Brrrr!

We didn't get a lot of snow here, but everything is covered in ice!
We ventured out this afternoon for a walk around the block.
Owen really liked the "crunchy" ground.

Weekend Projects

Last weekend, Jacob and I worked on Owen and Olivia's room.
Here are a few pictures of our projects:

This is Owen's closet-the left side and right side. We took out the contractors' shelving, painted, and installed a new system. One side holds all his toys and the other is mainly clothes with a few books and toys. I was worried Owen would be upset about losing his toy room, but he seems thrilled to have his toys in his room! What a pleasant surprise for mom!


This is the bottom drawer of Owen's dresser. I put in a few plastic storage containers that I already had and they hold his small animals and cars. We also put all his puzzles in here. This has been GREAT because he has easy access to his toys and can play with them and put them away easily.


And here is the much anticipated pink closet in Miss Olivia's room. I love it. I still have some work to do, but I really love the closet system. It gives me a lot of flexibility and tons of storage space. The picture on the right is a couple dresses I found at Old Navy. Their clearance items were an additional 50% off, so I paid $3.76 for both dresses! I love a good bargain, don't you?

Here's the Story

When I started brainstorming new names for our blog, well, I couldn't think of any. I wanted a clever and meaningful title that would be more about our family and less about our sweet firstborn since we will soon be welcoming Miss Olivia. I'm not sure I accomplished the clever, but I did eventually settle on a new blog name that is very meaningful to me. Every Day is a Journal Page is a line in a Chris Rice song called "Life Means So Much." Jacob introduced me to Chris Rice when we started dating and his songs offer unique perspectives that can cause some serious introspection. This is one of those songs. If you would like to listen, I've included a link below.

Anyway, the song encourages us to examine the way we spend our time. This has been a real lesson I've been learning, well, forever, but especially since becoming a stay-at-home mom. I'm not a great time manager and sometimes the daily grind of running a home, keeping up with a toddler and just living can be exhausting, frustrating and mind-numbing. The message of this song is precious to me. In one part of the song, Chris Rice compares the hours in a day to money-we each get 24 hours in our bank account. I love that. It really puts things into perspective. Life happens and we all feel overwhelmed at times, but when we really think about it, we all have the exact same amount of time each day. The way we choose to spend our time is the important thing. This is such a sweet reminder to me of why I chose to be a stay-at-home mom and why even the mundane tasks of my days need to be cherished and performed with joy and purpose. I am not guaranteed tomorrow, so I need to earnestly make each day count. I need to become a diligent steward of the time God has given me and make sure my priorities line up with His. I have a LONG way to go on this front, but hopefully my new blog title will encourage me to truly treat each day as a special gift...a fresh page in my journal.

Makeover!

Well, isn't this cute!? Erin at Designer Blogs did a great job giving us a new look. I've been wanting a new design for a long time and since this blog will no longer be "All About Owen," I figured it was time. Designer Blogs is having a sale on design services through the end of January, so Jacob gave me a blog makeover for Christmas!

Well, I am going to have to fill you in on how we chose the new name for the blog, but right now I have to get ready to go to Awanas and hang out with some fun 2nd graders. Stay tuned for the story!

Joe, Ams and Owen

I love this picture of Owen with his uncle Joe.
I think Ams may have taken it. Good job, Ams!

Owen being uncharacteristically serious with his Auntie Ams.
He pretty much dragged her around everywhere while she was home.

This is more like it!
Auntie Ams was very cooperative and obliged Owen's requests.
This was their tent. Isn't it fancy?

Olivia's Room Inspiration

Jacob and I are working on Olivia's room this weekend. Owen is with Meme and Papa, so we are taking advantage of the toddler-free house. The above images are all part of Olivia's room. The first picture is the fabrics we'll be using in the room. The second image is a picture of the two fabrics my mom will be using for Olivia's crib bedding. The PINK spray paint is the color of her closet (we used actual paint, not spray paint) and will be the color of a twin bed we will have in there for the grandma's (and probably me some nights) ;). The crib is, well, her crib. It will stay white. Her room is blue-kind of robin's egg/turquoise. I had fun decorating Owen's room and this room has been fun so far, too! I can't wait to see it all come together-it is going to be one girly room!

While Owen is away we are dismantling his playroom and moving all his toys into his room. We're rearranging his closet to accommodate all his toys. I'm not sure how he'll feel about losing his play space; we're going to make him a little fort in his closet, so surely that will distract him a little!

By the way, the above fabrics and picture are from the Amy Butler "Love" collection. She designs some really beautiful fabrics.

Down and Dirty

One of my very best friends has written an article for a site called helovesus.org. Click on the link and then go to 'Down and Dirty' at the top of the page. You must go check it out. It's specifically for moms, but I'm pretty sure everyone will be encouraged by her honesty. It is a wonderful reminder that God does not expect perfection from us; He simply longs for our devotion.

And just for the record, my days DEFINITELY look more like her second example.

Oh, my!

UPDATE: It's finally working!
For your viewing pleasure...

In case you can't hear, his first words are "Cooking" and "Coffee".

This is actually some footage from Christmas we just rediscovered and needed to share. I figure since my tree is still up, it's okay for me to post Christmas videos. That's right, for any of you who were under the false impression I have it all together, let me assure you, I do not. ;) My senior year of college I left my Christmas tree up until April. I plan to have it down by this weekend, so that's a big improvement.

Pregnancy Progress...

Okay-here I am in all my pregnancy glory. I have yet to take any pictures of my growing belly this time around, so I thought I'd take a couple before it's all over! At times it seems like I've been pregnant forever, but I know these next few months are going to fly.

Here's a picture with my curious farmer boy.

I happened across these shoes today on the etsy site, Curly Birdie. I mean, really, could they be any cuter?! And guess what? They are called OLIVIA mary janes! I think it's meant to be...

Speaking of Olivia, we picked up her crib, mattress and closet system yesterday, but discovered the crib was damaged as we were taking it out of the box. We should have another one in a week or two. Also, we realized we were going to need to paint her closet since we took down the existing boards and rod, so we're going to paint it PINK! We picked up the paint yesterday-it's the same color as the shoes. I'm telling you, those shoes are beckoning.

I Love...

Jacob was reading Curious George Visits the Aquarium to Owen last night before bed. There was a picture of a whale and Jacob said, "Owen, you love whales." Owen responded, "I love fish, too!"

I love this age-he's so fun!

Hide and Seek

"MOM! Where are me?"

This is what Owen asked me today when he was hiding from me.
We're still fine tuning the grammar.

Olivia's Clothes and Sleepy Owen

Here's a picture of all the cutie-pie outfits we collected for little Miss Olivia over the holidays. The grandma's are having too much fun. ;)
By the way, did you notice the hot pink John Deere socks?
I'm pretty sure she's going to love tractors as much as her brother.

This is one of my favorite outfits!
It's from Cha Cha Joe and Auntie Ams all the way from South Asia.

Look at the sweet details on the back-precious!

Oh, and here's what Owen looked like today when I was putting him down for his nap. Doesn't he look so sleepy? Looks can be deceiving...he was out within a matter of minutes!
Ah, my little blue-eyed boy...

Socks

So, we put Owen to bed tonight around 8pm. He was wearing pajamas and socks on his feet. He woke up around 9:30pm (NOT normal at all). Anyway, when Jacob went to check on him, he had socks on his hands...and none on his feet! Goofy kid. I asked him why he had taken his socks off his feet and put them on his hands. His response: "That's silly!"

Oh, how I love that boy...

I'm pretty sure he woke up because he had a wet diaper and then got scared when his hands felt funny because of the socks! We changed his diaper, returned the socks to his feet, read a book and laughed about his little stunt. Goofball fell asleep quickly-all is right in his world again.

Christmas 2009

Owen and I are finally home after being away for over 2.5 weeks. Jacob returned home on Sunday evening after a nice long break from work and Owen and I got home last night. It was so fun to spend the holidays with family, but it sure was nice to sleep in my own bed last night!

We were all spoiled rotten for Christmas. Even Olivia (the name we've chosen for Baby Girl Hill) received gifts-I'll have to post a picture of her new outfits. I love everything about little boys (including the clothes), but clothes for little girls are WAY too cute!

Here's a picture of Owen with his Cha Cha Joe Joe and Auntie Ams.
They truly were the highlight of Christmas.

Me and my little brother.
I hope Owen and Olivia have a relationship similar to the one I have with Joe.
He's pretty much one of my favorite people in the world.