An important announcement

The following is a public service announcement (PSA) on behalf of Pregnant Women of America (PWA) intended for all Non-Pregnant People of America (NPPA)!

Attention all NPPA, please do not look at any of the PWA around you and tell us that we look "fat", "large", "huge", "ginormous" are "rapidly expanding", "must be having twins", "bigger than I was last week", "popping out", "carrying mostly in my hips...or butt..or boobs..or any other part of my body"! Please refrain from touching, commenting on, flicking (yes, some of you NPPA are FLICKERS!) or staring at our protruding belly buttons. We, the PPA, realize that some NPPA have never been pregnant and therefore do not understand the alien-like transformation that our bodies are undergoing. You get SOME leeway for your less than kind statements. However, some of you NPPA, are former PPA, and have forgotten (sometimes so very quickly) the rage of hormones, the feeling of looking at yourself in the mirror and not recognizing the strange person staring back at you! You former PPA, get very less, a very marginal amount of leeway for your stares, flicks and comments!
Please understand that during our reign as PPA, we are experiencing an uncommon, extremely LARGE surge of hormones! (And no, the hormones are not acceptable topics of conversation either) Therefore, if you feel the need to comment, stare, flick belly buttons, or rub our tummies "for good luck" you are putting yourself at risk for some sort of hormonal retaliation. This could include, but is not limited to the following; the PPA under attack may burst into tears before your very eyes, leaving you to look like an evil NPPA making said PPA cry; you may be screamed at, kicked, mocked for your size, have your hair pulled, your eyes gouged out, or most likely you will be left to clean up the mess of a sobbing PPA, the result of your unkind words or gestures.
Thank you in advance for adhering to the suggestions in the proceeding PSA!

As the author of this Public Service Announcement, 2 confessions must be made. During the author's time as a NPPA, said author made TWO major blunders to PPA's...As a high school junior, my youth pastor's wife was VERY pregnant with her 2nd child, as she walked into the gymnasium filled with high school students, I made a very loud, very obnoxious quacking sound, referencing her very pregnant waddle...so not cool!
During another time in my life, before having ever been pregnant, a co-worker was expecting her 3rd child. In an elevator FULL of people, I very loudly questioned her claim that she was carrying a single child, and gave her the oh so kind advice, to have her Doctor check again, to make sure only one baby was residing in her ginormous pregnant stomach...so, so, SO not cool!

something different...

I have been slacking on my posts lately, I just don't have much to say. The best way I can sum up our lives right now is to say, the days seem to last forever, but the weeks are FLYING by! Does that even make sense??
Anyway, check this out if you're in need of a laugh out loud moment...it's absolutely, positively, one of my favorite and funniest moments on TV! Enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqwzvtjeYBQ

Adios!

I finished reading this book last week, and let me tell ya, it kicked my keister! (Is there a proper spelling for keister...Keester? Kiester?) Anyway!
It was so good, I was really excited to read it, but I had no idea how much it would bring some aspects of my personality to light, and how convicted I would be by reading it. My book is very, very, highlighted, so much of it spoke to me.
Here's the main thing I took from the book. Beth Moore gives a lot of examples of the ways insecurity tends to make fools of us. Crazy things we do and say in the moments where our insecurity is at it's height. She talks about how it affects our friendships, our marriages, our relationship with God even. And it got me thinking, how does my own insecurity manifest itself?
My conclusion? When I'm feeling insecure, I become EXTREMELY judgmental. Examples? Well sure, I've got a billion of them.
When I'm feeling insecure about my weight (most of the time), I "size" up every random woman I come across... "am I heavier than her".."surely she's a bigger size than me", etc..etc..

When I'm feeling insecure about myself as a mother, I judge the behavior of kids around me... "my kids are at least SITTING in the cart, those kids are running through the store"..."at least our kids aren't climbing all over the waiter/waitress like those kids"...etc..etc.

When I'm feeling insecure about my marriage, I judge the marriages around me (and usually with little or NO correct information to go on!) I make assumptions that the other couple (sometimes complete strangers!) has nothing as good as we do in our marriage.

When I'm feeling insecure about my relationships, I judge the quality of relationships around me, you know, the ones that I don't have a CLUE about! Relationships that I have no idea what the inner workings are, the dynamics, the REALITIES!

So, how have I taken this aspect of insecurity and tried to better myself? Now whenever I get those rambling judgmental thoughts in my head, I catch myself. I stop and ask, "What is it that I'm feeling insecure about?" 99% of the time, I have found that my judging is coming from my own insecurity. I HATE being judgmental. I really, really hate it. It's such a trap, and so not useful for anything. It's a trap that I fall into often, and a trap that I'm trying to avoid more and more these days.
It's so much easier to love others, to be more open to others without the false assumption/judgmental thing going on in my head. I have a long way to go, but if this is the only thing that sticks with me from the pages of this book, I think it's a good thing to hang on to!
I've recommended the book to so many people, and I think you should get it and read it, too! You'll love it, and maybe it'll kick your keester too! (Keister, kiester??)

"March"-ing along!

What's happening in our world right now...

*I'm just about finished with the 2 Esther (a study by Beth Moore) groups that I was leading through the fall! The study was so good for me in so many ways. I'm trying to decide which Beth Moore study I'll tackle next. I like doing them as my every day devotional because they really bring me through the Word...they challenge me and cause me to think and grow in ways that I've not found with any other devotional/study author.

*Speaking of Beth Moore, I'm reading her new book, "So long, Insecurity" and I am loving it! I've told pretty much every woman I know to pick it up and start reading, because I can't think of any woman who would NOT benefit from reading it. It has convicted me and opened my eyes in so many ways, I'm just about finished and I'm sure it's one I'll read over and over.

*Baby #3 is growing and moving and doing everything he needs to be doing! I've forgotten how fun/crazy/weird/sometimes annoying all of those movements can be...the annoying part is that no matter what I'm doing, lying down or sitting up, anytime I change positions something about the way he moves just makes me have to ...umm...pee! We're still searching around for baby names, we'll take suggestions!

*SPRING IS HERE! I don't know if it's technically Spring or not, but we're down to 2 very SMALL patches of snow in our yard and Tuesday the boys and I spent 2 hours playing at the park. It felt so good to be sitting outside, feeling the sun on my back and watching my boys romp around in the mud puddles. Now all I need is a good, strong thunderstorm!

*I've seen a ton on facebook and in some of the blogs I read and talked with some of my friends that people are starting their outdoor running again...or for the first time. I'm a little jealous! I haven't done any running since I found out I was pregnant and at this point it probably would be a bit dangerous for me and the baby, since I'm so out of shape AND clumsy these days. I miss running. I plan to get back to it after I have this baby and hopefully one day I'll see my feet again...

Mama knows what mama likes

In the midst of all the cold and snowy weather, I've forgotten the few reasons that I L.O.V.E. this time of year! In the previous 2 years, I was working so hard on losing weight and getting in shape, I didn't enjoy my favorite March goodies, but this year...Bring.It.On!
Any guesses on what it is that has my taste buds all riled up?

#1

In case you live on another planet, those, my friend, are GIRL SCOUT COOKIES! My 2 favorite kinds, Samoas (I knew them as Carmel Delights in my Brownie Years) and Tagalongs (also known to me as Peanut Butter Patties). I'm so thankful these only come out once a year, otherwise I'd be in trouble!


#2.
...and this delightful little guy is a Shamrock shake from McDonald's! I love the minty goodness of this sucker and while I've had a ...ahem...FEW...of those delightful Girl Scout Cookies this year, I've yet to indulge myself with one of these bad boys. I sense one coming up in my near future, though. One time a lady in front of me at McDonald's ordered a Shamrock shake with 1/2 shamrock and 1/2 chocolate...I've not tried that before, but I can't imagine it would be a bad thing!
Happy Spring-ish! :D I'm off to have my blood sugar levels tested now ;)

Boy oh Boy oh Boy!

The Gray's will be seeing more Blue! Our ultra sound last week gave us a very good shot of our new baby boy to be! We wanted to come up with a special way to reveal the sex of our 3rd child, and I loved the way it unfolded. Chris and the boys came with me to the Dr's and into the ultra sound room. First, I have to say, even in the 2 years since we've had Mason, the technology of the ultra sounds has advanced tremendously! We had one 4-D shot, which I've never seen before, and it was amazing! You can actually see the baby's face..the skin, the shape of the nose, the eyes...it's crazy! We asked the technician to whisper to Levi the baby's sex and then Levi told us.
When he turned around and said "It's a boy", I just was overwhelmed. I really thought that I would feel disappointed or discouraged if it wasn't a girl, but once I heard "boy", it didn't matter at all. I think the technician started to worry because the tears just kept streaming down my face throughout the rest of her scans. I was just happy!
I never had a brother and while I was around my some of my boy cousins a lot, I was never close to them. It's such a joy to be surrounded by my own family of men! I'm totally up for the challenges, the surprises, and the action that 3 boys will bring into my life.
We've not decided on a name yet, which doesn't surprise us at all. Levi was going to be named Caleb, all the way through the first 8 months of pregnancy. Then, scouring through a baby book, I came across the name Levi and fell in love with it. It took all the way through the delivery to convince Chris, but obviously, Levi won out. We didn't know if Mason was a girl and, of course, we had the girl name figured out, but the only boy name we thought we might use was Owen. When he was born, Owen just wasn't right. It was nearly an hour after he was born and we were STILL trying to come up with a name! Chris started reading through his list of boy names, and as he was rattling off names, he said "Mason" and I looked at him and looked at the baby in my arms and said, "He's Mason" and so it was.
I ran into the Family Christian Store today and they were having a great sale on some books. I picked up, "Raising a Modern Day Knight" and "Wild Things..The Art of Nurturing boys". Now I just have to figure out when I will have time to read the books, you know, since I'll be so busy raising my boys!!

Productive Disobedience

Oxymoron? Not in this case. Earlier this week I had given Levi a few things that I needed him to do to help me out. The list included things like, getting his dirty laundry IN the basket instead of around it; putting his bed-time buddies (a blanket and dog) back in his bed; cleaning up legos; etc..
He did all of those things, except only 1/2 way or less. When I asked him to put his laundry in the basket he threw 1/2 of it in the basket and the other 1/2 he shoved where I couldn't see it. When I told him to put the bed-time things away, he threw them right in the doorway of his room, not on his bed as I had instructed. Any task I had given him he completed less than fully. I explained to him that partial obedience equals disobedience. (In a 4 year olds language, of course)
That got me thinking. I do that all the time...to God. I justify a lot of sin because I'm not being blatantly sinful. Here are some of the things that God brought to my mind that I've been doing lately that fall short of pleasing Him.

"It's not really gossiping...I'm just trying to explain how I feel about the situation with this other person"

"It's not really gossiping...I'm sharing a PRAYER REQUEST"
*maybe gossip is something I need to work on!-You think?

"It's not porn that I'm watching, it's just the story of one guy falling in love with a dozen girls and spending LOTS of time in hot tubs with them"

"I'm not lying, I'm just making the story a bit more dramatic by adding a few details, but the IDEA is the same"

"I don't think it's stealing, I look at the clerk's oversight of my box of diapers as a "blessing to our finances" !

"I'm not being a glutton, I'm pregnant, therefore I need to EAT as much as I want as often as I want"

There are a lot more examples I could give, but I think I've exposed enough of myself for one day!
Do you ever find yourself doing this? Have your kids taught you any good lessons lately through their disobedience? What's on your mind this week?

Simple Pleasures

You know those things that just make your heart dance? Those small gestures, gifts, moments that leave you feeling secure, loved, cozy? What are they? What are your simple pleasures? Kelly at Kelly's Korner posted about this yesterday and I've come up with a few of my own simple pleasures...

1. A Starbucks peppermint mocha on the day of the first snowfall
2. An unexpected, unprompted "I love you mama"
3. REAL mail! A card, a note, a check..I'm not picky, ANYTHING with real handwriting on it :D
4. A surprise phone call from a distant friend
5. Hearing these elusive words at the dinner table: "wow, honey (or mom) this dinner is really good!"
6. Christmas
7. Clean sheets on a tightly made bed
8. Empty laundry baskets and and empty washer/dryer
9. Vacuum lines on the carpet
10. Long conversations with friends
11. Stolen kisses w/ my man!
12. Laughing till it hurts
13. Re-connecting with a friend I've not been in touch with for a while and feeling like no time has passed
14. A good book!
15. BLOG COMMENTS :)

So, do you agree with me on any of these? Are yours completely different? Share...

A boy and his tacos

My boy LOVES taco night at our house! I love taco night at our house, because it's about the only meal that I can prepare that will bring pure joy to our dinner table. This particular night (about a week ago) I made tacos for dinner and Levi, 4 year old, 31#, little Levi, ate 3 1/2 Tacos! And they were loaded...meat, cheese, tomatoes, white sauce (sour cream) and "tasty red sauce" (salsa).
If he eats 3 when he's 4 years old...how many will eat when he's 16, and what will that mean for my grocery budget??

I think this was #3, and we also LOVE Sonic happy hour...1/2 off drinks!

Mason loves taco night too, he's just not as passionate as his brother concerning the tacos!

Randomings

**I hit the 17-week mark of pregnancy #3 TODAY! So far, everything is normal and we'll be finding out boy or girl on February 9! I am so excited to know, I truly have no idea. Statistically, it should be a boy, but I never liked math, so maybe I'll fail the statistics!

**Chris was in England for 6 days last week. Don't feel sorry for me, though! My mom came on Monday night and spent pretty much the whole time he was gone with us. She's so great at keeping the boys busy and giving me lots of "me" time. I loved it!! I also LOVED having Chris back home on Friday afternoon. The poor guy is pretty jet-lagged and exhausted, but we're just staying home this weekend to help get him adjusted.

**While my mom was here, I had the opportunity to have dinner with my oldest (not by years, but amount of time) friend Jill. We met at PF Chang's in Lansing and had a delicious dinner and great conversation. Jill and I went to school together from Kindergarten-graduation and have been friends since about 4th or 5th grade. (Minus 8th grade, right Jill?) It's so nice to have a friend who has traveled life with you. There is no need for long background explanations about family dynamics or why we make the choices we do, we've been there through it all together. We do not see each other much, but we have one of those wonderful friendships where we can pick up right where we left off. I love that in a friend!

**I have a confession...The Bachelor/Bachelorette shows are one of my biggest guilty pleasures. I was so excited when this new season started 2 weeks ago, you have no idea. I know the show is pretty smutty and not really great moral watching, but I love it. My love may be fading...the bachelor on this season is an airline pilot. He took one of the girls in an airplane and flew her around some snazzy scenery, while in the background, "On the Wings of Love" played...seriously?!?! Cheese, anyone? It was almost too hard to watch..I should mention that the subtitle of the season is "On the Wings of Love", it seems like they are going to play this pilot card for every thing they can...gag!

**Do you memorize bible verses? Do you have a system for doing this? It's something I've really wanted to start doing, but I've always put it off or not gotten very far with. Any suggestions or ideas on how to get started and successfully pull it off? Should I do one a month? Two a month?

**I guess that's all for now. We're enjoying a quiet Saturday at home. My jet-lagged husband is napping and so is my wild little Mason. Both of my boys were awake at 6.45 this morning...we are an 8.00 family, but I guess they didn't get the memo on that today! We kept making them go back to bed, but they never went back to sleep...grrr! Enjoy your weekend!

What holds you back?

I may have mentioned before that I am studying Esther, (Beth Moore's study) and LOVING it! If I haven't mentioned it before, well I'm studying Esther using Beth Moore's study and I love it! This past week, we watched one of the video sessions which focused mainly on when Esther tells Mordecai that she will go to the King and she says, "If I perish, I perish." Meaning, she will literally risk her life and go see the King without an invitation in order to fulfill what Mordecai has already told her, might be her destiny, and save the Jews from complete distruction. (Esther "Who knows but that you might have been placed here for such a time as this?") If you've not read the book of Esther in a while, or ever, go read it!
The most profound thing (to me) that Beth Moore says in her video is that we can let our fear keep us from our calling. Our destiny. I can think of so many examples in my life where I have let fear keep me from doing something that might have changed a path in my life or a path in someone else's life. I firmly believe that none of my choices or times when I have let fear rule over me change ANYTHING about God, His plan or purpose for my life or anyone else's. God is God and His plan will be fulfilled, the issue is whether or not I will let fear keep me from being a part of that plan.
Stick with me here...
Last night Chris and I went on a wonderful date night and saw the Movie, The Blind Side. Such a great, great movie! What struck me the most was Sandra Bullock's character. She did NOT live in fear. From opening her home (a ginormous, beautiful home) to a large, wandering, African-American male, to hunting down his mama in the projects, to confronting a group of men who were threatening her and her family when she was very outnumbered. I kept thinking throughout the movie that this is exactly a case where fear could have kept her from her destiny...and in that case, her fear could have kept Michael Ohrer from his destiny.
I pray for courage like that. I do not want to live in fear any longer. I don't think until this week, I've ever fully realized that fear does have it's hold on me. In.Everyday.Life. I don't tell friends who don't know Jesus about his amazing love, for fear of losing that friendship. I don't try to befriend the other parents at Pre-school for fear of being rejected. I don't always obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit to reach out to a friend or stranger because I fear being misunderstood, seeming too desperate, trying to hard, being rejected.
It's time to kick fear in it's rear and live like Queen Esther, making my motto, "If I perish, I perish." And the reality is, MOST, if not all, of the things in my life that fear keeps me from, will not put me in a position where perishing is even an option!
So, I ask, What is fear keeping you from?

A peek inside my crazy brain!

My thought process for the past 5 days, no joke!
(Completely out of nowhere) Day 1: "Woah, I really want an egg salad sandwich...do I even like egg salad?...it seems like a lot of work to make, maybe tomorrow"
Day 2: "What should I have for lunch...EGG SALAD SANDWICH...do I even like that stuff, it seems like a lot of work to make, maybe tomorrow I won't be craving it anymore"
Day 3: "EGG SALAD SANDWICH...I know if I make it I won't want to eat it and it will be such a waste of eggs, which the boys love and eat all the time...oh, it sounds so good...when was the last time I had an egg salad sandwich...do I even like that stuff?...maybe tomorrow"
Day 4: "Darn, I really want an egg salad sandwich...I guess I should figure out how to make it...ugh! I can't stand the thought of boiled eggs right now...is there somewhere I can buy one? Maybe tomorrow"
Day 5: "SERIOUSLY! This craving will not go away! I've gone through the process of making one, but I still see myself in the end not wanting to eat the stupid sandwich...Craving, GO AWAY! If I still have the desire then for sure tomorrow, I'll make an egg salad sandwich!!"

Does anyone have any idea how to make the darn thing, because obviously, it's what the baby wants? Is it just eggs, mayonnaise and mustard? HELP!
Also craving Mt. Dew, much easier to satisfy!

Back in the Saddle Again!

3rd times a charm, right? After my 2nd loong blogging break, I've decided to have another whack at it. (And apparently, I'm putting as many cliche sayings as possible in this first post back).
In order to ease myself back into the blogosphere, I've stolen this survey from one of my favorite blogs, babybangs.blogspot.com, the answers are mine, of course! Welcome back to my blog!


...As if you needed to know more about me...

1. What is your favorite thing to snack on while your blogging?
Since I've not been much of a blogger, I'll answer the question more generally...my most favorite night time snack is a bowl of cereal. I'll usually eat whatever we have on hand, but every time I get groceries, I am on a search for the best night time cereal snack...my usual go-to-Frosted Mini-Wheats, although I wish both sides were frosted!

2. What is one thing you wouldn't want to live without?
My family

3. Beach, Mountains, or Farm? Where would you live if you had a choice?
Absolutely, without a doubt, the beach!!!

4. What's your least favorite chore/household duty?
Laundry, it's my arch enemy

5. Who do people say you remind them of?
Good question, I really don't know. Based on looks alone, I'm sure they would say Giselle, you know the supermodel...OR NOT! :D

6. Prefer parties and socializing or staying home with the fam?
I like a really good mix of the 2. I love being out with friends, but I crave my time at home with our little family as well.

7. What's your all time favorite movie?
For Love of the Game, with Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston. It's a baseball movie and when it came out I was a HUGE baseball fan (I still like the game, but I'm not as dedicated as I was then) It's still one of my favorites

8. Do you sleep in your make-up or remove it like a good little girl every night?
Oh, I sleep in it!

9. Do you have a hidden talent or a deep desire to learn something that you've never had a chance to learn? What is it?
I have always, always wanted to sing good enough to be on a worship team or in a worship band. I can not sing to save my life, I'm terrible! I'm fairly certain that God knows I would not be humble enough to ever lead people in worship.

10. What's one strange thing you're really good at?
Making people laugh

11. What first attracted you to your spouse?
The font he used...you know, because we met on the internet! (See, that made you laugh, didn't it?)

12. What is something you love to smell?
I cannot answer this question without first saying that I have NEVER smelled so many offensive things as I have since I've been pregnant. My sense of smell is more sensitive than it's ever been, and I've vomited twice just because of an odor. Now, something I love to smell, is this little tiny hat that my giant boys wore home from the hospital after each of their births. I've saved it in a special place and once in a while I'll pull it out and sniff it...one good whiff of the hat and I can almost feel my babies in my arms again!!

13. Tell something about you that you know irritates people.
Silence makes me uncomfortable, and because of that I am a terrible interrupter of people...especially on the telephone!!

14. When you have extra money, what's the first thing you think to do with it?
Go out for dinner somewhere nice without the kids!

15. Are you a silent laugher or a loud laugher? What makes you laugh the hardest?
I'm loud and if I laugh hard enough, an occasional snort gets thrown in. Chris Gray makes me laugh the hardest. Especially when he is just being a DORK!

16. Where is your favorite place to shop?
I'm a Target girl. I love it for everything, and especially for the Starbucks located within.

17. What's one thing you'd do more often if you had more time?
I would write more and read more!

18. Are you a big spender or frugal?
I'm not very good at being frugal, but it's one of my goals for 2010.

19. Who is your favorite character of all time?
Fozzie the Bear

20. Would you want to be famous?
Maybe a little famous for a long time, or a lot famous for a short amount of time

So, there you have it! I hope to back with a bit more regularity, but I'm making no promises this time!