His Crib is Here!

Another eventful week in the life of this baby boy! And he doesn't even know it! Well, actually, the week itself was quite normal (work every day)- but the weekend was full of activity! Last week, while Nick's mom was in town, we all went to Buy Buy Baby and she purchased our crib and mattress for the boy! SUCH A BLESSING. It is part of the same set as the dresser, so the room just looks PERFECT. I am so grateful for the generous hearts of our family and friends during this time in our lives. The nursery is essentially finished. We obviously have some dots to put up. We need to put his name above his crib. We need to stock the drawers with diapers, wipes, creams, etc. BUT- all furniture is in place! Here is a quick picture of the assembled crib. My husband was kind enough to help put this together with me yesterday. I tend to rush through directions, so we had to screw and unscrew quite a few times, but he didn't complain at all. I love him! You can't tell in the picture, but the crib sheet is ALREADY on the matress :) Yes, I will wash it before he arrives. I will not let my baby sleep on a crib sheet that has accumulated dust for 4 months. Please.

I should mention that when we went to pick the crib up on Saturday, we almost walked out of the store with a MORE expensive crib as the guy that was bringing it out to our car had NO idea what he was doing. AND we almost landed a second crib mattress. Good thing we are honest people. He may have lost his job. Or maybe not, but I don't think they'd be okay with him handing out expensive cribs and free mattresses. I could be wrong. We were at the store almost an hour just trying to pick the crib up. This was only after we spend a good hour at AT&T getting me a new phone. My battery had been lasting all of 45 minutes off the charger. It was ridiculous. It was at this store that I was told I don't even look pregnant. Those are offensive words at this stage in my pregnancy. I guess wearing a baggy t-shirt doesn't help, but still. Moving on!

Friday night we celebrated our nephew, Adam's, 1st birthday. Saturday morning was full of errands (as described above) followed by a game night with our Small Group that evening. OH- also- there was a grand opening of a Whole Foods near our house, so we stopped by there for TONS of free samples. I love that place! We scored some natural peanut butter (you grind peanuts while you are in the store to make your own peanut butter). A jar of pickled onions (canned in Charleston South Carolina!) Some popcorn, some 3 cheese pretzel crisps. Some fresh GA peaches. I think that might be about it. We could have spent $100 in there but sneaked out only spending $20! Sunday morning finally arrived, which was BAPTISM Sunday! I really hadn't been nervous about the occasion until I got up to the baptismal pool area and realized there was a risk of slipping and falling into the pool! Luckily, no horror stories to report! It was a wonderful experience. God has been so faithful in my life and the family and friends that were there to support me have been so instrumental in my life. It was awesome to see how many people came out to be there to witness the event. My prayer is truly that God was honored and glorified above all else, and that maybe there was 1 person in the audience that could relate to my story and possibly make a move towards their own public declaration of faith in Jesus! I was also so blessed to have been baptized by a family friend (once high school teacher), Bryan Apinis. He has been such a solid source of wisdom, support, and advice to Nick and I ever since he married us. I have so much respect for Bryan and his wife Kathryn and the way they raise their family. I was so thankful that I could be baptized by someone who knew me, and knew my story, and was part of my life.

After Church, most of my friends and family were able to come to breakfust/brunch! We gave this local cafe-Cuzi Fresh Cafe- some serious business! The food was delicious but you could tell they don't usually see this kind of crowd! I wanted to share some pictures of my support group. My life has been so changed by each one of these people:

The Wright family. Missing Miss Lauren Wright herself, but, Kelsie's parents have been like a second family to me. All throughout high school and college, their home felt like my home. Kelsie has, and always will, feel like a sister to me. She also gave me a cross charm to commemorate my Baptism. I just love her so much! I'm pretty sure this baby will know her voice just as well as he knows his own mother's.

My "Married No Kids" Small Group! Love them too! We haven't even been together a year, but I have developed relationships with some of these girls that will last a lifetime (I hope!) They were all MORE than willing to get up at 9am to be there for me. Such sweet friends. Even Amy, a girl from our last small group, came out to support me! God has truly blessed us with loyal friends. I could not ask for more!

And finally, my family! Pretty blurry, but iphones can only do so well in my opinion. Jackson even sat through my baptism before being escorted to Waumba Land. So glad he could be there! My brother and sister-in-law were able to come, with their son Kyle as well! I love how supportive my family has always been, and will always be. Dad doesn't like to be in pictures, but he was present for both the baptism and the breakfast :)

For any who would like to see it, my Mom uploaded a video of my baptism. Keep in mind, yet again, it is only iphone quality! Watch my Baptism Here

So after breakfast, a trip to the grocery store and crib assembly summed up the afternoon. I went to a bridal shower for one of my friends Marissa, which was wonderful. I am so happy for her and was glad to be able to see her as she now lives in Seattle. And we all know I don't like to fly and can't really travel much anyways! Here is a picture that is actually at 23 weeks 3 days. Probably one of the last weeks I can pull off this pre-pregnancy dress. Its already extremely. Add a belly and we are talking t-shirt.

My verse and my prayer for the boy this week is that he would be obedient to the Lord as he grows up. I read about the Armor of God this morning in my quiet time and thought it would be perfect as a prayer for the boy for this blog post:

Ephesians 6:10-17


Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.