just a few things...

"i prefer winter... when you feel
the bone structure of the landscape—
the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter.

something waits beneath it. the whole story doesn't show."

{andrew wyeth}

i know i have already used this quote back when... but i found it even more appropriate for the above photo that i recently took. so here's the quote again. {i really like the quote!}

still here waiting for spring and baby-arrival, trying to get through these long winter days {and see as much beauty in them as i can}... trying to stay warm with comfort food and drink, like this delicious ethiopian coffee i enjoyed on sunday afternoon at my sister's favorite ethiopian restaurant in chicago near her house. {the food is quite comforting and delicious, too!}

i just wanted to pop in to share a few things...

first {speaking of ethiopia}, you know how much i LOVE photography! so i wanted to share something that i thought was pretty darn cool. a friend who i have known since before high school from my old church {whose entire family were dear friends to my family} is married to a really gifted photographer. they are currently trying to adopt two children {a brother and sister} from ethiopia, and to help fund this adoption, they have set up an online web site and store on which they sell photography magnets of his work. they live in the town where i grew up, so many of the photos have a special meaning to me, as they are taken there. but also, many of the photos are of lovely city sights in chicago or various nature shots... two more subjects i like. i could explain much more about it, but i urge you to go to their web site {15000refrigerators.com} instead, and read up on it for yourself. if you check out the store, you'll see each magnet is only $2.99... well worth it for such cool photography! and each one is also available in other sizes as prints.

personally, i want all of the following magnets...

{the famous chicago theater sign}

{chicago bean being painted}

{there are other really fun, creative heart photos... great gifts for valentine's day!}

{do you recognize this place... from my red umbrella shots?}

{you know how much i love trees!}

{and the sea!}

{and birds!}

{all magnet photos above are copyrighted and are
the property of steve mckenzie / mckenzie media}

there are a bunch more, so do yourself a favor and go see them for yourself!

this project is sort of near and dear to my heart, as i longed for children for so long, and really wanted to adopt when i thought i would never be able to have my own. plus, steve's wife, kim, is such a dear friend. {and i am passionate about photography as an art form!} so won't you please visit, purchase and/or spread the word? it's a great cause!

okay... second, i wanted to share a sneak preview to a post i will be writing in the near future.

like i mentioned above, i saw my sister over the weekend. i had only expected to stay for the day on sunday, but i ended up staying overnight at her house into monday, and her little tea-cup chihuahua had her puppies in the middle of the night. sadly, only one of two puppies made it. but the experience was incredible, and i witnessed it all... so, so much to share about it. i will try to get to that soon.

lastly, i wanted to provide a link to the latest post on my jorjah-b blog... i put up some pregnancy photos of me at my 21-week mark {including the above shot}. i would have posted them here, but i did not take the photos... my friend mary did. i like to put only my photography here {with the exception of things like the magnet thumbnail pics or sneak-peek shot of me above}, so i put them all on my other blog instead.

you know how i try to take self-portraits to show the progression of my growing tummy. but i wanted something that captured more than just my belly... i wanted to have the peace, joy and excitement that is growing along with my belly to be caught on camera, too. i'm so grateful to mary for having done it exactly how i hoped it could be done.

are you surprised how much i've grown? i kind of am! and to think... i'm only just over half-way through. will i be twice this big at week 40?

. . .

okay, i promise this is the last thing. i have been flooded with comments, e-mails and phone calls from people in the pregnancy profession or people who have been pregnant before... all telling me i have nothing to worry about with my current pregnancy previa. it has become apparent to me that it is much more common at this stage than i realized. {i think maybe my doc tends to word things a little on the cause-for-concern side.} that's not to say i'm at liberty to just go start training for a weight-lifting competition or move all the furniture we have to get ready for the nursery or anything like that {still not supposed to lift much}... but it's only a bigger concern if it is still a condition/issue toward the end of the pregnancy. so my mind is so much more at ease about it. isn't it wonderful how the blogging community {as well as your own personal network of friends} can be helpful that way... giving you insight into something you don't know much about? i think so! and i am so grateful to have that network/support. A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL WHO WERE A PART IN THAT!