Answer to prayer!

I have been praying and praying about what to do with Lauren when I go back to work for the rest of the school year. I've asked a few ladies at church who stay at home with their kids, but both of them declined. One of them gave me the number of the sitter she used before she stayed home, so I called her. That was a dead end. Once I had exhausted my options then I just started telling everyone who would listen that I was looking for someone and if they could keep an ear out that would be awesome.

Well God is great! Today I got a call from a lady at church, who is awesome, and her daughter is currently out of work and is interested in the job. So I'm meeting with Jennifer (yes that's her name too) in January to 'interview' for it.

Wow! Wow, I can't say enough how awesome this would be. She would be able to come to our house and watch her. I wouldn't have to put her in a daycare where she would be exposed to germs and yucky (not that I'm germ-a-phob but the less yucky the better). We wouldn't have to wake her to drive her anywhere. I would just be able to drive home and not have to stop somewhere else and pick her up. I just need to keep praying that this is the door the Lord wants us to go through. Please pray with me!!

Advice?

Lauren is down for a nap right now, and I just finished the thank you notes I've been procrastinating, so I have a moment to write down all that has been going on.

First she was up ALL morning. This is a first. As I told you this girl sleeps so much. But today she was up from 7 am until 1. That is huge for her. She did sleep for a billion hours yesterday (a little bit of an exaggeration). She also ate horrible because of that. She falls asleep all the time during nursing. I know that this habit will pass, but I get so nervous when she doesn't eat, to what in my mind, isn't enough. I know she isn't going to starve to death, but it still is unnerving. This morning though, she ate like a champ.

I do have to say, I felt, that while I was pregnant I didn't get as much "advise" as I had expected to get. I feel like from the magazine articles I read and what friends had warned me people all over would had advise for me. That didn't seem to be the case. Now though, a totally different story. While my mom was here, she seemed to all of a sudden have everything to say about how and what I should did with Lauren. Don't get me wrong, some of it I was grateful for. But some I was getting annoyed with. I feel the say way with my best friend. I feel like very conversation we've had lately has had some "advise" for me. Some of it unwanted and unnecessary. I know I have gone to her for advise a lot, and when I ask for it, it's a whole other thing. I guess it was just today she had made a sly comment about how often I hold her and how I put her down to sleep. I didn't ask her about it and I didn't want to hear her opinion. She isn't here all day, she doesn't know what I've been doing. I know they've told me and I've read in a billion books (sorry about the exaggeration again) book that you can't spoil a baby. I enjoy holding her. I've waited over two years to hold her and if I want to hold her I will!!!

Sorry for the rant, but I needed to get that out. I needed to feel like someone knew, without telling someone. I hate that feeling of wanting to talk about something that is on your mind, but then feeling like if you do, it will some how get back to that person and they'll be upset with you.

Well I better go check on Lauren and I still need to relax a little. Haven't had my nap yet today and that is never a good thing once 8 o'clock hits and I'm exhausted!

Here are both my baby girls getting a Christmas picture taken.
I love them so much!

I crack myself up!

It's so funny to think that I was excited to go on maternity leave, for a lot of reasons, but one of them was that I would have more time to blog on here. LOL, that was a joke. I mean I do have more time now that when I was working. But... most of that time I find myself in a vegetative state on the couch recuperating from the last feeding or the lack of sleep.

Now don't get me wrong, Lauren sleeps so well. In fact, sometimes I get bored and wish she were awake- then I remind myself that this stage will pass and I'll look back on it and want to kick myself for wishing her awake!

Over all I've enjoyed these few weeks I've had with her. She is a wonderful baby! I love holding her, rocking her to sleep, kissing on her, reading to her, watching her sleep, waking up and knowing she's right there waiting on me. I love giving her a bath. Every time she's taking a bath I'm so happy we installed our new kitchen sink last March. She fits so nicely in there. If I put her in the bathtub I think she might go down the drain, she's so tiny!

Speaking of tiny, she's now over 6 pounds!! Me and her have had our share of struggles with nursing. We've both hung in there and things are going a LOT more smoothly now. Due to our struggles she had a few issues with gaining weight. Now though she is doing great and I see her growing up big a strong (but hopefully not to fast!)

Speaking of nursing, it's that time again!

Well I got a real reason...

Guess who listened really well to her mama?! Lauren!!! Our baby girl was born November 21, 2010. Weighing in at 5 lbs. 14 oz. and was 19 inches long. We are so happy to have her here in our arms. In fact, I often times can't seem to put her down (right now she's sleeping in my lap as I write this).

She is so precious, I can't explain what it's like to have her here and love on her daily. To be here for her every need and take extra good care of her. My mind is always overflowing with love and faith. I can't say enough about how special I feel that God blessed us so!

Someone woke up early...I'll be back with more about little Lauren later!

Prayer

Actually got out of work at a reasonable hour and felt accomplished when I left. Super excited to have a minutes to blog! I have had a list of things-to-do at work a mile long for the past month. Well I'm getting things crossed off of it and I'm not adding things quite as fast these days. Can we say AMEN!

Although my day has ended well, it didn't start off that way. I woke up this morning feeling- defeated. That is a tough way to start off ones day. Mondays tend to be that way. It's the beginning of another week, filled with the same list of crud to get done, and on top of it I was feeling sick today. But when I was doing my hair, I remembered the sermon from yesterday morning, which mind you I need to hear over a few more times it was so good. I remembered Pastor Spencer talking about breath prayers. Prayer you say in your head and it's short and can be said over and over again. I then thought about listen to Christian music and when I do, I so often get a line or two stuck in my head all day at work. I feel like this is a breath prayer. I repeat it over and over and as I do that I remind myself of God presence in my daily life. He is ever present and it can be so easy to leave Him out. I'm thankful for the reminder this week: we should be walking with our Lord daily!

"Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance." Psalm 32: 6-7

"Let the glory of the Lord rise among us
Let the glory of the Lord rise among us
Let the praises of our King rise among us
Let it rise
Oh, let it rise"
~Let it Rise by William Murphy

Baby on the brain.

Matt and I have been enjoying birthing classes. We have taken 2 of the 3 classes we have scheduled. Next week will be our last week. They are quite interesting. It's been a bonding experience for Matt, baby, and I. It is so much different now that there are things we get to do together to prepare for our baby girl. It seemed at the beginning it was just me being pregnant and him caring for me, which don't get me wrong was wonderful. But now there is more we get to do TOGETHER. It isn't just me growing a baby and him caring for me but things we do as a couple, as parents :-). The birthing classes, putting together baby stuff, and today we went to the mall and we exchanged some clothes together. I know I'm corny, but this little gift of God is already bringing our marriage closer and closer.

Today we also took a breastfeeding class together. I really don't know if I could have done it without him. Having him in the seat next to me made all the difference. I know I want to breastfeed and I am anticipating the bonding between me and baby, but at the same time it’s still a little scary. I'm sure these fears will melt the minute she is born. I know they will because God will be there guiding me through caring for her. Amen for having a God that loves us enough to never leave our sides!

Just an aside- we totally got a flat tire on the way to the class today. Thank goodness we weren't that far from home yet and it was a back tire because we were able to make it back home and flip flop cars. We were only twenty minutes late for the class. Some things are crazy. Got it all patched up though, and my Pilot is all better!

"The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." Psalm 121:8

A Baby Shower!

Just wanted to post some pictures of the baby shower. I felt so blessed that so many people wanted to help us welcome our bundle of joy into the world. It was a beautiful day. I am so grateful to my friends, Garrett and Ashley, and my family, mom and Shauna, worked together to make it such a beautiful memory for me. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

Shauna, Mom, and Me

All the wonderful gifts and pumpkin family of Matt, baby, and me

Everyone relaxing

Garrett, like normal, making me laugh so hard I thought I might loose it (my bladder that is)

All my work peps! (Heather is hidden behind Garrett)

The good, the bad, and the tired!

There are so many days I wish I could write on here and get my thoughts out. It truly helps me relax and reflect. But there is only so much a pregnant lady can do in a day. Once school has let out I'm 85% spent. Driving home, doing the dinner thing, and all the other stuff that has made my life so busy lately = 0% of me being able to write, relax, and reflect. That is the bad I'm referring to in title today. I so wish I could have a voice recorder that would type this as I was showering or driving- not gross you out with the shower part, but I get so many thoughts while showering. I'm weird I know. It's the same way in the car. I remember so many things in the car, but as soon as I set out of the car my memory fails me. Goofy thing. Does that ever happen to anyone else?

Life has been busy. I thought it was busy in September with going back to work and then October was worse!! Prayer and a wonderful husband were the only way I made it out alive! I had something to do 3 or more nights a week after work and every weekend was filled with something or other. That played a toll on me and my energy level. By the end of the month I felt like death.

One weekend were blessed and went to Matt's sisters wedding in Tennessee. Which was so beautiful and I loved spending time with his family. But someone there gave me yucky germs and I got sick with a virus. The only time I've been sick during pregnancy and it sucked. Then once I got my energy back I had to clean the house top to bottom- no not nesting, but I had my baby shower at my house. I don't suggest this to anyone, unless your house is bigger and you have lots of "time off" to clean. This is the tired I was talking about in my title.

My mom and sister came down for the shower. They were here for a long weekend and it was so nice to have them here. Loved it!! They took care of a lot of the clean up after the shower, but I still had more once they left. And Lord knows after getting all the gifts from shower and things we bought ourselves- the organizer in me came out full force!! Spent the better part of the weekend after the shower just organizing, returning things for stuff we needed, and sitting in the glider dreaming about my little girl. I can't wait to meet her face to face!

Also, super excited to find out I'm going to be an aunt in June!!!! So excited for my sister and her husband. Lauren is going to have a cousin who will be in the same grade and only 6 months younger, so when they get together they'll be able to relate and play with each other. This is the good I referred to in my title.

Sorry for the ramble that this entry is, but just so much going on and not enough time to put it all in here. I can't wait until life slows down- it is going to do that right? All I know is that as I look back at the month of October, God is great and He blessed me daily to handle what was on my plate. He guides me through my days and for that I'm so grateful!

"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much" ~Mother Teresa

Best News Ever!

Just got off the phone with my great friend Ashley, who is also pregnant (about 10 weeks behind me), and she found out today they're having another girl!! I'm so super excited for her and can't wait to see the ultrasound pictures. Her baby and our baby will be so close in age and it will great for them to have a buddy.

I know this is cheesy of me, but really enjoyed my parents friends who had kids around the same age as me. I guess it's because I really don't know my cousins and most of the cousins I do have are my parents age (my parents are both 8-10 younger than their next oldest sibling). I know that our baby has a greater chance of having cousins her age than I was, but Matt and I are states away from our siblings- so she won't be able to see her cousins a whole bunch anyway. That thought makes me real sad.

But on the other hand, I have a lot of great friends who have had or are going to have babies right around the same time as me. Garrett has a baby girl who will be 8 months older, I have another friend- besides Ashley- who is 12 weeks behind me. I have three wonderful friends who had babies last February/March so she will be buddies with them.

Just had a moment and wanted to share with you the blessing of our Lord and savior!

Me, Ashley, Addyson (her 1 year old), and the ol' horse this summer.

The Nursery

So since I haven't had a chance to post much lately, I'm kind of doing multiple posts today- hope that isn't too weird.

Anyway, this one is about the nursery. It is coming along. Thanks to Garrett and her beautiful talent, there is now a gorgeous mural on the green wall. It really completes the room and I'm forever grateful to have a best friend who was willing to do it and give me a friend discount (half price baby!!). But last week when she pretty much finished up we took a few pictures (and a video, but I think it's too big to put on here) of the nursery and I wanted to share it. Enjoy...





We still have a few picture frames left to buy and hang, along with a mirror the shape of a flower that I've wanted from day one. My mom has bought her a cross to go in the room too. Garrett still has to fill in the grass a little more to the left of the window, and she's going to put glow in the dark paint on the lighting bug's butt (hehehe, too cute!). But so much is already done- were ready for her!

Too much!

Way too much time has passed since I last wrote. Mostly because life has been too busy. And to be frank, when it's not busy I'm passed out- aka storing up energy for the next round. Thankfully things have settled down enough that I'm awake at the crack butt of dawn on a Saturday and I can write this. Amen right there!

As I've been driving to work each morning, well the mornings I don't carpool, and I've wished I could type and drive. I feel like there is so much about this pregnancy that I haven't been able to write down- so God bless you reader, here goes about two weeks worth of what I can remember.

I've enjoyed being pregnant, especially in the second trimester. I have however found out slowly but surely that the third trimester is a whole new ball game. (sorry for so many cheesy sayings :-) There is less energy to go around, and a greater desire to eat anything and everything in site. My students bring breakfast back to class- oh my, the thought crosses my mind to eat their food! Who desires to take food from a hungry child?! Madness! I had only gained 2 pounds from the end of August to late September. Well I just had another appointment- brace yourself- this past appointment was only 2 weeks after the last one and I gained 4 pounds this time! Yikes. I don't want to be huge, but I just want to eat all the time. I was telling Matt, that even when I'm not hungry my body wants to eat. I just spent the last three years of my life getting into a healthy body and keeping it that way, not wanting to throw that away in a mere 2 months. So anyway, that is something I've been working on- only eating a peanut butter english muffin every other day and not two a day ;-)

Some stuff I have been loving though is that she is soooo much more active this trimester. She is moving and grooving and she has a schedule. She loves to get wild in there when I come home from work and put my feet up, as I lay on the couch. Matt can usually enjoy the crazy from the chair across the room, she's so nutty! He can feel her more and more, which I love! This morning in bed when I was laying there I had Annabelle purring away on my legs and her wiggling around like a crazy girl in my belly. It didn't take me long to get uncomfortable (another pet peeve of 3rd trimester, nothing is comfortable for very long!) and I was thinking of Matt is laying away sleeping and dreaming while I was uncomfortable with both "kids." LOL...it made me giggle to think of our family growing and changing!

Another thought I had mid car ride, was how much faster time seems to go now that I'm back at work. We only have two months left- WOW!! That is big. I remember the first few month of being pregnant and thinking this was going to be the longest 9 months because ever week seemed to last a thousand years (a little over the top, but it's me talking here). I have been a little grateful for the speeding up of time. Not that I want life to fly by, but I find myself getting so ready to meet her. Does she have a full head of hair? Is her face round or oval? Will she be a fuss bucket or mellow? What will she smell like (I hope that isn't too weird to wonder)? What will Matt be like with her? Will she like swinging in her swing or rolling around the neighborhood for walks with me in her stroller? I'm sure it's normal to wonder all of these things, but I'm getting ready for answers. On the other hand though, I very much enjoy the selfishness of having her in my tummy, all to my self, safe and sound too!

Anyway, I'm going to end this with saying I feel so blessed to have what I have and be trusted with this wonderful life. Thanks be to God for all of it!!!

A breath of fresh air

Well the first week of school is under my belt and I couldn't be happier. The title of this entry is one that sums up the week. The students were wonderful. The class size is great. I just really have nothing to complain about. I'm very appreciative of God placing me here. I'm truly blessed and I need to remember that daily when I head into work. I'm also glad that, this being my last year of teacher before I stay home with our baby and her future siblings, it will be one I can go out smiling on.

Other fun stuff...today has been wonderful. We woke up and just chilled in bed for a while. We watched the baby kick around in my tummy and got out the "BebeSounds" thingy we were loaned. We got to hear her heart beat- oh it is such a beautiful sound! She's been rockin' and rollin' in there today. I've gotten a bunch of house work done. Homemade potato soup is cooking on the stove and cupcakes are in the oven. (I won't mention that these are Matt's birthday cupcakes I was suppose be make last week, and no I don't think this makes me a bad of a wife ;-)

Now I'm procrastinating school work that needed to get done tonight. Matt is out mowing the lawn. He is so cute. He gets all excited about going to the local gardening store to buy fertilizer and dirt. I tell ya, this man is one of little means, and that suits me just fine. I like when he gets excited about his new hobby, aka our lawn. Next week he has us going to these free classes they're offering at the local botanical gardens. He's so pumped, I love him so much!

"Two are better than one, because together they can work more effectively" Ecclesiastes 4:9

Matt and I out and about last weekend, enjoying each others company.

A little bit of fresh air does a body good!

Well what a week. It was full time back at work and getting the classroom ready for the little kiddies. And what a week it was. I did so good- low stress for the most part all week. My classroom came together and didn't look to shabby for Open House on Thursday. I enjoyed meeting my new students. They all seemed so wonderful. I hope they feel relaxed about Tuesday, because I don't. I made it all the way through the week before the stress of the school year starting set in. Needless to say, after a full nights sleep (12 hours to be exact) I feel more relaxed and ready to conquer these first few months.

I've spent some time today getting more stuff ready. I still need to head to Lowes and buy a rug and some bins. There is no storage in the room so I need a place for their extra supplies, like boxes of tissues, baggies, and hand sanitizer. I've been praying for the first day to go smooth for them and me. I know that God has put me with these kids and at this school, so I need to trust in Him and it will all work out.

Now I'm off to enjoy the weekend with Matt and Annabelle. We're headed to a friends house for a backyard fire and s'mores. It's been a beautiful day and it will be a wonderful ending. Just to keep you posted little Lauren is doing great, kicking around as I type this. I know I'm going to miss that once I'm not pregnant anymore- which is only a little ways away. Wow time does fly!

Last day of freedom!

Today I enjoyed, as the title states, my last day of summer. Tomorrow and the next day we have staff development and then I head into school Friday to do some much needed work on my classroom. Thankfully a good friend, Shawn, has offered to come in and help me. I am so grateful she can do that.

So what did I spend my last day of freedom doing? Well I got up, ate, and went back to sleep. Oh, even the memory of that is wonderful. Then I officially got up again and cleaned up the kitchen, headed to the shower, and opened some windows. After a scorcher of a summer, we finally had a day below 85 degrees. So with the windows open I finished up my presentation. Amen for that! Then I met Matt for lunch and enjoyed some lovely special time with him. I just love him! Then I headed to wally-world for my homework folders, I buy for my kids every year.

After all that, I headed home to put together the glider that was delivered right before I went to meet Matt. This I have to deliberate on. I really didn't want a glider, so I wasn't as excited as I have been for other things going on in the nursery. I put it together though and sat in it. Not horrible, but not what I "wanted." I'm sure it will do it's job just fine. But then a wonderful thing happened later. When Matt brought the mail in this evening- there was a babies-r-us coupon book with a 15% off coupon for gliders. I quickly got the customer service number and called them up. They nicely awarded me with a refund. Woohoo! It was $26.25- that's big money to me. I keep thinking that we paid less money for something I didn't really want in the first place- bonus! I do have to say though, as I sat there it was wonderful to imagine sitting there with the baby once she's born...I really can't wait until she's here!!!

I've spent the remainder of my evening cleaning up the desk, which was a mess from working on the presentation and getting things ready for tomorrow morning. I don't even want to know what it's going to feel like getting up at 5:30- yuck times a hundred!

Feelings and God

Well today I ventured up to my classroom. Overwhelmed would be a good word to describe how I felt. Upset would be another word I would use. Upset that I was overwhelmed would be the phrase I would use.

It's nothing like my old classroom. I spent a lot of time realizing what I had lost in the move. Simple things that I had become accustom to. Stupid stuff. Things like a sink, a closet, a teacher desk built for someone with stuff, etc... Then this is where the upset part came into play. I got upset with myself for being so superficial and needy. I can teach anywhere and with or without most things. Why was I getting so upset about these "things?" How is the sink going to make me a better teacher? Maybe this down grade in desk size is an tangible sign of that.

In 2 Corinthians 8:9 Paul writes "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich." Maybe I need to look at my poorness of "stuff" as a way to relate to Jesus. He had it all but gave it up for us. What I had in my old school, in my old classroom, needed to be given up so that I may come back to what truly matters- the students. Not that I ever feel like I was into teaching for any other reason (certainly not the money), but maybe with my struggles last year I forgot some of the basics that matter the most.

My prayer for this year is that I do come back to the basics. The basics of life. Faith, hope, and love. I pray that I have faith that God has placed me where HE needs me, to do HIS work. My I never loss hope that with God I can thrive and live a complete life- no matter where that may be. And that I love the world around me as God loves me everyday, and unconditionally!!

When things work out...

I don't know about you, but I can be a worrier. I'm very well aware that it really does me no good, and in fact, can be harmful. It also sometimes is my way of feeling I have "control" over an issue, when we all know that when we give issues to God, for Him to control, it works out better.

Well I feel God telling me and showing me, "Don't worry Jennifer, I'm in charge and it's all under control," this week. In his fatherly, calm voice. As summer comes to a close I find myself being sad and happy. Sad that my days of freedom and leisure are going to cease to exist, but happy to start a new chapter in my life. And in this transition worry shows its ugly face.

So what's falling into place around here? A bunch of stuff. First, Tuesday I started work on my multiplication presentation for next weeks staff development. Haven't really stressed about it all summer and just got inspired to start it and it's coming along.

Next, the nursery is coming along as well. Now that the room is painted, shades are hung, and the carpet is cleaned. This week I was able to get together with my wonderful friend Becky from church and make curtains. She is coming over Friday to finish them up. We purchased the cubical organizer and ordered the rocker. Also today they're dropping off the furniture between 1-3. Which works out so nicely. This has been a stresser of mine all of August. You see we purposely went early to pick out the crib and dresser, hoping it would be delivered over the summer, when, might I add, it would be much more convenient for us. Well here it is, the last week of summer for me and it's being delivered. Thank goodness! Also, for goodness sakes, I can't wait to get it here and see the room continue to come together.

Another amen goes out to the school calling me today and letting me know that my room will be ready for me starting tomorrow. That is something I have been somewhat stressed over. They've been renovating the school and although my stuff was moved over there, I couldn't get into the room and put anything away. So next Monday and Tuesday that's what I'll be doing- fun stuff. I'm hoping being there will further spark my excitement about the new school year.

So there you have it- God showing me He has it under control. Nothing like an obvious reminder every once in a while to bring our focus back to where it belongs- on Jesus!

Philippians 2:13 "for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose"

Nusery!!!

Well the nursery is getting there! Two weeks ago, after getting back from the beach, I had Matt take down all the doors so I could start with painting those. They took me 3-4 days, but the work seemed easy since I got to sit while I did it. I also chatted on the phone or listened to my book on CD too (Eat, Love, Pray - wonderful book so far!).

Then last Saturday I had a friend from church, Josh, come help me with the trim. You see Matt is not a painter. I, for the most part, enjoy painting and feel I'm not horrible at it. I've painted most of the rooms in the house, all but three. So Matt did yard work while we painted. Painting with others makes it go by sooo much faster. It was nice having that time of fellowship with Josh as well. (If you remember, from a previous post, he was on my crew a Lebcamp this year.)

Then Friday I ventured out to get the paint for the walls and shades for the windows. I've always pictured the pleated shades for that room and was super excited to throw away those cheap mini-blinds that we've had in there.

Well after getting the paint I was motivated to get started. I had originally asked Josh to come back and help me out again. I wanted to tape off trim and start cutting in before Saturday. Well I was on a "roll" (haha) and taped all the trim, cut in the one green wall, cut in the purple walls, and then rolled the green wall. I texted Josh and told him I didn't really need him today since I had gotten so much done already. So this morning I woke up and got to work. I didn't think it would take me that long to do, but it was another 2 hours before I was done rolling the purple walls. I was exhausted afterwords! I cleaned up while Matt hung the shades up, showered, and took a 1.5 hour nap!

Now tomorrow I'm going to clean the carpet in there, with a borrowed cleaner machine. Then hopefully the furniture will be delivered this week.They are suppose to call Tuesday to set up a delivery date. So I'm thinking it should be here by the end of the week.

Wow I can't believe it is all coming together. Only by the grace of God that is for sure. I'm so grateful for all He has blessed us with. I'll end with a bible verse to sum up how I feel: "Trust in the Lord, with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and He will show you they way" Proverbs 3:5-6






Here are some pictures of what it looks likes so far. I can't wait until Garrett paints the garden mural on the green wall, it's going to look so great!

This weeks stuff...

The summer days are starting to wind down, but that doesn't mean I've been winding down. In fact, I feel like things around here have gotten busier. Monday was a super day because I found some fabric for the nursery curtains. It is so beautiful and I just can't wait to go to Becky's next Monday and make them. (I'll have to show you pictures once they're done).

Poor Annabelle had to be taken back to the vet to get rechecked because I was pretty sure her upper respiratory infection wasn't gone. Sure enough the vet agreed and this time we had to put her on a pill. She has done surprisingly well with them. She is such a trooper!

Then I also went to Zumba on Monday. It is the first time I've gone since summer started. I feel bad about that. This is one thing I'm trying to get back into my routine before school starts back up again. Lauren was active all day but after jumping around for an hour she seemed to chill out.

Tuesday I went to breakfast with my best friend Heather (also known as Garrett) and another girl we work with, Amy. I was super excited to find out that our friend is also expecting a wonderful bundle of joy. After breakfast Amy and I went shopping for maternity clothes. I had no maternity dress pant- showing up to school with no pants on is something I hope stays in my nightmares! This coming week I'm heading to Amy's house for a night of bunko- so fun! I've always wanted to play, and from what I've heard it is a game that is all about socializing- I'm there!

Wednesday was was all about getting stuff done around the house and running errands. These are the day's I think I will miss the most once I head back to work. I love getting that kind of stuff done when Matt is at work. That way when he comes home we can just chill out. I also did Middle School Night at church with the youth. That always makes for a great mid-week spiritual boost.

Thursday I was off to the pool with Garrett and the kids for the first time all summer. Last year we went weekly, but this summer has been so busy, it has been harder to get things organized. It blows my mind to see how much the boys have grown from last year. It scares me how fast Lauren is going to grow- I had a chat with her that she needs to stay small for a long time so I can enjoy every minute of it ;-).

I felt like writing this all down because so much of my summer is gone. It will be nice to remember a typical week. I've enjoyed getting together with friends, getting stuff done around the house, taking lots of naps, and enjoying the slowness of it all! I keep praying that life doesn't get to stressful once school starts- ha, who am I trying to fool?!?

Wednesday August 4th finally arrived!!

Well we went to the doctors and found out we're having a GIRL!!!!! I thought I would be a little disappointed because I had my heart set on a boy, but nope that lasted all of a few moments in time. You might stop reading here, since I gave away the goods already, but there is really a great story to go along with it, so keep on trucking reader!

We got up all excited and nervous of course. We had a plan to drop off Matt's car off at his work on our way and ride together. If you remember from previous posts that we are going to a different hospital then normal so we could have the appointment sooner. This hospital is further away so we needed more time for driving.

It was a rainy morning so driving conditions weren't the best, and top it off we left about 8 minutes late. I hate being late, and I hate rushing. When you live with my husband you often leave late and rush or leave late and show up late. He's slow like that. Today was no excuse. We did however sign into the appointment at 8:59 (the appointment was at 9:00). Thankfully we found the hospital with very little problems and the building too.

We sat in the waiting room for about a half hour, which mind you I don't understand. Why schedule me for one time and make me wait around forever? Why not just schedule me for a half hour later. Sometimes I wish I know someone who works at a doctors office so they can enlighten me as to how this system works.

Anyway, back on topic here. We get into the room and I tell the ultrasound tech right way that I'm interested in finding out the gender. She laughs at me. She gets me all gooped up and starts at the baby's head. I'm thinking in my head, if you start at the other end I'd be more interested in what you are saying lady. But one of the first things she does is give us a three-d image of the face. As soon as my eye saw it, I thought to myself "OMG, it looks just like me...it's gotta be a girl!!!" It was really weird, but I knew it without knowing it. This after being so mystified the whole pregnancy. She went along the rest of the body and showed us all her parts and took measurements. It was really cool to watch her hit me on the screen and then feel it at the same time. There is no denying it now little one, you like to hit your mommy!

When we finally got to the gender area, she wrote on the screen "Hi Mom and Dad, I'm a Girl!" I thought this was the cutest thing ever. After the doctor came in a told us all looked well I just couldn't stop smiling. It felt like my wedding day all over again. I called/texted everyone as Matt drove us to his work. My mom cried, and my stepmom told me "I knew it!" I had a few friends ask me if I was okay with it, and all I was thinking in my head was "Of course I'm okay with my baby girl- God had blessed me and I'm overjoyed with his gift to me!"

A time to relax!

I've been enjoying vacation with my husbands family this week and I love it. His family is so laid back and easy going; the opposite of my family! There is also something nice about getting away from the house that makes vacation so special.

After a week of sleep deprived work camp it took me four night of sleeping twelve hours to get caught up on my sleep. But finally this morning I woke up to a silent house and checked my email. My father-in-law woke up shortly after. We took a nice relaxing walk on the beach. There is something so calming about waves crashing on the beach. I wonder if the baby gets that calming feeling inside my tummy, being surrounded by 'water' all day. Sometimes I wish I could go inside there too ;-)

Speaking of baby. Wow, I'm huge. I've been begging God for the pregnancy tummy so I wouldn't just look fat to those that don't know me and boy did he deliver. This week I swear my belly has doubled in size, along with little 'soybean'. That has been nice, but the thought that I'm only going to get bigger is kinda scary.

Another note on the baby- last week Friday we were suppose to have our ultrasound to find out soybean's gender. Well that didn't happen. The Tuesday prior the office called and said they had a scheduling conflict. My heart sank. What does that mean?!? I just wanted to burst into tears, but I held it together. She couldn't reschedule me until TWO WEEKS later. I was devastated. I know that worse things are happening in the world, but it had already been 20 weeks of wondering- two more weeks felt like forever! How did women survive before ultrasounds I'll never know. That day I still had a doctors appointment and I told her about it. She suggested that we go down to the office and see if they had anything at another location sooner. They did. Now Aug. 4th is "The Day." I'm not sure God reasoning, but if there is something I've learned about God is we often never understand His reasoning, but it usually works out better His way.

We have entered the second half of vacation and I'm sad to think this wonderful time, like all things in life, must come to an end. But I'm going to remember and cherish this special time with my family and my wonderful husband. For that I'm very grateful! Here are some pictures for you to enjoy as well.















Matt and I enjoying the pool.















This is Matt, me, my sister-in-law Carrie, and her fiancee Chris at the beach.




















Matt and me on date night!

Working for the Lord: Part 1

I really wish I had the chance to write last week when I was at Lebcamp, but the point of Lebcamp was to leave the "world" outside and be one with Jesus. And boy did that happen! Sometimes you wish a missions trip or church camp could go on longer than one week, but reality is, we can't shut the world around us out forever.

I'll back up a bit and let you know what I'm rambling on about. Last week my church put on a youth work camp. The camp lasts for a week and the youth go out in crews to different work sites in our immediate community. The work ranges from painting to building onto houses. The youth spend the rest of their time in fellowship at the church.

Last year was the first year I was able to spend the entire week helping out. For the two years previous, I was only able to help out a day or two. Well did God rock my world!!! Seeing the kids grow in their faith, going in my faith, and everyone getting to share the experience together- it was awesome! I had a wonderful time with my crew and getting to know the youth at our church was great too. In fact, I continued working with them throughout the school year at the middle school and high school youth nights during the week. To say the least this years Lebcamp was highly anticipated for me, and God didn't let me down.

So this past week I got to know six new wonderful youth and one new "adult." I put adult in quotes because Josh and me talked all week about how hard the transition from youth to adult can be once you exit college. Josh was one of the many blessing I had. He was wonderful with the kids and had my kind of sarcastic sense of humor, so we got along just great. Both of us talked about how this week was really the beginning of a wonderful friendship. How awesome is our God?!

Although the week was full of blessing, that doesn't mean it was a week without a little struggle. Monday had been a hard day for me. I'm a crew adult and we're really there for support and encouragement. Each crew has a crew leader, a youth, who is in charge of keeping the kids on task and making sure things are getting done. Well my wonderful fearless leader, wasn't quite fearless yet. She was struggling, and me seeing this I jumped right in. At the end of the day I felt like I hadn't done the right thing. I spoke with Jason, the youth director, and he gave me some pointers. So on day two, after a night of prayer, I set out to be the perfect supporter. Well we almost got there. But I felt so frustrated because yet again I had to step in. I felt like I wasn't doing what God needed me to. I felt like I had let our crew leader down and myself.

Wednesday was a our "mystery" workday. This day was exactly what the crew needed. We went to a nursing home. There we put together a skit and put it on for the residents. Then we got to play a trivia game with them. We just got to relax. It was like God was telling us to chill and enjoy each other, and we did just that. By the time Thursday rolled around the crew leader was getting the hang of leading and I was feeling comfortable hanging back and encouraging her. On Friday I wasn't able to be there on site, but from the reports everyone gave me our crew leader kicked butt. God really worked with her and I all week. She is a wonderful young lady, who I know will go on to be a wonderful leader someday in whatever she does. God really showed us how relying on Him can change us all in just one week.

Lebcamp 2010

Well I've gone on long enough. There is more to come though, look for part 2 and I will let you know how our resident, Mrs. Clark, glows with God's love!!!

What to write...?

I got the idea to start a blog after seeing another person's blog. I'm thinking that is how must blogs start. I thought it was an interesting way to jot down ones thoughts and milestones. I had journals/diaries growing up but by high school that idea went to the wayside. I tried starting a journal again and do write in it on occasion, but I'm hoping that I will be more regular with this. I also prefer typing over writing. First of all typing has spell check, and I should probably pre-warn you now that I can't spell worth a hill of beans (even with spell check). I often leave "s" off the end of plural words or switch up homophones. So with this I'll begin with a short version of what's been going on in my life.

I am a Christian and love that I have a loving God. He has blessed me daily since I accepted Him into my heart. I hope to never forget that. Sometime I'm sure I will let you know how I picked the name for this blog. It's rooted in His word!

I am also a wife to the most wonderful husband, Matt. I sometimes think I don't let him know it enough, but I sure do love him. God has blessed me in so many ways through him. I sometimes look back and wonder if I knew how great he was and would be back then. I must have known, why else would I have married him? Maybe I'm in such awe of how well matched we are now that I think, how could I have know how well we were made for each other. Sometimes when we do things that are similar at the same time or have the same thoughts we say "Oh, we're so perfect for each other." Deep down inside I know that is nothing but the truth!

Matt and I have recently been blessed by God with a baby. We are super excited and have been loving our little "soy bean" (if you watch The Office you'll understand the reference) since before we knew we were pregnant. It was a long road, which I'm sure I write more on another day. We only have to wait one more week to know boy? or girl?- the big question. Some people elect to wait and find out what it is at birth, but if you know me, the first 20 weeks of not knowing was hard enough. Plus, the Lord knows I really want a gender specific nursery. So my prayers lately have been that He will reveal to us what we have inside this tummy of mine. Only time will tell.

Also you should know that I'm a teacher and I love my job. This past year was a little trying, okay a whole LOT of trying. But I know in my heart of hearts that God put me with those specific students for a reason. Not sure I understand it quite yet, but He doesn't always reveal to us His mater plan when we "want" Him too. I have also been "chosen" to move schools for next year. I honestly believe it was an answer to prayer. Maybe that is why God made last year such a growing year for me, so I would be open to this new endeavor. I sure will miss those close to me though. I'm also not looking forward to being six month pregnant and unpacking all those boxes in the new classroom- I'll be needing your prayers those days for sure.

I don't know if anyone will read my posts or keep up with my blog, but that really doesn't matter to me. My goal is to use this as a way to remind me of God's blessing in my everyday life. To have a place to write them down and be able to look back on them and remind myself, when needed, how blessed I really am! And with this I'll end with a quote from scripture "...let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16