Here is our little man, Levi.  He's almost 6 months old, and growing like crazy!  What a blessing he has been to Matthew and I.  His laugh... his smile... the way he chews on his toes... he is amazing.

Here is Matthew and I on a recent trip to Seaside, OR.  We had a blast, spending much needed quality time with family.

Unto us a child is born...

Waiting...

Sorry for the lack of exciting baby news, but Baby Cherry still has not arrived.  We've decided to cut him a little slack since he's technically not due for another 3 days, but with all of the effort my doctors made to keep him inside till he hit full term, we thought he would've arrived by now!  

I went in for my weekly checkup on Tuesday and found out that our little guy is what's called occiput posterior, meaning he's head down, but turned around backwards.  The hardest part of his skull (the back) is resting on my lower spine.  My midwife said that if we can get him turned around, doing different hands and knees stretching exercises, then labor will start pretty quickly, and go really smooth.  If noooooot, then it could take the little guy quite some time to get labor started (up to 2 weeks), and labor could be quite long and painful.  Needless to say, we've been spending a lot of time praying for this little guy.  We are getting quite anxious to meet him!

Vladimir Kush!

Today I was so excited to finally have tracked down the name of a Russian artist that I have been trying to find for yeeeears.  His name is Vladimir Kush, and I first saw his work while I was living in Maui with YWAM.  Then, Matthew and I stumbled on a gallery that had his work on display in Miami when we were there for our 1 year anniversary.  Obviously, these pictures aren't even going to come close to doing these incredible paintings justice.  They are actually quite large and, when you stand in front of them, you feel like you are being enveloped into this surreal world of vibrant color and imagination.  Love it, love it, LOVE IT. 

'The Family Tree'

'Always Together'

'Butterfly Apple'

If you want to see more work by Vladimir Kush, visit his website at: www.vladimirkush.com.

Maternity Pics

Matthew and I took a little trip to some parks near our home to take some maternity pictures.  It was about a week ago, so I was at 33 weeks at that time.  Matthew took all of the pictures using a digital SLR Canon he borrowed from some friends of ours.  

It's a new post!

My sister, Andy, had a baby boy at the end of June.
It was so great being able to drive up and see Andy and Aaron...
and meet Cael face to face- he is such a sweet baby!

Matthew and Cael... great practice for a few months
from now when we'll have our own baby boy.

For Mom's birthday (July 22) we went to Red Robin.
We made sure the staff sang nice and loud for her-
and made her wear balloons around her head.

Matthew and Dad having a bonding moment.

On July 21st, we went in for a 4-d ultrasound. It was
incredible to get an up-close look at our sweet baby boy.
He was so active that the tech had a hard time getting
clear pictures of him. Here we caught a glimpse of his face.

Matthew took this one on July 8- 21.5 weeks pregnant.

Same day- Matthew added some neat effects to this one.

This one was taken last week- at 25.5 weeks.
Now, at nearly 27 weeks, the baby weighs in at over
2 pounds and is about 15 inches long from head to toe!
If you ever come to our house, this is exactly how
you'll find Bertie. Staring at you, waiting for you to
play fetch with her yellow ball.

Amaaaazing.

Today my sister emailed me a link to this website, showing photographs at each week of pregnancy.  When I saw this picture, it brought tears to my eyes.  Sometimes I forget that I'm even pregnant, till I look down and see this belly growing out in front of me.  So in the business of the morning, I sat staring at my belly, amazed at the miracle God is performing within me.  Amazed that I was chosen to be apart of such an incredible thing as bringing new life into the world.  

The website: www.i-am-pregnant.com also gives some development updates.  Here's what it has to say for where our little babe is now (I'll be 19 weeks this Saturday):

By week 18 of your pregnancy, your baby's crown-to-rump length is 5 to 5.5 inches long.  Your baby continues to develop fat layers and weighs about 5.25 ounces.  Your baby will continue to grow and develop, but the rapid growth will slow down for a little while.  There is still space available in your uterus and your baby will be active for periods at a time.  Your baby may sit cross legged or turn somersaults. 

Around this time, your baby becomes more sensitive to the outside world and shows her presence through powerful kicks and prods.  The bones through which sound is passed to the inner ear have hardened and the parts of the brain that receives and processes nerve signals from the ears are developing.  This means your baby can hear now.  Your baby will get used to familiar sounds, such as your heart beating, familiar voices, blood rushing through the umbilical cord and other daily routine sounds.  Your baby will become startled if he hears a loud sound. 

This was taken 2 weeks ago at the coast.  

We're having a baby in November!!!

Thaaaaaaank you!

Sorry for being a slow poke about posting this.  I have no good reason, other than... nope, no good reason.  THANK YOU all for your input on those logos... it helped a lot!  I can tell you guys have a great eye for design by the comments you posted.

I decided to go with the first logo for several reasons:

-It is a good representation of the 'style' I was going for.

-It looks contemporary, but still professional

-It will look great on promotional products (pens, mugs, notepads, keychains, etc)

-I can use the red box with the flower design by itself, or with the rest of the name

I ordered business cards and pens and both have come in the mail.  I'll take some pictures and get them posted soon!  

Help!

I need your help with something if you have a spare moment.  Yes you.  I am starting a new advertising/promotional products company called CherryTree Advertising.  I've designed two different logos, and I'm having a hard time deciding between the two.  So, if you have a moment, please tell me which one you like better and why.