Merry CHRISTmas!

Merry Christmas! We've decided to take it easy this year for Christmas. I never understood people who talked about struggling with sadness around the holidays after they lost someone that they love. I always thought that, if nothing else, Christmas time would cheer them up and distract them for just a little while. I think that was insensitive of me, or at the very least naive. I think that next year, with our new baby in our arms, Christmas will start to hold joy again. We'll be able to share our love and God's love with a new little person. But for this year, Christmas just holds memories, and sometimes the fact that things are just "memories" now, a past that is gone, is sad. However, I do know that my dad is having the Christmas of his life! He's celebrating in heaven with the One who came to earth to save us. How much better could it get?!

In other news, we found out that we're having a baby boy! We're so excited! It really feels "real" now, and we're starting to get busy making things ready for this baby. I can't believe that I'm almost in my third trimester. I'm starting to look a little bit more pregnant now and can't wait until I fill out even more (to the point where there would be no confusion on other people's part as to whether I'm pregnant or just gobbling a few too many Christmas cookies!). I also can't wait to start making things for this baby, but first we have to clean out his nursery and move all my sewing stuff downstairs. What I really need to do is to go through all the craft stuff I have and eliminate about half of it and that sounds like a major pain! Actually maybe I'll get started on that today, what a perfect Christmas present to myself, not to mention Bill, to get that out of the way! We'll have to take pictures of our progress as we work on the room!

Have a very Merry Christmas and may God bless you in this coming year!

One Month

My dad went home to be with his Lord and Savior one month ago today. I miss my dad more than I could ever imagine possible. He was my hero, one of my very, very best friends, and a better dad than many will ever know. Through his own example, he taught me what unconditional love looks like. He brightened all of my days with his gentle spirit, contagious smile, and silly jokes. He showed me that the best things in life aren't things and how wonderful it is to not be be anxious about the temporal worries of this world. Most of all, he loved the Lord with all his heart and demonstrated to me what a pure, wholehearted relationship with God looks like and how greatly it impacts our earthly relationships.

I can't wait until the day when he welcomes me to heaven, when I will be able to hug him and talk to him again, and when we will no longer be apart. I cannot even begin to describe the blessing that God has given to me through my dad and, I am sure He will continue to bless others through him, even after his death. I praise the Lord for the time I have had with my dad, every day was precious. God is good and His ways are perfect. He will ever amaze me with what He has in store for myself and my family. And just as my dad would always tell me, I know that God has a plan for us.

"The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised."
Job 1:21

I will love my dad forever.

Blessed be His name . . .

Blessed be Your name in the land that is plentiful

Where Your streams of abundance flow, Blessed be Your name

And blessed be Your name when I’m found in the desert place,

Though I walk through the wilderness Blessed be your name

Every blessing You pour out I’ll turn back to praise

And when the darkness closes in Lord, Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name when the sun’s shining down on me

When the world’s “all as it should be”

Blessed be Your name

And blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering

Though there’s pain in the offering Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away You give and take away

Still my heart will choose to say Lord, blessed be Your name

These lyrics to a song by a great band have been on my heart today. Sometimes things aren't the way that we would have made them to be if we were the Master Planner, isn't that right? Whether it's losing your health or losing your car keys, life doesn't always go the way we want it to. The choice comes in what to do with the bumps in the road of life, be they overwhelmingly large or tiny.

When the going gets tough, what is our response to God? Do we give praise to the Lord in all circumstances? I'll tell you from experience, that is not an easy, "natural" (from the aspect of a sin nature) thing to do. So many times, I have been thankful that God's grace is stronger than my faith, that He understands when my heart is weak, and lifts me when I fall. It also took me a long time to realize this. Sometimes He's all there is, and for that I'll say blessed be His name.

Often, He uses the weakest among us to bring the most glory to Him and to shine for Him most brightly. Everyone around that person knows that they can shine for no other reason (personal success, accomplishment, satisfaction with life, etc.), except from the love of the Lord. This has been the most amazing thing to see through my dad's cancer. There are all sorts of poems about what cancer can't take away: strength, dignity, purpose, the list goes on. In my experience, I have seen that the only thing cancer can't remove is the presence of the Lord in a person's life. Even after all is stripped away - memory, physical strength, coherence - a person's love for the Lord can still shine right through a deteriorating body.

As my dad continues fighting his cancer (through medicine, but mostly through faith), only the important things remain in his life: his love for God and his family. It's beautiful to see the things that, years ago at the beginning of his fight, fell away. He lost his desire for money, for personal fulfillment, for worldly fun, for the best material possessions, for independence, for knowledge. All that remains are family and the Lord. I rejoice for the gift of my dad and for the blessings that God will continue to pour through his life. I know that all things are possible through God. I also know that, whatever God gives us, we will choose to say "Blessed be Your name."

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

I Thessalonians 5:16-18

One Cool Bro

So often in families, it seems as if genius is concentrated into one set of genes, delivered specifically to one child. My little brother, Ryan, is that child. He's a smarty alright, and I am the proud sister. I just found this clip of my brother's senior recital from this past spring, right before he graduated as a dual major mathematician/first-in-his-class piano extraordinaire. He says the two are related. I don't know, I think that peanuts and rocky-road ice cream are related. Although I technically understand, the relationship between music and advanced mathematical theorems gives me doubts.

Regardless, it was so cool to hear this in-person last spring. He really rocked the house, in a classical sort of way. (To hear him, click on the above link and check out the right side of the web page. His clip is the third from the top, titled "Clips from 2007 Senior Recital: Ryan Ransdell".)

Have a great day!

How have you been?

We're all doing fine here - all three of us! I'm into my 12th week of pregnancy and things are going great! This is the last week of my first trimester, so I'm almost a third of the way through, and we're starting to settle into this pregnancy even more. We're so thankful that our baby looks healthy and that everything is going smoothly.

I'm feeling great most of the time and really haven't started to "feel" too pregnant yet (except when I'm cooking - yuck! - and visiting the bathroom several times each night - maybe I need to stop drinking so much before bed!). Last Tuesday at Bible study, I felt a strange tapping/fluttering/bubbling feeling. I know it's a little early to feel the baby move, and I haven't felt that sensation since (which would make sense as the baby has so much room in there right now), but I can't help but think that's what the feeling was. I have my next doctor's appointment a week from today, so I'll let you know how it goes.

We're starting to clear out the room we're using for the baby's nursery and getting ready to paint and begin setting up. We're thinking about painting it a color that will work for either a boy or a girl (maybe a robin's egg/aqua color), since we plan on keeping that room as the nursery for any other babies we have in the future. We're planning on finding out the baby's gender, and we'll be able to decorate the room to be a little more gender-specific after that.

We're pretty excited and will definitely post pictures as things (including my stomach) develop!

Menu Plan Monday - I mean Tuesday

So, I think I'm going to start planning a menu each week. Since I've been pregnant, the thought and process of cooking has been less than appealing (shall we say tending toward repulsive). So, that means that either: I search around at the last minute for a recipe that looks half way decent, prepare it while trying not to think about it too much, and end up being grossed out enough not eat it, serve it to Bill and make something quick for myself, or we go out to eat. Neither option seems to be working very well for our stomachs, our sanity, or our budget. Since I'm almost at the end of my first trimester and I'm starting to feel better (actually, it hasn't been bad at all, most queasiness being centered around the preparation of food for some reason), I decided that I needed to come up with a better way of doing things.

I felt inspired last night and decided to figure out what we are eating this week, and I'm pretty excited about it (wow, what does that say about my life?). I thought I'd share it with you, too. I found a whole group of people that plan their menus each week and post them on Organizing Junky's Menu Planning Mondays (I checked out a few this week and used some of their recipes). So here ya go! I'll let you know if any of these meals turn out to be extra amazing.

Monday: Pasta e Fagioli (this was a very tasty, easy recipe)
Tuesday: Taco Salad (I may also try to make these cool tortilla bowls I saw in a cookbook)
Wednesday: Broccoli Fontina Frittata (using whatever cheese I have in my fridge - maybe mozzarella and Swiss?)
Thursday: Chicken with Tomatoes
Friday: Homemade Pizza
Saturday and Sunday: Leftovers (I also want to try these Soft Pretzel Bites for snack - this girl has some good cookin' goin' on)

We'll see how it goes! Have a fun week!

Adding two feet to our home in April . . .

Guess what? We found out that we will be adding two feet to our home in April. Two baby feet, that is! We're having a baby!

We are so very excited and can't wait for the arrival of our little "snuggles" (a temporary nickname and, oddly, also the name of our old pet iguana) on or around April 15th. This will be the best "tax day" ever! Everyone is doing great, and we'll be able to hear the heartbeat in two weeks!

One Cute Niece

Since we really haven't posted many pictures lately, I thought I'd re-introduce my two favorite cuties - my nieces! I found some adorable, recent pictures of my niece Lily. She just turned seven months and is such a sweetie. She is becoming so adventurous as she is crawling, walking, and trying to feed herself! So, without further ado, here's Lily . . .

I like to feed myself (well, I try to feed myself!).

I'm a walkin' girl now! Just give me some furniture or hands to hold onto, and I can move all around the room!
One cool chickie!

Lily and Aunt Tara

What a smile!

I like to read books with Grandpa. He even let's me turn the pages!

Now, I just need to pull out my camera and get some pictures of my other sweet niece, Kailey. That will have to be another post!

Gonzo

Here's Gonzo being his cute little self!

x2

I am an aunt x2! I am so proud of my sister who gave birth to my adorable neice, Lily Ann, on Sunday, January 7th at 4:32pm. It was incredible to be with her while she was in labor and see Lily right after she was born. She is beautiful and such a snuggler! I love you so much sweet pea, you are a blessing to the family!

Here she is getting ready for the hospital pictures!

Getting ready to go home. So sleepy!

Hello In There . . . Hello

Long time, no type-y. Seems as if I am a neglectful blogger. Good thing there is not a special blog unit of the department of social services or my name would be mud (gosh, I don't think I've heard anyone say that since . . . well, maybe second grade). Anyway, hello there again!

So, how have you been? Anything new in your world? Want to know what we've been up to lately? No, you say? Sorry Charlie! Well ok . . . I'll just give you the highlights:

- Gonzo has grown! He's now somewhere in the ballpark of 14 pounds. He is also no longer a boy. Well, maybe just a half-boy.
- Bill went to training in Biloxi, Mississippi for all of November and the first week of December. Katrina has definitely left her mark, he found. He's happy to be back home again after his short re-visit to the South. Gonzo and I missed him very much; we're glad he's back too!
- I love subbing! It's exactly what I'm meant to be doing right now. Don't you just love the peace you feel when you know you are in the place you are meant to be? Also, it's not everyday that you have to declare a room a "cootie-free zone" or hear about someone's imaginary invisible pet. Boy, do I have some funny stories to tell (funny, if you like first grade humor).
- I am an aunt again! Having two nieces is so much fun. We love them both a ton!
- We were, very generously, given a digital camera for Christmas! Actually, we were given two (great families think alike!). That means pictures! For you!
- We (by "we", I mean me and Gonzo) stayed pretty busy painting the main level of our house before Christmas. We wanted to surprise Bill. He was more than happy to miss out on the thrilling event of painting! The walls are no longer white. They are now a very exciting shade of off-white (well, more tan-ish, I guess).
- We were able to spend lots of time with family over the holidays. It's so nice to live close to our family, and is such a treat to see all of our out-of-town family each time they visit.

Let's see, I think that all the excitement around here. Hopefully we'll be better at updates. If not, I give you permission to call the update police and the negligence-sniffing canines. Ha!

Hope you all are having a blessed New Year! Take care!