Ring the Bell

Since I was a child I have always wanted to ring the bell for The Salvation Army, but never actually took the time to do it. You know multiple excuses and life getting in the way. Well, this year Bo's civic organization had sign up times. Bo jumped at the opportunity to sign us up. Bo and I took turns ringing the bell for 2 hours. I was amazed at how many people gave. I thought for sure that this year would be disappointing because of the economy, but it really lifted my spirit.

Bo ringing the bell.

New Dresser

Bo and I decided to get a dresser instead of a changing station. I really like the yellow against the paint.

Happy Birthday!!

Today is my mom's b-day and I just wanted to wish her a Happy Birthday.

Christmas Train

Christmas at our house wouldn't be complete without a train. Thank you Bo for putting ours out tonight.

More Stocking Fabric

I sometimes feel like a Christmas stocking factory. Lucky for me these don't have to be finished until next year. The penguin and the hat fabric are stockings for my Mother-in-laws house. The penguins will be for my niece and the Santa hat fabric will be for my son. The blue Santa fabric will be for my son at my parent's house. My mom has only one specification for the stockings at her house, they have to be made out of Santa fabric. It is really hard to find a small fun Santa print. I have to find one more Christmas fabric for the stocking for my son for at our house. I just haven't found one yet.

Candle of Peace

Last year I did a segment on different ornaments Bo and I have on our Christmas tree. I debated on sharing the meaning of this one, and decided not too. I think this year it the right time to do so. After I experienced my first miscarriage a friend of mine suggested that I buy a Christmas ornament to represent the child, hopes, and dreams that I lost at that moment. She told me she did this after she had a miscarriage. She said she had other ornaments on her tree for all her other children, and she thought why not represent the one she lost.

I thought about this for several months and one night Bo and I were in Hallmark getting an ornament for my nephew. We looked around and both agreed on this ornament. This weekend as we were unpacking our ornaments and decorating the tree. I thought about how far we have come on our pregnancy journey, and how close we are to having our first child. This ornament is bittersweet, but it will always have a place on our Christmas tree.

Like any good Hallmark ornament it has a little verse written on the box. This box says the following:
Let's light a candle

to shine in the darkness,
calming and soothing
til troubles all cease...
Let's light a candle
to dream, hope, and promise...
Let's light a candle of peace.

How much more appropriate can an ornament be.

New Niece

I'm an aunt again!

This is my brother-in-laws baby, Bo's Brother. She was born yesterday around 3:30 p.m. She was 6lbs. 8oz. and 19 and 3/4 inches long. Congratulations M & H!

Happy Birthday Bo!

I just love this picture of Bo because it reminds me of the fun we have together. He is an amazing friend and husband. I couldn't have asked for a better one, and I know that God gave him to me

Today is Bo's 37Th birthday!

It is amazing to me that Bo and I started dating about 2 weeks before his 31st b-day and now he is 37. My how time flies.

What's funny is that I meet his mom the week before his 31st b-day and she took our picture together in front of his Christmas tree. Little did I know that she was taking my picture home to show his grandmother and dad. I suspect that several other people that she knows saw the picture also.

But what was great about meeting her was that she asked me to come to her house a week later to spend the night and celebrate Bo's b-day with his family.

I graciously accepted, which several of my friends thought I was crazy for doing so. They didn't know why I would go an hour away with a guy I barely knew to meet his parents. Looking back this may not have been the smartest thing I have done, but I had already decided that Bo was the one for me, and I was going to marry him. So I guess I needed to meet my future in-laws. I had dinner with his mom, dad, grandmother, and an uncle. His brother came in two hours late so I just got to meet him, but not talk to him to much like had the rest. Earilier in the day I got to meet 2 other aunts and a few cousins and friends.

All of this meeting of the family would have made most people run, but I didn't. Bo and I were engaged 6 month later. I would have married him the day he proposed.

So in away Bo's b-day is how I judge the passage of time in our relationship. Now, that it has been 6 years later I'm amazed by all we have done together and how far we have come as a couple. We have our share of stuff to deal with and lately that has felt more overwhelming than ever. So it hasn't always be rosie but I wouldn't have wanted to spend these last six years with anyone else.

Happy Birthday Bo!!

Nursery Update

Bo and I have been really busy lately getting the nursery ready for the baby.

We got this chair at Babies R Us the day after Thanksgiving for half off. The blanket on it was handmade by my aunt. She also gave baby Bo the Lamb. I hate that she lives a 1,000 miles away from me.
Bo put together this book shelf on Saturday morning. It was something we picked up at Ikea a month or so ago.

I really like how the paint treatment turned out. Bo did an excellent job. He has come along way since we first meet. We did have a few moments when the crib wouldn't go together and then we looked at the directions together and figured it out. Bo is left handed and I think sometimes he looks at directions differently than right handed people. This can be an advantage in some situations.

We still have to remove some exercise equipment from the room.

We still have a long list of things that need to get done before the baby arrives.

Thinking

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately...which if you know me in real life this may be a little dangerous. But I promise that this time it isn't.

You see when I was a kid my aunt used to have poster of a dad and a boy fishing at a stream with the saying, "Give a child a fish he eats for a day. Teach a child to fish he eats for a lifetime."

I used to always have questions about it. Like what if I don't like to fish? or What if I'm allergic to fish and can't eat them? and so on. Needless to say it took me until I was much older to get what the saying was trying to teach me.

Well, now that I'm doing the nursery in a ocean them I'm trying to think of a way to incorporate this saying into some of the art I want in the room. Now, I just have to figure out how I want to do this. Any ideas?