Change :)

Here is our living room when we first moved in. We really didn't change much with the furniture because our living room is really large and nothing else seemed right.

This is our new set up now. We wanted to put in some carpet so we can put baby on the floor without felling bad. And we moved Brion's computer into the living room and out of what will be the baby's room. 

Next step: Baby's room! 

Starting from Scratch

Starting tomorrow, as part of our training, we are not allowed to use any of our kitchen appliances (Except fridge and stove) and have to cook EVERYTHING from scratch. When I first heard that we had to do this, I was a little freaked out, but I think (if all goes well with my health this week) that it should be pretty fun.

So what's on the menu for the week?

Monday we are making tortillas and taco fixings for dinner. I figured we would start out with one thing super easy, taco meat, and one thing a little more time consuming, tortillas :) For breakfast we have powdered skim milk (eek) with some awesome homemade granola (Brion made it and gave it a special name, but I forgot what he called it). We are keeping lunch simple too with sandwiches on our homemade bread with some fruit.

Tuesday we'll do some breakfast burritos with our leftover tortillas and for dinner some awesome cheddar, potato, cauliflower, bacon soup.

Wednesday we'll make some more bread and have leftover soup and sandwiches for lunch and some crepes for dinner!! I just love making and eating crepes!

Thursday for lunch we are having grilled cheese with bacon and avocado and dinner is a spin off of shepherds pie. We are having company over so i'll probably try and make some sort of dessert. Maybe some chocolate pudding cake...

Friday I really don't remember what I planned for lunch, but for dinner we have a potluck with the rest of class to celebrate our survival of scratch cooking! I'm making a chicken pot pie and I think i'll do a apple crisp for dessert.

In the mix somewhere I'm going to try these awesome peanut butter cookies and maybe some other oatmeal snacky things. If all goes well, I will be the one making these meals, but maybe if you think about it, pray for Brion in case he has to cook this week on top of his already busy schedule.  :) I'm going to miss my toaster and my food processor this week, but luckily we have a hand crank coffee grinder and french press, so Brion will still have his coffee. Hope everyone has a great week. We are excited about ours!

Wasted

Holy conviction, Batman! That's what I feel like saying today. My thinking has been so off and today as I was looking in the mirror, I realized how wrong my attitude has been. This pregnancy has been hard for me for a number of reasons and I have been so focused on the negative and when everything will finally start looking up, that I have wasted 28 weeks of thankfulness and rejoicing in exactly where God has me. There have been so many days that I can't do anything but lay in bed and instead of praying for other people and getting into the Word, I was just feeling sorry myself. I should have taken advantage of every second of down time that I had and put it to good use, but instead I was self absorbed and wishing the day by.

My goodness it has taken me a long time to figure this out! I could just keep waiting and waiting for a time when I will feel better and rejoice in that, or I could rejoice for this moment I have right now. Even if that means I am rejoicing in my bed or on my couch. I have such a huge privilege of having a sweet little baby inside of me and instead of thanking God everyday for the challenge that this bringing us, knowing that we can grow from this, I am focused on the prayer of health. I know that God can heal, but He doesn't always choose to do so.

So I may not be making it to all my classes and I may not have the same fellowship opportunities as everyone else, but I still have the ability to pray and study God's Word. Thank you Lord for opening my eyes! From this point on, I am going to have a better attitude. If you catch me with a bad one, please call me out it. As I have 12 weeks left, give or take a few, I want to rejoice daily in the fact that my son is alive and kicking! He is healthy and growing strong for the day when he makes his grand entrance into this world.

My Goals for the next 12 weeks:
1. Wake up everyday and be thankful for whatever it holds. Before my feet touch the floor, I want to thank God for what He is going to use me for and teach me that day.
2. Spend quality time with my Savior. Whether it be in deep prayer or studying His Word. If I am not setting my mind on things above, there is no way my attitude will transform.
3. I can't really think of something right now, but I'm sure I will in the future.
I am going to need some help in keeping my mind and my heart in the right place, so as my brothers and sisters in Christ, if you see that I may need some work on something, please feel free to tell me.