Nesting Has Set In...

The past month has been a whirl of preparation for our sweet baby girl - "FC" as her uncles and aunts are calling her these days. We've given in to requests and announced her initials. It has been hillarious listening to everyone's guesses. I love that our families are as excited about her arrival as we are! Adding to my excitement has been the great need to order our home - I just couldn't stop myself. We now have a cleaned and organized garage...a deep freeze is being delivered on Friday so that I can do a little food preparation to help John out when Peanut comes home - look for some of my recipes next week. I also have attempted to organize Peanut's things to make comming home a bit easier...we shall see if my predictions for organization hold true. Additionally, John and my brother Nate have worked tirelessly the past two weekends trying to complete the bathroom remodel. They have done amazing work and the bathroom will be a great improvement to our home...one that we will not be able to fully enjoy until this summer. Progress is progress! My mom and Ashley were also here this weekend helping me with cleaning the house....because I unfortunately contracted a nasty stomach bug this past week. The "bug" completely halted my nesting instincts...probably for the remainder of my pregnancy. My doctor checked me out and has assured me that Peanut is fine. I am, however, strongly encouraged to slow down, ask for help, and rest whenever possible....not been too hard to do as I have felt pretty run down the past few days. I am so very thankful for a healthy baby and a loving family that has helped us out in so many ways!

We have a new toilet and tiled floor.

The shower walls and floor are tiled. Yay!

Aunt Ashley and Uncle Nate gave us a swing for Peanut! Ashley was SO kind to put it together for us this weekend.

On a sweet side-note, our precious nephew Robert Matthew was baptized the first weekend in March. John and I have the great honor and responsibility of being his Godparents and so enjoyed sharing this special time with baby Matthew and John's brother and sister-in-law Rebecca. 

Proud Uncle John with Baby Matthew on his baptismal day. I love this picture!

Please keep John and I in your prayers. John is taking a final test for his military course and is under so much pressure right now between work, home, and Navy. Please pray for baby and I's health...the countdown has started!

Nursery News



The big day is slowly approaching! Thankfully, sweet Peanut's room is almost complete. Mom, Nate, and Ashley came in early February to paint and put together furniture. What a huge help they were! I am so excited to bring baby home to this cute room. Six more weeks...I do believe, for obvious reasons, that this will be one of the longest waits of my life. Please continue to pray for Peanut and I's continued good health and for her big debut in April.

The Owl Family is my attempt at art for Peanut. John even insisted on having a Daddy Owl - It's so fun seeing him excited over planning for the baby.



Mommy and Baby Owl with a favorite scripture verse.

Daddy and Baby Owl - acting silly....as I'm sure John will be when he plays with sweet Peanut.





The crib - a gift from Mom. I searched for awhile to find one that 'looked' like a crib. It means so much that she'll be sleeping in something Nana gave her.

Hopefully Peanut shares my love for reading. Her book collection is off to a good start!



Our Year-End and New Year Re-Cap!

The holidays are always FULL for this Lindgren household...full of travel, full of family and friends, full of food, and full of gifts and blessings. It is also a time where John and I feel stretched to our limits in an effort to spend time with everyone. But this year we did well - and managed to enjoy some quality time with good balance. Yay! To briefly recap our year end, mommy and baby are doing great. My latest exams went great - our little girl is tracking right along and her scans showed that all systems are developing just as the should. John has been very busy studying for his officer training courses...it's kinda like squishing 2-3 college courses into a brief 12 week period. Stressful - but it will help his career in the future. My grandma was able to spend the holidays with us - and we were so greatful to spend this time with her. I was able to take an extra day off work and spend time just one-on-one with her...such a special time! She's amazed at how 'Big' I am...ha!

Nate and Ashley - the newly engaged couple! So excited for a new Sister!

As for our New Year - we're off and running! Ive been making fun plans for the nursery and attempting to get my work in well order for my co-workers in the spring. Today is also a special day for John and I  - it's our anniversary! Our first year flew by and all that we have experienced has brought us just that much closer together...most importantly we are learning just how important it is to make the love we share an action we choose each day.

John and his Granny, Stasia. So happy she is home and doing well!

At the Cotton Row for our Anniversary dinner - our cake topper survived the year!

My wonderful husband and I enjoying the date!

At John's parents' ....this preggo pick is just fabulous (read sarcasm please!)



Exciting News!

December has been full of fantastic gifts and surprises - I am so thankful for all my God has given to myself and my family!!

For starters....It's A Girl!! John's reaction was absolutely precious...one of sheer happiness, surprise and fear...all at once. We are so very excited to start getting to know this little one. Baby Peanut is going to be so loved! She's the first grandchild on my side (with a Pap who just loves little girls) and she's the only granddaughter on John's side with a bunch of adoring uncles and a Pop who also has a thing for baby girls!

Oddly tho, amidst all this excitement, I have had unexpected feelings of uncertainty and fear this week. I want my baby to be strong in will, strong in her faith and respectful and loving to others (among so many other hopes and dreams). How will we do this? I am really capable of being the mother this child deserves? John is worried about all those boys and the confounding girlie drama that everyone likes to talk about. Then this morning, after my devotion, I have started to feel peace. Thank you Jesus. I was reminded of some very important scripture....my Father's words reminding me that this is all in His PERFECT and loving plan for my family. That it is not my job to worry! My baby is a good and perfect gift...one that I will cherish forever. She has the best protection...our Father's hands. I may not always be there with her, John may not either...but He will never leave her.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above...
~ James 1:17 From KJV

In other news....Nate, my brother, has asked his girlfriend Ashley to marry him! I am so very excited to have another sister (officially now). They have dated for years and in many ways she is already family, but we are incredibly happy to welcome her to our family circle in marriage this year. Yay!

I promise pictures of the holiday festivities in the new year...so much fun to look forward too!

My Favorite Time of Year

Our fall and winter has gotten off to a fantastic start. I am back to feeling pretty great (most of the time!) and things seem to have settled into a good routine around here - as many of you know, I love routines. However, there is this sweet thing that really wants to disrupt our routine - our sweet baby! Peanut, as we call him or her, has started to move around and respond occasionally to John's voice. My growing body and all the resulting changes are a not-so-subtle reminder of all the changes our routine will undergo in just a matter of months. With Peanut feeling more "real" each day John and I are reflecting on some of our family traditions that we want to share with our own family. We decided to get Peanut off to a head start in this department...with a new tradition, the family-centered Turkey Trot in Huntsville on Thanksgiving morning. We had such a great time at the race with my brother and his girlfriend. Peanut made his/her prescence known as I crossed the finish line with lots of wiggles and flips! It was a great way to start off the Thanksgiving holiday. We spent the rest of the day at John's family and cherished the time spent with all of them.

This year's Christmas season has become much more meaningful as we prepare for our child. Our routine is much the same this year as we start to experience this season of Advent. However, I am beginning to realize how I all to often get caught up in the cookie baking, gift buying and wrapping, party scheduling that I forget that the real reason for this special time of year is Christ, his birth, and his ultimate sacrifice. I want better for my child! So this year, I will still bake cookies, buy and wrap gifts, and have much fun at the holiday parties...but I will do my best to keep Christ at the center of all this activity and remember how very special this season truly is.

His birth was for his death; his death was for our birth! (John 1:29 and John 3:1-8)

Kitchen Improvements!

A few months ago we finally starting making some much needed improvements to our kitchen. John was very agreeable and helped whenever needed. We basicaly just changed paint colors, added a few paintings, and our families helped out in a huge way. Mom and my sister-in-law Katie did much of the painting and John's parents came over from Hville one weekend to do the tile backsplash. I love my kitchen...and this process has really shown the love our families have for us. We are so thankful for all the help they offered. A side note...I finally got my new dishwasher this weekend!! Sadly, the installation resulted in some sort of clog in our sink faucet....SOooo, I ended up with a new faucet too! John does great work!!

Long-overdue Lindgren Update!

Time has gotten away from me! As John and I would accomplish something or visit a place in the past few months I would think...this would be fun to put on our blog! Well...thanks to several friends inquiries, I'm finally back! I thought a picture update would be the best way to catch you all up on our happenings these past few months.....

We traveled to NOLA for a weekend get-away in July and went by train! It was surprisingly fun...and felt like an adventure. While in NOLA we did the typical touristy things and I was able to visit with a dear friend from college. Such as fun place for reconnecting!

The pups are doing great...keeping us busy with their backyard shenanigans.

Oh...and one more fun and exciting update. For those who don't already know, John and I are expecting a baby in April! Don't be expecting any 'baby bump' pics, but we hope to put up a few baby pics soon. Mom and Baby Peanut are doing well!