{Overwhelmed with Love}

Our precious Oliver Forest arrived Sunday evening and has stolen our hearts completely away.




My eyes are never full of seeing him, nor my hands of touching him, nor my ears of hearing him. I am overwhelmed with love.

I am tired, but gaining energy, and there are times when this new responsibility is a bit overwhelming, but I LOVE being a Mommy!



Did I say I LOVE being a mommy?



And here is a sight that is most precious to me of all. How I love the guys I have been blessed with!



Last evening I ventured out for the first time since Oliver was born. Tim and I went downtown for ice cream and then for a drive. It felt so good just to get out and have a change of scenery. Grandma Linda stayed and took care of our Precious One. She is one happy grandma, don't you think?

{Rest}

I saw my midwife today, and because my blood pressure has been elevated the past couple of weeks, she has put me on a modified bed rest. I've dealt with this off and on throughout my pregnancy, but it's staying higher lately. I never really thought that being made to rest would be so difficult. It's difficult because I like to stay busy and I can always think of things I could or should be doing while I'm lying down. I'm looking forward to the rest in a lot of ways, though. I know that before very long I'll be wishing I had some of these hours to spend resting and reading. We're in the home stretch, though! Only 10 days to go before my due date.

I already have several books going and am enjoying them all a lot. Now I will just have more time to spend reading them. For whatever reason, I have never been able to read only one book at a time.




Right now I have my kitchen book:
Marie Antoinette
~an audio book

Afternoon books:
History of the American People
by Paul Johnson
Tim and I are both reading this one

Winston Churchill
John Keegan

Carry On Jeeves
P.G. Wodehouse

Bedtime books:

Jane Eyre

and

A Bend in the Road Nicholas Sparks

and

Voyage of the Dawn Treader
C.S. Lewis
which Tim is reading aloud for us

I will also be working on hand-quilting this for Baby Tate

{Showers of Blessings}

On October 9, my dear mom and VERY excited Grandma-to-be blessed me with a baby shower. Can't you just see how happy she is?:



I think my dad felt like he didn't see her for about a week leading up to the shower. She had planned several very fun games, made little favors for each guest, cleaned her house, and made the yummiest treats for the occasion. Here was the cake she ordered for the shower (on top of which we had Pumpkin Pie and several appetizers).

The shower was such a blessing to me, and humbling too. Not only did I see how loved and cherished our son or daughter already is, but through this act of service and celebration on my mom's part, I saw her as MY mom in a whole new light. I am now at the stage in my life that she was with me 27 years ago. She was wondering if I would be a girl or a boy. She felt me kick and wondered what I would look like and where I would go in my life. She prayed for me, loved my dad, kept her home, and prepared her nest. I have a whole new appreciation for her now.

Then, of course there were the guests. Each of them has played such an important role in my life. I was overwhelmed just looking around as the shower went on, recalling their words of wisdom, their friendship, and all the fun and silly times we've shared.


Here are Brenda (L) and Larissa and Becky (R) and Joanna (who, unfortunately isn't in any pictures as she was doing an excellent job of capturing the day behind the camera). All of these ladies made my life as a college student fun, rich, and incredibly fulfilling. I could write a book about our times together. There is a depth, a bond there that I know will never be replaced with any other set of friends. It was unique and special to this season of our lives.



Here are friends that I knew growing up, who still continue to be wonderful friends: Naomi and Carrie, both of whom I now get to share the joys of motherhood with, along with Ammerae, another friend of the past few years.


Then there are these precious ladies, Mary Lois and Virginia. They have acted as mentors and examples of godly womanhood to me.

This lady, Ellanor, has prayed for me everyday since I was a little girl. She tells me continually she counts it a privilege now to pray for Tim and for our baby to come. She is nearing her 90s, and I can only wonder how different my life will be when her faithful prayers aren't going up every morning on our behalf. Does God store them up and carry them on when the prayer warrior is gone? I look forward to Heaven where I will know just how different my life was because of this legacy.

Here are three other amazing ladies: Marilou, Janenne, and Marlys. I participated in Janenne's women's Bible studies for a couple of years and gleaned so much from her. Marlys introduced Tim and I and has been like a grandmother to me for several years now. These older ladies have mentored me as a younger Christian woman, supported me through singleness, prayed me through my courtship and engagement, and are still there for me as I enter motherhood.

Then, of course there were gifts! Lots and lots of darling baby items!

~ and such cute packages~

I was blessed down to my toes that day!

{Getting the Right Perspective}

I really hate to admit this, but I think I discovered the extent of my vanity yesterday. I was getting dressed for church and almost got teary-eyed as a feeling of frustration came over me that I had "nothing" to wear. Then this afternoon I got all emotional again because I felt frumpy. I mean really! Welcome to being 9 months pregnant! But as I calmed down, I confronted my shallowness. I'm choosing to be thankful. How I look is not what matters and how I feel about myself must be governed by what God says about me. This is only a season in my life, and I know what I really want is to hold this baby and be assured that he/she is healthy and happy. And yes, I admit it, I do look forward to going shopping and feeling a bit more like me again.

And so I thought about what I'm thankful for right now:

1. A husband who tells me I'm beautiful and makes me believe it
2. Our sweet baby who will make his/her debut any day now
3. Crisp, sunny days that chase the clouds away
4. Brilliant reds, oranges, yellows everywhere I look
5. Crunchy leaves underfoot
6. Clean laundry that is folded and ready to put away
7. A good start toward harvesting the last of my garden
8. Autumn adventures

Yesterday Tim and I experienced a Corn Maze for the first time. I have wanted to go to one for several years now, but there have never been any close by, until now.

~ We bundled up and headed to the maze after dark. ~

~ It was a beautiful night with a half moon shining brightly. ~

I kind of have to laugh when I look at these pictures, as it looks almost as if we are on "Ghost Hunters". We had such a great time together. There's just something so exciting and yet eerie about wandering through a huge corn field after dark. I would highly recommend this experience! It makes a great date, and all of the families there seemed to be having a great time. I would have loved to do this as a kid... getting to go outside in the dark on an adventure! Even as a grown-up I was sure glad to have my hubby along. Otherwise it would have been scary! Besides, who doesn't like kissing under a bright moon?

We had worked up an appetite by the end so we drove to Cougar Country, a popular little diner/drive-in for burgers and fries, in my husband's crimson and gray Lincoln Continental no less.... but that car deserves it's own post... someday.

{Pumpkin Delights}

I can't stop thinking about these cookies. I made them for the first time the other day and they are every bit as good as what I had a craving for. I am having to exert great self-control (and it's not been very successful) when I walk past them in my kitchen. The only changes I made to the recipe were reducing the sugar to 1 cup and using Libby's canned pumpkin. Try them! You'll be sooooo glad you did!

~and these are next~

{Just Around the Corner}

With this post begins a very new adventure of blogging. I have considered starting a blog for several years now, but have just never done it. I have no idea if it is for me or how far it will take me, but I welcome the experience.

For many, many years now I have kept a journal, and I have been relatively faithful in taking down the adventures of my life. I have always wished I could add pictures to my writing to make it more real. That is what I look forward to most in creating my blog.

In just a few days to a couple of weeks, our baby will arrive and so will begin the wonderful and totally uncharted territory of parenthood. I am so ready to meet this little person and I've begun to wonder everyday if today will be the day.

It is so special to us that our baby will arrive in the autumn. Autumn has become very special to both Tim and I. It has always been Tim's favorite season, but since we've been together, autumn has held special promise for us. We met in October of 2008 and were married the following September. Now we celebrate our anniversary and the birth of our firstborn in autumn!

This autumn has been just a little bit different, as can be imagined. Nearing the end of this pregnancy I am increasingly uncomfortable. I have, unfortunately, spent much more time indoors than I ever have this time of year. Last week, I decided to drive downtown and park a little distance away from the bank, where I had an errand to run, just so I could get exercise and enjoy the beautiful sunshine. How blessed I was to come around the corner and see this beautiful sight!

~and this~

~one more~