Like the Song

Just like the song, "It's three in the morning and I'm still awake, so I pick up my pen and the page, and I started writing..." except I suppose it would be picking up my computer and typing. Between the crazy thoughts in my head, gas, and heartburn, I can't go to sleep. I've been awake for over an hour now, thinking, praying and wondering what the morning and the next 18 years will bring.  Phoebe's not here yet to distract me in the middle of the night. My sweetie will wake up and rub my back and hold me, I have a cup of grape juice next to me, and I know I have to work tomorrow...but all of these things just aren't helping me sleep. My mind is reeling with the items that we still need to buy, the check list of errands that have to be run, and the projects that have to be finished within the next 5 weeks. 5 weeks....whoa....in 5ish weeks, Lord willing, we will have a little girl to be responsible for- for the rest of our lives!
We will be held responsible for the way we trained her up in the Lord and for the way we handled every day decisions. I know every parent is different; we'll do some things that may have people looking at us weirdly or thinking "what in the world are they doing it that way for", but I also know that in the light of eternity it probably won't matter for the mundane decisions. It will matter, however, that we raise Phoebe to know about Christ and His love for us. He was God-man, brought to earth as a baby, grew up like a normal person (yet without sin),  shed His blood on the cross to cleanse us from our sins,  rose again and is waiting for us in heaven, if we trust in Him. What a wonderful gift He has given to us! I pray that Phoebe will believe and take all of this to heart one day!
Well, hopefully I can go back to sleep before geting up in 3 hours and heading to work. I'll pray for our little baby, her physical health, and most importantly, her eternal security.

A Special Surprise

One of the best things about winter is Mcdonald's Eggnog shakes!! I love, love, love them! I start looking forward to them in October and try to get my fill before they are gone. Lately, my sweetie and I have been on quite a tight budget so we haven't even been to Mcdonald's to see if they were still available. Honestly, I was just telling myself they were already gone so I wouldn't be tempted to over-indulge in them.  I got a large eggnog shake one night a couple of times ago and drank the whole thing- later that night I thought I was going to die!! Never again!!! Getting comfortable to sleep is hard enough right now without filling my entire insides with the sweet goodness of eggnog.  I was craving a McFlurry last night and made my desires known to our friends. Tonight my friend Ashley walked in to my work with a medium eggnog shake!!! She said she was going to get me a McFlurry but saw that the eggnog shakes were still available so got me one of those instead. Such a great end to a long day!!!

Cheap or just Frugal?

Thrifty, Economical, Penurious? My hubby and I are the most parsimonious couple I know. If we want, we could pinch the pennies until they evaporate. I rarely buy anything unless it's on sale- and I'm not talking about those ridiculous 10% off "sales", I'm talking 80-90% off.  I love garage sales and have furnished most of our home and my closet from them.  Just in the last couple of months:  I've run out in the middle of an icy street to pick up a soda can to get 5 cents for it; we've taken food items we knew we'd never use back to Walmart after cleaning out our cupboards; we fill up our gas tanks at Kum and Go on Sunday's just to get the free paper with the coupons in it; I've joined SwagBucks to earn $5 Amazon Gift Cards just by searching the Internet (I've gotten $25 worth in the last 5 weeks) ; and I've searched the Internet and printed off countless coupons.
Most recently my sweetie received a coupon in his e-mail for free weight-loss water from Kum and Go. It's 1 free bottle ( a 1.99 value) per person, per visit, until January 24th. So, my sweetie and I printed off about 30 coupons so far, and after work we each visit the 2-3 Kum and Go's on the way home and get our free water each time =) I think the cashier's recognize me by now. We've racked up quite the collection. I'm interested to see just how many we'll have by the 24th!

Here Goes Nothing!

So, I've been contemplating on starting a blog post for a quite awhile now. I started this blog about a month ago but just started getting the design down. I'm still figuring it out but thought it would be nice to keep an easy blog about what's going on in our little, growing family. 
God is so good in so many ways! He has blessed me with an amazing hubby, a crazy family, a perfect house (for us), an amazing church(Saylorville Baptist), wonderful friends, and so much more!


Last year our family grew to 4 when we found out we were pregnant and then miscarried our twins, Jesse and Desi. So our family stayed the same size here on earth but was bigger in heaven, and we can't wait to meet them one day!!! That was definitely the saddest point in my life so far. I don't know how one would get through such a tragic time without the love and knowledge of the sovereignty of our Lord. The peace He brought us was amazing, and I rejoice that He can take better care of our babies than we ever could. I joined a support group, started through our church plant -Lakeside Fellowship, called Mommies with Hope for women who have lost babies. Our friends were super supportive.  I am so glad that God has allowed us to be surrounded by such wonderful people!

 Our family is growing again- our baby girl, Phoebe, is due to arrive on March 7. We are so excited to meet her and know that she will literally change our lives forever.  This pregnancy has been filled with wonder and worry. I have to keep my heart in check and pray constantly that I will give the future of our little girl over to the Lord. He gives and takes away- she is His from the moment of conception and throughout her life. Whatever happens is God's will and it has challenged me so much to rely on Him more each day.

Watching my tummy move when she kicks and rolls is hilarious!!!

We are excited to see the many ways the Lord blesses us in 2011!!