This Time Last Year

This time last year I was here.

Technically I think we were still sitting in the airport in Auckland, but we were well on our way to America!!!

About 15 hours later we were here, on the bus on the way to our hotel in LA.

Another 12 hours or so later (and after a good nights sleep) we had fueled up here

Mmm turkey bacon

and were cruising in this

taking in the beautiful Californian coastline.

I can't believe a whole year has passed since we left for our big adventure. I remember how good the sunshine felt, how excited we were to be at the very start of our trip, the one we had been dreaming about for years and planning for months, and how right it felt to be in America.

We still miss America and dream about going back there, definitely for a holiday, but we often imagine being able to move out there too. We left big pieces of our hearts in the US of A.



Blogs I'm Loving Right Now

 I have discovered some new reads recently so I am posting the links to them so I will remember them forever. Or at least be able to look back and see what I was reading at this point in time.

Anyway, here they are!

Oh, Sweet Joy!
A cute, fun blog with recipes, fashion and cute crafty tutorials.

Throught the Looking Glass
Another cute blog with tales about Lissa's life. She is also commiting to going a year without purchasing any clothing! Go Girl!

Under the Sycamore
Ashley Ann is a photographer, mother and all round crafty lady. There are always stunning photos of her family, especially her kids. Plus I'm loving following along with her adoption story.

Bower Power
Not a new discovery, but I love this blog. And Katie has the same due date as me!

Enjoying the Small Things
Also not a recent find, but I love her passion for life, the way she writes and her photos of her children.

The Wiegands
I fell in love with this blog the moment I stumbled upon it. Casey writes so beautifully about her family, her love for her children and husband, her passions for art, people and God. She mixes all that in with some lovely photography, and occasional videos by her talented husband.

Weekend Bargains

On Saturday morning I went and did a little shopping with my sister. With it being the end of the financial year I knew that there would be some pretty good bargains to be had, but with the baby on the way I have been extra careful about what I'm spending, and most extra cash has been going towards things for him or her.

But into town I went, and sure enough I returned home with a number of bargains. In fact I spent under $50 on all of these items. $45.74 to be exact.

This cute skirt, the two tops and the fun coloured tights were $5 each!

I then picked up the belt and the earrings for $2 each. Yep $2!

I didn't forget about baby either. The two bibs were $5.24 and the gorgeous blanket was only $7.50!

I returned home a very happy shopper.

Holiday Plans

I started holidays again this afternoon! Can I get a whoo!! Three weeks off for the mid year break, and boy was I ready for them this time around.

While I plan on doing some relaxing, I have a HUGE to-do list that I want to try and plough my way through over the next three weeks, knowing that the next break I get will be when I finish work about six weeks before the baby is due. I imagine that by then I will not feel like doing any major cleaning projects and I also want to allow myself the luxury of taking it as easy as possible in those few weeks leading up to baby's arrival.

I posted a month ago about my two embarrassing rooms. Getting those cleared are at the very top of my list.


Umm...yeah

The list also includes (but is definitely not limited to):

• going through all the cupboards in the house
• cleaning all the windows
• vacuuming the curtains
• re-arranging several rooms in the house
• re-organise the pantry
• clear out the fridge and freezer
• clean and sort out all the kitchen cupboards
• give all the skirting boards a good clean
• go through my wardrobe
• do a serious number on our front and back yard
• have a garage sale

And the big one. Organise the baby's room!! That's the fun part!

Wish me luck...I'm gonna need it!

20 Week Ultrasound

We had our second ultrasound yesterday afternoon to check out little baby Timberlake!

Our little one was lying in the perfect position for the sonographer to get great shots of baby's heart beating away, including seeing all four chambers. We could also see really easily the spine and it's tiny little ribs. It was not, however in a great position for a good 3D shot, as evidenced above. Clearly a little camera shy, each time they tried to get a good image of baby's face, it would move one of it's hands in the way. Facepalm!!

And despite some serious abdomen jiggling by the technician, baby just would not move around at all. He or she was quite content to by lying around on it's back!

We were able to see little one sucking it's thumb, moving it's legs around and moving it's tiny tongue in and out of it's mouth.

Each and every time I see our baby I am amazed at the miracle that is conception, pregnancy and the formation of a tiny human life.

Psalm 139:13-16

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Week 20 - Half Way There!

Baby's size: Baby is 25cm long and weighs about 300 grams!

How far along: 20 weeks!! Half way there! I can't believe we are half way to meeting our little one!

Sleep: Still sleeping pretty much like normal, but if I lie on my right side for too long my side starts to get a little sore. I also can't stay in bed for as long in the mornings anymore because my bladder just won't let me!

Maternity clothing: Still not yet, although there are some of my old clothes that just don't work anymore. My boobs have gotten to big for some of my work dresses.

Food cravings: Still no real cravings, but I have greatly expanded my food choices in the last two weeks. Salad and lots more fruit have been on the menu, along with, or course, chicken. We also got into fish cakes while at Phillip Island, so I have been having a little more fish recently too.

Food aversions: Still off beef and most cooked vegetables. I'm also a real sweet tooth and could eat chocolate all day everyday, but I haven't been loving it like usual. It's not really an aversion, but I don't want it as much as normal.

Symptoms: I have been finding that I get a little achy in my lower abdomen if I'm on my feet for too long, or if I do a lot of bending and picking things up. I'm tired by early evening, and an afternoon nap everyday would be nice!

Midwife's appointment: Not for another week or so (I think!) but we have our second ultrasound tomorrow. We should also get a DVD of the ultrasound this time, which I can't wait to show people!

Movement: Finally felt movement on Friday night while I was lying on the floor!!!! It was like baby was running it's little foot or knee along the inside on my womb!

Gender: We can find out tomorrow, but I think I want to wait and be surprised on the day of it's arrival!

Best moment of the week: Feeling the baby move for the first time on Friday night!! So cool. I can't wait for it to happen more frequently, and for Dave to be able to feel it too.

What I miss: Steak, spaghetti bolognaise, lasagna. Basically anything that involves beef.

What I'm looking forward to: Our ultrasound tomorrow! I can't wait to see baby moving all around.

Oh, and school holidays start next week - three weeks off!! 

Hunger for God

I set out at the start of this year to read through the Bible chronologically this year. Admittedly I fell way behind early on, and as tempting as it was to beat my self up about this, I decided not to. Instead I have just kept plugging away at it, a little at a time. Some days I'll read through numerous chapters, other days I don't read any (which by the way I don't advocate. Life is much better when you are in the Word daily).

I have hit Deuteronomy in the last week, and I will be completely honest when I tell you that I thought about skipping through  this book. I just wanted to get a head to where Israel finally made it to the Promised Land. I didn't want to keep reading about all the laws and rules and regulations. Seriously, Leviticus and Numbers was more than enough of all of that for a while!

But let me tell you... my goodness!! If you haven't read much or any of Deuteronomy GET ON IT! If you have read it before, read it again. It is chock full of fantasticness. There is not a single page so far where I haven't underlined, highlighted and made notes about something.

In fact just now I have been reading Chapter 8 while I have dinner cooking in the oven. (My first attempt at a roast chicken, by the way!) It is rocking my socks off!

Chapter 8. Not the chicken.

 Verses 2 & 3 really got me going.

² Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. ³ He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

God led the Israelites into the desert and allowed them to wander for 40 years. 40 Years!

He could have led them straight to the Promised Land, but there was purpose in their desert time.

I love this revelation that I got as I read, because we all go through desert times in our faith journey. We all experience times where we feel like we are going in circles, getting no where, just dry. I took from this something that I hope to apply in my own desert times. And if anyone else out there that might read this is experiencing a desert time, I hope that this encourages you too.

The key to our desert times, the purpose to our desert times is revealed in verse 3. "...causing you to hunger..."

God wanted the Israelites to hunger, and not just for manna. He wanted them to hunger for Him

God was teaching them that "man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."

Even the miraculously provided manna was only temporarily filling for the Israelites, yet it symbolised so much more then just food for their stomachs. God wants me to hunger for Him. To be desperate for Him to be the one filling me.



Foggy Morning

We woke on Monday morning at the island to find ourselves shrouded in fog. I find that mornings like this are so incredibly peaceful. The air is still, the birds are silent. It's the perfect morning for staying in pyjamas longer and sipping a hot drink in front of the heater.

The Long Weekend

A little of the Queen's Birthday long weekend as seen through the lens of my phone!

1. Antique store on the Island

2. Heart on the beach

3. Sunset on "our" beach

4. Choc-mint ice-cream. Yum!

5. The track down to the beach

6. Mini golf. Dave won...this time :)

7. Outside at the mini golf

8.  Main Street, Cowes

9. Our beach on an early morning walk

10. View from the back porch on a foggy morning

11. My reading material for the weekend

12. Cleanskins - one of our favourite shops on the island

Baby Names



Image Source

I hadn't realised how hard it would be to pick names for our baby.

For a while before we were pregnant, possibly even before we were married, we had talked about names we liked. Of course, at that point it was all hypothetical, way off in the future, our kids someday names. (You have all done that too, right!)

 In fact we had quite a long list each of names that we liked. Some we could agree on, some we couldn't. (Dave, I'm sorry, but I still think Indiana is a girls name. And calling him "Indy" like Indiana Jones isn't going to make it any more butch. Or make him get less beat up on the playground. iloveyoubabe ;) )

Throw into the mix the fact that I work in a school. That means I come across lots of kids. And lots of slightly feral kids. The kind of kids when you hear their name alone, not even in reference to that child, it makes you shudder. Three years working in a school, and two years teaching swimming to kids prior to that eliminates a lot of names.

I also have a name that is easily mispronounced. Sharen. It is NOT SAID LIKE "SHARON!!!!!"
Sorry. Apparently I still have some undealt with anger about this issue.

Clearly, names that might be mispronounced are off the list.

I have always been a little worried that when the time came to name my child I would pick a name I loved at the time, but then what if I hated it in a few months or years? Has that ever happened to anyone?
It's funny, how now this little baby is REAL, and on it's way to our arms and life, that a lot of the names we really liked, we suddenly don't like anymore.

I have realised that it is an incredible responsibility to give our child his or her name. It becomes their identity. It is their label for life. I want to give our baby a name that has a great meaning to it. Something that they might be able to identify with, or will be a facet of their personality. I love the idea of finding a Scripture that fits the meaning of the name we choose, and that becoming like a prayer or spoken word over their life.

Naming this child is a great honor and responsibility, one we are not taking lightly. It is the first major decision we will make for his or her life, and one that they will wear the consequences of for the rest of their life.

No pressure right?!

18 Weeks

Baby size: Approximately 14cm long and weighs about 190 grams!

How far along: 18 weeks exactly.

Sleep: Fine. I could do with more of it though! I'm looking forward to the school holidays soon when I'll be able to sleep in for three weeks!

Maternity clothes: Still fit all my regular clothes, although I have stopped doing up the buttons on my jeans and work pants. I can still get them done up, but it's just so much more comfortable with a hair elastic holding them closed, especially when I'm sitting down.

Food cravings: Still no real food cravings

Food aversions: Still red meat and cooked vegetables. The cooked vegetables one is weird!

Symptoms: I had a little tightness just under my ribs yesterday but that is gone today. Apparently there is this thing called the "mask of pregnancy" which is a rash like thing that can cover your upper body, including face and neck with splotchy reddish-brown markings. Here's hoping that doesn't happen! It sounds just delightful to look at!

Midwife's appointment: Not for another few weeks. I have my next ultrasound appointment on the 20th June. I'm pretty sure we get a DVD at this one! So excited to see our little one again.

Movement: I haven't felt any movement yet, which is a little disappointing. But, baby can now hear our voices!! So incredible. Dave had been repeating the word "daddy" over and over to it. He's hoping that if he does this, the baby's first word will be "daddy!"

Gender: Still don't know. Still undecided if I want to know.

Best moment of the week: Finding out on Sunday night that one of my very best friends is also expecting. Their baby is due about 12 weeks after our little one! I just can't believe what a fun time in life this is! We also picked up the car seat this week - half price at Target! Whoo!

What I miss: Nothing really. Probably just variety in my diet. Spaghetti bolognaise would nice, but the idea of the meat in that still grosses me out! And the smell of it cooking, ugh! I'm sure Dave misses the variety too, poor guy!

What I'm looking forward to: The first time I feel little baby move. I can't wait!

Our Lounge Room

Like many people, I'm sure, once we found out that we had a baby on the way getting our house organised suddenly became a big priority. One of the very first things we did was get rid of our old couches and replace them with a nice new modular sofa.

With our home being an older house, it isn't sealed as well as newer ones, it has funny vents in the walls and so dust and dirt easily gets in, and then settles in things like the carpet, and our cloth covered couches.

So it was out with the old, in with the nice, new, roomy, leather modular lounge.

Well, I then needed to fix up the cushions as they were a little manky and matched the old couch, not the new one, so on Friday I took a sick day from work (lets just call it a mental health day!) and made some new cushion covers.

There are still a few things we need to do in here, like sort out the stand next to the TV, especially once the baby becomes mobile and could get into the cables there, but for now I'm pretty happy with it!

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