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.