Her room.

For an update: at my 39 week appointment this morning it seems that there has been not a lot of progress and that little one is cozy and she is content. This seriously amazes me because this whole pregnancy, with my low progesterone numbers I've had a high chance of miscarriage and then preterm labor and here I am...39 weeks pregnant...seriously can't believe it.

Moving on.

I wanted to post some pictures of her nursery for everyone to see. I'm quite excited and even though I know she won't be in there right away, I love knowing that it's all ready for her.

To be honest, when I was first cleaning out and organizing her room it was a sort of out of body experience-it didn't feel real and I certainly couldn't believe I was preparing that dreaded "spare room that would hopefully please Lord, please Lord, become our designated nursery."

But, I did it and it is more or less ready for our sweet one (whenever you want to make your grand entrance!)!

Here's her room:


Her curtains I found at the thrift store for $2.99!!! Can't beat that-especially because the ones I originally wanted from Bed bath and beyond were $39.99 a panel!!

Here's a close up:






This is hanging above the glider. Her beautiful Aunt painted it for her:






I've had that guardian angel print for years, and so I found a $1 frame at the thrift store, painted it, and put scrap paper behind it so that it would go nicely in her nursery.


Like my wall of mirrors? Dollar tree and spray paint! So simple and so cheap!

I painted this sign to hang above her closet. I had all the materials already so this cost nothing to do! Wahoo for free decor:



Speaking of closet...little girl definitely has plenty of clothes! :)


And on the other side of the closet hangs some (and some folded) clothes that she will grow into. I was either given them or found them for a ridiculously cheap price on clearance. Goodness, shopping for little girls is so much fun:


And of course, her crib:


Her sign/name I painted for above her crib-once again, DIY=super cheap and easy! This maybe cost a total of $3 to make since I had most everything already:


Her first rosary:


A shelf that I put pictures on and displayed some of the dresses I love:


Like this crocheted cardigan and bonnet that my grandfather's mother made (I love the family history)...she will wear this with her baptismal gown:


And here's a few more random things around her room:








And lastly, our guest bathroom has never looked so sweet:








:)

It's so crazy to think that that room, the room that use to bring sadness and bitterness at times, now fills my heart with joy and excitement.

There were so many times before we got pregnant that I would go sit in that room, broken, with tears in my eyes, begging The Lord to help us grow our family.

And now, throughout this pregnancy I've gone in there and my tears of sorrow I've been replaced with tears of joy and excitement and thankfulness.

Both my dh and I still discuss how it all seems so unreal and that we can't believe we are so close to meeting this little one, who has already completely captured both of our hearts.

It's amazing to think that she could be here at any moment and definitely in the next couple weeks....

Now, we wait.

:)

"Even miracles take a little time..." [Cinderella]

I painted my toe nails

So that mean you can come whenever you're ready little one. ;)

[Oneweekfromtodayismyduedate]
Oh.my.goodness...how the heck are we already here?!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Men surrounded by pink

This afternoon, my husband got a text from one of his coworkers asking if I could be up at the sector tonight at 6:00. He said that they had a little cake reception they wanted to throw for us and our sweet little one.

I almost cried thinking about how sweet a gesture this was. My dh had no clue they had this planned!

When I got there I definitely stood out like a sore thumb for a few reasons:
-I was the only pregnant one.
-I was wearing pink.
-My long blonde hair was curled nicely.
-Oh, and aside from his sergeant, the only others in attendance, his coworkers, were big, muscular men...all in their gang uniform!

It was quite the site really!

I sat in a sea of men wearing their black "gang unit" shirts as we ate delicious appetizers, with pretty pink plates and napkins!

It was funny actually, that were all trying to be quite the gentlemen and I didn't even realize how much they were "on their best behavior" until a couple slip ups. Like when someone was telling a story and said something about Something "being quite thick" and another officer replied, "that's what she said!!" And laughed and then quickly glanced over and said, "oops, I apologize!" Or when someone else said "sh*t!!" at one point and then said, "Sorry ma'am!" just as quickly!

Each time there was a "slip" I would just laugh because hello, I grew up with brothers and the "that's what she said" jokes and seeing as my dh was in the Marines and now a police officer (as are many of our  family and friends!), I've heard a curse word here and there...but still, I was quite flattered that they tried so hard! ;)

They all pitched in and gave us a generous gift card to Target (oh how I love me some target!!!) and we munched on yummy cake as I sat back and laughed and listened to all their crazy stories on the job.


The neat thing about all this was that not an hour before his buddy texted him about me meeting there tonight, my dh and I were discussing how much of a blessing it is where he works. He has great coworkers that have his back no matter what, an amazing sergeant, and a job where overall is happy and loves what he does.

Him loving his job and happy with what he does=a happier home life indeed!

Sure, there are more times than not that I lay awake at night praying and asking for protection of my dh and sure, I have to trick myself into thinking he's sitting at a desk all night instead of issuing warrants or pursuing some dangerous people, BUT he's good at what he does and he's happy, so I'm happy.

All in all tonight was unexpected and quite awesome! There was ton of laughter, good food and I was able to walk away feeling even better knowing these men see each other more than just coworkers, they're a tight knit bunch!

What a blessing those crazy, foul mouthed men are! ;)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Is this really our car?!

DIY gifts and a Pinterest fail

I realized that it's been forever since I've written a post about crafting-even though I am still doing it because like I've mentioned, it's what keeps me sane!

I figured I'd write a little post about some of the Christmas gifts I made and of course I'll write about my Pinterest fail also!

First up, for both of my brothers, I wanted to give them a couple of their favorite beers, but that's so impersonal so I made them "etched" beer mugs also! I bought the etching paint from my local craft store:


Along with some stencils and this glue that helps the stencil stick so that you can reuse it over and over. Honestly, the stencils were a pain though, and so after I did their initials, instead of stenciling nicely the little phrases I wanted, I free handed it. Here's a picture of one of the monogrammed mugs:


And the final product...which cost less than $10 for each brother!
Gotta love finding those beer mugs at the dollar tree(the picture is crummy but I promise all four are "etched!"):


Another DIY gift was that aside from buying my sweet niece a new outfit, I made a bow to go with it. Felt+elastic+hot glue gun=cheap and cute accessory:


One night I was watching both my niece (2 months) and nephew (22 months) so that my brother and SIL could finish up their shopping, so I decided it was the perfect time to make those super cute salt dough ornaments that I had seen all over Pinterest. First things first, salt+flour+water and then baking and painting it...easiest thing ever. However, getting a newborn to not grasp the dough upon lifting her hand off it, nearly impossible! It took too many times to count, but thankfully I got a good one! My nephew was pretty easy to do, I just bribed him with M&Ms! ;)


I left a note in the bag so that it was from them and that I only "helped"....both my brother and SIL loved it!

And just for good measure, here's my wreath I made for our front door! I had all the supplies so all I did was spray paint the wreath, cover the letter with scrap book paper and then add the flowers. Granted this wasn't for Christmas but rather after, I still wanted to throw it in before I showed my Pinterest fail:


And finally, what was my Pinterest fail you ask? Well, I had seen and pinned probably more than once the brilliant idea of simply writing on dishes (plates, coffee mugs etc...) with a sharpie, baking at 350 for 30 mins and then BAM, permanent. I was so excited to do this for my in-laws because of a silly video that they quote all the time. I had keurig coffee for them and thought cute, funny mugs I made would be the perfect touch:


The thing is...water washed the marker away! I tried different temperatures and time using different directions that other craft blogs said would work but nothing worked! I think I tried 3 different ways and this is what would happen after I gently washed it with water:


So, if you see those silly pins going around Pinterest about simply using a sharpie and baking...don't believe it! You need a special paint pen!!!

Aaaand....that's a wrap for now! I've got other craft projects I've been working on (hello baby girl's nursery!!) but I'll stop for now because if not this would be a ridiculously long post.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Looking back...**edit

Im glad I tried.

What exactly do I mean by this?

I mean that in the middle of carrying the oh so heavy cross of IF, I still tried.

There were many times I had to "fake" it...but none the less I tried.

I texted my SILs that were pregnant, asking them how they were and to remind them that my precious niece/nephew was in my prayers.

Sure, sometimes the bitterness and pain followed shortly after the conversation, but I still tried.

I had lunch with my girlfriends, who would never know the pains of IF and whose pregnant bellies grew and grew from the little ones growing within.

Did I have to give myself a massive pep talk before these lunches and ask for prayers of strength?

Most always. But I still tried.

I attended most all baby showers to show my support.

Were there there were times I'd excuse myself to cry in the bathroom because it was quite painful?

Heck to the yes. But I still tried.

My point in all this is that looking back now, I'm so beyond grateful that I tried. That even though there were so many times that I struggled and hurt and felt absolutely defeated, to those that were important to me I tried.

Why did I try so hard-Besides the obvious that I wanted to show support to those that were important?

Because in the midst of my pain, I knew deep down, one way or anther (conception or adoption) our family would grow. I did not know when and I did not know how, but I knew that someday it would be. And when that day would come I wanted the support from my close family and friends, just as I did for them.

I didn't want to be a person who yes, although at times very bitter/jealous/sad/angry, let those emotions run my life...and allow me to not celebrate with those I love.

I know we each have our own journeys, some have been battling this cross for far too long, while others are new to the game but almost instantly know the pain.

Some people are good at faking it, others can't because it's too much.

The thing is, for me, I'm glad that I did-because all those times of celebrating with friends and families over their growing families made me put my desires aside and be there for them.

And now, being only weeks away from meeting our daughter, I am beyond grateful for those that have shown support and celebrated with us during this pregnancy-especially those closest to us that knew of our struggle.

So, as hard as it was at times (so so so very hard and uncomfortable), looking back I am so glad I tried.

**edit:
I'm in no way saying that people always have to try or that if you don't do what I did then it means you're weak or whatnot. I'm just saying what I did and what worked for me. It was definitely something I had to do-because if not i would have been in a perpetual state of bitterness/sadness/anger. Aaaaaand, end of rant! ;)

Sweet baby, before you were even conceived I was forcing myself to grow, to do things that made me uncomfortable, to put myself aside so that I could be there for others. You already have taught me so much. I can't wait to meet you-anytime you're ready, we're ready!

Less than a month.

Happy 2013.

I cannot believe that a new year has started!

It's unbelievable how fast time goes.

Ringing in this new year was quite different from the rest of my NYE celebrations: 1) I was sipping bubbly apple cider, not champagne and 2) my prayers/pleads/hopes of please Lord help us grow our family this year were replaced with tears of utter joy that in a month we would be meeting this little one we had prayed so hard for and missed so very badly over our 5 year marriage.

It's crazy to look back at this time last year and see just how broken I was.  Broken, but still hopeful and trusting in His will.   And little did my broken little self know, but in a few short months after ringing in 2012, our lives would forever change.

That's the thing, it only takes a moment. 

A day.

You can struggle for months and years and then bam....

You get a call of a potential adoption.

Or you see a BFP.

So, this start of this new year, I pray for each and every one of you still waiting.  Still wondering how and when your families will grow.  I pray that you realize that all it takes it that moment for your worlds to be forever rocked and I pray that in the mean time you have strength and courage during the wait.  

"One joy scatters a hundred griefs."