Nursery Woes

I have scoured the internet looking at nursery designs, crib bedding, etc. (mostly Pottery Barn Kids, Restoration Hardware and Babies R Us) and the options seem to be endless! This is not necessarily a good thing for an overly analytical person like myself. I have difficulty making decisions. I do know that I definitely prefer more classic fabrics rather than cartoonish styles. Below are some examples of what I like. It doesn't help matters that I'm considering picking out fabrics and having the crib bedding made by a seamstress. This opens up even more options!





And I love this little boy's room (below)



I am leaning towards registering for a white crib. A dark wood color is runner-up. I'm blogging about my nursery woes because I'm wondering if any of you have nursery designs or crib bedding that you'd be willing to share pictures of. Maybe it's your own child's nursery or a picture you found in a magazine or on the internet. In any case, I'm inviting you to either email me pictures, post them to your own blog, or leave me a comment letting me know the web address where the pic can be found. I like gathering lots of ideas in hopes that one will strike me as the perfect style for me and my baby!

Ouch!

In the words of Shakira, "My hips don't lie."

I've been waking up frequently between 7 am and 8 am with my hips just aching. I guess it's just a side effect of pregnancy - my body expanding and preparing to nurture a big baby.

Last Monday I went for my 16 week doctor's appointment and officially received the "weight gain" speech. Looks like I'm putting on the pounds a little faster than I should. (Maybe that's another reason for my hips hurting, ha ha.) I've put on 10 pounds in 16 weeks. My doc said I'm perfectly healthy, but he wants me to be happy with my body after I give birth and not have a lot of extra pounds to lose. I like that idea too, and while I'm exercising every day, food just tastes entirely too good right now to hold off on the pastas and breads (like he suggested). Instead, I'll just try not to stuff myself silly and make sure I'm getting a healthy variety.

Here are my first 2 "belly pics." The first one was taken at 12 weeks and the second at 16 weeks. Maternity clothes are definitely in the near future!

Things I don't want to forget . . .

Not sure how many of you will find this post particularly interesting, but I wanted to jot down some things about being pregnant that I never want to forget . . .

like the first day I could truly tell how excited Brian was about having a baby. Initially, he was overwhelmed with the responsibility of providing for another person. But as the weeks wore on I could tell his anxiety was beginning to wane. When we went for the second ultrasound (I was exactly 12 weeks pregnant), the baby was moving like crazy - jumping up and down, even waving his/her little hand at us as if to say, "Hey guys! I'm doing great in here!" I didn't even have to look at Brian's face to know that in that moment this little person growing inside of me became incredibly real to him and he was suddenly in love. I guess that's a perk to marrying your best friend, you just sense those things instinctively without either one of you uttering a word.

I also don't want to forget all the nicknames Brian has come up with for our baby. I usually refer to him/her as "Baby Adams" since we don't have name yet. However, during the nausea stage of my pregnancy Brian decided that "fire monster" was a better term. I guess he felt like it was more fitting given the way he/she was making me feel. However, since recovering from the sickness and getting that second ultrasound we now affectionately refer to our baby as "peanut." Even though he/she is much larger than a peanut at this point, it seems fitting for it's precious little life. I am sure that there will be many more names to come. Brian is the master of nicknames! If you recall, a long time ago I wrote a post about all the different names he's called me over the years :) They are all in love though, just like they are with the baby.

So . . . there's one more thing I'd like to write, or maybe I should say admit. This statement will by no stretch flatter me, but I think it's important to be honest. One of my biggest concerns is that I will be jealous of Baby Adams. That I will envy the love Brian gives he/she and will wonder if he loves it more than me. There, I said it. I told you it wasn't pretty. Brought to you courtesy of my sinful heart. I am, however, comforted by the fact that a good friend of mine has a similar concern . . . that her husband will pay more attention to the baby than to her. Ahhhhhhhh. Relief. As twisted as it sounds, I am glad to hear that I'm not completely abnormal and similar thoughts have crossed someone else's mind too.

There's no doubt in my mind that the marriage must come first; that putting the marriage first is truly the best thing for the child. I know that Brian and I both know this full well. But I also know that we have no idea how much we're going to love this little baby, and how difficult it might be to put each other first sometimes. In any case, I'm sure we'll make plenty of mistakes but figure it out with the help of our loving heavenly Father.

Ok, so that wasn't the last thing. There's one more thing that I have to mention . . . something I'm really excited about. I cannot wait to worship God with my children. I seriously cannot wait to teach them about worshipping God in freedom and truth. I want them to know what it feels like to lift your spirit in praise to the Lord! My hope is that it will be constant in our home. That stopping to listen to praise music or making our own worshipful music will be like second nature to my children. That lifting their hands in awe and praise to their heavenly Father would be reactionary. Of course, I simply want them to feel the freedom to do that, if they choose not to that's ok, certainly. I'm just excited about worshipping with them.

Whew. That was long, but I wanted to get it all down. I'm sure there will be much more to come in the next 6 months!

My friend Marti

Ok folks. Here's the deal. There's a new blog out there and you need to know about it. My friend Marti is the author, and I mean to tell you, this thing is going to be good. By good I mean challenging, engaging, and yes . . .heart-breaking. But please take my word for it, you do not want to miss this.

Marti's brother died a few years ago from skin cancer and the journey God has taken her on . . . well, there just aren't words. God is good and Marti is faithful. That combination makes for a remarkable story. Check out her first 2 entries at www.theroadtoephraim.blogspot.com. Just trust me and go read it. And then keep going back to read it.

Announcing . . .

The arrival of our first child! That's right, I'm pregnant!

Brian and I are thrilled at the prospect of being parents. Our bundle of joy is scheduled to arrive on my birthday, March 9, 2010! I'm already 12 weeks along, and it's hard to believe that the first trimester is almost over. Here is a picture of our last ultrasound taken just yesterday:



We do plan on finding out the gender. In fact, during the ultrasound yesterday the technician/nurse was pretty sure she could tell already! I'm not sure yet if I'm going to post it on the blog since we really won't know the gender for sure until my next ultrasound, which is 8 weeks away. However, if I can't control my excitement, I might just have to spill the beans :)

I've been feeling pretty good so far. The hormones do have their side effects though. I've been emotional, sometimes crying for no apparent reason other than just because I feel like I need to cry. I also had a couple weeks of nausea, and still have to eat often in order to keep from feeling sick. The only other unpleasantries are the breakouts. All of this is well worth it though! I'm not complaining!

So . . . on a different note . . . many of you, my faithful blog readers, have been pregnant before, and I am open to your advice, tips, and recommended products. In fact, I'm inviting them. Along with any hand-me-downs you may be willing to loan out. My good friend Shannon has already informed me of the best stretch mark prevention cream and sent me some in the mail! It's by Mama Mio and I can already tell I'm going to love it!

Proud of Him

7 innings

0 runs

2 hits

6 strikeouts


Those were Brian's numbers last night as he acquired his 10th win this season. This means he is now the official record holder for the most career wins by a Patriots pitcher! As the article in the newspaper put it:

"Patriots' starter Brian Adams (10-6) picked up the win, throwing seven shutout innings allowing just two hits while striking out six and walking two. With the victory, Adams sets a new Patriots career wins record at 36 wins, moving one win in front of Justin Jensen, and moves into the top ten in career wins in Atlantic League history."

Brian has had his fair share of ups and downs this season, but during last night's game, he was in full control, having fun, not over analyzing or worrying about much . . . and I'm thankful.

I Can Smell the Salty Air Now . . .

I'm getting so excited about our family beach vacation beginning in just 4 short days! As I've blogged about before, my extended family goes to the beach together every summer for an entire week. 1 Beach House, 14 people, good food, a little crabbin', a little putt-putt, some readin', some wave ridin' - I tell ya it just doesn't get any better. The only thing that would make it better would be Brian. He never gets to go because baseball season is in full swing and he simply isn't allowed to take a week off. One day though, one day.

This year we're going to Topsail Beach, in North Carolina. Over the years we've done our fair share of vacationing on the South Carolina beaches, but decided to go for the less crowded NC beaches this year. Topsail here we come!

Introducing . . .

The newest addition to the Adams clan: Joseph Fishburne Howell ("Fisher"). Brian's older sister, Lori, gave birth to Baby Fisher yesterday, July 20th. Brian and I are excited about our 4th nephew! However, I guess it's up to us now to have a girl since there aren't any on his side of the family or mine!

Fisher with his big brother, John Asher:

Lake Day!

We got to spend a day on the lake after all! It wasn't on July 4th (see previous post), but that's perfectly alright with me. We had a wonderful, relaxing time with Chip and Amy Nelson (Chip is the chaplain for Brian's team).






Supposedly this is Derek Jeter's lake house:

An Unconventional 4th of July

While I'd love to say we spent the day on a lake somewhere soaking up the rays, doing a little water skiing, taking in God's beautiful creation and grilling out for dinner, our July 4th celebration wasn't quite so conventional. So while I would have loved to have spent the 4th here:




Instead we were at a baseball game (of course) which is pretty July 4th-ish!



I also fixed blackberry cobbler with ice cream after the game, which come to think of it, is also quite July 4th-ish . . .




That's where the patriotism ends though because the rest of the evening was spent watching Lord of the Rings.


That's right folks. Brian, Matt and I watched Lord of the Rings on July 4th. I bet there aren't many people in America who can say that. But hey, Lord of the Rings is a good, all-american movie, right? I guess. I mean, if you ignore the fact that J.R.R. Tolkien was English, and we celebrate the 4th because we declared our independence from Great Britain. Ok, so maybe we should have watched the Patriot, but at least it's a clean, wholesome flick.

Our Life (during the last month) in Pictures

Rock Band is my new favorite hobby. Even Brian enjoys playing. I say "even" because he's a little shy about his music skills (or lack thereof). Once he warmed up to the idea, we had (and continue to have) all kinds of fun rocking out! You should see my "rocker profile" we created. She's my alter ego complete with tattoos, red go-go boots, and a kickin' leather motorcycle jacket. That's our wonderful roomie, Matt, on the far right pointing to Brian.



We went to NY City to visit an old friend of mine (Will Rogers) and his beautiful bride. While there, Brian and I ate lunch at Carnegie Deli. It was seriously the best cheesecake I have ever put in my mouth!




Of all the times we'd previously been to NY, Brian and I had never walked around Central Park. So this time, we did. It is truly a beautiful place!




We also went to see Ground Zero while in the city, but there wasn't much to see. They had it completely barricaded. The memorial has not been completed either, but it's going to be really nice. We saw a brochure detailing the finished product. I did get a glimpse through one of the fences and I couldn't believe how deep the holes are where the twin towers collapsed. It was breathtaking, and not in a good way.

Happy Belated Father's Day!

My parents traveled to Somerset on June 14th and were here for a week. I'm so thankful that I got to spend Father's Day with my Dad! That's a luxury we don't normally get. After a solid week of attending baseball games, I felt bad that Dad had to endure another day of baseball on Father's Day, but since Brian was pitching, the game was where Dad wanted to be anyway. I think secretly he wanted to eat the ballpark food one more time :) It's not every day that one has access to a jumbo hotdog, a sugary funnel cake, dip n' dots, and a little popcorn with your butter!

If there's one think I'll always remember about my dad, it's that he enjoys good food. (Good thing he's a marathon runner and works all those calories off.) When I was little I would always ask Dad for dessert after dinner because his standard was 3 cookies, while Mom's was always only 2.

While Dad was a stickler for manners and enforced a no whining policy, he did a fabulous job of always making me feel like I was beautiful and loved. In whatever I chose to do, as long as I tried my hardest, it was good enough for him. From my swim meets, to my grades, and even beauty pageants, I never once questioned my dad's high opinion of me. I look at young girls today and wonder why there is so much insecurity, why they try so hard to be something they're not and wonder if it's because they never received the love and support from their fathers that is so desperately needed in order for women to have a healthy self-esteem. As I look back on my up-bringing, I am so thankful for my father's love, support, humor, and grace.

Dad, you were, and still are a wonderful dad! Love you!

Zumba!

I'm on a quest for a fun, high-energy workout video. I need a good cardio DVD to do when a) the treadmill has bored me to tears b) it's raining out and c) when we're on the road and the only place to work out in is a hotel room. I've heard that Zumba is incredibly fun. For those of you that have not heard of it, it's a Latin flavored dance workout. It looks entertaining and I'm hoping it would really get my heart rate up. Has anybody tried this? If so, did you like it? Any other recommendations for fun workout videos? I've looked into The Firm, Hip Hop Abs, and P90X.

BLOG WORTHY

I'm sure many of you have seen this skit before, or some version of it. In fact, I emailed it to a few friends today. However, if you haven't seen it, please take a few minutes to watch it. First time I saw it I was moved to tears. It's what I like to call "blog worthy."

Mom

It's Mother's Day! I'd like to wish my wonderful mom a very, very, very happy Mother's Day! I'm only sorry I couldn't go home to celebrate with her. One of the drawbacks of living in New Jersey for the summer is that I can't go home whenever I like. Maybe if Brian makes it to the big leagues one day I can afford to fly back and forth as much as I'd like!

To simply say that I'm thankful for my mom would be an understatement. She has been such a godly example throughout my life. What more can you ask for than a mom who emulates Christ on a regular basis? What greater lesson is there to be learned than Christ and him glorified? As I've grown older, I've learned to appreciate my mother's wise words, strong spirit and compassionate heart even more. Mothers never stop being mothers, and I'm thankful. I'm looking forward to the day when I'm a mom and can put everything she's taught me into practice. Something tells me it will be a lot harder than it looks!

Mom, I'm forever indebted to you in so many ways. Thank you for loving God and demonstrating his love to others. I love you and hope you have a happy Mother's Day!

Change

I don't know about ya'll, but sometimes I just need a change. This nagging can sometimes be sufficed by simply moving a piece of furniture to a different spot or changing the fabric on a pillow. However, lately I've been contemplating doing something different with my hair.

I'm not a particularly daring person. Therefore, I can't do anything drastic without first having a good idea of what it would look like. Internet to the rescue! I stumbled across a great website called DailyMakeover.com. It is the bomb! I've spent more time than I'd probably like to admit "trying on" different celebrity hairstyles. It's kind of addictive. If you ever want to change your hairstyle and/or hair color, this website is a great resource. And of course, it's free! Check out my results below:






Don't worry, I haven't decided if I'll really do anything like what you see above, but you never know, my need for a little change just might get the best of me :)

Back to the Garden State

In case you haven't heard, Brian is going to play baseball again this summer and recently signed a contract to play for the Somerset Patriots again! Here's the article if you're interested in reading it. We'll be headed up to New Jersey in a few weeks. I'm looking forward to being in a familiar place and reuniting with some friends in New Jersey. However, it's always hard to leave our friends, family, community, church and house in Charlotte!

New Floor

I should have posted this a while back, but just haven't gotten around to it. Not that any of you were on the edge of your seat, waiting with great anticipation for this oh-so-important post about our new kitchen floor :)

Anyway, if you recall I posted a picture of our old floor a few weeks ago. Well, now our floors look like this:





I like them even more than I thought I would! No more white vinyl! Yay!

Birthday Fun!

My birthday was yesterday, March 9, and I had a wonderful day! Brian was so sweet to make the weekend before special too. He called it my "birthday weekend." In celebration, he planned for us to go to the new Olympic Whitewater Park in Charlotte on Saturday. It was a lot of fun and the weather was beautiful! While there, we paid to ride the "mega zip line." Here we are in our gear, just before climbing 43 feet and zip lining over the water! We both thoroughly enjoyed it.




After walking around some of the trails we were worn out!


So we went home, rested, and drove to the new IKEA store in Charlotte. I had never been to IKEA and it was overwhelmingly large and extensive! I'm going to have to go back there sometime when I have more time and energy.

On Sunday, Brian made me a birthday cake! All by himself! I think he only asked me 4 or 5 questions. That's pretty good for someone who has NEVER baked ANYTHING. I felt so special that he wanted to do that for me. And the cake turned out really well. It was delicious! Brian was meticulous about getting the icing smooth. Here he is working hard:





On Monday, Mom and Dad came up to take us out to dinner for my birthday! We went to Flat Rock Grille which was soooooo yummy. Brian and I have never had a bad (or even mediocre) meal there. Everything has always been outstanding, especially the key lime pie. It is out of this world!

At Flat Rock for my 29th:

Props to My Friend!

Ok, I just had to blog about these adorable dresses my friend Ashley is making! She just started making them, and I'd say she's doing a fabulous job. I've already told her that if I have a baby girl one day, I'm going to pay her to make some of these cute dresses! Check out her blog (it's in the list of "other blogs I follow" on the right).

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today, March 3, 2009 my dad is 64 years old! (I'm sure he's thrilled that I'm sharing this with everyone.) I can hardly believe he's 64, mostly because I don't think he looks a day over 45. I sure hope I inherited his "non-graying" gene!

One thing I love to do when I'm home at Mom and Dad's is look through old pictures. I was doing just that a few weeks ago, when I ran across the photo below. Look at that handsome devil! He must have had to beat the ladies away with a stick.

Dad, I love you so much and hope you've had a wonderful birthday!

Old Floor

As I've mentioned before, Brian and I are slowly but surely "pulling our townhouse together," so to speak. One thing we've always wanted to update is the flooring in the kitchen. Right now the floor is an ugly white vinyl with lots of nicks and scratches. After several trips to Lumber Liquidators, we FINALLY decided on a wood laminate that we'll put down in the kitchen and the foyer. Here's a "before" pic. Hopefully I'll have an "after" pic to share in a few days!



This past summer, I also blogged about a $300 chair I got for $50! I found it up in New Jersey while Mom and Dad were visiting us. I sent the cushions home with Mom so she could make slip covers for them. After this little makeover, I love the way the chair turned out! I feel blessed to have a mother who is willing and able to put her sewing skills to work for me. Thanks Mom!

The before pic is below. Keep in mind the cushions were not on it because Mom had taken them home, but they were big, orange, cheetah print cushions so . . . you can imagine. Let's just say they weren't quite my style.



AFTER:

I'd Like to Introduce You to . . .

Earl and Pearl Adams.

Brian and I went square dancing last Monday night with some friends and it was a blast! We both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We really got into it and decided that our stage names would be Earl and Pearl. We even wrote our new names on our name tags, but I quickly realized nobody "got it" and changed mine back to Lindsay. Brian on the other hand, introduced himself the entire night, to everyone, as Earl Adams. I laughed every single time he did it. How can he do that with a straight face?

While we really enjoyed learning how to square dance, I don't think we'll be going back. These people were SERIOUS about their square dancin'. They wanted a 20 week commitment from us. I got the impression that they would then want us to participate or compete in local square dances. We thought we were just in for a few free square dancing lessons, but I think we were wrong! In any case, it was a fun-filled evening. Please notice that we are all demonstrating the "promenade" position in the picture below. Ha ha ha!

Decisions Decisions

It's that time of year again . . . Time to figure out where Brian will play baseball this spring and summer. I share this with you simply to ask for your prayers. Every year this tends to be a tough decision. We evaluate what we think will be the best opportunity and of course pray about where God wants us. The answers aren't always clear, but we trust that if we're surrendered to Him in every way He will not let us make a mistake. And even if we do, he will get us back on track in a flash. I'm so thankful to serve a God that is a dependable leader.

At this point in time we aren't sure what all the options are. Brian could play here in the States again (for an independent team), but playing abroad is probably more likely (Mexico, Italy, Taiwan, etc). We're just waiting to see what doors God opens. Your prayers are much appreciated!