Cravings

Top Ramen.  Random, I know, especially since it's not a food I normally eat more often then...I don't know, once every four months or so?  Nevertheless, when nothing else tastes good and nothing (other than watermelon) is remotely appealing, for whatever reason Top Ramen does the trick.  I try and make it "healthier" by adding a bunch of vegetables and an egg...that's not too bad, right?  Whatever.  Now I want to go make some!

Prove me now herewith...

Due to the fact that school is out and I'm not tutoring and also since Robb hasn't been able to land a summer job yet, this month we will be about $500 short of our typical monthly income.  Next month we'll be fine, because I'll be teaching summer school and Robb will - hopefully - be working, so for these 30 days we're broke.  Now, we knew this going in to June and we decided one thing we could do to make it through the month was to not spend any money on groceries.

Lest you think we're nuts (I mean, everybody needs food, right?) we have three months of food storage and we actually LIKE rice and beans.  However, above and beyond our admittedly-boring food storage options, our ward has gleaners who get massive amounts of groceries from Whole Foods twice a week.  So we figured between our storage and what's available at church on Thursdays and Sundays that we'd be able to eat pretty well.  With that cleared up, let me get back to the story.

So we knew we were broke and that things would be really tight this month, but we also knew we'd be okay.  However, we have been so much more than simply "okay" that I decided I'd better record some of the blessings that have been poured down on us.

1.  On the first weekend in June we drove out to Merced to visit with my brothers and their wives and children.  We had a great visit, and as we were gathering our things to leave my sister-in-law said "Oh - my dad went out to his friend's farm yesterday and brought home dozens of farm fresh eggs and a massive amount of fresh cherries.  Let me give some to you guys, please!"  So we got 18 eggs and a few pounds of delicious, tree-ripened Rainier cherries.

2.  At the church/gleaner food-give aways we've been able to pick up plenty of milk, bread, cottage cheese, yogurt, fruits and vegetables, and tofu.  About every other night or so we look at our truly amazing dinners and are astounded by the quality of what we're eating...especially considering we didn't pay for any of it.

3.  I have been craving MEAT, but there's no budget to buy any, so...time for a blessing!  Last Saturday I was invited to participate in a photo shoot of a (fake) baby shower (for a craft book).  They fed us lunch, which involved a giant tray of wraps, and at the end they begged us to take a bunch home.  Ham, beef, turkey...yum. :-)

4.  Saturday evening we went to a ward BBQ and a friend handed me a card.  When we opened it later that night we discovered a generous present of grocery store gift cards.

I guess I'm just trying to say that my testimony of the truthfulness of Malachi 3:10 has been very strongly renewed over these last few weeks.  We are very nearly running out of room for receiving the blessings Heavenly Father keeps sending our way - really!

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Heartbeat

I know I'm pregnant.  I mean, it's a little hard to deny and/or miss with all the weird things going on with my body, but when I can't see or feel the baby it still gives me a little trip each time I go to the doctor and they show me an ultrasound or (in today's case) let me hear Scrapper's heartbeat.  At those moments the reality of the little one growing inside me is more fully evident, and it gets me every time.

News to us

Hello there faithful blog readers!  I figure if you care enough to read this you deserve advance notice that there will be another Thurmond joining our family around December 1.  Finding out we are pregnant came as a complete surprise, but we're excited.  When I went in a month ago they did some sort of measurement with the ultrasound and told me I was 7 weeks along.  The end of this week marks 12 (or 13?) weeks, plus it's the end of school, so I'll be announcing it to the public at large on Thursday or Friday.

So far things are going well - at least as far as I can tell.  I am considered a high risk pregnancy but have been doing pretty well at keeping my blood sugar where it's supposed to be, so here's hoping I can do the same for six more months!  Our estimated due date is actually December 16, but they won't let me go full term because the baby will be big, so...we'll find out more as we go on.  

That's it for now, but advice, product suggestions, etc., are very welcome.  I don't have many friends who've done this before, so I'll take what I can get.  :-)

Hope you all are well, 

Vanessa and Robb...and Scrapper! <-- Result of a random conversation between Robb and I.  Yes, we agree it would make a great dog name.  ;-)