We went to Blacksburg this past weekend and FORGOT THE CAMERA AT HOME! ARGH!! It was so beautiful up there this weekend with one notable exception: I came down with a cold.
You know how most of the time, you feel kind of cruddy and then finally you get the majority of the symptoms? Yeah, that didn't really happen. I has a sore throat Friday night and woke up with a runny nose and congestion. I think I'm on the other side of it now, but I'm taking it easy for the next few days.
Other than the cold, it was wonderful to visit my parents. We spent the morning at a Virginia Tech surplus auction, at which I accidentally bid on a few items (yikes!). Luckily, we only won the items we wanted which included two desks, a rolling chair and a sweet sweater vest for my dad.
In other news, I've started my third trimester and so far it's been pretty good. Pinto bean is flopping around like a little fish and I'm having to go to the doctor more often (every two weeks, as opposed to once a month. This means I'm almost done, right?). Oh, and I finally feel like I look pregnant, not fat. Here's one of the *FEW* belly pictures I am going to share with you guys.
Look at me, aren't I fah-bulous dahling? Good grief.
I'm not really digging the swelling though. My hands have swollen so much that I can't wear my wedding rings any more (this picture is about two weeks old, although I don't look that much bigger) and I feel like my face is looking pretty wide these days. I am, however, happy to say that I'm in the home stretch and I can't wait until December gets here! Here's to a swift and problem-free 11 weeks (give or take)!
It took a long time, but I'm now starting to piece things together! Look at all that fabric!
And that's just the long bits!
There are approximately 200 2.5 x 2.5 squares that I cut out. See?
I have to say, this has been my least favorite activity so far. But I was so excited by my triumph over the pile of fabric that I decided to piece together one of the blocks last night and sew it. Just to see how it turned out. And to my anal retentive credit, obsessing over the straightness and length of each piece cut (which was frustrating, but I couldn't just let it go!) made this block go together in a snap and fit together like a dream. I could get into this part. :) We'll see how it goes when it comes time to quilt the darn thing!
It has been entirely too long without a Teri-original recipe on here! So, to satisfy this urge, I decided to share the best corn chowda recipe you'll ever find. :) Be forewarned that this soup makes A LOT and is insanely delicious. The recipe will be after the break!
Today, I attended the funeral service for a friend of mine that I've known since middle school. Jimmy had cystic fibrosis and fought the good fight up to the very end. Jimmy was catholic and we attended the memorial mass for him this morning. One of the readings from the service today came from Ecclesiastes chapter 3. The verses that stuck out to me particularly were the following:
1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
What struck me most was the second verse. Not the "time to die" part, but the "time to be born" part. It got me thinking about my baby and her time. Her time to be be born is now. Matt and I had our struggle with getting pregnant, and just when I was about to give up, I found out about our little pinto bean.
For so long, I had been asking God, "Why not now?" I could not see at the time, blinded as I was by baby fever, that it was not the best time. The time for our daughter to be born was not a year ago or even this month. Her time is soon to come and not a moment sooner. Looking back, I can understand that it wasn't yet my season to be a mother. I just couldn't understand that, while my impatient heart was yearning for something I seemingly couldn't have. It just wasn't her time... yet.
And that is the hardest part sometimes. Understanding that we don't live on our time schedule. We live on God's. Just as my daughter's time is soon to come, so too, was it Jimmy's time to lay his mortal life by and return to our Father in Heaven; to breathe easy in the presence of God and Our Savior, Jesus Christ.
I know that God has a plan and a purpose for all of us, but there is a season for everything. And often the periods between seasons are the hardest to get through. But patience and dedication are the only ways we can get from one season to the next. We have to be patient with ourselves, and know that God will provide a way, even if it doesn't seem clear to us at the time. It's been a hard lesson to learn, and I'm not sure I've learned it fully yet. I just pray that I will have the patience to wait for those seasons and be able to rejoice in them, even if it seems hard or near impossible. Like Elder Jeffery R. Holland says in the following video, "Trust God, and believe in good things to come."
I want to bear my testimony of Christ and His love. He gives it freely to all those who seek Him. And if we continually seek after Christ, our lives will be blessed and uplifted to that of the Divine. I know my Savior lives and I say these things, in Jesus' name, amen.
If my cat could talk, that is what he'd be saying. We recently returned from a long weekend at the beach with several friends and the whole day yesterday and today, he hasn't left my side for long. Truman likes to be near you, but will rarely sit in your lap. Today he's been climbing all over me. It's like he's saying, "If I walk all over you, you won't be able to leave again."
'Take me with you!"
And it's not like we left him alone! Our roommate Shelly was here the whole weekend to love on him and take care of him. It's nice to know that he misses us when we go away. Although, most of the time you'd never know it! I love that furball.
