Some things I've been up to

starting January 1st I really wanted to be purposeful in having my Bible reading and quiet time every day. This has always been a challenge for me to not miss a day but it has especially escalated since Reese entered the picture. I found myself thinking that if I even got to pray during the day, that was a triumph. My personal walk, marriage and even friendships really started to feel the strain of that thinking. The Lord graciously worked on my heart to show me that I need Him and His word continually and I should be desperate for it even when I don't feel well, when the house is messy, the dishes are still in the sink or I find that there are so many more "needed" things to get done. I am so thankful for the Lord's mercy and kindness as I realized my sin in doing this thing called motherhood on my own strength. So...to keep myself accountable and to have a portion for every day of the year I started the "MacArthur Daily Bible." So far, it's been wonderful. I think the last time I read through the Old Testament was in college. It's been a long time and I find myself sad to have to stop reading for the day (not that I technically have to but I want to stay on track and not take away from the next day).

Here's a plug for my old stomping grounds, Grace To You. If you're in need of a good devotional, want to read through the Bible in a year or just want the every day accountability like me, I highly recommend this tool! So thankful for John's insight and helps while you read.

It wasn't necessarily a resolution but I knew that once I started feeling better in this pregnancy it was time to hit the exercise hard. I did this dvd while I was pregnant with Reese and two weeks ago decided it was time to pull it out again. Silly me...I thought there would be no problem getting back into it and that I actually might need to find something else just to intensify things. Well, and my husband can vouch for me, I looked pretty pathetic around here for about a week...like a really old lady struggling to pull herself up kind of look. I'm feeling a lot stronger now and actually notice a spring in my step. Erin O'Brien is great and I'm starting to look forward to our times together. :)

If you're looking for a good chocolate icing recipe for Valentine's Day or any occasion for that matter, I recommend this one from Pioneer Woman's blog. So Good! I didn't get any pictures of the finished product but it turned out great (disclaimer: she does say somewhere that it goes on thick and she's right...you need to work quickly once it comes off the stove). The nice part about it is that it's only 3 ingredients. I didn't try making the yellow cake (I was using up a box that had been in my pantry WAY too long) but being that she's Pioneer Woman and her recipes are A-mazing I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Did I mention that I'm on a sugar fast? I sound like my friend Polly. :) You would be too, though, if you had been consuming the amounts of sugar I was just last week. I don't know what it was but 7 cupcakes in 3 days, eating frosting out of the tub with a spoon and a piece of fruit pizza later, I had to take drastic measures. So I haven't had anything since Saturday...that's 6 days so far. I realize that I started this right before one of the most sugar-filled holidays we celebrate but I'm letting myself have one thing and then it's back to my fast. I'm not sure how long this will go...but definitely for awhile. The idea of gestational diabetes scares me to no end, plus I know all of this isn't good for our baby. It must be pregnancy because I'm not like this....I never think about food this much. This could also be why it was so necessary to kick exercising into high gear. :)

Lastly, baby has been moving way more in the past few days (since being off sugar...it's not a sugar-induced spurt of energy :)). I believe this is my very favorite aspect of being pregnant. It creates such a bond whenever I feel this little person kick. In 17 days, we get to watch him/her do all this moving around and hopefully find out what we're having! I can't wait. My friend Amanda said it right, other than the birth day, ultrasound day is her favorite and I would have to agree.

Thanks for bearing with me through this post...just some fun, random thoughts I thought I'd share. :) Happy Friday!!