I'm Back I'm Back I'M BACK!

Hello to all my long lost friends out there in the blogging world! Well, I guess I was the one who was "long lost." My husband asked me the other night why I hadn't been blogging in a while, which totally surprised me because Mr. Red Head is not the world's biggest fan of spending undue amounts of time on the internet. (And don't even get him started about the television!) Originally, I had only planned on taking a few days off from blogging to clear my head and deal with the millions of things that seemed to start piling high on me. Blogging is great, but we've dealt with more things in the past two months than I think I have in my entire lifetime. Without boring you with all of the obnoxious details, I will give you a quick list of how life has gotten in the way of blogging:
Our house had a natural gas leak from the furnace, then our house had a carbon monoxide leak from the hot water heater, black mold in the bathroom, spending nearly three weeks at my parents house because our house was too dangerous to go back to, I fell out of a chair onto hard floor (bad anytime, especially when pregnant!), going to the doctor because of the natural gas/carbon monoxide/black mold, going to the doctor because of the fall, finally hearing that WE GOT THE HOUSE!, hearing at the last minute that there was a counteroffer of an extra $10,000, going through mortgage paperwork TWICE, a pinched nerve in my back that makes walking impossible at times, having insane and painful Braxton Hicks contractions, going to the doctor for the contractions, living the next three months with almost nonstop contractions, bank fraud, getting the bank fraud fixed, bank fraud again, getting called for jury duty, the violent outbreak in Kyrgyzstan and overthrowing of the government (Red Head and I both lived in KG for summers during college and still have so many friends and loved ones there) and dealing with ten million other things that seem way too grown up and serious for me to deal with. But, in all of these things, the Lord has taken wonderful care of us and we have seen His provision in awesome ways! Like my wise husband always tells me, these are just opportunities to trust!

There! Will you forgive me now for my absence? Thanks. I think I deserve a break! :) But, alas, I digress. I am back and hope to continue to update the blog as much as possible. I promise that I will continue with the Proverbs 31 Challenge, but it will be a few days before I wrap my head around getting back to that.

So, like I said earlier, Red Head and I got great news about two weeks ago that we got our affordable dream house. The day before we were supposed to close, we got the bad news that the seller's mortgage company had sent in a last minute counteroffer, bringing the sale price up ten thousand smackeroos. Ouch. While we have decided to go forward in the process, we were pretty burned by this. It was hard news to take but we still feel like this is the house that the Lord has been pointing us to throughout the whole search process and I am really looking forward to moving in and calling it home!

In two weeks, Red Head and I will be celebrating our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! That's one year of marriage and three years being together! It is hard to believe that I have been Mrs. Red Head for a whole year. It seems like just yesterday we were on our first date. Now three years later, we are expecting our first child and buying our first home. It certainly has been a BIG first year of marriage for us and I can't wait to see what the future will bring!

A few months into marriage, Red Head and I were looking over our finances and trying to come up with a few goals. We had a pretty hefty school loan that we were paying off in small bits every month, but we really had the desire to knock it out as soon as possible. We decided that the debt had to be gone by our one year anniversary and guess what- we are about $8,000 away! After we close on the house, 99% of the money that we have will go straight to the debt, paying it off before our deadline of April 25, 2010. Does this worry me? You better believe it. We will be putting practically everything we own towards a down payment, closing costs, and the school debt all within a two week time frame. We have crunched the numbers and we know that we will still have enough to pay our bills and eat for the next few weeks, but I can say it will be one of the leanest times in life that I have ever experienced. Yeah, I'm nervous. I know we can do it, but I sure do love the feeling of having that cushy amount in savings just in case. (The good thing is that we should be getting the tax credit soon after closing so that will help fluff up the accounts once again.)

After Red Head and I talked (and fought) this issue over extensively, I really came to see his point. Proverbs 22:7 says, "The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." We are TIRED of sending our hard earned money to the government every month and watching the interest just pile up. While I am thankful that Red Head was able to receive this loan during college so that he could get an education (and meet me!), I am ready to be done with it! And that is exactly our goal for the next two weeks- buy a house and pay off this school loan. Crazy? Yes! Smart? Maybe not. Wise? You better believe it! Just as Mr. Red continues to tell me, the Lord will bless our efforts in trying to glorify Him with our money and just as He has ALWAYS taken care of us, He will continue to do so!

So, sorry ladies, you won't find me in the mall for a while. And I probably won't be able to go out to eat or to the movies for a while. We've got a tight budget to adhere to! But pretty soon, I'll be debt free. And with Little Red Head coming in just 15 short weeks, having that extra money in the bank every month is going to feel very nice.

Speaking of Little Red Head, I wanted to give you a quick update. Today we are officially at 25 WEEKS! In just two weeks I will be leaving the blessed second trimester and entering the third and final trimester of this pregnancy. I have been having Braxton Hicks contractions for the past week or so but over the last few days, they have been pretty regular. After freaking out and scouring every pregnancy website I could find, we went to the doctor on Tuesday to have the two of us checked out. Cervix and everything is great, exactly where it needs to be and no signs yet of labor. Praise the Lord! Little Red Head is up to one pound and twelve ounces (and mom is up 19 pounds! eeek)! We have got ourselves a chunky baby coming! Red Head says he wants a ten pounder, to which I must continually remind him that my small frame could not possible push out a 10 lb baby and if I have to have a C-section, his life will not be very pleasant. I am still planning on doing natural childbirth so I would like a small five or six pound baby. :) But, OF COURSE, we will both be thrilled with our precious child no matter the size, gender or hair color. (But momma says Please be small!) The doctor said that the contractions will likely continue this way until we get to D-Day and that I am probably feeling them more than other women at this point in the pregnancy because of my small frame and the fact that I didn't have much pudge on my tummy to begin with so I can feel pretty much everything that is going on. Oh well, at least that means I get to feel this wonderful baby squirm and play all day. And hey, maybe after delivery we'll see that I have gotten six pack abs from all the ab workouts that these contractions are giving me! Gotta look on the bright side, right?

So, what is up next for our family? Packing, waiting for an official closing date, trying to decide which cloth diapers to order, more couponing, and living on our budget! To everyone in Memphis, hope you have a wonderful and beautiful weekend and enjoy this weather now that most of the pollen has been washed away!

I'M BACK!

It's Official, I'm Pregnant! ....Duh!

Ok, so it isn't a surprise that I am pregnant, seeing as how I am already in the second trimester. But, I wasn't expecting to feel so pregnant today. Sure the nausea has drastically reduced and I can finally keep my eyes open past eight o'clock, but still, this is a different feeling. I am currently sitting at my desk with my pants completely unbuttoned and they still feel tight enough to cut off my circulation. I am as thirsty as a water hog and I've eaten just about everything I could get my hands on so far today. I have endless heartburn and indigestion and I can't stop looking at my registry on the Target website. It's official, I am so pregnant. And if all that isn't enough to convince me, I have discovered the craziest craving yet: barbecue sauce. Straight from the jar. My husband walked in on me while I was in the kitchen this past weekend with the jar in one hand and sauce on my face. :)

So, guess what me and the Red Head will be doing this weekend? That's right, we are going shopping for maternity clothes! Have I ever mentioned how awesome my hubby is?

In other news, we have a contract on the house of our dreams. And now begins the waiting process as we await what the owner's bank and mortgage company have to say.... meanwhile, I am already picking out wallpaper and picturing how our furniture will sit in each room.

Now that I am getting some energy back, I have been able to do a bit more around the house than I have been able to in the past three months. That includes cooking dinner, doing laundry, but not much else. I have a car full of boxes, just waiting to start the packing process but not enough guts to enter the dreaded "spare room" that has become a land fill of everything I didn't have time to (or want to) put up in the first place. I must conquer that Mount Everest soon!

With Valentine's Day coming up, I am racking my brain for ideas for my Red Head. In the past, I always made him creative Valentine's Day gifts. Just because we are married now, I don't want to just settle for some store bought gift. Any ideas to help me out, ladies?

Lastly, I have been dying to go to Easy Way for the past week. The snow and ice kept me from going last weekend so I have rescheduled for this Friday. I cannot begin to explain how excited I am about some fresh fruits and veggies!! More to come soon!

Can I Make it Through the Eye of the Needle?

This post is dedicated to my husband. He is a man after the Lord's own heart and I am blessed to be called by his name and to be his helpmate.


Have you ever read the story of the Rich Young Ruler in Luke 18? To me, it is one of the most frightening passages in all of Scripture. Why? Because it is so easy to see myself in it.

In the story, the Rich Young Ruler (who I am guessing from his title is fairly young and fairly rich), goes up to Jesus and asks what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him that he must follow all of the laws of the Old Testament, to which the man replies that he already does that! Seeing that self-righteousness, Jesus simply tells him to go, sell everything he has to give it to the poor and to follow Him.

"But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich." (vs 23)

That response is sad and heartbreaking. And, if I am honest with myself, hits just a little too close to home for my own comfort. Jesus goes on to say how hard it is for the rich to enter into the kingdom of heaven, and even that it would be easier for a camel (a rather large animal) to go through the eye of a needle (a rather tiny hole). Now, in America, it is so easy for us middle class folks to say that we aren't rich. I don't drive a Mercedes, I can't afford to eat out very much (and when I do, it's the value menu!), and my current home is about 600 square feet. But, compared to the rest of the world, I am living like a queen. I have plenty of food each and every day. I never hunger because there isn't enough. I have a warm and comfortable place to sleep at night, out of the elements. I have a safe job to go to. A car to drive. I can go to church without fear of being jailed. I can go to a doctor and get excellent care anytime I need it. I get cheap medicine with my amazing insurance. I have a great education and a degree! But, sadly, about 99% of the world cannot say that. We are all rich! We are blessed in ways we don't ever realize in America. We take everything for granted, because we have never had to go without. We are rich, all of us. We are richer than the rest of the world would ever dream to be. And so then we can all see ourselves in the story of the rich young ruler. But the question is, will we give it all up to follow Jesus, or will we shrug our shoulders and walk away, too afraid to give up what has made us so comfortable all these years for the prospect of something greater?

This question has been on my mind all morning, and a lot this past weekend. My husband and I put in an offer on a house yesterday. It is a beautiful house, great space and a perfect price. It makes sense. And the Lord has not put any stop signs or red lights in our way to show us that we are going the wrong way. But, Red Head and I are still hoping that the Lord will send us overseas to share His love with the lost world. We both have a heart for life long career missions and have been patiently (and impatiently) waiting for the Lord to show us when, where, and how to go. After we got back to our house last night after signing all of the papers for the house, I think it hit both of us - are we getting too comfortable in America? Will we still be ready at the drop of a hat to go wherever He sends us?

After some soul searching, I still believe the answer is yes. I still believe that even though it has been over a year since we have been overseas (and most of my Russian has been forgotten by now), I still believe that when He says Go! we will be ready to. Why? How could we give up everything that we have? All of our comforts? Being so close to our families? How could we take a young child with us to underdeveloped countries? To us, it is so simple. because the Lord has put an unmistakable call on our lives. He has given us a heart that breaks for the broken, the lost, the poor, those who have never heard Jesus' name before.

So, will buying a house keep us here, against the Lord's will? I don't think so. First of all, I think that if He wants us to go, we will go. He will remove every hindrance and open the doors that he wants us to walk through. But the house itself, will it make us too comfortable to see the needs around us? Will we become the rich young ruler? We will, if we try to do it in our own strength. But as we wait upon the Lord and trust in Him, He will be faithful. He always is. I see this house (or whichever one we end up in) as just another tool that the Lord will use in our lives. I know that we will learn so many lessons in trust as we become homeowners. But I also look forward to the times when we can open our doors, our home, and our hearts to those around us. To give them a good meal, a safe place to stay out of the storms of life, an encouraging home to be in, and plenty of love. I want people to crowd that huge kitchen, ready for food and fellowship. I want people to know that our doors are always open. I want to learn to minister to our community and to our brethren by opening up the doors of hospitality.

I can't wait. And when it is time, when the Lord gives us the word, we will sell our possessions, put the rest in storage or at our parent's houses, we will sell our home, and we will move, in faith, to wherever the Lord calls us. Whether our children are three weeks old or thirteen years old. Whether we have two or twenty kids. Our hearts are ready to be used and to be useful. And I am ready to be poured out as a drink offering to show others that freedom can be theirs- Christ is ready with open arms.

Are you ready for whatever the Lord calls you to? Are you getting too comfortable in the American dream? Don't be the rich young ruler. We may give up everything for His Kingdom, but we are promised more than we could ever image if we do. He is faithful. Even when we are not. Be ready. And don't be afraid to let those comforts fall by the wayside.