Story of Now

39 weeks My little june bug- We are almost there! It could be any day now that you arrive. I will do my best to wait patiently. I get so excited sometimes. I just cannot wait to hold you and kiss you and see what you look like and see if you are a boy or a girl and smell you and snuggle you and tell you sweet things! Daddy and I started watching a documentary tonight about baby development in the first year of life...so interesting! We are ever amazed by this journey and it has barely even started! Hold on tight, your going to be on the outside soon.

I feel so fortunate to be able to capture the spirit of children. From their playfulness, to their seriousness, to their tender little hearts. A childs beauty never ceases!

36 weeks Dear little June bug- We are almost there! We finally got your room painted and daddy started putting together your crib that we got from auntie Heather. We also put together your stroller and practiced folding and unfolding it. Daddy was being so funny (you'll realize he is like that a lot!)You continue to move and shake and amaze us every day. I find myself being so excited I could almost burst at times! Me and daddy got maternity pictures done around the land here last week...yay, pictures of the two of us! You are our little (BIG) blessing. Just a few short weeks and you will be in our arms.

I hope to be as good of a mom as my mother has been to me. I hope my child knows that they can come to me with anything and that I will be there for them no matter what. I hope that I can teach values through simple lessons and modeling. I hope that I am generous and patient with them always. I hope to give them the freedom to play without constraint so they can discover their dreams. And I hope that my arms and shoulders are as comfortable as my moms too. Thanks Mom!!

This little boy turned 3 at the end of March and we have been waiting for a nice day to get pictures outside. The day he turned 3, his little sister turne 6 months! SO, finally last Wednesday they came for picture. I just love these two...they happen to belong to my dear friend Emily. He is such a big boy now...we were playing between trees! Just look at those eyes and those cheeks!! Seriously adorable! Emily bought this bench at a garage sale last year...score. So sweet! It looks like he is telling her a secret! I edited this one a little different; I like the old time feel! While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.

Our bodies will separate and you will rely on me to listen to your cues for what you need. Baby, I will do my best to give you what you need and be attentive to your cues. I will hold you and love you and give you all that I am!

Share love. Spread love. Be love!

Well, I must say that I love crafting and having a baby on the way has me exploring new crafts. I search for cute baby items and bookmark them. I am not someone who takes a tutorial or recipe or much of anything and follows it exactly. I am always making tweeks; sometimes it turns out and sometimes my way might be the long way. It is just the way my brain works I guess! This is a baby soft block, tutorial found here . If you didn't know already, I am in love with owls . I found this material at SR Harris Fabric Outlet , where all regular priced fabric is 50% off....love that! This block is so soft and squishy and is about 5 inches tall. Then I found a cute tutorial for a stuffed owl , and I just had to try it. As I said before I don't really follow the directions, so you can see how different mine looks...kinda cute but I think hers is cuter. I think littl June Bug will like it anyhow! I have also been wanting to decorate some wooden blocks. I ordered some 2 inch pine cubes fr...

I want to make some baby items! I have already made a couple of receiving blankets and a baby soft block . These items are next: wooden baby blocks - so many possibilities! stuffed owl - goes along with my owl obsession! Plus, I have some owl material that one of my friends wrapped a gift with, and I will have to come up with a project for that. Do you have any crafty ideas? Please share!

32 weeks Dear little June Bug- Everyday we talk to you and interact with you. We talk about how excited we are to meet you, hold you, kiss you, snuggle you, play with you... We talk about how our lives are going to change and what we need to do to prepare ourselves. We've been taking birthing classes and preparing for your arrival. It will be the beginning of your life outside of the womb. The bonding that you and I and daddy have had will only be made stronger! Everyone has their guesses about whether you are a boy or a girl, but only God knows for sure. This whole experience is just amazing. One of the things I look forward to most is seeing Matt be a daddy. I hold this image of him interacting with you and it just melts my heart. I am so excited to show you all the beautiful things in the world and also to learn things from you that I do not know. We love you.

Yesterday, my friends threw me a baby shower. It was so much fun and everyone was so generous. We are so blessed and feel so loved!! Cannot wait to meet our little june bug! I look forward to seeing the baby in all the cute outfits and playing and snuggling! I just imagine how incredible it is going to be the first time I hold my sweet little june bug and Matt is right next to me adoring... ahhhhh, just a beautiful feeling!

On April 2, I celebrated my 10 years of having quit smoking.! I remember when I had tried to quit before and it was always a struggle. I always thought of it as something I SHOULD do. "I SHOULD quit, it is bad for me." What was different the last time, when I was finally successful, was I WANTED to quit and believed it was possible. I knew I wanted to quit more than I wanted to continue. Oh, how I enjoyed blowing smoke rings and having cigarettes with my friends but I knew quitting was what I really wanted. I remember struggling with "what do I do with my hands." So, I started painting. I painted whenever I had free time. I painted just to keep busy and it worked. I also struggled with "how do I drive my car without having a cigarette?" So, I started chewing more gum and eating cinnamon Altoids. That probably lasted a few months and then I was over it. I don't remember when I stopped thinking about smoking but I know I dreamt about it all the time. Wh...

I made up some more quote cards for you to share or keep for yourself! http://visualessence.zenfolio.com/kindcards1_2.pdf If you want to share them, please link back to this post and not directly to the PDF, thanks! Enjoy!

Quite a few years ago I had written something down about how to practice unity and I kept it in my planner and looked at it from time to time. It went like this: Use the phrase "just like me" to signify your unity with others. Whenever you find yourself making an assessment of another person, whether you are saying something critical or something complimentary, right after you think or say it, add the statement "just like me." Unity refers to living in harmony with other people. It means working for a common cause with those around the globe who know that when one person gains, all gain, and when one fails, all fail. We are crafting unity when we build communities. Unity enhances harmony and solidarity. Unity balances/counters loneliness and individuality. I knew that when I had written down the practice there were other spiritual practices on the site that I got it from. I could not remember the site, so the other day I googled "to practice unity" and voi...

Source: ffffound.com via Krista on Pinterest How true it is! I often sit down to write or draw and find myself not wanting to start because I get afraid that the picture will be ugly or I will spell something wrong. What if someone sees this? I can tell you that when I do allow myself to just go with the flow and let my hand do the work without my thinking getting in the way, something magical happens. I feel in tune. I feel creative. I feel a spiritual connection. I feel like me.

It was a year ago that we suffered the loss of a baby with an early miscarriage. A year ago, my husband held me tight as we cried and felt our dream slip away and wondered what the future would hold. Now, my husband holds me as we feel our baby move inside me. We hold eachother and talk about the baby's arrival and dream of all the days that will follow. We feel truly blessed for this journey and all that God has provided us. I am 28 weeks pregnant...the start of the last trimester!! Yesterday, Matt and I went to my ultrasound appointment and the tech surprised us by doing a 3d ultrasound. So, so amazing. Look at our little june bugs lips, cheeks...nose. Awww...we are in love!! P.S. I will have to get some pics of Matt and I together with my baby bump real soon!

Christian D. Larson believed that people have tremendous latent powers, which could be harnessed for success with the proper attitude. Here is one of his works which was originally in his book "Your forces and how to use them." This writing is the optimist creed. I just love this and wanted to share.

I have always had a thing with words. I am attracted to them. The way they are spoken and arranged. The way that someones words can stick with me for years just the way they said it. I love famous words and uplifting quotes. I have written down and bookmarked quote after quote. Sometimes I search for just the right one. Yes, a little obsessed! So, I thought I'd share some quote cards with you. I keep these in my purse. Sometimes I pick a random one to read. Sometimes I leave one behind for someone to find. Print them out, keep them for yourself or spread them around. I print mine on bright white cardstock. http://visualessence.zenfolio.com/kindcards2.pdf If you want to share them, please link back to this post and not directly to the PDF. Live. Love. Laugh. Embrace.

25 weeks here, 26 1/2 weeks now This body isn't mine anymore. It has been taken over for a greater purpose. A purpose that I have dreamt about my whole life. Baby, every time I feel you move, I think about what you are up to in there. I think about the way you will wiggle and giggle when you arrive. I think about how much hair you have and whether you have my curved pinkies. I wonder if you are going to have your daddy's beautiful eyes and his generous spirit. I wonder if you'll think we are goofy or geeky. I wonder if you'll ever realize how much we loved you before we even met you. I gladly share my body with you and hope you stay comfortable because we got a little ways to go.

Well, I recently joined http://pinterest.com/ and let me tell you it is pretty addicting. So many neat, inspiring things all in one place! I just wanted to share a few things that I've pinned. I just love this quote and the way it is artistically expressed here. Source: etsy.com via Krista on Pinterest This little play grocery store brings back memories of childhood and how wonderful it was to be lost in imagination for hours! Source: google.com via Krista on Pinterest And this tree, with it's long shadow and gnarly branches....just beautiful! Source: yayeveryday.com via Krista on Pinterest So, I am having fun!! Live. Love. Laugh. Embrace.