The Comfort Zone

I'm 37 weeks pregnant today. So technically that means I'm full term. The baby could come any day and be fine. It could be today.

The thought of being mom in a few weeks (or days!) is both incredibly exciting and totally intimidating. See, I'm by nature a comfort zone person. I like the idea of change more than I like change itself. I mean, look at my life. I've worked at the same place for 10 years. I live in the city I was born and raised in. Heck, I even married someone whose name is the same as both my mom and my dad's. And my brother's. And mine. Obviously, I like my comfort zone where it's safe and secure. And nothing is unknown.

But I've discovered something disturbing about the comfort zone. There is a distinct lack of faith there. In a place where I am totally safe and secure and everything is known, I have no need for God. I am not stretched. I have no reason to grow or change. It's comfortable, yes, but stagnant. And honestly, a little boring. Living in the comfort zone does not allow me to have the abundant life that Jesus talks about.

That's why, although I have literally no idea what I'm doing when it comes to things like labor, childbirth and raising a child, I'm looking forward to the approaching challenges with great excitement! And although I've had some pretty big moments of failure in this recently, I'm trying to keep the fear at bay. Because there's no way, even if it were possible at this point, that I want to stay in the comfortable, safe place I've been. I need this if I'm going to grow.

God is calling me to bigger things. He's calling me out of my safe place to a place of unknown.

Celebrating Year One

Last weekend we celebrated our one year anniversary with a weekend away on the Western Slope, near Gunnison, CO. Okay first of all, how have I lived in this state my whole life and never spent any time on the other side of the mountains?! It's unbelievably gorgeous. It's a totally different kind of beauty than the side we live on.

We stayed in a cabin at a horse ranch near a tiny town called Almont. The area is known for it's fly fishing and river rafting.

One of the highlights for us was that we were able to bring all three dogs. The dogs had a great time playing in the river all day and we just relaxed, read books, played Scrabble and had a couple nice dinners out in Gunnison.

On the way, we stopped at the top of Cottonwood Pass.

We met a German couple who studied butterflies. Chris liked their nets.
Once we arrived, we found a spot along the river without fishermen (this is harder than it sounds in that area) and let the dogs play.
Havana LOVES the water and will fetch anything. Anywhere. Anytime.
Orsa had to build up her courage in the fast-moving current, but loved fetching the ball.
Bella just bathes. And never, ever gets her tail wet.
Saturday morning we went for an early morning hike. It was gorgeous.



The view from our cabin.
We stopped at Taylor Reservoir on the way home.
I set the self-timer, but the autofocus was apparently in the wrong spot. Lame. I like this picture anyway, even if it's blurry. (I really should learn how to use my camera better.)
Looks like a fake backdrop. But, of course, it's not.
Good job, God!

Motherhood by Immersion

In the final few weeks before BabyGio arrives, I've been surrounding myself with as many babies as possible. I figure it's kind of like learning a language by immersion.

So last week my sister brought her kiddos for a picnic lunch at the park across the street. Moriah, my six-month-old niece, got to experience the bliss of eating a strawberry for the first time. (After witnessing the carnage, it's obvious that Carl's Jr.'s "Don't bother me ... I'm eating" commercials have nothing on this girl!)

Apparently pregnancy has changed my voice into a man's voice. How unbecoming. I hope it changes back.

And here, her brother Micah discovers that bomannas have hair.


Then today at lunch, I had another niece visit, this time two months old.
Needless to say, I'm getting a teensy bit excited for our baby to be here and join the fun!

Bold is Beautiful

It's been almost two months since we moved into our new house, and with all the traveling and other summer activities, we've been slow in making it "ours." But this past weekend, we made huge progress ... we finally got our main level painted!

And I'd like to take a moment to give a major shout out to Devin Smith, his lovely wife Becca and his dad, who did a phenomenal painting job. They worked so hard and it definitely shows! Even my perfectionist brother would appreciate the perfect edging and ceiling lines. You guys are awesome!

Now, a little background for you before the photos. Keep in mind that Chris and I approach decision-making very differently, so something as seemingly innocuous as choosing paint colors is a major deal. We spent hours at Home Depot and probably grabbed half of the paint swatches to take home. We tried several colors in different spots on the wall, which you can see in some of the photos.

Even after we had decided on colors, I think we were both unsure about how it would look. And since I was banished from the house for the weekend, I couldn't evaluate the colors partway through, so I was even more anxious.

Obviously, when I arrived home on Monday night, I was quite excited to see the outcome. I took some before and after pictures so you can see the transformation...

Front Room




Kitchen


Living Room




Dining Room/Kitchen


So, hopefully you can see why we LOVE it! It's warm and comfortable and has a little Mediterranean/Tuscan feel. We're both into bold paint colors (obviously) and this house, with its many windows, is perfect for it.

Next up on the home improvement agenda ... the nursery.

Oh by the way, in case you're interested, we have four unopened gallons of the red paint, two semi-gloss and two eggshell. It's Behr Premium (with primer included) and the color is Chianti. I'm going to sell it on Craigslist, so let me know if you want to buy it!

Old People Rock

This couple has been married for 62 years and he'll be 90 this year. They walked into the lobby of the Mayo Clinic for a checkup and spotted a piano. Here is their impromptu performance.



I'm shooting for that much fun after 62 years with my husband!

ht: Suzanne Gosselin

Blog, Interrupted

Geez ... where have I been all my life? Apparently this whole marriagehousebuyingpregnancy-all-in-one-year thing has really taken it's toll on my regular blogging habit.

With how quickly life is changing these days and the upcoming arrival of BabyGio, I've been literally overflowing with stuff to share. (Yes, literally Zach.)

So, without further ado ... I am hereby reinstating this blog.

Ahem.

I, owner and sole contributor of this blog, hereby promise to give you a better peep into the G-Life via more regular posts. Maybe not every single day. But certainly more than you've seen of late.

I hereby promise that starting in September, not every post will contain a baby photo. Or even mention a baby. But probably some will since that will be my life.

I hereby promise to try my best to make you think a little bit and laugh a lot.

I apologize to you, faithful reader. You deserve better. And if you're still around, you deserve ... ummm .... something cool. A gold medal. A free ice cream cone. Or at least a hug. (Although even that's becoming a challenge these days.)

Anyway, in the spirit of the Asian guy on Iron Chef America ... LET THE BLOGGING BEGIN!

C.S. Lewis on Love

"Do not waste time bothering whether you "love" your neighbour; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him."

—C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)