Over the past two weeks I have been overwhelmed by the kindness of people in my life. I just wanted to take a moment and share some of these things so that I don't forget them.
Last Monday was a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day. I woke up sick and my house was a wreck. I had dishes in the sink that had been there since our Thursday night dinner. Yeah. Not good. Our pantry and fridge were in desperate need of some food. I knew a grocery trip was much needed, but I was dreading it majorly. As I was driving down my street to the store, I got a call from my friend Kelly. She said that she was on her way over and that she had made us dinner. I couldn't believe it. She said that she woke up that morning and just felt like she should make dinner for our family so that I didn't have to. When I got turned around and she got to the house she offered to watch Lauren for a bit while I ran to get some cleaning supplies. I was completely out of dish hand soap and dish washing detergent. It was the sweetest and most thoughtful thing.
My friend Desire' sent me a message and asked if I would like to borrow her maternity clothing. She just had a sweet little boy in April and so her clothes would be perfect for the season. I was pregnant with Lauren mostly in the summer so most of my clothes won't work this time around. Her husband and Shawn work together so Shawn brought home a huge tub one night. It was full of awesome and almost brand new maternity clothes. There were four pair of jeans and I could have cried at that sight alone because I didn't have a single pair of maternity jeans!!! Then there are long sleeve tee shirts, comfy lounge pants, sweaters, dresses, dress pants and on and on. She even let me borrow one of her tummy bands for these early stages of pregnancy. She didn't have to share these with me, but she did. It was such a thoughtful and kind and generous gift she gave me.
Yesterday I had an unexpected lunch date come up with my aunt. Lauren and I were excited to go but it had been a really rough morning. When we left the house was in shambles again. This time there were dishes in the sink, toys all over the living room, and at least two loads of unfolded laundry waiting for me in a massive pile on the couch. I knew it would be a long afternoon of clean-up and I was dreading it. When we got home I walked into a clean kitchen. The dishes were done. The dishwasher was running. The counters were clear and clean. I couldn't believe my eyes. Then, I walked into the living room and saw that the couch was clear of laundry, the toys were picked up, and the floor had been vacuumed. I knew it was Shawn but I still couldn't believe it. He had come home on his lunch break and cleaned for me. The weight lifted off of my shoulders was huge. It was such a gift.
Today I went to get my mail and I noticed a card from my friend Cara. We don't see each other often and so it was especially sweet to see her handwriting on a card. When I opened it there was a sweet and touching note and then a gift card to Sonic. Ha! She's been reading my blog and knows that I've been craving some of that goodness. It was just the most unexpected and nicest thing. She didn't have to send me a sweet card and she most definitely didn't have to send such a neat little gift, but she did.
I've had the sweetest conversation with my friend Tammy, who always has the right words to speak over a situation or a life. She breathes life over me and reminds me who I am in Christ. I feel re-energized from one simple conversation with her. Even when it is just about the little things.
I know there are others who have been praying for me. Who have emailed or just been there when I called. Thank you.
To say that I have felt blessed these last few weeks is truly an understatement. I know that I do not deserve these acts of kindness and friendship. But I am so thankful for them. This shower of blessings has made me think a lot about doing what God calls me to do. I know that He speaks to me. I know that when I wake up with a burden for a friend, I should do something about it. That burden is there for a reason. It might be a phone call. It might be making them dinner or cleaning their house. It might be offering them something that I could share or sending them a sweet card. It might be a simple phone call to let them know how absolutely loved they are. All too often I ignore the burden or get busy and forget it.
Thank you friends, for reminding me how simple acts of love and kindness can truly make someones day. I am so thankful for each of you and the reminder to love freely that you have given me.
Yesterday was the first day of an almost year-round bible study that I am a part of. Last year, I went on Monday nights and Lauren stayed home...but this year, Lauren is old enough to be a part of the bible study herself so we go to the day class!!!
I wanted to get a picture of Lauren on her first day, but this is what I got! Ha! She was excited to go...just not excited to take a picture!
This bible study is so amazing and intensive. I absolutely love it. Last year we studied the book of John. This year we are studying Isaiah. In the first chapter I've already learned more than I ever really knew about Isaiah. I have a feeling that there will be some hard lessons learned during this study, but that is why I am doing it. I want to live the life God has for me and being so in-depth in His word helps me with perspective.
Lauren goes to her own little class while I am in small group and lecture. It is absolutely adorable! They have a little paper posted on the door with their schedule for the morning and it includes things like marching time, me and God time (their 10 minute rest time), gross motor time, Bible story time, snack time, singing hymns time, Bible verse time, and some free play too. When I dropped her off she did great. She went right to her teacher! She has a few friends in her class so I am sure it helps that she knows other kids in there. When I picked her up she was as happy as could be. Her teachers said she did great and they were so proud of her!!! I was too!!!
I had to make her a little pillow case with her name on it for her me and God time. I guess they use them like a rest mat. I was a little disappointed in how hers turned out but the truth is I had been putting it off and putting it off and then it was the night before and she had to have something, so I threw this together. Don't look too closely at the horrible sewing job. I truthfully didn't even care I just wanted to get it done! That is what I get for procrastinating!
I'm just thankful I didn't spell her name wrong. I was so over making it. =)
Every Wednesday, unless we are sick, we will be heading to Bible study. I am so excited to see how this exposure will grow Lauren and myself. We are already starting to sing the songs at home and learn her Bible verse for the week. I.Love.It.
Best Moment this week: I was able to hear the baby's heartbeat last Friday. It was so beautiful and it made this whole thing seem even more real to me.
Yesterday my mom, Lauren, and I headed to the big town of Branson! My brother's girlfriend had acquired tickets to the Butterfly Museum for the three of us and we were pretty excited to see what the fuss was all about. Honestly, I am not sure if I would have paid the $16.95 a ticket to go, but free was great for us!
I wasn't sure how Lauren would do since she tends to freak out about bugs. She especially freaks out about flying bugs. I have no idea where she gets that from. No idea.
We started in the rain forest room and checked out all kinds of frogs and lizards and creepy crawly things. There were the cutest little blue frogs and we got to see the red-eyed tree frogs too. Pretty neat experience.
When we were done in that room we wen through the maze of mirrors. Which I would like to rename as the "I have a toddler on my hip and keep running into mirrors and I think this is where my life will end because will I ever find my way out of this maze". Let's just say that by the end of the maze I was having difficulty breathing. Lauren wanted to do it again so I let Nammy take her. Mom said that about half way through Lauren kept saying, "O-tay...No more"! Hah!!!
Then, mom and I had the brilliant idea that hitting up the little 3-D butterfly movie would be great. We took our seats and laughed at each other in the dorky glasses. I wish I had a picture of how absolutely adorable Lauren looked for the 5.7 seconds that Lauren wore hers. The movie was actually pretty scary. Lauren ended up on Nammy's lap and I was horrified that at the end of this movie about how a butterfly comes to be, the praying mantis eats it. Yep. It was pretty sad.
We finally made it up to the butterflies and it was actually pretty neat. Lauren did way better than I expected, but she did not want to be out of our arms the entire time. Mostly Nammy got that privilage. I am totally not number one with her around!
I think the picture above truly shows the level of apprehension Lauren had about those flying butterflies!
At some point Lauren found a magnifying glass and proceeded to look through it and lick on it. Yes, I said lick and if you know how I am about germs, you know I seriously about died in the middle of that butterfly oasis.
Here is a little video of her butterfly experience. Don't miss the last 10 seconds when she freaks out because a butterfly gets all up in her business.
After an exciting morning we hit up Applebee's for lunch. Big disappointment. Lauren enjoyed her meal though!
Of course you can't go to Branson without shopping, right? We hit up Tanger and got a few good deals. The best part of the shopping day for Lauren was this:
Oh yeah, Barney. Barney on a tractor. Made that girl's day like nothing else.
That girls loves her some Barney and some tractors. The combination couldn't have been more perfect. It was like it was meant for her!
Here is a little video of the ride. Love it when she says that Barney is happy. Of course he is, dear one. Because of you!!!
And the thing that made THIS girl happy?!?! My first Coach purse. Yep. I did it. I bought a Coach purse. I have to tell you that it was WAY MAJORLY on sale or I would have just walked myself right out of that store.
I love it so much I am even afraid to wear it. Isn't that sad? Anyway, it is a gunmetal color and it just makes me happier than you could ever know.
Today, thank God, was a good day for me. The past four days have been anything but so I welcomed today with wide open arms.
When Shawn got home from work we had dinner and then decided to head to the Nature Center for a family walk. It had been years since either of us had been and we were excited to share the beauty with Lauren. I left with only my phone so the pictures aren't the greatest, but the memories sure are!
Lauren loves buckling herself into her stroller. She also has this weird habit of holding on to the handles of the stroller at.all.times.
At this point, we'd only gone 1/5 of a mile so I was still in pretty good shape. Ha!
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth. Psalm 108:5
As we were walking I spotted a little turtle on our path.
Shawn picked it up for Lauren to get a closer look and she was.not.having.it. I think that these pictures are pretty funny!
She kept saying, "No tuwa....no tuwa." It was kind of cute. I know my father-in-law will say that she got her girlishness from me :), but I promise I am trying to teach her NOT to be afraid of creepy crawlies and animals!!!
I definitely do not want to complain. But, I want to remember.
I'm thankful for this pregnancy. I can sometimes even be thankful for the sickness. But, if I am completely honest, I will be so very glad when I can say that the first trimester is behind me. I want nothing more than to feel like myself again.
Lauren has been absolutely precious while I've been not myself. A couple of times, I've had to tell her that my tummy hurts as I'm about to lose it. She will say, "me kik eh" (me kiss it) and then proceed to kiss my belly! Afterwards, she will look up at me with the sweetest face and say, "beh-er?" and I always say yes. In the midst of feeling my worst she can make me feel so good.
Today was one of those days that was just right. Lauren woke up early but happy and I woke up without the nasty feeling of nausea. Praise God! I honestly thanked Him so many times throughout the day for this day. Tomorrow may be back to sickness, but today was a beautiful and much needed reprieve. It was not wasted on me.
I set up Lauren's easel while I cleaned the kitchen and she had a blast getting creative. It had been a long time since I'd brought it out and she absolutely soaked the experience up. I loved watching her face light up when she would say, "Mama, wook" and I would praise her for her beautiful artistry. It was one of those mornings I will remember for a long time.
Tippie toes and elephant pants...that girl has my heart in a big way.
Her masterpieces proudly displayed on the refrigerator.
I had a craving (ha, imagine that) for these M & M treats my friend Cara makes and so I got busy making them. Of course, I had to use the autumn colored M & M's!
Basically you put a Hershey's Kiss on a pretzel and bake it for about 5 minutes at 200 degrees. When they come out of the oven, push an M & M down on the soft chocolate and voila - scrumptious snack!
I haven't been feeling up to doing very many educational or crafty things lately, but with my sudden still stomach I decided to tackle a little project for Lauren that I had been wanting to do for a while. I found this here, but she sited this site, so I am not entirely sure who's this is but Lauren loved it!
Just simply get an empty Pringles can and cover it with construction paper. I wrote Lauren's name on it and let her color it. Then. punch holes in the top and then color those reinforcement stickers for notebook paper the colors of your pipe cleaners.
She absolutely loved it. It just goes to show that the most expensive toys aren't always the ones that your kids like the most!
For dinner I made a baked potato soup and homemade bread. My friend, Tammy, has the best recipe for the soup, but my pregnant brain couldn't find it this morning. I just used one I found on the internet. Maybe she will post hers sometime soon (no pressure, Tam!) and I can link to it. Yummy!!!
I did about a million loads of laundry today and now I am absolutely pooped! I'm not even sure if I will make it through Big Brother and Project Runway! That is tired!
WATER. Isn't that sad? I usually love water and drink a lot of it during the day but when I am pregnant it makes me sick.
There are other things, but they are usually random and unexpected. For instance I made a spaghetti bake last week and loved it the first night but I COULD NOT even look at it again. I had to have Shawn clean the pan out of our 7 layer dip that I made Saturday because as good as it was game-day, it made me sick at my stomach to look at it after that.
CRAVINGS
So far this pregnancy I have only craved a few things. The problem is that when I have the craving I HAVE TO HAVE it. My poor Shawn. I know he thinks I am crazy, but he has been such a trooper. :)
There was an evening when NOTHING besides a chicken fajita rollup with french fries from Applebee's was going to cut it. We had to drive across town to get it curb side to go. I was so yummy and worth it.
Since my beloved water is being so mean to me right now and I am not drinking the Coke, I've had to set about finding something that doesn't upset my stomach. At Bunko this week, Tonya made a raspberry lemonade that tasted SO yummy. I had to get to the store as quickly as possible to grab myself some. They didn't have the raspberry, so I picked up strawberry lemonade. Delicious!
I've also been craving Sonic ice and their cheddar bites. In fact just today I picked up those two items from Sonic and nothing else. ;)
Lastly, I have been craving the cliche'pickles. I love to get the big giant ones from Sam's. They are my treat while I watch TV at night and I love them soooo much.
Saturday morning Shawn woke us all up bright and early to go hit some garage sales! Pregnant lady here needed to eat or else so we stopped at Panera first. Yum!!! Early morning looks good on me, right? Haha!
We were thinking since the weather was so nice we would hit some good ones. Not really the case. But, we had a lot of fun as a family! Lauren did find a pair of Clifford or in her words, "Clipper" house shoes that she HAD to have! I bought them knowing they would have to see the inside of my washing and drying machines before they would ever go on her feet. =)
After we had exhausted the five garage sales in our town, we headed to Bass Pro Shops. We needed to pick up a new tube for the lake and Shawn wanted to look at hunting gear. For his birthday (which is this FRIDAY) I told him Lauren and I would get him stocked up for the fast approaching hunting seasons. Of course, that means that we would pretend I had money to buy those clothes with and that it wasn't his own he was spending. Oh the joys of being married and being a stay at home mom!
We made it home around 11:15 and JUSTINTIME for the big game! Mizzou played at 11:30 so I scrambled to get our game day food fixed and get everyone changed into their game day gear.
I look like death warmed over in the picture of our family. Believe it or not, that was the best picture we got.
On the menu:
Brats
7 Layer Dip
Rice Krispie Shaped Footballs
Little Miss Lolo decided that dancing was way more fun than actually watching the game. It was precious to see her twirling around in her tutu skirt!
M-I-Z...........Z-O-U
Of course the day was made even more perfect with a WIN by Mizzou.
