Baby Pictures

At my doctor's appointment last week, I got to have a bonus sonogram, just to make sure everything was alright (it was!  No worries!).  It was amazing to see how much our boy has changed!  The technician was able to get some great straight-on shots of his face ... except that after a few seconds with the light in his face, he would raise both hands up to cover his eyes!  Too CUTE!!!

 If you can't tell what you are looking at, the three pictures here are primarily of his face.  The top of his head is pointing to the upper right.

Below is an even better shot of the little baby face ...

... and here is my favorite!  You can see him peeking his eye open!  We were also able to watch him moving his little mouth.  It was much fun ... I could have watched him all day! We also got to see him trying to grab his foot with his hand, and for awhile it looked like he was sucking his thumb (don't think he was, though he would have come by it honestly!)  The tech said he was right at 3 pounds, which is just right for 30 weeks.

*sigh*  Nine weeks left to go.  I'm just ready for him to be here NOW!

Wants to Meet Grandma Betsy!

I think Peanut is excited that his Grandma Betsy is going home today - he has been kicking, kicking, kicking all afternoon!  I keep seeing my belly move, which is a very strange experience.  :)

Of course, the kicking might also be due to the large quantity of Neives mexican food I had for lunch today.  :)  But I still know he is excited for his Grandma to be out of the hospital.

Going home!

Just got the update that mom is being discharged from the hospital as we speak!  They have determined that mom did have a mini stroke, but that it was prior to Sunday.  They are thinking that she probably also had one on Sunday, but for whatever reason it did not show up on the CT results.  They have put her on a blood thinner to prevent another stroke.  They could not determine what the cause was for the strokes, but the blood thinner should help.

In any case, it is great news!  Thank you all for your prayers - please continue to hold mom in your prayers as she recovers!

Prayers needed

Yesterday afternoon, mom went into the Lane County ER due to some dizziness, confusion, and slight numbness.  When they called her heart doc in KC, he said he wanted to see her.

Mom and Dad were flown to KC last night and have been seeing different doctors today (neuro and cardio).  At this point, it looks like nothing is irregular with her heart, so we are thankful for that!  However, they are still trying to determine what happened and why.  We are waiting for the results of her CAT Scan which will hopefully tell us more.

As you all know from what mom went through in December, she is a very strong woman and more than capable of overcoming difficult obstacles.  We also all know after what mom experienced, that there is no replacing the power of prayer.  Please pray!  We love you mom!

Colorado Vacation

We just got home from a long weekend in Gunnison with my family ... wish we were still in Colorado together!  We only had a few days in the mountains, but it was still a great trip!  We did a little fishing (okay, the boys did a LOT of fishing) but otherwise just hung out and played with the kids.  Good times!

Gage and me just outside our cabin - here's a glimpse of my ever-expanding belly for those of you who have been asking!

We enjoyed a campfire and smores outside the cabin on our last night in Colorado

Yummy marshmellows!

"I've got my marshmellow, too!"

"...but I'd rather feed myself pasta with marinara sauca - yum-o!"

Gage catching a Kokanee Salmon in the Taylor River.  We were in Gunnison at just the right time of year to catch the Salmon run.

Catch of the day! 

The New Homeowner's Lament

Does anyone else have this problem? 

Your new home is complete.  You move in, settle in, enjoying every second of your new, blessed space.  To you, your home is perfect, peaceful, enchanted.  All you can see are the lovely little details you obsessed over during construction - the perfect shade of yellow in the kitchen, the wonderful marbled effect of the concrete stain on the floor, the delightful wall sconces in the soon-to-be baby's room.

And then one day, months later, you find that instead of enjoying the blessed perfection of your new home, all you can see are the huge, glaring, unfinished projects that surround you.

This is my problem.  It seems this is all I can think about when it comes to my home.

The mantels still need to be attached to the rock walls
All of the rustic wood needs oiled
The back patio is ... well, dirt ...

The kitchen cabinets need hardware

The kitchen cabinets need undercabinet lighting

The baby's room still needs a door

Emily's room and the guest room still need closet doors

The entire loft needs barnwood trim next to the ceiling

The porch ceiling needs covered in barnwood*

*note to self, locate more barnwood

And on, and on, and on ...  Did your blood pressure go up while reading my list?  'Cause mine sure did while writing it.  I can probably blame it on the start of my third trimester and that danged "nesting" instinct, but whatever the cause this past weekend I became positively overwhelmed by the "to do" we still have left "to do".

Now, on the other hand Gage and I have spent the past six months enjoying life more than we have in years.  We've wasted away Saturday's doing next to nothing, Gage has experimented with his homebrewing, I've enjoyed canning fresh veggies from the garden, and we have both read (a LOT).  It has been nice.  No, wonderful, to have this time together.  But that list ...

So, this past weekend when my list started to overwhelm, I realized I needed to begin a NEW list.  Hence the new picture column on the righthand side of this blog.  I decided to make a list of my favorite features of our home, and to put them front and center where I will see them frequently.  I hope to add and change these pictures often. 

I realize that owning a home is a never-ending project, especially when you are your own contractor and can decide when to say "DONE!"  (P.S. No self-respecting contractor would leave a house as unfinished as ours is.  Such is the blessing and the curse of calling your own shots.)  One thing I am desperately trying to keep in mind in regards to our home is that good things take time.  In a society of instant gratification, this isn't easy.  However, when we began building with reclaimed materials, we knew there would be delays while we hunted up what we needed.  We knew that in the end, finding the right barnwood to match, or locating the matching crystal antique door knobs would be so much more gratifying than rushing through the process just to say we are "done".  And we knew that doing the work ourselves would take more time, but that nothing compares to the pride we take in a house we helped build (and doing so on a budget we can afford!) 

So, we will keep plugging away at our projects one by one.  We will try desperatly to keep in mind the big picture.  We will work to find gratification in the process, as well as in the result.  And we will daily enjoy the wonders of our home ...

Geraniums on the front porch ...

Plenty of kitchen space to make homegrown, homemade salsa ...

Some new furniture.  :)