A Smile :-)

The Bowens are stressed. I'm not gonna lie - having a baby, renovating a house, and having a husband switch jobs all at once is too much. K thrives under pressure; however, he admits he's reached his breaking point. Did I mention we have too much on our plate? Yet there's nothing we can do about it now as we find ourselves in the thick of it all except to persevere and endure.

And cling to the edge of the cliff with our finger nails.

I'm exaggerating - a little. In retrospect we couldn't really have changed the timing on any of it, and once we get settled things will be worth it. We are both so ready to have a clean and organized new home. We started packing this weekend. By started packing I mean loaded up a whopping 2 boxes of books. At least that's 2 less that we'll have to pack in a week when our house is done...

In the past I kept a journal. In Microsoft Word. Typing out my thoughts is way simpler and quicker than writing with pen and paper. I've said this before, but documenting my life in general provides a written reminder of the ways in which I've grown and changed over a year's time. I used to look back and think, "What did I do this year? What did I learn? How did I change and grow as a person?" Not having a good answer to those questions often made me feel like I wasted a whole year. Being able to read my thoughts and see the obstacles God brought me to / through and how He changed my heart provides much comfort and encourages me to continue trying to live life to the fullest for another year.

SO - all of this said, I went back through the archives in my blog, mostly to see how far we've come. Instead of finding deep, heartfelt lessons that I'd typically write in my journal, I found several great posts that made me laugh. Smile. Not think about all the things on our to-do list at the moment. Just what I needed. In no particular order, these are my top 3 favorites:

"Arbuckle Wilderness...Wow! What a Difference!"

Calling All Verminators

Who says dogs don't smile?

And of course, this little girl always brings a smile to my face!

3 Months Old

Our sweet daughter is still growing like a weed and is 3 months old today - can you believe?? A few likes and dislikes at this age:

LIKES:
--Eating
--Attempting to stick her entire fist in her mouth
--Her swing
--Kicking her legs while cooing in her pack and play
--Her paci
--Being held while walking around
--Riding in the car
--Bright, colorful toys

DISKLIKES:
--Afternoon naps
--Tummy time
--Being hungry and overtired
--Losing her paci

She's mastered Zoolander's blue steel look:


And also enjoys sitting up like a big girl in her bumbo:


Her squeals of delight when she sees me peek over her crib in the morning and the way she holds onto my finger when she's nursing are 2 of the many priceless moments that I am so lucky to cherish while being at home with her all day. Thank you to my wonderful hubby for working so hard to support our family. This baby girl is the joy of our lives and we love her so unbelievably much!

P.S. Happy Birthday today, Mimi!!!

La la la!

This little girl loves to sing. I think she's going to be a soprano one day. :-)



A soprano with long beautiful eyelashes...


...and a stellar mo-hawk!

Like Uncle Bubbie...

...like BG! These 2 loooove their sunglasses!

Another House Update

Progress continues to be made on the new house, which means that my freak-out level has intensified dramatically as I realize that decorating doomsday is rapidly approaching. While I am excited for the grand finale of this stressful project we've embarked upon, I am terrified at the idea of furniture placement throughout multiple empty rooms, drapery selection for all the windows, and really just decorating in general. Oh how I wish I had even just one tiny decorating gene in me...

I have enlisted the help of my college roommate as she's quite talented at interior design, but I'm still anxious about the end result and just want so badly for it to look like it's from a magazine!!

Updates include 1) kitchen granite and backsplash, 2) stone around the fireplace, and 3) almost completed bathrooms. We are clinging to the light at the end of the tunnel!!!






And of course - what would a post on a baby blog be without a picture of baby? Here's B in a hat - what a cutie!