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