Author: Andrea

The Stork is Halfway Here!

Well, we’re over the hump…last Monday made twenty weeks, and I think that is officially considered halfway.  Tomorrow will be twenty-one weeks.  And the next Monday, at twenty-two weeks, we will find an answer to the big question:  He or She!?!  (So, you have just about one week to vote.  Please leave a comment including your guess as to Boy? or Girl?  We would love to read everyone’s opinion, and then announce who was correct when we find out!)

I feel this critter a lot now…lots of little taps and pokes!  It is exciting!  And, yes, I am starting to get into Maternity clothes.  My regular clothes have been getting snug for quite a while, and my closet options seem to be diminishing by the week!  I finally got down to a very few skirts that were still wearable, and a friend kindly offered to go maternity shopping with me!  It was such a nice gesture, and turned out to be a very successful trip.  Now there are a few more choices in my wardrobe, and I am just about to plunge whole-heartedly into the maternity look!  I have actually been waiting a bit anxiously for this, excited to wear some of the cute maternity tops I have found or been given!  It is a bit challenging to change your whole wardrobe, though!  Now I have skirts and tops, but not all of them have a matching counterpart, and, well…we’re still sorting things out!  The funny thing is though, that your size is constantly changing (getting bigger, that is!), so something that worked last week may not work this week!  Keeps life interesting!  (All the moms out there are probably laughing at me and my ‘pregnant newbie’ discoveries!)

Speaking of getting bigger, this baby does not help matters when it wants to eat chocolate and sugar all the time.  And of course, I don’t want to be selfish;  it’s not about me and what I want (whick is only healthy food, of course!) –it is about the BABY.  So I just have to sacrifice and keep giving the little one the chocolate and sugar it wants.  Ohhh the trials of eating for two!  And the other thing is that baby wants to sleep all the time!  Why it’s making me yawn now!  Oh well, if I have to eat chocolate and sleep in every day for the baby, I will suffer through it!  I’m joking!  (Well, kind of…)  I have had a big sweet tooth lately, and the baby does make me more tired, but I don’t sleep in EVERY day!

I might add, Baby’s Daddy has been quite the sweetie lately!  I’ll admit I am getting a little spoiled…seems like we have been going to eat where I want, and buying other little things that I like.  It really pays to be pregnant!

All in all, things are going very well so far.  Didn’t have much of any morning sickness in the first trimester, and even now, there are some common side effects of being pregnant, and aches and pains here and there, but nothing too bad at all.  I think I am VERY blessed compared to what some moms have to endure.  Thank the Lord…He is always better to us than we deserve!  And we are looking forward to raising this child for Him.  What a privilege…and an immense responsibility!

Our Day Off

Well, right now in our lives, we are privileged to have every Monday off together.  It probably will not always work out that way, but for now we enjoy it!  Today we slept in a little; Dustin got up first, had his devos, then went out to mow the lawn.  Eventually I woke up (the baby was very sleepy today!!!), and read my Bible, then went out for a walk.  Finally we left the house, and headed to York.  Most Mondays we go to York and eat at Chipotle (we’ve become quite the supporters of this restaurant!).  Some Mondays we go to  Shrewsbury and eat at Chick-Fil-A –perhaps our second favorite fast food restaurant!  A couple of weeks ago we tried Arby’s, and liked it, so we went back there today.  Then we shopped around at a few stores for some odd things.  Dustin was really spoiling me today…guess it pays to be pregnant!  Then we headed home.

Then I started working in the kitchen.  I cooked up the veggies we had and was able to make two salsas –green and red (WONDERFUL DAY!), and while I was working on the salsa, Dustin started making a New York style Cheesecake!  It is cooking now, and I have ingredients to make a cherry topping to eat with it.  I remember my Mom telling me once, “Andrea, do everything together,”(meaning Dustin and I) and I have to say it was really fun to work together on our kitchen creations today!  Little things like this can make such memorable days!

Hmmmm...a whole quart of each, red and green salsas; now I'm a rich girl!

 

New York cheesecake in the oven!

 

 

My Cup Runneth Over

My sister Sharon recently reminded me of this phrase in a song we both heard –“I’m drinking from my saucer, ’cause my cup’s overflowed!”  That is about how I feel right now –blessed beyond anything I deserve.  I hate to go on and on about a house and all the little material things I like when there are such greater things to be thankful for such as Salvation, God’s Word, a wonderful Godly husband, good Christian families (on both sides), a strong church and Pastor, and good friends here and around the world.  But I also know God cares about little things; and as a Father, He delights to please us in so many ways, great and small.  I love to notice the little things God does for me…it would be a shame to let them pass me by.  So I would like to share a few–

A really nice kitchen…

A gas stove, and a real flame!  I grew up with a gas stove, and in the last two years I learned to appreciate them even more, having an electric one.

A fire place.  Can I tell you how much I love having a fireplace?  I love fall, and Christmas, and even winter –wierd, I know.  But again I grew up having a fireplace, and am so excited to have and use one again, especially as the chilly days draw nearer.

Living Room with Fireplace

A dishwasher.  I have never lived in a house with a dishwasher.  Growing up, my sister and I WERE the dishwashers, according to Dad.  It’s not too bad with just two people, but for baking, or having company, it is soooo much easier to just throw dishes into the dishwasher, then to wash counterfuls upon counterfuls of dishes!  I think I just might enjoy cooking and baking more too, knowing I don’t have oodles of clean-up to keep in mind!

Lots of windows and outdoor light.  I love the brightness of our home.  And curtains are so fun!

(And you may be saying, "Outdoor light?" We are in the middle of the outreaching effects of Tropical Storm Lee! Rain, rain, rain! No, not much outdoor light today!)

Outdoor living space.  Although we didn’t miss it too much in our apartment, it will be very nice to have picnics outside, cook burgers and steaks on the grill, plant flowers, and sit on the deck.

A grill!
This was before many of my plants either went into shock because of so much sunlight (weren't used to it), or flooded, and I brought most of them in.

A living room and kitchen adjoined.  I love being able to work in the kitchen and still feel a part to what is happening in the living room.  We can do our separate things and still converse, and maybe one day the kids can play on the floor and Dad read the paper while Mom bakes cookies…all in the same area!  (But life is sometimes less than ideal!  Maybe it will be more like –The kids arguing on the floor, Dad talking on the phone, and me hustling about the kitchen with timers going off and smoke rising from the oven!  We’ll be all together, though, nonetheless!)

A big master bedroom.  I love the roominess of our bedroom.  And I love the way Dustin and his Dad set it up.  I didn’t envision it that way, but I like it so much better than the idea I had.  It makes the room feel so spacious.

And I could go on and on, but I will stop there.  God is so good to us, and we don’t deserve such a nice, new house.  He even gave us lots of “little” things he knew we specifically would enjoy.  May we use them all to His glory and share liberally with others.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Psalm 23

Baby!!!

Yes, if you have heard a rumor, it is true…We are expecting a Baby!  The due date is February 6th.  We do not know yet if it is a girl or boy, but will be happy with either.  One of Mom’s favorite verses was Psalm 68:19:

“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.”

It seems appropriate now…

Baby's First Picture!