Earl Grey Supreme.... and Pop Tarts

SO MUCH IS GOING ON. 

We all feel a little crazy in the Russell House right now. 

Last Monday, we went in for our 20 week ultrasound. Here is our little one:

We had the technician write down the gender on some paper and seal it in an envelop for us. We did the best we could, but we peeked! We are so excited for our little one and hope to be sharing that information soon. :) The baby is healthy and wonderful (can't you tell!?), but this pregnancy has been quite difficult thus far. This particular pregnancy has been quite painful and has severely limited what I'm able to do around the house. It's certainly not been fun - to be in pain, but also to be so uncomfortable in this Nashville heat. I'm so thankful that everything has gone as well as it has so far, and keep trusting in the Lord to carry me through all of it. 

W and Daddy made pancakes! 

I've been having a sweet tooth in the middle of the afternoon lately, and that resulted in me whipping up some vanilla buttercream frosting to dip pretzels in. It was amazing. :)

We are closing on our FIRST EVER house on Thursday. 

Yes, in 2 days from now. 

(Now you are starting to understand why our lives have been a bit hectic)

We cleaned out and packed our laundry room a few days ago and W decided to help by 'fixing' T's bike. It was precious. 

W and I had a small photoshoot (I was proud of my outfit, mainly because it fit and matched - all at the same time!! -- please know, this is tough with maternity clothes... especially if you're me.)

20 weeks pregnant!

Now stick your tongue out!

"Pound it!" 

"Say cheese!" 

Needless to say, we need prayer as we a packing and praying that we are able to seal the deal on this house. I am fairly certain that my attitude will stink if this house falls through. 

I especially need prayer as I am typically a 'planner and do-er' type person. With everything going on, I won't be able to do a lot for the move and small renovating our new house needs - and that is tough for me! 

Anyways, this next picture I had to put, not because it's a great pic (I realize it's not), but because it is li-trally (Chris Trager) the best chicken pot pie I've ever had. It was amazing. 

Just wanted to let you all know that. I'll put the recipe up soon. 

Thanks for the sweet thoughts and prayers. Hope to have some good news in a few days!

In Christ,

Julie

Today's Coffee: Earl Grey Supreme

I guess I could title the posts differently, since I don't drink coffee anymore - but I won't. :)

 Our big project (as if we didn't have enough going on) was the build a sprinkler. We love spending time outside, but I've already started slowing down a little bit with Baby #2 - so it's harder for me to keep with W. We thought that a fun, big sprinkler would help me out on these hot days. 

And for less than $17 - we're pretty sure it will!

First, we purchased:

-4- 10' 1/2 inch pvc pipe

-3- 1/2 inch pvc caps

-2- 1/2 inch pvc T's

-2- 1/2 inc pvc elbows

- pvc cement

- pvc male connection

- female hose adaptor

Next, we sawed 3 of the 10' pipes down to 5', and the fourth pipe in 2 1/2' pieces (for the legs)

We then drilled holes, quite sporadically, in the side and top pieces. Next, we hooked it all together and cemented the joints together. Then, we waited for the longest 15 minutes ever -- try envisioning a 2 1/2 year old waiting to see what such a contraption would do. 

Ta Da! What fun! 

Well, I never finished talking about Oberlin. It ended really well. I performed really well on the Biber recital. I think everything the teachers were saying to us about relaxing and breathing really sunk it. I've already found myself listening to music and thinking about performance/pedagogy differently since I've been back. Thomas and I have talked about learning some pieces and performing them together, and we hope to get more involved in the early music scene here in Nashville, as well as make it better! 

My chamber ensemble for week 2. We performed Purcell's Pavane and Chacony in G Minor. 

The last night we were there we went to a party at Catharina Meints' house. She has a spectacular abode - very modern and interesting architecture, but also a large collection of different gambas. Some are shown in the picture below. The house was beautiful and we spent most of the evening just wandering and inquiring about different aspects of the house. It really was crazy!

After Oberlin ended - we flew to Nashville, hopped in our car and drove down to Destin, Florida. I was hoping for this vacation that would consist of 4 or 5 hours a day, sitting in a beach chair, half sunken in the wet sand because I chose to put it too close to the surf, under an umbrella and read as many books as possible. Well, it rained 4 of the 6 days we were there. We had a ton of fun with my parents, but I would have enjoyed a bit more sunshine, and less torrential downpour.

18 weeks pregnant

W loves spaghetti!

And last of all: my garden! Here I am holding the first 2 cucumbers and 3 carrots we harvested! They tasted great too!

And this picture is my haul from the farmer's market today. I love the farmer's market. So much. I'm excited to be making Chocolate Strawberry Pavlova and Chocolate Blackberry Pavlova for small group tomorrow night. The blackberries are huge! And 2 different types of kale: Scottish Blue and Russian Kale. We are planning on whipping up some green smoothies for these hot summer mornings. 

Overall, the summer has been pretty great! I go in for my 20 week ultrasound on Monday. We are not planning on finding out if our little one is a boy or girl, but just in case we can't stand it, we will have the technician write it down and stick it in an envelop... in case we want to have a gender reveal party. Also, things are moving in a good direction with our house. Lord willing, we will close on July 25. Prayers appreciated!

In Christ,

Julie