The Lord's Provision

So much has changed in the past few months, I still feel a little be swept off my feet to say the least.  I'm overwhelmed with the many ways I've been blessed recently, and I just had to share!

1) The Cowboy

Since December, I've been talking to this awesome guy living in Florida.  It's crazy how much we have in common, how easy it is to talk to him (phone calls until 3 am?)... In March, we finally met for the first time...and while there weren't sparks flying right away, I've never felt so comfortable around someone in my life.  (Those sparks definitely flew when he kissed me though!)  My family loves him, my pastor absolutely loves him...and I am very much in love with him.  It may seem fast to some people, but yes, we're talking marriage, and currently working on getting a job here.  No, he hasn't officially popped the question, but a September or October wedding seems to be a very good possibility if the Lord continues to provide like he has been!

Meg loves him too!

Now, by what name shall I refer to him on this blog?  For now, it's "The Cowboy"....you won't see him without his plaid shirts, blue jeans, cowboy boots and pickup truck.  Speaking of the truck....

2) New Truck

While it's possible to fit a baby carseat into a single cab pickup truck with a bench seat, it's not exactly the best situation.  The Cowboy's serious enough about me, he sold his '89 pickup for a newer one with a double cab that can easily fit Meg in the back seat!  But, what was absolutely crazy was how the Lord orchestrated everything - he bought the new truck for exactly what he'd sold his truck for!  And then, the new truck needed new tires, and he's got a coworker who's going to give him the exact tires he needs in almost brand-new condition for free!  That's crazy right there.  Both of us have been taken aback by how both the truck, and then the tires, were provided.

3) Clothing

It's such a small thing...but I had no clothes that fit me well!  My wardrobe was embarrassingly small to say the least.  Clothes were old and stretched out, or too large now that I've lost baby weight... I was looking at getting a few items for our upcoming vacations, but just going to Goodwill and other thrift stores can be so tiring.  I was given some hand-me-downs for Meg, and while sorting through them, I found several items that fit me perfectly!  Two nice shirts, two capris, two pairs of shorts, and two nice skirts!  And then I found two brand-new pair of jeans in a box of my old clothes that I didn't even know I had.  As if that wasn't enough, I found a couple of gift cards to Target and got myself a super-comfy maxi skirt! I don't need anything else for the summer now, and I'm very thankful for that.

How have you seen the Lord working in your life?  Please share!

Pretty Hairstyles

I love playing with hair.  And I love my flexi clips from Lilla Rose.  Last week, I did some pretty hairstyles on myself and my sister Purity, and then we took pictures of each other!  It was lots of fun, and I'm really happy how the pictures turned out.  Purity is a really good photographer for a 12-year-old, don't you think?

A tucked fishtail braid looked really good in Purity's hair.

Wearing: "Heart Bouquet" flexi in size Extra Small

Dutch braided bun

Wearing: "Turquoise Tranquility" in Medium

Gibson Tuck with headband

Wearing: "Hues of Blues" headband

Gibson Tuck

Wearing: the the hostess flexi (exclusive gift for those who host a Lilla Rose party) in Medium

Inverted Ponytail

Wearing: "Hues of Blues" headband and "Clearly Silver" Flexi-Oh! in Medium

I got earrings at the local farmers' market to match my flexi clip!

I have no idea what to call this, but it's pretty!

Wearing: "Turquoise Tranquility" in Medium

Half-up hairstyle

Wearing: "Flitter" in Mini

I love the slouch hat I got at the farmer's market too!  The bobby pins hold it on quite well.

Wearing: "Princess Tiara" bobby pins

I'm going to do some video tutorials of these hairstyles (and many more).  What hairstyles would you like to see me do?

Exciting news!

I'm super-duper excited!  Last week I became a consultant for Lilla Rose, and if you've never heard of them, they make the world's most adorable hair clips!  And better yet, they're really hair-friendly so no more split ends (I'm in the middle of trying to grow my hair long, super long, so this is really important to me)!

Here's some of my favorite styles they have:

My sister just bought a large in this style to hold her hair up every day.

And I just got a small for half-ups!  I think the copper and green will look stunning on my henna auburn hair!

And here's the Flexi of the month!  I'm seriously looking at my budget because I WANT ONE.  These will be sold out quite quickly, so I better move fast!

So retro!

Don't see a style you like?  You can always find more on the website!

Three months old!

Miss Meg will be three months old this weekend.  I can't believe it, my baby is growing up so fast!  She giggled for the first time this week.

Meg is a very good baby.  Breastfeeding is going well, although she likes to play with me and smile instead of eating!  She sleeps very well through the night, only waking up once or twice to eat; I don't know how I'd sleep at night if she wasn't cosleeping with me - those first six weeks, she wouldn't sleep for 15 minutes if I wasn't right beside her!  She's is able to sleep on her own now during the day, and can console herself, as long as she has her security blanket to play with!

Smile, Meg!

Meg's other nickname is Mickey.  The story behind that goes like this: Some time ago we got chicks from a bird hatchery called Murray McMurray.  My brother Joel then started calling Meg "Margaret McMargaret" which got shorted to "McMargaret" and now, "Mickey"!  I don't mind that, but I do put my foot down when it comes to "Marg" or "Margie" as Grace sometimes calls her; those are not okay!

In other news, I've been working as a seamstress in alterations now since March, and have been back at my job from maternity leave for 6 weeks.  However, I hope to be able to work entirely from home in the near future so I can spend more time with my baby.  I've been working quite hard on my Etsy business, so stay tuned as I will be posting some exciting updates in the next couple of days!

The cravings are here...

Yup, the cravings have started.  And no, it's not pickles and icecream.  Instead, I have the weirdest (for me) craving for Chinese food!  I've never liked Asian food.  But now, I'm desperately wanting beef and broccoli, egg rolls, and fried rice.  At least those are the few Chinese foods that I have liked to a small degree, but to be craving them?  Whatever....  But, I will attempt to make those dishes at home one night this week.  Here's hoping that it all turns out okay!

Warrant officers, Commanders, and a couple days of drill

Today I had drill with the National Guard.  I also helped the cadre out yesterday so I didn't have to drill tomorrow.  (Sunday as my day of rest is invaluable to me.  If I don't get to go to church and fellowship with other believers, the next week is very draining, physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.)

Anyways, my original plan was to join the Guard and after college go to flight school with the Army and become a warrant officer.  But, I was also planning that on not having kids....and here I am, going to be a single mom.  And I really don't know if I want to do that.  I was talking with my battle buddy, Sandage, about all that, and she agreed with me.  But then our other battle buddy, Abbot came up and was talking about how cool warrant officers were, and I offhandedly mentioned that I had joined to become a warrant officer and didn't know if that was going to happen now, and he said, "Oh, you WILL become one."

I don't know.  On one hand, I want to fly for the Army, very badly.  On the other hand, as a mother, let alone a single one, I do not want to leave my child, nor do I feel it is wise to put myself directly in harm's way.  And, let's be honest, as a helicopter pilot in a MedEvac unit, I will very likely be in a combat zone if deployed.  I really don't think I can or should put myself in that position when I have a child to think about.

But, here's a funny story from yesterday.  I was helping the corporal make phone calls to remind everyone about drill today.  One private's phone number had changed, and the only other way to get a hold of him was to call his emergency contact, his father.  I left a voicemail, and a few minutes later, I got a return phone call.  "Private Thomas, this is Commander ---.  If you're trying to get in touch with my son, his new number is...."  Goodness, I think I snapped to attention when I heard that one!  And my eyes got reaaaaallllyyyy big.  Corporal went "Holy ****! holyyyyy ****" when I told him what happened.  I think he was more freaked out than I was!

Lastly, the biggest problem of having shorter hair, is how much of a pain it is to get it into a bun for proper wear in uniform.  I think I used half of a tube of hair gel just to get it to stay. 

And on that note, I think I shall end this and go to bed early as I have been up since 0600 hrs...

Pregnancy: week 16

Well, as of the beginning of this week, I passed the 4th month of pregnancy.  I'm still dealing with a bit of nausea every now and then, but I'm finally able to hold down more liquids without the queasiness coming on.

I wore maternity pants for the first time this week.  In spite of that horrid spandex maternity panel they all have, they don't look too bad.  And they are comfortable.  I can still wear several of my non-maternity shirts, although I do wear plenty of my new (used) maternity shirts too.

The dryness of mouth still plagues me, and I absolutely hate brushing my teeth.

Oh, and that glowing skin and hair you're supposed to have during pregnancy?  Nope.  I've got chapped lips, acne, and my hair is just.....blah.  I hate it for some reason.  I don't feel great.  Instead, I feel fat, lazy, and ugly.

Because of all that, I think I'm going to go shopping for new makeup.  I rarely wear makeup, but I do want to try just a little bit.  Oh, and I'm seriously wanting to dye my hair with henna.  I just want a slightly darker brown color with very slight auburn tint.  As it is right now, I'm starting to get blond streaks in my hair.  BLOND.  I'm horrified.

And, I've decided that my mom's canned green beans are definitely a comfort food for me.  Mmmm.... Yep, green beans.  But come on!  They're home grown, and I helped snap and can them last month.  That's a pretty good reason if you ask me!