Friday, December 10, 2010

The Nursery

Well, my due date has come and gone and our little Evangeline is still not here on the outside yet. I am now officially 4 days overdue and there really is no sign of her arrival so far. But we’re ready! I’ve read about a dozen books, the car seat is installed, our house is just about spotless, my freezer, fridge and pantry are full of meals and snacks, my mom is here and the baby’s room is ready. I’m feeling quite good still and there is no major snowstorm in the forecast. I really can’t complain! So, since my mom and I are finding ourselves trying to fill the days with things to do while we wait for this stubborn little one, I decided maybe I should take this opportunity to post pictures of her room.

Now, I must preface this by saying yes, I had waaaaaay toooo much spare time during this pregnancy. I had quit my job as a wedding coordinator just a few weeks before we found out we were pregnant (go figure!). I spent a few months working full time as a temp a Jeremy’s office but by summer I had cut back to working just two days a week. I officially became a stay at home mom two weeks ago. Jeremy and I had never had weekends off together and I had never had so much time during the week. So, with all this spare time (soon to become a favorite pastime) we took on a bunch of DIY projects to create a pretty and relaxing nursery for our baby girl while sticking to a budget. We both love how it turned out and are so excited to bring Evangeline home to her very own room! So, here it is:

The crib was a gift from my mom, sister and brothers. I love the clean lines and the extra storage drawer underneath.

The curtains, crib skirt, mobile and russian doll art are all DIY.


The owl hooks were also a semi-DIY project that I turned into hair clip/bow hangers. The little pink top is something Jeremy found at a consignment store!

Jeremy used Illustrator to create a graphic print of a scripture verse (Matt. 19:14).


This changing table was the very first thing we bought for her nursery. It was a $20 find on our local classifieds that Jeremy refinished. He also made the added shelf to hold all the diaper changing supplies. 

My very favorite doll from my childhood, Melissa Sue. She's definitely seen better days but I couldn't resist adding her to the room!

The blocks were another DIY project and once Evangeline is here, we'll replace the floral paper in the frame with a photo of her.

Here is the closet that Jeremy made an amazing built-in for. I love all the added storage and still haven't figured out a use for each of the baskets. I can't believe how much extra storage we ended up with but I'm sure we'll find lots of things to put in there as she gets older. 

I made closet dividers out of wooden letter "o"'s, left over fabric from some of the other DIY projects and sticky foam numbers. I didn't realize how much more organized I'd feel with these until we put them in but I really like having them now!


I can't wait to read books in the rocking chair, peek on her while she is fast asleep in her crib and play with all her toys. Now we just need our baby girl to get here!

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Evangeline Joy Sanchez

* Posted by Jeremy

What a journey it has been as we have waited for the arrival of our baby girl.  Her room is ready, car seat installed, hospital bags packed…now we just wait until she decides to come meet the world.  While we wait, I thought it would be a good idea to explain where we came up with her name, Evangeline Joy.

Anyone who knows Natalie and I knows that we can be two of the most indecisive people on the planet.  After all, I gained the nickname Mr. Perhaps from my siblings in college because I would hesitate to commit to anything.  Needless to say, picking the name of our firstborn child seemed like a daunting task.

Rewind back to October 2009.  We took a trip to Mexico to celebrate our 5 year anniversary.  We had been trying to get pregnant for well over a year and had begun the process of facing the reality of infertility.  Our tropical vacation was a great break in the middle of a busy schedule and trying to process the trial we were stepping into. 

Searching for a good book to read on our vacation, I settled on the classic novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin.  Let me first point out that I can hardly call myself a reader of “classic novels.”  In fact, the number of these timeless books I have under my belt is probably less than I can count on one hand and most of those were read in school.  Needless to say, someone had recommended it and I decided to give it a try. 

Uncle Tom’s Cabin is about slavery and was written in the mid 1800s.  As I was reading the book I was drawn to the character of a daughter of a slave owner.  She was a little 5-year-old girl who developed a special friendship with Uncle Tom.  Her name was Evangeline.  There are two traits that stood out about Evangeline, 1 – She loved Jesus, 2 – She had a tender and compassionate heart for people.  I would tell Natalie different parts about the book and what an adorable character Evangeline was.  After finishing the book, which I definitely recommend, Evangeline’s character always stuck with me. 

Now, here I sit on the day before her due date thinking of what an amazing thing God has done since that trip.  After being told by my Dr. that we would not be able to get pregnant, we prayed for a miracle and God answered.  Five days after the devastating news we got the most exciting news of all…we were pregnant!  This “good news” sparked the biggest roller coaster we’ve ever been on. 

After finding out we were having a baby girl, the name talk began, and went on…and on…and on!  Evangeline, which means messenger of good news, was always on the back of my mind and Natalie started to like it more and more.  The more we said it…the more it just felt right.  After cycling through name after name, we finally settled on this beautiful name.  The middle name wasn’t so difficult, especially since we knew it had to be short since we picked a 10-letter first name.  Joy, the emotion of great happiness, fit perfectly. 

I never knew that I could love this little girl so much before I have even seen her and heard her cry!  My prayer is that she will grow up to have the two traits that drew me to her name over a year ago, that she will love Jesus, and that she will have a tender heart for people.  Thankfully, we serve a God who answers our prayers…I can’t wait to meet you Evangeline Joy!


After we picked her name we heard about a song called "Ma Belle Evangeline" from the Disney movie The Princess and the Frog.  It made us love the name even more!  Check out the clip here.


Monday, November 8, 2010

6 Years Ago...


October 2, 2004

October 2, 2010
My, how things have changed!

We had a great time celebrating our 6 Year Anniversary. We spent an evening at Hotel Monaco and had an amazing dinner at Bambara. The pictures are a little rough since I didn’t want to use my flash in the restaurant, but aren’t those hounds tooth booths amazing?!
And the food… mmmmm
Steak, Potatoes & Grilled Asparagus
Sea Scallops over Zucchini Risotto
Although it’s been a little over a month since we celebrated our anniversary I couldn’t let it go by unmentioned. God knew exactly what I needed in a spouse and I feel so incredibly blessed to be married to Jeremy. He really is my best friend and I enjoy every bit of time we get to spend together. He always makes sure I know how much he loves me, and even if he never said it, his actions speak so clearly. These last six years, although not perfect, have been the absolute best years of my life. I can’t wait for all the Lord has in store for us in the next 6 years and beyond!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

September Visits

September was a busy month for us. We started the month with an extended Labor Day weekend trip to Nashville to visit family and ended the month with more family visiting us here. We definitely enjoyed all the time off of work, but enjoyed the time with family even more.

While in Nashville, we spent most of our time relaxing and eating great food! We went to a lot of local places and had lots of great southern cuisine. We went swimming, played football in the front yard, played board games and video games, and stayed up late every night! I couldn’t believe how grown up Lucy and Mae are (although we say that every time we see them, I really mean it!) and we finally got to meet our newest niece Opal Magnolia. We joke that Joey & Brynn’s home has a revolving door because they probably have someone visiting them more days out of the year than not. It’s a busy schedule to keep up with but they are wonderful hosts and definitely know how to show you a good time. Brynn never runs out of great ideas for places to go or things to do and she’s definitely your go-to person if you ever need a restaurant recommendation!

Thanks for such a fun trip you guys! We miss you already and can’t wait to come back!

Playing Life with Lucy & Mae

The guys watching football while Mae updates her Webkins

Straightening Mae's hair


Next up was Lucy!





Brynn & Opal

One of the many yummy restaurants we went to.











Lucy couldn't resist a big soaking wet hug for Joey!



Getting new Webkins at Cracker Barrel

The girls were so sweet to their soon-to-be new girl cousin!

A few weeks after we got home from Nashville, Jason & Jackie flew down to visit us here for the week. We had a great time hanging out, staying up late and sleeping in, watching movies and a Law & Order marathon, and again, lots of eating! This was our last visit with them before we all become parents so we were determined to make the most of it! Our baby is due at the beginning of December and Jason and Jackie’s adoption should be complete right around the same time. It’s been so fun to have someone in the family who is going through so many of the same things at the same time. Jackie and I spent a lot of time discussing nursery colors and decorations, gift registries, and all things baby related! We also made a trip to the Park City Outlets and had lots of fun shopping for our baby girls. They were having some great sales and we ended up driving home with what felt like a whole store’s worth of cute new clothes!


Thanks for making the trip down you guys! We always enjoy our time with you and can’t wait to meet your sweet little girl!

Jackie and I discussing baby gift registries!

One of our many adorable finds at the outlets... how cute will this be on Ayantu?! 
Jackie having a hard time deciding on baby bedding.

We had fun with our scanning guns at Babies R Us!

Making Saturday morning breakfast... yes that clock says 11am!

Jackie our expert waffle maker!


Dinner at Hoppers with the Morton's & Chen
(How is this the only picture I got of Jason?!)

Joelle loves buffalo wings!

Suzie & Adalyn


Jackie & Emmy

The Morton girls brought over a gift for baby Ayantu

The bag was full of goodies, including skinny jeans!!!