Vintage

I've always had an affinity for stories.  I devour books as if they're disappearing, and I ask probably way too many questions.

Recently, an older relative of mine put together a facebook group with pictures from my paternal grandfather's family.  They're sweet and make me thankful for where I've come from.

I'm hoping to sit down with my grandfather soon and get some stories with these pictures...

 

My dad's dad - in his younger years.

 

My great-grandparents, "Memaw & Pepaw" 

He was a preacher out in Grand Prarie, Texas.  A lot of the family still lives there.  We had the privilege of living in Texas for a little while and sharing some holidays with them.

I don't know if it's the baby or just my natural inclination for history that makes me so excited about learning more.  I'm blessed to come from a family that loved God and gave their lives to make Him known.  I hope my children feel the same one day.

Balance

With all that is going on in my life (ok, just the pregnancy, but it feels like a lot), my normal over-analytical self has been kicked into overdrive.  I have a truckload of emotions and they crowd in on each other.  My prayer right now is that God would grant me wisdom on how to balance these thoughts and feelings and when to express them (or not).

I'm dealing with a profound mixture of:

• sickness,
• thankfulness,
• exhaustion,
• excitement,
• anxiousness, &
• peace.  

I was boo-hoo-ing all of this confusion to my sweet mom, and she brought up the clip in Disney's "Tangled" (if you knew my parents, you'd know that this has swiftly become one of their favorite movies) where Rapunzel is SO conflicted from one moment to the next.  It made me laugh, because the extremity matches exactly how I've been feeling (minus the whole mother-daughter issue).

Please, watch and laugh at my expense!

Baby on Board!

Yes!  It's true!  I am one pregnant lady!
I haven't blogged much in the past few weeks because all I wanted to do is let you guys know our secret.  It's been so incredibly hard to keep our secret, but it was nice to have something between the two of us.

This is about the third pregnancy test I took (out of about... seven or eight!).  I was so shocked that I felt it was desperately important to make sure. 


We just decided to tell our friends a few days ago.  We are about seven weeks pregnant, and were going to wait until next week, but we got to go into the doctor early and heard the heartbeat, meaning the risks went way down.  Because everything looked so good, the doctor rescheduled our 8 week appointment for a few weeks later. 

I even contemplated waiting longer, but I've been so under the weather that we were starting to get questions.  I'm so glad we have shared now, because people are much more understanding of my exhaustion and constant nausea!  Though I wouldn't wish the nausea on anyone, I'm so thankful for these signs that mean our little one is growing on schedule. 

I've never known as much nervousness and cautiousness as I do now.  It's a whole new level of faith, but God has provided wonderful little signs along the way, and I can't wait to share them with you!

This Week

This week has been incredibly lovely!
Things I've loved:

1.  My small group.  They're sweet and they make me laugh and I'm so blessed by them.

2.  Rain.  There are few things better than cuddling up on the couch with a good book watching it pour.

3.  Hope.  When life is confusing, I have solid ground to stand on.  I'm more thankful for this than any other thing.

There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary-we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!  -Romans 5:3-5 (MSG)

Taking a Breather

This summer has been wonderful for me so far.  I am working less, and I am enjoying the sweet smells and sensations of a Carolina summer.  I have had time to meet with some other wonderful women who have blessed my life so much.  I have had time to clean.  I have time to read and pray each day.
What a sweet, sweet season.
The biggest concern of mine today is having lunch with a dear friend, Anna, and maybe buying a watering can... and painting it.
Isn't it a precious idea?

 

via

And here's to you, hoping you are enjoying summer wherever you are, finding time in the busy-ness to take a deep breath!