Monday Night Mama Thoughts :: waiting for our baby's arrival

Baby girl # 2 @ 36 weeks

It's late late (11:41pm) on a Monday night and I'm sitting in bed with lots of thoughts in my head. Everything that happens, like a message from a loved one or a certain kind of motion in my belly, makes me think maybe it's time. I didn't have this same suspense when Bekah was born. She arrived 3 weeks early... totally unexpected and wonderful.

Before settling in for the night, Luke and I talked about Bekah, like we often do. I asked "What was something funny that Bekah did today?" I asked because I could easily think of a dozen things if I took the time. She makes me laugh so much. I chose the multiple times today when she kept showing up with a crumpled something in her hand... a napkin or a water bottle wrapper all compressed in her fist. Her tiny fist hid it from our sight and then all of a sudden, like a magician, she would pull on the wrapper or napkin and watch it slowly spread out from tiny-toddler-fist size to grow and grow and grow. I don't know why it was so funny to us... haha. Her presentation was really good!

I had a bunch of strong contractions last week. Apparently that's normal but for about 30 minutes, Luke and I thought it was the real deal. A couple days later, I was standing in Target talking with my friend Jen and I told her it was so cool having Bekah around during that time. She was such a calming presence. In the toughest moments of labor with Bekah, I remember loosing sight of what was to come. Everything felt uncertain and unfamiliar... I was thinking about the struggle and not so much the end result. I had never met my child before. I couldn't imagine what it would be like when they laid her on my chest for the first time... I can still remember that weight and how amazing and squirmy she was. I loved the sound of Bekah's voice right away. Now I know even more than that. I know what it's like to hear your baby laugh, to see her (unique, wonderful, complex) personality develop, and to love her so much you can't find words for it. I can't wait to experience that with this little girl still in my belly.

My beautiful Bekah at about 20 weeks

When I was having contractions last week, Bekah was running around the house, being silly... coming to talk to me. And I thought about how I'd go through anything for her and that put labor in perspective. It is uncertain and I'll have to work through it one moment at a time, just like last time, but, man oh man, there is so much to look forward to in our future with this girl.

Just yesterday my friend Ashley threw a "baby blessing" for us after church. It meant the world to me... people like her make me want to grow leaps and bounds in thoughtfulness. Thank you, Ashley! We celebrated our little girl and were blessed with some wonderful gifts. Our friends Tom and Lana even gifted Luke with a Star Wars shirt.. so that was pretty awesome. :) For all the love and support we've received from family and friends I'm very humbled and very thankful. I pray often for my girls that God would give them amazing friendships all throughout their lives... He is so good at that.

Anyways. Thanks for reading my middle of the night and nine months pregnant thoughts. :) Tomorrow is a normal day at home... I'm looking forward to some more laughter with Bekah and an appointment with my midwife. Hope you're having a really good week.

Love,
Bonnie
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Recent Mama-Thoughts and Stories

It's Saturday morning and I'm sitting on a comfy recliner in the living room, while Bekah plays in the truck with her grandpa. She is all about that right now... pressing car buttons (especially the ones that make noises happen) and going "ou-side". Bekah turned two years old last week! We were at the beach with my family and I felt like she grew and matured so much during our time there. I absolutely love that little girl... love who she is and who she is becoming and all the differences that she makes in my life.

One night when we were at the beach, I was doing the bedtime routine with her (brush teeth, read books, snuggle and sing or pray until she's ready to get in bed) and I asked her what she wanted me to sing about.
"Dishes."
"Dishes?"
"Yeah."

So I made up a song about dishes. That's a lot harder than you'd think. I tried to change the song and sing about her instead "Bekah, I think you're special..." "No. Dishes".

Bekah takes the best selfies :)

She says a lot of funny stuff like that right now. Yesterday I was eating some trail mix with her and I shook the bag out into my hand little by little. When three chocolates came out at once she said "NO WAY!" She has the best sense of humor. Luke and I love catching this one face she makes when she knows she is being funny. :) She's also so nurturing right now... watching her interact with her baby dolls makes me want to cry! haha. And she loves singing "Baby" by Justin Bieber.

Right now, I'm 32 weeks pregnant with our second daughter. As a reminder, she just moved so strong in my belly that it visibly shifted as I typed. I'm looking forward to sharing her pretty name when she arrives in August. The past few weeks have been kind of funny with this pregnancy. I've hit a few rough spots, nothing major but just a bunch of yucky-feeling days. At the same time, my joy and sense of expectancy about meeting this little girl has really taken over the fear or worry about our transition to two children. We keep saying that having two girls just feels so right.  Luke and I love imaging what she'll be like and what it will be like to have two girls. Whenever I picture her, I picture her with brown hair. In her ultrasound pictures, she definitely resembled Luke... can't wait to see her sweet face.

I started visiting my new midwife's office last month and that has been a total blessing. I had a great experience with my care surrounding Bekah's birth with doctors at a hospital, but this feels like a much better fit. I'll still be delivering at a hospital but under the care of a midwife. At my first appointment meeting her, she shared a poem with me including our little girl's name. Their care is so friendly and personal... like they really want to get to know you as a person before going through such a big life event together. I'm due August 11th, so we're praying for a full term pregnancy and totally healthy mama and baby.

That's about all that is going on in my head this morning. :) We're looking forward to celebrating Luke, my Dad, and my father-in-law tomorrow for Father's Day. What are you up to this weekend? Any recent mama-thoughts and stories to share?

Love,
Bonnie

Five Thoughts on my Rest Day

1. This morning I woke up about an hour and a half before Bekah. I got up, got some water and a bowl of cereal and crawled back in bed. I read blogs and enjoyed quiet time for probably about an hour. I got out of bed, got mostly ready for the day (my hair is pretty crazy right now) and picked up around our apartment.

2. Bekah woke up around then. I love getting her out of her crib in the morning. I picked her up and we hugged really tight on our way to the kitchen. I asked if she wanted oatmeal and of course she said "yeah. and milk". We snuggled a little more while he oatmeal cooked. We took turns adding milk to her oatmeal (she loves doing that) and blowing on it to cool it down. Her big blue eyes were about an inch from mine as I leaned over her highchair tray and we smiled at each other. Then both of us moved here to the table so I could type and talk with her while she eats.

3. This is my favorite way to start the day. :)

4. Today is my day off but I don't have many plans for it. I plan to read the Bible with Bekah when she finishes breakfast (we use YouVersion's The Bible App for Kids) then maybe we'll go outside. I've been sewing more recently, nothing big just little projects here and there. I think I'll do some of that today and try to stay away from my phone. :) Luke picked up The Force Awakens from Target today so hopefully we'll have time for a movie date!

5. Sometime today, Luke and I have to go to get our senior pictures taken. I'm sure we'll do some other financial aid related stuff while we're there, but the pictures are all I can think about. It is so strange. I went to bed last night a little frustrated with myself... for a really silly reason. We're getting these pictures taken and it feels like a monumental thing... like this picture will capture who I was at this pivotal moment in our lives (finishing college, moving, etc.). So dramatic. :) So I was frustrated with myself about my hair. Haha. I am not confident when it comes to styling my hair and my head is kinda on the larger side. The combo of wearing a graduation cap and not knowing how to style my hair with said cap is like a no-win situation for me. Haha so.... this morning I'm laughing about it and no longer frustrated. We'll see how it goes. ;)

Hope you have a really good day today. I'm looking forward to resting with my family and preparing for a great rest of the week. On Thursday we're going to start looking at houses!! We can't wait. What do you like to do on your rest days?

Love,
Bonnie

My Girl & My Guy

On the day we found out we were having a little girl, Luke froze. He couldn't talk, couldn't eat, couldn't do anything but stare for the rest of the day. He went to bed around six o'clock - totally exhausted. 

I don't know if there's a better word for what happened to him than 'lovestruck'. And it doesn't really look like it's worn off yet... :)

Luke wrote a blog post just hours after our 20 week appointment. You can read that here.

The Kind of Things I Dream About

I love being a mom. Tonight Bekah and I had the apartment to ourselves. We sent Luke off to Barnes & Noble so he could study for a test. We called tonight our "girls party". First, we went outside and watered the community garden. Bekah got a kick out of reaching into the water spray.  We watched  some TV while playing with blocks, then we brushed her teeth to get ready for bed. As soon as I moved the little brush against her tiny teeth, she was cracking up. She has a throaty, almost raspy deep belly laugh that she does when something is really funny. I started laughing too and brushed her top and bottom teeth (she has 8) a couple more times... maybe for dental hygiene's sake... maybe just to hear her laugh more.

We spent a little while longer playing in her room, since she wasn't quite ready to settle down for the night. The corner of her room is one of my favorite parts of our apartment. I love watching her pull out her toys, read her books over and over, and try to steal all the wipes. I tried to show off and do some juggling. Hoping to make her laugh, of course. She just watched politely since I have never successfully juggled in my life. Bekah gives the sweetest random smiles right now. In the middle of whatever she's doing, she'll look up at me, right in the eyes, and give me the warmest, most gentle smile. Then she goes back to whatever she was doing - a little happier than before.

I sure love that little girl. Tonight was so sweet with my Bek. It made me think about some of the moments I'm dreaming about for the future...

+ making breakfast in the morning with our kids lounging on the couch nearby
+ Friday night movies and pizza as a family
+ walking into a room to find one of my girls asleep under a big quilt
+ hammocking in the backyard with Luke, talking about our days
+ cheering on our kids at their sports events
+ seeing and hearing all our kids laugh together
+ growing very old with Luke
+ talking with our teenagers, hearing about what's going on in their heads
+ kid's artwork hanging around the house
+ new babies joining the family
+ watching my kids discover the things they love to do
+ eating dinner around the table with family
+ sunday afternoon naps, all of us spread out around the house
+ seeing our kids befriend others
+ listening to our kids learn to read
+ watching Luke come in the front door at the end of his work day
+ listening to our kids sing

Family is such a gift. I love thinking about this stuff.
What kind of things do you dream about for the future?

Love,
Bonnie

My Brave 9 Month Girl at the Doctor | Momma-hood

photos courtesy of our friend Josh Schneeberger - one of Bekah's best buddies

Last Monday, I took Bekah to the pediatrician's office for her nine month appointment. I wasn't exactly looking forward to it, since shots were scheduled at the end, but it was nice to get out of the house together. Bekah loves watching the staff and smiling at them, and that's super cute to watch.

She was pretty sleepy from the start of the appointment, so by the time we got around to the shots and blood work (just normal tests) Bekah was so beyond ready to go home. Ya can't blame the girl. Appointments are a bummer sometimes. I'm usually pretty calm and level headed as she's getting her immunizations, but last week was especially hard. I think it's just because they had to do a little more than normal.  I'm sure Bekah was having way less fun than me, so who am I to complain - but man, it's tough hearing her cry when I know there are more little pokes coming.

My go-to plan for getting through those moments is to talk in Bek's ear and snuggle her while all that happens. The nurse finished up after a few minutes, Bekah calmed down a little, and then we spent a few minutes alone together in the room before heading out.

I scheduled Bekah's next visits then carried my girl out to the car. As I walked down the ramp with Bekah in my arms, I leaned my head down to her little ear and told her she's the bravest 9 month old I've ever met.

photos courtesy of our friend Josh Schneeberger - one of Bekah's best buddies

Something about that moment really stuck with me. Even a week later, I'm still thinking about it. In a way, her appointment last Monday was a pretty good picture of my experience with motherhood so far.  While Bekah was getting her shots, I felt a familiar overwhelmed and scared feeling. I wanted what was best for her and knowing she was scared and uncomfortable made me feel kinda dizzy.

But only ten minutes later, we got to experience one of my very favorite parts of being a mom. When I leaned down to her and told her I was so proud of her and that she was brave, it felt like I was doing just what I was called to do. It was like encouraging my daughter was an ability God put in me that, when I used it, made everything else in me come to life.

The tough stuff will happen. There will be more moments where I feel overwhelmed and where I worry for Bekah. But Bekah Lynn, as long as God gives me life here - I pray that I'll use all the breaths I can to remind you what an amazing girl you are. I'm so proud of you and love who you are in a way I never could have imagined. Thanks for making me a momma, sweetie pie! We're going to make it through lots of tough stuff together and I believe we'll come out stronger each time.

Love,
Mommy

(and Bonnie to the rest of you ;))

Introducing Bekah Ballerina {sweet stuff}

You may remember back in September when I was planning Bekah's first costume and shared a few sketches with you. The planning came down to three options: Bekah would either be a tiny waitress (to go with her daddy who works at a restaurant), a classic baby pumpkin, or Bekah ballerina.

The waitress option was my favorite early on, but after a few failed attempts to find a black onesie, we changed our plans. I decided to go with the option that could be put together with items we already had at home. Allow me to introduce you to the sweetest, pinkest girl around...

Bekah Ballerina!

Whew. It looks like being a baby ballerina is more work than we anticipated. I love it when she naps like that. 

Trick-or-treat was such a fun night in our building. Luke worked hard all evening on a school assignment, but it was just so nice to have him home when he usually would have been at work. We loved our visits with friends and neighbors, and we learned the hard/delicious way that we bought way too much candy again this year. 

Did you or your little ones dress up this year? I'd love to hear about your costumes! 

Love,

Bonnie

Choosing Bekah's Costume

Since before I can even remember, I have been excited for the day to come when I would have a baby to plan a trick-or-treat costume for. Babies are cute all by themselves, but trick or treat costumes just add to the cuteness. I'm happy to report, the day is finally here! It's time to plan Bekah's trick or treat costume.

We live in a building that has a ton of sweet families and really wonderful kids. This is the second year in a row that we're having trick-or-treat in the building. Of course, Bekah is way too young to eat candy... or walk door to door... or know what trick-or-treat is... but we'll still be hanging out as a family and passing out candy to all the trick-or-treaters.

I decided to do a few drawings of Bekah in different costumes to help me decide what I should make for her this year. And today, I'm sharing them with you... so now you've got to help me decide. :)

Here's option #1...

And option #2... (the kids I babysit helped me pick this one - they thought her reddish-orange hair made this one a good choice)...

Finally, option #3... (and maybe the silliest of them all...)

Luke works for Texas Roadhouse so it would be really cute to give Bekah a mini version of his uniform. He's cute, she's cute... seems like a good fit to me! Now I want to hear from you, which costume would you pick? And just because I love hearing these stories, what was the best trick-or-treat costume you had growing up?

Thanks for enjoying cute stuff with me! :)

Love,
Bonnie

**Today's post is the second in my fall welcome week series. I'm joining with Jenna and a bunch of other bloggers as we share our 1st week of fall posts. You can read more about it by clicking here, if you'd like!

Momma-hood: What I'm Learning {7 Weeks}

I'm pretty sure that ever since I was three years old and had a new baby brother, I've believed that I was made to be a mom. I've always been very nurturing and dreamt about raising a family. I saw a gift that God gave me in caring for people and I felt so good about that gift. 

Back in October, those life-long dreams of momma-hood were realized when early one morning, I stood in our tiny little apartment bathroom and saw the double positive lines on my pregnancy test. I really enjoyed being pregnant. I loved watching my belly grow and adored hearing Bekah's beautiful and strong heart beat at our monthly appointments. Luke and I loved dreaming about the sweet baby growing inside of me and we loved thanking God for this amazing gift of life.

Then on June 9th, I got to hold my little girl in my arms for the very first time. It was almost like we had been friends for a long, long time rather than two strangers meeting for the first time. She's my girl and I'm her momma and I am crazy about her. She brings out the best in me - helping me give up so much of my selfishness so I can be the mom God made me to be.

I want to be honest and share with you that I was in for a big, big shock in the first few weeks of motherhood. It was really hard. There was a tiredness in those first weeks that just can not be compared to anything else I've experienced. I think moms are often tempted to be too hard on themselves, believing they aren't doing enough. Those thoughts come really early. At times, I didn't handle all of the difficulties very well. I cried a lot. I felt so frustrated with myself and in moments I felt pretty hopeless. Everything was so new and different and I didn't know if I was handling the changes well.  

It was the funniest thing, because I felt all of that confusion at the same time that I was feeling unconditional, sweet, and total love for my girl. That's parenting, I guess. Those first weeks were hard mixed with wonderful. And there are still moments that are really tough - moments that cause me to whimper desperate prayers to God.

One night early this week, Luke was at work and I was home with Bekah. I am so thankful that I get to be a stay at home mom, but I was pretty tired and we had just hit the time that tends to be her fussy time. I just could not figure out what was wrong and I prayed out of sheer desperation that God would give me some insight into how to soothe her. I wondered if I was causing her pain in some way or if there was some need I was totally missing. So I just asked God for help. I don't know what kind of help I was expecting, maybe an audible answer or some kind of sense for what to do. A little time passed and Bekah and I were sitting on the couch, some extra burping helped her fall right asleep. There really wasn't a clear answer I heard from God that night and I wasn't sure what to think about that. I just felt so desperate and I knew He cared - so why didn't He respond in the way I wanted him to?

The next day, my friend Kelly came over to help me figure out a new furniture arrangement for the living room. We actually ended up just putting the room back exactly the way it was (and by "we" I mean Luke - he is so nice!) but God used our get together for so much good. Kelly stayed for a little while and talked with Luke and I. Kelly is also a new mom, and a dear friend to me. I can't stop thanking God for that afternoon, because during our short talk my heart was totally refreshed. It was a simple conversation about life as a new mom and sleep schedules - but it was like God ordered the whole thing to encourage me where I desperately needed encouragement. Kelly shared little things she had learned or heard from her mom-friends. It felt like each piece of wisdom checked off a box on my list of solutions that I needed. I received some great insight about making it through that fussy hour and how to help her (and us!) develop good sleep patterns. Last night Bekah slept six and a half hours total in her crib without us having to stay up for hours upon hours soothing her. That was a record and huge victory for our little family!

I shared all of this with you for a couple reasons. First, because it was really good for my heart to work through those first weeks. Whew! Weight lifted. ;) I also shared this because God taught me a really meaningful lesson this week. I asked God for wisdom and He gave it to me - but in a much better way than I could have anticipated. He used my friendship with Kelly to give me insight into the best ways to help my daughter. With this method came the added bonus of something I really needed, quality time with a good friend. 

God is so good and creative and passionate about getting us to work together. He orchestrated my need and Kelly's abundance and together we figured out some really tough stuff! You know, before Kelly came over that day, I wondered if I should feel badly that I couldn't figure out my own living room arrangement. Looking back, I realize what a shame it would have been if I gave into my pride and self-reliance and missed out on that time with Kelly and our conversation. 

So today I am enormously thankful. Thankful to be a momma. Thankful for a good living room set up ;). Thankful for my friendship with Kelly. And thankful that God cares so deeply for me that He hears my prayers, orchestrates the very best way to answer them, and teaches me through them.

How has God used relationships to answer your prayers?

Love,
Bonnie

And We're Back! {Home from Vacation}

As of yesterday, we are home from vacation! It was a really wonderful and relaxing week. The week flew by but I am feeling energized, thankful, and excited about everyday life around here. Vacation feels a little bit like New Years to me in that way… it feels like a fresh start to think about what I want life to be like when I go home.

We spent the week with both our families in Ocean City, Jersey. Luke and I both grew up going to there with our families even before we met. We love everything about that place. It was so fun bouncing back and forth between the two beach houses, having fun with both sides of our family. We even had a chocolate fondue night with the two families together - so fun! My sister, Ellie, was the only sibling who couldn't make it this year. We missed her a lot but the cool news is that she got engaged early in the week! So happy for Ellie and my soon-to-be brother, Jackson. They are perfect together.

This was our first vacation as parents and it was an adventure just experiencing the joys and challenges that come with this new season of life. Bekah did awesome with the travel and our family was incredibly kind, offering to watch her sometimes at two or three in the morning just so Luke and I could get some extra sleep. I had so much fun watching her aunts and uncles love her, sing to her, and start their relationships with her. She has grandparents and great grandparents who love her (and us!) so much and we felt that love all week long.

My favorite vacation moments this year...

  everything on the board walk: taking walks, getting ice-cream, playing mini golf

spending the afternoon at the beach with Bekah & wave jumping with my brother and Luke

how the sunshine made Bekah's red hair even brighter

dinner at Manco & Manco on the last night

sitting around with family doing nothing but watching Bek and her cousins be cuties

laughing with my siblings

 my french fry and lemonade date with Luke and our encouraging conversations

spending time with Grammy when it was just the four of us left at the house 

playing bananagrams

sitting on the boardwalk eating Kohr Bros. and watching the sky change over the ocean 

with Dad, Luke, Bekah, Aaron, and Annie

so much time to spend with my husband - love that guy!

I had a tough time getting myself to stop writing that list! I guess that's a good problem to have - having too many favorite memories from vacation.

How was your week, friends? I'm beating the post-vacation blues by dreaming about what I'd like to do this week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend - I'd love to hear what you've got going on in the week ahead!

Love,

Bonnie

Introducing Bekah Lynn

Well, it's been a little quiet around here lately - but for the best, sweetest, happiest reason ever! On Monday, June 9th at 6:25am, our little Bekah Lynn arrived - 3 weeks early!

Bekah is sweet, unbelievably soft and kissable, and a complete joy. She makes the cutest little squeaking noises and expressions that always make me laugh and she has bright, alert, gorgeous blue eyes. She has the prettiest full head of golden brown hair, a sweet chubby face, and a tiny little body that is so huggable. Her full name, Rebekah, means "captivating" and in the Bible, Isaac calls his wife Rebekah a "special comfort" to him. She has definitely captivated our hearts and I don't think I'll ever get over the comforting feeling of snuggling my girl. I can't believe I get to be her mommy! She is so beautifully designed by God. 

The first weeks of sleep loss were tough to get used to at first, but there is such an amazing feeling of accomplishment when the morning comes. I went to bed last night, laid my head down and couldn't help but smile through the sleepiness and thank God for this life I have been given. The same thing happened again this morning when the sun was rising and Bekah was going back to sleep after the two of us cuddled for a couple hours. I am really thankful. Thankful for Bekah, thankful for Luke, thankful for family and friends who have loved and supported us so much - and most importantly, thankful for the comfort of the Holy Spirit. We'll never have to do this parenting thing alone as we partner with God in caring for our little girl and raise her to know and love Jesus and people. 

Seeing Luke and Bekah together puts a million questions in my mind about how I could be so blessed to call these two my family. I knew Luke would be an amazing Dad, but he has completely surpassed my expectations and made them look so silly compared to the Dad he actually is. Everything that defined Luke before - selflessness, kindness, hard working-ness, fun, thoughtful - all of that and more is multiplied and demonstrated in how he has loved me and Bekah these past few weeks. When I've been worried or tired or doubtful about my ability to do something well, he has been right there every time to encourage me and stand with me. I love you, Luke. You are an incredible Dad and husband!

That's all for now, it was nice to introduce you to our sweet girlie! Tomorrow we are going to Gettysburg for a visit with family and friends - we can't wait to show Bekah our favorite place and introduce her to people we love so much from back home. I have a lot of baby snuggling to do these days ;) so I think we'll just figure out the blogging schedule as we go. I love blogging and feel like a better Bonnie/wife/mommy when I get to use this platform to encourage. I think you'll be hearing from me a lot during Bekah's nap times. :)

I hope you're all having a great weekend - as always, I'm here to pray and listen if you need that today. :)

Love,

Bonnie 

Grateful Heart Monday 6.2.14

Can you believe it's June already? Happy Monday! 

Today I'm trying out something new with a weekly Grateful Heart Monday post (See the bottom of the post for info on the link-up ;). Taking time to reflect on what I'm thankful for always does good things in my heart. I hope you're feeling encouraged and empowered for a fresh, new week, friends. If you're feeling a little low today and could use a friend to talk to or pray with, I'm your girl. I needed the same thing this morning. :) Here's what I'm especially grateful for this afternoon. I'd love to hear from you, too!

1. I'm grateful for our dear friends Nick and Kelly. Back in September they were our brand new friends after we moved to the Philly area for school. One night they shared with us that they were hoping to start a family soon! Their courage and confidence was such a gift to Luke and I during that time. We had always been excited to start having babies but those plans were sort of on the "back burner" since we were in the middle of such a big transition. That night we were so encouraged and our faith was set that if we wanted to start a family, we could trust God to be our provider. Nick and Kelly have been such a gift to us as friends. Oh, and good news… today they are in the hospital awaiting the arrival of their little girl!!! Their little Charity will be about one month older than our Bekah. God is so good! We love you, guys! You are already amazing, world-changing parents and we are so grateful for you. 
2. I'm grateful for a beautiful baby shower yesterday afternoon. Yesterday after church and a few hours at home, Luke and I drove to the Lancaster area for a baby shower with our extended family on my mother-in-law's side. Luke's grandma put it all together for us and it was the perfect Sunday afternoon. We love family time. Even my Mom, who had been traveling since 4 am from her trip to Missouri, was able to make it! One of the sweetest parts of the day was overhearing our family mention Bekah's name in their conversations. It makes me so happy just imagining the days when she'll be out here running around, being silly, and interacting with all these wonderful people we're blessed to call family. Today I'm so grateful for Grammy's kindness to us and our time with family. (The picture above is Mom, Bekah, and I after the shower)
3. I'm grateful for a new hopeful perspective. I've always loved this verse in Isaiah 43:19. God reminds the Israelites of all the miraculous things He did for them and how He provided for them in the past… then He says of Jesus starting in verse 18…

“But forget all that—

    it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.

For I am about to do something new.

    See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?

I will make a pathway through the wilderness.

    I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

You know how some things can just weigh on you? I had a situation this week where I was so hopeless about an area of my life that I felt like I kept messing up. It definitely felt like a "dry wasteland" and I wanted to give up. So God's promise here is really precious to me today. I'm choosing His perspective instead. I'm thankful for forgiveness, for grace, and for a God who can make all things new and even better than before. Today I'm grateful that the things I viewed as "dry wastelands" in my life are being turned into refreshing, overflowing, crystal clear rivers instead. :)

So tell me, what are you grateful for today? 

Love, 

Bonnie

** This post is part of a fun link-up that Ember Grey puts together each week! Follow this link to view her original post and to find the posts other bloggers are sharing about starting their week with a grateful heart. 

Happy Home: Planning Bekah's Room

About three months ago I shared a collection of drawings I had put together in an attempt to get all the jumbled ideas I had for our new living room down in one place. I was really surprised by just how helpful that drawing was for me in planning! It took out some of the guess work about what we needed to buy and all of a sudden I felt much more organized. The drawing part was pretty fun, too, so that didn't hurt. :)  This week we are getting ready to make the official move into our new apartment. We have really grown to love the tiny apartment we've lived in this year. It really feels like home. With Bekah's due date only about seven weeks away, it is time for us to start getting settled in down the hall, making the move from 105 to 111. We're looking forward to making 111 home, too. :)

Last night, while Luke was at work I finished drawing up some plans for the nursery. I did not expect to finish last night and I may have been drawing for several hours longer than I'd like to admit… but I think, for now, the planning of her room is done. Here's a little guided tour!

Just as a refresher, the view into Bekah's room looks like this when you're coming from the living room…

When you walk into the room, turn to the left, and take a few steps back this is what you'll see…

Like the random paint samples? :) The closet is nice and big but our lil' Rebekah's clothes are super tiny. Since the room itself isn't very big, we needed to find a way to use that space in a more practical way. We'll get to that in a minute!

Turn a little to your right and this is the next view of the nursery…

Keep turning to the right and you'll see the window wall (opposite to the closet wall we saw)…

Then keep on turnin' a little further to your right and you'll see this last view… (Sorry the camera angles are a little funny - I crunched myself down in a corner to get more wall space in view)

 On the right is the door we came in to tour the room. Ready to see the illustrated pictures? :) 

Here's the updated version of the closet…

If everything fits like we think it should, we'll place our yellow dresser in the closet to serve as storage and a changing table (with a changing pad on top, of course ;)). The mirror that goes with the dresser is actually be too big to fit below that little closet rod holder in the middle, so we'll hang up a lightweight mirror I found at a thrift store. There will still be a decent amount of room to hang some of Bekah's fancier outfits on the closet rod and the rest will fit in the large dresser drawers. I'd like to put a few wicker baskets on the top shelf to hold her extra bedding and whatever else we need a place for. 

We were gifted a beautiful dark wood crib from my parents and Luke's parents (thank you, you four! we love you!). Over the crib I think it would be sweet to hang a homemade mobile (maybe little birds and clouds made out of felt and fabric scraps?) and on the wall I plan to string a fabric strip garland to soften up the space a little. We'd love to incorporate some family pictures around the room so Bekah can regularly see some of her family she might not get to see in person as often as we'd like. 

On to the next view before I start crying about how I want all our family nearby… :) 

Remember the second view I showed you of the wall that the crib will be on? I didn't do a drawing for that one for two reasons: first, I reallllllllly didn't want to redraw the crib from another angle (cribs are hard to draw! haha) and second, for safety purposes, the wall above her crib will probably remain pretty empty other than the fabric garland that will be out of her reach. So we'll move on to the updated window wall view instead. ;)

We'd like to put a twin bed in this space to use for out of town guests (Bekah can just bunk in our room during those times :)) and baby-snuggle time during the day. My parents are kindly lending us an extra bed they have in storage right now and we'll cover it with a pretty quilt they bought me when I went off to Master's Commission. Like the big puppy stuffed animal? Luke bought him for Bekah immediately after we found out we were expecting a girl at our twenty-week appointment. We affectionately call him "dat puppy" and we're guessing he'll just hang out like that. He doesn't really do anything else. But he is super cute and we think Bekah is going to like him a lot. :)

The fabric strip garland will extend to this corner of the room. We'll add a floor lamp somewhere in here and find a long curtain to use for the window. 

Time for the last view! Turn to the right once again and you'll see something like this…

Here's the rest of the twin bed with a mirror we already own hanging above it. I think the mirror will reflect some nice natural light and open up the small room a little more. The basket could be used as book or toy storage. Over Christmas break, my family gathered around the kitchen table and we all drew pictures of ourselves for Bekah's room. It was so much fun laughing together as we all gave our best efforts in drawing self portraits. I absolutely love how each one turned out and we really treasure these little drawings. I'd like to find frames for all of them and arrange them in a way similar to this with the two columns and ribbon. Family is so precious to us and it will be really special to have them represented in our girl's room like this. :) 

Well friends, I think that's it! I hope you enjoyed looking through the illustrations. I love sharing them with you… it's such a good motivator for me to get moving on the things we need to finish up for her arrival. Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll be able to share new pictures with you of our progress.

Praying you all have a great week and that you know how much you encourage me just by reading these posts and sharing in this strong+sweet journey. I'm hoping to be back here a little later this week to reflect on some scripture and life-stuff with you. I'll talk to you soon. :)

Love,

Bonnie

A Homemade Story Book: Bekah's New Room

This semester I took a Children's Literature course and it was so fun! One of our projects was writing and illustrating our own children's book. I like to credit my Mom for creating a lasting love of cute drawings in me back in my elementary school days. She would often write little notes for my lunch and  include an illustration of me and her as well. She's the best. :) So I thought it would be fun to share with you the book I put together this semester for my class. This little book is inspired by our little girl on the way and future family adventures. Hope you're having a good week! Enjoy Bekah's New Room!

Love,

Bonnie