"I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love." (Mother Teresa)

I thought it only appropriate to post today....although the pain that was felt 11 years ago is something that lingers daily for those who were impacted.  I am constantly reminded how precious human life is, but also how great our need for relief from suffering is.  Pain is all around us...in the car behind me, on the face of the student sitting in my class...its so disheartening.  We are always so touched by any news story that has the slightest hint of a positive outcome, and it shouldn't be that way.  We are so conditioned to see pain as the norm, and happy endings are few and far between.  It makes no difference what your political beliefs are, whether you are religious or not....the need for salvation from our pain is evident.  We live in a time where your life is not your own...just going to the movies, to the mall, or driving to work can mean an end to your life.  Sometimes I look around at all this misery and chaos and wonder why I even would bring Emma into this world.  What will it be like when she is older?  Will it be worse?  Will it be better?  Will she know of a time where fear is not a constant factor?  Will she be able to live her life with her guard down, enjoying the little things?  Or will she always be looking over her shoulder, always worried?  We are such a selfish bunch...humans.  I believe we are selfish by nature, and I also believe that life makes us even more selfish.  There are so many people who resort to selfishness because no one is there for them...no one is there to love them..to affirm them daily....to tell them they are worthy and valued.  I can only start today and make sure that those around me feel truly loved and cherished. 

My dearest Emma, May you always have this bright smile and the widest eyes ready to take on everything that God has planned for you.  You are a most precious gift that I am not worthy of receiving.

My boo...Brent, you make life the beautiful, hilarious, and loving ride that God intended it to be for us.  I am in awe of who you are daily.

Daddy...I hope you NEVER lose your sillyness.  The most precious lessons you have taught me are how to live selfless, and how to joke...what more is there to learn?

Mom, I hope you always have this peaceful glow.....a sense of feeling loved and loving another.  May your life be always filled with this sense of calm and value..resting in the arms of someone that loves you.

Emma's room

I had bold ambitions for Emma's room...I had settled on a super cute yellow nursery rhyme toile fabric theme back when I was pregnant. But as I started trying to pull things together, (and seeing how pricey everything was that goes with a baby!) I decided to do a less expensive and not as cute version.  Emma was only a week early, but we were soooo not prepared when it came to her space.  I was going to use the last weekend and week off from work before her arrival to get everything in order....I even bought a whole set of unpainted alphabet letters the night before I went into labor...silly me.  Her changing table (handmade by Brent) was done enough for her to use...although we had to put away the "workshop" that was set up in her room before we left for the hospital:)

12 weeks in....we have finally finished her alphabet wall.....and added some other room decorations.  Her changing table needs to be painted (we picked out a soft shade of pale green to try this weekend) and needs drawer pulls...but her room is finally starting to look like the cute nursery I envisioned!


Her alpahbet wall!  The Z is  missing...because I need the "&" symbol to go before it.  I got the letters at Carolina Pottery (love that place) and Michael's.  I had a hard time finding any lower case letters, and I would have liked to have those in there to make it more eclectic.  I heard etsy has some for those who want to do this project in the future.  Another hint...use spray paint!  I hand painted these with a brush (dummy) and it took FOREVER.  I highly recommend using a sprayer.  These colors were all from Michael's Martha Stewart collection, and it required several coats of paint...sigh.  I would love to do chalkboard paint and some bookshelves under it.....later.



The changing table....this will be painted pale green and will have some vintage knobs and drawer pulls soon.



I ended up painting the black side table a pale yellow...which you can see in a picture below.  I love the wool hooked round bunny pillow that I bought on sale from Garnet Hill. This was also taken before we hung the frames on the wall above.



You can't see her rug too well...but I love it!  We bought it at Capel Rugs and it has so many colors in it.  It was a bit of a splurge, but nice rugs don't come cheap anymore!  It is also chenille, so it's super soft and she loves laying on it for tummy time. Many thanks to grandma and grandpa for helping us buy it:)



I have a red gingham bumper for her crib but got chicken and took it off when we started using the crib.  Emma has now learned how to kick herself all over the crib, so I broke down and bought the hideous mesh bumper so she wouldn't get her leg caught in the rails.  The mobile is also a hodge podge of 2 sale mobiles.....it was really hard to find something that was not all pink or all red and blue...So I put a girl's mobile together with a neutral lamb mobile.  It's been neat to watch Emma notice it and follow it with her eyes.  



The monogram is from Anthropologie
(e and s) and Ballard Designs (T). 

I ordered this off etsy....it was only $8 and they send your customized print electronically for you to print as a jpeg file.  I bought the frame at Homegoods for $9...and I was very lucky they had something that matched so well.

I spray painted the black table pale yellow (which is not as easy as the folks on HGTV make it look!)  We also framed these cute nursery photos that were taken by Regan Huneycutt.