What God Has Done

It has been quite the month! Awhile back I wrote a post about how Rick and I were looking for a house and trusting God to provide. As we prayed and searched, we both thought that God wanted us to stop looking for a place to buy and ask my parents if we could live with them for 6 months or so. They kindly said yes, and we had lots of faith for that plan.

Then, Rick and I started taking a class on prayer taught by my dad. In the first class, he said that you should write down something to pray for over the next 3 weeks and see how God would answer that prayer. I wanted to pray for a stand-alone Chick-fil-a but Rick vetoed it. Still, I didn't write down a house...thinking that it wasn't God's timing. But Dad's class inspired me to pray more and so it became more apart of my morning routine.

One morning in late March, I felt like I was supposed to pray for a house. And that I would have faith for God to provide us a house. So I did. When I got to work I figured it wouldn't hurt to see what new houses were put on the market that day. I looked at only one house, called Rick (about 4 times), emailed him at work, finally talked to him. He had seen it too.

This past Friday we officially became homeowners! They accepted our first offer (we submitted one the same day we looked at it), and by God's kindness, everything worked out with no surprises. We spent the last weekend working on it (needs a lot of work). Rick, my hero, and his dad took out the entire kitchen! Hopefully we will finish all the work by the end of May and move into it on May 30.

God is very, very good! I'll post some pics of the house and prayer requests (mostly having to do with my swollen ankles).

Good Eats

Last night I made this recipe for the first time last night...and man, was it good. Rick craves anything with lots of sauce, so I one and a halved the recipe. I didn't double it because I didn't want to use that much butter, and we are only 2 people! That was definitely the way to go. Mmmm...next time I think I will double the amount of chicken and quadruple the sauce to make lots of leftovers.

And the best was that I have all the ingredients in my pantry (well, cupboards technically)! I love it when I don't need to buy crazy ingredients.

Are there anything that your husbands or family members eat that you wouldn't think to keep in your kitchen? Like Rick loves honey and will put it in his cereal, but I very rarely eat honey. Just curious...

Third Trimester!

I'm 27 weeks today and according to my pregnancy calendar, I'm in my third trimester. If I didn't have a pregnancy calendar, I wouldn't know anything about where I am in my pregnancy except that it's supposed to end on July 20.

Our girl, Lucy (no middle name yet), seems to be growing and she has been kicking more than ever. Sometimes I feel a repetitive kick which I was thinking was her keeping time or practicing for marching band, but I read today that it's probably the hiccups. Oh my. I still don't feel ready...lots to do!

As for me, they've officially hired someone to replace me in my job and my last day will be towards the end of May. I can't believe it, but I've been praying that God will make me more excited about this next season than sad about the past. Hopefully, many good things are to come.

I'll have most of June and July to work on some things and have fun. I've been making of list of things to do. Any suggestions?

Meal Planning Mondays

I saw this idea on some other blogs and thought I would make a "Meal Planning Monday." Isn't that exciting?

Honestly, meal planning and deciding what's for dinner is one of my least favorite homemaking things to do. I'm wondering if I will like it more when I'm not working, but generally I get all frustrated with it.

Monday - spaghetti with garlic bread!
Tuesday - BBQ meatballs with broccoli & cheese
Wednesday - Nicoise salads (it's a copy of my favorite Salad Alley salad)
Thursday - skillet chicken and broccoli
Friday - "Homemade" pizza

Lime Chicken

I tried out this chicken recipe the other night, and both Rick and I decided it's a keeper. It's not pretty (but what chicken is really?) so some asparagus brightened the plate up.

That website has been a good resource (she's even got recipes for elk!) so make sure to check it out. I've been looking more into meal planning and recipes so I hope to put some of those things on the blog soon.

Having Babies

Sometimes I get afraid people will think I’m silly for getting pregnant soon after getting married (a little over 3 months). Mostly because I would have thought it was silly. When we were engaged, I asked Rick to give me at least 6 months before we started trying to have kids. It could have been longer, but hey, I’m getting old.

But one day I read this and God spoke to me.

Psalm 127
Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one's youth.
Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Reading this, God showed me my heart and it’s fears and then He showed me the promises of His Word. I was convicted of two things.

The first was being afraid of what people (my family and close friends) would think of me. What would they say about me? Would they think I was crazy for not wanting more time alone with Rick? Would they think I was missing out on the newlywed years? Maybe. Does it matter? No. Because the promise of this verse is that children are from the Lord…a reward…they bring blessing to their parents…there is no shame.

The second is that I was afraid of the future. What if we couldn’t provide for our kids? What if we couldn’t buy a house? What if all the money I wanted to spend at Anthropologie suddenly went to diapers? Well, the first part of this psalm spoke to my anxieties: “…he gives to his beloved sleep.” The anxious don’t sleep well, but God’s beloved do. He cares for them, builds their house and watches over them. Now that is a promise.

So God spoke to me. He eased my fears. And then I very clearly knew what repentance and obedience looked like. I was to trust Him in all things and have kids. And now that I’m pregnant? I know that this is what God called me to do from the beginning…and that gives me great joy.

Blogger’s Note: I understand that there are perfectly good reasons to wait to have kids. And I’m not saying my story is the best one to follow. But it’s a good reminder that God is the one who sets our priorities.

Surprise!

It's a girl! It was definitely a surprise (to me), but a very good one. At first I was stunned and then I was so, so happy and started to cry. Rick was excited, gave me a kiss and said he thought it was a girl. It's comforting to know that God is the one who chose to surprise me with this little one.

I started to cry because I realized that this baby girl is part of a legacy. It's a legacy of what it means to be a woman who loves God, of how to care for and follow a husband, of how to laugh at yourself and your faults, of how to fill your home with joy and fun.

Mom, she is your legacy. Now it's my turn to try and teach her all those things that you taught me and modeled for me so well. I hope that she loves me someday half as much as I love you.