Kaleb's letter

Even though we don't know you yet, you occupy all of our thoughts.
Time seems to fly by when we think of you, and days are only minutes as we wait for your sweet arrival.
You are the one we think of while falling asleep, the one we dream of, and the one we wake up smiling about.
There are no words to describe how we feel yet...only twinkles in our eyes, and smiles in our hearts.
What will become of your life on this earth? Only time will tell. Will you be a poet, a painter, a song writer? Perhaps a king?
Time will tell!
Your story is written already, by your great Maker, who formed you in the depths of me. Tiny hands and feet will soon turn big, and coos will turn to sounds, and sounds will turn to sentences, sentences to paragraphs and stories...stories we cannot wait to hear!
Your pitter patter of little feet will also soon turn to a bike with two wheels, then a car or truck with four...We can't wait for you, little one, to grow, and to share this small piece of space and time with us on this earth...and even better, to go with us to our forever home in heaven.
You are welcome here, little one, welcome in our home, our hearts, and in our lives. Can't wait to share this life with little you.
Only time will tell...who you are, and what you will do.
Look forward to meeting you, little prince. Look forward to meeting you.

This is a really cool web site for new mommies! I love checklists and this site has lots of them - from what to do with a new car seat, to how to soothe your baby, to your baby's layette. Pretty fun! I think I may take several of these lists to the store when we go buy for Kaleb. :)
www.4baby.com

Can you say blessings???

The almost finished dresser (no drawer handles yet or mirror but they are coming!) that used to be mine (and dark brown!)...My sweet husband painted it and did a fine job!



The cute rocking chair my grandmother gave to me with the rocking chair cover Justin's mom gave us. :)



Me at 31 weeks in front of Kaleb's beautiful crib!


We are super blessed...
We (meaning me and Justin) have been given so much furniture in our short life together. This is only because we have a really generous family (and a great God!) and wonderful friends. It only proves to be true even more so now that we are having a little one.
I don't think we have paid for any of our furniture (except for like one thing) that I can think of since we got married... which is nuts!
When we first got married, we were given a whole bedroom set by my parents. They were getting rid of theirs to buy something new, and so we inherited their bed, a bedside table, and two of their very nice dressers. And Justin's parents gave us the comforter for our bed, and a mirror for the room. So...our bedroom was pretty much set after that...all we really had to buy was the decor!
Then Justin's parents gave us a Lazy Boy chair for the living room, along with a beautiful green gingham sofa, and a t.v. They also gave us a cute little side table to use in there. Our "coffee table" in there actually serves two purposes - it's a beautiful wooden treasure chest that my friend made to me for graduation. I have a cute little lamp in there that Justin's mom gave me as well. The only thing we bought in there (and splurged on!) was our big screen t.v. (replacing the one Justin's parents gave us), and the shelves that go next to it that hold the blue ray dvd player we've since added, along with our dvd collection. Talk about spoiled. And recently, Justin's mom sold the gingham couch in a garage sale, and we moved a really pretty futon in there for guests to sleep on, that we didn't pay a dime for because friends had not wanted it. It's pretty much brand new.
In the dining room, we have a beautiful white tiled table that was given to me by a friend a few years back, who simply was buying something else....and, of course, she gave it to me free of charge.
As far as the guest room was concerned (when we had one!...It is now Kaleb's room.), we had the desk given to us by Justin's work when they didn't want it anymore, and a friend helped him move it in. The rest of the furniture in there was my old bed and dresser, which, of course, I didn't have to pay for.
The only piece of furniture we've had to buy so far was the hutch in the dining room. The rest of it has been given to us. The Lord is good. All the time.
And...it continues. Fixing up Kaleb's room has proved to be relatively cheap too. We painted it yellow, so we had to buy the paint and some of the tools to do so. The rest of the tools used were stuff my grandmother, mom, and Justin's mom brought from their house to help paint it. We used a little shelf and cabinet thing for decor in there that I had when I was younger, along with my old dresser (and painted them white), and a rocking chair given to me by my grandmother. For a beautiful, very comfy cushion, Justin's mom gave me a really soft white rocking chair cover. The only furniture we've had to buy (and got them for a great deal - a lot cheaper than we would have paid in the store - both for just $150 total) was the crib and the changing table, and they're special to us because we got them from Justin's sister and her husband. They match the other furniture in there, and they are in great condition.
So, I really feel as though the good Lord has had his hand on us. I'm sure other people probably have had similar experiences, but...I just look back and am amazed at how the Lord provides. I have been so blessed! Not only that, but this last November, Justin and I were able to finally pay off our last piece of debt in our life. We can honestly say we are debt free. That was one month before we found out we were going to have a baby.
I am so in awe at our great God. I only hope that in some small way I can give back to Him what He has given me in my life. He never ceases to amaze me!

Me at 30 weeks!

Kaleb, and other news!

Well it's been way, way too long since we last blogged. But I think I may finally have some time to do so.
I'm going to keep this one short, but may write longer later. But right now just wanted to give a short update on our lives! :)
A lot can happen in just less than a year or so...seeing that it's been since September that I last blogged, and this September we will be welcoming a new member to our family, our first little one, Kaleb Lee Englert.
We are so very excited about his arrival! We have gotten his room painted, and some of his furniture, and are in the process of getting the details done. His baby shower will be on August 7, and the theme will be a monkey/jungle theme.
We are currently 31 weeks as of yesterday. I feel great! Just a little tired, but that's to be expected.
I am not currently working anymore, but plan to do some freelance writing while I'm taking care of Kaleb. I also would like to possibly get another degree in the upcoming future, but we're taking things one step at a time.
Justin is still working at the gas plant, and he loves it. I think he'll be promoted to senior operator in the future, and things are looking like he will. Very excited about that!
As of now we spend time with friends and family when we can. I am really enjoying the whole pregnancy thing so far, and have had a good experience up til now. It makes the idea of more children pretty bearable! :)
I guess that is all I will post for now. But we are sure excited for what the future holds, and so blessed to have a new addition to our little family. Can't wait to see what happens next!

This is our sweet Kaleb at 20 weeks!!