Holy?

I haven't written anything in a while; I missed posting anything about Brooks' birthday party and our trip to the Children's Museum and our home buying/selling exercises. It's not that I've been too busy or those topics weren't worthy, I just haven't felt the passion behind the posts.
Recently, I read a post from my sister in law, Katie, about her Bible study group discussing women of the Bible. She followed up with some questions she asked herself about how her modern-day lifestyle would be viewed and if she saw herself as a good Christian woman. I thought about these questions for a brief moment and moved on to what I was doing. A few days later, I came across a link online that a Facebook (and grade school) friend had posted. This link was familiar in message. I won't go into too much detail because you can read the article here. http://www.sj-r.com/features/x1461788336/Tom-Ehrich-asks-if-we-really-live-like-Christians The article begs the question, do we really live like Christians?
I started to see a pattern forming. I talked to Beau about it Saturday night before bed (and after my Ambien) and he said I was getting too deep for being so late at night. I think he chalked it up to the Ambien...that is, until yesterday.
We went to church yesterday. It's been a really long time since we've attended due to the typical two year behavior of my son, Beau's schedule and the behavior of my son (did I mention that??). I was almost blown away while listening to the First Reading. It was Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18. If you're familiar with it, you can skip the next few sentences. For those that are not, it's below:
The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. “‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
16 “‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people.
“‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD.
17 “‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.
18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
So after this topic popping up three times in about the same number of days, I really started to be introspective. Am I holy? Am I a good Christian woman? Am I living like The Lord? Frankly, the answer is no. For me, I always thought, "I'm not doing anything bad or breaking any laws." But opening my mouth to say something unnecessary or slandering my neighbor isn't right. I have had grudges and hate and these things aren't holy. This isn't how I want to live. Prayers and church don't make the Christian, living holy does.
So, short of being slapped upside the head by Him, His message has been delivered and well received. I will be a good and holy Christian.

My Latest Obsession - PINTEREST!

So, I've been impatiently waiting for my invitation to Pinterest and I FINALLY got it. I've wasted so much time surfing today that I'm a little ashamed to even being posting this. If you don't know what Pinterest is, go check it out http://pinterest.com/. It is so amazing! I've probably got a million pins from just today alone. I can't wait to try the new recipes and DIY projects. Now that I'm starting to have more energy, I can totally see myself doing some of these fun things. I <3 Pinterest!

11 Years of Marriage - 9/16/11

Friday, 9/16/11, marked our 11 year anniversary. For most, it's hard to believe we've been married that long because we got married so young. For those close to us, it's not unusual at all. The majority of our friends and family were married quite young and have been married for 10+ years.
This year's anniversary was very nice. The day started off not so great, with me having a major headache. I thought for sure that I was coming down with the flu, since I had the flu shot the day before. I left work around lunch time to go home to work. I took more Tylenol and laid down on the couch with my laptop close by to see if I could rid myself of this headache. A couple of hours later I was feeling great. We hadn't solidified any plans oh what we were doing or where we were going, but we did have a babysitter (or two). We dropped off Brooks at Mom and Frank's around 6:00. I was worried that he would be too much for them but lucky for everyone, Makayla was there too. They seemed to keep each other entertained as soon as she warmed up to him. Brooks isn't shy at all when it comes to other kids. In fact, he doesn't know a stranger at all! At the last minute, Beau and I decided to go to Paesano's for dinner. This is one of our favorites that we don't visit very often. I think we've been 4 times since Prom Night. :) It was cool on Friday due to a morning thunderstorm, so we sat out on the patio. It was perfect! We sat close to the water feature that had koi fish that would come beg for bread crumbs. Beau had a couple of beers with dinner and I sprung for iced tea. We both ordered the Shrimp Paesano (our favorite) and then had dessert. I had the Amaretto Creme Brulee and Beau had the Coconut Key Lime Pie. Everything was so amazingly delicious. The conversation was great too. We rarely talk like we used too. Most conversations are interrupted by a "Dada" or "Mama" or us wrangling him in. There was also a three-piece band playing jazz in the background. Did I mention it was perfect? Beau and I have decided we will do more outings like that together. It usually only occurs a couple of times a year, and that's just not enough. Thanks to Mom and Frank for helping make this night so great!

15 on the 15th

I am 15 weeks along today. I had my first appointment with my OB - whom is amazing, I might add. He always puts me at ease. My blood pressure was a little high 133/79 but I know that was due to anxiety. I talked to him about my morning sickness that hasn't yet gone away. He suggested taking half of a Unisom at night and/or foregoing my vitamin. He mentioned that vitamins are unnecessary because we get all the nutrients needed through our food intake. He said prenatal vitamins were created for women in third-world countries. Apparently, the large amounts of iron cause nausea so not taking them might make me feel better. I'm still thinking about that one.
We didn't do much in today's appointment. He asked me any first trimester testing had been done and we listened to the heartbeat. Baby's heartbeat was 164 bpm. I have a sonogram in three weeks! I can't wait to see our baby!

My beau, Beau

I have so much respect for Beau. I rarely give him enough credit for all the things he does. There are very few men out there that do what he does. He's a fantastic father, helps out around the house (inside and out) and has recently taken up cooking. In addition to that, he's a great provider.

In 2008 he decided that he had enough of the retail worker's life and tested for the San Antonio Fire Department. I was not so thrilled about this decision at first. I thought, there goes our holidays together; it's a huge paycut and; I'm not sure I'm comfortable with such a dangerous job. I quickly changed my mind when I saw how committed he was to this idea. I've never seen him so passionate about anything...even baseball! I knew this was when I needed to suck it up and go along with whatever made him happy.

So here we are...him, a firefighter and me, a firefighter's wife. He loves it! And I love that he's happy about what he does. I know there are people out there that think being a firefighter is a piece of cake. If they aren't making runs, they're taking naps, playing games or hanging out. While that maybe be the perception, it's not even close to being accurate. When Beau arrives on shift around 8:30 AM (shift doesn't officially start until 9:00), he relieves the firefighter from the prior shift and then proceeds to check the truck and supplies. They make sure there are enough supplies (air, backboards, gloves, buckets, etc.) for the 24 hour shift, check the hoses and then make sure everything is working properly (sirens, lights, horns, nozzles, etc.) After that, they could be making runs all day. Don't get me wrong, they're not constantly running to fires. They're doing other things like lifting up overweight people on stretchers, giving CPR ("bagging") someone that had a head attack, assuring young mothers that their child is okay and clearing out accidents. I know this is Beau's job. It's what he signed up for, but it's never easy to see a frantic family reacting after something horrible has gone wrong and you're trying to save their loved one's life.

In addition, it's never easy to be away from your family on holidays, evenings and weekends so that you can care for someone elses family. For those people that don't think firefighters do enough, I challenge you spend a day with them. Whether you're collecting donations on a hot street corner for Jerry's Kids, cooking dinner for 8 to 10 guys, stepping through blood and other unmentionables to save someone, or waking up 4 to 5 times a night for calls that seem meaningless, you'd probably change your perception of this occupation. After 9/11, how could you possibly doubt these folks?!?

(Don't) Bring on the Heat!

These roasting temperatures are driving me crazy. The two hottest summers on record have been in 2009 (the hottest) and 2011. Both of which I've been pregnant. This last Saturday evening, Beau, Brooks and I went outside for about an hour between 7:30 and 8:30 PM to visit with neighbors and let Brooks get in some playtime with Oscar from across the street. It was still around 100 degrees but we have a ton of shade in our neighborhood. I had chased Brooks up and down the street and into neighbor's yards and garages. When we came inside that night, my feet were swollen and I was a hot mess! I'm just ready for this heat to be over. I would love to take Brooks to Sea World or the zoo on the weekends without bursting into flames. Just yesterday, my office was hitting temps over 90 degrees...INSIDE!! I am okay with it being warm but this is ridiculous!!

My Emerging Belly

Today was really bittersweet as I walked out of The Fertility Center of San Antonio. As they said goodbye and hugged me, I felt this overwhelming sadness. I will never walk through these halls and see their smiling faces again. These doctors, nurses and MAs that eased my worry, answered my often ridiculous questions and helped me give life to two little miracles would be out of my life forever. I got a little emotional because I know these people care. I wasn't just a name to them. They asked me to send pictures of the baby and to keep them updated. There aren't many offices that do that. At the same time, it was good to leave there. It's progress -a graduation, if you will. I will now go on to my OB visitis with Dr. Almendarez. He's an equally amazing doctor. I actually don't know where I would be without him.

So, today I'm 12 weeks along and already look and feel the size of a house. I know my intestines are up in my chest and it's obvious that everything has moved around. Attached is a photo of me and a sono photo both taken today. Beau works today and wasn't able to make the appointment, but we also got it on DVD, so he didn't really miss a thing.