Moving Forward

I've debated sharing this at all, since I haven't posted anything on here since June - and it's now October. But I think it would be helpful for me to write some things down, and share a little about missing my mom, and also our recent trip to spread her ashes.

I sure do miss her.

I borrowed this picture from Beth - our computer crashed and I can't get our old pictures yet.
This is a great way to remember her - Mom loved being at Lake Pearrygin!

When I'm driving lately, I keep thinking, 'I should call Mom.' and then I catch myself.

There have been a lot of things going on lately - some good and some really hard. I just want to ask her what I should do - ask her what her thoughts are.

But I'm adjusting. I'm learning to lean on the Lord - He is my strength. I've discovered the comfort that is found in the Lord, in turning to Him when I'm frustrated and my heart is hurting. I love that hymn,

What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. O what peace we often forfeit, o what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

It might sound simplistic or trite, but it's truth. Jesus is the Comforter, the loving Counselor. It's something that I've come to feel in ways I didn't understand before. My heart still hearts, and I miss my mom, but I feel a peace that isn't found anywhere else.

Last weekend, my dad, Brother, Sister, Uncle Rick and I went for a hike in the mountains up near Mt. Baker. It is a hike that I had been on before - when I was 5 and Brandon was 4 - Mom was pregnant with Steph at the time, and went on the hike. It's steep - and it's 2.5 miles to the first meadow. I admire her ability to hike at all when she was pregnant, but this was a hard hike - she was such a strong-willed lady!

It was a beautiful hike!

The meadow that we chose to stop in was one that I remembered from our previous hike - it's a place that's held a lot of mystery and intrigue in my memory, so it's a very special place to me. It was absolutely beautiful! There was a foot or more of snow, and little patches where you could see the plants or streams in the midst of the snow.

I can't wait to come back up here this summer, because I think it's going to be a very beautiful place when the flowers are blooming and everything is green and growing!

I felt like I had a great opportunity to reflect on my mom and her life, and to say goodbye to her in a way. It's not that I will forget her now, or not miss her anymore (because I still miss her an awful lot) but I at least feel more closure after having spread her ashes.

A Weekend Away

Last weekend we took a little family trip - to visit David's grandparents in Packwood, Washington and then up to see my family in Everson for a couple days. I took two days off of work, so it was a nice, long weekend.

In Packwood, David, Micah and I went for a walk in the woods, up to a waterfall that is a favorite of ours. We took Belle, who was a very good walking companion. 

Not only was it Audrey's first trip to Packwood, it was her first time meeting GG and Papa Bob. She loved being with them, and I think they liked her pretty well too! Besides the fact that Audrey didn't sleep well, we had a great time in Packwood! It's so nice being with family and getting to relax and enjoy one another's company.

It was Flag Day while we were in Packwood, so Micah got to help Papa Bob and GG put out their flag. He even sang 'O Say Can You See' when the flag was hung. That boy has a patriotic heart! As I'm typing this, he's singing the national anthem, with emotional arm thrusts for emphasis. A video will be coming sometime around Independence Day.

After Packwood, we went up to Everson to spend time with my family. My sister and brother-in-law were up for the weekend also, and we saw my brother every day we were up there, so it was a great time of seeing family! Micah especially enjoyed playing in my dad's back yard. He would have spent the entire weekend out there if we had let him! 

I was reminded of one reason why I love the valley so much - everything is so green and pretty in the spring and summer. Not like Hermiston, where we have a little green and a lot of brown. My dad's back yard was beautiful! I loved spending time out there and checking out the plants and flower beds, but it really made me miss my mom! She loved spending time in the yard, and I know she would be really happy with how it looks this year.

It was a really nice weekend with family, but we're always glad to be home and back in our routine - and sleeping in our own bed!  We're thankful for great house-sitters, so we know our house and pets are well taken care of, and we can relax without worrying about them! I hope you all had a good weekend too!

This Week, and Taking A Family Picture

It doesn't seem like it should be that difficult to take a family picture.

How hard can it be for four people to look at the same place and smile at the same time?

All we have to do is smile.

Well, it's close.

This week:

* We celebrated our fifth anniversary! (The family pictures were taken on our anniversary... A lot can change in five years!

* Audrey is learning how to sit up on her own. And it's decided. She doesn't like grass.

* We spent some time cleaning up the back yard, getting ready to spend lots of free time in the shade back there this summer! 

* Micah played in the back yard for half an hour one day, and then said, "Mommy, our tree has leaves." It sure does, and the shade is heavenly!

* Our allergies have arrived. David and I will be sniffling through the next couple of months. I'm afraid to take any allergy medicine while I'm still nursing Audrey, so unfortunately, the only relief in sight is not having plants... Thankfully, my symptoms aren't very severe, so I'll just suffer on through, and enjoy my plants.

* I finished a quilt top this afternoon. I still can't decide how I feel about this color scheme. I was thinking about adding a white border, but I'm on the fence.

* I cleaned up my craft supplies/sewing area. (This picture is the cleaned up space... not that it looks all that clean. You should have seen it before!) I found some fabric I had forgotten about, though, so that was pretty exciting! 

* We've had many visits from Micah's new (imaginary) friend, Micah-Nini, and also Micah-Nini's mom. He's a pretty popular little guy in our house.

I hope you had a good week!

It's Been A While

We've had a few very busy months here - two kids really keep us running!

In a lot of ways the last few months have been very hard, but God is good and He is continuing to provide for our family in ways we don't expect or deserve. This verse has really been meaningful to me, and a source of comfor: John 16:33 - "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

I miss my mom an awful lot, but thankfully, I've had lots of things to keep me busy the last few months.

This last weekend we went to Eugene for a baby shower, and to visit friends. We also took a short trip to the beach - it was the best weather I've ever seen at the Oregon coast! Nearly 80 degrees, with a little breeze. Both kids loved it - and it was Audrey's first trip to the coast.

Madison, Micah and Audrey

Walking with Peter at the beach

She was in LOVE with the beach! And also with having all of her clothes off.

Sara, Kayla and Me

The whole gang, minus Madison

I'm hoping to keep up a little better with blogging. And I've really gotten back into quilting and sewing, so I started a second blog - great idea when I haven't posted here for five months, right? It's really going to be for the projects I am working on, and complete, so I have a place to keep track of what I've been making. Feel free to check it out if you want: Joy In The Stitches

Two Arrows in Our Quiver

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the children of one's youth.

Blessed is the man

who fills his quiver with them!

-Psalm 127:3-5

Audrey June Wattenburger

November 1, 2012 at 11:03 pm

9 pounds, 7 ounces, 21 inches

Our first family picture as a family of four. Sorry about my gross IV being in the picture.

She sure is sweet though. This girl loves to cuddle and be held. 

Plus, she sleeps pretty well at night - most nights.

Now that he's gotten used to her, Micah is loving that he is a big brother. Whenever Audrey is laying down on her blanket, he wants to lay right next to her and talk to her. 

I can't count how many times a day I hear, "Look at her, Mommy. She's cute!" 

Our quiver, and our hearts, are feeling very full of love for these two sweet children.

Welcome to our family, Audrey! We're so excited that you're here!

Before and After

Things change.

Yesterday morning vs. yesterday later morning:

Last October vs. this October:

Family picture last November vs. Family picture this weekend:

*This will change again soon - and hopefully my belly will be significantly smaller!

Micah in his car seat at two weeks old vs. Micah in that car seat this morning:

Can you tell that I've been thinking about how quickly things change? Just thought I'd share.

Must-Haves for A New Baby

We have just over two weeks until our baby girl is supposed to arrive. After a few freak-outs over not being ready for a new baby, I'm finally feeling prepared. We plan to use most of what we had for Micah when he was a little one, so getting prepared wasn't so much about having what we needed, but feeling ready emotionally! There were a few things that I wanted to buy/get ready for this new baby, knowing that they were either favorites when Micah was new, or they were things I wanted to have. So, here are a few recommendations:

1. Swaddling blankets.
With Micah, I just had a bunch of those little receiving blankets that come in a four-pack. They're really helpful for other things, but for swaddling, they just don't cut it - they're not big enough and I couldn't ever get them to stay around him. I ended up having to buy flannel, and my mom hemmed the edges, so I had some thin (but warm) swaddle blankets.

I keep hearing great things about Aden + Anais's swaddlers, so I talked David into letting me buy a package of them. They're more expensive than I would like, since we're on a fairly tight budget ($48 for four) but I had $10 to Amazon, and then I got a 20% off coupon from Amazon Mom, so it saved me about $20!

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2. Head bands and hair clips
If we're going to have a little girl, I want people to know she's a little girl! We have plenty of pink and purple clothes for her to wear, but I really like it when little girls have cute head bands. So, occasionally, when I see a cute little clip or bow, I pick it up to add to our collection.

3. An infant car seat
A few weeks ago, I realized that if we were to have this little one early, I wasn't prepared! I didn't even know where our car seat was - and wherever it was, it probably wasn't clean. So, I got my butt in gear and found the car seat, washed it, and set it aside in the spare room, waiting to bring this little munchkin home.

It's the same car seat that we used with Micah, and the pattern isn't really very feminine, hence the need for head bands for the little lady. I;m planning to make a cover for the car seat, to replace the blue and brown, but until I get the fabric and finish it, this will work just fine!

By the way, where did the last two years go? When was Micah ever this little?

4. Long-sleeved Onesies

Since this baby's going to be born in late Fall, I want to be sure she stays really warm. A lot of the shirts and onesies I have for her are short-sleeved, though, so I like to put long sleeves underneath. The little dress she's going to wear home from the hospital is sleeveless, so it's important to get some sleeves (and pants - or at least tights) on that girl to keep her cozy.

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These aren't the exact ones I bought - I'm not a fan of Gerber - but they look very similar.

So, there are a few things we bought to get ready for 'Baby Audee' as Micah calls her. We're feeling prepared, and hopefully we'll have pictures to share very soon!

A Room For Two - Part One

I have so much to do for Micah and Audrey's room to be finished. I've been really excited to design and style their room for both a boy and girl, but it really is a lot of work!

I have a list of projects to finish for their room to be finished, but here's the list, and then some pictures of what the room looks like right now. I'm sorry for some bad looking pictures - my camera is dead, and I'm just using my iPhone as my camera until I get a new one (Christmas maybe?).

* Paint walls gray
* Stencil one wall? ** This will probably come a long time down the road - the priority is to get the room painted.
* Add shelves to closet
* Unpack/organize boxes in closet (Micah's blankets, toiletries, etc.)
* Big-boy bed painted
* Micah sleeping in big-boy bed
* Sew sheets for crib ** I have one left to sew.
* Sew crib skirt for crib
*Order new crib mattress
* Baskets organized for Baby Audrey - we're not buying a second dresser because we don't have room, so we're going to try using baskets in the closet, on the new shelves.
* Scale/wave artwork for wall
* Yarn treatment on lampshade
* Shelves/accessories for Audrey's side of the room.
* Shelves/accessories for Micah's side of the room
* Paint shelf with Micah's baskets (socks, shoes, washcloths)
* Audrey's bow holder
* Hang curtains
* Hem curtains - they're WAY too long!

My mom made this embroidered hanging for Micah - it's hanging above his bed, but it could really use a shelf or something below it.

So, I feel like I'm making some progress, but that's a long, intimidating list! I know I won't get it all finished before she's born, but I'd like to get as much done as I can.

Yesterday (Sunday), I made some good progress on projects. First I worked on the lamp:

I used an old white lamp that had been in Micah's room before. I really love the shape of the base and shade, but the shade had seen better days. It was kind of dented and had some marks on it that made it look kind of old. So, inspired by this lamp done by Lindsay at The Pleated Poppy, I went to work at transforming it into a much better looking piece.

My next project was a Pinterest inspiration. I found this painted canvas when I was just imagining moving into our house, and have been planning to make it for quite a while.

I planned to buy a new canvas to make it on, but remembered that we had an old ocean painting hiding in the corner of our bedroom. It hung in our old bathroom but wasn't something that we liked all that well. So, I read the steps that the blogger laid out in her post about how she made this, and followed them - I thought.

I started by mapping out the circles.

Then I got to work painting - bye bye, ocean scene!

Here it is after I finished:

So, if you look back at the original, I guess I put my circles closer together than the original project had. But, I like it anyway. I'm thinking about changing the color of the third gray, because it seems to blend in a lot with the color below it.

Here are both of my projects, together in Micah's room:

I'd still like to paint that little shelf white, and then I feel like this one little part of the room is finished... one very little part!