He's Here!!

Asa arrived Tuesday, June 23rd at 12:39 PM after 36 hours of induced labor. He weighed 8 lbs. 3 oz. and is 22 inches long with a full head of dark hair. He was definitely worth all the work to convince him it was time to come out! :)

We are taking it easy, especially thanks to my parents' help this week. :) Here are a few pictures, since I anticipate crafty updates being rather few and far between for awhile. I WILL post about the baptismal gown Mom and I sewed for Asa very soon though. It was one of the things we did to pass the time during Asa's two week "extra" stay in the womb. :)

It's About That Time...

... the hospital just told us to come in at 11:00 tonight (in one hour!) to be admitted and get this show on the road! Stay tuned....

Almost time!

Unless labor begins sometime this afternoon, we are supposed to call the hospital this evening to see if there is a bed available, and if so we will check in tonight to begin prep for an induction. Asa should be here by tomorrow night! Just wanted to give a little update. :) If everything goes smoothly, we are hoping to come home by Wednesday. No guarantees on an update at that point, but we'll try for a picture and stats. :) Please pray! :)

Still waiting...

Well, Asa was due June 10, but it is now June 15! Silly me, I really thought he'd be here by the 14th or 15th. He'll have to be a speedy baby if he wants to make the midnight cut-off for that "mother's intuition." :)

But, we've waited all this time, what's a few more days, right? It IS kind of humorous to watch the days tick on. We have a countdown on my google homepage that's been counting down to June 10 since we found out we were pregnant (Sept. 30), and actually before that we had a countdown for over a year when we were wanting to try but God was telling us to wait. That countdown started at 408 days, then we had the pregnancy countdown when He so graciously created this little life, that was 280 more days. Almost two years of praying for and anticipating this one special day (and a lifetime of days to follow). Wow. Now I've switched it to a "count up" showing how many days we are past the due date.

If he doesn't come by Wednesday, we have another biophysical profile and a check-up. And I imagine they will set a date to induce (the 22nd or 23rd if everything is okay). We are hoping and praying we won't need the appointment Wednesday, much less an induction date!

My mom is here now (she drove down Friday) waiting with us. It is SOO nice to have her here and KNOW she will be in town for Asa's arrival. She is also great at thinking up random errands to run while we wait. Hopefully the rest of the grandparents will have a reason to head down SOOOON!!! :)

We'll keep you posted!

Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You are!

... just in case you are wondering, Asa is due tomorrow but there is no sign of him coming yet. :) I am actually feeling really well and still sleeping and napping. Today I even ran several errands--the pet store, the craft store, and two grocery stores. :) I also sewed 1/2 dozen cloth napkins, put away all the groceries, emptied the dishwasher, and folded a load of laundry. We're just waiting for him to made his grand debut!

In the meantime, check out these ADORABLE name letters our friends had made for us! :) They match his bedding PERFECTLY! I just can't wait til the little guy is in HIS room with HIS letters. :)

For real

Yesterday I sewed my nursing cover. It felt very "real" to be making one for ME and not for someone else. How crazy is that? I found the front fabric online on clearance. At the time I ordered it I wasn't sure what I would use it for. When it came and we found out we were having a boy, it just seemed right for the nursing cover. The back material I found at JoAnn's.

I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I just still can't believe it's for me! :)

Asa's Mural take II (complete!)

Please read more about this project in the post below, but I went ahead and finished up the mural this afternoon. Here are pictures of it completely complete! :)

the tree, with its little friend the raccoon :), and a bin of toys

our "carved" initials

Looking up at the leaves and branches

Matt insisted (in the nicest sort of way) that I "sign" my work like a real muralist :)
(don't mind the baseboards... they'll be replaced eventually anyway, though not anytime soon--don't worry! We're not completely crazy!)

Asa's Mural

All along, we (I/my husband sweetly went along with it) had a vision for a nursery with vertical stripes painted. I actually first saw the idea in high school and loved it. In high school, I also saw an HGTV design show where they did a backyard/forest theme in a nursery. As part of the decor, the designers painted a tree on a wall and hung a birdhouse on the trunk. I thought it was SUCH a sweet idea and filed it away in my brain.

"All these years later," Matt has so sweetly and diligently helped me bring that vision to life. He marked and painted all the lines in the room, which was a huge undertaking. And he has encouraged me as I thought through the tree mural I wanted to do on one wall. He has done a ton in the room, and I told him I wanted two projects: the tree mural and curtains. He's been chomping at the bit for the tree to be painted for awhile, but he has waited patiently until I was done with teaching. This week I really wanted to get started on it, because we were both excited about it and I knew it was mostly a matter of working up the nerve to begin freehand drawing and painting on the wall (eek!).

Last Saturday I drew the tree trunk and branches on the wall. On Sunday we picked paint colors, and on Monday I began the painting process. He has been SO supportive and encouraging the entire time. His affirmation is such a gift to me, especially when stretching and trying something I've never done before. :)

As it stands today, there are a handful of leaves I need to touch-up, one place on a branch I want to smooth out, 1-2 leaves I want to add, and lastly I will paint our initials on the tree as though we carved them in (and add Asa's and his birthdate... once we know when that is). :) I can finish it today or this weekend at the latest. But I had to go ahead and show you--we are sooo excited! Matt also stained one of the birdhouses (the other 2 will be stained as well and are on display on shelves in the room) and hung it on the trunk. We love the whimsical touch it adds to Asa's forest room. :)

As I was painting the tree, I thought of all the other things it can lead us to talk about with Asa. We can talk about the seasons (since it's a kind of difficult concept to grasp in Florida, in my opinion) :), but more importantly we can talk about our family tree and most importantly the tree of life and Jesus, who hung on a tree. We are so.... excited seems like not quite the right word, thankful? reverent?... to share with Asa all God has done from the beginning of time. All He has done for us in our lifetime--and in our families before us. How we pray for Him to grow and flourish like this tree, with roots deeply drinking from the Father, the True source of Life.

Celebrating Asa

Before my last day, I wanted to do something special with my class. Hopefully, it would be something I/Asa could save as a special memento of this year and my students. I remembered a kindergarten teacher back in TN had neat instructions for how to make animals from handprints. I couldn't think of where to find the few pages of hers that I copied, so I browsed online. I found a book that sounded like it would have some possibilities, and then I found out our library carried it! I requested it to be transferred to our library and held for me right away. After looking through it and playing around with arrangements on the computer, I came up with a plan for a forest animal handprint quilt. The kids made porcupine/hedgehogs (it depends on whom you ask), big birds (robins and a blue jay), rabbits, owls, and everyone contributed a thumb print to a caterpillar (for 4 total caterpillars). The aunt of one of my students volunteered every Thursday, and she helped them make their quilt squares a couple weeks ago. I LOVE how they turned out, and I love how seriously the kids took it. The porcupine/hedgehog-gers wanted to make them as realistic as possible, adding white tips to the ends of their quills. They discussed different types of owls as they made owls (the aunt is a wildlife rehab specialist). It just worked out perfectly.

While the entire quilt isn't done (it needs a back and binding), I promised the kids I would sew their squares together before I left so they could see it. I took it in on Thursday, and they were SO proud of themselves... I am SO proud of them! I really love this sweet way to remember them and tell Asa about a classroom full of 20 children who talked to him everyday since they found out he was inside me. :)

Without further ado, here is a picture of the unfinished quilt.

click on the picture to view it larger :)

Catch Up....

... I know it's been a REALLY long time since I have posted. I have been getting ready to hand my class over to a replacement who was hired for me for the last month of school. It comes at perfect timing--I'm fighting asthma triggered by either a cold or allergies and am more exhausted than I thought possible. But today was my last day.

It was stressful because I just wanted everything to go well. There were some snags, like the pizza I ordered for our lunch party not coming until we had 5 minutes of lunch left (I called around 10 and asked for it to be delivered at 11... it came at 11:25). Thankfully, the other math teachers were very flexible and gracious and let my students (whom they teach for math) eat the lunch that finally arrived before heading on to math. Matt stopped by too, which the kids absolutely loved. :)

My plan had been to leave the room at about 1:30, and my replacement would read them stories until the bus and parent pickup bells rang (1:40 and 1:45). I thought if I stayed in the room until the last minute, I'd have to peel kids off of me. That's not the "last memory" I wanted them to have. But they brought so many gifts (SO sweet!) and all wanted me to open them in front of all of them (I normally don't do that, because I would never want one who didn't bring anything to feel bad) that I went a little over! After the gifts, I wanted all the focus to be on THEM. :) So we had our awards ceremony, and my replacement put their gifts from me on their desks. Then we had a talk about how different is different, not wrong. So while I do things probably very differently than their 2nd grade teacher did, we still had a GREAT year together. And they give each other the freedom to be different, so I asked them to please give my replacement the same freedom. I told them they don't even have to tell her when she does things differently. If they think of that, they can just think it to themselves and decide to enjoy learning a different way something can be done. Some of them were already tearing up at that point, and then the bus rider bell rang (that talk lasted only about 5 minutes). I knew I had to leave the room, so I started to say, "Okay, I'm going to go ahead and leave," but then I lost it. I apologized for crying, which I think was actually a God thing. Not only did they see how much I care and that this is NOT an easy decision for me, but they were so sweet--immediately their focus shifted to trying to make me feel better. Instead of crying themselves, they put on a brave face and told ME it was okay and told ME not to cry. :) I told them I love them, that their gifts were on their desks for when they were dismissed, that they are going to have a great end of the year, and that I will see them in the fall when I bring Asa for lunch one day. Then I got up and left before I think they even realized what was happening. I went and hid in the library (just down the hall) until they were gone. My replacement said no one was hysterical and that some seemed like they wanted to cry, but it all happened so fast that they didn't. I'm SOOO glad.

I don't know why it was harder to say goodbye to this group than others I've had. With other classes, I was sure I would cry the last day but didn't or only a little in the car on the way home. I think a piece of it is the finality of leaving classroom teaching for a whole new realm of teaching and nurturing as a stay-at-home mom. And pieces of it are the way we really bonded as they took ownership of Asa themselves as honorary aunts and uncles (so they tell me), and I think there was just something different with this group. There's always been at least one that really stood out as needing extra love. With this group, there were lots. I think back to knowing Matt and I hoped to have a baby last summer, to get pregnant a year before we actually ended up trying, but God told us to wait. I think about what I would have missed if we'd been disobedient. If we'd chosen what we wanted instead of what He wanted.... I wouldn't have known any of these kids. There are lots of reasons we see this is the PERFECT timing for Asa to join our family and we KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that not only was obeying and waiting another year the right thing solely because it was obedient, but because of countless other circumstances we have seen unfold. I KNOW I was supposed to teach this class this year. I KNOW this group of precious children whom my heart aches for right now is a major factor in God directing us to wait. I don't know what all lessons I will realize as more time to think through my year with them passes, but I do hope and pray He has used me to plant seeds, eternal seeds, in them this year that others will encourage and nurture as they grow older. I am so thankful for this year, as painful as it was last year to wait when I didn't understand why. My heart ached then, but it is FULL now (as much as I'm missing those 20 smiling faces). God is SO good.

Take Cover!

Nursing cover, that is. :) I actually managed to take pictures of the nursing cover I made for a friend before I delivered it to her... at the hospital! She got the fabric to me the end of the week, and then she went into labor Saturday night! On Sunday afternoon we got to go see the happy, healthy family and deliver the now-needed nursing cover. :)

My friend and her husband picked out the fabric--I love their choices. :) I have to admit, I sewed the top seam three times because I just wasn't happy with it! Her contrasting dark brown thread showed every little imperfection on the front as I tried to sew tightly next to the boning in the neckline. So I ripped out the seam after attempt #2, put a spool of light blue thread on as my top thread and left the bobbin of dark brown thread to go with the underneath fabric. PERFECT! MUCH better. :)

front fabric

back fabric

I even matched up the stripes! :)

Oops...

I did it again. ;) TWO more times!! I have sewn gifts for two MORE baby showers, and I have forgotten to take pictures each time! Arg!

For the first of the two, the mom is an UGA fan and dad is a FL fan. I made two UGA burp cloths for Mom (one with a paw print and red/black & white polka-dot ribbon and one with the UGA "G") and one gator burp cloth for Dad (a gator with baby Dinah's name above it). I also gave them a onesie I sewed that said "cute as a " with a sweet little flower button after the words.

For today's shower, I had EVERY intention of remembering to take pictures this time. Then it took a lot longer to sew them than I thought and I was running late. :-( In my frazzled state, I forgot to take pictures and forgot the gps (what did we do before gps.... google maps... and before that.... regular maps... how far we've come!) to find my way to the shower. Thankfully, I called Matt from my cell phone (more gadgets!) and he looked up the address on google maps, directing me where to turn. :) hehe Anyway, I made one burp cloth for baby Caleb with a lion that said "wild thing" above it, one that just had a fun polka-dot print down the center with red ribbon on either side, and one with FL gator ribbon up either side of the center with Caleb's monogram in the middle in orange and blue. :) I also made them a gator ribbon paci-clip.

I have one more shower I am sewing for, so maybe that one I will actually take pictures of and post them! Wouldn't that be amazing?? :)

We are doing well otherwise. :) Hubby is busy at work, and I am busy at work (but so glad FCAT is over!). Spring break is coming, which we are both very excited about! WOO HOO! Then we'll be back for a week, then Hubs' sister is getting married so we'll be road tripping again. Then I'll have just TWO weeks left at work before I begin my leave. It's shocking how fast it's passing.

Stay tuned--hopefully I'll have some more crafty pictures to post soon. Dinah's mom (see above) is due ANY day now and requested a nursing cover. I'll try really hard to remember to take a picture of it before I take it to her! :)

Blessings,
Becca

2 Blocks Down....

??? to go!

I have now sewn 2 blocks for Asa's wonky log cabin quilt. I honestly haven't decided how many blocks I'll make/what the quilt's final size will be. I'm just kind of taking it in as I go along. :) When Mom was visiting to help us with the nursery, she and I found some great blue cotton that really makes the blue in the quilting fabrics pop. I'm thinking I may make the quilt 4 blocks x 5 blocks. Maybe 4x4... we'll just have to see. It's been nice, now that I have the hang of it, to know I can just sit down at the machine and whip out a block in a decent amount of time. :)

Without further ado, here are the 2 blocks I have made so far...

The first block I made

The second block I made

Both blocks together

Update!

It's been awhile--whew! Since my last post, we have a nursery most definitely underway. :) I'm going to sew curtains--and they are not cut or sewn yet, BUT we have the fabric for them. :) But other than that, the room has a LOT done thanks in large part to my husband and my mom (who came down for a weekend with the furniture and to help!). :)

The biggest job was painting the room! 50 stripes in all spread across 3 walls. Matt did an AMAZING job!

There will be curtains, as I said, :) and a little table and rocking chair here at the end of the crib.

Close up of the crib. The bedding is called "Enchanted Hollow" and has forest animals--exactly what we were looking for! :)

Again, we'll have curtains. :) And I'm painting a (simple) tree mural behind the raccoon bean bag

Other side of the room

Everything is still somewhat of a work in progress, as far as things hanging on walls go (I think Matt probably appreciates me not putting any holes in the wall right now after he worked so hard to paint them! ha! :) ) and organizing the bookshelf. But it's come a LONG way!

Lastly, I've been going through and doing Asa's laundry. The question is just how to organize it! :) I'm sure I'll end up tweaking things after he's here and I figure out what works for us. But so far I have onesies (in the the size he'll probably be wearing), gowns, sleepers, sleep sacks, and swaddle-mes in the top drawer of the changing table for easy access.

The middle drawer has socks, hats, mittens, etc. (and extra room beyond that, of course). The bottom drawer has crib and pack n play sheets.

Then in the armoire (I guess I didn't post a picture with it, but it's next to the raccoon bean bag), I have blankets in the top drawer. It has another drawer and 3 shelves in the cupboard part of it "up for grabs." And then we have the closet. :) Right now, I have things organized by size then then by type of clothing within that size group (onesies, shirt/pant outfits, long-sleeved things, etc.).

Does anyone have any great tips for organizing?!? Any wonderful way they stored things? And is there some magic "perfect" way to fold a onesie? :)

Quilt Block #1

I have not been able to go by JoAnn's and pick the sashing fabric yet, but I wanted to show you my first block for the wonky log cabin quilt! Here it is! After I add one more strip to each side for sashing, I'll be able to square it up. Then after I have more blocks, I can sew them together for Asa's quilt top! I don't imagine it will be enormous, but I am having fun. And I really think it's the perfect quilt for a beginner, as it's not designed to be even and straight! Ha! :)