28 weeks!

I never thought I'd say it, but this pregnancy seems to be flying by now! I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that the summer always flies for me. I really can't believe June is practically over. I also can't believe I'll be turning 29 a week from Thursday, where oh where have my 20's gone?! But enough about the speed of time, here we have my ever-growing belly at 28 weeks today. If I follow my normal of being about two weeks "early", I only have 10 weeks to go! That's 2.5 months for those of you who need a little math help.

In other news of progress, remember all those painting projects I told you about? They are officially done thanks to my mom! Well nearly done. It was such a treat having her here for a whole week this past week, not just for her work, but for her beloved company. I won't give you pictures for another month or so, when I get get the decor on the walls, but I will tell you, both bedrooms turned out beautifully! I was also able to get Sawyer's dresser painted, along with a china cabinet I'm refinishing. It's all primed, now it just needs the paint, but should be complete within the next week or so. It feels so good to have these projects under my belt, they've been haunting me for some time now. My next projects include creating a play area in our unfinished basement for all the girls toys, moving Chloe into her big girl bed in Emma's room, and cleaning out my closet. Let the nesting continue! I hope to do a belated anniversary post some time this week, so stay tuned.

Roses

I think my little Canon Powershot was feeling a bit jaded after my previous post about her hopeful replacement, the Nikon D40X, so she decided to really strut her stuff today. Last mother's day, Travis got me a beautiful yellow rose bush. We did all our rose research about planting and pruning and feeding and this year, we are reaping the reward. Here are some of the first buds to blossom on the plant and let me just tell you, there are dozens more buds waiting in the wings! I'll post another picture of the whole plant when it's in full bloom. There's just something about roses. They look beautiful, they smell beautiful, maybe that's why we women love them so much. Could it be that we aspire to the same, hoping our inner and outer beauty and the fragrance of a sweet spirit will diminish our thorns?

Sawyer's Nursery

Ah...to decorate a nursery! Most of you remember where we were living when we brought Emma home from the hospital. It was a basement apartment with cinderblock walls and indoor/outdoor carpet. I did my best to create a nursery setting, but there were no fancy paint colors or nice curtains, and we were on a tight budget, so very simple had to do. Then with Chloe, we had just moved into a rental house two months before she was born and again, who wants to paint the walls in a rental only to paint them back again in less than six months? And furthermore, unpacking boxes was enough work for this pregnant mama at the time. But here we are now, in a home of our own, and I am just thrilled at the thought of getting to do a nursery for this, my "last" (sniff, sniff) baby. As I mentioned in my previous post, Sawyer is set with baby clothes. We have all the gear for the most part, minus a few odds and ends I'd like. So that leaves me with the nursery, something I've never officially had. As I did with the girl's room, let me try to describe what I'll be doing. The bottom 1/3 of the walls will be painted a darker, rustic red color. The top 2/3's will be alternating tan and brown wide stripes. The two sections will be divided by a 3 inch dark brown stripe. I'm going for a classic and vintage look that will hopefully carry him through childhood. Here are some of the decor items I've registered for at jcpenney.com, to give you a good picture of what it will look like.

Next week, my mom will be coming up for the entire week to help me with my painting/decorating projects. She's already insisted on doing all the painting, so don't worry your pretty little heads about paint fumes:). I'll be sure to post before and after pictures as soon as I have them.

Counting Blessings

First of all, let me just acknowledge that my "thinking" posts have been few and far between lately. I've been in a bit of a dry spell lately, but I'm going to guess it has something to do with being seven months pregnant. The tiredness and difficulty getting up and down phase has officially started as this third trimester gets underway. But I really can't believe how fast this pregnancy is flying! The summer always flies to me, and at the end of the summer, Sawyer will be here! Speaking of our little man on the way, he is officially set with newborn and three to six month size clothing! We have received and are receiving gently used, beautiful little baby boy clothes from four different sources. Already, he has 45 onsies in size 0-3 months and 21 sleepers in the same size! And we still have clothes coming from two more people! I've had so much fun going through everything and picturing my little son in each item. I hope this summer is starting off well for each of you. We finally have sod in the backyard, what a difference! In about two weeks, we'll be able to play with reckless abandoned, I'm positively giddy at the thought!

Love to each of you, Sarah

Camera Dreamin

This is the camera I'm dreaming of lately, the Nikon D40x. My love of photography has been a growing passion over the past couple years, but alas, money is required to get started. So patiently (or not so patiently) I wait... Some day, some day. These are some pictures I took last night of a thunder head at sunset. My little Canon Powershot did okay, but it's moments like these that I long for the camera above. In the spirit of contentment however, I am everso thankful for my canon and will use it and love it until I get to move on up.

No, you sci-fi finatics, that's not a UFO you see, just a dust particle on my lense I'm sure.

A "Melissa" Friend

History seems to be repeating itself. When I was three years old, I met a lifelong friend, Melissa. We lived just down the street from each other and our mothers were and still are good friends. Our friendship ebbed and flowed over the years, but now she is one of the closest sisters in my life. I can't predict the future, but I think Emma may have just made a "Melissa" friend. She lives just down the street, her mother and I are becoming good friends, we have breakfast together with several other women and their kids in the neighborhood every Thursday morning. Yesterday, Emma and Mira were deep in make-believe for nearly 4 hours. Both firstborns, both little smarties, oh and did I mention dramatic and feminine? Well, so far, they've hit it off beautifully, as you can see by the picture. It sure makes me feel old to see my daughter where I was 25 years ago, but it's almost like I get to live my childhood all over again.

p.s. I love you Melissa! Thanks for all the precious memories!

24 Weeks and a New Do!

Here I am at 24 weeks. As you can also notice, very obviously, I chopped my hair off! Call it temporary pregnant insanity or just a need for change, but I think I've now officially convinced myself that shoulder length hair or longer is best on me. I've never cut my hair this short, so I guess now I know it's too short instead of always wondering right. Plus, it will be nice and cool for the summer, being pregnant and all. Little Sawyer is giving us lots of visable movements these days. We can just stare at my belly and see little limbs dancing around, it really is the best! It makes us more and more excited to meet him and hold him in our arms, but not for 14 more weeks at least, we want him "well done". The summer is under way and we couldn't be happier. We just bought a grill yesterday and sod will go in next weekend hopefully. There are plans for swimming lessons for the girls in June, VBS in July, and Tyler and Kim's wedding in August. We're hoping for some fishing/camping trips sprinkled in there, perhaps a trip to the zoo, and many park and backyard excursions to be sure. I hope this post meets you all well and enjoying the beauty and joy of this season! Hope to hear from each of you soon!
Love, Sarah

p.s. Notice the new age/birthday tickers for the girls in the right column.