This Pregnancy's "Spiritual Markers"

So I wanted to tell you a bit about God's work through this pregnancy.  You are forewarned - there is some stuff you may consider "TMI" but if you don't know, you won't see God's power through it.

It started back in April, when I really didn't want to keep teaching but we thought I needed to.  William had told me that if we weren't pregnant by the end of the next school year I could quit, although I doubt I really would have - would have felt guilty.  So we went off the good ol' BC that month, not knowing that I would get cut from my school the following month.  When I got cut, William and I talked and prayed and decided that since we wanted to try and start a family and knew I'd stay home if possible, that I would go ahead and stay at home instead of finding a new job. 

Let me explain to you that I never once thought we could just get pregnant right away.  I get rather frustrated at ppl who assume they can or plan out when they'll have children and how many and all that jazz... I feel that is stepping on God's toes and He already has a plan.

So... since I have never been "regular", I knew that it might take a long while to get pregnant.  I'd even come to the conclusion that I'd probably have to go on some medicine to help me be "regular".  The week before I had my yearly appt with the OB, I started feeling strange.  I was having a hard time waking up, I slept a lot during the day, one morning I was somewhat nauseous... so I decided to take a test and it was positive.  Well, I called the doc and when I told them Aunt Flow hadn't visited since May (and it was Sept) they wanted me in right away.  We found out that I was 6 weeks the Thursday before Labor Day weekend.

Let me also tell you this, according to those ovulation sticks, we should have been able to get pregnant in July... well if you do the math it wasn't then.  So I say this to prove that only God is in control, not us.  It happened when we weren't expecting it or when we thought it could.

I also need to tell you about something else important.  I've always had a place in my heart for adoption since I was probably 16.  After reading Radical, I was even more led to thinking about it.  William and I discussed it and decided we'd give it a year and then we'd start looking into it.  Have you even noticed how lots of couples get pregnant as soon as they adopt... well, I assumed that'd be us.  I thought God might want us to adopt now so that down the road we wouldn't think we couldn't afford it and not do it.  Keep reading...

Also due to Radical, we took on a little boy from Ethiopia to sponsor each month.  Looking back, there is a good chance we might not have done this had we known that we were already pregnant.  We might have thought we couldn't afford the extra monthly expense.   Are you putting this and the adoption stuff together?!  I truly believe that I was partially right... God wanted us to sponsor Dagnachew and commit to it before He let us know we were having a child of our own.  He knew we were going to do this long before.

We are still hoping to one day adopt.  I know the Lord has put this on my heart for a reason.  I also know things are about to get tight, and I mean tight.  (I'll be that person, the one who says "no, we can't afford to do that" and everybody thinks we are cheap... well, we will be)  I believe that the Lord is going to provide the means for us to adopt one day... whether it be a raise in William's pay or what, I don't know yet.  I am super excited to find out though.

It has just amazed me being able to really see God at work through this pregnancy and I hope that you can see it too.  The Lord is so good and I just don't understand how anybody can get through one day without Him.  I know that I would be an absolute mess and to be honest, I'd probably be a working mom without God in my life.  Trusting in Him to provide for us is the only way that I'm able to stay at home.

God bless you all!

Tucker's BIG Secret!

Well, really it's not a secret for most now, but I had to title it this to go along with my sis-n-law's blog.  If you don't already know or can't read the sign above, Tucker's BIG secret is that he's going to be a "big brother"!  (haha, I hope you like that Mollie!)

William and I are at the moment 12 weeks and 4 days pregnant with our first child!  We are both super excited, but I'm the one who is more nervous.  William is "just ready for it to be here", while I sit around and think of all that I don't know or whether or not we will be good parents and so on.  Heather told me there is a saying about "a mom is a mom from the start of the pregnancy, but a dad isn't a dad until it's here."  It's nice to finally be able to share with everyone.

As for planning, I've started "researching" prices on cribs, jogging strollers, and gliders b/c those are the first things we are going to buy.  And they will come off craigslist or from a yardsale... other than that, we'll register for most and buy what we don't get.  I was waiting to buy anything until our last appt. which was last Friday.  So when I find a deal, I will probably go ahead and purchase... it'll be strange having these things in my house (and cramped). 

As for names, we haven't decided on whether we are sharing or not.  Many know what we are thinking about, but there is one person in particular I really wanted to surprise... we'll see.  If it is a boy, it will be a junior, but we aren't 100% on the nickname yet.  If it's a girl, we are unsure about the first name, but I know the middle and this is the part I wanted to be a surprise for that person.  I have a feeling we will end up sharing once we know, but I don't want everything monogramed.  To be honest, it's a practical thing... I want to reuse as much as possible or be able to give to others and if thier name/initials are plastered over everything, I feel that it's a waste.  Now, I don't mind one or two things and of course they are cute, but it's just not me.

I want to share with you why this baby is such a blessing to us, but I fear it will be too much for this one blog.  So my next post will have all the details!  As for now, if you would like to know how you can pray for us, my prayer requests are this:  1) for a strong and healthy baby, 2) healthy pregnancy, and 3) that the Lord's will will be done through this pregnancy/birth whether that means good and/or hard times for us.

One of these things is not like the other?!

Since last blogging, we've been staying pretty busy!  Last weekend, my parents came up and we went to the Pumpkin Festival in Pumpkintown along with Katie, Clint, and Katie's roommate, Nina.  It was great fun, but there were soooo many ppl!  It wasn't until Katie was telling us goodbye that I noticed this:  (look closely!)

Did you see that she has on two different earrings!!!  Oh how we love her!  I really can't say much b/c this summer while in church, I looked down and noticed that I had on one of my Rainbows and one of William's!!!  I never even felt the difference!  I left early and changed and made it back in time for Sunday school with nobody noticing!!

Sunday after church, we went to an apple orchard, which was a first for me!  Apparently the hot weather had caused all of the apples to have to be picked already, so we picked just a few and then bought a few more from the stand.  We later headed to Walmart to purchase some pumpkins b/c they are the cheapest there!

So this led to me wanting to carve pumpkins and I told William it was a contest... stupid me.  You never challenge William to anything.  You know those ppl who are good at everything that they do?!  Yea, I don't really like them either, but I married one!  Whom I do love!  Here are some pics from the evening:

 

Willie working hard at carving.  I took like 30 mins and he was well over an hour!  It shows too...

His is on the left, as if you couldn't already tell.  My owl didn't turn out so well, so William had to work on it as you see below.  Oh well.  Three days later, the heat has already caused both to start to wilt :(.

Lastly, I just have to share some Tucker pics/videos.  This is how I found him yesterday - pathetic!  You'd think he hates living with us!  This is out the window and therefore kind of foggy looking.

William thinks this next video is halirious... this is just a typical part of our day with Tucker!

Don't Cha Wish Your Husband was Crafty Like Mine?!

Well, I know it's been a few weeks and to be honest, I've just been slack!  Since my last post, I have been to two weddings, Classy Confections has completed 9 cakes/desserts, we got a new dishwasher, and William put in a new shelf for me!!  It was so great seeing everybody at Ellen and Dougie's weddings a couple weeks ago... especially Kirkley and Stephanie!!!  I hate I don't have any pictures, but I find that I'm often slack with taking pictures these days as well.

Let's talk about the new dishwasher... who would have thought that I would be so excited about a dishwasher.  I guess I am just getting old!  This dishwasher is AWESOME so far.  It's great being able to pull cups out and not worry about dirt or a film left behind and having to hand wash them myself.  To the person who invented the dishwasher, I thank you!

While installing the dishwasher, William had to take the entire back wall of the counter down.  I had previously spoken to him about putting an inset shelf on the backside.  When you have 1088 sq. ft, you are always looking for ways to accommodate more storage.  One day it hit me that the little tiny cabinet door beside the dishwasher led to a huge space... but you couldn't fit anything there b/c you couldn't get it through the door.  So... while William was working, he built me a shelf and the top shelf is measured specifically for my KitchenAid Mixer!  I love it and I love having a husband who can build things!

Now, for a funny moment:

While first trying to fix the original dishwasher, William worked up a sweat (gross, but it's part being married!).  So he went to grab a towel to whip his head and found one of my wraps that you use when your hair is wet.  He soon discovered that this left him free of having to whip his forehead and just left it on... and this is how I found him at work!  haha!