That's right!! We will soon have another member added to our family!! In my last post, I said that our exciting news wasn't about a baby... and that wasn't exactly the truth. We're getting a baby dog!!!
The weekend after Thanksgiving, we will be bringing home a new golden retriever puppy. Mattie is going to be a big sister!
Our puppy was born on the 5th of October. She has 11 other siblings: 7 brothers and 4 sisters.
The breeders we are getting our puppy from send us updates with a few photos and a video or two each week so we can see our puppy as she grows. They actually have pictures of the puppies from before they were even born!
Our puppy and its siblings in their mommy's belly
The puppies on the day they were born
To add to the excitement, Trent's sister's family is also getting a puppy from the same litter, so when we get the puppies together, the two siblings will be reunited!
All the puppies at one week
The female puppies at one week old. Two of these cuties will join our family in a little over a month!
We are so excited to be adding to our family but we are well aware that getting the new puppy all trained and used to living with us will be quite the adventure! We aren't 100% sure how Mattie is going to handle having to share the house with another dog, but my hope is that they become best friends before long! :) I'm certain Mattie will just need to have her own space away from the puppy a lot of times, especially while the puppy is young and energetic, but I'm sure they will get used to each other as time goes on.
Two week old puppies
We will know after the 10th of November which two will be joining the Fredericksen family. We will get to see pictures and videos of those two and know that one of those two will be coming home with us. Then, the weekend after Thanksgiving, we will go pick her up, and the real adventure will begin!
Below is a picture of our puppy's parents. Her dad, Herky, and mom, Gypsy.
Here is one of the videos and a picture that we got today of the puppies. They all now have their eyes open are are getting a lot better at walking. They're figuring out that they can bark and learning to play with each other. So much cuteness. They're like little drunk dogs!
You can visit the breeder's YouTube page to see other videos back to the day they were born.
And lastly, a close up picture of one of the puppies from today and a picture I took of Mattie modeling out on the deck this afternoon. I can't wait to take picture upon picture of our two little babies together!!
Last weekend, we went to the Covered Bridge Festival in Winterset and to an Apple Orchard outside of Adel with Trent's family. We had a great time going through all the stores, seeing the girls get their faces painted and we enjoyed some cheese curds, corn dogs and kettle corn at the festival! These two events were also a great time for me to try to get better at using my camera.
Jenna got her face painted like a butterfly and Taylor got hers painted like a cheetah, which was fitting since that was the theme of our outfit for the day!
At the orchard, it was so fun to see how excited the girls got while looking at the chickens and goats, going on a hay ride and going all through the pumpkin patch trying to find the best ones!
Trent attempted to find the biggest pumpkin in the field to try and break the record for the heaviest pumpkin found by anyone, but we didn't have any luck finding one that was quite that big. The heaviest objects that our pumpkin cart had in it that day was Taylor and Jenna! Him and I did each get our own pumpkins, though, and we walked away with over 50 pounds of pumpkins between us! So I'd say that was probably big enough!
Here's the four pumpkins we left with. The girls were searching for the perfect small ones and they definitely found them! They look very tiny next to Trent and I's, though!
After we found the pumpkins that were going home with us, we went into their little shop and bought some apples (with which I've made apple crisp this week and it has been a great snack each night!), got some apple cider, and tried some of their apple wine and donuts!
Then, we got in line for the hay rack and took a ride around the property before calling it a day.
It was a fun weekend and it was great to be out and about enjoying some fun, fall activities!
The weekend ended with one more piece of exciting news!!!!! I can't wait to share about it on here so I can document all about it!! I want to be sure to tell everyone that I want to tell personally before they would find out here, though, so hopefully that happens soon. (And, no, it has nothing to do with a baby.)
Happy Friday, everyone!
I haven't done a Favorite Song Friday in a long time, but, really, I haven't had any songs in my life that were really doing it for me for a while. But now.... I have THREE!! So I'm incorporating it into my Friday Five this week!
I hope you all had a great week!
ONE.
First off, I want to wish a BIIIGG Happy 5th Anniversary to Aunt Doreen and Uncle Nick!!
I love you both SO SO much!! I hope you have a great day (and a great vacation) celebrating!
The newest song by Jeremy Camp is, not surprisingly, another one of my favorites!
Just like the title, it is about how, even when we feel like we are all alone and no one understands what we're going through and the hurt and sadness we feel, HE KNOWS! More than anyone else, God understands and knows what we are going through. Jesus suffered death on the cross and He has compassion for what we're going through! It is so comforting to know that He is always holding us in His hands and is walking with us through all our days, the good and the bad.
In this video, Jeremy talks about the real inspiration behind the song and what it means to him. He says it better than I can express! :)
You can listen to the song by watching the video below or clicking here.
All the bitter weary ways. Endless striving day by day. You barely have the strength to pray in the valley low. How hard your fight has been. How deep the pain within. Wounds that no one else has seen. Hurts too much to show. All the doubt you're standing in between. And all the weight that brings you to your knees. He knows. He knows. Every hurt and every sting He has walked the suffering He knows. He knows. Let your burdens come undone Lift your eyes up to the One who knows He knows. We may faint and we may sink. Feel the pain and near the brink. But the dark begins to shrink. When you find the one who knows. The chains of doubt that held you in between. One by one are starting to break free. Every time that you feel forsaken. Every time that you feel alone. He is near to the brokenhearted. Every tear. He knows
My next favorite song is by my girl, Francesca Battistelli!
This song has the same broad theme as the Jeremy Camp song, that GOD.KNOWS.YOU! Even with all the people on the Earth, you aren't a stranger. God knows your name and He loves you! It gives me chills just to think about that! I want to dance around the room and tell everyone that Good News!!
My favorite words of the song are in the chorus. "I don't need my name in lights. I'm famous in my Father's eyes. Make no mistake. He knows my name. I'm not living for applause. I'm already so adored. It's all his stage, He knows my name."
Here's a video of Francesca giving a little insight behind the meaning of the song.
You can listen to the song by watching the video below or clicking here.
Spent today in a conversation. In the mirror face to face with. Somebody less than perfect. I wouldn't choose me first if. I was looking for a champion. In fact I'd understand if. You picked everyone before me. But that's just not my story. True to who You are You saw my heart. And made something out of nothing, so... I don't need my name in lights I'm famous in my Father's eyes Make no mistake He knows my name I'm not living for applause I'm already so adored It's all His stage He knows my name He knows my name I'm not meant to just stay quiet. I'm meant to be a lion. I'll roar beyond a song. With every moment that I've got. True to who You are You saw my heart. And made something out of nothing. He calls me chosen. Free, forgiven. Wanted. Child of the King. His forever. Held and treasured. I am loved!
And for my third and final favorite song for today, my girl, Carrie Underwood.
(Yes, both Francesca and Carrie are "my girls")
She released her new song Something in the Water last week, but I didn't listen to it until I was on the way to work on Wednesday morning. After that, I think I listened to it at least 20 more times that day.
This song also makes my heart happy. The part of the song the song that says "And now I'm singing along to Amazing Grace. Can't nobody wipe this smile off my face. Got joy in my heart. Angels on my side. Thank God Almighty, I saw the light." makes me so giddy. And then the song is layered with the words from the hymn "Amazing Grace" and that just brings tears to my eyes. One of those things I can't explain, but I just feel it. It makes me want to put the song on repeat, lay on the floor with my hands open and my eyes closed, and just smile!
You can listen to the song by watching the video below or clicking here.
He said, "I've been where you've been before. Down every hallway's a slamming door. No way out, no one to come and save me. Wasting a life that the Good Lord gave me. Then somebody said what I'm saying to you, Opened my eyes and told me the truth. They said, 'Just a little faith, it'll all get better.' So I followed that preacher man down to the river and now I'm changed. And now I'm stronger. "There must've been something in the water Oh, there must've been something in the water."
Well, I heard what he said and I went on my way. Didn't think about it for a couple of days. Then it hit me like lightning late one night. I was all out of hope and all out of fight. Couldn't fight back the tears so I fell on my knees. Saying, "God, if you're there come and rescue me." Felt love pouring down from above. Got washed in the water, washed in the blood. And now I'm changed. And now I'm stronger. There must be something in the water Oh, there must be something in the water
And now I'm singing along to amazing grace. Can't nobody wipe this smile off my face. Got joy in my heart, angels on my side. Thank God almighty, I saw the light. Gonna look ahead, no turning back. Live every day, give it all that I have. Trust in someone bigger than me. Ever since the day that I believed I am changed. And now I'm stronger.
FIVE.
This next week will be the fifth week of the Women's Bible Study I've been attending on 1 and 2 Thessalonians. I love how each week (and, really, each day in between) I can learn something that is so simple and something I may have known, but it is presented or said in such a different way that it seems just like the most amazing thing I have ever heard. Things that stir up emotions inside me that I didn't know I could feel from just reading "a book".
Just the other night, I was sitting at the kitchen table doing one of the daily studies. This day was centered around 1 Thessalonians 4:13 - "We do not want you to be uniformed, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest who have no hope."
I always knew that I could have hope in Jesus, but it wasn't until I read the statement below in my study, that I really realized how thankful I am to be able to put my trust in God and to be living my life for him! Without hope, what would be the point?!? There would be no upside.
It said,
Nothing is like hopelessness. No feeling of loss, as terrible as it may be, can compete with it.
That is so true. It just puts everything in perspective. No matter how big the loss or how bad the pain, I can and will overcome it because Jesus has overcome the world! I have hope and a future in Him!!!!!! I pray for all those who feel hopeless... I pray that they can come to know the hope that they can find in Jesus!
Back in March, right around the same time we were making some changes to the guest bedroom, we finished making some updates to our guest bathroom. I STILL don't have it decorated or anything, but the major changes have all been done. Someday I'll get all the little stuff taken care of :)
Ever since we got everything done, I've been meaning to do a post about it and possibly even explain how we did some of the stuff we did. But now that it has been six months since we did it, I really don't even think that I could remember all of the details anymore... I pretty much followed the steps as outlined on this post from the blog Thrifty and Chic and I'm pretty positive that she does a heck of a better job explaining than I would, so I'll let her do that part of it :)
Up until this point, for the first year and a half that we lived in our house, the guest bathroom had been just a poor, neglected room that just got all the random basics that we had from our old apartment. My motivation for actually doing something with the bathroom came from the fact that Jocelyn was going to be living with us for a few months, so I had to figure out the measurements of the room, go out and figure out the best materials to buy, and just get it done!
Here's the room we were working with:
I started by painting the top part of the room in the color Polar Star (Valspar) in a Satin finish. It is a gray color with a little bit of a blue undertone. The bottom part of the walls is Ultra White (also Valspar) in a semi-gloss finish.
The wood that we ended up going with was primed MDF from Menards. The vertical pieces were 1x2s and the horizontal pieces were 1x4s with 1x2s sitting perpendicular on top of them (except for the section above the toilet which had a 1x4 on top of a 1x4). We also removed the baseboards and replaced them with 1x4s so there wouldn't be any overhang from the vertical pieces.
Trent removing the baseboards
Each piece of wood was attached to the wall with either glue or nails or both. Not all of the pieces were perfectly straight, so when there were gaps between the boards and walls, we fixed it with caulk before painting over the bottom again. (We actually caulked around each board in every place it was attached to the wall to prevent any water from getting behind it, but just paid extra attention to the places where the gaps were larger than normal.) The floor also wasn't level, so we had to fill some spaces with wood filler. After everything was up on the walls, I painted over it all again with the white semi-gloss paint.
A gap that we filled with the wood filler.
The whole thing has a lot of flaws and isn't perfect by any means, but hopefully it's good enough that most people wouldn't notice...
When all the painting was done, we hung up some new hooks on the walls and a new shower curtain. I wanted to hang the shower curtain higher than the old one was, so that required me to find a longer one. I didn't have much luck finding a shower curtain that was long enough as well as being a price that I wanted to pay. Lucky for me, while I was perusing Target one day, I was checking out the clearance items on one of the end caps and saw a table cloth that was a pattern I liked and happened to be some dimensions that I could work with. So for less than $10 I had found my new shower curtain.
The only other items that I have in the bathroom at the moment are two candles that match the color in the shower curtain and some new rugs, but hopefully some other things will join it in the near future... I also want to frame the mirror like Thrifty and Chic did here, but at the rate I'm doing anything lately, we'll see if it ever gets done!
So for now, this is our guest bathroom. Much better than what it used to be!
