Being A Biblical Wife in a Modern World

Staying Joyful!

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." 

~Romans 15:13~

Fact: Life can be overwhelming. 

There are things that happen in our lives that we do not always understand and we try and try and try to wrap our minds around a particular event but it is not until we truly let go and trust God that we find pure joy, pure hope, and pure peace. 

The holiday season has seemed to sneak up on us. Honestly... where did this year go?!?! Our day to day lives have probably started to get a little more hectic and if your "to do" list is anything like mine, it is constantly growing. On top of our daily stresses we are now opening our doors for guests during the holidays, creating gift lists for family and friends, and trying to squeeze in good fellowship time with our family, friends, and co-workers. 

While reading a devotion earlier today, it directed me to Romans 15:13 and it was just what I needed to read. Life can be stressful and while everyday is always an appropriate time to reflect on His wonderful and many blessings, the holidays seem like a special time. There is joy in every situation. There is hope in every situation. And we can always find hope in Him.

Bump Update: 21 Weeks!

Please excuse the blurry pic:

How Far Along? 21 weeks!

Weight Gain? 10 lbs... a trip to KY complete with my mom's home cooking and Halloween candy around our house has not helped! 

Maternity Clothes? Nope

Size of Baby? About 3/4 of a full pound and 10.5 inches long... about the length of a carrot

Gender? BOY!!

Movement? Everyday! The feeling of Baby Boy H moving around is absolutely amazing! There are few words to describe my emotions when I feel his little flutters and kicks. As I'm sitting here writing this, he is dancing up a storm! It's pretty awesome. 

Sleep? Sleep has been normal. There are still few nights when I'm up for a bathroom trip but other than that, it's the usual. I've noticed I need a little more sleep in order to function the next day.  

Food Cravings? Nothing in particular. 

What I Miss? Still missing my Jimmy John's, haha :)

Symptoms? This whole round ligament stretching thing randomly pops up every once and a while but I just keep reminding myself that this is normal and means everything is going as planned. Last night I twisted around to set my phone down next to the the bed and the pain was so sharp! It hadn't happened in a over a week so it definitely took me by surprise! 

Best Moments? This week the crib was delivered! It came much earlier than expected but no complaints here! B and I have had a lot of fun starting to get the nursery together. 

Looking Forward To? Just enjoying the second trimester! Things have been going great and time is flying by so we're just trying to soak everything in! 

Busy Bee!

The past couple of weeks have been super busy for this gal! I'm so thankful for the teaching/choreographing opportunities that I have been given but cramming everything all at once during the months of October and November has been crazy! 

Last week was full of traveling to teach three master classes for dance and filled with several rehearsals to set a piece for a dance studio... awesome, awesome, awesome but I was exhausted by the time I got back home! On top of planning for baby and fitting in my "normal" work here in Florida, time has been passing by quickly! I can't believe that it is already November and the holidays are quickly approaching.

I have been MIA from my blog and have definitely been pushing writing aside but I'm hoping things start to settle down soon and I can finally share some fun posts with y'all! 

Have a great day!

xoxo

Bump Update: 19 Weeks!

Sooo... we had our comprehensive ultrasound this past Monday and my due date has been moved up by a week so instead of being 18 weeks, I'm 19! I can't believe I'm almost to the halfway point... crazy! 

How Far Along? 19 weeks!

Weight Gain? 8.5 lbs... having my mom and sister in town for a visit definitely did not help me out in this department. I'm pretty sure I ate my way through the Disney parks and I know I had my fair share of cake, ice cream, and even some cookie cake. Oops! 

Maternity Clothes? Nope! I'm holding strong in my cotton dresses and leggings. 

Size of Baby? Based on our most recent ultrasound, Baby H is 9 ounces and about 6 inches head to rump. 

Gender? We are 100% certain that Baby H is a...

BOY!!!

Movement? Another thing that I'm 100% certain about... this baby boy is on the go! My "flutters" have become more frequent and much stronger. Such an overwhelming feeling! 

Sleep? Sleep has been fine... there are still some nights that my bladder wakes me up for a quick trip to the bathroom but I have mastered the art of falling back asleep as soon as my head hits my pillow again. 

Food Cravings? This week... sweets. But I think that's because they're laying around the house so I feel that I must eat them, haha. Is that not how it works?!?!

What I Miss? Still counting down to my Jimmy John's Turkey Sandwich!

Symptoms? The only thing that has started happening on occasion is some pain in my lower abdomen/hip... apparently this is caused by my round ligament because it is stretching. I only feel it after I've been sitting a while and stand up too fast. Other than that, I've felt great! 

Best Moments? Finding out that Baby H is Baby BOY H!!!! Our ultrasound was super long and it was great to sit back and watch him move. Everything is looking and measuring great and we are so thankful for that! I honestly would not have cared if they said boy or girl... we are just praying for a healthy baby!

But... it has been fun to really start planning for Baby Boy H's arrival! We went and bought a few clothing items for fun, a couple of blankets, and we purchased our stroller! The crib should be coming in the next couple of weeks and we're really excited to get the nursery started. I am definitely a planner and like to have things organized ahead of time. My goal is to have the nursery finished by January so I can sit back and relax and enjoy the last month or so of my pregnancy.

Looking Forward To? Getting the nursery started! Baby Boy already has a name... we knew as soon as we saw him Monday during the ultrasound... but that secret is safe and sound with us! 

B and I are really feeling beyond blessed that Baby Boy H is growing fast and strong. It has been an awesome week so far and we just continue to ask for prayers for our health and for our boy!

Life Lately...

Life has been crazy lately but in the best way possible! B is working, working, working and loving his job and I couldn't be more thrilled. He works super long days but he loves the group he is with and the hospital he is at... we are beyond grateful that he has been given this opportunity. In the last couple of weeks I've been teaching ballet 2 nights a week at a studio here in town and it feels sooo good to be back dancing and teaching on a regular basis! I love it! The kiddos are great and so much fun to work with and the other teachers have been so welcoming... Orlando is quickly becoming home for us and we are finally starting to feel "settled". 

Our new couch and chair for our living room has been delivered and we have a new coffee table and TV stand to match... it feels good to have actual furniture after everything we went though with the moving company. Pictures are hung on the wall and our house is quickly becoming our home. Just a few more things to get for our bedroom and it will soon be time to start on the nursery! I can't wait to decorate for little Baby H!

I've been able to travel home to Kentucky a couple of times since becoming a Floridian... once for work and once for fun and I look forward to another work visit later this month! We've been busy, busy bees and we couldn't be happier. We are true believers that everything happens for a reason and we are feeling quite content with life in Florida! We are just beyond blessed to be down here with family, to have new jobs, a roof over our heads, and this time in our lives!

In my down time I of course still feed my Pinterest addiction, haha. Here's some fun finds from this past week: 

Love this verse...

Fun for fall...

Another encouraging verse...

Love all the bright colors...

I'm in love with these boots...

Fall look... plaid, bun, gold

I am a sucker for apple cider doughnuts... mmmm!

Fall table setting...

Pretty great motto for life...

Happy Friday!!

xoxo

The Name Game!

{via}

B and I are counting down the days until our next doctor's visit ( 9 to be exact!) so that we can hopefully find out if we'll be tinkled pink or blue. I give major kudos to those families that wait until the end to be surprised but I just know that it would drive me crazy... I must know so that I can plan ahead and of course decorate the nursery appropriately ;) ( I am also prepared that ultrasounds can be wrong... my brother was supposed to be a girl)! Nonetheless, it's an exciting time and B and I are ready for this next pregnancy milestone. 

Something else that has been exciting? Throwing around baby names and starting our boy and girl name lists. It is obviously still early and we have plenty of time to decide but it is crazy to think that we will be responsible for raising a human being and part of that responsibility is choosing their name... a name that they will have for the rest of their life! Craziness! 

We know we want to choose a unique name that has meaning to us... possibly a family name. There are so many choices! And though we are always looking for suggestions from our family and friends, I'm pretty sure we won't formally announce Baby H's name until he/she has come into this world and we get to formally meet him/her. I feel like when we see that sweet baby face and hold our baby in our arms, that's when we'll know with 100% certainty what we want to name our child. 

But in the mean time it has been a blast tossing around name possibilities and yell them around the house! We are trying to soak up every second of this time in our lives and baby names is definitely a fun, fun part of pregnancy. 

Let's hope that by next week we'll be able to narrow our choices down to just one list. Boy or girl?!?!

Have a great day y'all!!

xoxo

Bump Update: 16 Weeks!

Happy Saturday! Here's the 16 week (holy cow... already?!?!) update:

How Far Along? 16 weeks!

Weight Gain? Still only 5 lbs but thanks to a nasty stomach bug the past few days it has only been 2.5 lbs!

Maternity Clothes? Still zero maternity clothes in my closet! Is it sad that I'm proud of this?!?! 

Size of Baby? According to BabyCenter, Baby H is about 4.5 inches long and should weigh around 3.5 ounces (about the size of an avocado). 

Gender? Still don't know... hoping to find out in less than 2 weeks!

Movement? Still some light flutters but not 100% confident that I'm actually feeling Baby H although at both ultrasounds we discovered that our little pumpkin is a mover! He/she has kept those long legs and arms moving... maybe we have a dancer like momma?!?!?

Sleep? Sleep has been going okay. I'm trying to get used to sleeping on my left side since "they" (you know... all the books) scare you off your back and right side during the second trimester of pregnancy! I'm not always comfortable on my left side but after discovering the Boppy Body Pillow, getting comfortable has been much, much easier. 

Food Cravings? Again... thanks to this week's stomach bug most cravings have gone out the window and I've been living on ginger ale, toast, and crackers. I did manage to get through a bagel this morning.

What I Miss? Still missing my usual turkey sandwich from Jimmy John's, haha! 

Symptoms? Not really having any symptoms this week... thankfully! 

Best Moments? Traveling home to visit my family this past week and shopping for books, finding a diaper bag (that hopefully my mom buys me!... hint, hint!), and sharing all things baby with them... including the beginning of throwing around name ideas for our little boy or girl. 

A not so great moment... picking up a stomach bug that spread through my entire family (including hubby) in less than 48 hours and having to reschedule our flights back home. Thankfully, Delta was absolutely awesome and made our lives so much easier by switching our flights at no cost and actually reimbursing some of our initial fees. I was super bummed to miss teaching my ballet classes Thursday night but sleeping for 14 hours was pretty amazing and worked wonders!

Looking Forward To? Our upcoming doc appointment and hopefully finding out if we'll be seeing pink or blue! 

We are still just feeling overwhelmed by all of the excitement and love from our friends and family! B and I can not even begin to describe how grateful we are for our health and Baby H's health... prayers that he/she just continues to grow and grow and grow and that things continue to go smoothly!