Thifty Mom :)

After a week of laying low with Kay's cough, we ventured out this morning with Heather and Baby Mac to the Union Mission Thrift Store. This was my first visit this store but won't be my last. Heather said everything was 50% off. 50% OFF?! Heck Yes I'm going!
I went with a list: 3 White ECU T-shirts, and an old frame I can remake into a bow holder... I got nothing on my list. They didn't have any t-shirts. :( So I'm still searching. Someday I will hit the jackpot and be able to start my ECU quilt. Alas, someday is not today. I didn't find a frame that I deemed big enough. I wanted to look at baby/toddler clothes too... They had a lot of winter appropriate clothing, and I suppose January is still a good time to buy sweaters for Kay but it's like 65 almost everyday. So I'm spring clothes shopping for her. As for baby J, a friend is handing down some clothes and I want to see what all she has before I go crazy buying for him. I learned with Kay, although I didn't buy most of her clothes, she always had too many, and went through them way too fast.
I did manage to find a few things I thought I couldn't live without... Here are a few pictures of my bargains....

 A working gumball machine with a glass jar - she doesn't eat gum, yet, so we put M&Ms in it.

 A "Sit and Spin" I was so excited to see this I nearly sat down on it myself! Kay can make it go a little, but I know in the next few days she'll be spinning herself sick. :)

 With Frank gone we are all things Daddy, size 4T. So for fall, I suppose.

World Aflame for Frank, and a few books for the kids that I loved to read when I was little.

So, I got all those things and paid, $6.75. Yes, that's right. 6 dollars! I nearly fell over. Needless to say I will be making the drive again soon. Probably next Tuesday. :) They had lots of furniture, great if you are into redoing things, especially when you can pay half price! I'm going to have to work Frank up to that one though... Permission to buy a dresser here and haul it 2,000 miles is gonna take some convincing.

The verse of the day, posted on the Union Mission white board did not escape me either...

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Which I posted about yesterday. I love when that happens :)

Frank and I also had a great in depth talk about obedience last night. Today we started to read through Peter's letters, and 1 Peter 1, is about all the things we talked about last night. It's so amazing how God puts words in our mouth, and scripture on our hearts to read, then it corresponds perfectly. I bet He just smiles when we are in that state of awe.

I had a minor note worthy discovery this morning on a benefit to being pregnant... I can eat whatever I want for breakfast... We made that cheesecake last night, recipe posted, and my mom called and asked if I had tried any. She called at 10:30 this morning. Who eats cheesecake before noon? Maybe a better question is; should you eat cheesecake before noon? And what kind of mother is prompting her child to eat cheesecake before noon? Come on! These were my thoughts until I got her message. Then I realized, I really could eat cheesecake for breakfast, after all I am pregnant. And who judges a pregnant woman's cravings? I did have a salad for dinner last night... So I had a very, very small sliver of cheesecake before 11 am. And I'm guilt free. Although, I'm about to go take a very lengthy walk.

James Bible Study tonight. The memorizing is slow. I'm got James 1:1-5 down, working on 6-8 over the next few days... But I've got a long way to go through the entire book of James. All I have to say, is that Beth Moore is tricky.

Not-A-Normal-Me Day

So today started out just as rough as last night ended. By bedtime last night Kay and I were both crying. Not a pretty picture. Kay started whining about 7 and after 2 hours of listening to an inconsolable toddler, I had had it. Considering I hadn't cried since leaving Texas the onslaught of tears made me ever more miserable. We all needed to go to bed, Frank including - he had watch from midnight to 2 and a test this morning, and all I wanted was to talk to him. Kay resisted going to sleep so bad and at one point threw herself onto the 'baby-Joel-bump'. I was out of energy and patience, hurting and mad. Thankfully, she fell asleep before I lost my temper and Frank managed to stay up long enough to pray together. (Which I desperately needed.)

Kay was up before the sun, cheerfully talking, ready to eat and play. My patience did not magically regenerate overnight like expected and it took mommy a little more time than normal to cooperate with all of Kay's early morning wishes. After some breakfast and snuggling, our day got better. I managed enough patience to break out the water colors - Kay's first time using 'real' paint. I had to yell at Kay though, either I was still a little slow or Kay was so lightening fast, but at one point Kay was trying to put the paint brush in her mouth. This was the first time I have ever yelled at her, and I startled both of us, but she was seriously about to eat paint! I got the paint set at the Dollar Tree, so it's probably toxic, and couldn't risk her eating it. But she had a great time, and painted nearly every surface at least once.

So besides the yelling, and posting pictures mid-blog, I've managed to do two other things today that are completely uncharacteristic of me. Voluntarily.
1. I am uploading (present tense, as this is still ongoing) the past year's pictures to shutterfly. All 969 pictures that I managed to take on my iPhone. So fail, for not using the actual camera, but winning in that I took pictures and they are now stored somewhere other than my phone and hard drive. Mind you, this did not happen for the sole purpose of creating a back up. I got a $20 Shutterfly gift card when we took Santa pictures. It expires tomorrow, so I figured I had better use it. Plus I figured I should start using all the free prints they send me. This has got to be a side effect from the pregnancy.

and 2. In preparation for going outside to play, I put on leggings this morning, under my pants. Yes, I own leggings. Also a pregnancy thing, gotta be. After sitting outside, sunning, in January, yea that's how we role, for an hour I came in to shed a layer of clothing. However, I didn't change out of my leggings. Now, I've only napped, fed lunch, and washed dishes in them and Kay and my parents are the only ones who have seen me wearing said leggings, but still, one step at a time.

On the agenda for this afternoon?
A walk, and making Turtle Cheesecake... Yes, I said it. Turtle Cheesecake... It's amazing! Also on the books for this week... Making a care package for Frank, thrifting tomorrow with Heather, lunching with Sharise in Elizabeth City and baking Reese's Peanut Butter Banana Bread. Recipes and pictures will eventually make it on Ehbrecht Eats.

I also wanted to share this passage from my morning reading that had a lot to do with my attitude adjustment...
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT)
Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Just a few rants to start the day...

I'm a ranting, raving, facebook-hating mess this morning. I hate that stupid thing! Ah! I wish Sharise had never made me sign up. I wish I could just deactivate my account, but that would cause other problems to get so much worse. And I'm not ready for that hail storm. So here are my mornings rants about that stupid site.
1. If you post a picture, or status update, why do other people think it is acceptable to write you a personal note... This is what we are doing, wouldn't be nice if you would do this... If you comment on something posted, please let it be relevant. Otherwise, send a personal note, or leave it on the person's wall.
2. Why are you friends with people who don't like you? I mean, it's a friend request. If you have to post, numerous times, about people who don't like you, and they should raise their standards, you've got bigger issues. Either you're not friends with these people and you're posting for all of your real friends to see and making the rest of us suffer. Or, you are friends with people who don't like you, and you've got bigger problems than we can all help you with, in that case, I'd say your should talk to your shrink, and not bother the rest of us.
3. This one is going to get me into trouble... If you proclaim the name of Jesus on your facebook page, countless times, then on your next post talk about how drunk you got, or cuss people out... Do Jesus a favor and stop posting about how He's changed your life. Jesus' blood was not intended for you to be able to grace your way out of obedience. Yes, He died for past sins and future sins, but when you are filled with His Holy Spirit, you are a new creation! Your sinful nature has died. That means you turn away from your old ways, and follow after Him. Jesus said, the path to life is narrow, and the road is difficult... Matt. 7:13-14 He is the Path! He is the gate! It's narrow because there is only one way to get there - through Jesus! Claiming His name, then living however you want does not make you a Believer! The book of James says if you don't live it, then you don't believe it!
4. This is a follow up to another rant... How can you be ashamed to type out all of God's name, but then say you are praying. Are you praying half prayers? Are you pr-ying i- a bl-nked o-t ma-ner? I don't get this! If you can say G-d, what difference is the 'o' going to make? People know who you are talking about. It's not secret. It cannot be misconstrued. So why be ashamed to post GOD and not praying? Who do people think you are praying to?

Whew. I do have one more, teeny, tiny, little rant. Not facebook related...
Dear People Living in a Different Time Zone, (Yes, this is directed at multiple people, you know who you are...)
How come I constantly get texts and phone calls at midnight, and 2am? Can you really be that inconsiderate to NEVER remember that we are 2 or 3 hours ahead of you? I don't call you back at 7am EST. (That would be 4am Pacific.) I have slipped up a few times, when we've had some really exciting news to share, and I will call at 7am (Mountain)/6am (Pacific), your time. But at least the sun is up. One of these days when you wake me up in the middle of the night, I will return your call or text the second Kay wakes me up. And I'm not going to just call once, I'm going to keep calling until you answer. Yes, I'm vindictive. The other thing I don't get is why you get mad or perturbed at me when you call during dinner or bedtime, and I say, I'm sorry I can't talk. I will call you back. Don't get mad at me that you are calling during a bad time, I answered because I wanted to recognize you as important.
And one last little part, saying that we don't talk, and that I never call you, is unfair. And I'll tell you why, you don't call me either. It's not like I have a mailbox full of voicemails from you and don't call back. Thank you for respecting that I am busy and have my hands full, but it's ok to call. It's ok to leave voicemails when I really can't answer. But it's not ok to blame me that we never talk, especially when you aren't willing to pick up your phone too.

And that my friends is all for now... I'm think a poor start to the day since it's only 9:40... But that also means a whole 12 hours for it to get better too :) I'm so excited for the Ladies Prayer meeting tonight!

New Blog *gAsP* and some other random thoughts...

I feel like I'm cheating on my blog. It's so sad... I started a new blog, that's right, the rumors are true. I know. I'm shaking my head too. What could I possibly have to write about that would require a second outlet. I agree. I really do. But I'm into this whole compartmentalizing thing. This is my rant blog. The story of our adventures and all that life entails. It's me. This other blog is the start of some sort of semblance towards organization. We'll see how long that lasts.

So I know you are dying to know what my new blog is all about... It's a food/recipe/craft/sewing project type thing. Basically, I have a bunch of recipes I use but can never find when I need them. I usually wing about 70% of the recipe anyways, but I like to have the option to follow along. So I thought this might be a better way to keep them together... And of course, I like to share. Cooking I know. The other stuff is my ongoing journey towards domestication and motherhood.

I was never interested in getting married, let alone having children. Ironic, as I sit rubbing my pregnant belly. I also figured myself a career woman. Working in recreation - nights and weekends with no time for a family life. My favorite book to read was the latest football rules book. I was all sports, all beer and no interest in changing for anyone. Of course, the Lord had other ideas. I'm thankful, His plan is much better than what I pictured for myself. I still enjoy talking rules, ok, arguing, rules with Frank. And maybe someday I will actually use my degree. So besides some minimal cooking in college, I did little other to prepare for family life. I could manage to sew on a button, and wield a hammer but my skill set started and ended just that quickly. It's been a journey learning to use my sewing machine... I mean, the purse is called the 1 hour handbag, it took me the better part of 10 days. And this Pinterest business has got me wanting to spray paint tv trays and make headband holders and try all kinds of stuff I have zero idea how to do.

Something I did learn about myself in college and it continues to prove true, pretty much anything I set my mind to, I accomplish. Like I never had a good mind for directions, I was so oblivious to road signs, and navigation. One Thanksgiving holiday I stupidly got into my car, without a map, and attempted to drive from Greenville to Wilmington. If you don't know much about that area, it's all 2 lane country roads. I had ridden the trip several times, but never driven. I miraculously ended up in Wilmington, although I spent hours in the country, lost. My first stop in town was Walmart where I purchased my first map. From that day I've taken great pride in knowing roads, and how to get around even when visiting someplace new. The last time I got lost was at night, on the back roads of Indiana. In my defense I didn't have my glasses, and I missed my turn. There are some other random things I never thought I could do, but mastered with ease, a shock to me, for sure. Like our vacuum wasn't working right, so I took it apart. The whole thing. I fixed the problem, and then put the entire thing back together. Just like that. I think I was more surprised than Frank. I started cake decorating in the same random manner. I grew up watching my mom, but never doing it myself. Then one year for the office staff I made mini-raspberry cakes, I decorated them all, with lattice and borders. Something I had never done. I guess in somethings I am a perfectionist. News to me.

So I guess we will see if I'm cut out for craft type things or not. The link for my new blog is.... EhbrechtEats.blogspot.com if you want to check it out. And that leads me to my rant for the night...

Ok. So I haven't blogged about that crazy girl in quite sometime. I un-friended her, because I just couldn't stand to read the ridiculous things she was posting. Although, I'm considering re-friending her and then maybe I will just unsubscribe when she starts to drive me bananas again. But that's another story. Back to my rant... a short time after I started blogging this girl started a blog too. Mostly about her drama. She did a few couponing things, and a few crock pot recipes but basically she just complained. Anyways, something that I haven't thought about in a while, but drove me crazy, was she would post the link of her blog to her facebook page and beg people to follow her. Now 'drove me crazy' is an overstatement, by a lot. It was way more entertaining than annoying. Because who would want to follow that kind of junk? Following her blog would be like subscribing to a traffic accident sight. It's horrific and you shouldn't look, but then you can't look away. This type of thing occurred to me, as I started my new blog. I don't want to mix my personal comments and rants in with something people might actually find value in. It's unprofessional. Now laugh at me, because I'm laughing at me :) But I think you know what I mean. I'm not follower-concerned. Because for me the value of writing is intrinsic. I do it for me, not others. Ok, maybe for a few others, who like to laugh along with me, but at the end of the day it's my outlet. It's my way of over sharing and not to the masses of people on facebook who really don't care. I am glad for you those who do care, though. ;)

I think today is a whole mess of randomness. I hope you can make some sense of it, because my brain is too tired reorganize. But check out the new digs... I promise to keep posting here too... Lots of strange people out there to drive me nuts, which makes for good posts :)

Howdy from the Lonestar State!

Ahhhhh vacation! All I can say is I am in desperate need of a little R&R. Especially with Baby J coming in April! We've (Kay & I) have been going nonstop since Frank initially left for training in November... We left 2 days after he did and trekked up North (for a month). 12 days later we visited Daddy in Texas. I'm never, ever traveling alone like that with a baby... I thought having Frank home for Christmas would be relaxing but we were in overdrive. Then toss in that weekend trip to Georgia. The past two weeks, Kay and I have been keeping busy, running errands, going shopping, library runs, the Little Gym.... And some sort of Bible study for me twice a week. Which I love, but it keeps me out late and Kay gets up super early the next morning.

So I've counting down the hours until my solo trip to Texas. Yesterday I got up before Kay, yea, I know, I'm shocked too. But it's not like I got up early, she just slept in! haha. So I got up and put the finishing touches on my purse! I also had to finish packing... Nothing like waiting until the last minute! And then Mom and Kay drove me to the airport. Kay was ready to get a weekend to herself too, so goodbye pained me more than her. My first order of business was a cup of coffee, TSA had other ideas for me. I got randomly selected to be searched. Again. Clearly there is nothing more dangerous than a white pregnant lady. Bomb clothed up and down. Luckily, a well dressed young man distracted the two women sent to body guard  me, so I was dismissed and they went to prey on him. I found my gate and the Starbucks. I've decided this baby moves enough without caffeine so I've been drinking decaf. Just one more reason for April to come tomorrow. So I sat down to wait and read my newly borrowed book, The Atonement Child. I found out where the very best seats on the airplane are. The front row! More leg room! You can't keep a bag with you, so it gets passed over! Plus I was the first one off the plane! And another great thing about sitting up front, no kids! All the parents take their kids further back, so I didn't have anyone kicking my back during the 2 hour flight to Nashville! Yeee!!!

I had 3 & 1/2 hours to kill in Nashville, so I shopped around the kids stores, I got Kay a Princess sticker book, they're the reusable ones, I read, had lunch anddddd got a manicure and pedicure! They had a shop right across from my gate. I never get my nails done, anymore. You know, since becoming a mom. I don't have 2 hours to sit and waste, nor do I want to use the money for something that won't last until supper time. I think the last time I got my nails done was 2 years ago for my birthday. My friend Jessica bought me a gift card the year before and it was going to expire. So I had to go. ;) But Frank really likes it when I get them done. Probably because in California, who doesn't walk around done up all the time? Personally, I just can't handle that kind of pressure to maintain that level of beauty. Nor do I want to. I love my pony tails, and short nails. And I love Old Navy, so I know I'm not cut out for the California fashonista lifestyle.

Anyways.... I got another front row seat on the plane, and was downstairs in San Antonio, picking up the rental car before they had my bag on the belt at baggage claim. I raced to base (funny thing, I felt so giddy driving to base), picked up Frank, we checked into our hotel, then walked down to the Riverwalk for dinner. I thought our hotel was closer to the Riverwalk, but it's long mile. Of course the baby likes to move a lot when I'm trying to walk, making it painful, and the Braxton Hicks contractions make it impossible to walk at a normal speed. Luckily, I am not a waddle-er. We had dinner, then stopped at a fudge shop. Yum. And we hailed a cab. There was no way I could have walked back to our hotel stuffed. Plus Frank was running out of time, he still has that curfew on school nights... It makes me giggle to think about it... I got back to my room from dropping Frankie off and finished the book I started that morning.

I slept in this morning until 9. I tried to sleep longer but it wasn't happening. Plus Baby J had started his morning aerobics, making it impossible to get comfortable. I love to feel the baby move, but the constant jerking and kicking at my ribs doesn't always feel the best. So I here I sit in my hotel room. Blogging. It's definitely time to get out of bed and find something more to eat and something to do for the next 4 hours until Frank is done. I'm thinking, shopping... After all, I do need a new book... :)



Oh and while I'm thinking about it.... I found a new button on facebook. Unsubscribe! Now I don't have to see all those people who torture me with their constant complaints and bad language! I love it! In fact... I may have to retract my last 50 statements of I hate facebook to I can tolerate facebook! You know what would make facebook even better? If I could select not to see some people's comments on my pictures. Like they could still see it, but I wouldn't have to. That would almost make facebook perfect. Seriously. Is there a place I can send my suggestions to? Cause that would be a winner!

Welcome to the New Year... It's gonna be a wild ride!

Christmas day seems like a lifetime ago. Sorry friends, it's been a bit insane around these parts. I'm gonna catch you up quick, fast and in a hurry.

We went to Christmas Town, the day after Christmas (Monday). FYI, bad day to go. It was sooo busy! But we had a great time. Kay loved the lights, the penguins, the dancing and Elmo. Of course.

The next day (Tuesday).... we were all sick. Ha! Myself, Kaylee, Lolli, Matt and Josh all spent the entire day either in bed or vomiting. Not a pretty sight. Poor Frank and Grumpy had to nurse us all back to health. It sucked.

Wednesday we ran errands and prepared for our trip to Winter Ramp in Dalton, Georgia. Originally we had planned on leaving early Thursday morning and driving all day. We ended up leaving after Kay went to bed on Wednesday night and drove all through the night. Yes, we are out of our skulls wacko. So we arrived in Dalton at like 9am on Thursday morning. Slept a few hours, then met the Turners for lunch, checked in for Ramp and visited until the evening session.

There is just too much to say about Winter Ramp. But God was there like no other and it was amazing! God really spoke to me, personally, and really worked in our marriage. It's been a tough row with Frank gone. We hardly speak during the week, he's in class some days until 7, my time, and then he eats and studies and goes to bed early. Kay preoccupies the majority of my attention until 9 so on a good day we might speak a total of 15 minutes. That includes the two 30 second phone calls in the morning and after lunch. Weekends aren't much better. Frank studies a lot, and again I am busy playing mommy. So while Frank was home over Christmas we spend more time being irritated with one another rather than enjoying the time together. Let's face it, I had a bad attitude. About everything. Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones?

Anyways. It was an incredible weekend. Afterward I just wanted to crawl back and live in that weekend forever. But you know what I realized? Heaven is going to be so much better than that! And it really will be for.ever! Praise the Lord! Worship was just so incredibly freeing. I've never felt so free to worship my Savior! And I know there is no going back to some half-hearted worship. God deserves all of my praise and worship! The messages challenged me. I want to share just a bit of what God showed me that weekend.
1. Simple devotion... Reading my Bible, and praying in the Spirit... is not going to be a challenge for me this year. I was really taken back by that vision, as my quiet time in the past year has been a struggle.
2. The Lord also gave me the focus of my studies. I'm not ready to share the vision specifically, yet...
3. God delivered me from fear... The fear of man's opinions. I really struggle with this. Ministering to my family and friends that are nonbelievers. Fear of the future. God has slowly been delivering me from this, but He ripped the rest of the fear out of my life like a band-aid. It's gone. Thank You Jesus!

Oh yes... Let's not forget New Year's Eve... We were still at Winter Ramp. And we praised in the New Year! It was the best New Years Ever! It's definitely going to become our tradition. So we did that, then drove the 10 hours home, through the night, again, because Frank's flight back to Texas was on the 1st at 6pm. It was quite an adventure!

There is a lot, lot more. And I need a lot of sleep... So moving on...

In other news, I've been sewing! I'm making a purse. It's called the 1 hour bag... It's taken me a week. And it's still not finished. I'm also making Kaylee a smaller version. But the handle goes on tomorrow! Finally!

Kay and I went to the Little Gym this morning. She absolutely loved it! And I did too... Until I saw what they were charging! Holy bananas! I could buy a gym with that kind of money! Ok, ok... it's not quite that much... But I could join the Y, pay full price for a family membership and use it whenever I wanted for that kind of money. I'd almost rather do that, but I hate the Y, so my options are limited. Did I mention it's only 1 class a week?! We are trying a free class at Gymboree next week. It's way more reasonably priced, and they have a open gym hours... So if we went twice a week, it'd be like paying $8 a visit. So we'll see.... I'm trying to keep us busy while Daddy is gone.

It's becoming all too apparent that I'm having a boy! I've got an appetite like no other! I will eat, then be starving in an hour! I crave every.thing. In an attempt to maintain my weight, gulp, gain, I've put myself on a modified Special K diet. Basically, I eat as much Special K as I want. So maybe I shouldn't call it a diet. Joel moves constantly. Like all day long. Reassuring yes, but comfortable? Not always.

And I think that is all I can manage for the night my friends!