You could call this a “babymoon,” I suppose. It’s more like I’m starting to realize the imminent arrival of our first baby and how life is going to change. How we will be three, not just two (the cat does not count). How our considerations, limitations, focus and directions will change. How---though we might carry the babe around us, we won’t be quite as willing to ‘rough it’ or go rustic or experience cold and dampness and outdoorsy things… at least for the first few months.

So we decided on one last autumn weekend away!



We took a long weekend, drove an hour or so into the Pennsylvania Wilds, to spend time at a rustic cabin that we (and other family) have a membership with. In a spontaneous turn of events, my adventurous parents decided to bike 35 miles on the Pine Creek Trail (because they’re crazy) and ended up being in the area so they stayed the first night at the cabin with us. It was great because a) we like them, and b) my dad has great fire-building skills so our Friday evening was warm and toasty and filled with s’mores. After a scrumptious breakfast together Saturday morning, they went off to have more adventures (no more bike rides though... that I know of!).

There’s just something wonderful about the slow, simple pace of cabin life. We settled in for a full weekend of reading, coffee-drinking on the porch, sitting by the fire and admiring the fall foliage. Since Brandon is a college student (and grad school is time-consuming), he cracked the books all day long on Saturday… but I didn’t mind. It was a good excuse to wrap up in an afghan, and burn through a few fun books.

I also crunched around in the leaves to take a few photos of Autumn in all its glory. Nature teaches me wonderful things about God. I’ve been deep in the minor prophets in my Bible reading lately, and the vivid imagery that the prophets use has opened my eyes to the greatness of God.

I remember reading about God’s cathedral and loving the concept. That every time I step outside, I am overwhelmed in a way that I have never been overwhelmed in a church building. Our God is bigger than our comprehension and the work of His hands is both intricate and astounding.



The autumn views called to us and we went out for an afternoon drive!


We missed the “Falling Leaf Festival” in small-town Pennsylvania, but still enjoyed strolling around town. Though my nose was pretty cold. It was not even forty degrees! It’s almost ridiculous how much the weather changes from region to region in Pennsylvania. I wasn’t quite prepared for that kind of cold!

The river runs through the town, and a very sad-looking abandoned Victorian home.

Here I am at 35 weeks pregnant! Baby coming soon!
I was a big fan of this gate. Such interesting ironwork.

It didn’t take long for us to get cold, enjoy the pretty drive back to the cabin and for Brandon to build us a roaring fire for our camping-esque dinnertime. Brandon’s getting pretty skilled at this whole fire thing. I am grateful --- I love fires. :)

Mountain pie making! Pizza flavor. YUM!




I had heard about a new campfire dessert called “doughboys” from my sis. Thawed frozen bread dough, wrapped around toasting sticks, roasted over the fire, with butter melted over and cinnamon-sugar on top. Our review on the concept: ‘'ohmygoshthesearesogood,canyoumakemeanotherone?!?!”



Before we knew it, time had passed so slowly and enjoyably… and quickly (at the same time!), and our autumn weekend away needed to come to a close. Here is one last look:

Even the drive home was lovely.
Goodbye, little cabin. Next time there will be more of us. :)

When I chose the theme for our baby’s nursery (thanks to a fun email brainstorming with my sis + enthusiastic reception from my husband), I thought it was unique, but I didn’t know quite how unique until I began researching nursery decorations. I didn’t want babyish or over-the-top. Just classic, simple, with dark blues & greens & browns. Think Narnian forest with a bit of a book theme pushed into it. And while the big “nursery blog reveal” will have to wait until a later time… like after I hang things up on the walls… I am going to share my wonderful Narnian baby shower!

And for those of you who don’t know what Narnia is (aside from the movies)… I pity you. Justkiddingjustkidding…mostly. I have always been a Narnian at heart. The Chronicles of Narnia happens to be one of my favorite fiction series. They were written by the classic Christian author, C.S. Lewis, as a set of children’s stories. Narnia is the fantasy land accessed through a wardrobe from England (reason #100 that I love this series: all the British-isms), or through a painting on the wall, or a door, or just read the books and you’ll see how one gets into Narnia. This place is fantastic, imaginative, a bit allegorical (but don’t go too deep with that, otherwise I may have to disagree with you and wax eloquent about the writer’s purpose and design), and championing the battle of good and evil… and here’s the summary: Aslan always wins.
 
Note: READ THE BOOKS. And if you don’t like them, don’t tell me about it. :P

Anyway, let’s go back to the baby shower! Planned and executed with gusto by family and friends, I have to say that I was stunningly impressed by the details. The decorations were brilliantly designed by my crafty sis (who knows her way around a theme, and also can really rock out the thrift store!). She’s also smart enough to put time, money and effort into creating lasting decorations that were gifted to me for the nursery! Such a great thought. You will definitely be seeing them again.

I have such warm childhood memories of cozy winter days curled up on my bed reading Narnia books that every time I see the decorations, I get all happy inside. Look! It’s the dinner at the Beavers’ house illustration! And a chess set! (Narnia trivia: In what book does a chess piece bring a major revelation?)

No books were destroyed in the construction of these decorations…
Back to these amazing centerpieces… You can barely see them, but there are little lamp-posts on each one! And those pretty hard-cover books? One of the best possessions that I gained when I married Brandon. :P My personal Narnia set was literally chewed to pieces by some dog. I didn’t even own a dog as a child. Figure that out.


Each guest received a favor of “Turkish Delight.” A classic Narnian delicacy. (Naomi says: It was actually my grandmother’s recipe for delicious fudge, rolled into balls, with nuts on top! DELECTABLE. Brandon says: I wanted real Turkish Delight. Then Brandon ate the fudge gleefully. So he must not have been that upset about the delicious switch-up).

Now let’s talk FOOD! One of the most infuriating third-trimester pregnancy symptoms is the ridiculous appetite that one has, contrasted with the tiniest stomach possible. Baby is taking up so much room in the belly that there is very-little-room left for food. I had to taste small amounts of the delicious food, and still ended up getting a little bit to take home that I had not yet tried!
Aren’t these bow-tie napkins cute?

Savory Menu: Bacon Spinach Quiche (oh quiche, how I love you), Ham Salad Sandwiches (I never liked mayo until I experienced this ham salad for the first time several years ago), Crab Cheese Ball, Taco Dip and the ever-present, but always well-loved Veggie Tray (for the diligently-trying-to-be-kinda-healthy-pregnant-mama).




Sweet Menu: Nutella Dip with ‘Nilla Wafers, Fluffy (Strawberry) Dip with Fruit Tray… and FOUR DIFFERENT KINDS OF MUFFINS.
Aren’t these just scrumptious-looking? And totally bakery/coffee shop worthy??? They were made by a good friend who obviously knows our flavor preferences. They were like ALLMYFAVORITETHINGS. (And Brandon’s, too!).

Speaking of bakery/coffee shop worthy, there were drinks like hot apple cider and pumpkin spice lattes (YUM)… and a little Narnia water, too!

What really makes baby showers special is basking in the love & care of friends and family. We were super-duper blessed by folks that came from near and far (even out-of-state!!!) to bless us and our little baby-boy-soon-to-arrive. It was almost overwhelming!… And while I certainly won’t show you photos of all our guests (because the random Internet doesn’t appreciate them like my heart does), here’s a photo of some other fun folks.

Brandon & I & my 34-weeks-pregnant baby bump…. ps – my outfit was even better when I was wearing heels… but you know they only lasted a few minutes. My sis & I!

The wonderful family who made the shower happen… yes, those little nieces worked hard, too!

Now Brandon didn’t actually stay for the baby shower (he knows that it’s a ladies-thing to celebrate babies!), but I did catch him beforehand holding our new nephew, Guardian! *heart melting*

The last thing that I will share…. is baby gift photos! I couldn’t hardly share photos of ALL of the gifts that we were blessed with (because honestly, nobody wants to see that many photos of me!).. but let’s just say that my face hurt from smiling and I ran out of adjectives to describe the cuteness/adorableness/awesomeness of all the wonderful things that I opened. But here are a few for your viewing pleasure!

Baby boy clothes are seriously awesome. I never knew that I could like baby boy clothes so much.


The cutest little tiny cowboy boots!

Every little boy needs a toy cow! I just *had* to tell my dad about this the next day… my daddy was raised on a family dairy farm, so it was perfect.

The fact is: Brandon has no football loyalty, so my Wisconsin-born-and-bred family has made their wishes known via baby clothing.

I have always said that I don’t have to be creative and crafty myself… I just have to know people that are, and it certainly was true! Some of the wonderful handmade gifts, like these blankets!

A handmade giraffe hat. AH! SO CUTE!

A cute little clutch that really holds baby wipes!

These little handmade bowties make me super-happy that we’re having a boy.

My mom’s signature receiving blankets and burpees and washclothes!

My handy-dandy nursing cover! Pretty enough to look like a decorative scarf.

I have to give you a glimpse of these sleeping diaper-children! After the shower, I looked at them over and over, because I thought they were just the cuuuutest thing. Little baby diapers with sock hats and washcloth clothes, with little eyes and mouths drawn onto them. Awwwwwwwwww!

And because this blog entry is way-too-long already, I’ll just share one more thing. On the invitation, it was noted that guests were welcome to bring a new or well-loved book in lieu of a card with their gift… so our baby’s little library is already bursting with wonderful books!

Reading is one activity that I adore (and reading to babies makes them smarter!), so I really loved seeing all these interesting little books that we’ll be reading to our wee babe soon!


It goes without saying… but I’m saying it anyway… that we are overwhelmingly blessed by the love and generosity of our friends and family. We felt it, we know it and we are so thrilled to share that love with our little baby boy coming soon!