It's A.....

Well, we had our big ultrasound today! Everything went wonderfully, and our baby is gorgeous, healthy, and perfect in every way. The baby's due date is right on time, by the looks of everything, and all organs are perfectly intact and healthy.

And now, on to what you all care about....








IT'S A GIRL!!!!!



Surprised? I know I am. I can hardly believe it myself. Even the other day, when I picked up some little brown shoes in my thrift store haul, I was thinking, "Oh, these will work great for HIM." Surprise!!! :) I'm not disappointed at all; I'm SUPER excited about having a girl, it's just a different perspective, because all I've ever known is parenting a little boy.

Even as SHE sits here and kicks me right now, it's just hard to imagine her! :) I can't wait until I can meet her! And dress her up in pink dresses...and then I started thinking about HAIR - that's one thing I've not had to think about with Z - his hair is just there & I cut it every few weeks, I don't even brush it, honestly, because it does no good. But with a GIRL, I can stick HAIRBOWS to her head, or if she has hair, I can put barrettes and clippies in it....ooooohhhh...I feel the need to go shop on Etsy right now. :)

The ultrasound was done by an expert at a women's & children's hospital, and she was so good at her job. Quick & specific, and not deathly quiet like some, that freaks me out. There were two medical students observing, too, so she was explaining everything to them, and therefore we got to learn a LOT about ultrasounds, also- I loved it. As for Z, he was a VERY good boy during the ultrasound, and even let us know that he saw the "Baby! Baby!" on the monitor screen a few times. :) He will be such a big brother, I just know it. His little sister's protector! :)

And I will close with some eye candy - pictures of my daughter!!! Enjoy! :)

Her sweet profile

One of those 3D ultrasound pictures - I never had one of these with Z, but I'm glad I have one of her - so cute!!! :)

God Always Provides!

Well, I've been absent again...last week, I was struggling with a stomach virus, and this week, it's been just your garden-variety cold virus. Yesterday was a pretty bad day, so I went to bed at 8:30 last night, and got up at 7:30 this morning, and I feel much better today. And I just HAD to tell you about God's amazing provision for our family - just what He's given us this morning.

Earlier this week, I went through all Z's clothes that I had bought or been given for this winter, organized them, and inventoried them to see what we still needed. And I came up with a rather specific list:

-Jeans - 18 months, 24 months
-Warm Jammies - 24 months
-Shirts to go under overalls (I have FOUR pairs of overalls) - 24 months or 2T
-Brown 'church' shoes - size 6
-Tennis shoes - size 5 and 6

So this morning, I headed to our local thrift store (which is a ministry of a local church, and the clothes there are $1 a bag, and books & toys are always free). Sometimes their selection isn't the greatest, especially in the smaller kids' sizes, but I thought, hey, it's worth a look.

And here's what God provided:



FOUR shirts to go under overalls
FOUR pairs of jeans in the correct sizes
FIVE pairs of warm jammies in the correct sizes


FIVE pairs of shoes in the correct sizes
...and one pair of little brown 'walkers' for the new baby :)


and some gratuitous extras that were just too cute to pass up - most of these are 3T, but the adorable green vest with the football is for this winter - 2T. :)


Also, we got ALL these toys and 11 Books for free!!!

And I'm super excited about this purchase:


A Paint-With-Water Pooh book - not even used!!! I was just wondering the other day if they made these anymore!

And the neatest part was that the shoes and toys were not even out on the shelves when we started shopping today. They were being unpacked from a tote while we were shopping, and we were able to grab them up! A lady who was working to unpack it kept offering us things, which was so sweet.

Oh, and by the way, the total $$ spent for all this loot? $1.50. God provides in so many amazing ways for our family, and I just wanted to share His awesome gifts with all of you!

How has He blessed you this week?

AWOL

I have been decidedly absent from my own blog these last couple of weeks. I've been living my life, and not worrying about blogging it. I've been finishing up camp, and all the office work that comes with a 'last week' of work (although I'll be sharing & explaining & 'training' for another few days, and also cleaning all my pictures & junk out of my desk at some point). I've been enjoying having my hubby home, since I don't get to see him much during the summer, and also enjoying taking time to sit and play with my son. I know he was with me all summer, but it's just not the same as when we're one on one, feet in the creek, or exploring all the wonderful places that crayons will draw (and wipe off) in our kitchen. As an aside, did you know that you can draw on your skin with crayons, and it will wipe right off? I didn't! But now I do. :)

Our family also took a trip to a local amusement park with our whole staff, where Z attempted to enjoy a couple of kiddie rides (pictures soon), and dipped his big toes in the kiddie pool at the waterpark. Also, the lowlight of our day was that Hubby lost his wallet. It came back in the mail today, sans cash. And, God was merciful to us in another way - SOMEONE who shall remain unnamed at this time but was riding in the passenger seat to the amusement park, left their window down ALL DAY while we were in the park, and yet NOTHING was stolen from our car.

I have had a little time to still enjoy reading and commenting on others' blogs these past couple of weeks, and I have discovered a true gem that is just rocking my world. Kelly was a roommate of mine in college, and we recently 'found' each other on Facebook somehow. While looking at her page, I noticed she had links up to her blog, and I began to read her posts. And, WOW. She is an absolutely amazing writer, with such a strong, sweet heart for God. I can't even begin to tell you how encouraged (and at the same time, convicted) I am when I read her writing. This and this are my two most favorite posts of hers. Part of the reason I identify so strongly with the things she writes about is that we each have a toddler, and we each have another baby due in December. So we both struggle daily with keeping patience and love foremost in parenting our toddlers, and also with the joy, uncertainty and slight overwhelmed-ness that comes with expecting our 2nd babies!

Sometimes I enjoy reading people's blogs because they're funny, or because I identify with them, or because I think their lives are so interesting, I want to read about them. And these things all apply to Kelly's blog, but the real reason I love to read her work, besides the sheer beauty of the words she crafts, is her heart. Her passion and desire to serve Christ through her parenting, writing, and every area of her life is woven into every gorgeous sentence she shares. So, go on, check it out!

I'll be back with more of my own mediocre 'writing' in a few days, I'm sure. :)

Snapshots of Today

This morning, I leave my son, strapped in his booster seat, seated at our long staff table in the dining hall filled with people, surrounded by caring staffers, with a biscuit in front of him, and I run into the kitchen to grab us some milk. It takes me a minute to pour his milk and mine, and as I walk across the filled room to our table, I suddenly see our speaker and our nurse RUN to my son's chair. And then my foggy mind begins to realize that I don't see my son's downy head in its usual place! His entire chair has tipped over backwards, and he is on the floor, in his seat, wind knocked out of him, in shock, not even crying yet. And I am running, in shock, not quite crying yet either, just wanting to get my boy and make sure he's okay. And the nurse & speaker are righting his chair and trying to free him from his safety buckles, and my mama bear instinct wants to push them out of the way and I just want to hold him before he recovers enough to be scared. And I hold him, and he cries, and we both take a minute to walk out on the deck, and cry, and recover from our morning spill. And we are both fine. No bumps, no concussion, nothing but yet another realization of how much I love this boy, and how I wouldn't know what to do without him.

Later in the morning, I am tidying my desk, and I realize that my son is quiet. I look over, and there is my little big boy, seated in a big-person-chair at the table in my office, quietly and calmly eating Froot Loops one at a time. I ask him what he is doing, and he replies, 'Nack.' Which, translated, means, "I'm having a snack, Mom." Not throwing handfuls of Froot Loops on the floor or flushing them down the toilet, not tipping the bowl over, or climbing recklessly onto the table. Just eating a snack. Sigh. Where did this big boy come from, and has anyone seen my baby? :)

After the craziness of a camp morning and lunchtime has been navigated, and the cleaning has been done, the relief of a quietly napping child settles in on my soul. I am seated at the computer, reading Twitter updates and drinking a Diet Root Beer. The Tiny one in my belly starts to kick furiously, and I remember that when Z was in my belly, he always 'liked' root beer, too. And this makes me happy.