It all ends tomorrow...

So I can say, that officially, unless it is a VERY productive afternoon (and I can drive to Oklahoma and back) that I won't finish EVERYTHING on my 30 while 30 list, but I think I did pretty well.

I didn't:

• Finish by "book." (15 years and counting...)
• Get family portraits made... yet!  
• Take a vacation with my girlfriends.
• Build 3 woodworking projects - although I did 2, and a wood painting project.
• Take our dog for a walk at least once a week. (lost that battle the first time I missed a week)
• Finish reading through the Bible - although I joined a Bible study and we started over in Genesis.
• Refresh my French speaking - although I did watch a couple of French movies.
• Have 3 block parties - although we had at least 1.
• Do something special for my parents. (does having another grandkid count?)
• Visit Rich & Julie in Oklahoma...
• ... or get rid of one bad habit. (should have been more specific I guess)

But I did:

• Read several books I hadn't planned on, including: The Unlikely Disciple, The Year of Living Biblically, 1/2 of Bonhoeffer, and the Mark of the Lion series.
• Get pregnant and grow 7/9 of a baby... ?!
• Decorate a new room for Heidi and redecorate the nursery for a baby boy
• Go to Israel with Matt again
• Play in the snow with Heidi at least 2 times
• Go to San Diego with Matt for vacation - without Heidi!
• Have Forge students/girls over for 2 movie nights and a girls' night out
• Develop a wonderful, closer friendship with my neighbor Charis :-)
• Replant my vegetable garden... again... and again
• Visit Heidi's grandparents SEVERAL times
• Learn how to make yummy bread without a bread machine... like, in the oven!
• Spend almost every other night with my friend Jenn, and/or her roommates next door
• Update the blog a little bit
• Do lots of graphic design projects (ie - spend too many hours on the computer, like right now...)
• ... and I'm sure lots of other things I can't remember right now!

Should I make a 31 list?  Maybe I could just go to Baskin Robbins and try all 31 flavors?

#2, here we go...

A few pics of the "new" nursery.  If some of them look familiar, it's because they are!  We did Heidi's nursery as a pretty generic room so it would be easy to change 'just in case.'  Well, that paid off!  We changed all the pink parts to blue or brown, and voila... done!  Added a few touches just for baby boy too.

Before - for Heidi

After  - for Baby Boy

Before - for Heidi 

After - for Baby Boy

Also, we have a name for baby boy!  We've known what we wanted to name him for a long time (since before Heidi)...

Joseph Barrett Lantz

Joseph is the name of many of Matt's patriarchs (grandfather, great grandfather...) and we decided we wanted to bring it back.  It means "Jehovah increases" or "continuation" so it fits nicely.  Barrett was Darcie's grandmother's maiden name (Gwynne Irvin Barrett).  It means "bear-like" or "bear strength."  Good for a manly little guy.

We also found this verse as we were reading through the story of Joseph in the Old Testament.  One of our prayers is that our little guy would grow up to be a man of integrity and wisdom like Joseph was in the Bible, and that he would have influence like Joseph did, so that someday, someone like Pharoah (a pagan) would say these words of him...

Just 2+ months until we get to meet our little guy.  We are really excited and praying for a healthy baby.  We know he will change our lives!

Heidi also painted him a few pictures to match his room.
She's slowly learning what it's going to mean to have a little brother...
and be a BIG SISTER!

Less than two months... 31.

It goes by fast.  In less than 2 months I'll be done with "30."  How does that happen?  In any case, I had to look at my list again and see how I'm doing.  Not bad, I'd say, but there are a few on there that I already know I won't accomplish (haven't taken the dog for a walk in a month, so that one is out.)


I have a few friends/family that want to help me with the "Get a massage" one, and participate with me.  Anybody else want to help with the others? :-)

Big Changes at the Lantz House

The pictures will say it all...

Officially moved Heidi to her new "Big Girl Room."
(Thanks Nana & Pops for your help last week!)

Newly painted dresser, new quilt set, and moved the decorations
from her old room.

She LOVES her new bed.  She wants to jump on it, have
dance parties on it, play on it... and she even sleeps on it...
sometimes.

Since the new bed/room has gone well, we're set to attempt the BIG ONE...
Potty Training!  Saturday through however long it takes!  Here are some of the
supplies we've stored up, along with lots of activities that will keep us close to
the potty and at home all weekend.  Wish us luck!

Heritage...

Dear Grandpa Emmerich,

I know you're not around to read this, but I felt like I should write it anyway.  I've been thinking about you a lot lately as Matt and I prepare for Baby #2.  The reason is this...

In about 1952, you got some furniture when you were stationed in Germany with the Army.  I'm guessing my mom, Dale, was about 2 years old then.  I have no idea in which room you used this furniture, or if there were other pieces with it.

My mom tells me that your daughter, Dorothy (my aunt), refinished the furniture for you and Grandma, maybe sometime in the 70's?  It's now 2011 and I just finished refinishing that dresser and nightstand that you owned back in the 1950's in Germany.

I've been thinking about you because you loved to work with wood: building, carving, shaping, forming - and I can only hope to become half the carpenter and woodworker that you were.  I've started quite a collection of tools. :-)

I hope that you'd be proud that the furniture you got in the military was well-used by your family, refinished by your daughter, re-refinished by your granddaughter and will now be used in your great-granddaughter's room as we prepare the baby nursery for your new great-grandson.  I think you would be proud to know that even the girls in your family are holding up the hand-craftedness gene that you had.  Maybe someday Heidi will refinish the furniture to match her house when she is a mommy.

Thanks for your dedication to your family and for loving your daughters.  They've passed it on to me and there's a whole new generation that will have your heritage.

Love, Your Granddaughter,
Darcie

Feeling content, and life is full...

I want to be a Blog Mom.  One of those ladies that I follow on blogs that take tremendous photographs, do creative crafts, have a house that is totally cute on every wall and every surface, have time and resources to do all those things, who decorate their houses for every holiday and who even will show their dirty laundry and dishes to the online world - but in a cute way... And they do it with 5 kids!

But I'm not. I have 1 kid, and 1 on the way.  I have a part-time job and freelance graphic design business, and a rental house next door that always needs fixing or raking or something.  I have projects going all the time, but I don't take pretty pictures of them, and my husband would be glad forever if I finished them all and didn't start any new ones. :-)  I have laundry in the dryer from today that has not been folded, dishes in the sink that I didn't want to clean, and dog slobber on the rug in the living room - and it's too cold to take it outside to wash it.

But... do you want to know what I did today?
I woke up and made muffins with my 2-year old daughter.
We ate breakfast.
We watched one of her "baby" videos.
We made lunch together.
We dressed up in our scarves, coats and mittens and played in the snow. (in Texas!)
She took a nap.
My friends came over and we watched LOST Season 6.
My daughter woke up and we played in the snow... again.
We came inside and had a "pool" party in the huge tub in our bathroom.  Both of us.
Bathing suits and all. And bubbles.
She smiled the whole time and said, "I wuv you, mommy" about 10 times.
We put jammies on and had breakfast for dinner. Toast and eggs.  And pudding.
Then we played with the dog til bedtime.
Tucked her in with her books.

So, what did I accomplish today?  I didn't do any chores, or fun projects or crafts.  I have nothing to show for today except some photos of us in the snow. (and bad ones, at that)  My daughter probably won't remember anything we did today.  She's only 2 1/2.

But I will.

Boy, oh boy!

We are so excited to announce that Baby Lantz #2 is a boy!  We had our sonogram last week and we're pretty sure we can say with 100% accuracy that it's a boy.  (we won't post the indecent photos of that. :-)  We are very excited and looking forward to a new chapter in our lives, complete with footballs, wrestling, sports, blue clothes and other boy-ish stuff.

Here's our little guy!