Trying

Well it has been almost 8 months since my last post! I am trying to figure all this stuff out. Balancing a baby and a 1 year old is hard constant work, caring for our home, taking care of the dogs, and staying on top of bills/finances is ALOT!

I am in the process of combining our blogs so you only have to go to one dot to get updates on our life and ministry. So hang in there and it will happen! And my goal is that it will not take 8 more months to get it together :).

While you wait check out Grace's food face :)

La La Lu Designs: The Beginning

La La Lu Designs: The Beginning: "I'm so excited for this little shop! La La Lu is really a huge answer to a long awaited prayer. Year's ago, right after I meet my hubby, I ..."

Blessings

This time last year I was laying on the couch with my feet propped up praying earnestly to God. I was 7 weeks pregnant and Luke and I had returned the weekend before from New Hampshire where we announced that we were expecting! The weekend was filled with tears of joy, baby shower planning, and great times with family and friends. Luke had just returned from spending two months in Haiti serving those who had been effected by the earthquake. We were so excited to finally be at a point in life where we could start trying for a baby, and it only took one time :). We were THRILLED! I had my first doctors appointment the Thursday before mother's day and got this sweet picture.....
We were told the baby had a strong heartbeat and looked great! Luke and I met with everyone at the doctor's office, signed all the paper work for the hospital when the time came, or if there was an emergency along the way, and even signed for our little boy (if that was the sex) to be circumcised. We laughed at how we were already making life changing decisions. We were in total bliss! I had my regular exam and was told that I may spot a little and not to worry.....well that spotting turned out to be A LOT to worry about. That night I was a mess because I knew something was not right. Friday things were the same, I worked but came home right after school instead of working the after school program that I ran. Luke told me to lay down and take a nap.... three hours later I woke up knowing that things were not ok. I blogged about the rest of the happenings from that night.... it was one of the worst things I had ever been through. That night (or early morning I should say) Luke and I found ourselves in the hospital ER room talking and crying when it was a little after midnight on Mother's Day the doctor came in and told us that we lost our baby. That I had already passed it and that I just needed to rest for the next couple days.

That Mother's Day was not the best, but I knew that it would not be my last. As I sit here reflecting on that sweet baby and the horrible heart ache it was to lose it, I look at what we have now. A year later I am snuggling a sweet baby girl who will be exactly one month old on Mother's Day :) How awesome to see where we were just one year ago, and where we are now! We serve an awesome merciful God, who answers prayers, listens to our cries, and blesses us beyond our understanding.

I hope those mommy's out there really understand the meaning and blessing of Mother's Day! I know that I do!

Good Day

I have been trying to get a handle on Grace's feeding schedule and I think we may have it down! I am enjoying her so much, and I think only another mother can understand the joy and love one has in their heart for their child. I just cannot put it into words. We had a great feeding and sleeping night last night, and started today off with a great nap :). Grace woke up with such energy that she was looking all around , making noises, and really enjoying some good daddy time. After her afternoon nap we had a great time playing on the floor, having tummy time, and reading lots of books. When we read books Grace looks right at the pictures like she is following along with me. It is precious! A couple times between yesterday and today I have been talking to her and it seems like she wants to smile. It is just a matter of time before she figures that out, and I cannot wait! Well, I kinda can, because that means she is growing up, and I want to just treasure every moment with her. What a blessing to have a child!

Make Way For Ducklings

Thursday Luke called me from work telling about all the fun creatures he was finding in his pools. At one of his pools he found two little ducklings swimming around. There was a third one, but it was sucked into the skimmer basket and died. It was really sad. The other two were swimming around, but Luke noticed that they couldn't get out of the pool. He sent me a picture of them and there looked so cute! I wanted him to bring them home so I could keep them, but he said he was going to check and make sure that they were not the owner's pets. He spoke to the lady who owned the house and she said they were not her pets, and that they have been in the pool for the last few days. Luke called me and I immediately began researching for a wildlife rehabilitation person in the area to tell us what we should do with them. While researching I found a wildlife rescue website and it gave me tons of info on what to do. Ducks are the only birds that can be handle by humans and still be accepted by their momma, and if they are orphaned (which in this case the momma duck could not get them out of the pool, so she left them there) you can put them with other ducks and they will adopt them and take care of them.

I called Luke and told him the info that I found and he decided that he would take them home, not for me to keep :(, but to put in a pond that is in a park near our house. The pond is home to a bagillion ducks...seriously, there are thousands of ducks there. He came home and after showing the cute little guys off to the neighbor kids we went to the park and let them run around to find a momma. At first they stood by Luke's feet, it was so cute!

They did not want to leave Luke. He was their hero!

They did eventually wonder around, but the other ducks pecked them to get them out of the way. It was really sad, but they did not seem to be bothered.

We waited for a while and fed the ducks to see if one of them would help these poor little ducklings, but no luck. I was starting to feel really sad (I think motherly hormones were taking over), I was ready to have Luke go buy a kiddie pool so I could keep them, take care of them, and be their momma. I was just about to talk (beg) Luke to take them home when two boys came over and asked us if we had any more bread. I told them we didn't and talked to them about the ducks when they pointed out the group of ducklings swimming down the pond. I was so excited to see them because they looked exactly like our little ducklings and that meant that there was a momma around! One of the ducklings jumped right into the pond and swam to the group, the other one was not sure what to do and ran the other way. Luke caught him and put him in the water. He swam to the group and then we couldn't tell which one was ours. It was neat to see them fit right in.

Luke went back yesterday to see if they were still ok, and it seemed that they were :) Yay, for being adopted!! Luke is a true hero :)

Happy Easter

Happy First Easter Grace!

Belly

I am not sure about pregnancy (as this is our first one), but life these past 8 months has been super busy and going by super fast! I had so many plans as far as exercising, reading tons of books, organizing life, and enjoying time with Luke before it's the three of us. So far only a few of those have happened. School for Luke is busy, school for me is crazy and sometimes I feel like I am doing all I can to stay on top of that never mind preparing for maternity leave. We moved to a house, and going through the whole packing all your stuff up and unpacking doesn't help too much in the organizing department. I feel like we are finally settled into our new home; the dogs are loving the big fenced in backyard, we have too much room, and even have an extra room for our baby girl! What a blessing! Luke is working and going to school, I am working, testing, baby sitting whenever I can, and so we are staying insanely busy!

All that to say, we have had four days off of school so far because of the freezing temps and ice here in TX. It has been wonderful to rest and get over this cold thing that I have and not have to call out of work! All that to say I am sitting here ordering wall decals for our sweet baby's room when I looked at my email and received the confirmation of our registration for the hospital when she is ready to make her appearance, and I look down at my belly and just sit quite for a moment. Soaking up the reality that I am pregnant and can feel as well as see the movement of our daughter inside me. I am almost 8 months pregnant!!!!! A dream since I was two to have a baby is happening right in front of me! I cannot believe how fast time is going, and I know she will be here before Luke and I know it. He is going to be an amazing dad, and sometimes I don't know what I am more excited for; to see her or see him seeing her for the first time!

I cannot wait!

Mental notes and meat loaf

I had the day off yesterday which was spent on curriculum work and washing the floors in our house. In our apartment I had to wash a little kitchen floor and a couple steps wide hallway. The rest of the apartment was carpet. In our house everything is hardwood floors, or tile except for the bedrooms. This makes for a lot of washing! It took me forever to wash the floors, but after they looked amazing and I was exhausted! Today we went back to school and it was nonstop. When I got home I was so tired I was starting to feel sick, so I chilled in bed for 20 minutes or so. I felt better and had to get going on dinner and making sure the dogs were fed because we had small group tonight. I started making hamburgers and realized that I had a ton of ground beef for hamburgers. I decided that I would make hamburgers for tonight's dinner and then make a meat loaf for tomorrow's dinner. I was excited because that means I didn't have to cook tomorrow (for the record Luke would do all of this if I wanted him to. I am not helpless yet..). :)

I don't know where my energy came from, but by the time I was done cooking I had made a meat loaf, hamburgers, egg salad, potatoes, and even fed the dogs! I was pretty proud of myself. After we got done eating I cleaned up and made a mental note to put the cooling meat loaf pan in the fridge before we left for small group. That was my mental note...ok side note here.... Pregnancy has been a blast! Being sick and throwing up the first 21 weeks was not my favorite, but it was so worth it to know things are going well. I love feeling our little one moving around and cannot wait for her to get here. The part that is really bugging me is the lack of being able to remember mental notes! It is horrible! I can walk into a room and totally forget why I am there. I forget everything! Ok, done with my side note... back to my mental note; after I got everything cleaned up I went to the office and sat with Luke talking about what time we were leaving. We decided to leave then so that we could make a stop before going to small group. We left the house and started on our way.....Did you catch it?!?!? I totally forgot about the meat loaf cooling on the stove!!!

We have a 100 (or so) pound Golden and a 55 pound mutt that LOVES food. They were very excited over the fact that I left them a wonderful snack! That is right, when we got home the meat loaf pan was upside down on the floor completely empty :( I was so upset, because I worked hard at that, yet couldn't blame the dogs for leaving the food out in their reach...My awesome hormones made me cry, and then I realized that there is no use crying over spilled and eaten meat loaf.

So much for mental notes for now :) Maybe after I give birth I will get my mental ability back?!?!?

Almost there

In a couple weeks (less then that actually) I will be in my last trimester!! How did that happen?!?! I cannot believe she will be here soon, and Luke and I could not be more excited. We had a surprise baby shower over Christmas break while we were in NH. It was so sweet to get together with our church friends and family and celebrate my sweet little girl. I am proud to say that we got LOTS of clothes so my fear of this baby being naked for the first few months of her life are gone. Although we live in Texas where is gets to a bagillion degrees in the summer so she very well may spend the first few months of her life in just a diaper.

The day that I hit 5 weeks I started feeling incredibly nauseous and it was pretty much that feeling all the time. I didn't actually start getting sick until a few days after that. It was pretty rough at first, but then you just know what is going to set you off and you just stay home and get ready for it. My amazing, wonderful husband would run to the bathroom with me and hold my hair back and rub my back as I threw up the contents of my stomach (sometimes it felt like much more), and as I was about done getting sick he would ask me if it is still worth it.....ABSOLUTELY!! It took some getting use to getting sick so often, but it was so comforting to know that everything was going ok.

It took me 21 weeks to get over the whole "morning" sickness thing, but once I did I started to get nervous about the well being of our little girl. I couldn't feel her kicking or moving yet, and just prayed everything was ok. With each doctor's appointment we were comforted to know that things we going great and the risk of another miscarriage (or still born when you are that far along) had drastically decreased.

Christmas Eve Luke and I were standing in church singing when I felt the biggest movement ever from our little girl! I knew that if I was looking at my stomach I would have seen it move. I told Luke who immediately put his hand on my belly and kept it there. I wasn't sure she would move again, but she did! She did it again a couple times and Luke could feel it too! It was so neat! That following Sunday I was sitting in church and felt her move again where I looked down and could actually see my belly move where she was kicking! I poked Luke who actually saw it too! It was awesome. So now that I can feel and see her moving I am a little bit more comforted that our sweet girl is doing fine and getting stronger so that in three months and two weeks we can kiss her sweet little face :)

Wedding

Last night Luke and I watched our wedding video. I know most people watch theirs on their anniversary, but sadly we don't because we are having way too much fun doing other things (or at least that is what I like to think). Anyway, we watched it last night and it was so sweet to be able to see our facial expressions, how we interacted, and even our dear friends and family! It was an awesome day, and I cannot believe we are three and a half years later! Here we are married, getting through seminary, moving into a house, having a baby!??!?! How did all this happen, and how have we survived it all?

So fun to take a trip back, and even more exciting to see a glimpse of our future. Even though none of it is for certain the one thing I do know and can count on is a Heavenly Father who loves us more then we know and I have the most amazing, loving, caring, godly husband in the world (and he is also going to be an amazing daddy)!

5 months

It's hard to believe that I have been pregnant for a little over 5 months! It's even harder to believe that our little girl will be here in about 4 months!!! Where did the time go?

It only took 22 weeks, but I am finally feeling a little bit "normal" (whatever that it). I am not getting sick everyday, I don't feel like I am going to throw up at the drop of a hat, and I am definitely a fan of food again. I didn't think I was ever going to like food again! The plus side of that is that I haven't gained that much weight.

Things are still going well with our sweet girl! We are starting to register for baby stuff which brings a whole new reality to our life. I can feel her move a lot more with each week that goes by, and Luke has felt her once or twice (it is super hard to get him to feel her when she is moving).

Luke and I have decided that we are going to use cloth diapers, and I have been researching what that entails. The problem with researching is that you get so much information that you don't know which end is up. I was totally overwhelmed with the whole process and had no idea where to start. Thankfully I have a couple friends who are experts at cloth diapers, so I started asking them for advice. My friend Becca gave me great resources to look at that was clear and exactly what I needed, and Laura let me come to her house and see first had what I needed and how everything worked. I am still a little unsure, but I know what I need to buy and I think I know where to start :) We will see!!

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!