We are ready!

So this might be the last post as "just" a wife/sister/friend/daughter before I add Mother to the titles...

Here is a project I did today-the finishing touch on the nursery!  I made a crib skirt (much harder than I thought and PS: linen shrinks when you wash/dry it so be sure to get extra at the fabric store!) and then painted chevron stripes with the paint from the buffet table. Naturally, I measure nothing and it was freehand chevron (with Frog tape) so please don't look too closely.

And DIY is not cheaper...

And here is the finished nursery!!!  I will take better pics during the day and also not with the IPhone :) My Snow White mirror made it in there.

And, this is husband and I's Sunday :) We finished the book and HIGHLY recommend ALL (I am serious about this one) to read it...married, single, dating, etc. 

And our beautiful friend Rebecca had one of her friends at work make this for Baby Norman...I am in love. She gave it to us before church last night and I held it the whole time :)

xoxo, Anna N

PS: Doc said the baby should come anytime thus this world will soon have a baby with an amazing father and a miraculous God :)

Cherish.

These are the last few days before life changes entirely-or so we have been told (by EVERYONE with a child).

39 weeks and counting!

I was pondering/cherishing many things the other night and even had small tears in my eyes when my beautiful husband walked by and started dancing in the way only he can and I fell even more in love with the man who will soon be our baby's father (in real time).

I am so blessed to be married to someone that I want our child to be like in every single way. 

"Little one: you are being born to the greatest father I will ever know."

I am in awe of this beautiful woman: she is one of the most lovely and joyful ladies I know and has a story that would captivate your heart.  We were walking at the end of the April and literally said, "How cool would it be if God let both of us be pregnant at the same time?"  Well...she is due tomorrow and I am due next Tuesday :)

You can read part of her story here.  Pray baby Emma comes soon and debuts her beautiful face to this world :)

Off to the 39 week visit-we shall see where the wee one is!

xoxo, Anna N

Ole' Fashioned Chicken Noodle.

I am obsessed with chicken noodle soup.  And yes, the strength of that word is appropriate for my love of this food item (I love beef stew as well).  Just something so snuggly and cuddly about it!

Here is a recipe I have slightly thrown together and adapted and hopefully you too can enjoy and love as much as I do.

I made enough yesterday for 16 people (doubled what is below) because Miss Morgan and I are both due within a week of one another and need this stuff stocked in our freezers.

PS: Also, go make these cinnamon rolls...Morgan (she is due now) made them for us the other night and Matt was quite fascinated by how much I loved them.  And there are sprinkles.

Ole' Fashioned Chicken Noodle

Servings: 8

Time: 4 hours, 45 minutes cooking time

Grocery List:

home-made egg noodles, recipe below (2 eggs, 2.5 cups flour, salt and 1/2 cup milk)

3 chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)

12 cups of chicken broth (I use Better than Bouillon from Costco because it is way cheaper and tastes amazing)

4 tbsp of butter

2 cups of chopped carrots

2 cups of chopped celery

1/2 of a white onion, chopped

1 tbsp of thyme

2 tsp of garlic (or use three cloves of minced garlic)

salt and pepper to taste

1.  Make the egg noodles!  I use this recipe here and have loved them.  I have learned that I have to flip them after they have been drying for an hour to make sure they dry all the way through (mostly).

2. Put 4 cups of chicken broth in large pot (I use my large dutch oven Le Creuset) and add chicken breasts. Boil on high for about 12-15 minutes or until cooked all the way through.

3. Dice carrots (peeled), celery and onion and place in large saute pan with 4 tbsp butter, thyme and garlic and cook on med/high for about 10 minutes (until slightly softened).

4. By this time, your chicken should be finished and you can remove from the pot (keep the remaining chicken broth in there) and shred (two forks) after letting rest for a few minutes.

5. Pour veggies into remaining broth and then add remaining (8 cups) chicken broth.

6. Add shredded chicken and noodles and bring to a boil.

7. Boil for 15-20 minutes or until egg noodles are cooked thoroughly.  

8. Salt and Pepper to taste!  

Best served with bread (isn't everything?).

xoxo, Anna N

Friendship.

I will do a recap on the "party-life" we lead in the next few days but I just read something that touched me so much that I had to share.  One of the pastor's wives at our church writes a blog and today she posted on marriage and the necessity of friendship.

Please go here. :)

As you can tell, I am a HUGE (literally, 39 weeks preggo, pic below) fan of great marriages.  My husband and I last night were talking about how we feel so blessed to love being married and were pondering what we were called to do with this. After all, we are all blessed only to go out and be a blessing to others.

I always tell people that marriage is for friendship (this is also ALL over the Timothy Keller book we are reading, "The Meaning of Marriage).  I not only love my husband-immensely, I also really, really, really like my husband.

To be honest-for all of you single gals, this makes dating a lot easier.  If you are looking for a great friend, so much pressure is taken off.  God is often quite great and often throws in the fact that your "great friend" also happens to be ridiculously handsome and can make you laugh like no other :)

Please enjoy the article and here is a pic of the wee one with one week left...

Don't you wonder who is in there??? Ruth or Henry???

Oh, and here is my best friend/lover/husband/confidant/protector/etc.

xoxo, Anna N

Who he is.

This is the man I married. 

The man who will soon be the father of our baby, the man who I aspire to be more like everyday, the man who I cherish more than I thought humanly possible.  

God is so real and this man is living proof of who He can be in in our lives when we actually know the Maker (contrary to popular belief-I am not the one instructing this baby on how to grow:)).

My sister's photography rocks:  www.maewrightphotography.com

See video here.

Baby-boy do I love you.  You are so beautiful to me.  I love your muscles, too.

38 weeks.

Somehow the baby is in the middle today. That is a cow on our floor.

Less than two weeks!

  

I have less than two weeks left-in theory.  The doctor, who we adore, even gave us a personal note (I call it a "hall pass") so they will personally call him when I go in so hopefully we can have him do the delivery!  

I met with my dula/friend/mentor/sister yesterday and went through how to keep things calm and to truly enjoy and cherish every moment of this little one entering this side of the world.

I had a shower last weekend thrown by my beautiful sis, mom and the amazing Courtney and was abundantly blessed by amazing friends and family.  We seriously have everything we need to get "rolling" and I can't believe how generous our friends are.

(Pics to come)

Things to know about yourself, baby:

-you love to move.  And your feet just switched from the right side to the left side of my tummy. And no, you can't come out the front of my tummy like you have been trying.

-Your daddy is the most solid (physically and mentally) man I know. And he LOVES to dance.

-You are measuring at 36 weeks (odd because I was measuring ahead the whole time and now I am not).

-The doctor thinks you might be a boy.

-You might be up for a competition of being the most loved baby in the womb (thanks, mom:)). Wait til' they can kiss you!

-You have the best dad in the whole, wide, circular, rotating on a 13 degree axis, world.

-We promise to raise you as godly parents and love you in all the ways that Jesus loves us. Which is abundantly and unconditionally...

Side Bar

So Matt for Christmas said he would take me shopping to Forever 21 after the wee one arrives (he said he would "send me" and I asked if he would come :)  Need someone to hold that precious lil'!

Back to the clothing (our little one is currently naked and I am guessing will always prefer that).  I have been scouting while looking for "neutral clothing" and here is what momma-to-be would like to be donning in a few months.

Notes:

-I love silk. Mucho.

-I love color. Mucho.

-I love ruffles and lace.

-I like good prices.

Old Navy Silk Dress

Old Navy Striped Charmeuse Shift Dress

Old Navy Color Block Shift Dress

F21 Rory Beca Top

Less than 3 weeks...

In theory.  The doctor said my body was "doing nothing" in regards to getting ready for having the wee one and I am quite alright with that. I know that my body and the wee one will decide at just the right time when to make the big (hopefully not "too big") reveal.

Crazy, huh?  There is nothing in the world that can prepare for your entire identity changing in the blink of an eye (with labor of course...).  Kind of in the same way that one moment Matt and I said "I do" and the next minute I went from being Anna Wright to being Anna Norman. An entirely new identity-an unconditional commitment (praise God for coming up with marriage-I quite adore this man).

Here are a few things we have been up to:

1) This used to be a lion painting (see below).  It is very large...5'x4'.  It is being transformed into something a little less jungly.  I had the initial idea but of course the brilliant husband came up with even more ways to make it such a fun piece and more artsy.  Hopefully it will be done within the next few days...I know the Lion is awesome but my design imagination couldn't go that big.

2) Husband is taking me walking.  I know you might want to hear that I worked out all of my pregnancy but that would be such a farce.  I have literally been on 6 walks since being pregnant.  Yes, I can count them on two hands.  I so plan on getting back into this working out thing after baby arrives.

3) I found Juanita's chips in large bags: also known as, "Fiesta size."  If you know my husband, you might know these are one of his favorite things-EVER.  I make sure the pantry is always stocked but thankfully, a once a year trip to Winco, revealed that I don't have to put them on the list as often.

Does anyone else feel that place feels like the old TV show, "Supermarket Sweep?"

4) My husband's recent reading-well one of the many books he has been reading. This book is fantastic and a must for any new dad. I just wish there was a mommy version...I am relying a little too much on God's grace and the intuition He gives.

5) You. Must. Read. This. Book.  Single, dating, married...it is incredible.  You might have noted I am a LARGE Timothy Keller fan (technically with the belly I am now "large" in the literal sense:)).  This book is amazing whether you are a Christian or not. Such an amazing perspective on selfishness, marriage, independence, culture, etc.  We read it each night before we go to bed.  It is lovely.

You are lovely, too.

xoxo, Anna N

Four weeks to go.

AKA: 36 weeks in.

Incredibly hard to believe that 9 months ago I quit my job and then...poof...10 days later, prego!  Here we are in the last four weeks before God blesses us with a little boy (please be just like my husband) or a little girl (please marry someone just like your daddy).

EVERYTHING our mothers said about being pregnant is true. Yes, you think you have grown and then the last six weeks hits and you then think you were the tiniest thing before that. Oh, and I thought I was "showing" at six months...little did I know.

It is an insanely beautiful, no-words, life/body/soul altering experience to be pregnant.  I know I will miss it when wee one arrives but I am excited to understand a little more about how our parents love us so much.

The clincher to these pics is when I "thought I was showing..." at 3.5 months. Don't laugh. On 2nd thought, you probably should. 

14 weeks-3.5 months.  Looking forward to that "showing" stomach again :)

21 Weeks.

22 Weeks.

24 Weeks-5 months.

28 Weeks-7 months.

30 weeks-7.5. months.

36 Weeks-9 months...

Babe-this is for you :)

xoxo, Anna N and wee one