A Rare Moment

Both babes are sleeping soundly. I am taking a break from packing. I have a rare moment of spare time to write a quick update. VICTORY!! Here's what's up:

1. Adam Graduated from seminary with his Masters of Theology. We are done! SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! This has been 6 years in the making. I am so incredibly proud of him. He survived Greek and Hebrew and we are leaving seminary more in love with the Lord and each other. God has been so good to us here and while I am sad to move on, I am so excited to take this step forward with my little family.

2. Adam has a job. Ya'll, this is amazing news!! Throughout our time in seminary we were always unsure about what was next. With so many other graduates still looking for work we are incredibly thankful for this new position. And I am incredibly grateful the job has us in Dallas. A cross country move right now, while I know God would give me the grace if He called us to move, would be.... um.... overwhelming. Plus I LOVE me some Dallas, Texas.

3. We have a place to live. God really made his provision obvious on this one. It's everything that we were praying for. EVERYTHING. I am most excited about decorating Violet's nursery, having my very own WASHER AND DRYER and not having to walk down a long hall and go down an elevator to get to my car. We move in a week and a half. Packing is a beast. Pray for me. :)

4. Violet is a great sleeper. She has been consistently giving me 7+ hours of sleep and the night before mother's day gave me 9+. YIPPEE!!

5. I have a 1 month old. Not only did we survive the first month, we truly enjoyed getting to know, cuddle and love on Violet. It has been such a joy to be a mom of two. Somehow, I love Greyson even more than I already did. Seeing him interact and love on his sister just takes my love to a whole new level. Violet loves: bath time, her brother, white noise and "kicking around."

So that's whats going on in our neck of the woods. Crazy, but super exciting!! We are feeling very blessed.
xoKtB

The Sweet Life

Today is my first day flying solo as a mom of two. Adam's back to work, Mom flew back to Florida, and here I am with my two babes. My heart is overflowing with love as I watch Greyson become more and more interested in his new baby sister and Violet become enamored when Greyson bends down and talks sweetly to her. Watching your first born love on your second is a feeling I was not expecting. I don't know how it would be possible for me to love any deeper. I am so so so blessed.

Seriously ya'll. Life doesn't get much sweeter than this.
xoxoKtB

Violet's Birth Story

My due date came and went. We were anxious to meet our baby girl, but Greyson's induction had been such a great experience we weren't worried if we had to go that same route again. I tried everything shy of castor oil to induce labor naturally. Beginning labor naturally would have been my preference, but it wasn't in the cards. A week later we were headed into the hospital. I was 41 weeks pregnant with a giant baby, I was ready to be done.

When we arrived they told us that they were experiencing a baby boom and my induction would be pushed back an hour. I was happy, one more hour to go into labor naturally. Adam and I headed, hand in hand, to the cafeteria for a quick snack. We laughed and joked and enjoyed our unexpected alone time. I think Adam is the funniest guy ever, he had me in stitches as I sipped my smoothie.

By 9:30 I was getting checked in and prepped. By 10:30 the pitocin was flowing. Grey came to visit and he had a great time hiding in the hospital's curtains. We told him baby Violet was coming out of mommy's belly. I think he understood.

They broke my water at noon and then the real fun began. I was not privileged to feel any contractions with Greyson. This time I wanted to labor without an epidural for as long as I could stand. After about an hour of contractions that were about a minute apart I was ready for the epidural... Adam was ready for it too. He CLAIMS I was getting testy :)

A few hours later it was time to push. Four pushes and she was here!! EASIEST.LABOR.EVER. We heard her first cry and I held my baby for the first time while Adam cut the chord. It was dreamy.

Violet Estelle Bowman was born at 4:34pm, weighed 9lb 9oz and was 21 1/2" long.

We are home now and I am in awe of how much easier this is than the first go around. I am actually enjoying my baby instead of being in total first time mom shock. I have already walked through those deep waters of dying to self that every first time mom trudges through. The first time I felt like a wild horse that needed to be broken, this time around I am well trained. This time feels like home to me. It feels like I'm doing what I was made to do. 

I have so many more photos to share, but for now this is all I had time and energy for. I am off to enjoy my sweet and chunky baby girl!!

xoxoKtB

You Might Be 39 Weeks Pregnant If...

1. You are a cross-dresser. At this point none of your clothes fit. Your belly hangs out of even your maternity clothes. You can be found wearing your husbands hoodies and t-shirts. Ain't no shame girl, do your thang.

2. You are a hot mess. And I am not even talking emotionally... which is also probable. You find random stains on your shirt that you don't notice until you look in a mirror. Your belly runs into everything and putting a napkin politely on your lap... Pointless.

3.You are grumpier than Grumpy Cat. You are easily annoyed at things you normally let roll off your back. That car in front of you with 1000 stuffed animals in their back window enrages you. Single people complaining about their lack of sleep... you want to smack them. Dropping your keys while holding your toddler on your hip means they will forever be on the floor, you are not going anywhere but back over to the couch to be grumpy.

4.You don't need a TV tray. Your belly will do just fine, thank you.

5. You wonder who is looking back at your in the mirror. That lady whose face looks puffy....That girl whose belly is stretched to the max... that can't be you. The only things that convinces you is her gorgeous hair and perfect nails.

Sweet Surrender

Rarely do a book's words resonate so deeply within my soul that I feel forever changed. The words in What Happen When Women Pray by Evelyn Christenson have done just that.

About a month ago I scribbled out Proverbs 16:9 onto our bathroom mirror in dry erase marker:

A man's heart plans his way, 
But the Lord directs his steps.

I have never found this verse comforting. What if the Lord directs my steps where I do not want to go? What if He takes me through the trenches of suffering, loss, pain, sacrifice? My heart had never been at peace with fully trusting the Lord because I knew that trust could lead to blessing but it could also lead to suffering. Why would I write such an unsettling verse on my mirror to taunt me daily? The tension wasn't with whether or not I believed the verse to be true {I did}, it was with whether or not I believed God to be trustworthy.

As I read Evelyn Christenson's book a few days later, while getting a pedicure, I came across these words: "Have you come to the place in your life where you can say "Lord, not my will, but Thine be done. No matter how much it hurts, how difficult the task, how high the mountain You have given me to climb, it doesn't make a difference, dear Lord, I am willing?"

I knew at that moment, sitting in a massage chair, that it was time to surrender my heart. My answer to her question must be yes. I sat in the nail salon and prayed that God would give me the faith I needed to trust Him, no matter the cost. I knew that kind of faith wasn't something I could muster up on my own, it could only come from my Lord.  It didn't happen immediately, but in the coming weeks a peace washed over me. I believe that I was forever changed.

There are a lot of big things going on in our home right now. If I wanted to worry, there would be lots to wring my hands about. Moving, having a baby, money, job situations... the list goes on. But amazingly, worry does not consume me {and I have a track record of being a worry-wart}. These lyrics have been the song of my heart for the past few weeks:

I know who goes before me 
I know who stands behind me 

The God of angel armies 
Is always by my side 

The one who reigns forever 
He is a friend of mine 

The God of angel armies 
Is always by my side 

The idea of surrendering my will to God's may not mean that everything works out just as I hoped. It may very well mean loss, suffering, and rejection. But God's plan will sharpen me, stretch me, and teach me to love Him more. He is not only the God of angle armies, He calls me friend, and friends are willing to call you out.

Last week I was curled up in bed to nap while Greyson was napping. In the moments I laid there before drifting to sleep, I can say I truly experienced the Father heart of God. I felt overwhelmed by his desire to take care of our family, I felt overwhelmed by the thought that He really does care about the little things I care about. To Him I am more than a follower, a worshipper, or even a friend, I am His daughter. I was cozy in his care.

As our family goes through major life changes in the next few months I am clinging... CLINGING... to the verse that just weeks ago made me uneasy. The Lord is marking out our steps. And now I can truly say I believe He is trustworthy.

A man's heart plans his way, 

But the Lord directs his steps.

Proverbs 16:9

xoxoKtB

Get your copy of What Happen When Women Pray here.

33 & 35 weeks + a Bump Session

I haven't posted any pregnancy updates since 27 weeks. There have been lots of other things that have trumped blog prego updates. LOTS. With that being said, I want to do do two quick updates...

I recently swapped sessions with my friend/photographer Andrea. A big WAY TO GO to Andrea for capturing Grey being Grey. He was nervous at first (you can tell in the first two photos) because of the loud noises and construction across the street. But he warmed up nicely and I will cherish these photos for years to come. Between me and Greyson, Violet better love to be snuggled!!

We Have a Winner & a Loser

For Valentines Day, Adam and I had a little stay-cation/babymoon here in Dallas. We snagged a deal on a swanky hotel downtown, watched movies, reconnected, and went out to eat. Being almost 9 mos pregnant kept us from doing much more than being lazy. It was much needed though. We felt refreshed. And stuffed.

I made a little picnic basket to take to our room and I tried two new Pinterest recipes to go along with our strawberries and fruit dip, m&m trail mix, kettle corn chips, and sparkling cider. One was a winner and one was a big fat loser.

The Loser: Red Velvet Puppy Chow

Recipe and photo cred here

I should have known better than to mess with perfection, but the picture was so stinkin cute!! I totally get sucked into recipes because of the cute pictures. Traditional Puppy Chow is on my must have list at Christmas time. But this Valentines Day twist fell flat. The cake mix gave it a weird, dry texture and the flavor was blah. We ended up not even taking it with us. I even tried to pawn it off on some friends thinking maybe it was just us... there were no takers and it ended up in the garbage. Learn from my mistake and skip this one.

The Winner: Resee's Peanut Butter No Bake Bars

Here is the recipe

If you know me and Adam, then you know we are peanut butter and chocolate lovers. I think I have tried every Resee's Cup copycat recipe out there, and this one is hands down my favorite. It totally captures the texture and flavor of a real Resee's but you lose all the preservatives and chemicals. The fact that it is a no-bake recipe pushes it even higher on the fave list. Simple & delicious? Yes please. Beware, you will be tempted to eat the whole pan. Save a few for you and the fam and gift the rest if you want to save your waistline!!

Have you tried any AMAZING Pinterest recipes lately? Do tell!!

xoxoKtB