Thanksgiving Week!

I haven't posted in almost a month, and I apologize! I haven't had much exciting news to report, but now that Thanksgiving is behind us, I wanted to document our wonderful week! :)

Our Thanksgiving plans were really tentative for the last few weeks, because Rena had shingles and couldn't be around Anna. Thankfully, she was feeling better by the beginning of the week, so the plans we had made were still a go. I had also planned on going to see my mom and her boyfriend Dave at the beach house they were renting. So with much excitement we entered Thanksgiving week.

On Wednesday, we went to the beach. The drive was supposed to be about 2 hours, but we missed a few turns, and the GPS took us down some strange dirt roads. I was really skeptical, but they ended up getting us where we needed to go, with a little extra adventure. :P We met Dave's son, Dalton, and chatted for a while before lunch. Some of Dave's family members were going to eat lunch at a local seafood restaurant, so we gladly joined them. We thought that Anna was going to be good and play, but she ended up nursing the whole time. I only spilled a little bit of ketchup on her! :P

The rest of the day, we hung out around the town. We went and looked at a Christmas tree vendor, but decided to stick with our plan of getting one from the mountains on Friday. Dave showed us his favorite place to sit and paint, and we watched the sunset over the marshes. That night, we went to Dave's family reunion. It was an oyster roast at another beach house just down the road. I had never tried oysters before, and it took quite a bit of convincing, but after a while I was an oyster-shucking (and eating) pro! They were great with cocktail sauce! We stayed for a long time, and Andrew found two different ways in which our family is connected to Dave's! We were welcomed very graciously, and it was an excellent time.

Somewhere in the course of the day, we decided to spend the night at the beach house. We were totally unprepared to stay the night, so we had to go and buy a pack of sposies and a sleepy outfit for Anna. We also had nowhere for her to sleep, so she slept in our bed. We're not regular co-sleepers, but I wasn't expecting it to be all that hard to keep her sleeping all night like she usually does. I nursed her to sleep like I always do and went to hang out for a while. When I came to bed, she stayed asleep, but as soon as I moved next to her she woke up. Needless to say, I was awake for most of the night, either dangling off the edge of the bed or trying not to breathe too loudly. Who knew such a small person could take up half of a king bed all by herself?!

The next day we had to leave early, so we got up and left around 7:30. The drive home was really uneventful, and we got home to prepare for lunch/dinner at John and Rena's. Around 12, we went over to help her cook and get ready. We both puttered around and did little busy tasks, and we were ready to eat around 3. Rena's sister Kim and her daughter Randi joined us, so we had 6 people and about enough food for 20. Anna had a ton of sweet potato all by herself! It was a wonderful lunch, and left us all feeling quite stuffed. :)

On Black Friday, we ventured to the mountains to get a Christmas tree. We planned on leaving very early so as not to be home too late that night, but we were so tired from the night before that we slept in. We took a few pit stops, like the baby store in town to get some legwarmers for Anna. We got on our way, and were making great time until we got near Pleasant Garden. Pleasant Garden is where a very sweet old friend of Andrew's lives; her name is Mama Chachi (at least I think that's how you spell it). She had been asking to meet me and Anna for quite some time, so we made an impromptu stop to see her. She was thrilled that we were there, so we stuck around for a bit and let her enjoy some baby time. :) After that we went on our way again.

We got to the mountains around 3, had to stop for a poopy diaper emergency, and then found a roadside tree farm. It was very chilly, so I wrapped Anna on my back, put her warm hat on, and put my jacket on over her so that she was just a pair of eyes poking out. It was quite adorable and I wish I had a picture of it! We hiked around amongst the trees until we found one tall enough, and had ti cut and dragged down for us. After a 5 hour trip, the whole tree-getting process took about half an hour, but it was still quite fun. :) We drove home quite uneventfully and were very ready when bedtime came.

The day after, we planned on having John and Rena over to help us decorate. William and Hannah were on their way back from Georgia, so I made a spur of the moment decision to have everyone over for dinner and decorating. A few hours later, after I had the spare key retrieved because mine was locked in the truck, I had a pork roast in the crockpot and all the Christmas dragged out of the attic and dusted off. After the husbands finally finished cutting soybeans, we all gathered to eat. The roast was just barely enough, but from the reviews it was well-enjoyed. After coffee and dessert, Hannah and I got started on the tree, Andrew put up the decorations around the house, and John and Rena got some baby time. :) It was a wonderful evening spent with wonderful people, and reminded me how truly blessed I am.

The whole week was such a beautiful one! I spent so much time with my husband and sweet baby girl, and with so many other people as well. Time with family is so precious, and even though I didn't get to see all the people I love this week, I hold this time near and dear to my heart and I always will. How blessed am I!

I apologize for the lack of pictures, but in the busy-ness, nobody thought to take any! I also apologize for the long stretch without a post. I promise I'll try to find things to write about more often! Good night readers. :)

Psalm 107:1: Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Life's happenings!

I haven't written in a while, but October wasn't really a very eventful month. A couple of things have happened as of late that I wanted to document, though.

The first two are Anna-related (as is all of life nowadays). The first is that my sweet girl turned six months this past week!

Oh how I love her. Watching her learn something new every day is so amazing. She is already learning to pull herself up, and can get all the way to her knees! Before we know it she will be all over the place, and it will be all I can do to keep her out of anything and everything. Even though I love watching her grow, I know these days of being able to cuddle her and call her my sweet little baby won't last forever, and I will miss them so much when they are over. :(

Anna is also getting her first tooth! We were sitting in church the other day and I noticed something sharp on her bottom gum, so I tried for about half an hour to see past her tongue and lip, which is always very difficult. Sure enough, there is a little white point about to break through her gum! It explains why she's been so fussy the past few days, too. I'm still waiting for it to break through the gum, but I'm so excited to see how cute she looks with one little tooth! :)

Finally, the ice cream shop closed for the season! Last Saturday was our last day, and we got to close at 4:00 because we sold out of ice cream early! We've been excited for this day to come, and now we have five months of freedom ahead of us. :) I don't hate work by any means, but it will be very nice to be able to stay home and spend some time with my sweet baby. I definitely don't want to have a mobile baby in the office either, at least until I have time to babyproof it. ;) I'm ready for my winter, especially my baby's first Christmas. :)

Such are the goings-on in the Gillis family. Here is my amazingly cute picture of Anna:

She wants so hard to climb out of her playpen. Thankfully, I think she has a little while to go. :) Till the next time!


  1Thessalonians 5:16-18: Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Our spontaneous family beach trip!

On Sunday, Andrew and I woke up thinking we were going to go to church. As I was getting dressed, we were discussing the idea of perhaps taking a day trip to the beach. By the time I had all of my church clothes on, we had decided to go to Wilmington for the day. I changed clothes, we packed Anna a diaper bag for the day, and off we went.

Our first stop was the Oceanic Restaurant. This is our go-to place in Wilmington. We've eaten there twice before and this time we had lunch. It was a gorgeous day; not too windy, nice and warm, and clear skies. It was a terrific meal, view, and time together.

We love the panorama feature on Andrew's new phone, by the way! :) While we were at lunch, I checked my Facebook and saw a picture my mom had posted of the battleship in Wilmington. I called her and we discovered that she was only 20 minutes away! We met in the parking lot for a few minutes, since we were in a hurry to get home (which will be explained momentarily).

Andrew's parents had gone to North Myrtle Beach for the weekend, so we called them on the way to see how they were doing. Rena mentioned that they had their room for one night longer than they could stay, and offered it to us. This would mean going home, packing a bag for two nights, sleeping one night on the sleeper sofa in the room, and then having the room to ourselves the next night. While we were at lunch, we decided to go for it. We drove home after meeting my mom and packed in a hurry, and then made off for Myrtle Beach.

We stayed that night on the pull out couch in John and Rena's hotel room. Anna, for some reason, did not want to sleep by herself. She woke up at 11:30 and after about three hours, I gave up trying to get her to sleep in her bed and snuggled up with her between Andrew and I. Not very comfortable for me, but I do love snuggling my sweet pea. :)

On Monday, we spent time in the hotel room in the morning before we headed out for lunch. We drove down Ocean Blvd. for a little while until we found a little restaurant on the pier. We ate lunch, which was simple but very good!

 

After lunch, John and Rena had to go back to the hotel room and pack up to go home. Andrew and I hung out in the hotel room for most of the afternoon. We went for a drive around supper time, and ended up going to a restaurant called Damon's for dinner. Last time we visited Damon's, Anna refused to let me stop walking and it was not a very enjoyable time. Thankfully she was good this time, especially because it was pouring and it would not have been fun to walk her around outside. We went back to our hotel and went to bed; Anna was good, mostly. She woke up once around 12:00 but (miraculously) went back to sleep in her own bed. She woke up at 6:30, but I suppose I can't complain too much. ;)

Today (Tuesday) was our last day.We had planned on going to play mini golf, but it was cold and drizzling, so we passed on that plan. Instead, Andrew decided it would be fun to take the Southport Ferry to Ft. Fisher and go to the NC Aquarium. 

Anna really liked the ferry! She loved watching the water go by, and the people in the car next to us loved watching her. ;)

The aquarium was (for me, anyway) the highlight of the whole few days. I always love going, and I loved watching Anna look at the fish! She's starting to get the age where she's interested in the things around her more, and she liked watching the big fish swimming by!

We also took a wonderful family picture:

I love that so much <3 I remembered that Andrew and I took a day trip to the aquarium last summer, and we took a picture in the window of one of the tanks. I saw that same window today and just knew that we had to have another picture! It is so amazing to see how much we can grow in such a short time.

That was our vacation! I enjoyed having some time to spend with my wonderful family, and I am so thankful that the Lord gave us this opportunity! I know I'm posting late, but I am now nursing Miss Fussy-baby-that-doesn't-want-to-stay-asleep for the first time tonight, so we'll see how much longer I'm awake tonight. :P Heh heh, I love her so much.

I'll post this last picture: I loved this fish! I didn't see him the first time I walked by his tank, but I did a double take and noticed him blending in to the rock! He is such a good hider! I marvel at the expertise and perfection with which God created all of His creatures. :)

So thankful for all of the opportunities and blessings the Lord sends my way. :)

Psalm 107:1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

The happenings of life!

Life in the Gillis household has been going on much as usual the past week or so. Bruno is adjusting well to his new home, apart from his insatiable urge to chase the poor cat all around the house. Andrew and the other farm men are in a bit of a lull at the moment; they just finished harvesting corn and now they're waiting for the next busy period in which they will plant wheat and cut soybeans.

I had a major farm milestone yesterday:

I finally rode a horse! I had been wanting to ride for a long time, but I my midwife forbade me from riding while I was pregnant, and I haven't had time since Anna was born. Yesterday, the family who cares for the animals on the farm threw a birthday party for their daughter, Katerina. Katerina LOVES horses and goes riding here pretty much every Sunday, so today I asked if I could go along. I fed Anna and left her in Daddy's supervision, and then off we went. We had a bit of a scare when Colonel David (that's the horse's name) got his bridle stuck around his leg and I had to jump off, but after that it was smooth sailing. Well, maybe smooth isn't the word for it. It was so much fun, but it does make your tailbone sore after a while! :)

Anna has been sitting up all by herself lately, and she is so proud of herself! After I dismounted yesterday, I sat her in the grass and let her play. She enjoyed herself a lot!

I still can't get over how beautiful she is. :)

For the past few months, I've been working on trying to get her to drink from a bottle so that Mommy and Daddy could go out for a night. We've tried this before, but it led to much crying, a very frustrated Granddaddy and Grandma, and Mommy and Daddy having to leave the movie right when it was getting to the good part. :P Anna doesn't quite get the concept of a bottle. She loves it, but not for the right reasons. She liked to throw it around, get milk in her hair, and do everything except drink out of it.

Oh, well. Maybe we'll go out after she weans. ;)

That's all for now. In the blink of an eye she'll be crawling and I'll be chasing her all over the place! See you then!

2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Meet Bruno!

We added to our family today! This is Bruno:

I saw him in a Facebook group. His owners were moving and he was destined for the pound, so Andrew and I decided to give him a loving home. I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive about getting a dog. I didn't know how he might be with Anna, or with our cat. I was nervous about how he would adjust to a new home. We picked him up after church today and brought him home.

He is such a good dog! I've only heard him bark once when we got home from getting dinner. He doesn't chew, drool, bark, or jump. He does chase the cat, but I feel confident that once they get used to each other that will get better. I love him already :)

He's my sweet boy, and I'm so glad he's here!



Psalm 36:6 O Lord, You preserve both man and beast.

Finding the bright spots in an otherwise dismal day.

Today I woke up with a verse in my head. I had no idea why this particular verse was on my mind, because I hadn't read it or thought about it recently. As my day progressed, it started to become clear why I had been given this particular verse to meditate on.

I went to work this morning in a fairly cheerful mood; Anna was staying with her daddy for a little while so I could be able to work, since I had a lot to do to get the ice cream shop ready to open. I had a fairly long to-do list, which started with making chocolate chip cookies.

I can't count the number of times I have made chocolate chip cookies. I do this recipe at least twice a week. Needless to say, I could probably make cookies with my eyes closed. Today, I needed two batches: one to sell in the shop, and one special order with no walnuts. I whipped up the first batch with half of my mind somewhere else. I then realized that I had put in four eggs because I had looked at the brownie recipe by accident. The recipe only calls for one. Needless to say, that batch was worthless. I tried again. With the next batch, I used the wrong sized scoop and my cookies were incredibly thin and burned on the bottom. The third batch was much darker than the others because the mixer vaporized some of the chocolate chips when I stepped away from it. Only the fourth batch that I made was problem-free. But despite how insanely frustrated I was with my failures, the same verse kept ringing in my mind and reminding me how blessed I am.
The bright spots in my cookie fiasco: I learned three ways NOT to bake cookies. I also did not have to worry about taking care of Anna while I was so frustrated because my wonderful husband was watching her.

The rest of my morning was pretty uneventful; a few of my bags of ice cream mix had holes in them and leaked all over the kitchen, and the cans of pumpkin I bought were the wrong kind and didn't have spices in them, and I probably ran into, knocked over, or bumped my shins on at least ten different things. We were extremely busy when we finally did open, and my poor baby was in a very bad mood. All the same, I repeated the same words over and over without even having to try.

Halfway through the afternoon, I was making a bucket of pumpkin ice cream. For those that don't know, making ice cream involves mixing the liquid milk base with whatever flavoring you need. For this one, it was a can of pumpkin pie mix (or in this case, pure pumpkin with the spices I had to run home for, since I bought the wrong thing ;) ) and a can of evaporated milk. You then pour these into the ice cream machine and let it mix and freeze for 18 minutes. I poured in the ingredients for the ice cream and set the timer. 18 minutes later, I came back and opened the door and quickly realized that I had forgotten to set the machine to freeze the liquid mix. It poured all over me, the floor, the table, and basically the entire kitchen.This was just the cherry on top of my wonderful day, resulting in me having to rush home to change my shirt, pants, and even shoes.
The bright spot in my ice cream debacle: I was able to go home and take a (very, very quick) shower. Even though it was hurried and not very relaxing, it felt good on my tired feet and legs.

And even still, the Lord kept giving me those two lines that I needed to get me through the day.

The day wore on and I was so, so tired. I was hungry, and exhausted, and I wanted to go home. Everything on me hurt. Somehow, though, I found myself repeating the same words over and over again to myself.

Now, as I sit and reflect on my horrible day, I realize it wasn't so bad. There are so many days I've had that have been ten times worse, and so many people have had days a hundred times worse than anything I've ever been through. But even though what seemed miserable at the time was so inconsequential, I am still so glad for that sweet reminder from God that everything will be okay. The Lord takes care of us, even in the smallest of ways.

The verse that got me through this day?

Psalm 118:24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Reflecting on how fast life changes.

Yesterday at work I was talking to Patti, a lady that I work with sometimes. I don't remember the topic of our conversation, but somehow we started talking about our lives and decisions we've made over the years.

Patti asked me what I wanted to do when I was in high school. I have to admit that I never in a million years would have thought that I would be doing what I am. I Never thought twice about whether I would go to college; it was always just kind of an assumed thing. I had my heart set on being a veterinarian at the San Diego Zoo. It was a big dream, but then again I was raised not to limit myself. When I met Andrew, I was still attached to that vision of my future. I remember how he told me that he was committed to his land, family, and way of life here. It was so difficult for me to understand that a future with Andrew was not the future I had always imagined for myself.

As our relationship advanced, I grew. I grew mentally and emotionally, but most of all I grew spiritually. I studied a lot about what it means to be a woman based on God's word. As I learned more and more, my plans began to change. I realized that my calling is to be a wife and mother above all other things. There is no greater way I could spend my life than by serving my Lord, my husband, and my children.

When Andrew and I got engaged, so many people were upset. Friends, teachers, even complete strangers told me that I was making a foolish decision, or that I was making a stupid, irresponsible decision. So many people thought to tell me what was in my best interests, assuming that I was being impulsive. It was so difficult to watch people I loved push me away because they felt I was throwing my life away. Imagine the uproar, then, when I told people that I had chosen to fore-go college in favor of starting my family. It was the last thing anybody expected. I myself was still having trouble believing that I had changed so much from what I had always dreamed of. But despite the negativity that was cast my way and the well-meaning advice that I received from so many people, I remained firm in my convictions. This was the way the Lord meant for me to live my life. I had only just then come to realize it.

I have never once regretted my decision. I try to think about how different life would be if I had stuck to my original plan. I would definitely not be where I am today. Chances are great that I would not have the amazing baby girl that I do if I had chosen to follow the path that the world was laying before me, rather than pursue the life that I believe God has planned for me. I am not worried about having a "back-up plan" should anything happen to Andrew; the Lord will provide all I need, and I will serve Him with everything I have. I may not always be the best wife, but I know that I am growing each and every day. I am so glad that I did not waver. This is where I am meant to be.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

My first blog! Woohoo!

I've been thinking about starting a blog for quite a while. There have been lots of times when I found myself wishing I could document the goings-on of that particular day or just share what I made for dinner (tonight it was homemade biscuits with shrimp and corn chowder). I am going through such a special time in my life, and I want to document everything I can! The look of this blog is still in progress; I know it's not the prettiest thing in the world yet, but as I learn my way around the blogger site, I feel confident it will improve! :) Bear with me as I learn the ropes. I'll try to post on Facebook when I update here. I'm excited to document each new milestone we cross in our lives together. :)

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.