Nesting

Neal said to me the other day that he knows that typically women seem to really get into nesting during the pregnancy, but that he feels that he really needs to know that the nursery is done - otherwise we won't be ready for Camden's arrival. He was really worried that our nursery would not get painted and that our furniture would not get set up, etc. Not that I have not had nights that I have stayed awake just thinking about all of the things that need to be done this summer, because, believe me, I have! I just don't talk about it all of the time, because it makes me think about it more, which makes me stay up at night thinking about it, which makes me a really tired, cranky person the next day. So, to make Neal (and secretly, me) more at ease, we did some nesting today! Here is a picture before Neal and his sister painted (I would have helped, but we did not buy the special paint that is safe for pregnant women):

I did contribute by taping all of the edges, because that takes place before the painting and because both Neal and Kendyll think that it is the worst part of painting a room. I was very impressed that it only took them an afternoon to paint this room, because the other rooms that we have painted in our house have usually taken more time. Here is the after picture:

We still need to remove the tape (and set up the furniture), but I just couldn't resist sharing this now, because we are so relieved to have this done! I am so thankful that Kendyll was willing to come over and help - I know she will be tired and sore tomorrow. And, did I mention that she had worked a 12 hour night shift at the hospital on Friday night, so she was really sacrificing a lot to help us! By the way, we chose to paint the nursery a neutral brown (Mississippi Mud at Home Depot), because Neal did not want to have to paint over a color that was clearly meant for a baby's room if we ever happen to move. Also, this is the color that we painted in our bedroom, and I love it because it is neutral, so relaxing, and goes well with several colors. I really think that our fabrics will stand out well with this color. And, just in case you thought I was doing nothing while the nursery was painted, here is a picture of what I painted!

I bought three art canvases and acrylic paints from Hobby Lobby to complete this. A friend of mine suggested that I use dafont.com to find a cool font for the letters, and I borrowed my projector from school to trace the words and pictures. This verse has been really special to me during the pregnancy - it has comforted me any time that I have felt sick or uncomfortable or when I have thought something was wrong (By the way, nothing bad has happened, but with the Internet and hearing other people's stories, pregnant women sometimes freak out about every ache or pain). This is something I have prayed many times over the last six months! The colors were matched to the fabric for the nursery, and Neal suggested the nautical pictures. He has really wanted to decorate our house in a nautical theme, but we haven't found many items that don't look too old-fashioned or that happen to match the colors that we have chosen for the rest of our house. I think it really works in the baby's room, and since I have only chosen stripes and polka dots so far, it will be easy to incorporate. By the way, please do not go out and buy sailboats and other nautical items for the nursery, because I am very picky about what I want the room to look like! I also found some unfinished wood boats and other items at Hobby Lobby that I can't wait to paint soon! Stay tuned for pictures showing continued progress with our nursery. . .