• Baby

    Baby Zin is a…

    August 23, 2017

    BOY! (If you follow along on my Instagram, then you already know this! 😉).  We are so excited. I was a little shocked after we found out. I was honestly leaning more towards girl, but am still so excited to be having a boy. I have done nothing but plan for his nursery since we found out! It’s going to be such a blast to put that together for him.

    We found out on Monday as I mentioned in just about, if not all of my bumpdates haha. Tommy and I had the ultrasound technician put the gender in an envelope and we found out together at Starbucks. Afterwards we had our family come over for a very small get-together to reveal the gender to them.

    The Decor + Dessert

    Tommy and I made these cake pops before the party and they were so yummy!

     

    We also made these yummy gender reveal rice crispy treats!

     

    The Guesses

    And now for everyone’s guesses…

    Our dog walked into the picture as I was about to take it so Tommy picked her up because apparently she was Team Girl as well!

     

    I am so excited to share this news with you guys. I am even more excited to meet our baby boy in January. Thanks for following along with me! I know I’m late on this week’s bumpdate but I will have that up for tomorrow!

     

     

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  • Baby,  Life

    Friday Favorites | Vol. 8

    August 18, 2017

    Hi friends! It’s been a while since I’ve participated in Friday Favorites so I thought today is a good a time as any since I have lots of things to catch you all up on! 🙂

    Friday Favorites

    o n e

    Ever since moving into our own space, we were able to have my dog come live with us! Tommy is even more of a dog-lover than I am and we are both just loving having Noelle live with us. She just brings so much more joy to our home. She is the sweetest dog and we are so lucky to have her!

     

    t w o

    Ever since entering the second trimester I have finally gotten my energy back — and also my appetite! It’s been so, so awesome to finally feel “normal” again. I am able to have my morning coffee, which I am so happy about. I can also spend more time taking care of the house and cooking healthy food too. It took a while for all of these things to fall back into place, and sometimes I even doubted that they actually would. It just feels awesome to finally be able to have a routine again.

     

    t h r e e

    I know I mentioned this in one of my pregnancy updates but, I am really loving our new rocker we got for the baby’s room! It’s the perfect size and I got it for a great price. I’ll link it here if you’d like to check it out for yourself. (This is an affiliate link!)

     

    f o u r

    I’ve been working on my baby girl blanket (No, not because we’re having a girl! We do find out Monday though!). I will be adding it to my Etsy shop soon and cannot wait to really start focusing more on different items over the next month. I already have started the cutest polar bear winter hat for a one-year-old and cannot wait to share with you guys!

     

    f i v e

    Tommy and I got back from our Wildwood beach vacation earlier this week. While we were down there we had an awesome date night at this amazing Italian restaurant. I love date nights with him, especially when they include Italian food 😉. I will be recapping our vacation sometime next week so be on the lookout for that!

    I think that’s all for this week! I’m really excited to have the motivation to blog again. I’ve really missed this place. I’m linking up with these lovely ladies below. Don’t forget to come join us!

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  • Coffee Dates,  Faith,  Life,  Pregnancy

    Let’s Have Coffee | Vol. 11

    August 17, 2017

    It has been way too long since I’ve sat down for a cup of coffee with you guys! In case you’re new here, I sit down and have a coffee date with my friends over at Erin’s blog. I’m a bit late to the link up this month but normally we meet every second Monday of each month. We just talk about whatever is on our hearts as if we were really having coffee together. We’d love for you to come join us!

    If we were having coffee, I would ask if you’ve heard the news that I’m pregnant! I haven’t joined in for coffee since announcing the news so I would have to catch up all up on that. It’s been a complete whirlwind since finding out in May, but we are so very excited for our little bundle of joy joining our family in January!

    If we were having coffee, I would admit that it’s hard for me to talk about anything other than the baby at this point. Our world is going to change so much and it’s so hard not to at least try to picture how our lives our going to look once baby is here. I’d also admit that it’s hard not talking about it because we are finding out the gender of our sweet babe this Monday!

    If we were having coffee, I would ask you what your favorite type of brewed coffee is for when you are drinking coffee at home. I’m always looking for new brands of coffee to try. I like to switch up what I drink so I don’t get too used to one type and then each cup really tastes great.

    If we were having coffee, I would let you know that I feel a bit lost since finding out I’m pregnant. There just have been so many changes this year. I started the year out as a stay-at-home wife, we moved out of our first apartment, and then found out that I was pregnant. I’m going to actually do a whole post about this soon but I’m trying to find my groove again with whether or not I’m going to still be pursuing blogging full-time. I’m still trying to work out exactly what all of this means for my life.

    If we were having coffee, I would explain that I am planning on working hard on my Etsy shop over the next few months. I have neglected it a lot lately. I plan on trying to stock it up as much as possible with new blankets, baby items, and home decor before baby comes. I also really want to collaborate with some bloggers within the coming months too so if that’s something you’d be interested in, please contact me!

    If we were having coffee, I’d ask how your spiritual life is lately. I feel like it’s so easy not to bring this up with friends but so very important. I would share that I’m starting to feel closer to God lately. I feel a bit lost in my relationship with him because my husband and I switched churches, then ended up switching back to our old church after moving back into town. We’ve also been so busy this summer that we have been missing a lot of church. This always affects my relationship with God as well. I’m really hoping with the start of fall we can really fall back into a consistent routine of not missing church anymore. I think that will be great for both of our walks with Jesus.

    Thanks for joining me for coffee! It was so great to have you. Before we go though, please tell me what else is new with you! I’d love to hear. 😋

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  • Baby,  Pregnancy

    Baby Zin: 18 Week Bumpdate

    August 16, 2017

    Hi friends. I know this bumpdate is a bit late but that’s because we just got home from vacation yesterday! I am planning on doing a vacation recap also, maybe either later this week or early next week so be on the look out for that 🙂.

    Size of the Baby: An artichoke – about 5.59 inches long.

    Total Weight Gain: 6lbs.

    Gender: We find out this Monday!! I’m still leaning more towards girl though. I will be surprised if it’s a boy.

    Symptoms: A few uncomfortable symptoms this week. I had leg cramping one night when I woke up in the middle of the night. I had a gum issue, where my gums in one spot were just really swollen and took so long to get better. I was also a lot more tired this week than usual. I took a nap a lot of days, probably because of all the walking I did on vacation though.

    Movement: Still unsure. I can’t wait until I can feel baby move!

    Sleep: Sleep was a bit rough for me this week. I had a doctor’s appointment this week and I asked him when I had to stop sleeping on my back and he told me now! This made it much harder to sleep the rest of the week because anytime I would get uncomfortable I would just lay on my back and fall asleep. I had to get used to sleeping only on my side, which was an adjustment. But my pregnancy pillow really helped with that and is now a very prized possession of mine, haha!

    Missing: I don’t think anything this week.

    Exercise: We walked at least 3 miles every day in Wildwood so I’m totally counting that as working out!

    Tommy is: getting more and more excited as time goes on.

    Looking Forward To: Our anatomy scan this Monday!!

    Best Moments: Definitely being at the beach, relaxing with my husband 🙂.

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  • Baby,  Pregnancy

    Baby Zin: 17 Week Bumpdate

    August 7, 2017

    Happy Monday friends! I’m back again with another bumpdate and I must admit that this week was probably the best week yet. I honestly can say that I feel the most back to myself so far. I love being able to be productive again and drink enjoy coffee!

    Size of the Baby: Pomegranate – about 5.12 inches

    Total Weight Gain: 5 pounds

    Gender: We find out two weeks from today! I think we have an official name if it’s a girl too! I’m so excited.

    Symptoms: Honestly not much this week! I still get bloated on and off depending on what/how much I eat. I still get tired quicker when I’m doing something active. Oh and I still am more emotional than normal. I had a bit of a breakdown the first day I turned 17 weeks just from a bunch of things that felt like they were building up. Other than that though I feel pretty normal and I am so very thankful for this part of pregnancy!

    Movement: I still am not positive if I definitely can feel baby or not! I just feel hard spots every once in a while so I’m not sure if that’s braxton hicks or the baby.

    Sleep: I bought a pregnancy pillow this week! (You can check it out here if you’re interested in which one – affiliate link.) I honestly kind of have a love/hate relationship with it right now haha. Some nights it’s the best thing ever and some nights I kind of hate it. I think it’s a matter of getting used to sleeping with it because it’s definitely an adjustment. I do love how it supports my back and hips though. If I knew what I know now about it I would definitely have bought just a regular C-shaped pillow instead but oh well.

    Missing: Honestly nothing this week woohoo!

    Exercise: I have definitely been more active this week, which makes me very happy! I went on a mile walk one day with Tommy and our dog. Another couple of days I was super active inside the house so I’m totally counting that as exercise because I was sore and tired afterwards! This week I want to do more walking, which I will be doing because we’ll be at the beach! I also want to start incorporating some YouTube videos also.

    Nursery: We bought our first piece of furniture for the nursery! I honestly couldn’t be more excited! I’ve been researching gliders and rocking chairs like crazy lately and found a really adorable one on Amazon. It was on sale for $178 and I had to get it because it was such a great deal!

    I’ll link it here if you are interested in checking it out. It’s still on sale and the perfect little rocker if you are a smaller person and also have a smaller room you want to put it in. (Also an affiliate link!)

    Tommy is: excited about the possibility of having a little girl. He’s always wanted a little girl so we’re both excited to see what this little baby is.

    Looking Forward To: Continuing to put together the baby’s room, finding out the gender, and going on our “babymoon”!

    Best Moments: Going to BuyBuyBaby and looking at the different stroller options! That was seriously so much fun.

     

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  • Devotional,  Faith

    Who Are You Living For?

    August 4, 2017

    Last Sunday at church, I heard one of the most transformative messages I’ve heard in a long time. I’ve been thinking about it all week and it has really changed the way I’ve lived this week. I knew right away that I wanted to share it with you guys. I’ve just been working on how to best put it into words. And if I’m being honest, I wanted to see if it actually “stuck” in my own life before telling you guys how great the message was. But it definitely has stuck and I find myself thinking about it at least a couple of times a day.

    The sermon was about worshipping and how we are commanded by God to worship him. My pastor explained how we are commanded to worship God, not out of obligation, but because God knows that it is for our good.

    He also explained how worshipping isn’t quite what we think it is sometimes. We think we are worshipping when we are singing to God, praying to Him, or just maybe even thinking about Him. My pastor explained how we are always worshipping something. Even though I knew this fact before, he explained it in such a different way that it really turned on a light for me.

    He explained that whenever we are doing something, we are always doing it for a reason. Sometimes I believe we don’t actually consciously think about who or why we are actually doing something, but if we stop and really dig deep we can figure out the reason behind the action.

    My pastor also explained how if we are doing anything that isn’t for God first, then we will eventually burn out or the thing will ultimately let us down because we were not meant to live for anything other than God. God has already shown that he lived for us, and in turn we are meant to live for him. It is the only thing that will truly satisfy our souls.

    So for me personally, I realized that I was living much more for my husband than I was for God. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to live for God but I kind of felt like my husband cared more for the things I was doing than God did. (How ridiculous.) I used to have maybe one or two productive days but then feel burnt out because I didn’t feel like what I was doing mattered. I knew that my husband appreciated my efforts around the house, but he couldn’t possibly notice and care for every little thing that I did and it left me feeling like what I was doing was pointless.

    After hearing that sermon, I repented of that and have been finding myself praying in the morning and asking God to show me how I can live for Him that day. Honestly, I usually end up doing the same thing that I would have been doing “for my husband” but instead I’m doing it for God first then my husband. So in the end I’m not upset or wondering what the point is when my husband doesn’t notice because I know that God has and He is proud of me.

    I hope that all of that makes sense. Living for God in all of my actions (or at least as many as I can) has changed everything. I don’t push myself to overdo it because I know that God cherishes me and wants me to work hard, but also wants me to rest. If you are interested in hearing the sermon I’m talking about I will link that here. My pastor did a lot better job at explaining this than I did. 😉

     

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