Quinoa, Quinoa, Bo Binoa, Banana Fa fana fo Finoa....

My time is running out (or at least I anticipate it is) and so I must take the time to blog about the biggest and most significant difference in having a pregnancy take me by surprise and being able to plan for one: My Health.

Not only for the first time am I able to start my prenatal pills early like I am supposed to, but I have been able to put myself on a pre-pregnancy diet and work out routine. What does this diet look like you ask? Well basically this:

Grilled Chicken (or fish), Green vegetable (lots of them) and Quinoa and thats it. EVERYNIGHT for the last 2 months. Yes Joe has been doing it too (for his own reasons) and yes my kids eat it as well (but they get suckers after dinner!) I also eat non fat yogurt for breakfast, and have bran cereal for lunch. I am not super strict if there is a reason to cheat, like date night or sunday afternoon pancakes. But I never let myself cheat for no reason because I find that there is so often a good reason at least once a week. I do plan on keeping to this diet (very loosely) when I am pregnant because we all know I will be cheating often! So if I can keep to it as much as possible then great! Working out is nothing new, I go through spurts of devotion and then I get a little too chill about it. Of course right now I am much more devoted :) So why do I tell you all this? Well, I am just giddy over the results!!!! 10 freaking pounds lighter than when I got pregnant with Elinor (and she was my first)!!!! That means I am 20 pounds lighter than when I got pregnant with Charley (which means I don't even want to talk about those days anymore). I actually feel like I can take this pregnancy on and KICK IT IN THE BUTT!! Bring on those cravings! Bring on that "never-ending-pit-in-your-stomach" kind of hunger pains! Because I conquered my worst fears and lost my "I never thought I would lose you so I better just be thrilled with the 2 beautiful children I brought into the world, weight." And now I am ready to to go for this third pregnancy and maybe, just maybe have a little more control over how it effects my body.

First Time for Everything

Elinor is just about 3 1/2 years old. Charley is 19 months old. The time has come for Joe and I to decide if we are a family of 5 or a family of 4. Why must we decide now you ask? Well because neither of us ever wanted there to be a large age gap between our kids. So come May we will begin "trying" (I know the term is horrible) for our third (and Lord willing final) baby. Now I will tell why this is and incredibly significant and momentous occasion. Joe and I have never before been able to plan for a baby. BOTH our first children were surprises! I won't start explaining in a very public blog about how, in our case, our babies were surprises. But BELIEVE me, they were.

Anyways, I just have to sheepishly admit that for someone who has never really ever enjoyed pregnancy all that much, I am kinda actually a little bit EXCITED to start trying....... did I just say that out loud?!?! (Well no, in fact Christie, you did not, you typed it in your blog, moron) Well you get the point. I have also chosen to blog through this pregnancy, if God will's for there to be a pregnancy.

The goals will be :

-To stop an appreciate life exactly as it is at the moment in all it's chaos and exhaustion

-To focus on the differences in every pregnancy I have been through and especially this pregnancy

-To document this pregnancy in a way that will be meaningful to me in years to come

And since I am not a shy girl, this will be on my blog for all to see! Don't worry it will be very appropriate for all audiences. Maybe you will enjoy it! God Bless!

Training Them Up.....

The burden of training my kids up in the Lord has been weighing heavily on me this past year. I often feel extremely inadequate to be doing this job the Lord has given

me to do. I am pretty sure I am not a "grown up" and yet somehow here I am, with the responsibility of these two precious little souls......or that is how it feel. And then I remember (sometimes from a good kick in the pants from dear friends and family) that it is NOT my job to save my children and that God's yoke is indeed light, when we allow Him to carry our burdens for us. I am at my weakest, most devastated and exhausted when I become so selfish as to believe that I am the one who can MAKE my children good, smart, pleasant, christlike etc. because, I, myself am a wonderful, spirit-filled, disciplined, Christlike woman. The problem is, I begin to act a part instead of actually being any of those things and I become further and further away from the Lord because worry and self doubt become an idol to me. The good news is, God, in all His loving kindness, has never allowed me to stray too far. And eventually I am always brought back to my senses and reminded that it is Christ and His word alone that can bring me peace, hope and any wisdom I need in parenting. So with that burden lifted OFF my shoulders, I am then FREE to pursue what truly is my job! And that is to train my children, as best I can, in the Lord and hold to His promises. (Proverbs 22:6) This is when I am deeply grateful for training tools that are biblically sound and fun for my kids. There is so much, can I say, "Crap" out there, even within the Christian genre. That is why, when I do find something that I love, I get REALLY excited about it. Here is a small list of things I am just really, really excited about right now for my kids:

"The Jesus Storybook Bible tells the Story beneath all the stories in the Bible. At the center of the Story is a baby, the child upon whom everything will depend. Every story whispers his name. From Noah to Moses to the great King David—every story points to him. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle—the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together. From the Old Testament through the New Testament, as the Story unfolds, children will pick up the clues and piece together the puzzle. A Bible like no other, The Jesus Storybook Bible invites children to join in the greatest of all adventures, to discover for themselves that Jesus is at the center of God's great story of salvation—and at the center of their Story too."

I am in LOVE with this Bible. I cried when I read the first page. It begins with the premise that all little kids (who grow up to be adults) are smitten with the idea of a prince, a hero, a rescuer...... but that there is no human that can possibly fill this need. However God provided us with the perfect prince, the hero of all heros, the ultimate rescuer, Jesus. This bible bridges the gap between the Old and New Testament for kids that I never fully understood until I was an adult. And most importantly, it is a wonderful aid in evangelizing to my kids. Even though it is a little over Elinor's head right now, it has already opened doors for her to ask great questions about who Jesus is and how much He loves her.

Sovereign Grace Music puts out some really awesome music. And this CD is seriously awesome. There are two things I really love about this cd: 1) The music is actually GOOD! (I even like it for myself even though it is kids music) and 2) The words and message of the songs are straight out of the scriptures. Its not full of silly kid music nonsense but actual words that can be hidden away in my kid's hearts! This particular album focuses on the fruits of the spirit and there is a song for each fruit. Here is an example of one of the songs that I absolutely love. It is jammed full of biblical truth:

Peace, You give me peace

When the storms come and I’m afraid

Peace, You give me peace

When I trust in the words You say

You give me peace

If You can calm the sea Then You can comfort me

If winds obey Your voice Why should I fear their noise

And though my eyes can’t see I know You’re with me

When someone starts to fight And does things I don’t like

I hear Your gentle voice Saying I have a choice

To make an enemy Or to spread Your peace

Isn't that truly beautiful? I just love it.....

And finally, I am REALLY excited about this book. Elinor just got it for her birthday and it is amazing. I have known about R.C. Sproul's children books for awhile now and I have wanted to buy them, but they are a little bit old for my kids so I have held off. But this book is definitely the one to start with. It is so rich with wonderful theology written in a magical fantasy that any little girl or boy would be drawn to. Here is a summary I found:

Summary

In The Lightlings, Dr. R.C. Sproul weaves an allegorical tale that captures the essence of the biblical story of redemption in a manner that will fascinate and delight children. A race of tiny beings known as lightlings are a picture of humanity as they pass through all the stages of the biblical drama - creation, fall, and redemption. In the end, children will understand why some people fear light more than darkness, but why they need never fear darkness again.

So there you have it! When the dog bites, when the bee stings......these are a few of my favorite things :)