24 weeks and counting

so, I kind of missed the 24-week mark last Thursday. oops.

work has been pretty darn busy and the past weeks since the last update have flown by! Nothing much has changed baby-wise. She's still kicking and growing :).

I did manage to get a "good morning kick" to the stomach from Dreya one day. Usually, I'm prepared for her grand entry into our room as part of our morning routine...guess I was a little too sleepy that morning! In any case, I didn't feel chica really move that day and Satan had me going. I'll admit, I was worrying. The next morning, Trey and I immediately prayed over her and my body and she started moving later that morning. Thank you Lord for being patient with me in my times of short-lived faith...and please forgive me for ever doubting your protection and love.

lesson #1:  speak God's Word and promises over your daily life. Don't allow Satan's deceptions to crowd your thoughts...this is where sin enters (James 1:14-18).

lesson #2:  time to start training the pups on new house rules for when the baby comes. You can never be too careful!

and, this is me at 24 weeks. I've finally managed to teach trey how to take decent pictures...in comparison to his usual head shot in bottom 1/3 of picture and airspace in top 2/3 of picture :). He's doing really well now! During this pic he said, "wow, that's some bump! you're actually getting big!" I laughed :).

the new bump may be due in part to my new diet over the past two weeks...

someone has jumped on the chocolate train!

and yes, I'm wearing the same jean jacket as the last picture...

the same jean jacket that I bought from Ralph Lauren 10 years ago :).

I'm also wanting to post (as mentioned last time) some updates on my plans for the nursery and my new diaper bag...love it! Hope to get those up soon...happy Monday!

bump update

18 weeks...a woo hoo!

This past Sunday I woke up and said, "I just feel bigger today."

Sure enough, my belly has been starting to show more this week!

I'm still feeling great with no real changes from the last update.

Haven't felt the baby move yet.

But I have had two funny dreams :).

Dream #1

I had just had the baby and was pretty much alone in the Rec Center at SHSU.

There was one chick working the check-in desk (who was no real help),

so I went into the dressing room and was freaking out because I had this newborn with no clothes, no diapers, nothing! Then my cousin Jeanne showed up and showed me how to put on a makeshift diaper and I was so thankful she was there.

The dream shifted into a random room of a person's house but it still looked like the rec center. There were cement floors in a empty room with a toilet in the corner. Of course, I started cleaning the toilet, baby still in hand and then...BOOM!

Out of nowhere I dropped the baby flat on its face. Are you kidding me?

I was delusional...my biggest fear in the world is dropping a baby and I had just dropped my newborn face first into a cement floor.

However, he (boy in this dream) didn't cry at all. He just laid there and said, "Why you gotta be like that?!"

lol...

lesson #1 - God was showing me that I need to stop worrying about the safety of my child and that he will be in control. Babies are made to be tough!

Dream #2

We had just had a baby girl and Trey was rocking her to sleep. Then, I wanted to hold her and rocked a little more. She woke up and said she wanted to open presents. Yes, all my dreams include newborn children with complete vocabularies.

We opened gifts for a bit and she said, "ok, turn me back around. I want to go back to sleep." Later, I woke her up and asked if she wanted to do something else...can't remember exactly but apparently it was something fun because her answer was, "Hell yeah!"

 What?! I said, "Did you hear that from your daddy when you were in my belly?!" She confirmed my accusation :).

lesson #2 - I already need to monitor my husband's crazy talk.

Oh the dreams...I'm sure I'll have more of those! So, here's a belly pic. I'm getting bigger...everywhere. I think my tummy might look a little bigger if my boobs weren't sticking out as far as my belly is! Geez!

Stay tuned for the BOY/GIRL debut!!!

One Question

Our Sunday School class has been studying Holladay & Warren's Foundations, 11 Core Truths to Build Your Life On. God has shown us tremendous lessons on why we believe what we believe and helped us to define our Christian worldview. We have studied topics such as the Bible, God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, creation, salvation and sanctification. Our current topic is good and evil...what a bundle of questions this brings about! It is a somewhat intimidating topic to approach. However, we can always trust that while we will never know the answers to all things, God will make His Will known to us and reveal truths in His timing, as it is needed in our individual lives.


As I was preparing the lesson a few weeks ago, such a sweet moment arose between Jesus and me. I knew I should have written it down at the time but put it off. It irks me to know that Satan finds pleasure in these small instances when I choose not to share. Thank you to my dear small group sisters tonight who reminded me of the importance and effect of testimonies and God's work in our lives. What God reveals, let us not keep from sharing and building up the brethren...

In The Case for Faith, Lee Strobel writes concerning our desire to know the answers to questions concerning good and evil:

"I commissioned George Barna (or as I read during class, 'George Barnacle.' Just add it to the list of mispronounced words that only seem to arise during moments of public presentation.), the public-opinion pollster, to conduct a national survey in which he asked a scientifically selected cross-section of adults: 'If you could ask God only one question and you knew he would give you an answer, what would you ask?' The top response, offered by 17 percent of those who said they had a question, was: 'Why is there pain and suffering in the world?'"

Of course, this seems to be a popular question that we have all probably pondered at one point in our lives. And if we are truly being honest with God, there should be such rational questions. But how is that question going to help me here in the long run? If I know the answer, will it stop the pain and suffering? ...this knowledge brings me no arrows for my quiver of life. I continued to think upon what my question would be.

One. One question.

"What is Your will for my life?" ...no, He shows me this already.

"What am I doing wrong here on earth that you want me to change?" ...again, just pay attention and I know this answer.

"How can I please You more?" ...really, Ang? see first two extraneous thoughts.

Why is this so hard? There are so many questions. Something has to be more important than the rest. Aha!

"What will it be like in Heaven?" ...er. strike four. again, intriguing yet "point"less arrow of knowledge.

Something's missing. I'm standing before God - awesome, omniscient, all-powerful God - and all I can think to ask are questions that center around me. 'Your will for ME', 'how I can please you', 'what will MY life be like in Heaven'...me, me, me. It's not about me!

And then it hit me. I'm standing before God - awesome, omniscient, all-powerful God.

merciful, gracious, Almighty God.

I'm standing before God - My creator, my deepest love, my best friend.

My loving Father...my Dad.

There's only one compelling thing to do in this situation.

The one question is clear. 

I can hardly contain my beating heart as I have the freedom to ask, with arms wide open and ready to run...

"May I?"

May I run into Your arms?

May I feel my Father's embrace?

May I get a giant ol' bear hug from the creator of hugs?!

May I know the love of my Father?!

The longing of our hearts is not to know all the answers from the Father,

but to know Him.

And as I was overjoyed with the excitement of that situation and my question to God, "May I run into Your arms?!", Satan stealthily said, "And what if the answer is 'No'?"

In a split second, the surety of my Father's love was doubted.

Would my earthly father ever deny my request for his presence and his love? Never! Not even in the worst of times...my parent's deepest love for me is never not given freely. How much more will my Heavenly Father give?!

It is in a moment such as this, when Satan comes to plant seeds of doubt in a subject that may be so easily believed...that we must turn to God and trust in His Word.

His Word tells us that He will never leave us or forsake us. When we ask to come to God, He is always waiting and the answer is always, "Yes, come dear children."

i'm eating pizza

and not the gluten-free kind :).

What's that?

"Huh?" you ask...

"Don't do it!" you shout...

Oh, I'm doing it. And not just pizza.

chili cheese fritos.

yummy wedding shower cake.

blue bell's birthday cake ice cream.

friggin doughy, cheese covered pizza.

and I'm still alive!

I've had an amazing change in my life this past week and all glory goes to my Awesome God...

who didn't just heal my body, 

but more importantly, renewed my mind.

may this sweet little testimony create a bubbling in your heart and praise on your lips.

JUNE 2010

Most of you know I got extremely sick last summer and couldn't quite figure out what was going on. Long story short, the doctor diagnosed me as both lactose- and gluten- intolerant. No dairy. No wheat. No malt, barley or rye. She was right and for almost a year now, I've had a very strict diet. It was hard at first, but became second-nature after a while. I told myself...no griping, no whining. This is just how it is. If I want to be healthly, just don't eat certain things. A lot of things. 

My sister mentioned praying over me a few times and somehow I just let it go. Never directly said no out loud but I also never petitioned, yes please. With any other thing I'm quick to pray...for some reason, this was different. I was obstinate.

Fast forward to MAY 15, 2011

Hassyn, my precious little niece, has a big heart for her Heavenly Father and is getting baptized. 

This was our conversation at the end of church:

A: Hassyn, will you pray for me?

H: Yes. What do you need?

A: Well, I'm allergic to some foods and my body can't handle them very well. Can you pray for that to go away?

H: Well, do you like to eat that?

A: :) yes

H: ok

Then, her precious little hands took mine and we closed our eyes to pray. I waited for her and then realized she wasn't praying out loud. After a while, I took a quick peek to see if she was still praying. I think she could sense that I looked up and cracked her eye open to glance at me ;) and then continued to pray. Shortly after, she finished:

A: Thank you Hassyn. What did you pray for?

H: I prayed that you will be able to eat the food you liked and that it would not hurt your body, in Jesus' name.

Did I mention, she's 6? Oh, how sweet is the faith of a child!

Two things stick out to me.

1) I felt led to ask her to pray because I know her prayers are not jaded and the faith of a child (in Jesus) is powerful. meaning, as we grow older I feel like our minds are more susceptible to believing lies and letting Satan get a foothold if we are not fully dependent on and believing in God's Word.

 I felt like I had been believing a lie about my body.

2) When Hassyn asked me, "Do you like to eat those foods?," that thought had not crossed my mind. To me, it had never mattered about whether or not I enjoyed the food...just the fact that I couldn't eat it and had to work harder about preparing my meals. When she asked that, I thought, "I've been missing the point. I'm forgetting that my Father loves me and wants the best for me." I fully believed and only focused on those dietary restrictions. The Lord reminded me again of Peter's vision of the unclean foods and who am I to believe in and put those restrictions up? God cares for me and has authority over his creation. I had forgotten that. 

So, I've eaten various forms of gluten since last Monday with no consequence! Well, maybe some gas here and there ;)...but nothing like it was. I had a semi-bad reaction just a few weeks ago, so I know it was still an issue and didn't just go away eventually, like some people will probably try to say.

Satan will do all he can to make this seem meaningless.

But I know better...you know better.

do you understand?!

This is big time! I'm no longer gluten-free, I'm truly FREE of gluten!

Praise God and thank you sweet little Hassyn for praying for your Aunt Ge. 

Here is a recent page from Hassyn's journal...

projects here and there

you may remember a while back when I said I would finish something.

...and I did! I just didn't get around to showing you guys on here :).

So, if you love before and after pics as much as I do, by all means...

ENJOY.

bought this little jewel for $30 in a Corsicana antique store

of course, Dreya wanted in the picture

spray painted it off-white...super easy and quick

picked out this lovely fabric to recover the cushion 

made a pillow for kicks

...and oh yeah.

just realized I don't have the "after" pic on this download. lo siento!

you'll have to check back later :)

moving on.

and realizing I don't have the "before" pic for these next two items. sticky note that!

this monster was a hand me down from my sister's cousin-in-laws. just imagine classic early 90s woodgrain and brass.

saw it, sand it, paint it, and voila!

(got to use my circ saw on this one to reconstruct the top. heart.) 

 add nickel-plated hardware...and done.

this medium to large sized mirror was my grandmothers.

it had a brassy/gold ornate thing going on. 

again, whipped out the spray paint one Sunday afternoon

and this is what we got!

Chabby-chic for sure!

p.s. that chair was one of my first projects

that's all for now! Trey and I pasted some allen+roth textured wallpaper this weekend on an accent wall in the guest bedroom. it's awesome, I must say...and quite a bit less labor-intensive than we expected. sweet. I'm almost done painting...color is sea sprite. 

All the elements shown above are in that room. stay tuned for a semi-reveal!

under the weather

I've been under the weather since Sunday...good for nothin'. Sometimes, when I'm sick, I can get my rest and be somewhat productive around the house. Not this time. For the past three days I have done absolutely NOTHING. Oh, how it bothers me.

Dreya and I slept til 11:00 am every morning and then I did a little more...nothing.

Gross.

In trying to combat the cough that I've been dating frequently over the past few years, I downed last year's cough med...I was desparate. Figured that wasn't very smart, so I bought some Theraflu.

Lesson of the day:

Don't use Theraflu.

I think this is what made me sick to my stomach. I can't be sure! ...but that's my best guess. It was like taking a shot of whiskey and not getting to pass out. Just stick with the good stuff from the doctor that taste's like crap yet so conveniently gives the K-O.

Three cheers for codeine!

Did you know?

That when dogs use the bathroom...

only females squat

and

only males hike their leg?

Am I the only person in the world who didn't realize that not all dogs raise their leg?!

Surprisingly (or not), I was absolutely amazed to learn that bit of info.

On a side note, I guess they wouldn't necessarily be "using the bathroom" either.

The wonder of dog ownership...

thank you Jesus!!

i woke up yesterday and performed my usual morning routine.

shifting from REM cycle to real life... i lay out a few makeup items,

brush my teeth, wash my face...

some days i tend to fret over a new wrinkle here and there.

other days i bask in the glory of a fresh silver sparkle shooting from my scalp...

"gray is the new blonde," i say!

...except when a single stem springs from your ear old lady style.

or my favorite...the one directly in the middle of my forehead. really? really?

today though, my friend...TODAY, is a new day.

after patting my face with the hand towel,

i slowly rise to meet a most glorious reflection.

this can't be so...it's possible i'm still sleeping and this is all merely a dream.

no! i'm awake! it's a miracle!

NO WRINKLES IN MY FOREHEAD!

thank you Jesus for taking away my wrinkles!

i draw closer to inspect every detail of this wonder.

just remarkable. a true stunner.

uhhh...hold on. wait. noooo....

no. no. NO!

Jesus didn't take away my wrinkles...

He took away my sight!

Lesson of the Day:

"The Good Lord giveth & the Good Lord taketh away."

GREAT VALUE update

As you may remember, I love shopping for GREAT VALUE brands as Wal-Mart. I have yet to be disappointed by any of their products.

Lesson of the day:
When looking on the GV package for the product origin, if it has a location (i.e. Made in China) obviously that's where it was made and shipped from. However, if it has no location...it was made in the USA (as verified from Walmart corporate)! And that's what I like to see. On a side note...I haven't found a GV product yet that wasn't made in the USA. Thank you Sam Walton.

BuY oF tHE daY:

Actually, I bought the BBQ instead of SC&O. As compared to Baked Lays, the GV brand has slightly more calories and fat. However, it has the same low saturated fat, lower sodium and lower carbs.

who's not excited about that!

oh, my husband

...I do love him so.

BUT, we know men can be men. Right, ladies?!

I was just showing Trey a few of my posts because he's not the blog-reading type. I haven't really hyped it up to him...he just knows I like to post every now and then. He'll say in a funny little squeaky voice, "Oh, are you bloooooggggging? Are you a bloooooggggger?" :) ha. ha.



ANG: "Maybe you should read my blog. I think you would like it!"

TREY: "Why do I have to read about it when you're here?"

ANG: squinted eyes with a hint of scowl...

TREY: laughter with a hint of "oh, here we go"

ANG: being a good wife...doesn't make a big deal of it. "That's funny, now I have something to blog about." dashboard...typing...already forgot conversation "Uh...what were those exact words? :)"

TREY: repeats nothing of what he actually said that was funny but is able to throw in the term 'cyber-wife'. ...now actually reading as I type "Uh, I think you missed a big part of the conversation there."

HELLO!!!! No critiquing if you don't agree to read out of the warmth of your heart and with a "positive, positive, positive, positive attitude!"

Lesson of the day:

Don't ask your husband to read a commentary of your daily thoughts and epiphanies unless you're prepared to justify how it's totally different from the actual events he's already experienced, as if he misinterpreted his life.

Easy chair makeover

One of my best friends, Lev, just posted a cute craft idea and I absolutely love crafts! If you always think, "I wish I was crafty!", and then pause for a moment of doubt and convince yourself it's just not in your genes...well, I challenge you to your first craft project!

I promise this easy project will leave you with a feeling of accomplishment and looking like a pro.

Extreme Makeover: chair edition

you'll need:

1. to go antique-ing (hooray!) and find the perfect wooden chair with a covered seat (or go search through grandma's random storage...you're sure to find something vintage!)

2. 1 yard of your favorite fabric that would look super cute on your chair (something a little thicker for upholstering would be best)

3. an old egg crate or quilt batting

4. screwdriver (see bottom of chair for phillips or flathead)

5. staple gun

6. scissors

STEP 1

Flip chair upside down and remove screws...don't forget to save them. You'll be putting them back on in the end!

STEP 2

Peel off old fabric and padding. Lay fabric out flat...use this as your pattern for your new cover. Cut out the new fabric and padding (if you can salvage the old padding, just use it again!). The fabric should extend at least one inch past the padding.

STEP 3

Smooth fabric on a flat, sturdy surface. Place padding on top of fabric. Then place chair seat on top of padding. Using your staple gun (1/2 in staples should work...you don't want them to be too long), pull fabric edge over back of seat and staple down. Start with the sides (make it taut) and finish with the corners. Trim edges.

STEP 4

Place seat back on chair. Use screwdriver to place screws back in.

STEP 5

Sit back and admire your crafty creation!

Now...if you're feeling really confident :)

...let me know and I'll show you how to recover a couch!

daughter of the King

I heart UHBC Women's Ministry.

...amazed at the ladies He has placed in my path and their desire to know Him more.

...grateful that God has challenged me to be a small group facilitator over the past 3 years.

...excited about the greater things to come in our ministry and our community.

...undeserving of His grace.

...blessed by His love.

Tonight we had a great time in the presence of the Lord as we started back for the spring semester. Although we were few in numbers, we were great in submission to Him. We discussed some pretty hard truths...still not understanding the depths of it. However, God reminded me of a time in my life when I learned a little more about what it meant to have the power of the Holy Spirit inside me and the name of Jesus on my lips. This is only the second time I've felt led to share this poem that I wrote almost 3 years ago during that time.

May God speak to you through the words He has given me:

I am a daughter of the King

Let my humble praises ring!

Not by works but by the blood

Now my heart the Holy Spirit floods.

This regeneration is my saving grace

And I must live to tell the human race.

I have the power in Jesus' name

To bring Him honor, glory and fame.

Satan's thorn no longer stings

Because I am a daughter of the King!

You know you can always share a good story after a trip to the ol' Wal-Mart. This time, it comes in the form of a Great Value and good advice:

GREAT VALUE:

If you've shopped at Wally-World anytime recently, you might have noticed an influx of Great Value brand products. I've purchased quite a few and have been pleasantly pleased. Not only are these products cheaper, but they are also made in the USA! (well...i'm pretty sure they are. I tried to call corporate to ask about this but they've directed me to another number I have to call during working hours...I'll get back with you on this)

So, check out all the Great Value you can get at your local store!

GOOD ADVICE:

Now, after purchasing all these great deals, I'm assuming you'll proceed to the checkout. So many choices these days: 20 items or less, self checkout, cashier...the list goes on. Actually, no it doesn't. Whatever.

Most of the time the cashier lines either aren't open or are too long. Being the American that I am, I was "in a hurry" to get home. Apparently, last night I was super confident in my scanning skills and chose the self checkout. Once I got to about item #12 I was certainly rethinking my decision. What was I thinking getting in this line? My basket was stuffed full of great values and I had no room to put the full bags. I was one of "those" people that others were staring at and getting frustrated with.

I just kept trucking along, regretting the fact that I had a hoodie on. About 20 minutes later, I had swiped the last great value from the basket and the last drop of sweat from my brow. The supervisor for the self-check lines seriously had to clear my "please place item in the bag" screen about 10 times.

Lesson of the day:

You are not as quick as the Wal-Mart cashier. Do not get in the self check line with 80 items.

Have a nice trip...see you next fall!

Harvard Health Publications
tells me that our balance tends to erode with time...that, for weekend athletes, lost equilibrium can mean more spills on the slopes or wipeouts in the surf...or, for the sedentary, it can bring a surprise encounter with the sidewalk.

Apparently, training for a half marathon (or lack thereof these days) doesn't count as a "weekend athlete" because my mishaps these days are more relative to a chance encounter with the sidewalk...ahem...car door, wall...whatever.

So, I'm on my way home the other night. Mind you, it's been raining. I park...on the slab these days. Ike did a number on our back yard and I no longer have a carport or decking of any kind...just the hard cement and muddy ground. Getting out of car...arms loaded, quick Taco Bell dinner and drink in tow. I'm making it up the steps and the past sedentary weeks take effect. My feet stumble, apparently over themselves, and as I'm reaching for the door handle...slow motion sets in. I totally miss the grab and fall down three steps flat backed in the mud :).

I didn't know whether to cry or laugh. Not sure of whether I've broken anything, except my pride...I try to get up but am stuck and laughing so hard I just sit and enjoy the moment, wishing I could've seen it happen. I finally found my phone and called Trey to come to the back door. He got a good laugh and I got some good bruises.

It's been a while since I've had a "real" fall...so much for the fake!!

lesson #1: take time to laugh at yourself every once in a while.

lesson #2: getting off your duff will help you stay on your feet.

Lessons & Laughter

So, I mentioned in the beginning wanting to make people laugh and have yet to say anything funny. So, I'll share a newlywed moment with you:

Trey and I were enjoying a nice movie the other night from the director and producer of Little Miss Sunshine:

It was a nice break from a long week of work. However, I must point out that we ate Mexican food for dinner and any of you who know me well know that my body and beans don't mix. It's a natural situation...I'm sure you will agree but may not admit to it yourself. In any case, I'm holding in a lot of opportunities to put my stomach at ease for the sake of my husband, mind you...he does not return the favor to me and will take any chance to try and "sneak one in" like before he gets in the car or by the kitchen sink when I'm in the living room, knowing full well that it will follow him wherever he goes.

I'm trying to still be that girly gal of his and not get all sloppy now that we're married :), but I'm not sure how long I can hold up! What's great about this story is now my total disregard for the sanctity of mystery in a relationship, and how nature couldn't have come to fruition at a more perfect time...

So, we're on the couch and I'm messing with my earring or hair or something to that effect and Trey states, "You're making a lot of noise over there." To which I respond, with the likes of Babe Ruth calling the outfield, "Oh, I'm about to make some noise!" And as if the heavens themselves were opened, I let out the loudest, longest flatulence to which I had not even witnessed myself in my lifetime.

I have never been so proud yet so appalled by the offspring of my dinner. When I saw the surprise and disgust on my husband's face I knew I had made a horrible yet incredibly entertaining mistake. The mystery was gone and so was the love...for the moment. I honestly thought he would never want to come close to me again. I was laughing so hard because deep down I knew he wanted to pretend that he was nauseated but was obviously thoroughly amused at the whole situation.

Nothing's a secret in marriage...we share everything these days. :)

Now, onto the lesson of the day:

When someone wants my opinion, they'll ask for it. Other than that, listening is a pretty good option these days. God loves to show me lessons in illustrations and I thought this was a great one...

"Unsolicited advice is like using a sprinkler in the rain."

- Angie Taylor, on realizing that she's not always right.