dripping with passion

two years ago today, the boy and i got engaged. at sunset on june thirtieth, two thousand fourteen, while standing at the westernmost point of the contiguous united states, ian asked me three times if i would marry him. i said yes all three times :) you can read our whole engagement story here .  here's the thing: i really didn't know what saying yes meant on that day two years ago. it was the greatest leap of faith i've ever taken and will ever take - and yet i had no hesitation and felt heavy, heavy peace. i knew what i needed to know: that i loved this boy fiercely and that he loved me back in equal measure, and that he would always  be committed to me and to god. beyond that? i really didn't know, and couldn't have known, what i was getting myself into!  indeed, the seven hundred and thirty days that have followed since that magical evening of elated, giddy love have been brim with surprises. most of those surprises have been tremendously wonderful,

these are unique days of my life - days that feel kind of weird and also kind of precious. i'm waiting for a baby, my first baby ... waiting for an experience i have longed for, prepared for, envisioned with earnestness. i have definitely lived days kind of like this before - days building up to a big, dreamed of, really significant day - but the sheer uncertainty of timing makes this experience different, and new, and fascinating, and hallowing. i feel like i'm teetering on the edge of something miraculous, not knowing when i'm going to drop, and it's pretty exhilarating. i still feel like there's a plentiful list of things i'd like to do and prepare before our baby is born, but i'm also feeling an urge to be still and deliberately soak up these last days. i want to emblazon on my memory the sensations of a moving life, this moving life, inside of me. i want to rest my body and mind in preparation for the great work ahead. i want to draw up any last shred

i seriously can't believe that there is an essentially full-size baby inside of me . in the past, when i've looked at pictures of newborns, or held/observed a brand new baby, they've all looked so, so tiny. but now, as i near the end of pregnancy, to me they all look really huge! i just can't get over how crazy cool and miraculous and beautiful this whole process is, and i am deeply grateful to be experiencing it - and that both baby and i are so healthy. we had a bit of a scare this week that has required a couple of hospital visits. this experience has helped us prepare to be flexible and take the unexpected or non-ideal in stride, and has stretched our faith (in god's care, in each other, in the process) a bit wider. i officially began maternity leave from work today (yay!), so i'm now in full-time baby prep mode :) since i want to remember so many aspects of this exciting journey, i've decided to spend some time today documenting our pregnancy ex

a couple of weeks ago, my sister shawni and her family were in london for a few days! i was so happy and glad to spend some time with some of my very most favourite and treasured humans here in my city. these guys are a ton of fun and i love them so dang much. they stayed at an airbnb place really close to our flat, and i had a great time showing them around and joining in on their london tourist adventures. some photos from their visit:     ^^ this is the “pothier girls classic” jumping photo pose. i’m pretty glad these four let me and baby boy join in the fun for a few snaps :) ^^   ^^ shawni and family also let me join in their nightly travel tradition of playing cards at the end of the day. i love these faces! ^^ ^^ one day we added elle’s friend sophia to the jumping fun too! ^^ ^^ most gorgeous flower wall in notting hill! ^^ ^^ ian (and sophia) getting in on the card-playing action one night ^^   ^^ it was such a treat to have family members in town and helping me celebrat

today i hit thirty seven weeks of pregnancy, which (at least here in england!) means baby boy and i are full term ! ian and i are freaking out (in a good way! – mostly!) that from now on we can wake up each morning and in seriousness say to each other “maybe we’ll have a baby today!” ahhh! we are so excited and just a tiny bit anxious :) at our last midwife appointment, we learned that baby boy had turned head down! and i am getting better at distinguishing differen body parts as he moves inside me. we have completed our prenatal course (and one couple from our group had their baby yesterday!). i have summarized everything i’ve learned - from reading, classes, impressions and advice - on labor, birth, breastfeeding and postpartum recovery/life into one google doc, which ian has been studying. i am practicing relaxation and pain management techniques, and doing kegels and pernieal massage, and drinking my raspberry leaf tea! we’ve set up the tiny corner in our living room dedicated to

when the boy and i were preparing for our around the world trip , i was on the hunt for a super comfy, lightweight, zero maintenance, cute dress to pack in my backpack. i had heard about sonnet james dresses , which were created (by a super awesome woman in our church congregation in palo alto!) to be “play dresses for playful moms.” i figured that a sonnet james dress might make the perfect travel dress and ordered one a couple of weeks before we headed out on our first flight across the wide ocean. turns out, i was totally right! i wore the dress at least every five days on our travels (through so many different locations and climates), and it was just sooooo versatile, durable, comfortable, flattering, and easy. indeed, the perfect travel dress. when i got pregnant, i decided it was time to add another sonnet james dress to my wardrobe, because i had noted that the dresses were - in addition to being fantastic for playing with kids - suitable for pregnancy and (many of them!)

the day before my birthday, the boy and i took a little roadtrip west of london and then down to the seaside. our three main stops were: first, stonehenge: then, “gold hill” in shaftesbury :   and  finally, a few gorgeous spots along dorset’s jurrasic coast ! it was a really wonderful day that made both of us fall even more in love with england – its history, charm and natural beauty. we even got a good dose of sunshine at the end of the day after sprinkling rain most of the morning and into the afternoon. i was fascinated and delighted by the opportunity we had to see a druid procession at stonehenge. we learned that they were performing a baby blessing in the middle of the stones. stonehenge is so mystical and remarkable and fantastical. the boy had really been wanting to see those famous stones even since we moved to england (we are coming up on one year – i can’t believe it!). our drive through the english countryside to our next destinations was at times completel