Snow!

So usually in Maryland we have a decent fall and the leaves show their colors for a time as God paints the world in reds and oranges and yellows. Well, today, He decided that a little white was in order too...

Yep, that would be a dusting of snow...and we're expecting more throughout the day along with rain. I took these pictures at 11:20 this morning and the snow is still coming down, along with some rain and sleet to make a "fun" wintry mix.

Snow (measurable anyway) in Maryland is fairly rare. For D.C., snow has only been reported in the month of October 3 times since 1884, with the last occurrence on the 10th of October in 1979 when 0.3" was recorded. The same is true for Baltimore, with 0.3" reported on that same day.

I'll post another picture later today since the flakes are still flying. I guess my poor little tomato plants are done for the year :( And with green tomatoes still on the vine! I was hoping they would have some time to ripen before we had a serious cold snap but that was not to be I guess. Better luck next year :)

So for today, we've got plenty of house chores to keep us busy inside so I'll enjoy the snow from the window and take a couple of pictures. Maybe a cup of something warm later while I watch this fall/winter wonderland. :)

Soli Deo Gloria,.
Meghan

NEW PHOTOS:

At 2:10pm

At 4:40pm

One of my poor, cold, unripe tomatoes :(

Introducing...

Baby Joshua!

I am so excited to announce that our nephew was born today, October 17th, at 7:15 p.m. and weighed in at 9 lbs., 13 oz. and was 22 inches long! We are so excited to have him join our extended family and can't wait to meet him!

He joins his older sister, Grace, in the list of children we love to spoil ;)

Congrats, JJ&G on your bundle of joy!

Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan


Update: Official time of birth was apparently 7:06pm, not the 7:15 I listed above :) 

Also pictures! Keeping scrolling to see this lovable bundle of joy!

In his new Pooh Bear outfit

With Daddy

Waiting for his first bath...look at that hair! :)

 

Snowflakes

This past September, I met a snowflake named Zoe.

Obviously, I don't mean a literal snowflake like we see in January (or on the left). Zoe is a snowflake baby, conceived as part of an IVF treatment but then not implanted. Her biological parents' first round of IVF was successful so they had embryos leftover that they chose to freeze instead of destroy. Over time, the rest of the embryos were adopted out to other families. Zoe was one of three adopted by her family but the only one that survived thawing and implantation. Her mom joked that they refer to her as both their oldest and youngest child since she was conceived before their other two children were born but wasn't actually born until last year. Zoe had been frozen for almost 10 years, the outside limit of the technology.

I got tears in my eyes watching this precious little girl enjoy her dinner and observe the world around her. We even got to sing happy birthday to her at church dinner the day after she turned one. It made me so grateful that the technology has been developed that not only allows these children to be created, but allows them to not be forgotten and frozen forever. Currently, over 500,000 embryos are frozen in the U.S., most still waiting for the parent couple's personal IVF use. A portion of those, though, are waiting to be adopted and it is estimated that over 3,000 babies have been born from such adoptions. You can find more on embryo adoptions here.

Anyway, that's what is on my mind right now. One precious little girl...unique as a snowflake :)

Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan

Another Book!

So last week week I posted my review on Lisa Harper's wonderful book "Stumbling Into Grace" that I received from BookSneeze.com. This week, I chose my newest book to review from them and I'm really excited about this one because it's my first children's book!

"Just In Case You Ever Wonder" by Max Lucado is described this way:

"A timeless children's classic by best-selling author, Max Lucado, that reinforces the love of a parent.
There are certain words that every child longs to hear . . . affirmation of unconditional love, promises of support, and words of encouragement. Just in Case You Ever Wonder wraps your children in its tender message of love, comfort, and protection, showing them that as they grow and change, you'll always be there for them—whether it's "monsters in the closet" or hard times when other kids are mean. Beloved author, Max Lucado, helps express unconditional love for a child—simply, powerfully, and forever."

Now, I know you might be asking why I'm reviewing a children's book when I don't actually have kids but the description was so compelling and it sounds like a book I want my future children to have and read that I couldn't pass it up :) It will also be nice to have a book that won't take me forever to read! I look forward to sharing my review with you after the book arrives in the next week or so!

Happy reading!

Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan

Adjusting to Domesticity: Late-night Linens

After a year of marriage, I still find myself adjusting to living life so intimately connected to another human being. It's challenging and I absolutely love it. Part of my adjustment has come in household chores and organizing/managing a home. There are several things I'm still trying to get the hang of...

One of those things is washing our master bedroom linens. I do wash them, my trouble comes in the timing of when I wash them. Take, for example, the day before we left for Michigan for our anniversary. I was doing laundry for the trip and decided our linens needed to be washed. However, by the time the last piece dried and we could start making the bed...it was after 12:30am. And it's not the first time I've done this! Several times when I've washed the bedding we will be up until all hours of the night waiting for the dryer to finish so we can make our bed and collapse in it. We've even napped on the unmade bed while we've waited for the dryer to finish!

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Truthfully, I'm thankful that I make the effort to make our home pleasant and somewhat clean. But I am such a perfectionist that I give myself guilt and grief over such a slight miscalculation. Yes, I should start earlier in the day when I plan on doing this. But I have never intentionally or maliciously sabotaged my husband or myself in doing this so why such grief and guilt? One word: ANTS. Well, technically it's an acronym. It stands for "automatic negative thoughts". When I feel like I've messed up, that little voice in my head starts spouting these ANTS, blowing my mistake up to ginormous proportions...or so I think. A while back, our pastor wrote a letter on this for the church newsletter and how important it is that we squash these ANTS and turn them into ACTS..."automatic Christ-like thoughts". "New thoughts lead to new actions. New actions lead to transformation."

So here's to a new start each day by God's great mercy and faithfulness.  Here's to stamping out as many ANTS as I possibly can and turning them to ACTS. And here's to learning to start washing the bed linens earlier in the day! :)

Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan