Baby Zajas: 12 Weeks

Hello friends!

Today begins our 12th week with Baby Zajas. It's so hard to believe how fast this first trimester has flown by! We had our 2nd doctor's appointment this week, and everything went so well. We got to see our little one again and hear it's heartbeat for the first time. That is never going to get old. :)

It's crazy to me how much this little one has grown in just a few weeks. It was so cool getting to see the baby kick and move and dance on our ultrasound. Makes me so excited for when I will eventually be able to feel the little kicks and movement.

The baby is not the only one who has grown! Ever since we found out we were having a baby, I was looking forward to the day that I'd start showing a little. Over the past couple of weeks I've finally been able to tell that there's a baby in there. We have lots of close friends and family who live far far away, and many of them have been asking to see some pictures of the growing baby bump. So, we finally got around to taking some pictures (thanks, husband!) to share with you all.

I hope to photograph the progress as we go along, so we'll be able to look back and see the growth.

As Jonathan and I have been preparing for Christmas (YAY!) I can't help but get super excited for next year and the fact that we get to celebrate with our first child. Christmas has always been my favorite time of year, and I can only imagine how wonderful it will be to get to share all the joy of the season, the traditions, the gifts, and lots of love with our baby. I am so looking forward to that! :)

I hope you all are having an amazing Christmas week!

Love and Blessings,

-Tiffany

To see other posts about Baby Zajas click here.

We're having a...

We're having a baby!

We're so excited to finally be able to share the news here. Jonathan and I couldn't be more excited, and we're so looking forward to going on this new adventure together. We can't wait to meet our little blessing of a baby on (or around) July 8th, 2012!

We've had so much fun telling our family and friends via Skype, phone, and some in person the past couple of weeks...and we wanted to announce it to the rest of the world in a creative way of sorts. Last night we announced it to our students at Real Life (our youth group) and were blown away by how excited they were for us (some were even crying with excitement!) It melted my heart. When we got home last night we quickly posted these photos on Facebook to let the rest of our friends know about our news.

Thanks so much to everyone who has already congratulated us! We are beyond excited, and it makes us so happy to have such wonderful people to share in our excitement.

I hope to be a better blogger and post updates on here more often in the months to come, documenting the journey along the way. :)

The pregnancy is going really well so far! I've had lots of days of being really sick, but it's oh-so-worth every moment of it. At our last doctor's appointment we got to see our little baby and it's heartbeat, and that moment was such a surreal one for both of us. I'm not sure when this will all sink in...it still feels like such a dream.

Here's our baby's very first picture that was snapped last week at our appointment. I couldn't believe how you can already make out it's little head and face and little arm and leg nubs. Love this little one so much already!

With lots of love and excitement,

Tiffany + Jonathan :) (+ Baby Zajas!)

Our Angry Birds Trunk or Treat Car!

This past Sunday our church had it's Fall Festival. It was so much fun! As part of the festivities, we had a Trunk or Treat (if you're unfamiliar with the concept it's where a bunch of people line up their cars and have them decorated with a game and pass out candy for the kiddos).

Jonathan and I decided to dress up our car this year...and then the idea just hit me...we needed to do an Angry Birds car! So that's what we did!

I had a little too much fun sketching and planning this thing out, and I'm so glad that it turned out just the way I envisioned it. I couldn't have done it without husband...he really helped me with the logistics and execution of it all.

For our game, we taped little pigs to smaller blocks and had the kids throw Angry Bird bean bags at them. They got an extra piece of candy for each bird they had leftover. It was a huge hit!

I made the bean bags out of balloons and rice using this tutorial (so, technically they'd be called "rice bags" I guess) and drew the Angry Bird faces on with Sharpie. Super easy and cheap!

Overall, I think it was a success! I loved seeing how excited the kids were about it. Scott Hamilton (yes, the figure skater) even came and brought his boys. 

The entire day was so much fun. So many of our students came dressed up with some pretty creative costumes.

We even had a hot air balloon!

It was a beautiful day spent with wonderful friends. 

Hope you all are having a wonderful Autumn! I can't believe it's November already. I'm already looking forward to the holiday season. This is the very best time of year. :)

With Love,

- Tiffany

Where's Our Focus?

A few days ago, my husband read an excerpt of this blog post by Perry Noble to me and it was very challenging (in a good way!) So often our focus in life can be on the wrong things, which is the cause of so many of our problems.

Image by my husband, Jonathan Zajas

Consider these thoughts...

If I focus on my abilities, I will always feel overwhelmed and inadequate…if I focus on WHO God is and WHAT He has done, I will feel confident and secure. 

If I focus on what others say about me, I will feel either pride or pain…if I focus on what God says about me, I will feel appreciative and thankful. 

If I focus on what the world says about money, I will most likely be broke…if I focus on what God says about money, I will be blessed!

If I focus on what the world says about problems, I will be in a constant state of worry and stress…if I focus on what God says about problems, I will see they are nothing more than opportunities to know and see Him for how great He is.  

(Where Is Our Focus? (10 Gut Check Ideas!) by Perry Noble)

These are just a few of the 10 points that he makes, so please click on over to his blog post to read the rest.

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." - Matthew 6:33

When we place God first, and focus on him (and not our problems, other people, the world's opinions, etc.)...then we have absolutely nothing to worry about. He will always take care of everything we need.

So, I encourage you (and myself!) today to evaluate where our focus is. And if our focus is on the wrong things, then let's do something to change that!

With Love,
Tiffany

DIY Autumn Wreath

Hey there, friends!

I hope you're all having a lovely Friday so far! It's a gorgeous day here in Franklin, TN and I'm excited that it's starting to feeling like fall outside! Autumn is always the beginning of my favorite time of year. It's so cozy and comforting and is the perfect introduction to the Christmas season (which is the most wonderful time of year!)

There's something about this season that makes me both want to make something crafty and to work to create an inviting environment at home. So, last weekend I thought I would combine both of those desires and make an Autumn Wreath for our front door!

I searched the aisles of Target and browsed online for Autumn wreaths to purchase, but I just couldn't find one that I liked. After looking at lots of Autumn craft ideas on Pinterest, I was inspired by these two wreaths to make one of my own!

Here's the finished product...

I didn't take step-by-step photos of the process, but it's pretty easy to do!

This is what you'll need:

• Wreath form - I used a large straw wreath form, and left the plastic wrapping on it
• Yarn - I used 1.5 skeins of yellow yarn (but my yarn was a little thinner than some, so you might be able to get away with less)
• Felt - I used two large sheets of the stiff felt that was next to the not-so-stiff craft felt. (haha, I'm not sure what the technical terms are...maybe you veteran crafters can correct me?)
• Hot glue gun
• Hot glue sticks
• Scissors

1. Take your yarn, and hot glue the end to the back of your wreath form. 
2. Wrap the yarn around and around and around. (This step can be very time consuming...approx. 2 hours...so I found it helpful to watch something delightful, like Newsies, while I was wrapping away.) Don't worry about being too perfect with this. My perfectionist self was way too precise to start off with, but as I went along I got more lazy and it still looked about the same.
3. Continue to wrap until your entire wreath form is covered! You may have to cut the yarn and re-glue a new piece, and that's okay! Just make sure to always glue on the back of your wreath form.
4. Take your stiff sheets of felt and sketch out a leaf. Cut out that leaf, and then use it as a guide to sketch out a bunch more!
5. Cut out your leaves.
6. Hot glue your leaves onto your wreath.
7. Voila! You have yourself a neato Autumn Wreath.
8. Pat yourself on your back and go hang up your wreath smiling with satisfaction at a job well done!

Here's a glimpse out our doorstep. It looks much more welcoming than when we first moved in, which makes me happy. 

Husband bought me those yellow mums yesterday. I love them! 

Now all we need are some pumpkins...and a welcome mat! One like this, perhaps? Welcome mats are yet another thing that I have a hard time finding ones that I like. They're either blah, not our style, or too pricey. I may just have to make my own!

If you have any questions at all about making your own wreath, please don't hesitate to ask! And if you make your own, I'd love to see! Feel free to post a link in the comment section.

Have you made any Autumn crafts lately? Please do share.

Happy Autumn Day to you!

-Tiffany

How to Turn Impossible into Possible

As I was sitting on the couch sipping my coffee this morning, my mind was bombarded with cares and situations that I (foolishly) felt I needed to figure out on my own. Phone calls I needed to make, details to work out, planning to be done...God, I don't know how this is going to work out!

And then God quieted me...and led me to read Hebrews 11.

I grabbed my Bible and quickly flipped the pages. In the moment forgetting what Hebrews 11 was all about, I read the first verse:

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." - Hebrews 11:1 NIV

Continuing to read the chapter, tears started streaming down my face as I was reminded of all the seemingly impossible things that God has done, simply because his people had faith that he would do it.

"Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." - Hebrews 11:6 NIV

God wants to do the impossible in our lives, but too often our doubt, worry, and lack of faith get in the way.

"'You don't have enough faith,' Jesus told them. 'I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.'" - Matthew 17:20 NLT

"God can do anything, you know--far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!" - Ephesians 3:20 MSG

I know I'm not the only one facing an "impossible" situation. So, what's yours? Remember that God is the ultimate expert of making the impossible, possible. All we need to do is surrender, trust, and have a little faith. :)

With Love,
Tiffany

More thoughts on faith here...

Chattanooga Getaway: part 2

Earlier I shared with you part 1 of our Chattanooga Getaway for our four year wedding anniversary (that my husband so sweetly surprised me with!)

Here is part two!

On the second day of our time in Chattanooga, we woke up and went back to the Bluff View Art District (seriously, one of our favorites places!) for breakfast at Rembrandt's Coffee House.

We absolutely love this place! They have the best mochas!

And their breakfast sandwiches are AMAZING! Looking at these pictures right now is like torture right now, because I now have a major craving for them. So good!

Every time we're at Rembrandt's, it makes us feel like we're at a little coffee shop in Europe somewhere. It's definitely worth a visit (or two, or three.)

After breakfast, we drove over to Cleveland to pay a visit to our Alma Mater, Lee University! It was so fun getting to play tourist and snap lots of photos of this place we love. We even went to the gift shop and bought t-shirts! hehe

We felt so sentimental walking around the campus. So many of our first memories together took place right there (including the first time we met, and Jonathan's proposal to me :) Not to mention many great memories with friends.

Here's the Student Union, where we spent hours upon hours studying and not studying.

This is the Dixon Center, which was my home away from home. This building houses the campus theatre, and is where most of my major classes were held. The majority of my time at Lee was spent in this building.

The Music Building was Jonathan's home away from home, as he spent most of his time here.

Davis Hall was the dorm I lived in my freshman year.

Here Jonathan is in the approximate spot where Hughes Hall (his first dorm at Lee) used to stand. They tore it down recently to make way for the new Science Building.

Speaking of which...here is the new Science Building! We had a chance to go inside for the first time, and it was very impressive!

We then jumped in our car and drove by Carroll Courts, which is where we lived our first 10 months of marriage. The apartments look kinda ghetto, but we made it cozy and nice...and we made lots of wonderful memories there!

We also drove by the house we lived in our 2nd year of marriage. This was also the home that we brought Maxo home to. (Excuse the foggy/blurry picture...we didn't want to be too creepy to the people currently living there, so I just snapped the photo while we were driving by.) :)

After our little trip down memory lane, we went to downtown Cleveland to Cafe Roma, which is a favorite.

Their chicken salad sandwiches are THE BEST I've ever tasted! Also, their sweet potato fries and dipping sauce are THE BEST I've ever tasted!

Their tomato basil soup is also superb. Mmmmm...so good! If you're ever in Cleveland, you'll want to add this place to your list of restaurants to try. Do it!

Once our bellies were full, we walked around downtown Cleveland some more and popped into another one of our favorite spots to get a drink (it was a little toasty outside!)

Gardner's Market is also a favorite of ours. Their sandwiches are great (as are their muffins...and coffee!), but my absolute favorite thing there is their blackberry lemonade. It's the best lemonade I have ever tasted. No lie.

We walked around some more...and oh, and look! There's the church we got married at!

Back in Chattanooga, the next thing on our agenda was to go to the movies! The Rave is our favorite theater...it's HUGE, and clean, and has very comfy seats (not to mention, they give free refills on their large drinks, which is always a plus in my book.)

We arrived to the theater a little (or a lot) early, so we walked around and had fun looking at all the movie posters.

bahaha! :)

At the end of the day, we crashed back at our hotel and got to watch the sunset over the Tennessee mountains. Another perfect day.

The next morning was time to head back home. But we couldn't leave without going to Rembrandt's again for breakfast!

It was an amazing and much needed couple days away together. Thank you, husband, for this wonderful surprise! I'm excited to celebrate decades of anniversaries with you.