Mission accomplished

I'm so thankful that my 90 day reading-through-the-Bible challenge is over. sigh. It's been a tremendous blessing, and yet it's been very challenging and sometimes downright HARD. When you have company, you can't just disappear for 2 hours at at time; it just doesn't work that way. I read these precious verses this morning and HAD to share:

"And I saw no temple therein:
for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb
are the temple of it.

And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon,
to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it,
and the Lamb is the light thereof."

~Revelation 21:22, 23

GOOD STUFF HERE!

Jody started his new job today working 6-6. I guess all in all it was a good day for him, but it was quite long. We're not sure exactly what his hours will be, but we know he's working straight days. Yay! :)

Tomorrow's the first day of actual running. I'm so excited. What do I do if I can't make it around the track twice? HOPEfully I'll make it. For all of you in it with me, tomorrow we're going to:

1 warm up lap
Run 1/2 mile
1 mile walk
1 cool down lap
...which equals 2 miles. (Christy, I hope you got that)

Buenos/as(?) Noches.

ps. Laura, good job on the reading. God's Word is SO GOOD. Keep on truckin'. Hope you made it to the gym today:-)

What would thoughtful parents do?

My poor daughter's legs are BARE IN THE SNOW. We really don't have her in shorts; her pants just scooted up for the picture. It's crazy that it snowed a bunch here yesterday. The other picture of Mikayla was taken the day before the snow one. My lovely parents had us over last night for a wonderful dinner at their house- meatloaf, carrots, potatoes with mushrooms, and avocado slices. Yummy! Afterwards we trotted over to see if Christy's cats were still alive- they were. phew.

I'm stoked about all the ladies wanting to participate in the 4k (Vivi, Grace, Laura, CC, etc.). I do appreciate the good advice from Heather, although I can't see myself EVER running 12-14 miles. WOW! It's been a HUGE goal of mine to run in a race for a long time now. And this year seems like the perfect time to do it. Just to clear something up here: when I say "run", I mean a s- l- o -w jog. I didn't want to deceive anyone- ha! I won't purposefully go slow, but will "run" the best that I can:)

It's been a VERY lazy day. Our church services were cancelled this morning AND this evening. This morning b/c of weather and this evening b/c of people being out of town. SO, I think my dear Joseph is going stir-crazy. I might be joining him.

Ok, I'm off to look at a vest for my lovebug. No, CC, not a sweater vest like you're so fond of. Hope you all have a good evening.

ps. what are some of YOUR goals?

do share.

Lace 'em up, Ladies!

Who's with me? I'm planning on running a 4k (2.5 miles) within 2 months, and a 5k (3.1 miles) within 3 months. I found a neat program online (where else?) that I want to try. The 4k is in Dublin (Dr. Pepper) TX on June 9th. Anybody interested? Then we could all do the race together. Woudn't that be fun?? If so, we're starting on Monday with this workout:

Monday- rest (I knew you'd like it:)
Tuesday- .5 mile run + 1 mile walk
Wednesday- rest
Thursday- .5 mile run + 1 mile walk
Friday- rest
Saturday and Sunday- rest one day, .5 mile run + 1 mile walk

Sounds easy enough, right? :)

AND, for other news: Lord willing, I'll be finishing my 90 day Bible challenge on Monday!!! I was pretty far behind b/c we had so much LOVELY company (which I thoroughly enjoyed- don't get me wrong). I'm seeing the finish line...

Lastly, a few minutes ago, a spider floated down on me. shiver. Those things are so NOT appealing to me. I nearly dropped this laptop all for a tiny spider. I'm crazy.

Good night, my faithful readers.
Are you game?

Sweet reflections

One year ago today, I experienced one of the most phenomenal experiences that a human can know. I had the supreme privilege of going into labor. The contractions started, and so did my tears. Happy tears. Just thinking of that evening brings about tears. My God is such an indescribably kind God.

To have a baby is supremely wonderful. To know that the Lord gave her life, made her little body to grow, and allowed her to come into this world is amazing!! I never want to take that for granted, and I pray I never will . I think Jada's brief life will help me all the more to not take life for granted.

"Because thy lovingkindness is better than life,
my lips shall praise thee.

Thus will I bless thee while I live:
I will life up my hands in thy name."

~Psalm 63: 3, 4

I LOVE my (our!) precious baby girl. And tomorrow she'll be turning 1. Incredible. I've grown to love her more than my own life. Being a mother is just plain nice. There's nothing like it. The Lord has taught me much and I have no doubt will continue teaching me through Mikayla's life. Our prayer is that she'll come to know and love the One who is the giver of life!

Good night. I'm a happy mother indeed!!! and most blessed.

Popcorn and such

This evening my husband asked me to do something he's NEVER asked me to do before. He asked me to pop him some popcorn! Crazy indeed, especially if you know the guy. I was very happy to do so in my clean....

MICROWAVE!!! Yay! My poor microwave was in desperate need of a cleaning. Just ask my mom and CC. When they'd come over, I'd make sure they knew to NOT LOOK IN THE MICROWAVE. Phew, glad that's done. :) And it wasn't so bad. It was just something I put off doing for long enough. Just DO IT, you know? Maybe my Joseph finally felt like he could ask for popcorn, knowing it'd finally been cleaned. hmmmm.

And, I walked 3 miles today on the treadmill that my mom likes to call her own. It's actually my sister's, but I think my parents have conquered it b/c Grace belongs to the world's greatest gym ever and no longer has a need for it. Does anybody else wish what Early would get a gym? a good one? of course not. That was a silly question. We DID get a new hair salon, though. I might try it out; I could even walk to it, it's so close. But, I imagine the walk back home would do wonders for my new 'do.

We're off to visit Grannybear in the morning. Hopefully, we'll get in some good games of dominoes. That's always so much fun.

Grace has posted!!! Yes, I kid you not. And, it's a good one.

Hasn't the rain been WONDERFUL??! I love it. so much. and Jody, too. And Mikayla.

I think I've set a record for the most CAPS ever used in a post. What's the deal today? I don't know. I'm just rambling.

Good night, faithful friends. Let's chalk this up to yet another exciting post from the very happy mother of one! :)

I got it!

My apology for not having a new post in such a long time. I've been REALLY busy, mostly with trying to stay caught up with my Bible reading plan. So, in my free time, that's what I've been doing. It's a wonderful use of time (believe me), and I'll (we'll) be finished pretty soon. We're over 2/3 of the way through it.

Anyway, my mother's ring came in the mail. Yay! I really like it, and I'm so grateful to have it. It even has Mikayla's and Jada's name on it. Just wanted to share:-). Maybe I'll get a picture of it posted sometime.

Hope everyone's doing well. I sure am.

My Birthmonth Girl!

Mikayla got this ever-so-adorable birthday

banner from her Aunt Laura!

Just wanted to share that this lovely Monday.

ps. Laura, I'm so thankful you made it safely there!

We REALLY enjoyed your visit.

Hey, come again soon;)

A walk minus a sock

Mikayla and I had a fun walk today trotting around the neighborhood. Too bad we can't go to the park:( The whole time we were walking, I was concentrating on not losing my keys b/c Mikayla was playing with them. So, we had almost made it home when I realized she was no longer wearing socks. Oh well. They were getting too small anyway. She did have one tucked in beside her, to her credit.

Much to do today! We're expecting some lovely company soon. Today I get the privilege (SP?) of:

~catching up on laundry (I imagine if you read ANY woman's blog, the word laundry is sure to appear)
~cleaning house- PineSol, here we come
~taking care of my precious daugter (what a complete blessing!)
~SHOWERING

Yay! Fun day planned, as you can see. And Jody gets off @ 3. yippee!!
I'm off to have a bite (or 2) of lunch:)

One of the funniest things I've ever read

It's ok to quote from a blog you just read, right? Well, I came across this and it made me laugh out loud, literally! (yes, Grace, literally) Ok, here goes. Tell me what you think.

"My second daughter has taken to the habit of shouting out the words "ice" and "beans" quite frequently and for no apparent reason. I suppose she likes the sound of them. Anyway, the baby who is barely talking has begun copying his sister. He is often heard in his crib quietly cooing "ice, beans." -Kendra

Maybe it's b/c I have a daughter about the same age as the one who is doing the "quiet cooing," but this just struck something in me. Is it NOT FUNNY??

Happy Birthday, Aunt Laura!

A very happy birthday wish for my sister-in-law Laura! I hope you have a most wonderful, blessed day- being thankful for the years of life the Lord's given you:)

We got a new armoire (sp??). My dear husband put it together on Saturday. We got quite a deal on it, too. It went from 200, to 150, to 124. So, we snatched it up. We're hoping to sell our old entertainment center @ our yard sale on the 17th. HOPEFULLY we'll be able to get rid of lots of things. Slowly we're decluttering our cluttered home. And we're lovin' it.

My mom took a picture of it, so I'm waiting for her to send it to me. So, while I have a few moments, what's going on with YOU? Yes, you. I care and I'd like to know. Anyone?

Lord willing, my Joseph will be starting a straight day job (still @ 3M) very soon. After working shift work for over 7 years, this will be quite nice. He's eager to get into a set schedule. I'm encouraged for the strong possibility of it.

My dad came over for lunch. We had egg sandwiches and baked chips and water. When he left for Cisco, I snuck in a fiber bar. I know I talk about fiber too much (well, Grace thinks so anyway), but I'm a fiber fan. And a fruit fan. And walking fan. And a Mikayla fan. Ok, that's enough. Sorry.

Let's see if we can get that pic to show up...

Fruit kick

Am I the only one on a fruit kick? Isn't it so yummy?? My husband and I can't seem to get enough of it. Lately he's asked me to make him fruit salads, and in it I put- apples, oranges, grapes, bananas, pineapple, mango, strawberries, kiwi, and (thanks to my mommy), BLUEBERRIES. Makes for a pretty good little salad. And we've been making smoothies. Does anyone out there have a good recipe for a smoothie?? If so, please share. They can sure be pretty yummy.

We're having Mikayla's Aunt Laura and her 2 boys come, Lord willing, next weekend. Yay! (Laura, I'll email you a menu choice to see what you and your boys prefer to eat!:) We're really looking forward to seeing them and getting to spend time with them.

Today was a good day @ church. Since I've become a mommy I don't hear all the messages preached/taught like I used to. I've got a slight distraction. :) Hopefully, she'll start being able to sit in church without me having to take her out so often. What a girl. She's SO worth it!

I'd better jet. Grace and Mom (not to mention others), it's time for a new POST! Good night, sweet ladies. Y'all are the best! :)

Enough already

I'm all for respecting people, but haven't they gone a bit overboard on ANSmith's death/burial, etc.?? Seriously, I think she's getting more coverage than former presidents have gotten. "breaking news" grrr.

We had a wonderful visit with sweet Christy this evening. She kindly fed us and entertained us so effortlessly. It's easy to love somebody when they love your child so much. That would define Christy. :) I liked her before Miggy, of course, but there's an added element now to our friendship that I just love. We even watched the results of AI and part of "the #1 new tv show" Are you smarter than a 5th grader?

Then my dad wanted my mom home with him. Figures, but who can blame him? :)

I like the competitive talk, Laura! Good for you exercising! I enjoy walking so much. If anyone needs a walking partner (CC), let me know. Jody, Mikayla and I have walked every morning this week. It's been SO much fun. (I just noticed that I use the word "so" a lot!)

Ok, off to bed. Not the most exciting post, but it's better than an old one, right? right.

3.7 miles today

Yep, that's what we walked @ Riverside park. What an accomplishment, and boy, did we feel good afterwards. Well, not TOO good b/c we made some fudge a few nights ago. rats. To our credit, we shared with our pastor and his wife. phew.

Thank you, Christy, for putting a new pic of me and baby girl up!! Pretty soon, we'll need a new one. As hot as it was today, that snow is sure to melt:-) I do wish I had some sort of computer skills. I can type a mean letter on MWord, but that's about it.

I had horrible time today making fish. I bought some cod and thought I could accomplish great things by baking it. Not so. Let's just say that we ended up having cereal for lunch, and we were very happy to do so. Jody hugged me and said I was a good cook, etc. So, that made me feel lots better.

I got an invite tonight. Hooray. I'm not quite sure yet what all it will entail, but with CC and my parents and Mikayla, it's bound to be a blast. I'll have to give an update after then fun ends. I know everyone's itching to know more.

I'm off to get some housework, reading, and resting done. Probably in that order.

"I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me."
-Proverbs 8:17

ps. Misty, if you're reading this, please tell Mike it's time for a new memory verse

Almost 7 years!

On Monday, Jody and I will have been married for 7 years. What a complete privilege to have such a wonderful man to be my husband. I thank the Lord a million times over for the honor to be his wife!! We celebrated today by enjoying an outing to Abilene, where we had a yummy Mexican meal, went to Target, and the mall. It was an extremely enjoyable time. My sweet mommy and dad watched our Mikayla. sigh. They took such good care of her:)

And while celebrating our marriage, we also celebrate the birth of our nephew Ian Gregory Ledbetter. What a boy he is!! He'll be 5! on Monday, and he'll be starting school this year. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! It doesn't seem too long ago that I saw him enter this world. He's SUCH a joy. I always tell him that he's my favorite Ian Gregory Ledbetter EVER. I think he likes that. His mommy sometimes tells him that he's special, and he says, I know, Aunt Sarah always tells me that. Yay:)

THANK YOU, sweet sweet ladies for your kindness, prayers, and all you've done for us. We got a very pretty plant from the florist today with NO SIGNATURE, which reads:

As you mourn and rejoice over
Jada's brief life, we pray
that God's peace will rule in
your hearts.
We love you

That was so beautifully put. It definitely made me cry for happiness- that somebody would think of us so lovingly. I'd better hurry and post this before it kicks me offline. We've had a most blessed day and we thank the Lord for that!

ps. We ordered a mother's ring today- should be coming in the mail in 2-3 weeks. It means so much to me that Jody would want to do that for me.

Jada Dodson

That's the name we've given to our baby. I love it. In Hebrew it means "He knows." No middle name, just Jada. Somehow naming our baby was bittersweet (mosty just sweet). My mom gave us the suggestion and we both loved it. It can be a boy or girl name, which is really neat, we thought.

Thank you all for your love and prayers. Today went better than I could've imagined. I got to the hospital @ 6:15 and left around 10:45. The nurses were great, actuall pretty comical at times, and Dr. Neel was fantastic. I remember NOTHING, praise the LORD! I don't say that lightly. I'm extremely grateful for that. Other than a few mild cramps, I feel really good.

It's been a good day of closure; a day to be thankful for the opportunity to be blessed with a second pregnancy. Our hearts have already begun healing. The Lord is good to us. Another blessing is that the Lord's blessed me with very good sleep. How could I ask for more? And my husband has taken the whole week off:)

It was pretty sad this morning. I told Grace that I needed her here to fix my hair the same way she fixed it when I had Mikayla. but Jody did it for me (pigtails). (Grace and family might be coming this weekend for a short visit- yay!) And Jody wore the same outfit he wore when our first was born. Also bittersweet.

The Lord HAS given peace and great comfort. Before we left the hospital one of the nurses asked if we needed a grievance counselor. I politely declined, but I should've told her that I've already been helped( and will continue to be helped) by The Couselor- my precious Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Hope you are all doing well. Much Love.

Psalm 57:1

Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me:
for my soul trusteth in thee:
yea, in the shadow of thy wings I will make my refuge,
until these calamities be overpast.

This is a verse that Mikayla's Aunt Laura shared with me and Joseph today, and I thought I'd share it as well. What an appropriate and wonderful verse it is. Of course it's not a "new" verse, but it's interesting the verses you can tend to overlook, and then when the time is right, it becomes precious to you. Thank you, Laura D!

I think you all know by now that I've officially had a miscarriage. In the morning I have a D&C scheduled @ Brownwood hospital at 6:15am. I'm SO thankful to be getting this done in such a timely manner. That is indeed an answer to prayer! Thank you all for your prayers and for the love shown to me (and my family) at this time. It's unreal to be shown kindness in so many ways. I'm in awe of how the Lord's been using others to help and encourage.

We're doing pretty good. Like my sweet mommy told me today, our babies are in God's hands. And Lord willing, someday we'll meet the ones we never got to meet on earth. The Lord does ALL things well and whatever He chooses is perfect. It's such a wondrous thing to be able to rest in that.

Hope you are all doing well. I appreciate so much the comments left on my previous post. Good night, dear ladies.

No heartbeat seen

I had mentioned in my previous post that I was hoping to see a heartbeat today at my first appt. Well, I didn't. I'm estimated to be 10 weeks along, but the baby measured 6 weeks, 5 days. With no heartbeat. That means one of two things. I'm either not near as far along as I'd thought OR we've lost our little baby. It saddens my heart to type that, but that's the reality of it. It's been a hard day, but a good day. Every day the Lord gives is good.

My dearest friend Christy SO kindly watched our Mikayla today while we were gone over 3 hours. While it's been a hard day, I've experienced several acts of love and kindess. It's wonderful. And I've fallen in love all over again with the beautiful daughter the Lord's so graciously blessed us with. To see my husband in pain is not an easy thing.

"The Lord will give strength unto his people;
the Lord will bless his people with peace."
(not sure where it's found)

That's the verse the Lord has brought to my heart during this time. After my appt, they sent me to the hospital to give blood so they can measure the "pregnancy hormone", I guess is what it's called. I'll go back on Monday morning and they'll take blood again and compare. If the number has stayed the same or decreased, it's a pretty sure thing we've lost the baby. So, we'll see . I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but I'm not too hopeful, and maybe I need to be. Just looking at that sonogram screen and seeing no movement spoke volumes to me.

The thing that gives me a little hope is that I've not had pains/cramping/bleeding or the likes. The Lord knows and He does all things well. I prayed this morning before the appt that if it wasn't the Lord's will for this baby to l ive, that He'd show me and help me. He's been good to me today. I thank Him for the great grace He gives in comforting my hurting heart. I just want to rest in his will quietly. I don't want to ask "why?". I don't think that's for us to know.

When I know the results on Monday or Tuesday, I'll give an update. Either way I want to be thankful and fall more in love with my Lord and my family. Thank you for your love and prayers.

My heart is sad

I just read a blog this evening that made me cry. A woman who struggles/struggled with infertility (sorry I'm not good at links) lost her little baby. I feel for her so much. She had a sonogram yesterday and saw no heartbeat. That is incredibly sad to me!

My first appt is Friday and I'm hoping to see a heartbeat. It seems strange to be pregnant and read of others who no longer are. I feel so sad for them and for others of you who read this who have experienced the same thing. I don't know that kind of pain. But I know it would truly HURT to go through that. She has a wonderful testimony of clinging to Christ in her pain. How I admire that.

I had intended to post something totally different, but after reading her post, it seems quite petty/insignificant. I AM thankful that I can pray for this dear, hurting lady, who I don't even know. That's the awesome thing about it.

A Vera Wang mattress

What is that all about?? A new Serta Vera Wang mattress. Hmmm.. I'm sure it's well worth the added cost, just to have her name on it.

AND what's with Cinderella 3? Just when you think the story is over, they add an extra "element." I don't get it. I'm glad they've not done that with Beauty and the Beast (or have they?)- the very best Disney movie. I mean, what more can be said?!

Enough of that. I had a special day with my sweet family. We even got out (yes, outside!) and took a family walk. Mikayla is hilarious when we take walks with her. She's SO sober looking and then we'll get in front of her and say HI! and smile and she'll give a huge smile. Then it's back to the walk and the sober look. It's great. Makes me smile just thinking about it. :)

And I got to watch my friend Reva play in a basketball game. I think it was her last game of the season; I'm so proud of my friend:) And she SCORED. More than once! Gooo.... Reva!

Then my parents had me over for a yummy dinner of pork chops, mashed taters and corn. And delicious hot chocolate with a little ice cream in it. Very good! It might not seem like it goes together, but believe me (and my mom and dad!) it's good.And it cools it off quite nicely. Especially when it's boiling. THANKS, MA!

And tell me this one thing. Why is it easier to blog than clean our bathroom?? Unreal. Well, it's almost time for my lovebug to come home. Now THAT'S when the fun starts. :) I guess when we go to bed, we'll have to settle for our back beauty mattress, which works out perfectly well for us!

The heaven and heaven of heavens

I love it. I'm reading through the Bible in 90 days, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. When Solomon dedicated the temple to the Lord, he says:

"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?" -1 Kings 8:27

Such good stuff! What an awesome/huge/wonderful God we serve. And to think- he loves ME?? Yes! Totally humbling thought...

I'm enjoying this pregnancy and am really feeling it right now. The mere thought of food makes me feel quite ill. For some reason, the evenings are worse. Will have my first appt on Friday- definitely looking forward to that! :)

I loved reading your comments, ladies, about the kind of police you are. What a hoot! I can definitley relate to some of those. :) Thanks for sharing.

I hope you all have a good week. Tomorrow morning, I'm off to the dentist. It won't hurt my feelings for THAT appt to be over with. ha! Good night.

ps. I just HAD to have a new post; my previous one was starting to grow mold, seriously! Ok, not really:)