Home Project: Kitchen Pantry Remodel

Okay, so I say Pantry Remodel, but I think that's a little misleading considering our pantry was left over boxes from the move :) It served it's purpose, but it was one of those areas that was sure to be hidden when guests came over! Adam has seriously become quite the handyman since we have lived here, and I'm SO proud of the things he has done to make our litle condo a home :)

Ellie & the "Old" Pantry
In Progress...

Painted & Polished!

Food items stored.....it's the simplest things we take for granted :)

SO happy to have a fully-funcional pantry! Thanks babe!!!

There have been so many little home projects that I haven't posted yet......I'm trying to get better!

P.S. Tomorrow's post: "My Favorite Things!"

Love,

Doula

Sometimes it seems that all of my schooling towards my nursing degree was a waste. I'm not a nurse- so what does that tell me? Anatomy & Physiology kicked my butt each time I took it. I even shot my anatomy book one day when Adam and I went shooting! It felt good. This has been something that has been really discouraging to me. It's mixed around with a lot of feelings of failure & self-doubt. When I found out I was pregnant, I knew that my efforts towards my degree were about to be prolonged even further! This was both good & bad. I was tired of the constant disappointment failing brought me & happy to get some relief for a while, but also sad that I had worked so hard for something that seemed like wasted time.

I think I may have found the solution though. A happy happy medium. Well, I say medium, but I have no idea really. Recently I have been thinking about becoming a Doula. Need a definition?

dou⋅la / [doo-luh]
–noun
a woman who assists women during labor and after childbirth

....that's a pretty simple definition, because I think they do much more. But that's the sweet & simple. Basically, they are a life-line in labor, delivery, and the transition time that follows. They give you support (emotional & physical), they can be an advocate for you and your partner in the delivery room, and be whatever you need them to be in that sensitive time of giving birth to your child.

Anyways! I went to a mini-doula training this past Saturday (thanks Leigh!), and it was so awesome. It just validated further that doing this career change is the right move for me. I am so passionate about the whole birthing process- the natural, simple process. I think it is so easily overlooked. I am planning on making the move to do this at some point in August after I have a few months of getting use to being a momma! I am going to attend a few births- then do a few of them for free for the brave people that trust me enough to hire me!- and then plan on doing it on my own soon after. I am so excited!

I have also thought about the possibility of becoming a home-birth midwife...but that is further in the future, so we will just have to sit on that for a while :)

Here is a picture of my last visit with my midwife Mary...she is awesome. Look at that massive belly!!
So, that's that, but I also wanted to give you all some pregnancy updates!

*As of right now, I am 36 weeks!!! She is safe to come anytime according to my midwife...Ah!
*I am feeling pretty large...ok VERY large. Sleep isn't the same. But I guess that's what you can expect when a large human is in your belly.
*I LOVE eating ice. Love it. Adam hates it. He thinks I am not a "polite-ice-chewer". Ha!
*I pee almost everytime I sneeze. Wanna hear something funny? I have an extra pair of underwear on my purse at all times "just-in-case". Gross.

Besides that, I am feeling WONDERFUL. Pregnancy has been a blast. A LONG adventure so far. But it's crazy that it's coming to an end soon. Am I ready? No. Somedays I think I am, but most days I feel like I am in un-charted territory (which I am), and it's pretty overwhelming. But hey, how many woman have done this and conquered? Too many to count. I think I'll be just fine...
I will leave you with a picture of me these days. If you see a hint of a double-chin...well, I'm just a little hungrier these days....

Alexa & I

Love, Krystle

Nursery & Proof

I am staying true to my word (well, for the most part) about taking it easy this weekend. Since I finished the circles, we decided to put them up today. I'm glad that my multi-color theme seems to be working out. Oh, and the crib skirt isn't done yet, I just put the material there to get an idea of what it would all look like :) And excuse the crappy lighting....Ellie's room needs a few more lights in there to be able to take a decent picture...anyways, I just wanted to show you the finished product!

P.S. i sooo wish we could have painted the wall, but since we live in an apartment, and we are going to move out, I didn't want to waste my time...so I'm going to try to improvise somehow! We'll see.
P.S.S. This crib was actually given to us. SUPER nice of my parent's neighbors! Not bad for a hand me down!!!

And here is some proof that we are doing nothing: Adam playing video games ( a VERY rare occasion nowadays)!

Love,

Krystle

Project Turkey

Every year at our church, we do a little something called "Project Turkey". It's a really fun ministry to be a part of. We get to take a box of food to a family in need, equipped with a full thanksgiving dinner. We are a part of the high school ministry, and we drive some of the students around to deliver the boxes. This year, we had some of my small group girls come along! They chatted up a storm (of course), but they are a TON of fun to be around :) Here are some pictures of our time. Oh yeah, and also just some random ones...we finally got a new camera!!! Yay!
P.S. Ashley, never fear, Belly pics are coming soon!

The Loot
Adam & The Crazy Girls!

Adam and I

The puppies w/their TERRIBLE haircuts!

Adam and I taking some good ol fashioned self-portraits w/the new cam!

Surprise!!!!!!!

Sometimes plans don't work like we expect them to. We have high hopes, and try really hard, but I think that God has something else in mind. For example, my plan was to get 100% out of debt in just a few months, save up a 3-6 month emergency fund, complete nursing school, and save up a huge down-payment for our first home. Adam and I have been so incredibly excited about this plan for a long time now and have been making some GREAT head-way. But, God threw in a little something to rock our boats...


I'm Pregnant!!!

I suppose that's not a little something, but a BIG something! We found out almost 2 weeks ago, and were in complete shock for the first few days. This was totally NOT planned....not an accident (because I don't want my kid to think it was an accident!).

So here we are, almost 2 months pregnant and I just found out!!! Ahhhhhh!!!! It's crazy, but very cool. We are trying to adjust as much as we can to this new life we are about to enter, but we still feel VERY in the dark.

Prayers are needed people! We are excited, nervous, scared, apprehensive, happy, ....you name it. And I am just a FLOOD OF EMOTIONS :)

Signing off,
Adam, Krystle and baby Porter

Follow-up!!!

A while back, (I can't even remember how long ago!), I posted a blog that said that I was planning on getting a little bit "craftier". I'm not very good at following up sometimes, and I just finished a project today with my mom & sister, so since it was fresh on my mind I decided to fill you all in. We went to Joann's fabric store, we picked out fabric, thread, and stuffing, and we made pillows! I was a litte apprehensive at first because I have NEVER sewed ANYTHING in my life, but everything turned out much much better than expected :) I wanted to post some pictures so that you all knew that I actually followed up and did something I said I would do on my blog! I'm not a pro, but I think this one was a success.

What I started with...
The SUPER CUTE pattern
This is fuzzy, but I wanted to show you my seam :)
The Finished product! Love it!

Love you all,

Krystle