Life By Design

As I promised yesterday, here are some updated pics of the projects we have been working on:

New Master Bedroom

This was the media room/office/red room.  Daniel put in crown, can lights, and a ceiling fan too.  The bathroom/closet will be where the ironing board is.

You can still see the remains of our screen and the spot where the bathroom door will go.  I love our window.  The old room was dark (perfect for a nursery, though!) so it is a nice change.

The old doorway was between the bed & the closet.  The new doorway enters from the utility room.  The closet will become apart of the kitchen…when we get to it.

The new living room arrangement (still some slight changes to be made).  The clock is where the old doorway used to be into the media room.

The new french doors from the dining room onto the deck.

The new deck and the exterior work in progress.

Maybe by the time we finish with all of this, the market will come back up.    Next…finish the drywall/painting in the nursery, finish the exterior (almost there!), put in the new bathroom.

…when you forget how to log into your blog.  Or maybe its the pregnancy hormones that are taking my brain cells.  Either way, I’m sad once again because I am now forcing myself to write a “review post” rather than my thoughts along the way.  And what’s funny, is there are a lot of things that are worthy of their own post but alas, I have not the time.

*  So definitely not last…is the fact that we did decide to find out what this little one is going to be and…It’s a Girl!  I truly did not care but am very excited that we are going to get to raise a little chica first.  The day we found out, we asked the tech to put it in an envelope and we opened it up later that afternoon with two of our close couple friends.  It was way fun to get to celebrate with people who know and care about us.  We immediately left for the RHS football game (It was Senior Night!) and got to tell all of our FSM kids after texting our families.  We just didn’t have time to make phone calls.  The girls were way excited…especially since most of them were convinced we were having a boy.  We also were a little overwhelmed by a group of 50 8-9 year old girls who were there to cheer at halftime.  We both had the sudden thoughts of prom and weddings and everything else….slightly overwhelming.  I feel confident in the baby stage and even the teenage stage but the elementary school, super girlie phase is a little much to comprehend.  I think Daniel was just seeing $ signs.    And we have not named her yet and have no clue when we will.  It could happen next week or the day she is born.  Who knows!  And the ultrasound showed that everything is where it should be and that she is “perfect” according to all of their little test, scans, etc.  I didn’t really ever think about all of the “what ifs” because I guess I just was focused on the fact that God created this child and knew what He wanted to give us and what this child needs.  So it was almost a little surreal to hear them call her “perfect” and was interesting to put that into context.

* We started our new community group out in The Ville and are very excited to get to know some people who actually live within 5 miles of us.  So far, so good…we just haven’t had as much time to invest in these new relationships as we’d like.

* We welcomed home The Wheeler Family of 3 from Guatemala with their new daughter in tow!  It has been a crazy whirlwind for them and we are grateful that they are reunited and finally “home”.

* Emily M came to visit too!  It was really fun to get to show her our house and where we have been living.  She has not been able to come visit because we were more than two hours from the hospital but she promised me she would come before they moved back to Texas.  She moved 1.5 weeks after she came to visit which is absolutely crazy.  I almost felt guilty she was with me and I was not at her house packing boxes with her but I definitely took advantage of our time.  She helped me register and we watched Father of The Bride 2 (a movie I have never seen).  It was way fun!

* After that, my body decided to get super sick with some allergy/cold/bronchitis stuff.  I was pretty miserable for about 10 days and sounded like a man for almost two weeks.  Daniel also got sick so we were pretty lame for awhile.  I’m so glad to finally feel better.  I absolutely hate being sick.  And, of course, we had a hard time slowing down so I went with Daniel to Birmingham for work, and we continued to work on the house.

* And for the house update….I’ll need to add pictures soon now that things are finally getting completed. Here are the projects that we have been working on in the last month or so:

1. Tear out exterior dining room wall & install french doors

2. Seal up backside of house (a big task in an old house).  Paint entire back exterior.

3. Build deck.

4. Drywall interior doorway and add new doorway for new master bedroom.

5. Build wall for new master bathroom.

6. Paint, crown, drywall, install lighting & ceiling fan in new master.

7. Build temporary master closet.

8. Tear out windows in old master/new nursery – dry wall & paint.

Ummm…understatement of the century:  We’ve been busy working hard, and are very crazy.  But, when you are leaving town for a month, heading into the holidays, and entering your third trimester by the time you get back….it lights a fire under you to get some things done.

* We also held the largest bonfire we have ever had.  You might recall the pile from earlier pictures of the deer in our yard.  Well…it got even bigger and we invited all of the Seniors in the Foundry to come over during Fall Break.  When Daniel lit it, the flame was as big as our tallest tree.  Thankfully, I had not made it home yet or I might have called the fire department on him.   This was also significant because we finally figured out parking so that we could have a big group over.  I think we had about 50 people and fit over 30 cars on our property without any fender benders or damaged property.  Yeah, more Party @ The Tardys in the future!

So I hate that this post is so factual when there is so much more that I’ve been processing and would love to have the outlet to blog about it.  These next 10 days are extremely busy as we both try to get ready to leave for 4 weeks straight which makes me think I won’t have time to blog any time soon.  Daniel’s event in Mexico is coming up really quickly which means he is especially busy and since we are driving to Texas over Thanksgiving, I’m adding pressure to my life by trying to get all of our Christmas shopping done so we can drive it and deliver things early to save on shipping.  Much less spending time with everyone before we duck out of life here for a month!  So if you don’t hear from me for awhile again, at least you know why this time.

WARNING:  This was written pretty passionately, sometimes a little preachy, and if you don’t know my heart or you’re easily offended, you may not want to proceed.

So I am not an extremely political person and I struggle sometimes with almost being apathetic because I absolutely cannot stand the rhetoric.  I may not dislike politics as much as the media’s interpretation of it (which is really the only way I stay abreast to anything going on), but I also remember not really loving PolySci in college that much either.  Maybe it was because Daniel and I took it together the semester that we were engaged and I threatened to not marry him because he overslept and missed a test and almost failed the class.  I was being emotional, he was being irresponsible, and we were both better off after that awkward conversation in front of Holden Hall on the Texas Tech campus.

I guess my basic political view (which admittedly is pretty narrow since I don’t spend much time worrying about it), goes back to the idea of Jesus teaching and training his disciples to be fishers of men.  Although this has nothing to do with politics, it has everything to do with what life is all about which affects my worldview, which affects my view on politics.

Matthew 4:18-20 “While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.  And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”

Matthew 28:16-20  “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.  And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

So if Jesus taught his disciples to be fishers of men and then commissioned them to go and teach others and share with them the most important news to ever be known on earth, I want to live my life the same way.  I want to be about teaching people the truth, not handing them a free ticket.  I want to be given wisdom by God and then go share it with others, not allow others to just remain in my shadow.  I want to help disciple people into the truth and disciple them in observing the truth, not doing everything for them and wiping away their personal responsibility.  So I want to teach people how to fish, not just give them free fish.  Do you get what I’m saying?  It seems a lot like parenting to me, too, by the way.  We do not do anyone any good by just always meeting their immediate need for them and never helping them learn for themselves.  Or as the Chinese Proverb says: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day.  Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”  So, it’s probably not hard too figure out where I stand politically although I could care less about “party lines.”  It really boils down to the worldview and then the character and integrity of the person being considered.

So this last week, politics are once again at the forefront of our country’s attention particularly as it relates to the economy.  I rarely keep up with any of this kind of stuff but I get the magnitude of this situation and when you add money to the mix, it makes politics that much more…umm crazy.  Of course I get that politics are important and drastically affect the world in which we live but I just do not understand living in fear.  And it seems even more these days that fear is what drives our politics and the American people’s response to our politics is governed by fear.  That is absolutely sickening to me!  Imagine basing every single one of your decisions based upon fear.  You would have no joy, no life, no friends, no peace, no security, no hope…and the list keeps going.  Yet, when it comes to politics, particularly surrounding the economy, we as a nation base almost every decision out of fear and live in a constant spirit of fear.

From what I understand from scripture, there is only ONE thing to fear and that is NOT fear itself, but the Lord God Almighty.  And this fear is that of awe, reverence, and respect…NOT being afraid.  Scripture has a lot to say about it but my favorite is this:

Proverbs 19:23 “The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.”

Isaiah 41:10 “…fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Now I understand that life is uncertain, that money is a big deal in our world, that jobs, business, college tuition, retirement savings, etc. are important to our way of life and providing for our families, and that bad decisions from the past and irresponsibility do catch up with you and make life difficult.  But, I’m begging you!  Please do not give into fear and allow it to rule your life, your worldview, and every decision that you make!  Life is not over, the sky is not falling, and we are not the center of the universe.  Does anyone remember that we are the wealthiest nation in the world and that most people on this planet struggle to find a crumb and some water at least once a day?  That our HUGE problems are going to be a blip on the radar of eternity.  So, please gain some perspective before making very irrational decisions.  I’m not trying to minimize what is going on.  It is a big deal and to be a good steward of all that God has blessed this nation with, something needs to change and rather quickly I might add.  So I’m not ignorant to the pressing struggles and its massive impact on the world.  But I would rather remember that North is still North, and that the Truth is still the Truth before we all lose our heads and become fools by making foolish decisions.  May I remind you…

Matthew 6:25-24 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Ok, I think I can take a deep breath now.  I need to read this, believe this and live this out just as much as anyone else. I just felt like I needed to get that out.    And now for a little more practicality.  Most people either love Dave Ramsey or hate him and although my husband works for him and we have bought into the common sense that he teaches, I have been especially grateful for his voice in our world this week. As a member of the media, he actually says what he thinks and believes is true rather than playing the political chess or seeking out popularity and just guessing at the next move that Washington is going to make.  And his voice of reason, which as been completely against the fear based decision making, is absolutely refreshing and encouraging.  So, if you have found yourself completely confused, overwhelmed, scared to death or worried about all that is happening on Wall Street and Capital Hill, I encourage you to check out what Dave is saying.  Even if you don’t agree with him, it’s kind of nice to hear “It’s ok” every once in awhile, you know?  Here are a few links to check out if you are interested:

Dave’s Thoughts About the Economy

More from Dave about the economy

TV Show & Radio Show

The Book Of Proverbs (something we all could benefit from reading this month)

So if you read this far, let me know what YOU think.  Thanks for reading!

For those of you interested in pregnancy updates, this post if for you.  Yesterday was a momentous day in Pregnancy Land.

* It was our 18 week birthday which means I am 4.5 months now.  Crazy how time flies.

* It was my first day to wear maternity clothes.  Last Friday I finally had to unbutton my pants and wear a cami to try and cover it and still had the muffin top effect so I knew it was time for my soon to be new best friend…elastic.  I’m so thankful for Laura, Missy & Michelle in loaning me their maternity clothes so my frugal clothing budget can remain intact.  A special thanks to Laura who loaned me an entire suitcase full of clothes which should have me well taken care of for awhile!

* It was not only my first day to wear maternity clothes, I actually enjoyed it.  From others that have gone before, apparently I will end up hating them by the end of it but I don’t get the big deal with it so far.  Granted, I’m a total newbie and just haven’t lived in this clothing world long enough but I tend to be pretty content with only a few new things a year and right now I feel like I have a whole new wardrobe.

* The little baby is moving like crazy now and for the first time, someone besides Daniel and me was able to feel the movements.  Alexa happened to be sitting next to me last night at Foundry when this little one would not calm down so now she gets to claim first dibs on prego pics and feeling the baby move.  I’m sure she will use this to her advantage in her name negotiations, won’t you Alexa?

* It also marked 10 days until our decision deadline for finding out the gender.  Our anatomy ultrasound is scheduled for next Friday so we must decide by then.  I’m still totally on the fence so if you have any new reasoning to throw my way, I’m listening.  Notice I said reasoning and not just preference.

* And now what most of you want to see…the pic below…taken, by the way, in front of what was the hole in our house this weekend.  We are doing some finishing work tonight so hopefully I’ll have pictures of that tomorrow.  It is actually a horrible picture but I waited until we got home so this was at 10:30 PM last night and the lighting was really bad and we were too tired to fix it.  So my 18 week belly.  (My 13.5 week belly was me leaning back and trying to poke out whatever I had.  This is totally relaxed.)

So, what do you think of our weekend project…a new open air room? Feel free to write your own picture captions about how crazy we are. 

Today is 9/11/08, 7 years later.  I’m not watching the media coverage of today’s events so I’m not as intune with what is going on this year.  Check out my post from this day last year: The 6th Year.

After being sick last weekened and also missing out on Emily M’s planned visit, it ended up being a very low key weekend.  I ended up watching movies and laying on the couch trying to eat rather unsuccessfully but finally felt better on Sunday.  Daniel was in Tampa and got back in time for us to go to Fellowship on Sunday which had an awesome video about www.frontporchministry.org.

I’ve felt really good this week and was able to get a lot accomplished.  I’ve also been walking in the mornings about 2-3 times a week with my friend Missy and that has been a very good thing.  Emily M & I met for lunch in Ardmore, TN (what a name!) at our little mexican food restaurant and enjoyed a good four hours of conversation.  Always a plus and she gave me our first official baby gift!  SO fun.

I listened to the Dave Ramsey Small Business Theme Hour on Wednesday and finally got to here Daniel’s radio ad about Entreleadership!  It’s been running for awhile and he keeps getting calls from friends across the country about it but every time I listen, I never hear it so I was way excited.  We’ll be heading to Cancun in November for a spectacular event.  I actually did some quick maternity sale shopping because I realized I will need off season clothes and a bathing suit and did not want to pay full price at a specialty store that carries those things year round.  Thank you Target.  And I hope they fit.

We’re heading to Atlanta today for Daniel’s business trip and I actually need to go pack.  Since the last 4 weekends he has been out of town or we’ve been busy with the wedding, I’m really looking forward to getting to be together all weekend.  Atlanta is not really one of my favorite places (I think I’ve been there too much) but you can always find something to do and somewhere to eat so it should be good.  I’m also hoping we will have plenty of time to talk and make decisions about baby stuff so we could have the answer to the “finding out question” when we get back.

I’ve been really into keeping up with the hurricane news and am concerned about the Texas coast and what Ike wil decide to do since I have a lot of family in the Houston area. I also hope my brother & sister in law decide to update their blog about it. Hint, hint.

And for the pregnancy update many of you want….I’m 16 weeks as of yesterday and I think I may have felt the baby move this morning.  Not sure, but I think so.  I’ve got the very painful sciatic nerve pain going on too so I had to lay on one side all night long.  That’s hard for me because I tend to change sleeping positions often.  But because of that, I think the baby was hanging out on one side so when I pressed on that side of my belly, I definitely felt a reaction.  So then I did it a lot and then had Daniel try and we both felt something.  I’m not totally convinced and it wasn’t spontaneous movement so I’m still waiting to call it official.

So there’s this week in review.  Happy Weekend.

…and I don’t mean the pasta sauce.  Yes, it’s true, I am pregnant and here is my official announcement post.  Alexa (one of the girls in my high school small group) is way excited that she is the only one that has managed to get a belly shot of me, thus the picture you see below.  So, thanks Alexa!  She also lovingly refers to the baby as Baby Alex or Baby Alexa.  The rest of the girls refer to the baby the same way based upon their name and the masculine version of their name so right now, this little one has many a nickname!

Taken @ 13.5 Weeks

So I’ll catch you up on the past few weeks and try to answer most of the usual questions.

* I am currently 15.5 weeks, almost 4 months and due February 26th.

* We found out June 20th after I took a test that morning which was the day I left to go to Birmingham for two weeks.  We didn’t really tell anyone because we didn’t get to spend much time together just the two of us for those first few weeks of knowing and we wanted to wait until the end of the first trimester to really announce the news.

* I’ve been sick here and there but not too terribly bad.  It seems that Friday and Saturday are my worst days and even though I’m passed the first trimester, I still have had some not so good days.  I’m not miserable though, so I’m thankful for that!

* It is too early to find out if we are having a boy or a girl and we are still discussing whether or not we are going to.  I have always said I would find out but we have been encouraged not to and are seriously considering that as an option now.  So, we’ll see!

So we are definitely way excited and feel very blessed.  It’s funny to me though because I’ve actually had a really hard time telling people.  We are definitely way excited and are now happy to share the news but I guess I know too many people (including myself) with so many different stories that it’s somewhat uncomfortable for me to share it with people who I am not super close with in Nashville or family.  I’ve walked with some people who have had a pretty hard time and sat with them when other people’s great news just felt like salt on a wound.  And the last thing I want is to unknowingly cause more pain for someone else.  It’s not just baby news either…I guess its just any major life event (marriage, baby, job, death, etc) that we all have stories and connections to and that seem to make us stop and think about where we are in our own lives.  And I think as women, we need to do a better job of rejoicing with those who rejoice and weeping with those who weep.  I’ve seen many times when we cannot seem to be happy for anyone else if we can’t experience that same happiness at the same time.  And other times we are so oblivious to people around us, that we don’t stop and care about what other people may be going through.

I guess I really do feel so blessed and am not taking it for granted.  We all have dreams and desires for what our life looks like and sometimes that happens when and how we want it to and sometimes it doesn’t.  Sometimes our dreams seem to come true for everyone else but ourselves.  I’ve learned, especially over the last year, that it truly matters what the Lord wants and I have the choice to join Him where He is at work or rebel against it.  Sometimes that is easier, and sometimes its harder than other times.

I’ve also realized how much choice God gives us in experiencing joy or sorrow in our response.  Many times, because I choose to not trust and obey, I experience the fear of uncertainty or the apprehension of wondering what is next.  But, when I choose to walk by faith and trust Him, I experience the peace of knowing and living within His complete control and believing His best for me.  It’s a much better choice for many reasons.

Job 23:13-14 But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back?  What he desires, that he does.  For he will complete what he appoints for me, and many such things are in his mind.

The time is finally here and this weekend is a very busy one.  Some of our favorite Nashville friends, Paige & Zack are tying the knot on Saturday night!  I am way excited for them and cannot wait to see all that God does in and through their marriage!  I feel so blessed to get to stand with Paige and support her is this special moment of her life and am also grateful that my dress still zips.   At least it did on Tuesday.

So let the festivities begin!  Good friends, good food, good fellowship and a good chance to practice or new mad dancing skillz too.  We didn’t get to practice this week so I hope we don’t thoroughly embarrass ourselves.

Paige & Zack…we love you guys and are praying for this weekend and for your lifetime together!

Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.

I have been tagged by my sis-in-laws Erika AND Kristy!

1. Emily – Because this is basically how you got into blogging in the first place.

Even though we live in a dog lovers paradise, we have decided we do not have the lifestyle that is conducive to having a dog which is really the only pet I would want right now. We are out of town too much and live too far away from anyone that could help us take care of one while we were gone because we’d probably have an outdoor lab or something like that.

But, we usually have some nice visitors that stop by and I like to call them our pets. Last week, we had a few days in a row where some animal visitors stopped by and became our pets for the day. Sorry the pics aren’t the best but you can get the idea.

A momma, daddy and several baby Turkeys.

Along with the huge bonfire pile we will be burning soon.

Two of the four deer that showed up that day.

This would make a nice mount for a hunter.

I guess it doesn’t hurt we have a huge corn field next to us that is attracting these animals.