a new hobby emerges....

I can finally post pictures of a new hobby I've taken to recently. After receiving a gorgeous handmade baby gift from a girlfriend back home, I decided I needed to figure out how to make my own adorable embroidered baby gifts! See hers HERE.

To start, I visited Sublime Stitching and ordered the "La Petite Embroidery Kit". It includes everything you need to get started, plus a pattern pack of your choice. I also ordered a few more patterns, thinking I may as well have them all shipped together. The kit came with 4 colors of embroidery floss, but I decided to go to Micheal's for a few more, and found they're only 35 cents a piece! So, I picked up a bunch of colors I like, and got to work!

My first project was a monkey onesie for a friend's son (he turned 1 on the 4th of July but his party was last weekend). I'm having a lot of fun with the patterns. I picked up some plain white onesies at Babies 'R' Us to get started with. I'll post more pictures soon, but here is the first finished product!

july 19 = pure bliss

I sit here and type this, smack in the middle of july, with the windows open, cool breeze blowing the curtains and birds singing. Wow, it just can't get better than this! 75 degrees in Nashville, in JULY!? The past two days have been absolutely amazing. The weather is just incredible. I wish this would go on forever.
We had an amazing morning at RHCC, and lunch with friends at Panera afterward. So great to hang with fun people on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Need to get things moving in the way of nursery furniture, painting, etc. but that will just have to wait. Off to enjoy what's left of this amazing afternoon with my husband!

Food, Inc.

On Saturday afternoon, Chris and I went to see Food, Inc., a documentary just released about large food corporations (specifically meat processing and packing). As someone who has been generally interested in, and skeptical of, meat processing here in America, I didn't need much convincing that there is something incredibly messed up about the entire system. I buy local fruit and vegetables whenever possible, as well as free range eggs, organic chicken, and grain-fed beef whenever possible. I had to turn away at quite a few of the scenes depicted in the movie. Mainly, I just felt outrage about lack of consumer knowledge, and even more-so about the way that these large corporations view the general public and their right to know.

There we so many take-home messages. I know lots of people (I mean I personally know) lots of people who buy things solely on the basis of price. I'm not saying this is in every case wrong, but there are still so many ways to make better choices. I was once told that "you don't have to support the ideas of a company just because you purchase things from them." I must say that I wholeheartedly disagree with that. When you purchase a product, or from a store, you are voting for them. You are saying what they do is okay by you. I feel strongly that it is important to support local agriculture, as well as businesses that have ethical practices. You don't have to pay a fortune for quality food, you just have to be particularly aware of the things you are buying and look for sales.

-buy things at farmer's markets and from road-side stands
-buy things in season
-join a local CSA (go to localharvest.org)
-when you can't buy organic, buy things you can take the skin off of (bananas, melons, etc.) vs. what you eat with the skin on (apples, berries)

I highly recommend seeing this documentary, if for nothing else to at least become more educated about the foods we partake of and put our trust in.

bigger and better (well, mostly)

Blogging has gone by the wayside. I must admit, having not blogged for several, several weeks....I am officially a horrible blogger. My sincere apologies for my 3 friends/family members who actually check my blog expecting updates. Traveling for several weeks in june really put the whole blogging thing on hold. That, plus I've been twittering too much. stupid twitter. it's addicting. You can type short phrases over the course of the day without having to come up with an entire entry. The sheer brilliance of it!

Chris and I had our 28 week appointment yesterday, at which I had to drink a nasty lemon-lime flavored (glucola) drink for testing for gestational diabetes. Fun. Then I had to get my blood drawn 1 hour later. Not so fun. Haven't heard anything back, so I'm assuming I am okay on that end. I am, however, slightly anemic...and may need to start taking iron supplements in addition to my regularly scheduled prenatal vitamin.

After much consideration, i've decided not to have another ultrasound done unless it's advised or necessary. I guess God has been working on me, and I'm just putting this entire pregnancy and baby in his miraculous, life giving hands. She's movin' and shakin' all day, every day, which has also given me peace that she is doing just fine. It's so hard knowing that I have no control over her well-being at this point, other than to do my best to take care of myself (and her in turn.) Wow, I never thought pregnancy would be this complicated....

Chris and I are officially done traveling until Christmas (though we may take a weekend getaway here in the next month or so....). Can't believe she could be here in 10 weeks! Wow! We cannot wait to finally start our life together with her! We have family visiting in August and September, and we're always looking forward to having visitors. The nursery at this point is a jumbled mess of disassembled baby furniture. We have yet to pick out bedding, or paint, or anything of that sort! We probably should get going on some of that in case she decides to show up early. The next two and half months will fly by! Here are some 27 week belly shots. And one last apology for the long hiatus. Love to you all!

29 May 2005

One of the best, most incredible days of my life. Can't believe it's been 4 years since I became Rebecca Suzanne Lawson. I have the most amazing husband in the whole world. We get to welcome our first baby in October....this is going to be a great year for us! I love you so much Christopher, and I am so lucky to be your wife! Thanks for making every day so special, and loving me the way you do. I don't deserve you, but I'm so glad I have you! I hope I can make you as happy as you make me. Happy Anniversary! xoxo

Isaiah 44:24

"This is what the LORD says—
your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:
I am the LORD,
who has made all things,
who alone stretched out the heavens,
who spread out the earth by myself"

Gluten Free at Starbucks!

Thank you Starbucks for making a Gluten Free Snack available! I may not be a big fan of your coffee, but I am SO thankful for this new snack! P.S. Haven't tried it yet, but hope to soon!

Click here for details!

encouragement

Matthew 11
28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

it's a GIRL!

So, I was definitely wrong, and pleasantly surprised! Chris and I were both leaning toward wanting a girl (though we would be happy either way!) So exciting! We are withholding her name....it's a surprise. We do know her name though. She is very active and we got some really cool pictures from the ultrasound on Wednesday. I definitely feel more connected to her knowing that it's a her. Not that it wasn't still special being pregnant, but I am really glad we decided to find out. Please join us in praying that God continues to watch over her and protect her. She has an isolated Choroid Plexus Cyst on her brain (which is a normal variant, and found in 1-3% of 2nd trimester ultrasounds.) Alone, they cause no problems and go away by week 24 or so. They can, however, be a soft marker for a genetic disorder (only when found alongside other abnormalities) - though 99% of the time they are part of normal fetal development. We know God has a plan for her and we will go back for another ultrasound around week 26-28 to make sure the cyst is gone and everything else still looks good (all her measurements were perfect, exactly on her due date, and no abnormalities were found.) Thanks for praying for her, and for thinking of us! We are so excited for her to be here in the fall!

dreams

Been praying a lot lately about all of my worries. Though unwarranted, they scare me and, as most people with anxiety disorder will tell you, it's hard to get them off my mind. I have fears about things that are so rare, and so obviously not happening to me, yet still they scare me on a daily basis. I wish I could be like the rest of most people (with their heads in the clouds where days pass quickly with no thought given to worry or fear)...it used to be a little easier, but since I had to stop taking medicine for panic during pregnancy, it's gotten a whole lot more difficult. Chris prayed for me out loud twice last night, and I slept better than I have in weeks. I think this needs to be happening a lot more often. We find out what we're having in 24 hours. I didn't have a whole dream about it last night, but just a picture, and it was a boy. We'll see!