Take No Thought for...??

Last night before we went to bed we read 3 Nephi 13 (comparable to Matthew 6: part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount...3 Nephi 13 was part of Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount" to the people he visited in the Americas, which is what the Book of Mormon is about). When we finished I told Stace that I love that chapter because it pointedly reminds us to focus on what is most important in life. He then teased me and made a comment about how I had been stressing about the bookcase in the baby's room before we started reading. "Take no thought for bookcases" he teased. He was right, and we laughed about it. :D

Well, Mr. Smarty-Pants is now agonizing over a big screen TV he just found on Craigs List, right before he goes home teaching. So I said, "Consider the lilies!" happy that I got back at him less than 24 hours after he "got me." hehehe;) Stace and Kim are 1-1. He then said:

"I will consider the lilies. We can watch Planet Earth and consider the lilies...and the polar bears in the arctic...on our flat screen."

So quick, that one... ;)

Wedding Fun!

I was just looking at photos of the wedding reception we attended a few weeks ago in Valdosta, GA and wanted to dedicate a post to this fun-filled event. What a blast! Stace's cousin Keener got married up in Connecticut in July, and the Sirmans family threw Keener and his truly lovely bride, Linda, a reception Southern style. It was so fun! Stace's dad and uncle C.F. provided some serious entertainment, and we all danced the night away! One of my favorite parts of the night was when I was sitting it out for a few songs and enjoying my view of the crazy dancing fools. I was sitting there criss-cross applesauce in my swivel chair, and all of a sudden I am gliding towards the dance floor! Natalie pushed me on out there and what else could I do but get my groove on while sitting down?! ha! I laughed really hard at the situation...good times!

Keener and Stace's Uncle Stevie...you see why I love this family? haha! Stevie is amazing!

Stace with his little brother, Berkeley. What a lovely bunch of brothers:)

Me and my outta-control hair with one of my favorite people on the planet, Stace's sister Candace:)

Awesome cousin Natalie with her son, my crush, Clemon!

Stace holding Alex and Brittany's baby boy, Rex. He's going to be such a sweet daddy!

Chillin after a long night of partying!
Top row, L to R: Aunt Elaine, Aunt Marie, Candace, Stace, Natalie, Shad (love him!)
Front: Berk, Linda, Keener and me

What a Fun Weekend!

It all started with Mindi's baby shower on Thursday night. It was a beautiful shower and it was great to see so many friends and to see how many of us have grown! :)

Friday I went and spoke at the Gainesville Institute's Friday Forum. I was pretty nervous, but it ended up being lots of fun and a great experience. I spoke on living up to our daily potential and I am so grateful for that opportunity to speak, although I was all nervous about it, because you always get to learn a lot when you plan a lesson/ talk. The little boy I babysit for came along and he did so good! He just sat there quietly and colored:) He's such a sweet boy!

Freya and Brett came to stay with us Friday night and it was so great to catch up with them and spend time with them. We had fajita quesadillas for dinner and chowed down on Reeses Pieces all night:) The next day (Freya's birthday!) we got to go to the temple. I do love to see the temple....it truly is our Heavenly Father's house and it is heaven on earth:)

Stace, Kim and Julian:)

30 weeks! or 7.5 months!

We met up with Chris and Kendal Hargrett and it was great to see them and catch up over lunch together! Chris and Kendal headed back to Tallahassee, and Freya and Brett (our wonderfully patient friends) accompanied us to Babies R' Us because I need to get a glider! I was so excited to pick one out, and was ready to get it (SO ready to be FINISHED with the baby's room...but I still have so much to do!), so I was disappointed to get there and see that they didn't have as many gliders on display as I'd hoped they would, and I didn't find that dream chair I'd hoped I would. :(

When we got home last night we celebrated Freya's birth by eating cake! Yay Freya!

Today was our final Primary Program practice before the big day (Sunday, Oct. 11). I was so nervous because we went waaay over our time limit last week. I prayed and prayed (and I know the other leaders and teachers did too) that today's practice would be better. We prayed and put our heads together to think of ways to help things flow more smoothly, and the practice went beautifully today! yay! I am no longer nervous about the program; now I am just excited!

And then...I came home and CRASHED! After that awesome nap, hopefully I will get to sleep at a decent hour tonight! :)

Coming to My Senses

Don't get me wrong: I have enjoyed my pregnancy very much indeed, but now that I have a watermelon belly, I kinda miss the days when there was no fruit of any sort associated with my abdomen.

Last night I was looking at photos taken in 2009 but several months ago. I wanted to kick myself. I am happy with who I am, because I know who I am. This knowledge gives me confidence, which lies in the Lord. I am a daughter of Heavenly Father who loves me and I love Him. I know this with all of my heart and mind.

But still, like probably most women, I have never been fully satisfied with...well, ya know...the bod. There was always a little too much jiggle, the jeans were always a little too tight, in my mind. "If I could just fit into 'this' size..." or "If I can just weigh a little less..." I told myself. But now looking back at those photos, I would like to give myself a swift kick to the rear (which is even more infeasible now with watermelon belly). I was not fat! (yelling at myself, not you, sorry.)

I am excited to get started on getting back down to my normal size after Little Peach comes, and no, I don't need to lose an extra 20 on top of that, which is what I'd been telling myself.

I am a little hesitant to publish this post, but I think I'm posting these thoughts to hold myself accountable: both to get back down to my normal size, and also to remember that I'm not fat when I'm at that normal size. Hold me to it!!!

March 2009
I never posted the bottom two photos because I thought I looked chubbs.

March 2009

January 2009

Moral of the story for us all: though one may think that she needs to lose all this weight, in actuality, the rest of us probably think she is crazy for thinking that. So gals, let's stop beating ourselves up and enjoy a cookie! :)

Nightmare

Yesterday when we woke up our conversation went something like this:
Stace: "I had a dream last night that we went to my parents' house to see Colby and he didn't recognize us. And he hissed at us..."

Kim: "aw, baby, that won't happen."

Stace: "Actually, it was more like a nightmare..."

Feeling Sassy

I can't decide if I feel crazy or fun while wearing the shades..so I say, both. And don't forget classy! I mean sassy:)

My sister got them for me...thanks Marissa! (and yes, that is several strands of my hair on my belly...I think I am going bald.)

In other news, I only have 11 weeks left before Little Peach arrives (yay!) but then again, I still have 11 weeks left?! I walked by a mirror this morning with Stace and just blurted out "how much bigger can I get?!" (Seriously..scroll down to the bottom of this page and see what I looked like at 24 weeks compared to now...five weeks makes a big difference apparently! And I have two more five weeks!) He assured me, as I know anyone who has ever been pregnant would also: "A LOT BIGGER." It's all good though...I am just so grateful I have a sweet baby inside me! For a while there, I never thought that would happen...at least not any time soon and certainly not without the help of extensive doses of modern medicine. I am feeling him move around all the time and it is thrilling.

29 weeks! (ok, 28 weeks and 6 days)
I am making good progress in my pregnancy scrapbook. It's just crazy how long it takes (I don't mind though). Yesterday I spent an hour and a half on ONE PAGE alone! It definitely doesn't look like it took me an hour and a half...oh well!

Until next time, I'll be keepin it sassy.

Finished!

After staying up way too late on several occasions painting, repainting, correcting, over-correcting, running to the sink to get a wet cloth to try and undo what I'd just done, getting really frustrated with myself, and saying "I hate it! I ruined it!" over and over, the painting is finished. After all of that, I know it's no Picasso, but it was fun to do and I am glad I finally found a "creative outlet" I can get into!



I am happy it's finished because yesterday I woke up with the idea of what I want to do for the next painting! I've sketched it out already, and I'm really excited! It involves a favorite phrase of mine that I realized about a year or so ago I wanted to use in my future child's nursery.

Now, seriously. It's time for bed!

New Happy Place!

I started painting last night and it felt every bit as good as I'd hoped it would. Just holding the charcoal pencil in my hand and sketching out the painting was good enough to get me hooked on this little "escape" I have finally been able to escape to.

I received messages and calls after my last post from friends with lots of great advice on the painting subject or with suggestions of "creative outlets". I really appreciated that people took the time to offer their insights and help me find this new happy (creative) place...thank you!

I ended up deciding to hold off on the oils until after Little Peach arrives, and went with the acrylics suggestion from my friend Lori! I had never used acrylics until last night, but I'm really enjoying them! They dry a lot faster than oils, which is actually probably better for me and my impatient self:) AND they are water-based, not oil-based, so they don't have toxins that I need to worry about breathing in. I didn't know what to paint first...deciding was half the battle. I went ahead and chose a sailboat for a baby's room. (I say "a baby's" instead of Julian's room specifically because I don't know if I'll end up liking it enough to actually frame and hang it...but this can be counted as my practice round, right?!) Good thing canvases are 40% off right now at Michael's because now I have lots of ideas of things I want to paint! Do I have to go to sleep?!

It's a work in progress! I'm going to do a fun border (not sure what yet), add a sunshine, and add some waves or at least different colors to the water. I think that's it though. I kinda like that it looks simple; simple works well for a baby's room, right?!
PS: the sail looks gold, but it's actually a really pretty bright yellow. "Cadmium yellow" to be exact.

To Paint, or Not to Paint?

Uggggggghhhhgrrrrrr...That's how I feel right about nowish. I have been feeling a serious need for some sort of "creative outlet" (to quote my husband) lately. I think I might go crazy without one. I was having a little bit of a stressful Saturday afternoon and I just got a tad emotional and Stace said "you just need a creative outlet. When I do my music or web design, I am using a different part of my brain and I can tell that I am." He said it was kind of like an escape. I knew he was right...that sounds great. THAT'S what I've been wanting! What he said reminded me of President Uchdorf's talk last year for the General Relief Society broadcast. In it, he said:

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before. Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty...

You might say, 'I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.' " (Yes...this IS how I think! He was right on here. But I know he was also right on when he said the following:)

"If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination."

ahhh...dontchya love that?

Yes...this desire inside me to do something creative is real and legitimate. (It's always nice to know I'm not crazy!) I've been wanting to take up oil painting again. I used to do it a long time ago and I loved it. Why did I stop my lessons? I think because of soccer...I digress. My sweet little sister went out a couple weeks ago and bought me a set of 18 oil paints. (Wasn't that awesome of her?) So at my last doctor's appointment I asked if it is okay to oil paint while pregnant. He shrugged his shoulders and nonchalantly said "sure...why not? just keep the area well-ventilated." ok, apparently it's no biggie...at all?

So after Stace and I's chat on Saturday, we ventured off to Michael's today, armed with my Labor Day 50% off coupon and purchased a set of brushes, an easel ($7! ya!), and a few canvases that were each 40% off. I was so excited! I felt bad when we went up to the register to check out (eek!), but Stace was very sweet and supportive and said "that's just what it costs to start. When I bought my guitar and amp it was like $2000." He's great:)

When we got home Stace set up the easel for me and I was so excited to get my paint on. But, then...I got paranoid. Although my doctor told me it would be fine to oil paint, I Googled it and found that using oils is not recommended at all by the American Pregnancy Association. Ugh....

I tried scrapbooking as my outlet, but it doesn't quite cut it. So...for now, I shall go create folded laundry out of crumpled up laundry.

whah...whah...whah...