Cat's Out of the Bag!

Most of you know now, we are finally expecting our first baby!!!

We did our final round of invitro in early July and have known for about 6 weeks now that we are pregnant. :) I have felt pretty good for the most part and have luckily been spared the dreaded morning sickness. Some foods don't make me feel so great, but if I avoid those, I'm usually pretty good. A couple of weeks ago we were able to see our baby for the first time. It was a very nervous day for us, since this is when we lost our last one. But that day, there was a little bean in my uterus and a healthy heartbeat to be heard...at just shy of 7 weeks! Last Thursday we went for a follow up (the day I thought I was 9 weeks, come to find out....9 weeks and 2 days!). We saw the baby again, heart the heartbeat again and were told I could go off my progesterone injections! I went back on Friday to make do some blood work to make sure my body had taken over progesterone production. It has! So I am officially released from the fertility doctor and free to see my regular OBGYN.

I cannot express the feelings we are feeling and the overwhelming joy and excitement surrounding us and our families! It is such a miracle and one we were not sure we would ever be blessed with. These past 9 months, since the last pregnancy, have brought so many blessings in our marriage and God really gave me peace about what was ahead. The only time I doubted was the night before our pregnancy test. But God was faithful and we will never stop thanking him for this blessing!

I will have tons of things to share and post in the upcoming weeks and months and am SO looking forward to watching my belly grow! Mom and I have already gone maternity shopping and I am ready to be a cute pregnant gal!

So there it is....10 weeks down and 30 to go!

more craftiness!

So with summer giving me lots of extra time to paint and create, I have been hard at work in what will one day be our nursery. Painting the vines on the wall I knew would take me a good week's worth of time and we really wanted to build a palm tree...so that was going to take some ingenuity. So here's what we've ended up with:

The room looks like a wreck, but just pay attention to the walls. :) I painted every vine and leave by hand, just me a my paintbrush. It took me about 25 hours and each vine has 3-4 coats of paint. You can't tell from the pictures, but they are glossy finished which makes the light shine off of them. I am IN LOVE with this room!

Next we worked on the Palm tree. We started with an old floor lamp that Joe had....similar to this one.

Joe took it apart and cut the wiring out. Then we got some PVC pipe and fastened is to the lamp frame with epoxy and filled it with sand to weigh it down a little. I played with how to make leaves and found something that worked really well. I made "leaf shaped pillow cases" out of green felt and made a frame to hold it up and make it bendable with floral wire and a coat hanger. The cool part was, we found a way to make it where we can arch the middle by pushing the wire forward and backward. It was a happy discovery! Then we slide the frame in and sew it all up.

Here they are all bunched up as a "bouquet" and wired together so we can feed them into the pipe.

And here's the finished tree! I am SO proud of it!

Joe finished up the top of the dresser while I was busy with the vines. The boy did good! Here's his finished project!

painting in progress

Here's what I've been working on this week. Sorry some are turned sideways. Not sure how to get them rotated. It's not posting the way they are in my picture album!!! Silly BLOGGER!

busy busy busy

I have been a busy bee this week. I am LOVING spending time with my new little boyfriend...Grady Henderson. Melanie is nice enough to let me spend a couple of days a week with her little guy getting in some mommy practice. He's 7 months old and on the brink of crawling. He got stuck in one of his toys on Tuesday. He scooted in and couldn't go forward any more and couldn't back up. He thought it was hillarious and so did I!

I've also been painting up a storm! I've worked on some more of my animals and did something drastic in my kitchen. And of course...I LOVE IT! Here's what I've been doing this week:

Mom saw penants like these in an antique store and thought they were adorable. She bought one so we could try making our own. They are so adorable! I went to see the originals yesterday and there was only one left! It was stuck in a bouquet of flowers and looked so beautiful! We also think they'd be great atop a birthday cake! Lots of work to put together, but fun work!

I started brainstorming ideas for my nursery rhyme/old book collage pieces. And Debbie suggested I do Bible pages with Bible characters as well. That's in the works, but here's what I've got so far.

Rub a Dub Dub Three Men in a Tub

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Humpty Dumpty

And here are the animals that I am still working on. Joe got a table saw for Father's Day (it's his first one since our pregnancies!) so he can help cut boards and learn how to "build stuff."

And last, but not least is my kitchen makeover. We went to the parade of homes in Lubbock last week and saw some amazing places. One thing that was recurring was kitchen bars that were a different color than the rest of the kitchen. Often they had different countertops, but always were a different color at the base. So...

Here's BEFORE

And here's AFTER

Brent's Wedding

This weekend my dear friend Brent got married in beautiful Colorado. It was fun to be with all my college friends again. Some of which I haven't seen in years. Congrats Brent and Laura!

a new experiment

I am getting a lot of good feedback about some of the painting I am working on both here and on facebook so I am going to try a little experiment this summer. I am going to invest $100 into making as many of these "kid art" pieces as possible and see what kind of profit I can turn on etsy.com.

I know NOTHING about selling, marketing, shipping, etc. So I will have much to learn. If any of you have advice, lay it on me, particularly when it comes to shipping. I have no idea how I will ship these things, let alone how much it will cost.

I'll have some more pics up for you soon.

baby room

This weekend I worked on the baby room for a while, all the time praying for the little one I hope will be living there sometime in the upcoming months.

I worked on the vines again and then began work on some animals on mdf board. I am SO HAPPY with how they are turning out! I am going to make a bunch of these for my Xmas craft fair in November this year!

Let me know what you think! I will branch out and do other animals (of course) and am happy to take suggestions on other topics! I have LOVED making these so far. They are about 2 feet tall and 1 foot wide.

OH! There is also an elephant finished (just not photographed) and a monkey and lion in the works.

flashback

Last night Joe and I went to the "Green and White Game" at his high school, Arlington High. Its when the team scrimages itself basically. The cheerleaders were cracking me up. They'd do a cheer (pretty unenthusiastically) and at the end...no jumps, no GO COLTS!! Just smooth out my hair and make comment to my friend. It was funny to watch.
After the game there is a fundraiser- a burger cookout! So we went and got in line for that. In front of us were 3 of those same cheerleaders. One with a boyfriend who, rightly so, remained very quiety among the giggly girls, pointing and commenting on everyone and everything going on. One of said cheerleader's mom was right behind us. So when we finally got to the grub, she fell behind with mom and the other 2 and boyfriend took off. I thought nothing of it. But when Joe came to sit down he said,"That cheerleader just said to her mom, 'I don't have any friends.' Mom said, 'Sure you do! They were just here!' and she replied, 'They ditched me. I don't have any REAL friends." And we looked over and there she is with her mom at the next table, a little teary.
My heart really hurt for her. That was me for a while in high school. At least at school. I LOVED my life at church. I was loud and silly and had tons of friends. That's where I could shine. But at school I felt really left out. The people I thought were my friends never treated me like one. They never asked me to do anything with them. That's what ultimately led to my quiting volleyball my senior year. Those girls were not my real friends. I found some real friends after that and life was so much better! So last night when I saw all this, I really wished I was bold enough to go talk to that cheerleader. Tell her that it sucks right now. That I'd been there too and I made it out. That there are friends to be made in other places. That going off to college and starting again is a great opportunity. And that high school is not the end of things. In many ways, it's just the beginning. Of course Joe and I joked abotu how I ended up marrying a football player too (could've added that in for humor's sake in my speech.)
I had just about decided to bite the bullet, go over and talk to her. But she ran out to the parking lot crying. I wish I had acted immediately. I thougth about her a lot today and how it would've made a difference to me if a stranger had had that talk with me 13 years ago. Crazy what life throws at you and how you forget pain from the past. Next time, I'm going to say something. :)

a bunch of little happinesses

I have been working on several little projects and they all are making me smile. I've been really pleased with each of them and thought I'd share, in case you want to use them yourself! They are all inexpensive little projects either at my home or at school. I'll let you know how much each cost even!
#1. This was the priciest: NEW SHUTTERS! I am so pleased with these. They make the front of the house look so different. Now I konw I'm biased, but I think our house is the best looking on on our street. Our lawn is a little patchy color-wise, but we have bushes and flowers and a tree and now...SHUTTERS! It's adorable! Got them from Home Depot for about $50 total. #2. New flowers in the front yard. I bought huge hanging arrangements of zinnias (I think) for $5 each! (what a deal?!?!) Now how long can I keep them alive???

#3. My old planters are so ick. They are grayed and boring. And I kill everything I plant in them anyways...so more gray and ick. I was at Home Depot the other day and I saw all these new ceramic pots in bright yellow, lime green, aqua!! But at $20 a peice, I didn't want them so much. Instead, I bought a couple cans of plastic spray paint (about $3.50 each) and sprayed my old plastic pots. Too cute...and a splash of color for plain ol' green plants!

#4. Vines on the wall. I am working on the baby room right now. It will be all ready when God decides to send us someone to live in it! I began the vines that will eventually go all the way around the green room. I wasn't too keen on the dark, glossy green that Joe picked, but once it was on the wall, I LOVE it! Joe was really pleased with the results we got too. So far...only cost was a quart of paint, about $13. Now it's just gonnna take some time.

#5. Printmaking at school. We tried something new this year. When we did printmaking, we started by doing color bleeding with tissue paper squares and water (great activity if you have little kids!!) Then we rolled black tempra on famous art rubbing plates and made a print on the wet colored paper. They turned out AMAZING! You can get famous art rubbing plates for $7 from Sax Arts and Crafts.

#6. Symmetry studies. This was easy too. Take picture of your child. Print only half of it. Have them draw the other side. These are so cute. This is one from a 1st grader.

#7. Finally, we are doing some large scale art pieces for the school. They will be permenant parts of the front hallway very soon. We decided to do children's books and each of my 10 second grade classes did a different book. Each child did a pencil drawing and the one looking most like the actual book was blown up to be painted. Here is one of the first finished so far. Cost of these was just under $4 each. They measure 3 ft x 2ft. (MDF was bought and cut at Home Depot.)

My water broke

Yep. It's true. My water broke today. No, I'm not in labor. My water isn't working in my classroom! I went to turn on the water this morning and nothing happened! Luckily, I had all my paint buckets filled and ready for the day already. (I did some prep the afternoon before). Also luckily, my classes that were doing printmaking did not require water to be refreshed (no rinsing brushes or anything in those buckets.) Furthermore, it was lucky that my 2 classes doing this project today were my 2 most weel behaved 2nd graders. They could be trusted to do tissue paper bleeds, black ink prints and go wash their hands in the bathroom down the hall without me standing with them every step and monitoring their every move. They even came back in quietly and got to work on the post-printing activities. Good kiddos! My water is still broken and no idea when I will get it back. Hard doing art with no sink!
This afternoon I was thinking, "My water broke" and realized the irony in that. If Baby Varney #1 had made it to term, my water would have broken today. It was my due date. God sure was showing his sense of humor!

pray

Hello blog readers!

This week is hard for me. It's mother's day again. Last year I said it would be my last one without a baby. Well...in some ways, that's true. I did concieve 2 children this past year. And while last year was hard, this one is harder in lots of ways. I have found myself crying, or at least tearing up a lot this week. It's hard to see Mother's Day splashed everywhere. It's hard hearing how awesome mom's are and knowing that's not me still. But its really hard because I should be delivering my first child this weekend. Baby Varney #1 was due May 12th. That's Tuesday.
Part of me wants to acknowledge this on Sunday, along with my 2 other girl friends who have lost babies this year. Part of me wants to avoid the issue all together. Last year was so hard, and honestly...the best time of my whole year was Mother's Day with Amy and Brian. I know it can be that way this year too.
So we are running away again, this time with another couple added to the mix and 4 babies lost between the 3 couples (2 of those mine). I hope it's a weekend of fun and laughter and not one of tears and heartache. If you're a mom, I hope you truly appreciate the gift you've been given. There are many of us who hurt very deeply because we are denied that same blessing.
Here's hoping this year is the year and next year this post will be filled with baby pictures.
Remember those of us in this crappy boat while you celebrate on Sunday.

Confession: I have read Pride and Prejudice about 200 times. I get lost in the language-words like thither, mischance, felicity. I'm always in agony over whether Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are really going to get together. Read it - I know you'll love it.
- Meg Ryan in YOUVE GOT MAIL

I just finished watching a movie called LOST IN AUSTEN. It was so great! I LOVE Jane Austen more than I can say. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE is my favorite book and the 5 hour BBC movie is the greatest film EVER! (too many capitals??) Those of you who have seen it, I am sure have fallen in love with Mr. Darcy, or at least with Colin Firth. We all remember the seen in the pond, right?

Well this strange little movie was a wonderful look at how it would feel to enter the book you love. I loved the moment when Amanda (the main character) tells Darcy that every moment in her life has had him there. That every man she's ever been with has been compared to him. And as the story gets more and more jumbled, as Jane marries Mr.Colins and truths about Wickahm, Georgiana, Charlotte and the Bingleys all are discovered, Amanda finds herself helpless to stop the direction the story is headed.

So...if you love Pride and Prejudice and could find yourself knowing each character you face, if you met them in reality, rent this movie. It's a wonderful escape into a world so far from us, but so well known in our imaginations.

hawaii whale watch

i am such a slacker! I know I have so much to show from Hawaii, but I'm so unmotivated! Here are some pics from whale watching. the real treat is watching the video of the whales coming right up to the boat. Unfortunately, they won't post, or I'm just inept at getting them on here.

We spent a little over 2 hours out on the ocean with the Captain chasing after a mama and baby whale. We also saw a couple of other whales closeby and several whales breeching full on, out of the water quite a ways out.

There were several cool things about this outing. In fact, I have done many cool things in my life, but this would definatley be in the top 10 of all time. First of all, it was just Joe and I with the captain on this boat in a big empty ocean. That's pretty awesome. He prayed with us before we left the dock that God would protect us and provide some great viewing of his creation. Boy did he! We had whales within 10 feet of the boat and so close we could hear them talking when they swam under us. It was incredible! We also learned quite a bit abotu whales. The most interesting thing was that they leave a footprint when they enter the water. You can see a big, floating oval of slickness when they go under. So cool!

So here are a couple of pictures. Sorry they aren't better...I was too busy enjoying the view! The FOOTPRINT. See the glossy oval? It's the oils from the whale left on the surface.

Oh Captain, My Captain