Blake Louis

Blake Louis arrived at 8:40PM on Thursday, August 18th.  After 13 hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing, he came out screaming, weighing 10 pounds 7 ounces and measuring 22 inches long.  He is perfect. 

Blake at one day old

 

 

 

Blake at 6 days old.  Tomorrow he will be ONE WEEK old.  Oh my.

 And now...I leave you with some ridiculous cuteness:

That is one adorable little guy.

Sorry to take so long for the update :)  Life has been BUSY with a newborn.  We're loving every minute, even the hard ones.  We are feeling so blessed!!  

Back (hopefully) soon with more updates and pictures of our baby boy!

DIY Pillow Duvet

So a few minutes ago, I tackled a little DIY project that I think will be aesthetically pleasing for our living room AND highly functional for our lifestyle.  Win-win. 

I've been wanting some new pillows for our couch forever.  But pillows run anywhere between $9.99 and upwards of $30 a pop.  And I'm way too cheap for that.  And, I'm seriously picky about what I want.  And, we have two dogs who are allllll over our couches on any given day.  And....I just didn't want to spend that much on something that will be transformed into a dog bed in less than a week.   

I had considered (and thought I was going to) just make a few new pillows with some inexpensive fabric and pillow forms.  But.....pillow forms are expensive too.  And between those and the fabric, I could have just bought them readimade.

So, that got me thinking.

I really only wanted new pillows to use as an accent to the green curtains that I hung up last week.  And honestly, we only have the accent pillows ON the couches when we have company over (or when I'm taking pictures for the blog....guilty as charged).  Otherwise, they're usually in a sloppy neat pile on the floor.   So it seemed silly to spend that much for something we don't really use every day. 

And then it hit me.  I didn't need to actually buy new pillows....I just needed to transform the old!

I made a quick trip to Hancock Fabrics and picked up a yard and a half of fabric, came home and got down my sewing machine, and set to work.  Our pillows started out looking like this:

Yuck.


But by the end, they looked like this. 

Much better.

What did I do? I just slip-covered them!  Think a duvet, but for pillows.  Took about 10 minutes per pillow, and when all was said and done, I was able to recover four of my existing pillows with a yard and a half of fabric that cost me a total of $12.00.  I may or may not have done a little happy dance around the living room.

I'm especially thrilled with this solution for two reasons:
1. The slipcovers are removable and can be easily washed.  This is wonderful news for a household with two dogs, a cat, and a new baby on the way.
2. On an ordinary day at home, or on a day when we won't be home and the couches will be overtaken by two lazy, dirty dogs...we can just opt to take the covers off and let them lounge all over the old pillows.  Then, if we are having guests over or entertaining later in the evening, we can slip them back on for a more finished, refined look.

I'm in love!  I still have about four more pillows to cover, but since my little experiment turned out so well....that will be tomorrow's project!

Redeemed

I spent about an hour one morning this week reading back through my posts from the last couple of years.  I ended my little trip down memory lane with big, fat tears running down my face.

Happy tears. 

Maybe that's so significant for me today because it hasn't always been the case.  So many of the tears I've cried throughout this journey have been tears of deep, profound sadness.  Tears of longing.  Tears of heartache.  Tears cried out of fear.  Tears that streamed down my face as I drove with the radio blasting, asking why, asking how and desperately pleading for an answer to my pain.

Well, now I have my answer.  The answer is, and always has been, Blake.  This little boy is the child God has been preparing us for.  This is the child that God knew, during every dark day, would someday be the one we'd have in our arms.  I can hardly wrap my head around the magnitude of that.  I can so clearly remember the heartache, the fear and sadness, but it's overshadowed tenfold by how God redeemed that heartache.  My timing was imperfect; my pleading so often in vain.  And you know what?  I wouldn't have had it any other way, because if I had gotten what I wanted when I wanted it, I would never have carried this precious little boy that God has intended for me since the beginning of time. 

The sorrow may last for a night, but joy comes with the morning.

It's absolutely humbling to look back now and see how God has worked in our lives and given us this story.  I once wrote about being in a desert, and about Adam and my commitment to preparing our fields for the harvest that we believed God was going to send.   Now, here we are, standing in a glorious downpour, and all I can think to do is raise my hands in praise to the One who has transformed our lives in such a tangible, real way.  There aren't words for the joy we feel.  There aren't words for the love that we have for the baby God has gifted us with. 

So many of you have asked me questions about infertility, or in vitro, or simply reached out and shared your own story of longing and loss.  Sometimes I hear your stories and it leaves me speechless, because the pain you feel is so tangible.  I can feel it.  I can remember it.   I know the pain of infertility is unlike anything else in life.  It's like being in a choke-hold.  It's hard to even breathe without being reminded of the heartache.  It's overwhelming. 

But I also know that God will redeem your heartache.  The desire to be a momma is God-breathed.  It's a promise written on your heart by the One who made you.  I believe that.   The path to motherhood looks different for all of us, but I know that we serve a God who will never leave or forsake you.  Your heartache is not forgotten.  Your story isn't over yet.

I am confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion 

Philippians 3:6 

If the Bible says it, we can believe it. 

For Adam and I, our story isn't over yet either.  Our journey to Blake was beautiful, it was perfect, and it was truly just the beginning.  We don't know where the rest of our journey will take us, but we do know that we are committed to walking this road with hearts full of thanksgiving and faithfulness.  How could we not?  God has already shown us so clearly that His plan is so much better than anything we could have dreamed up on our own. 

And for all of you who are knee-deep in the muck of your own journey?  I want to encourage you not to be weighed down.  Lift your eyes up to the hills!  Where does your help come from? Your help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth (Psalms 121).  There's really no one better to have on your team. 

37 Weeks

Well, we made it!  As of yesterday, Blake is officially full term.  It is such a relief to know that anything unexpected happening at this point, like, say my water breaking, is okay and normal.  And he'd be okay to come.

Thank you, Lord, for protecting our precious little boy throughout this entire pregnancy.  We continue to pray for his protection as we welcome him into the world!!

And speaking of welcoming him....our doctor says anytime!  I am progressing nicely.  I'm effaced, but not dilated yet.  Our doctor says things can change fast between weeks 37 and 40, so we just don't know.  We're on baby watch.  We go back on Tuesday to see how things are looking....

Would you pray with us now for the safe delivery of our little boy?  To God be ALL the glory for this miracle baby!  We are so in love.

I'll leave you with a bare belly shot of me at 37 weeks.  Please ignore the fact that I haven't taken a shower and I have no make-up on.

August

Well, it's August.  And you know what that means.....


.....BLAKE IS ALMOST HERE!!!!

I can barely contain my excitement.   I can't wait to kiss this those soft little cheeks and look into the precious little baby eyes that are half of me and half of the man I love.   I can't wait to tell him how much I love him, or witness those first few moments when the doctor hands our little man to his daddy and says here's your son.  I can't wait to see the way Adam will look at him, and I can't wait for Adam to bring him over to me and for us to experience those first few moments as a family of three.  I just can't wait.

Adam woke me up this morning with a kiss, a smile, and a "Happy August, baby....did you know that we're having our baby this month?"  

I love that man.

We have our next doctor's appointment tomorrow, and we'll hear the game plan.  A lot depends on whether Blake Louis has decided to flip, stay, and engage.  If not, we need to talk about our options.  As much as I want him to just flip already, I also feel very at peace about the whole thing.  God has protected this little boy from the moment of his conception, before that really, and I have confidence in placing this situation in His able hands.  We'll get him out safely, one way or the other, and that's all that matters.

While we wait for Blake's birthday to arrive, we'll be keeping ourselves plenty busy.  August is jam-packed.  Here's our rundown:

1.  Blake hits full term this Wednesday, the 3rd, and Adam and I are celebrating with a date night.  We're pretty well aware that our just the two of us nights will be quickly coming to a close, and while we're thrilled for the implications of that, we're also committed to savoring these last few weeks where we have the freedom to do as we please and enjoy each other.

2. This weekend (the 6th) Adam and I are throwing a shower for his brother and fiance, who are getting married on the 19th.  It should be lots of fun!  I love throwing parties, and this one should be beautiful.  I'm going with a bright, summery color palette and doing a dessert bar.   I think the shower will be pretty well-attended, so I'm just planning a couple games and keeping the whole thing low key.  I've been inspired by Pinterest...surprise, surprise. 

3. We have about a billion birthdays to celebrate in the month of August.  Several of our good friends have birthdays at the beginning of August, and then we have my grandpa turning 92 on the 16th and my brother turning 28 on the 19th.  This means lots of cake, which equals one happy pregnant lady.

4.  As I mentioned before, Adam's younger brother is getting married on the 19th.  Adam is the best man.  That's literally days away from Blake's due date, and if he's not already here, we'll be just about as close as we can get.  We've been giving Blake some pep talks to make sure he knows the 19th isn't a good choice for a birthday (it's already his Uncle Tony's bday, and his other Uncle will be busy getting married...)

In addition to all that, we've still got our Baby To-Do list that keeps getting things added to it.  I think I'll post it sometime this week to help keep us accountable, ha! :)

Tomorrow, I'll be checking a big item off the list when I make and freeze 13 dinners for after Blake gets here.  Freezer meals are my new obsession.   I'm so curious to see how they'll work, and if they'll be convenient for a busy family.  Stay tuned!