counting weeks

I always found it annoying when I asked a pregnant friend how far along she was and she would respond with the amount of weeks. It meant I then had to take a minute and do the math in my head (I'm horrible at math so it would take longer than most people). I just wanted the answer in simple months. Now that I'm pregnant, I of course am counting by the weeks and they are flying by! The first 12 went by incredibly slow but now that I'm 27 weeks I'm getting a little nervous about this whole thing, and excited of course. Nervous mostly about raising a well-behaved child that loves Jesus. I feel like I need to read a whole library in the next couple of months on parenting. Also feeling very challenged lately with my relationship with Jesus and the affect that it will have on my child...they will see my every move and hear the words I speak...I want them to see Christ in all of it. This will be tough and many mistakes are bound to be made.

I've been spending most of my time editing some pictures and studying for an online class that is a thorn in my side these days. I HAVE GOT to start working on projects for the baby room and homemade gifts for Christmas! It's November 11th already! sheesh! Sloooooow down time! I'll try to post some pictures of the projects I do in case any of them turn out cute.


I'll leave you with one of my favorite pictures from a recent photo session. so sweet.




WARNING: Stop reading now if you get grossed out easily. 


And a picture to prove that we're counting weeks...
I'm wearing the same thing in some pictures because we forgot to take the picture for that week...Also, week 17 Jack started to write "months" instead of "weeks". I wanted to use it anyways because I thought it was cute and shows how forgetful we are I am these days.

DIY-wooden lamps

available at Target for $49.99 (without shade):

available in your backyard for less than $20 (with shade)

So, they're not exactly alike, but I've seen the one at Target and it just looks way too fake. I found a dead tree in our woods. We cut it down, soaked the pieces with ant spray (ants love to live in dead wood apparently), and sprayed them with a sealant to bring out the color and give the wood a more durable outer covering since the wood was dead and chipping off pretty easily. Added a light kit and a shade and I now have two new bedside lamps for about the cost of one had I purchased them. Love the feeling after finishing a DIY project; especially if it saves you money!

neutral nursery

Well, we are 23 weeks along in this pregnancy and time is flying by. We decided not to find out the sex of our baby after talking with many couples who waited. Their stories of that moment when the baby was delivered were all so special and exciting. We decided that we wanted that moment of surprise at the hospital after 9 long months. So, gender neutral nursery it is!

I'll be honest, I'm really not into the gender neutral things out there. I'm not really into "baby-decor" at all actually..like ducks and cartoons. I want most everything in the nursery to be able to be used as the child grows older or placed somewhere else in the house. I am such a tomboy still that most of the things I'm drawn to tend to be on the boyish side, even though I'm pretty sure we're having a girl.

I decided to do an outdoor theme. I found this picture below at a thrift store. I took a picture of it and doctored it on photoshop (brightened and smudged). I then painted over the entire image referring back to the photoshop image which is below. I have yet to take a picture of the finished piece but I really like how it turned out. This was the inspiration for the room.

Crib from IKEA has caught my eye. Love the simple lines and natural wood...and affordable price of course.

thinking blue gingham fabric for curtains

we have an old rocking chair we plan to use

thinking a fabric like this or either a yellow print for chair cushion

multi-colored fabric rugs from K Mart... bought 4 that I plan to sew together

Source: sixtyonea.blogspot.com via Madame Marjan on Pinterest

Source: spoolsewing.com via Meredith on Pinterest

thinking of making a mobile with fish and birds out of different fabrics.

As you can see there's a lot of mixing and matching going on and perhaps a little on the boyish side. I may change some things as I go if it looks ridiculous. It's hard to tell until everything is in place, and I can always add some girlish things in once we have confirmation. I'm trying to keep myself in check with decorating the room when it comes to spending money and time on it because ultimately that stuff isn't important, but it is a fun way to be creative;)

Sunday.

Can you guess where we went Sunday?

this was me when we got home.

It was perfect. 

my camera + you

I've got some extra time until February comes and that means I have time for taking some pictures.

And since I'm just doing this as a free time filler and not as a "business", it will be EXTRA AFFORDABLE for any budget. Shoots during the week will be discounted as well. Email me at meredithgward@gmail.com if interested and for pricing.

cravings

you know you're pregnant when you would pass up these...

Source: eeuphoriaa.tumblr.com via Kathy on Pinterest

or this...

Source: thefarmgirlrecipes.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

or this...

Source: flickr.com via Sandi on Pinterest

for this...

or this...

ok, let's be honest, i would definitely eat the cookies, cake, and ice cream if they happened to be sitting in front of me, but i cannot get enough mexican these days. my baby may come out screaming "¡hola!"

old school

In the spirit of school starting back I thought I would post something interesting I found while going through some of my grandmother's things in the attic. She happened to save EVERYTHING, which I'm glad she did.

This was printed on the back of a report card dated 1937-1938

I love this...especially #12...I wish my kids could go to a school with these things being expected. times have changed for sure.

I was also going through letters her and my grandfather wrote each other all during school. My grandfather died when I was about 5, so it's really neat to read about how sweet their relationship was since I really wasn't old enough to realize it then. I found an old western union telegram...which i guess would be our version of texting today...

I found references in the letters about them calling each other, but it would be very seldom and they probably weren't able to talk long. Guess we got it pretty good these days.

I also found a receipt dated in the 1950's from a tuition payment to USC law school for one semester...it cost $150! unreal.

I took a couple of months off from doing projects because #1) it was so hot to do any painting outside #2) I had awful morning sickness hitting me around 2pm until bedtime and felt like doing nothing. at. all. I've started back and just finished sewing my first striped curtain. I'm pretty hooked and trying to think of other things I can sew.

I also scored these awesome old school chairs for a dollar each. I'm going to attempt something strange with them and excited to see how they turn out.

I also got Jack to cut down a dead tree for another idea I had for our bedroom.

hopefully I'll have these finished soon...I'm known for starting many projects and finishing few.

Something I've also started doing now that -god willing- I'll be a mom in about 5 months is being diligent in memorizing some verses that have been very encouraging over the past year. I want to be able to bring them up when needed and know exactly where they are in the Bible. I want to teach my child lessons, encourage them, and back up disciplining with scripture.

here are a few I've started with...

Many are the plans in a person’s heart,

but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 19:21

There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.

1 John 4:18 the Message

There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan

that can succeed against the LORD.

Proverbs 21:30