When You Just Don't KNow What to Say.... Say Thanks

I have a friend who lives in Texas. Everytime she comes home to the 'burg to visit family, we try to have lunch or coffee or something. It's always a great time to catch up and I love hearing about her most recent Operation :) trips. About a year and a half ago I commented on a unique bracelet she was sporting - she informed me that this lady salvaged antique typewriters and made jewerly out of the antique keys. **how cool** Those of you who know me well, know that I was an Art major in college and that one of my concentrations for my degree was in metalsmithing/ jewerly making. So I loved the creative idea and recycling that was giving new life to old, old typewriters - and how neat to wear a "piece of history"

Well this Christmas my friend and I had scheduled to have coffee the week of Christmas - but she happened to stop by my work the Friday before as she was afraid that our lunch date would be canceled due to the impending snow storm... and she wanted to give me a gift. She said that ever since I had commented on her bracelet she had been looking for one for me - but since the letters spell out words (duh) she was looking for a particular word for the bracelet for me.

This is what she gave me.

How many times can I post about something that has blessed me on a deep and very personal level?? Hmmm... seems like EVERY post here recently! Her comment was that when she thinks of me; this is what she thinks of.

I have to say - I love it . I love the creativity - I love the history - I love the thoughtfulness of the friend who gave it to me.... again,

I have no words.

Full

Life seems so full to me right now - what with owning/running my own retail business, holidays, family, friends, husband and new baby! oh.. and a few Christmas weddings along the way - not to mention upcoming Bridal shows and teaching workshops... yikes! how did life get this busy??!

I keep trying to slooooow down. I promise, I really do. But somehow.....

Anyway - I can't believe it has been a month since I posted, and I thought I would give an update. And although life is Full. LIFE IS GOOD!!! Addison is growing, growing growing! She is a great eater! Still nursing every 2 hours - she will be 18 weeks tomorrow and we have her 4month check up on Tuesday. I can't wait to see what she weighs in at or how long she is... she seems very long! She loves people! In fact when new people come her way - she doen't cry, doesn't fuss (unless she's tired or hungry) she just looks at them. She really looks - intently- studiously at them - taking in all their detail almost like she is memorizing their face so that when she sees them again she'll recognize them. She talks constantly - giggling, squealing and laughing all the time! She is so alert - I can't get over how much she enjoys interacting wtih people. She lights up when she sees her daddy too!!!

Enough for now - I could go on forever enumerating the wonderful things about my little girl but I'll stop for now.

Speachless

Yeah, I know, hard to believe that anything could make me speechless. The last time I was rendered speechless - it was when my husband proposed to me and I was so speechless that he wondered if I was going to say "yes" - but that's another story for another day...Recently something happened that left me speechless and blessed beyond words. I struggle, even now, to put my thoughts and feelings into words...

In my last post, I shared with you about the amazing gift my thoughtful husband gave me the day our daughter was born. It was so sweet that I purposed in my heart that whenever someone commented on my necklace that I would honor him by sharing the story.

Not long ago, I was talking with a lady I know. As we approached our destination, she commented on my necklace. I proceeded to share with her the beautiful story of where it came from.

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Now I love jewelry, and one of my most favorite things is to purchase jewelry in conjunction with a special event, a trip etc. For example, I have a beautiful pair of handmade silver and peridot earrings that I bought at a cute shop when I went to a friend's wedding in Old Town Alexandria. So every time I wear the earrings, I think of her and her family and another dear friend that I re-connected with - so many great memories. I have a necklace that my husband bought me when we were in Venice - so every time I wear that, I think of the wonders & sights and sounds of Italy, as well as the good friends we were traveling with. I share this so that you can understand why the story behind my necklace is so important to me as well as the story that follows...

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My friend was genuinely excited for me as I shared the story of my necklace-for the birth of my daughter, and the thoughtfulness of my husband & all the emotions that come with the birth of a child . We parted ways for the afternoon. About 10 minutes later there was a knock on the door. This dear lady was standing at the door with her hands behind her back. She proceeds to tell me that she had something to give me - that she had bought a pair of earrings, but when she thought about wearing them she said God told her she was going to give them away this weekend. She shared with me that as she listened to my story she believed that God wanted me to have these earrings.

When she handed them to me, I was speechless.

Overwhelmed.

Blessed beyond words.

For in her hand was a pair of silver Tiffany&Co. earrings that would match my necklace.I am exceedingly blessed. No words. Just thankfulness.....and an overwhelming sense of God's love expressed through this awesome lady and her gift. Now, every time I wear these earrings, I will think of this sweet lady, my friendship with her and a God who endeavors to bless me in so many ways.

A Gift to Remember

I gave birth to Addison in the wee hours of a Friday morning in August. Later that same day, while I was in the ladies' room - a mysterious gift bag appeared on my pillow. Inside the gift bag was another bag - a bag with the above logo. Inside that bag was a silver box - engraved with my name, "wife" and "mother" It was a gift from my husband in celebration of Addison's birth. Inside the silver box was a beautiful Tiffany necklace with a silver heart - a heart that was to be engraved with our daughter's name and birth date.

What a thoughtful gift that made me feel so loved, cherished appreciated. It was made even more special to know that while I was waiting for little girl those last days, my husband was making plans of his own to bless & surprise me.

All of which I was :)

Because She's Just so Cute

What better way to celebrate my 100th post than with pictures of the cute little girl that had completely changed my days...
And I KNOW that her furture is so bright - the girl's gotta wear shades :)

This Past Weekend

Was a big wedding... Enjoy the pics!

Cute Girl

What's in a Name....

I have always thought how great it would be to pick out a name for my child - I thought no big deal - there are lots of names that I like. However, when it came time to pick out a name for little girl - I was at a loss. For a couple of months I liked one name, then I didn't like it so much. The I would like another name. My husband finally suggested that we each create a list of names and then we would compare it. Were any the same - NOPE - not at all. So then we decided that we would each create a "top 5" list. Which we did. Then we rated our own list and then the list of the other - any agreement - not really.



So we waited - hoping a great inspiration would strike.



Back in February, when I first realized just how frustrating choosing a name was going to be, I said to God - " You know Lord, it would be really nice if you named the baby - in fact could you just tell Glenn in a dream what we should call Little Girl" As the months went by, I found myself asking that over and over - "Lord, could you tell Glenn her name in a dream" Now why was I asking for it to be in a dream???!!! I don't know - it's just the way the prayer came out of my heart.

March, April, May passed - still we were no closer to a name. June came, then July - still no name. And Baby Girl was due July 29th! Honestly, it really started to get embarrassing, people were now asking 'So what's her name" To which I would reply "We haven't decided" and then their response would be " Oh, so you are keeping it a secret?"

Nope - we're just that lame - we haven't landed on the right one yet;)

We did, however, decide on a middle name "Elizabeth" in honor of Glenn's sister who introduced us and so is somewhat responsible for all of this. And as it turns out Elizabeth is a family name on both sides of our families.

Even during labor - my midwife asked what her name was going to be...

Now back up 2 weeks before Little Girl arrived.... Glenn comes to me and says - "you I had a dream the other night, and ever since then I've got this name stuck in my head and I just can't shake it." Now this name was not on either of our short lists. And I perked up and paid attention as it was a name that came to him in a dream - I didn't say anything to him at the time- I wanted to wait it out and make sure there weren't any other names that might show up in a dream. Quite honestly I was caught off guard.

So there we were, in the labor room, Little Girl had just been born. The midwife asked "So do we have a name?" My husband looked at me and said "Do we?" To which I replied "Addison"
He asked me if I was sure - and I replied "Most defiantly, I asked God to tell you her name in a dream and He did"

My husband told me I was holding out on him. maybe I was - just a little - but I had to wrap my brain around the fact that God had indeed granted me my request - He named my little girl.

Addison Elizabeth: Addison is of Old English origin with the spiritual connotation of "In God's Image" Ez 36:27 "And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes & be careful to observe my ordinances."
Elizabeth is of Hebrew origin that means "Oath of God" with a spiritual connotation of :"Consecrated"

So I take this as a promise from the Lord, and a small glimpse of the wonderful plan He has for her life. I am honored and blessed that He has entrusted us with the care, teaching and up bringing of this precious little girl.

Pics - as Promised

So last Friday Saturday was spent working on transforming EMU's Discipleship Center (yep - the one on the Hill). Now for those of you that live areound here, you may be thinking to yourself - "the discipleship center???!!!! for a WEDDING!!!" And for those who don't live around here - I snapped a few pics of what it normally looks like.

BEFORE:

Not so pretty - kind of dirty - spots in the carpet, ugly blinds on th windows and a strange window inside the building that is on the 'front' wall where the ceremony is to take place.

AFTER:

Maternity Leave??!!

I have to laugh a little bit when I think back over the past six weeks (That's right my little Addison is 6 weeks old today) and my Maternity Leave - or half leave or sometimes-go -into-work-leave. It started with Addison being a week old and my leaveing her with daddy that Saturday to - yep- go into the shop for a bridal appointment. Then, in sibsiquint weeks, going in to do wedding work on Thursdays, Friday's and Saturdays. Today is no different - I spent a full workday hanging fabric for a big wedding tomorrow.

And tomorrow it's another full day of work delivering and setting up all the flowers.

(It looks beautiful and i'll post some pics)

Check it out!

www.glimpsephoto.wordpress.com


Samples from today's photo shoot with Glimpse Photography. These are so amazing that I can't wait to see all the proofs!

Welcome Baby Girl!

Glenn and I welcomed Addison Elizabeth early Friday morning (August 7) at 2:17 am! She was 7lbs & 3.8ozs and 20" long. Not bad for being a week + overdue!

I would love to share her birth story - but it's a long one and at the moment I'm really tired and think that I might fall asleep here as I type! Suffice it to say that it started with my 41 week appointment (Wednesday afternoon) that included an ultrasound to check my amneotic fluid levels and a non stress test to check out Addison's heart rate... and ended with her birth Friday morning at 2am with the midwife commenting that Addison's labor/delivery was 'unconventional'. Through it all we saw God's provision, favor, mercy and grace at every turn!

We are blessed beyond measure - Addison is a gift the is exceedingly, abundantly beyond anything we could have imagined!

Still Waiting~

Patiently. At least I hope it is patiently.

Not Yet

So little girl has decided to take after her mommy and be fashionably late :) I'm not really all that bothered. I've got some things I'd like to do this weekend, so if she wants to wait until nest week I'm fine with that. Since opening my shop 13 years ago - I've learned to take each day as it comes - and most importantly - I've learned that things don't always go according to MY shcedule. I've learned to go with flow of the day - if I have plans, well, they are subject to change at a given moment, a given phone call. So I've adopted the same attitude with the arrival of Baby Girl. I took the due date 'under advisement' and haven't focused too much on THE day. In fact it was rather fun last night, when at Target, I ran into 4 ladies, 3 of which were prgnant and some had just fould out if they were having a boy or girl. When they asked my due date - to which I replied it's today! They just couldn't believe I was out and about on my due date! I just thought it was funny!!!

So here I am, working on a wedding, waiting for baby and focusing on enjoying the last few days of 'togetherness' that Bay Girl and I have :)

Happy Thursday to you all!

For those who are wondering...

still pregnant... no baby yet

Blessings..

So recently I have been feeling VERY blessed. I've posted before about the blessings my friends and family have heaped on me with wonderful gifts for Baby Girl. But I wanted to take a moment to recognize some random blessings I have received:

One being a brand new Sony 19" flat panel TV that won from Costco! Wow - was I ever surprised. I remember sitting thanking - Lord, it would be really nice if I won that TV - next thing I knew, they were calling my name as the winner! Wow - thanks Lord ;)

Another being this:

A beautiful bassinett for the living room. Someone that my husband knows insisted that we take the bassinet that she was done with...this was so, so beyond anything I could have imagined when my husband had told me about it.

And for those of you who would like to see the latest tummy...

Week 39

Here it is week 39 (well as of Wednesday the 22nd) and baby and I are just hanging out:)

Today was exciting as I received my new cloth diapers - in quite the array of colors! Just another item that brings me one step closer to being ready for baby girl.

I also saw my midwife. Good news is baby is in a great position, blood pressure is good, weight is good - basically everything looks perfect. Yea! that makes this momma to be very happy. Right now as I type this, she is just moving around, and moving around and moving around some more - it's gotten to be quite distracting but I'm trying to soak up and enjoy every minute of it as I know that my time of feeling her move inside of me is drawing to a close. And while that is a little sad - I'm so, so looking forward to meeting this little girl!

The Baby's Room

So Ta-Da, here it is - the baby's room! I snapped a few quick pics. This is one corner of the room that has the antique rocking chair that I'll be using in the middle of the nite ;) The pictures on the wall are a Victorian costume painting/sketch that I did in college, a poster print of a Da Vinci sketch of Mary, baby Jesus, Elizabeth and John that I got at a the musem in England where I saw the original and the 3rd is an antique mother/daughter print.Wall hanging, antique chair and dried flowers...I just love the texture in the wall hangingDresser that used to be in my mom's room when she was a teenager (it was in my room too as a teen)

I love this little shelf - the figurine is a music box & the little purse was a wedding gift...

This is a one-of-a-kind handcrafted stained glass mobile that one of my employees made for Baby Girl. It is the neatest thing! She makes jewelry and stained glass windows I just love it!!!

Here's the handmade cradle that was made for Glenn and his siblings with the Baby Girl's new quilt displayed on the wall and her collection of stuffed animals on the floor beside it!

The matching diaper stacker ...

And no your eyes do not deceive you - the walls are 2 different colors! Two of the walls are a light grey and the opposite 2 walls are a sage green...another shot of the stained glass, cradle and quilt & another antique Victorian print

Current changing table with a view and the satin & sheer sage curtains.


So I guess we're ready now to just add Baby Girl:) I'll be 39 weeks on Wednesday!

38 Weeks Today

.... wow .... only 2 +/- weeks to go :)

I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be ...

37 Weeks

Wow - 37 weeks!!!! The reality hit me a little bit more on Sunday that I'm not always going to be pregnant. I know that sounds silly - oh, course I won't always be pregnant. But I don't know if it's because this pregnancy has gone so fast or if I have just been accepting everything as it comes but it is like I have just come to completely accept the round figure I'm sporting and the amazing movments I feel everyday of Baby Girl moving as just a part of every day life. But on Sunday, Glenn and I went and took the Family Birthplace tour - now being a florist, I have been on the maternity floor numerous times - but I had not spent any time in the delivery rooms - especially with a labor and delivery nurse showing you all the options they had available for delivery. Somewhere in my mind the thought occurred to me - I AM going to have this baby - and sooner rather than later! I'm due in 3 weeks!!! yikes!

Most people recently have been asking how I'm doing - and honestly, except for my ankles and feet bearing a strong resemblance to an elephant's.... I feel great! I'm a little uncomfortable when I have been sitting for awhile and then stand up - it's like baby has to reposition herself from me sitting to me standing. But overall, I still feel good! Hopefully, I'll get a chance to snap a photo this week to add to this post :)

Work Baby Shower

My sister, who is also my manager at work, pulled together a Baby Shower that incorporated the ladies that work for me + a few other friends. They decorated in pink and even made me a Miss America style sash the said "Pregnant Princess" - ha ha ha ha Sparkly baby shoes :) - in purple, of course

This baby blanket (below) was stitched and made for me by my grandmother Miller when I was a baby. It is one of 2 blankets that I named and carried evreywhere!

Ths is the "Naked Baby" cake that was just too funny for words!

More flowers :)

Hope you enjoyed them as much as I did ! I just love the play of texture with the all white and greem