His plan is never our own

Isn't it interesting how God tends to remind us who is really in control of our lives just when we think we have things figured out?

Within just a few short weeks the direction of our families future has taken an unplanned twist. A few weeks ago Jimmy applied for a new job, still with John Deere, in Des Moines. He wasn't too confident applying because rumor was they already had someone in mind for the job however, he applied anyways. Within a few short days he was called by the hiring manager and asked to come the next day for an interview. Two days after the interview he received a call from that manager offering him the position. After prayer, lots of conversation, and a little housing market research we decided that it was the right choice for our family.

The new job for Jimmy offers limited, to no travel, which is HUGE for our young family coming off a summer of him traveling nearly 80% of the time. This job offers him opportunities to learn the in's and out's of whole new product line, brings significant networking opportunities with folks he has not worked with in the past, and lots of visibility to key management in our company, not to mention that he would love the job. 

The downside - we LOVE our home here, we have both families close by that we see often and really enjoy spending time with, and that we were just beginning to feel established and grounded in the community and with a network of new friendships. However, we know this is not a final thing. We know this is one stop for us along the way and that in a few years we would like to be back in this area again.

The positives - my sister Jacinda and best friend Katie live in Ankeny. We love Des Moines. We've always said that that would be our first choice of places to live if we had to move again. 

So our family will embark on yet another moving adventure. We moved here from Springfield when Lily was just 2 weeks old and it's funny how God's timing is working that way once again. Our planned move date won't be until mid October, beginning of November, so we will have a little more time here with little man before hitting the road, but not much.

As I think about all the changes that are on the horizon for our family I start to get stressed - overwhelmed with choices and decisions that need to be made about selling our home here, buying a new home in Ankeny, welcoming a new precious life into this world and into our family, ensuring that Lily does well in all these transitions, and supporting my husband as he faces new challenges and demands as he learns a new job in a new place. But once again I am reminded of God's unfailing love and faithfulness to always always be with us, His promise to never ever give us anything we can't handle, and His promise that His plan is always right and sufficient.

While buying a house and deciding where our family will learn and grow for the next few years what really matters is that we are together and safe. So please pray for our family as we start yet another journey and experience some big changes in the coming weeks.

a few projects

In my 36 week post I mentioned a few projects that we have tackled lately. One being a canvas project in Lily's room and the other a storage room converted play room in the basement for Lily. Well I thought I'd share a few pictures and details with you.....


Lily's Canvas Project

I have seen a few friends do this and speak about how easy it was so I thought I'd give it a try and I really like how it turned out. I bought a handful of canvases from Hobby Lobby, some photo paper, and modge podge and within a few hours I had these lovely prints......

Lily used to have a phrase above her crib in stick on black letters - well you can about guess what happened to those as soon as she was able to reach them....off they came. So this wall has sat empty for a few months while I figured out what to do with it. I contemplated painting her initials on the wall, searched for a print, spent time on pinterest, and finally came to this conclusion.

This was a SUPER easy project and one that has some imperfections but I like how they turned out and for now they will do.

Basement Play Room

In our basement we have a small awkward shaped space underneath the stairs that has served as a catch all storage room for us the past year, as well as the previous owners of our house. However, quite a while ago Jimmy and I decided that it'd be fun to turn that space into a play area for Lily. With a completion goal of "before the baby comes" and Jimmy traveling most the summer we hadn't yet tackled it, until the other week where Jimmy got motivated (I may have pushed him a little) and he basically completed the project in 1 day!

We had already cleaned out the room but he had to wire in lighting, dry wall half the space, paint, lay wood flooring, lay the trim, and hang some shelves for her books. So, not too easy of a task. However, once he got going he just kept working until it was done! Then it was my turn to organize and plan out the space. I had acquired a few things a while back knowing that we'd someday use them and I think it turned out pretty darn cute.

We plan on getting Lily a play kitchen for Christmas that will fit well in this space too but for now she loves it and we love having a contained, out of the way space for majority of her toys. I've always said - just because I have kids doesn't mean you'll find toys stretched out and consuming every inch of my house and this definitely helps achieve that! :)

lily helping daddy with the shelves

enjoying her new spot

service, obligations & priorities

I recently read a wonderful post from another blogger about her reflection on this stage of her life - one in which she finds herself still figuring out her identity as a career woman turned stay at home mom of 2 boys, one in which she enjoys doing social things and feeling like she's needed and belongs, one in which she loves to party plan, people please, and entertain. As I read her words I just found myself slightly shaking my head "yes" as these things are so very true of myself as well.

While I am just beginning the adventure of being a stay at home mom I am already finding myself thinking about the things I can do outside the home, ways to be involved, to serve, to help, to be engaged. And already I am asking myself "how much is too much?"

The honest reflections of this other blogger got me thinking about my own priorities, obligations and sense of service to my community, church, friendships, family, etc.

And as I question how much is too much I think I discovered that the answer in its simplest form is - if it affects your family in a negative way than it's too much. From an early age I was taught the importance of service to others, community, and church. That God calls us to be His light to the world and share the talents He has blessed us with to bless and love others. To show others what Christ like love physically looks like in a broken world surrounded with hurt, pain, angry, greed, etc etc. But, doesn't God also tell us time and time again to invest in our families, honor our husbands, and treasure our friendships? So how can we do it all?

I am quickly learning that you can't. That there are different seasons of life that allow you to do different things at different times. I am discovering that my #1 priority and commitment in this season of life is to my husband (will always be) and to my young child/ren. These precious babies are only little for a short time, they will only pitter patter around this house for a few years and I want to be here to enjoy them. I don't want to miss holding them in my lap while reading them stories, exploring the outdoors as they discover rocks and dirt, hide under blankets with them while they giggle endlessly, show them how to do a simple puzzle, listen to them babble and learn new words, watch them interact with little playmates - all these things are so very precious and if we consume ourselves with a busy schedule of to-do's, appointments, meetings, lunches, and other obligations outside the home how will we have time to enjoy them? I don't want to miss tucking my babies in at night because I'm at the church volunteering (I am by no means saying that volunteering at church is a bad thing!) or out to dinner with friends - which again, is NOT a bad thing! 

So when I find myself consumed with thinking of ways to keep myself busy, how I can please others in my life by volunteering for more responsibilities, or feeling guilty in church when they talk about serving and being involved I will remind myself of the importance of this season in life. Remind myself that there is no greater service, priority, or obligation than being there for my husband and my kids during these growing years of life.

There will be seasons later on in life when my kids are consumed with school and church activities of their own, and then even later in life when they are grown and have families of their own and those are the seasons in which serving can take up more of my time. But for now I pray for peace and contentment in nurturing the friendships I have established by always having time for a friend in need and loving on my husband and sweet babies every single day that I am able.

2012 State Fair

A few weeks ago we quickly decided to pack up and head to the state fair. Jimmy is suppose to be taking Fridays off until the baby comes due to his extensive travel earlier this summer which gives us a little more time than a usual weekend and it's been fun!

So it was a Friday with nothing on the calendar, I quickly packed up a bag, called my sister to see if we could stay the night, and come nap time we hit the road. Aren't those always the best trips - the unplanned ones?!

Well Lily definitely enjoyed herself! We knew she'd love looking at the animals and that she did! It's times like these that we wish she enjoyed her stroller a little more - stinker! But we made do by taking turns and letting her walk some as well.

We checked out the baby animal building, shared some cheese curds and a smoothie, hit up the big slide, stopped at each one of the big animal buildings, did some people watching, and then munched on some hot mini doughnuts on our way out of the park. It was a really nice day with a breeze and not too hot!

checking out the baby cow

wanting to touch the animals

jimmy and lily coming down the slide

I may have pushed it a little as I found myself struggling to make it back to the car with slightly swollen feet and an aching back :) but we wore out our little munchkin and enjoyed our day together as a family.

We then headed over to my sister's to stay the night and spend a little time with them. My sister is pregnant with their first baby and we are about 12 weeks apart which is really fun! We discovered we hadn't taken a dual belly picture yet so we had to be sure and do that this time!

me 34 weeks and jacinda 22 weeks

We enjoyed a pizza and Olympic watching night with them, hit up the farmers market in the morning, and then hit the road about nap time again and got home early Saturday afternoon. A fun, last minute trip that turned out to be a summer favorite!

our happy girl - 15 months

36 weeks - FULL term

Well today marks week 36. I am officially full term - yahoo! But honestly to think of being pregnant for another 4 weeks marks me slightly depressed.....hopefully that won't be the case and this little guy will decide to join our crazy family sooner!

I had a doctor's appointment this morning - the first one in which I was actually checked. As you may recall I've been physically measuring a few weeks ahead for quite some time now so I was anxious for this appointment to see if any real progress was being made down there :) however, I once again was given the responses "well I'd say a fingertip" Really?! You might as well tell me nothing since this is what I heard over and over again with Lily. However, I'm remaining optimistic knowing that that can all change in a very short time - right?! They plan to do an ultrasound next week to check his position - she is fairly confident he is head down but not 100% sure. That was also give us another gauge of his size and may further our discussion regarding being induced early due to size as well. So, I'm praying that he will 1. be head down 2. come early on his own 3. worst case, they induce me at week 39ish....

So that's the update on that.

On the flip side of this wonderful journey called pregnancy - the last 2 weeks for me have been a little bit of a rollercoaster. I have been overly emotional and borderline insanely nesting. I have tackled so many unneccessary rewarding tasks these last few weeks - from baseboard cleaning, closet cleaning and organization, baby boy clothes organized and re-organized, mopping  floors, powerwashing the highchair, thorough scrub down of all the baby toys and items - swing, bouncy seat, carseat, playmat, rattles, etc., organizing our newly completed playroom in the basement that used to be a storage space, a canvas project for lily's room, storage room reorg and cleaning, multiple dinners with friends, baking for freezing when baby comes, and seriously the list goes on.......

Then on top of that crying for all the sweet moments I find myself having with Lily each day as I try to soak in this precious time with just her, crying because I'm driving in Des Moines and Jimmy tells me to turn around for a better parking space, crying because all the neighborhood kids are going back to school and Lily will be going to kindergarten in 4 years (seriously!), crying in church as I see all the college students attending alone and hopefully that they will meet good friends and feel welcomed at our church, and again, this list keeps going. For this reason alone I think my hubby is more than ready for me to have this baby :)

Oh all the joys of the final stage of pregnancy, right?!

And in all honesty as my body is telling me it's time for this baby to come and for us to start a new adventure there are still several times throughout the day that I just find myself scared. Scared of the challenge that 2 children will bring - can I handle them both on my own? Will I ever be able to go somewhere alone again? How could I possibly love another as much as I love Lily? Am I prepared to endure child birth again? Will I be a good enough mom to 2 children? How will having a son being different than a daughter? Will I miss feeling his crazy kicks and movement in the middle of the night? How will Lily change with the addition of a sibling? Will it be harder to find a babysitter for 2 kids?! So many unknowns and untreaded water. But such is life - right?! God promises He will never give us more than we can handle so I know that He knows that I can handle this. Another child, a true miracle from God, and we are so ready to meet this sweet baby boy.

And here I am today at 36 weeks.....

15 months

This month Lily turned 15 months old. While I've stopped posting monthly updates I figured I'd stay consistent with her doctor visits to be sure and document her growth and new developments. 

She has such a fun, happy and silly personality - she is so much like her daddy. There are so many times when I look at her and see him as a child (even though I didn't know him as a toddler). We still think she looks more like him than me although when she has a bow in her hair and she smiles we both think she resembles me more. Her eyes are still as blue as can be and it seems she has just grown a full head of hair and mouth of teeth in the last few month. Her hair has really lightened up and got thicker this summer. I actually think it's time for a haircut as the front tends to hang in her eyes if she doesn't have a bow in.

Developmentally she seems to be doing well - she says quite a few words on a regular basis and gibber gabbers all day long. Words she knows are: mama, dada, dog, nana (for gma), duck, juice, bye bye, hi, fish, turtle, no, yes, milk, more, vroom, tractor, lots of animal sounds - woof woof, baaa, sssss, quack, naw, and meow. She also signs "more" and "all done". She is very curious about things and really looks new people and things over. She likes to take things apart, stack things up and then knock them over, crawling through her play tunnel, playing with her toy bugs, loving on her dolly and barbies, LOVES to read books, sing, dance and spin, do anything outside, ride her new power wheels Jeep, go to the pool - she's a fish!, and just run around. 

There are a couple songs that are hilarious to watch her dance to when they come on. It's obvious that she knows them and that she learned some head banging from daddy :) She really does love music and it makes me smile to hear Jimmy playing guitar to her while she bangs around on the drum, tamborine, or harmonica in the basement.

For height and weight she's about the same as where she's been the past few appointments - around 80% for weight at 26 lbs and 70% for height at 2ft 6.5inches.

She's a good little eater and likes most anything we give her. Fruit is still her favorite and meat is hit or miss with her but she usually will eat whatever it is we are having. Her favorites are probably toast, grapes, corn, peas, and steak!

She has almost all her teeth - just waiting on a few more on the bottom and 2 on the top - other than her 2 year moleures. 

And that's about it other than the fact that her world will forever change in a matter of weeks with the addition of her baby brother :) We are unsure of how she will do with the transition. I think she will be very curious about him and want to see and touch him often. I'm not sure if she will be jealous or if she will just adjust. I'm praying for a smooth and good transition for us all! 

And here's some pictures of her these past few months......

her 1st pony - aug12

lily & mommy - aug12

her mad face :) - aug12

playing in the dirt - aug12

reading books - jul12

1st time eating steak and LOVED it - aug12

monkey climber - jun12

corn on the cob summer - jun12

34 weeks

According to my original due date this week marks 34 weeks pregnant with little man. However, little man is estimated to weigh a pound, or more, than he should at this point and I'm measuring 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule both by measurement and ultrasound. So, they are telling me he will, most likely, be making his debut early or else we will discuss inducing me early due to size. So when people ask me how much longer what should be an easy response turns into well....a few more weeks. But, I KNOW they won't let me go past 39 weeks which means max amount of time I have left is just less than 5 weeks - woohoo! 

I am definitely ready to have this pregnancy over with and meet our precious son. This summer has been a hot one and my body is definitely ready for some relief! Lately I am just feeling weak, sore and achy. I am still going to my workout class a few times a week which if nothing else is good for stretching at this point. And I get my fair share of exercise carrying an extra 25-30 lbs of belly weight plus a 25 lb one year old up and down the stairs several times a day. So, needless to say, by the end of the day I am just worn out and tired. Which makes me even more thankful that Jimmy has been home the past couple weeks.

Nesting has settled in as well. It seems like I can't get enough to-do's knocked off my list and/or new projects coming out of the woodwork that just have to be completed before this baby arrives! :) While I like this productive stage that signals the end is near it's also a slight bit insane when running on a near empty tank.....However, Jimmy is in the final stages of completing a play area for kiddos in the basement, little man's room is completely ready, I have sorted and resorted his clothes for the next year of his life, I am wrapping up a modge podge project to accompany Lily's bare wall in her bedroom, I scrubbed baseboards throughout the whole house the other day, outdoor bushes are trimmed, the garage is organized, little man's baby book is started and Lily's is almost complete, we have agreed on a name!, and the list keeps going.....

Other than that we've just been laying low around the house - soaking in extra time with our baby girl as we know her world will drastically change in just a few weeks as well, and enjoying these last few weeks of summer together as a family!

And here's the ever growing belly......