23 Weeks

I am in my 23rd week today! I had a dr. appt. today and was very happy with the results. I have still not gained any weight with the pregnancy and all signs show a very healthy baby! All his/her measurements are good and right where they should be for this week. And, most importantly, the heartbeat was very strong! I was so thankful for a good report!

Here are some milestones for week 23:

• Baby weighs just over one pound and is approximately 11 inches long
• Baby can hear loud noises from the womb
• Blood vessels in the lungs are developing to prepare for breathing
• Baby can now suck his/her thumb
• Skin is being produced at a higher rate so baby will look wrinkly until he/she grows more

Each of my pregnancies have been different. With this one, I feel more tired of course, already having two kiddos to take care of but I also feel so excited and ready for #3. With #1, I wondered how I could love another one so much and when that one came, my love grew. Now with this one, I am so excited to love another and enjoy the babyness again! God just amazes me, how He created us with all the little intricate parts that develop over time to form one amazing miracle! Praise Him for we are fearfully and wonderfully made!

Love to all

Life & a recipe

Hi, All ~

Life has been pretty easy going this week. Being sick forced me to get more sleep at night and take naps so I feel pretty rested going into my weekend. I am pretty much back to normal and getting ready to tackle another load of laundry :)

Before I go, I wanted to share an easy and tasty recipe I found and tried this week. It has all normal things you would have in your pantry in case of a dinner emergency!


Chicken Fingers
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 4 oz. each)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup milk
1 cup vegetable oil for frying

1. Cut chicken into 1/2 x 2-inch strips.
2. Mix flour, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Dip chicken in milk. Roll in flour mixture to coat well. Place chicken on waxed paper.
3. Pour 1/4 inch of oil into a large heavy skillet. Heat over medium-high heat to 350 degrees.
4. Place chicken in an even layer in hot oil. Fry, turning once, for about 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels.

*Mary Tips*
I was in a bit of a rush so I just cut my chicken in pieces and didn't focus on strips. I didn't place my chicken on waxed paper - I just started putting them into the oil as soon as they were coated and then did my batches as necessary. I fried my chicken for more like 5-6 minutes so they were more brown and crispy.

Also, you can make your own honey mustard dipping sauce by mixing 1/2 cup honey with 1/4 Dijon mustard. It's best to make ahead and let set for 1-2 days in fridge so flavors have time to blend.

Hope you like it!!

Love

Some of my true loves...

• My Jesus
• My husband and sons
• My baby I have yet to meet
• My family
• My true friends
• My home on earth
• My home in heaven
• My Bible
• My church

Some of my favorite loves...

• chocolate
• my new super-soft pillow
• Jane Austen movies and books
• scrapbooking
• photography
• getting a card in the mail
• hearing that someone is expecting
• cooking
• singing

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend with the one(s) they loved! Even though I was terribly sick with no voice, I still enjoyed whispering "I love you" to my boys. Lukey thought it was fun whispering all day :) He made me my first 'Get Well' card that I will cherish forever! While playing trains together, he broke out in "Jesus Loves Me" and it made me get all teary eyed. How thankful I am for the opportunity and responsibilities that come with being a wife and mother. There is nothing to compare. God truly is love!

Be Thankful

It's so easy to complain, isn't it?!

Isn't that a good sentence to start with :) Today would of been a great day for me to complain. I am S-I-C-K! And, not just the little cold, sneezing here and there kind... I mean the full-blown sore throat going into the ears with knife-piercing coughs and complete body exhaustion... and, is that enough complaining?

Well, I do have a lot to be thankful for... I am alive though I feel half-dead. I did have energy enough to do changing, breakfast, dishes, laundry, dinner, baths, dishes again and even make rice krispie treats :) I had the opportunity to take a long nap while my kids did the same, thank you Lord! I got compliments on a quick dinner idea from my 3 year old who said "This is delishish, Mommy". I got hugs and kisses from my boys without asking for them - those are the best! And, at the end of a long day, I checked my email and got two very happy and exciting emails from friends. God is good even when days seem low. He is there, always taking care of us even when we have to take care of others.

My first thought today, waking up so tired and sick was "why me, Lord?!" My last thought today is "thank you, Lord!"

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I'll be home folding laundry, with tons of Vicks on my nose and drinking gallons of OJ if you need me! :)

Baby Week

Thanks to everyone for their congratulations on the new baby! It is so nice hearing from everyone and sharing in the excitement! Tomorrow will be a week since the 'big reveal' and I think half the people I know already know I'm expecting! I also feel like my baby bump has really grown, too much in fact, like it's punishment for having kept the secret so long! :)

Here are some blessings I liked to share with my readers of how God has worked and blessed in different situations:

Blessing #1
I went to the thrift store two weeks ago in search of maternity clothes and it was almost like God put this whole rack in the store just for me! I was able to find 5 or 6 modest shirts without any stains! :) Most maternity shirts are cut very low but I found some very nice shirts and some dressy enough for church so that was a big blessing at a very small cost!

Blessing #2
I am feeling better these last few days compared to the last 19 weeks. I was very sick and nauseous for a long time and have just in the last days had a decent appetite. A hidden blessing in that is that I've lost weight and still continue to. I haven't gained any weight so far so I'm thankful for that!

Blessing #3
Baby Tucker is healthy - thank you, God! We had an ultrasound 1/22 and everything shows that baby is healthy and has great measurements and a good heartbeat. I tell you, hearing that heartbeat and seeing the heart pump on the ultrasound screen is just amazing. I always break down and cry! Our nurse (that we had with both boys) knows me and always gives me time to cry it out for a few minutes before going on with the ultrasound. She is so sweet! And I always say, out loud during each ultrasound, "I can't believe how people can kill babies" when you can outright see/hear the heart beat.

Blessing #4
I have such a great family and wonderful friends to share in this joy with me. It is so fun chatting with all my sisters and hearing funny comments from guys who don't quite know what to say. Either way, it such a happy time full of thoughts of will it be a boy or girl, what will he/she look like, will I ever have a brown-haired baby? :)

Love to all

The Secret's Out!!!

As you can tell by my new title picture, we are now Tucker "5" instead of "4"!!! We are expecting our third baby!!!

To make a long story short, we decided to tell our families the "secret" this past Friday at Sonny's birthday party. We were going to tell them at Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then around New Years, but someone was always missing and not everything was perfect, so we just decided to push it back. Finally, everyone was together for the birthday party and we shared the news at the end of the gift giving time.

After Sonny opened his presents from family members, I gave him a folder and said "Show everyone what I got you". He looked inside and smiled and said "really, now?" in a shy kind-of way. I said to, of course, and then he pulled out a few of our ultrasound pictures. Of course, everyone cheered and my mom started crying, somewhat disbelieving. She needed to see the pictures and have me confirm I was really expecting! :) It was so much fun to see the surprise on everyones faces! Some people thought he was going to show them our family picture that we just had taken the Monday before.

The REAL surprise was when I said I am half-way through my pregnancy already! I was exactly 20 weeks on Friday! I thought it was just perfect how everything worked out - me being exactly half way through on the day of his party when we decided to tell everyone. God worked it out perfectly, as usual! :)

So, here is the surprise for you who have just found out! Expect pictures of a cute little boy or girl around June 25th of this year!

p.s. The 'Tucker 5' picture was taken on our vacation trip to Florida last October. We had just found out and I found it fitting to write our new number in the sand!