It's a library! I mean, a girl!

One of the things I've looked forward to most about having kids - I probably day-dreamed about this much more than I ever day-dreamed about my wedding - is giving them their first books. From Good Dog Carl and Dr. Seuss to Fancy Nancy to Harry Potter, I can't imagine something more exciting than giving little baby Cates her first books.

I haven't registered yet, have no clue what type of stroller or infant car seat I want, and I haven't even glanced at baby clothes or diapers, but Pebbles has four books already! I'm starting her off strong with:

Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet by Jane O'Connor

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

The Napping House by Audrey Wood

&& We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

Obviously those first two are a bit old for an unborn (or a newborn, or even a 1 year old) but they are just too fantastic not to purchase. Fancy Nancy teaches vocabulary and she's so wonderfully girly and the pictures are all covered in glitter. What's not to love when you're a little girl? Then there's Audrey Penn, who came to my elementary school when I was 8 and talked all about writing books and that's when I decided - I remember this moment vividly - that I wanted to be an author, and I've been writing ever since. All of her books have a special place in my heart as a result, and The Kissing Hand is one of the sweetest books out there for preparing kids to go to school.

Even as I write this post I keep remembering other books that I want to get for her - like The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore! Sandra Boynton! - and I'm pretty sure that she'll have more books than diapers by the time she's born. At least I have my priorities straight.

I'm trying to avoid thinking about chapter books yet because seriously, lets not get too crazy. She won't be reading those for about 5 years. I can wait to stock up on those, I really really think I can... try to. But does anyone have a recommendation or two for picture and board books? 

Holidays 2012

November into December is always a crazy time of year. Holiday shopping, juggling the dozens of family and friend events, decorating, working, trying not to gain too much holiday weight, etc. etc., leads to the most hectic 60 days in a row that anyone can possibly handle. However, never have I ever gone into a season quite like Holiday Season 2012. 

We have been married a little over a year now, and are still figuring out this whole marriage thing (though recently I've realized that that will always be true. You don't figure out marriage as if there's some secret and a formula to success, you simply commit to marriage and hope to figure out a few tricks along the way.) 

We have a bun in the oven (only 109 days until baby girl's arrival!) 

I've just taken the plunge and made the decision to start a home business through Stella & Dot.

Chris has multiple job applications in at different places and we wait with baited breath, hoping he'll get a new job soon. 

We have no dishwasher. 

Its very easy for me to sit back and look at our life and get more than a little overwhelmed. There's so many moving parts and pieces and so much unknown. But through it all there is one piece that is unmovable, unchangeable, and that I full know and trust - that piece that has served as the foundation of Chris' and my marriage, the only sure foundation for anything: 'we know that for those who love God all things will work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.' (Rom. 8:38). 

So more than fighting in the aisles of Wal-Mart or figuring out when and where we need to see different people, this season is a daily battle of faith for me. Faith for having this baby now when many people would tell us to wait until we'd been married longer; faith to start a home business when I've never done anything like it; faith that God is up to something with how Chris' career path is moving even though we can't see it at all; faith that is rooted in the understanding that God is the one ultimately in control, ultimately planning our steps, and mapping out our life from an all-loving, wise perspective that I can't even fathom. 

I intend to use this blog to chronicle our adventures as we step forward in faith each day, how God is working in our lives to change us for His glory and our good. It's happening anyway, so I might as well write about it, right? Come along for the ride.