Baby Girl's Room

Baby Girl's room is starting to come together AND get extremely cluttered at the same time. hahaha. Proof:

No, we didn't get excited and put together all the gear in the room. They are either garage sale finds, hand-me downs or items that have been lent to us completely assembled. The only thing  we actually put together is the crib. But the Little One (LO) is definitely starting to take over our house and A is trying to make sure it stays contained in her room. So much fun and entertainment! haha.

And we've chosen a paint color for her walls which was the fastest/easiest paint decision we've made. Fun! :D

And now that I've shared that picture, it's off to go finish my "to-dos" for the day. Update the registries (AKA delete items), confirm the puppy's grooming appt, and the normal daily chores :)

Today has been such a beautiful morning and I am so thankful God's blessing of it!! :D

Garage Sales & 23 Weeks

Last Saturday Hubs and I got up at 6 A.M. (I can't believe I got up at 6AM willingly hahaha) and embarked on our first garage sale experience. Uhm...why have we not done this before?? It was fun and really nice spending the time together before I had to go to work and we got some neat things for baby girl! It was exciting.

I am 23 weeks 5 days and little girl moves ALL the time! She's decided to start kicking WHILE doing somersaults which is an interesting feeling. We almost have all the furniture for her room - then all we'll have left to do is pick a paint color, we're between 2, and paint her room! I'm SO excited. I feel like everything is coming together and she'll be here in a 4 months. Craziness!

In other news, the Hubs informed me that I'm the most impatient person he knows  when I'm excited about something. Then he left me home alone with a disassembled crib. It's assembled now. Haha :)

Productivity!

This week I have cleaned and organized every room in the house (except for laundry room). It feels really GREAT to have everything sparkling and I definitely feel less stressed about everything which is nice. Baby girl has been kicking me like crazy and I have been SO ridiculously hungry to day. 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, now a snack... hahaha the joys of being pregnant.

In more fun baby news - we got our little girl's bedding today thanks to A's parents. It's SO cute - I just love it! I can't wait until we have a crib and storage and can start putting her room together! I, however, am now debating on if we should switch the office and her room. I like the light in the room that is currently going to be her room, but it gets so warm in there. I like that the office is cooler, but I don't like the window placement or the fact at it is so dim in it. And I'm also now wondering if we should change her crib/furniture colors from espresso to white. I can't  wait for A to get home from work so we can discuss it. :D

I finished my Halloween costume today! Well, almost, I just need to hem the skirt portion of it which will also need to wait for A to get home from work to help me figure out the length. AND I made Charger's appointment to get neutered. I wanted to cry. I hate the thought of him being in pain. :-(  Gotta suck it up, haha. :D

SO now it's off to start on baby girl's Christmas stocking :)

Have I mentioned this is such an exciting time?!

Joy

I really enjoy moments like these where it's quiet and I can see the movements of a precious little life growing bigger each day.... especially when I've had a stressful day. Hi my little love, you're already such a huge blessing to our family. 

Our little girl is super active... pretty much all the time and she rolls ALL the time. When she does she ends up pushing a part of herself - usually her little tushy - all the way up against my tummy making it all lopsided and hard. Well, tonight she was rolling around a lot and it felt different then usual - I looked down at my belly and there are two distinct hard bumps - one on each side of my belly button (though a little lower). I got to feel her little head AND her little tushy at the same time! I am overwhelmed with emotions right now :D

20 weeks!

Last Wednesday was the 20 week mark! We're at the halfway point and we are SO excited to let you know that we are having a....

GIRL!!!

A has been convinced that she was a little girl for weeks now. Me, on the other hand, I have been convinced that she was a little boy for months now. When the ultrasound tech told us that she's a girl, I actually questioned her. "Are you sure?"  "Yes, there are no boy parts there".  I hope she didn't think I was disappointed or was hoping our baby would be one gender over the other - I was just genuinely shocked.

We are really excited for her to be here - We can't wait for February - though the new Daddy says he needs the next few months :P


We spent the other night in her room trying to visualize how we are going to decorate and set up her room. It was fun. Her bedding should be arriving sometime this week - it's purple and green with rebutterflies and flowers on it. We are planning on painting her room purple with her name and butterflies dancing across the wall above her crib. We have a needlework Precious Moments picture that A's mom did for his sister's nursery that we are going to hang in her room and I am pllanning on making her a hair bow and ribbon holder, too. 

We are VERY excited!! I can't wait to be able to post pictures of the progress of her room and her finished room!

Happy Day! Happy Day!

     Have you ever woken up in the morning and just knew it would be a great day? Lately, I have been having difficulty remaining positive due to my body being sore pretty much always and being exhausted pretty much all the time as well. Last night, A and I had a conversation about glorifying God in our actions and attitudes [[something I have been working hard on changing in my life - though I'm finding all these extra hormones are creating bigger obstacles for me]] and when I woke up this morning after a glorious 9 hours of almost uninterupted sleep (I only woke up once!!!) I was in a very cheerful mood. I just knew it would be a good day - and it has been!  It has just been so wonderful today and I love it and am so thankful that God has not only blessed me with such a beautiful day, but also that He has blessed me with the ability to SEE that it has been a beautiful day and a successful one too!

     We had waffles for breakfast and nice walk around the neighborhood with the puppy. Then we returned a broken leash to Target and got Charger a new collar and leash that he has so far responded very well too. Hopefully this will make walks easier. :)  We essentially got the old leash for free due to an offer we took advantage of - registering for Baby at Target WAY early and received a gift card that covered the leash that broke and the new leash/collar combo was less than the original leash, so we actually got money back for it. Then we both got free Starbucks drinks - SO yummy! I don't even remember the last time I had a Starbucks drink! Then we ran some errands together, came home and had lunch together, relaxed and played with the puppy together.  AND THEN....

          WE FOUND OUT THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE ANOTHER NIECE!!!! We are SO excited! 

     Today has just been so nice and relaxing and beautiful and happy and lovely.  :D 

     We find out if our baby is a boy or a girl in 2 weeks! We can't wait :) Speaking of which, Baby is moving around a lot right now - kicking me all the time - though usually not during the day. Today is a special day.

     And now, I plan to clean the kitchen and my craft mess which I have successfully spread across 3 rooms in our house. Tidy up the little things we have collected for Baby so far, maybe work on my Halloween costume, research some coupony things, and make dinner.

I hope you are all having a beautiful day as well! <3

No Sleeping in on my Day Off

Last night let we let the puppy sleep in our bedroom which is a special treat for him we allow on occasion (mainly because I'm feeling extra emotional or something). Charger knows that he is not allowed on the bed. I tried to get him on the bed a couple of times when he was really little so I could cuddle him, but he never liked it and always jumped off immediately. Pair that with an increase in allergies as of lately, and we decided that being in the room would be limited and the bed is definitely and completely off limits.  So what happens last night? Charger decides that the best looks mighty comfy and we get this...

WHAT are you doing puppy?!?! He has NEVER jumped onto the bed...EVER and he certainly has never STAYED on the bed. And yet, here he is making himself comfortable at the foot of the bed. Crazy pup. So we have a talk, he gets off the bed and as far as we know, he stayed off the bed the remainder of the night.

Now, it's morning and it's past 6:30AM and I haven't woken up yet!! Let's all  happy dance to that!

**Happy Dance Break**

This past week, between getting up a zillion times in the middle of the night, the baby kicking me more regularly (which is totally the cutest thing ever) and being absolutely starving in the morning sleeping past 6:30AM has been impossible. So last night, for whatever reason, the baby didn't kick me too much or sit on my bladder and my body decided that I wasn't going to be uncomfortably hungry in the morning. All of this means that I had uninterrupted sleep and had the opportunity to sleep in. 

Until one adorable puppy dog decided that I'm normally awake between 5:30 and 6:30 now so obviously at 7AM I had slept long enough. So what does he do? He jumps in bed and starts licking my face and then the baby starts dancing and kicking me non-stop. And I was really looking forward to sleeping in on my day off. Haha. Welcome to mommyhood :) At least the baby and fur babies are preparing me now and I won't suddenly sleep deprived. It's actually quite thoughtful and I know I'll appreciate the training in a few more months :).



Slightly off topic, yesterday the doctor called to see what hospital I would be delivering the baby at1! It's all happening so quickly!! We're almost half way through the pregnancy!!! Ahhh so exciting!!

Things I'm Learning While Pregnant

S

16 Weeks Pregnant and there's the bump!

I'm learning lots of things since I've been carrying this little precious gift. <3 It hasn't always been super easy, but it's always been worth it. So I thought I'd just do a little Preggers update with what I've learned and how I've been feeling, etc.  

What I've Learned:

• Doctors don't know everything and they can be wrong...very wrong. 
• Zofran is pretty much my best friend.
• I'm thankful for modern medicine and the fact that someone was able to create Zofran.
• I LOVE Lemonade. 
• Milk is sometimes not ok.
• Orange juice is not ok (since about week 14.5).
• What is safe to eat one day is not safe to eat the next day.
• Pregnancy makes your whole body hurt...and often.
• I cry a lot. I mean, I cried and was overly emotional before, but this is just a whole new level. :P
• Everyone has an opinion and most of them aren't helpful or encouraging.
• It's ok to spend the evening laying on the couch watching episodes of 90s tv shows.
• It's ok to admit defeat and just take a nap.
• Sometimes all you need is a nap.
• Sometimes all you need is food. 
• Baby flutters is the weirdest sensation I have ever felt (as of now).
• Baby kicks are SO cute. They are just little and precious and feel like little soft kicks.
• Our Baby calms down (AKA I stop feeling sick) when worship music is playing.
• Pregnancy cookies aren't very good.
• I need more yoga pants.

How I've been feeling:

• Weeks 1-4 : Awesome...and all I wanted was guacamole and avocados.
• Weeks 5-13: Sick. Sick. Really sick. ALL the time. Unless I had Zofran. Then I was less sick, but still sick at the same time. And my jeans don't close.
• Weeks 10-13: Getting my energy back and starting to feel better :)
• Weeks 14-16: Yoga pants are amazing. I feel better. Hungry ALL the time, but no serious cravings.
• Week 16:  [[9.15]] Baby is REALLY active around midnight. [[9.16]] It's midnight and the baby kicks have started up again. I should be sleeping but I can't because I enjoy baby kicks way too much at the moment (which means I'll be going to breakfast in the morning in yoga pants).

oh Baby!

We have a little love on the way!!!

Yes we do! And I am SO excited to FINALLY be able to tell everyone! And it has been pointed out by our loving family and friends the more we talk about it that they don't know the drama and the blessing and the miracle of this baby. Since they keep getting surprised, so I figured why not share it here. I finally (finally, finally, FINALLY) found the power cord for the laptop after misplacing it after an organization spree.

So here's the story of our little love [[so far]]...

My good friend Katie texted me a few Saturdays ago (about 8ish) asking me if I was preggers. At this point, it had been about 2 months since her son was born and so about a month and a half since we had seen her (I think that timing is correct). I looked at the text and laughed at it and wrote her back saying "Nope". And then I got to thinking... well, I haven't been able to button my jeans all week and I've been a little teeny tiny bit more emotional than normal. (Ask A - I swear, I was only a little teeny tiny bit more crazy...just the teensiest bit, it was hardly even noticeable...yup.).   We had one test in the house so I took it with the expectation of it saying NEGATIVE, Nope, NADA, You are NOT preggers. That was not the result I got. So I stared and cried and immediately set out on a mission on a fun way to tell A. I settled on balloons and onesies - I filled our living room with pink and blue balloons (and by filled, I mean I stuffed as many balloons as my little car could fit in it and settled on that) and I tied some onesies to our fan with ribbon. Then I waited...and waited....and waited and then FINALLY my hubby came home. He was very excited. We celebrated and immediately had to go tell our family. That was fun. Then the drama starts....

We had my confirmatory doctor appointment where I take another pregnancy test and they say Yes! You're Pregnant! as if you had no idea. hahaha. Although, the doctor I initially saw was not actually excited and informed me that I shouldn't be asking about an epidural because we don't know if I'll make it that far. Ok, so she had seen my history, but still - that's not very nice to say to a pregnant woman. Cross her off my approved doctor list.  And then they drew my blood and called me a couple days later, to tell me that my progesterone was low and that generally leads to a miscarriage. I started medicine that day. Then I went back in a week or so later on July 5 due to an issue that occurred on July 4th in which the on-call doctor told me over the phone that I was most likely in the early stages of a miscarriage. The appointment the next day was encouraging, they told me everything looked fine - until they called me the following work day to tell me that my hormone levels had dropped  by 100,000 points and that I was in the early stages of a miscarriage and that I needed to come in for an early ultrasound at 7wks so they could see if the baby had a heart beat.
The doctor that I like (who I hadn't seen for a year) was finally available, so I made the appointment with her. The U/S tech asked why we were having an early u/s so we told her and she informed us, again, that dropping levels like that means a miscarriage. So I layed down on the table and grabbed A's hand and closed my eyes (because I was too scared to look at the screen). But curiosity killed the cat, so when she put the gel on my tummy, I opened my eyes and there was the baby and there was the heartbeat...and I cried...all day long...very happy, joyful tears. When we got in to see my doctor (the doctor I like), she said everything looks perfect and the baby looks healthy. We then explained to her everything that we had been told the weeks the 2.5 weeks leading up to this point and she informed us that the lab results must have been input incorrectly but that my levels were just fine, increasing as they should be and that there should not have been any doubts otherwise. I then asked her to not tell me I was probably having a M/C unless I was ACTUALLY having a m/c. She assured me she would not have to tell me that.

And here we are now at 13 weeks and baby is healthy and wonderful and being prayed over constantly and consistently and we are just so thrilled and blessed to have this little one and we can't wait to meet him or her!  

And, since I've got this questions about a dozen times today, I'm doing great. I'm starting to get over being sick ALL the time and was actually able to COOK today without getting sick. It was the highlight of my day. I'm starting to feel movements - not often, but they are definitely there and I just grew out of the last pair of jeans that closed. I live in yoga pants and I totally understand why mommy-to-bes and moms wear them all the time. And we are both just so excited for this new chapter in our life together - we are so excited for this new life! This baby has already blessed us so much, even though it was an emotional roller coaster of a beginning, it has been worth every single moment. And I will gladly be sick if it means the baby is okay. It may not seem like I'm happy about it at the time, but really and truly and from the bottom of my heart, I am. I am so happy to be sick if it means our little love is healthy. <3

Big Brother!

Last week my brother, Jason, and his family came to visit for a day as they get ready to move to a new state! J is in the army and has been for awhile so seeing him, my sister-in-law and my nephew is always a special treat :) I was SO excited to have them come that I was up until 2AM the morning they came in. But, it was totally worth it.

The best part was surprising my mom (talk about an easy birthday/Mother's day gift!) haha. My mom had no idea they were coming. As far as she knew, our friends were coming to visit. She screamed when she saw them! It was pretty fun!

It was REALLY awesome and such a blessing to be able to spend some time with my brother, SIL, and nephew. :D I wish it could happen more often, but I'll take what I can get!

You Would Have Thought Someone Had Died

I "deactivated" my Twitter and Facebook accounts the yesterday and the amount of text messages I got from people regarding that was surprising. I appreciate your concern, but I totally got a kick out of how serious everyone thought this was. Granted, I am kinda of attached to the FB so I get why this was a shock and I can understand why I was flooded with text messages like this: "No FB?? Are you ok? What's going on?", "Hey, I just saw you're not on FB, did something happen?", "Do you need to talk? Why aren't you on Facebook anymore?"

So here are the reasons I am sharing:
1) Do you know how much time I waste on that?
2) I was tired of hearing people complain about their lives.
3) Some posts just made me really sad.
4) Some posts made me think I'm not where I should be or that I'm missing out on things.


So what have I done since I deactivated my facebook account?
Well - I have...

• Vacuumed... a lot
• Decided I'm going to build a bay window seat
• Decided I'm going to build an entry way table
• Decided I'm going to make ruffly curtains for the craft room
• Organized the office

• Reorganized the linen closet
• Moved and reorganized the bookshelf

• Reorganized the craft room
• Dishes
• Unsubscribed to a bunch of junk e-mail (that I still seem to be getting)
• Laundry
• Played with the puppy
• Cleaned the bunnies' room - although it's now no longer theirs
• Went to Costco
• Hung out with my in-laws 
• Balanced the pool chemicals
• Gardened... I GARDENED!
• Took the puppy on walks 
• Bathed the puppy
• Painted the craft room

and still had time to slack off, browse Pinterest and watch way too much 7th Heaven.

romans 8 is very comforting tonight.

"Pinterest Perfect", Keeping Centered on the Creator for Contentment.

Let's be honest here - keeping a house clean is a LOT of hard work! I generally can at least keep the house tidy - but between church activities, a couple quick California trips, work, being slightly depressed (it happens from time to time, no need to worry), the opening of Anthony's studio salon and wanting to spend time with my husband instead of cleaning I feel like our house has turned into this:

But I'm dramatic and emotional and it' probably not THAT bad. However, the dog likes to take the toilet paper and run it around the house when we forget to close the bathroom doors. So that's awesome and totally helps. Hahhaha. But I'll get back into the swing of things and feel like I'm being productive.
Oh the joys of having a puppy :) He's just preparing us for whenever God decides to bless us with munchkins. Hahaha.

But the cool thing about being busy and having a messy house is that it really makes you appreciative of all the things you have and all the things you have to do. I'm thankful that I have a job, that Anthony has been able to open his own studio salon, that we've had the means to take trips back to Cali and visit friends and family, that we have small groups to lead and be a part of and people to do life with. If I didn't have all of those things, my house would be immaculate and all the painting would probably be done a few months ago instead of being almost 9 months since we moved in and it not being done yet. 

While I wish I could have "pinterest perfect" house all the time, I have an "us perfect" house and that's what's important. There are so many people who get bogged down by the pressure of to be "Pinterest Perfect" and quite frankly, I don't get it. I think Pinterest has a lot of things on it that have to do with having pretty things, making pretty things, having an immaculate house and a family that is always picture perfect, but I view it more as a magazine-type thing. I don't think I have to have a house that looks like that to be content or feel like I've succeeded at being a good wife. I think it's a tricky business though - balancing the fantasy of pinterest or magazines or the movies or even the lives of your friends - with reality. Can we do that? Can we look at things on the internet, movies or magazines that appear to be perfect and realize that that is not the life God has for us right at this point? Can we look at it and see that even though something looks perfect that doesn't mean it IS perfect? Can we look at things and not feel pressure? Can we see the pins and posts about keeping your house clean or making the garden look beautiful and take it as something we can learn from instead of something that is expected? My life is never going to be pinterest perfect, but I can learn a lot from the posts and blogs on how to stay organized (though not all the time) and how to save money and keep a better budget, etc. while keeping my focus on reality. As long as I know that the one I am worshiping is Jesus, my heart shall be content in what I have and what I don't. As long as I can keep my heart centered on my Creator instead of His creation, my heart will be content.    And that's what I hope you all can do as well. We shouldn't let pinterest or people we know or magazines or movies make us feel bad about being imperfect and not having it all together. Keep centered on Jesus - on the Cross - on what He did for you. Keep centered on the Creator and be thankful for His creation.  If you keep your life center on God - on what His plan has been and is - keep centered on the fact that He created the world perfectly, then Adam and Eve chose to be disobedient and brought sin into the world, that we were then alienated from God, that He loved us so much and wanted to be in communion with us that He brought Jesus, our Savior, into the world that the sin issue could be resolved and that we could have Jesus' righteousness covering us through His crucifixion and his ressurrection - if we can keep centered on that - no matter what pinterest or magazines or the world throws at us to try and breed discontentment in us - we can remain content in God's good and perfect will for our lives.

My Amazing

...because I am criticized by friends because I don't share my writings and am encouraged in that criticism. I wrote this at church on Sunday (when I should have been listening...but sometimes I get inspired - even if it's not that great - and just have to write.)  I'm also terrified of sharing my poems because they're a part of my heart...and it's been such an incredibly long time since I've written anything that I've even liked. So anyways, here's a private little piece of my heart.

My Amazing
How amazing is my God
that He would love my wretched soul
that He would take my broken heart
and mend me back, way more than whole.
Oh how amazing is my Lord
that He would give eternal life
that I may love and honor Him
and lead me far away from strife.
Oh how amazing is my King
that He would royally bless me
that He will call me home one day
His holy, shining face I'll see.
Oh my amazing Father God
He loves me more than I deserve
that even when I'm falling short
He still grants my heart to serve.
(c) Sara Colello

The Bunnies Are Mad...

This is the story of Charger - because I personally find it to be funny...and other people have to. You may not, but that's ok - you're choosing to read this.

Three weeks ago I started my job and got the flu on my first day. I spent the rest of the week with a fever, feeling terrible and trying to get over it because, really, no one tries to keep the flu. They just don't. Friday morning, still recovering from a fever and refusing to wear anything other than jammies, I staggered down the stairs and promptly made my bed on the couch. At least I left my room, right. Anthony came downstairs, looks at me and says, "Let's get a pig!" Seriously, husband. I don't have time for this. I have a fever. I just want to go back to sleep.
"No."
And then it continues, "Let's get a pig. A micro mini pig. They stay small... how cool would that be to have a little pig...let's get a pig."
"...No."
"No, they stay small."
"No."
This goes on. Some how he ended up going on the internet to do research on getting a micro mini pig. In all seriousness, he was probably doing legitimate research on where to get a pig, how much they cost, what they eat, etc. We're impulsive people. Pets are not excluded from the list of things we tend to be impulsive on. I should make a list of things we are impulsive on...okay, moving on.
"Oh. They can't actually guarantee they stay small. They can get up to 50-100 pounds."
"NO. There will NOT be a pig in my house." Again, let's not forget now that I have a fever.
"We should get a dog."
"ugh..nooooooo." And so it continues until my love left for work. I spent the rest of the day on the couch, feeling quite awful with random, small conversations with Anthony throughout the day involving this dog issue. And then there was a period of time where there was silence, he was working, I had a fever - there was no communication and then it came to me (and this is probably the entire reason why we now have a dog)... if I go along with this, he will realize this is a bad idea. If I just submit to this, it will totally work as reverse psychology. So still having a fever, I called my husband and told him that we should go look at puppies when he gets home. And we did. We went to a pet shop and looked at the dogs and determined that they were all way TOO expensive and that we shouldn't get a dog....well, I thought it meant we shouldn't get a dog. Apparently it just meant that we shouldn't get a dog from a pet store.
I wake up on Saturday and before Anthony leaves for work he tells me that I have one job. "Find me a Goldendoodle in this price range..." hah. Honestly, I didn't think it was going to happen. I've shown dogs, I've known breeders, I bought a dog before. The price range was pretty much impossible. It was awesome we weren't getting a dog. I researched breeders in the area, found numbers, called and texted, and got no responses...that is, until I got a response.
As we were talking, the breeder quoted me based on my California area code and them needed to deliver the dog (they don't ship) to California. When I told her that we were in her area, she dropped the price. She dropped the price to the exact number that Anthony had told me. And we could go look at him that night.
So...a few hours later, we got in the car and drove an hour to look at this puppy. And then we came home with him.

Well, we went to Target first because we now had a dog and nothing for the dog. So I waited in the car while Anthony got the basics: food/water bowl, food, a toy, puppy shampoo (which we think the puppy is allergic to), a collar and a leash. We called my in-laws to pick up a crate, as Target apparently doesn't carry them for impulsive people like us. So now we have a dog. And then Anthony decided to go on a business trip THE NEXT day. Seriously. We had the dog for about 18 hours and then he went on a business trip. Thankfully, that won't happen again...EVER.
But anyways, the bunnies are mad about this. They're like REALLY mad about this. We've had to rearrange the living situations for the moment. The bunnies have been moved to the other side of our baby gate.. into the room we've been trying to keep them out of. They are in the room that is the reason we got the baby gate in the first place. This is ridiculous.  But we're hopeful that we can train the puppy to be with the bunnies and not hurt them. Because really, Charger is a sweetheart. He's crazy. He drives me nuts, but then he's so mellow and sweet.

And the best part about this... Anthony wanted a medium sized dog. A week later, I hear "OH SHOOT!" coming from another room. It was Anthony. He was doing research on Goldendoodles and he had just found out that they can 50-80 pounds. This is not a medium-sized dog. He's doubled in size in 3 weeks. So...that's fun. :)

Praise God!

In life, we are all faced with suffering; momentary affliction. We are constantly being told by society that we deserve the best, we deserve to be happy on our terms, we deserve to do what we want, we deserve the world and, for whatever reason, the world owes us. So we hit suffering, but lash out because we think we don't deserve it - it isn't fair.  But the Bible promises us suffering [Acts 14:22, John 15:20, 1 Peter 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:12]; it promises us that this life will be difficult - because this world has been infiltrated with sin and we don't necessarily belong here. We belong with our Heavenly Father in the New Jerusalem. We must remember that God works all things together for the good of His purpose (Romans 8:28) and that no matter what we are going through it will never overpower or out weigh God's glory. It will never trump His mercy and grace that He showed us at Calvary, where He gave His only Son who knew no sin, to be sin that we could be completely reconciled to God [2 Corinthians 5:21]-- That we could have a right relationship with Him. Christ suffered in ways that we will never suffer - He suffered for the wicked though He is completely innocent. In a way, he was framed - put on trial and received the death penalty while the real criminal got away with murder. Christ suffered, that we can have eternal life - and so we rejoice and praise God. BUT we need to remember that everything we suffer here is momentary; and in suffering unjustly [not just justly], we are given more of an understanding (though not a complete understanding) of what Christ did for us. We need to remember that God has a purpose for all things - and that we are but a miniscule part of a bigger picture, the faintest brush stroke. We need to remember to praise God in ALL circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18); praise Him in suffering as well as times of comfort. We're here for a much bigger purpose. We're here to glorify our Jesus until He returns and brings us home. So praise God at your lowest, praise God for circumstances that you don't understand, praise God for the ways He is growing you in faith, praise God in the sad times and praise Him in the happy times. Praise God for redeeming your soul; for pulling you out of eternal damnation to bring you into eternal life. Praise God. (1 Peter 4:12-19). How great it is to know that our suffering is worth it; that it serves a good purpose.

I leave this post with my go-to verse in times of trial.
Romans 8:18 " For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I hope that you've all had a wonderful holiday celebrating with family and friends. I hope that it was safe. I've realized this past New Year's Eve how silly and responsible we can be. We left our friends' house early, were home by 10 and then started putting away laundry. I know you're jealous of how crazy we can get! It's almost like we're adults....oh wait, that already happened.

So Happy New Year. New Year. New Beginning. But is it really a new beginning? Or do we just make it out to be. It always seems to give us this feeling of a fresh start from our "old ways". A fresh start from the day-to-day routine we fall into that may or may not become monotonous and boring and just plain uninteresting. I feel like it shouldn't be a new beginning, and yet I woke up this morning feeling fresh and ready to conquer. Conquer the laundry that never ends (and we don't even have kids yet!), conquer the dishes, conquer my laziness, conquer my insecurities, conquer the job hunt, conquer the world... Ok - maybe not the world (I may be ambitious, but that's a little too ambitious if you ask me).

Before I go on and make a public declaration of what I intend to do (with God's guidance, mercy, grace, help, and re-direction if He doesn't want them to happen), here's a quick "top 10" things that we experienced in 2012. (well, more like the first 10 happy things I could think of that happened in 2012).

1. We bought our first house!
2. And we learned that appliances break...most of them.
3. We adopted Hershey, our second bunny.
4. Anthony went back to school :)
5. We learned how to balance a pool without a pool guy (thanks to procrastination AND impatience)
6. I made it to my annual ER visit (don't worry - nothing was serious... but I'm getting a good track record on this "once a year ER visit" deal).
7. We learned we will be welcoming another niece into the world in 2013!
8. A's parents moved out here.
9. My momma moved out here.
10. We learned a lot about God's blessings, humility, mercy, love, abundance, care, protection and provision...and that is precious.

And as for the things I intend on doing this year that can only be accomplished WITH God's help, because I am far too lazy and get far too distracted way too easily (oh look, there goes a bunny running up our stairs!).

1. Get closer to God//develop a stronger relationship with my Savior.
2. Read my bible daily//read the entire bible this year
3. Work hard to be a more Proverbs 21 wife//friend/daughter/sister/woman
4. Pray more
5. Love more
6. Finish painting the house
7. Read all 7 HP's.
8. Read more.
9. Make an effort to exercise.
10. Find a job since I'm out of one come Saturday.
11. Visit Ken, Maya, Ryan and Megan.
12. Organize the house.
13. Be more disciplined in ALL areas of my life.
14. See opportunities to serve others more AND be grateful for them.
15. Keep a positive attitude regardless of how I feel.

SO there are serious and important things (like #1 -5) and fun things (#6,11) and things that really don't matter other than they seem fun (#7).  The most important things are at the top, cause let's face it - there's always room for more Jesus and having my life centered on Him more and more will make all other areas that much more attainable; it'll make all other areas that much better, that much sweeter, that much more rewarding, that much more joyful.

SO here's to a fresh start - to a year of focusing on getting close to my Jesus and growing in Him and becoming a better wife for my husband, a better daughter for my moms, a better sister for my siblings, a better friend for my friends, a better woman for anyone I may come in contact with - that they will see Jesus in me and not me in me; that they will see His purpose and not mine; that they will see me and want to get closer to Him. That my life would be just for Him more and more this year. SO here's to a year of new beginnings, that you will be disciplined and work hard to accomplish the things you're working towards, that you would have a year of love and learning and laughter and accomplishments, that you would look back and not think that you've wasted your year, that you would look back and rejoice in the things that occurred. Happy fresh start.
May your joy be found in Jesus, the one who gave His life that we may have a relationship with God and live eternally.
Love to you all,
S