Blessings from God

I've had this bouncing around in my head for a few days but haven't had the time to sit down and write.  So here goes...

I had my ultrasound on Tuesday.  After some confusion which caused them to be 1/2 hour late getting to me, things went great.  I had given the kids the choice to either come in with me or stay in the waiting room with my mother-in-law (she was down visiting for Easter and a few days).  Ethan decided to stay with her but Hailey came in with me.

The baby was very active which is always fun to see and the heartrate was 160 bpm.  Hailey was fascinated by watching the baby, I'm sure she's going to make a great big sister.  One of the "highlights" was getting to listen to the heartbeat.  I know it might sound corny or cliche but it's always emotional for me the first time I hear my child's heartbeat.  After chasing the baby for a few minutes the technician was finally able to get some pictures to measure how far along I am.  I was 10 weeks 3 days on Tuesday so my due date is October 18th.

After getting home the kids wanted to see pictures online of what the baby looks like at this stage. So we went online and looked at pictures and read about how developed the baby is at this point.  I wanted to share this information here:

(this was taken from www.babycenter.com)

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.

This just reminded me of what an awesome God we serve and how he cares about us and knows us even at our smallest.  This is such a comfort to me that God knows this child, it's unique personality, needs and path.  That God, in His Word,  has provided all the resources Matt & I will need for parenting 3 unique children.  I wanted to share a couple verses that I was reminded of while reading this description.

Psalm 139 1:1-18

 1O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.

 2Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

 3Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

 4For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.

 5Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.

 6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

 7Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

 8If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

 9If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

 10Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

 11If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

 12Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

 13For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.

 14I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

 15My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

 16Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

 17How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

 18If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

Easter Dinner...What's on the menu?

I thought it would be fun to share what our menus for Easter dinner will be.  We will be hosting my mother-in-law, my brother-in-law and his family and possibly a close friend of ours.  My menu will be:

Spiral Ham

Scalloped Potatoes 

Asparagus

Cauliflower

Salad

Bread (my brother-in-law will be bringing this so not sure what kind)

Nana's Apple Cake (a Tastefully Simple product)

God's direction for our family

I know it's been awhile since I've updated this.  Life has been crazy.  My husband got home from India on the 14th.  We were all VERY happy to see him.  I was a bit surprised at just how much it affected the kids.  They both, at different times, started sobbing because they missed him so much.  Thankfully, he had a smooth trip and actually arrived home earlier than we expected.  This is almost unheard of because India is notorious for delayed flights.  

So this past week we have been adjusting back into our routines while he adjusts back to this time zone.  

I wanted to tell a funny story on how God changes the direction of our lives.  My daughter was born 3 yrs ago (in May) and at that time we said "that's it we have two we're done".  Neither of us had any desire to have any more children.  We sold or gave away almost all of our baby gear and I sold my maternity clothes on E-bay.  We were very content with two children and felt that our family was complete.  

Over the past year I've had thoughts of maybe wanting another child but would always go back to the fact that we were settled and that I was to be content with the two beautiful, healthy children that God has blessed us with.  Well, in February I wasn't feeling well and was having some strange symptoms so I took a pregnancy test and it was positive.  At first it was a shock but over the last few weeks I have already begun to feel an attachment to this new life growing inside me.  I still can't imagine what it will be like to have three children but I am grateful to God and enjoying the fact that His plans are best and I should never say never to Him :)  

I had my first appointment with my midwife today.  We were able to catch the sound of the heartbeat for a second.  The baby was very active so we weren't able to get a heart rate but I will be having a dating ultrasound on Tuesday to determine my due date (I always have to have one because we can't tell how far along I am without one).

So, our family will be growing.  I am grateful that God has chosen to bless us with another gift from heaven.  I just wanted to share this news and would covet your prayers for a healthy pregnancy and baby.  This blog isn't going to turn into a "pregnancy" blog but I will probably update after my appointments.

Back from being MIA

Wow, this past week has been very busy.  Last week I helped my husband pack up and head to India for a two-week business trip.  Thankfully he has arrived safely and is doing well.  With him leaving I had extra preparations to do (i.e. making sure all the laundry was caught up so he would have everything he needed to pack, etc.).  

I decided to take a few days and spend them with my parents so on Friday I packed the three of us up and headed north.  We had a nice time visiting with my parents Friday evening.  On Saturday some very close family friends joined us for dinner, it was very nice to visit with them and the food was delicious (they actually brought dinner to my parent's house).  On Sunday we went to church with my parents.  It happened to be the day for their monthly fellowship dinner.  It was nice to once again visit with old friends and enjoy some very yummy food. 

 On Monday my mother-in-law joined us and we headed to the Simon Pearce Glassblowing workshop.  The kids had been very excited about going to see the glassblowing, unfortunately the workshop and store were closed for inventory & furnace cleaning.  I decided to take advantage of being so close to where I grew up and took a trip down memory lane.  Showing the kids where I lived and around the town I grew up in, they also saw the church that my father was pastor of for several years.  We stopped at Applebees for lunch and then back to my parent's house.  

Monday night we went to visit my grandmother who is now in a nursing home.  It was great to see her and she really seemed to enjoy the kids being there.  On the way back we stopped at my other grandmother's house for a bit.  It was so nice to see them both as it's usually months in between visits.  

Today we spent the morning packing up and are now home.  My mom was very kind and did all my laundry while I was there so I was able to come home and not have a lot of housework to do.  

Tomorrow is back to our "normal" schedule.  We'll go to storytime in the morning and then to prayer meeting tomorrow night.  It was a very nice time away but I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight :)