It's begining to look a lot like....

...CHRISTMAS!

Here in the Cartwright house today was decorating day! After the Redskins game--a win, btw--was over, of course, we drug out the decorations, put up the Christmas tree, & played Christmas music!

Kara spent the weekend with us and that was fantastic. It was great to get to hang out with my sister who is so close to my heart and who I am going to miss so much if she goes far away to college next year! She was also very helpful in decorating because she loves it just like me! :)

 I think this blog is turning into a journal of sorts, which is not necessarily what I planned it to be but I do think I will appreciate being able to look back and see what we were doing in the coming years...IF I keep up the blogging that is.

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving this week and getting to see lots of family that we don't see very often. We will do our "normal" routine which includes going to Grandma & Grandaddy's in Elizabeth City for lunch and then to Grandma & Grandaddy's in Williamston for dinner (where we will hopefully watch the Redskins kick the tooshies of the Cowgirls!...you know, so we'll have one more thing to be thankful for--haha!)

I cannot believe that we will be THIRTY weeks into this pregnancy on Wednesday of this week--it's coming so quickly! Our first shower is in just a few weeks and that is going to REALLY make it real....as if the baby kicking me *right now* isn't reminder enough! ;)

This is going to be the 3rd *married* Thanksgiving and Christmas Joe & I have spent together...but that doesn't seem to do it justice since it's actually the 7th holiday season we've been together for! So exciting to think that this time next year we will have a little one joining in for all the celebrations...and even more so that he will be nearly a YEAR old!

Well, even though I have no deep thoughts to share tonight and am simply posting about what's going on for these two three Cartwrights...I do wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and remind you to count your blessings no matter what challenges you have in front of you!

Prayer Requests:

• This week I would like to ask you to pray for us as we are starting Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University program (finally) and we hope that this will be a life-altering time for our finances. 
• Also, please continue to pray for the other request I've posted in the previous posts (and forgive me for being lazy and not going back to mention each of them individually.) 

Have a great week, one and all! :) 

Friday!

Friday is a cool-er day if you are a person who works M-F but since I don't work right now & Joe works on Saturdays (well is about to start working on Saturdays next week) they aren't as cool as they once were.
Not that I don't still appreciate the "weekend," it's just not the same when you/your hubs is working...I think that makes sense, right?

-however-
THIS particular Friday is pretty cool because tonight we get to see The City Harmonic in concert at Mid-Atlantic Christian University...and that, my friends, is exciting!

By the way, tickets are still available at the door for $25 if you are in town & don't have plans for tonight! :)

Changing the topic completely in t-minus, now: Today I posted on facebook that Malachi has taken up kick-boxing in the past couple of days. He is SO active. It's pretty awesome. I think we might have a bundle of energy in this little man--who knows what we are in for when he is REALLY out and about! :) I can't wait!

Prayer Requests:

This is a new section that I will often put into my blogs so you can join with me in praying if you would like to. God is great & prayer is powerful...thank you for coming along beside me in these requests. Feel free to add any additional prayer requests in the comments section below & I will share them in my next post for any readers out there to join us in praying! 

• Please add to your prayers the families of 3 teenage girls in yet another bad accident in my home town last night. This accident took the life of a 19 year old girl and 2 others are hospitalized. 
• Praise the Lord that Tricia, a CF patient, was placed on the transplant list to receive a second set of lungs to help heal her body. This family has had QUITE the battle medically, but continues to glorify the Lord every step of the way...please lift their family up in prayer! Here is the blog of Tricia's husband, Nate, if you are interested in reading more of their story. 

Brain dump in 3, 2, 1...

Today the things that are on my mind include:

1. I have to do the 3-hour glucose test tomorrow because the 1-hour test came back abnormal and therefore we have to determine if I have gestational diabetes or not...prayers would be appreciated that I do not. It was JUST over the "normal range" so we're hopeful.

2. We have elected Obama as POTUS for another term...I say "we" but it wasn't me who voted for him. And that's all I'll say about that because PLENTY of people have said PLENTY more than enough.

3. I am working on my baby sister's senior baby page for the yearbook. How did that happen? Why doesn't she still look like these pictures?!

 They just grow up so very fast.

We go way back. Sister & friends! < 3 

Isn't she adorable?! 

PRAYER REQUESTS:

This is a new section that I will often put into my blogs so you can join with me in praying if you would like to. God is great & prayer is powerful...thank you for coming along beside me in these requests. Feel free to add any additional prayer requests in the comments section below & I will share them with my readers in the next post. 

• Please continue to lift up the families of the boys who died in the car accident this past weekend, as well as their friends & classmates who are dealing with this tragedy. Also for my aunt, uncle, and cousins as they heal from their soreness & deal with having gone through the accident & seen such devastation. *Praise* that Steve is no longer listed as critical, but as stable. Pray for the driver who wasn't hurt badly but will have to live with what happened when he was behind the wheel. 
• Continue to pray for the medical needs of a friend that I cannot share more about. The doctors are trying a treatment & are hopeful that it will bring about improvement. 
• Please pray that I do not have gestational diabetes & for continued health of our little Malachi. 
• Pray for peace in our country surrounding the turmoil that election time brought about. Pray for our nation's leaders to guide as God would see fit. 
• Continue to pray for families who lost loved ones during Hurricane Sandy.

Heartbroken...but hopeful.

Words cannot express the extremes of emotions that we feel in certain times.
Grief & mourning are times like that.

As I post this, I have a very heavy heart. Last night at about 11:00 my brother texted me to tell me that my uncle, aunt & two young cousins had been in an accident in Camden but that they were going to be fine, just shaken up and sore. At that point everything was still okay.... a few minutes later came another text "pray for the people in the other car, they may not be okay"

As the minutes turned into hours I learned that not one but two lives had been lost...and they were young boys, students at Camden High School, classmates of my little sister, so very young. Two other boys were also in the car, the older brother of one of the deceased was in critical condition.

Here is an article about the accident from wavy.com. 
Here is another from The Daily Advance (although you may not be able to see all of this one with out a subscription.)

My heart was so very torn....admittedly, in a selfish manner, I was thankful that my family was okay; but, at the same time I was devastated for the other families that lost loved ones & had others still fighting for their health or even their life. I was upset--but I know my feelings in NO WAY compare to the feelings that those families are having right now. I haven't stopped praying for them and thinking of them since those text messages and calls came in late last night/early this morning...and I'm asking that you pray with me.

-Pray for the Hicks & McPherson families as they mourn.
-Pray for the older McPherson boy to be healed as well as the other injured young man.
-Pray for the friends of these young people.
-Pray for Camden County High School students & staff.
-PRAY THAT GOD USES THIS TRAGEDY...

At times like this, I turn to scripture & I want 

to share a few verses that came to mind...

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him..." Romans 8:28a

And if you do not know what to say to God at times like this, do not fret for it is written:
"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we out to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans" Romans 8:26

And maybe you feel like there is no hope when these awful things happen....take heart, NOTHING can separate us from the love of God....Romans 8:37-39 read:
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." Matthew 5:4

"This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life." Psalms 118:50

The last verse was one that was shared today in church & it was encouraging to me so I wanted to include it: It reads, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" John 16:33

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I pray these verses will be an encouragement to you. I pray that you will lean on God in times like these. I pray that if you do not know Jesus as your Lord & Savior, that you will take steps to learn about Him and His love for you...about how He died for you and because of that you have a eternal home in Heaven if you choose to live for Him now. If there is one thing above all else in importance in my life, it is my relationship with Jesus and I hope and pray that you can say the same thing!

So today's post definitely isn't what I had in mind yesterday when I said I was going to start blogging more, but it is what is most important right now & it is what is on my heart and mind.

I'll leave you with these words...

• Hug those you love and TELL them that you love them. 
• Live everyday like it's your last; it very well could be. 
• Wear your seatbelt & be very careful on the roads, it only takes a split second for tragic accidents to happen. 
• If you don't know Jesus, what is stopping you? Nothing you can do today is more important than giving your life to Him.

Dedicated to the memory of Denzel Hicks, age 18 & Jeremy McPherson, age 16. 

November 2012 begins!

EDIT--This is a warning now that I've finished this post: prepare yourself for random thoughts of Kristi.

Today we are about to start working on the baby's nursery and it's hard to believe we only have about three months before our family of two becomes a family of THREE! We are already so in love with our little Malachi and my favorite part of every single day is feeling him kicking around and watching him make my belly move all over the place! It's such a thrill to know that there is really a BABY in there. And yes, it still totally makes me feel like part of a sci-fi movie...but that's beside the point.

Here is the most recent picture:

This was taken Monday, Oct. 29, 2012. 

Just two days shy of 27 weeks.

Lately I've been reading lots of "what I'm thankful for" posts & others that are doing a picture a day challenge and I want to do SOMETHING....so blogging is my "something" for the month. I'm not sure exactly WHAT I'm doing yet, but today on Nov. 3rd I'm dedicating myself to blogging ALMOST everyday. I'm not going to say *everyday* because I know that's not realistic for me and because most of the time when I sit down to blog I take a pretty long time to do so and with everything else I want to get done around the house and in the nursery, I don't want to commit that kind of time to blogging honestly! And my posts won't all be what I'm thankful for, or picture of the day, but they'll be something....even a surprise to me at this point!
Any who...consider this my here-come-a-lot-of-blogs warning for all three of you out there reading. ;)

So....today, I am so very unbelievably beyond thankful for this little baby growing inside of me. My close friends know that I always had this (unreasonable, as in there was no reason for me to think this) fear that I wouldn't be able to have kids and I've wanted to have kids since I was like a pre-teen and babysitting. I mean I just LOVE kids. Being a mommy would probably be like #1 on my bucket list and so I just feel SO VERY BLESSED. I also have friends who've dealt with the struggle of infertility and I see the pain that causes...so I pray for them and my heart aches that we can't all just have big happy families RIGHT when we want them. So as I sit here being so thankful for my pregnancy, I am also recognizing God's blessing to myself and Joe and our family....and at the same time, praying for those who haven't been blessed in the same way. Will you take a minute and pray for those out there who are longing for the title mommy & daddy..for the first time, or maybe for another child...pray for them to also put their faith in God and His timing because we know that is the best timing even when we don't understand it.

And lastly, today was my hub's first day at his new job at Outback Steakhouse! Well it wasn't really a first day because it was just training stuff, learning the system, getting in the computer, etc... BUT, he is thrilled about getting back into serving tables because he really enjoys it and it's also a great opportunity for him to talk to people and meet more of the people of our community that he is so passionate about serving & reaching for Jesus...I'm thankful for this job for many reasons.
1)He is excited about it and I LOVE seeing him excited & knowing he's happy.
2) It will be helpful to have this added income!
3) I get to eat Outback food a little more often ;) ...okay, there are more reasons I could list & #3 was just to be silly
...but for real, I like to eat. :D

PRAYER REQUESTS:

This is going to be a new section that I will often put into my blogs so you can join with me in praying if you would like to. God is great & prayer is powerful...thank you for coming along side me in these requests.   

• A friend is in dire need of physical healing and while I cannot share details, God knows the need. Also pray for this friends family as they cannot do anything but wait & see what the doctors say. 
• Hurricane Sandy relief & clean-up along the East Coast. Special prayers for those who lost loved ones in the storm. 
• My friend Dana's grandparents were hit in a drunk driving accident last night. The car was going in excess of 100 mph when the driver lost control, went airborne flipping over the median and landing on top of their car. The grandmother is in critical condition & the grandfather is pretty roughed up as well. Dana also broke her foot last night & has a little one at home, so she could use your prayers as she juggles all these things going on in her life.
• I will continue to pray for Malachi's health & growth! If you would too, that would be awesome. We want a happy and healthy baby boy in January (or so!) & we continue to thank God for his growth & health thus far. 

Absentee Reporting for duty...

Alright, I'm back! How is it that I failed to blog for 5 months? What a slacker. Okay, pop my wrist...punishment over. The period of absenteeism is over! :)

Now to catch up on the life of the Cartwrights! :)

Since I last posted we've made some big decisions & have moved to the OBX to join in ministry here at a local church. We couldn't move until we finished up the afterschool program we were running in EC. So, school got out on June 8th and on June 10th we packed up a U-haul and moved to our new place!

These plans of course were made a few weeks (maybe months) prior & it just so happened that the VERY week we were moving, we found out some BIG NEWS!
On June 6th, 2012 this happened...

That's right! The "couple of Cartwrights" that my title is based on is changing to THREE Cartwrights!
We are due on January 30th, 2013 and on Aug. 27th we found out that we are welcoming a little BOY into our family! :)

  

I have a friend who had a nickname for her little guy before he was born & we loved that idea, especially before we knew were were having a little man! So we (mainly aunt Kara) came up with a nickname for the little one and I'm displaying it here: 

Don't mind the motion-sickness bands and the general nauseous-ness that I can see seeping out of my very pores. This was a first trimester (also known as puke for the fun of it time period) but thankfully that has passed! 

And here I am as the bump is just starting to show...although anyone who's been pregnant knows that I felt like I was showing long before this! haha :) 

We are now passed the halfway point and tomorrow marks 21 weeks! 

January will be here before we know it! 

WE CAN'T (but can, of course for his health) WAIT TO MEET OUR LITTLE GUY!


And on other fronts: Joe and I both have part-time local jobs & Joe of course is involved in the family ministry here at our church. We are loving life & appreciate prayers that the next few months of our pregnancy go smoothly and result in a happy, healthy little boy come January!

And here is my promise to not wait 5 months before blogging again! *pinky promise*

Sports, I love 'em.

So I know that my first love was probably my mom and dad...and then probably food and maybe a slinky, but somewhere close behind that was some sort of 'ball!


I've played...
-softball since I was maybe 6?
-volleyball since Middle School &
-basketball since 10th Grade

And those are just on actual organized teams.
If you know my parents (really my extended family should be included, too) then you know I played all kinds of ball long before I was old enough to be on an actual team.

And par for the course, I married a sports-loving man. 

But, I digress...

I write tonight to share about something that I think sports have to offer us all a lesson in--and that's life!

You see, in sports we often find ourselves doing a lot of competing--with the opposing team, with another teammate for a position we want to play, with ourselves as we push to become better--and I think that's a good thing!

Specifically, I'm talking about those times where as much as you fight your teammate for that spot, you find yourself on the sidelines when the game-clock starts. This can be an upsetting experience. I think that is OKAY. I think it's okay to be upset. I think being upset about that can spur you on to work harder the next day in practice. I think being upset can lead you to do some thinking about how even though you may not have that starting spot today, you can still be a good teammate. And I think it is a lesson that can be applied to all of life--to use those times that we come up short of our personal goals to see the bigger picture. to remain positive despite being a little upset. I think this is where sports teach us about LIFE.

Because you see....competition will always be a part of our lives. We will compete in band for a higher "chair," in classes for a higher grade, as we graduate we'll compete to be valedictorian, and in our jobs to get that promotion over a colleague.

But the fact of the matter is this: we won't always be THE top dog.
We won't always get the first chair in band, the highest grade in class. We can't all be the valedictorian or the CEO of the company that we work for.

We can't all be starters. 

BUT we can learn humility from the times we do achieve the highest honors & in the times that we don't,  we can learn to be a team player.

Team building day with my college volleyball team. 

So, while I still say that I love sports and that will never change; I have to add that I also love the life lessons they have taught me through the years.

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Now allow me to shift gears a little and share a story with you about some guys who have embraced their non-starter role on a team that you may have heard of once or twice....the UNC TarHeels Men's basketball team, yeah THOSE guys.  If you haven't ever heard of the "Blue Steel" and you are a sports fan, an athlete or otherwise interested, you should read up on them. They are the "end of the bench" for UNC & they are pretty much proud of it!


Because, get this--they recognize their role on the team & they know that without them (warming the bench but still working hard in practice everyday) the team wouldn't be what it is--a successful bunch that is always a contender when the NCAA tournament rolls around.

Oh, and they once tweeted, "You're welcome Tar Heel fans. If we didn't get dunked on every day in practice, you wouldn't be able to see it in the game. #feelthesteel". Check out their twitter here.

If that's not a lesson in how to be a TEAM PLAYER, I don't know what is. Thanks Blue Steel for being an example of the lesson that sports taught me.
A lesson I think we all need to be reminded of from time to time.

And one more thing, GO TARHEELS! 

Searching to be willing.

I got on my computer a few minutes ago in order to look for some insight, to just word vomit onto a blog to clear my head and to just see what God had to say to me (I know weird to get on a computer to see what God had to say, right? but stay with me and know that all the while I'm praying in my heart...asking God to help me with this current struggle.)


The struggle I am having right now is... "what's next, God?"


I have blogged before about transparency...and I continue to try to be transparent. And in doing so I am okay with saying that my husband has a heart for God that I admire, and that I also do not have (to the same extent). My husband would pick up right now and move to Antarctica if he was convinced that's where God was asking him to go...and I, well, I would like to say that I would...BUT if I am being transparent, I think I would say "I would go, but I would not be happy about it. And I would probably try really hard to talk Joe into another place that God may want us." But that's NOT the heart I WANT. I want to be willing to GO. I want to say "here am I. Send me."


These past few days, I have felt God working in me. I have heard his voice in many places...in the message yesterday morning at church, in the message I listened to in an online service last night, in a song....I keep feeling encouraged, and broken all at the same time. Do you know what I mean? Do you know the feeling of being encouraged and broken at the same time? God is doing that to me right now...and I love it, and it's scary. It's like I feel Him stretching and growing me (that's encouraging) but I know that to keep growing, I have to face some fears (and that's breaking me). I love that God is working in me, but I know with those changes and growing opportunities...comes the facing the fears, and that's scary.

Warning--sidenote/detour ahead...

I should share a bit about what's going on in our lives right now for those of you who may not know. Currently Joe & I are running a small after school program at my home church, but we are pretty certain that when this school year is over we will be moving on to something else...it's the something else we are trying to figure out right now; the cause for the "What's next, God?" question we are pondering. 
Joe is in Arizona at the moment for a Leadership conference called Restoration Revolution boot camp (you can follow his adventures here) and this experience is really shaking him and God is working. It's a great thing (other than how much I miss him!) and I am thrilled that he was able to go because I know that this truly is what he wanted and what he needed. It is a God thing that it all worked out & he was able to go. So...there is the "current" edition of the Cartwright life. :)

So back to me getting on the computer tonight...

I logged on and went straight to blogger to talk, but my words weren't ready to be made into sentences. My heart was still searching for those words. So i decided to do some blog reading, before blog writing and it didn't take me long to stumble upon some words that immediately brought me to those "yes, Lord" tears...flowing tears. The blog that I was reading was one of Natali's. I have mentioned Natali in the past, we met in college and it wasn't until we got to know more about each other as we talked on Facebook that I learned that we had something other than our college in common--we both had a love for the Maker of our universe. Natali has since been an inspiration and encouragement to me (and many others) of multiple occasions but tonight it was her words that figuratively, brought me to my knees.

In her blog, Natali says...
"I'm a willing vessel. Mold me, light my steps along the path You have for me, and help me. Help me keep stepping out. Help me to have an obedient spirit no matter the obstacles in my way. I've taken Your hand and I'm not looking back. There's too much at stake to stay within the status quo, so I'm letting You write my days out and following the example You set before me to follow.

It doesn't matter what I lose or what I have to do to get back here, I just know what You've told me to do. As it says in Zephaniah 3.17, I just have to listen to You singing over me and know I've got all I will ever need. Your voice is my healing and my lead. If it means that one comes to know You, then it will be worth every struggle, every loss and every heartache I foresee down this path that isn't the easiest. Yet somehow I think this path holds the greatest joy I've never known. I'm ready to say hello.
Here we go."

These words shook me. To me they said, "Kristi, let go of your fears. Your fears are telling you to hold on to what you know...but you know Me and I will never let go, and I am all you need. Kristi, you need to trust Me because I made you and I love you. Kristi, just let Me lead..." 

I mentioned that last night I listened to a message online that spoke to me, that message was delivered by Dave at Kinetic Church in Charlotte, NC and in that message he used the following verses:

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
2 Corinthians 4:16-18

This helped me to realize that my eyes are too focused on what is SEEN. I am looking at what I have here and how I am comfortable...but what I should be looking at is how I can impact the kingdom. How I can make a difference in the UNSEEN, in the ETERNAL. 

I am being broken. 

I am being encouraged. 

And I could use your prayers. 

We (Joe & I) could use your prayers for our future...for clarity on where God wants us, 

and for the focus to make our lives HIS and not our own.