It's a Girl... Welcome Little Luna

Luna Violet Lux

Saturday November 20th

5:18 am

7 pounds 11 ounces

20 1/4 inches

She came right on her due date, how perfect is that? On Friday night Sam and I were out shopping and getting some groceries. I started to feel a few contractions but nothing that painful. We came home and made supper and watched an episode of The Office. We decided maybe we should time them and they were 8 to 9 minutes apart. This was at about 8:30 pm. We waited a little while and then called our doula. She said it was still early. I took a bath, I thought they would slow down and I would go to bed that night and get some rest. I was in denial that this was actually it, I thought it would take a really long time. After the bath they were 5 to 6 minutes apart. I was wondering how long it would be like this. The time actually went by kinda fast, before we knew it it was midnight. We decided to ask our doula to come to our house. It seemed to take forever for her to arrive. I thought we would maybe have to leave before she came. I didn't want to have the baby in the car. Megan arrived and decided it was time for me to go. It was the longest 40 minute drive! We arrived at the birth center at about 2:00 am. Our midwife came and checked me. I was at 5 or 6 cm. Then it all went pretty fast. I remember being on the birth ball and finally being able to relax. I walked downstairs, upstairs, downstairs-then my water broke. Transition was really quick, I had two terrible contractions and then I got in the tub and started pushing. I was amazed at how non invasive they were and how I was able to just let my body do what it needed to. I pushed for about an hour. This seemed like the longest part. I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere. I remember praying in between each contraction. I got a longer break between a contraction and I told my midwife she was coming out on the next push. Inga told me, "They don't just fly out." Well, two seconds later-she flew right out. Later she told me that she literally had to catch our baby! Sam missed it, he said he looked at me, and then he looked down and she was there. We were so overjoyed with our little girl. We got to hold her right away and spend time together. They checked her really quick and she got a perfect score. I can't believe how instantly in love we were. The midwives left and we spent time together as a little family of three and then they came back in with a wonderful breakfast for us to eat. The only sad part was that I had to leave Sam and Luna to go to the ER to get stitched up, I got back to the birth center at about noon. It was a beautiful sunny day. I returned to this:

Luna sleeping soundly on her daddy's chest.

The midwives all left and we had the house to ourselves. We enjoyed a little more time alone together and Luna and I took an herbal bath. We started calling people around 2 pm. Sam's parents came to the birth center and then we went home at around 7 pm. I remember being at home with Luna resting peacefully on my chest at 8:30 and thinking that just yesterday at this time I was at home in labor- she was in my belly.

We got home and settled in and it started snowing that night. She couldn't have had better timing. It's been snowing ever since, so it's been a good excuse to just stay inside and cuddle all cozy with our little girl with all the candles lit.

I'm so thankful that the birth was a good experience, and went just as we hoped it would. I know everyone says that having a baby is the worse pain in the world. And I was nervous wondering if I could really handle a natural unmedicated birth. But honestly, I didn't think it was so terrible. Yes, it was painful but I thought it would be worse. I really think that my yoga class helped me learn how to relax and I think that the Bradley class prepared Sam for how to handle it. I'm so thankful for two wonderful midwives and a great doula and a really supportive husband.

I've been sipping tea and cuddling with lovely Luna all day. I can't believe she's a week old already! We were both tired today I guess. I like to call her Lunabelle. We love staring into her pretty blue eyes and watching her silly faces. We can't seem to put the camera down. Sam has been taking good care of us. He's at the laundromat right now in fact. She's had lots of skype dates with loving aunties and uncles and grandma and grandpa. I'm looking forward to next week. We will get a whole week to spend as a little family of three. My mom is coming on Friday for a week. And we're going to have little Luna here with us for Christmas. I'm looking forward to going and cutting down the tree with her. Sam and I are already talking about the ways we can take her with us cross country skiing and out on adventures. It's a good snow year and Luna's not going to miss it! And I've been telling her about all the pretty vintage dresses I've been saving and the girl clothes I just couldn't resist buying. It's so nice to say her and she! She is a little sweetheart and we love her!

Sandpoint Getaway

Two weekends ago we decided to try to get away for the weekend. I originally wanted to go to Seattle, but we figured we should play it safe and go to Sandpoint Idaho. We only got away for one night but it was really nice. We stayed at The Inn at Sand Creek. It was a really nice place and a good price too. I was sad because I was looking forward to eating at Dish, a gourmet take out restaurant. It had rave reviews and Serena talked about it in Country Living magazine, but it went out of business. It was good to get away one last time for just the two of us.

Craigslist Tool

Craigslist is no longer the big headache that it was. Does anyone else already use this? Craigseasy allows you to search craigslist and it shows the listings of the pictures only. No more clicking on the "great vintage couch" that turns out to be a hideous floral thing from the 80's. Thank you Courtney for sharing this. Maybe I'll actually use craigslist more now. FYI, I think you need to be using firefox for it to work, it didn't work in Safari for me. Try it out, it's awesome.

Babies, babies, babies

Ok, I definitely have babies on the brain. I just got to hold this sweet little one day old baby yesterday! Isn't he just adorable? He was so alert and wide awake and happy.

I've been thinking a lot about this. Obviously because I'm ready to meet ours any day now- but it's been a crazy year of babies. I have friends all over this year having babies. There were four women that I help volunteer with who have had babies in the last few months. I have a friend who wanted one so badly, but it didn't look likely, and God answered our prayers and she is pregnant. I have another friend who is still suffering from complications from a birth back in August. And now just a week ago a new friend had a baby very early and the little baby girl is suffering from heart complications and fighting to stay alive. You can read more and see sweet little Ella here I've been praising God for all the miracles of these little babies. I have seen such testimonies of faith in all the people who are suffering and the pain that some have to endure. It's impossible to try to figure out God and why certain things happen but I definitely see him through it all. Please pray for all these babies and families who are experiencing crazy life changes.

I am wondering when my little baby will meet us. I'm still pretty calm and patient. Sam is so cute, he is much more anxious than me. He's always asking how I'm feeling and if I'm having any contractions. We can't wait to hold him?(Sam thinks it's a boy) or her (we'll see who is right!) We have the cutest little outfits picked out, I'm sad that one won't get used. They are adorable and we had fun picking them out. I think it's funny that my birthday falls the day after Thanksgiving this year- the same way it was the year I was born. I can't help but wonder if this little one will share my birthday- after the big meal! I'm definitely getting things crossed off of my list and it feels so good! This sweet friend took pictures of us on Sunday. I can't wait to see them, I'm so thankful she was able to squeeze them in at the last minute! Only a few more things to get done. I'm hoping to take some pictures of the handmade goodness this baby has been getting and share it.

Some Music Advice

I haven't bought new music in ages. I think I want to put together a labor playlist, or maybe just some good tunes to listen to after the baby is here. Any suggestions?

Trying New Things

We had some time to kill between a few appointments I was taking some women to, so we went to the Asian market. They insisted on buying me some things. It has been a long time since I've tried so many new foods. I don't have a picture of what I ate for lunch. I can only describe it as an asian version of the breakfast burrito. It was a round ball of dough with a hard boiled egg in the middle and some sausage and a few other things in the middle. It was pretty good.Here is a pile of the things they gave me. The rice crackers the owners of the market threw in for free. Over on the bottom right are asian pears I think. They have a very crisp taste. Almost like an apple, but not as sweet.
This is Rambutan. If you ever get the chance to eat these I highly recommend it. They are so good. They spoiled me with these. They're not very cheap. They got a little dark by the time I took this picture, the outside is a really pretty pinkish color. The fruit itself has the consistency of an eyeball- it's so sweet and good. And there is a seed in the middle.
Here Sam is getting the coconut milk out. Apparently this is good for you when you're pregnant. It tasted pretty good. I think Sam had to pound a nail in it to get it open.
Here are some mochi. They have cute packaging don't they? They are made from a bean paste. They aren't bad, not my favorite either. They are a little bland. They each have a different flavor with a different surprise in the middle.

Free Online Magazine

I'm sure you may have all seen this already, but it's a free online Christmas magazine called Gifted. It's great! Get it right here and it's nice because you can page through it instantly, no need to download!

The Perfect Gift

My husband is always the perfect gift giver. He always finds something thoughtful and just right. In fact, I think my sister has rigged the drawing so that Sam has her for our Christmas exchange. I always struggle to find something he will really like. This year I have found just the right thing. Someone has invented a clever, odd little thing that will make Sam so happy. Etsy seller Jack Zylkin is a genius and makes a little kit so that you can use your typewriter to type on your computer. It would be very cool to have an iPad because it could just sit on top of the carriage and move side to side as you type. You can write a novel Sean Connery style from Finding Forester and yet have all the lovely technology and editing that comes with a computer.

Check out this video to see what I mean about the iPad:

A Perfect Fall Weekend

We headed to Greenbluff right before the sun was setting to pick some pumpkins. Fall is my favorite time of year and I go crazy with the pumpkins. I love to go to Knapps to get the pumpkins. It's so much fun to pick them out. But be forewarned, the stems can be very thick and prickly! Sometimes they snap off, sometimes you have to cut them. The sun was setting on the farm as we were finishing up and it was gorgeous. We also headed to the compost fair to get our free bin. We're back at composting again which makes me happy.

Baby Shower

Andrea and Katie threw me a baby shower a few weeks ago. We had a great time. I was spoiled with a lot of cute little things! We played baby jeopardy and everyone had to guess how big my belly was with a piece of crepe paper.

Apples and Randomness

This is going to be a wordy random post!

We just barely squeezed in time to go pick some apples this year. We waited until the last weekend possible. I'd like to dehydrate some and bake a pie and some apple crisp. Next week I plan on cooking, baking, and freezing like crazy!

I know I said I'd be back to posting before, but I really will now. I'm blogging from my house. We finally got internet today- woo hoo! And this tops the list today! I have felt so out of the loop without having access to the internet. August was the last time we were connected at the place we were living. I'm looking forward to getting caught up again with all of my online friends! I got a few concerned e-mails from people wondering where on earth I have been! I've got posts scheduled for all week. So even if the baby comes- this blog will have posts.

The baby isn't here yet, but could come any day! I'm not too anxious quite yet. I still have some stuff I would like to finish first. I did have a melt down before freaking out thinking that if the baby came we were not ready at all. Everyone keeps asking if the nursery is ready. Well, not really but at least we have the essentials now. The room is a mix of my art/crafty stuff and a baby dresser with a changing pad on top. The baby will sleep in our room at first.I have been on an emotional roller coaster lately and doing all of this moving while being pregnant was draining. It's been a little harder to be as laid back and easy going as I would like. I felt like we waited for the last minute to get the essentials. But we have them now and it's such a relief.

I'm thankful for the sweetest dearest friends. We are getting together at least once a week for a book/bible study and again for a craft night. It's so nice to have other crafty people to hang out and connect with. They have been so supportive to me lately and I'm so thankful. It's so nice to have people who "get you." They are the most caring group of women and I feel really fortunate to have met them.

I'm so thankful that we got rid of the boxes. No more visible boxes. Yay! I'm looking forward to having people over now. Last Friday night Sam and I worked and worked and got rid of all the boxes. We still have stuff in storage in two different places. But this place looks a little like a home now. I even hung a few things on the wall. It still has been hard to work on projects because half of my craft stuff is missing. But it is getting there.

Our kitchen floor is clean. It took some serious scrubbing, but the paint is gone. I think other people have confirmed this, but dirtiness and gross things are 10 times more irritating when you're pregnant. So one night in nesting madness I was up until one scrubbing the floor.

I just finished up all the volunteer work I was doing. Some prayers were answered and I feel good now about easing up a bit. I handed it over and that took a load off for me. I love doing it, but it has been really stressful and hard lately and I was having trouble letting go of it.

I am sick right now. It's not fun to be sick and pregnant, it's hard enough to sleep at night, but add coughing fits and a sore throat in the mix and sleep is scarce. The good thing is that the baby sweater I'm knitting is getting some progress! I am going to take it easy now. I'm really looking forward to a relaxing week.

I just gathered all the fabric and supplies to make some receiving blankets and a quilt. I hope to get some good progress with that this weekend. I also want to do some sort of artsy wall hanging for the baby room.

I'm so excited to find out if this little baby inside of me is a boy or a girl. I can only take so much orange, yellow, and brown! I want to know if we can buy little flannel shirts for a mini Sam, or if I can make little ruffly skirts and dress up a little girl in all the vintage girl clothes I've been hoarding.

I love my yoga class. It's so relaxing and feels so good. Our teacher Cara gives good tips on feeling better.

Ok, time for supper. The posts this week are heavier on pictures, lighter on words. Take care everyone, I hope you all have a good relaxing weekend.

New Place

Well, my friend kept telling me to get off the beach... (I was on the beach on my last post) well I wish I've been on the beach this whole time. That wasn't quite the case. I've missed blogging. So much has happened, it's so hard to know where to pick up again. I still don't have internet at my place, but I'm hoping to start blogging regularly again.

I was waiting to blog so that I could say we bought a house. I was going to wait until everything was final and for sure. But life doesn't always go the way you think it's going to. But things happened. We were supposed to close on Friday- but something is weird with the zoning- so we have to wait for the city to change it. So in the mean time we have moved in. I figured I can't wait any longer to share this with you. Hopefully within the next two months the city will change things and we will own it.

It's a duplex. We will be renting out the downstairs. (People are renting it out right now, so we have neighbors) and we are living upstairs.

I am sharing this one spot in our living room with you. It is the one spot that is finished and cozy. The rest of the place is a bit of a disaster. It's nice to have one spot feel homey. We went a little crazy picking the pumpkins this year. I will share the pumpkin post later this week.

I am 36 weeks pregnant, I can't believe that the baby will almost be here. I was freaking out before, but I think it's ok now. Sure, an extra month to get ready would be good. But it will work out. Everyone seems to tell me at the end that they are just dying to have the baby and that the time goes by so slowly. Well- maybe I haven't quite reached that point but I don't feel that way. Time could slow down. I have a dozen projects I want to finish before this baby arrives! I feel really good.

I'm at the laundromat right now. Yes- no washer and dryer! It's good and bad. I can get online and blog, I can get all the laundry done at once. It's going to be tricky to do cloth diapers though. Hopefully we will get one soon.

I am busy this week wrapping up the decorating projects for my friends wedding. Hopefully I'll have some diy wedding posts coming up. It's so fun to plan for a fall wedding. It's my favorite time of year. So many fun decorating options. The wedding is this Saturday.

And then I would like to start sewing some baby things. Alrighty, well that catches you up a little bit.

At the Beach

I should just say that we moved, and are temporarily staying with Sam's grandma until we find something more permanent. I'll keep you updated.

I thought I'd share some photos of my mom and sister's visit from a few weeks ago. A week before we had to move we decided to make an impromptu trip to Portland. It was so much fun. At the end we decided to drive to the coast to dip our feet in the ocean. We went to Cannon Beach and only stayed for a few hours, but it was nice.

I think I'm about 26 weeks here. I'm 28 weeks now- (translation for the rest of the world who doesn't think of time in weeks- that's 7 months)
We first went to the ocean when we were beginning to get serious dating, and we have a picture just like this when we were 17- Sam had really long hair.

Where We Lived

As we've been thinking about where we want to live next. Buy, rent, or drive- I've been thinking about the different places we've been. We've had some awesome opportunities to live in some cool places. Many have been very tiny. We like living small. I love the opportunity to travel and see new parts of the world and meet new people and experience different cultures.

Right after we were married we spent a month in this tiny hotel room while we worked in Sweden.

Then for a few months it was one hostel to the next...
And then after 3 months of being married, we had our first place on Cherry Street in Denver. Completely furnished off of free stuff from Craigslist- we had an air mattress bed.

After only a month in Denver living in Denver we moved to Winter Park. We stayed in a little back end of a condo for 6 months.

Then we bought our van and headed all across the US, visiting my family in the midwest, and then Sam's out in Washington and then back to Colorado. We lived in our van down by the river for 3 months in Buena Vista.


Then we moved to a tiny apartment in this big old house in Eau Claire Wisconsin. We lived there about a year.

First the roof caved in in the closet, then we saw the mold, and then after I got shocked from the old wiring in the bathroom we knew we had to go. We stayed with friends for a month, I think? And then we stayed with Sam's boss out at this gorgeous place with acres of gardens.

Then we moved out to Washington to be innkeepers at this lodge. We were there for a year.
Then we moved to Spokane. We were in this apartment for a year. The first normal apartment ever.
Then we were in Berkeley California for 2 months.

Then we started housesitting at this beautiful home on the north side. We've been here about a year. We'll be here for 13 more days. I need to pack it up!
And next....

Who knows. We've been praying, we'll see. I'm going crazy. I think I'm having this nesting urge, with nowhere to go. I think we might move in with Sam's grandma until we figure things out. We were so close to buying this cute house and then it all fell through when we had the inspection. We were sad and disappointed, but now we're reevaluating things and trying to decide what we really should be doing. Stay tuned. Prayers are appreciated.