24 wks & Cravings

When I was pregnant with my first child, Taylor, I gained an absurd amount of weight. It didn't help that I already had an extra 10 pds hanging around from my first year of marriage. Yes, it was fun going to Wendy's with my husband at midnight and eating lots of fries because we could... But not really the best habit to get into as newlyweds. After Taylor was born it took a year and a half to get back to my engaged state. When I was pregnant with Trevor I vowed to do things differently. I would not eat ice cream & m&m's every night! And well not eating ice cream every night helped and It didn't take quite as long for my "normal" clothes to fit me after Trevor's birth. So how am I doing with this pregnancy? I'm on the track for it to be more like Trevor than Taylor. However I think it all could change with my recent discovery. We all brought a snack to share this week with one another. Knowing my health conscious Pastor wives friends I decided to contribute something sweet. Really we can't snack on popcorn all day :-) So I went to one of my favorite stores, Trader Joes, and bought for the first time chocolate covered peanut butter filled pretzels. Yeah I know- dangerous! Well I bought them on Friday and we were to leave on Monday. After staring at the bag for awhile my curiosity got the best of me and I thought there was no harm in trying just one. So I opened the bag and well a day later the bag was gone!!! Seriously I ate the entire bag. And the sad thing is I can't wait to go back and get another :-) I think I'll go today...

What a privilege it is...

We had a wonderful week as Pastor's Wives. Lots of laughter, tears, food & of course late nights! The Lord meet us in amazing ways and I pray that the fruit would be multiplied not only into our marriages but our church as well. I know I personally experienced God's grace as I brought some sin issues I was trying to gain better insight on. They spent an hour encouraging me in the ways God is at work in my life and helped me identify some areas of sin that I was unaware of. How thankful I am to be surrounded by godly Titus 2 women! I can't remember the last time I had a "girls only" trip! I did miss my hubby though and have been equally encouraged by how the Lord meet him this week at Together For The Gospel. We were talking tonight and again recounting how thankful we are, and what a privilege it is, to be apart of Sovereign Grace Gilbert & Ministries.

Busy,Busy,Busy

I recognize that my posting has been quite infrequent these past few weeks and I'm here to tell you it's not going to get much better :-) This is a really exciting/busy month. I leave tomorrow for California. The Pastor's wives from our church are going on a retreat for four days while our husbands attend the Together For The Gospel conference. I have been looking forward to this trip for awhile now and I'm sure it will be full of making fun memories together! When we get back my brother's wedding will be just around the corner. There will be showers to throw, dresses to get fitted (Please Lord let my dress fit me:-)), out of town family to entertain and lots of praising God for his faithfulness! So.... in the midst of all this I am trying to fight off my tendency towards self-sufficiency and throw myself into God's word even more. It's so easy for me to look at a busy month like this and have an attitude of "ok this is all that needs to get done, I'll get it done" Then I'm off to the races totally unaware of how utterly helpless I am without the Lord. I have been meditating on the Lord as my helper & strength this month.

Verses like:
Ps 54- Behold, God is my helper (not sleep or a perfectly organized, flawless (haha) schedule)
Ps 59 I will sing of YOUR strength, I will sing of YOUR steadfast love... O my STRENGTH I will sing praises to you.
Ps 18:31 For who is God but the Lord? And who is a rock except our God.
Ps 20:7 Some trust in chariots & some in horses but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

have all been very helpful in pointing my eyes back to Lord and keeping a low view of self and a high view of the Lord!

Have a great week friends! Look to the Lord for your strength & trust in His name alone!

My Little Street Evangelist

Today we were outside letting the kids play in the driveway. Chris was working in the garage and I was supervising Taylor & Trevor. There are quite a few kids on our block that are out most nights playing together, tonight was no different. While Trevor tested his skills on one of the boys skateboard I overheard Taylor singing for the other kids the Gospel Song. She was very dramatic as she sang and got louder with the words "On the Cross He took my sin...". It was great- I hope she has the same fervor with proclaiming the Gospel at 14 as she does at 4!

A Compelling Example

If I could invite you to go visit a blog by some friends of ours from our year at the Pastor's College. Their names are Jon & Jenni and Jon is on staff at Covenant Life in Maryland. Jenni is pregnant with their second child and last week they received news that it appears their baby has a serious neural tube defect, called Anencephaly. One that leaves their baby with little chance of survival outside of the womb. It is so encouraging & humbling to see how they are looking to the Lord in the midst of this trial. So go read their posts on suffering and I know you too will leave encouraged and full of faith for your own trials that you might be in the midst of.

http://the-smith-family.blogspot.com

Ballet & Spelling

Taylor started a ballet class called Fairy Tale Ballet.Each week they learn a 30 second ballet dance to a different song and dress up in costumes. At the end of the class they invite the mom's in to watch them perform! It's perhaps the cutest thing I've seen in years! Last week they danced to the "Good Ship Lollipop"



and this week it was a Siamese Cat song, can't remember the name :-) I blame my pregnancy brain!



Recently she has been writing out letters and asking me what they spell. Is it any wonder that her first word would be HOT? After all she is an AZ native :-)



Alright I know there is an A in front of hot but she wrote that as I ran inside to get the camera...Really... Plus we haven't worked on grammar yet. She's only three, people :-)

Suffering

It's been awhile since I've posted. Last I left sick & thankfully I return well! It took it's toll on me but as many of my mommy friends know life doesn't stop when you get sick. The days of staying in bed watching old movies and eating chicken noodle soup are long gone. But like I expected God was faithful & I was met with much Grace throughout the week. And I'm happy to report that I think my house is back in order after sustaining much kid damage.

It has been quite a week of encountering suffering. Not so much for myself as for others in my life. One friend having to wait longer than expected to get pregnant, another friend miscarried & another received a grievious diagnosis for her baby. All very sobering & humbling. Meanwhile my mom went to the ER Saturday night and was admited to the hospital a few days due to her heart acting up. These are lifelong heart problems and thankfully she is home but continues to wrestle with the realities of having chronic health conditions and the desire to be healthy and "normal" like others her age. Yes sometimes it's hard to reconcile trials with what we know to be a good & loving God. I have struggled through this issue for many years watching my mom suffer. The timing on the Girl Talk blog doing experts from John Piper's new book, Suffering & The Sovereignty of God, was perfect. I only wish I didn't have to wait till September to purchase it. I was particularly encouraged by Joni Eareckson Tada's excerpt:

Please know that I am no expert at this wheelchair thing. I’m no professional at being a quadriplegic. There are so many mornings when I wake up and I can hear my girlfriend come to the front door to help me get out of bed and get ready for the day. She goes to the kitchen, turns on the water, and starts brewing coffee. I know that in a few moments she’s going to come gliding into the bedroom, where she’ll greet me with a happy, “Good morning!” And I am lying there with my eyes closed, thinking, O God, I can’t do this. I am so tired. I don’t know how I’m going to make it to lunchtime. O God, I’m already thinking about how good it’s going to feel when I get back to bed tonight and put my head on this pillow.

I’m sure you have felt that way at some point. Maybe you feel that way every morning. But Psalm 10:17 says, “O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear.” O God, I often pray in the morning, God, I cannot do this. I cannot do this thing called quadriplegia. I have no resources for this. I have no strength for this—but you do. You’ve got resources. You’ve got strength. I can’t do quadriplegia, but I can do all things through you as you strengthen me (Phil. 4:13). I have no smile for this woman who’s going to walk into my bedroom in a moment. She could be having coffee with another friend, but she’s chosen to come here to help me get up. O God, please may I borrow your smile?


What a comfort it is to know in the midst of trials that God does hear the desire of the afflicted and will strenghten their hearts! Please join me in praying for these friends & my mom as they walk through difficult trials.

What do you do...

What do you do when you are caring for two sick kids, wake up sick yourself and then get a call from your husband saying he's been called in to preach at the last minute? Laugh a little and then pray and recount all the ways God has been faithful before and look forward to how he will be faithful again! Until next week!

The Verdict Is...

The tie breaker goes to the girls! Taylor & Trevor will be having a sister. I am thrilled. I have tried hard with all my pregnancies to not wish for one gender over the other. But this time I couldn't help it, I really wanted a girl. I was hoping for a sister for Taylor. Even though God may give us more children, Taylor is getting older and I was hoping that if she were to have a sister they could be somewhat close in age. Taylor is very excited and Trevor, although he doesn't know it yet, will be too. He'll have a little sister to practice leading, providing & protecting on! Even better news... Our little girl looks totally healthy. Everything was normal. Thank you Lord for these gifts from you!

Happy Birthday Honey!

30 years ago today my greatest gift here on earth was born. I am so blessed to be your wife love!

"At the end of the day if it's just you and me
At the end of the road there's no place I'd rather be
then to end all my days in the warmth of your arms
It's just you & me, It's Just you & Me
At the end of the day"

Henry

It has become routine with Taylor while putting her to bed to review the day. Afterwards she always asks, "What day will tomorrow be? " I will tell her and then she'll ask " What do we do on ______ ? " Repeating whatever day tomorrow will be. Tonight was no different and I began to explain to her what Thursday holds. One being daddy's birthday and the other being mommy getting pictures of the baby in her tummy. I told her that tomorrow, if the Lord wills, we will find out if she will be having a sister or a brother. Now up to this point she has been adamant about having a sister. Telling everyone that mommy is having a sister for her. Knowing this I tried to prepare her heart and response that whatever the Lord gives us we will rejoice and give thanks. Even if it's another brother like Trevor. At which I expected her to protest and say it's a girl. Instead she replied, "ok but let's name my brother Henry. That's a great name right mom? " Yes Taylor Henry is a great name....goodnight sweetie.

p.s. As excited as I am in Taylor's initial response, the baby will not be named Henry. No offense to all the Henry's out there, really it is a great name. Just not a Daukas name :-)

Book recommendations/Boy or Girl?

This week will be an exciting one. On Thursday Chris turns 30! Also on Thursday we have the big ultrasound appointment. This will be Chris' first time seeing our baby and hearing the heartbeat. We will be finding out the gender so stay tuned. Chris thinks it's a boy and well I have a feeling it's a girl. Of course the odds in the Daukas family are definitely in Chris' favor. Right now I have a 1 in 5 chance it's a girl ;-)

Other than awaiting Thursday there is not much to blog about. So if I could leave you with two book recommendations.

1. Women's Ministry and the Local Church by Ligon Duncan & Susan Hunt - I have read the first five chapters and it has been outstanding.

2. God is the Gospel by John Piper-This is a book I have wanted to read all month. The first three chapters have been assigned for our Pastor's care group Thursday night, so my desire will turn into reality! I highly recommend it in light of all that I've heard from Chris. He is reading it for the second time this month and in our discussion over what he's learning I have been challenged in my walk with the Lord and in my own definition of what the Gospel is.

Fresh Grace!

Hello Friends! Chris and I's cruise was wonderful. We had such a great, relaxing time together! I got a massage, Chris got second in a basketball competition, we ate and ate and ate some more and explored Catalina Island and downtown Ensenada. Another highlight is we both got extended time each day to read the word and other books. I read a book on mothering and re-read my biography on Mrs. Spurgeon. Both inspire me in my role as a wife and mother.

I admit I had this thought when we left, what if I don't want to come back? It's a horrible thought I know. See I have been praying that God would help me to die to myself. As a mother (and really as a believer) one doesn't have a choice and yes, it's been a slow death, but one nonetheless. So here I was given a chance to go and indulge in all my selfishness. Spend endless time with my favorite person on earth, sleep without being interrupted by children, able to sit and eat a whole meal slowly... and I admit it was amazing to have all those things again. Also, our cruise was filled with 90% retired couples. I had the privilege of striking up a conversation with a few and over and over I was reminded how fast time goes. I would hear " Oh it feels like just yesterday our kids were little, enjoy every minute!" So at the end of this wonderful week there was no other place I wanted to be than back home with my children. No other person I wanted to be than a wife and a mother. Nothing else I wanted to do than to go home and continue to die to myself and train up young souls for the Lord. I want to take every moment and make every memory I can with them. Yes, the Lord meet me in some wonderful ways. Renewed my faith and gave me a fresh vision for mothering. How thankful I am! It was a sweet reunion Friday night with the children! Apparently they missed us as much as we missed them :-)

here are some pictures of our cruise: http://homepage.mac.com/daukas/PhotoAlbum6.html

*sorry since we've gotten a Mac I haven't been able to figure out how to make an actual link for one to click on...

Cruise Break

Well I'm off for a week vacation with my hubby! Eight months of waiting has come to an end! This was going to be a suprise trip for Chris to celebrate his upcoming 30th birthday. I let him in on the surprise and I'm glad I did as we have both enjoyed anticipating the cruise. I will post some pics when we get back.

A special thanks to all in our 24/7 singles ministry! What a generous surprise you gave Chris & I this morning. We love you all so much and count it a tremendous privilege to be apart of your lives. Chris and I are checking out the cruise excursions tonight and thanks to your generous gift we will be able to do a few of them!

Have a great week!

Second Honeymoon

I know many of you read girl talk and if you don't you should stop reading mine and go straight there! I was encouraged by Carolyn Mahaney's post today.

http://girltalk.blogs.com/girltalk/2006/02/empty_nest_or_s.html

Carolyn speaking about an encounter she had with another women who too has found herself with an "empty nest",says,

"Wise words for all of us, from a woman who is reaping the rewards of a lifetime investment in her marriage. Often I meet young women who could benefit from this advice. They are overwhelmed by the demands of motherhood, or simply more engrossed in being their kid’s mom than their husband’s wife. Some have grown apathetic and less than enthusiastic about their marriage relationship. Sadly, I’m not always sure that many young wives stop to consider how their present way of relating to their husband will affect the future happiness of their marriage."

I am so thankful for this advice and the encouragement I get from other Godly women around me to work hard at loving my husband. Not that's it's hard work but so often I find myself putting all my efforts into loving my children and taking care of the home that I don't save much energy or time to give towards loving Chris. It's can be tempting to think, well one day the kids will be gone and then I will have plenty of time to give to Chris. Instead I should thinking, one day the kids will be gone and I want to reap the fruit of years of hard work that we devote to keeping a loving, passionate marriage!

Which is why I am so excited that in 4 days Chris and I will be on a plane heading to board a cruise ship for five days! It will be like a second honeymoon for us. We were trying to figure out when the last time we had even a day alone together (not counting conferences) and it's been at least two years! California here we come :-)