Thrifting Paradise

Today was my day off work (hurrah!) so I took the opportunity to go thrift-store shopping with my friend Morgan. We hit stores in both Moscow and Pullman. Morgan made off with some fabulously adorable shoes, which I do not have a picture of. And I was very pleased to find this rug for a mere $10 at Palouse Treasures in Pullman!



Don't look too closely or you'll notice a few stains, and granted the woven ends are a little ragged, and there was one ripped corner of the rug. But in my part of the decorating world that's all known as "shabby chic". Besides, it was $10, and Joel and I had wanted a floor rug like this since we got married, but were unwilling to cough up the hundreds of dollars that they cost new. Now I just need to find a proper centerpiece for the table since those flowers do not match at all. But I can't think of what would look good on the table that would tie in the rug! Hmmm... time to start scouring the home decor blogs.

Someone else has really taken a shine to this rug, so you'll get a close-up on her as well.



And then for dinner I successfully made a very yummy French bread, after fabulously bombing my first attempt at Challah Bread a few weeks ago (recipe said 3/4 stick of butter, I translated as 3/4 cup of butter).



Now, I was brave and took a picture, even though I somehow managed to get a square/misshapen loaf instead of the beautifully round loaf that the original poster's picture shows. So no laughing. It was my first try. And square or round, it still turned out delicious! You can find the recipe here:

http://ivoryhut.com/2010/01/baking-bread-made-easy/

Joel loves the bread too. I served it with baked pesto chicken and corn on the cob. Delicious!

We love Saturdays!

We had a fabulous Saturday yesterday, in part because of the glorious summer weather we're finally getting! I went yard-saling in the morning and found these lovely items:



The pumpkins were 75 cents for all four, and I just love fall decor so I couldn't resist them. The yarn was 25 cents a skein (to build up my new yarn collection now that I've discovered that I love crocheting), the lamp was 50 cents (it'll need a lampshade but I usually end up taking off old ones anyway!) and the burlap sacks were 50 cents each. I adore those burlap bags, I've always wanted some and these ones are so colorful and cute! I haven't decided yet what I'm going to do with them.... some sort of a colorful rug or room decor is what I'm thinking... but if all else fails I plan on hanging them in our garage (the next time we have a garage) to hide whatever unsightly things are out there. I've always thought they helped make garages look a lot less cluttered. I'll keep you posted!

While I was on my thrifting spree I stopped by the storm cellar and found an adorable maternity skirt, also for very cheap. Here I am modeling it for my 27 week photo!




And then to top it off we got to go boating with the Church's!

Here are Laura and Rachel, very excited to go inner-tubing:


Kathryn and Asa:



Mike:



And the hubby and me:



I didn't go inner-tubing, but here's a picture of Joel and Laura, pausing for a moment to wave to the camera as they were being whipped around on the waves. How fun!!

Baby Update

Before the baby update, I had to show off this cute piece of furniture that we got to hide our tv! It's actually not that new (as you can tell from the Easter decorations on top) but I never posted the picture and since it seems like most of our posts these days are baby updates, I thought I'd start with something different!



Here we are at 25 weeks! This really has been the best part of the pregnancy so far: no more morning sickness, the pregnancy rash has subsided, and I have energy! Lots of it!



As I was organizing our study closet yesterday (so much energy!) I found a sticky note with a memory verse on it. Back when we were trying for quite some time to get pregnant I had my share of emotional ups and downs. During one of my low points I happened to be reading through the Psalms and I came across this verse:

"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." Psalm 27:13.

It's such a beautiful verse with so much promise and hope in it for whatever hardship you might be going through. So I wrote it out and carried it around with me in my purse for a while until I had it memorized. Anyway, it had slipped out of my mind after we got pregnant until I found it again yesterday. The memory of how hard that period of time was and how God has delivered us from it made me so grateful. I have seen the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Some things I love looking at right now:

Look at me! Two posts in a row! In Phoenix I was thrown a fabulous baby shower by my family, and here in Moscow I've been finding lots of splendid things at yard sales for our daughter. This has resulted in lots of tiny things that I now enjoy looking at and imagining her in.

First, my favorite thing. Little girl dresses.


Then of course there is this adorable hat that my sister crocheted, plus a newborn baby toy and Curious George treasury.



And last, one of my favorite yard sale finds: a rocking chair for only $10! It needs a new cushion, but I would probably have made a new one anyway to match my nursery colors. And it actually matches the changing table that I also got at a yard sale (you can kind of see it in the dresses picture).



Very exciting!

Last Week's Baby

We still haven't taken the 24 week picture (which means it may never happen) but here we are at 23 weeks! Moving right along. This 2nd trimester is definitely flying by compared to the first.



My blogging lapse excuse this time is that Kate and Davey came for a month to visit, and we've been having a blast! David left yesterday to start summer school, and Kate will be leaving this Thursday. Very sad! But, as you can see, I've been getting quality nephew time in (I stole these from Kate's computer).



And here's a picture Kate took:

Several Weeks of Baby Belly

After getting back from two weeks of vacation I finally have my camera cord again and can post baby growth pictures! We had a fabulous time in Seattle and Phoenix visiting friends and family. It was hard to leave 90 degree Phoenix to come back to the wet and cold Northwest. But, one great result of all this rain is that the fields have turned vibrantly green and all of our plants and trees look beautiful.

Here's 17 weeks:



And 19 Weeks:



And 20 weeks! Halfway there!

Baby GIRL kumquat

We had our ultrasound today and found out that we're having a girl!!







I've been getting lots of kicks in the last few days from lower down in my belly, and from the way she's positioned in the ultrasound pictures it looks like what I've actually been feeling are head butts! I had some really cute videos of her but unfortunately right now Blogger won't let me post them! I'll try to figure out how to post them another way!