Midwest Charm with Anna

#AuntSquad

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FULL DISCLOSURE: THE WINE MY PREGNANT SISTER IS HOLDING IS ALCOHOL FREE! (LINKED BELOW) SHE WAS ALSO ONLY EXPOSED TO THE PAINT FUMES LONG ENOUGH TO SEE THE NURSERY PROGRESS! 

For those of you that wondered what I was up to in Iowa, you’re looking at it! The Aunt Squad rolled in for a full weekend of baby prep! Our very first niece arrives in April and we are so excited. On Friday, I drove 4 hours to Chicago to pick up my sweet middle sister, Allison, and then continued on to drive another 4 hours to Iowa city, Iowa where my oldest sister, Ashley, and brother-in-law Andrew, live! We arrived late but hit the ground running in the morning! We went everywhere from Lowes to Babies “R” Us with Starbucks in hand eager to tackle the day. After a lunch break we decided it was time to divide and conquer. Ashley and I tackled some other errands (cough cough went shopping) while Allison and Andrew stayed home to paint the nursery. Ashley and Andrew had picked out a few paint colors in addition to two wallpapers that we then all voted on. The sample swatches do not do the wallpaper justice as they don’t show the entire print however, you get the idea! The entire room will be painted one of the colors you see Ashley sampling on the wall above, with the exception of one wall, which will be covered in one of the two wallpaper options also pictured above! The goal is dainty and the accent wall will be the perfect way to help accomplished that. This nursery is going to be such an adorable environment for our sweet baby girl to start her life in. Very “little girl” if you will! I am incredibly proud of my sister and brother-in-law for working hard so that they have the opportunity to provide such an amazing home for their little family. As I sit here and reflect, I can’t help but think about the journey my family has been on. I think the thing I love most about us is our eagerness to rally! I would have to think we get a lot of that from living through the loss of our Dad together. When he passed away 5 years ago, we were reminded that he gave us the greatest gift here on earth and that gift is each other. His loss taught us many things, but above all else, it taught us to come together because family is a beautiful blessing! We miss our Dad every single day and wish he could be here to see the birth of his very first grandbaby but we know he is always with us! (Ashley don’t cry reading this 😉 he would want you to smile!)

If I could wrap this post up in one phrase it would be this: You do for family! Fortunately for us, we get to do it with smiles on our faces. Even the “work weekends” are fun because that means we get to spend time together. We celebrate our new blessing daily and look forward to the light that she will be in this world! I can’t wait to meet her! I love you Ash, Al and Andrew! You too Mom- we missed having you on this trip!

26 weeks down, 14 weeks to go!

Xoxo, Anna (Auntie Ann)

“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12

2 thoughts on “#AuntSquad”

  1. This is so sweet! I’m excited to see the final product, and so happy for the arrival of your niece! I cried reading this ? Congratulations, Rittenhouse-Durham family!

  2. Aww; how fun & what a great post & love the Aunt tee shirts!
    I have family in Iowa City & taught there a few years ago, fun place to be, shops, food, drinks…
    Amy

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