Baby's first Rock Show at The Fillmore! - May 18th, 2009

Perhaps it's not the most "typical" thing in the world for a woman who's expecting to have a baby in less than 3 weeks to go to a rock concert in the City, *but* one of my absolute favorite bands, Doves, just so happened to be playing in San Francisco on May 18th, and I figured little Arwen would want to hear them play live for the first time just as much as I did! The show was at The Fillmore, and since people travel from all over specifically to see bands play at such a historical theatre, it was yet another reason why I felt like it was important to take this precious little kiddo to experience a great concert there! Katie and I got our tickets to the sold-out show quite a while back, (and since tickets for children under zero are free, I thought it was quite a deal *hehe*). Now if I'm lucky, maybe all this music exposure will make it so that she'll start falling asleep to rock songs once she's born! (Mom's wishful thinking? ;)... probably).

(Katie, me, & Arwen-to-be, posed in front of the Doves' tour bus with our traditional Fillmore posters and red apples which the venue has a reputation for handing out after shows. I think Arwen appreciated the apple more than the poster...)

Oh, and our adventure didn't end there unfortunately. Once the show was over we walked back to Pantherforce Galactica ZRX The Magnificent (that's the name of my VW Jetta) to head home, but she wouldn't start!!! *Ugh* Really?! By this time it was about 12:30a.m. so once I called my insurance company to please send us help, Katie and I waited patiently for the tow truck to arrive, and sleepily tried to make the best of the setback as we stood outside in the cold, watching the guy slowly pull her up onto the flatbed... *Sigh*... gotta love all the fun little unexpected adventures in life right?... *hehe*, oh man...

Song of Solomon 2:11-13
"See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.
The fig tree forms its early fruit;
the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me."

A Shower and Tea for Little Arwen Rayne! - May 16th, 2009

Mom, me (& Arwen), and Debbie Reeves who hosted and organized the entire *beautiful* shower and tea!

Teddy and Dana

Cathy and Linda C.

Linda P. and Linda I.

Lisa (my kindergarten bestie) and me

Sue

Mom organized a bunch of fun shower games with amazing and adorable prizes!

Lisa, me, and Katie

Christine

Cindy and Lora

Debbie :)

Mom, me and Jamie

Remember how I have a baby cradle and changing table set up in my room?...yeah.

Only 3 1/2 weeks to go (*oh, wowy*), and things are slowly but surely coming together as far as 'baby-prep' goes for little Arwen's arrival. Wow, it's amazing how much goes into preparing for such itsy bitsy squiggly little babes huh? Her cradle and changing table are both set up now though and ready to go as you can see here, and thanks to SO MANY amazingly sweet and *generous* gifts and contributions from such *immensely* helpful friends and family members, my apartment is pretty well stocked with all the initial baby supplies that I'll be needing right off the bat too! (just waiting to load-up the white baskets that I ordered to place on the changing table shelves. This kiddo's Mom is a tad bit on the picky-side, so I had to hold-out until I found just the right ones for it! *hehe*)

The doctors mentioned being ready to look for signs of Arwen's oh-so-imminent arrival as many as 3 weeks before her due-date (*eek! oh man, really?!*), so my goal by the end of this week is to have my hospital bag relatively packed and ready to go just in case she's nothing like her Mom, and decides she's going to arrive early for something. *hehe*. Don't get too excited though Arwen... you just try and hold tight until you're really ready in there okay? ;)


Psalm 84
How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young - a place near your altar, O Lord Almighty my King and my God Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength till each appears before God in Zion. Hear my prayer, O Lord God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob. Look upon our shield O God; look with favor on your anointed one. Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

Surprise Shower for Arwen at GSP! - May 7th

Renee: "Hey Rachel, do you think you can come down to the photo studio today around noon? We need your help for a quick HP comp."
Rachel: "...You guys need a pregnant lady???"
Renee: "Um..... yeah."
Rachel: "Alright sure, that's fine - just call whenever you want me down there then..."

Perhaps I made it easy on them by not asking too many questions, but that conversation is exactly how my co-workers managed to get an unsuspecting-little-me to walk straight into an amazing baby shower that they threw for me at my work! It was honestly one of the biggest surprises since... well, maybe since finding out I was having a baby (*haha*), though apparently it had all been planned and coordinated right under my nose! I'm actually pretty shocked that I so truly didn't suspect a thing!


After I walked in the photo studio to a group of people shouting "Surprise!" it still took a couple stunned-moments for me to realize what it was all for... balloons, flowers, baby decorations and confetti, clotheslines strung with adorable little girl clothes, a beautiful catered lunch, and yummy cakes! As it began to sink-in, I became just overwhelmed (and choked-up!) by what an extravagant and thoughtful production it all was! They draped a playful little satiny purple "mom to be" sash over my shoulder, and as we ate and enjoyed, they also presented me with an *incredibly* generous gift that everyone had helped to pitch-in for!


It really meant just the *world* to me that so many hands got involved in doing something like that for me and my little kiddo-to-be! Sometimes I'm just amazed at how much God has used such kind and generous people at this job as a means of provision and encouragement during this whole journey so far, and I honestly couldn't feel more blessed to work where I do, and be surrounded with the kind of sweet and gracious people that are there! Such an incredible gift!

Matthew 6:25-34
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like on of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself..."

A 'Baby-Q' for Arwen! - April 26th

(pics and brief to come soon!!)

Arwen's SF Baby Shower - April 25th

A little earlier in the year 3 precious little friends of mine, Lisa, Danielle, and Katie, asked me if they could throw me and Arwen a baby shower. It was such a very gracious offer, and I gratefully agreed, so the shower was set to take place in San Francisco at the end of April. What an absolutely beautiful event it was!



Lisa coordinated everything just flawlessly, from first sending out the invitations, to trucking-in coolers of ice and crates of stemware on the day-of! She created such a feminine and oh-so-sophisticated environment with beautiful bright and cheery flower arrangements, candles, silver, champagne glasses, and luxurious treats like tasty fruit tarts, cream puffs, and all kinds of fancy cookies.


Our gifted little chef, Danielle, made three kinds of tasty little tea sandwiches for the guests (almond chicken, lemon cucumber, and bleu cheese with walnut), and also made two scrumptious scone flavors (cranberry and chocolate chip) that were extra delicious with her sticky sweet jam! Everything was so yummy, and there was barely a morsel left-over by the end of the shower!!

Katie coordinated clever little shower games and created cute prize bags for the guests to win. Everyone guessed the circumference of my ever-growing belly, raced to drink water from an actual baby bottle, and tested their smarts with a memory-recall game of a basket stuffed full of baby goodies for Arwen! There was also a diaper-decoration-station where guests wrote hilarious notes, captions, and illustrations, to try and help make all that future diaper-changing FUN!... okay, maybe not "fun", but at least a little bit more light-hearted! ;) *hehe*

It was really such a gorgeous day, and I was just so touched by all the time and effort that went into putting it together for me, let alone all the amazing girlfriends who came to attend from near and far! (Some even flying in and driving in from hours away!) It really meant so much to be flooded with such generosity and support, and I can't get over how lucky Arwen is to have so many sweet and beautiful "aunties"!