Life Lately || Currently

So much has happened since I shared on this piece of internet space. I don't even know where to start. We've had major changes going on in our life, traveled, finished with a busy summer season and moved right into a new season. We'll catch up some here, and look for upcoming posts, I'm hoping to get back into some routine again.

Celebrating - What God has done in our lives. After almost 5 years of trying to have children God did a miracle and now I am five months along. I have a post devoted to that topic coming to the blog soon. But by the grace of God the pregnancy has been easy and Lord willing we will hold our son, Jackson Lee around the end of February. We are so thankful, I am so thankful that God finally said yes to us becoming Mama and Daddy.

Reading - Just fininshed reading Teaching to Change Lives by Howard Henrdicks with my devotions. This was one of our required reading books for a teaching class in college and since then I have tried to reread it every few years. I was again challenged, especially because we work with the teenagers in our church. There are some principles I want to start implicating specifically with the girls I work with. As for pleasure reading, the cooler weather has made me want to curl up with a good L.M. Montgomery book and since I read Anne of Green Gables about a year ago I thought I'd just continue on in the series- so Anne of Avonlea it is. I checked off a bunch of books this year that I started or haven't read in a while, like the Little House series and Janette Oke's When Calls the Heart series.

Playing - At the current moment the soundtrack to Little Women because well, that's relaxing work music for me. And it makes me think of and miss my sisters. "I shall never love anyone as I love my sisters." -Jo March. Lately though I've just enjoyed moment of quiet, silence, except for the noises of an empty house.

Watching- A movie here or there. Mostly the Waltons in the afternoon when Working Man gets home and an Andy Griffeth or two in the evenings.

Trying- To work on some Christmas presents! I actually have a lot of ideas already, so I'm trying to get busy. I've made a few new recipes in the past few weeks also, like Corn Chowder, quick pizza dough, and dirty chai lattes.

Cooking- Turkey and provalone stromboli for supper, and personal pizzas with the kids in my homeschool Cooking Class. I baked salmon the other night that turned out so good I just know it was juicing up my brain cells with it's Omega 3's. But since the weather FINALLY cooled off- all things crockpot-y, soups, chilis, stews, and bread, because all those things need bread to compliment them. At least in my book.

Drinking- The said Dirty Chai Latte, lots of water, and Mother to Be tea.

Pinning - Christmas present ideas mostly. Articles on raising godly boys, oh, and nursery decor ideas for our Little Jack coming this winter.

Crafting - Said Christmas present, of which I will not divulge on here. I also finished a crazy quilt top that I have worked on off and on for years, so it is officially in the quilt frame and I've got lots of other quilt ideas running through my head, along with designing a baby quilt for our little one. I've been thinking about starting on getting a head start on making Christmas cards too. We'll see...

Doing - Not as much this week. Last week was our Missions Conference, so that always involves a lot of running but equal amounts of blessings. I've been teaching the cooking class in homeschoolers this fall semester and loving it! We only have 2 more weeks to go before the holiday break. I'll miss teaching but not the extra running during the week. I also began teaching piano for the first time this fall, with great fear and trepidation I might add. Never having had piano lessons I was intimidated, but music is music, so I am thoroughly enjoying teaching music again.

Loving - Cooler weather, a growing body(even if it is uncomfortable sometimes), fires in the woodstove, and quilting again.

Hating - Hurriedness, Christmas movies on tv already, and the lack of time to read.

Discovering - how Satan can bring the comparison game into pregnancy- I don't have those symptoms, I haven't felt movement yet and I'm already ____ weeks along, That person is twenty weeks and I'm not showing near as much as them. And that can lead right into the fear and worry game, maybe something's wrong, am I eating enough?, Could I possibly even drink any more water? I am who God made me, and my pregnancy will not be like any other person's, just special and unique to me.

Thinking - how my life is going to change, new schedules, a new person, new responsibilities. But also thinking recently, as a result of Scripture journaling I've been doing on the attributes of God, on how much I have in the Lord. On how much I need to slow down when reading and take time to make myself apply what I read to my life.

Hoping- To start painting the spare room for a nursery and to start a Babies R Us registry soon.

Finishing - This post! For those who do not blog, please hear me when I say it takes TIME to sit and write a blog post, especially when you don't feel inspired.

Starting - To remember why I love blogging, I really do enjoy writing and sharing parts of my life, and when I make myself sit and actually write it becomes clear to me again and again.