I'm feeling...

Creative. 

I'm thinking that today's workout will include lots of walking: at anthropologie, vintage stores and maybe joanne's fabric store. :) 

Stay tuned...

~Mrs. Sellai <3

a few of baby's things...

Some of my little guy's adorable things. I become obsessed with owls for his nursery theme. However, most of the owl stuff I came across was either too feminine, overpriced or just boring. So I got creative and mixed and matched some homemade pieces with solid colors. Now, I can't wait for him to get here...

The latest project for the nursery. My sister, Vanessa, discovered this image on Bower Power for me. I printed it on Vicki's kodak printer and framed it with a few extra details.

Super cute mobile (from Alysha), and a framed maternity picture.

I found this free owl pattern on Toad's Treasures blog and decided to give it a try. I think it came out really great!

I first used orange string to hang this but I felt like the twine looked so much cuter. :)

"O is for Owl" throw pillow, and owl crib blanket.

How cute is this? It was a gift from my manager, Amanda.

Now all we need is our baby :) Hurry up little guy. We can't wait to meet you.

~Mrs. B

one year (and a few weeks) ago...

On March 27, Nicholas & I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. (I know this is a bit overdue but better late than never, right?) It was a beautiful spring afternoon in downtown Fresno, the day we said our vows. Surrounded by a few of our closest family and friends, we pledged the rest of our lives to each other; our hands clasped tightly together taking in the solemnity of our actions. Our joy overflowed that day and I will never forget it.

A year later, we spent our anniversary weekend reminiscing over our first year together as husband & wife. A year may not seem very long; a mere three hundred and sixty five days. Yet, I feel like we've grown so much this first year, both emotionally and spiritually. We've learned much about each other, yet I know we still have so much more to learn. We look forward to all that God has in store for us in the next days and months and years of our lives. 

One year ago, I married my best friend....

And now, I can't imagine life without him. 

"Grow old with me,

the best is yet to be."

-Robert Browning

here's what's going on in my neighborhood...

I feel like a terrible blogger for posting so sporadically the past few months. However, I blame my growing belly and the amazing weather we've been having. After work, all I want to do is go walking, which usually ends up being at the mall or target, but it still counts as exercise. :) My new favorite thing to say is, "Let's go for a walk!" And Nick has come to loathe that more than ever. He has recently become obsessed with his W.O.W. account again and is constantly battling strange monstrous creatures in mythical cyber lands. Fabulous.

Some things that have been going on lately.....

The new Forever21 opened at the Fashion Fair Mall so Toya & I had to check it out this past Sunday. After three amazing floors of very trendy apparel, a live DJ, getting lost and confused countless times, and dragging overflowing shopping bags into the much improved fitting rooms, we emerged (almost three hours after we first arrived) out of breath and clutching our fabulous finds, fully in awe of the amazement we had just witnessed. Needless to say, I will be returning very soon. And, we aren't the only ones who loved it. One of the cooks at work allegedly spent four hours in the store while his wife shopped. He probably deserves some sort of medal or a hug or something like that.

Also, our crib mattress finally arrived via UPS to my mom's house, and then it was lugged up to my apartment by my five foot tall, out of breath mother who laid it on my living room floor and instructed me to not even think of moving but to wait for Nick to get home from work. So I sat for a while, surfing the web and staring at the box until Nick arrived and opened it up. It is awesome though, and organic, and now our little guy's corner (we don't yet have space for a full nursery) is nearly complete. Hooray!

Tonight Nicholas & I drove to Target to get some mayonnaise and ended up finding slider burgers that were so adorable we had to have them for dinner. And, they were awesome!

I think that's all for now except tomorrow is my last day of work before I start maternity leave and I am pretty stoked about having some time to clean house and organize. If you're reading this and you are free after tomorrow, you should probably hang out with me. :) Well fellow bloggers, may you enjoy a peaceful and relaxing weekend. Cheers.

~Bethany.

baby shower...

My mom, Momma Sellai & Toya threw my baby shower brunch today and it was fabulous. I couldn't have asked for a better one. We enjoyed good company, delicious food, games & onesie decorating. I am so grateful to everyone who attended. Nicholas and I received so many thoughtful gifts and kind notes. Our little one is definitely very loved. We feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. Check out the pictures below. They describe the day far better than I can... 

Jannah & I.

tummy shot.

Paper lantern decorations.

fingerprint guestbook.

lots of gifts.

Can you guess who made this one? :)

Toya & Aunt Ester.

Yummy Owl cupcakes.

Michelle & Hailey decorating a onesie.

One of our beautiful gifts.

Now I can't wait to meet our baby boy and use all this awesome baby gear!

-Bethany S.

Being Kind.

So, this month I've been teaching the 4th and 5th graders in my Kid's Connection class about kindness. And it's going really well. The kids have all identified the "enemies" in their lives, and then brainstormed ways to show kindness, regardless of how they feel toward these unkind individuals. They are really getting it.

Fast forward to now. The more I teach about kindness, the more I've encountered situations where I need to put it into practice in my own life. This month has been both frustrating and enlightening. Not only have I convinced a lot of kids that Jesus wants us to be kind, but I've encountered instance after instance where I need to be kind too; and it's not as easy as it sounds. But the more I teach, the more I learn. Ironically, in order for me to really relate to the lesson, I had to actually learn from it and really start practicing being kind, daily.

This week I am thankful that the Bible applies to everyone. Regardless of how much I think I already know, I will never stop learning and growing.

"Do unto others as you would have them do to you." Luke 6:31

once upon a Thursday night...

The crib finally arrived! The box was literally bigger than me so I spent a while just staring at it while I waited for Nick to come home from work and start putting it together. It definitely surpassed my expectations though. The crib is absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to lay my child in it. 

Priceless photo of the day: Poppa building Bubba's crib :)

~Mrs. S.