GIRL!

Ok, I am obviously several days behind on my thankfulness! I have been caught up in baby, packing, and holidays. So maybe I will start that back up later but for now, I just have to post the happenings of last Friday :)

Let me start with last week. I had been counting down the days until we found out if we were having a boy or girl I LOVE surprises, but if I know about them it just eats away at me and so I usually just find a way to figure them out (ask Luke's brother Ben, it drives him nuts how I usually find out all my surprises). But obviously there was no way to find out the gender of our baby until Friday, so I was forced to wait, and wait, and wait. It was killing us! FINALLY Friday came! I woke up early that morning in anticipation of 1:00. We had a half day at school and I was busy...we had a lot of things to get done in only 3 hours of school! So being at school was a good distraction for me. Once school was out Luke picked me up. I was super excited all morning until I got into the car and then panic came over me. I was flooded with thoughts of knowing what my baby was and not being a good parent, and all kinds of things. I quickly got a grip of myself and before we knew it I was checking in at the doctor's office. Luke and I sat on the couch just talking about how in minutes we were going to find out what our sweet little one was! We were once again excited.

The nurse finally called up to the back. We went into the ultra sound room an I took my position on the bed, pulled my shirt up and got cold gel poured onto my belly. The nurse explained everything she was going to do and asked if we had any questions. I told her about Luke's cousin who had a baby that morning and was told it was a girl, but came out a boy, and how sure she could be of our baby's gender. She quickly assured Luke and I that she had been doing this for over thirty years and will not tell us what the baby is unless she is 100% sure. That was a relief in one way, but I was a bit sad thinking what if she couldn't get a clear shot, or the baby wouldn't corporate....But my thoughts were interrupted by the super cute baby on the screen!This is the first image we saw. Our sweet little one with her had over her face (so dramatic)! It was a moment beyond words. It was neat to see her and then see Luke's face as he saw his daughter for the second time. We could see her moving, her heart pumping, brain working, bones developing, blood flowing, and even counted her fingers and toes. It was really amazing! We had asked the nurse to write down the gender of the baby in put it in a sealed envelope. So when it was time to see what it was, she informed us to look away. Neither of us did. We just gazed at our perfect baby as the nurse was jiggling my belly trying to get the baby to open her legs, when all of a sudden they were wide open and we were all looking at the gender. Luke and I were trying to figure it out, as we both were not quite sure, but the nurse new for sure! After we checked some other things out she wrote the gender down, sealed the envelope, gave us a ton of pictures of our baby, and sent us back out into the waiting room to wait to see the doctor. While we we waiting Luke and I just stared at all the pictures and the enveloping knowing that the nurse was 100% sure what the gender was and we had it in our hands. It took everything in my not to open the envelope! Luke ended up taking the envelope and putting it in his pocket so I would open it.

After the appointment we ran a few errands, checked on the dogs, and went out to eat to celebrate our baby. We went to Olive Garden where we go for all of our family special moments. It was fun to talk about baby stuff and life. We ordered a yummy dinner, ate that fast, and on to dessert where our plan unfolds. Luke told the waitress our story of being pregnant and the envelope and asked her to bring out a black tie chocolate moose pie if it was a boy and a raspberry cheese cake if it was a girl. We had a sweet old waitress who was VERY excited to do this for us. She went in the back and then brought out our dessert all covered up. Now while she was gone it seemed like forever, but Luke and I each shared what we thought it was. I thought it was a boy since we each had some boy dreams (we each had one girl dream, but more boy dreams), Luke thought he saw it in the ultrasound, and I just thought it was a boy from the beginning. Ok, back to the waitress, she had the dessert all covered up and asked us if we were ready. Luke and I both said yes and she uncovered the raspberry cheese cake. I immediately squealed, covered my mouth and cried. I was SHOCKED! It was a fantastic type of shock. Luke started tearing up too. Everyone was looking at us, and the waitress handed us the envelope. When I looked at the paper Ann, our nurse wrote: "GIRL :), yes I am sure". It was so cool. After the manager came over and told us that his wife was expecting and it was their first one. He thought our idea of finding out was pretty neat (we stole the idea from some friends of ours). We called family and let them know, and then we were off to Buy Buy Baby to buy something for our little girl from her daddy and mommy. It was so weird walking around knowing what was inside me. Luke and I were walking on clouds the rest of the night...we still are a little :)

VOTE

Day 16

Today I am thankful for my amazing husband! I am really thankful for him all the time, but you know when you have those moments where you just get caught up in the unconditional love? That was me this morning. I got up, got ready, and reviewed in my head what I was going to say for this mornings devotions at school. Every Tuesday the staff gets together and one person gives a devotion. This morning was my turn. I was practicing this morning and feeling a little nervous (when you work with the saints that I do, you feel like they should be feeding you this stuff not the other way around! I was a little intimidated!). Before I left the house Luke and I said our "good bye's" and Luke said "I am praying for you". Now that probably doesn't mean a whole lot to most of you, but it means the world to me!

To be lifted up in prayer is a humbling, and yet amazing thing! To have someone take time out of their lives to think and pray for you is an honor. Luke always takes time for me, make sacrifices for me, and puts me second (God is first). He does so much more, but for the sake of time I will leave you with this: We have been writing letters to our sweet baby and this is my next entry:

My sweet baby,

I have to tell you that you have the most amazing daddy in the world. In his first letter to you he told you about a Heavenly Father whom one day you will learn lots more about, and your daddy acts a lot like your Heavenly Father. I cannot wait to see you in his arms, and see your daddy's face the first time he sees you. He already loves you so much and talks about all the things you two are going to do together, and all the things he is going to teach you. Every morning he says good morning to you and touches my belly, and every night he says good night to you. Some times he puts his face on my belly and talks to you, and makes me laugh. There has been a couple times where he has whispered things to you, but will not tell me what he said. Some day I will ask you about those secrets.

I cannot wait for you to come and meet us! You are already treasured by lots of people, but mostly by your daddy. We are making lots of arrangements for your arrival and daddy is working very hard. We will not be able to give you the world that we want to, but I can promise you this little one; you will have the most amazing dad who will love you no matter what, bring you a long with him, show you how to be a godly man who loves Jesus, and teach you along the way. Just like his daddy taught him. Your Gramps is pretty amazing too! I cannot wait for you to come and meet them.

I cannot wait to find out if you are a boy or a girl. I know daddy is very excited (maybe even a little more excited them mommy). I love you to the moon and back, love mommy

Day 15

Today I am thankful for family! Whenever there is exciting news to share I know that they are only a phone call away. When we are going crazy and losing our minds, I know that they are just a phone call away. A couple times we have gone through super tough times, and even when we don't feel like talking about it, family sends flowers just to tell you they love you and are thinking and praying for you.

Today I am super thankful for family! They are amazing, and we could not do life without them :)

Day 12, 13, and 14

Friday: I was thankful for my health. As a teacher you got exposed to lots of stuff, I mean like stuff you have never heard of before. When Luke and I went in for another round of blood work on our second pregnancy they told us the list of things they were testing for (mainly diseases). When they called with the result they stated that becuase I am a teacher I have been exposed to just about all of them and therefore have built up my immune system (there is one good reason being around snotty, boogery children) :). The last two weeks I have had one student out with strep and a cold, another out with a stomach bug that had her throwing and diarrhea. Then this week I have two more with a stomach bug and something else, not quite sure what it was, but poor thing was just not feeling well. Last year I was able to not catch the swine flu which was spreading like wild fire at my school. I had a couple in my class, as well as several in my after school program that caught it. So with all this being said I am super thankful for being healthy!

Saturday: Yesterday I am thankful for baby sitting. Luke and I have a lot of things coming up that require lots of extra money that we are not entirely sure where it is going to come from. We have been praying about this and the Lord has given me (Luke comes too) the opportunity to baby sit some pretty cute kiddos, and get extra money! Praise the Lord for His provision!

Sunday: Today I am thankful for the glorious weather! Luke and I went for a long walk yesterday and it was wonderful. The weather has been cool here is Dallas, and I think because of that the leaves are actually turning color! Usually they turn yellow and brown, then fall off the trees (not very exciting when you come form New Hampshire). This morning my stomach woke me up as if I haven't eaten in a week. I got up early ate some breakfast and took the dogs out. It was a beautiful (COLD) morning, walking around with the day just starting and glancing at all the colors on the trees, dew on the grass, and Champ and Riley rolling in the tall grass. Crazy dogs :)

Day 10 and 11

Wednesday: I am thankful for working vehicles. I love our 4 runner and thankful for how reliable it is. Luke just recently purchased a 92 (I believe that is the year) Nissan truck. When we first got it there was something wrong with the clutch, but after my amazing husband spent like 4 hours on it, fixed it and it has been running great ever since!

Thursday: Today I am thankful for my iphone. Luke and I do not have a land line phone and rely fully on our iphones. I love the convenience of having our schedules on it, email from school and home together, and of course my baby aps.

This morning I was eating my cereal while playing a game on my phone. I usually play on my phone as a distraction so I am not focusing on eating, because that usually results in instant throwing up. So anyway I was eating and playing when all of a sudden my phone fell into my cereal!! It was not completely submersed in milk, but pretty close. I immediately scooped it up, took the case off, and dried it with a towel. I turned it off and on and everything seemed ok. I brought it to Luke and he said the sound wasn't working on it. Awesome.....so I took it with me to school hoping it would just dry out and be fine, but when I went to call Luke in the afternoon it was not allowing me to hear him. If I put the call on speaker phone then we can hear each other, but that is it. So my phone was clearly busted :(........ I started to see what I could do about my phone without paying a bagillion dollars fixing it (and we are going to try to sell them).... I did find something that said to blow the phone out with canned air; As soon as I got home I did just that! After I turned it back on I tested it to see if it worked and no such luck! Bummer...... I started to get desperate and was really upset about the phone when I prayed over my phone and as soon as I turned it back on everything worked!!!!! YAY!!! Thank you God for phones that work :)

Days 8 and 9

Monday: I am thankful for energy. Being pregnant has been quite an adventure! I was pretty sick the first trimester and most of the second. Just this past weekend I have felt like my old self. I have more energy and therefore being nicer to everyone :)

Tuesday: Today I am thankful for scripture. This morning Luke and I were talking while eating breakfast and he was sharing some scripture with me that has been on his heart. I was thinking about that all morning, and when I got to school this morning we had our staff devotions. Our headmaster led the devotions and spoke from Psalm 127, and also brought up the same scripture that Luke was talking about this morning. It was so encouraging and I just know that the Lord is watching over us and will take care of us and this precious baby! Praise the Lord from whom all blessings flow!

Day 5,6,and 7

This weekend I am VERY thankful for rest! But because I did not post yesterday I will give you my thankfulness in order to cover this weekend, as I intend to spend less time on the computer and more time resting.

Friday: I am super thankful for all the cancer survivors, especially my mom. Yesterday our school was a "pit stop" for the 60 day Susan Komen race for the cure. Our students created signs and each took turns standing outside and cheering for the wonderful people who were running to raise money for a cure for breast cancer. It warmed my heart to see so many running, to see my students encouraging them, and also to have a special mom standing with me who fought that fight just last year. This special lady came to pick up her children last year from the after school program I use to be in charge of and she was in tears. She had just came from her doctor's appointment where she found out she had breast cancer. Her husband was away on a business trip and I was the first person she saw since the appointment. She was hear broken; I was heart broken. We hugged and talked, but soon she left with her children and returned home to wait for her husband who left that morning to return because of the news. Yesterday she stood beside me, beautiful, energetic, and ready to live! How awesome is that?

Then of course there is my mom. She noticed a lump, had a doctor confirm her fears, and she told me. At first I didn't know what to think! It was crazy to take that kind of information in about your mother. Luke and I flew to North Carolina to be with her during her surgery. The doctor told us she was in the early stages and it looked good for her. That was good news, but there was a long road ahead of my mom for recovery. I spent the night with her changing her pump, giving her medicine, and grasping a little bit of what she was going through. Then I had to go back to TX, but stayed informed in what she was doing and going through! I do not know first hand what you go through when you have breast cancer, but seeing the moms at school and my own mother go through it, I can say that it is a long hard road and for most the outcome is not life. I praise the Lord for those survivors, their courage, and strength!

Saturday: Today I am thankful for rest! Last weekend Luke and I went to a Cross World conference for missionaries. It was awesome, gave a lot of direction, and exhausting! We drove back and forth from Dallas to Ft.Worth. We did not get home until midnight the first night, up at 6 the next morning to be on time, drove home midday to do the dogs, back to Ft.Worth and home by 11pm. Up early Sunday and did get home about 3 that afternoon. Monday Luke had a night class after working all day and got home about 10. Tuesday after both of us working we had small group, Thursday Luke got home from work at 8:30pm (he left the house at 7am), and by the time yesterday came we were DONE! So I am thankful for rest today.

Sunday: I am thankful for a say dedicated to the Lord and rest! I am thankful for a job where I have the weekends off :) Praise the Lord for the Sabbath!

Hope you all enjoy your weekend :)

Day 4

Everyday is a blessing from God, whether it is you being able to spend another day on earth, or something awesome happens, or He provides in miraculous ways. That last one is what I am thankful for today.

The other first grade teacher in my school has been teaching for like 30+ years, and has been at my school for 27 years! She is AMAZING; not one of those teachers that should have retired 10 years ago. There is a gentle spirit among her that just brightens your day no matter what. I have the honor of spending Tuesday afternoons with her to go over lesson plans and upcoming events. We also talk about life and share stories. She has often told me that God works in her life up to the 11:59 clock. Meaning that God provides no matter what, it may seem that it doesn't happen until the very last possible second, but He ALWAYS provides.

The last 6 months (since our first miscarriage) it has seem like Luke and I are barley able to keep our heads above the water. From hospital bills, to life events happening, to starting another school year, and now a baby on the way (which brings new bills). This past week we were faced with yet another unexpected event that we were not too sure what we were going to do about it, but knew that God was going to help us and we can lean on Him to guide us. The event caused for action to take place within this week or it would be good. I was worried, but something inside me knew everything was going to be ok. We discovered this news Monday evening at around 5:00. By 9:00 the next morning the situation resolved itself which there was really no way for that to happen since it seemed to be that phone calls and lots of pleading needed to happen in order to make this ok. God totally stepped in and took care of everything!

I feel guilty not reflecting more often on the amazing things God does for me, but today was one of those days where I just say His hand in everything. It melts my heart to know that I am consumed by His unfailing love. What a blessing beyond words!

Day 3

Today I am super thankful for friends! Last night we met with our small group, and they rock. I love hanging out with them and each time we meet it seems that we get closer and closer more like family :) At school I have the most wonderful coworkers who pour themselves on me all the time, but even more now that I am pregnant. I love listening to their stories from when they were pregnant and all their advice. Then there is my bestest bud at work Tiffany! She is just amazing and I truly treasure her!

So day 3, I am super thankful for friends :)

Day 2

Today I am thankful for my students. They are constantly making me laugh! Today while picking them up from music class it decided to down pour outside. We have to walk just a couple feet outside (under covering) to get into the school building. My students were already talkative because it was freezing in Dallas today, never-mind the pouring rain. Once I got them in line and ready to go inside there was the loudest thunder and the sharpest crack of lighting I have ever hear or seen....and apparently for my students too. They FREAKED! It was so funny; the girls scream and cover their ears, the boys are running up to each other and giving high fives, and then there is me trying to get my class under control so we can enter the building in a somewhat calm fashion. Yeah...that didn't happen! I quickly bounced into action on plan B... Just get the kiddos inside. This was working out great until they were just as crazy as outside and the church was in the middle of the ladies Bible Study. Thankfully the ladies were laughing at my students reactions, and were quickly able to gather ourselves together and make it back to class without another word.

Yes, I am thankful for fun filled moments like this. My class is awesome and we have so much fun. Thank the Lord for a job that I absolutely love, and would not trade for anything!

30 Days of being thankful

This month in my classroom we focus each day thinking about something we are thankful for, and each week we write it down and hang it up in the classroom. This got me thinking about what I am truly thankful for. There are so many things to be thankful for and today my mind has been focused on the baby in my belly.

Yesterday I felt the baby move for the first time and I think I have felt it today. There are no words that can describe this feeling and after losing our first one, it makes this moment of thankfulness more then just being "thankful". It's know who is creating this little on inside me and how I have no control over any of it! That is something to be truly thankful for, and I truly am!