We are ready to meet our baby girl.

Today I am two days into my 41st week of pregnancy. I decided to stop posting weekly photo updates at 40 weeks, but Matt encouraged me to share a little of what I've (we've) been feeling as we get closer to meeting our little girl.

First, thank you so much for all your sweet comments, encouragement, and suggestions over my pregnancy journey! It has been so fun to share updates every week, and I have connected with other moms or moms-to-be, which was one of my hopes in sharing this blog publicly!

We are ready to meet our baby girl. We're sad that she isn't here yet, but we wait with hope, knowing that she will be here soon.

My mom was past her due date with all three of us girls, so I fully expected to go a little over, especially since this is my first baby. What I didn't anticipate, though, is how long each day could feel as we wait and the emotions that would come and go with it. As ridiculous as it is, some days I think she is never coming. The past week has been filled with excitement, anxiety, eagerness, patience, frustration, waiting, and longing for our little girl to be here - soon and safely.

In one of our many conversations this weekend about the baby, Matt said that his love for her has grown in this time of waiting. It is truly amazing how deep our love is for this little girl whom we have yet to see, hold, and care for. I went back to this blog post that I sent to a friend going through the adoption process several months ago. Marci describes this longing desire saying, "I get a glimpse of the overwhelming love our Father has for us. We are the now and not yet children of our Father. Now adopted into his family. Not yet with him." 

As far as logistics go - Since full-term is considered anywhere between 38 and 42 weeks, my midwife will allow us to delay induction until the 42 week mark. For that we are thankful. As I've mentioned before, Matt and I have been praying for a natural birth from the beginning, and induction of any sort is not what we would choose. Baby A passed a non-stress test yesterday, showing no signs of fetal distress (such an answered prayer!!). On Thursday afternoon, I'll go in for a biophysical profile ultrasound to make sure fluid levels look good, the placenta is functioning well, etc. My induction is scheduled for next Monday at 9pm if she isn't here before then.

Pray for me. Pray for us. Pray that we would stay focused on Jesus and not our immediate desire for our baby to come. That we would endure this period of waiting and respond with joy and not sadness or anxiousness. That the baby would come soon! That there would be no need for induction next week. And if there is, that I would not be afraid.

Thanks so much for joining us in this journey!

+, Lauren Aiken

1 Year {What I've Learned, Part II}

This post is a continuation from 1 Year {What I've Learned, Part I}.

What is your favorite part of marriage?

This is by far the most common question we are asked. I always have two answers, and I think Matt's answers are the same as well.

1. Sharing each day with my best friend. Hands down. Whether it's a good day, a boring day, or a really crappy day, I am so thankful that Matt is here to share in my joy and suffering, and that I can share life with him! I love learning new things about each other constantly, changing together, challenging each other, growing together, and just being together.

2. Being able to show the world that marriage is good. Our culture has distorted what marriage is really all about - displaying Christ's love for the church. It makes no sense to those who aren't believers, but marriage doesn't make sense apart from Jesus. The church is his bride just like I am Matt's (except Christ loves perfectly). Everything in our culture screams that marriage is a burden and something to be delayed until later. Men are often portrayed as bad leaders, and fighting poorly is the norm. 

I am so thankful that we can use our relationship to speak truth to others, to communicate that marriage is redeeming and good. Of course, we have bad moments, and in those moments we can turn from being selfish and ask God to help us serve one another with grace instead of becoming bitter or judgmental. I'm thankful for a husband that encourages me daily and is for me, not against me. Who is quick to apologize and who forgives me when I mess up. 

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 

John 15:12-13

What has God shown you more about himself in the past year?

Our Father is faithful. Throughout the past few years, God has shown me that I am not in control, even though at times I feel that I should be. This past year, specifically, I have seen God's goodness to Matt and I over and over again!

Through all of the changes - getting married, moving to Seattle, being members of different churches, making new friends, deciding to grow our family, Matt losing his job, packing up, saying goodbyes, and finally moving to Nashville - God has kept his promises to be faithful. When the questions of where next, when, why now, and how in the world will we get through this were on our mind, God stilled our hearts, quieted our cries, and has shown us that he is faithful. In all our attempts to rely on ourselves or even each other, the Lord has smiled and seen Jesus's death on the cross instead of turning to someone other than the good and righteous King.

Honestly, Matt and I have no idea why we are in Nashville. All I can say is I love it more than I imagined I could, and Matt knows we belong here even in the face of hardship. We are here, firmly planted on the Rock. We still have questions and still want answers, but we are desperately caught up in the arms of our Savior and thankful for the changes this year has brought. 

Remind yourself this week. Jesus is faithful! Read Acts and see that he is faithful.

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:9-14

+, Lauren Aiken

1 Year {What I've Learned, Part I}

Thank you so much for your comments this week, as they have helped me to reflect on the past year! As I began answering them, I realized that had fairly lengthy responses to some of them. So today, I'll answer a few questions, and I'll be answering a couple next week as well. 

How did you know you would marry Matt after such a short time?

Matt and I dated, got engaged, planned a wedding, and got married within exactly 5 months of meeting. Yes, it is fast. And unconventional in today's world. You can read more of our story here. I knew I wanted to marry Matt within a week of our first date. I knew that was God's plan for us a couple of months later when Matt proposed.

By the end of our first date, which was basically an entire day, I knew these things:

1. Matt loves Jesus with all his heart.

2. Family is very important to him.

3. He has a heart for people, for loving and serving them.

4. I enjoyed being around him immensely.

While making the decision to marry someone is not this simple, these 4 things were an answer to many prayers and enough information that I was willing to get to know him more, even if that meant he was moving away in about a month.

This photo was taken on our first date at the Cherry Blossom Festival in DC.

Is there anything you would have done differently on your big day?

If we had been engaged for longer than three months, I would have loved to add more DIY elements. For instance, making pretty centerpieces would have been really fun! With a limited amount of time, I chose to arrange simple pillar candles on mirrors.

What was your favorite memory from your wedding day?

Can I have two?? My favorite moment of the ceremony was walking down the aisle, looking Matt in the eye, and realizing that most of our family and friends from different stages of life were in the same place at the same time, which will probably never happen again! My favorite memory of the reception was the moment the dance floor opened. We played Dance Until The World Ends by Brittany Spears because we had listened to it in the car on our first date. Matt, his roommate, and his (now) wife were all dancing to this song, while I just sat awkwardly in the front seat... Dancing the entire night was a blast!

Sunset Hills Vineyard in Purcellville, VA

How do you keep your relationship fun once you've gotten into a routine of living together?

Matt and I are best friends but have pretty different interests :). Matt could watch a movie every night, while I can hardly keep my eyes open for 30 minutes. I love to walk around and window shop, and Matt couldn't care less about wandering stores - he is on a mission when he shops! So we've had to really try to find a few things that we both enjoy together. Both of us love food. One of our favorite things is going out and trying a new restaurant, and once we find some we like, we tend to go there often! We also like going on walks together. We end up talking more if we're walking than when we're just sitting on the couch trying to think of things to talk about. For us, finding mutual interests has been integral to continuing to grow our friendship and have fun together. I'd say that taking interest in the other person's hobbies even if they are not our personal favorite thing to do has been equally important. For example, Matt certainly does not sit around and craft with me, but he will ask about what I'm working on and compliment my results. And for a month, we played a video game together for an hour every Saturday.

"Date night" is another fun thing we do together. We try to set aside one night each week to focus on each other, whether that means going out on a date or staying in and watching a movie together. Honestly, the majority of nights this first year have been spent together, apart from Matt traveling for work or the occasional couple hours we will spend with a friend. However, we decided it was important to make "date night" a routine now since a growing family will demand more divided attention down the road. So each week, we designate a date night and try to make it a little more special than the other nights of the week. I know it is something we will grow to treasure later on!

Even though we've been together most nights, we don't always want to do the same thing. We recently set up an area in our apartment where Matt can work/play games on his computer and I can craft/blog. Our desks are set up back to back so we can talk and enjoy each other while still working on our own hobbies. We spend a lot of time here on Saturdays when we aren't out doing something.

Finally, I just have to say that our days now are way more fun than the first few months of marriage! Yes, it exciting figuring out how to live together, but it is also a challenge! Everyone brings preconceived notions of how living together works, who will have certain responsibilities, how much time will be spent face to face, etc. And figuring all of that out takes some time. Once we were in more of a routine, I think we both were more relaxed and able to just enjoy each other :). Overall, as time passes, we seem to appreciate and enjoy each other more and more. It's so much fun being married to my best friend!

I'm so sorry that I didn't get to all of your questions today. I'll answer the next two questions early next week:

What is your favorite part of marriage?

What has God taught you more about himself in the past year?

+, Lauren Aiken

1 Year {Memories}

A few weeks ago, Matt and I decided that we were going to exchange traditional anniversary gifts. The material for year 1 is paper, so I thought it would be fun to look through all of our photos from the last year and make a little scrapbook so we remember all the highlights of our first year together. I'll try not to overwhelm you with photos but instead link back to older posts when possible.

After our wedding, we honeymooned in Maui! It was gorgeous and one of the most relaxing weeks ever.

Following our honeymoon, I moved to Seattle (Matt was already living there).

Our first apartment was in Ballard, a hip neighborhood just about 5 miles outside of the city. We lived above a grocery store and within walking distance of a ton of coffee shops and restaurants. You can read more about our neighborhood in this post.

This is the spot where our very first fight occurred (the picture was taken at a much later date!). Let's just say I'm not the world's greatest driver...Matt was teaching me how to back into our parking spot, conveniently located next to a very nice old car and this large concrete pole. He insisted on showing me how it's done a couple of times (after I had tried and we were both frustrated) and smashed right into the pole on the second demonstration, cracking the entire mirror. End result? Matt laughing hysterically. Lauren in tears. It was pretty funny looking back though.

Matt worked for Acts 29 and later Mars Hill Church. This was also our church, just about about a mile from our apartment. I'm still amazed by how many people we grew close to in less than a year for a church with thousands of people. God is so good.

I've mentioned before that being far away from our families and friends was hard but good for our relationship too. This year we were so blessed to be able to travel to see both of our families, and they came to visit us also. It was evident to me the day I met Matt that family is as important to him as it is to me. So while it is no surprise that we've gotten to know each other's family very well this year, I am extremely grateful for the time we've spent together and am happy to call Matt's family my own.

(Not all of Matt's family is pictured here, but they are all in the ski trip photo later on!)

Matt's cousin Amanda and her husband Nelson also lived in Seattle, so we grew close to them as well. She and I were also expecting at the same time, and it was fun to share that experience with her. Her little girl Ella will be five months older than Baby A, and I can't wait for the first time they meet!

My first Christmas away from home was bittersweet, but we tried to make it our own. Our apartment was too small for a tree so we bought a blue spruce tree to keep outside on the patio and hope to keep it alive long enough to plant it one day when we have a house! 

We had Christmas via Skype with my family, and then flew to Virginia to spend Christmas with Matt's family! We had a really great time there, and I got to try two of Matt's favorite things - his mom's Swedish meatballs and homemade cinnamon rolls. Unfortunately, I didn't take very many pictures there though.

We decided to start our own family and found out we were expecting on February 2, 2012. A few weeks later, I began my blog (formerly AikensInSeattle) and made the big announcement!

The very next day we flew to Breckenridge, CO for a ski trip with the Aikens. Yep, I went skiing (for the first time) the day after I found out I was pregnant. The doctor gave me the okay since I was only about 5 or so weeks along at the time.

On one of our visits back to Indiana, we got to spend some time with a couple of my really good friends :).

We were overjoyed when we found out we were having a girl a couple months later!! You can read about that day and our reveal party here.

Eek. I promised this wouldn't be too long. You'll just have to visit my old blog to read all about our adventures in Seattle.

We found out we were moving to Nashville around the same time we found out we were having a baby girl (I can't remember if it was the same day but it was close). Less than two weeks later (21 weeks pregnant for me) we packed everything up and made the 2,600+ mile trek to Nashville, TN. We stayed with Grandpa and Grandma Aiken in Iowa along the way!

We have been in Nashville for not quite three months now and live in the same apartment complex as Matt's sister and brother-in-law. If you keep up with my blog, you probably know all of the most recent news! 

 Hope you enjoyed some of our favorite memories from this year! I'm getting excited for tomorrow's post where I'll answer your questions about marriage and our first year.

 Help me reflect on what we've learned and leave a comment below!

+, Lauren Aiken