We're not the least bit excited. Really.

TOMORROW'S THE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is what Baby Rumble looked like last time we had the chance to sneak a peak at our 7 week appointment:

Our "Raspberry Baby"
 

Now, being almost 19 weeks, our first visit seems like FOREVER ago!  Needless to say, we have been anxiously awaiting this day for what feels like an eternity.  We will be more than happy just to finally be able to see our baby again even if they can't quite determine the gender yet.  I am confident that Baby Rumble will be ready to show off for us though! :)

So many women I've talked to say they experienced mother's intuition during their pregnancies and "just knew" they were having a boy or girl.  No such thing for this lady! I am {clueless}.  But I think that's a good thing.  I will be pleasantly surprised and extremely overjoyed one way or the other! For someone that loves surprises, I'm pretty sure this one will go down in my book as one of my "best surprises EVER."

I am feeling really good and have lots of energy again (which will come in handy over the next couple weeks!) Nolan started taking my picture at 14 weeks and we are going to do our best to keep up with it... I'm sure there will be many more to come!

Love to all! Can't wait to share our news with the world tomorrow! 

Baby Rumble- boy or girl?

What do you think?? :)

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope." Psalm 130:5

Today's a big day.  Today marks the end of my first trimester of pregnancy... we are a 1/3 of the way there! :)  It's hard to believe that 13 thirteen weeks ago, this baby growing in my belly was just a prayer in my heart...  

Going from this...

to this...

 is an { indescribable } feeling.  

I can't begin to tell you how many times I've prayed over the years that the Lord would allow me to have a family with this man...      the love of my life :) 

p.s. (don't judge... I had been crying lots of happy tears and definitely had the FLU... 

wouldn't be a traditional Weeks' girl pregnancy without it, right??)

Nolan and I had prayed for and hoped to conceive for exactly one year when the Lord chose to bless us with the gift of pregnancy.  Our season of waiting seems minuscule when I think about women I've known who have waited for years upon years, or who are still waiting, hoping and praying for a child.  I am so humbled that the Lord would entrust me with such a high calling and important task as being a mother.   

I've realized a big portion of our lives involves waiting...  even now, I am waiting... waiting for my next ultrasound... waiting to see, boy or girl?... waiting for October... waiting.  However, in seasons of waiting, the Lord wants to mold us and prepare our hearts for His plan. 

If I've learned anything about waiting, it's the following:

* Regardless of the duration- whether its 3 months or 3 years- waiting is waiting, and it often requires a great amount of faith on our part.

* Many times, we are waiting because the Lord wants to stretch us, grow us, and teach us to place our hope in Him.  It's so easy to rely on our own strength and to believe that our plan is best.  God often uses seasons of waiting to teach us that apart from Him, we can do nothing, and only by His grace and through His power, can we live out His plan for our lives.      

* Waiting becomes a much lighter load when we surrender our desires and our plans to Christ and trust in His plan rather than our own.  Saying "I trust Him" and living like I do are two totally different things.  

So, as we wait, may Psalm 33:20-22 be our prayer:
           "We wait in hope for the Lord;
           He is our help and our shield.
           In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.
           May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord,
           even as we put our hope in You."

Lord, help us to count our seasons of waiting as some of our richest blessings.  How we love you and praise your wonderful name!

You're Beautiful

Do you ever hear a song that makes you think "Man, I hope I get to sing that in heaven!"??

This is one of those songs for me:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGlTzH9xkXQ

When I sing the words to this song, I imagine being amongst a sea of people that are bowing down before Christ and worshiping Him in all His glory.

Here are the lyrics ("You're Beautiful" by Phil Wickham):

I see Your face in every sunrise.

The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes.

The world awakens in the light of the day-

I look up to the sky and say "You're beautiful."

I see Your power in the moonlit night

Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright

We are amazed in the light of the stars. 

It's all proclaiming who You are- You're beautiful.

I see You there hanging on a tree-

You bled and then You died and then You rose again for me.

Now You are sitting on Your Heavenly throne-

Soon You will be coming home.

You're Beautiful.

When we arrive at eternity's shore-

Where death is just a memory and tears are no more

We'll enter in as the wedding bells ring-

Your bride will come together and we'll sing "You're beautiful!"

I see your face. You're beautiful.  You're beautiful.

Shew, Flu, Don't Bother Me

I have the flu.  

Anyone who's ever had the flu knows what it entails:  fever, aching all over (like you've been hit by a semi-truck), coughing, sneezing, sore throat, and the list goes on.  I should have learned my lesson though- it was around this time last year that I was out of commission for close to a week (which is FOREVER when you're a school teacher!) So, Mr. FLU, I have something to say to you: Next year, you will not have me.  I will dominate you with a flu shot! 

Even though I've felt quite terrible these last couple days, it's been nice to have some snuggle buddies to stay close by and keep me company:

Reesie and Roni :)

Roni is really starting to love his new friend, Reesie.  We adopted her about a month ago, and she is the sweetest thing ever.  At first, Roni was unsure about her and would bite her and try to chase her all over the apartment.  Now, they play together, take naps together, share food, and even give each other kitty baths :) I think they will be life-long pals and we love their sweet companionship.  Here are some other great ones:

We like to call her "Reesie Cat" :)

 

Chasing the sunlight.

Lounging around.

Playing with their favorite string :)  

 These kitties are livin' the dream! 

I think they are long lost siblings, don't you?? :)

In the Christmas Spirit....

Happy holidays, dear friends!  I've had entirely way too much fun getting our home in N.C. ready for Christmas :) Even though we'll only be here for two weeks to enjoy it, I'm really glad that I denied my inner thoughts of "bah-hum bug!" and went ahead with my decorating madness.  I blame it on the beautiful winter snow we received this past weekend :)  

 

Thanks to my years working at Strasburg and training from my momma-in-law, I can successfully tie a Christmas bow!  Looking pretty good, if I can say so myself :) I've posted some of my favorite ornaments below, too:

A few other touches of Christmas I've added throughout our home: 

Two Christmases ago, I found some beautiful crystal snowflakes to hang from the chandelier in our kitchen.  Roni loved to climb on the table and mess with them, but was NEVER to busy to stop and pose for a picture! :) Here is one of his best shots from last year's holiday photo session:

This year, I had to get really creative with where I could hang my snowflakes, but I finally thought of a perfect spot for them... what do you think??

 

No worries- I have already thought through the disaster that would occur if I were to turn our fan "on" on accident.  When I wake up in the mornings, however, this mobile of pure winter perfection lulls me back to sleep and makes me feel as though I am dreaming under a soft blanket of pure white snow :)

It's the little things that add so much holiday spirit... 

Merry Christmas, from our home to yours!

Let it snow :)

Happy December!

I can't believe it's been nearly TWO whole months since my last post!  I'm learning that with blogging sometimes you go through seasons where you feel like you don't have much to say and other times you feel so busy that you don't have time to stop and share what's on your mind... the lengthy hiatus between my last post and now is definitely due to the latter. 

Our last two months in North Carolina have been soooo good!  I started a new job as a kindergarten teacher assistant mid-October at this lovely school:

Sycamore Creek Elementary School in Raleigh

I am extremely thankful for God's provision and for really great people to work alongside! Sycamore Creek is a year-round school, so I work nine weeks at a time and then have 3 1/2 weeks off!  I am officially "tracked out" (year-round term- it was new to me, too!) for the entire month of December and I could not be more excited!  I am really looking forward to having several weeks to decorate our apartment, do my Christmas shopping, spend time with Nolan and Wake Forest friends, and then head home to be with family for the holidays. 

Nolan is wrapping up his first semester at Southeastern over the next two weeks with lots of reading, papers, and final exams.  I am so proud of the diligence and discipline with which he has poured into his first semester of seminary.  Seeing both the knowledge and spiritual growth that has taken place in Nolan's life and in his heart has been so affirming in God calling us here and has been truly inspiring for my own life, as well.  I know he is ready for some time off, though, and this month-long break will be just what he needs to feel rested and ready for the spring semester.  

We got our first North Carolina snow yesterday!  It was so beautiful... something about it that reminds me of God's gentleness and the peace that comes in trusting Him.

I had the lyrics to this song on my heart all day long:  

You could have come like a mighty storm

with all the strength of a hurricane

You could have come like a forest fire

with the power of heaven in Your flame

but You came like a winter snow

quiet, soft, and slow

falling from the sky in the night to the earth below

You could have swept in like a tidal wave

or in an ocean to ravage our hearts

You could have come through like a roaring flood

to wipe away the things we've scarred

but You came like a winter snow

You were quiet, You were soft, and slow

falling from the sky, in the night to the earth below

no, You're voice wasn't in a bush burning

You're voice wasn't in a rushing wind

It was still, It was small, It was hidden

You came like a winter snow

quiet, and soft, and slow

falling from the sky, in the night, to the earth below

You came falling from the sky, in the night, to the earth below

{"Winter Snow" by Audrey Assad and Chris Tomlin}

The Art of Antiquing

I absolutely {love} to shop for antiques!  It's something my sister and I really enjoy doing together.  Not everyone shares our passion for the art of antiquing, but we like to think we have "an eye" for things that can be reused, refurbished, or recreated into beautiful pieces of home decor.  Sure, not everything you find in an antique shop is vintage treasure, but that's the fun of it... on some days, you get insanely lucky and stumble across something really fun, rare, or beautiful...something you just can't pass up.  

Here's a few of my latest finds at one of our local antique shops in Wake Forest:

* A "weathered" anchor to hang in my beach inspired bedroom :)  

 * A vintage Sunkist milkglass juicer- soooo pretty! 

* And my "treasure" for the day? This 1920's armchair!

I had to pull out the "early Christmas present" ticket for this beauty!  It definitely needs to be reupholstered.  The blue velvet is old and nasty, but the arms and legs on this chair are what sold me!  So much potential to be a gorgeous piece of furniture.

 My two other treasures that I can't live without?

  My sleepy boys :)