The fabrics for the curtains
(Black out curtains of course)
The Dresser
The Inspiration for the headboard
We are excited for a new look for our worn down bedroom...
Will update when it is finished!
Saturday, May 11, 2013
our bedroom
One room in our house we have given little or no thought about is our bedroom. Joe and I have been using the same bedroom furniture I used growing up and the same by Dad used growing up. We are excited for a change. New curtains, new headboard, new furniture. Here is a sneak peak!
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Hard to believe just 24 hours before this picture was taken Adelyn had a 102.6 degree temperature, had been crying for 15 hours straight and was refusing to eat...anything!
Love her soo much but sometimes parenting is so hard.
We had what you would call the perfect storm this week.
She had shots on Tuesday, tried egg for the first time on Wednesday, has 4 top teeth coming in all at the same time {one finally made an appearance} and a fever.
You would think that fever came from one of the many things happening in her life. But no..it was from an infection that Norah has now had for the past 24 hours.
No symptoms but chills and a fever.
It seems to go away after 24 hours but the weirdest sickness none the less.
Adelyn is 9 1/2 months old and getting bigger and bigger.
She is communicating so much more.
She even did 'so big' this week!
We had Norah's family interview at her potential Kindergarten this past week.
Praying, praying, and praying what the best decision is for Norah and our family.
Have a great week!
.jpg)
Saturday, March 9, 2013
where have I been?
hello there...is anyone out there? Is anyone still there?
I have been gone a long time...and I am sureALL, I mean the few readers I have are gone but I will still write on.
Life has happened and Addie is no longer 3 months like the last post. She is 8 months old! I can barely believe it. She is awesome. She is moving her way forward these days and loves to go straight to her big sisters toys. Norah is learning to put her things out of the way. She loves Adelyn so much. The other day Norah said, "mom...Adelyn smiles every time I talk to her." It melts my heart to see Norah love Addie so well.
Probably one of the biggest changes in our lives over the last few months is I got a full time job, as a nurse, at night, 12 hour shifts. It actually makes me tired just typing it. It has been a huge blessing for our family and it was such a testament to Gods love and grace. To make a long story short, a HR representative from Jewish hospital CALLED me, phone interviewed, set me up with an interview for 2 days later and I was offered the position on the spot. PRAISE THE LORD. Then to see how Gods timing is absolutely perfect, I received my first check on the same day that a huge bill was due that would have wiped out our savings account. Again...PRAISE THE LORD!! It is God and his mercy that keeps me going to work every night. It is hard, the job is hard. It is stressful and hard, did I mention hard? ...but I love loving patients. I love speaking truth, showing kindness, and basically living out the gospel every night at work. I need to hear the gospel more than anyone when I am there. BUT IT IS GOOD. My mom is the best and watches the kids so I can sleep, but God has also shown me that I do not need 8+ hours of sleep every night I thought I needed and I can actually be functioning person while working nights.
What else is new...lots of crafts and DIY projects around the house. I am toying with the idea of starting a little store on Etsy because I have so much stuff I would love to sell, we will see.
I have also begun making my own cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, baby food, baby snack puffs, and using cloth diapers. WHO am I?? I would love to share all of these recipes and ideas I have with you so if you are interested let me know!
What is next?? Signing Norah up for Kindergarten, not so sure where?! She turns 5 next month. I cannot believe it. She is beautiful, bold, outgoing, loving, and absolutely full of life and excitement all the time. I pray for her, that she uses her influence for the good of the kingdom and that we continue to point her to Christ.
VACATIONS! We have our annual trip to Hilton Head with my family, my absolutely favorite week of the year! We are going to Chicago with some friends to see JT and someone else! (haha) I hope that trips makes us feel young! Then we are going on a cruise with some friends! OH how I love sharing the beach with friends!!
I turn 30 in just 2 months. I am so excited. I loved my 20s, they have been awesome but I so look forward to my 30s. I am excited to grow in Christ, continue to be changed and I think being 30 with help move me toward Him.
Here are some pictures of the past few months...hope to talk to you again soon!
OHHH...and you have to see this, Jessica our friend is sooo talented!
I have been gone a long time...and I am sure
Life has happened and Addie is no longer 3 months like the last post. She is 8 months old! I can barely believe it. She is awesome. She is moving her way forward these days and loves to go straight to her big sisters toys. Norah is learning to put her things out of the way. She loves Adelyn so much. The other day Norah said, "mom...Adelyn smiles every time I talk to her." It melts my heart to see Norah love Addie so well.
Probably one of the biggest changes in our lives over the last few months is I got a full time job, as a nurse, at night, 12 hour shifts. It actually makes me tired just typing it. It has been a huge blessing for our family and it was such a testament to Gods love and grace. To make a long story short, a HR representative from Jewish hospital CALLED me, phone interviewed, set me up with an interview for 2 days later and I was offered the position on the spot. PRAISE THE LORD. Then to see how Gods timing is absolutely perfect, I received my first check on the same day that a huge bill was due that would have wiped out our savings account. Again...PRAISE THE LORD!! It is God and his mercy that keeps me going to work every night. It is hard, the job is hard. It is stressful and hard, did I mention hard? ...but I love loving patients. I love speaking truth, showing kindness, and basically living out the gospel every night at work. I need to hear the gospel more than anyone when I am there. BUT IT IS GOOD. My mom is the best and watches the kids so I can sleep, but God has also shown me that I do not need 8+ hours of sleep every night I thought I needed and I can actually be functioning person while working nights.
What else is new...lots of crafts and DIY projects around the house. I am toying with the idea of starting a little store on Etsy because I have so much stuff I would love to sell, we will see.
I have also begun making my own cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, baby food, baby snack puffs, and using cloth diapers. WHO am I?? I would love to share all of these recipes and ideas I have with you so if you are interested let me know!
What is next?? Signing Norah up for Kindergarten, not so sure where?! She turns 5 next month. I cannot believe it. She is beautiful, bold, outgoing, loving, and absolutely full of life and excitement all the time. I pray for her, that she uses her influence for the good of the kingdom and that we continue to point her to Christ.
VACATIONS! We have our annual trip to Hilton Head with my family, my absolutely favorite week of the year! We are going to Chicago with some friends to see JT and someone else! (haha) I hope that trips makes us feel young! Then we are going on a cruise with some friends! OH how I love sharing the beach with friends!!
I turn 30 in just 2 months. I am so excited. I loved my 20s, they have been awesome but I so look forward to my 30s. I am excited to grow in Christ, continue to be changed and I think being 30 with help move me toward Him.
Here are some pictures of the past few months...hope to talk to you again soon!
OHHH...and you have to see this, Jessica our friend is sooo talented!
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
3 months
Dear Addie Mae,
I can hardly believe you are already 3 months old. I love you so much I can hardly stand it. Your Aunt Andrea always says she just wants to squeeze you and I admit I want to do the same. You are growing up soooo fast.
right now you love to chew on your fingers. I think it is a few months premature but I find myself checking your gums everyday to feel for teeth. You ALWAYS have your fingers, a toy, a blanket, or my fingers in your mouth.
something I love so much is when I am changing your diaper you hold you legs and bottom up off the table...it is the cutest thing ever. You smile every time you get your diaper changed, you love it!
The other day you laughed out loud for your A. Andrea and A. Kelsie. I have yet to hear your sweet giggle.
You are getting so big...my little chunker. At your last doctors appointment you were almost 12 lbs, that is almost double your birth weight. You have the chubbiest cheeks and everyone in the world likes to tell you that.
I can hardly believe you are already 3 months old. I love you so much I can hardly stand it. Your Aunt Andrea always says she just wants to squeeze you and I admit I want to do the same. You are growing up soooo fast.
RIGHT NOW
something I love so much is when I am changing your diaper you hold you legs and bottom up off the table...it is the cutest thing ever. You smile every time you get your diaper changed, you love it!
The other day you laughed out loud for your A. Andrea and A. Kelsie. I have yet to hear your sweet giggle.
SO BIG
SLEEPING
Right around 8-9 weeks you started sleeping a lot longer...from about 11 til 5:30 or 6. Now you are in a routine that you get up sometime between 5:30 and 7:30 for your first feeding. You however are no longer waking every hour on the hour in the middle of the night crying for your pacifier. Daddy was great at getting up and giving it to you all night long. You have a love/hate relationship with your hands while you are sleeping. You like to the freedom of having your hands free but you cannot stop hitting yourself in the face and you fall asleep so much faster being swaddled. So for now Daddy and I swaddle you. You also do not fall asleep on your own and I am a sucker so I do not care holding you until you fall asleep.
NORAH
Norah loves you so much. She loves to give you your pacifier when you are crying and talk to you when you have your eyes open. She cannot wait until you are older so you two can play together. I hope you two will be best friends!!
PLACES YOU HAVE BEEN
We love going places and you are always there right beside us. When you were 7 weeks old we made a road trip to Oklahoma City to visit family. You have been to the pool many times, the zoo a couple times, and lots of shopping trips, but normally you are sleeping through it all.
NEVER FORGET
I never want to forget how much you smile and love you hold onto things. You are already inquisitive. You know the sound of my voice and you love talking to me when you should be falling asleep. You will give a sheepish smile through your pacifier then just babble away until your eyes get to heavy. You stick your tongue out to mimic others when they are doing it to you. You are so sweet and I cannot wait to see the littler personality you will start to show soon!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
I just Die when I look at these
These are Adelyn's pictures we had taken when she was 2 weeks old.
AHHH!!
AHHH!!
Blowing Dandelions photography
Friday, July 13, 2012
oh my gosh...she is 3 weeks old!
Life with 2 girls...wow!
I thought it would be a good idea to jot down a little about how the first 21 days of Adelyn's life has been.
To remember...the things you so easily forget.
The first thing that I think struck me in the hospital room on the first night is that I love her as much as I do Norah. When we only had Norah I would often wonder, sometimes worry, that there is would be no way for me to love the next one as much as the first. The idea of loving 2 people equally so very much was so hard to fathom...but I do, I truly love them both the same. What a blessing that God has given us 2 children to love and care for and raise up. I am truly overwhelmed by this thought. God is so good and I do not take them for granted at all. I am so well aware there are people around me that I love so dearly that would give anything to have 1 and we have 2. So blessed and humbled by this huge responsibility, I could seriously start crying right now.
And that brings me to the next topic: Baby blues.
In all seriousness I am over them and thankful that I have not had seriously cases of being overly sad and tired. But...for the first 2 weeks these are blues that should not be messed with. I remember them from Norah and they were back again. They hit somewhere around 6-9 pm and do not last long. Just long enough to get a good cry in over something then they quickly go away. By the end of the second week I was back to my normal self. I seriously could find anything to cry about during these times. I cried over Norah making pretend Wedding Cakes in the bathtub, I cried over Adelyn spitting up and sometimes I would cry about nothing, seriously sit on the couch next to Joe and just cry. He would give me something to cry about...like our Amazon stock taking a big hit that day or the Cubs losing, so I would cry about that. Pitiful I know, thankful they are gone, but aware that things are not perfect here on Earth and so that is why Baby Blues exist.
Another humbling experience that I would like to remember is the fact that I am not perfect at taking care of these girls. This was something I had to realize and accept very early on. The second day we were in the hospital Norah came down with a bad cold. When we got home it did not hit me until 3 days later that Norah had not received cold medicine or had a bath for almost a week. oops. I quickly realized that just because there are 2 does not mean I can only care for one child at a time...I have to care for both. This was hard. Juggling the 2 of them, their needs, Norah's wants, and life is hard. Hard but not impossible. I came to terms with the fact that things are going to be rocky but that is okay. Time to adjust is okay...if you know me this was big for me. I typically like things to just fall into place immediately. Patience was learned here. Also it IS getting better. Everyone was up, dressed, and out the door in 1 hour today...whoohooo for progress.
Speaking of Gods Grace...we have been blessed by great friends and family. We have had so many meals delivered to us we have been so overwhelmed by Gods provision. Seriously...I think last night was the first night we cooked hamburgers ourselves...it is awesome and so unbelievably helpful and something we do not take for granted at all!
Something hard:
nursing!
I think one of the hardest adjustments has been nursing little miss Addie Mae. I am going to sound like a whiner here because Adelyn could not have been an easier baby to nurse. If you know anything about newborns you know they either get it right away or they don't, and if they don't it is a hard uphill battle. Well Adelyn is a pro-seriously had it figured about right away. So what is the problem you ask...my selfishness. These first 3 weeks I have wanted to quit so many times I cannot even tell you. IT is pitiful. I have been looking for any excuse possible to quit. I will tell you...it is not fun, it is tiring when YOU have to be the one to get up at night because YOU have to feed them, painful, stressful at times because you do not know how much they are getting, time consuming, and a little lonely when you have to leave the room at some sort of party or function because you are the only one that can feed your baby.
BUT...for all of you who think it cannot be done. IT CAN BE. BY God's grace the last few days have been easier. We have the hang of things, I am trying to not be so consumed by the selfishness that so bitterly enraged me over this issue and I am learning to enjoy the time with Adelyn and plan my time wisely around feedings.
The nights also have not been bad. I get up usually somewhere around midnight, then again around 2 or 3, then again around 6. I am so thankful, and a little surprised, that I feel restful everyday. I am not tired, dragging, and longing for the day she sleeps through the night. I am thankful. Thankful that God has provided a way to feed my child that is easy {at times} and so cost effective. I am thankful for the bonding that Adelyn and I have and that she knows me and I know her...because we spend over 4 hours each day next to each other!!
Hard yes...worth it right now...yes.
Now...if something happens and I had to stop tomorrow I would not feel guilty...I want to keep the big things the big things and not make small things Big things, if that makes sense.
So...when I had Norah I came home and immediately was able to button my jeans up, so it should not come as a surprise that I was expecting the same thing to happen this pregnancy. Well...it did not. It has been 3 weeks and I cannot even fit into the pants that I used to pull on and off without unbuttoning...can you say humbling? Well...such is life and I am sure my hips will go back to a normal size soon. I have been thrilled with the recovery from my c-section and I have been able to go to the gym and work out for a week now. It has been great to have energy to workout. I do not think I realized how achy and the lack of ability to move I had in those last few weeks of pregnancy.
I am thankful that the weather has dipped below 100 degrees. DO not get me wrong...I love the weather hot, but with a newborn it is so unsafe to have her outside for any amount of time in that heat so I was feeling super trapped inside. No pool, no walks, no zoo, nothing. At least now she can be outside for a little while in the shade.
Last but not least I think I need to address the fact that I have been super shocked that not all 2 babies are the same. Despite the similarities of pictures from the 2 girls {see below} they could not be any more different. Norah was a GREAT sleeper, I thought all babies slept great. Adelyn does not sleep hardly at all and when she does she grunts and moans the entire time. Norah also had no problems with any reflux or anything. Addie on the other hand always seems to have an upset stomach, poor thing. She spits up entire meals and is cranky often.
Adelyn 1 weeks Norah 3 weeks
awwww sisters!
so much good stuff...God is good, we are thankful!
I thought it would be a good idea to jot down a little about how the first 21 days of Adelyn's life has been.
To remember...the things you so easily forget.
The first thing that I think struck me in the hospital room on the first night is that I love her as much as I do Norah. When we only had Norah I would often wonder, sometimes worry, that there is would be no way for me to love the next one as much as the first. The idea of loving 2 people equally so very much was so hard to fathom...but I do, I truly love them both the same. What a blessing that God has given us 2 children to love and care for and raise up. I am truly overwhelmed by this thought. God is so good and I do not take them for granted at all. I am so well aware there are people around me that I love so dearly that would give anything to have 1 and we have 2. So blessed and humbled by this huge responsibility, I could seriously start crying right now.
And that brings me to the next topic: Baby blues.
In all seriousness I am over them and thankful that I have not had seriously cases of being overly sad and tired. But...for the first 2 weeks these are blues that should not be messed with. I remember them from Norah and they were back again. They hit somewhere around 6-9 pm and do not last long. Just long enough to get a good cry in over something then they quickly go away. By the end of the second week I was back to my normal self. I seriously could find anything to cry about during these times. I cried over Norah making pretend Wedding Cakes in the bathtub, I cried over Adelyn spitting up and sometimes I would cry about nothing, seriously sit on the couch next to Joe and just cry. He would give me something to cry about...like our Amazon stock taking a big hit that day or the Cubs losing, so I would cry about that. Pitiful I know, thankful they are gone, but aware that things are not perfect here on Earth and so that is why Baby Blues exist.
Another humbling experience that I would like to remember is the fact that I am not perfect at taking care of these girls. This was something I had to realize and accept very early on. The second day we were in the hospital Norah came down with a bad cold. When we got home it did not hit me until 3 days later that Norah had not received cold medicine or had a bath for almost a week. oops. I quickly realized that just because there are 2 does not mean I can only care for one child at a time...I have to care for both. This was hard. Juggling the 2 of them, their needs, Norah's wants, and life is hard. Hard but not impossible. I came to terms with the fact that things are going to be rocky but that is okay. Time to adjust is okay...if you know me this was big for me. I typically like things to just fall into place immediately. Patience was learned here. Also it IS getting better. Everyone was up, dressed, and out the door in 1 hour today...whoohooo for progress.
Speaking of Gods Grace...we have been blessed by great friends and family. We have had so many meals delivered to us we have been so overwhelmed by Gods provision. Seriously...I think last night was the first night we cooked hamburgers ourselves...it is awesome and so unbelievably helpful and something we do not take for granted at all!
Something hard:
nursing!
I think one of the hardest adjustments has been nursing little miss Addie Mae. I am going to sound like a whiner here because Adelyn could not have been an easier baby to nurse. If you know anything about newborns you know they either get it right away or they don't, and if they don't it is a hard uphill battle. Well Adelyn is a pro-seriously had it figured about right away. So what is the problem you ask...my selfishness. These first 3 weeks I have wanted to quit so many times I cannot even tell you. IT is pitiful. I have been looking for any excuse possible to quit. I will tell you...it is not fun, it is tiring when YOU have to be the one to get up at night because YOU have to feed them, painful, stressful at times because you do not know how much they are getting, time consuming, and a little lonely when you have to leave the room at some sort of party or function because you are the only one that can feed your baby.
BUT...for all of you who think it cannot be done. IT CAN BE. BY God's grace the last few days have been easier. We have the hang of things, I am trying to not be so consumed by the selfishness that so bitterly enraged me over this issue and I am learning to enjoy the time with Adelyn and plan my time wisely around feedings.
The nights also have not been bad. I get up usually somewhere around midnight, then again around 2 or 3, then again around 6. I am so thankful, and a little surprised, that I feel restful everyday. I am not tired, dragging, and longing for the day she sleeps through the night. I am thankful. Thankful that God has provided a way to feed my child that is easy {at times} and so cost effective. I am thankful for the bonding that Adelyn and I have and that she knows me and I know her...because we spend over 4 hours each day next to each other!!
Hard yes...worth it right now...yes.
Now...if something happens and I had to stop tomorrow I would not feel guilty...I want to keep the big things the big things and not make small things Big things, if that makes sense.
So...when I had Norah I came home and immediately was able to button my jeans up, so it should not come as a surprise that I was expecting the same thing to happen this pregnancy. Well...it did not. It has been 3 weeks and I cannot even fit into the pants that I used to pull on and off without unbuttoning...can you say humbling? Well...such is life and I am sure my hips will go back to a normal size soon. I have been thrilled with the recovery from my c-section and I have been able to go to the gym and work out for a week now. It has been great to have energy to workout. I do not think I realized how achy and the lack of ability to move I had in those last few weeks of pregnancy.
I am thankful that the weather has dipped below 100 degrees. DO not get me wrong...I love the weather hot, but with a newborn it is so unsafe to have her outside for any amount of time in that heat so I was feeling super trapped inside. No pool, no walks, no zoo, nothing. At least now she can be outside for a little while in the shade.
Last but not least I think I need to address the fact that I have been super shocked that not all 2 babies are the same. Despite the similarities of pictures from the 2 girls {see below} they could not be any more different. Norah was a GREAT sleeper, I thought all babies slept great. Adelyn does not sleep hardly at all and when she does she grunts and moans the entire time. Norah also had no problems with any reflux or anything. Addie on the other hand always seems to have an upset stomach, poor thing. She spits up entire meals and is cranky often.
Adelyn 1 weeks Norah 3 weeks
so much good stuff...God is good, we are thankful!
Monday, July 2, 2012
she's here...she's here, and i love her!
THE DATE
our sweet baby girl arrived right on schedule.
June 20, 2012
10:39 am
THE GENDER
a girl
THE NAME
Adelyn Mae McVicker
We seriously struggled over a name for the entire 36 weeks we knew we were having a baby.
There were contenders and we threw out all the names we ever considered.
Adelyn was the only one that we consistently would come back to time after time.
and we love it.
As for the middle name...
it took until the morning we were leaving the hospital for us to finally settle on that name.
I am not sure why the pressure of naming another person is so hard on us but in the end I think our little Addie Mae fits her name perfectly.
THE DELIVERY
The delivery could not have been smoother.
We dropped Norah off at a friends house so she could go to VBS at church and we arrived at the hospital at 8:30.
We calmly sat in the prep room and by 10 they were taking us back.
Joe was so calm this time around which made the experience super enjoyable.
My biggest fear was of the spinal because the last time I had one it made me super nauseous and was not that effective.
Well thanks to good friends, it all went well.
We had a good anesthesiologist that was recommended by one of our friends.
She was great.
The spinal took and although I did experience intense nausea it went away rather quickly.
The attending surgeon was also a friend so I really felt as though I was in good hands.
The doctor worked quickly and within minutes she was out.
I of course am the last one to see her.
I kept asking Joe what she looked like and he just kept telling me she had a round head and a squishy face.
Not the description I was looking for but still funny that is how he chose to describe her.
She weighed 6 lbs. 8 ounces and 18 1/2 inches long.
She was crying and perfect!
THE LOVE
We could not feel more loved by the people in our lives than we do.
We have so many people who want to be around us;
to serve us, spend time with us, and share in these moments with us.
I think I kept telling Adelyn all day long, "do you see ALL of these people around you who love you so much!"
I truly felt so blessed by our family and friends who loved and served us those days in the hospital.
THE MOMENTS I DON'T WANT TO FORGET
I don't want to forget the moment when all four of us were together for the first time.
Norah was so excited to see her and love her.
I also never want to forget the first night in the hospital after everyone had gone home.
It was just Joe, Adelyn, and I.
We just sat together for hours.
We just sat there.
I love Joe so much and feel so blessed that he desires to live life fully with me.
He really is ALL IN...whatever is going on with us. He is there!
Here they are cuddling that first night!
He looks so natural and so relaxed.
I don't want to forget the moment when all four of us were together for the first time.
Norah was so excited to see her and love her.
I also never want to forget the first night in the hospital after everyone had gone home.
It was just Joe, Adelyn, and I.
We just sat together for hours.
We just sat there.
I love Joe so much and feel so blessed that he desires to live life fully with me.
He really is ALL IN...whatever is going on with us. He is there!
Here they are cuddling that first night!
He looks so natural and so relaxed.
WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING SINCE?
Since we have been home it has been all about adjusting.
I cannot seem to get a schedule down but the 3 of us did get out of the house this morning by 9:30 so I consider that a win.
One thing that I am more aware of than ever is how much I wish Joe was at home more during the week.
Norah and I just miss him throughout the day.
We wish he was here to spend time with us.
Places we have taken Adelyn so far:
to the park
to the pool
on a walk
shopping
to a graduation party
Norah has been excited to help change diapers and feed her.
My recovery could not have been easier.
I have basically been back to normal since I got home from the hospital.
I was not in much discomfort and have been able to get around really easily.
We have been trying to love Norah well in the midst of the transition and figure out what life looks like as a family 4.
Since we have been home it has been all about adjusting.
I cannot seem to get a schedule down but the 3 of us did get out of the house this morning by 9:30 so I consider that a win.
One thing that I am more aware of than ever is how much I wish Joe was at home more during the week.
Norah and I just miss him throughout the day.
We wish he was here to spend time with us.
Places we have taken Adelyn so far:
to the park
to the pool
on a walk
shopping
to a graduation party
Norah has been excited to help change diapers and feed her.
My recovery could not have been easier.
I have basically been back to normal since I got home from the hospital.
I was not in much discomfort and have been able to get around really easily.
We have been trying to love Norah well in the midst of the transition and figure out what life looks like as a family 4.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)