17.5 a bump and new hair!

From the side, there is a bump! And the bump is "solid" pretty cool.
At church on Sunday some of the ladies thought I ate too much at breakfast ... ha ha:) Thursday the 31st we have the high resolution ultra sound... is the bump a boy or girl?











Not so sure about the back to school hair color ... but it does make my eyes pop. And Aaron says he likes it ... maybe for the sake of my hormones :)

I stopped by the salon today to set my next appointment and let my stylist know this was a little too dark. I am expecting it to fade - but I hardly recognize myself in the mirror!
It is only hair, it will grow -- even though my mom still thinks of me as her "Blonde" girl. Considering the many years I was Nicen'Easy 104A, extra pale blonde.

We have a big weekend ahead, a wedding on Saturday, Aaron will be ordained on Sunday then Volleyball starts Monday the 4th ... school the following Monday!

Looking forward to the next post regarding the sex of our baby ...
GRACE AND PEACE!

The Craft Project

2 dot boards, (12x24) pink is below ..






2 5 -circle flower boards, (12x24) repating the flowers in the pillows









2 stripe boards, (8x24) repeating the stripes in the pillows







created 2 boards (9x12)with ribbons ...








created 2 boards (8x10) using color blocks and ribbons








purple dots above ....






The inspiration:
My sister Sarah, in preparation for baby #3, due September 25 - 27 asked me to consult for the twins bedroom move. The new baby will take over the nursery,and the twins are moving to the "blue" room. The room already has blue walls and Sarah wanted me to create a mural or "something" on the walls. During the consult, We studied the pillows and quilts, both posted above - one purple/blue/green the other pink/blue/green. After going over many options ... I suggested getting canvas board and creating multiple pieces of art to hang on the wall. We created 5 different canvases then repeated with each color scheme. For a total of 10 works of art. We were inspired by the pillow and quilts. For paint, we went to Lowes and purchased the "sample" size and color matched the pillows - PERFECT! And a much better price then acrylic paints and NO mixing!

We spent 3 days working during the girls nap, 1-5ish Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They will be hung soon ...

what a fun project, Sarah my sister did not know she could be so crafty!

GRACE AND PEACE!

3year Anniversary!

Yesterday Aaron and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. WOW!
Certainly hard to believe it has been 3 years and at the same time only 3 years. We did not do the typical go to dinner ... instead we made a date to meet for breakfast before our day got busy. LePeep is always a good choice:) It was a great start to what became long days for each of us. Next Thursday, when we go for the Ultra Sound we plan to spend the day together ... all 3 meals!

Reviewing the past three years ... many things have changed. The most radical change was a job change for Aaron. Before our first anniversary Aaron, who was a school counselor, took a job in our church. He became the Director of Urban Ministry and is now the Pastor of Brookside Community Church (Indianapolis). Aaron will be ordained Sunday August 3rd. For me, my big change was my name, then I launched my jewelry business last summer (BeadsbyBeth). My BIG change was about 16 weeks ago ... now i am loosing my wedding figure:) We plan to sell the "Lello" (yellow) Jeep in the next few months. That will be a big change, but the jeep certainly is not a family vehicle. I do not think we will move tot he min-van yet ...

In three years our family has also grown ... my younger sister, Sarah ,and husband, Craig, welcomed twin girls 2 years ago (Lucy and Hannah) and are expecting baby #3 in September.( they do not know boy/girl ... and have not shared names) Right around my older sisters birthday. My older sister, Laura, has 4 children,(Jack, Sam, Will, and Kate) and they have only added a dog (Abby) in the past three years. BUT Laura did become an IRONMAN last fall, competing in the Louisville Ironman. Aarons brother, Brian and wife Ronnii welcomed baby #2 this spring Bradan. He is their second, older brother Bryson will be 5 this fall. Aarons oldest sister, Kim, returned to school for a nursing degree, she will be done next summer. Aarons second older sister, Stephanie that owns the salon, celebrated 2 graduations ... her husband, Darrin, from college (just after our wedding) and her oldest son Derrick from high school this spring. Her youngest,Darrin, will start 6th grade in the fall - he is quite an athlete.

Both of our parents are great - and still live in the houses we grew up in ... we are counting on their help when our baby arrives. Finally, my Grandmother Celebrated her 92nd birthday this summer!

Looking over that list - we have MANY things to thank God for ... he is good, all the time!

GRACE AND PEACE!

16 weeks ... and growing

16 weeks - 4 months - 5 to go.
The last few weeks have been much more comfortable then the 3 months prior. Food tastes better, I am not falling asleep talking with Aaron or my sisters ... this is great!

I did have an interesting 3 days at Purdue. We take our players up for Team Camp at Purdue, great volleyball and team building - but HOT HOT HOT!! I actually would take a cold shower between sessions, making an attempt to cool my body. There were 4 other pregnant coaches, all further along then me so I know it was doable.

The maternity clothes are GREAT - so much more comfortable. MY mom and I had a great time and found some very cute items. I am almost ready for school to start. Next week Aaron is going to take the week off and we will attack the nursery ... it will be my final week of summer. We will have to prime the walls, then after the high resolution ultra sound next Thursday ... begin to plan the room colors and all that fun stuff.

Official volleyball start date, August 4th, teacher report day August 11, First Student day Aug 13, first vb match August 14 - Where did the summer go!!!

As we get the baby room together we will post pictures ....

GRACE AND PEACE TO ALL!

The heartbeat

Tuesday the 8th, we heard the heartbeat of our baby ... again! He (although we do not know for sure yet, Aaron and I always refer to the baby as a He) was moving around quick, the DR had to find him, then he would slip away ... not sure if that means he will be a sneaky guy or not. :)
At 14 weeks, the heartbeat was so fast - but reassuring that my growing belly does indeed have a baby inside. Although I am not exclusively wearing maternity clothes, only a few items from my closet can be worn and still look appropriate. My mother and I are going to go "maternity" clothes shopping Friday the 11th - which is also my Twin nieces 2nd birthday ... Lucy and Hannah. We will celebrate at the Indianapolis Indians baseball game Saturday night. Aaron and I have double duty Saturday, a friend of mine is also getting married earlier that day - hopefully we are not over dressed for the baseball game!

looking ahead, we will have an ultrasound on the 31st of July ... hopefully we will be able to "see or not see" something that day. Because I will be 35 at the time of delivery ( I am still 3 months away from my birthday) I have to go to the hospital for the ultra sound. It does bother me some that for the last 3 months I have been referred to as 35 ... I keep reminding them - NOT YET! :)

on an ending note ...
Last night as Aaron and I were making dinner and my belly was itching from the inside, which I figure is me growing / stretching. So I had Aaron touch my belly - it has been about a week since he touched it ... he was shocked how hard it was - and commented, "you could not suck that in if you tried!" So no, i do not try to suck it in - but I could do with a sign or button that could tell others that yes, I am expecting. At least for a few more weeks until is it VERY obvious!

Grace and Peace to all!

The Belvedere

Our stay included dinner both nights at the Belvedere Inn ... we enjoyed the beautiful grounds and a gourmet 4 course dinner each night. Imagine, I found this on line! What is even more wild ... My sisters Brother and Sister in-law had planned this location for their wedding 6 years ago!

The back of the Belvedere, a 7 room B&B.









The front of the Belvedere Inn.













Gotta love the timer ...











From the back porch.











more grounds.







again with the timer ...






We enjoyed both evening dinners and the laid back slow atmosphere provided by Saugatuck. We hope to return next summer ... with a 6 month old - of course!

Aaron Loved the Beach!

During our stay we visited Oval Beach ... we stayed for almost 5 hours ... that is un heard of for Mr Aaron Shelby!

The beach was clean, had a great wind and about 75. I appreciated that Aaron was going to go to the beach, I had no idea he would love it too! We sat and read our books, drank water and of course had some snacks.

It was actually my idea to leave. Why leave - I finished my book and I was ready for lunch.




We plan to return .. someday:)

Saugatuck, Michigan ... loved it!

Aaron and I took off for a two night stay - a 3 and 1/2 hour drive north found a great B&B, a wonderful beach and terrific weather. Our place was on the Kalamazoo River in "downtown" Saugatuck. This is a one stop light town, with a number of local artist studios, shops and food. My favorite, a bead store. They sold strings of natural stones( at a reasonable price) and had one of a kind beaded jewelry. Aaron enjoyed looking at the pieces, the prices and comparing them to mine. I found some cool beads that I will use in new work - once I get my area set back up.

Below are images from out balcony of the Bentley Waterfront Suite








View to the left, Singapore Yacht Club is around the bend... BIG BOATS.

view to the right ... that is an indoor mall, holds about 10 shops and a restaurant.

View straight ahead, you could rent these "boats" for a nominal charge.

The river was very calm the first 2 days, on our day of departure the water was rough as the town was preparing for a storm. We got out of town just in time:)