Due Date

image thanks to Whit & Whimsy

Today is this little babies due date, which doesn't mean much, but I was hoping for a baby by now. P came 2 days before her due date so I was hoping there was a precedent for early/on time babies.

We are all ready for you little one; your room is ready, my bags are packed (I even repacked them this morning to make sure I had everything), the play list is made, the fridge is full, Gigi is here to be with P, we are set. Come, baby, come!

{this moment}

Busy little girl working on her 'project'.
This moment, inspired by SouleMama.

Highlighting {handmade}

I keep thinking I should pick up the needles and make a little hat really quickly but what if the baby comes and I am not finished? Maybe this afternoon I will cast something one, I have plenty of yarn options. This fall I made this little number for the little guy, I can't wait to get it on him! I imagine he will wear it everyday he can since it is so small, and the little ones grow so quickly. (thanks for the yarn, Sarah!)

Big sister showing off little brothers sweater (she had such a hard time staying out of the pictures!)

The Mister's cousin made this little number for the little guy, I am anxious to see him in it! I love the color and buttons are reportedly from the Mister's grandmother's stash that was handed down. So that adds a fun piece of family history to the jacket.

Having handmade things for this little baby is so sweet, I love the time and energy that was put into these sweaters, and I hope that they can be worn by others in the future.

testing testing

When life hands you lemons....this image is one of the first shot by me on our new camera. It is underexposed but oh so lovely because of the darkness. (in my opinion) Somehow the sun was bright enough on the lemon that it is more beautiful underexposed. This month was 'underexposed' (in my opinion); there was lots of darkness. But when the sun comes, it will warm us deep down in our bones; beauty will shine.

walking the ocean

walking the ocean, originally uploaded by 207 Living.

I am in the last (hopefully) week of this pregnancy. It has been a lovely time, the last 9 months! But the last few weeks have been full of ugly, Satan struck twice....if not more, and I look forward to the redemption of those attacks.

Right now this image strikes me because of the greatness of the ocean, the smallness of these little girls, and the life that is present. Soon, I will be walking or riding the ocean of labor, one wave at a time. Soon this little life will join us here in this big, beautiful, breathing world. Soon, our little family of three will be crashed with a wave of a baby, making us a family of 4. So much to take in, so much to process; we just take it one wave at a time.

Baby Bump Day

Big sister and Little Brother!
(And evidence that we are starting to replace some of the stolen goods.)

Good-Bye Things

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

Yesterday our house was broken into. (P says our house was broken in two, and holds up two fingers.) We are all still in one piece. It is a humbling thing to walk in to your home and see your things strewn throughout the house; drawers emptied, glass broken, things gone. But we have a good God who loves us and knows our disappointment in this situation.

So, we say good-bye to those things. And offer up thanksgiving for our protection in the situation, our safety and our health. We will choose to focus on what we do have; life to the full.

{this moment}

series Inspired by SouleMama

Merry Christmas

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

What a lovely day to celebrate, The Birthday of Jesus.

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

praying for a miracle

¹⁷ Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

¹⁹ The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights. -Habakkuk 3:16-19

In an ICU room full of (paper) angels taped to the walls and amazing women wearing yellow paper robes the nurse suggested Patrick was surrounded by his earthly angles dressed in yellow. I was blessed to be in the presence of those mighty women who rallied around their husband/son/brother. In the midst of receiving bad news yesterday, these women held onto their faith, and claimed His goodness; they Rejoice in the Lord.

Patrick is a friend from a while back whose life story has touched my life story in many ways. He has also touched so many others. People are praying from near and far for a Christmas miracle of Healing. Join me in praying for him.

"Heal Patrick now O God, this Christmas, we beseech you. Do not let him be taken from us, for that would break our hearts. Please help his doctors to find how to heal him, or heal him directly. Have mercy O God, and allow Patrick to know the joy of loving his wife and raising his daughter for many many years to come."

Getting ready for Christmas

Thankfully, P has had lots of time with her grandparents between Thanksgiving and Christmas! She was able to experience many traditions that might not have gotten done without the help of her grandparents.

At Oma and Opa's she got to experience the cutting of a tree (from the front yard) and all the men-folk hauling it in to the living room. This was done in true Griswold fashion. Surely, something she will never forget and probably something she will never see again.

Then with Gigi and Papa, P got to make sugar cookies and a gingerbread house. Both things I planned to do, but didn't know if I would get around to it. The cookies are LONG gone by now, but the gingerbread house sits on the mantle tempting all little ones who come to visit.

We are feeling ready for Christmas around here. And we are looking forward to our quaint little Christmas with our family of 3 before we grow to a family of 4.

Highlighting {handmade}

Today is P's last day of school before Christmas so they are having a bit of a party. The teacher instructed us to send them in red. I was going through her closet looking for red and found the perfect dress, a little on the fancy side, but perfect for Christmas!

This dress was made by my grandmother (probably about 50 years ago) for her daughter, my Aunt Ann. My parents salvaged it a few years ago as they cleaned out some of the closets at my grandparent's old house. It is a beautiful dress that apparently lost its buttons over the years. I didn't notice that detail until I had P completely excited to wear it so we safety pinned the back, tied the sash, and kept her hair down. Perfect!

aack, 10 Days

It's beginning to feel like Christmas, you know that rushed, frantic, how am I going to get everything done feeling? Yup, that is what I am feeling. And it is working double time, since just a month after Christmas we should be welcoming another baby; Baby Brother.

Luckily, we have already had 2 Christmas celebrations so most of the shopping is done. But what to get our special 3.5 year old daughter? And what to get the Mister? All I have space in my brain for is all the cute little gifts I want to buy baby brother. Somehow that is easier, especially since he doesn't really get Christmas gifts and he isn't here yet.

I try to slow down a bit when I think of all that needs to be done and remember really none of it NEEDS to be done. I try to rest in the season of Advent; of waiting. How do you wait in the rush?

Here is one way to take a few minutes each day to meditate on art and music.

Baking this Season

This morning while drinking my eggnog fueled coffee and eating eggs with arugula and feta (yum!) I drooled over the front page of the Washington Post Food Section....EXTRA YUM!

Image via the Washington Post

The pictures are tantalizing and the ingredients sound oh, so, delicious! Salty Chocolate Nutella Thumbprints, yes! Cheesecake Pecan Bars, uh-huh! Lime Thai Basil Shortbread with Passion Fruit Glaze; sure, I will try one!

And a nod to the upstart bakers; Whisked. I look forward to tracking these ladies through the city (they sell at Farmers Markets and this month at the Downtown Holiday Market) to try some of their creations!

Thank you, Food Section, for getting the creative baking juices flowing!

baby bump day

Friends, we made it through 1 whole month together! Thanks for joining me (whoever you are!?), I hope you enjoyed it. Now, I am taking a bow, and exiting stage right. We will continue to post here and there, maybe keeping up the baby bump day and highlight life here on S Street. (just don't look for a post everyday.) Cheers!

Christmas Cards

December is almost here (huge sigh of relief that my month of blogging is almost up). And with December comes lots of Christmas preparations. One of my favorite being Christmas Cards! We already have the perfect picture thanks to Danielle Hill, now we have to make the perfect card. This year I will be outsourcing to one of the lovely print houses, but here are some of our past creations:

2006

2007- didn't quite make it out before Jan. 1

2008

2009

2010 (well it was in the New Year so, 2011)

Christmas Card 2011, coming your way soon via USPS. Cheers!

Mini

The mini-photo shoots by Whit and Whimsy happened, they were quite successful, and lots of fun!

We ended up scheduling 4 of the 8 shoots, which, in the end we figured was about all we could handle. This pregnant lady was in need of a nap after 2 in a row; I over estimated my energy level!

Here are my favorites from each Family. (oh, yes, one had to cancel due to Croup)

It is hard to pick just one favorite from each shoot, there were so many cute ones! And each family was a joy to work with.

again, thankful

Tonight, I am thankful to be home. Mostly, thankful to be out of the car. We all did OK, but the time we spent going 5 mph on the Pennsylvania Turnpike was a real bummer. It seems getting back to DC is never easy; weather it is from the North, South, East, or West. We will be hearing traveling horror stories for the next week, it is always fun to hear how long it took someone to get back to our City especially when those stories include potty breaks in the woods!

Anyone drive home from Richmond today? How long was that drive?

More Gratitude

6 years ago, we were united before God, our family, and our friends.
I am full of Gratitude for that day and every day since.

Black Friday

What does Black Friday do to our spirits? This morning, already in the news, is a story of a woman attacking people with Pepper Spray to get her goods. Stories like this make me wonder what our consumer driven society is doing to our morals, or rather my HOPE that humans will be decent to other humans.

This article in the LA Times, however suggests that spending is good for the soul, and "our demonization of consumer culture....[is] self-defeating, particularly in an economic downturn."

What do you say? Did you go, and was it worth your time and lack of sleep to get 'the deal'?