"Everything Is Amazing And Nobody's Happy"

32 Weeks

Not much to report about the pregnancy this week. I'm getting closer and closer to the due date, which in my opinion is fabulous. We're getting very excited to meet Grace. I have been feeling kind of yucky again but the end is in sight. I only have 18 days (4 weeks) left of school and then twiddling my thumbs until Grace arrives.

Sorry about the outfit. I had to put on a t-shirt so I wouldn't make a mess painting stars.

I have a few updated pictures of the nursery too. Hopefully the crib will be done soon. Once that is here it will be pretty much ready for a baby.

The couch with pillow shams to match the curtains and the adorable afghan my grandma made.

The above two pictures are the super cute wall hangings from Target that Amy Jo got me for a shower present. I bought plain wood stars and paint at Hobby Lobby to decorate and hang some of the wall hangings on. The project was only $12 dollars and 30 min. of my time.

Our dresser. We ended up getting it from Wal-Mart because of free site-to-store shipping. It beats the $75 shipping Target wanted to charge. We'll put a changing pad on here so it will double as a changing table.

Quest Shower

I had a great time at a shower today thrown by some of my church friends. It was so fun to hang out with them and just feel blessed by the gifts they gave me. They also prayed for me and our family at the end which was very encouraging and made me cry:) We got lots of useful things including a car seat, baby monitor, organizing bins, clothes, and much more. I actually have enough clothes and towels that I could do a full load of laundry for the baby. My friend Maggie got us some practical cleaning agents for baby and clothes...so I'm doing laundry now with our baby-friendly detergent. It's fun to wash Grace's stuff for the first time. I'm sure I'll get sick of it but it's fun for now. I know a handful of the women at the shower read this blog so I'll give a shout out to you all. Thanks so much for your love and support! We have a wonderful church family to bring our baby into. I can't even begin to fathom how much you'll mean to her and have already meant to us over the last few years.

Yellow cake with chocolate frosting made by AmyJo. Yummy!

The hosts and me.

Convicting

I just read a really cool post on a John Piper's Desiring God blog. Since I tend to lean more towards the legalistic side (wrongly so) this really challenged me to search my heart a little bit more deeply. Please take a few minutes to read this because it is really good stuff.

Knowing the Nature of Your Evil

February 19, 2009 | By: John Piper
Category: Commentary

It is important that we know the nature of the evil in our hearts.

Do you think the essence of your evil is disobeying commandments? That’s a good start. But it’s not the essence of our evil. Commands simply name the evil and its fruits, and tell us not to do them.

The essence of our evil is that we prefer anything to God (Romans 1:23; 2:23). Commands do not create the possibility of evil. Commands name it.

Long before we are told not to covet, we covet. Disobeying the command, “Thou shalt not covet,” is not equivalent to the evil of coveting. The evil of coveting is there first, and then is compounded by the transgression of the commandment not to covet.

Paul said, “I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet’” (Romans 7:7). That is, I wouldn’t have known the seriousness of my evil if God had not named it in the law.

But lawbreaking is not the essence of my evil. Desiring anything above God is the essence of my evil, before any commands name it.

One reason this is important to know is that it will affect the way you pursue change. If you think the essence of your evil is commandment-breaking, your focus for change will be commandment-keeping.

That is doomed to fail for two reasons. If we get good at it, we think we have changed, but the essence of our evil remains. If we can’t get good at it, we despair and quit trying.

But if we know that the essence of our evil is not commandment-breaking, but preferring anything to God, then our focus for change will be a change of heart. That is hopeful, because God promised, “I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 11:19).

This is the new covenant that Jesus purchased with his blood (Luke 22:20). We receive it by faith.

Car Update

Sold - Matt sold his Kia to a Packers fan on Friday night. I think he felt better about it going to a home of a Packers fan. I think Matt would agree that selling the car on Craigslist was an overall good experience (he's the one who did the work). If you're not in a hurry to get rid of a car try it out.

Bought - We bought a used Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo Saturday morning (great V-day present). We had a really good experience. We got a good deal since the car had been on the lot a year and we are happy with our decision. Also, the dealer we went with was great and after we made the deal we spent a good 20 minutes talking with him about his profession and how he makes money. We've been very intrigued by the whole process over the last few weeks. If you are looking to buy a car let us know and we'll give you our dealer's name.

It feels good to have this behind us and we are grateful that we can afford a nice car to haul Baby Grace and our soon to be family of 3 around in. For the next few weeks you may find me parked in the back of parking lots since I have little to no confidence in parking.

Memorable Day

For those who like me are fond of computers, today is a grand day.  UNIX time (which dates the number of seconds since January 1st, 1970) hits this time in 10 minutes: 1234567890 seconds.

http://www.1234567890day.com/.

Enjoy.

30 Weeks

Greetings. I feel like I have a lot to say today about pregnancy and life in general.

First off, I am excited to be in what I now consider countdown mode for the pregnancy. Only 10 weeks to go! It's pretty amazing how quickly things have flown by. I had a doctor's appointment this afternoon that went well. I actually met with one of the midwives for the first time today and scheduled the rest of my appointments until my due date with them. I really miss my doctor but I've know from the beginning that she doesn't do deliveries and I'd have to make the switch. So it's switching time. The midwife I met with was nice and there are 5 more in the practice who we will meet with eventually. Then whoever is on call will deliver Baby Grace (at the hospital and an OB on call will assist if a c-section is needed). The midwife told me that my weight, blood pressure, measurements, and urine all looked good. She was also able to feel that Grace was head down! Yay! She told me that she could turn back around again but I'm just telling her to stay the way she is.

Second off, we've been doing lots of adult things lately that are nice to take the mind off pregnancy but also stressful in the midst of pregnancy. We finally locked in a mortgage rate today to refinance our house into a 15 year mortgage. We're excited about getting as much into equity as possible over the next couple of years before, God willing, we've outgrown our house. We also have been used car shopping. Matt posted a few days ago that the Kia is on the market and we've been looking around for something bigger and safer. I'm not going to go into details but I hate dealing with used car salesmen.

Third off, the weather as been really nice the last couple of days and Matt grilled some brats for us tonight. Baby Grace and I loved them. I can tell already she is going to be a meat eater! As soon as I smelled the first wiff of the grill my stomach was ready to feast on brats.

Fourth off, on the more serious side I've been really enjoying my Bible reading lately. I posted a while ago that I wanted to spend more time in the Word and relying on God as I prepare for this thing called motherhood. At the beginning of the year I found a 1 year Bible plan that is really working for me. I honestly don't know if I'll be able to keep up with the readings once Grace is born but I have 4 sections to read everyday so if I just have to cut back to 1 or 2 at least I'll be getting some time with God. I've been learning more about what it means to meditate on what I'm reading and have felt a lot of peace just focusing on something bigger than me.

The Will of God

I just read this poem today and really loved it....

The will of God will never take you,

Where the grace of God cannot keep you,
Where the arms of God cannot support you
Where the riches of God cannot supply your needs,
Where the power of God cannot endow you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the Spirit of God cannot work through you,
Where the wisdom of God cannot teach you,
Where the army of God cannot protect you,
Where the hands of God cannot mold you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the love of God cannot enfold you,
Where the mercies of God cannot sustain you,
Where the peace of God cannot calm your fears,
Where the authority of God cannot overrule for you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the comfort of God cannot dry your tears,
Where the Word of God cannot feed you,
Where the miracles of God cannot be done for you,
Where the omnipresence of God cannot find you.

Everything happens for a purpose.
We may not see the wisdom of it all now,
but trust and believe in the Lord that everything is for the best.


AUTHOR UNKNOWN

Nearing The End Of An Era

I met her in August of 2002.  I was nervous around her at first, but then I realized that I could trust her and that our relationship would last.  You could call her the love of my life until I met Anne.  She was there during my last days of college.  She was there during my college graduation, finding my first job, my start in the real world.  She was there on my first date with Anne and she wasn't jealous at all.  She was excited when I asked Anne to marry me.  She was there on our wedding day.  She acted up at times, but mostly the normal maintenance that comes with someone like her.  I'm going to miss her.  But I know that somebody else will get to enjoy her next.

My Kia Sephia is officially on the market.

First Shower

We had our first shower this past weekend and it was so fun. The shower part and getting gifts was cool but the best part was just seeing friends and celebrating the coming blessings. It was actually a joint shower for three couples who are expecting this spring. Matt was in fraternity with some really cool guys and they have remained close friends since college and three of the guys have pregnant wives. The tradition is for everyone to get together and have a shower for expecting families. I guess its pretty convenient that we're all expecting around the same time. So, this shower was extra crazy because almost half the people attending were guests of honor. It is just so special to have this group of friends who really care for each other deeply and would do anything for each other. I know without a doubt that any child who has been or will be born to this group of friends will be loved and prayed for by these people.

Mandy (due 5/30), Anne (due 4/22) and Lexi (due 3/18)

Super Prediction

America comes together for one night a year to celebrate the greatest sports league in the history of humanity.  And I shall predict the victor...you can take it to the bank:

Steelers 31, Cardinals 16.

I also predict I will enjoy my wife's delicious chili tonight.