if you can't sleep, write. and watch food network.

i'm laying on the couch watching pioneer woman [instead of showering and going to bed as i should at midnight] so why not write a post full of exhausted ramblings.  i just kind of missed this little corner of the world so i thought i might as well just jot a few things down.  i have a two year old update cooking for my sweet little emmie.  i really would love to post it now, i just want to make sure i give it the attention that itty bitty deserves.

...not her party. 

things have been changing a little around here.  i'm still staying home with emmie and working part-time from home but things are in full swing with ben back at school.  the school teacher schedule is actually really incredible but we are both completely knocked by the time he gets home in the afternoon. 

em is super emotional these days.  we're hoping that it's not a preview for our teen years.  if so, we're in for it.  after a day starting around 6-something am of consoling, encouraging or disciplining my crying, fussing or disobedient little one, i need a nap, or a pop, or a massage.  

not all day, everyday is that difficult but on the days that are, they typically are like that all day and my patience is so thin.  i've really been trying to keep perspective that this is just a stage and we are so incredibly blessed to be entrusted with this little life.  some days i'm just very much reminded that i'm in need of grace [for me to give and for me to receive]. 

for pretty much six years i've been struggling with doing 'homemaker' type tasks.  i'm not great at cooking or cleaning or grocery shopping etc.  but as of late, i've got a twenty-seventh wind, blame it on nesting, but i really desire to love my family well in creating a home that they're happy to be in and that other people are blessed by.  it's just very small baby steps for me to get there.  i started  loosely following a weekly cleaning schedule the clean mama blog.  i like that there are just small tasks to do everyday.  and while i have failed [everyday] to complete even the small list that she has it feels manageable and our house is getting a tiny bit less overwhelming.  i'm also trying my hand with some couponing and cooking some each week.

i had my first yard sale last weekend.  we're trying to unload some things from our house that we just don't use as well as quite a few items left over from our little booth that we had with our besties.  it was pretty successful i suppose but i still have plenty that i need out of my house and garage so tomorrow i'm opening up the garage and hoping to empty out some more this weekend.  it's not my favorite way to spend my weekend but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

little baby number 2 is growing like crazy.  or at least that's what my waistline would suggest.  this week we're 19 weeks and the size of an heirloom tomato [says an app].  in just less than 2 weeks we go for our anatomy scan and we will also be finding out the gender - woo hoo!  i'm no longer nauseous which is a huge praise and i'm just enjoying dreaming about the babe to come & what our life may be like.  half of those day dreams are sweet sentiments and half are terror about how crazy and inadequate i might be for this job.  the babe moves all the time.  i get less sleep that way but i love those little kicks.  i felt kicks for the first time at 16 weeks and ben [& friends] have had the pleasure just this week. 

one of my dearest and most creative friends suggested that since our guest room will be a nursery and all storage will be lost that we should convert our dining room into a playroom / office.  it really is a much more practical use of our space for what we really do in our house.  i don't throw formal dinner parties.  i do have plastic food and a printer in the dining room so it won't really be a stretch.  i'm really excited about that transformation and actually feeling infinitely more organized that way.  my craft goodies are the only thing i'm slightly concerned about finding a home for.  i'm on the lookout for shelves and some sort of cool hutch / cabinet if you see anything let a sister know!  i've been scouring craigslist but with no luck thus far.  i'm not spending $300 on a cabinet, so that must be how you get luck - get money.

I'd love to write again soon, pick up that two year old emmie update with all her new developments, her 2nd bday party, our sixth anniversary, the end of one chapter of ministry, the beginning of another and much more. I hope that happens before I forget all the dets. 

Happy Friday friends. LOVE!!

Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. -lam 3:22