{giveaway madness}

one of my favorite things about reading blogs from around the country is the unexpected giveaways. this country is full of generous, creative people who are always showing off their creativity and their friends. as you know, i heart etsy a ridiculous amount. through some random avenues, i found another amazing blog, full of creativity and love. fabulous-k is having an amazing giveaway this week, two giveaways per day! it's also some amazing free advertising for her friends and clients. for example, i found something i heart beyond a lot, that otherwise i wouldn't have found. case in point below, the vintage pearl. how sweet is this necklace. i love it so much. of course, i entered hers (and the other 8!!! so far) giveaways, but i just had to share this amazing find with all my friends. so lovely.

(i stole the picture from the vintage pearl's website, want to give credit!)

do yourself a flavor, and go to visit fabulous-k's blog, check out the other amazing goodies that are being offered this week. the diaper bags (how cute!!), sweet tutu's, delicious personalized stationery (sooo great!) i have a feeling many of these folks will be getting a share of my birthday money! :)

candlelight

this week has turned out much differently than we thought it would. it was going to be a hectic week, with the ultrasound on monday, dentist appointments, eye doctor appointments, my final on wednesday.. just a jam-packed week. little did we know that we would have a microburst come through and knock over trees and knock out power for 36 hours. it was insane, the weather was scary, the aftermath was unbelieveable, the lack of power was inconvenient, the candlelight studying was a pain. however, we really are lucky; no trees fell on our house or cars, only minor damage to our cars and probably our roof (which is why we have insurance after all!) and both of us were safe and together. having no power for one night was a little boring for mat (as i was studying as much as i could before the sun went down) but it also gave us a chance to talk and walk and share better time together. so much of our life is hurry hurry hurry, that when we finally get home, we veg out in front of the tv. without tv, we had dinner at the table (even though it was delivered pizza!) and went for a walk in the greenbelt. it allowed us to slow down and relish the quiet there is without all the appliances and electronics buzzing.

it also got me thinking about the influence of candlelight. as soon as the power went out monday night, we got out flashlights and candles. as soon as i lit a candle, the light filled up the entire room. the far reaching power of light over dark is amazing, leading me to think more about how Jesus called us the light of the world. I am a light of the world!!! the rest of the passage is just as poigniant "16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." i have the potential to be like that candle we had to light so that we could see clearly; i have the capability to be the light for those around me to see more clearly the love that my heavenly Father has for them. if i don't live out that life, the life of the light of the world, then i am like the candle under the basket: ineffective. i pray that i will daily exhibit the light of the world, the light that i have inside of me, the light of Jesus Christ. i pray that in that way, i can bring light to the lives of those around me, the clarity, peace and faith that comes from Jesus. that is my prayer.

if you are interested, here are some photos of the storm:

downed trees on the greenbelt behind our house

my poor rose bush and flowers....shredded....

marble sized hail (yes, that is all hail behind him on the grass..)

eerie morning fog, with our neighbors downed tree

he is a HE.....

just wanted to share some pictures from the ultrasound we had today. HE certianly wasn't shy, it took the ultrasound tech about 2.2 seconds to know for sure that he is HE. it was so good to see our baby again, to see him moving around (which he was doing a..l..o..t of today!) to see his heart beating, his spine and ribs and tootsies. it was so good for my heart to see him and know that he's developing healthily and happily :) i feel so blessed already, with a full heart.

i just can't wait for it to be december so that we can meet him and bring him home!!!

follow through

as promised, here's a new blog post. i've been procrastinating and putting this off, not because i don't want to keep things updated, but because my accelerated A&P class i'm taking this summer is very demanding, and by the time i'm done with homework, it's time for bed. and it's about a million degrees in our upstairs, and the computer revolts when it's that hot... but, i'm seizing the moment and actually updating this, with photos.

i had some beautiful tulips bloom this spring, they were beautiful. they've since died, and are being moved this fall, so they are no longer there, but they sure brightened things up for a bit :)

this may, one of my best friends, Joy, a "very special friend" from YWAM got married. i was her maid of honor, and i helped with all the crafty stuff that she didn't want to have to deal with. :) she came out for our wedding and i made her be crafty, and she always vowed to get me back. well.....she did :) we did all the invitations, programs, favors, prayer cards.....it was a lot of work, but it was so much fun. i feel so blessed to be such a part of her and her new hubby's day, it was such a beautiful and special wedding. they have since moved to kentucky (russ is in the army) which was hard, but i know that that is where God wants them to be for this season. plus, almost 4 years of our friendship was long distance (montana to texas) so we know we can keep in touch and stay close despite the miles between us. plus, i told her she has to come back in the spring to meet the baby....so......

yupper, more news. mat and i are expecting a little bundle of joy, due to arrive december first. we found out the day before my parent's wedding anniversary, so we were able to share the news on the anniversary. it was so cool. we told mat's mom soon after, and we told mat's dad on his birthday. we went home for mother's day to break the news to the rest of our family and friends, which was great. we almost gave my grandma a heart attack, it was so funny (funny because she didn't have a heart attack....haha) we are set to find out on monday the gender, that way we can be that must more prepared for the baby's arrival (if it's even possible to be "prepared") in between classes and homework, i've been reading anything and everything, from what kind of crib or car seat to buy, to breast feeding how-to's, and everything in between. my head is going to explode.... yikes! :) i finish with class next wednesday. i plan on spending the first weekend doing big fat nothing, just relaxing and not thinking....getting a massage, maybe a pedicure, fun stuff. after that, we can dive into registering, painting the nursery, reading even more about preparing and life after baby, etc. i'm also looking for creative DIY decorating ideas (or websites) for the nursery. if you have any, please pass them along.

that's the biggest news of the past little while. i'm hoping once class is over, my free time will be oozing out everywhere (haha!) and i can keep this more up to date.... fingers are crossed on that one.