photo shoot // baby o.

This past weekend I got to meet and photograph a sweet brand new baby girl. She hardly made a peep through the whole shoot and, once she fell asleep, she cooperated so well with the outfit and background changes. What a precious little bundle! And how cute is the mint green?!

If you have a new babe in your future, I'd love to capture the precious first few days of their life in this world! Contact me for more information.

currently reading

source

With our sun room open for the season, I find myself spending nearly every evening in there, watching the sunset through the trees, soaking up the warmth that was trapped in the room during the day, opening all the windows and letting the breeze flow through. It really is every bit as good as it sounds. When Tim watches 30 Rock or How It's Made on Netflix, I no longer watch; I listen from the sun room. I just can't pull myself away.

Most of the time when I'm in the sun room, I'm reading - magazines, books, and (until my little Macbook crashed and burned a couple days ago) blogs. Last week, I worked through a stack of foodie magazines from the library, and this week I started a most phenomenal book, "Dinner: A Love Story" by Jenny Rosenstrach. I can't even remember how I stumbled upon this book, probably from a blog. But at some point in time I had it earmarked as a book I should read = good idea. It's a witty and delicious memoir-turned-cookbook that is well written, practical, and focuses on the importance of sitting down for dinner together as a family. I find myself resisting the urge to dog ear every single recipe that scattered throughout the book since the library probably wouldn't approve of the bent pages.

It's also inspired me to keep a dinner diary (which Jenny has done since 1998) of my own because, like she says in the book, half the battle of cooking is figuring out what to cook. And when you have an easy-to-please husband like mine, I usually don't get much direction when I ask, "Any food requests this week?" And although he can appreciate a good and well-prepared meal when he sees one, he honestly would be happy with Ramen and hot dogs every week, and that's just not gonna happen. But with a dinner diary, I could look back and see what we've had in the past and get ideas through that. Love it. Let's just say that this book will definitely be going my Christmas list this year.

girls weekend

Tara, me, Mom, and Grandma D. at Munsinger Gardens

This past weekend was what I would call a quintessential girls weekend. We shopped, enjoyed the new deck, stayed up late, got up early to go to garage sales, and of course ate some really good food. Tim was around to level out the amount of estrogen flowing around by doing things like digging a new fire pit, making coffee, and mowing the lawn.

The girls didn't come empty handed, either.

They brought
+ crocheted goods and a baby blanket Grandma said she made awhile ago that she's been saving for her first grandbaby
+ a bag full of girl clothes and a bag full of boy clothes. wonder which bag we'll be reaching for in 5 months...?
+ embroidered day-of-the-week tea towels
+ a beautiful pot of flowers for the new deck
+ food! there was fresh radishes, asparagus, lettuce, homemade bread, and cinnamon rolls

I love these women not for just their love languages of gift giving and food making, but for their wisdom and zest for life. I admire them and am blessed to have them as a part of my life.

happy father's day

nothing says "happy father's day" like a new wheelbarrow

Happy (first!) Father's Day to my man. I am so blessed to be your wife and help mate. Thank you for you cleaning up the kitchen after I go to bed. Thank you for loving things like house projects, mowing the lawn, and shoveling snow. Thank you for appreciating my family as much as I do. Thank you for praying for me. And like I've said before, I'm so excited to begin this new chapter of parenthood with you. I know it will be tough at times and we'll feel like we have no idea what we're doing, but we'll learn and grow together. I love you.

And happy Father's Day to my dad, the man who set the bar high as far as fathers go. I'm very blessed to have a dad like you - someone strong and encouraging and loving and not afraid to call me up just to check in. I love you.

baby update // 17 weeks

Oh, hello baby bump! I am patiently waiting to feel the baby squirm and kick, although I know the little bugger has been doing somersaults in there for quite some time. Tim said just the other day that it all seems a little more real now that I'm actually started to look pregnant. He says he can't wait til I'm huge. Ha! Love that man.

all decked out

Remember our awesome nasty mud pit that was filled with rock, smashed concrete, and faded wiffle balls? It has been replaced by a gorgeous cedar deck!

Tim has worked so hard on this project and this past weekend he got a little help from his dad and brother. By Saturday night, we were eating our pulled pork sandwiches on the deck, admiring their hard work. All that's left to do is put a few more pieces on the step, stain, and add some landscape rock around the outer edge.

using a lot of brain power to get the step to come out just right

Bucket hat Bob preparing a custom piece of wood for the step

Zach, the one who put in nearly every single screw on the floor boards. Bravo.

carrot cake leftover from Tim's pre-birthday supper last night

p.s. Happy birthday, Tim. I love you more and more each day, and am so excited to make you a dad. You're the best.

a gift & a privilege

have you ever read a verse over and over for many years, but then one day it takes on a whole new meaning and you read it in a totally different light? yeah, that's this verse for me.

Pregnancy is constantly on my mind. I will literally wake up in the middle of the night out of a deep sleep and my first reaction is to touch my growing belly and thank God for this miracle growing inside me. It is so amazing to me and I am so thankful that God has given me this chance to be a mother, something I've dreamed of for many years.

But pregnancy is a funny thing these days; sometimes I almost feel like it's a bad word. Tim and I joke around about this, saying how pregnancy is a disease that you have to treat with lots of medications and doctors. We are, of course, totally kidding, but that mindset is sort of true in society today. It's like we've forgotten that our bodies were made and designed for this purpose. This is completely normal and something (in my mind) that should be celebrated.

This tumble of thoughts was brought on after seeing a little blurb last night on one of the pregnancy sites I use to check on how our baby is developing and growing each week. The article was talking about buying new underwear for pregnancy. Yes, underwear. It was suggesting certain fabrics, cuts, and sizes and then ended with this phrase, "It's a good idea to buy a few pairs in bright, fun colors to cheer you up," implying that I will be disgusted at the size of panties I'm having to buy due to a growing belly. Seriously?! I know every woman's story and pregnancy is different, but in general why would we need brightly colored underwear to make us feel better? I'm already cheery and so happy to find that my options of pants that fit me is dwindling by the week. A growing and changing body is something that sort of comes with the package of pregnancy. It's what I signed up for, and it's a gift and a privilege that I do not take lightly, especially since I know there are many women who would give anything to have to buy new pregnancy underwear and will never have the opportunity.

Thank you, Lord, for this child you have knit together in my womb. There are many unknowns and questions ahead of me, but I know that you have equipped me for such a time as this. And in that I find peace.

weekend recap // building, blts, and bibs

Have you ever had that glorious phenomenon where you always think it's way later in the day than it actually is? That's how this whole past weekend was; it was so awesome. Every time I would glance at the clock, I was expecting it to be 5:00 or 6:00pm, but it was usually something like 1:45 or 2:37. So great. 

+ BLTs - a total summer staple for us, alongside a bunch of pickled/canned goods

+ bib overalls I found on a garage sale. I couldn't help myself!

+ my little herb and flower garden flourishing away thanks to all the rain we've gotten lately

+ work on the deck continues. I am thoroughly impressed at how Tim is able to do this project and do it well. If everything continues to go as planned, we should have a full deck by next weekend. Yes!