This past weekend my cousin Liza and dear friend Nibha drove 11 hours through rain, sleet, and snow to hang out with us and meet baby Jane. Liza also happens to be an incredibly gifted photographer and, after our pancake breakfast and french press of coffee, she captured these Saturday morning shots.

Thank you, Liza and Nibha, for coming, for bringing such joy to our home this weekend, and for sharing your time, your talents, and your lives with us. So grateful for your faithful friendship and for the way you have loved on our little Jane Bug.

Tuesdays with Jane

Okay, so technically it's Wednesday but I'm a new mom so cut me some slack. ;)

Hard to believe our little Janie Bear is two weeks old already! In an effort to record & remember these early days of her life (I know this time will pass by soooo quickly!) and to satisfy doting grandmas and aunts, :) I'm initiating Tuesdays with Jane-- a weekly blog post with pictures (and perhaps a story or two) of our sweet Jane. Tuesday because that's the day she was born... unless I forget, and then Wednesday will have to do. :)

And so without further ado, this week's Tuesday with Jane...

For 9 days (incidentally, as long as Grandma Jan was here), Jane had us fooled into thinking she was a perfect baby... or we were just really great parents. "This whole baby thing is easy! What's everyone complaining about?!" Ahem...

We have since discovered that Jane is indeed a real baby and we are not such incredible parents after all. This week she has particularly enjoyed exercising her vocal chords at nighttime. (Her dad is amazing and has been covering night shifts- so mama can sleep- and taking LOTS of coffee to work each day. Such a good man.)

But... this too shall pass, and in the mean time we're trying to savor the snuggles and sweetness that come with this newborn phase too. Someday I know we'll miss these days... and maybe even the nights. :)

Jane Elizabeth

One week ago today, we welcomed Jane Elizabeth into the world and into our family—hands down the most incredible day of our lives.

Our hearts exploded with a love so immediate and intense no words could describe, and yet so common to parents of all history that no words are necessary. We were simply smitten.

After laboring all night in the hospital—by far the most difficult marathon I have ever endured—finally the moment had come. The doctor told me I was going to catch the baby, and with one last push I reached out my arms and watched in awe as a full head of dark hair slipped its way out of my body and into the world.

“It’s a GIRL!” Danny announced.

I swooped her to my chest—her tiny body a slippery mess—the most beautiful creature I have ever seen. 

Little Jane lay on my chest taking her first breaths, and me—her mother—soothing her first cry. I have relived this moment a thousand times, and it never fails to bring me to tears.

Jane endeared herself to us so quickly. On our second night at the hospital, Danny and I were listening to her rhythmic breathing as she slept and imagining the life ahead of her—imagining sweet Jane as a toddler… a child… a teenager… sweet Jane on her wedding day… or having children of her own. We looked at each other with tear-filled eyes, wishing she’d never grow up, wishing we could freeze this moment forever. How is it possible that after only two days we couldn’t fathom life without her?

Jane means “God is gracious,” and already she embodies this to us. We wonder how her personality will develop, but we pray that she will grow to be a woman who knows the grace of God and shows that grace to others.

Happy 1-Week Birthday, Janie Bear. We love you so much and are so glad you’re in our family!

Ready or Not...

We’re now less than 2 weeks from due date, and the most common question these days is, “Are you ready?” 

Ready? Is it possible to be ready for such a moment like this?

 

On a physical level, perhaps. We’ve installed a car seat (that’s not for a child I nanny!), packed a hospital bag, and prepared a nursery to bring our little one home to—overwhelmed with gratitude as we recognize that every single thing in this room has been given to us. THANK YOU.

But does this make us ready?

We’re certainly excited… growing daily in anticipation to meet the little one who will soon be a part of our family!

But, to be honest, we’re also terrified… terrified of the massive change that’s about to take place, the unknowns, the end of one season and the beginning of another so new and so… permanent.

I was recently thinking back on my life and realized that I have grieved at every major turning point—bawled my eyes out at high school graduation; called my mom shortly after college sobbing, “Is it all downhill from here?!”; wept before India; wept after India; even grieved the end of singleness before Danny & I were married—not knowing the JOY that awaited around every corner, a joy that would quickly make all those tears seem unnecessary and make me wonder, “What in the world was I so afraid of?!”

I trust that this new season will be no different. And while it doesn’t necessarily eradicate all fear, I do look forward with great anticipation to the JOY that awaits around this corner and to the day when I will hold our sweet child and wonder, “What in the world was I so afraid of?”

In the mean time, grateful to be held by the steadfast love of the Lord—a perfect love that casts out fear (1 John 4:18)—and for the promised ultimate joy of dwelling with Him forever (Ps. 23:6).

Ready or not, here we come!

Recent Developments...

"Many hands make light work!" --or so my beloved mother-in-law often says-- and our new, fixer-upper house has certainly proven this to be true. After two solid months of renovations and many, MANY helping hands, we are now moved in & (mostly) settled!

Here are a few before & afters...

Living Room

Tore down wood paneling - replaced with drywall. 

Ripped up linoleum - refinished original hardwoods.

Busted down top half of fireplace - built bookshelves and mantle.

A close up of the gorgeous fireplace bookshelves, whipped up in one weekend by the most talented wood-working/engineering duo I know-- my husband and my father!

Special thanks to my parents who exchanged their "Gatlinburg vacation" for 12-hour work days with us. Dad was especially helpful with those gorgeous bookshelves, while Mom painted trim and washed sawdust off every square inch of the house.

Dining Room/Kitchen

 Busted down walls. 

Ripped up linoleum - refinished original hardwoods.

Gutted old cabinets - installed new kitchen.

This is by far our favorite transformation of the house! We love the open space for hosting, and the brand new kitchen feels like a dream. HUGE thanks to the team at Counter Dimensions for their amazing work on our kitchen remodel! We couldn't be happier with how it all turned out.

A close up of the original butler's pantry, laboriously stripped and restored (layer, by layer, by layer, by layer...) by my determined mother-in-law, Martha.

Kitchen

One more look at the kitchen from the other direction...

Hallway

Guest Room

Mainly, I just want to show off the bed that MY HUSBAND BUILT in a week and a half's time... since we had guests coming, you know. :)

A big thanks to the many other hands that helped along the way... especially my father-in-law, who single-handedly primed every wall and ceiling, and our small group & friends, who had the whole house painted, taped, and cleaned in just one day!

We certainly couldn't have done it without you all!

We feel so blessed to live here and have enjoyed watching "one man's trash" turn into a home that we are truly proud to call our own. To me, these renovations reflect the creativity & imagination of our God, who made us from dust and daily turns ashes into things of beauty. I'm so glad He's not intimidated to take on such "fixer-uppers" like us.

Meanwhile, the house is not the only thing that's been changing these days...

We are now less than 3 weeks from due date (Jan. 23rd). Daily growing in anticipation to meet this little one! Nursery pictures to come. :)

Merry Christmas!

One Man's Trash...

So, I’ve got a knack for finding trash. It runs in the family, I guess. I blame my father entirely who, on my oldest sister's 16th birthday, bought a junk yard for our new home and claimed it had “potential” if we could just look beyond what things are and envision what they could be.

This kind of wild perspective is often met with skepticism or disbelief (“Dad, I can't believe you bought a dump for my birthday!" -16-year-old Adrienne) and, to be sure, sometimes ends in failure. But such is the risk of a fixer-upper. Sometimes it just doesn’t fix-up.

And yet, sometimes, you get to watch beauty emerge from such an unlikely source, and the result is truly satisfying.

The family junk yard, now.

Danny & I just bought our first house (woohoo!)—not a junk yard, but a fixer-upper for sure—a vintage 1920’s home, owned for the past 50 years by an elderly couple who recently passed away. Their children were now looking to get rid of the house… and so, one man’s trash became our treasure. It has ugly linoleum floors and chipped plaster ceilings and so much potential. We can’t wait to make it our own!

The best way I can describe this house, though, is that from the moment I walked in the door, it reminded me of my wedding dress…

I’d watched Say Yes to the Dress. I’d seen friends and sisters light up as they tried on “The Dress” made just for them. I knew how this whole thing worked and was looking forward to my own magical day of wedding dress shopping… surrounded by my mom and sisters and fancy white lace. A halo of light! A perfect fit! Squeals and hugs and tears of joy…

Instead, that day was canceled by a snowstorm. Take-Two landed on a “fat day” (you know exactly what I’m talking about, ladies), where nothing fit my body or my price range, and I left in hopeless tears, convinced that I’d be the only bride in the history of the world who never found “The Dress.” My 8-year-old niece Emma reassured me, “I just know you’ll find something, Aunt Amanda, because I’ve been to a lot of weddings and I’ve never seen a bride in plain clothes!”

And she was right. I did find something, the very next week on a normal Wednesday morning walk with 2-year-old George and his cup of Cheerios. We happened upon a charming little thrift store, I peeked inside, and behold! A halo of light! A perfect fit! Squeals from George and Cheerios on the dressing room floor. I’d found “The Dress.”

Sure, it had a hideous collar and poofy sleeves. But, with a little fairy-godmother-magic from Diana Clark and Kim Griffey, we watched that trash transform into this treasure…

And walking into that 1920’s fixer-upper house, I knew it was just another treasure hiding behind a hideous collar and some poofy sleeves. 

It certainly wasn’t how we expected to find our first house… in fact, since we were living in Texas at the time, Danny never even saw the house until the night before closing. (Now that’s trust!) :) I just happened to be in Birmingham for a doctor’s appointment, happened to drive past a few houses and give our Realtor a call (who happened to be on her way back from vacation), and we happened to walk through eight houses and find one on the last morning, hours before my flight out, that was just perfect. Danny’s parents graciously checked it out later that night for a second opinion and gave us a thumbs up.

So we made an offer...

…and became HOME OWNERS.

All of the fears I once had about those oh-so-daunting words—the financial commitment, the sense of permanency, the feeling of being “stuck” to one place—are now gone. This one just seems so right. And with the bargain we got, we’re hopeful that a little fixing-up will make for a good resale, should that time come.

We’re thrilled about the location—the most international part of Birmingham (we've already met neighbors from Lebanon and Nepal!). Thrilled to be living just a stone’s throw away from some of our best friends, Joel & Kristen. Thrilled to have a place of our own to call home as we grow our little family.

It’s so much more than we deserve, and we’re simply thankful.

Renovation is well under way... stay tuned for photos to come! :)

P.S. Apparently 16-year-old Adrienne caught this "trash-to-treasure" vision as well. For a sneak peak at her family's recent fixer-upper house project (AMAZING, and so much more ambitious than our own!), check out her blog here!