Like Arrows in the Hands of a Warrior

One from Apple Latte / Two from Dearwinsome / Three from Tryst by Kerry

"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows

in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man 

whose quiver is full of them." 

           - Psalm 127:3-5


I came across this verse in the Bible the other week, and it had my heart pouring out gratefulness to God for his blessing. I thought an arrow necklace would be a great reminder of how Miles is a gift straight from the hand of God. So I headed straight to Etsy to find some unique options. I haven't ordered anything yet, but these three stand out above the rest.

And, I have yet to read The Hunger Games, but are arrows a huge focus of the book? So many of the necklaces on Etsy had references to the book.

24 Weeks

Pregnancy Stats:

How Far Along: 24 weeks (eek only 4 months to go)

Size of the baby: Eggplant

Total Weight Gain: Not much, which I'm excited about.

Gender: Still a little boy

Movement: He's really just started to be active a few times throughout the day, usually when I'm sitting at my desk or relaxing on the couch. It really is one of the most exciting parts of pregnancy so far.

What I miss: Drinking all the coffee I want. Now that the weather is getting chilly, I want to be sipping on hot coffee all day long. But I'm limiting myself to a 1/2 cup in the morning to ward of headaches.

Cravings: None, I really haven't had any so far.

Symptoms: My back aches some days, and is perfectly fine others. But for the most part I'm feeling totally awesome and normal.

Best Moments of this week:

• Getting the nursery glider in the mail and setting it up in Miles' room
• Running around on Saturday with Mike searching for the perfect dresser/changing table
• Hanging out with small group friends for a Sunday night dinner
• Picking up some new fun things for Miles' room (see photos above)

Volunteer Design Work

Recently, I teamed up to volunteer with the Keystone Art & Culture Center, an art studio close to my house that makes art accessible to students and individuals in the community. I was asked to create a flyer for their upcoming Fall Bash. Having a project without regulations and strict design standards, is strangely freeing and a little intimidating. But once I got an idea, the creativity started flowing. Even though the design below wasn't the final choice, it's the one I'm most proud of :) I'm looking forward to the big bash on October 20th! But now I need some costume inspiration!

Here's a link to the Fall Bash page for more details and to see the final flyer design (ignore the low res image)

Studying the Bible in Community

Through reading the blogs of some wonderful women, I found an awesome tool to study the Bible daily. This initiative was started recently by women who wanted some accountability and conversation when reading the Bible. We are currently reading through Galatians using the You Version app. There is a portion of Scripture appropriated for each day, daily devotional thoughts and conversation.

I've only been doing this for five days but I'm loving reading the Scripture passage for the day then seeing what other women have to say about how God is using it to touch their hearts. There is something so special about seeing how the Holy Spirit speaks in different ways.

See for yourself what it's all about - She Reads Truth.

A Room for Miles

The nursery for Miles is slowly coming together. Now that the weather is cooling down in Central PA, Mike can move his office to the third floor. It gets insanely hot up there, so that has been the major hold up. Even though I'm only 23 weeks preggos today, I feel like we are way behind in the nursery planning and buying.

Over the weekend, we hauled all of Mike's office furniture and equipment up a flight of stairs and cleared out Miles room. Now that the crib is assembled, things are starting to feel more real. We will be bringing our sweet little mister home in about four months. After a long time of dreaming about a baby, it's finally a reality. God has blessed our little family in ways we never would have imagined.

Oh, but back to the nursery. There are still a ton of things we need, but I'm trying to remind myself that it's not about how cute the nursery is or how well stocked it is with the latest baby stuff. That little pile in the picture above is about all that we have ready: 7 homemade burp clothes, a turtle rug from Nepal, 5 onesies, Aden + Anais swaddle blankets and three picture books.

What more could a newborn need?!

What I Want

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I want to blog more of my life. 

I want to glorify God through my words.

I want to connect to others. 

This blog has been a hodgepodge of sorts, and has honestly been a struggle to even think about. Something about it has felt disingenuous. I don't have amazing fashion sense or an eye for interior design, and I think I've tried to make it a resource for that - with very little success.

I've decided to make this more of an outlet to share my life and thoughts. As I've gotten older, I have lost a sense of community and relationships that don't go weeks without talking. Life gets busy and somewhere between friends moving away, full time jobs starting and marriages becoming a priority, we loose touch, we loose closeness.

I can remember my four years in college, and the amazing relationships that God sprung forth. We would spend hours talking about our lives and evaluating God's impact on our lives and the world. Often my heart longs for that again. I find a little piece of that when I read blogs of women, mothers, daughters and wives that share their stories online, and invite others into it. These connections certainly don't replace face-to-face friendships, but they do inspire and challenge me to seek God deeper.

I want to do that here. I'll still share the special and mundane things that are happening at Oneleven Creative because that is a huge part of my life and day. But as Mike (my husband) and I embark on our new journey as parents, I want to record our journey. (I used to journal everyday, but have long lost the time or dedication to continue, and this blog can be that again.)

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
             - 1 Corinthians 10:31

Little Boy Fun

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Little boys like this make me excited to be having a little boy. Whoever says that girls have cuter clothes has never laid eyes on this sweet boy and his green loafers.

My Favorite Season

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Fall is here and I'm so excited by its arrival. I love the cool air and crisp evenings. Last night was one of the first fall-like evenings, and I fully embraced it by reading outside on the back patio. I find myself being inspired by autumn colors in my designs and craving pumpkin spice lattes, and it's only September 10th.

What's your favorite thing about fall?

Going Digital

In preparation for our new baby Miles to arrive in January, I'm trying to best set up my business to run smoothly. One part of that is offering do it yourself, printable wedding invitations and response cards in my Etsy shop. This is a fairly new development in the stationery business, and brides seem to really like  having the option to print their paper products on their own.

All digital files for both a wedding invitation and response card cost $55, which includes 3 versions of changes made by a professional graphic designer and typesetter.

I'm hoping this option takes off because I have a hard time picturing printing, trimming and packaging hundreds of invitations while caring for a newborn.

Our Little Family of 2 is Growing to 3

I've been holding onto a little secret for the past 5 months, and it's just about impossible to keep hidden any longer. We are expecting our first baby in January!

I can't believe how much my heart has grown the past few months, and how much I already love our little mister. It's hard to imagine that in five months we will be welcoming Miles into our lives with open arms.