Amost there!

Nine and a half months! I feel like a kid the night before Christmas, waiting with exctiement!!

Pregnancy Pictures

Here are just a few of our favorites!

Eight and a half months!

Month by Month

6 1/2 months!

Here is a pair of baby "Mary Jane" booties that my grandma helped me make, using the pattern I won off of Kelsey's site, Vanilla Joy. Lily should fit into them when she is about 6 months old. I am currently working on crocheting a baby blanket using yarn that is a mauve color.

Lily's Room

We have been enjoying slowly putting together Lily's room from furniture to decor. We purchased most of the furniture last week in Salem. Jason put together the crib and changing table. The crib is really cool in that it later changes into a toldder bed, and a double bed.

I still need to purchase baskets for the changing table and then it will be complete.

We also found this awesome glider. The movement is so effortless and it is incredibly comfortable. I have found Jason napping in it several times once we got it home.

I became very discouraged as I looked online and perused through many magazines and stores, in trying to decide on a theme for the nursery. So at the suggestion of a friend, I chose three colors that I loved and am doing the nursery in colors instead of a theme. The colors I chose are a very pale yellow, mauve (I am not a fan of pink!), and a light sage green. From there the nursery theme developed into a Shabby Chic/French Cottage theme.

The walls are bare, but I know that will surely change in time. It was a big step getting in the furniture and choosing colors/theme. This is the dresser I had growing up and it works perfectly in Lily's room.

The Last Few Weeks

The past few weeks have been super busy around our house and in our lives. Most recently I had a really nice visit with some of my roommates from George Fox. We hadn't seen each other in about 2 years, which is way too long.

About 2 weeks ago I was five months and two weeks. This was taken on the day that we found out the gender of the baby.

Connie was the ultra sound tech that day. I had her kids in class and so it was neat that she shared in our excitement.

I haven't done as much picking or canning as usual because it poops me out. But my mom and I did pick 109 lbs of blueberries.

On their was from Seattle to Grants Pass, Keri and the girls stopped by for a visit and a snack of fresh raspberries. I love it when they make our house a stopping spot on their long trip.

And lastly we recently painted our house (same colors). The contractors skimped on the exterior paint job and it was starting to peel. There was a lot of prep work such as caulking that needed to be done. So Ryan, my dad, and Jason worked hard and it looks beautiful!

It's a......

...girl! Lily Pearl Hughes. Our hearts are joyfully overwhelmed with the Lord's goodness and faithfulness. We chose the name Lily...well because we loved it, and it was my grandpa's mother's name. And Pearl because it was the name of my great grandma that I never got the change to meet, but have heard wonderful stories about her all my life....and I had 2 friends growing up (Jeni Rabern) who always used to call me Heather Pearl growing up. I was certain the baby was going to be a boy. I just had this gut feeling and was ecstatic when we found out it was a precious girl. The Lord has truly given us the desire of our hearts. Every good and perfect gift truly comes from Him.

Yardage

Our yard is slowly but surely coming along. We did some small work on the front slope. Jason spent a lot of time weed eating and laying down geo-mesh to control the nasty weeds.

Then we ordered 11 yards of bark to be blown on top of the geo-mesh.

Here are the guys laying the bark with this cool hose apparatus over the mesh.

..and here is the finished product. I am sure the neighbors would rather look at this than the yucky weeds.

Apricot Syrup

Two weeks ago Susan and I made apricot syrup. It sounds interesting, but it is so sweet and tangy! I could eat it plain from the jar and be a happy camper. It is super easy due to a different type of canning method and pectin used.

First we pureed the apricots with skins. Then we added sugar and a special liquid pectin called Serto. Then brought it to a boil and poured it into jar.

Then we let the jars cool upside down and they sealed themselves due to the Serto. So we didn't need to water bath them at all. It was so easy to do!

Then I made really thin pancakes and enjoyed the syrup in large quantities. Yummo!!!

Our Graduate

Last weekend we went to see Ryan graduate from Portland State University. The night before we all celebrated at our favorite restaurant in Gresham called Tadd's. It sits looking over the Colombia River, and the food is amazing!

PSU had the largest graduating class in history so the commencement was held in the Rose Garden downtown Portland. This picture shows about 1/2 court with all the empty seats.

Here is my mom using the under the seat binoculars to see the festivities.

Let the commencements begin....the ceremony was four hours long, but definitely worth it!

A final picture with the graduate who is wearing honors! We are so proud of Ryan and are thankful for the Lord's provisions.

Whoa.....watch the toe!!

Being pregnant has thrown off my sense of kinesthetic awareness and balance, hence the above picture. Last Friday I was walking in the dinning room when my foot met the vengence of a dinning room chair leg at a speed that was unsafe. The pain shot up my foot and I collapsed with agony. Hours later I removed my sock to see a black and blue swollen toe. I couldn't move it and immediatley began applying ice. The following day on a trip to see Ryan graduate from PSU I was unable to walk and found releif in elveating my foot in the car.

As a result my family felt it was unsafe for me to live in flip flops this summer. We went to an awesome birkenstock store in Portland and I got an early birthday present! Yay!!

19 weeks and 2 days

Four months have almost gone by! Each step of the journey had been so special and I have learned a lot of information along the way. I love going to each appointment to hear/see the baby. We find out the gender on July 1st and we are really excited!

Three Months and Counting

We are so thrilled to be three months pregnant. The Lord truly is good and faithful. Here is a side view of my growing tummy. We pray that this little one will come to love the Lord with all their heart and soul.

Here is our precious little one at nine weeks. We have had 3 ultra sounds and heard the heartbeat twice. The baby was asleep at this time, but not for long. The doctor woke it up and we saw hands, fingers, spinal column, vertebrae, fingers, legs and it was all amazing!

I found this shirt yesterday and thought it was fitting in more than one way!

John 3:16 and Grace

This video is of one of my students who has worked so hard over a few weeks to memorize John 3:16. I took this one day in my classroom as we were all getting ready to go home.

A Finished Project

I started crocheting this blanket for Jason over four years ago. It was meant to be a Christmas present, as he is so cold all the time. At the same time I started graduate school, was teaching at the same time, and added a specialized license onto my standard teaching license. Needless to say, this project got put on the back burner....until a few weeks ago. My grandma helped me whip stitch the panels together and crochet a border onto the blanket. Now Jason can stay nice and warm this winter.

Avacado Smoothie Anyone?

We just got back from a trip to Gresham. Over Thanksgiving vacation, Papa (Dad's dad) had a massive heart attack and open heart surgery. It was good to visit them. While we were there Mama made me an avocado smoothie. I LOVE avocados.....the smoothie had 3 avocados, sweetened condensed milk, milk, and ice cubes. Mama got the recipe from her friend who owns a Japanese restaurant and they go for about eight dollars a glass. My verdict was....gross! I couldn't get past the texture...so thick and sweet.....yuck0!

My dad and Papa waiting for dinner.

My mom and Jason, and Ryan waiting at the Spaghetti Factory downtown Portland.

While in Gresham we visited with Paul and Vicki, who live in Damascus, and are Ryan's very good friends. They treat Ryan like their son and truly love him. Ryan works with Paul part time, as he is an architectural contractor. Here they are in front of their farm house that my parents painted last summer.



And while we were in Gresham, I couldn't leave without visiting Real Deals, my favorite store! Here it is, but it was closed. Boo.