What's Up Wednesday

I haven't updated in a while so I figured this was the best way to get back into it. 

1. WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK:

We are eating whatever we can find in the pantry this week in between all of the Christmas celebrations. We are preparing ourselves for the delicious food we will be having over the weekend. Oh and all the sweets! I get a ton of sweets from my students and of course Hutt brings home his own that people at church give him. I'm not complaining!

2. WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT:
As we are getting close to meeting our baby boy (about 2 weeks) we are reminiscing about all the celebrations we have already had in his honor. Between telling our family and friends, his gender reveal, and baby showers. This boy is already so loved!

3: WHAT I'M LOVING: 

Everything baby! Baby laundry has got to be the cutest thing!

4: WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO:

Crossing things off our before baby to do list and having all the Christmas celebrations! We celebrated Christmas with Hutt's extended family this past weekend and had a blast, even though I had to sit out of Whirlyball.

5: WHAT I’M DREADING:

I hate dreading things, but I am already dreading going back to work in March. I know that's 3 months away but I know I am going to miss baby boy so much!

6: WHAT I’M WORKING ON:

We are finishing up a couple things for the nursery, but it is almost ready! Can't wait to show it all to you!

7: WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT:

Well, what do you think I am going to put... I am excited to celebrate Christmas with both families, but more importantly I am excited for Baby boy's arrival. Now will he be a 2016 baby or 2017 baby?

8: WHAT I’M WATCHING/READING:

We are watching all the Christmas movies right now and I am ready through Baby Wise in my spare time.

9: WHAT I’M LISTENING TO:
Christmas Music

10: WHAT I’M WEARING:

These days my wardrobe has been the same thing. Maternity leggings and a tunic with a scarf. Easy and comfortable is what I am all about these days. 

11: WHAT I’M DOING THIS WEEKEND:
Celebrating Christmas, of course! Our celebrations start friday with a Mani/Pedi!

12: WHAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH:

Becoming a mom! 

13: WHAT ELSE IS NEW:
Not a whole lot, just lots of getting ready to be parents!

Bonus question this month: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY OF 2016?
Finding out about our sweet baby boy! This pregnancy has been the highlight of my year! There's still a chance this could change with the arrival of our boy in 2016!

A Guide to Asheville, NC in the Fall Part 1

My school has a fall break every October here students and teachers get the week off. Hutt and I always take advantage of this week off. My first year at this school we took a cruise and last year we went to Beaver's Bend. We knew this would be our last trip just the two of us. We threw around a lot of ideas like New York City, San Francisco, LA, and Nashville. One of us or both of us had been to these places already so we decided to pick somewhere neither of us had been. 

I have always wanted to visit The Biltmore in Asheville, NC so I did a little research and found that it is also a really good spot for fishing and hiking. A little his and her vacation. We ended up getting pretty cheap flights flying into Charlotte with just a 2 hour drive to Asheville. I am going to spilt this post into a 3 part series. Over the next couple of Wednesdays I will sharing, where to stay, what to do, and where to eat. The most important pieces of any vacation. 

We have loved using VRBO for our past couple of vacations for a couple of different reasons. We loved being able to spend some time relaxing and that is something that isn't done very easily for us in a hotel. We always like being able to buy a few groceries so that we can eat a quick breakfast, or if we want a little snack we don't have to go out and buy a meal. The main reason we book with VRBO is the price is comparable to any hotel and sometimes lower than hotels. This vacation was no different. We researched VRBO and fell in love with some of the cabins that were available on the outskirts of town with amazing views. Some even were on a lake or pond (aka happy husband). After some research we decided to go cheaper and picked a small house outside of Asheville. We knew we wouldn't be at the house a whole lot but we did need a place to watch the A&M vs Tennessee game. #priorities This house ended up being perfect for us and the bonus was that it was in the cutest little neighborhood. 

Cozy Cork Cottage

Here are some other options for staying in Asheville: 

The Inn on Biltmore Estate

Riverfront Cabin

The Omni Grove Park

Modern Loft Downtown

Stay tuned for the next two posts in the series! 

Scripture for the Dreadful Two Week Wait

This post is really hard for me to write and I have been back and forth on whether it is worth sharing. But then I think to myself how helpful this would have been during such a hard time. When my husband and I starting talking about trying for a family, I think I had very immature expectations. I knew it wouldn't happen immediately but I figure within the first few months we would be announcing baby Hutson. I was wrong and the Lord really used this time to work through me. I needed him like I never had before. I must say that I like having control of my life and this was the first time that I had no control. No control over circumstances, timing, or feelings. It was extremely hard for me. My husband and I decided that we would keep the fact that we were trying to ourselves. I go back and forth if this was the healthiest thing for us to do. I liked the fact the people weren't checking in on us every month and asking "did it happen yet?". I know they would mean well, but it would be hard hearing all the time. On the flip side, it was hard having no one to talk to. My husband and I would talk about it all the time and he kept me together for the 11 months it took. I cried countless times and my husband was always there and would always tell me "it will be a blessing whenever it happens". I knew it would be but it was still very difficult. 

During this time, I really reached out for any positive thoughts and the best place was The Bible. This was a time of definate struggle but also spiritual growth. This put my trust in God's plan more than ever. More than school, career, and marriage. This was a true test of faith. 

The hardest time was the dreadful two week wait. I had a scripture for each day to meditate on and get me through the day. This kept me focused on what was important. It was my prayer. 

Psalm 27: 13-14

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living!
Wait for the Lord;
    be strong, and let your heart take courage;
    wait for the Lord!

Proverbs 3: 5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.

Isaiah 30: 18

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
    and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
    blessed are all those who wait for him.

Isaiah 40: 31

but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.

Lamentations 3: 25

The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
    to the soul who seeks him.

Micah 7: 7

But as for me, I will look to the Lord;
    I will wait for the God of my salvation;
    my God will hear me.

Acts 1: 4

And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me;

Romans 12: 12

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Psalms 37: 7

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
    fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
    over the man who carries out evil devices!

James 1: 12

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Psalm 5: 3

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
    in the morning I lay my requests before you
    and wait expectantly.

Psalms 130: 5

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
    and in his word I put my hope.

Psalm 39: 7

“But now, Lord, what do I look for?
    My hope is in you.

Romans 8: 24- 30

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?  But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.  And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

SaveSave

5 Steps For An Easy Transition Back Home After Vacation

With my husbands job and our busy schedule we are out of town a lot of weekends through out the year. We have retreats, weekend trips, camps, mission trips, and then you add in going out of town to visit friends and family or vacation. During the summer we feel like we are living out of a suitcase. We love our busy schedule and being able to do all the things we want to do and see people we want to see. But it comes with a price. Weekends are usually when we recover from the week and prepare for the week ahead. If we aren't there to do it, it makes the weeks really hard. So I have created some steps that I do before we leave for a simple weekend trip or for our summer camps and mission trips. I don't always get to finish all 5 steps but it is my goal before each trip and it makes the biggest difference when we get back home. Especially if we get home at 8:00 Sunday night and I have to go to work in the morning.

1. Laundry
I always make sure that we are caught up on laundry before we head out of town, whether it's a weekend away or a whole week. When you get back home you always have a bag of dirty laundry and I like to get started on this as soon as we get home. I want our dirty clothes from our trip to be the only laundry I need to worry about. This is so important to me because I always know that I will have work clothes clean for the next day. That last thing I want to worry about after being gone is making sure I have enough time to wash and dry some work pants.

2. Fresh Sheets
There is nothing like coming home and sleeping in your own bed with clean sheets. We are usually exhausted when we come home, so being able to have a good nights sleep before the work week begins is important. This does make for a lot of laundry before the trip, but I always try and get the clothes I want to pack washed two days before we leave so that I can pack ahead of time and leave some time to wash the rest of the clothes and our sheets.

3. Clean Kitchen
Having a clean kitchen is good for your soul. I truly believe that. If our kitchen is dirty, the rest of the house gets cluttered and it really affects me. Coming home to a messy kitchen will make you feel overwhelmed immediately. It should be refreshing to come back home and I think the kitchen is the make it or break it. My husband is always so good about doing the kitchen the night before we leave town. I am usually doing some last minute packing or cleaning and he takes the kitchen. Love him for that!

4. Clean floors
When we come home from a retreat or vacation we unload everything to our living room floor. Which means we may have tubs of bedding, camping supplies, shopping purchases, suitcases, etc.  If you already have cluttered floors when you come home it will just get exponentially worse. We always try and get rid of clutter and vacuum/sweep before we leave. It pushes us to clean it back up quickly, since it started clean.

5. Groceries 
This is my ultimate secret! I always go to the grocery store a few days before we leave and make sure I have something for dinner when we get back home. There is nothing worse than coming home hungry and not have anything for dinner. Instead of heading to the store, we usually end up ordering pizza or picking up fast food. It may just be me, but I always look forward to home cooked meals after vacation. We probably already ate out too much while away and I crave a good meal at home. I usually pick a meal that doesn't require a lot of work (like having to thaw meat). We will do pasta and salad or I will make a soup, something that can be done quickly and easily. When I go to the store, I also make sure to get some yogurt or something for breakfast the next morning. This also keeps me on track and less worry the next morning when I head to work.

Do you have any tips for coming back home from vacation? Anything you do to make it easier?