Hello friends! Thanks for stopping in to take a peak into what's going on in my world.

Today marks week 32 and lets be honest friends..the third trimester stinks! As my body adjusts to new changes on top of the simple stress of moving to a new area i'm overwhelmed some days! I have formed a close bond with fatigue, heartburn, and frequent trip to the bathroom. Our baby boy (still nameless, sorry!) has found my ribs and it must be a comfy place for him because I have spent many painful moments stretching out, turning side to side, and gently pushing to see if I can squeeze him out. It doesn't work and eventually he moves when he's ready. :) I'm sure all mothers can relate to this uncomfortable but all too familiarly pain.
I think that around this time it must be when the reality of motherhood begins to settle in and then a list of fears begin to form. Or it's just me? Anyway I was having a terrible day yesterday handling the pains of pregnancy and being away from family. I picked up the phone and called Ej and while she was laying in bed sick still managed to be a great friend and listen to my 'verbal diarrhea' and then offer encouraging words. I really do love my sister in laws and the fact that I'm just as close to them as my own two sisters. I'm blessed!

There are great things about the end of pregnancy though. I actually look pregnant now and there's no hesitancy when someone asks me when i'm due. Isn't that fun? I always felt bad when someone would be afraid to ask. I love sharing this pregnancy with my husband and...buying baby things! It's now acceptable to go out and pick up the last remaining things and we are about ready to start fixing up the nursery! I am all about the third trimester for that reason. :) Around where we live there is a best buy and babies r us right next door to each other so today we went our separate ways and I was in new mommy heaven! I've never gone there to shop until today. We bought a few essential things and a couple fun baby items too. I was most excited about buying his pack n play that will double as a bassinet. My sweet husband seemed to actually not mind walking part of the store with me and he picked up a cute shirt for his son. I can't even begin to tell you how great it will be to see Darren with his baby boy. He's already a proud dad.

Lately I have been relaxing and it looks something like this....



I refuse to feel sorry because i'm pregnant and rest is acceptable. I make sure to take care of the home (laundry, cooking meals, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc) but when i'm finished it's nice to not have too much to do. I have stopped all exercise now because when I would it hurt and i'm pretty sure it's a good thing to listen to your body when it says stop. I miss running though but don't remind me I said that after this baby is born please! ;)

I frequently read a devotional by Chuck Swindol and love it! It's not long but the message is always powerful. Today mr. swindol was talking about the character of Christ. He was added a verse that struck a nerve in me.

Mark 10:45
45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His 1life a ransom for many.”

This is my king and savior...Jesus came not as a celebrity but as a servant. I'm called to be like Christ and according to this verse Christ served others. This year I'd like to continue seeking God and loving Him. Anyways I did want to share that with you as it was challenging to me maybe it will be for you too? I hope you have a great night!

Laura

These past few weeks living in our new home has been really nice. I love relaxing and not having too much responsibilities besides bills, cleaning, cooking, and laundry. The downside is that i'm feeling super lazy! I can hardly gather the energy to wash the dishes today. :) But don't worry they'll get done along with the laundry.
Last night I realized the need to soak up this time in my life because before we know it our baby boy will be here and there won't be enough time in the day to sit and relax!
On a side note the other day I was reading in one of my baby books about labor and delivery and i've decided that I have been blocking this part out. SO as I read and became more familiar with the delivery process I freaked out. Is there any way to bypass this step and jump straight to holding my baby? Wouldn't that be wonderful?
Darren and I ordered the nursery furniture yesterday and I'm one happy girl! I really love what we picked out and am excited about the price we're paying for everything. The mattress comes with the crib too! (What a deal!)

My husband has been home for a week now and I LOVE it. On top of that I really love him and the man that he is. I'm dreading the month he has to be away but we have some time before he has to go. It just stinks that he has to leave again but he'll come home shortly before the baby is due. I am praying hard that our son decides to wait until his dad can be there! I know God will provide no matter what happens.
Lately i've wanted to press the pause button and soak up the sweet moments Darren and I have shared. We both agree this 'honeymoon phase' has been wonderful! I think it's great how God blessed me with Darren to walk through life with. I can't believe how much our marriage has changed for the better. Before I fell asleep last night I was thinking about our relationship and how much we've been through together already in the four years we've known each other. I was thinking about how happy he makes me and how much i appreciate the husband he is.
Last night we went out for a nice dinner date and then to best buy to spend Darren's gift card money. It was fun to help him pick out a new ipod. He picked out the new ipod touch and i'm only a little jealous :). We had fun talking, laughing, and enjoying each other's company.
He is an incredible guy and very protective of his wife and son. We were taking the trash out and there was a ton of ice and he made me stop and took the trash I had so i wouldn't walk over the ice. It's the little things like this that cause a wife's heart to swell with pride over her man.
Throughout this pregnancy he has been a huge blessing. He is excited and into this pregnancy and frequently asks how i'm doing or how the baby is doing that day. He'll put his hand on my belly randomly or say the funniest things to the baby. I am able to enjoy our son with him and that is fun to share! We're both looking forward to the change in our lives and knowing that Darren is on board this ship with me is a blessing.
I am loving the extra time we've been able to spend together but am being spoiled at the same time! I'm soon going to have to accept the balance of him going back to work with normal hours and our time together being cut down. I still believe we'll find time to enjoy each other and that the time we do spend with each other will be special. If the navy has given me one thing its been a sense of appreciation for time with him..and to not take it for granted.

I think it's time to do those dishes now! Have a wonderful day :)

Merry Christmas!

I wanted to write yesterday but I had a small dose of the stomach flu..I mean small in the amount of time. It was that 24 hour one but boy oh boy does that wipe a girl out! I managed to bake a cherry pie and make cherry coke jello yesterday evening though. It's funny how sometimes sickness creeps up out of nowhere and then BAM you're leaning over the toilet crying and thinking I HATE THROWING UP!! haha

Darren was on duty yesterday and had to spend the night so he was not around to take care of me physically but was able to email with me all day to see how I was doing, what a sweet man!

I ended up watching all my favorite christmas movies that's been a tradition to watch since i was a tiny girl. I had a wonderful christmas season and hope you did too!

Darren is currently sleeping, he called it a Christmas nap and I admit that he talked me into one as well. We were like two little kids on Christmas morning today and had a blast opening all our gifts. He bought me a stand-mixer! I am now an official baker...in my opinion it's the badge of entrance into a whole new world of baking. No longer will I have to fuss with my hand mixer to bake! woohoo :)

He bought me a few Cd's, the twilight series!, but mostly I loved having him home for Christmas. It was the best gift he could give me. We had a lot of fun and ate cinnamon rolls for a brunch. Tonight we're having a nice meal together around our coffee table because our new table isn't here yet. lol that will be a lot of fun though.

I was dreaming of a white Christmas like back home..but am afraid this area doesn't get too much snow. They are calling for a snow shower tonight though?! I hope so! It is a very strange thing to me not having any snow on Christmas. Snow goes hand in hand with Christmas, right? :)

Four Christmas' ago (2007) Darren took me hiking in Arizona and when we reached the top he pulled me aside and asked me to be his bride. Christmas is even more special because of that and I will never forget feeling on top of the world and dreaming of our future together. We are much more in love since that day and i'm blessed to call Darren my husband.

So i've started to collect the Willow Tree statues. I only have a few but this Christmas I was given TWO more! Thanks to my mother and mother in law. They are really simple statues but they say so much in how sweet they are. I had the first one of the couple but was given the pregnant one and family one for Christmas. I love them!

Darren came home and woke the little guy and I up. Well i was awake writing in my journal so he actually just woke up the baby. It was fun to talk about how this is our last Christmas just together for a long time. I can't wait for our son to be a part of Christmas with us and to teach him why we celebrate Christmas and start new traditions with him. He is going to change our family for the better and i'm really thankful for that. Well my husband is stirring and I'm going to talk him into playing a game :) maybe..

Merry Christmas everyone! and to leave you with a devotional I read this morning by one of my favorite pastors, chuck swindol. I hope it blesses you too.

December 25, 2010

A Christmas Masterpiece
by Charles R. Swindoll


Before time began, God had in His mind's eye a masterpiece—a beautiful picture of grace that His beloved Son, the second person of the Trinity, would illustrate with His life.

Even before the breathtaking splendor of creation, God sketched out His plan for His perfect fellowship with humanity. But not long after He had splashed color on the landscape, the deep, dark shadows of man's rebellious choice to live independently of His grace obscured the beauty of God's work. Coal black, pitch darkness enveloped the scene, and all creation hung in suspense of what God would do.

How could God redeem His masterpiece? What could rescue us, the pitiful portraits in whom breathed God's breath?

Then, with a heart weeping for His people, God dipped His brush in Calvary's scarlet ink, wrote His message on a rough wooden banner, and pinned it against an empty sky for all the world to read. Bold, crimson words: "I love you."

This is the message of Christmas: Because He loves us, God has come to redeem us—to bring life and color back to our lives, to expel the darkness of our hearts and from our world.

On a rescue mission designed by His Father before time began, Jesus silently slipped into our world, breathed our air, felt our pain, became acquainted with our sorrows, suffered and died for our sins . . . to show us the way out of our darkness and into His glorious light.

This Christmas, may you know the warmth of the Savior's love spreading over you as you never have before. May the beauty of the season remind you of His intense concern for every detail of your life and His great, sacrificial love for you.

Merry Christmas from all of us at Insight for Living.

Can I tell you how wonderful these past few days have been? I have had a lot of fun but wish time would slow down! It seems like yesterday that I was sitting in this apartment alone begging God to turn the clock forward a few days so I could be with Darren.

It's neat to realize how much God has reconstructed my heart while Darren was gone. I'm not claiming to have a perfect flawless marriage because we're two sinful beings but it is awesome to be able to say there is much love in our marriage right now. I truly believe when God is at the center of the hearts of a wife and husband he will bless that relationship greatly. That doesn't mean arguments won't come or tough times won't be there..but he'll give you the grace and strength to walk through those moments together in a way that glorifies Him.
Darren has been an incredible husband and best friend. This past week I have cherished introducing him to this pregnancy and his son. It's fun when he places his hand on my belly and talks to our little guy. He is going to be a great dad and i know our little man will adore him.
I was praying last night and asking God what makes our marriage so different at this point then a year ago? Because i'm crazy about this man and find myself walking down a really great road with Darren. While I was spilling my heart out to God I realized that loving Darren the way God loves me is the key. I respect my husband because he's a man of God and is worthy of my respect. This world is a mess and I desire my husband to have a safe place in me...he needs that. That's what's changed..my attitude and view of Darren. A year ago i'm not sure that I respected him or put him before me. I was always asking what can he do for me and after I did something for him I was expecting a favor back. I'm a selfish young woman unfortunately and for the rest of my life i'll be fighting to put Darren first ahead of me. I have been blessed with a really great husband who loves me and makes life more full.

The first few years of our marriage haven't been easy but i'm thankful that we're standing on solid ground (Christ) today and very much in love. I have to thank God for bringing us into to navy and using that as a tool to rebuild our marriage and make us stronger. We've been really blessed.

Alright well I am going to finish some laundry and hang up the ornaments i found yesterday! I hope that you are having a great day. I'll probably be back tomorrow to share with you about this awesome year and my excitement over Christmas!

Laura

Was that a dream?

Good morning! I woke up this morning and turned to find Darren :) I definitely did a double take because for the last 5+ months I have woken up to a cat laying near me not a man. Once I realized that yesterday DID happen and he is actually here I started smiling really big. It took EVERYTHING in me not to hug him and wake him up and tell him how happy I was. haha I'm trying to be considerate of the fact that he can finally sleep in!
So it wasn't a dream and i'm thankful that Darren is home.

It's been fun to watch him adjust back into civilization. When you spend half a year on a ship you lose touch with driving, the real world, foods, etc. But he's doing very well now.
I've really enjoyed catching up with him and we've found ourselves laughing a lot which has been great.

I'd love to recap what happened yesterday :)
The night before I couldn't fall asleep..it was terrible! So I prayed and prayed talking to God about everything under the sun and when I finally did fall asleep I woke back up to a clock that said 4 am! The bad part was those few hours of sleep seemed to be enough at the time because my mind went right back to 'i can't believe he's coming home!'. So..i stayed up and when the clock hit 6 I jumped out of bed and started getting ready.
When I went to the pier I saw a handful of huge carriers and I started crying. Everyone waited in the bitter cold for what seemed like forever. As the sailors made their way off the ship it was really neat to watch husbands and wives reunite and little children see their mom or dad. I was once again crying! I don't think I can explain the height of emotions everyone feels after long deployments..it was special though.
I almost grabbed the wrong guy..twice :). I decided that to stand in one place until he found me would be better. Even though it felt like forever eventually I turned and saw my darren walking towards me with a huge grin on his face. I can't even tell you how sweet that moment was. With a little belly in the way it made an even better reunion! He was so funny about how much my belly has grown but it was awesome to see his reactions to feeling his first kicks yesterday and when he'd move around.
We went on a date yesterday and to a few stores to look for a kitchen table because we're going to have a few people over for Christmas dinner and not having a table wouldn't be good! I dragged Darren to the baby section and although he willingly went he wasn't as enthusiastic as I am about baby things ha.
We had a lot of fun yesterday and it felt like a second honeymoon! We soaked each other up the entire day just getting back to Darren and Laura. I love that he's been my best friend this year, and even though we had to be apart it didn't change, God has blessed us so much.
Today my sweet man agreed to come to the doctor with me! Can you believe that? That meant a lot and i'm looking forward to going with him. Wish us luck as we venture back into the military healthcare system! It's confusing and weird but we're blessed to be provided for in this area.

I'm going to go make my list for groceries this week. I finally have mr. muscles here to help me carry things up the stairs :). I hope you are having a great week so far! Thanks for letting me share with you today.
Laura

here are a few pictures from yesterday...

I love him so much! He brought me flowers:)

setting up the xbox!

After our date we went to starbucks to get christmas coffee treats..mmm

I'm sorry for not writing! I have had plenty of time to write a post but it's funny because the words just haven't been there! ..and i'm a girl of many words normally!?

How can I even explain this deployment in one blog?

I've been blessed by God with good family and friends who came alongside of me and made this time away from Darren a lot easier. Is it okay if we leave it there today?

He's coming home tomorrow! YES that's right :) I've finally been given the green light to talk about it. It is unreal that tomorrow i'm going to be standing on a pier looking towards a giant ship that has been my husband's home for over 5 months. I'm anticipating the tears and smiles and the moment I see him! That moment will be so special between us.

I think God really blesses your time coming back together and i've prayed hard for a smooth transition.

I'm 30 weeks pregnant today! I am still crazy about this little guy even after he discovered my ribs this week. (ow!)
He is one wonderful baby though and the poor thing gets the hiccups all the time now.
His room is not ready but Darren said he wanted to help me with that and i'm really looking forward to sharing that together.

I still love our new home and am adjusting well to the area. It's been nice to make a few friends as well!

I've done a little baking for Darren and had a great time! The baby boy was kicking and moving around the whole time..i think he really wanted some of the baked goods.

Well it is finally dark and that means soon it will be time for bed which means it will be the morning soon!! I hope you have a wonderful night :)

Hello!
I made it safely to my new home and have so much to tell you!

Where to start though? Saying goodbye to my family was hard and I miss them already. My in-laws drove with me to Virginia and it turned out to be a two day trip. We went through a little snow in west Virginia but otherwise it was a smooth drive. I probably ate too much and am in need of a good workout but am lacking the motivation!
Monday we moved into the apartment and i'm crazy about my new home! It's very cozy and I feel at home. I'm excited that our tiny family will call this home. We're close to a lot of stores and restaurants and i'm happy that we won't have to drive far but along with closeness comes traffic! Thankfully we were introduced to that while in Maryland.
My favorite room is the kitchen. There is a big pantry, green granite counter tops, nice desk in the kitchen, and plenty of counter space for baking/cooking.
The apartment is unpacked and we were able to get a nice sized Christmas tree too! All in the first week. :) I probably did too much but am thankful to have our place set up.

It was really neat how God allowed things to happen that were answers to prayer. Like where to store our Washer/Dryer, where the futon would go, how to get rid of some extra furniture, and what to do about our crippled kitchen table. Everything turned out perfectly!

I did go to a doctor's appointment at my new family doctor and he has put a referral in for an obgyn so please pray that there is an opening and this next week i'll be able to figure out where i'm going. The military health care system is crazy and sometimes it feels like you're going in a circle but hopefully things will fall into place.

My baby boy has been wonderful. He is moving around and according to the doctor his head is down and he's moving along getting ready to enter the world in a few months. I can't wait to see my husband and have him home. :)

I went to a new church today and enjoyed my time there. It was nice to meet a few people and be invited to a Christmas party too! I am not a big fan of looking for a new church but in order to find a church family you sort of have to step out of your comfort zone.

This week I don't have a lot going on but am looking forward to baking and to finish decorating.
Tonight i'm going to watch a couple Christmas movies and enjoy not having too much to do.
I miss you all and wish there weren't so many miles between us.
Here are a few maternity pictures my sister Melissa took :)