26 weeks, and growth

It became suddenly cold here, and Piper has a bit of a cold.... so I guess that explains the PJ's and cozies and crazy hair. But really my hair is always this crazy. Seriously, it was 57 at the highest yesterday. It has been nice.

We're 26 weeks pregnant today!! I still can't believe how long 40 weeks really takes. It feels like I have been pregnant for such a long time... and I have, over six months. The first half was super difficult, but I have to say that the second half has been easier. Right now the main preparations for Larken's arrival have to do with getting the nursery together. I half-heartedly began the arduous task of sorting through the closet in Piper's room (which is the nursery, fyi) and gathering things to give away. Lots of works needs to be done in there. Ahem. 

We decided when we found out about Larken that we would go with the nurse-midwifery clinic at one of our local hospitals, and I have been super pleased with them. My appointments are warm, friendly and brief (but I think that is a good thing now-- of course they are open to me spending as much time with them as I need to). I don't have any complications, I have been through this before, and these midwives are operating on the principle that pregnancy is (usually) a normal and healthy function of a woman's body. They are in their element when the birth process starts. I can't wait to see them shine in labor & delivery.

October is a significant month in my life. I finally surrendered to God's work in my life around six years ago... I finally was tired of the life of addiction I was living and was broken. I went to a residential program called U-Turn for Christ in Greenville, Tennessee and God met me while I was there, big time. This place was like a Christian boot camp, and a very flawed ministry. But God worked in my life in some major ways through it, and there were some important things about it that were right, especially at that time in my life. I'll have to write more in depth about my experience there because it really was remarkable. And crazy. Anyway, I ended up leaving on bad terms with the leaders of the ministry because they were far too controlling. When I left, they told me I would never be effective in God's plan for me, that I would "fall away", and I wouldn't stay married (I was engaged to Trevor at the time). I remember leaving thinking that they were right and being so afraid that I would go right back where I came from because I wasn't under their rule anymore. But God had so much more in store for me. Mine is a story of God leading me away from a place of rules, legalism, and fear, and leading me to a place of freedom, growth, and fullness. I couldn't have dreamed of the beauty God had planned for me. Sometimes (actually really frequently) I look around me and am overwhelmed by how amazing it is that I have this life, this family, this relationship with God. It's all so right. This is God's work. 

I started Lightnest in October 2009. I feel like I have grown so much in these two years as a seamstress and photographer. In honor of this anniversary, I'll be coming out with some new bag designs and hosting a giveaway on the Lightnest Collective facebook page. Be sure to like the page to hear that announcement and enter the giveaway. 

Thanks so much for reading the things that I write and seeing our family grow and change. My blog has changed a lot too over these years, and it is really such a gift to have this space. 

xo