Archive for April, 2010

Babymoon!

Posted on April 27th, 2010 by jj.

We spent last weekend at the Chimney Hill Inn in Lambertville for our “babymoon” — the last goofy getaway before wallpapering the house in boxes of diapers.

Why the Chimney Hill Inn? Because they raise alpacas. And alpacas have the shape of giraffes, the wool of sheep, the face of Sam the Sheepdog, and a personality that is somewhere between dog, goat and rabbit. They are a South American camelid, and if you can stare one in the eye without laughing hysterically, you are probably depressed. The lady alpacas at the Chimney Hill Inn, by the way, are protected by two guard llama. Also not a sentence that can be spoken without giggling.

Lucy feeds the alpacas:

John feeds the alpacas:

The rest of the photos:

Incoming baby!

Posted on April 7th, 2010 by lucy.

This is the nursery , which has come a really, really long way from not too long ago.  It’s exactly what I wanted, and makes me smile whenever I poke my head in.  The lavender (which is Amethyst Cream, to be precise) came out as I had hoped, and gives the room a very cheery, feminine feel.  I feel so girly for wanting it, and John was good enough to oblige me.  He even likes how it turned out.  Our parents did virtually all of the work for the nursery, and I did hardly any, as most of it involved fumes.  My parents and Eileen tore out the old pieces in the closet (which John is standing in to take this picture–the door to the room is immediately on his left).  Eileen spackled and the parents sanded at least three separate rounds, transforming a wall that could only be described as mountainous into a crisp, smooth wall.  My parents painted everything white.  One morning, John and I returned from church to find my dad there painting the purple.  You know your daddy loves you when he comes over to paint the nursery.  You know he really loves you when he comes over to paint the nursery purple.  My parents also picked up the chair rail John and I had picked out (hooray for a minivan!  our little “go-kart” of a car wasn’t long enough), then stained it at their place so that I didn’t have to deal with the smell.  Then John and my dad put up the chair rail. [John took a picture that shows off the chair rail's beauty, but due to what is probably the norovirus infecting my poor husband, I've been evacuated from my home and computer to Eileen's home and computer until John is better and can disinfect the place to prepare for my return.  I'll put the picture up later.  Feel better soon, John!  I miss you!]

You may have also noticed that we have a crib!  Marc and Elise, parents of three who are in our Bible study, were generous enough to give us this crib, which is absolutely gorgeous.  They’d warned us that the last movers who had disassembled and assembled it had used the brute force method, so it would need some repairs before use.  Enter my dad, who makes furniture for fun.  He fashioned two brand new support pieces from oak.  They’re now the sturdiest part of the crib, and I can rest easy.  Thanks, Dad!

Also pictured is one of the twin beds I grew up in (bunked with either Megan or Max, depending on age) with a quilt made by Gram, John’s maternal grandmother.  There’s more to be done, but for now the nursery is a tangible reminder, along with my expanding belly, that there’s an:

New Life

Posted on April 5th, 2010 by lucy.

“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to [Jesus'] tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.  And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.  And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.’  And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles,  but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.”  ~Luke 24:1-12, ESV

Happy Easter!