Thanksgiving Thursday!

Today, the thanksgiving I have to the Lord that I am going to share is....

My Husband!

Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

~Genesis 2:24

I love this man. It is a great prayer of mine that I will submit to his loving headship over me, and when I speak with him, my words would be kind and careful.

I am greatly thankful to the Lord for making me a helper meet for him.

And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a help meet for him.

~Genesis 2:18

(meet- adj. -precisely adapted for a particular situation, NEED, or circumstance)

Meet is an adjective in this verse, describing the helper. What did the man need? He needed a helper, so he wouldn't be alone. It was not good that he was alone.  

I am thankful to the Lord to have been made for this young man as his wife. He loves the Lord, loves and enjoys studying His Word, loves spending time with brothers and sisters in the Lord, and (second best) he loves me. He has been calm and patient with me especially with me "learning" to run a household by myself, however small it may be. He has advised and lead me in things spiritual and practical.

This was going to be last weeks post, but I couldn't find all of the words to finish it. Now I am very glad that the Lord didn't give me the words to use. Last night our Bible study was on the document on Proverbs 12:4 (link below). It was used as a reminder and teaching for wives to reverence and  serve their husbands and not to be odious and rebellious, to be crowns on their heads instead of rottenness in their bones. I am very thankful for the words of description for better understanding given in that document. May I, and all us wives, and training to be wives, learn from this to "seek to exceed everything that the Bible teaches as the standard for great women."


A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.
~Proverbs 12:4


Commentary on Proverbs 12:4

13 Weeks

It is the last week of my first trimester. I am very thankful for the Lord's mercy of growing this baby inside of me.

This week Olive will grow to be about the size of a shrimp (about 3 inches).

Olive has about doubled in weight. Her fingerprints have formed on her fingertips, her organs; some of which are beginning to function; and veins are visible through her thin skin, and her body is beginning to catch up to her head in growth. (Source)

Week 12

Yesterday began my 12th week of pregnancy!

This week Olive may begin using her reflexes; such as opening and closing her fist, curling her toes, clenching her eye muscles, and beginning to make sucking movements with her mouth! This is amazing! I can do these things and see what she may be able to begin doing. I am taken aback in wondrous awe at God's miracle of growing a child in the womb.

Olive is about the size of a lime and only weighs about half an ounce.

I feel and think that I look the same as last week, so not much new goin on with me.

I am anxious to hear Olive's heartbeat, and to feel her move around. 

*Disclaimer: We do not know the gender of Olive. I just said "her" for ease of typing.

Thanksgiving Thursday

Again on Friday...

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; for his greatness is unsearchable.

Psalm 145:3

Today I am thanking and praising the Lord for his greatness that is so vast, we are unable to search it out. 

How great is our God!

 How great is His praise supposed to be! 

How amazing it is that His greatness is unsearchable by man!

He has shown and proven His greatness to me, though I praise not enough for it.

May I, we, praise and thank Him for his vast, unsearchable greatness!

Praise be to God!

May you all have a wonderful weekend praising our Great God!

Much love,

Kathryn

Photo from our honeymoon

11 Weeks

You know what is amazing? How God made babies to grow so rapidly inside the womb...

Olive is now the size of a fig!

And she/he is about one and a half inches long from head to rump!

It is exciting and mystifying how something can grow so fast in such a short amount of time! 

It is amazing that it is not I who told my body to make another, but the Lord!

Now I am going to take something from a gal whose blog I follow. 

Baby's Growth: So fast! Olive is about a half inch longer than last week! His/Her bones are beginning to harden some and toothbuds are beginning to appear in their mouth. Olive is moving a lot, though I won't be able to feel the movements for a few more weeks yet. Bryant puts his ear to my stomach, then sits up and tells me, "Stringbean is doing the back stroke" : ) Watching the video for the 10-14th week was amazing to me, the Lord has made a beautiful creation in every pregnant woman's body!

Maternity Clothes: None as of yet. I am still in most of my normal clothes, and haven't increased the size yet. My mother-in-law has blessed me by giving me some of her maternity clothes, and my mom has taken me shopping to buy a few things of my own. They have both been a blessing with providing things that we need. 

Symptoms: Just nausea and a few headaches is all I have, thank the Lord!

Changes to Mommy: Still, an unnoticeable bump that slowly continues to get bigger.

Food Cravings: Salty flavored things like crackers,Sun Chips, and occasionally dill pickles is pretty much all I crave.

Milestones? I went to the family doctor on Thursday to be officially told that I am indeed pregnant. She was kind and gave me a ton of information on things that I didn't know, and hadn't thought of asking anyone. 

Thank you Anna for the idea of the list! 

The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.

Psalm 145:17

For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth forever. Praise ye the Lord. 

Psalm 117:2

Praise be to God for His merciful kindness to His people!

Thanksgiving Thursday!

The Lord has blessed us in so many ways. . .

Given us things that we need to live. . . air to breathe

Given us things that we enjoy, but don't necessarily need. . . heat in the winter

Given us things that we enjoy and are useful, but don't need at all. . . computers

Given us things that we enjoy, but don't need and aren't useful. . . video games

Given us life, and the joys. . . and trials therein

He has blessed us by putting us on this side of the cross. In this country where we can freely praise the one true God. Has given us very easy accessibility to His Word. Has given us teachers, so we know how to read. . . so we can read the Bible. Has given us men of God to teach, so we can get an understanding, and understand what our Lord says in His Word.


Our sermon from this past Sunday:
 Reminders (3) - Thankfulness ~Jonathan Crosby - The Church of Greenville

In everything give thanks: for this is the will of Christ Jesus concerning you.

~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18

May we ever thank our Lord for His many blessings towards us!

And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it cam to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

~Luke 17:11-18

May we be as the one Samaritan who turned back and glorified God, giving thanks, with a loud voice!

~Kathryn

10 Weeks

I am now 10 weeks through my pregnancy!

Olive is now a fetus! 

He/She is barely the size of a kumquat.

How your baby's growing:

Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

Baby Center

(this is an approximation of an average fetal development)

Praise be to the Lord for this growth that He is allowing me to nourish and carry! It is an amazing thing to read about the development of a child in the womb. Thanks be to God for the witty inventions of today that we can monitor and see the development!

I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to name of the Lord most high.

~Psalm 7:17

Thanksgiving Thursday...

...On Friday

I am thankful for a sister who thanks the Lord for many things.
( I'm Thankful ~Brytni Cutler )

I am thankful for friends who are praising and hoping in the Lord; even in the troubles and trials of life.
( Canaan Josiah Foy ~Mama and Mrs. Rosana Foy )

I am thankful for the hope that the Lord gives his people when they are going through tough times... or just life.

I am thankful for the Lord's mercy added to His justice.

I am thankful for the Word of God, and the easy access we have to it as Americans.

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

~Psalm 118:29

9 weeks

I am now 9 weeks pregnant! :)

Olive is now about the size of a grape, or....

An Olive!

The baby's heart is finishing dividing into its four chambers, and the valves are beginning to form.

His/her teeth are beginning to form also.

Olive's eyes are formed, but won't open until around the 27th week. 

His/her facial features are becoming more distinct.

This past week/weekend I have noticed my stomach getting a bit rounder, so now I have a baby bump (though it is not visible through my clothing)

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.

~Psalm 116:5

Gracious and merciful is He, who is blessing me with carrying this child!

~Kathryn

Thanksgiving Thursday

Really Late....


I am thankful for the many little blessing of life, that the Lord so mercifully gives us...

Cough drops

Easy access to said cough drops

A running car

My husbands job

The roof over my head

The heat that is blowing through the air vents on a cold day

A clean glass of water

Daily meals

Vitamins to keep me and my Olive/Stringbean healthy

Covering hundreds of miles in less than a day to spend time with my family

Closeness of friends and family

A bed to sleep on

Quilts and Afghans made by loving hands to keep us warm at night

Access to doctors

...and many, many more things that we receive daily, but don't necessarily notice everyday...

Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praise unto thy name.

~ 2 Samuel 22:50

~Kathryn

Honeymoon Adventures

Misadventures of our Honeymoon
Part 1

As far as misadventures go . . these were very fun and funny :)

Vicksburg . . .

We wanted to take a shower, so we turned the water on to get warm, and it was warm . . . for about 2 min, then got too cold to take a comfortable shower.

Cedar Grove Inn

In the morning, we were headed to leave Vicksburg, but Bryant wanted to ride by a Civil War Ironclad ship.

The ship in Vicksburg

 We rode around seeing if we could just see it from the road. Well, we couldn't, so he just kept driving down the road. Bryant saw a sign for a ferry across the river 8 miles down a different road. The road was gravel so we had to go pretty slow and it took about 20 minutes to get to the ferry. Once we got across we started going on down the road, which was still gravel (if I remember correctly), and Bryant was beginning to notice that this road had a continual left turn. The ferry took us to a loop road of homes. :) We finally got back to the main road after a 1 1/2 hour detour. So we stopped for lunch, then headed on to our campsite.

Along the way though we found that the directions that Bryant had printed weren't complete and we didn't have an accurate timing or mileage . . and ended up getting there at dusk. Also, It was dark by the time we found a place to set up the tent and Bryant got it done . . .

. . . . To be Continued . . . .

Thanksgiving Thursday!

This week I am extremely thankful to the Lord for the little life growing inside of me.

I am now 7 weeks (and 3 days) along in my pregnancy, and as far as I know Olive is doing just what he/she is supposed to be doing... 

GROWING! 

Olive is about the size of a blueberry now!

According to Baby Center Olive is beginning to grow his/her little hands and feet.

 His/her growth is a mysterious and marvelous work of the Lord!

Olive is a precious life and I am thankful for the blessing that he/she will become, and already is, to Bryant and I!

Also, I am thankful for peppermints and saltines to ease the feeling of morning sickness. It is a great blessing to have the access to things that ease the sickness involved in childbearing. The Lord was very merciful to put my undeserving self in this place on the earth where I have such access! 

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy.

~Psalm 103:8

May your thanksgivings to our Lord extend way beyond a week from today!

Kathryn

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful to the Lord for:

My Husband!

New Card Games...

...To Play...

...At Night

The Lord has blessed me with a wonderful husband who takes care of me when I feel just a little sick, likes to make pancakes, does the dishes and makes up the bed while I am making his breakfast, and who loves me with all of his heart. 

We recently bought a new card game that is similar to one of Bryant's favorites: Canasta. It is called Hand 'n Foot, we tried it tonight, and like it very much. I think it is a little less confusing than Canasta is, but that could just be me. 

I am also very thankful for the home I live in, the car that we do have, and that my husband has a job. 

The Lord has been good to the both of us, (and we might think) especially in the past year of meeting and growing to know and love one another!

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

I hope and pray that you all are giving thanks to God in EVERY thing.

~Kathryn

Big News

If you don't already know...

Yep, I'm pregnant with our first child! 

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

Happy is the man that hath is quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

Psalm 127:3-5

I am at six weeks. Due date is July 3, 2012.

The baby's heart is beginning to beat.

Olive (nickname from my parents) is about the size of a lentil

For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Psalm 139:13-15

Thanksgiving Thursday

I am thankful for:

My Family

My New Family

Fun with My Cousins

"O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."
Psalm 136:1

~Kathryn

Thanksgiving Thursday

This is where I will weekly list things that I am thankful to the Lord for.

I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with 6thanksgiving. ... The humble shall see this, and be glad: and you heart shall live that seek God.

~ Psalm 69: 30, 32

I pray that this will make you glad, seeing thanks being given to the Lord.

1. The Word of our Lord, and the truth that it is.

2. Continuously learning from the Bible, yet never reaching perfection.

3. The many blessings that don't get noticed,

4. Such as the change into autumn.

5. The unremarkable beauty of the colors of fall.

6. How the death/starvation of living things (leaves) can be so beautiful.

O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

~Psalms 95:1-2

Our first adventure...

This would be our meeting, courtship, and engagement.

We met through our college program called CollegePlus! There is a set of forums where the students can talk with, encourage and edify one another. It was 14 months ago when we ended up chatting on the forums. We eventually ended up on Skype (an instant message and video call service) talking whenever we could. We became fast friends, and in October of last year we began discovering a love for each other that was growing rapidly.

Pretty soon, we decided that we needed to meet in person... so we planned multiple times thought none worked out until this past March. We had a wonderful time getting to know each other in a different way then the previous few months. Our families became friends and enjoyed talking and learning about the other. It was on this trip that my dad gave Bryant permission to win my heart.

Our next meeting was in June. On this trip, his parents and I talked and Mr. Cutler gave Bryant permission to officially court me. We were both excited!

We met once more in July... there was a big surprise for me on this trip. It was the Second, the whole lot of us were in a town by the MO River near the Cutler's home. Bryant was given permission to take me for a walk before supper, and on this walk we stopped by the river. This is where Bryant made his proposal for marriage to me. I gave him an excited YES! The next day we set the date of the wedding for Oct. 1.

The next three months there were many thoughts about an upcoming wedding. We all were getting excited, stressed, and prepared for a big change. Bryant and I continued to talk over Skype, and did many of our together planning on Skype or the phone. He did come down to do some preparations that needed to be done in MS.

In the time we allotted ourselves and families, we had a beautiful wedding. Thanks to many loving friends and family members wanting to help any way they could, and our parents who did much work for us and this very special day in our lives. The Lord has blessed with great friends, and for that I am extremely thankful. 

Kathryn <3

I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.

~Psalm 69:30

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

~Psalm 100:4 

 

Let us introduce ourselves to the blogging world...

Hello Blog Readers!

I would like to begin by a simple post, introducing the couple (and authors) of this new blog. :)

Bryant (me) and Kathryn (my wife) were married just 11 days ago, and have already had a very much adventuresome time with one another.

But, just to get us started: I am 21 years old, and my wife is 18. We both love each other very much. <3

Oh well... look at the time.. it's SUPPER TIME!

My beautiful wife will fill you in on more about our adventures tomorrow : D

Night all, and thank you for visiting our blog.

~ Bryant