I'm back.

The kids and I just got home this afternoon from our week in Chicago followed by a weekend at my parents' house.

I am tired.
So tired.
So glad to be home.
To our normal bedrooms.
To our normal routines.
To our normal rules.
And no more long car rides.

Why is it that I always forget how extremely hard it is to be away from home with the kids? *sigh* Different sleeping arrangements, different table arrangements, new rules, no routine, etc.

Did I mention that Kevin's working nights 6pm-6am for a month and a half? Into November. Every night with one day off every 5 days. Welcome to outage at the power plant. That's why we took off for a week so that Kevin could just work and get the sleep he needs. It was sooo good to see daddy today! Man, I missed him! We had dinner tonight at 4:15 and now it's going to be a looong evening until it's finally bed time.

So farewell, friends. I'm done for today, but I'll be back tomorrow.

My homework: Being a better help meet

Okay, so I thought I'd share my answers from last week's homework assignment from the Created to Be His Help Meet book I'm currently reading and loving.

Monday: Write three new things that you will add to your life that will cause you to become more precious to your husband.
1. regular personal Bible time = better attitude
2. prayer for him and also tell him that I prayed for ____ today.
3. follow my cleaning schedule--ACTUAL cleaning, not just the basics like dishes and laundry

Tuesday: List three things that you can do that will be a help to him.
1. clean out his lunch box for him every day
2. regularly make sure he has fresh jeans for work
3. prepare some things for his lunches--boiled eggs, potatoes, etc

Wednesday: Write down three things you can do that will be an encouragement to him.
1. make a small treat with a note
2. occasionally have kids make art special for daddy
3. just say "I love you and I sure am thankful for you."

Thursday: Jot down three things about your appearance that you can change, which he is sure to like.
1. wear hair down more often, especially since he's the reason I grew it long in the first place
2. wear perfume sometimes
3. paint nails

Friday: List three things that you can do to your house that will please him.
1. keep the office clean since that's kind of his zone
2. clean our bedroom. since that's wear I fold laundry, it's super easy for it to get really cluttered in there.
3. always make sure toys are completely put away at the end of the day

Saturday: Write three things you can do that will make him feel like he is THE MAN.
1. tell him how great looks or smells
2. make it a point to tell him how strong he is when I need help with something.
3. tell him thank you when he makes a decision for the family. tell him I appreciate his wisdom and caution and that he's a smart man.

Sunday: Plan three things you can respond to him in front of others that will show a heart of respect and honor toward him.
1. share praises on blog/facebook
2. at church be sure to share how hard Kevin is working, especially the next couple months when he'll be missing church because of work
3. praise daddy to the kids


This seems like kind of an ambitious list to start implementing all at once, but I'll do the best I can! God has been shaping my heart lately in an incredible way and I truly enjoy serving and loving on my husband! It took a bit of time to sit down and fill out these lists, but it's worth it, I believe and I encourage you to do it as well!

It's a.... BOY!

Today's ultrasound went well, and as you can tell from the post title, we found out we're having a BOY! Everything measured just right, if anything ONE DAY ahead of the due date but that's nothing. I wanted it to be a whole family event, and I'm so thankful Kevin could get out of work just a little early and I could work out the kids' naps so they could come too. Before naps I looked up some pictures of ultrasound images to show Eli, just so he'd know kind of what it would look like since I've been telling him for a week now how we get to take a peek at the baby using a special machine. I also found a picture of a woman getting the ultrasound and how she was laying on the table. So as soon as we walked into the room, Eli was telling me to get on the table. Funny! He knew exactly what was going on! I forgot how long it takes to get all the measurements though and the kids were pretty restless, well, mostly Hannah throughout the whole deal. And most of it I really couldn't tell what the images were of. Baby was curled up in a ball the whole time so we didn't get a good shot of his face or body, but we could definitely tell it was a baby! =) But man, I'm sooo thankful that things are looking good and healthy! And we can start preparing for the arrival of BABY BOY!

Pregnancy-wise I've been feeling great! So far, with all three pregnancies that first-trimester nausea has stopped right at 12 weeks! Praise the Lord! And I'm just now starting to actually look pregnant instead of just a little round, haha! And I'm also starting to FEEL the belly, like when I bend down or certain movements. Now to find a pair of good maternity pants! Ugh, it's soo hard and all my comfy pants like yoga pants or whatever are capris and will soon be packed away for the season. Or not, we'll see. Hopefully soon I'll have a picture for you! I really haven't taken any yet!

So dear friends, thank you for your prayers as this ultrasound was approaching! Continue to pray for a smooth rest of the pregnancy!

One reason I love the country life.

The sunsetsare amazing!

Monday Meanderings

Bible Study
gentleness because I have sooo NOT been that lately!

Memory Verse
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." Colossians 3:12

Husband Encouragement
just work on having a good attitude!

Train Them Up
* I've got a week of preschool lessons planned for both kids (well, mostly for Eli of course, but it won't hurt for Hannah to be around too!)
* show joy and patience with them
* don't yell, just discipline if necessary

MUST Do
* make cookies for Curtis who gave us the swing set
* housework--I don't know what the deal was but I did like nothing last week!
* look for more library books to use for our preschool lesson theme

Zone
Office. I try really hard to keep toys out so it's a nice clean space for Kevin to do his things, but lately it's been all my things that are the cause of the clutter!

Menu Plan

Monday - mini corn dogs, green beans, applesauce
Tuesday - Mediterranean pasta, garlic bread, peaches
Wednesday - taco salad, pineapple
Thursday - chicken sandwiches, carrots, bananas
Friday - margarita pizza

FUN THINGS!
* Tuesday is the ultrasound--whole family event!
* Wednesday is library story time for Hannah (and tag-along Eli)
* Hopefully going to an orchard as part of our preschool lesson apples theme and then making homemade applesauce!
* Thursday night is a ladies night at the church. We're being assigned a prayer partner and someone to specifically encourage through the months
* Saturday the kids and I are leaving for Chicago to stay with a friend and her beautiful family for 6 days!


Join me with your meanderings!

If You Give a Mouse Some Bacon...

...he'll get caught in a trap.

The End.

By the way, tomorrow's the big day!!

UPDATE: Okay, so I guess TUESDAY'S the big day! One hour before my appointment yesterday my ultrasound got rescheduled for next week. Grr... I was so bummed, seeing as that has been the highlight of my week all week and I'd gotten it all hyped up with the kids since I want them to be a part of it too. But since I napped the kids way early and Kevin had gotten off work early for it, I just HAD to get out of the house and do something fun in replacement. So we took off for Lincoln and just enjoyed an evening out. We got two new swings for our swing set and had a yummy dinner at Outback Steakhouse, as a last little hurrah before Kevin's starts outage next week and we have NO family time for an entire month. So that's exactly what we'll be doing this weekend--enjoying family time!

Tomorrow afternoon is my 20-week ultrasound in which we get a sneak peek at our baby AND hopefully find out BOY/GIRL! I didn't think I wanted to know this time, but I do. Having found out with both Eli and Hannah, I know the joy of "knowing" and it really is wonderful. To feel like you already know the baby within your belly. Like the baby is already part of the family instead of waiting for it to be part of the family. It just makes it all seem so much more real. And it's still a surprise, just earlier! It's hard to explain unless you've been there. But I just can't wait! And of course I'm a little bit anxious too because we get to look at the baby. So far all we've known is that it is has a heartbeat. But tomorrow we'll find out if things are really going okay, and that makes me a little nervous, so be praying that everything goes well. And of course, you'll be hearing from me again SOON!! Until tomorrow...

Toodles!

Homework time!

For YOU that is! I just finished reading Chapter 12 of Created to Be His Help Meet and at the end of the chapter is a homework assignment I thought I'd encourage you to do as well. Think about it over the next few days and try to follow through with it next week. And if you want to, feel free to share your lists or the positive changes you see in your home. and marriage Alrighty, the assignment:

Monday: Write three new things that you will add to your life that will cause you to become more precious to your husband.

Tuesday: List three things that you can do that will be a help to him.

Wednesday: Write down three things you can do that will be an encouragement to him.

Thursday: Jot down three things about your appearance that you can change, which he is sure to like.

Friday: List three things that you can do to your house that will please him.

Saturday: Write three things you can do that will make him feel like he is THE MAN.

Sunday: Plan three things you can respond to him in front of others that will show a heart of respect and honor toward him.


READY, SET, GO! Be blessed!

What I am learning...

I'm only half-way through the book Created to be His Help Meet, and already these are the amazing, life-changing things I've been learning:

* I am learning how to be accepting and to love the husband God has given me.

* I am learning that it maybe doesn't take two to save a marriage. One person can decide to change her attitude and it just will have affect a positive affect on the other.

* I am learning how to choose joy and practice thankfulness.

* I am learning that God made Kevin into the man he is for a purpose.

* I am learning how to not take my husband's qualities for granted.

* I am learning how to serve wholeheartedly and without expectation.

* I am learning that to have a good marriage you have to be lovable.

* I am learning that it doesn't have to take a good man to have a heavenly marriage, just a woman willing to honor God.

* I am learning how to love, really love, in the unconditional kind of way.

* I am learning how to set my feelings aside and obey God.

* I am learning that when you do all the above things, any marriage can be restored.


Now it's not like my marriage was horrible by any means, but it did need some work. And in the book, I've been reading many other people's experiences and seeing just how powerful an attitude-change can be! I'll be sharing more as I get to the end of this book, but for now, think about your own marriage. How are you doing??

Evening sun.

It was a busy holiday weekend back home, I'm tired and still recovering and thankful this week will be short with lots of fun activities planned: Tuesday MOPS, Wednesday toddler story time at the library, Thursday play date, Friday ultrasound, Saturday weekend! No meanderings this week, but I will leave you with these pics I took tonight! What a beautiful evening! I LOVE this time of year!

My new favorite sandwich.

Toasted Italian sub. From my very own kitchen. I made this last night and it was so good I couldn't wait to make it again for lunch today!

- sub buns (mine were actually just bakery hot dog buns because that was the only choice at the store)

- pepperoni

- hard salami

- deli ham

- sliced cheese of choice (I got muenster this time just to switch things up)

For the meats I tried to find the really thin sliced stuff, in the deli section instead of the lunch meat section. The pepperoni were big ones and the salami was thin. Layer up your sandwich--pepperoni, salami, ham, and cheese. Then pop in the oven for just a couple minutes, 'til it's starting to look toasty and the cheese is melty. (I did 425 degrees for about 3-4 minutes) After it's toasted, then spread mayonnaise on the bun and THEN...(here's the yummy part!)...brush the top of the sandwich half with balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing. I was going to use Italian but when I saw last minute that we were out of it, I found the next closest thing in our fridge, gave it a sniff to see what it would taste like, and went with it, and it turned out really good! It would have been good with a little lettuce on it too, but we didn't have any so that was that! It was still great without!

For Kevin's sandwich instead of making it with the mayo and dressing, I spread a layer of warmed-up leftover marinara sauce after toasting. Yumm...

So there you have it, my new favorite sandwich!