29 reasons to be thankful

In light of my 29 years here on this earth, as of yesterday, I decided to list 29 things I am thankful for. In no random order, of course.

1. God.
2. My husband, who made me a yummy mocha this morning
3. My beautiful and fiesty son, Elijah
4. A very nice roof over our head, at least for now
5. My family back in Idaho- Mom, Dad, & Siblings
6. My family in Cali- Dad, Sun, Tiana, Fiona, Aunt Linda, & the rest of the bunch
7. My wild family in Virginia- Dalena, Andy, and awesome nieces and nephews
8. World peace- wait, this is what I would be thankful for if I was Ms. America!
9. Starbuck's being conveniently located 3/4 of a mile from my home (Hallelujah)
10. My church family- We love Willow Bend and everyone there
11. When my son goes to sleep. This I am truly thankful for!
12. Pedicures. I don't get them often at all but they are great.
13. Debit cards. Don't leave home without them!
14. Keeping in touch with old and new friends. I have had so many amazing and close friends in the last 29 years and I am thankful for all of them!
15. A good place to work. This is really important.
16. My bachelor's degree.
17. Publix being just down the road for me now. Saving me 10+ minutes running to the store for frivilous things like butter.
18. My husband being able to cook. Sweet
19. Living in America. We really are very blessed
20. Having traveled around Europe. Once in a lifetime experience never to be forgotten
21. All my sins being forgiven on the cross. Wow!
22. 7-11 slurpies in the summer.
23. Epiderals for pain relief during labor!
24. Olive Garden soup and salad. Yum-o
25. The Office on NBC- my mid-week stress and comedy relief
26. A nice running vehicle.
27. My In-laws, who have made raising my son a whole lot easier. they are great.
28. Tax Returns- I can't file yet but I am anxiously awaiting my $ back.
29. My life in general. I hope the next 29 years are as sweet as the last.

Hope in the midst of crisis

This scripture really touched me today along with the women's study I attended this morning....

"The LORD will give strength to his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace."

This really hits home for me and many others we know that are stressing and trying to make ends meet these days with the effects of this economy. So many people we know have been layed off, might be layed off, or are still trying to make ends meet with one income. Everyone is looking for more money, more work, etc...

But, as this verse illustrates, The LORD is the only one to give strength to us. He will bless us and more importantly HE will give us peace. It is only our duty and need to trust that His Word is true and that in the midst of being broke and cutting off the cable and eating every meal in, we can know that the Lord is behind us and he will not forsake us. I hope everyone going through the troubled waters as we are can find strength in this scripture that blessed me today!

And....

He is So Cute!

It's a .....

ICE! and more!

Happy New Year Everyone!

This post is of course belated and a catch up post, so what else is new?... We had a very nice two week staycation along with a small trip to Orlando to enjoy the condo there. We had a hard time feeling the "White Christmas" effect down here, when the weather on Christmas day was 81 degrees. However, we still really enjoyed our time with family and friends and we were really sad to take the ornaments off the tree today. All good things do usually come to an end I guess....

While in Orlando we visited an exhibit called ICE!, which is in the Gaylord Palms Resort and is an exhibit featuring billions of pounds of ice that are hand carved by Chinese Artists. It was really beautiful and unbelievably cold (9 degrees), so we only could stay in there about 25 minutes.

Well, above are some pictures to enjoy!

Updates...

Well, I won't give myself credit for being the world's best blogger for sure! Here are some updates:

I got my first ultrasound last Friday! The baby is doing really well, is totally adorable as a 14 week old can be, and they think it may be a boy. Still too early to tell, but we won't be disappointed either way. I should be able to tell for sure in January at 20 weeks. Elijah was super excited to see the pictures of his future sibling. I am also starting to show a little bit, which is exciting.

Ryan just registered for his first classes yesterday, as he has decided to go back to school and become a physical therapy assistant. I am very proud of him and wondering how crazy we are to undertake more schooling and newborns, but it is exciting.

Elijah has his first Christmas concert for school in two weeks. I can't wait. I remember having all these plays and Christmas concerts over the years for my parents, so I am sure this is just the beginning, but very exciting.

I am starting to teach Sunday school again in January. I am excited since it has been almost a year since I did this. I took a ministry profile at our church on Sunday to see what I was called to be as far as ministry goes. Hopefully teaching kids Sunday school is on the list.

Construction is slow, slow, slow down here. So we are praying for jobs to open up and people to get the financing to be able to remodel their homes.

My sister-in-law and her four awesome adorable kids are coming to see us next week. I am so excited!!!

30 days to CHRISTmas!!!!

Still Coping with the news... wishing it was colder...

I am still coping with the Obama election news. I guess it is a shock and my mind still has not absorbed this, but I do have until Jan. 09 right??? Give me a while and I will be okay again.

On other news, I found out regular Claritin is an antihistamine and it is okay to take. Whew.... a weight of guilt of my shoulders. It truly does stink being an allergy person and being pregnant, I miss my good old fast-acting Flonase....

Oh, and I wish it was colder outside. Seriously, I am done with eighty degree falls. We had some awesome forty degree nights last week. Those were the days... I am thinking about hitting the road during Christmas break and finding some snow...

So if you see me trekking north on 95 or 80 sometime between Christmas and New Year's, you know where I am headed.

One more thing, my favorite pen is missing from my desk at work today. Somebody clept it. This makes for a sad work day!

7 Weeks until Christmas------SERIOUSLY!