Thatcher Hobbes Moore is here!

saturday at 12:40 am Thatch made his entrance into the world at 7lbs 6 ozs, 20 1/2 inches long...the birth was absolutely beautiful and we are so excited to have him in our arms. he is so precious. travis and i are doing wonderful and are about to leave the hospital.

he delights in me...

this past weekend through a couple podcasts from bridgeway, my church in oklahoma, and the songs that were sung on good friday and easter morning, i was reminded of the love God has for me. that he loves me where i'm at right now...that he delights in me...and that is what fills me up and causes my heart to overflow with thankfulness, with life, with love for him and the people around me...and causes my heart and life to change.

"you who knows me more than myself. you who loves me more than i know. you who speaks to me more than i hear. open my eyes, soften my heart, help me to hear."

yea! the baby room

here is mr. moore's room...and travis made a trundle bed for the room when company comes (and mr. moore will join us.) and my mom made the pillows, bumper pad and chair cover...what talent!

friends from phoenix

our close friends from phoenix...the whole crew, came to portland last weekend to visit. it was so much fun. we went to the coast, hung out downtown, had dinner at our house...it was a good time. and travis took the boys on a few hikes and to the gorge. (and i took naps) it was so fun to share the beauty of oregon with our friends.

jacob and joel (13 and 10) and their dad, errol, stayed at our house. and these boys are about the best kids you could have...they are so fun to be around and so good. i just love hanging out with them...and i love watching them hang out with travis. they just have so much fun together. i miss them already...

mr. moore

i'm so anxious to meet mr. moore, to hold him for the first time, to look into his eyes, to name him. i just can't wait for him to be here...

but it has also hit me that in one month (give or take) life will change drastically...

no sleeping in (and no sleeping at all), no doing what i please. life as i know it will not be the same. i will constantly be putting this little guy ahead of my own interests...which will be an incredible and wonderful thing.

and even though i'm starting to not sleep quite as good and starting to be a little more cranky (sorry trav), i'm relishing in this last month of...freedom. of life with spontaneity and no schedule. (maybe this is just me finding a way to make this month be enjoyable and go fast...because i just can't wait for mr. moore to be here.)

mr. moore's shower

this weekend was my baby shower, (okay really it was a party with the women from our church community) i haven't had a shower in 8 years...since the wonderful wedding showers...and you forget how much that kind of stuff means, until a party is thrown in your honor. i was blown away by the generosity and being surrounded by such an amazing group of women celebrating with me. it was so great to hang out with everyone...and we had a late night, it was so fun.

i'm just so thankful that travis and i have this community around us as we enter this new chapter...i can't tell you how wonderful it is havinga community to help and support us, especially with family so far away.

and i'm so excited to be a mom. so excited...

here's to portland...

so, i'm a little late in posting about this, but last month marked 2 years in the beautiful northwest...a place where nature and culture collide...

we've experienced a lot of what portland has to offer...loving the hikes, ocean, skiing, restaurants, microbrews, the best coffee you could imagine...this really is an amazing place. it feels like we've just been here a year, though. i feel like we are starting to settle in, but i'm not sure i'm completely at home, just yet...maybe it is being so far away from family, maybe it is all the moving we have done since college, maybe it is just because it is so different from where we grew up, that it will never quite feel like home.

regardless, we absolutely love it here. i'm not sure i'm going to be able to leave this area of the country (sorry mom) it has stolen my heart. if only oregon and oklahoma lived next to each other, the world would be perfect.

i have a rare situation where i could live in the same town as both my parents and my in-laws and be completely happy. i think i'm so blessed to have such an amazing family, so it is very hard being so far away from them. and i'm sure the arrival of mr. moore will make it that much harder...but we will make it work, because we are not leaving this superb place anytime soon!

edna mae originals

so, during my void of blogging over the last 6 months, i have started a card company...edna mae originals. yea!! (named after my wonderful grandma) i'm starting with cards (bithday, everday and thank you packs) and imprintable invitations...and i'm also working on prints you can hang on the wall.

the cards are made with 100% post-consumer recycled paper...check out my website...

edna mae originals

and if you can put a link on your blog, it will help me be recognized by search engines.

I'm in one store in portland (hoping to be in more soon) and on etsy.com.

300 bucks or 15 cents, you pick

can i just tell you how much i love my husband?

our car was having a bit of trouble over the last few weeks and we took it to a mechanic b/c we thought it was related to some previous work that was covered under a warranty...unfortunately it wasn't covered under the warranty and they told us what they thought it was...and that it would be 300 bucks. we didn't really believe them...so we took the car back and travis, being the wonderfully mechanically minded man that he is, took a look at the problem himself...

come to find out...it was a 15 cent fix...it was just a nut that was missing on our starter and now our car works superb.

hooray for mr. fix-it-man! i love it!

and today was a beautiful day in portland. travis worked on the car and is finishing the bed he is making...and i hung outside, half working and half basking in the sun...wonderful, just wonderful.

week 32

trav took some pics of me this weekend with the wonderful camera he gave me for christmas!! i'm trying to learn as much as i can in the next 2 months...i have a long way to go to be able to use the camera manually, but i'm slowly getting there!

"how are you feeling?"...well, i'm feeling pregnant!! but i'm wonderful. feeling the weight of mr. moore...and my belly is starting to get in the way...but i'm still loving being pregnant. relishing in every ounce of sleep i get (and i'm getting A LOT) and taking it easy on myself. reading lots of baby books. (i can't help it, i'm one of those planners.) and we are just finishing up our birth class. (yep, i'm going the natural route and couldn't be more excited.)

travis and i went downtown this weekend to eat at a "live" vegan restaurant...we were definitely the outsiders, but it was so fun...looking around the room, you could tell the kind of lifestyle everyone was living...and it was inspiring. if i could just adapt just a little bit of them in my life, it would be great.

friends, ultrasounds, and driving tests...

this past week was superb...
first of all, travis and i are officially oregonians (finally!) we took our written driver's test to be able to get our oregon license...we still had our arizona license...but we passed with flying colors!

and we had an ultrasound this week and were able to get a good look at mr. moore's face...and his chubby cheeks! this makes me even more excited to meet this little guy!!


i also had a friend from minneapolis come visit! yea!! it was fun showing her my favorites hikes and coffee shop...and resting a lot!

life is good and i have to pee...a lot. it is the strangest feeling to be able to pee at any given moment in the day...annoying actually...but i guess that's pregnancy for you! i'm 6 1/2 months (29 weeks). so close! i just can't wait to meet the little guy. april 9th is the big day.

i've been taking a lot of trips since i've been pregnant...making the most of it being easy to travel while i can...





august (and morning sickness) was full of hikes and a vacation to banff national park where travis and i went on a 9 hour hike to in the canadian rockies...there were amazing little tea houses along the way that kept me going (and a nap)



my college reunion with my 8 close college friends, my high school reunion, a visit from my parents, a "last hoorah" vacation to san fransisco, a trip to orange county to see family and friends, to san jose to meet travis for christmas, to oklahoma for my grandpa's 90th birthday, and last but not least a trip to dallas to see christi, a college friend, and travis' brother and sister-in-law, and my brother and sister-in-law. (i just came back from that trip today...i've been up since 2:30 my time...maybe this isn't the best time to start my blog again.) i'm think i'm finished traveling for a while. it wears me out when i'm pregnant...now i'll get back to my 10 hours of sleep a night that i need, while it lasts!

camping and hiking on the coast

camping at the coast

a few weeks ago travis and i went camping on the coast. we stayed at oswald west, a place you wheel barrow your gear to your campstop. it was beautiful. we went a hike nearby, cape falcon. and then on the way home we hiked king's mountain...a 3200 summit in tillamook state park. there were beautiful wildflowers in bloom at the top. It was beautiful!

ahh...mexico

this time every year we go to mexico with a group of friends from phoenix. it is so relaxing. we had such a great time! the house we rent is right on the beach, there's just nothing better. and even though i had a bed to sleep in, i slept under the stars every night and woke up with the sun...marvelous!

the only time i left the beach was to go to the chicken stand in town...yummy! my favorite spot was on the balcony, enjoying the view. but i managed to enjoy the water, lay by the beach and go kayaking, too.

here are some pics!

my new summer office

so, we don't have a backyard...only a small balcony, but we are making the most of it...with our new table and umbrella. i worked outside today and it was complete bliss! you're going to find me in this spot often. the weather is so beautiful this week. summer is coming! I'm so excited!

liza jane

for the last week and a half i've been in atlanta helping one of my close friend, chrisit, with her high-risk pregnancy. she is doing really well and everything is stable...she'll be 34 weeks this weekend and she might even make it full term! yippee!
i went to help with day-to-day things. but i had so much fun just hanging out with her and her beautiful daughter liza jane. i went to help, but i think they blessed me far more than i ever imagined. God uses the people in our lives in such amazing ways. there's nothing better than some quality time with college friends. my heart is smiling.

the beer

travis bottled his first and (second batch of dustin, tom and travis' beer) a few weeks ago.


and the first batch was ready on friday night. we had a group of friends over that were in town on vacation...

so, here's to trav's delicious beer..



(and i'm trying out this google web photo album so you can see other images if you click on it....we'll see how i like it.)

goodbye junkmail

maybe this is old news to some of you, but if you hate junk mail and how wasteful it is, you can stop 95% of it.

if you don't mind calling the major adgencies yourself, go here;

obviously.com/junkmail

this site generates forms to mail in to the various places
www.newdream.org/junkmail/formsl

spring rain

i was out in the beautiful spring rain today. (yes, even though i'm ready for the sunny weather to return for good, i am finding the spring rain to be beautiful and refreshing!) and i thought of an old camp song from hosea 6:3 we sang...

"So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD
His going forth is as certain as the dawn;
And He will come to us like the rain,
Like the spring rain watering the earth."

(illustration by panalope dullaghan)

parents for a visit

my parents came out for a visit this past week. we had a great time!! it is just so good to see them. they loved oregon...in fact. my dad said, "do you think God lives here, it's so perfect?!" i think it is true. this state is BEAUTIFUL!! here are some pics from our trip to the coast. we rented a beach house right on the water, enjoyed great seafood. it was supurb!

the weather was nice at the coast...not too much rain! and the beautiful fog that i love! i've decided i need to go to the coast once a month. it is just too close not to not go more often! there is just something about the rugged coast of oregon that makes my heart smile, makes God's voice speak louder, and refreshes my soul! i love it!

oh, and the best part of the trip...my dad forgot his luggage...yep! he left it on the driveway at home and didn't realize it until the curbside check guy didn't see anything in the car! ha! he handled it with ease. i think he liked traveling so light!






cannon beach


the seagull looking in our window


at the top of the hike we took my parents on. (in ecola park, north of indian beach) they didn't know what they were getting into...it isn't everyday they go hiking up a mountain!!


by oswald state park


oswald west...travis and i are hoping to camp here next month. they don't take reservations, so we'll have to go on thursday to get a spot!