2nd Trimester!

You read it correctly! I am officially into my second trimester. I sit here wanting to undo my last clip on my pants so I can breathe and think about how much longer I have and get so excited. Really I have not wanted to rush anything about this pregnancy. I wanted to enjoy every step. I love it :-) I had the joys of my husband telling me last night that he thinks I have put on a bunch more weight haha I know what he meant...my belly is growing! Everytime I get in the elevator at work, or catch a reflection in the bathroom mirror I can't help but to smile and hug my belly.





I told Nick this time next year we will be having so much fun with them. Oh gosh and I wonder if we will keep the Gerber Christmas tradition up and go to Gatlinburg.....I think Granny & Oupa can have the priviledge of having both grandchildren in the bed with them ;-)

I finally go back to the doctor Thursday. I bet they have grown so much. Apparently they are the sizes of peaches right now....so I have two peaches in my belly :-) Okay I am going to get off here because I am rambling, just wanted to share my 2nd Trimester blessing.

OHHH we have a couple of names picked out to go with Saige.

Myla Saige
Evan Saige

I think we both are leaning towards Myla. Nick first said Milla and I was like okay that is too close to naming our child after a beer ! haha

My Weekend...its ups and downs

My weekend seemed to be a bit of a rollarcoaster with its highs and lows. Friday night we had originally had our church Christmas party which I look forward to every year. We have a lot of crazy people in our church that do not care to let their hair down and let loose! But our Christmas party was canceled Thursday when news came out .... Nick and I ended up hanging out with four of our favorite people, Chris, Leann, Ezra (who secretly is my favorite hehe) and Isaac. We went to eat at Buena Vista (sp?) in Scottsboror and then all of us gathered to play Joker, love that game!!! I was pretty proud that Husbands and wives did not argue that much this time, we usually end up getting into it. Mainly because Nick and I are so competitive and well he blows steam out his you know what lol. So anyway, I will say this on record, if our twins have a smile like little Ezra I'm afraid I will never be able to say no to them ......this might end up being a problem!

Saturday morning I got to spend with my mother. We baked all morning and I love those mornings. I miss her car pooling with me :-( So it feels like we never talk anymore but we do...just not in person. I baked zuchinni loaves for the older people of my church and some people at work and mom baked cookies galore. Then off to Addison's 3rd birthday....yep 3rd birthday! I can remember when Nick and I loaded up in his Tahoe to go to Gadsden hospital to see the newborn and now she is a high energy, dramatic little 3 year old. They were all so cute with all their friends. Holding hands and laughing and playing. My father in law called it perfect yesterday, he said that Addison would definitely be the "ruler" of all the cousins and he is definitely right! And if someone else tried to be in her way she would just deck them...and I'm not joking lol.

Then Nick and I went to the funeral home to pay our respects. So many people are hurting right now and I hope you are remembering this family in your prayers along with our church family. Yesterday's service was very hard. As we closed the service Nick had closing prayer and you can hear as he prayed for all the broken hearts to be at peace all the sniffs and the silent cries coming from our church family. I will say that I believe our church family has grown so much closer through this and my prayer is that through her death that her friends will come to the Lord. I know her well enough to know that she would be more than thrilled that through her death, people's souls were brought to God. This will be a time of healing but God will never leave us and can pull us through everything.

I still have plenty coming up. Tomorrow I have my association's Christmas party which should be loads of fun. Then we have a church friends Christmas party this weekend and definitely a cleaning day for me needs to be stuck in there somewhere.

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

Tragedy

Yesterday, December 10, 2009, can go on record for one of the worst days. I am not going to mention any names for privacy sake but its spread all over the news.

We all lost a very dear Christian sister yesterday. We didn't have to. Yesterday, "Jane Doe" was killed by her soon to be ex husband. We are all still trying to make sense of it but the truth of the matter is sometimes in life, there just will be no understanding. Over the past few years this family has gone through a lot of heartache because of this man, this includes her 4 year old daugher and 6 year old son, and her parents who is my preacher. I don't even know what to write. Do you focus on the selfish heartless act of this man or do you focus on the beloved memory of this 29 year old who has been struggling so much lately.

He came to church Wednesday evening. I saw him sitting on the front pew and the first thought I had in my head was that he was trying to get her back once again. We all went to our classes and I finally was able to return to my ladies class to which she was a part of. When we all gathered in the auditorium and had our invitation song, he went forward and asked to be baptized. I thought possibly this was his "breaking point" and he finally was getting it....whatever that meant. I went to hug her after church, not knowing how she was feeling or how this went over for her. She hugged me and said "Please pray for me, I don't know what the motives are behind this" We talked for about 10 minutes just about things she was going through and how she was moving on....finally.

Now I remember the reason I had so much passion for my degree when I received it. There is so much hatred in the word, so much cruelty. I can honestly say that District Atty's offices don't "settle". They try to get the hardest sentence for those who deserve it. He is sitting in jail right now and I pray that he will be there for a very long time. I do not wish the death sentence on him for several reasons. I do not believe in the death sentence and I came to this conclusion after studying my bible for the past few years. It is a sin to murder, God did not give us exceptions. He said that vengeance is His. Believe me folks, what goes around comes around. For the next reason is that it would be too easy. If he receives the death sentence, he won't have to live with what he did. He won't have to walk the prison hallways and think about the family he could have had and how he so easily gave that away. He will have to sit and think about how he tried to manipulate her by getting baptized, an act that is not to be mocked and whoa be to those who do this.

I actually do not feel hatred towards him. I'm actually not technically "mad" either. My heart broke yesterday for the loss of a friend, for a family that has gone through so much and now to deal with this around the Holidays, two children who may not remember specifics on their mother as they grow up, to a little girl who will not have her mother on her prom dates, her regular dates, and on her wedding day. To a son who can't get advice on how to treat his girlfriends. And for those kids loosing both parents in one single act. To parents who just lost their second child to such an awful act. To a church that is mourning over a loss of a Christian sister. For a man that just defiled the law of God in so many ways and for what God has in store for him is probably the scariest thought. And for a young woman that just could not get a break from a jealous mentally unstable man and for what she had to go through yesterday. The realization of how our world is and where it is going. And for the fact that some people want God out of it. And I can't stop thinking of how God must be feeling. Because no matter how mad you get, how much hatred you feel, He created this man. And for humans to do such horrible things, you know that God sees everything and He is the only One that knows what happened.

So I apologize for this being so extremely long but I ask you to stop right now and close your eyes and pray for this family. And I am not just saying that, I really want you to pray right now and ask God to be over this family during this time of heartbreak. They have a long road ahead of them. Their Christian family is definitely here to do anything for them.

Which brings me to my next thought, you never know when your last day will be. You don't need a mentally ill ex to decide that. Car wreck, sickness, etc. you never know. Make sure the people around you know how much you love them. Make sure there is no wondering. Because the days might pass and you may never have that opportunity again.

Thoughts for the Day

I switched my bible teaching to Sunday mornings so that I could return to the Ladies class on Wednesday nights. I have missed this for 2 quarters now! They had a new book and as I started flipping through it I thought this is going to be good! New Testament questions for women (not exactly the title but that is the gist of it). Some hot topics are in there, head coverings, submission, women's role in the church .....and last nights "Silence in Service". I believe so many churches have fallen badly off path from God wanted and intended His church to be...and its because of "times changing" and "fair & equality for women". But the point is that God doesn't change. His Word does not change. He left us specific instructions how he wants us to worship and in Revelations He says "...do not add or take away..." This goes with everything...and its meant!

Many would say I am for "women power" lol which makes me smile. Let me explain, my mother brought me up to make sure I can take care of myself first and not "rely" on anyone else for this. You never know what kind of predicament you will be in. This could include death of a spouse, etc. So my main goal in life has always been to be the best I can be and enjoy and take pride in what I do. I worked very very hard to get to this point. I can comfortably say that I can take care of myself. I say go get it if you want it! No matter the gender. BUT in a church setting, where God wants the men to be the spiritual leaders, for women to step in their way is just disobeying God. And that is not my opinion, that I got from the bible itself.

1 Corinthians 14:34-35 could not be more clear on this topic. This does not say that women can't go spread the Word to others but encourages the women of the church to support the men in their roles. In order for Christians to do as God wants them to, you have to study the bible. I hope everyone individually sits and studies what is expected from them and prays to God that they understand what God wants from them. Because when it comes down to it, you are in charge of your salvation. Not your church or your preacher or your spouse.

Help with Names

So I am not sure if I have posted our names that we have so far and I am not looking back to see if I have so stay with me on this. We have 3 names that are sticking. They are here to stay. Yet, my last girl's name is not complete :-( We only have a middle name. We have to have 2 girls and 2 boys names going into the hospital to be prepared. So I am going to share them and if anyone has cute unusual names share them!!!!

FYI: I don't care to share my names bc if someone steals them, I will be flattered, if someone doesn't like them....well have your own kids so you can name them haha JK

Boys:
Tripp Layne
Kenton Major

Girls:
Jacelynn RyAnn
________ Saige

HELP!!!!!

School is over!!!!!!!!!!

For Nick that is :-) This year has been CRAZY busy with doing his masters. Not hard work but my gosh busy busy work. So between baseball, football, school and starting a family, this year has been filled with plenty of stories for this year. But I can thankfully say the last paper was graded and Nick now holds ....shoot....its called A Certificate....something like that! Very proud of him and his hard work.

I say its finished for Nick because I don't know if I want to be finished with school. Some say its weird but I get bored easily and need challenge in my life. After I graduated from AU, I went on to get my Paralegal Certificate. Then I just started taking random classes here and there lol. I would love to get a bachelors in another language or in business/marketing now that I work in a corporation. Do I want a different job? Heck no! My job and place of employment could possibly be the best ever but I always believe you can better yourself.

But then again I think...okay Mel, you are about to have twinsies and I have a slight feeling boredom will never be a word I use in my vocabulary ever again. And that brings a huge smile to my face :-)

Dear Toothbrush

Please stop gagging me in the mornings. It is really beginning to get old starting out my day getting sick only because of you. I have to use you to brush my tongue so if you would stop making me sick, I would really appreciate it.

Thank you and have a wonderful day.

Busy Weekend

I had an absolutely wonderful weekend! Busy and great! We had our Friends Christmas at the Summit. Of course I did not take as many pictures as I wanted to because I start off good and then lay it down because I am too busy chatting and laughing. Here are some pictures of that evening.

It is so hard to get us to quit talking to take a picture. In this picture is April C., Leann, Haley and Candice.



And again.....




All the mess ups of trying to get our 2009 Christmas Card pic taken......





All the ladies.....



In order is Me, Leann, April C., April W., Erin, Haley and Candice.

We had such a good time, it was a very enjoyable evening!


Then the following morning, Nick helped me get the house ready for Leann's shower. I did not take that many pics but here are a few.



My mother made the huge cake lol. It was so good though. It had 2 flavors with 2 different types of fillings. I wish she would start a business doing this, she is so talented!

The inside of the cake....




April being silly and Leann freaking out over cutting the cake...




Saturday morning we woke up to this!!!!!! I was so excited...




We had my work Christmas party Saturday night and it was fun as well. However, I did not take any pictures. I am hoping to get a copy from the photographer that was there. I can't believe time is flying by so fast. We have more Christmas parties coming up and birthday parties so this month is always really busy.

I hope everyone had a great weekend too!

Last Note

Everyone have a wonderful weekend. Be safe!

Stuffed!

I had a wonderful lunch with my ladies from the D.A.'s office. I miss these ladies so much but I am thankful that I get to see them quite often still for our lunches :-) I still feel part of the group! So I sent an email pretty much begging them to join me for lunch at Tony's Pasta mmmmmmmm. So off we went today and it was amazing as usual. I can eat so much of their bread it is pathetic....and I have no shame! I got the Angel Hair pasta with Tomato Spinich Cream sauce. They give you so much food it can easily last you two days, maybe three days if you knew portion control but lately that has not been in my vocabulary. So I am excited that I have lunch for tomorrow but sitting here needing a nap...desperately! My hubby is jealous I have gone twice in a month now....actually twice in a two week period lol. So after he graduates with his masters (in 1 week) I told him I would take him there. That was the place he first asked me out to go to but we won't go into why we didn't ....long story that most know already.

I have so much to do and normally when I have so much on my plate I just want to go sleep lol. I have to go this evening to get Leann's shower gift (which Mrs. Carter is meeting up with me cause she misses me ;-P) I have to get a few items for her actual shower and I think I am going to see if there is a sweater calling my name.

I am looking forward to this weekend. Lots of fun and activities. Plus I now start teaching Sunday morning 4 & 5 year olds instead of Wednesday nights so I will be back in my ladies class on Wed. night.

Speaking of my Wednesday class, I have to share what happened last night. These types of things make me so excited for when my children enter this world and start doing these things because they will definitely keep me laughing. I started out our lesson with Moses on Mt. Sinai and I asked the class if anyone knew anything about Moses and this little girl raised her hand and said as serious as she could "He was born a baby." :-) Please tell me you just want to go get a hug and kiss from her! I knew what she was getting at because she later added the important parts but I just thought it was the cutest.

Simple Things

This was a thought I had this morning in the shower (where I have my morning prayer). And yes I think my best early in the morning. Last night, I didn't think twice about getting home and going to my 2nd freezer which is in my garage, reaching in and digging for chicken drumsticks, going in my kitchen and starting my roasted chicken and potatoes. Then after about 45 minutes, while Nick and I decorated our Christmas tree picking out the ornament colors we want because I have 3 tubs of Christmas stuff, I grab one bag of the many frozen veggies we have in our kitchen freezer and put peas in a pot. Then after 15 minutes we pray and sit down and eat our meal. Around 9:00 p.m. I go to my bed with pillows and comforter and fall asleep. I wake up to my alarm and get up and think nothing about going in the bathroom and turning on a nice hot shower. I get in the shower and have soap, shampoo and conditioner sitting there waiting for me to use. But if it were not, I have extra backup of everything I need under my bathroom cabinet. I think nothing about this routine. This morning as I was standing under the shower thinking about all the exciting parties and get togethers we will be having. All the food we will prepare and the dirty santa games we will be playing. Its nothing for me to run to Walmart and get any item I need that I do not already have in my kitchen cabinets. Its nothing for me to go to a clothing store to get a new fresh sweater and I will wear slacks and a hat, scarf and gloves and will probably grab a coat on the way out to any of these events. I will think nothing about doing all of this.

There was a girl my age today that woke up outside probably in a shack somewhere, cold. She does not have a bed, she does not have a pillow and her next thoughts are how she is going to get her new meal. Christmas is just another day of the year and this time of year just means that it will be colder. She is probably sick and there is no medicine for her to get better. She has family around her but they have none of the answers she is asking in her head, in fact they are thinking the same thing. There is a woman who just left in the middle of the night with her three children to get away from her abusive husband. She runs to Room in the Inn, and her feelings are scared and alone and she has three tiny faces looking at her for answers. They have nothing but the clothes on their back. Their mother has no degree or education and has no means of supporting her three children by herself.

We have it so lucky. There are so many hurting alone people out there that we do not realize. I know Nick and I are blessed beyond our means and do we deserve it? Certainly not. We always try to help out a few charities especially through this time and the association I am in also helps out a few and I just pray to God it makes a small dent.

Didn't mean to be morbid today. Really it was a good feeling thinking about how I am able to help others by the blessings God has given me. I hope you do too.

And the Fun Begins!!!!

So now that is it officially December I am thrilled!!! This weekend is when all the fun begins and I can't wait! First we have our Friends Christmas Friday night at the Summit in Fort Payne. I can't wait. I have not seen a lot of my friends for over a month now and I am having withdrawals. We all cook and bring stuff. I will be cooking green beans and cherry glazed roast! Yum!!! Then Saturday morning we have Leann's shower for Baby Isaac at my house. Then we have my work Christmas party which to be honest my husband was quite upset when he found out the party was the same day as the football game...sorry babe thats life! Which I am still excited lol. Mom made me a dress that is so comfy to wear. Its so a preggars dress and I think that is why I love it so much!

We have more parties to come after this weekend but this is a really good start!

I hope everyone stays safe and enjoys their time with their friends and family. Lets not only think of the "reason for the season" in December but make it our daily goal to thank God for His many blessings in life.