Isn't she a beaut!

We found a van, however I think it looks kind of SUVish. We looked hard for about 5 days straight and settled on this one. It is made by GM/Montana, Pontiac.
I hope American made treats us well, we were able to get a lot more bells and whistles by not going foreign and a lot less miles on it.

This other picture is our night out from our anniversary. It was kind of a low key night. I am not the most fun pregnant woman but we enjoyed ourselves. We went to Solaris, the tapas restaurant downtown and then to the movies. (It looks like a Marschall took our picture but in reality it was the best we could do with a timed photo.)

SOLD!!!



I don't know how it sold,yeah I do. The car was prayed over/for. I am super excited, it was hard keeping it clean just for a week. Thankfully, it sold and the transaction has taken place. So this means we are a one car family until we find something else. Pete keeps saying, "Look now you can really be at home, barefoot and pregnant". He thinks he is hysterical, not real funny, you see what I have to put up with? Anyway, I am on a mad hunt for a new to us, used van.

7 years of Bliss and 1 year of so so

It is our 8 year anniversary! Yea us!. The title is kind of an inside joke between Pete and I. When people would ask his uncle how long he and his wife had been married, he would reply "35 of years of bliss and 4 years of so so". It's the truth isn't? If your honest, every minute of marriage is not bliss, there are some days or maybe weeks that add up that aren't the best. My thought is, if you didn't have the so so times or even the dreadful times in marriage you couldn't cherish the pure moments of bliss with each other when they do occur.
So here's to many more years my love and I'll even take the so-so times with you ;)
Since it is a Tuesday, which I do not like celebrating big occasions during the week. We will be celebrating on Saturday, nothing too grandiose, I don't think, but definitely a night out. Pete is arranging the baby-sitting and if that falls through I will add that day to the so so part of our anniversary count.

In honor of Joy and Baby Seth

Today, my mom and grandmothers gave Joy a family shower for her new baby that is on the way. Another quaint affair! Brunch was the theme.
Below are some pictures. Oh and the menu, how I love to talk about food. Now, my Grandmother Marschall made most of it. My contribution was the punch and cheddar cheese grits. I got Paula Deen's recipe to make the cheddar cheese grits and they were the best. My mom made a great fruit salad and the secret ingredient, is peach pie filling.

Cranberry Sausage Quiche
Cheddar Cheese Grits
Peach fruit salad
Coffee cake muffins
Pineapple white grape punch
Coffee
Cute little SJM (Seth's initials)cake squares (provided by Delicious bakery)

No Day Like the Present....

I remember my first date with Pete like it was yesterday. Except now as I think back about it, we are not the same Pete and Meredith who sat in deep conversation on the sofa at Richie's. (Richie's was a restaurant/bar that use to be hip and is now no more.) I am sure most people would say the same thing about their own couple history. Marriage changes people over the years, hopefully for the better, but either way the wife becomes more like her husband and vis versa. The change can mean views on politics, raising children, food etc. Obviously, there are issues where couples will butt (?) heads till the day they die. But overall, living with someone, making decisions; you give and take and become more like the other.
I think the hardest thing though is when I see something in Pete that I wish I was more like and for some reason I can't just "change" in me.
When we were on that sofa back in 1999 and no we weren't partying like it was 1999, just talking. Background history, we were set up on a blind date, so basically we knew nothing about each other. So as we sat there talking, there was no gaps in conversation. I was basically telling him how I struggle with knowing what I am suppose to be doing in my life. At that time, some big things I was hoping to get involved in did not work out and kind of messed up my plan for the next year or so. As I look back I was basically throwing up all my junk on this innocent soul. He listened patiently and basically just said "you know the Lord says not to worry about tomorrow, set your eyes on just today". I thought well how pious of him to throw in an actual bible verse. I knew that verse, everyone knows that verse. Big deal. Well 9 years later, I am still not getting it. I am always future thinking, planning, anxiety ridden. I wish I had more of Pete's lack of care about next week or next year. It's not that he doesn't care, he knows/ believes he really can't plan for the unexpected.
Here is how my mind can race in a matter of minutes.... For instance, "we don't live in a good school district, we must think about moving, if we don't move our children will be exposed to all sorts of bad things, if that happens then they may grow up to be drug dealers and never know the Lord. Seriously.... how can I think that all of that is up to me to work out? Pete now tries to say it in different ways to me. "You can't take that all on yourself or we can make all these changes and other junk may happen that you can't prevent". I do get "it" in glimpses. But I want to live "it". I want to just think about today and the gift in just today. It is ironic to me how the Lord works in marriage. Marriage can be messy and irritating. With me, it is usually trying to plan our lives out till we are retired ( We just had an appointment, that I scheduled, to see how on track we are with our retirement).
Usually in the mess, the Lord is trying to get my attention that my spouse can sure show me the things in my own life where the Lord wants me to grow and ultimately change to be more like Him. (Jesus not Pete).
We are two extremes that bring balance to our family. Getting that balance is when we let God work it out and not ourselves. So today is what it is. I will not worry about tomorrow nor about if my boys will go to the right school and not be drug dealers. I know my God is bigger than all my worries and fears, but I have a feeling I don't live that out in my day to day life.

No explanation needed... and no I did not stuff it all back in the dryer!

My Favorite Car


So I had to come up with something to post about and not see that pile of laundry on my blog anymore. (It's still on the bed by the way),
We are taking the plunge and hopefully buying a minivan in the next few months. If I could jam three car seats in the back I would consider keeping it. I have had my Xterra three months before Pete and I got married. (8 years ago). Actually, we bought it together, both our names on the loan and everything. It's very sentimental to me and I'm not that sentimental. I love this car, it feels like a second home to me, literally. I put it up for sale yesterday on Craigslist, I hope Pete will be okay with it. Only kidding. I did do all the leg work to be able to put it on the market. It sure looks good. I took it to Golden touch to have their super duper clean special wash and a detail on the inside. It literally looks like it could be for sale on a real car lot. If you need a good detail and wash it only cost $54.oo and they got into every nook and cranny in that car. Places where I didn't know french fries could fall. As I love to sell stuff I was extremely excited to get it posted. I know it may take several months to get any action, I am willing to be patient, at least patient for me I should say. So we will see......

Imperfectly Beautiful?!!?

Over at Nesting place, the Nester had this grandiose idea for everyone to show their imperfectly beautiful spots in their homes. It is quite fun to scroll through everyone's!
Here goes mine....


I'm not sure I would call imperfectly beautiful but I will say it is all clean laundry and there is a nice cozy guest room when everything is off the bed. That's always the case with my laundry pile of a guest room. We have clean laundry it's just not folded and put in place. Hey I'm glad I have a room where I can hide this sort of thing from most people minus the world on the web.

Now the other picture is a nice stack of clean dishes left over from a shower I did almost 2 weeks ago. I have yet to put them away. I actually decided yesterday instead of putting them away I am ahead of the game. I have another shower I am hosting, this time for my sister, this Saturday. So my dishes are ready to be set on the table. If you haven't noticed I can make an excuse for everything and be A Okay with it!

My Rant.....

I love my little boys. I love to see my husband with my boys. Yes, they can make me crazy.... and insane.... and question my ability to be a good mother. However, I can't imagine our family to be any different. I am having a hard time visualizing anything else but a boy for our next baby. Everybody and their brother is asking if I am hoping for a girl. You want my real answer?
I would love to have another boy, that is the honest truth. I am scared of little girls. I am one, I have a sister, I know how "we" can be. Especially, our early years. Now, I would love to have a grown daughter because our sweet little boys will grow up and leave us and never call their mom except out of guilt.
I am real close with my mom and cherish that relationship. So if I have a choice... I guess I would choose to have a grown daughter, which sounds ridiculous I know, or another boy. The best part I keep reminding myself is that the Lord knows what our family needs. I can't plan this, however, I am very curious though. We hope to find out July 2. I am just now realizing if he/she does not show himself then we won't be getting another ultrasound, due to our insurance. I will be drinking a lot of juice or mountain dew that morning. So, I will be completely 100% pleased to have another boy-period. literally. A girl will be new and exciting and uncharted territory, if this is the case I will need help and lots of advice from all you moms with little girls. My question is will a little girl slide on a slip and slide all day and be okay with grass cuts all over her back and dirty feet and hands? I mean I am just asking because I know nothing different.
Well, I will say I do know one thing that can be easier if we have a little girl she can't get poison ivy on her penis. Yeah, I have experience with this with my 5 year old. Our new rule, "If you have been in the woods, wash your hands before you go to the bathroom".

It Showered!

I just finished (a couple of hours ago) hosting a baby shower for one of my oldest friends. We've known each other since 5th grade! It was such a treat to do this for her. She had given me a wonderful shower when I had Marschall so I felt I had a lot to live up to. Not that friendship works that way, but you know what I mean, I couldn't just do nuts and mints.
I actually packed our family up and went down to Pete's parents house yesterday. Living with two boys and a husband I could not take the risk of re-cleaning our house, I didn't have it in me! After I had gotten everything ready yesterday we made like a fetus and headed out, no pun intended...well sort of.
I came back up this am at around 8:00, how nice it was to be in my quiet clean house for a few moments by myself.
My mom helped me host it and I could not have done it without her! We had 17 guests for lunch. I used real dishes, even since my dishwasher is still broken! I had place cards and even served a little white wine, it was an affair if I do say so myself. I love to hear what people serve at parties and such, so this was our menu

Greek chicken pasta
Sun-dried tomato spread
fresh vegetables
butter biscuits with strawberry jam
Grape and pecan fruit salad
And an almond raspberry cake from Delicious bakery

It went great and I will still probably be recovering tomorrow. (There is nothing special about the living room, I just wanted to take a picture of it to be able to remember it can be this clean.)

Some things never change....

And it is HIM who I cannnot not change. So I have been feeling pretty proud of myself today. The last few days I have been feeling pretty good. I did 3 loads of much needed to do laundry. Pete came home and I was trying to share my productivity with him. I know he was shooting some indoor baskets with Garrett so he was somewhat distracted. ( Even though I can be cooking dinner, helping one of the boys and holding a complete conversation all at the same time, I won't mention it outside of parentheses;)
Back to my story.....

ME: "We have nice clean sheets to sleep on tonight" (which is a luxury even when I am not struggling doing the laundry)

PETE: "Oh okay"

ME: "You didn't hear me, did you"

PETE: "uh- huh"

ME: "No, you didn't"

PETE: "Yes I did"

ME: "Repeat back to me what I said"

PETE: "You got brand new dollar sheets"

Again, change is not a coming around house anytime soon. GEEZ......
(I told Pete I was going to tell on him, so I feel very validated, justified and all that and then some)

The "Look" He Gives...

After I had been woken up for the third time last night from Garrett, I got to thinking. Thinking in the middle of the night can be dangerous. Sometimes I wake up and wonder "Why did I waste so much of my brain energy in the middle of the night"? I had this whole scenario that it would be fun to install little security cameras in our house. And this would not be for an intruder. It would be for all the crazy things that my kids do through out the day that no one would completely understand unless I had the evidence.
You know how Michael Scott from the Office is a nut case and all Jim can do is give that awesome look at the camera? His look says it all..."How is it that I have a boss that gets away with this stuff?" and How is it that this is my life everyday?" and "Seriously?"..(you have to be a Grey's fan to know the inflection of that one.)
That's how I feel throughout the day when my kids are driving me bonkers about different things or when I hear "ohhhh look what happened"..... So anyway that's all, I miss the Office and wish I had a camera to look into every so often to feel justified with all the actions that take place throughout my day.....

PS I have my own little Office dance that I do every time the theme song comes on, Pete wishes he had a camera to look into every so often concerning me.

And we're live.... or at least I am.

Seriously.....

It has been 2 weeks and 3 days since I have been computerless, phoneless, and dishwishareless and oh yeah ice makerless. The most random irriatating things happen to us. It's never a tragedy, thankfully, just bizarre. One Monday I was upstairs folding laundry(sounds good, huh? I think I was really watching tv for a moment or two). And the lights flickered and all my favorite electronics went kaput. Some big power surge went through our house and broke not only a few very expensive items but broke my sanity too.
Anyway, I learned I can be out of touch for a while and still make it through the day. The hardest part was not keeping up on my celebrity news, had no idea Ashlee Simpson got married except from buying the people magazine last weekend. I have my ways and I will not be stopped.
Anyway, if I email any of you regularly and you want me to be able to stay in touch... will you email me at muber@triad.rr.com. So I can create a new contact list for my new computer and I will add you to the list. We're not sure yet if we can access anything from our old hard drive.
I gotta run for now. I have both boys in a little camp this week at Marschall's preschool. So I get to play in the mornings for a few hours till Friday and then our summer sets in. Long hot days filled with a boy, a toddler and a grumpy pregnant mom. Oh yeah and I think the Lord blessed you with my blogging absence. I have been one complaining, throwing up, and irritated girl these days. Good times.
I will spare you the details.

Houston, we DON'T have a signal....
This is Meredith's sista here (*hi!*) letting the blogging world know she will be out of commission for a while. Wouldn't you know that with all the bad storms lately, their neighborhood got struck and they are down....no phone, no internet, no dishwasher (yikes). So if you see a flare thrown up from Meredith's corner of the world, it is probably just her saying hi ;)

And Baby makes Five....

Yes, you read that right!
We are moving into becoming a family of five. I am almost done with my first trimester. (10 weeks and 2 days, but almost done with first trimester sounds like I am a lot further along!)
We had always talked about having a third baby and a surprise to us... baby came along sooner than expected!
Needless to say why my blogging has fallen off the face of the earth. I go through my day clearing paths just to walk in our house. Pete actually had the gall to say he realized how much I do around here.(Because our house looks like a tornado has hit since we found out about the pregnancy)I think I'll take it as a compliment though because I know someday soon I will feel better and I will pull myself together and life will get back to the way it was. Beautifully clean house with everything in order.... yeah right.
So what does having third baby mean to someone who likes life very ordered and routine? I can't imagine it is going to get easier. But I am up for the task through the help of God's good grace. Who says orderly, routine, and clean is any fun? I think I must change my expectations, to spontaneous, chaotic and messy. I bet I will meet those with flying colors.
I been thinking a lot about this new birth. I am hoping it will change me for the better or I should say that God will use this pregnancy and new life to make me more like Him. I get caught up a lot into my routine and change is very hard on me. I make it hard on myself, to be honest. I like to buck change, flee from it and ignore it. So to think that this new life was unexpected, it's bringing about a whole a lot of change and anxiety. For me, change means I will have stop my agenda and adhere to something new and unknown. I will have to work at it and adapt. A very wise friend wrote the following to me in an email... "There is a microscopic bundle of protoplasm growing inside you and right at this minute, cells are amazingly finding their correct spots to grow to become toes and lungs and hair follicles and eyes. He doesn't need your help to make this happen; He simply wants you to "be" so He can do the work." (FYI, God is the "He")
I don't have to do anything, so to speak, for this new life to grow. I can rest in Him and allow Him to create another one made in His image.
That's all, it's almost my bedtime.

An Almost Spare.....

5 Years Ago Today....







A lot changes in a little one over 5 years. I am so thankful we have Marschall Thomas Uber. May God bless your next year of life!

This Little Piggy Went to Market....

We are renting our house out for Market, so I have been a little out of pocket blogging. It takes a lot to get ready for this. We have family that rent their house so they gave me all the inside information on what to do. Basically, make our house look like we don't live it in. No cruddy corners, cleaned out drawers and closets. Fresh crisp towels( I had to go buy new ones, no one would want to use the ones we have), clean out refrigerator etc. etc. Can you imagine? We have two children that have dirty hands all the time! As I type, my house is as clean as it will ever be again. It almost doesn't feel like our house any more. I will admit that I have a "Monica closet". Did you ever see the friends where Monica, the clean neat freak had a dirty little secret? The closet that no one could go into, it was so stuffed with junk that it about self-imploded. Well, that closet is in Marschall's room. As I started to panic on Sunday before our people were coming, I started throwing things in his closet, dirty clothes, clean clothes, hampers, toys, towels... you name it got put it there. Surely, our people won't go snooping, if they do...a self made bomb may go off.
This is the first time we have done this. So far, it has been a good experience. Our people are only staying 4 nights, so it is not too labor intensive this week. We are all staying down at Pete's parents house, which is actually a little treat. We have a ton of help with the kids and meals!
I use to say I wanted to run a bed and breakfast, not so much anymore. I really don't like handling other people's dirty towels and making beds that other people have slept in. Don't get me wrong, they are very clean. I don't know, maybe I am a germaphobe. I just like our own germs and dirt.
Well I gotta run before the place goes to pot again.

The Shindig

We are back from our yearly couple's beach trip. We didn't go the first year it was started. I think we slid our way in because another couple couldn't go one year, we're okay with that, as long as we keep getting invited!
It was originally started for our friend Kim's 30th Birthday, her husband wanted to bless her and have others bless her with coming together for a big celebration. It was also a way for husbands to show love to their wives. They even had T-shirts with the Ephesians verse that speaks of husbands loving their wives at Christ loves the Church. I saw how the theme of love really played out this weekend. However, the couples we were around, love each other with Christ's love I think on a daily basis. There has been a lot that most of the couples that we went with have been through. I feel blessed to even see a glimpse how Christ has worked in and out of their marriage and families. God has been good to my friends and He will continue to be good. I take great peace in knowing that He is in control and is gracious with His love, His providence and His power. Here are a few pictures below before we went out to our fancy dinner.
Oh and my friend's like to eat, and I mean eat good, that is one of the reasons we keep coming back!

Sunday is coming.....

I was thinking about Easter and what I wanted to post about. I read Beth Moore's post today and thought she shared the hope I desperately believe. No matter our circumstances, our trials, our joys, our sufferings He is alive and in the midst of those who call upon His Name. The context of the below quote from Beth Moore is about some of her blog friends commenting on how they are doing, just in general. How life is going for them. Some difficult things were shared that I pray that I will never have to go through. Some great joys were shared too.... She sums all of it up with her following thoughts.....

"And Christ is watchful and active and overflowing with unabashed, unbridled affection over every single one of them. As Present in one as any other. As purposeful in the life feeling the least purpose. The most exhaustion. He still raises the dead. Saves the lost. Heals the weak. Sets prisoners free. He never misses a tear. Never let’s us go. He was lifted up so we could be drawn to Him. Killed so we could live. Beaten so we could win. No matter what stone seems to have you entombed, He can roll it away. Nothing can stay in the grave when God has resurrection on His mind. And, Sweet Thing, God has resurrection on His mind right now.

He had it on His mind with every beat of that hammer on the nails penetrating Christ’s flesh. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” Death never gets the last word. Not even the death of relationship. Respect. Well-being. Health. God cannot – will not – leave well enough alone. His business is life and life at its liveliest. Loveliest. May He roll away every last thing that is stifling His effervescence in us. He never promised that life here would always be fun but He mighty well promised that life here could always be full. Every single ounce of power expended on the Cross is yours in Jesus’ Name. Ask Him what that means. How you draw from it. That’s what I’m doing today. Like you, I’ve had innumerable blessings and unforgettable moments of late. Like you, I’ve also had my own heartbreaks, disappointments, and worries. Felt weary to the bone. Frustrated to the core. I’ve cried, too. Thought I was fed-up with some things, too. Wondered if I’d ever change, too. Then comes Good Friday. The violence that says something’s about to be different. That causes our earths to quake. Then comes the Saturday wait that seems an eternity long. Then, finally, FINALLY comes Sunday morning…long before dawn. By that time the Father has waited long enough. And stones begin to roll.

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us ALL our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 3:13-15

Some of us are burdened and weary because we never have allowed ourselves to feel the full and free forgiveness of the Cross. What if today you believed it? What if today you believed Him? What if you finally let it go? What if today the deadness in us could no longer resist the sound of Christ calling us forth from the tomb? What if we decided to get up and really live?"


AMEN!! (That's my contribution)