Liam the Lion

Alex has taken to calling our sweet little boy Liam the Lion. I guess it just sounded right in his mind and he always refers to him by that nickname. I think it's cute. So I started searching on Etsy for a print that would portray his cute little nickname. I found LittleLion Studio and fell in love with this print. It's perfect for Liam the Lion. We received the print in the mail a couple weeks ago and took it to get framed. We picked it up this weekend and it's now hanging over his crib. I absolutely love it. Just about 15 more weeks until we get to meet this lion!

20 Questions

Well well well, I've been tagged. My friend, Lauren, tagged me to complete this 20 question survey and so I will oblige her and answer the questions. :-) I'll even go ahead and tag five people...but no pressure.
(I'm looking at you: Megan, Merari, Steph, Jessica, and Leslie)

Rule #1: The tagged person must write their answers on their blog and replace any questions they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

Rule #2: Tag 5 people to do this quiz. The tag-ee must state who tagged them.

1. What is one word that can best be used to describe you?
Uuughh...I hate questions like this... Let's just say: Awesome. ;-)

2. If you could have a dream come true, would what it be?
Hmm...I'm pretty simple... My dream in life is to just have a happy family, to serve God, and to have fun along the way.

3. What would you do with a billion dollars?
Pay off debt, buy a modest home with enough space for our family and friends, adopt a child from another country, buy some nice gifts (car? house?) for our parents and siblings and grandparents, set up a college fund for our kids, donate money to our church, donate money to missionaries all over the world, take lots of interesting classes (photography, dancing, etc), go shopping... :-)

4. What helps to pull you out of a bad mood?
Ice cream...yum! And cuddling with my Jaxon. Writing. Venting to Alex.

5. What is your bedtime routine?
Go to the bathroom (these days I have to go at least two or three times before going to sleep!), brush my teeth, wash my face. Sleep.

6. What activities did you do in High School? If you could go back, would you do the same or something different?
I was on the basketball team for one year. I was involved with the Bible Club. And I was a part of TV Production. That last one was my favorite. I thought I was going to be the next John Stossel. ;-) I would never want to go back to high school, haha, but if I did I would stick to the same activities and maybe add photography.

7. What kind of books do you read?
I like fiction mostly. I also enjoy good Christian/spiritual books.

8. How do you see yourself in ten years?
A mom. A wife. A friend. I'd like to be a stay-at-home mom, but maybe with a part time job on the side doing something to really help the community...or maybe taking photos... I'm not sure. I'm just living day by day.

9. What's your favorite piece of clothing you own?
I love my floral dress from Target, aqua jersey knit dress from F21, brown Oxford flats, Run DMC shirt, and my floral Anthropologie skirt. :-) And lately I really love my maternity skinny jeans from the Gap. So comfy.

10. What kind of skin care do you use?
Proactiv. It's a lifesaver...or a facesaver...

11. What's the first thing you do when you wake up?
Go to the bathroom and brush my teeth...then get back in bed. :-)

12. If you could have any job, regardless of income, what would it be?
Hmmm...Can I be a professional blogger?? ;-) I just want to be a mom... I'd also like to do counseling of some sort, at a church or an adoption agency. Maybe I could be a photographer too. I don't know. I think I'd also like to just support my husband in whatever he does. I'd make a great assistant!

13. If you could pick a new name for yourself, what would it be?
I'm okay with my name. Can't imagine being called anything else.

14. If you had to choose between six months of sun or six months or rain, which would you choose?
SUN!

15. If you could only eat one thing for the next six months, what would it be?
Pad Thai. So so good.

16. What is the thing you enjoy about blogging the most?
I just like being able to share my life with people that I love even if we don't live in the same city or state.

17. Do you prefer salty or sweet foods?
I definitely have a sweet tooth. I love ice cream, cupcakes, brownies, pie, etc etc.

18. What items are in your purse right now?
Wallet, hand sanitizer, hand lotion, Burt's Bees chapstick, Rose Bud salve, lip gloss, tissues, make up bag, scarf, sunglasses, Orbit gum, Summit Church business cards, a pen...

19. What is the best memory you have of you and the person that tagged you in their 20 questions?
I'd have to say that time we made beignets in my kitchen. Ummm...it was kind of a disaster! Hah. They didn't turn out sooo bad but the apartment filled up with smoke and we got a good laugh out of it.

20. What do you watch on television that you know you shouldn't?
Hah, probably all the Real Housewives shows on Bravo that I'm addicted to. I can't help it!

Denver Art Museum

I love art! I really do. Both of my parents are very artistic and talented...between the two of them they can draw, paint, sing, play music, write poetry... I am not as talented, hah, but they have definitely passed on their love for the arts to me.

I have been dying to go to the Denver Art Museum since we moved here but had never found the time to go. I saw on their website they were having a special exhibit called Blink, so I really wanted to check it out. I loved the exhibit. It's definitely an acquired taste. Some might argue that what was being presented wasn't really "art," but I disagree. I think it's amazing how creative people can be with different types of media. These artists used technology and pop culture to convey different ideas and messages. I really found it interesting.

We also checked out their exhibit on 'Design after the 1900s.' They showed graphic art, furniture, computers, typewriters, etc etc. It's amazing how far we've come and how much technology and design has progressed. It makes me wonder where we're headed from here. Will Liam laugh at my iPhone for being archaic? Crazy.

Christ is Risen...

...and my soul knows sweet salvation!

Today is Easter Sunday. It's our first in Denver and so far it's been great. We watched the Mars Hill Church Easter celebration service that they broadcasted live on their website. It was absolutely phenomenal. I'm really thankful for the ministry at Mars Hill. I loved seeing all those people get baptized at the end of the service. I always get a little teary when I see people getting baptized. It's just amazing.

In a little bit we'll head over to City Park for a little kickball game with some of Alex's co-workers. Unfortunately the day is gray and cloudy and not warm at all...but that's okay, I'm sure it'll still be fun, as long as the rain stays away!

And in the evening we will celebrate our first Easter with the Summit Church Denver. I'm excited to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord with our church family. I'm sure the service will be amazing as well as the potluck dinner afterwards. Yum.

Happy Easter to all!

Week 24

Week 24...we just keep rolling along in this pregnancy. Liam is supposed to be about a foot long by now. Does that sound crazy to anyone else but me?! I can't get over the fact that there's an actual person growing inside of me. Unfortunately, I've been dealing with a lot of pelvic pain lately. My exercise ball is my best friend right now. It relives some pressure when I sit on it rather than the couch or a hard chair. I've also been looking up some different pelvic exercises to help me out. But I definitely need to bring this up with my midwife next time I see her because it gets pretty bad at times.

Anyway, if you go to the intersection of 24th St. and Larimer you'll see this big blue rhino. This is because it is the entrance to the RiNo Art District of Denver (RiNo = River North). This place is full of galleries, studios, theaters, etc. I love that Denver has a thriving art community and that you can find random sculptures like this all over town. It's part of what makes Denver unique and fun.

some nursery diy

I've read on a lot of different blogs that for some reason mamas-to-be all of the sudden become crafty. Something about creating a human makes you think you can create other things as well. I've always enjoyed crafting but lately I've been feeling extra-inspired. My skills are nowhere near the level I would like them to be. I have much to learn but it's still fun even when the crafts don't turn out perfectly.

I've made two easy little crafts for Liam's room this week. The first is a little birthday calendar painting. I had an old calendar from the Red Velvet Art shop. These girls are sooo talented. I kept the calendar because I'm wanting to cut out some of the prints and frame them. As I was cutting out the prints I decided to take some of the calendar parts and put them on a painted canvas. When Liam arrives I'll circle the exact date that he was born.

Again, it's not perfect looking but I like that I made it especially for my boy. 

The second craft I saw this morning on the hostess with the mostess blog. I thought it was really neat so while I was at Michael's I picked up the supplies needed. It's a chalkboard embroidery hoop! I'm not gonna lie, this one was tough to make. They made it look so easy on the blog but I had a rough time. In the end, though, I'm pretty pleased with the result. 

I think it'll be fun to write little notes on it and let Liam play with it when he's older.

So those are just of the few little projects I've been working on. There's more to come. I'm excited to make Liam's room extra special. It makes me so anxious that I can't have the room all ready to go! But we have a few months to go so I need to just relax. ;-)

nursery inspiration

I'm having a lot of fun dreaming up what Liam's nursery will look like. The colors I'm using are gray, yellow, white, and green. We already have the Jenny Lind crib and some shelves up, but that's about it. I'd like to get an Eames-inspired rocker, some book shelves (not sure if I want to go with floating shelves, sling shelves, or cubes...or maybe a bench/storage combo), an old dresser painted bright yellow, and a few artistic touches.

Here are some beautiful baby rooms that have been inspiring me.

DIY Cloud Rugs

I saw this really neat tutorial to make your own cloud rugs out of faux fur fabric and fell in love! It looked really easy to make so I decided I would give it a shot.

I went to Joann's Fabrics for the first time in my life this morning and bought some fabric (about a yard and a half). Then I headed to Shannon's house because she's my DIY friend here. ;-) I pretty much followed the tutorial word for word except I didn't use any fray-check. The lady at the store said I wouldn't need it. She suggested I just stick the rugs in the dryer (after cutting out the shapes) to get rid of some of the excess fur. They're in the dryer right now and hopefully they won't be ruined when I take them out. ::fingers crossed::

Here are a few photos Shannon took with her phone...notice the faux fur was everywhere!

Can't wait to put these in Liam's room. I have a few other little art projects I'm working on too. I'll share along the way and when it's all done I'll do a nursery tour. Fun times. 

Week 23

Another week gone by in this pregnancy and I'm so excited to get closer and closer to the day we meet Liam. I can't believe that in just about a month I'll be entering into my third trimester! Liam is definitely getting stronger everyday because this week I started seeing his kicks on the outside of my belly. It's crazy! He's most active during the day while Alex is at work so I was getting frustrated that Alex hadn't seen the kicks yet, but one night this week he finally saw! He took a short video to send to our family. It's not very noticeable right now but I'm sure in the coming weeks his kicks will get bigger and bigger. It really is crazy to see something poking out of your belly. In fact, he poking about in there right now!

For this week's photo we went down 23rd Ave to get to the Denver Zoo. We've been once on a free day, but I want to go back when there aren't so many people there. They have so many animals and it really is a fun little day outing. And I love that it's literally five minutes from our front door. I'm thinking Liam will love coming to see all the animals.

feathers in your hair

I'm the kind of person who gets bored with my hair pretty often. I need to change it up to keep things fresh and interesting. Alex always jokes that I've had about 50 different hair styles since we first met.
Lately I've been feeling the urge to change things up again. I'm not ready to commit to a big change...a new hair cut or color...so I was trying to come up with something I could do to hold me over until I decide what I want to do. I finally settled on feather hair extensions! It seems like something fun and it's temporary so if I don't like it, I just have to wait a couple months to take them out.

I found a salon in Cherry Creek to get the extensions done at. It ended up being about $20, not bad for a little hair fun. I'm pretty pleased with the look. It's subtle but still adds a little flair. I think if I do it again I will go for a bolder look...more colors, more feathers. :-)

midi-skirts

I have to say, I'm in love with midi-skirts lately. I think they're so classic and elegant. I'd love to have a couple of these beauties hanging in my closet:

[all skirts courtesy of ASOS...too bad they're crazy expensive.

if anyone knows of some more frugal options, let me know!]

A Place for Baby to Sleep

I was talking to my friend, Tati, on the phone today and she mentioned I hadn't sent her a picture of Liam's crib yet...so I thought I'd write a quick blogpost.

Since way before we even thought about having babies I fell in love with Jenny Lind cribs. I think they're adorable. I love the vintage simplicity that these cribs have. I especially love the white ones, though I've seen people paint them in all kinds of vibrant colors and I love that look as well. When we created our baby registry on amazon I immediately put a white Jenny Lind crib on it. Unfortunately it was soon out of stock. I searched all over the internet for this crib and could not find one anywhere. Every single store was out of stock. So I turned to Craig's List and found one for $60! I confirmed that the crib was in good condition and not recalled. Everything checked out so Alex and I made the drive to pick up our baby's crib. We (and by we I mean Alex, I just watched) put it together the very next day and I just love it.

Since the baby's room is downstairs and ours is upstairs I also wanted to have a bassinet in our room for the first few months of Liam's life. No one wants to trudge up and down stairs all night to feed and comfort a crying baby. But have you seen the bassinets out there?? No offense to anyone, but I'm not a fan of the frilly bassinets. It's just not my aesthetic, especially for a boy. So again I searched and searched and found some great options...but most of these mod-looking bassinets are expensive. I did finally find one that I liked and that didn't have too hefty of a price tag, so I put it on our registry. Well, my amazing sister bought the bassinet and had it shipped to us. We (again, Alex) put it together last night and I love it! It's really cute and will fit nicely next to our bed. 

I'm hoping Liam loves these pieces as much as I do. I know one couple whose baby would only sleep in the car seat for a while so I guess we'll see how picky Little Liam is. 

Week 22

Hello Week 22!
This week I had another midwife appointment. It went great. We got to hear Liam's heart beat again, holding steady at 140. I now weigh 124 pounds, meaning I've gained a total of 13 pounds so far. All my blood tests came back negative, so baby and I are healthy as can be so far. It sounds like everything is on track with this pregnancy, thank God. Yesterday we were able to take a tour of the hospital I will be delivering at. We got to check out the labor rooms, nursery, post-delivery rooms, etc. The lady giving the tour was really nice and answered all our questions. I even tested her with some of my requests that I've talked over with the midwife and she seemed all for what I wanted to do at my delivery. She even mentioned that there are some nurses on the floor who are more geared towards unmedicated childbirth and I could request those nurses. I'm really excited about delivering at this hospital.

For this week's picture we were a bit stumped on where to go...until we saw this Argentinian pizza place on 22nd Street, close to Coors Field. My sister's husband is Argentinian (as is my aunt's husband) so we thought if we took a picture here it might tempt them to come out and visit. ;-) Maybe Manolo can let us know if this Argentinian pizza is the real deal or not. We'll be waiting...

Spring Gardening

Spring is here! Nevermind that it snowed just a few days ago...we've had some beautiful days here in Denver so Alex and I are turning our attention to the outside of our home. Alex has some big plans for our yard. He wants to lay some sod down and put a fence up so that Jaxon can run free. We'd also like to get a grill. I'd be happy with just a cheap little charcoal grill so we can have some BBQ's on warm summer nights. We'll see how far we can stretch our dollar.

Anyway, I decided I wanted to plant some flowers to beautify our front porch so we went to Home Depot to get some supplies. I've never planted flowers before in my life and didn't really know what I was doing but I thought it would be fun. Say hello to my mums:

Jaxon was so cute looking from the window:

Here's hoping my mums don't die!

Why I Chose Rose Midwifery

A few months ago I wrote about why I chose a midwife over an OB for my prenatal care. Now I wanted to focus on how and why I chose my specific birthing team here in Denver.

We moved here right after I found out I was pregnant. I didn't know anyone who had gone through the process of choosing a healthcare provider in Denver. I couldn't get any referrals from friends or anything. So I turned to Google of course! I started searching for a midwife practice and I found Rose Midwifery. I was drawn to this practice because they work out of a hospital. This being my first child, I like the idea of giving birth in a hospital with a midwife. I'm not really sure what to expect out of giving birth so it's reassuring to know that if anything goes wrong there are doctors and surgery rooms right around the corner.

I have had four appointments with the midwives so far and I am really enjoying it. There are ten different midwives at this practice and every time I go to an appointment I just get who I get. I have the option of requesting to see only a certain midwife but I thought it would be better for me to just get to know all of them. So far they are all really nice ladies and they definitely share my birthing philosophy. They fully support my decision to have an unmedicated birth and will do everything they can to help me along the way. It's very important to me that my healthcare provider be supportive and these midwives definitely are.

Even though I was drawn to the idea of giving birth in a hospital for all the "what if's," I had some concerns. I don't want anyone at the hospital pressuring me to do anything I don't want to do. I don't want to be strapped to the bed with a fetal heart monitor and an IV. I don't want to be pressured into taking pitocin or an epidural or getting an episiotomy. I don't want to be rushed in my labor process. I have voiced my concerns at my appointments and have been met with nothing but support for my requests. I have the freedom to move around the room as I'm laboring. There is a hot tub in the room that I can labor in if I want to. There are birth balls available for my use. I don't have to have fetal monitor strapped to my belly or an IV in my arm. It makes me incredibly happy that I can have the experience I want even though I'm giving birth in a hospital.

I'm really excited about giving birth and I'm praying for a positive experience. I'm praying that God would keep my baby safe and healthy throughout the whole process and I'm praying that He will give me strength, patience, and whatever else I need to get me through labor and delivery. And I'm sure my birthing team will be behind me 100%.

thank you!

I just wanted to write a quick note of thanks to all who responded to my blog post from yesterday. I really appreciate your honesty, advice, and love. I will definitely continue to seek God's wisdom in this matter. I know I have been lacking in compassion and grace and I'm just thankful that I can see that now. Please continue to pray for us in this situation. We know God loves us no matter what, His love for us is not based upon our performance, but we do want to try to glorify Him in everything we do.
Again, thank you!

what to do?

So I've been dealing with something quite frequently here in Denver.
Honestly, I've felt annoyed and angry about this dilemma and I thought I should ask for some insight from my blogger friends.

On more than one occasion I have been approached by an individual with some sob story about how they need just a little bit of money to buy a bus ticket to their mom's funeral or cab fare to get to their sick sister, etc etc. They go on and on about how they just need a little bit more cash to get what they need and they will even have tears in their eyes sometimes. It's really hard for me to feel compassion for these individuals because I know they're lying. It angers me that they're trying to take advantage of me. We don't have a ton of money rolling in. We're trying to do the best we can living in this expensive new city, preparing for our baby boy, living off of just Alex's income. We don't have money to be giving away to every person who asks. Don't get me wrong, I believe we are so rich and so blessed and we try to be generous and give as much as we can...but I can't give money to some stranger who could or could not be telling me the truth about their sick dad on his deathbed.

This weekend I think I reached my breaking point. Alex and I stopped at an ATM to get some money to pay for our baby's crib. I waited in the car and a women approached Alex to ask for some money. Her story was outrageous and I just knew she was lying. And this is my baby's money! This is money we need so that our baby can have a place to sleep. How dare she lie to us and basically steal from our baby so she could go buy drugs or alcohol or whatever else she wants. I was outraged. Alex asked me to talk to her because with my counseling background he felt I might be able to get somewhere with her. But I was fed up. I wanted to get our money and hit the road. I didn't have time to waste. So I never spoke with her.

Once we were on the road I was overwhelmed with a feeling of guilt. She's broken...just like I'm broken. She needs love and compassion and someone to talk to. She needs the gospel. But I was too annoyed and pious to even look at her. And the whole reason we moved to this city was to share the gospel with lost people like her...but I didn't.

I'm not looking for any comments trying to make me feel better or telling me what a good person I am or anything like that. I've talked it out with Alex and I've prayed to God about it. I know He loves me no matter what and that I will fail sometimes. I'm okay with that. But what I am looking for is advice on how to deal with these situations. What is the gospel thing to do here? I know these requests for money from strangers aren't going to stop. I will be stopped on the street again and made to listen to some sob story. What should my response be? I must add that I don't always feel safe in these situations. Sometimes I'll be out walking Jaxon by myself and be stopped for money (our neighborhood isn't the best, it's a bit on the "ghetto" side with drug deals happening in the alley or on the open sidewalk) by a big man and all I want to do is get away from him. I fear for my safety or my baby's safety or even Jaxon's safety. But I don't want to be dominated by fear.

Again, any gospel advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, friends!

Week 21

Week 21 and I'm thinking I've really popped. I was suffering from belly envy for a while (as in, I was really jealous of all the beautiful pregnant ladies with their full round bellies) but I think my belly is really rounding out now. I honestly can't imagine getting any bigger. Can my skin really stretch that much?! Crazy.

The weather this weekend has been gorgeous! It almost reached the 80s today. It's been so nice to bask in the sunlight and take Jaxon on long walks. It's supposed to snow on Monday though (Denver weather is bipolar) but I'm sure the warm sunlight will be back again soon. I'm so looking forward to Spring and Summer.

For this week's photo we drove down W. 21st Ave until we hit Sloan's Lake. I love this place because you have a beautiful view of the mountains to the west and downtown Denver to the east. With this beautiful clear weather the view of the mountains has been amazing. I'm in awe every time I see them.

The Belly Series

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

Week 16

Week 17

Week 18

Week 19

Week 20

De-skype-leship

My good friend, Kat, lives in Wake Forest, NC.
I live in Denver, CO.
But on Wednesday evening we decided to meet up to have some discipleship time. When I was still living in NC Kat and I met almost weekly to study the Bible together, pray, and just catch up on each other's lives. It was such a fruitful time for both of us and I think we both missed these weekly meetings. So I was thrilled when she emailed me and asked if I might want to continue our weekly meetings over Skype. Uh, yeah! We're doing a study through the book of Hebrews and our first meeting was fun. I can't wait for next week.

Excuse our funny faces, we're discussing deep theological issues. ;-)