Eviction Notice

This is too cute! I found this on the internet and thought it was appropriate since I officially have one more month of pregnancy to go:

"I am issuing 30 day notice for EVICTION. Tenant will have 30 days in which she can either gather her belongings and promptly vacate the premises, or wait until the final day. After which, she will be physically removed from the property.

She's being evicted due to breech of contract and destruction of property. Expansions only to the FRONT of the house, within reasonable limits, were discussed. Not only have these limits been exceeded, but additions to the back of the house were also made!

Remodeling and gutting of the home was never approved, nor was changing the initial layout and base structure. And due to property damage, there are now leaks in both the upper AND lower levels of the home. On top of which, the landlord has received numerous complaints about nightly disturbances.

After 30 days from this day that she doesn’t comply with the notice will result in immediate and forceful removal at my discretion."

Confession

Well, since all of this baby stuff started I have been pretty much obsessed with baby hats. I have to say that Etsy has become a website I visit daily because of all of the precious handmade hats they sell. Something I am not proud of (but must confess) is that I recently looked through 1800 pages (not images, but PAGES) of baby hats for Gracie. I really wanted to get her a couple of crochet hats, but found myself unable to commit until I had seen them all! I know it is sad and it is not the best use of time, but I finally finished searching and decided on 2 precious hats. Jonathan helped narrow down the many I had marked as “possibilities” and we just received them in the mail. YEA! So, here are the two I decided on.

After all my searching I really hope she is willing to wear hats!!!!

-Jess

Showered with Love

We have been so blessed to have the family and friends we do supporting us during this special time in our lives. We have had 2 amazing showers already and have gotten so many cute and needed things for Baby Gracie. Here are a few pictures from the two beautiful showers that have been so generously given us. The first shower was hosted by the wonderful Wanda Butler, Jackie Pounds, and Pat Kirby.

This is the beautiful canvas Wanda painted that matches our bedding pattern perfectly! She is so talented!

The beautiful and delicious cake that also matches our bedding. How do people make cakes like this?!!!!

The second shower was hosted by the sweet Nicole Kraus and Virginia Foley. Huge thanks to everyone involved and all who came to make this time so special!

This is the "cake table" with my actual cake and the beautiful diaper cake Nicole made.

Here is a close up of the diaper cake. The entire thing is made up of diapers covered by receiving blankets and embellished with flowers and apples. I can't believe Nicole made this!!!!

...and last but not least the gorgeous flower arrangement Virginia made. How talented are all of our amazing family and friends!

Thank you for blessing us with your generosity and showering us with love,

Jess

Dear Baby

Gracie,

I can not wait for you to meet your daddy. I was just praying and thanking God for my life with you and him and was overwhelmed that God has blessed me so much. Your daddy is such a passionate, gentle, and loving man, which you will soon experience. He already loves you so much. He prays for you constantly, he talks to you, and he LOVES feeling you move and kick. One of my prayers for you Gracie is that you would one day find a man that loves Jesus and loves you as much as your daddy loves Jesus and me. We are excited you are joining our family! Sweet girl, I can honestly tell you that it will be fun and life will be so sweet, not because everything will always go as planned or because life is perfect, but because you have a heavenly Father who loves you more than you know and an earthly father who will spend his days trying to love you as Christ loves you.

Counting down the days,

Mom

P.S. Your daddy is one of the most talented men on the planet! He is already a published author. His first novel Jungle Sunrise just made it onto Amazon!

Life After the Plus Sign

FAVORITES OF PREGNANCY

1. Feeling the baby move. I love it! I never get sick of it. I also never thought I would like others putting their hands on my belly to feel her move, but I love it! I love being able to share the experience with people who will love her.

2. How sweet everyone is. Everyone seems to be so careful, gentle, and helpful around me. It seems like everyone wants to do EVERYTHING for me, its really quite precious.

3. All the fun new baby stuff. I love love love going through all of our baby gear and clothes. Sometimes I find myself already imagining what she will wear in her little photo shoots. Oh the photo shoots my sweet baby girl will have to endure!

4. Sonograms. How fun to actually see her! She is really in there! We have seen her grow from our little gummy bear into a little baby girl complete with fingernails and a precious pug nose.

5. Telling everyone we were pregnant. Everyone had the best reactions to the news, which has only furthered our excitement about little Gracie. I know she will be surrounded by so much love!

WORST OF PREGNANCY

1. How Hot I get! Right now, as I am typing this, I am laughing at my husband who is appalled at my suggestion to turn the fan on. He has his sweatshirt on, hood up, and is shivering under a blanket!

2. How Huge I am! I know people keep telling me that I am small for being 8 months pregnant, but having a basketball in your gut that doesn’t allow you to bend, twist, or reach normally makes things quite difficult.

3. Restless sleep. Whether it is from being hot, uncomfortable, or the countless trips to the bathroom, good sleep is rare.

4. The Constant trips to the Bathroom. I seriously need to count the number of times I have to pee. Seriously, it has to be a record of some sort.

5. Nausea. Wow, the nausea that occurred the first trimester was no joke! Praise God that is over!

I can’t believe I have 6 weeks left!

-Jess

Oh the Possibilities!

Ok. So, according to a website Jonathan found, this is what Gracie may look like.

He took a picture of me and one of him and morphed them together. It is a little blurry, not at all scientific, and not what I have been envisioning. In my head she has bright blue eyes, a lot more hair and it’s dark, but you never know. I wonder what she'll really look like? Oh the possibilities!

The following is a little more scary. This is what Johnny and I would look like morphed together as an adult. Kind of creepy!

This freaks me out because it is just Johnny’s head with my eyes and lips. Weird! Anyhoo, if you decide you have to try this you can morph yourself with someone else at www.morphthing.com

-Jess

Birthdays and Snowflakes

I am having such a wonderful birthday! It's snowing outside, Jonathan didn't have to go to work today, and I am eating the last of my birthday cake. I have been thinking about how blessed these last 30 years have been and how 2010 will bring so many more fun new adventures! Jonathan's book is finally here, our photography business is doing great, and Gracie will make her appearance in this world. It will be so fun to experience "her firsts" with her - two of those being, her first birthday and her first time to play in the snow. I can't wait!

Here are a few pictures from our snowy morning at the coffeehouse.

Hoping the snow doesn't melt soon,

-Jess

Preparing For Her Debut

As most of you know Jonathan and I are expecting our first baby – Gracie Rae - at the end of March. We are so excited for this new adventure to begin!

(this is a picture of Jackson's backside, which is how we told my parents we were pregnant)

Before Baby Gracie enters this world there are a few things I have been meaning to do...

1. Start a blog for her. It is a way for me, a soon-to-be mom, to share my precious little one with friends and family. I am sure this will be a needed outlet during the long nights, as well as a way to share the little moments that make life so wonderful!

2. Learn to diaper and swaddle a baby (I know, I know, it is pretty sad that I am 1 day away from turning 30 and have never changed a diaper) Jonathan and I are both newbies at it, which should make for some hilarious stories!

3. Get all our baby stuff together. We have been blessed with wonderful family and friends who have generously given Gracie so much already! On a side note: Jonathan was so cute the other day wheeling the empty stroller around the apartment and “practicing” putting Gracie in the straps. He is going to make such a great Dad!

Some baby stuff I am in LOVE with...
















Waiting for Baby Gracie,

- Jess