by Bethe

The Mullet Quilt

For my mama’s birthday I just knew I wanted to make her a quilt. It was a big milestone birthday and it deserved to be marked with an extra-special gift.

And then I got that pesky morning sickness that is STILL lingering, and all of my quilting dreams went out the window. I haven’t even turned on my sewing machine since November. I would have gone through withdrawals if I had had the energy to care… but you and I know that when you’re too sick to care about taking a shower, you don’t give two thoughts to things like crafts. (PS – I’m showering again, in case you were worried.)

But God came through in his perfect timing, just like he always does, and granted me a nausea-free day (and a day off!) just a few days before the party. So after a marathon session in my beloved but lately neglected sewing studio, I was able to whip out this little beauty. I call her my Mullet Quilt. You know why? Becuase it’s neutral in the front…

And a party in the back.

I was determined to branch out from my regular chevron pattern, but (1) I found these two gray fabrics and fell in love, and (2) it’s already getting hard for me to get up and down off the floor, and I’m getting pretty fast at whipping out chevron patterns and don’t have to do as much work on my hands and knees laying out patterns. I have a feeling the more pregnant I get, the less time I’ll be spending crawling around on the floor. Which means Baby Girl may be getting a chevron quilt too (which would be fitting, because it’s my favorite pattern).

I quilted a straight line along the zig-zags to make the pattern pop. I bought the fabric at my new favorite quilting store, Cabbage Rose in Fort Worth, and it’s so unbelievably soft. And gorgeous. Mr. Right talked me into buying the crazy floral backing, and I’m now so in love with it that I may use some of it for the nursery. He’s good at making me branch out of my comfort zone like that.

Later this week I’ll post about the party we threw my mama for her big birthday. In the meantime, happy birthday mom – I love you! And I can’t wait to get back to my sewing machine for the next project.

by Bethe

15 Seconds of Fame and a Blogging Update

I’m sorry I haven’t been blogging lately – actually, I’m not really sorry, if I can be completely honest. One thing this pregnancy weirdness has done has released me from the overwhelming need to do things. To perform. Because basically, I couldn’t do much of anything for so long, and now that I can, well, I’ve settled into a nice little routine of doing what is important to me, and putting off what isn’t until another day.

Not that this blog isn’t important to me. It has documented seven years of my life. It has brought me friends like you. But what isn’t as important to me right now is keeping up with the Blogging Joneses. Monitoring my hits. Worrying about marketing. Right now it just doesn’t seem as important as growing tiny toenails inside my belly. Hanging out with my husband. Going to bed early (I could get used to this).

Besides, I’ve been pretty busy. Last weekend, I volunteered at the Cowtown Marathon all weekend. I’ve been on their board for eight races now (am I getting old?), and I must tell you that I feel like I’m reuniting with family every year when we put on that crazy event for 26,000+ runners (gasp) and all their favorite loved ones. It is one giant spectacle and I love every part of it.

It’s also exhausting – it means working all weekend, waking up at the crack of dawn. Usually there’s manual labor involved (although the sweet folks gave me a sit down job all weekend – I felt so spoiled!). But at the end of the craziness, we have done something huge. We have given folks that once-in-a-lifetime experience. We’ve helped them achieve a life goal. I love everything about it.

This year, the highlight of the weekend was getting to be on TV – I was interviewed by our local news about the race, and it seems everybody I know saw it but me (that’s what happens when you’re fast asleep well before the 10:00 news). It was fun because I knew the reporter, and he very kindly cropped out my growing baby bump (which in the shirt I was wearing looked more like a beer belly gone wrong). As someone who prides herself on always being behind the camera for work, it was a way to step out of my comfort zone and have a little fun at the same time. Plus I was having another pregnancy-induced good hair day (thanks prenatal vitamins!).

So now you know what I’ve been doing when I haven’t been behind my computer. I promise I’m still here, and I’m not going anywhere.

by Bethe

Baby kicks and baby bumps and a nesting confessional

1. Thanks to everyone who prayed for Mr. Right as he preached at that youth retreat last weekend. It went GREAT! Some of my very proudest moments are when I sit in the audience and get to watch him preach Jesus from the pulpit. It’s like all those years of praying for a godly man were answered in a way much better than I had ever hoped, and those moments I’m reminded that God hears my prayers and in his perfect timing (in this case, 7 years after I started praying this fervant prayer), he responds.

I should also mention that Mr. Right looked super cute while up there preaching. Not that it matters, but he did.

2. I felt Baby Right kick for the first time on Sunday! I felt some tiny punches to my lower left belly as I watched a movie – more than the flutter I’d been waiting for – more like a flick. Ever since I’ve been feeling more and more – it’s so exciting to feel that little life in that growing belly of mine.

3. Speaking of bellies – here’s some belly pictures.

16 Weeks

17.5 Weeks

18 Weeks

4. Speaking of bellies and babies – I finally hit that second trimester sweet spot, where I want to do things besides lay on the couch and watch TV. I spent my free time this weekend quilting and writing on my book and organizing my house. I now know why women nest during pregnancy – it’s because during that first trimester they’re so sick that they let EVERYTHING go (and I mean EVERYTHING), and by the time they start feeling better, their house is so out of sorts that they absolutely HAVE to nest or they’ll lose their mind. At least, that’s what I hear other people do. Not me. My house hasn’t become a disorganized mess. No way. Uh uh. (nods head “no”).

Let’s be real y’all – the more visible areas of our house have been somewhat clean thanks to our cleaning lady, whom we paid for when we got rid of our cable (greatest decision EVER in the history of the world). But the only way I’ve been able to “clean up” for the cleaning lady is by throwing things in every cabinet, drawer, closet or pantry I could get my hands on, which means if you opened a single door in my house, you were liable to have something fall on your head. At least, in all areas except for Mr. Right’s, since he is one of those rare guys who actually picks up after himself and stays organized (thank goodness there’s one of us in this relationship). So, this weekend I cleaned out, threw out, and organized my way back to a little bit of sanity in our home. And it feels amazing. And I hope it lasts for at least a week or two.

5. And finally – I want to leave you with this picture of Mr. Right and our nephew Luke from dinner last night. Does this not make your heart melt? I’m not sure what I’m going to do when he’s holding our own baby – probably cry a lot. You know, the good kind of tears.

by Bethe

A date, an emergency, and a preacher

Finally… a date night!

I’m not normally a big Valentine’s girl. Mr. Right makes me feel loved all year long (and plans really thoughtful and elaborate dates), so I never thought we’d put much pressure on Valentine’s. But I was too sick to celebrate Christmas, and too sick to celebrate our anniversary, and we’ve postponed our annual anniversary weekend get-away over and over until I felt better (sweet Baby Right, you owe me). We really haven’t had a good date night in 18 weeks – we’ve tried a few times, but they usually end up with me getting sick in the middle and us rushing home so I can go straight to bed. Not exactly romantic.

So this year, we decided to do Valentine’s extra big. Mr. Right got us reservations (two weeks early!) at one of the trendiest new restaurants in Fort Worth, and we both exchanged big (for us) presents. I’ll be making several visits to the spa, thanks to my cute man. What a treat.

The night was filled with romance and deep conversations and lot’s of laughing. My evening was completely nausea free (praise the Lord!), I even ate the food (yea!), and felt totally and completely spoiled.

 And then there was an emergency…

Last night, while lying in bed at 4:00 in the morning we awoke to the sound of our burglar alarm going off. Mr. Right chivalrously jumped out of bed and ran to the front door to see what was wrong, and found that someone had gotten our front door open, setting off our alarm (which is so loud they can hear it from outer space). We think someone tried to break in, heard our alarm go off, and ran away.

Between you and me, the bad guy is lucky he didn’t get a gun-toting “Texas Welcome,” if you know what I mean. The alarm probably did more to save him than us. But it was scary nonetheless, and we spent the rest of the night with racing hearts trying to calm down.

I’m by nature a fearful person, and I refuse to let this bad guy steal my peace. But prayers are welcome, so I feel just as bold tonight when I crawl into bed and the house is dark and quiet.

Speaking of prayers…

Mr. Right is preaching a youth retreat this weekend for a local church. Please say a prayer for him as he gives FOUR sermons – and pray for the teenagers on the receiving end, that they will be blessed and challenged and know Jesus more when they leave than when they arrive. My heart is welling with pride today. And, to be honest, my eyes are a bit droopy from my 4:00 a.m. wake-up call.

by Bethe

Don’t waste your pretty: A Valentine’s Pep Talk

***This blog post first ran on February 14, 2012, and was originally given as a Sunday School lesson/pep talk in 2010 to a group of single women in their 20s-30s back before I ever dated Mr. Right. I hope you enjoy!

I was single for 30 years, and the I will admit that I used to hate Valentine’s Day, because it was just highlighting the fact that I was still single. Probably the only one – or so it seemed. So a few years ago I gave this pep talk to my Sunday School class to encourage my fellow single friends that we could survive our single years, and not only survive… but do it fabulously. Here’s what I told them:

How to survive your single years:

1. Your fabulousness isn’t determined by your relationship status.
Sometimes that’s hard to remember when you see all your friends post pics of their beautiful husbands/boyfriends/babies, and you’re home hanging out with your Schnoodle. But whether or not you have a Valentine does not determine your value.

2. No pity dates. Learn to say no.
It seems like yesterday. I was 24. I had a boyfriend. And yet some sweet clueless boy in my singles group at church cornered me and asked me on a date. To a Joel Olsteen rally. (I couldn’t make this up.) I was so caught off-guard, and so worried about hurting this poor boy’s feelings that I panicked and blurted out “I’ll email you.” My boyfriend was obviously mad when I told him, and it just delayed the inevitable rejection. From that point on I decided that I would learn to be good at saying no. And I did. It’s a great life skill to have. I found that boys really do want a direct answer – and for you, it’s like ripping off a band-aid… you can just get it over with.

No pity dates girls. Even if he tells you that God told him you’re the Ruth to his Boaz. If God didn’t tell you, it’s okay to say NO.

3. Never, never, NEVER settle. Don’t waste your pretty.
We all know that the bible says not to be unequally yoked. Meaning, if you’re a believer, then you need to only date believers. No missionary “I can change him!” dating. Don’t even dip your toe in the water, or you may fall in.

But it’s not just because God wants to take away your fun and eliminate what seems like 95% of the hot guy dating pool. God has a better plan for you – check out Ephesians 5:25-33 and know that having a husband who “washes you with the Word” is such a total treat. Wait for a man who will pray for you. Who will lead you and your children well. Who will love you in the same sacrificial, intentional way that Christ loves his church. It’s worth the wait, even if it seems like you have to wait forever. I promise.

4. Being single doesn’t mean there’ something wrong with you. God’s plans are bigger than that.
Well-meaning people used to infer that people were single because God had some work he needed to do in their hearts. Like somehow the entire singles department was made up of weirdos, and the entire young marrieds department had everything together.

Ummm… have you seen some of the crazy people who are married out there?  God’s still going to still refine you after marriage. Probably more. But there may be other reasons why you’re still single.

You may be single because God wants to use you to encourage another single girl. I think God kept me single for what seemed like FOREVER because he wanted some older girls to encourage those sweet 22-year-old girls who thought life would end if they weren’t engaged when they got that college degree. My 29-year-old self showed them that life isn’t over if you aren’t living the white picket fence American dream. God is a whole lot more creative than the American dream.

Or, your Mr. Right may not be ready for you yet. God did a major work in my Mr. Right’s life, and we just wouldn’t have been a good fit a few years ago. Plus he lived in Colorado, and I would have hated long-distance dating. But when the time was right… he practically dropped in my lap. He moved suddenly from Oklahoma to Fort Worth and then drove FORTY-FIVE MINUTES to my church – I have assured him that I prayed him all the way here. So keep praying for your future man… he may have a long commute to get here.

5. Use this time to its fullest. Find an adventure.
For me, I decided I would use my time to travel. And I did – three trips to Europe, plus I traveled all over the US and to Mexico… basically anytime a friend or family member was up for a trip, I was the first to volunteer. And because of that, I watched sunsets on the beach in Greece and saw my Rangers beat the Yankees in New York. I also ran a half marathon, learned to quilt, got a master’s degree, took salsa lessons… no need to sit at home on Friday nights wondering where your man is. Go find an adventure.

6. Serve. Serve. Serve.
“Let us not become weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)

While you’re waiting for Mr. Right, keep yourself busy by serving others. You’ll end up having a blast, and when you’re focusing on others you have less time to sit and worry about when your prince charming will make his grand entrance.

7. Don’t be bitter. Don’t make all guys pay for the sins (or extreme stupidity) of just one.
“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger… be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Eph. 4:31-32)
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26)
There’s nothing uglier than bitterness. The cutest girls are the ones with sweet spirits.

8. When you DO date… don’t peace out on your church and your ministry.
We’ve all seen someone do the break-up walk of shame back to church… they fell in love and disappeared from the face of the planet. And then somebody changed their mind, and whoops, she’s back. Don’t be that girl. But if you see that girl… go love on her, because she probably could use a friend.

9. NEVER compromise your morals. Remember your lines and don’t cross them.
Know your limits in advance… because in the heat of the moment, when that cute guy looks at you with those big brown eyes… you’re probably not going to make good decisions. So already have your mind made up – it’s worth it.

10. Remember that God’s timing is PERFECT. He has a plan for you. He keeps his promises, and he has not forgotten about you.
“The Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him.” (Isaiah 30:18)

“Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” Hebrews 10:35-36

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust you.” Isaiah 26:3

So my fabulous friends… any other advice that I missed? How have you chosen to thrive?

 

by Bethe

Look who’s back

People have promised me all along that one day a switch would flip and I’d miraculously feel better.

That didn’t happen for me. You know I’ve had a bit of a rough go at this (everybody knows – I admit I’ve been a bit whiney). But little by little, over the past two weeks, I have started to feel better and better. Don’t get me wrong, there have been some rough moments (like my date last Friday with Mr. Right where I got sick at the restaurant and couldn’t eat any of my food and had to go home and go to bed – talk about a romantic evenening killer), but overall, I feel like a new person.

My head is clear. I’m getting hungrier. I’m staying up later (hello 9:30 – I haven’t seen you in awhile). I’m skipping doses of my nausea meds. I went to ESL.  I cooked dinner last night for the first time this pregnancy. I ate chocolate pie for dessert. And I didn’t regret it afterward.

I will not be running any marathons. I will still firecely guard my schedule. I will refrain from committing to anything big. But I can’t wait to go on a walk with my husband. To sit at my sewing machine. To organize my closet (oh my word, if you could see my closet you would not be my friend). To begin my day without fretting about how I will possibly make it through.

I’m back, my friends.

by Bethe

Bump Diaries: Maternity pants, where have you been all my life?

Being pregnant is kind of like becoming a living science experiment on display for everybody else to enjoy. The other day a 60-year-old woman, who is typically pretty conservative, told me, “Oh my goodness, your boobies are HUGE!”

Yes ma’am, I agree – they’re one step away from getting their own zip code.

(10 Weeks)

And I get it. I’m in on the joke. It is really strange to watch your body expand and change shape by the day. Or the hour, depending on if I had Mexican food for lunch. I’m kind of intrigued about just how big I’m going to get. And how I’m going to keep from toppling over.

(13 Weeks)

But there are still those weird expectations I place on myself. I’m sure I’m not the only one. Like, most of what I read said a first-time mom won’t show until around 16 weeks. And so, for some reason, that number has been in my head as the ideal time to start a bump. Unfortunately, my body decided to start growing a bump around 10 weeks. So I got six weeks of “Wow, you’re showing EARLY!”

And now I’ve magically hit the 16 week mark and I feel like I can finally be proud of this round belly of mine.

(14 Weeks)

We girls and our arbitrary rules. For this reason, I’ve avoided buying maternity pants, instead surviving off a belly band (man, those things are wonderful), and each week my pants zip a little less.

Last week Mr. Right brought me home some maternity capri pants that are work appropriate, and I decided to give them a try on a warm January day. IT WAS LIFE CHANGING. Like, the greatest thing ever. So great, in fact, that I wore those capri pants when it turned bone-chillingly cold. It didn’t matter – you couldn’t rip those maternity capris off my cold, dead body.

(15 Weeks)

And so this weekend I finally broke down and went to the pregnant lady store (which is SO unfashionable – but that’s another post), and bought two pairs of maternity skinny jeans and one pair of dress pants. And I am in heaven. I haven’t been this comfortable in 10 years.

(16 Weeks)

I have a waistband that rises all the way to my arm pits, and I’m okay with it.

 

 

by Bethe

Guest post – help me plan my nursery

I know I promised more on the gender reveal. And I have really great intentions, but to be honest I’ve spent most of this week watching TV and going to bed early. The good news is that I feel SO MUCH BETTER. In fact, I haven’t had a Zofran in 20 hours, and I’m still functioning.

This is huge.

So while I celebrate being drug-free today (minus my one full-octane coke of the day, which is my new substitute for coffee), please go over to this blog and see my guest post about creating a nursery. My blog friends were so helpful in the glider vs. stuffed rocker question (someone is giving us a glider – hooray!), and the bed vs. no bed in the nursery debate (it was unanimous – we’re going with no bed). It would absolutely make my day if you would leave any other sage, mom advice over on that blog today so that other women (and I) can enter this nursery-creating phase armed with good information.

Because, let’s face it. I am as clueless as they come.

And don’t worry – more on the gender reveal coming soon. Probably. Unless I get sucked into another Law & Order marathon, and then all bets are off.

by Bethe

It’s a…

I promised a post on Sunday but couldn’t wait to update my blog friends, so I’m doing a quick picture-less, graphic-less post from my iPad.

IT’S A GIRL!!!!

Pictures coming tomorrow. After all the excitement of our gender reveal party, I’m in bed at 8:30 and crashing hard.

I’m still in shock. A girl! We are going to have so much fun. And Mr. Right is going to be such a great dad to a little girl, don’t you think?

So blessed. My heart is full.

by Bethe

Last chance – what do you think this baby is?

Last night we went in for our 15-week sonogram, and being a little people-pleaser like his/her mama (or exhibitionist, in which case, we’re all in trouble) Baby Right went full spread eagle the moment the sonogram started. Way to go babe – apparently the tech got an up close and personal view. Way to cooperate for mama.

Now comes the hard part – waiting for the big reveal, which will happen Saturday night with both of our families and some of our close friends. It was killer to go to bed with that sealed envelope just BEGGING me to take a peak. But I’m the world’s WORST liar, so the last thing I could do was cheat and then pull it off – everybody would totally know. And so I’m in the dark, just like everybody else.

So in the meantime, I thought it would be fun to make predictions – what do YOU think Baby Right is? Here’s what others are saying:

Both of our moms, my father-in-law, and Mr. Right are convinced it’s a boy.

My sister and my dad are convinced it’s a girl.

And until this week, I was totally convinced it’s a girl. Between the nausea and the daily pimples, I’ve just known. Or, maybe it’s a symptom of me being too tired to wash my face properly before bed.

But for some reason, this week I haven’t been as sure. I only crave salty/savory foods right now (I can’t STAND anything sweet), and I’m carrying the baby low and in front, which tends to point toward boy. Then again, I haven’t had a good meal in almost four months, which could  account for the fact that I’m not carrying “baby girl weight” anywhere else. As soon as this nausea clears, all of that may change.

So there we go. I really have no idea. I’m going to be in love with whatever it turns out to be – whether it means a lifetime of hairbows and hairbraiding, or superheroes and football (Lord, I don’t think I can handle a lifetime of football).

PS–I dreamed I was feeding my baby last night – and it was a girl…

Leave your predictions below. I’ll let you know Sunday what we find out.