Everyone should have maternity photos taken.

This was such a fun experience. I have posted the majority of the pictures on my facebook--you should be able to find them here and here.



These are so special to me. I praise the Lord for this blessing. I was reminded today that it'll only be the two of us for a little bit longer... then we welcome our little man into the family. But this man will always be the man in my life. I hope these pictures capture just a little bit of the bliss we share as a married couple. I am so grateful and honored to be chosen by this man and to be the mother of his son. I respect and love Ryan more with each passing day.
What an amazing season we are entering!

Funny story and 30 weeks!

First things first, a funny story and pictures.

We take turns with the neighbors on keeping up our lawn. Not too long ago, our neighbor came out and asked Ryan not to mow something which looked very much to me like a weed. He obliged, of course, but I was convinced that it was a weed and nothing more. It looked like a weed. It grew up from the grass, so I am pretty confident it had not been planted by human hands. And it just kept growing.

Over time, the "weed" grew larger and larger. It has taken over a pretty decent patch of our front lawn. Our other neighbors might think we are crazy. So imagine my surprise when I noticed recently some green produce-- some kind of gourd, I thought-- growing on the plant. Hilarious! I still had no idea what kind of green gourd was growing in our front yard.

So I asked a friend (who happens to be much handier in the garden than yours truly) one night when she was over. We went out and peeked at the produce. "Acorn squash," she said. So funny! I had acorn squash growing in my yard!

Then I walked around the plant, looking for the other squashes. I bent down, using my cell phone as a mini-flashlight. But there was something odd about this squash. It wasn't green like the other. It was ORANGE. Yes. "PUMPKIN!!!!!!"

We have a pumpkin patch in our front yard.

Our neighbors brought us one of the pumpkins the other day and said we could have another one that is still ripening.



Please tell me you find this as hilarious as I do. What a little blessing from the Lord!

And speaking of little blessings, to update the prego-ness:



What can I say? Other than YAHOOOOO! We are 30 weeks, with ten weeks left to go. Well, that is, ten weeks until our official due date. We are all hoping for a tax break baby around here, but we'll just see what God has in store.

There is much more on my heart, but for now it's enough to say, Thank You, Lord. Thank You for bringing us this far. Thank You for each and every precious kick I feel. Thank You for the heartburn and tough nights of sleep, for the hip pains and back pains, as they are all reminders of the miracle that is taking place. Thank You for being the Author of all life. Thank You for a husband who loves and cares for us, who snuggles me when I'm sad and already loves his little baby boy. Thank You for having a plan for our little baby, even before he was ever conceived- a plan for his good and Your glory. Yes, be glorified in his life! Bring him to know and love You passionately! May his life be a beautiful testimony to Who You Are!

29 weeks and counting!

Here are some recent pictures...

Look, a non-pink shirt!



Week 29!


Ryan got really silly and started taking a bajillion pictures... :) So I got silly too.
I keep getting a little behind on the photos- so these week 29 photos are actually more like 29.6 weeks. But oh well! You get the point! Ryan assures me that not too much changed in those four days.

I have been nesting up a storm here, just trying to get the house ready for this little baby! I have been feeling very well aside from the heartburn... trying to get that under control. But I can't complain at all. I am so happy to be getting closer to his arrival.


Upcoming events about which I am excited:

• Maternity photo shoot on Saturday! (see http://www.karajophotography.com/). I am really excited about having some sweet photos of the three us (one in the womb!), and Kara is excited about building her portfolio. I'm praying for beautiful weather!
• My upcoming trip to Georgia for one of my two baby showers! (Heading down October 31st for my last GA visit before the baby arrives!) Can't wait to see everyone.
  
• Childbirth class. November 15th.
  
• My Highpoint baby shower! November 16th.
• Thanksgiving! My parents and brother are coming to Memphis again!!!!! And our friends Frank, Amber, and Alyssa are also (I think) going to join us again. I can't explain how excited I am to host the feast again. And to eat it. :)

There are so many more things I could write. But it seems like your eyes are probably getting tired. I'll maybe write another post soon. :)

Love,
The Nesting Mama
(Isn't that a cute name!? I decided that's the name for my apron-selling "business".)

Material Blessings

I have to say that the Lord has blessed us far beyond our needs! Please, if I ever forget how faithfully He provides, remind me of how thoroughly He provided during this time. Here is an example of some blessings we recently received...



It may look like a jumbled mess of stuff... and well, it is right now! But soon it will be put to great use. We had two different couples from our church offer us some great items to use with our little bundle of joy. The Nicolas family offered a really nice car seat and stroller for us to use as well as a little play seat. Awesome! Then the Hendersons basically gifted to us a carload of free baby stuff: toys, a jogging stroller, baby boy clothes, books, bottles (which I had actually registered for...), a swing (!), a bouncer/rocker, a baby bathtub...

And the blessings keep on coming. It's been difficult for me to spend money on maternity clothes lately. I have a friend at church who has three little ones, and we're about the same height... so it occurred to me to ask her if she might have any I can borrow. The very next Sunday, she appeared at church with a huge bag FILLED with clothes for me to use. What a blessing!!! (Here's a funny picture of me hugging the bag of clothes.) Thank you, Jenny!



Okay, well I just wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you to these wonderful people, and to tell other people how blessed and grateful we are.

More to come from babyland...

Love,
Sarah

28 Weeks!

The above photo is me using my baby heartbeat monitor (a gift from the Smiths) to listen to our little dude! It was the first time I had tried and been able to hear him. What an amazing, amazing sound.

And here is my silly 28-week photo. :)

Weeks 26 and 27

Okay, so if they don't look that different from each other... I cheated a little. We took the 26 week one at something more like 26.5 weeks. But you get the idea! I'm getting big!

Ahhh... where to begin....

I must say that I feel like I have finally experienced a bit of the bliss of pregnancy. I was so happy that things were going well with our precious baby, but some of our difficulties have made pregnancy less than blissful. Lately, though, a lot of those difficulties have subsided and I am just getting to enjoy being pregnant.

Some things I've enjoyed about pregnancy lately...

• Feeling the baby kick. A LOT. I can't get enough of it. Sometimes it's like alien baby, where I can literally see his kicks on my stomach. Sometimes he kicks so hard I feel like my whole body jolts! Like I said, I just love it.
• Starting to look super pregnant. I love that. I am carrying a precious gift with me everywhere I go, and people can actually see!
• We are registered at BabiesRUs. That was fun to do!
  
• Having difficulty bending over. It's a fun reminder that there's really a baby in there.
• Realizing that there is really a baby inside of me. A little human person. A little precious child. It's so mind-blowing at times. I mean, really!

Things I am looking forward to...

• Two showers in November (one in Georgia and one in Memphis!). What a joyous opportunity to see my beloved friends and rejoice together!
  
• Getting the nursery ready for our little one.
• Trying to get some music recording done before he gets here.
• Nesting. Lots of nesting. There is plenty to be done!
  
• Of course, the arrival of our little dude!!!

In other news...

• I had a wonderful visit last weekend with Sara and Alexis Gentry when they came to Memphis. It was short but incredibly sweet. I love that baby girl so much. We did my craft fair (in which I sold only one thing) and simply enjoyed being together.
• I then had a wonderful visit with Janelle this week! She came Tuesday and left today. I put some pictures on Facebook of our visit. Oh, what a sweet time we had!
• We are starting up a small group of other married couples from our church. It starts Monday, and I am looking forward to it immensely!
• It has been a busy busy few weeks, and I am looking forward to getting back to "normal"- whatever that means!

Well that's good for now, I think. Hope you enjoyed my ramblings!
Blessings,
Sarah, Ryan, and the baby