Girlfriends and the Pumpkin Patch

There are few things that are more special than the bond that women share just by simply being women. Mothers, daughters, sisters, friends. While our fathers, sons, husbands, brothers and male companions provide rich and irreplaceable relationships as well, there's just something about being with the girls. A few of my closest girlfriends decided to honor and celebrate our little girl-to-be this weekend. How sweet it was to sit around some steaming soup and my favorite treats just talking about motherhood, birth stories, whatever the topic, all unfiltered. I am already praying for our sweet girl to be as richly blessed as I have been with the women in my life. What a precious, precious gift. These women love well.

The second half of our Saturday was spent at a nearby pumpkin patch. Just had to grab the opportunity to snap some sweet fall pics. Hope you enjoy!

Our little pumpkin has been standing on his own and taking more and more steps each day.

Looks like Mama is hiding her own pumpkin under her shirt. Asher's favorite seat!

The Moment

I was reading a blog post today about living in the moment. The author was expressing how so often, we as adults, are living in the future or the past, oftentimes focused on worry or regret. Very true in itself, and then she contrasted that to our little ones who experience intense joy or deep pain in all of these little moments, little things. A flower. A big truck. Ice cream. Bubbles. Here's a quote from the post: "...the more we live outside of The Moment, the less we connect with our children. We hurry them. We ignore them. We put them off." I guess my heart was pierced because I so deeply desire to share in these moments with my kiddos. They are already slipping away so fast. Lord, would you help me to enjoy, to savor, to pay attention to these moments with my child and soon to be children...

Making the Most Out of Small Spaces

As I've been getting things ready around the house for baby girl, I've been challenged to find a place for this and that. To me, it's not simply enough to just find a place to shove everything, but also for these places to be functional, easily accessible and even clutter-free if possible. It's really been a fun challenge for me actually and I find myself amazed and thankful for the space that I didn't even know was there!

For instance, at first glance our bedroom looks like it is filled to capacity. But with the removal of one simple table that displayed a picture frame and the scrapbook, plenty of space appears for a bassinet. The next step is to take Ben's tall dresser and place it at the end of our hallway so we can sneak a glider into the room for around-the-clock nursings. Sure his old-school dresser isn't as cute as the Pier 1 drawers that are currently at the end of the hall, but it's functional nonetheless. I also scored a changing table pad from a neighbor who was getting rid of it. I thought it'd be nice to have something set up when we can't get to the changing table in Asher's room. (Lord knows I am NOT messing with his naps or night time sleep.) I keep a sparce (nearly bare, really) dresser-top anyway so there was plenty of room for the changing pad and a small diaper caddy. Check it out:



In one of the drawers just below I cleared out some tee-shirts that I rarely wear and replaced them with newborn clothes and sleepers. Plenty of room for a wardobe of teeny-tiny clothes! Now we just need that little girl to put inside of them :)

BGSU Homecoming

Hi dear readers and blog followers! So sorry for my fickleness in blogging these days. I've been hitting the hay around 9pm pretty much on the daily (which used to be prime blogging time) so there you go. The fall and changing seasons (particularly the change in temperature!) has been lovely and we get closer to meeting our little girl every day! I've been feeling and sleeping great, have a good amount of energy for Asher during the day and am enjoying giving him my full attention while I can. My sweet little buddy... He's been taking about 5 or 6 steps back and forth between Ben and I, but other than that, seems content with crawling or cruising to get to a fro.

This past weekend Asher attended his first football game. Too bad it was cold, rainy and windy, but he was a toasty muffin in his "bubble" or rain shield that protected him from the elements. Nonetheless, we had a fun time mingling with Ben's colleagues at the College of Ed. tent before the game and caught the first 1/2 hour of the football game before Asher and I headed home leaving Papa to enjoy the rest on his own, die hard football fan that he is. Here's the fam. in orange and brown.

Another New Family Member!

No, we're not having twins... My brother got engaged! Now we can officially call Lucy, Aunt Lucy! I'm so excited to have a sister! Joe has done very well in choosing his bride and we looking forward to their wedding and celebrating their awesome decision to step into marriage. VERY exciting! Love you both Joe and Luc!

The Art of Mooching

I think I'm becoming quite good at it. Mooching, borrowing, whatever you want to call it. It's good, useful, anti-consumeristic (is that a word?) as well as frugal. I have definitely taken people up on offers to borrow things in the past, but now I seek it out. I've got no shame in asking. The latest has been clothing for me and my kiddos. I was in need of some fall maternity clothes and after a quick email-BAM- practially new wardrobe. I'm not even kidding. Thanks ladies for your long sleeved items and even pants! I think of you as I put on a little Laura here, some Kelli there, a touch of Ali and Trinity... Then Asher needed some 12 month PJ's. Another email and before we knew it we were leaving the Alt's with a platic bin of fall/winter outfits (PJ's incuded) and even some BGSU wear we were hoping to have for Asher this football season. Baby girl is borrowing clothes already and she's not even out of the womb yet. Love it. So beware to those who live around me, you may just recieve an email sometime, The fan in Asher's room just died... anyone have another we could use temporiarly??? The asking options are quite vast.

So what fabulous item(s) have you mooched lately??? And PS- mooching is a two-way street so feel free to take our stuff too!

Life Update

Since Asher's big birthday month we've just been rolling along enjoying the final days of summer. Here are some tidbits for ya:

-Baby girl is 31 weeks and doing just fine. I am measuring about 2 weeks ahead of where I "should" be so it's possible we'll have a bigger gal or she may come a little early??? Who really knows, that's just what they say... I feel great and have had a lot of energy. Getting very excited for another birthing experience and to meet our little lady.

-Our house comes off the market in 10 days. It's been 6 month so we will take the winter to think about pray about what may or may not be ahead. Add on? Put her back up for sale in the spring? We are very much at peace and are thankful for our home and neighbors. We have everything we need here and I'm ready to start making some space for baby girl in the back corner of our bedroom. Just a little space, but hers nonetheless until she gets the sleeping thing down and is ready to move in with big brother :)

-We have found a double stroller on Craigslist and are getting it this Thursday. Very excited about this versatile stroller after reading reviews and evaluating our needs. Next up is a convertible car seat for Asher since we'll put the baby in the infant seat he's in now.

-Asher continues to be a joy and we are just having a blast with him. Got to spend a day last weekend in Columbus with Grandpa Tom and Grandma Debbie at the Cbus Zoo which was just too much fun. He's saying "Hi" to anyone and everyone and loves to rough house with Papa. He's going to be a great big brother. A little, big brother that is :)

Some shots from our day at the Columbus Zoo: