Cinnamon Rolls...DONE

Two batches of cinnamon roll recipe = 95 cinnamon rolls. LOL!!!

It definitely took me most of the day to complete the cinnamon roll process, but they are finished! And they are yummy. Cliff and I had to try them of course! We'll be taking some to Sunday school in the morning, but the rest are going to Glen Rose for Thanksgiving. Family, get ready to enjoy! I sure hope they are good then too! I've crammed my freezer with them. I'm pretty confident they'll still taste good.

I am so pumped about this next week. I get a preview visit with the Green's on Monday night. Aunt Laure, Uncle Dale, Tristan, Alyssa and Tory will be coming through town to have dinner with us. They probably won't stay the night, but I'd sure love it if they would!! They are driving all the way from California to Texas and will be making a stop in with us. I am so thankful!

Then it is on to Glen Rose Tuesday night for us. We'll stay the night at the land first to let Cliff hunt Thursday morning, then we'll head to the camp by lunch time. So so so so so excited to be around family. There is nothing like hanging out with people who understand you, who know your history, and who love you no matter what. Plus, they are all just fun people....crazy, but fun! There will be lots of babies to cuddle, toddlers to giggle with and so many more! I hope the week creeps by!

I have a ton to do before then. My house needs to be clean, I need to come up with one more recipe to make for Thanksgiving and pack.

My tiny neice Aleigh was in the hospital yesterday and today with a high fever and cough. She went home tonight and has been fever free most of the day. I'm not sure what was wrong but she came up negative for the flu and menengitis. I am thankful it was nothing serious! Pray for Leigh to get some sleep tonight. I know they are both exhausted!

Searching

I have spent most of my day at work searching online for cute baby room stuff. Man! This is hard!! I know what I like and I know what I don't like, but still this is tough. Cliff might say I have expensive tastes, and maybe he's right, but I will always deny this fact. Why must we pay extra for unique things?!?! I do not want to do anything with a real theme in the baby's room. No animals or anything like that. Not knowing the sex of this baby has made decorating and nailing down ideas very, very difficult. I wish I were a seamstress and could whip out anything because it would make this process so much easier!



I found several sites on Etsy that will make custom bedding. You can even pick from awesome fabric paletes like this one: But alas...a four peice bed set costs $300! And that is just rediculousness. So...I continue my hunt for the perfect crib set that will work for a boy or a girl and will allow me to feel satisfied with the finished product.


In other news:

• I have some ideas in my head for Christmas gifts, but don't have many bought yet.
• Cliff had a blast hunting over the weekend. He shot an 8 point buck. I'll try to get him to post a pic of himself and grandpa with their kills.
• The baby is moving a ton these days! I love feeling it wriggle around. Had a doctor's appointment Monday. I'm almost 23 weeks now. Doc says everything looks beautiful. I got the H1N1 shot so no getting sick for me....let's hope! (Funny story about my doctor: I told her what people had said about my growing hind end. I told her people speak from their own experiences and feel they must share their opnions often. She fired back with, "Well, they must have had a big butt to being with!" She made me feel very normal and helped me laugh about it all!)

Friday Update

I have not taken stats on phone calls this afternoon, but I can tell you the phone hasn't been ringing off the desk that's for sure! Ha! Only one more hour before my weekend begins. Weekends and I have a love/hate relationship these days. I LOVE the freedom I have on the weekends (Saturday in particular), but I hate that they fly by so fast and I only get so much done on my to do list.

Cliff left to go hunting yesterday so I'm left in Amarillo by myself until tomorrow night. I always have mixed feelings when he leaves. I know he loves going out to the land. It is so beautiful and peaceful, plus it is an opportunity to spend time with family. I love that he has the freedom to go. However, I do not like the feeling of being out of sorts when he's gone. It's a strange feeling. I am not afraid or anything, in fact I enjoy the chance to hear myself think and have alone time, it's just wierd not having any family here...no emergency contact, if you will, available. Sure, lots of people say they're around if I need anything, but it still doesn't feel the same to me. Plus, I'd rather be there counting Cliff Sr.'s cats at the land than sitting at this crazy desk!!!

Anyway, I plan to enjoy tonight and tomorrow and hopefully be really productive. I had originally planned to paint the baby's room, but the furniture did not get moved before Cliff left and I won't be moving it on my own. So, I will be grocery shopping for Thanksgiving baking needs, doing laundry, cleaning the house, and hopefully finding some Christmas presents. Christmas shopping seems so overwhelming to me at this point! When I go in to stores I see so much to buy I am practically frozen by the possibilities. Maybe this weekend will be a dry run to get some ideas. Also...I will hopefully be baking some cinnamon rolls!! Pioneer woman cinnamon rolls to be exact! I just need to move stuff around in my freezer to make room for them. Family be ready because I plan on bringing several pan fulls for our week in Glen Rose. I have made them once before and they are delicious!! I will definitely be enjoying some this weekend.

Well, I'm off to surf the web for another 40 minutes before I get out of here. Cold weather is coming this weekend, maybe 4-5 inches of snow. We'll see if the weather man is right or not!

Glorieta with Friends!

We had such a wonderfully relaxing weekend at Glorieta! The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the company we kept was so nice. There were only a few of us since several couples had to cancel at the last minute. We were sad more couldn't join us, but we really had some great conversations and got to know each other better! Below are some pictures from the weekend.

My friend Mikea and her baby Kenlee.

This is Logan, Adam and Mikea's oldest son. He was sleeping after walking around Santa Fe. His face doesn't show it, but we were buds all weekend!

We were walking around and found this bull with a name tag on it's nose that said Cliff! We had to get a picture of it.

Hannah and Joe! I cannot tell you how thankful I am for their friendship. God knew we needed them when they moved from Brownwood to Amarillo.

The FBC Lodge at Glorieta. Nice joint!

This was our whole group: (L-R) Joe, Hannah, Mikea and sweet baby Kenlee, Adam holding Loga, Me, Cliff, Liberty and Frank)

Cliff and I in Santa Fe. Baby is growing and kicking more all the time! Cliff hasn't felt it move on yet, but I am thinking he will very soon.

We ate lunch and walked around Santa Fe most of the aftenroon on Saturday. The weather was perfect!

Glorieta

Today I only work half day and then Cliff and I are headed to Glorieta, NM with our Sunday School class. It is a small group going, but it should be a really relaxing weekend. I am looking forward to being out of Amarillo and just hanging out! I'll post pictures of the weekend adventure.

The Imitation of Christ: Thomas A Kempis

I have been reading this book off and on for the last month or so. It was loaned to me by our associate pastor. He randomly tosses books my way. I think I am going to have to get me a copy of this one because it is one of those books that you could read over and over again and glean more wisdom each time. Today I am pondering this chapter titled 'Of the few who love Jesus' cross.' It begins like this:

"Jesus has many lovers of his heavenly kingdom these days, but few of them carry his cross. He has many who desire comfort, but few who desire affliction. He has many friends to share his meals, but few to share his fasts. Everyone is eager to rejoice with him, but few are willing to endure anything with him. Many follow Jesus up to the breaking of the bread, but few pursue the shame of the cross. Many love Jesus as long as no difficulties touch them. Many praise and bless him as long as they receive comfort from him. But if Jesus hides himself and leaves them awhile, they either complain or fall into a deep depression."
and the chapter is ended with this:
"No one is richer, no one more powerful, no one more free than the person who can give his whole life to God and freely serve others with deep humility and love."

I wonder what my life would be like if I lived out this kind of love for Jesus. How would my life impact friends and family and those who I pass by each day if I lived this way. What about our churches? I imagine a church full of people who love the cross of Christ more than themselves. People who care less about gossip, less about fashion, less about programs and more about their neighbor who has never heard the hope of Jesus.

I am so thankful to God for showing me his transforming power at an early age, not only in my own life, but in the lives of those close to me. I am convicted though that I now live a very comfortable life and do not look for his transforming power with great expectation. It is not that he has ceased to be the miracle worker, it is me who loves myself and my comforts too much to live a life expecting great things! My own desires to fit in and live a mediocre life have blinded me from seeking Jesus everyday. I forgot that I am an alien in this world.

20 Week Picture

Today I am officially 20 weeks pregnant. I am feeling great. No sickness or pains. Baby is growing normally. I was going to post a few sonogram pictures for everyone to see, but the pictures remain sitting on Cliff's desk. I don't know how to scan them in so there they wait for him to scan. You'll probably just have to come to Amarillo to see those! I am posting a picture of the growing belly with much reluctance. While I feel good, I hate looking at pictures of myself. Pregnancy has definitely not been good for the self esteem, but I know that lots of family have asked to see pictures lately. So here you go...


I've had two people tell me that they think we're having a girl. Of course I have to ask, "Why do you think that??" You know what they said?!?! Essentially, I have grown a big butt and big hips. Awesome, huh? Needless to say, I'm praying often that God would remind me about what really matters. I know he made me beautiful and he is knitting together a new life in me. I can be thankful for the changes when I remember that!! I'm growing a thick skin through all of this!

So take note, when you see a pregnant woman...just tell them they are beautiful and don't make any guesses whatsoever. Only God knows if it is a boy or a girl, we're all different so leave it at that!

I am getting so excited about the holidays! Cliff and I sat down over the weekend to map out holiday plans. I need to get organized on gifts for Christmas because the next few months will be hectic with lots of travelling! I can't wait for Thanksgiving. It is going to be awesome to spend time in Glen Rose with the Clary bunch! Then the next weekend I have lots of family coming in for my graduation. And then Christmas is just around the corner after that! Fun times to come, I'm pumped!