Allow me to introduce you....

It's been a sweet, wonderful, sleepless week around our house.  Our little Max was welcomed into this world in the wee hours of the morning on December 15, weighing in at 6lbs 3oz and 19.5in long.  

 

Oh, what joy he brings!  

We are in LOVE! 

Birth story is forthcoming, but for now I want to share his beautiful face :) 

 

Friday Letters {7}

Dear Max,

I am thankful beyond words for the opportunity to be your mom.  James 1:17 tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from above and we know that you are straight from heaven as a gift to all who will know you.  It’s truly amazing to know that someone so tiny, who has yet to leave a single footprint on this earth, can already bring so much joy. 

Our road to meeting you hasn’t been an easy one, bringing along many tears and great stress.  As with many trying situations it has also been rewarding, bringing us closer to the Lord and to one another; leaving us no option but to trust in God’s plan for our lives and our marriage.  You, my child, are impacting people’s lives before we even see your sweet face.  You are a miracle; our sweet, perfect answer to so many prayers spoken by so many loved ones and dear friends.  When people hold you and look into your eyes they will be reminded of God’s perfect plan and His sovereignty in each of our lives.  I am overwhelmed with joy and anticipation at the thought of holding you and kissing your sweet cheeks.  

The next few hours/days/weeks will be filled with so many emotions as we prepare for your birth, and my heart feels so full it might explode…I can only imagine having you in my arms will be the most overwhelmingly wonderful moment of my life.  I cannot wait to watch you grow, see you learn new things, make people smile and {most importantly} know Jesus.  Daddy & I pray you will allow the Lord to use you in a monumental way, just as He is already doing.  

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.   

Psalms 139:13-16

 

With all my heart, always,
Mom

 

Thankful Thursday

via

I am so thankful for so many things, and in this crazy season of life we are in, I am trying to be present daily and aware of the many blessings we have....

~a healthy growing baby boy who has stayed in the womb past doctor's expectations!  YAY!

~surprisingly warm December weather, which makes dressing this big ol' belly a bit easier!

~grace.  this crazy pregnant lady often needs it...and needs it in abundance!

~a safe hospital to go to for the delivery of my child.  oh, how we take great medical care for granted!

~laughter.  makes life's tough times a bit easier :)

What are you thankful for?  Go link up and share!

37 Weeks

I am always a tad late in posting these, but I wanted to share none-the-less.  I am so excited for Max to get here I can hardly stand it!! Enjoy this update {it could be my last before he arrives!!}!

How far along: 37 weeks

How big is your baby: somewhere between 5-6lbs, about the size of a watermelon

Sex: boy  

Maternity clothes: Yep.  Almost everything I wear, except cardigans and less fitting tops.

Stretch marks: still don’t have any & definitely praying they stay away!  Thank you, good genes & cocoa butter!  You are my best friends…

 Movement: All. The. Time! People say you don’t feel it as much this far along, but I certainly do!  He doesn’t like to be still…just like momma & daddy!   

Sleep: People keep saying “sleep now while you can” …while I can?! Well, I can’t, actually, and haven’t been able to for a while.  If my brain isn’t going 100 miles a minute keeping me up, I am getting up to pee a lot and waking at his bigger movements. 

Symptoms: Wild, ever-changing emotions!  

Best moment this week: When the ultrasound showed he FLIPPED!  Yippee!!  Hoping he remains head down!

Food cravings: This past week I had a mild obsession with a certain lemon meringue pie given to me by a dear friend…I didn’t even know I liked lemon meringue! And yes, I am still eating a TON of cereal!!   

Food aversions: still just chicken

Labor signs: not yet

Belly button in or out: My belly button is so strange!  Kind of in, kind of out.  Usually flat, but open. HA!  That sounds grosser than it is!

What I miss: Sleeping more, sleeping on my stomach or my back, peeing less and running.  I can’t wait to get my hands on a glass of red wine.

What I'm looking forward to: Finally holding my little man, and seeing his sweet face!  Last night I just sat in his nursery for 30 minutes and day dreamed about having him here.  CANNOT WAIT!!!  

 

My Thankful ABC's

With Thanksgiving just 12 {or so} hours away, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the blessings of life and the many, many things I am thankful for.  God is SO GOOD!  Have a great Thanksgiving! 

A: Ashley, my sister and Andrew, my brother.  Ash is hilarious, kind, generous & an amazing momma to four kiddos! Andrew is a great dad, great brother, hilarious man (like our Dad) and fun man to be around.  I am so thankful for both of them!

B: BL.  My best friend, my rock, my partner. Words can't really express how thankful I am for such an amazing man to share life with. 

C: Christ, who brings us salvation

D: Dogs, Gus & Rambo ... love those crazy mutts!

E: Elizabeth, my sister.  She is adorable and fun, spunky and kind.  I love her!

F: Friends ... I have the best friends in the whole world.  Period.

G: Grace, which I am in constant need of!!

H: Humor, without which I would surely die a slow, painful death

I: Ignorance.  Sometimes I am just dumb, but I do appreciate my ignorance sometimes; after all, isn't is supposed to be bliss?!

J: Josh, my oldest brother.  He is a talented businessman, brilliant in many ways, funny man and a great big brother!  Love you Josh!

K: Kids.  Usually making me laugh (or at least smile), they are a blessing indeed! 

L: Love.  I just love to love. 

M: Mel, my fearless, amazing mother.  She is the bomb. dot. com.  Need to know more, just go here...
 
N: New Opportunities.  So thankful for these every day.
 
O: Optimism.  I have been told I am painfully optimistic, but is there really such a thing?!
 
P: Peace. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:7

Q: Quiet.  Sometimes you just need to be still.  I am thankful for times which allow this.
 
R: Real talk.  You know those people in your life who always shoot straight?  I so appreciate their real, honest talks and the courage to say what needs to be said.  I just really like when people are REAL. AUTHENTIC. TRUE.
 
S: Son.  I am so beyond thankful for my SON, Max.  I am too excited for words.  He is such a joy and I haven't even locked eyes with him yet. I will soon, though...YIPPEEE!!!
 
T: Tom, my hilarious, smart, generous & all-around awesome dad!  Love you Daddy!
 
U: Unity.  I am thankful for the people in my life who can come together in times of joy and times of need.  The unity we share is priceless to me.
 
V: Vacations.  Praise the Lord I have a family who loves to travel and spend time together.  I just love vacations, time to get away, time to explore.
 
W: Wealth.  Not the money, either.  I am thankful for the wealth of blessings God has given me, which don't come from cold hard cash.  Most of them aren't even tangible.
 
X: X-tended family.  Yes, I realize that is not really an 'x' word, but I wanted to recognize my awesome extended family... In-laws, cousins, aunts & uncles.  I love how crazy we all are and how much fun we have together! 
 
Y: YOU!  This blog is so special to me & each one of you who stop by to check in mean a lot to me.  Thank you for being a part of my life.
 
Z: Zipper-free pants.  This is a funny one to end on, but when you're 36+ weeks pregnant, you're very thankful for pants without a zipper!!  As mentioned here ;)

What are you thankful for?  

I pray each of you & your families enjoy this long weekend & time to reflect on your blessings.  Make it a great one friends! 

Friday Letters {6}

Dear sisters, thanks for being so wonderful.  I am super blessed to have the world's best sisters & sister-in- laws. Dear Friday, thanks for showing up.  Dear Kitchenaid Mixer, you are amazeballs.  Nothing I bake would come out nearly as wonderful if it weren't for you.  I {heart} you.  Dear 2012, where have you gone?  Pretty sure it was just my birthday, and now it's suddenly mid-November.  Can you slow down just a pinch so I can get things ready for the baby!?  Dear Max, I am so excited to kiss your cheeks in just five weeks...or less?  You have already blessed my life so much and I couldn't be happier to be your momma!    Dear BL, thanks for dealing with my crazy mood swings, my insane eating & my nesting rants.  You're my best friend, and my most favorite person in the whole world.  Thank you for being there and helping so much!  Max is going to love you!

Make it a great day, friends!!
 

I love my cousin... AKA Maternity Pictures :)

Let's face it, maternity pictures can easily be some of the most awkward pictures...ever.  Luckily for me, I happen to know an amazing photographer who is not in the awkward maternity picture business!  My cousin Lesley is amazing.  Her talent never ceases to amaze me and I am so blessed by her work, time and time again!  Hope you enjoy these shots as much as we do! 

Homemade Taco Yumminess

This weekend I made a fantastic pantry stocking staple which I am very excited about!  In our home, we are often busting out a packet of taco seasoning to go with our ground turkey or ground beef for many different recipes: tacos, black bean soup, Mexican jambalaya, etc, etc.  Although I always purchased the 'low sodium' kind, I didn't stop to think about all of the fillers in that small little packet...until I found this on pinterest.  As the pinner said, it's "Simply Spices!"  The result, pre-shaking, was like a beautiful {edible} sand art, reminiscent of 3rd grade.  

I wanted more than one serving, so I made a whole jar full with the following: 
4 TBS chili powder
4 TBS ground cumin
4 TBS garlic powder
4 TBS onion powder
2 TBS crushed red pepper (although it called for less, we like it hot in our house, so I doubled it)

I also saved a few bucks on this by purchasing the spices at Aldi in larger containers, making the 2 whole jars cost just $5!  That is at least 20 servings (depending on how much you use each time) for less than $.25 each...a fraction of what those little packets would cost you.  I do love a good bargain ;)

Spice it up, friends, and make it a great day!

Friday's Letters {5}

Dear Friday, took you a while to get here, but I am oh-so-glad you've graced us with your presence.  Dear Max, your appetite is almost uncontrollable...I am pretty sure you might arrive into this world as a 10 pounder ;) On a serious note, I canNOT wait to see your handsome little face!  I have so many kisses to give you, sweet boy!  Dear Lesley, you're talent combined with sweet spirit is unlike any other.  I am blessed to know you.  Thank you for the shoot yesterday, I am eager to see the results :)  Dear sniffles, can you go away?  I hate feeling a cold coming on.  Oh, and take this sore throat with you when you go.  Dear follower who left me, sorry I bored you so much that you had to go.  Dear last few weeks of pregnancy, I look forward to being kind to you with donuts and cake.  Maybe some french fries too.  Dear John Legend, thanks for ruining my weekend with your tour cancellation.  Wish you had planned your schedule a little better so I could have a romantic night out with my husband, but I understand...you're a creative, musical genius with a beautiful voice.  I will wait until next year if I have to.  Dear lunch, get. in. my. belly.

Make it a great day friends!
XO

Dear Mom...a Birthday Letter

Dear Mom,

It's hard to begin a letter to a woman so amazing.  How do I really capture the magnitude of the impact you have on everyone you meet?  Simply put, I can't.  You are my most favorite woman in the whole wide world and you always amaze me with the grace and kindness you show those around you.  The passionate love of Jesus seeps through your every pore so loudly that you don't even have to speak His name for people to know whom you serve.  I am never surprised at people's reactions when they find out I am your daughter... "Oh, I just love your mom!!" "You're so blessed to be Melanie's daughter!" "You're mom is so sweet!"  ...the list goes on.  Through my childhood you worked so hard to make sure all of your babies were very well taken care of and rarely sad or hurt.  You protected our hearts, our minds and our spirits, always pointing us towards the savior.  You often use the phrase "it's not taught, it's caught" and you live this out beautifully every single day, using actions to show love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.  You are my hero, mom.  I am so excited about the adventure of motherhood that I am about to begin and feel all the more prepared because of the example you have set.  I have often said, "if I can just be half the mom that my mom is, my kids will be set!"  I pray that I am able to pass along these same qualities to my children, just as you continually do.  Other moms are wonderful, no doubt, but no one is as great as you!  Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do for not just me, but everyone you meet.  BL, Max & I wish you the happiest of birthdays today, and a very blessed year ahead.  

With love,
Chrissi    

What I'm Loving Wednesday!!

Today I am loving a lot of things…mostly things I see every day that God has opened my eyes to, reminding me of just how very blessed we are!!  

I am loving these last few weeks with BL as a two person household.  Hard to believe we’ll be welcoming a {noisy/lovable/fun} baby into this home so soon and I want to cherish this time with just BL because we both know our lives will never be the same.

I am loving the crisp fall weather.  I do live in Georgia, so I do realize it will get warm again before it really stays, but it is nice to see the seasons begin to change.  An ever-present reminder of how wonderful our God is and how magnificent His creation is!

I am loving my family.  We are huge.  We are loud.  We are crazy.  We are awesome {tee-hee…but seriously}!  I am so blessed by the family I have. Parents, siblings, in-laws, nephews, nieces, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, cousins; there are a lot of people in my family and I am so thankful for each of them!   

I am loving my blog friends, whom I really consider true friends.  Take Leigh, for instance, all the way up in Canada, sent me the most adorable moose shirt for Max.  How awesome is that?!  And seriously, thank you!!! XO

I am loving full panel maternity skinny jeans & leggings from Old Navy.  They are my bestest pals right now & I may need two more pairs of each before Max comes because I wear them so darn much!! 

What are you loving?  Go link up and share....

Make it a great day, friends!!