FOOD update:)

Had to post some of my recent favs...check out the yellow watermelon we got from our local farmers...it is delish! And this is mine & Damein's famous (to us) homemade Asian curry with tofu. For those of you that are skeptical of tofu or just think it sounds weird, you should give it a try in a yummy dish like this!!

Letters to Livy....

I began a journal to Livy recently in which I've really enjoyed writing. I include different prayers I'm praying for her and our family, as well as things God is doing in my heart as a new mom, things I'm looking forward to and excited about, as well as fun things about the pregnancy, her crazy movements, my cravings, etc...I figure one day it may be fun for her to read, and it gives me a way to journal my prayers and connect with my little girl before she gets here!

27 weeks & end of my 2nd trimester!!

Livy's obviously getting a lot bigger a lot faster these days! :) This week marks the end of my 2nd trimester, seems hard to believe!!
Please be praying that God would give us great trust and dependence on him this last trimester, as we will have a lot going on with school, work, etc...while preparing for a natural labor and a healthy baby.

Other TN Adventures

Of course I had to get in the latest cowboy pics of our cute nephew, Lucas...aka Little Joe, depending on the day:) He got some new tight cowboy jeans to add to his cowboy attire and he really plays the part!

While swinging on the playground at church, Lucas asked Damein and I if we thought Livy would like doing that:) I thought that was so sweet! He will be a great cousin and even told me he would change one of her dirty diapers!

I included some pics here of him styling Uncle Dame's hair as well as some other random pictures that meant a lot:)

Friends & Family at the Baby Tea

One of the best parts of the baby tea was getting to see some of the people dearest to me! It's so fun to have people you love share in such a special time with you! Love you all!

My TN Baby Tea!

It is one of the most humbling things to have people gift you with things you need for a new baby. Damein and I were just overwhelmed with everyone's generosity at our first baby tea. Livy is going to have some super cute clothes and tons of other very needed and practical items that will help provide for her (and us) during her first year!...and likely any of the other siblings that come along after her:)
Thank you to everyone that made it such a special time and came to visit us for a bit. We loved getting to see so many people that we often do not have the opportunity to see. Livy has lots of love coming her way, whether she knows it yet or not!

I love the picture of her Daddy checking out her cute clothes:)

26 weeks: Happy & Growing

Here I am, closing in on the last couple of weeks of my 2nd trimester, this trimester has seriously flown by! It's been so much fun though:) Livy has been getting stronger every day it seems, as she can really throw a stiff punch lately:) Sometimes it makes me laugh when she really gets going with arms and legs all over the place! I just wonder what she is doing in there...but never take a day for granted that I get to feel her little hands and feet pushing around in there:)

Light and Salvation

I have had a super busy week...getting some things in order and finishing some things for work before heading out of town for TN! So excited. I needed a short break tonight from the demanding busyness of the day, so I spent a few moments reading Psalm 27. What consolation knowing that God is my stronghold and that He is the reason I should not fear the whirlwind that life can sometimes become. My trust shall be in Him, not my ability to or not to accomplish all the things I deem necessary. It is easy to allow those things to consume me and steal my joy at times. How tragic when the Lord has given us, by His grace, many blessings, the ultimate one in Christ, who is our salvation.
My prayer is that the Lord would be Livy's light and salvation and that there would not be a day in her life when she doesn't know that she can hide in His shelter in the day of trouble. He loves her far more than even we ever could. Amazing to consider.

Psalm 27:1-6

"The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

When evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.

Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.

One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.

For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.

And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord."

25 weeks down!

Damein took this candid shot this weekend while we were doing some grocery shopping at Whole Foods...doesn't seem like much change in size since last week, but I sure feel like there has been...growth seems to occur overnight right now!!

FOOD!!

My second trimester relationship with food has consisted of great enjoyment and lots of it! These are my yummy oat bran pancakes with homemade strawberry syrup that I decided to have for supper one night. Ahh, so yum. They freeze super well, so I've been keeping a stock in the freezer, because I still have some of my 'food complexes' (moments where i am starving and don't know what to eat) and these pancakes are a great default that make me happy!

Here are also some pics of my homemade granola we have been eating non-stop the last few months and I can't leave out one of our absolute favorites....Tomato and garbanzo bean pizza with banana peppers.
I invented this pizza with a homemade gluten free crust, and vegetarian toppings and we love, love, love it!

I plan to add these recipes to the cookbook I make one day:)

Updates to the Baby Room

Sooo excited that the baby room is coming along. Sharlene (Damein's mom) and our friend Stacy came and painted it for us last weekend, and you can see the color here with some samples of the bedding fabric, which I'm loving!
I finally got around to cleaning out her bedroom closet (what used to be a storage closet) so we can fit all the cute outfits and things she will be getting! Glad that undertaking is done!
She also is gaining a closet full of cute clothes! I love the outfits that have blue, green and other 'non-traditional' girls colors on them...although the pink is of course cute! Her grandmas have been supplying outfits along the way, lots for next summer, which will be nice, not to mention unbelievably cute!

YUM!

Probably our favorite restaurant is Stir Crazy...well, Damein would for sure say so, hands down. I don't understand why these restaurants aren't more predominant around the country! Sooo good, and if you haven't eaten there, I can only say that I am sorry you have been so deprived and I hope you can enjoy it someday! :)
Nonetheless it's a cool asian restaurant, where you can can choose from tons of fresh veggies to arrange in your personal wok, along with choosing from about 12+ diff. types of sauces for it to be cooked in, and what type of protein and rice or noodle you want with that.
We have perfected the art of 'strategic stacking' to get as many veggies in our wok as possible, as well as the perfect flavor of sauces mixed together. It is delish! Here we are, happy as larks, getting ready to eat our masterpiece!

Livy loves it to, whew, she was kicking around the whole time I was eating!

24 weeks down

Here I am in my full 24th week glory...there's a little growth going on...not just for Livy but for Mommy too!
At my check up last week, I had grown 4 cm since the previous month check up but only gained maybe a pound....growth is happening though! Livy should be around 8-1/2" long now....She is about as long as the width of a standard sheet of paper! Pretty amazing, and I think I can vouch for that b/c she definitely stretches herself out and takes advantage of all the room she still has in the womb right now. It's kinda funny sometimes how all over the place she seem to be at one time!
I guess she has every right to enjoy the space now...b/c soon enough she may be feeling a bit more cramped. I believe she is supposed to gain about 6 oz. a week now!
Stretch marks may be in my near future! Yikes.

Nighttimes with Daddy

Livy is making herself more and more known these days, particularly when I decide to lay down for a peaceful rest:) Damein loves it though. When we go to bed, you can almost 100% guarantee she will be active...is this a sign for times to come?? :)

It's fun for us to get to watch and feel her move around, it's a neat thing for us to share at this point in the pregnancy and for Damein, one of the most real things so far! She always likes to say good night to her Daddy with a few stiff kicks and punches!