Ready, Set, Move!!

It's finally here! I get the keys to our new place tonight and the big move happens tomorrow (though in true Bethany fashion, the closet will be moved in tonight). I am so thrilled about this!! We're really in the home stretch now to be Baby Ready. The rumors I've heard about nesting are true...I have a lot of energy to clean and get things ready (well, for the first half of the day anyway) and I'm really enjoying it. Yesterday, I found a very cool Laundromat and washed our gigantic comforter-that was very important to me.

I was expecting to be miserable these last weeks of pregnancy, simply because that's what I've heard from other people, but I'm not and I'm loving it. There is something so sweet and exciting about knowing your baby could come anytime, but not knowing what that time is. I've been knocking things around and bumping into tons of stuff with my belly, but I'm still really enjoying pregnancy. I've told Cocoapuff that he absolutely cannot come or start labor until AFTER our new home is set up! My Dr. thinks there is actually something to the will of a mother to keep her baby in-she joked that she would see me at the hospital on Sunday. ;) I doubt it, but that would be funny! I hope to take lots of pics over the next few days and be a more interesting blogger-because picture posts are always better.

No Noah for Baby

George and I are very fortunate that our cultural differences are obvious. Since we do have such obviously different pasts, we don't take for granted our backgrounds and assume that the other person has the same view or experience. We feel very blessed by this. Of course, it has led to lots of conversations about how we are going to "do life" from those first days of him being in America, to the place where we are now, how are we going to parent?

We aren't dumb enough to think that we can figure out how to be good parents and everything will just work out, especially before baby is even here. We know there will be lots of learning along the way, but we want to start somewhere and we want to be purposeful in our parenting.

We have a lot of dreams and expectations for Cocoapuff and ideas about our parenting style. However, the most important thing for us as parents is that our son (and any future children) knows the Lord. That he hears scripture regularly, that he learns who God is and who God wants him to be, and that ultimately, he makes the choice to have a relationship with our great Savior. We want him to feel comfortable asking questions about God and all the confusing things in the Bible (even if we don't have the answers). We want him to trust that God is BIG and is intimately involved in his life (especially when the day comes that he doesn't feel that way). We want him to carefully examine what people say about God and Scripture and Christian living so that he is not easily led astray. That's a big job! We aren't sure exactly how we'll do this, but with prayer and help, we have faith that we can raise kids this way....and when we put this first, everything else will fall into place.

This is why Cocoapuff won't have Noah story books. In fact, all of his Christian/Bible stories will be carefully screened. While I think it's totally sweet to try and make scripture understandable for small children, I don't think all of those stories are suitable for that audience, and I think that it leads to some great confusion. Noah is my biggest pet peeve (though the Veggie Tales about David's sin with Bathsheba being dumbed down to rubber duckies is pretty high on my list as well). I think the majority of children's books about Noah put an emphasis on the animals, a boat and rain. They make it look all sweet and cute and happy, like God had created the first zoo, or cruise vacation. What is missed however, is that this is a story about God's wrath and an amazing promise. I mean seriously, He destroyed EVERYTHING!! The difference is huge and makes God out to be a very different type of guy. I think it's tough on kids to dumb down scripture so much that they don't get the picture of who God is and then one day, hope that they will all of the sudden get it. (BTW, I don't know what books any of my bloggy friends read their kids and if yours read Noah, not a big deal! I'm not judging people who do read Baby Bible Stories, just saying why I won't.) So obviously, I think too much about this kind of thing, but it's my blog so I can put it out there.

While I search for Baby Bible Stories that I do think are appropriate, Cocoapuff will hear straight up scripture-but not the parts about sex or killing or the end of the world...he'll have plenty of time for that later.

Life and Baby Happenings...

We move THIS weekend! I am so excited to get into our bigger place and set up our little boy's room and his newborn area in our room! I can't believe it's actually here. I'm glad I started packing early or I don't think I would finish in time. The messy/boxed up/organized yet disorganized home thing is kind of driving me crazy!! I think this weekend will actually be a lot of fun, we have a lot of help from family so I'm sure it will turn into more of a moving party than just a boring move.

Nine months is a long time. Sometimes it seems like years ago that we found out we were having a baby and others I'm shocked that his arrival is so soon!! He'll be "full term" this weekend so I guess we can expect him anytime. He and I have had several conversations about when is an okay time to come and when is not...hopefully, he's obedient and we have some more time. ;) He continues to be healthy, active and measure right on target.

Life is about to change for us in a huge way. I feel really happy and excited about it all (I do have freak out moments when I'm afraid I won't hear him cry in the night, but other than that, I'm excited). I wonder all the time what he will look like and what his personality will be like. I'm really looking forward to meeting him and will strive to take everything in and really be in the moment. What a fun way to start a new year!

One Month!

The countdown has begun! Cocoapuff is due one month from today!! I had a great Dr.'s appointment today and pre-registered at the hospital. Now, I just need to move, get a haircut and pack a bag. :) Things are about to get a lot more fun around here!

The State of Our Union

For as long as I can remember, in the week between Christmas and New Years, my parents would go on a long date and discuss the past year and the goals and expectations of the future. They called this their State of the Union Date and made it a priority. We are following their lead and do the same thing. It's pretty fun actually.

Yesterday, we had a great day and finished it off with our State of the Union meeting. No one can really foresee what a year will hold, but this past year definitely threw us some curve balls. My brother mentioned recently that when one of us (my family members) suffers, we all suffer. So true. We suffered through death, job loss, health issues, hard waiting, financial distress and more that can't be mentioned. There were a lot of tears and many unanswered questions. Basically, it was a tough year! I took great joy in throwing away my 2011 calendar...it had things on it that I didn't want to see or remember. In spite of all those things, it was a good year too. God did not fail us. We have grown in so many ways this year-as a family, as a couple and as individuals. As an added bonus and much to my surprise, we actually achieved a lot of our goals!

2012 will be so different, wonderfully different. For starters, we're adding a baby pretty soon here! Secondly, G is only working 1 job, which actually has career growth and I am not working outside the house. We're moving soon as well! We have a lot of hopes and dreams and goals for 2012. Who knows what will happen this year? I don't, but the One who does has got my back. I plan to enjoy the ride and take things as they come. Goodbye 2011. Bring it on 2012!

Christmas Wrap-Up

This was a truly wonderful Christmas! In addition to marvelling at what God has done, we had some really wonderful festivities with family!!

G had to work until noon on Christmas Eve, so I headed to Ryan and Tiffany's without him. They hosted a wonderful brunch that was full of great food and laughter. JJ stole the show and we all enjoyed being a part of his 1st Christmas. Uncle G and Aunt Bethany gave him (and future foster kids) a play tent with tunnel. I love this picture...that's 5, yes 5 adults putting the tent and tunnel together.

 JJ is a hefty little fellow and none of the 1st Christmas shirts came in his size, so he wore it unbuttoned. It kept sneaking up out of his jeans and looked like a whale tale!! It killed me! The sweet little guy had a blast in the tent (so did Uncle Justin) and loved being the center of attention.

 Once G got off, we enjoyed some relaxing couple time, then joined Mom and Dad and headed to our church for the Christmas Eve service. It was packed, but SO SO wonderful!! My favorite part is when the lights are turned out and one candle starts the lighting of the the thousands! Then, it snows! :)

 Afterwards, it was party time! Christmas Eve at Justin and Kim's! The boys were all looking very dapper.

 And I look fat, instead of pregnant in this pic. Oh well.

 We had so much fun as a family and again, the food was delish! JJ of course, continued to have a captive audience.

 On Christmas morning, G and I opened our gifts and hung out for a bit before heading to my parents'. George is so sweet and thoughtful and really loves to give great gifts. This one is especially sweet. It's a Michael Kors watch that G bought because it looks like and reminds him of the watch I wore when we first met. How flippin' sweet is that?

Aaaaaand, the Coach diaper bag I've had my eye on! I will get LOTS of use out of this!! I'm pretty excited about it!

My dad made a really cool sign for Justin. Notice Dad's new "Pops hat"? Cool, I know.

 This was a small family year for us-only 6 people stayed all day! My mom took advantage of the smaller crowd and SERIOUSLY outdid herself in the food department. The standing rib roast was a huge hit.  

 It was a wonderfully relaxing and restful day!

 We finished our festivities with this KILLER cake! It's chocolate gingerbread with ganache layers and the frosting is ginger infused whipped cream. Like I said, mom outdid herself.

Who knows what next year will be like? I have a feeling that relaxing and restful might not be on top of the list with a little one. ;)

Ready for Christmas!!

I am so looking forward to family time this weekend and all the Christmas festivities!! My dad is off today, so we are gonna head out to lunch and do some last-minute shopping together! :o)

Tomorrow, my sister and her hubby are hosting a Christmas Eve brunch at their house; we have a Christmas Eve service at church (I'm not gonna lie-I will be so mad if we get put in overflow again this year and miss the "snow") and thhhhheeeennnnnn, Christmas Eve, a.k.a PARTY OF THE YEAR at my brother and sister-in-law's house! It's gonna be so fun! G works tomorrow, but only for 3 hours so we can totally deal. :)

In baby news, Cocoapuff is still doing great and his growth is right on target-34 weeks tomorrow! I'm feeling pretty huge lately, but I don't mind. My Dr. mentioned this week that even in-utero boys are stronger (typically bigger), have different muscle-mass and temperaments and really do just kick harder than girls. I feel like Cocoapuff heard her and is trying to prove his manhood lately! Also, my pregnancy giggles have not let up...the latest thing that keeps me laughing is that G calls diapers Baby Panties. I don't know why, but that is SO FUNNY to me!

Merry Christmas! Hopefully I won't be lame this year and I will actually take pictures. :)

Goings on...

I can't believe that Christmas is so close!! It really snuck up on me this year and doesn't quite seem as festive as usual. Weird. I am really looking forward to some time this weekend to enjoy family.

G is doing well in his new job and we are still so thankful for it. I must admit though, that I wasn't quite prepared for all the changes, I thought I was....but I was wrong. The job is great and a much anticipated change, but it still brings some good stress, which is better than bad stress, but stress nonetheless. It's a whole new ballgame for us. Even though he works fewer hours a week and has weekends, it's been a big change. We aren't able to communicate as much throughout the day and I can't just drop by and see him like I used to. I really miss those little interactions! I know this is just an adjustment period, and we have a lot of big changes in life right now. Soon, this will be our new normal...and then that will change as well. :)

Thanks to the new job, we sure are loving our weekends! Unfortunately, this weekend I got siiiiiick (which is kind of freaky when you're pregnant). My hubby sure did step up to the plate though and blessed me so much. Not only did he take care of me, he also did all of the house chores I would have done early this week so that I could just rest. Since I so rarely get sick, I've never really seen this side of G, it was so precious! I sure am blessed. :)

In other news, we are now biological Aunt and Uncle! Cocoapuff's cuz Sophia was born this week! She is so little and pretty! It was surreal to visit them and think, this could be us in just 7 weeks (or less)! Newborns are so amazing, they put life and God into perspective. Yay for a growing family!!



No belly pic this week, because G is so busy! We will take one soon...this dancing baby is getting BIG! :) That baby ticker on the right says we have 47 days till his due date! Holy cow that's close!! I finished the drapes for Cocoapuff's room this week and have sorted his clothes and boxed up his sweet little things so we can set up his room as soon as possible. 47 days seems way closer than the week or month count! Goodness, I have a lot to do!

Quick to judge

I recently had a facebook friend post that they had found a wallet and were going to return it the owner. The next post was that the Coach wallet that had been found had 2 WIC cards in it and that the poster had a problem with that.

I don't know if it's called WIC in other areas, but WIC is State food assistance for pregnant/nursing moms and young children (it's need based). I see several possibilities for a woman to have a Coach wallet AND government assistance cards in said wallet.

• The wallet could be a cheap knock-off.
• The wallet could have been purchased at Goodwill or a garage sale.
• The wallet could have been a gift from someone.
• The wallet could have been purchased during more affluent/better times.
• The wallet could have been won at work for doing a good job.
• The wallet could have been purchased by a woman who can afford it and has WIC cards for her foster kids.

Or possibly, that person with the wallet spends their money unwisely. Possibly they did buy an expensive wallet, while tax payers foot the bill for food for her family. The way I see it though, there are a lot of other possibilities.

Why is it so easy to judge so quickly and to choose to believe the worst about someone, someone we don't even know? This little facebook blip made me sad. It made me sad for the unknown Coach wallet lady and sad that this is so common-judge quickly and harshly. That's just yuck.

Week One

G is headed home from his first week at his new job! It has been quite the busy week. We are so blessed and thankful for this job and George loves it already. I do hope though, that things slow down just a little bit-this was training and orientation week after all.

I'm not sure if I mentioned before the driving aspect of this job. We are so blessed that G's actual work location is in our suburb and only about 15 minutes away. We could not have asked for better. For training however, he had to go to the main office, which is waaaay south. So south, that it requires driving on the interstate for about 24 miles before he even gets to his exit. Before this job, G had never driven this route, or spent that long of a distance on the [poorly planned, over crowded, way too many semis on it] interstate. Monday morning was his first solo run. He turned on the news shortly before leaving for us to find out that the interstate was closed several exits before his due to a terrible accident with fatalities!! Did I mention that it was also hovering around freezing and raining?? My heart sank and tried very hard not to mother my sweet hubby and just to give it to God. We prayed together and he was off. I went back to bed, but just lay there praying for his safety and protection. In record time, G called to say he was there! Apparently they had reopened the road as he left and tons of other commuters had already taken another route. Thank you, Jesus! The driving thing makes me nervous. This week has been a big test for me in who I think my life (and George's) really belongs to. I have to give George back to God over and over again...something I should hurry up and learn since Cocoapuff is coming soon! G has done awesome with the driving and I'm so proud of him!

And since it's my blog, let me just brag on my husband again for 5 seconds. He found out on Monday just how many applicants there were for this position, how many were interviewed and the few that got the job. He is the 1%. Wow! I am very proud of him, but we both also recognize that God is so good to us. I'm excited to see what the future holds.

P.S. I had an awesome baby shower last weekend...I'm still working on a post for that. :)

Walking by faith continued...

Despite how much I do share about our life, there is still a lot I leave off of the blog. There are a lot of reasons for that, one has been keeping discouraging comments/people at bay...so while in the thick of things, I try to just shut up...I'm only successful sometimes. I think it's time to share some of the recent details of our faith walk.

Over the last few months a LOT has been going on, and all at once it seems. Here are the high points. Sorry, this will be long.

Unemployment. All the unemployment stuff was pretty stressful for me...like more stressful than I anticipated. George was a great support and I am so thankful for him! I got through my hearing and found out the next day that I won. I immediately received the judgment from the hearing officer explaining why I won. I felt very confident in the decision, but more importantly, I felt validated. Then, the day after Thanksgiving I found out that my former employer is challenging the appeal! That was pretty upsetting because this crap just keeps dragging on!! Also, if they win this appeal (which is unlikely, but you never know), I have to pay back my unemployment, so it puts us in an odd financial situation. I'm not sure what will happen next and we don't have a timeline. I'm praying the commissioner who makes the decision sticks to the norm and that there is no hearing...just a quick decision in my favor. More practice in just giving the hard and stressful things over to God.

Housing. As you may have guessed, with George's job situation and the unemployment issue, keeping and/or finding a place to live was getting tricky. I had no clue where we would live or where exactly our Cocoapuff was going to sleep. Some days, that was pretty overwhelming. However, God just kept giving us peace and gentle guidance through it all, we are so thankful. We thought of ways to keep our current little 1 bedroom, but then got the lease renewal info and were shocked by the pricing. To keep rent as low as possible (but still a lot higher than what we pay now) we would have to sign on for another long term lease. A whole year here with a third person did not seem like a good idea (our bedroom is too small for a crib, so baby would be in the dining area, which has no real walls or sound barrier). We checked on a bigger apartment here (small, 1 bedroom/study) and that was super pricey as well! Despite the discouragement, we started checking around and looking into other options. We tried to take our wants off the list and just focus on needs- price, space, location and most importantly, SAFETY. That was harder to find than we thought. Except for God. On a whim, I stopped into an apartment G had been interested in-I hadn't gone in before because I knew we couldn't afford it. Much to my surprise, I was wrong!! This was definitely the place God had for us. A week later, and without really knowing how the future would work out (or even being positive we could make ends meet), we signed a lease for a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom. We'll be moving 3 weeks before Cocoapuff's due date. This apartment has not just our needs, but every want that I tried not to think about. God provided above and beyond for us, even the little things...tile floors, huge closets and no vertical blinds! Our God gave us such a wonderful gift in this apartment and we are so blessed and excited to be able to live there.

Job. Goodness, goodness. There is really too much to say on this one. George had a lot of interviews over the past few months. Notably, there was a very hopeful position with another retail company. G had 3 or 4 interviews with them that all went very well. The position was management, salaried, had benefits and we could see it being a good thing for us. George was offered the job. Only the position was not what had been promised. It was a much lower management position; it had benefits, but no one would tell us what they were, how much they cost, or when they went into effect. Oh, and it wasn't a salary, it was an insultingly low hourly rate and he couldn't have another job to make up for the pay cut. All in all, the title of the job was better than what he had, but the income would be less and there was a lot about it that just wasn't right. It was very hard to turn it down (in addition, there was a lot of other outside relational junk going on that made this situation even harder). We felt very confused and discouraged about God's plan for us and what our future might hold. Things were getting very tough and we could see the bottom of the savings account in the not too distant future. Though disappointed, we doubled our job search efforts and tried to keep brave faces. To our cautious delight, one of the literally dozens of jobs applied for got back to G pretty quickly and the ball started rolling on the interview process.

One month, crazy international paperwork drama, several trips to South Austin, 3 interviews and one branch observation later....G was offered the job!! This one, he accepted. :) We are so, so thankful!!!! This job will provide for our family, has great career potential and insurance will kick in shortly after Cocoapuff arrives. For 23 months (longer, possibly) we have been asking God for a career job and He has given it!! WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!

I have learned a few things from this struggle and process. The biggest thing I've learned is that I cannot know God's timing or reason for allowing/making us wait for things, but that's okay. I've learned to slow down and try to enjoy the wait. I realized that God really does have a plan for us. He has a plan when skies are blue and life is great and He has a plan when we are in the midst of storms and darkness. I have learned we can BOLDLY go to our God with our needs and requests and He really does care-we cannot expect too much of Him. I have learned that obedience and walking by faith can be scary, but it's also wonderful. We try to be wise and to make good decisions-sometimes though, that "wisdom" and "logic" is very earthly. I've learned that the answer is to simply trust in God and follow Him, one scared step at a time. I've learned when you do that, people think you're crazy (and other nasty things).

We want to be very clear that God is our provider, our rock and salvation, in all things and regardless of how we are coping with life's tough times. We trust Him with our eternity and we trust Him with our day to day needs and desires. This job, or any job, is certainly not The Answer. It is however, a wonderful way to receive God's provision and we are thrilled! Over and over again, God takes our impossibles and makes them possible. We are so, so blessed and more grateful than we can express.

Preparing, preparing!!

With all the uncertainty of job, living situation and finances, I have not been able to prepare for Cocoapuff as much as I thought I would have by now. Until this week! I have had a BLAST preparing for the little guy! :)

It started last week with some mega-coupons and JoAnn (saved a TON by printing coupons from their website...it was way better than the ones they send out in the mail). My mom and dad went with me so we could each use a coupon-and dad waited in the cutting line like a champ! Then, we went to Lowe's...that made up for dad having to suffer through JoAnn and got the needed supplies for refinishing Cocoapuff's crib!!

We bought a very simple crib early on with the intent of refinishing it for a custom look at a fraction of the price. I completely took over our apartment to tackle this project, but now the basic white crib is a rich "Molten Penny". I LOVE IT! Can't wait to see it assembled in his room with all the fabrics. :) I'm not sure how well the final color photographs because it's a metallic w/ shimmer...pics just don't do it justice. I am glad I didn't wait to refinish it 'til we were in the new place as being any bigger would not have worked! Excuse my yucky painting look.

Next, I started on my burp cloth stash!! One of the very few up sides to working at that bad place, was being exposed to lots of different products. One of the items I loved were the Bebe Au Lait burp cloths (Bebe Au Lait and Hooter Hiders are the same fancy company:). Unfortunately, they are expensive....$22 for 3 cloths!! I got a set at a massive discount so I could use it as inspiration. Then, I made my own version. I learned how to make bias tape and had a lot of fun figuring it out. I made 14 of my version for about $14! Boo-yah Bebe Au Lait! The big name one is on the left and mine is on the right.

Yesterday is where the real fun came in! My mom and I spent 6 hours working on Cocoapuff's bedding. I had sketched the design and written out what fabric went where, but when it came time to actually cut it, we certainly needed BOTH of our brains! Ha ha! Here is a little taste of the bumper pads.... BTW, I am aware that bumper pads are pretty controversial, and I have made an informed decision to use them. ;)

The bed skirt was a super fun project and ended up being a hybrid of several different paper patterns and online tutorials.

Here is a taste of the skirt...that rug won't be in the baby's room, but it looks kind of cool with it. :)

I am so thankful for a great sewing machine, for having been taught how to sew, for being able to prepare for my baby and I am most thankful for having such a great mom to do these things with!!

It's really fun to be pregnant as we approach Christmas. I think a lot about Mary and how she prepared for Jesus. I wonder what her swaddling cloths were like and what other things she did in anticipation for his arrival. Fun thought. And here is the 30 week bump. This little boy is getting BIG!

It finally happened...

Generally, I'm not a very fearful person. However, since I've been pregnant, I have been afraid of falling-I'm not sure why, but it's The Big Scary to me.

On Black Friday, we had an immigration appointment. The appointment went amazingly well-it was super fast and easy and COMPLETELY drama free. As we left the immigration center and headed to the car, it finally happened. I'm not sure what led to what, but before I knew it, in all my pregnant glory, I ate it!! I had slammed down on my knee and ended up on my butt half way on the sidewalk and halfway in the parking lot.

Thankfully, G was with me and I think even slowed the fall and thankfully, The Belly was safe and Cocoapuff is fine. My one pair of awesome Pea in the Pod maternity jeans on the other hand, ripped!! (And of course I got them on a great deal, so I can't replace them for what I paid.) I wasn't quite sure at one point if I was crying because I was scared of hurting Cocoapuff, because I was embarrassed, because my knee hurt or because I ruined my jeans!

So since it finally happened, I hope the fear of falling and the actual falling part is out of my system...I've reached my quota. I'm also hoping I can find a great Cyber Monday deal on some new maternity jeans.

Thanksgiving!!

I sure do love this time of year and I really love that we slow down and take a moment to just be thankful.

This is the first Thanksgiving since we were kids that all the siblings AND my dad will be here (he usually works on Thanksgiving). Aaaaand, it's the first time ever that all of us are together with our spouses. Wonderful!

This has been a VERY tough year for most of my family. There has been a lot of loss and heartache. There's been a lot of hurt (and when one of us hurts, many of us hurt right along with them). There has been a lot of painful waiting...and silence from our great God. There's been higher than usual amounts of stress on most of us. There's been struggling on many, many fronts. Frankly, it's been really hard.

Except for God. Because of Him, that's not the end of the story. Our God has come to us and blessed us in more ways than we can count, and maybe even more ways than we will ever know. He has and continues to bring healing to our hearts and to the hurt that lingers. He has a plan in the midst of all the waiting...sometimes He shares the plan, other times, not so much. Even in that though, we are not without hope, we are not without faith, and we are certainly not alone. He has reminded us to lean not on our own understanding and to keep giving our stress and our troubles back to Him. NONE of us has gone without needs! God continues to provide for us in BIG ways. He hears our prayers and answers us and He comes to us in our time of need. I am so thankful for that and I am so thankful that I am in a family that celebrates that as well.

God is so good to us. Happy Thanksgiving!

Joy Thieves

I go to a Bible Study at church on Thursdays and I've really been enjoying it. We have a lecture (which is always great!) and then break up into a small group for discussion. It's been a huge blessing to me and I want to share some of it.

Last week, a woman was sharing something her husband had just said to her. He told her, "Comparison is the thief of all joy." It got me to thinking about joy and how if I allow it to happen, it really can be stolen away. I will admit, while comparing "stuff" isn't a gigantic struggle for me, comparing character and what I think the related blessings are, is. For instance, I don't really covet people's specific jobs or salary, but I might look at someone and think, "That person doesn't even work half as hard as my husband does and/or he doesn't care about God at all and look at the great job he has." Doing that really steals the joy and diminishes the blessing I have in an amazing hard working husband. I do NOT want to do that!

This statement got me to thinking, what else do I allow to steal my joy? One area has been anxiety over pregnancy weight gain...yes, I'm serious. I was super freaking out about the weight gain (something everyone KNOWS is gonna happen and is healthy!!) and I really was letting it steal some of the joy of this amazing pregnancy. I'm working on giving it back to God anytime that anxiety creeps up and focusing on the joy of a healthy, smooth pregnancy.

Here is my huge one. People and my emotions toward them. I allow people and their asinine comments or actions to rain on my parade and steal my joy, not just once, but over and over again! You have probably gathered this about me. I don't want that to keep happening. I'm not going to let the joy of life in general, or big or small events be trampled or stolen either by people specifically or by my lack of control in my emotions towards those people. I am working on "...taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ." Some days, it's pretty easy, other days....not so much.

I am thankful for a great Bible Study.

The Thanksgiving cut...

In celebration of life, health and with Thanksgiving on the brain and in my heart, I made the cut! 11 inches to be exact. Sending my hair off to Pantene to be made into a wig for a cancer patient. Happy early Thanksgiving!! P.S. I hate self taken pictures.

Nieces & Nephews

My little sister and her hubby are embarking on a new adventure....Foster Parenting!!

Ryan and Tiffany

They got licensed today and could get placed at any moment! I will admit, when I first heard they wanted to do this I was worried for them and wondered how much they had thought this through and if they realized how hard this would be (but I didn't say any of that to her, just asked some pointed questions;). While love and concern made me think that way, it was kind of silly because we are all called to do hard things and that shouldn't slow us down from obedience. I'm sure people are thinking the same about us right now! I prayed for them and for this adventure and God has made it clear that this is what they are called to do. I am very proud of them and so excited for their faith walk and new adventure.

While George and I are not called to this same mission right now, we have a huge part to play-my whole family does, really. The children who will come in and out of my sister and brother in-law's home are going to be needy. They are most likely not from Christian homes and their time in foster care may be the only time in their lives that they have a real family and a Christ loving one at that! While Ryan and Tiffany will care for these kids full time, our family will be a much needed support system. We have the opportunity to make a BIG impact in the lives of these little ones!

I am excited to see what the future holds and am praying for my future "nieces and nephews" however many that is and however long they are in our lives! The holidays may be verrry interesting this year. ;)

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

Birthday Boy!

Today is my hot husband's 30th Birthday!!

I am SO THANKFUL for him! He is so wonderful! He's loving, supportive, patient, kind, outgoing, funny, thoughtful, gorgeous, talented, smart, wise, humble, HARD WORKING, loyal, sweet and all around the best guy ever!! I am very, very blessed to be married to him and this baby is one fortunate guy to have George as his daddy!

I wanted today to be super special since 30 seems like a big deal, but as is usual for this man, he's working 13 hours today. No major gifts this year, and no time for a major celebration today, but it's a good day anyway. I'm filling it with all his favorites (to start, Chick-Fil-A for breakfast:) and making sure he knows just how awesome he is. Hopefully, we will get to REALLY celebrate soon! Happy 30th my Love!!

How exactly does this kid get out?

Last night was our first childbirth class. It was fun and funny. We made it a real date and followed it up with a hearty dessert!! (And btw, I found out yesterday that my glucose test was clear, no gestational diabetes...so we had to celebrate!)

The class was full of information and very relaxed, I am so glad we are taking it and look forward to the next 5 weeks.

Of course, there was a movie of an actual labor and delivery (on a GIGANTIC screen). I looked around and several of the dads in the class were hiding their faces! Thankfully, George was not one of them. He did comment afterwards that the husband sure did do a lot of work, he must have been tired. Ummmmm.....I'm just gonna leave that alone. The baby from the movie was 8lb 9oz and nearly everyone gasped or made comments about what a huge baby that was, I think some of those people are gonna be in for a huge surprise! lol!

The biggest thing G learned last night was that he will have to time contractions (I guess I forgot to mention that...oh yeah, and that we will stay home as long as possible, that was a surprise to him too)...they also told him how to do it. One step closer to being prepared.

We filled out a questionnaire with general info and had the opportunity to specify a topic we were most interested in having covered. Someone may or may not have said, "What do I do when the baby comes out?" So. Flippin. Funny. I didn't write that down.

We got to know some of the other couples in class and the topic of staying home with baby came up. One mom seemed kind of sad when I said I would and her husband made a joke about why they need her to work. I felt bad for her and blessed at the same time. Staying home to raise our baby is a conviction, a step of obedience and a sacrifice for us. One we think is well worth it. For now, everything seems to be lining up for us to continue with that plan. We are so thankful for a loving God who meets our needs and we pray that we will continue to be good stewards so we can follow through for the long haul.

Oh, and here is little dude at 27 weeks...

Happy November!!

I can't believe it's November already! I love November and we have a lot of big and fun things happening this month, most notably:

• George's 30th Birthday!!
• 3rd trimester starts. :)
• Unemployment hearing. :-/
• THANKSGIVING!!!!
• Gingerbread Lattes at Starbucks. Woot woot!!

I'm anxious about my hearing (which is Thursday!) but happy to get it over with. I think I am prepared as I can be.

I can't believe how fast this baby and his arrival are approaching. There's been another glitch in the whole living situation thing, but it will be okay. I'm not sure how, but I'm just givin' it back to God.

I'm excited for G's Birthday and hope we have more than just aging to celebrate! I want to make it a special day for him, even though it looks like he'll work all. day. long.

I love me some Thanksgiving!! I love that we spend sweet times together as a family, I love all the delicious food and I love that we slow down and recount God's goodness to us, especially in the midst of trials. This has been a tough year for a lot of my family members and I know many of us are looking forward to the encouragement and joy of Thanksgiving and to the dedicated time to thank God as we move forward.

And it's just Fall-ish and wonderful. We are really trying to slow down and take joy in the small things...things like a great cup of coffee on a chilly morning. Things like watching little birds and being reminded that God is caring for those little birds, how much more for us?

I post a lot about our worries or the hard things happening, it really helps me to process when I write it down and get it out. I don't want to give a one sided picture though, we are happy and very blessed in spite of our circumstances...I just don't need to "process" that as much. :)

Happy November!!