Black Friday and Assorted Holiday Cheer

Alas, the holidays are upon us in full swing... visions of sugar plums... Salvation Army bells ringing outside of department stores... and BLACK FRIDAY.


Today, Texas Tech's Facebook page shared the following remarks about the occasion:  

"Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, gets its name from the black ink used on a store’s accounting sheet to represent a profit."

...Really? Are you serious?

2011 marks my 5-year anniversary of not having to participate in the BLOODY MAYHEM that is known to the free world as "Black Friday." Praise Jesus.

To those of us who are survivors... Black Friday is actually named after Black Tuesday, 1929... the day where everyone's money disappeared, mass chaos erupted in the streets, and the weak fell to the strong in the futile battle over -well- STUFF we don't really need.

The only thing worse is a "Rebecca Black Friday." 

Moving along...  

Today's fun fact:

In some eastern European countries, kids who are habitually bad are visited by Santa's BFF who is named Krampus. 

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Here's a quote from the Wiki article:
"Traditionally, young men dress up as the Krampus in Austria and southern Bavaria... during the first two weeks of December, particularly on the evening of 5 December, and roam the streets frightening children with rusty chains and bells."

How's that for your next Christmas Card???

And all this time I thought the only thing that would get rid of Krampus was Aleve...

So, rather than chase your screaming children around crowded department stores this holiday... searching for them as they hide between clothing racks... discovering them playing a solid game of tackle football in the aisles of WalMart with a package of cookies... turkey-bowling down the frozen food aisle...

Wait.
You may be thinking-- WHO? MY little angel doesn't act like that!

I assure you, those of us who have worked in RETAIL on BLACK FRIDAY have seen your little angel in action. Like Chuck Norris, they move stealthily through the aisles... behind your backs... RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSES... 

All I'm saying is... I believe in Santa...
...and -YES- I believe in Krampus, too.

...And GOOD NEWS for all you poor souls out there who had to work this black Friday (Midnight. ...really???), you have another 364 days to come up with a resume and a new gig. Smile.

Coming soon: Velociraptor!

 

I'm pretty sure it's a baby... .(..though, a velociraptor would be cool too...) 

SO. MUCH. LOVE. for this little one already. SO. MUCH! Overwhelming!

Kiddo, you can take my waistline and give me stretch marks and make me cry at sappy commercials on t.v. and I will STILL love you forever! 

 

I mean, LOOK at this kid! Perfection!!!

Baby Gatlin at 6 weeks

And look how big he/she is getting!

Baby Gatlin at 10 weeks

SO, people ask...

 

1. How are you feeling?

Well, don't hate me, but I feel pretty great. In the past 2 months, I have ran a 5K, helped build a deck, helped with roofing a shed, been taking Maggie for walks, working full time, volunteering at the church, and keeping house. No sickness at all... just some food aversion here and there.

And chocolate tastes disgusting. 

I take naps... but I always take naps... comes with being a night shift nurse. Oh how I love our naps!

Other than that, I actually forget that I'm pregnant. Often. People ask me how I'm feeling and it confuses me sometimes... "Is my hair messed up?" "Did I forget my makeup?" ...."Oh wait, you mean THAT!"  Plain and simple, I don't feel pregnant.

 

2. Any weird cravings?

Just one time. Mashed potatoes with white gravy. At 3am. When nowhere is open to serve the crazy pregnant lady some STINKING MASHED POTATOES!!!! Need a visual? Imagine having an entire colony of chiggers bite every square inch of your body --only to find that your arms are tied down and you can't scratch... only imagine something much worse. That's a pregnancy craving.

Other than that, I absolutely canNOT get enough fresh vegetables. Anything FRESH tastes like candy in my mouth. Watch out, Jason's Deli salad bar!

Also, RED MEAT. I'm pretty sure EVERY steak I've had the past 2 months has been the best steak of my life. Every. Last. One. Of. Them.

Orange juice for breakfast every day. That's about it.

3. Do you think it's a boy or a girl?

Honestly, I haven't quite ruled out the possibility of a velociraptor. That would be way cool. 

But, really, does it matter? Boy, girl, velociraptor... we are just stoked that we get to be parents! We will find out at the end of December if the kiddo isn't shy. The heart beat was 171 bpm which makes some people say 'girl.' The chinese calendar myth says 'boy.' Intelligender predicted 'boy.' Mom says 'girl.' ...pretty safe to say that it's going to be a baby and we will just have to wait and see!

 

We don't have a name picked out.

We haven't bought anything for him/her.

We are JUST CHILLIN OUT. We are enjoying our lives so much right now and there's so much to be excited about-- but we'd just drive ourselves crazy if we let it consume us right now. 

SO...

IN OTHER NEWS...

I AM GOING TO BE A FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, LOTS of big news!!!!!!!!!!

I have wanted to be a family nurse practitioner for as long as I can remember...! Classes start in January and it's all online... I just have to go to Lubbock a time or two each semester to get checked off on skills and such... SO excited to be a part of this incredible opportunity!!! Yay!

I am reminded again and again of these verses:

 

• Proverbs 16:3  "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."

•  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.'" 

I am completely humbled by the way God continues to work in our lives. His perfect plan is being revealed a little bit at a time to us, and we are so excited to see what else is in store for us! 

If you guys are the praying kind, please remember us with the following:

• Pray that we are able to grow in faith, and be open to God's perfect plan. He's given us a lot of opportunity, and we want to continue to serve and stay open to His calling. We want to continue to attend church, serve the youth group, go to school, and work... in addition to starting our family and making time for each other... and we need some doors to open up for us to make that happen!
• Pray that Garrett and I continue to grow closer together, being the best partner and helper for each other that we can be!
• Pray for our child! (Enough said, right? haha!) Really, though, we ask that prayers start now... for health, for his/her future, and for anything else that you can think of! 

Love y'all!
Garrett & Amanda