church together, had lunch at Wall Street Grille and took Michael on a tour of Union. Just because of the distance, we really only get to see them in Paducah, mainly at Christmas. It was such a treat to have them in Jackson- we just missed having Uncle Wesley and Matthew there too! 

Austin and I ended the week feeling so special and loved by our family and friends. Sunday afternoon, we enjoyed sorting all of Claudia's new things and assembling the larger items! This coming week, we're anticipating our first childbirth class and getting packed for the hospital! Hopefully I can get nursery pictures done so the anticipated "nursery post" can happen soon! 

Week 34: "Up" Shower and Babymoon

This week absolutely flew by, which was a blessing because Austin and I spent most of it in eager anticipation for our trip to Nashville this past weekend! Why is it that when you have something you're looking forward to, time typically drags by?

Austin, of course, worked this week while I was at home nesting. Before this week, I didn't understand what nesting really is. I'm sure it manifests itself in different ways for different people, but for me, I have had the overwhelming desire to deep clean EVERYTHING!!! It totally came out of nowhere. One second I was in the kitchen refilling my water bottle and the next I was scrubbing the drip pans from the stove with a baking soda/dish soap concoction I found on Pinterest. I also took everything off the refrigerator so we could decide what to throw away and keep, but I just wanted a clear refrigerator more than antyhing! It makes the kitchen seem so much more organized and clean! Another moment was the silverware drawer. I washed every piece of silverware (and the drawer divider) and stacked them neatly in each compartment. I think that urge struck when I was putting away clean forks from the dishwasher. Earlier in the week, I dusted every wooden piece on the first floor with Pledge. Craziness.

The great challenge in this nesting business is my physical stamina keeping up with these crazy cleaning sprees. There were definitely some days that I overdid it. I don't think I'll be crawling around on the floor dusting low parts of cabinets again anytime during the next 6 weeks....

The nesting helped the week go by and then it was time for us to go to Nashville for a baby shower!

My lovely sisters-in-law, Leslie and Arica, worked so hard to make the shower special and they definitely succeeded. It was "Up" themed and all the details were perfect!

Arica made this adorable little "Up" house! 

Leslie made this jar look just like the one from the movie- she even traced the writing so it looks exactly like the "Paradise Falls" sign. So cool! The money in it is designated for diapers :-) 

I loved all the food and details! The balloons attached to the basket with the baby doll (for Claudia) was so cute! There was delicious fresh fruit, strawberry cupcakes, mini crustless quiche and cookies. Pink! 

This just looks like it should be in a magazine! Such a beautiful spread and I loved the pink roses in the middle! 

Arica made the awesome "Adventure is Out There" canvas that was prominently displayed over the fireplace! Leslie made the bunting out of beautiful fabric. She even made one (that I'm blocking) that has Claudia's name on it! 

They set up a comfy recliner with these cute balloons where we opened our presents! They also had "Up" playing in the background throughout the party. 

With Gran Gran :-) 

With Grandmomma and Grandaddy

With Arica and Dylan! Don't we look bright and cheerful? :-) 

With Adam, Leslie, Ailidh and Ewan :-) We can't wait for Claudia to meet her cousins! 

With sweet friends, Morgan and Victoria! Glad they could be there to help us celebrate! 

We enjoyed getting to spend time with everyone and felt so blessed by the lovely gifts we received for Claudia.

The second half of the weekend was our "Babymoon"! We wanted to go somewhere not too far away from Jackson but where we would still feel far away from normal. So, Nashville seemed the obvious choice!

Austin took me out on our second date in Nashville, which also happened to be my 23rd Birthday. That date was so perfect and a part of it was walking around 2nd Avenue downtown. On that date, we talked about going to the Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant and The Melting Pot together, but we never made it. Before this weekend, anyway :-) 

After sleeping in (which is increasingly necessary these days), we had a delicious lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory. I had never been and Austin requested for us to sit in the trolley :-) I loved the food and the atmosphere!

Following lunch, we walked around 2nd Avenue until our reservation at the Melting Pot. We rested in the alleyway connecting 2nd Avenue and the riverfront. :-) 

35 Weeks and ready to pop! 

The Melting Pot was so romantic and fun! This picture was taken by the hostess and was posted on their facebook page :-) 

Our delicious dessert! We ordered the milk chocolate to dip everything in. SO GOOD!!! 

Following our amazing dessert, we did something else we've wanted to do since we got married. We checked in as guests at the Opryland Hotel! :-) We went there 2 years ago to look at the Christmas lights and were so excited that got to stay there! 

For the rest of our Babymoon, we enjoyed the pool, relaxing in the room, walking around/exploring the hotel and ordering room service! It was a much needed getaway and we returned to Jackson feeling refreshed and even more excited about Claudia's arrival!

Week 32 and 33

We're approaching the final weeks of my pregnancy! If I carry Claudia to 40 weeks, I only have 6 more weeks before she's here! The waiting game begins! This is getting so real...

I am right on track with measurements, weight gain, her heart rate and my blood pressure. Praise the Lord for His goodness! We continue to pray for Claudia's health, my health, and a smooth delivery. I've reached the stage where I'm simply uncomfortable... no matter what. Claudia is running out of room to move around so her movements make me sore and are quite startling these days. My lower back, hips and feet hurt. I'm short of breath (due to Claudia pressing against my diaphragm which then presses against my lungs). Sleeping is becoming more difficult because I toss and turn trying to find a comfortable position. I've outgrown some of my maternity clothes (definitely wasn't ready for that!). Getting in and out of the car is a joke. So is getting on and off the couch. I'm so blessed that I don't have to worry about going to work anymore. Because I don't sleep well at night, I get a couple of hours of quality sleep in the morning and sometimes even get a nap in the afternoon. I'm really just taking everything a day at a time and extending myself a lot of grace. :-)

Being the self-motivated person that I am, I've wanted to get all the home-projects on my list done at once! A lot of times I'll start something then my body will tell me I need to rest, so I do and then I binge watch a few episodes of 7th Heaven on Hulu Plus, usually with a bowl of mint-chocolate chip ice cream in hand. Ice cream is the only thing that keeps my heartburn at bay, so I feel no guilt in eating it whatsoever :-)

Despite the need for frequent breaks and sleeping in quite a bit, we have managed to get a lot done and enjoy this joyful season of preparation for the arrival of our daughter! The nursery is nearly done (I just lack decorating and putting finishing touches on everything), we've had a lovely baby shower in Birmingham, we've gotten some home improvement projects done, I have done some deep cleaning (like washing comforters, cleaning floors, etc.), and I got us completely caught up on laundry and ironing for the first time in our married lives!

The big things that will happen in the next few weeks before Miss Claudia's arrival are: two more baby showers, our Babymoon, pre-registering at the hospital, birthing classes, a breast feeding class, Jessie's baby shower, maternity photos and getting new flooring installed! Then she'll be here!!!

I am continually amazed at how wonderful my husband is. Its so fun hearing him talk about how excited he is for Claudia to come, how he gently reminds me that everything is going to be okay at the hospital and that he won't leave me alone, and that we don't need to worry about doing everything right as parents. He is such a reflection of the Lord's love in my life and I can't wait to see him in that role in Claudia's life. We just started reading "Sacred Parenting" by Gary Thomas and it is already so good! Besides generally being awesome, I cannot count how many ice-cream/dinner/Chick-fil-A milkshake runs he's made without complaining and the other day he brought me home a stack of chick flicks that he found in a discount bin at a local entertainment store! It's been fun watching through those :-) In addition to working full time and taking care of me, he's been working out the past few weeks so he can be a fit dad! And he got a cool new haircut. I love doing life with him!

This entry would not be complete without a rundown of the beautiful shower that my college friends gave for us in Birmingham on August 16th!

The shower was held at my dear friend Emily's parent's home in Leeds. Everything was decorated so wonderfully! It was ice-cream themed with Claudia's nursery colors of pink and yellow everywhere. Emily set up an ice cream sundae bar, complete with ingredients for a banana split and brownies. There were also coke and root beer floats, all in colorful ice cream dishes and glasses!

I enjoyed indulging with a brownie sundae...

These ladies are SUCH a blessing in my life. Becca and Carter came from Atlanta to be there 

Pamela flew all the way from North Carolina to be there! She is such a beautiful friend, inside and out!

Mom and me! So glad she and Larry drove over from Atlanta! 

With Dad and Anna!

With Mary, Mom and Larry!

Beautiful personalized wreath :-) 

Adorable banner made by Carter! 

Sitting in my "Claudia's Mommy" chair :-) 

Such wonderful friends!!!!

We had a great time fellowshipping with our dear friends and celebrating our little girl.

Week 31: Austin's Birthday and a Family Wedding

Week 31. It’s really starting to sink in how close we’re getting to the end of this 9 (ish) month journey! Soon, we’ll be holding little Claudia Grace in our arms. What an incredible and overwhelming reality!

I know that as soon as I see her precious face, I will fall in love and everything will be worth it. I had to keep reminding myself of that as I sat up all night this week with the worst heartburn I’ve ever had. I look forward to my hips not hurting and being able to find a comfortable position in which to fall asleep. I feel swollen, slow, achy and huge! Getting in and out of the car makes any intense exercise I’ve done in the past seem like a piece of cake. I feel like a crazy woman when I inexplicably burst into tears or get way too upset that Chick-fil-A couldn’t make milkshakes because they were out of domed lids! Yet, I know it will all be worth it. I’m getting so ready to meet our little girl.

We had a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday, which was quick and normal. We’re going twice a month now instead of just once. We got to hear Claudia’s heartbeat, of course! I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing it J.  Her heartbeat was 143 BPM, my tummy is measuring right on point, and her movement is great! We are thankful that everything is progressing so well and pray it continues this way!

This past week was my first week as a “home executive”. It was so wonderful to catch up on rest and really detox from the stress of working full time. I had planned on being much more productive than I was, but just growing a person is work J Thus, the 15 loads of laundry will have to get done this week (you only think I’m kidding!). I did manage to cook dinner for us 5 out of 7 nights which has NEVER happened before! It’s the little things in life…

At the end of the week, we had some very special people to celebrate! On Friday, Austin turned 27! Finally J I was feeling old all by myself with him still being 26. I made him breakfast in bed before he went to work, then we met up at Asahi for birthday sushi (don’t worry, I ate cooked teriyaki chicken!). When he got home from work, I gave him his presents then we headed to Greenfield for Kayla and Brian’s rehearsal dinner.

Opening presents! 

The birthday boy! :-)

The rehearsal dinner was at the church where Austin grew up and where the wedding took place! It was so good to spend time with extended family that we don’t get to see very often. We were both in the wedding party- Austin was an usher and I was an honorary bridesmaid. We were so honored that Kayla and Brian included us in their special day!

In the church foyer getting ready to rehearse! 

The wedding the next day was so special! Kayla was beautiful and the tears in Brian’s eyes as he saw his bride made the moment perfect! The ceremony was totally centered in the Lord and it was so wonderful to be present as Kayla and Brian entered into the covenant of marriage together. We know that the Lord has amazing plans for them as a married couple and look forward to encouraging them in any way we can!

Sunday night, we had some friends over to celebrate Austin’s birthday! I made pizza and snickerdoodle cupcakes and we all enjoyed just hanging out together! Our friends are SUCH a blessing in our lives and we thank the Lord that we get to walk through life together.

Looking ahead to this weekend, we will make our final journey to Birmingham before Claudia is born for our first baby shower! My sweet friends from college are hosting it for us and we can’t wait to see everyone!

My heart is so full! Praise the Lord, for He is the giver of all good things! 

Week 30: A New Chapter

Friday was my last day as a woman working outside the home. It's still sinking in. We made these plans months ago and even decided that I would end my time at Union before the academic year began so I could spend the last two months doing final preparations and resting before Claudia's arrival. Staying at home once a baby was in the picture was a topic we agreed on when we were engaged and its been my dream ever since I was a little girl! Now that its here, as has been the case with so many other milestones in my life, I'm not sure what I'm doing!

For the past 5 years since graduating college, I've been working. The Lord provided me with two wonderful jobs and has taught me so much through them! I know I have been so blessed. I also know that my work-ethic (aka my workaholic tendencies) have kept me feeling torn between devoting sufficient time and energy to work and focusing on things at home. Now that struggle is over and it feels like a huge burden is lifted. Work has been my "normal" for 5 years. It was so strange to kiss Austin goodbye this morning and not head out to work myself.

The Lord's timing has been so amazing throughout my life and I know this isn't any different. Taking these two months to ease into being a stay-at-home wife/mom is exactly what I need. Getting used to change takes time. I think one of the biggest changes is that I will have the freedom to decide what to do during my day! I'm very excited about that. I'm excited about having time to do laundry throughout the day and start preparing dinner earlier. I'm so thankful I will be able to take a nap when I need one (which is more frequently these days!) or even schedule a doctor's appointment any time without having to consider my work schedule. A theme the Lord has been teaching me in recent months is to simplify and that is exactly what is happening.

With this new freedom comes new responsibility. In some ways, I feel like this will be easier once Claudia arrives. Her needs and her schedule will dictate my work throughout the day and will make each day productive. The challenge these next couple of months before she arrives is to still live intentionally. Being intentional was very easy for me at Union because I constantly had opportunities to serve and talk to coworkers and students. At home, it's going to require more effort. I want to find a good balance between resting, working, and investing in relationships. I know that spending time with the Lord is going to be more important than ever. Now that my work outside the home is done, I'm already being reminded that He is the only one that can fulfill me. I pray that I will find so much joy and contentment in this new chapter in my life! I know He has wonderful plans- I'm so excited to see what they are!

I already feel much more physically rested. The days since Friday have been so restful and I'm so thankful for that! Claudia is growing and getting heavier. I feel her move constantly. I'm getting so ready to meet her! Interestingly, I'm getting nervous about the actual delivery and everything that will go along with that. I just want everything to go smoothly and to do a good job. I think I'll feel better after we take our classes at the hospital. Those will start in September.

Now for some updates!

On Wednesday, my wonderful coworkers took me out to Picasso's for my farewell lunch! It was great fellowshipping over good food. At the end, they presented me with an Outback gift card and a sweet card they all signed. For Claudia, they each brought a children's book (either their favorite from their childhood or their children's favorite) to add to her library! I was so humbled by their thoughtfulness and can't wait to read them to Claudia!

Thursday, I wrapped up things I'd been working on for the past couple of weeks, cleaned out my desk and said my goodbyes. It was strange walking out of Union for the last time. I am planning to come back and visit, though! Especially when I can bring Claudia with me! Austin and I had a celebratory dinner at Outback that evening.

On Friday, I joined most of the other stay-at-home moms in Jackson at Hobby Lobby (really, though- it was the first day of school) and bought some fun things for Claudia's nursery! I did some crafting over the weekend :-) I'm getting so excited to do a post on the nursery in a few weeks. It's really coming together! Yesterday, Austin and I organized her clothes by month and started putting things in her chest of drawers. I put pictures in frames and we tied the bumpers on her crib. Her little lamb toy is already waiting for her in her crib!

This upcoming week will be fun! Today I have a doctor's appointment. Once you pass 28 weeks, you begin going every 2 weeks instead of every month. I'll be seeing my regular doctor, who I haven't seen in a while. Friday is Austin's birthday so I've been plotting about that! Saturday is Kayla and Brian's wedding! We're so excited to celebrate them and all the Lord will do in and through their marriage!

Now I'm going to make some lunch and get ready for my doctor's appointment! Until next week!