T minus 3 days

Baby A is due on Monday!

We are excited and pretty much everyday is the waiting game. My ultrasound yesterday made it pretty clear that she'll be sticking around in the womb for at least a few more days. C'mon out, we are all waiting to meet you!

On the baby gear front, I have been looking for a diaper bag that is not actually a diaper bag, but will have lots of pockets and be easy to clean like a diaper bag....

I basically want a big pocketed purse.
I looked around in Ottawa, but nothing seemed to fit my description. Either no pockets, or too heavy already, or very expensive (oh did I forget to mention that in the criteria?)
I was also looking for something that was a little fun, not the seasonal colours which all seem to be fairly neutral. Brown, black, off white and tan.

I had a big yellow purse that would have worked great, but Olivia the wonder cat decided that it was a good place to lie and massage her claws into. Note to self: do not leave delicious yellow purse where Olivia will lie on it.... especially not for months at a time.

Then while perusing Etsy, I came across this.

This is the Beauty Tote from Bayan Hippo.

This one is grey, which I do love, but maybe it's one of those *ahem* more muted colours.
I can always fancy it up with some fancy flower pins or something else lovely!

There are custom colours available if you visit her shop, and you can also customize the number of pockets you want with or without zips for free! I was torn on the colour, there is a lovely violet and a dark mustard that I like, but the grey seems like it will be long lasting and matchable to most things.

I'll have a little think about the colour and then order one.

***update: I ordered the bag last night and asked to have an additional large pocket, some zippers and some elastic, I can't wait to get it in the mail!***

sun!!

I am love love loving the forecast for Ottawa this week!

After a couple of weeks of blech ew ick weather, think humidity....rain....grey....darkness....blah...., I am sooo ready for this beautiful Fall weather to really start!

Thank you Lord for Sun!!

Getting ready for baby

We have been doing lots of things to get ready to welcome a new life into our family
-reading books-talking with other parents-taking a prenatal class-

Logistically we are working on transforming our little apartment into one that will work with a new baby. Our apartment is certainly not the smallest, but those that know me well, know that it is full to the brim. Not entirely a hoarder, but I like lots of little things. I have knick knacks, books, boxes of paper, wool and fabric, lots of craft supplies on top of those, and all the book shelves and cupboards to fill it.

We are currently living in a 2 bedroom apartment, what will be the baby's room is currently our guest room and the closet is full of all my fabric and sewing supplies.
Thom recently asked where I would put all the fabric, and I have some *ahem* plans, but then he went on to ask where we would put all the boxes storing wool and fabric and craft supplies that are under the bed. eep.... I had indeed forgotten all about that!!

We have friends who are taking our double bed for awhile, but all the hidden under bed stuff will not fit under the crib that is replacing it.

So, we have been purging, making many trips to Value Village to drop off unwanted/unused/unnecessary items, but so far, this seems to have made little difference.

We are planning on buying a new Expedit bookcase, and re-purposing a very cute curbside find dresser as a change table. But the thing is, most of the stuff in that room will no longer be in that room, how do you take a whole room and transfer it out amoungst the rest of an already full apartment?

We have some ideas, so I'll let you know how it goes!!

birthday!

Today I am 28 years old.

I was thinking this morning about where I was 10 years ago today. I was waking up at camp, in Saskatchewan, beside the lovely miss jillian sue and feeling very forlorn about turning 18.

I had just graduated from high school and was feeling intensely sad about being ‘grown up’ and completely unsure about what was next.

I had no idea really. I was considering art school or an early childhood education program. But due to my procrastinating attitude and my lack of ambition to achieve anything higher than a 65% in grade 12, it was looking pretty bleak.

Long term plans at that point? Mostly I thought that I would be married with a few kids by the time I was 24. HA!

What ended up happening was quite different and exciting and full of fun and wonder.

I took a year off and decided that maybe what I would like to do is become a nurse. I ended up having to go back to high school and take a few new sciences and redo a few of those classes I truly think to this day that I was mercy passed through. My average went from a 60% to a 90%.

After that year in back in high school, I decided to come back East. I had grown up near Toronto and somehow felt the East was calling me back. Little did I know that this would eventually become my new home.

Skip ahead 10 years. Here I am.

I am now a Registered Nurse. It took me 5 years instead of 4 (apparently I like a good victory lap in my education), but here I am, I have worked on a Mother-Baby Unit, a Surgery and Medicine Unit and now I am working with a Family Health Team.

I am a Wife. I have been married to the lovely Thom for 4 years (on Thursday we will celebrate this anniversary).

I am a Mother. Well I am mother to a little 1 pound womb baby. She will be born in October.

While those things did not occur by the time I was 24 (well I guess I did get married then, but the kids would be a few years away), there have been many other things that I didn’t think about when I was 18.

I forgot that university takes up some time, and that it can take a while to find the right man.

I also was able to become part of an amazing Church family. Many of the friends I made in first year university are still my very good friends today.

I love my life. While it has turned out to be different than I may have imagined it (really who wants the life they imagined for themselves at 18?). It is a wonderful life indeed.

So Happy Birthday to me and Happy Birthday to all those who share this day.

on being pregnant

well, most people in my life know that I am pregnant,
but maybe the people who read this blog (there must be some of you left!) don't all know yet.

I am actually half way there. But the thing is this:
sometimes I am afraid that something will go wrong.

Last summer in June, my husband and I found out that we were pregnant,
we did an excited (and partially surprised) happy dance.
We told many of our close friends right away and around 9 weeks we told pretty much everyone and our families.

I had seen my family doctor early on, but because of a genetic blood clotting disorder I have, we were referred to a high risk doctor. When I was able to get in there at 10 weeks, we found out some sad news. It turned out that the little developing egg never really developed. It turned out in the end to be a molar pregnancy, something despite being a nurse, I had never heard of before.
A molar pregnancy is when the cells for some reason come together and divide properly. In fact, it basically is like a tumor and can end up being cancerous. So I had to have a chest x-ray and everything to make sure it didn't spread. You can imagine the shock of going in for an ultrasound to see your baby and instead discovering you may have cancer. A little unsettling to say the least.

After this news, I had to have blood work to make sure all my hCG levels (or baby hormones if you will) were coming done, if they went up that can be a sign that the cells have spread. Because of this, we also had to wait 6 months before trying to get pregnant again. The good news was that if you wait the 6 months, and your hCG has come way down, it is very rare to have it happen again.

So, 6 months later, we started trying again, and bingo, first time's a charm!

My lovely lovely lovely OB/GYN Dr. Cargill booked us in right away at 6 weeks for an ultrasound.

That ultrasound was nothing more than a dot, the teeniest dot. But that little dot... it had a heartbeat.
We decided to tell our friends and family right away, it was amazing to have their support the first time through, and a missions trip I was supposed to go on but didn't because I was advised against it, pretty much gave away that something was up.

We've had probably 4 ultrasounds already, though the last one was around 12 weeks, and I have heard the heartbeat 3 times since then, but I still get this dreading feeling right before I have my next appointment. I find that doing things that make this pregnancy seem more real help, like registering for baby items, and telling my work, and even writing this post (probably part of the delay in writing it has to do with a little fear).

But here is the thing. My God is a big God. He sees me, and Thom and he knows our hearts. I trust Him and love Him no matter what.

I believe this baby will come, he or she will come healthy and will be loved loved loved.
By us, our family and all our friends.

Monday we have our ultrasound to find out if baby is a he or a she.
I will be putting a little picture up here after that.

oh spring...

oh spring...
when will you come to stay?

I have been growing some little seedlings indoors and I have been waiting to put them into their pots on my balcony, then yesterday...
we had snow
ew.

I truly do not mind snow in the winter, but after a couple of weeks of +18 degree Celsius weather, snow was a fairly unwelcome surprise!

and my little indoor seedlings keep on getting bitten by a mischievous Olivia the Cat!
I've started keeping my plants on the cutting board, which is not Thom's favourite spot for them, but it does seem to be the only place that Liv won't jump up on.

Speaking of my husband, can I share just one of the lovely reasons I love him?
Monday night, at 11pm, when we were both already snug in our beds, I suddenly remembered the forecast for that night and the next day, and my hydrangea still sitting on the balcony, and my wonderous hubby got out of bed to save that little ol' plant from freezing!
That is love!

the long overdue circle quilt!

this quilt has been a little while in the making. i actually started it before baby isaac was born, but then school and sickness and other things got in the way.

this may also be one of the very few circle quilts i make, i loved making it, but it was tricky!! lining up all those circles took a lot of time!

i do love the way that it turned out though!

here is baby isaac lounging on it. we have had a rough start to our relationship, it seems he never forgave me for poking him very hard when he was in the womb, one time (while still womb-bound) he kicked me very hard, sort of a get-your-hands-off-of-me kind of kick! that little man always gives me furrowed brows and sideways glances and the first time i held him he screamed!!

but by the looks of this picture, i may be forgiven!!

you can see this pic and some of the other blankets that baby isaac at ben and mary's blog

Baby Isaac is here now. He is Ben and Mary's little guy, he came about 3 days after Mary and I finished the nursery. We figure he couldn't wait to see it. He was a week early and delivered at home! See the pics of the nursery here.

He may love the nursery but he seems to remember all to well all the belly pokes I gave Mary to get him moving. Today he grumbled in my arms and kept giving me shifty glances. I don't think he trusts me.

Once I finally give him his quilt he will be much happier with me. Maybe he thinks that I forgot it!

i won!!!

hurray!

I have been following lots of blogs over the past 6 months. One that I really like is The Shabby Nest, Wendy's blog.

She has the same love for anything shabby, thrifted and found as I do.

So, this past week I entered her contest to win some beautiful apothecary towels from Dreams of France.

And. I. Won.

wonderful! I can't wait!

Thanks Wendy!!

wah wah wah....

Story of the hour...

our laptop is on the fritz. it seems that a mysterious dog knocked a mysterious tv remote onto it and the screen split in two.

booo.

so internet availability is currently limited while the lovely Dan Devine (his real name!) tries to remove the old screen and put a new one in.

oh i do hope it can be fixed!

so needless to say, the posts may be even more limited!

an exerpt from my book reflection

Hello all!
So as promised, here is a tidbit of my reflection on Bill Johnson's book, Strengthen Yourself in the Lord: How to Release the Hidden Power of God in Your Life.

I really enjoyed this book. It was not necessarily filled with ground breaking revelation, but it did have simple truths to accompany revelation some things that I have learned throughout this year already.

The point he made that I was most struck by, was how we are to receive the Word of God and the promises that he speaks over our lives. I learned that when I hear the promises that God speaks, I need to hang on to them no matter what the circumstances.

David is used as an example throughout this book. As Johnson puts it “David did not assume the throne until 10-13 years after Samuel had anointed him...in those interim years, David endured more difficulty, persecution, and rejection than many of us face in a lifetime. He probably didn’t expect it to take so long to become king” (Johnson p 18). From David’s life we see how we are to hold to God’s promises over our lives. David could have called it all off after having to flee Saul in the middle of the night, forced out of the palace where he had previously lived comfortably. David might have thought that Samuel had it all wrong, that he was not the “right” one to be king, but David continued to believe God’s word over his life. There have been words spoken over my life and the things that were going on around me did not always seem to match up with what was spoken. Johnson also noted that sometimes we are taken into a wilderness, just as Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. We are proving to God that we will remain faithful to him, no matter what the circumstances and that we trust Him to make good on His Word.

I definitely recommend this book, it was very helpful and good reminder as well as a quick read... which is good right now as I have many readings to do before I am done school in April. And I am definitely behind!

some secret projects

Well, a little update to share what I have been working on the last week.

I've been working on a little quilt for Baby Isaac who is due in a few weeks, a circle quilt, a new endeavor which requires a lot of pinning and a lot of ironing and a lot of time to get the hang of it! phew! But it is coming together splendidly and I can't wait. I have also been helping Isaac's mom and dad get their nursery ready. I'll have some pics of that when it is all done!

The other top secret project is a vest that I am knitting for my lovely man. Thomas is turning 26 this Thursday, and I wanted to knit him something. A sweater seemed too scary, so a sweater sans sleeves... perfect! I am about 1/3 done I think... his birthday is tomorrow! yikes bikes! this is a week that has snuck up on me!

also working on a book summary/report/analysis for school. I read Strengthen Yourself in the Lord by Bill Johnson, and I really recommend it!!

A good reminder of how to stay fresh and rooted in God. I'll post some of my paper when I am done writing it!

so, too-da-looo!

I'll see you guys on the flip side!

oh, ps. still haven't finished those thank you cards! eep!

Oh, thank you cards!

I have good intentions, I plan to send thank you cards.
I plan to make my own beautiful thank you cards.
I plan to do this all promptly in the first few weeks of January.

Then, all of a sudden, it is March, I have no cards made.
I still feel I need to send them, so I end up with a box of generic thank you cards to send to all who blessed me this year (mom, dad, sisters, auntie's, friends and so on)

So, it is still January, I still have time.
I'm hoping that by posting on here that it will give me a kick in the pants to get me going.

Maybe this afternoon.

A little Sunday project!

New Year!

2010, wowee!

Christmas this year with the VP ladies was quite fabulous, it was mom and the gals for about 5 days sans Thom and Alex (we love Alex!!).

(here we are 3 1/2 years ago at my wedding)


with just the girls hanging out, we had lots of fun, we had a lunch visit with my Grandad and Gramma-Mary (my dad's parents), shopping and Rozzaroo and I went to the lovely Stuart. Fabulous as per usual and we were blown away by Matt Andersen, a man with the most phenomenal voice!!

Thom and Alex both arrived in the Hammer on the 23rd.

Thom's arrival coincided with a great tale of Dani patting a taxi drivers hair (decongestants and wine apparently do not mix!), I was a quilting fiend, I finished the baby quilt for baby Samuel, and mostly finished a beautiful ocean quilt for lovely auntie Maureen. It will be completely done when I visit next.

Thom and I also got to spend a few days with his family in C'ford.

Then back to Ottawa to relax and for Thom to head back to work for a few days.

So, it being the New Year, the resolutions are in full swing. While I am not entirely sold on the idea of new year's resolve, I do believe that any opportunity for change and growth is great.
so the resolutions are as follows:

• My lovely friend Amanda A. and I are partaking in a fitness boot camp. 3 times a week for 3 months... at 6:15 am. yikes! Our first morning was this morning, and it was pretty intense. My legs are hurting a bit and my abs get pretty sore when I laugh.

We'll see how much worse it is tomorrow!

• I plan to have more regular updates in the shop and on the blog.

• Thom and I want to be more hospitable, to have people into our home for dinner at least 2-3 times a month

• I also want to be a better journaller, I think making some of my own journals will help with that process. similar to those of ms. Pam Garrison

I'm not sure what else, but I'll let you know if I come up with anymore.

So, it was back to school today, and oh how much I love school and my 15 classmates!

hurray!

What are your new year's resolutions?