Spicy Magnolia

Best of 2008 in Pics

Jules from The Roost is hosting a 2008 New Year's picture party where she's posted her top 10 pictures of 2008, and I wanted to join in the fun!  She's got some sweet and funny pictures posted that capture some of her most favorite moments of 2008; click here to see her post.  There are a number of other bloggers who are also participating so be sure to check them out as well.  2008 has been, well, a very eventful year!  Here are 10 of some of my favorite and momentous photos from the past year, in chronological order (and I could post SO many more...it was very hard to choose)!

 Hubby turned 30! Last January, we had a grand ol' time celebrating this momentous birthday of Matt's.  His parents and two sisters came into town and my parents joined in the festivities as well.  This year, it's my turn!  <grin>



Matt's first 10k race:  Austin's Capitol 10k.  I was supposed to run in it as well, but I was stuck with Darth Vader.



 This was a photo shoot I had with Molly the night of May 4th.  Not only is she my baby girl and I love taking photos of this beautiful Lab, but we were taking the picture to be used in an email announcing the creation of Spicy Magnolia.  AND, it was taken just a few hours before we found out we were pregnant with Polka!



My brother, Mac, and I met up in Las Cruces, NM the end of May to visit our grandmother, Gaga.  It was such a special trip!  Here she and I are at Wienerschnitzel eating chili cheese dogs...to satisfy a craving I was having.  As Mackie and I drove away from her house in tears, we weren't sure if it was going to be our last time to visit her.  Just about six weeks later, she went to be with Jesus for eternity, but I had a priceless time with this most dear lady the few days before she saw Him face to face.  Aside from the news of and carrying Polka, the time I spent with Gaga as well as with my Momma going through all of Gaga's house was one of the most impactful and meaningful of the year, as well as in my life.


Also in May, hubby and I got to go to St. Louis to visit our baby nephew, Jadon!  It was an awesome weekend!



Of course, the news of baby Polka is at the top of the year!  It was rather a shock at first, which you can read all the intimate details of here, here and here.  <grin>  But this ultrasound picture is my absolute favorite, and I am getting super excited to meet this precious baby!
 

Me and hubby on our babymoon in San Antonio!  Wow, what a vacation!


Decorating the nursery with my parents was definitely a highlight of the year!  They came one weekend in September to help paint and then another in November to put all of the fun finishing touches on it!  Right now, it's pretty much one of the only rooms in our house not covered in saw dust.


Thanksgiving weekend!!  Our girl time decorating our gingerbread homes and having glorious spa treatments was the best!


This picture encapsulates a whole lot!  Our 6 year anniversary, dear friends, our house flooding, and a VERY memorable Christmas Eve and Christmas!

Things with the house right now are taking up more time and energy than what we anticipated, so most nights, we find ourselves crashing after a long day of making decisions, greeting workmen after workmen, and running around town on errands.  Matt wants me to stay up tonight to watch the ball drop, but we'll see if I make it.  Other than that, we don't have any spectacular New Year's Eve plans.  But I'm sure some of you do...what are they?

I hope ya'll have a fun and safe night, and as Beth Moore wonderfully put it, may 2009 be "a Jesus year" for each of us!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Mr. Tour de France in an OBGYN Office...Really?

Last Monday was a cold, wintry day in Austin.  It was a perfect day to be bundled up in a sweatshirt, scarf and bulky coat.  And definitely, a hat was needed.  It was an ideal day to use the weather as an excuse to dress up incognito if you were, say, a celebrity. 

At 8:15 a.m., Matt and I walked rather subdued into my OBGYN's office last Monday for our 37 week appointment.  Being that it was two days after our house catastrophe, I was rather melancholy and on the verge of tears, ready to burst at any moment.  The doctor's office was rather quiet, quite the opposite of its normal bustle.  We found two seats in the middle of the office and an odd character sitting in the corner reading a newspaper caught my eye.  He was sitting by himself, wearing a coat and a baseball cap.  I did a double take because the chiseled face looked quite familiar. 

Could it be?  Seriously?  That guy looks an awful lot like Lance Armstrong. 

I told Matt, who took a peak and he thought it very well could be.  He pondered the idea of taking a picture with his phone, but I discouraged it, envisioning us being thrown out of the doctor's office.  It's the worry-wart, dramatic side of me showing.

But what would Lance Armstrong be doing at my OBGYN's office?  And why would he be sitting in a waiting room by himself?  If he's here with a girl, why isn't he with her?  Or maybe he came with a friend?  He doesn't have a new girlfriend already, does he?  Is he here with his ex-wife?

It was a site very out of place and quite peculiar, so much so it made me wonder if it really was Mr. Tour de France himself.  I kept staring, 90% sure it was him.  A few minutes later, a young looking woman, whom I did not recognize, emerged from the doctor's area.  Walking over to the possible celebrity, the woman whispered something in his ear and they spoke for a few minutes; he folded up the newspaper; and they walked in front of us exiting the office. 

Oh, it's just gotta be him. 

But what he was doing there was quite puzzling.  There were no more than 10 of us in the waiting room at the time, and no one else seemed to be staring at him the way I was.  Most of them were playing on their i-Phones.  We joked about calling some celebrity gossip line to let them know what was going on.  But no, that wouldn't be right, and we weren't entirely sure it was him.  And why on earth would he be at my OBGYN's office, let alone sitting in the waiting room by himself!?  Goodness knows I had a lot more on my mind than focusing on Lance Armstrong and his personal life.

But how CRAZY it was to venture to People.com two days later and catch this!  I mean, really!?  We couldn't believe we'd been witness to such celebrity-breaking news!  It's just too wild.  Did he really plan on revealing the news that quickly or did it somehow leak from the doctor's office?  Kinda crazy! 

Real quick, we had another doctor's appointment yesterday and nothin' is happenin'!  And there were no sightings of Lance or Anna.  We're 10 days away from our due date, and so far, Polka is exhibiting signs of a very content baby who does not want to make his/her appearance into this world quite yet.  So maybe, just maybe, our home will no longer be the mess that it is by the time Polka comes home.  And with our carpenter here this week, our house really is a MESS! 

Here is the latest picture we took at 38 weeks and 2 days.  <grin>  We're SO close!

I'm Lovin' Me Some Coupons

After a wacky week of weather vacillating from the high 30s to record highs in the 80s, Austin is finally settling back into our normal 60-degree weather today.  The only pro I've been able to come up with for the 80 degree temperatures is that my use of flip flops on a December day isn't questionable.  My ogress-sized feet welcome not being shoved into a closed-toe shoe at the moment.

Right now I'm watchin' me a good ol' game of pro football, soaking up every minute of it before we transition out of football season.  And, I'm adjusting to the noises of the new washing machine we just bought.  I'm a little freaked out, I must say.  Not only am I scared that the washing machine is going to flood our house again, I'm not used to these unfamiliar cycle noises.  I might add, neither is Molly.  She crept gingerly into the laundry room rather skittish-like staring at the machine.  Precious girl, I think she senses my own hesitation. 

Apparently, our old washing machine that caused the havoc last weekend was a dud from the moment we bought it.  Both the service repairman and the delivery fellas who dropped off the new one today have said that Maytag's reputation isn't the same as it used to be and I quote their response to seeing the old washer, "Oh, yeah, this is the bad kind."  I've never been so glad to see a washer hauled away, albeit it was only four years old.  No sentimental value there, thank you very much.  There were a lot of things that contributed to the house flooding that dreadful hour last Saturday, not just the washing machine.  But nevertheless, after hearing all that was wrong with the washer, I say, "Good riddance!"  By the way, thank you so much for all of your kind words of encouragement and your prayers!  I received a number of comments and emails that were very uplifting.  Thank you so much!

Ok, so I just had to share something really fun with you that Matt got for Christmas from my folks.  Everyone loves coupons, right?  Well, these coupons are priceless.  Seriously.  I'm wondering why he got them and I didn't.  I'm a tad envious.  I think at least two sets of these coupons would be appropriate.  But he's the one who received them and thus, he's the one who gets to decide when they get cashed in.  I think these particular coupons will now be a regular gift preference of ours.  They reside on our refrigerator, ready to be used at any time and not far from our minds. 

Matt was given a coupon book from Pops and ______ (a grandma name yet to be determined for my momma) that has a variety of coupons Matt can turn in for things like babysitting for a night to go to the movies, a walk around the neighborhood with Molly, holding and walking Polka to sleep, or singing a lullaby.  Like I said, these are priceless!  Fortunately, on the cover of the coupon book, it's written, "More where these came from", so there's hope for more.  I can see these coupons going fast! 

We're only looking at twelve more days to go until our due date, Internet peeps!  When someone at church today asked us how much longer and I replied, "Twelve days", you should have seen the look of bewilderment and shock on Matt's face!  No joke!  It really took him aback; for some reason he kept thinking we still had around twenty days left.  Oh, bless his heart!  I think another gray hair popped out on his head at that very moment.  At least he has those coupons to fall back on to lift his spirits and slow down those sprouting gray hairs!

A Cherished Christmas

It's hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone!  After all of the anticipation, the months of playing Christmas music, the reveling in the beauty of Christmas lights and the smells of homemade cookies in the oven, it's now time to pack up the Christmas decor.  There's always a part of me that is melancholy when Christmas comes to an end.  It won't be long before my soul starts aching and awaiting in eager expectation next year's Christmas.  It's my most favorite time of year!  And before I plow ahead into the new week...and New Year...I've just gotta share with you about our Christmas, because it was both simple and cherished.  

(You can click on the images to enlarge)

Last Monday through Wednesday was pretty much greeting servicemen at our door to get things rollin' with our home repairs from the flooding.  After a hard days' work on Tuesday, we treated ourselves to Chuy's before heading to the last night of Austin's Trail of Lights.   We made it!  With all that had transpired, we were still able to make it!  And the little trooper of the week, Molly, came with us for the first time and loved it!  Of course she did.  

We were able to check out of the hotel room on Christmas Eve morning and finish getting things in order at home to have at least some semblance of our home.  I was tempted to pack up Christmas decor then, but was so glad I didn't!  Instead, I moved our little Christmas tree to the floor to set up all the packages underneath it and replaced the nativity set on the coffee table.  I still wanted to try and make it feel like Christmas in our make-shift home that still had a blower running. 

On Christmas Eve, we met my parents at church for our service, which was quite meaningful and beautiful.   We loved how the worship team had various themes (i.e. the promise of the Messiah, the hope of the Messiah, the birth of the Messiah) throughout the service with special music and Scripture readings that coincided with each theme.   There were baby dedications  that made this momma-to-be teary envisioning what it will be like to be up there with Polka.  It brings a whole new perspective of the birth of Jesus being great with child myself, just like Mary was.  How often I have pondered her the last few months:  her willingness and submission to the Lord to carry baby Jesus and her attitude toward being in an unfamiliar and uncomfortable place when He was born.

After the service, we followed my parents back to the hotel they were staying at in Bastrop:  the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort.  Since my brother and his wife were with Julie's family this year and with the loss of my grandmother this summer, my folks wanted to do something different for Christmas and enjoy a little Christmas getaway.  And hubby and I were looking forward to spending Christmas just the two of us this year, just like we did the first few days after we were married and awaiting the birth of Polka.  So Christmas was a tad untraditional in that sense this year, but one of the most treasured ones yet!  Anyhow, the resort was gorgeous all decked out for Christmas with fires roaring and Christmas music playing.  On the drive down, I told Matt, "How much you wanna bet my momma has the room all set up for Christmas to make it special for us?"  We both agreed that was highly possible, but little did we know how beautifully set up it would be!

We walked into a room with the table set up with a Christmas centerpiece, candles, wine and special non-alcoholic beverages on ice, and Christmas presents set out.  It was like walking into a little room of heaven that had been creatively and specially prepared just for the two of us.   They'd worked all afternoon on it!  We enjoyed drinks and an appetizer Momma made before the room service dinner we ordered was wheeled in.  I tell you what:  that is THE way to go!  Me and Momma were spoiled this year and have found a new favorite kinda Christmas:  a destination Christmas!  Do you know how nice it was to have an exquisite, fine meal wheeled into your room at the exact time you requested only to sit and enjoy it and then wheel it outside without any clean up!?  It was AWESOME!  The food was excellent!

Here are the guys pokin' fun at my belly! 

Christmas treats given to the hotel guests left by their bedside.  The one on the left is a campfire made out of chocolate and marshmallows!

Me and Momma

After filling our tummies with some super-duper good food, we exchanged our Christmas presents to each other and shared pieces of chocolate and carrot cake.  We were so eager to delve into the desserts, that we forgot to sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus, a family tradition.  But even with half-eaten cake, it's never too late!  <grin>

We finished up the evening with another family tradition:  reading The Tale of Three Trees to each other.  I hope you're getting a glimpse of the thought, love, and intentionality of this Christmas Eve as given to us as a precious gift from these two cute people:

We slept in on Christmas morning only to be awakened by a text message from my brother!  One of my favorite traditions is to be the first one to wake him up on Christmas morning, either by calling him or running into his room and jumping on his bed.  He beat me to it this year!  I knew as soon as I heard my phone beep that it was from him and had to crawl out of bed to confirm.  Sure enough, it was!  So we leisurely made our way out of bed only to sit for nearly an hour curled up on the couch together with our Christmas music playing and enjoying the nativity scene and little Christmas tree. 

Instead of opening packages first, we made our traditional Christmas breakfast as introduced to our family through hubby:  waffles, bacon and eggs.  Matt makes the waffles and I'm in charge of everything else.  It was scrumptious!  I think Molly even got a few bites!

Hubby was eager to start opening presents <grin>, so we got started, with Molly's help of course.  She got some tasty treats in her stocking this year from Matt's folks and now every time I get in a bag that sounds like the one her cookies are in, she thinks she's getting cookies!

Matt got a new pillow (something that was LONG overdue) and Molly seemed to enjoy it as well.

The day passed by too quickly!  Before I knew it, I was movin' my large self across the room to start making bread pudding and salad to take to over to our friends' house for dinner.  We were heartily welcomed for Christmas dinner at Chris, Jill, Harrison and Haddie's home where we enjoyed a fabulous meal with both Chris' and Jill's folks, target shooting with foam rockets, and some very interesting games of Mexican Train Dominoes!  The laughs kept comin', that's fo-sure!  It is a true gift to have friends like them who would welcome us into their hearts and home on Christmas! 

Even in the midst of a messy, unorganized, falling-apart house, Christmas was so special and one of the most memorable ones ever!  Since Christmas, we've been dealing with more house stuff, which needs to be written about at another time.  For the time being, I want to keep savoring the remembrance of a cherished Christmas. 

Rollin' With the Punches

Hello, Internet peeps!  I hope this finds you doing well and enjoying the week of Christmas!  Some of you all sounded like you had wonderful weekend plans with your families and getting some Christmas shopping done.  Our weekend turned out to be quite eventful, expensive, and painful...with also special and memorable tidbits.  "What happened!?", you may ask.  Well, let me do tell. 

Matt and I had a fabulous date night on Friday to start our two week vacation off with a bang!  We thoroughly enjoyed eating outside on the patio of California Pizza Kitchen, admiring all of The Domain's Christmas decor and the horse-drawn carriage circling the shopping center with enthusiastic children being carted about.  It was such a pleasant evening, and a night to remember.  I think we pretty much settled on a baby boy's name (at least the first name)!  Matt treated me to oh-my-word-incredible gelato at a dessert cafe called Viva Chocolato!  And we enjoyed the most recent 007 movie Quantum of Solace.  Crawling into bed that night was so pleasant knowing we could sleep in the next day and leisurely enjoy the next two weeks prepping for Polka and being together.

Fast forward to 4:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon.  To make a long story short, our washer malfunctioned while on the rinse cycle and wouldn't stop filling up with water.  Our neighbor, Rob, was so kind to run over to see if he could help me get the water off because Matt wasn't home.  With my frantic call to Matt saying, "Turn back around now!", he of course thought it had to do with Polka.  But no.  Our house was flooding.  Nothing we did with the washer would get the water to stop pouring out, and we had trouble getting the main water line to shut off.  The fire department was kind enough to come out to take a look at things and point us in the right direction (I didn't place a 911 call, just called the main fire department line).  Many thanks to the fire department because they were so helpful and kind...and the only ones who responded to my calls!  The local utilities were no help at all.  All to say, we had water gushing through our home for 25 minutes.  By the time we finally got the washer to stop overflowing, we had an inch or so of water from the laundry room to the front door, moving steadily into our carpets and even underneath the stairwell into our bedroom closet and garage.  We were in shock.  After all of my cleaning and checking things off our list, finally ready to simply enjoy the last few weeks with my hubby before Polka comes, chaos ensued.  And tears were shed.  Thankfully, everyone was ok!  And thankfully, we found a great water extraction company who responded quickly and thoroughly.  It is so not fun to have an emergency happen like that on the weekend!  Ninety percent of the companies I called for help and left a message with never even responded, even though they said on their recordings that they'd respond within 30 minutes!

I had no idea what something like this entails and the damage that can result from water flooding in one's home.  The water extraction company did everything from removing carpet pads, to removing baseboards, to drilling holes in the baseboards and in the bottoms of our kitchen cabinets to put vacuum blowers in them.  We've had 11 air blowers, 2 dehumidifiers, and 1 somethin' or other machine blowing since Saturday night and they'll run until Wednesday morning.  The house is a mess.  The combination of water and blowers running showed the parts of the house that I wasn't able to clean very well with Molly's dog food pellets and lint from behind the washer and dryer making their way across our kitchen floor. 

Our insurance adjuster left not too long ago and we're looking at replacing nearly all of our downstairs carpets (which we just found out won't be available to be installed until the middle of January), baseboards, a laundry cabinet, the wood paneling to the bottom of our kitchen cabinets, and possibly the bottom kitchen cabinets themselves.  We've been at a hotel with Molly since Saturday night and will be there until Christmas Eve morning.  Hopefully next week all of the woodwork can be accomplished and we'll get things fairly back in order, and then I guess we'll deal with the carpets mid-January.  My doctor this morning echoed the very same words I relayed to Matt, "If the stress of this doesn't put me into labor, I don't know what will!"  So please pray this baby stays in me until at least January 9th; we need all the extra time we can get now!!

 

In the whole scheme of things, it's not that big of a deal with people losing whole homes to fires or hurricanes, or watching the physical or emotional suffering of a loved one.  I keep trying to remind myself of the bigger perspective here, especially grateful that we are all ok.  But I will not deny that I have wept on several occassions after working so hard to get things in order and in place before our little Polka arrives.  My 8.5 month pregnancy hormones are workin' over-time!  Matt has been incredible through this whole thing, and very much understanding towards his emotionally fragile wife.  I've vacilated between feeling like it was all my fault for wanting things to be in such tip-top shape; to feeling robbed of this time that was supposed to be set apart in quiet, restful preparation for Polka; to wanting to give up list-making entirely.  The stanza of the song "Great is Thy Faithfulness" keeps replaying in my mind, however:   strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, blessings all mine, ten thousand beside.  And yes, there are already so many things to be thankful for through all of this that I want to take a moment to mention:

1.  For our neighbors, Rob and Leah, who kindly rushed over to help us with the water and corral Molly for awhile.  And Leah, who so generously is making a lovely dinner for us tonight!

2.  Matt took a hard fall on his back and bottom with the wet floors trying to move furniture, and we're so, so thankful it wasn't such that we were making a trip to the ER in the middle of everything!  And he's ok!  I had just finished sobbing on Matt's shoulder moments prior and seeing my husband crash to the floor didn't help matters.  I'm sure the three water extraction employees were like, "Oh, this lady is off the wall!"

3.  Our friends, Chris and Jill, knowing that Sunday was our anniversary and our plans had changed, still made it a special night for us by ordering a meal for us at Macaroni Grill that we could take back to the hotel and eat.  My new favorite dessert:  their chocolate tiramisu!  Matt and I had a lovely evening with Frank Sinatra playing through Matt's phone and even danced to one song (this preggo lady is getting really uncomfortable so we kept it at one)!  Despite the circumstances, our anniversary 6 year anniversary was oh, so sweet.

4.  La Quinta!  Availability at a hotel down the street that welcomes puppies!

5.  Laundry mats.

6.  Our local fire department...really, they were so kind.

7.  The water extraction company who did a thorough job.

8.  The timing of getting our insurance adjuster out here...that we didn't have to wait too long!  And our insurance company itself (USAA)...they've handled everything so well and could not have been more obliging and understanding!

9.  My parents, who have been available at any time to change their plans to come up and help put things back in order.  They've generously been at our beck-n-call. 

10.  Encouraging friends and family who have been so supportive and prayerful!

11.  My hubby!!  One thing is for sure, it has been a blessing to walk through this with him!  He has been so kind, understanding, and a true gift.  I will walk through any crisis or chaos if I have him by my side.

I'm sure I'm missing something, but those are the things that are coming to mind at the moment.  I planned to blog throughout the week, but I am not going to now, Internet peeps.  You'll have to catch me next week sometime, hopefully.  Matt and I will continue to walk through this learning how to balance what seems to be a whole new and grueling set of tasks while trying to still salvage precious time together and pondering Christmas.

If ever there was a moment to be thankful for a true and lasting Refuge and Helper in Jesus Christ, now would be it.  If ever there was a moment to reflect on Christmas and be still, now would be it.  If ever there was a moment to be thankful, now would be it.  And despite my flood of emotions and fallible thoughts through this chaos, I don't want to miss this moment.  So may the peace and joy of our Savior Jesus Christ fill yours and mine hearts and minds this night, particularly this week of Christmas, dear ones.  Much love and Merry Christmas!

Let the Festivities Begin

Well, Internet peeps, hello there!  I am sitting at our kitchen table admiring a freshly cleaned house and thoroughly enjoying reveling in it before it quickly goes back to normal!  May I just give a huge props to hubby last night who stopped what he was doing to help me scrub our tile floors; I could not have completed it in as timely or miserable-free of a manner without him!  And yes, it's probably the first time these floors have ever been this spic-n-span.  To give you a glimmer of the part of me that is obsessive compulsive, I did not know about cleaning floors on my hands and knees and scrubbing the grout until I found out at Thanksgiving that my mom does it every now and then.  And since then, I couldn't get it out of my mind that it was one thing I need to do as part of my nesting cleaning tirade!  Hope knowing that crazy part of me doesn't scare you away! 

So yes, I'm reveling in my cleaning job and Molly better not shed one hair or Matt track in one leaf...'cause crazy hormonal woman will be after them!  That's probably why hubby asked me on a date tonight so he wouldn't have any possibility of getting into trouble by being at home and creating a mess!  <grin> 

Tonight marks the beginning of our nearly 2 week break to rest, play, celebrate our anniversary and Christmas, and usher in 2009.  It's like a whole other babymoon!!  We're starting our little vacation off with a bang by going out to dinner and a movie.  We're thinking either California Pizza Kitchen or The Steeping Room, an Austin original.  Or any other ideas?  And then we'll go see Quantum of Solace.  I still want to see The Changeling, at some point, too.  We'll get to sleep in tomorrow and then we have a few errands to run:  grocery shopping, stopping by a fire station to have them help us put in our car seat!!, planting some pansies, and hubby needs to spray paint a chair.  As another arctic cool front approaches, I'll make Paula Deen's taco soup, which I've never made before but it sounds awesome!  And how can you go wrong with Paula Deen? 

We're still not quite sure what we're going to do for our anniversary yet; hubby is working on a place to eat and then we might take a carriage ride through downtown Austin and/or visit The Trail of Lights (my favorite Austin attraction).  I'll be sure to let you know though.

Any fun weekend plans for you all as most of you start the Christmas break?  To also commemorate this special time of year, let me sign off by including the words to one of my new favorite Christmas songs, Ring the Bells.  I hope ya'll have a great weekend!

Lightly, softly the world lies sleeping
Heaven bells to earth below
Christmas morning children waking
To hear the sacred story told
Joy to the world, the Lord has come

Ring the bells…ring the bells
Emmanuel
Ring the bells…ring the bells
Emmanuel has come.
(Has come)

So join the host of angel singing
Glory to the new born Christ
Good, good news
Fills the sky

Ring the bells…ring the bells
Emmanuel
Ring the bells…ring the bells
Emmanuel has come.
(Has come)

Our long awaited wonderful Savior
Has come to deliver us out of the darkness
And into this marvelous world God has given us light
New light.
So shine your light
Shine it bright
Yeah!

Weekly Snippets

Setting aside this whole week to spread out a thorough house cleaning (and when I say 'thorough', I mean thorough:  scrubbing base boards, dusting every bit of furniture and bookshelves, cleaning the fridge, polishing silver, etc...), I had not anticipated that I would move at the pace of a slug!  Granted, I've spent a good deal of time roaming through BooMama's Christmas Tour of Homes or taking a nap, but still, it's a very good thing I spread out the cleaning all week long, working on a room or two a day.  I'm half-way there but have my biggest feat today:  the kitchen and main living room.  I've walked a lot during this pregnancy, but nevertheless, my body is not used to me crawling on the floor cleaning baseboards and practically doing squats all day with what is now my built-in exercise ball of a baby!  The moans and groans coming forth from my mouth when crawling into bed or changing sleeping positions because I'm so sore and big is now a regular occurrence, as are weird breathing noises because I'm plugged up.  Matt kindly asked me to please change the direction I was faced in bed last night because my breathing was squeaky! 

This house cleaning is the last big thing on our to-do list!  And you better believe I'm gonna jump for joy that we made it through our task list we've been working on since September!  So come Friday afternoon, me and hubby will have nearly two weeks to ourselves to play, rest, celebrate our 6 year anniversary (which is Sunday the 21st), and enjoy the sites, sounds and meaning of Christmas!  As Matt was helping me with finishing touches on the room I was cleaning last night, he asked, "Are we gonna have to live in a hotel until Polka comes to not mess everything up?"  Grand idea, I say, grand!  How fun would that be!?

So here are a few snippets from this week that have occurred besides my cleaning house frenzy (and for those concerned, I'm being very careful!!):

• Monday was now the coldest day and night yet in Austin, dipping down to the teens, which for us Texans is bitter cold!  Yes, we're weaklings compared to folks who live up north.  Even so, I wanted to get out and look at Christmas lights.  No driving.  Walking.  Perusing through the neighborhoods with Matt and Molly.  Matt thought I was crazy and couldn't believe I was up for such an adventure.  So we bundled up, put Molly on her leash, and spent 30-40 minutes walking our neighborhood looking at all of the pretty lights.  Matt went home early to catch the finale of Heros while me and Molly pressed onward.  I can't wait to go out again...and it's so much more fun to me to go lookin' at lights when it's cold!  
• We got the neatest package in the mail from our college buddy, Greg, and his wife, Katherine!  A friend of Katherine's hand-knit a baby hat and booties for us in our Wheaton College colors.  They are the cutest things!  Seeing as how this is one of the coldest winters we've had in Central TX in quite awhile, I can't wait to put these on baby Polka!

• I had another weekly doctor's appointment yesterday morning.  Everything still looks good and is on track with nothing new to report.  I did leave this appointment again balling, however.  Each office room has a cork-board full of baby announcements of  babies that my doctor has delivered.  They're always fun to look at...well, except for the last 2 appointments.  They seem to trigger some deep emotional response in me that is quite upsetting, plus I really don't like the exam.  I honestly can't put my finger on why the flood of emotion; I think it's a conglomeration of emotions and thoughts rushing together.  What am I going to be like as a mom?  We don't have a baby boy name yet!!  Am I going to like being a mom?  I love our life the way it is and don't want it to change.  I'm not ready for this baby.  I need more time.  I'm so scared about labor and delivery.  I'm scared about messing things up entirely.  Oh, you all have heard it before from me and are always so encouraging.  On good days, I hang onto the verses that remind me to not be discouraged or afraid, that the Lord is with me (Deuteronomy 31:8), or that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13).  But good golly, if only I could get a grip when going into these appointments!  I cried for 20 minutes straight on my way home until I pulled into the drive-thru of Chick-fil-A for two chicken biscuits.  Then cried some more as I walked into our bedroom and saw the newly placed Pack-n-Play bassinet all set up until I made some hot chocolate.  Then cried some more until I hugged and kissed Molly. 
  
• Last week we got a call from Lowe's saying we'd won a drawing for a free, complimentary dinner at Joe's Crab Shack for us and up to 3 other couples.  It was a drawing I'd entered for a gas grill for my Daddy, but we won the dinner (which I don't remember being a part of the drawing).  The only other info I was told was that there would be a short video to watch on fire safety, to leave our wallets at home because it was on them, and it's for adults only.  Pretty cool!  So we invited the two couples from our small group who have been our prayer partners for the last few months (we change them up every now and then and aim to have at least one get-together during the months we're partners).  Both are couples with kiddos, but they were able to make it.  How exciting a night to have out with our friends!  The dinner was last night and well, let's just say it gave me one more reason to want to cry.  I should have known it was not going to go as planned when we walked into Joe's Crab Shack and it took the manager 3 minutes to figure out what we were there for until he said, "Oh, yes, you're in the back party room".  What, in my mind, was going to be a nice dinner to talk with friends, to order whatever we wanted, and watch a SHORT video on fire safety turned into a night in a freezing party room, a set menu of fried shrimp and fish (ewww!!), and the WHOLE evening a presentation on fire safety that was dramatically over-the-top!  I was duped!  The presenter was kind enough to let us make some minor modifications in the menu, and our friends had the best attitudes, unlike me who didn't even want to make eye-contact with the presenter or answer any of his questions.  I was so sad.  I had invited my friends to a sales-pitch, which was filled with horror stories about children dying in house fires.  Ugh!  I was the only "winner" there who brought friends!  Am I just gullible or naive or what?   Still, our friends were great and we were able to make it fun and laugh.  I don't think they're going to disown me as a friend, but I'm sure they will get a kick telling others about our night together at my expense.  And so it should be.
  
• A new bloggy friend, Christina, sent me a wonderful picture of her son, Alex (at 14 months), to go along with my "Why I Like Kids" post last week.  Christina had gone to the restroom and came out to discover this.  Isn't it awesome?  Thank you so much for sharing this with us, Christina!

• And yes, Sunday is our 6 year anniversary!  What does hubby have planned? Huh?  Huh?  I don't know yet, but hope he's thinkin' about it!  <grin>

Alrighty, internet peeps, I hope you have a great Wednesday!  Off to go clean!

The Demise of the Gingerbread House

Remember my beautiful gingerbread house that I made over Thanksgiving?  I painstakingly made the pretzel fence for at least an hour, saturating baby Polka with salt as I broke off and ate parts of the pretzels and then dozed the little baby with sugar licking the icing from my fingers trying to keep them clean.  Little baby didn't know what was comin'!  And see the pretty walkway lit by luminarios?  And my Christmas cone of a tree?  It's a beauty isn't it?  Two hours later I came home with this sentimental reminder of what Christmas is all about:  bonding with family while on sugar highs.  Oh, I jest. 

My gingerbread house was given center stage in our kitchen atop of our little island.  Tempted to get his grubby fingers all over it, Matt wanted to snag a few bites off of it.  I'm still not sure what appeals to the guy about eating two-week old candy that has been sitting out in the wide open.  But nevertheless, I guarded that sucker like a mother hen guards her chicks.  Every morning as I woke up, I'd come out and gaze with pride upon my creation, reveling in the fact that I did a dang good job on the house, if I may say so in my not-so-humble opinion.  And every night as it glowed from the lit candle next to it, I once again took delight in my only homemade Christmas decor in the house. 

Forgive me...as I stumble...upon...my words here; the grief is just too deep for me to recount the story without pausing to shed a tear or two.  Last Wednesday morning, I dutifully ran some errands on what was the coldest day of December yet:  a blistery 50 degrees.  With the wind chill it felt like 49.5 degrees.  Greeting me were two dogs barking and bouncing up a storm to welcome me home.  Yes, two dogs:  we were watching our friends' dog, Chloe, for the week.  And of course, our Molly.

"Hi, puppies!" I declared in my usual enthusiastic shrill just as high-pitched as any professional alto singer can peak. 

"Have you been good puppies?  Let's go on outside and do our business.  Oh, you girls are sooooo cute.  Good puppies.  Oh, you're such good puppies!"  On and on went my affection to these two furry creatures who make it delightful to come home. 

Outside they went, rustling in the leaves and yet quickly eager to come back inside.  The feel of 49.5 degrees of wintry air was too much for their little bodies to take...you know, the wind and cold penetrates through their three layers of fur rather rapidly.  They're both trained quite nicely to go out, do their 'thang', and then march back inside tails wagging and ready for the next opportunity for  playtime...or in this case, naps.  I flipped on our gas fire place to warm my chilled, furless body and headed into the kitchen to put away whatever items I bought that day that we didn't need.

Looking down to the ground as I walked to the kitchen (a great habit), I noticed a small piece of pretzel fence on the tile. 

Oh, it must of fallen off somehow. 

There was just a small piece of the fence on the floor, that's it.  Otherwise, the floor was clean enough to eat off of...aside from those wads of black fur from Molly that make their way underneath my kitchen cabinets.  My eyes drifted back up to the island to admire my gingerbread house and that's when I put two-and-two together.  The light switch came on.  My gingerbread house was in a different place on the island.  The fence, entirely gone.  The tree, vanished.  The roof, gnawed.  My luminarios, bulldozed.  Little gingerbread crumbs, shatters of peppermint candy, and a few candies that made up my Christmas lights were on the island. 

PUPPIES!  Guilty Puppies!

 

How they managed to not push the whole house off the island to come crashing down is beyond me.  Somehow, they were very strategic in using their paws, long noses, and flexible tongues to push the house around and eat to their heart's content without making much of a mess. 

Oh, dear gingerbread house of mine had thus been demolished!

























 






















I never thought that a two-week old gingerbread house would still give off a flavorful and tempting aroma to a dog!  Surveying the damage, I mustered up all the strength I had to face the grievous realization that my gingerbread house had come to one of the most dreaded demises a gingerbread house could ever face.  Mauled, shoved around, dog-handled, bit into with sharp teeth.  Oh, the thought is enough to make me shudder!  Its purpose is to sit pretty, admired from afar, maybe with an occasional nibble of one of its candies removed from it by a gentle human hand.  But it's never supposed to face the indescribable fate my gingerbread house experienced that Wednesday morning. 

Even as I prepared to give it a proper, yet solemn burial in the garbage can, both guilty puppies made their way over to examine what I was doing, as if they were ready and eager for more.  Remorse was absent from their faces.  Instead, pride made its grand appearance as tails wagged and noses explored the garbage.  They had just eaten one of the best meals of their entire lives, and by golly, they must have felt like they'd just conquered the world!  Little did they know they were rubbing salt into a deep open wound they'd made in my heart.  My gingerbread house is now on some heap of rubbish down at the dump.  But each night since that day, I'm sure both Molly and Chloe have nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of pretzels, icing and candy corns dance in their heads!

2008 Christmas Tour of Homes

I wouldn't be Meg without offering what may seem to be an apologetic disclaimer before doing something like opening up my home to who knows how many people.  But since there might be visitors stopping by from BooMama's wonderful Christmas Tour of Homes whom have never been to Spicy Magnolia, I really can't resist.  So for those that don't know, I kept Christmas decorating at a minimum this year because of the darling first-born child of ours that is due in a mere 25 days.  So decking the halls this year was not a top priority for me, and thus I only have a few pictures to show.  It will look really plain, but again...a baby is on the way, any day.  Hopefully he or she will wait at least a couple of days after Christmas to arrive so we have time to put up the little decor I got out!  <grin>  And now, without further ado, let the festivities begin!

WELCOME!

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:2

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.  (Matthew 1:18-25)

Upon entering our home, the most ecstatic greeter to welcome you would be this furry creature:  our black lab, Molly.  She's decked out in her Christmas jingle collar that she got from her grandparents; thus, she is an official piece of Christmas decor as she wanders through our home.  I guarantee you'll feel like the most welcomed person in our home ever because of this one.  She has a serious addiction to people and attention.  But don't worry, give her five minutes and she'll settle down.

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."   Luke 2:1-14

No big tree this year, just this little one.  Hubby and I will celebrate our 6th year anniversary on the 21st, and just like our very first Christmas together 4 days after our wedding, this year it will also just be the two of us celebrating.  This sentimental tree was our Christmas tree for the first couple of years of our marriage and it makes its way into our hearts once again...but without ornaments this year.  Simple.  I kept it simple!

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.  Luke 2:15-20

Our stockings hanging on the mantle.  It's not an uncommon thing around our household for Molly to be the center.  <grin>  Next year we'll have a fourth stocking hanging for baby "Polka".

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 

'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.' 

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.  Matthew 2:1-12

 Precious memories, festive conversations, and satisfied palates can usually be found around this dining room table on which these sparkly baubles reside.

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6

This nativity scene is no ordinary nativity.  For one thing, look at all of the pieces to it!  Camels, sheep, a cow you can't see very well, and a mule are a part of this display, as well as all of the other Biblical characters.  Furthermore, it was hand-painted by my grandmother, Gaga.  Her intricate, detailed painting is exquisite.  I wish you could see it in person because even the colors are more beautiful and vivid than what appears here.  As the first Christmas since Gaga's passing in July, it means that much more to have it displayed.  My momma let me borrow it again this year, and it is always my most favorite Christmas decor.
 

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Timothy 1:15-17

Thank you so much for stopping by!  It is a pleasure to have you come through, and there are many more homes to enjoy back at BooMama's.  May this Christmas season be a special time you share with your family as you celebrate Jesus' birth and the hope of His glorious Name!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

Why I Like Kids

I woke up this morning to a forwarded email my Momma sent to me with the subject "Why I Like Kids".  In her message she wrote, "Oh, this is what you have to look forward to!!!!!  How much fun you are about to begin experiencing!!!  We'll be right there with you all!"  I had to share the images with you that were all reasons "Why I Like Kids" (according to whomever the original author was), because they gave me a good chuckle this morning!  After letting the image of the pictures settle into my brain, however, I was so glad my Momma's last sentence in her email was, "We'll be right there with you all!"  'Cause good golly...what I'm in for!!  Just take a look...

I think my brother may have attempted to do this to Momma on several occasions!  And the funny thing is, she probably never knew it happened!  Ha!












Love, love, love it!






I know for sure my brother did this!


Future picture of Molly and Polka trying to fit through our doggie door.


<huge grin>!










This also will be Polka.

Is it just me, or do these images say something more about little boys than little girls??  What a journey it will be!  It makes me wonder what Polka will be like (boy or girl--obviously, there's a big difference! <grin>?  mischievous or pure sweetness?  the instigator or the follower?); what things will have me laughing till my stomach hurts; what things will be a complete embarrassment; and what things will be utterly disgusting, but somehow endearing because it's Polka.  What images will we capture that will be etched in my heart forever?

What classic images of your kiddos or friends'/family's kiddos come to mind?  If you have a favorite "Why I Like Kids" photo that you'd like to share with us, email it to me by next Wednesday (the 17th) and I can share a post with a collection of them for us to enjoy.  That idea just came to mind, so I'll just throw it out there and see if there are any takers! <grin>

I hope you have a wonderful, Christ-focused weekend!  After I woke up in such a good mood after the best night's sleep I've had in a long time, my attitude quickly and inexplicably shifted into a grumpy sourpuss, so I say that as much of a reminder to me as anyone!  So I'm backin' up, grabbin' my hot tea, and off to go have time with the Lord.  Hopefully grumpy sourpuss will go far, far away!  Happy Friday, ya'll!