God's Provision

This morning I was just reflecting on the past couple of weeks and how God is taking care of our family during this time when David is out of work. As many of you know having a new baby takes a lot of money. This is especially true when you go from having two little girls with all of their pink and purple, flowers and butterflies, and then go to having a little boy with blues and green, trucks and frogs. We still have the majority of our baby equipment and the most of it will work for baby Micah, but there was still the issue of bedding and clothes. I didn't think that Micah would appreciate looking back on pictures of him coming home from the hospital in a pink outfit that said "Princess". But I have been blown away at how God has totally provided for all the things that we need right now. I have several friends that have given us hand me downs from their boys, many with tags still on them. Another friend has offered her double stroller, and our sweet extended family has totally blessed us beyond measure financially for the other things that we still needed. It has all just been a constant reminder to me that no matter how long it takes for David to be called to just the right church, God sees our family, loves us, and is always going to provide just what we need. So thankful to Him this morning for His continued faithfulness to us!

Matthew 6:8b "for your Father knows exactly what you need before you ask of Him."

James 1:17 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows."

Hebrews 10:23 "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is Faithful!"

Isaiah 54:10 "Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor My covenant of peace be removed,' say the Lord who has compassion on you.

It's a....

We are happy to announce that...

Micah David will be joining our family in late August and we are all very excited.

Addison has been saying since the beginning that she wanted a brother. Yesterday I told her that this baby might be a girl and we would be thankful to God either way, boy or girl. About 15 minutes later she came out of the bathroom and told me that God had told her that this baby was a boy and that our next baby could be a girl. She said "I know you didn't hear Him talking to me, and I know that you won't believe me, but it is the truth!" I love the innocent faith of children and the way that they see God. Thanks for all the prayers for us today!

Boy or Girl?

In just 34 hours we will find out the gender of our baby, which I plan to announce on our blog sometime Wednesday. This is always the appointment that I get really excited about...the ultrasound where your baby actually looks like a baby and not just a spot on the screen. I love seeing their little feet and hands and that sweet moment when they tell you "it is a boy" or "it is a girl".

This pregnancy people have been so funny about the gender. I guess because we already have two little girls, people assume that we really want a boy and would be disappointed if it was another girl. I don't know if it is just ingrained in our brains that a family needs a boy to carry on the family name or what, but the reality is that we will honestly be just as thrilled either way. Part of it is that I would still love to have more children and possibly adopt one day, so I feel like this baby will not be our last if God chooses to bless us with more.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to have a little boy one day, and to experience all that makes up "boys". I love having a nephew and seeing just how different he is and how his world is trucks, pirates, and trains while I live in a world of princesses and tea parties. On the flip side I would love another girl. I adore my daughters and we would all be so excited to add another girl to our family. I love to watch them dress up together and play house and princesses.

So whether the ultrasound tech says "it is a girl" or "it is a boy" we won't at all be disappointed, we will be excited to meet them and welcome them into our family. I know that boy or girl, God has a very special plan for this baby, and it is my prayer that his or her life will bring glory to Him.

The House that became our Home

Yesterday David and I took a short walk together to our front yard and stuck a "For Sale by Owner" sign in the ground, and even now it kind of makes me want to cry. It made me think of the first time that I saw this house and how different it is now....

David's parents have spent many years of their life owning and managing rental houses. His dad bought a pair of houses at one point in Griffin thinking that maybe one day one of his children would use them. Five years ago, David and I were engaged and his parents so graciously offered to sell us the yellow rental house for a very good deal and help us fix it up. Living over 6 hours away I discussed all of our plans over phone calls and it all sounded great and so exciting. All I could think of was living in a cute little house with my new husband, and in my mind it was very cute.

I will never forget the first time David took me to see the place! It was this yellow and white house that was sort of run down. The floors were a mess and everything was stained and sort of outdated. There was wood rotting on the front porch and even a piece or two hanging off the roof. The best part was when David and I started looking in the kitchen and found an old pizza still in the oven weeks after it had been vacated! I am sure as a newly engaged girl with the boy that I love that I put on a sweet smile and said things like "it looks great!", but all the while I was thinking "I am going to live here! This is not the cute house I imagined!"

I am a very blessed girl though because for months David and his dad worked for hours every night after David got off of work redoing cabinets, tiling bathrooms, painting, buying all new appliances, etc. One weekend I even helped put hardwood floors down, and I must say that I got pretty good with a nail gun! David and his parents worked so hard to get the inside of the house livable and attractive before we got married. Every time I would visit and see it it got better and better. In June David and I were married and I was excited but also nervous to move to a new state. I didn't know anyone here but David and his family, and I will be forever grateful for David and his parents working so hard for all those months to give me a cute first home.

This is the house that we became parents in and the only home that our girls have ever known. I will forever remember the way that Addison's room looked when we decorated her nursery or how we turned the office into another nursery when we had Kendall. I loved how our front porch looked after our family would decorate it the day we brought each of the girls home from the hospital. We have spent hours walking these floors with crying babies (mostly Addison :) and rocking them to sleep in the glider in our living room. Images of my girls sleeping sweetly in their beds, playing in the backyard, and dancing in our kitchen will be forever etched in my mind, and I will forever love this house, our girl's first home.

And now five years later all the remodeling is complete inside and out and we are ready to sell. When we found out about David's job, we decided that it was time to sell and be close to whatever church he is called to whether it is in Georgia or in another state. And so we walked together and put a sign up, which was bittersweet for me. I am so excited to see where God leads us as a family and for this next stage in our life. And although I know that I will love the next house we live in, I tend to think that there will always be an extra special place in my heart for this first house... the house that I originally could not imagine having to live in, the house that I became a wife and a mother in, and the house that became a home I will remember forever.

A Day in the Life...

I honestly thought when I started this blog that I would be able to keep up with it on a more regular basis...little did I know how sick I would be with baby #3. Thankfully I am starting to see the light at the end of the morning sickness tunnel (which as any pregnant woman will tell you seems ENDLESS at the time). I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who was praying for me during the last two months.

Over the course of that last two months God reminded me over and over how He truly does care about every aspect of our lives. Starting Jan. 1st David no longer worked at Flat Creek. Due to budget issues, they eliminated his position and he is currently applying to several churches for a lead pastor position. Because of this, David was home for every single day of my morning sickness and was able to take care of the girls when I was really too sick or tired to care for them. It just reminded me that what the world looks at as a bad situation was really something that God showed me He was using for my good and the good of our family during this time. It was just a sweet blessing to have David home, and he did the best job of taking care of me and the girls.

Speaking of the girls, they are keeping us busy these days and have loved the warmer weather and playing outside. Addison is almost 4 and is busy planning her birthday in two months...she has lots of ideas of what she wants and it changes every day. She is also still very much in love with the movie Annie and if you are around her long enough you will hear her bust out in "Tomorrow" or "Your Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile". Much to my delight we now own the soundtrack and listen to it almost daily in the car which has really helped Kendall also develop a deep love for the music! So I am fearful that this obsession will be around for a while :) Kendall will be two in just a month from tomorrow and she is a cuddly handful. She is friendly to all she meets and full of mischief. (In fact just last night we found her painting with David's toothpaste all over his bathroom walls!) I love this stage of toddler life where their personalities really start to come out and they start talking more and more each day. I am so thankful for both my sweet girls!

And for baby #3 we have decided on names already. Usually we wait until we find out the gender, but I always love picking names as soon as we can because it makes it all feel more real to me. With all of our children's names we choose a first name that we love and then their middle name is after someone in our family. I also love to choose at least one part of their name that has a good meaning. Addison Jane- the Jane is my middle name, my mother's middle name, and my grandmother's middle name and means "believer in a gracious God". Kendall Anne- The Anne is after David's mother's middle name and means "Grace, gift of God's favor". If this baby is another sweet girl her name will be Sydney Jean- Jean is the middle name of my sister and my sweet grandmother that passed away two years ago. Jean means "God is gracious". We love that all of their names, and I pray their lives, speak of God's unending grace to us! If we have a sweet baby boy his name will be Micah David. Micah means "Who is like God?" - and our prayer is that his life would speak to the truth that there is nothing and no one that can even compare to our loving and gracious God. I just happened to marry a boy who had the same name as both my father and my brother, so David was an obvious choice as a middle name, as it represents three men that I love dearly. David means "beloved"- and if we have a son he will be loved so dearly by so many.

Just an update also for those that are keeping up with us as far as David's job search...He has sent his resume to several churches in several different states, but as of now we have heard nothing. We know without a doubt that God does have a plan for our family and in His perfect timing He will show us the church that He has for us to serve. We know that this process can take a while and we are waiting on God's church for us not just the first offer that comes along. Please pray that our hearts will be discerning and God's voice will be clear as we wait on Him. Thank you and hopefully I will be able to keep up with the blog on a more consistent basis now that I am feeling better.

Pajama Party

This past week we took the girls to one of their favorite events of the year...the preschool pajama party! They get to dress in their pajamas, eat pancakes, and do lots of fun activities with their friends. Just thought I would share a few of

my favorite pictures....

The girls playing in the "Snow" room. We don't get much in Georgia so sometimes we have to pretend. Kendall LOVED those fancy high heels they had lights and played a song the entire time she wore them, which was all night. Needless to say I am thrilled that they belong to the church :)

Addison admiring herself in the mirror in the "First thing in the morning" room. She loved having her hair rolled! It brought back lots of memories for me of the night before picture day and getting my own hair rolled as a child...thanks mom! :) Kendall also loved getting her hair fixed and makeup done.

Right before we left the house...both girls had to have a tutu to complete their outfit. I might need this picture in about ten years when they are fighting over something to remind them of how much they love each other :)

They are such sweet girls and we are truly blessed to have them in our lives!

A Working Heart

Today marks the anniversary of Rowe vs. Wade.

To date over 50 million babies have lost their life to

abortion.

Okay so I have to admit that I thought that I would be posting more on this blog, but honestly I have been feeling pretty sick this week. Thankfully I have not been as sick as I was with Kendall but more sick than with Addison. I initially thought I was having a boy, but now I am not so sure...David might be largely outnumbered. I think I will still predict a boy because that has been my prediction with the last two pregnancies and I am thinking that if I stick with that answer one of these pregnancies I might be right. We will of course be thrilled with whatever gender the Lord blesses us with, and although I am sick everyday from about noon until bedtime, I am thankful that so far everything is on track and we have a healthy 9 week old baby.

Last Wednesday we had our first ultrasound and I am always amazed that the tiny little spot that they show you on the screen is actually going to grow into a newborn baby. Right now our baby is a mere half inch but by the end of it all he/she will be about 20 inches long. I always look at that little blip on the screen and think...this doesn't really look like a baby, but I can see an actual heart beating and working. Even at just 9 weeks our baby has arms and legs and an actual 4 chamber heart, which is amazing and completely a miracle. Our God is the ultimate Creator to take some cells and create a baby for us to love. It is so hard for me to understand how anyone can see that and think that those are not living babies full of potential and life. I am rejoicing in the life of our new baby and praying that even now this baby will live a life that has a purpose and brings glory to God. We are blessed beyond measure already for this little but very real life! And tonight my heart is with the many women that are struggling with the decision to end or give life to their own unborn babies, and my prayer is that they will see their baby as one full of potential and life as well.