Montana

My husband is so hard working, and he is also the kind of man who never wants anything. If you look up the word "minimalist" in the dictionary, his photo is probably right next to it.

We usually keep birthdays pretty simple, but I decided that I would make his birthday extra special this year. So I asked him if he wanted a new set of golf clubs (I knew his were in bad shape and not the right length for him) or if he wanted to go to Montana. His best friend moved to Butte, Montana earlier this year and I know that my husband has been wanting to visit him there.

He took about 2 second to decide and told me he wanted to go to Montana. So I saved up for a few months and was a Kayak.com phantom for a few weeks, waiting for the perfect price, and VOILA! I ended up getting an AMAZING deal on two airline tickets. It was such a good deal, that it was cheaper than the gas it would have taken to drive (even our fuel efficient Honda Civic).

So on my husband's birthday we left for Montana and spent 5 days there. It was a great time, and so beautiful. We actually had unusually warm weather: 60s in late October. The only thing was, if you know anything about me, I am not a nature person. I like looking at nature, but I don't really enjoy being in it. I was positive the entire time I was there that I was going to be eaten by a bear.

Here are some photos from the trip

Butte, Montana

60 degrees with snow on the ground. Weird!

A hike to and dip into a natural hot spring

After several delays getting us home due to some snow storms, we walked out to the car at 2am to find a totally flat tire. My husband changed it.....while I took photos.

Another interesting aspect to this trip was that I didn't know I would be pregnant when we booked it. I was crazy nauseous all day every day while we were there, but I pushed myself to get up and out and tried my best not to complain. It ended up being a great distraction from feeling terrible.

Ode to a shoe rack

Oh shoe rack, you have changed my life. Every since I saw you at the thrift store for $9.99, I knew you belonged at my home.

For my foyer was a mess before you came into my life.

And my coat closet too

(Notice the cheaper shoe rack I tried before that obviously went unused?)

But then you, shoe rack, came into my life and this is what I see every day

BEST. PURCHASE. EVER.

The Blessing of Feeling Terrible During Pregnancy

I am 9.5 weeks pregnant right now, and I have been joking that if the strength of my nausea is any indication, the baby is doing just fine!

My mom and my sister always warned me that they felt terrible, like they had the flu, the entire time they were pregnant. None of this "you'll feel better after 12 weeks". Nope, apparently women in my family suffer all the way until they stop breast feeding. Sigh.

The first two times I was pregnant, which you all know resulted in miscarriages, I waited patiently for the terribly nausea I'd heard about to start. I noticed food aversions, but I never really felt terrible. It worried me because I heard once that nausea is actually a good sign; it means that your hormones are doing what they should be doing. So when 7 weeks hit with my second pregnancy and I felt no nausea, I began to worry that all wasn't right. And it wasn't. I miscarried a week and a half later. (I understand some woman NEVER get "morning" sickness while pregnant, but for the 80% who do get it, it is usually a good sign).

This time around I began to feel nauseous at about 5 weeks. It started with a little "why do I feel bad?" to "Oh I never want to eat food ever again!" (I am quite dramatic sometimes). I don't usually find myself actually throwing up, but I feel like I am going to all day. I have maintained, though, that I am happy to feel terrible. It is reassuring to feel that nausea and know that my baby is growing and most likely healthy.

I went to my midwife last week and discussed with her my nausea issue. I find eating a big chore and most of the time can only choke down a few bites of something. She told me that the key is to keep my blood sugar up. She said I should wake up in the morning and immediately drink some juice. Then eat a small meal with protein immediately after. Then every two hours, eat some protein. This allows me to keep my blood sugar up and keeps the cravings for carbs down.

So I followed her advice and the next day I felt my nausea go away around noon. GREAT! I was so happy to finally feel productive. Then the entire next day I felt great all day too. I knew I was on to something! Then the next day I felt great.....until I was laying in bed at night and realized it had been nearly 3 days since I felt nauseous.... and I realized I needed that reassurance that my baby was ok! Am I crazy or what?

So the next day I messed up my meal schedule on purpose so my nausea would come back, and it did! It came ROARING back! And I was so happy! I knew my sweet baby was ok and growing still.

Now I am back to managing my nausea with protein and doing a pretty good job of it, but I know that until I can feel that little one moving, I'll probably purposefully mess up my diet just to feel that reassuring nausea again. I know the scientific reasoning behind morning sickness in pregnancy, but I like to think it is God's way of letting us mommy's know our babies are ok, especially when we can't see, hear, or feel them.

How rich are you?

Many of you reading this blog post live in what we label the "first world". We come from affluent societies, live in homes with stoves, refrigerators, heating and air conditioning. We have places to house or park our cars (usually more than one). We have a separate bedroom for the kids, and running hot water. And we have computers, tablets, and/or smart phones on which to view this blog post.

One of the biggest issues with us first world dwellers is a serious lack of contentment and lack of perspective on how much we truly have. I had a cousin on facebook recently say something about "if all your hand-earned money goes to putting a roof over your head and food in your fridge, that is slavery".

That comment really made me pause and think. Do we know just how many people in the world wished they had a proper roof over their heads, a refrigerator to store food, and enough food to fill said refrigerator? It reminded me of when I lived in Brazil and would see their favela slums. These people lived in ramshackle homes that climbed up seemingly-uninhabitable hillsides. If they had electricity, it was stolen from local wires. And for such a wet climate, it always made me so sad to see that they rarely had proper windows, just holes in the walls.

And this is nothing compared to slums in Southeast Asia, where children regularly run around barefoot in feces and sleep under non-waterproof fabric if they are lucky.

When did we lose the ability to have perspective? We look around at our fancy neighbors and want what they have, not realizing how very rich we already are. When did we become so covetous? When did we begin to think we, whose poorest are still among some of the wealthiest in the world, deserve more? When did we stop praising God for how very much we have?

Don't get me wrong, it is draining to live paycheck to paycheck, worrying about how we will pay for life next week. It is draining to watch all of your hard-earned money only go to food and shelter, with nothing on the side for enjoyment. I get it. I've been there. But that doesn't change that we are still wealthy in the grand scheme of things. It doesn't change that God provides for his childrens' NEEDS, but not always their WANTS.

This is something I still struggle with. My 2 bedroom 2 bathroom home has very few closets. I struggle to think about where we will fit a baby (and all said baby's stuff) in 7 months. But how very spoiled am I that I have TOO MUCH STUFF?!

Here is a website I really want to encourage you to take 2 minutes to visit. It is called the Global Rich List, and it will tell you what percentage your fall in based on your income. Just a heads up, someone bringing in only $20,000 per year is in the top 4% of the world. It is very eye-opening to see where you fall, and reminds me, for sure, to stop complaining about things I don't have and remember those who have so very much less than I do.

And here is one final eye-opener, which reminds me daily not only how fortunate I am, but my obligation as a Christian to help those who aren't as fortunate as me:

Suddenly only being able to afford a roof over your head and food for your fridge doesn't sound so bad.