Tethering Grace & Togetherness
Okay I cannot resist a few words…
Today begins week 27 and the 3rd Trimester!!
** Update: Thanks to those of you who gave me advice on how to fix my blog list issue. It turns out, that the “blog list” seems to be a fairly new feature and the list I had of blogs is on the old feature–not giving me the ability to change the information. I will be able to create a new Blog List using the new tool and then the features I want will appear. Thanks and Stay Tuned for a New and Improved Blog List!**
Okay… I’m going to show my ignorance here because I need help with something on my blog. I have tried to figure it out on my own, but to no avail.
And it will be amazing if I can actually describe what I’m trying to do. On the side of the blog, I have a listing of of blogs I frequently read (I forget what it’s called) but I want to add the feature that allows me and my readers to see the most recent post of these blogs which I have listed. Several of my friends have this option enabled and I am not just sure what I’m doing wrong. For an example, click on the Sextons’ Blog. (It’s a lovely read.)
I’m sure this is a simple thing to fix and I don’t mind one bit feeling a little silly after hearing that it is. I’m just frustrated that I haven’t been able to figure it out myself. 🙂
In other news, Here’s a photo tag for all of you.
I am a bit embarrassed what came out of the random search.
Okay so this picture is pretty self- explanatory. Silliness in Party City. Lance and I spent awhile trying on silly hats and disguises the day we got our marriage license. I’m not sure what brought us in there, but this picture was a result. yikes.
Here’s How it Works:
1. Go to your Picture Folder on your computer or wherever you store your pictures.
2. Go to the 6th Folder and then pick the 6th Picture.
3. Post it on your blog and tell the story that goes with the picture.
4. Tag 5 other people to do the same thing.
I’m tagging:
1. Courtney
2. Leah
3. Lance
4. Lindsey
5. Elaine
First, I must say that I happen to be married to the most sincerely romantic and fun-loving man on the planet so every day with him is special and memorable. He has this way of always making me feel treasured and cherished so while I appreciate Valentine’s Day as a fun excuse to do something special for one another, I don’t usually feel the day is needed for romance. 🙂 But I do appreciate the day just the same.
And I certainly always enjoy Valentine’s Day with my Husband.
Here’s a quick snapshot from last year– our first year as a married couple.
At Sullivan’s, the food was fabulous and we really enjoyed the time together. All night long, we took note of the fact that this would be our last Valentine’s Day just the two of us for at least 18 years. Although, there were at least 3 couples in the restaurant that night with small babies in carriers– so that’s somewhat encouraging– it CAN be done. Anyway, we ate way too much, had way too much fun, and laughed way too loudly.
And here he is– my date. Isn’t he handsome?
And here we are, enjoying a night out on the town.
Dad getting a little artistic with Camera. We had fun.
And the moment many of you have been waiting for…..
Belly Pictures.
It’s funny though, I didn’t realize how I really looked until we started taking pictures. There are days that I definitely “feel” bigger but I had to laugh when I really got a good look at these. It certainly makes a difference what I wear whether or not you can really tell. In other news, and more importantly, we went to the Doctor this past Wednesday and everything still looks good. Blood pressure, Lu’s heartbeat, my health, etc.
I would like to ask for prayer for this next month’s appointment as it is time for the notorious glucose test. Diabetes runs in our family and I have struggled with my blood sugar from time to time. (By struggled I mainly mean I cannot eat a dozen donuts and feel just fine.) I have had to be careful this entire pregnancy with my sugar intake and have cut out ALL caffeine (except trace amounts in chocolate– haha) just because I do not want to have to deal with gestational diabetes. Would you mind keeping this in your prayers? I very much want to be healthy in every way possible, and while I know that Gest. Diabetes is not uncontrollable, I would just really like to not have to worry about it.
AS always, thank you for your continued support and prayers of our little (growing) family.
Little Sheep for my Little Lamb
As many of you know, the Stuckey’s find themselves in what seems to be a very nomadic time in their life as a family. We are currently still waiting to hear back from several institutions on acceptance into their respective PHD programs. The list contains Duke University, University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University. At this time, none of these schools have made decisions and so, we wait. Some days we even wait patiently.
Those of you who are close to us have shared in the sometimes agonizing experience of not knowing where we will be in the next 6 months. I, personally have struggled with this much more than I have license to. I spent many weeks and even months at the beginning of my pregnancy in a state of frozen panic and some days even denial. Even in all of these doubtful times, I have never claimed to know what is best for our family. That is just it. We don’t know at this point. We know very little. We know Lance is graduating. We know he has a calling and desire in a particular field. We know that this calling requires that we try to go in a specific direction. We know that this direction requires that we may very well be moving somewhere where family is not. We know that we are going to be doing this very shortly after, our life changes drastically. We know we are having a baby. We know she is a little girl. We know her name is Lucy. Now we know that she probably does not and will not mind that her parents had no idea what her physical address would be just months before her birth. We may not even know several months from now. But more importantly, we know WHO knows the answers to these questions. We know HE loves her more than we ever could and HE knows that she needs a place to sleep and live just as we do. One day, we will look back on these times of uncertainty and hopefully we will be able to tell her that we trusted HIM and not our own wisdom. Because our wisdom is so very limited. And HIS is inexhaustible. HE is faithful.
Recently, we found a wonderful treasure in a “Moses Basket” for little Lu. I saw it and fell in love with it because it’s perfect for our upstairs, downstairs-apartment-maybe-moving very soon after she arrives-life. We were able to find a white wooden rocking stand for the basket and it will fit perfectly in a little corner of our room. As a mother, my heart was strangely comforted by this find. Yes, I know it’s just a basket. But perhaps it is the fact that no matter where we are in a few months, she has spot when she arrives. A perfect little, soft, cuddly spot to sleep and lay regardless of the temporary state of the rest of our house. She may not have a “nursery” for several months after she is born until we are somewhere more permanently– but she has her spot. And as strange as it may seem, I feel calmer somehow. I feel that we have at least made the immediate provisions for her arrival which we possible can. And it won’t really matter if her basket is completely surrounded by moving boxes. She will never know. And if any of you decide to tell her, make sure you tell her that she was well loved and looked after during this crazy and wonderful time. Bottom line: we desire that she knows how her parents were learning to trust God. One step, one day, one deep breath at a time.
Several people have recommended a certain Bible Story Book that they have had for their children and we decided to invest in it for our little one. The Jesus Storybook Bible begins with the very beginning of the Bible and goes through the stories of the Old Testament, pointing to the Cross and the Gospel. We recently received it in the mail and decided to begin reading it to her at night. So far, we are impressed with the quality of the book. And, it appears that Little Lucy likes it as well. The first night Lance began reading to her, she immediately began kicking and moving around the second he spoke. We were excited that he was finally able to feel her moving!!!
We have discussed for some time how we desire for our children to be well-read.Lance and I, love books. Our tiny little apartment is overrun with them but we cannot bear to box any up for fear that we will want to read one and it will be out of reach. Books are wonderful treasures. I have enjoyed reading books my entire life! And honestly, even as an adult, I admit that I love to read children’s books. Lucy already has a little collection of books which we have accumulated for her. I admit I am a little selective when it comes to children’s books… I have been strangely disappointed by the quality of some of the literature which is intended for young minds. I tend towards the classics and those stories which have actual literary substance. Many children’s books of late seem to be crude and poorly constructed. I’m not opposed to new books at all, I honestly only rarely come across anything of real value published recently. I would like to list several rare treasures which have come about in the last few years.
1. The Olivia Books (Ian Falconer)
2. Angelina Ballerina Series (Katharine Holabird)
3. If you give a mouse a cookie (Laura Numeroff)
4. If you give pig a pancake (Laura Numeroff)
5. If you take a mouse to the movies (Laura Numeroff)
6. Click Clack Moo- Cows that Type
I also would like to mention some oldies but goodies:
Charlotte’s Web
Little House Books
Anne of Green Gables (Can I get an Amen on this one?)
Chronicles of Narnia
Sarah, Plain and Tall
Beatrix Potter
Some of these book series are sweet and some are silly and some are both.. but they are all delightful! What are some of you or your children’s favorite books?