Monday, August 30, 2010

Good morning!
Ready for another week?

14 Weeks pregnant and i'm starting to notice a 'bump' :)

I wanted to share some pictures my brother took a few days back.

It has been crazy lately. It was nice to get home from Kansas, the trip was really nice and i loved seeing Ej and the girls. They're always fun to spend time with.
My sister melissa had her son Logan on Friday! She was only 2 weeks early but there were some complications and her doctor wanted to push this pregnancy along to make sure they had control over the situation. I'm thankful that everything went well and prayers were answered! My mom and I drove to Wisconsin Friday morning early and we made it in time to spend time with melissa. I won't lie i'm a little traumatized by the fact that in 6 months that will be me laying in a hospital bed being told to relax and breathe. I didn't watch the actual birth but i was in the room talking with melissa right before and watching her go through contractions seemed to make me flinch and dread being in her shoes! But when we came back in after logan was born it was awesome to see both melissa and pete completely in love with that little man. I kept wondering how Darren would react when He was holding our baby. I'm actually even more excited now after watching them and holding logan. He is adorable!

I'm hanging up my running shoes for the rest of this pregnancy. I've decided after much thought, why risk it? Doctors differ on this and it's a little bit of a debate among pregnant woman but as much as i love to run, i see the warnings far outweigh the positives. Pregnancy is not the time to train for a marathon. I enjoy walking the same as running and the important thing is to stay healthy. :)

This morning i woke up early and then made a delicious breakfast and had some decaf coffee which i learned still has caffeine in it...? I try to make wise choices when it comes to what i'm filling my mouth with because i want to be healthy and not gain more weight then what is normal during pregnancy. The problem i'm facing is that everything looks good and i'm hungry all the time now! I started my second trimester yesterday and what a difference this one has been compared to the first trimester. I have not thrown up and have had a fairly easy pregnancy this far, but i wasn't hungry in the beginning and I could hardly finish up a meal. Now it's the opposite! haha Guess it's time to be self-controlled. Wish me luck!

Church yesterday morning was really great. We talked about the church being the people and not a building and the importance of everyone realizing the authority and power we have in Christ. There was a lot more detail and good messages throughout the sermon but i found a jewel! For awhile now there's been something missing that i wasn't grasping about the christian walk. It was beginning to really bother me but Pastor A. nailed it. He explained how we are reflectors of Christ.
I am sure many of you are thinking, you didn't know that? Well i've always heard that but it didn't really sink into my heart until yesterday and i'm still today chewing up that piece of information that is so important to understand. It is almost key to realize this because it points to our purpose for being here and how to live among a decaying world. That's what Christ is asking of me daily, to reflect Him. It's a simple request but not always the easiest one to carry out because of the many distractions and even my own desires. It's my prayer today that i would focus on becoming more like Christ through the Holy Spirit who teaches and guides me.

This week my schedule is completely empty besides walking with a friend tomorrow. I realized this morning it was monday and as everyone dreads mondays, i don't have a problem with it anymore. This picture sort of shocked me! I need to find something to do with this free time! I have a hard time making commitments right now knowing i may only be around for 4 months. This is the dilemma many military wives face, even when it comes to going to church or getting a job, or volunteering. It's hard to decide if it's worth it when you'll be leaving right when you finally settled into your new home. But i believe doing something is better than nothing. I've been visiting family a lot which has been great but as this month shows no promise of anything to do, i may need to look into offering my time to a better cause than reading, walking, and eating. :)

Ready for some more fun news? I am now a fantasy football manager. Darren is unable to access his fantasy teams and asked if i wouldn't mind doing a draft. Well i knew about 5 football players and only pay attention to the Packers and Colts. Honestly, most sundays as Darren watched football i took my sunday nap cuddled up to him. Paying attention to the game? Not so much...:p
But i figured this could be something fun to do and give me an incentive to watch the games closer. I have looked forward to football this year and that's foreign to me. Maybe it's because it means it's fall? (I'm not sure) Anyhow my dad said he would help me and on the 3 hour trip back from Wisconsin he gave me a run down of fantasy football, the teams in each division, and the players worth picking. As he talked, I took a few pages of notes. I read through a few fantasy football magazines and did research on teams and players. It was actually a lot of fun! Who would have thought? It's great to have the perspective my husband does and why he enjoys watching the games and why he has too many teams. haha Anyways, yesterday evening i had my first draft and am very confident in the team i ended up having. It was fun to use my notes and refer back to one of the magazines when players I wanted were picked up. My dad was a huge help, thanks! Then the second draft i did for Darren didn't go as well but my dad again helped me out. I'm looking forward to the season starting to see how well these two teams do. I picked a few colts and packers for the pure enjoyment of cheering them on! ..AND because they're good :) My husband thinks i'm cool now haha Who would have thought i'd ever be interested in football this much?

I love my husband more and more each day. I am learning a lot about being respectful to him. To me, it's important to still talk and laugh with each other during a deployment. There is no reason you can't be great friends by the time you come back together. It comes down to how much will you will give and restrain from complaining? At least for me that's how i see it. When i restrain from saying what i want at times that will do nothing to build our relationship, it helps! Complaining about the situation has never changed the circumstances a military wife is in. You're husband is still far away and you probably feel more awful. It's a choice you have to make everyday. How am i going to choose to respond to this deployment today? It's not easy, that's not what i'm implying. But it can be done, and it will bless your husband. Honoring Darren means supporting him by my attitude towards his job and what he is doing. We both have talked about how hard this is, and it's understood. At times we will confess to having a hard day and really missing the other. But that's as far as it goes. Choosing to look at the benefits coming from this deployment is where my heart needs to be. There are many! It's a choice though, and no one can make it for you.

Maybe with all my free time this week i will be able to write more often :) Have a wonderful day! I am heading out for a walk.

~Laura

1 comment:

Janice said...

It's always a treat to read your blog. You have an innocence yet at the same time such maturity in spiritual matters. I'm enjoying getting to know you and hope we can have more opportunities to have quick chats at church and online. P.S. I love it that you have done the football fantasy thing..Jeremy and my brother are fanatical about their teams. Blessings to you today!