37 Weeks: Pregnancy Update

Well HELLO ladies!! I have been SOOOOOO busy this past month! In the past couple weeks, we finished our second year of teaching, packed our house, moved to Florida (my hometown), met our new midwife, my husband got a summer job, we found all of our furniture on Craigslist, and moved it in! Aka...That's where I've been off hiding at! :) I hope you all enjoyed the Spring Color Series, I love my friends and I was so blessed they took the time to do some great posts for me while I was going crazy moving!
I thought I would share my most recent outfits with you! This will probably be my last post until the baby comes and I promise I will share my birth story and lots of pictures! :)
Here was my Memorial Day Patriotic Outfit! (I was 36 weeks here.)


Here was my church outfit from yesterday! (37 weeks)


I did this pregnancy journal post back when I was 26 weeks, and I thought it would be fun to do it one more time before Mr. Luke comes!
Todays date: June 2, 2014

How many weeks pregnant are you?: 37 weeks 2 days

How many days until your due date?: 19 days left!

How big is baby?: As big as an watermelon (19-22 inches, 6.5 lbs)

What milestones has your developing baby reached this week?: Baby is fully developed, just packing on the pounds and his lungs continue to mature each day!

What are some of your pregnancy symptoms?: Rib pain, feet and hands feel bruised in the joints.

Any cravings?: Still salad with ranch and Sprite!

Food Aversions?: Not really!

What was your best moment this week?: My husband was talking and kissing Luke (through my belly of course) and he kicked super hard. My husband loves when he knows he can hear his voice!

What are you looking forward to next week?: Being one week closer to holding him!

What emotions have you been experiencing this week?: Excited and ready to get this boy earth side!

Are you wearing maternity clothes yet?:  Um, YES. Definitely all I can fit in! :)

Have any stretch marks?: Sadly, yes, but they are pretty low under my belly button and around my back, so I can't see them unless I look in the mirror.

How much weight have you gained?: Almost 40 lbs...I know..ALOT! :( I hope it falls off with breast feeding!

Has your belly button popped out?: Its half out, half in!

Have you felt any kicks?: Oh yes, kicks, punches, all of the above, all day and night. My son is definitely going to be a soccer player like his daddy!

Know the gender yet?: He is 100% a boy! :)

Have you decided on a name?: Luke Daniel ♥

What has dad been up to this week?: He has been getting our house ready to be painted, putting the carseat, stroller, and bassinet together.

How has your sleep been?: I wake up to go to the bathroom 3 times a night, this boy is definitely on my bladder!

Any guesses when you will go into labor?: June 23!

God has really blessed us with a super, adorable house to rent literally one mile from our church/school we will be working at. Here's a couple of before pictures, when it's all decorated and furniture is set up, I will post the finished product!
My favorite part of the house is this adorable mini pool on the back porch!

I've never had this big of a kitchen, I don't even know what to do with all this space!!

The living room!

The bedrooms are purple, so we are repainting them at this very moment! Can't wait to share the finished product! PLEASE keep me in your prayers the next couple of weeks as I deliver my first!

Spring Color Series Week 5: Not Your Average Nautical

This week's Spring Color Series guest writer is Elizabeth! She is also one of our wonderful Modern Modesty admins! Every time Elizabeth shares her outfits, they are ALWAYS so inspirational and stylish! Elizabeth is definitely one of my favorite fashionistas! :) By the way, since many people have asked what the past guest writer's blog links are... none of the ladies I have featured have fashion blogs (although they should!) They are just doing this as a favor for me! :)

A nautically inspired outfit is a classic look that never goes out of style. Thanks to the phase of color and pattern mixing which is popular at this time, there are many more "out of the box" options to achieve this style. I simply went through my closet and pulled all of the pieces that I thought were applicable to a nautical look. I then went through and tried to pair a few pieces together that I haven't really done together before. I also tried (for the most part), to use fairly basic pieces that could be recreated by some of you lovely ladies, with your own articles of clothing.

My first look is a classic navy and white striped top (Target), paired with a colored pencil skirt. I personally love these colors together, but the navy and white also works well with red, yellow, orange, coral, hot pink... etc. Don't be afraid to think outside the box!



The second outfit is a red and white sailboat dress that I recently purchased (Old Navy) on a MAJOR clearance. I paired it with a navy blazer that I've had forever and red shoes. I loved being able to "pop" the look with some red lipstick and fun nautical accessories I've collected over the years.



My third look is a bit more dressy; something I would wear to church on a Sunday. The white lace dress was actually my Easter dress (I prefer to buy solid colored dress so I can do things like this), which I paired with a white and navy cardigan (Forever21). A clearance Charming Charlie necklace set and nude wedges add a simple and classic touch.



The fourth outfit I put together is probably my favorite! I did some VERY bold pattern mixing that I ended up absolutely loving! I have a blue version of this top (JCP- Joe Fresh), and loved it so much that I went back for a second color. The pencil skirt I purchased a few years ago at Target.





My fifth outfit is a more casual one. Something I would run to Target in (provided there was one closer than an hour and a half away from me...) I found this top on vacation (Loft Outlet) and knew it was a must! I paired it with a simple dark wash denim skirt (WalMart) and bright shoes for a pop of color (orange- Cato, mustard- Charming Charlie).



Outfit six is a little more out there. I don't often think of black as nautical, however, I found this anchor top at a thrift store and knew I had to have it! I paired it with this striped skirt (JCP), and liked how it turned out.

I also wanted to share a spiritual thought with you dear ladies today. We've all heard the phrase, "Pretty is as pretty does". At the end of the day, fashion changes and beauty fades. What truly makes us beautiful is not our hair or faces or bodies or clothes. What we do, who we are, how we treat people, and our hearts for the Lord and for His ministry are what determine how beautiful we really are. There is nothing more beautiful than a lady who strives to serve the Lord in all that she does, and there is nothing more ugly than a woman full of hate, bitterness and jealous. Let's strive to be the former, rather than the latter, and seek to please the Lord in all that we do, with a beautiful and gentle spirit.

Spring Color Series Week 4 & SAHM Tips

This week's guest writer is my lovely friend, Pong! She is not only gorgeous, but also Godly! I look up to her a lot, considering she ALWAYS looks adorable even with having 4 kids! She is going to share some of her tips on how she stays sane being a stay at home Mom and also show you some great ways to use a staple piece like her mint pencil skirt! Enjoy!!

Lauren has graciously asked me to share some Stay at Home Mom tips. As we all know being a SAHM is a full time job with long hours, no breaks, many sleepless nights, and possibly the toughest job a woman can face, but it is also the most rewarding and fulfilling job that God has given to us Moms!! When my 1st born son came into our lives, I'm not going to lie, it was TOUGH!!! My sweet little bundle of joy was a lot of work!! But here's some tips that has really helped me through the years of being a SAHM:
1. Create a cleaning schedule- We just moved into our dream home a few months ago and I now have over 4,000 sq. ft. of house to clean, so It REALLY helps to know what chores I have to do. Buying a simple calendar and jotting down what chores you will do for that day will help you stay on track. Pinterest has some great chore schedules you can copy and follow or create your own like I did to work with my busy schedule. Here is a sample of my Monday: wash, dry and fold one load of laundry, sweep floors, and vacuum the main floor.

2. Organization- I'm not the queen of organization, but I love having a place for everything! (With kids, comes toys!!!) And if your kids are anything like mine, they love to scatter them all over the floor. A cheap option I use besides having toy chests through out our home is using large decorative wicker baskets under our end tables for a cute but organized way to store my children's toys. "Let all things be done decently and in order."(1 Corinthians 14:40)

3. My Best Friend is the Crock Pot!! Cooking for a family of 6 can be tough, but I've become the queen of crock pot meals. I LOVE them, it's so easy, takes little effort and yummy! You can throw your food in the crock pot in the morning, do your cleaning and errands and it's ready by dinner time. One of my favorite easy recipes is cream of chicken in the crock pot:
For our family of 6
Place 6 frozen pieces of chicken breast in the crockpot
Add a large can of cream of chicken then fill half the can with water and pour into crock pot
Cook on low for 4-5 hrs
Once cooked, shred chicken with fork in crock pot and mix evenly with cream of soup
Serve over rice or mashed potatoes
So easy and simple!!
Check out Pinterest for some amazing recipes as well!
4. Teach your children at a young age to pitch in- Kids need to learn how to work, in the society we live in today, it's sad to see but parents are raising lazy bums. It's ok to teach your children how to work, pick up their toys, and do chores around the house. My Abbie is 2 and helps pick up toys, I'm so glad at a young age she is learning how to be responsible. Which in turn, helps mommy. I love that my kids are so helpful. Also make doing chores fun. My kids have races to see who can pick up toys the fastest or I try to reward them for helping with a chore. You won't regret training them up to be helpful. "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. "(Proverbs 22:6)

5. Cutting back- I could sit for hours in front of the T.V. watching The Food Network and get NOTHING done, then be so stressed that I didn't get all my chores done for the day. Once I realized it was taking up so much of my time away from what really was supposed to be my focus, I cut myself back from it. It's been years since I have sat down and watched a T.V show during the day. I can't believe how many more things I get done now. I'm not saying I don't watch TV anymore, but now it's normally at night after all my task are done and my kids are in bed. But what are some things that are taking up too much of your time? Facebook, Social Media, Internet or TV? You will be surprised how much you can get done by cutting back on it!

7. LOVE what your doing- One day our kids are going to be grown and out of the house and us moms are going to wish we could go back in time and clean their cereal spills, messy dirty fingers, and toys. Cherish and LOVE these moments with your children! God has given us the most privileged task to be called a MOM! I honestly love being a SAHM!! I can truly say I love taking care of my husband, kids, and home. I can't think of anything more rewarding than doing what I do. So learn to LOVE it Moms, because we only have one chance before its too late. "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord : and the fruit of the womb is his reward." (Psalms 127:3)

Now onto my outfits! I wanted to use one staple piece like my mint pencil skirt and show you how many different outfits you can come up with just by changing your accessories and tops!




Last but not least, here's a picture of my beautiful family that I get the privilege to serve everyday! God Bless!