Love, Lessons, and Life- I'm a Blessed Wife

I love my husband. There are many reasons why I do, but this is just an example of his sweetness.

Last weekend was Memorial weekend- which to most means- 1. 3 days off to ENJOY, 2. time to RELAX and 3. time to REST. I worked last Saturday, so it was just a 2 day weekend for me, but anyway- this blog post isn't about me.  My sweet husband has been wanting to make me a larger kitchen table for awhile now. We love to have friends over for game nights or a nice dinner, but the table we had barely fits four- and forget about having anything else extra on the table besides plates. Plus, we have a growing family and needed more room ;).  My husband is a carpenter and I absolutely LOVE when he makes me things from scratch by hand.  He has made me an array of things over the years such as headboard for our bed, bookshelves, and a desk to name a few.  Each time he makes me something, he spends hours working hard to make it perfect and more beautiful than I can imagine.
Last weekend, he spent his time picking out the lumber and materials he was going to use to make our large farm table.  He took the time to inspect each piece, find the perfect stain and gather all of the other necessities that he needed.  He carefully placed the pieces of lumber together to make the pattern flow.  He carefully drilled, sanded, and glued everything in place. I love just watching him work, not only is he super handsome ;) but he takes such pride in his masterpieces.  I love watching him carefully sand all of the imperfections and rough spots.  As I watched him work, a simple display his love for me, it gave me such a beautiful picture of God's love for us.

This was such a sweet picture of Christ. Jesus was a carpenter.  He, like my husband, would take great pride in His creations.  I can just picture Jesus taking time for each piece, perfectly sanding the rough spots and edges. And so God does in our lives.  He lets us endure the sanding and grinding of trials in life so that all the pieces fit together, the way that it should.  Without undergoing the sanding and shaping process, it would not be a masterpiece but a pile of sticks.  God takes such pride and delight in His greatest creation, His children.  If you are going through any kind of trial or hard time in your life, just know that the sanding process is just bringing you one step closer to His perfect masterpiece, whole and complete in Him lacking nothing.

"I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well." Psalm 139:14

This is my beautiful table. Now just to refinish the chairs ;)

With much love,

~ A

Life is Better with Pink Finger Nails

Hello second trimester!
I can say, I am pretty excited to have entered into the next stage of my pregnancy.  

Updates!
I am 15 and  1/2 weeks along now :) Baby B is about the size of an avocado now.. Every time I think about how FAST they grow I am amazed! Just a few short weeks ago the baby was a poppy seed! Anyways, back on track, baby is growing and so is my belly ;) I've been feeling little flutters for about 2 weeks now.  I have to say, pregnancy is probably one of the coolest experience I have ever gone through. The morning sickness/nausea are mostly over.  I didn't get it too bad just a few weeks off and on.  

I have been working tons lately, but am so blessed to have the amazing jobs that I do.  They are both completely low stress, fun and great for this time in my life. 

Now that I have entered into the second trimester, I have gotten to enjoy a little "me" time. I have been  putting it off until the end of the first trimester due to it being the critical time for the development of the baby.  So, I finally don't have massive roots on my head, and my nails are a bright pink. Life is better with pink nails and fresh hair ;) BTW I have the best hairdresser!

I have been working a lot on cutting costs and saving money in everyday ways. I have found some really great ways to keep more money in our pockets, but that is a whole different blog post. 

Until then...

Much love
~ A

A mother's joy begins when new life is stirring inside...
when a tiny heartbeat is heard for the very first time
and a playful kick reminds her that she is never alone.

 Author: Unknown

I Was Made For This

"For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You."  

Psalm 139:13-18

Several weeks ago we found out that we are going to have a BABY! We are thrilled to say the least.  The thought of our new little growing baby brings us great joy. I am amazed how I fell instantly in love with something that was the size of a poppy seed. 

This blog is going to be the journey we enjoy as we wait for our little poppy seed to grow into a watermelon. (Well now that we are 11 weeks along, it is more like from a lime to a melon ;-) but you get the idea!)

As the last several weeks have passed, I am in constant amazement of God’s greatness.  Each week this precious little one is gaining new abilities and features. I am amazed that at the size of a lentil bean God had already formed a beating heart! And at conception the little one's eye color, hair color, gender, and genetic make-up were already determined! GREAT AND WONDERFUL IS OUR GOD.

I am constantly blessed by knowing “I was made for this.”  

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.” Psalm 127:3-4

Feel free to follow our sweet growing family as we venture through this crazy thing we call life. The ups, the downs, the joys, and the sorrows they all lead us to the Father. 

Much Love,

~ AB

You Reap What You Sow

I was out in my soon-to-be garden today pulling some of those oh so awful weeds that have overcome the area I want to garden. As I start to pull these thin tall looking weeds, I soon find myself in a tug-a-war with these plants! I am amazed the strength of these awful things. I tug and pull winning a few rounds and losing some too. As I look at my garden area, I know there is a lot of work that needs to be done to prep the site before I plant my precious plants. I look and pick through the weeds that have to go and in the midst there are a few plants that have small flowers. I pondered if I should keep them even though they were in the middle of the area I needed to clear. As I began to pull them out of my garden I thought, "These are not part of my plan."
Instantly, I saw the whole picture. God my Father in heaven has a plan for me like I have for my garden. He plucks out the things in my life that are desiring to consume and choke me out. Even though some things that might enter into our lives are full of flowers, not being a bad thing, He might pluck it out just because it's not part of His plan. How wonderful He is to us. As I baby my seeds until they are strong enough to survive outside and how I prep the grounds for them, so God does with our hearts. In order for us to mature and grow in Him, He has to pluck those deep weeds out of our hearts or else we get choked out and His plan for us will be interrupted.
As we let the weeds in our hearts grow, the deeper the roots form. You know when you pull weeds and the roots grip a huge ball of dirt? When the weed is removed it leaves a hole in the ground. As the gardener, once all the weeds are gone and the holes are revealed the healing can begin with the covering of the dirt to fill those voids.
As God removes those weeds from our lives, the wounds of our sin remain. It is only by His amazing grace and overwhelming love that we are covered and made new.

God has spoken so deeply to me through this garden already :)

The Waves of His Love

There is something beautiful about walking along the beach barefoot.  The feeling of sand in between your toes, the sounds of the waves crashing along the shore, and the warmth of the sunshine on your shoulder are all so overwhelming.  It is a constant reminder to me of our Heavenly Fathers love for us. 

Being barefoot on the beach is a symbol of our vulnerability.  We are in a place where all of our senses and nerves are exposed.  It is in this place that we are able to feel the softness that this world has to offer, but also in this place that pain can occur too.  Have you ever walked on the rocky path that leads to the beach? Once you place your toes to the sand your immediate response is “Ah, so soft.” But on the other hand, have you ever been so excited to get to the warm beach and throw off your flip-flops to find that the warm sun has toasted the sand? In that moment you do a little dance until you can cover your exposed feet or put down a towel.  Oh how our life is like that, sometimes the comfort and sometimes the uncomfortable.  It is in that very place of our vulnerability that God is able to work and mold our lives. 

As the waves crash along the shore, so does God’s love crash on us.  I always enjoy walking along the beach looking at the things that wash up.  I am always amazed when I find a piece of glass after it has spent time in the oceans tide.  It is no longer flat and sharp but instead it is smooth and rounded.  So becomes our hearts in God’s refining tide of His love. 

There is nothing like the warmth from the sun.  It uplifts, it comforts, and it leaves your skin with a healthy glow. Our Father is just the same.  Growing up in a sunny place, I guess I always took for granted the sunshine, but after living in a place where the sun hardly would shine, I realized how much I need that warmth.  I would crave just a few minutes of sunshine, just anything that would lift my spirit.  The warmth of the Father is the same.  When you are lacking that communion with Him, your spirit craves that peace and comfort that only He can give.

When coming to the presence of God come to Him vulnerable, let the waves of His love crash over you and let His love warm your soul.