We are having a GIRL!

Wow! It has been over a month since I last blogged! The first reason is that our computer crashed, and it took a while to get it fixed. The other reason is that we have been travelling all over the place this summer, but more on that later!

We are so excited to announce

We were able to have our gender reveal party down at the beach surrounded by friends and family. It was a wonderful day!! We have already been so blessed! We can't wait to meet our precious little girl!





My Dad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just wrote a post about my Mom, and now I want to share

a post about my wonderful Dad.

 

Tomorrow is Father's Day.

I am somewhat beginning to see my Dad through new eyes now

that my sweet husband will become a Daddy at the end of this year.

I am so thankful for my Dad.

 

He truly lives his life to be an example for his children.

He does not simply tell us with his words how we need to act.

He lives it out.

He is an extremely hard worker.

He is a planner.

He is organized.

He takes our Mom on dates and little getaway trips.

He took us on adventures like bike rides, four wheeler rides, jeep rides,

snorkeling excursions, and snow skiing trips.

He did morning devotionals with us before school.

He prayed with each of us individually before bed every night.

He is a giver to others.

He went to ball games and ballet recitals.

He gave piggyback rides.

He swam with us in the ocean so we wouldn't be afraid.

He stood with me on our back patio during hurricane Opal holding my hand and told me

there was nothing to be afraid of because God would always protect us. He said there is never any storm too big for God.

On my wedding day during our Father-Daughter dance, he told me

his children are his greatest treasure.

 

I am so proud to call him my Dad.

I am so thankful for his example and influence in my life.

There is nothing better than a Daddy who prays for his children, supports them

no matter what, and loves them unconditionally.

 

Happy Father's Day 2014!

 

 

 

Moms' Night Out

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK so this movie was SO good. I can NOT remember the last time

I laughed and cried so much during a movie. It was hilarious!

I believe it was a mixture of pregnancy hormones, thinking about becoming

a mom, and being so grateful for my mom.

I would totally see this movie again.

 

My Mom is a stay-at-home-mom.

I am the oldest of 6 children.

For over 27 years of my mother's life she has been a Mom.

BUT she has not been just any mom. She has been OUR Mom.

Watching this movie made me realize how she probably felt quite often.

She was the one who was:

stuck with us all day

cleaning up after us

playing with us

keeping us safe

cooking for us

disciplining us

dressing us

driving us

dealing with sibling rivalry

dealing with tantrums

 

BUT

 

She never made it seem like that above list is what she was doing.

This is what I remember:

encouraging us

supporting us

reading to us

singing to us

dreaming with us

drawing with us

talking with us

listening to us

believing in us

loving us

 

She never made it seem like work.

She never made it seem like she gave up anything.

Her life was all about us.

While she was doing all of the above in both lists, she was not napping or going out with friends.

She was not shopping or spending time pampering herself.

She was doing loads and loads of laundry.

She was keeping the house clean.

She was cooking for a family of 5 then a family of 8.

She was praying with Daddy everyone morning before he left for work.

She was painting my nails and braiding my hair.

She did all of this with a smile.

I am sure she felt lonely and overwhelmed at times just like the moms in the movie, but

she never showed it to us.

She sacrificed so much for us.

As I sit here at 16 weeks pregnant imagining becoming a Mommy,

I hope and pray that I can be as good and strong and gracious and warm and encouraging and smart and loving as my Mom is.

 

I am so excited to welcome our little one

into this world, and I am so ready for my Mom to meet our little one.

 

I am so blessed to have the Mom that God gave me.

 

If you haven't seen this movie, you really should go see!

 

 

5 on Friday Pregnancy Edition

 

 

 

It has been quite a while since I have posted a 5 on Friday.

Since finding out that my husband and I are expecting in November,

life has been a bit different around our house.

Now that the school year is over, and it

is finally summer I have more time to blog!

I thought I would do a pregnancy edition today!!

 

1. How far along and gender: I am 14 weeks, and we will find out the gender in July!!

 

 

 

2. Baby size and movement: our little baby is the size of a peach, and I am so excited to begin feeling movement in a few weeks!!!

 

 

 

3. Sleep and Food Cravings: Once I get to sleep, I sleep pretty well. I get up often to use the

restroom then toss and turn for a while until I get back to sleep. I had pretty bad morning sickness

and wasn't able to eat much. Now that the nausea has finally subsided I am so hungry. I have been craving eggs and grits, cereal and milk, pickles and ketchup, French fries, and watermelon!!

 

 

 

4. Best Moment and Happy or Moody: I am so excited to go to the doctor this Monday and hear our baby's heartbeat! I am very happy this week! God is so good! The only time I get emotional is during

a sweet song or commercial.

 

5. Symptoms and Looking forward to: I have headaches, but that is about it. I am looking forward to feeling our baby move, finding out the gender, and beginning the nursery!!

 

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

 

 

 

 

Our Little Miracle

 

I am so excited to officially announce

that my husband and I

are expecting our first child

 in November 2014!

 

I will be 14 weeks on Saturday.

We were able to share the news with our families

right before Mother's Day, and it was very special.

We are humbled and blessed and thankful

that God chose to give us this gift.

 

We are already so in love and can't wait

to meet our precious baby!

God's timing truly is so amazing, and I am looking forward

to this new adventure. My sweet husband has been so amazing. My

first trimester has been rough to say the least. Morning sickness is only one of

my many symptoms. Thankfully the closer I get to Saturday I have

been feeling much better! I am just so overjoyed that I couldn't wait to share

our wonderful news with all of our family and friends. God has blessed us

with our very own little miracle, and I am just so happy!

 

 

A Heart FULL of Thankfulness

As I sit here listening to the rain on this early Friday morning, I am humbled by just how AWESOME God is. This time last year my life had hit such a low point. I had just found out I would no longer be teaching at the same school, I had no clue where I was going to find a job, and we were having to look for a new place to live. Last summer was hectic to say the least. I feel as though all I did was go on job interviews. These interviews would go so well then nothing would come of them. What I didn't see while I was in the midst of the storm was that God was weaving together His timeline - HIS PLAN for my life. He was setting things into motion that would place me exactly where I am today. These last 12 months have been a journey of learning what it truly means to trust God. He is in control NOT me. Only in my weakness and dependency could he work in and through my life. While we didn't know how we would survive financially month to month, God always provided. It has always been difficult for me to ask for help especially financial help. I would guess it stems from a first-born thing as well as a pride thing. This year we have had to humble ourselves in ways that were very uncomfortable, but God used those times to show us His power and His great love for us. We are so thankful for all the help and support of our families. Last year God was able to work in my life and prove His faithfulness to me time and time again. I truly know from the deepest parts of me that I can count on God; He will always take care of me. To be a child of God is such a wonderful thing. I was also able to reflect on many things through this year's journey of waiting on God. I realized I can look back to several times in my life when God was trying to teach me to wait on Him and those times helped to prepare me for this past year. It seems silly now, but as a teenager I did not have many boyfriends. Most of my friends had boyfriends as well as my sister. I remember praying to God and asking Him for a boyfriend. I felt as if I had to wait FOREVER. Now though I can look back and be thankful that I only had a few boyfriends. I am so thankful to God that I did not share my heart with too many young men. I am so humbled by God's plan to bring Michael and I together, and I am thankful that I did not have a long line of relationships before dating Michael. In the grand scheme of things, I realize now that I didn't actually have to wait that long to find Michael. BUT when you are in the midst of waiting it seems to take forever. That was the case with my Exit Exams to be able to intern before I could graduate from college. I had to take sections of that exam over and over and over again. I was so worried I wouldn't graduate. It seemed to take so long for me to finally pass all the sections. I knew that nothing but God's grace and mercy would get me through that time in my life. When I decided to rely on Him instead of myself, I finally passed. Then God thought it was time to work on the whole waiting thing again. During the course of our 6 year dating relationship, we had so very many friends get engaged and married before we ever graduated from college. I didn't understand why I was having to feel so left out. Why did I have to wait SO long. Of course I was elated for my friends; I just wanted to share in their joy and experience that stage of life at the same time. Michael and I had decided early on that we would not get married until we had both graduated from college. I know God put that in our hearts, but sometimes it was very difficult to accept that when all my friends were getting married and starting their lives together as husband and wife. Then the day finally arrived!! Michael proposed to me, and it was THE BEST DAY EVER!!! We were college graduates, and we were engaged. Life was grand! Then there was another lesson in waiting on the Lord! Boy was He trying to get me attention! Ideally we both wanted jobs before marriage. Living requires money, and we didn't have any! We both began interviewing right away. It was pretty much a series of rejection. The waiting was stressful and exhausting. Then God did something amazing. You really do have to appreciate His timing and his humor. I received THE CALL with my first ever job offer THE DAY BEFORE our wedding! I was humbled and blown away. The Lord is my shepherd and I shall NOT want! It was such an amazing feeling knowing we could go on our honeymoon completely carefree because when we returned we would both begin our new jobs. The Lord wanted me to learn to wait on Him in all those previous times as preparation for what was going to happen in April of 2013. Losing my job was certainly a hard pill to swallow, but as I reflect now I am so grateful God worked out everything exactly the way He did. I am now teaching 7th and 11th grade English at a great school that is close to home (so no more hour long commute). I know that there is no perfect school, and that all schools have their faults because schools are run by humans and all humans are flawed. I also know that I have found a place where I can be the teacher God designed me to be. This week leading up to Easter was Spiritual Emphasis week, and all the services were just so amazing. God is not only doing an awesome work in our school, but He is using the people of that school to continue His work in my life. I have only been teaching these students a few weeks, but I already care so much about them. I am humbled and honored that God chose me to help reach them with His love. My prayer is that He will use me to show His light and truth for their lives. I am so very thankful for all of God's lessons on waiting in my life. Time after time He continues to prove that He truly does have a great plan for my life. Thankfully now I can go into the next lesson of waiting knowing so genuinely that He will give me the desires of my heart in His Time. Michael and I want nothing more than to be parents. We have been trying for 15 months. I know there is a reason God is having us wait. I know that we can trust God and that He will work out all the details in His time. God says my faith can move mountains so I choose to believe that my faith can bring me the desires of my heart in the form of a baby. We look forward to growing our family. We are excited about what God has planned to teach us this year. In the midst of the storm, it may seem as though there is no end to your misery in sight, but know that God always has a plan. I for one am glad the He is in control. I wouldn't want it any other way. My heart is so full of joy and peace and love and gratitude. God is certainly not dead! He is most definitely living on the inside of me, and He has a great plan for my life! God is so good!

5 on Friday

 

 

 

 

I realize I am a little late, but this has been the best week

I have had in a long time. I must share about it.

God has been so good to me. I have 5 super 

great things I am loving this week!

 

1. My New JOB

I began teaching 7th and 11th grade English this week

at a school that is only 15 minutes from my house.

I have had just the most amazing time. The school

is great and the students are awesome! I am

so blessed.

 

2. It is APRIL!

I love this month for a multitude of reasons.

Currently this week the weather has been 

beautiful, and we have the most 

gorgeous flowers growing in our yard.

 

 

 

3. April is my Birthday month!

I will be 27, and I am actually super excited!

Michael is always great about surprising me, and

I am looking forward to seeing what he has for me this year.

Two years ago he whisked me away to Savannah GA for a surprise trip!

It was the best trip ever!

 

4. 1 Year Blogging Anniversary

On April 12 my little blog will celebrate being a blog for

1 entire year! Be looking for some reflection posts in the future!

I have truly loved every minute of blogging!

 

5. My Hubby

This guy is just so great!

Every day with him just gets better and better, and

now we get to work at the same school! I love getting to

eat lunch with him and talk with him during the middle of

the day! This has definitely been a great week!

 

 

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!