anticipation and thankfulness, or pregnancy and baby showers

Tomorrow is 38 weeks on the baby wait calendar.  And it has made for some interesting personal reflections.  It has been interesting seeing how my thought process has evolved from when I was expecting no. 1.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote this post about my insecurities about being a momma of two.  Since then...I have realized more and more strongly that things will work out.  Not easy, lots of hard work, but exactly how God plans them to be.  I have an amazing husband, supportive family, dear friends, and a heavenly Father who are always with me.

The point is that I am really looking forward to having two.  I am very aware that my time will be even less my own than is currently the case but does it matter when you have another pair of arms to nurture so that they will give me hugs and cuddles like Hito does already?  I don't think he quite knows that he is going to have a sister but that's ok.  =P  He is growing into quite the affectionate, curious, mischievous little guy and I can't wait to have another little person in our house.

Am I being very biased if I say he is getting to be too stinking handsome?

One of the things that I am so thankful for right now are a church family and dear friends who mean the world to me.  These ladies threw me a baby shower about a month ago and that was when it really set in that another baby was going to enter our lives.

My dear friend Kristin (who you have heard me talk about regularly) threw me the shower and did such an amazing job!  I felt so spoiled and loved!  I mean, just look at what she did!  She knows that this book, Jamberry, is one of my absolute favorite children's stories and used it as the theme for the shower - it was to die for!

Kristin used the book as a guest book!  It was the sweetest idea!

And her decorations on the dessert table alone are kind of amazing!  And the food was fantastic too!

Kristin, thank you so much for the time and effort you put into this shower and for your sweet friendship.  You are a huge source of encouragement and love and growth to me and I thank God that He put both of us in the same church with the chance to meet and grow together!  Xoxo!

Check out Kristin's blog for more pictures too!  (As well as her website because she is kind of amazingly talented and makes beautiful bridal and hair accessories!  She even made me a hair piece for the shower - but you have to go check out her blog to see that!)

Have a beautiful day!

my end of pregnancy style staples

I am less than a month away from my due date and it is now a daily battle to find something to wear.  A battle to find something that makes me feel remotely fashionable and cover the rather large baby bump I've got going on.  =P  I will admit, there are a few things that people will be seeing me in rather regularly from here on out.  So in case there are any other mommas out there who need something to cover their baby bump, here are my suggestions!

~The Nursing Friendly Maxi~

This dress is so easy to wear that I have been kind of living in it.  It can dress up, down, or in between and is specifically designed to transition with you once baby comes.  The criss-cross front is modest but definitely stretchy enough to easily accommodate the breast-feeding momma!

Liz Lange for Target

~The best pregnancy pants I have found~

I had been hearing great things about Gap's maternity wear and hadn't needed anything so I hadn't bought anything.  Well an amazing coupon code showed up in my email a few weeks ago and I took the plunge with these fun polka-dotted jeans.  I don't know what took me so long because these are amazing!  The band is comfortable and provides great support.  The denim is high quality and stretches exactly how I need it to.  I can't recommend these pants enough!

1969 always skinny jeans by Gap

I apologize that I did not have my act together enough to actually get pictures of these things on me but trust me, they have been on my body very often.  =)

Have a beautiful day!

the confessions of an only human momma

With the approach of #2's due date (June 14th, if that was your next question), I've been having some inner...turmoil...about taking care of Hito and how adding another child to the picture will effect my ability to maintain my pursuits...and the house...and life.  This inner searching has been helpful and unsettling at the same time.  Maybe it is just a different version of the nerves I dealt with before H came.  Either way, I thought I would share them in case any other mommas need a little boost - because as anxious as I may be, I know that things will work out.

Will I be able to balance spending time with two kids?
Will I be able to adequately take care of my husband and his needs while juggling two kids?
Will I be able to pursue the jobs/goals/tasks that I see God opening up for me?
Will we be able to train our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord?
Is my behavior modeling Christ or making Him harder to see?

I don't have answers for these questions at the moment.  But somehow, I'm ok with that now.  Having written them down and being aware that I will shortly be clicking the "publish" button to share them with the world has reminded me that things will work out.  That doesn't mean that I know how they will work out.  But I know that the sun will rise, my children will grow, my work will go on, and my husband will be by my side the whole way.  And through it all, I have a loving and merciful heavenly Father who is only giving me what I can handle.

"...My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness..."

2 Corinthians 12.9

Have a beautiful day!

I like making jewelry!!!

A few weeks ago, I was approached to make a set of jewelry for a friend of mine who is a bridesmaid this coming weekend.  I said of course and we began discussing what she wanted the look and feel of the jewelry to be.  My friend got her order in the mail earlier this week and said she was in love with everything so I thought I would share a few quick pics with you all here (the pictures are from my phone so they are a little fuzzy sometimes but I had to share because I had so much fun making it all).

The wedding colors are purple, black, and pearl.  The bridesmaids are wearing black gowns (its an evening wedding) so we ended up with designs that focused on the lighter colors for some accent pop.

For more info on custom orders or to check out my ready made designs, visit my Etsy shop at snsnsnsibility.etsy.com or click on the the shop link on the right!  Or send me an email (snsandsnsibility{at}gmail.com)!

Have a beautiful weekend, everyone!

Wine Wednesday :: Beauty & 50 Year Old Wine

Alright folks, I am about to do something a little mean.

I found my favorite wine - in the whole world.  And it is an experience that I cannot reproduce.  Which is sad.  And probably going to end up being a little mean...to you.

I believe that wine is art.  A fairly subjective experience with an objective standard that most people acknowledge either explicitly or implicitly.  All wine is valid but some is certainly more "beautiful" than others and people are aware of that if they pay attention.

But before I start getting philosophical about wine, the point of this post is to share a sublime experience that I had.

Rarely do people have the opportunity to taste old wines anymore - at least not on most budgets.  The wines exist but they are hidden in private cellars or cost an arm, leg, and first born child.  So when a friend of mine mentioned that he had a 1964 Spanish Rioja, I had to try really hard not to both scream like a little girl or act too nonchalant as if I didn't care...because I cared...a lot.

It is also worth noting at this point that Spain is my current favorite wine region (if you haven't had a good reserve Rioja, you have no idea what you are missing out on).  I also am just beginning to learn that older is better when it comes to wine (most of the time).

Finally, we set a date, had dinner planned, and the group together that was going to taste this practically 50 year old wine.  We opened the bottle with bated breath, hoping that it would not have been over exposed to air (even in the bottle), and battled a decaying cork that almost didn't want to come out.

Then we poured it into our glasses.  A rich, red, velvety elixir that had so much potential for ecstasy.

Hesitantly, we sniffed at our glasses.  Each inhale telling us that we could possibly be in for the experience of a lifetime.

Finally, we took our first sip and waited as air and wine mixed and bathed our tongues in...heaven.

If this seems like an exaggeration  then you have a whole world of amazing waiting to be experienced.  The taste was smooth, no acid, no tannins to interfere with the pure fruit and wood and pure liquid beauty of this wine.  And it felt velvety.  It was like drinking the most luxurious thing you can imagine.  The texture was actually velvety on the tongue - I couldn't get over that sensation!  The fruit flavors were so balanced and gentle that the dark berry and faint savory herbs that you got seemed to have been locked in a beautiful dance that was going on and on.

It was a truly amazing experience - in my wine glass.  A few moments of beauty and other-worldly glory in liquid form.  I'm not sure that even my words here are sufficient to record this event.  Which maybe is a good thing.  Then you won't be too mad at me for not inviting you to share this bottle with you.  =)

Have a beautiful day!