I understand...

Yes, I understand if I don't have any readers anymore because of me being lazy and not posting more regularly. But for those of you who seem to find your way back to my pitiful little blog I call "2 are better than 1", I appreciate you! I promise to be better about posting in the future because I know all of you are dying to know what's going on in my very eventful life...haha!

Anyway, this post will be kind of random since I haven't posted in a while. I don't have any updated nursery pictures yet (tear), but I will soon. Currently, Leah's room is full of Christmas boxes and some other random things like our vacuum, so I'll wait until we have a place to put those things to let the outside world in on our little girl's sweet bedroom.

Speaking of Christmas, Adam and I went and picked out our Christmas tree the Friday after Thanksgiving. It's a tradition his family has done since he's been little and a new tradition for Adam and I to do together. This year was our third year picking our tree and it was fun just like every year. Next year, we'll have a little girl we'll have to keep bundled up out on the tree farm! Leah and Mom just might have to stay in the car and let Dad do the picking...we might tough it out though! Usually, we put our tree in a corner in our living room. If we did that, we'd have to rearrange all our furniture, which is a lot of work. This year, since I'm 30 weeks pregnant, and Adam's back still isn't all that great, we decided on a different location. I have to say I like it a lot better where we put it! You can see our tree from all angles...from the living room, dining room, hallway, and kitchen (yes, we do have a small, but cozy house). It's great! Adam put the lights on 2 Sunday's ago and we finally decorated it this past Sunday. I love it!





I know that I've also promised you some belly shots. I have to admit, Adam and I haven't done too well on those either. Man, if I'm going to be a Mom in 10 weeks, I better get it together! :) Anyway, I'll give you two pictures of my belly at 29 weeks. Hopefully from here on out, I'll have a picture a week for you to see my sweet baby girl growing!





I'm so in love with her! Have a great Tuesday!

Nursery Pics

As promised, here are a few pics of Leah's nursery. It's pretty empty now...we still have to get a mattress, some rugs, etc., but we do have her bedding ordered! A huge thanks goes out to Adam's parents for helping us tape the room and paint...we've couldn't have done it without you (no really, I do not like painting)! And the bookshelf you see is the one I got for Adam's birthday 2 years ago which he painted and did a great job on! It looks awesome babe!

Leah, your room is coming together! We are even more excited to meet you very soon! But for now, you just stay nice and warm in there and we'll meet you in about 14 weeks! We love you!

[caption id="attachment_346" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Here we are in the painting process."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_344" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="The finished product."][/caption]



[caption id="attachment_349" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="We are going to recover the rocker you see."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_350" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="The bookcase Adam painted."][/caption]

I will be sure to add some more pictures as we do more stuff, so be sure to check back!

Happy Birthday Leah!

Yesterday Leah turned 26 weeks. I can't believe it! She is getting so big and is moving around so much! I was getting ready for work yesterday and something hit me…I think I finally realized how big I am getting. I've had such a good pregnancy so far and I feel very blessed to have a healthy baby but I got up yesterday and I found it hard for me to catch my breath. It kind of feels like everything is pushed up in my chest. I know…i know this is just one of the secrets of pregnancy that I am slowly but surely funding out, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!

On another note, Leah's nursery is coming out quite nicely! Adam's parents came over and they helped us paint the nursery. We ended up painting it a color I found online…Robin's egg by Benjamin Moore. It's kind of a blue green color. We are going to be putting accents of a bright sunshine yellow color in it as well. I have some pictures but I'm writing this on my phone so I'll have to upload them later.

Well we are on our way up to Boone for the ASU game so when we get back I'll have some nursery pictures and maybe even a belly picture or two. Have a great Saturday!

My Amazing Husband

Well, yesterday was just one of those days. Let me explain...woke up, went to work, had a dentist appt. to get 2 cavities filled, came back to school because my girls had 2 back-to-back games to cheer at, and finally got home at around 9:30pm. That may not seem like a long day to some of you, but to a pregnant person, it's a different story!

Taking our stuff out of the car and transporting it to the house from the garage is an ordeal for us (just because we always have so much stuff)! So when we pulled into the garage last night I was not looking forward to lugging all my stuff in from the day...but when I opened the trunk, I saw a very pretty wrapped gift with a card on top that said, "Elizabeth". My spirits immediately lifted because I love surprises! I asked Adam who it was from and he wouldn't tell me.

Well, when we got inside I opened the card and, what do you know, it was from my amazing husband! Now, let me preface this a little...

You see being pregnant is a wonderful thing, but when your clothes start to get tight and you have to "button" your jeans with a rubber band, and even when your comfy t-shirts are fitting snug, it seems like your insecurities are at an all time high. Even though you know you have a growing baby inside you and it's a wonderful thing, there's still something that's hard about not fitting into your "normal" clothes (at least from a pregnant woman's point of view...all my pregnant friends know what I'm talking about)! It's always an ordeal for me to pick out what I'm going to wear the next day and Adam always finds me standing in my closet staring at my pre-pregnancy clothes wishing I could still wear some of them. Every time before he leaves me in my slumber, he always embraces me and tells me I am beautiful no matter what I look like.

Ok, so I start to open my gift and I find two, yes two, very cute maternity long sleeve shirts that fit like a glove and a bag of Reece's! My man knows me! I love it that my hubby has a great sense of style and I love it even more when he tucks all my insecurities away and makes me feel beautiful...as long as he thinks I am, that's all that matters (and it makes me a happy girl)!

I know this may seem un-important to you, but it's the little things that count and when Adam does these things for me to show me he loves me, it speaks volumes! So, thank you to my sweet husband whom I love with all my heart! Thank you for being my best friend, the man of my dreams, my soul mate, and Leah's father. You mean the world to me and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Grumbling and Complaining

This morning, Adam and I did a devotion together and it was on grumbling and complaining. It really hit me hard because now that I think about it, (if I'm being honest) I grumble and complain quite often. It could be over big stuff or the smallest thing...but I do it. I think it's our natural reaction when things don't go our way. We are such a self-centered society, wanting anything and everything we can get our hands on. Whether it's a certain job, guy, more money, etc...we just want things to go our way and if they don't we hang our heads and complain and whine about it.

As Christians we need to remember that in order for God's will to happen for our lives we have to do things His way...not ours (that was from our pastor. It's so true though...how far do you think you'll get in life if your way doesn't happen and you just mope around about it? You are in your position (whatever you do) for a reason and even though you know in your heart it's not where you're going to be forever, you have to be patient and realize God has you there for a specific purpose...it could just be a small stepping stone to something bigger and better He has for your life in the future! God works for the good of those who love him...He's on your side! Stay faithful to Him through the little things (don't grumble or complain) and you will slowly start to see what exactly He has planned for your life.

"Do everything without complaining or arguing." ~Philippians 2:14

Half Way There!

My Sweet Princess,
I cannot believe that in less than 20 weeks you will be in my arms! I am so excited to see your sweet face! I know you are going to be breathtakingly beautiful! I love it when you let me know that you're in there and sometimes I can't even sleep at night because you love to dance!

On Monday (9/28), your Daddy and I had our 5th doctor's appointment (or I like to call it the "half way doctor's appt."). Everything went perfectly! The nurse took your heart beat and it was 146 bpm which she said was great! When the doctor came in, she measured my belly and I measured right at 20 weeks. You are perfectly on track! Although, I do feel like I have grown over night...especially at the end of the day! You are growing so fast! They didn't take any pictures of you this time, which was kind of a bummer because I love to see what you're doing in there! Most of the time you are sleeping, or sucking your thumb, but sometimes you are a squirmy little thing! (Maybe Mommy needs to lay off the sugar)! They also took my weight and she said that was normal too. The nurse told me I should gain about a pound a week from here on out. We'll see how that goes! I will go back to the doctor again when you are 24 weeks for another checkup.

Time seems to be flying by so quickly and I want to make sure that I cherish this special time I have with you. I never want to take any kick, squirm, jab, or weird pain for granted! Your Daddy and I love you so much and we thank the Lord everyday for our little miracle! So for the meanwhile, stay warm in there, and don't kick me too hard (well...just kidding, you can do whatever you like!) and we will see you in about 20 weeks!

Love Your Mommy

Powerful Sunday

Yesterday, our church had a one weekend only "Student Takeover" event. Pastor Steven reached out to our students yesterday and the results were amazing! Over 7000 in attendance at all of our locations, and 500 salvations! God is incredible and His glory is displayed at Elevation every Sunday!

Even though Pastor preached to the students, his message was applicable to everyone! I believe one of his greatest gifts is, of course, preaching, but also being able to relate to everyone in the room. He listed the 4 most important questions students/adults would have to answer.

The first question was "What is that in your hand"? This was a question of calling. He used the passage out of Exodus 4:2-5 (read it). God has given you a gift...something that you're passionate about. What's the potential God has put in your hand for you to use to change your generation? You should surrender it and let God's work be shown through your actions.

The second question was "Am I now trying to win the approval of men or of God"? This is a question of acceptance. I think this is the one I struggle with the most. Pastor said something a couple of weeks ago which made me think of this: "Don't let your need for acceptance interfere with other people's need for Jesus" (I might have said that before on here)...but it's so true! We shouldn't be so selfish-minded and worried over what "man" thinks of us. Salvation is through Christ alone...read this. Pastor commented on the whole VMA incident with Kanye West and Taylor Swift. He said that it wasn't Kanye's award to give, so he should've kept his mouth shut (I added the last part). Basically when it comes down to it, when you face Jesus one day, you'll either accept your award of eternity in Heaven, or the total opposite. Ok, I've talked enough about that one. :)

The third question was "How can a young man keep his way pure"? This is a question of integrity and Pastor used this verse to answer it. It's pretty straight forward in my opinion. Live according to His word. Everyone always says "it's impossible in today's culture to do that"...no it's not. Pastor said that it is very possible to live in a counter-cultural way. Live according to God's design.

The fourth, and last, question was "Who do you say I am"? A question of eternity. Jesus asked this to Simon Peter here. Pastor gave the example of "Facebook Faith" which was very relevant to students as well as adults. If you don't know what facebook is...basically it's a social networking site where you have the option to "accept" people you may know to become your friends. Jesus isn't up in Heaven looking for "friends" down here on earth. It's not like he's lonely. So often, the question comes up..."have you accepted Jesus into your heart?" Jesus doesn't want your acceptance...He wants you to be a fully devoted follower of Him. It's not who your friends say He is, or who your parents say He is...but who do you say He is?

Ok, I know this was a long post and thank you for reading if you got to the end! It was a huge Sunday at our church and something totally worth sharing about! You should really watch the sermon for yourself...Pastor Steven does a lot better job than I do! Go here to watch. Enjoy!

PS: My belly's getting bigger (pics to come)!