It's a BOY!!!

The cake was BLUE, that means we are having a BOY! Andrew was kinda hoping for a little princess but I guess I get MY little prince first. Once Little Gabriel Thomas is here, we will both be head over heels in love (with each little kick, I am ALREADY in love.)  It is a little harder for daddies cuz they can't feel all the little flutters but all that changes once that precious little boy is in our arms.  I for one, can NOT wait.  I am 23 weeks, that means 3 1/2 LONG months to go!  How will I ever make it? =D

My Little Sis..

Still got 'yer back Bea... now and always!

I Raise My Eyes to the Hills, Where Does My Help Come From

My Help Comes From the LORD.

You ever have one of those days? Everywhere you turn, someone is handing you something else to do, to handle, so THEY don't have to?  That was yesterday for me.  I found out that 2 more of my co-workers (yes two MORE) are leaving, meaning by the end of this month, we will be short 5 persons in our advertising group.  As I told my husband last night, "Everyone is jumping ship and I'm left holding the oars."  Well I only have 2 hands, I can't hold all 5 oars that have been abandoned (read that as, ordering advertising for 150+ accounts in each of the 4 abandoned account blocks).  So last night I was VERY discouraged.  So my husband bought me Chinese food (meaning I didn't have to ALSO worry about what to cook-Bless you Honey!) and listened to my tale of woe, let me cry it out and started offering solutions.  It makes me so glad to have a husband.  God knew that as a woman, my response to such times is to relieve stress by letting my emotion drip out of my eyes.  It makes ME feel better, but does not really DO much to get me OUT of the situation.  God instilled in MAN the drive to fix things, to get it done, to move ahead, to get the family where they are going. Thank you God!

So this morning, I already feel much better and on the radio this morning played one of my favorite life-got-you-down? songs Voice of Truth-by Casting Crowns and I wanted to hear it again, so I found it on YouTube and whoever put together this collage, did a good job.  And at the end are verses that spoke to me so well, I wanted to share them.

John 14:27
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

This one is the New Living Translation (which I don't always agree with) but this time it used perfect wording:

Deuteronomy 31:6
"So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you "

As long as I have God and my husband with me, I will keep putting one foot in front of the other and soon I will walk out of the valley and bask in the Son-light.

Kate Quotes

I spent most of yesterday and today with my niece Katelyn.  And today she delighted us several times. It was a treat!  I have included a conversation she had with Papa (Grandpa) while we trekked through the countryside around Norwalk (looking for the car hospital for Auntie B's car) and were finally on our way home.  Then, below that, is Katelyn showing Papa how to play Hide the Ball (the Ball Game).  Such a delight.

Kate: Where are we going?
Papa:  I think we are going back to Grandma's house.
Kate: Auntie B, are we going to Grandma's house?
Aunti B: Yes.
Kate: (to re-assure Papa) she said Yes, we are going to Grandma's house!

Papa you can rest easy, I talked to the source and she says we are going back to your house.  Classic.

Cribbage anyone?

Andrew and I spent the weekend up in Minneapolis for the Twin Cities Auto Show and spent a lovely afternoon with Larry & Carol.  They taught us (or reminded us, I guess) how to play cribbage.  It was so much fun-Andrew won, grinning like a Cheshire Cat the whole time.  (He looked so cute, it softened the blow of losing CONSIDERABLY!)  So now it is time to practice...a LOT!!

For My sister

I just wanted to stop by your blog and leave you something...

To me you are:

A Horse Walks Into a Bar...

And the bartender says, why the long face?

 Sometimes you just need a good laugh (and sometimes even a BAD joke earns a good laugh).  I'm having one of those days where i just need to laugh (or I may cry).  If you have a good joke (or even a bad one!) Comment here.

Jane Austen Challenge

I found the Jane Austen Challenge on a faithful journey blog and decided to read along.  It has been too long since I have read many of Jane Austen's novels and this is a challenge...that will be a small slice of heaven.  Anyone care to join us?

Speaking of March 8...

Kay, I couldn't get this to post on your blog as a comment, so I am featuring you on my blog today!  This day in history, a bright blue eyed, golden haired little girl bounced into this world and her sisters have not had a moment's rest!!  But we love you for it.  If you didn't have the energy you do, you couldn't WOW me so much with your strength as a wife and mother!  Keep setting the Gold Standard, Sister!

God is Good!

Thank you for all your prayers, my Dad is healing well!  He is recovering from home for now.  Next comes the hard part-re-thinking all of our recipes to make them heart healthy!  So now i am elbow deep in recipe research, figuring out what we can and can not use in recipes.  I am so consumed with this (whatever is on my mind comes out of my mouth, so EVERYONE around me knows what I'm dealing with) a lady on the bus loaned me her Taste of Home cookbook which has a Light Recipes section!  That added a little fun to my recipe hunt.  Thank you Lord for putting in my path such caring people, I have been blessed by those around me.

Today is the Big Day!!

Today is Dad's Triple Bypass surgery and I am a wreck.  I was handling it with minimal tears (an INCREDIBLE feat for me!) until they said they put Dad on the heart & lung machine to breathe for him and pump his blood while they operate to bypass the 3 blockages in his heart.  I wasn't prepared for how much that would affect me.  But the nurse is giving us regular updates and all is going well.  Keep praying that recovery goes as smoothly as the surgery so far.  The big hurdle now is that they will remove him from the heart & lung machine and make sure none of the bypasses leak!  We are not in the clear yet,  please continue to pray!

God, is my character strong enough yet?

I feel like this last week I have gone through an abnormal amount of "character-building" in the form of one scare after another.  Last Sunday, my little sister had a scare that she might be miscarrying.  We all rushed to her side, and I prayed the whole way to her house, I was so scared.  Then Thursday, my older sister's little girl under went surgery to correct a broken arm that had not healed properly.  Only this time she was halfway across the country and I could NOTHING more than sit at my desk at work and pray.  Then this morning I get a call from Mom that Dad had a mild grade heart attack and they are keeping him in the hospital until Monday when they will do an angiogram.  I'm not sure I can handle anymore character building!!  I'm a weeper, it doesn't take much to set me off and this week has been Niagra Falls!  God, give me peace.  I need your help to get through these emotional times.  Be with my Father in the hospital, how frightening for him and for us, his family!  God, I need to feel your peace.

I LOVE SparkPeople.com

I LOVE this website! It helps me keep track of fitness and calories burned, keep track of what I'm eating and even has a recipe calculator so I can input my recipes and find out how many calories per serving of my favorite recipes! It even has a sister site, BabyFit.com, so I can stay healthy during pregnancy (whenever that is =)  It's really neat!

DEFINITELY...a Happy Birthday

Thank you to everyone who made my 31st birthday such a happy one!  My husband took me to a Japanese steakhouse for some hibachi cooking.  My little sister and her husband joined us for the fun.  We had some sushi, had some laughs and then headed over to their house to play a game and some more laughs-ABRACADABRA!  And to top all that off, today (my actual birthday) is Super Bowl Sunday, so I get to eat all this junk food and lounge around in my jammies!!!  What a birthday!  Tomorrow, I took the day off work but I'm having lunch at HuHot with a couple of my girlfriends from work.  Definitely a Happy Birthday.  Thank you all, and I love you Honey!

Down Memory Lane

I remember this ONE family vacation...up in the Rocky Mountains.  Along side the curvy mountain road crouched this unassuming hunters cabin.  My sisters and I decided to investigate (April had her camera along and wanted to take pictures-Kay took the video camera).  Down the mountain side we trekked, video taping the whole journey...for posterity...or hilarity as it turns out.  As we reach the cabin we are discussing its possible past occupants.  Gold diggers from the 49 gold rush maybe, lone hunters out for elk in the high mountains.  We peer through the tiny window and somebody says "Wait a minute...there are blankets on that bed and it looks slept in."  Someone else notes "There are canned goods that shelf on the wall." Suddenly, Kay (with the video camera) turns and walks away.  Not to be left behind, April and I follow.  As we hop over the tiny mountain stream, someone steps in the water and sucks in a breath-it's COLD.  Kay takes off as though BigFoot himself is pursuing her.  All we see is Kay bolting for the car! April and I speed up the side of the mountain.  -Now, I don't know how many of you have ever tried any sort of physical activity up in the mountains, but the air is thin up there? It's difficult to catch your breath when you are walking.  When you are running for your life, it is as thought your lungs will explode.-  We arrive back at the van, completely breathless and yet laughing hysterically.  While we heave and guffaw, I look up to see Mom's face etched in concern and Dad's eyebrows couldn't go any further up his forehead.  suddenly, the laughter intensified as we imagined what it looked like from above, as we explore, decide to leave and suddenly barrel up the mountain.  It was hilarious...and as I mentioned before, all caught on video tape.

One of my favorite memories with my sisters.

Pray for Joy

My best friend Joy is a missionary in Kazakhstan, has been for 3 years.  While trying to leave the country to re-apply for her visa (you have to re-apply from outside the country-she was headed to Ukraine), at the airport, she and another missionary were detained and ultimately deported.  They are appealing the decision and will have to wait in Kiev, Ukraine. If the deportation is NOT over turned, she will not be able to return to Kazakhstan for 5 years.  My heart aches for her and for all the hard work she has put into her ministry in Kazakhstan and the possibility of having to leave that behind, it’s devastating.  But God’s will is at work here, He is omniscient and omnipotent and I have to trust him to protect Joy.  Maybe this is God’s way of removing Joy from harm’s way.  He will protect and all I have to do is trust him and pray.  God, keep her safe, give her strength and give her your peace, peace that passes all understanding.

Less of me…More of Him

This will be a semi regular feature on my blog.  I have battled my weight for years and am finding out that a lot of women struggle with the same things I do.  Tune in here to share your own struggles, thoughts, tips, exercises that work…whatever you’d like to add.  Here we go.

January 2011, I am once AGAIN tackling the monster that is my fluctuation in weight.  For those of us that love food, it is difficult to lose weight-I LOVE to eat!  So it will be a long slow road uphill and I have already forgiven myself for the times I will stumble and get off track.  But Ecc 4:9-10 reminds me NOT to go it alone.  Normally I read out of the New American Standard Bible but I LOVE the New Living Translation of this verse, "⁹ Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. ¹⁰ If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble." So therefore, since I want to succeed this time,  I need people to come along side me and hold me accountable for how much I eat and how little I exercise.  God, most of all I need YOUR help.  I am weak but you are strong.  Like the Footprints in the Sand, there will be times I need you to carry me.

First Blog...Be Gentle

This is my first blog, so be gentle. And don't expect much, I am NOT a consistent blogger, so be patient. I am scatter-brained by nature and, I assume, in my blogging as well. But there are exciting thing going on in my life that I want to share. Or at least get thoughts out there. Ready? Here we go!