Waiting, Patiently!

Well, I had every intention of writing a post last month. I actually even had one saved that I never published.... oh, well. Anyway, these past two months have flown by and I would love to be able to introduce my sweet baby boy, but unfortunately, he seems to be very comfortable right where he is. So, we wait... Can I tell you how HARD it has been to wait. I mean, I've been preparing for this little boy for nine months now and I'm completely ready to see his face and hold him in my arms. Should I also mention the years we've prayed for and never really thought this time would come. When the doc said I had made progress and she would like to wait until next Monday to see if he would just come on his own, I was thankful for her wisdom but at the same time my heart sank, "one more week?". As I have been learning to wait, God has reminded me of how my situation relates to the anticipation I should have for his return. Our bags are in the car, the cameras are charged, his room is completely ready, and we've even washed and cleaned out the car! We've done this knowing that any day he could come, so we've made preparations and are ready to go at any minute.  As we've prepared, we continue to do our daily tasks. All this preparation, anticipation that I've put into my son's arrival, do I do the same in my preparation for Christ's return. Am I living my life daily prepared  for His return, knowing that He may come at any minute. Am I filling myself with His word daily, and relying on Him, knowing that any second He may return. Am I preparing myself to be used by Him and allowing Him to guide me to share the gospel with those He puts in my path. It seems through this waiting period God has been speaking to my heart and I'm thankful. I'm thankful that God continues to help me, teach me, and guide me. I know that one day I'll look back and cherish this time God had me to wait. I'm so thankful God's ways are better than my ways. 

As I finished up with my students last week for my maternity leave, I must say I've enjoyed the time I've been able to have with my hubby these past few days. Last week, we celebrated his birthday and tomorrow we'll be celebrating mine. Yes, we're six days apart and I LOVE that! We usually celebrate all week together and this year we were hoping to include our little guy into the celebrations. It's crazy to think that our birthdays will all be in October. Trevor and I use to joke that if we ever did have children we would like their birthday to be in October and the same week as ours, that way we could just extend our celebration. When we found out we were pregnant and that our baby's due date was exactly in between our birthdays, I had to laugh and then be amazed at God's timing. So, who knows, I may get my birthday present tomorrow?! 

Well, I also have to play catch up of what else has happened over the past two months. Yes, I started back to school and I love my group of students this year. They were so sweet to me and made me cards and some even made cards for Caleb. Every morning when we would pray, the students would take turns praying and it was so sweet to hear them pray for me and Caleb. I'm SO thankful that I teach at a school where the students can learn about the power of prayer! Here is a picture of my classroom this year....

My co-workers gave me a surprise shower after work one day. I do believe I shed a few tears. So many of my co-workers have journeyed with us through our desire to have children and have seen how God has worked through the ups and downs. They went in together to buy us the swing we registered for and few other little goodies. They had even called Trevor to come, so I was completely shocked when I saw his cute face enter the room! It was a very special time. My church also gave us a shower. Again, it was lots of fun. I was trying to remember to take it all in and treasure every minute. Some people from the last church we were on staff at also came which made it that more special. Here are some pics from that day....

                                                                                                         

We also completely finished baby boy's room... well, almost. We have one more pic to put up that was made by my friend Anna Ruth, but we're waiting on his arrival so she can finish the date!! But, everything else is done. I LOVE his room. Some days I just go in and sit in the rocker and stare at everything and at night I pick out a book off of the shelf to read to him. I can't wait til he comes and we can actually start putting these sweet little items to use! So here's his room.....

                                     Ok, so I was going for a story book theme in
                                     his room. I framed some old golden books that I
                                     found at the Good Will. I think they turned out cute.
                                    The ABC book from Richard Scarey is one that Trevor
                                    had as a child.

                                     The Poky Little Puppy, which goes along with
                                     the wall hanging my mom put together!

                                 This is his cute, little, jammed packed closet!!!!

                                           And of course, we already have lots 
                                           of books! I'm praying he likes reading 
                                           and books just as much as his mommy does!!



Other random activities over the past few weeks......Trevor and I did make it to the apple orchard this year but we didn't pick apples. We just bought the apples already picked. I've enjoyed several craft shows, yard sales, and fun times with friends, especially our trip to the White Oak Tea Tavern!!! Love that place. 

I feel blessed beyond measure! Although everyday is not perfect and I have my struggles, God is in control and everyday I choose to see the blessings and live in the joy of the Lord!!

Have a blessed week!!

Busy Times

Over the past few weeks, we've had a lot of fun visiting family, traveling, and experiencing our first baby shower! 

While Trevor was gone on the mission trip, I traveled to stay with my parents. For the past two years, I've stayed with them for about three days while Trevor was gone, but this year I decided to stay the whole week. I figured this will be the last time I get to travel and stay with them by myself. This year I met up with them at a nearby state park and enjoyed shopping and eating at a craft fair. I bought this cute little homemade "pee pee tee pee", of which I couldn't pass up. Although I'm not sure if it will truly keep me dry during diaper changes, I thought it was too funny and cute to not buy. 

pee-pee tee-pee

Mom and I also bought fabric and started working on Caleb's wall hanging for his room. Every year, mom and I usually come up with a craft and cooking project to do together. This year Caleb kinda took all the focus. We didn't really cook, well, we did cook dinner together but we didn't try anything new. 

On Wednesday, my dad took a day off from work and we traveled to Mt. Airy, NC, to visit the Andy Griffith Museum and the places from the show. We had a lot of fun. Mt. Airy is such a neat little town. 

Barney's Cafe'

Opie's Candy Store

We enjoyed walking down main street and visiting the museum. There were so many cute shops on main street. I really enjoyed the day, although very hot!

An old-fashioned soda shop

Also over the past few weeks, Trevor and I celebrated our 12th  wedding anniversary! I can't believe it's been 12 years. It doesn't seem like it's been that long. I was looking at our scrapbooks and it's so cool to see all the fun times we've had, the different anniversary celebrations, and also the reminder of how God has brought us through so much. We celebrated our 12th by eating at Red Lobster, our favorite restaurant, and stopping by Red Box on the way home. It was a very relaxing celebration! I'm looking forward to many, many more years and celebrations to come.

Then, Trevor and I started our vacation by traveling to visit his family. We stopped in Madison and ate at the Pig and Steak. Yeah, I know the name does not do justice to this great bbq place. Actually, I had never been there, but for the 12 years we've been married and passed by this place, Trevor would always say how good it was and that he should take me sometime. Well, the sometime finally happened. The food was really good. I always think it's special when Trevor wants to share something from his "growing up" years with me, even if it took 12 years.... heehee. Then, that night, his parents sent us to a local Italian restaurant called Lucios for dinner for our anniversary. It was very nice and the food was delicious but I must say... I ate more on this day than I had for a very long time. 

The next day we celebrated Caleb's upcoming arrival with our first baby shower. My sister-in-law did an amazing job putting it together. It was great getting to be with family!! As we arrived, I was still in amazement that I was at a baby shower for me and my son.... I didn't think I was ever going to experience this. As I had become content with my life without children, I am very grateful and humbled that it was part of God's plan for me to be Caleb's mom. I just pray that He will mold me and continue to teach me and guide me to be the mother that pleases and honors Him.

This year for our vacation, I knew that I would not feel like going somewhere where there is whole lot to do. So, we decided on going to Boone, NC for rest and relaxation. I must say, this was one of the most relaxing vacations we've been on in awhile. I'm normally one who likes to go, go, go when visiting a new or different place. This year, not so much. We did enjoy the Tanger Outlets, visiting The Blowing Rock, watching a movie, mini- golf, and also naps! After we would be out for a few hours, I would ask Trevor if we could go back to the hotel and rest... ha! But it was enjoyable, slow paced, and I totally feel refreshed to finish some projects before I go back to work. Oh yeah, on this trip, we were also able to visit Elevation Church. It was much different than I'm use to but very worshipful. I really enjoyed it and most importantly, God was speaking to my heart!! I'm thankful that God calls different pastors to plant and lead churches in different ways.Who are we to put down or judge when the Word of God is being preached, lives are being changed, and Jesus Christ is receiving the glory. Our methods may be different, but our goals and mission are the same. I really enjoy visiting and worshiping with other believers in different worship settings, from the country, suburban, and city church. Ok, off my soapbox... lately, this is just something God has been dealing with me about. 

Finally, we've almost got baby boy's room put together... well, we don't have all of the furniture yet but we've finally got the room ready to be able to put these items in. Well, I guess I should give Trevor the credit because, umm, I haven't really done anything except to hang up a few clothes in the closet, and wash the windows. But I've been a really good cheerleader.... heehee! Anyway, so thankful for my man! I'll post pics when we finish setting it up. 

Well, I guess that's it for now.... I only have a little over a week before I go back to work. I've got a few things to cram into these last few days but I honestly can say I'm looking forward to going back to work. I love "back to school" time. 

Be blessed!

Summer Fun

The summer, once again, is flying by and here I am again waiting two months since my last post. 

I'm completely enjoying my summer break. I'm trying to take in every second because I know before long the lazy days of summer will be over and school will be back in session. 

So, here is what I've been up to.....

-gardening
                                          not a great pic, but this is when first planted

                                            can't wait to eat these yummies!

-enjoying drying clothes on the line

-bbq/ smores

We bought a new grill since birds inhabited our old one and we've really been enjoying dinners from the grill. We also tried a new kind of smores... peanutbutter cup smores. They are addicting!

-reading lots of interesting books....

-and oh yeah, planning a nursery and our home for the arrival of a baby bOy! Everything is progressing well and I'm down to 13 weeks to go!

We received these cute outfits a couple of days after we found out we were having a boy.

- We also enjoyed spending Father's Day with my parents... 

-scrapbooking,  I'm really behind and trying to catch up before baby boy comes

-We also experienced an awful storm the last week of June that knocked our power out for five days and it just so happened to be the week that we had record breaking temps. Quite an experience that I will never forget but am also thankful for because it reminded me of several things.... 1. That I have much to be thankful for    2. That God is faithful    3. That it's easier to hear from God when all the distractions are removed    4. That I waste a lot of time with some electrical devices   5. that we depend on ourselves many times more than we depend on God       and lastly....    6. so thankful for good neighbors and friends

During this time, Trevor and I cleaned and organized the basement which made this nesting momma feel great! We also had a generator that kept our refrigerator running and we didn't loose any food, except a few things from our deep freeze that should have been thrown away anyway. And ya know that said grill we bought a month ago? Well, it came in handy when cooking for meals. One morning, Trevor even made bacon and eggs with it. Although this was a difficult time, not just for me but for so many people, I realize how much my joy and contentment doesn't come from things or even electricity but from the Lord. It will definitely be a story to tell our son in years to come!!

-This past week, I was also excited to get a day with my mom. We enjoyed tea together, shopping and a nice lunch out. We were able to do some thrift shopping, which I LOVE to do. Some things I purchased.... 

some books.. I'm always a sucker for books

maternity pants that I can wear when I go back to work

a cute purse for the fall 

some printer paper that looks like a scrolI which I can use at school 

I spent a whopping $8!! Whoo hoo, that makes this girl happy!

Well, this coming week I'll be traveling to have more fun times with my parents while Trevor is out of town. Looking forward to many more memories made this summer!

Celebrating

Over the past few weeks, I've had a chance to slow down a bit and enjoy being with friends and family. As a celebration for ending some classes I've been taking, my friend Anna Ruth and I traveled to Scott's strawberry farm to pick some delicious strawberries. There's nothing sweeter than fresh picked strawberries. I made some strawberry smoothies that were really good. Next on the list is to make strawberry shortcakes. 

This past weekend, we enjoyed having Trevor's parents at our house to celebrate his mom's birthday along with Mother's Day. On Sunday, Trevor's brother and family came to surprise her but she had already figured it out. Oh well for surprises, we had a great time together anyway!!

As for baby update, things are moving along smoothly. Hopefully on Friday, we will get to find out if we're having a BoY or a gIrL!!!! 

As for school, we're down to 16 days left! I think I'm more excited about summer break than my students. There's so much to be done this summer and I'm so looking forward to being off from work to get it all done. 

Other things I'm looking forward to: 
                                                            planting the garden
                                                            working on some home projects
                                                            catching up on my scrapbook
                                                            spending time with family/ friends
                                                            cook outs/ picnics
                                                            having some fun Fridays with my baby

Summer break can not get here fast enough!!!!!!!!!!!!

I leave with a couple of pics of some cicadas I took a couple of weeks ago on field trip with my students. Actually, the field that we were in was covered with them. 

Playing Catch-Up!

Ok, so I dropped out of blogland for a little while but not permanently. It's been a busy past couple of months and it just seems when I finally get a chance to blog, I'm too tired or seem to find something else more important to do. So I'm finally on spring break and am able to relax a little this week before going back next week to finish out the year! 

Well, a lot has happened so I'm going to highlight some fun and great things that I've been up to over the past months. First of all, as an update from one of my last posts, I was very excited to finally see SNOW!! 

Not only was this snow beautiful, but was enough to close school for the day!! Yippee!! 
But what's really crazy, the weather had been so warm that I was worried that it was going to damage my daffodils that had bloomed much earlier than usual but the snow actually melted quickly and they survived.

 Normally they bloom in March but I took this picture on February 21. 

I also had a lot going on at school. We celebrated the 101st day of school with 101 Dalmatians and of course lots of counting activities. The students enjoyed dressing up as dalmatians and celebrating with a party at the end of the day. We also celebrated Dr. Seuss week and Read Across America. We kicked it off by watching Tim Tebow read Green Eggs and Ham. I love Dr. Seuss week! We had such a fun week!!

To end the month of February, I was able to enjoy a Girls Night Out with some girls from church. It was such a great time of worship and fun. I really enjoyed hearing Mandissa and singing some of my fav songs that she sings. Another artist that I wasn't as familiar with but seemed to know some of her songs is Laura Story. Wow, she was great and what an amazing testimony she has. I needed this night so much and I enjoyed being with these great ladies!

And then yesterday, I was able to see my family for Easter. We had a great lunch and enjoyed spending time with the kids. My dad's birthday was this past Tuesday so we not only celebrated Christ's resurrection but my dad's b-day. We had fun eating cake, hiding eggs, and  just spending time together. 

We had a great day but the wind ended up being a bit chilly for hiding eggs outside. We did it a few times but decided we would rather be inside. 


Trevor and I also had a big surprise in February. We found out we are having a baby! It's been a whirlwind of a couple of months and at times I still find myself in awe and amazement of God's blessing. As most of you know, we have not been able to have children and as from previous posts we pursued foster care upon which the door was closed. Over the past year, we had become content with not having children and enjoying the life God had blessed us with. As I continue to learn, God desires us to be content in whatever situation we've been placed in. At times, it may feel like we are in a deep, dark pit but it's important to remember that God will never leave you, no matter how you may feel. Not only will he never leave you, He also has a plan for your life. In my case, I had made a decision to trust God and live for him with or without children, in times of plenty and in times of need. It truly helps you appreciate the tough times in life because it helps you to remember who is ultimately in control and where your strength and foundation has been planted. Although Trevor  and I are very excited and thankful for this gift, we realize that this child is not our own. This child belongs to God and we pray that he or she will bring Him glory. So, we continue to trust in God. We have six more months to go. He is in control and we must trust and believe that his timing is perfect and his will is perfect. 


Have a blessed week!

Menu Plan Monday

Well, we completely fell off the menu plan wagon last week. I had a plan but many other things seemed to get in the way... laziness, forgot to thaw the meat, blah, blah!!


Anyway, hopefully this week will work out better. I plan to keep it simple and use my crock pot and an easy "go-to" recipe.


I'm linking up with I'm an organizing junkie for menu plan Monday.




Here's our menu plan for the week:


Monday-      chicken fried rice 


Tuesday-     leftovers


Wednesday-  Crock pot pizza, salad 
                  (this one is new for me)


Thursday-    leftovers


Friday-        out (date night)


Saturday-     Chili- for me!/ BBQ meatballs for my man


Sunday-       leftovers






So tonight I made this for dinner. It's super easy, quick and delicious. I actually found the fried rice recipe on a coupon insert and thought it would be good with chicken.

Heat 2tbsp. of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1.5lbs of cut up boneless, skinless chicken breast. After cooked through, remove chicken. Add another 2 tbsp. of oil. Add 2c. of minute rice, brown slightly for about 3min. Add two slightly beaten eggs, scramble until cooked thoroughly.


Add 1c. of chicken broth, frozen stir fry veggies, thawed, cooked chicken and 3tbsp. of soy sauce (I like 5-6 tbsp.). Bring to boil. Remove from heat and let stand 5 min. Enjoy!


It takes about 25 - 30min. total, including prep time!!


My husband and I don't really care for onions. So for the veggies, I actually used frozen peas and carrots and fresh broccoli and it turned out fine.
















         
          

Menu Plans for the Week

- 

Well, we started off our first week of the year doing well at sticking to our menu plan. I did alter a few days but I must say I was impressed with our determination. Usually, we start off well but succumb to the desire to just eat out either because I'm too tired to cook or I wasn't prepared to cook what was planned for that particular night.  So I'm linking up again with Laura over at I'm an organizing junkie. Hopefully we can keep this going because we really want to save, save, save and continue our debt snowball. 


As I went back to work this week, I realized that keeping our weekday meals simple is the key! My crock pot also helps to make dinner quick and easy. It feels good to come home and know that dinner is ready... that makes me one happy girl. So, this week I'll be cooking dinner with the help of my crock pot, again! 




Here's what we're having this week:


Monday-           Crock pot porkchops, cooked apples, and mashed potatoes


Tuesday-          left overs (I usually cook enough on Mon. to have it again the 
                       next night)


Wednesday-     Eating dinner at church this week!


Thursday-         Out- Date Night!!!


Friday-             Breakfast for dinner- Bacon, Eggs, and pancakes (hopefully I 
                       can convince my man to fix my fav- choc. chip) - Don't 
                       judge.... I know this is not too healthy.. heehee!


Saturday-          Copycat Cracker Barrel Chicken Tenders, Annie's
                       mac n cheese, steamed broccoli


Sunday-            Eating at church (mission team fundraiser)




Last week I tried a new crock pot recipe that we really enjoyed. The recipe is actually my aunts recipe that I have in a cookbook her church put together last summer... which I love because it also has several other family members recipes as well. It's nice to have so many of them in one place.


The recipe is simply called Crockpot Chicken Meal. It is so easy and delicious!


First, put four boneless, skinless chicken breasts in 1 cup of water. Then I sprinkled the chicken with salt, pepper, and an applewood seasoning. The original recipe calls for lemon pepper seasoning.

Then you take a package of corn niblets and wrap them in aluminum foil. The recipe also calls for4 whole potatoes wrapped but I chose to fix just corn.

Then place the corn/ potatoes on top of the chicken and cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Before we ate, I heated up some green beans and dinner is DONE!!

This is definitely a new favorite that I plan on using again soon... maybe even try out different seasonings.

Have  a blessed week!!