Recapping the Second Trimester

So this is coming obviously late - but I still wanted to document the second trimester as my lack of sleep is already causing many of my pregnancy memories to fade!

Oh my gosh look at my TINY little belly. And guess what else happened during week 14? I got my MOM CUT! Ladies, you totally know what I am talking about. I had the sudden urge to just chop it all off, I think I said "the baby is just going to pull it all out anyway." But at the same time, I wasn't being entirely practical. I opted for some side bangs that required serious maintenance. Yeah, because if I figure out my hair care routine now it will be a breeze to manage when the baby is here. HA. If you all could only see my locks right now as I'm writing this and the little peanut has been out in the world for 5 months!

I won't have captions really for the rest of these, but wow is it crazy and incredible to look back at these pictures. Little L (what I'm going to call her from now on because so many other bloggers make this look like the cool and SAFE thing to do. Let's face it she's plastered all over facebook and instagram, me not typing her name isn't going to help anything, but I kind of like it - it's like my own Gossip Girl feed with her own little code letter) Ok that was such a serious stream of conscious run on thought I don't even remember what I was typing before. Oh - right, Little L was growing so fast in there!!!

So - as you can tell my haircut went south REAL fast. That's why week 15 is smaller than the others. Looks like a mangly little mess. But I pull myself back together around week 16 and finally bought a pair of maternity leggings as you can't really tell here but cramming my legs into my old tights was like trying to get sausage back in its casing. Yuck, gross reference, but totally true and impossible. Also totally true that I am wearing those maternity leggings right now and will probably continue to the rest of my life. The way they hug my belly is just so comforting. HA, if only I was kidding. And then we get to week 17 the week when my non-maternity shirts started looking a little strange and I totally gave up on my hair cut - cute the remaining second trimester pictures with a headwrap. Cheetah no less. I have a feeling I'll look back on these in twenty years and laugh, or maybe I'm looking back right now and laughing. <-- truth.

Week 18 - my favorite picture. My belly looks so tiny but starting to get round and I feel like it finally popped this week. Oh, and yes I had been feeling little L moving in there since week 13, can you believe it! She was a pretty constant mover and I loved that. I filled up at least two iphones worth of storage taking videos of my stomach waiting for her to move. No lie, I had to get a new phone and my first bout of pregnancy rage came out while doing so - but that's another story and actually really not a time worth dwelling on.  If you're wondering where pictures from week 19, 20 and 21 are...well I felt like a big blob and just didn't take pictures. Regretting it now? Kind of - but I still remember that feeling. I actually understood why they say "couch potato." I got to the point where I could describe myself as nothing other than an imobile potato just laying on the couch. And not even a sweet potoato, a plain one. Another post will follow this one about the gender reveal during week 20 & 21 - my favorite FAVORITE part of the whole pregnancy. 

 

I didn't realize it but my feet were starting to grow - starting from this point forward these were the only shoes that fit and I actually went on ebay and desperately bought another pair of uggs a size up. You know I was desperate if I bought them used (listen used clothes are totally fine, but shoes - oh boy.) Especially UGGS! They are just warm sweaty sweaters for your feet you can't wash. And me and some girl on ebay have that connection now.  Also, you will notice that I have completely given up on the bangs, they are clipped up. And yes, that is where they remain today.

And last but not least, my favorite pictures - week 26. Our matching Jesus Saves Bro shirts from Riley Clay Designs. 

 

Because Jesus does save, bro. :*

Paper Flower Party Favors & a Shop Recommendation

  

I feel like I start all of my posts with..."Well it's been a few months..."

Well it's been a few months (ha!) but I'm here to share a project from back in December and highlight an awesome shop. A group of women from my church threw a surprise birthday party and I contributed the favors.  You can see the final favors below - they are clothespins with magnets, a paper flower and a printable card. We clipped them all to a standing tree branch thing (?).

               

             

The cards that were clipped in them were from one of my favorite shops - Valerie Weiners Art. You can find the printables here.

You can also find paper flower clips in the shop!

Recapping the First Trimester

I wish I was feeling good enough to have posted updates on here live-feed so I could go back and read them. Now that I only have 3 days left of my second trimester I want to step back and remember my first two trimesters, and then hopefully the third will have a bit more to share!

So, to sum it up. 
The first trimester was like riding on a kids mini rollercoaster where I barely fit into the seat and the ride just keep repeating without asking if I wanted to get off. The rollercoaster was also playing tacky elevator saxophone music and smelled like cheese-steaks, frozen-yogurt, pizza and lunchmeat that I couldn't eat.

So how was that you ask?
Well I'd be a fool to tell you it was anything but amazing! (Can you tell I'm writing this from a much better place now, and not currently stuck on that roller coaster??)

We found out really early that I was pregnant, I believe I was 4 weeks and the ride started at 6 weeks. We also told our family right away, but I'll have a post about why we decided to do that later.

First Semester Documentation
Look how thrilled I was in this obligatory bathroom selfie (side-note: actually seeing the toilet in this picture is just weird, I'm obviously not a pro and didn't know to close the doors to create a nice little backdrop.)  This is the day after I found out and I'm trying as hard as I can to rationalize that I already have a bump at 3/4 weeks. Turns out I was just bloated from an unhealthy diet ;) I felt like I just had to do one of those pictures though! I'm thankful I did because things went downhill after that and I had no interest in the least to document that time period by photo.

But on a positive note, I survived. So what are my thoughts looking back? 

I shut down my shop for three months and had to rely completely on my husband to make dinner, grocery shop, and do pretty much everything as he started his second year in law school. I never liked to ask for help and I pride myself on being independent and constantly busy. The dependence I built on him was something I should have built much earlier, the trust in him that grew (when I didn't know it could) is something I am SO eternally thankful for and I know we will be better parents because of it.

As crazy as it might seem, especially to those of you in the middle of it, I actually do have to say that I'm really thankful the first trimester was hard. I was forced to slow down. I was forced to spend time by myself thinking and seeking the Lord. I was forced to rest and understand the necessity of rest. 

The Lord knows us. He knows I wouldn't have stopped, I would have kept going, I would have pushed harder with my Etsy shop and everything else in my life so that I could "get ready" according to what I thought was best. 

When I look back, I kind of laugh and I'm glad because I say "Yup, Lord - that was literally the ONLY way to give my body the rest it needed." He knows us so much better than we know ourselves. The one or two days I did need to go into my office for work I pushed myself way too hard and was physically sick and sore for days afterwards. It's hard at the beginning to realize the gravity that a little human is inside you and needs you to put their needs first and that means resting while they suck up all your energy. :) You can get so caught up in keeping up with the pace of the world because you don't "look" pregnant and most people don't know!

I realized how important it is to rest and refuel your body, and for me initially it was physically - but soon progressed to spiritually.  When you're body is exhausted and you're not able to get up or move, you find new things to occupy your now seemingly endless "free" time. For me that was picking up bible studies that I had started but not finished and just being able to take my time in them without the normal pressures of my busy life that seemed to always take precendence previously. Building this tiny routine when I wasn't feeling well helped build the desire to find a way to make this work when I was feeling better. Had I not been forced to slow down I would likely not be making as much progress as I am incorporating studying the Word into my daily schedule. 

Now, let's have an honest moment here - had I written this blog post during my first trimester - I'm not sure what it would have said - probably nothing positive at all and in all capital letters it may have only said WHEN WILL THIS END?!?!, but that's why I waited until now to hopefully encourage someone instead of commiserate. (We of course can do that too!) 

And then, of course, feeling her start to flutter around at about 13 weeks (crazy it was so early) made me literally forget everything about the endless nights awake crying and just staring at the ceiling. I phsyically can't even recall what it felt like beyond knowing it happened. 

You'll get through this - rely on the Lord, seek Him, be thankful for the miracle He's given you to take care of for Him and remember that it all will end and that you're stronger for it. 

Finishing up 2014

I feel like sometimes when December comes around, people are so ready for a fresh start they start to wish away the end of the year in hopes of a better January where you can start new routines, diets, hold yourself suddenly more accountable ;) etc.

I decided a few weeks ago this was not going to be the case for me. I have some unfinished business and I'm settling into a routine right at the end of 2014. And you know what, I think that's good for 2015! Instead of all the pressure mounting, I'm going to work on strengthening that routine and really establishing it in 2015. You know, until the little one comes and at that point my routine will likely just be hers :)

The first thing I started with seems SO silly. I had been looking around online for Christmas gifts and found so many adorable journals I wanted to get...for myself. Because I justified, well if I get new journals I will get newly organized. Well somehow I controlled myself on that one and decided I was going to find all of the journals in our place right now and vow to use every last page. How many of you have ever actually finished a journal??? I was so surprised at the amount I had, with 10-20 pages of scrawled notes or to-dos that had been cast aside. Again, it might sound so small - but it was my first step. So, you'll be proud to know I finished my first one up, filled with to-do lists, grocery lists, priorities for work, meal schedules, everything in one place. And then, I tossed it. Friends, I've NEVER done that before. You know how great that felt? I saw all of these tiny minute things that had piled up, I stuck with it and filled up a book full of them and then once I had used it, it's done.

I'm now onto journal #2 and about halfway through and this seemingly insignificant routine/goal has made me feel surprisingly accomplished.

All I googled was "finish your journal" and this image popped up - so others must have the same issue ;)

The second goal of mine was to go back through my She Reads Truth studies and finish what I didn't start. (Sensing a theme here?) I attended a class through the Influence Network about how to just get into God's word - and they specifically marketed it as appropriate for those of us who pick up a million bible studies and projects and don't often see them through. They don't have it up on their site yet for you to purchase an archived version, but when they do I'll pass it along. It was really REALLY great.

So I'm working on the Advent study and the study in 1st & 2nd Peter at the same time:

 

The third goal of mine is to actually spend time planning the week's meals. I have this printable, and others from Joyful Papery and I love her style. Click the picture below to go to the listing.

We really only eat three different meals because that's what I know how to cook so it's been pretty easy to start doing this and the grocery list on the side really is enough for what I need! I told myself I would make one of these templates myself, but honestly - let's not hold ourselves back from just accomplishing our goal by making all of these other small tasks that get in the way! This was only $4.00 and seriously everything in her shop is awesome :)

So, finish journals, keep up with bible studies and plan meals - I think that sounds like a perfect way to finish 2014!! :)

Back Into the Swing of Things

Blogging has really fell by the wayside for me, I was doing pretty well until this summer. I'm hoping to get back into this regularly, mostly for myself as I really enjoy looking back through my posts and seeing where I've been and watching the journey the Lord has me on.

First announcement - we're expecting a little one, Lydia Violet in March of 2015. She's awesome but definitely took away my energy for anything besides surviving this summer :) hence why the blog was quiet.

As many of you know, we started the process of adoption last September and a wise friend once told us it's all about the journey not the end result. Although we aren't adopting at this point, adoption very much still feels like part of Lydia's story! I love how much we've learned to listen to the Lord, about adoption and particular regions of the world in general and how many conversations we've been able to have with others who are considering starting the process. Carrying Lydia around inside me has also added an entire other dimension to adoption as I try to process what it would be like to give up a child after carrying them for 9 months. This adds so much gravity to my very limited understanding of adoption. 

I'll be sharing more about our gender reveal and other parts of Lydia's story, hopefully more regularly now. :)  I'm attending a class through the Influence Network about blogging so hopefully this encourages me to pick things back up, more on that later! Oh and the paper flowers, more to come on those too!!

so it's been five months...

After a unannounced summer hiatus. (Sorry, more to come on that later.) I'm here and attempting to put things back together.

I'm sitting here staring at boxes full of my Etsy shop that need to be unpacked, however I just re-opened my shop. I'm the kind of person that needs inspiration to get things done. Unpacking and cleaning up my office? Yes, I'm going to need a few orders to force me to untape them and find my glue-gun. I have an email from someone talking about a project where they share the work-spaces of bloggers. I said I was interested in more details, but wow, that would definitely be inspiration to get my things back in their spots. Yikes - but in a good way, I guess. I've been looking at the boxes for almost two months!

I never posted about our plans before I fell off the radar, we spent the summer in the DC area while my husband interned. Now (cough - as of almost two months ago) we're back to our cozy little place in Williamsburg enjoying the unlimited free apple cider, tree frogs on our front door and pitch black nights.

It's almost halloween and I really can't stand the holiday but fall is my favorite season so I'm going to attempt this year to do a few fall related things before it's too late. The first on the list is to make apple cider with actual apples. I found this recipe from My Heart Beets that seems simple enough. I am, however, laughing to myself that it asks for whole cloves and one whole nutmeg. I have no idea what those are or where I will find them. But I will. A nutmeg is a thing? Maybe it's one of those funky looking items in the produce section that has spikes on it that I always want to buy (likely not.)

We're going to go to a pumpkin patch, I think the same one we visited last year, but a little earlier this time. I believe last year we put our pumpkins out just in time for Halloween, didn't get a single trick-or-treater and then left them on the front step for two months. Then come December, we tossed them into the woods, the trees were bare and we could see them out our window for the next 2 months. Talk about an honest depiction there folks, no sugar coating that experience. We're hoping to do things differently this time.

I loved the white pumpkins we got last year and I want to find a few more again this time. I love these colors in the palette on the right from Design Seeds. I'm sure you've been to their site, but if not - it's so great! Our lower level has all of these colors except the plum/purple so it will be easy to add that in I think.

So, pretty ambitious goals - make some real apple cider and attempt to find something plum and purple to add in on our table to make it look like fall. Shouldn't be too difficult. :)
 
I'll be posting soon with a few pics customers sent me this summer, they are great and I honestly can't wait to share - they were a big inspiration for finally sitting down at the blog again.

Paper Flowers, Provision & Promises

Friends. I just posted that we were able to sponsor our first child through No Ordinary Love Ministries yesterday!

For a little back story. I had been praying about this for the past few weeks. The month of April was the slowest month for Pancakes & Glue Guns in almost a year, it brought it approximately 1/3 of the profit it normally brings in. It was during this month that I reached out to No Ordinary Love Ministries.

The entire month I waited and waited for the shop to return to its former glory, but it didn't - it was slow! I've always said that God's hand on this shop is so perfect as I have rest exactly when I need it, it provides a distraction from work stress when I need it, and it provides finances the exact minute we need them. All of this never happens in a "safe" way, instead the shop is constantly fluctuating in sales and profit month by month to provide exactly what we need when we need it. For instance, in April I finally had some time to make my paper flower crosses and after making a few was inpsired to reach out to Hope Spoken about being a vendor in their market. Without that down time to create these I wouldn't have pursued it. God is so good and perfect!

When I first contacted No Ordinary Love Ministires, providing a sponsorship for a child once a month was actually in the excess of my shop. I would definitely notice it, but it didn't require too much faith to make it work.  I kept telling myself, well April was a little slow - so let's just start the sponsorship thing in May. But then as the days went on and I was in the Word I read about how giving in faith as a sacrifice is a form of worship to the Lord  is so pleasing to Him.

So, I went ahead and did it - the funds from April went 100% to sponsoring a child at No Ordinary Love Ministries - there wasn't any excess, this wasn't an easy donation as it forced us to rely on faith to provide what we needed for the rest of the month.

Well, two hours later the Hope Spoken instagram account shared a picture of one of my crosses and I had dozens of new followers inquiring about custom orders in my Etsy shop. Then the next hour my husband receives an email that his scholarship for his summer internship had been increased by about $500 - the amount of the sponsorship.

Step out in faith friends, the Lord always keeps his promises. I am so blessed to be used by Him through my paper flowers. :)

Hebrews 13:16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Phillipians 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.