Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Anniversary's and New Beginnings

January 15th marked my 12th wedding anniversary to the love of my life. We actually have quite and interesting story. We met when we were in Jr. High. He liked me, but I already had a boyfriend, so he dated "went out with" my best friend. (We were so stupid!) We flirted, but it came to nothing at the time. Fast forward to my freshman year of highschool. We had our lunch hour together and he had just gotten out of football practice. He was wearing a very dorky vest that showed off his muscles to great affect. I was smitten (at least with his muscles at that time.) So of course I did what any self respecting, highschool, teenage girl would do in this situation. I made fun of him. He took it well, and not too long after we began dating. Besides his muscles, his self assuredness was what attracted me most about him. I had never met anyone who cared less about what others thought about him. I was always worried about what people thought of me, so his attitude was like a breath of fresh air to me. Well, flash forward again, through a lot of  hormones, stupid decisions, and disregarding everything my parents had tried to teach me, I was pregnant with our first daughter. Yep. Pregnant. At 15 years old. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
We didn't tell anyone at first (read: for 6 months) that I was pregnant. At that time I worked out for about 6 hours a day so I was in fantastic shape, and was able to hide the pregnancy. During this time we racked our brains trying to figure out what to do. Nothing was ever really plausible. Finally, it got to the point that we had to tell our families. Let me tell you, that was NOT fun. Through it all, we stayed together. We really did love eachother. As much as two stupid kids can love eachother. We decided to get married (probably not the smartest thing to do) and our parents allowed us to do that. So, at the ripe old age of 16, we got married. It was hell for the first 6 years. I'm not going to lie. We were so young and had no idea what marriage truly meant. Not to mention, we were married, with a child, living with the responsibilities of adults, but with the stigma of being children. We nearly broke up many times, but after being separated long enough to grow up a bit, we realized that, shockingly, we were meant for each other after all. There was a lot of give and take, a lot of forgiveness, and a LOT of Bible doctrine, but we made it work. And, I can now say that I know what it's like to be happily married. God is good.
Me and my hubby a few years ago on Thanksgiving.


At a party about 2 years ago.

The Texas bluebonnet fields a couple of years ago.

Wearing our cool 3D shades.

7 months pregnant with our last little one.
So, as I think back to all the things we have been through and the grace God has shown us during our 12 years of marriage, I am so thankful for every moment. The good the bad, the sickness and health, 'til death do us part.


On another note, my our littlest baby girl TOOK HER FIRST STEPS!! I couldn't believe it. She has been pulling herself up in her crib for several weeks now and was starting to walk around while hanging onto things a little bit, but I wasn't expecting unassisted steps for a while. However, on January 15th (also out Anniversary) she took her first two steps.
A few days before I notice that she would stand by herself for about 5 seconds (as long as she didn't notice that she was doing it) so my oldest daughter and I were playing with her and trying to get her to stand, when, all of a sudden she stands, looks at me, and takes 2 steps! We were shocked. I called my husband over and she did it several more times. I am excited, but not really ready. She's only 71/2 months old and I wasn't expecting her to become mobile so soon. She's not actually walking yet, but it's only a matter of time. My baby is growing up. *Sniffle* and *Smile*.
The littlest one on the day she was born.


3 Weeks old
7 months old

Monday, January 9, 2012

Etsy!

I finally put some things up on my etsy shop. http://www.etsy.com/shop/BellevaliaDesigns


I only have 2 things up as of today. Between baby, homeschooling, lunch making, and cleaning it's hard to find time for anything else. Hopefully, I will be able to put a few more up tomorrow. The most time consuming thing is the pictures. It's also the most fun part (well, besides actually making the items). I would also like to do a few tutorials here on my blog in the near future.
I think Miss Lilly might be teething. She's been chewing like mad on everything she gets her hands on and she's been a bit crankier than usual. Usually she's such a happy contented baby that I know something is up when she is fussy for more than a few moments.
Lots of things are changing for my family right now. My older girls are now going to ballet 6 days a week. Yep, I said SIX days a week! Fortunately, my sweet hubby has really stepped up and is taking them most nights. It's not as though he gets nothing out of it. Its a great time for him to go to the gym or get some extra work done in peace and quiet. (Something we don't get a lot of here with 3 girls.) Also, our house plan is almost completed. Finally. There's a light at the end of the tunnel. (It's dim, but it's there.) Our lease is up April 1st on our rent house, and we are trying to decide where we will go from here. The house on our property is still at least 8 months away from completion, and while we are thankful for this home it's time to move on. We are just praying that the Lord will give us a clear path to follow.