Announcement, announcement, announcement!

We haven't announced this officially anywhere. We have told friends and family and anyone that asks. I haven't felt the need to go super public with this announcement yet, but today on my blog I felt that it would be great to share!!

We are having another baby!! And better yet- it's a GIRL!!!! Rya Grace is due February 23rd, 2012. She looked great in the ultrasound the other day. She is definitely different than her brother! She is very quiet and doesn't move very much. The ultrasound tech did not have a hard job getting the necessary measurements and with Ti they almost couldn't get pictures of his legs and feet because he never stopped moving. Titus still seems to be a mover, so I'm wondering if Rya is still getting to be a mover or if she will be a quieter more still baby. Who knows! It will be fun to find out!!!

Rya's profile looks very similar to Titus'. I say it's because they are siblings, NOT because all babies probably look very similar at this stage. :o)

Peace out!

Tea

Tea.

 It used to be my favorite beverage.

I craved it daily and preferred that over anything else.

However, this new baby does not like tea! Well, it likes tea but has managed to change my taste buds enough that no matter what I do the tea doesn't taste "right." I make the same way every time. I make the same as I did before this baby. But no matter what it doesn't taste the way it used to and it almost never tastes the same way twice!

Coffee is my drink of choice these days and while I have always thought it delicious I really miss my good ol' hot cup of tea. Maybe someday it will come back. Maybe


**Thanks for reading my complaint.**

MYM

I don't know if any of you have heard of a program/challenge called Maximize Your Mornings. It was started by Kat and it's an amazing thing! It's a challenge where you are grouped up with about 10 other women who are all striving to get up for their families and not with their families. It's a challenge to get up before your family and to have your quiet time with God, exercise, and whatever else you want to get done before they get up. In your groups you check in everyday and encourage the ladies in your group and they struggle along with you to get up and get moving. It's a really crazy, awesome idea to be accountable to women from all over!

I've read about this challenge for about a year- it happens in the fall and spring- and I have always felt the twinge of "I should do that." I struggle with getting up in the morning and so I usually just don't. Then Titus wakes me up and it definitely makes for a crankier mommy than he needs!!!

Today was my first day and it was a fail. Not because I slept in, but because Titus woke up at 5:30am!! Granted I didn't realize that the challenge started today and so I didn't plan on waking up before him. But, I definitely did NOT plan on getting up that early!! However- I did spend time with God as soon at Ti went down for his nap. I'm happy that I was able to have some quiet time. My first thought was to jump back in bed myself, but then I saw the emails from my group memebers checking in. Thank you Jesus for that swift reminder!!!

MYM has already started for the fall but pray about joining for the spring- or get together with a group of your friends and do it on your own. :o)

Quiet Time

I love me some good ol' quiet time.

Titus is sleeping. I'm snuggled up under a warm blanket. I could probably fall asleep but once I do I know Ti would wake up. So I'm just laying here, relaxing and enjoying the peace and quiet.

I've noticed a lack of quiet time in my life lately. We have been way too busy and Titus is cutting some molars so he has been an emotional mess. I don't blame him, though. I hope they finish cutting soon and give the poor kid a break. Anyway- back to my quiet time. It's necessary for my sanity and when I don't have a little bit every day I tend to go a little crazy and get a little crabby.

I also need my quiet time with God. That's even more necessary than just by myself. But both are needed to help me be the wife and mommy I need to be.

I'm going to snuggle in and stay that way until Titus wakes up or I have to pee- whichever comes first. ;o)

Re-commitment

Re-commitment is the theme of my life these days.

Recommitting to keeping my priorities straight, to my family, to my walk with God, to this blog, to my interests.

I have been way to self-absorbed to get anything right lately. Even if on the outside it looks like I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing my thoughts and my attitude have sucked (for lack of a better word). I have been my first priority and whenever that happens everything always gets messed up. I haven't been spending time with God at all lately and have found it really hard, although rewarding, to get back into it. I have had no real desire to blog because I couldn't come up with anything to say. I have become a blob that does nothing but sit around in my spare time. It's really pathetic, but thankfully through God and a few loving friends I've been convicted and working on changing things around.

My first priority is God. Spending time with Him- which is still a struggle- needs to happen on a daily basis and for me preferably in the morning. Mornings work best for me- it helps set the tone for my day and helps me have the right attitude. There are also many verses that talk about meeting with God in the morning. Psalm 143:8 is one of those verses that I memorized many years ago. Mornings don't work for everyone and that's totally fine. It's the best time for me and the biggest challenge for me.

Second priority- family. But, most importantly my husband. I have made the mistake of letting Titus become more of a priority than Bryan and that is a huge no-no! It's hard to keep it straight, especially when you take care of a baby 24-7, but I'm committed to figuring it out. There will be lots of Bible study, reading, and seeking counsel from wise, Christian women in this area. The Bible is clear- the husband comes before children- I've messed that up big time and I'm paying the consequences. However, with God's love and grace I am forgiven and He is renewing my mind and helping me make better choices and to choose to keep Bryan top priority over the kid. :)

Third priority is getting back to my interests (this blog included). I love reading blogs and writing one myself and I have let a lot of that go and have just turned into a bum. No more!! I can't say that I will be so faithful as to write everyday, but I really want to write as much as I can and to keep up with the blogs that I follow.

I love sewing and I have a few projects lined up that I would love to get moving on so that is on the to-do list. Some of those projects are: nursing pads, maternity pants, quilt, and draw string bag. I also have a pile of clothes that need to be mended.

And I'm committing to getting back to my "crunchy" research and trying new things. I decided way back to make my own detergent because it saves money and because I know what the ingredients are. I am looking into trying soap nuts because that is even a more natural version than the detergent I make. I also decided to use cloth diapers because once again it saves money and also there are no chemical in a cloth diaper that come in contact with my son's skin. I have been very lazy with the cloth diapers and been spending way too much money on disposables. No more of that! I use disposables for night time (Ti pees a lot at night and I haven't figured out a way to make cloth work) and for outings (like shopping or church) and babysitters. I'm also getting into learning how to cook more with "real" food and trying to stay away from processed stuff. I don't have my own kitchen so that it a little harder, but I'm learning all I can now so I can apply it when I do have my own kitchen. I've also been reading lots and lots on the "no-poo" method (no shampoo) and other things like that. I'm not really ready to try it- mostly because I love the smell of shampoo and probably because I'm lazy.

So anyway- I'm recommitting to the things that matter and the things that make life worth it and enjoyable. And as a thank you for reading this massive post here are some pictures: