The Count Down Has Started

The nursery is ready, the bags are packed and the car seat is installed. Today I am 38 weeks and 4 days, 6 days away from my due date!  It still amazes me that our amazing God has knitted together a beautiful little girl without any of my help. One day there is nothing, 9 months later that nothing is kicking me in the ribs. It's absolutely dumbfounding. I keep thinking of the little factoid Ray heard in a sermon: if at the moment of conception a baby is the size of an orange, by the time of birth that orange would have grow to be the size of the earth. How amazing is that?! It blows my mind. We worship an awesome God.

Although I am finding these last days difficult, I can't help but think that this pregnancy has flown by with much ease and blessing. Every ache and pain I have I can't help but think, usually after a slight moment of complaint I must admit, that all the discomfort is so very worth it. We are ready to meet our little girl and discover her personality. Will she be a thinker like her daddy? Have his contagious laugh?  Will she have a creative streak like her mommy? Make the same silly facial expressions? We just can't wait to find out!

Last week a dear friend of mine called me over the weekend and told me to be at her house at 9am Monday morning. She had gotten a hold of a college student with a talent for photography and asked her to take some maternity pictures with my camera.  I had put off pictures of this kind due to the insane cost to hire a professional and just sheer laziness.  She would hear none of my complaints and insisted I needed to capture this special time. It ended up being such a blessing and I'm glad she scheduled it. Below are some of the pictures taken. The Harley picture was just for fun but it ended up being a favorite among many. Ray found this one especially humorous and encouraged me to share it with the world. I hope you enjoy.

For those of you who remember these shoes in my bridal portraits, it was suggested the red shoes make an appearance for this shoot as well.  It seems appropriate.