Rearranging

Our nursery has been driving me crazy lately. It kind of all started when I saw Claire's nursery, which I'm not sure Jenn has ever posted pictures of. It may be a facade, but everything has a place, and there's just not a lot of stuff in there. Then, the other day when we were at Carrie and Jacob's, I was letting Brianna crawl around Riley's playroom. And it's just so simple! So organized! And again, not a lot of stuff. So then it was like every time I walked into Brianna's nursery, all I could see were piles of stuff. The box full of books just sitting beside the glider. The changing table which we have never used because it's all the way upstairs. The television and VCR which were just in there for storage, because neither of us wants a television in our kids' rooms. The pile of 20+ stuffed animals which Bri isn't even interested in. It was just too much for me to take!!

Unfortunately, I don't have any "before" pictures. I started in on this project so quickly I didn't think about it until after it was too far into it. But I think I do have some old pictures of the nursery. These are before the piles were there but still may give you some idea of the changes.

For example, this is where the changing table was. It had become a storage facility for two Boppys (one is being donated to Fed By Faith, the other is going to the attic), and tons of diaper-changing necessities, all which need to be moved downstairs to where diaper-changing actually takes place.

Now the nightstand that was beside the glider is by the crib, making more room by the glider. (See picture below this one for all the extra room by the glider!)

This toy-filled papasan chair was cut from the program pretty quickly to make room for the glider. Unfortunately, we had nowhere to store all those stuffed animals, so they were all just sitting on the floor next to the glider. As you can see from the above picture, they are no longer camping out on the floor. They have made their home elsewhere until Brianna is older and can appreciate them.

And the dresser which used to house a television now holds just a few of the books we read to Brianna daily. Don't worry, there are many more on bookshelves throughout the house. One thing this household does not lack is books.

And remember all those clothes I told you I found? Again, just a sample, no not all, of the 3-6 month clothes that Brianna may never get to model. We put one of the dresses on her yesterday - so cute - except the bottoms that went with it dropped right off of her. So... she needs some suspenders!

This was probably quite a boring post but I felt so accomplished after organizing the nursery on Saturday that I knew I wanted to blog about it. It's just so much more open now and makes me feel much more relaxed being up there. We used to not really go up there except to put Brianna to bed, but now I am rocking her more before bed and reading to her more upstairs than downstairs, so I want to be comfortable up there. Obviously, she doesn't care either way!

Stained Glass

I've been meaning to put these pictures up for a long time. A coworker of mine, Buck, made this stained glass picture for Brianna's room. He never told me the theme of it or anything until he gave it to me, and I loved it at first sight! The bottom of the frame says "God is oh so close." It's right above the glider where I rock Brianna and read to her, and I think it's the perfect place for it.



I was cleaning out some old files on my computer today and came across a poem I wrote about five years ago. I just thought I would post it here. Keep in mind, I never claimed to be a writer, but I really like the idea behind this poem. So don't critique, if you don't like it, then that's fine!!

"Finally"
I'm riding over the waves without any protection.
I'm being tossed around, limbs flailing, and I look up - waiting for You to save me - to get me out of this.
I go under.
Sputtering, half mad, half afraid, I scream, "Where are You? You can do everything and yet my drowning is going unnoticed!"
For a split second, the scene is almost serene with the sounds of waves crashing, gulls cooing, and the slight breeze.
The skyscraper wave hits me from behind, knocking my feet over my head.
Upside down. I should be used to this feeling.
My eyes close and I quit resisting. I begin to skin, my arms raised over my head, my face wearing a mask of tranquility.
I take one last look to my side, but instead of murkiness, I see a stream of light hitting the palm of Your hand.
I lunge for You, and we soar to the surface together.
"Finally!" I cry.
Your somber reply is, "Yes. Finally you realized I was beside you the whole time. Finally you paid attention. Finally you reached out for me. Finally you recognized that's all it ever took."

Overload

This post might be an overload of information... or it might not be, depending on how quickly I get tired while writing it.

These pictures are from 34 weeks:

These are the newest additions to our nursery: (courtesy of Leila!!)

These are diaper cakes we got at our baby shower, made by an old family friend. So cute!!

This is the stroller we got from a consignment shop. It's a Graco Alano stroller which retails for anywhere between $150-$190. We got it for $56 and it was only used a couple of times (the parents didn't like the colors or something and it was a gift to them)

These are gifts from our friend Kelly who is in Italy right now. What a great surprise to get in the mail!! This is a gorgeous necklace: The picture doesn't do it justice, trust me.

This is for Brianna!

We got a lot of chocolate from her, but since I waited until today to take pictures, you-know-who already ate all the other chocolate.

I got these in the mail today for free to sample them. A whole box of chocolate mocha granola bars! Also, I got a TON of $1.35 off coupons that I'm supposed to hand out to friends. So if anybody wants a coupon, let me know!

This post was really just a picture catch-up. I'll write something later about the weekend and stuff!

Want #19

I want to get these pictures off my camera, so I'm putting them on here. Here are some belly pictures for you. Also, when we got home from Georgia tonight, we put together our new crib and the whole crib set and everything. I know, we're gluttons for punishment. I'm going to bed right after supper!!

Week 26:

Week 29:

Week 30:

New crib and our crib set:

Want #3

I want to write a different blog post, but Stephen really wants me to post these pictures of our nursery, which isn't even a fraction near completion or cleanliness. In other words, don't judge.

Over MLK weekend, Stephen's fabulous fam drove up to hang out with us and to help us paint our nursery. These are the pictures from the taping process to the untaping process to the curtains that Leila so graciously provided for us. I don't think the pictures turned out as well as the nursery really looks, so you'll have to come see it for yourself!