Mmm, its gonna be a good week...

Mmmm! My house smells yummy...

We are trying to save as much money as we can... so I have been trying to think of creative ways to use what we have here in out little cabinets. Today, we have a nice random mixture of chicken, potatoes, onions, celery, carrots, and cream of mushroom soup cooking in the crockpot. I see so many people with their awesome posts on food... yeah, not me! :) I could never make half the things that I see out there! In our season of life we have to make quick, easy meals that fit our very busy, always--changing schedule. So, my crockpot has become one of my best friends lately! It makes my house smell so yummy too! :)

Just placed my yummy Apple-Strawberry Crisp (recipe here) in the oven...

I must say that last week was wonderful... with the most special part being a visit from my sis! She came for half of her spring break. We were able to relax and sleep in, chat about the past few months, have some special lunches out... talking about EVERYTHING that sisters talk about, and the belly laughs that we had were the BEST! There is no one like my sis :) And... she got to feel her nephew move for the first time! She couldn't believe my belly when she got here! :) It was a much needed visit for sure!

After she left I found these old pics up on my computer :)

They made me smile! Such good memories!

So after such a wonderful, restful time last week...

Then the rainy day week started...

I dropped my sis off in Richmond to meet my parents and on the way home I knew I was getting a cold... that sore throat that creeps up on you. Yuck! Though I tried to shove as many oranges and vitamins in me I just couldn't bypass it this time. So... I missed 2 days of work last week. :(

Poor Ray... tissues everywhere...a cough that starts as soon as we try to go to sleep... my new manly voice... and hot tea around 4am the past several mornings. I think I am finally on the mend...

So I had my 28 week appointment this morning...

Glucose test... my sugar was high...

I have to go next week for the full 4 hour test... Yuck! Not what I wanted to hear!

But what the Dr. probably doesn't realize is what my sugar does 1-2 hours after I have sugar. I actually have hypoglycemia... so once we got home from my appointment I was on the verge of passing out. I ate some peanut butter and my sugar soon stabalized. The Dr. said that he didn't think I showed any other signs of a "carbohydrate problem." So, hopefully my next test will be a better result.

After my depressing glucose test results... I had to get my RhoGam shot. I have negative blood and Ray has positive... so my poor hip got a nice big shot this morning too!

Though I have LOVED everyone at my practice... this morning I definitely met my least favorite Dr. He was not in high spirits to say the least... I won't go into all the details. He wasn't mean; just not overly nice. So... on the verge of tears already... we got into his office and he notifies me that my hemoglobin is at a critical low! Oh my goodness... I thought I was going to lose it! BUT... I didn't. I held it together and the Lord reminded me as I was sitting in the office that my little man's heart beat was strong and that is the most important thing! He is doing great according to the Dr. So... I guess it all could have been worse!

Let's see.. we'll just add more iron and prepare for my next glucose test. I have a busy week with work starting tomorrow, but time is ticking away! It won't be much longer now before he is here with us. I finally starting my registering process. It has been fun to talk with people about what they like and don't like (which I would still love to hear from any of you out there!!) We start our prenatal classes in April and can hopefully start getting out nursery ready in the next month. We have been talking about baby showers too. So...Getting more and more excited as each day passes... whether my sugar is high and we are scrounging for every penny and and its a rainy day... but we are blessed and totally excited!

Oh... my Strawberry-Apple Crisp just came out of the oven...

MMMMM! So yummy! You gotta try it :)

So.. I'm ready for this new weeks! Its gonna be good, I just know it!

I WAITED PATIENTLY FOR THE LORD; HE INCLINED TO ME AND HEARD MY CRY. HE DREW ME UP FROM THE PIT OF DESTRUCTION, OUT OF THE MIRY BOG AND SET MY FEET UPON A ROCK, MAKING MY STEPS SECURE. HE PUT A NEW SONG OF PRAISE IN MY MOUTH, A SONG OF PRAISE TO OUR GOD. MANY WILL SEE AND FEAR AND PUT THEIR TRUST IN THE LORD. PSALM 40:1-3

The Beautiful Embrace

So, most of you know, my prayers the past few weeks have been to TOTALLY EMBRACE this pregnancy. I have gone through so many emotions since September... kicking and screaming and refusing this to be God's will, sadness, discouragement, resentment, bitterness, anger, denial, a complaining spirit, and the list sadly could go on... BUT, last night... oh, last night...

I came home from a busy day at work... feeling the need to just sit and relax. Ray was playing basketball and it was just me and my boy... I put on some quiet music and laid down on our bed... just for a minute I told myself... I was lying on my side with the FAVORITE body pillow surrounding my tummy... and as I finally started to relax... Barrett began to move. It wasn't in his typical way... like flutters and bumps and little movements letting me know he is there... this was like nothing I have ever experienced in my life! It felt as if he was swimming around... all around... I felt him high, low, on both my sides... It was as if I could feel his hands and feet rubbing the inside of me.... and it lasted a long time... in a different way than the past few months. It was as if he was saying... "See mom, everything is going to be fine! I'm doing great in here! I am real and you are my mom!"

There aren't words to really describe last night... but I guess it is just something that just he and I will share for the next three months :) My love for him grew last night. My excitement that he is mine brought about more anticipation than I have felt so far. And, my awe at the wonders of my Jesus increased by leaps and bounds! I think, honestly, I realized, IN A REAL WAY for the first time, that my son is gift... a beautiful gift from my Jesus! The Lord has answered my prayers... to truly embrace this pregnancy... and He is doing it! Yes, it has been little by little... seeming that I am heading into the 7th month :) But I am SO encouraged that He is answering my prayers and giving me HOPE FOR THE FUTURE... in a way I have never seen. It is beautiful... the belly and all... it is BEAUTIFUL!

a wise wife...

I read this yesterday at work... and i thought it was soooo good :)
“Let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Ephesians 5:33

God made Adam first and put him in the Garden with a job to do, a mission to fulfill. In the heart of every fallen man is the self-doubt that wonders, “Am I man enough to climb this mountain God has called me to? Can I fulfill my destiny?” A wise wife will understand that question at the center of her husband’s heart. And she will spend her life answering it, communicating to him in various ways, “Honey, I believe in your call. I know you can do this, by God’s power. Go for it.” In this way, she will breathe life into her man.

God made Eve from Adam, for Adam, to help him follow the call. In the heart of every fallen woman is the self-doubt that wonders, “Do I please you? Am I what you wanted?” A wise husband will understand that question at the center of his wife’s heart. And he will spend his life answering it, communicating to her in various ways, “Darling, you are the one I need. I cherish you. Let me hold you close.” In this way, he will breathe life into his wife.

DO WHAT YOU CAN... its completely done...

Came upon an article linked to Joshua Harris Blog today that so encouraged my heart. Though my little son is not here yet and I have not experienced what some of my dear friends have as they are raising their little ones... but I have had many sleepless nights from my pregnancy... leg aches after a long day of work, nausea and heartburn, getting up to pee on the hour, migraines, and now my baby waking me up several times a night from his activity :) I am still working full time, with long hours, and hard shifts... and carrying a child around (in my tummy) for 12 hours. Trying to keep up with laundry, making dinner and lunches, cleaning our house, staying in touch with friends, trying to stay as active in church as we can, etc. I definitely do not have the luxery of a day with NOTHING to do... I remember those wonderful days in college where a friend and I would just spend the day doing NOTHING... laying around, talking, spending long extended time with the Lord... yeah, its not like that at all anymore. Sometimes I think that God must think I am slipping farther from where I used to be. But this article reminded me that NOTHING I COULD DO WOULD MAKE HIM LOVE ME ANYMORE THAN HE ALREADY DOES. 5 minutes or 5 hours... I am His Beloved and He is mine!

BIBLE READING FOR BUSY MOMS

How does a mom of young children — say, three still in diapers — find any time for Bible intake? “Do What You Can” is the answer Don Whitney gives in Simplify Your Spiritual Life: Spiritual Disciplines for the Overwhelmed (pp. 157-158). In thisshort/excellent chapter, Whitney describes one woman’s example and advice:

She was converted in her late teens. Discipled well from the start, Jean thrived on a spiritual diet strong on disciplines like the reading, studying, and meditating on God’s Word, prayer, fellowship, service, evangelism, worship, silence and solitude, journal-keeping, and Scripture memory. She felt herself making spiritual progress almost daily. All this continued after she married her equally-dedicated husband, Roger.

Then she had three children in diapers. Caring for their most basic needs eliminated almost every moment of the time she used to devote to caring for her soul. Her longings for the things of God reached as high as ever, but her time and energy had new and severe limits.

On at least three occasions I’ve eavesdropped as Jean addressed young moms in similar situations. In effect she’s told them, “At this time in your life, you can’t do what you’re used to doing. You don’t have time for all your heart desires to experience in your spiritual life. Nevertheless, do what you can do, even though it’s precious little. Just don’t deceive yourself by thinking that you can put off a devotional life until you have more time. Because when the years roll around and you finally do have more time, your spiritual habits will be so ingrained that you won’t give more attention to your devotional life at all.”

Then I heard Jean tell her own story. She would keep Bibles open in several rooms–in the kitchen, nursery, bathroom–and look at them when she could. While warming a bottle or changing a diaper, she’d glance over and perhaps read only one verse. But this discipline helped her keep the Word in her heart and the presence of God in her awareness. And as the children’s needs grew less demanding, her disciplines were already in place to receive any additional time she could give them. Even though Jean felt almost spiritually dormant during those years in comparison to her early growth as a Christian, she kept alive the spiritual disciplines through which her soul would blossom in years to come.

Like Jean with three in diapers, you may be in a situation that curtails many of your spiritual activities. You may be looking at many months or even years of such limitations. Do what you can. God does not love us more when we do more, nor less when we do less. He accepts us, not because of what we do for Him, but because of what He’s done for us in Christ.

The Bible says, “He made us accepted in the Beloved [that is, Jesus]” (Ephesians 1:6). And nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39). Love God, and within the limitations He has sovereignly placed in your life at this time, do what you can.

"THE OLD HAS GONE, THE NEW HAS COME. WHAT YOU COMPLETE IS COMPLETELY DONE. WE'RE HEIRS WITH CHRIST; THE VICTORY WON! WHAT YOU COMPLETE IS COMPLETELY DONE!" (sovereign grace music...sons and daughters cd)

Here are some pics from some of my dear friends in Staunton... now amazing parents! What an encouragement to hear their hearts for the Lord, their spouses, and their children. such transparency and love...

Adelaide Fitzgerald

Brian and his boy!

Audri... she has the funniest expressions!!

Adelaide and Aunt Ash... she is so loving! Anything you ask her, she says, "Yes!"

The dad were so cute!

I am so proud of my dear friends Brian and Derek!

the kids

Kaelyn Alese

Derek and Kaelyn... Kaelyn has her new hat on from Aunt Ash :)

And the newest addition... Ezekial at 4 weeks old! He liked hanging out with Barrett!

Notice how I have no pictures of the adorable moms... :) they were busy feeding,correcting, making dinner (hotdogs and mac and cheese) and trying to catch up with me! They were truly an inspiration to me! I hope that Ray and I can be half the parents that they are! God's amazing grace and strength was evident in their lives!