Nesting?

Over the last few weeks, my energy has definitely been returning. Thank God for the 2nd trimester! All the books I've read have said that this is when I will have the most energy to get things done, but I was a little skeptical given how gross I felt for a while. But it's completely true! So, I am definitely trying to take advantage of my bursts of energy.

Some of the projects I've been working on over the last few days include:

• Cleaning out the closet in the baby's room
• Updating our budget to plan for maximum savings to cover my maternity leave
• Sorting through all my clothing into "what I can still fit into" and "See ya later"
• Cleaning off our desk in the guest room so that it looks nicer for guests
• Prepping the dresser in the baby's room for painting
• Separated all of the clothes given to us for our Safe Family boys (still need to buy bins to store them in, then move it all to the basement! Baby steps, people!)

Maybe that doesn't seem like a lot, but considering how little I've accomplished recently, that seems like a BIG DEAL to me!

Some other projects that will begin this week/weekend include:

• Painting the new cabinets in the laundry room
• Painting the large cabinet/"storage thing" in the laundry room
• Installing flooring in the laundry room
• Possibly weeding/mowing the lawn (MAYBE....)
• Possibly putting the door back on the laundry room
• Painter coming on Friday to give us an estimate for painting our kitchen/living room/entry way 

SO EXCITING! Maybe it's just me, but I absolutely love crossing things off my "to-do" list! We'll see how it goes over the next several days!

Graduate School!

Today, we received some VERY exciting news. {No, we are not pregnant...}

RICH WAS ACCEPTED INTO GRADUATE SCHOOL!

He will begin his Masters in Music Education at the University of Illinois this summer down in Champaign-Urbana. It is a 3 year summer program, which will allow him to work during the academic year, and go to school during the summer! We are so excited for this opportunity. Not only will it be an incredible learning experience, but it will make him eligible for jobs at larger schools with larger programs, thus giving him more earning opportunity to provide for our family.

This is DEFINITELY an answer to prayer. We are so thankful to our Lord for this opportunity. We know that God is ultimately in control our lives, and it was His decision as to where Rich would go to graduate school.

Again, we know that the Lord is in control, so ours plans really don't mean anything to Him. But, here is a little layout of our plan- Lord willing!

June 2012- Rich heads down to U of I to begin Year 1 of graduate work. Oh yeah, also try to get pregnant! That could be tricky since we won't get to see each other except on weekends...

August 2012- Rich comes home to Woodstock to begin the Fall semester at Richmond-Burton High School. And hopefully we'll be pregnant.

April/March(ish) 2013- BABY STILES IS BORN!

June 2013- Rich begins Year 2 of graduate work

August 2013- Rich comes home

That way, we'll at least have one year of graduate work under our belts before we have a baby in our lives. We're pretty excited to see what the Lord will do over the next few years. I don't know what He has in store, but it's going to be pretty incredible!

Second Thoughts

The last couple of weeks have been a little rough. To be honest, I thought we were going to have to scrap the whole baby plan and wait until Rich finishes graduate school. To make a very long {and personal} story short, we hit a couple of financial bumps. Some unexpected expenses and bills really caught both of us off guard and made us questions our ability to provide for a baby right now.

I'll admit, I panicked and got a little hysterical. There were tears. Dramatic outbursts. Lots of doubt.

And my sweet husband was such a champ. He proved, yet again, how loving, supportive, compassionate and patient he is and just how lucky I am to have him! He listened as I explained the situation. He offered words of comfort. He hugged me tight when I got home. And he paid attention to me the rest of the night. What a guy. I am so blessed!

Anyway, things seem to be back on track.

And Rich & I are rock solid. I couldn't be happier to be living life with him.