Morning Glory

I woke up only about 20 minutes and I wanted to capture my thoughts before the day becomes busy. It is Monday morning, our favorite morning of the week. Brian's day off! Early this morning - about 5am - Ruby woke up crying in her room because her binkie was on the floor. Normally I would just give it back to her and she would fall right back asleep. However, this morning I wanted to snuggle our little girl. I had a bad dream last night about not being able to find her, so I was glad she woke me up when she did. We snuggled in bed, then once 8am hit, I could not sleep any longer. In some ways I would say I am a morning person. So, I got up, started some diaper laundry, tidied up the kitchen a little bit, and am currently cooking steel cut oats for the family when they awaken.

Little Miss Cora has been actively kicking since I woke up this morning, and that gives me such joy. I think she is telling me it's time for breakfast. :)

Brian and Ruby are sound asleep at almost 8:30 in our bed. It's one of my favorite sights to see. The morning is still cool, the sun is shining in my kitchen window, I have a burst of energy, and all is well in my world. I am feeling very thankful for this day.

Psalm 118:24 "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Cora Delight

In case you missed it on Facebook, we found out last week that we are having another precious baby girl!! Both Brian's and my heart are truly delighted by this gift from God. Brian's response (as he was trying to keep Ruby entertained) at the 'private part' of the ultrasound was, "Another girl! Ruby you get a SISTER!"

I think it was during our pregnancy with Ruby that Brian and I consciously decided that children are a blessing from the Lord. Not only sons, and not only daughters. Children are a blessing - God's gift to us. Realizing this, we decided that we need to no have preferences on the genders of our babies. Each baby is a gift, each baby is a life. What an incredible thing! Why set ourself up for disappointment if our baby isn't the gender that we had hoped for?

Since we found out about Cora, we have been amazed by the responses we have gotten from a lot of friends. "Oh, so will you try next time for a boy?" or "Poor Brian." or "Oh....... well you want more, right? Maybe you'll get a boy later." WHAT?!?!? This has been quite bothersome to both Brian and I. I respond graciously, but in my mind I'm thinking, "Our DAUGHTERS are a blessing!!! There is nothing wrong with having more than one girl!!!!" I wouldn't say it is hurtful to hear these things, but it is really shocking, especially to hear from Christian friends who know what the Bible says about children. Ok, end rant.

The more that the reality is setting in that in 4ish months we will have a sweet baby girl in our arms is so pleasing. Her name couldn't be much more fitting. I get butterflies in my stomach day dreaming about what she will look like. Will she have more or less hair than Ruby? Will she also have green eyes (like Ruby), or blue (like dad), or brown (like mom)? Will she be as big as Ruby or smaller? Or bigger? How will her birth go? I am so thrilled to discover each and every one of these things.

Praise you, Jesus! I pray that this little girl would grow healthy and ready to meet us in about 4 months. I pray now that you would be working on her heart. Lord, with Ruby and Cora both, I plead that you would draw them to yourself. Jesus, give them the desire to spend their lives with you, here and into eternity. Help Brian and I to train them well, in spite of our short comings. I love you so much.

He Provides

Over the past week or so I have been in awe of how the Lord has used people to provide for us. I was amazed during my pregnancy with Ruby at how generous people were. I was loaned maternity clothes, given loads of baby girl clothes, given a crib, given a dresser, given a changing table, and SO much more.

We are at a stage in life where we do not have much extra money to buy a lot of fun / unnecessary things. I do not want to sound like I am complaining, though. We are abundantly blessed, even with a modest income. We have enough to get by, absolutely, and we are debt free (except a mortgage), and have savings. Even though there's not a ton of extra each month, we are learning to be wise with the money we do have, so we aren't just treading water. {SO thankful for Dave Ramsey.}

Anyway, I have been almost brought to tears over this past week with how above and beyond blessed we are. I've been given TONS of maternity clothes this time around. So much so, that I almost get overwhelmed with all my clothing options each day. :) That's a good problem for this changing body of mine!

I made a trip to Albany last week to pick up a box of maternity clothes from a gal who is done having babies now. I picked through and chose a bunch of tops, and ended up with a packed full box. As if that wasn't wonderful enough, she gave me a semi heavy duty sling that has an adjustable shoulder strap. I wanted one of these!!! She wanted it out of her house, so mine it is! Then she told me she had a double stroller in the garage, and really wanted to get that off of her hands. I will be honest, at first I was hesitant. I had just started a registry online, and registered for a beautiful, heavy duty, double jogging stroller. I had a prideful moment.

When she told me it was passed down to her, I thought about that beautiful brand new stroller I had found online. I told her I would take it, but had every intention of giving it to Mother Goose Resale or Goodwill. The day after I got home, I took the stroller out of my car. I thought I'd take it out back and clean it up and just "see" what I thought about it. The more I scrubbed, the more I began to like this old double stroller. I scrubbed and scrubbed and this thought ran through my head probably dozens of times, "God not only provides our needs, but sometimes He provides our wants." I kept telling myself this. After spending time cleaning out this stroller and really checking my heart along the way, I had an epiphany. I needed to overcome my pride! I needed to drop the whole idea of a brand new jogging stroller, when this perfectly good used stroller was given to me. This might seem kind of ridiculous to most of you, but it was truly a heart checking experience for me. God gave me a stroller. I don't technically NEED a double stroller. I could use our other one, and a front pack for the baby. Or many other combinations, I'm sure.

Even typing this I am watery-eyed. God uses the most normal, even simple, experiences to change our hearts. He does this to me a lot. While I am emotional that my heart even needed to be checked in a situation like that, I am so thankful that it was. I have learned that there is no need in the Christian life to be attached to any THING. While I know that in my head, the Lord is always reminding me about this in my heart. There are a number of things that I have grown attached to (though probably wouldn't have admitted it at the time) that the Lord needed to teach my to let go of and trust Him.

Thank you, Jesus for always changing my stubborn, prideful heart. Help me continually to learn to have an open hand with things, and to not be attached to anything but You. Teach me to be generous like You are generous.

Thank you, wonderful friends and family, who have been a vessel of blessing from the Lord to me. Each and everything that has been handed down to me has touched my heart deeply.

Baby Names

As we are nearing the 18-20 mark of pregnancy, we are thinking more and more about names. We get to find out so soon what we are having - wow! Time has really flown by, and I love it. We have the first names picked out for a boy and a girl, but middle names are still up in the air. Without further adeu I will share the names we are working on.

Girl first name: Cora

Girl middle names: Rose or Delight. This is quite a narrowed list for what I had for middle names. Almost anything sounds good after Cora. I was set on Cora Rose for the longest time, but now I am pretty in love with Cora Delight, especially with a sister named Ruby Joy. So that one is pretty set. Brian really loves Delight as the middle name as well. Score!

Boy first name: Judah (Meaning: the praise of the Lord, confession. Also, the lineage that Jesus came through)

Boy middle names: Rei (Pronounced "Ray" meaning: my companion, my friend), Reid, Gene, Otis, or Owen. Where to start on this one! My #1 favorite is Rei. It also is biblical and I love the meaning. I think Judah Rei has a great flow to it. Brian's #1 choice is Gene to keep the family name going. I think it sounds alright with Judah, but it's not my favorite name. Brian's dad's middle name is Gene, his mom's is Jean. His middle name is Gene, and his sister's middle name is Jean. So, you can see why he would like to keep the tradition going. The other day we both decided Otis is a very cute, old fashion name. I'm not sure if it flows well with Judah, or not.

What do you think? I would love to get some opinions! I have been hesitant to write this post, because I've been afraid of my names getting stolen. ;) But, we will use these names either way, so there is no use in fretting. And I would love to get some *positive* feedback. Let me know what you think!

16 Months!

My Ruby Joy,

You are 16 (and 1/2) months old now! You are getting close to a year and a half. Amazing! Time has flown by. Your first year of life I got really emotional with each passing month that you were getting so close to one year old. Now, each month is exciting to me. I enjoy watching you learn and grow so rapidly as time passes. You are my precious girl, and I love spending time with you. I want to take a minute here and document some of the mile-stones you've come to since my last update.

Recently you....

Have been talking more: You have known a few words for a while now (mama, dada, other basics), but lately you have been surprising me with more. The other day I asked you to dance to some music and you, clear as day, said, "dance!" I was so surprised! We have discovered that you really like to snack on pistachios. Whenever you see the bag of pistachios you say to me, "nut!" It's so sweet, and I'm glad you like to snack on nuts! It is a win-win. I called your name, looking around grandma and grandpa's house for you, and I heard you say to me, "Ruby." You pronounced your own name - clear as could be! I was shocked, and had to pause for a moment to soak that in. I haven't been able to get you to say it again, but that one time was so special. You love your Auntie Becca. Next to mom and dad, and occasionally "nana" (grandma) you know she is your Aunt "Gocca." The way you say her name is so precious! You are also getting very good at animal noises. There's a select few you really like; horse, dog, and gorilla. Whenever you see a picture of one of those animals (or something that looks like it) you get really excited and make the noise of that animal. It is sweet as could be!

You love being outside: It has been extremely sunny the past few weeks here in Salem, which has been amazing! But ever since I introduced you to playing outside, that's all you want. You love walking around the front yard and sidewalk, picking flowers (daisies from the yard, or flowers from my potted plant) and smelling them. You usually like to have one flower in each hand.

You love babies: Whether it is a real baby at church, a baby crying at the store, or your baby doll, you want to take care of it. You have a routine at our house and at Grandma Miller's house of putting your baby down for, "ni-ni" with a blankie. After you lay the baby down, you sit there and wait for about a minute, then get the baby up and feed it a bottle. It is SO sweet to watch your tender heart and personality unfold. I was the same way when I was little. I have a feeling once your little brother or sister is born, that you will learn how to nurse your baby doll. Just like mommy will nurse her baby. I know you will be a wonderful big sister!

You are sensitive: When mommy or daddy catch you doing something you shouldn't be (usually something dangerous), we sternly say, "NO!" You do not like this word. As soon as you year it you hang your head in shame, drop what you were doing, and a minute later start crying. You get embarrassed that you were doing something wrong, then pout about it. It is precious and we usually scoop you up with lots of hugs and kisses. We are only looking out for your safety and well-being, little Miss. One day you will understand that.

You love animals: Along with babies, you love animals. So far you've only been around cats and dogs, but you run toward them with open arms. This is precious, especially since your momma has never, ever, been a fan of animals. When momma was little she was scared of animals, and still doesn't really like them. I am glad that you are braver than me. However, I know this means we need to keep a close eye on you around strange animals. They won't always be as loving toward you as you are toward them.

You were dedicated to our church: Last Sunday, Mother's Day, we got to dedicate you in front of our church. There were lots of your little friends who also got dedicated that day. While this probably won't mean much to you, but it means a lot to daddy and me. When we dedicated you, we were making a proclamation to the church that we will do everything we can to raise you to love the Lord. We will love you (by His grace) like he loves his children. We will discipline you like he calls us to. We are responsible in these short years we have with you in our home, to show you the love of Jesus, and pray that he will draw your heart to his own. The church, in response, will help us when we need help as parents. They will counsel us when we need advice, or when we are doing something wrong. Ruby, we wouldn't have it any other way.

Those are some of the big updates for now. We love you so much, sweetheart! Keep growing and learning as you are, and we will get to enjoy watching it happen.

To My Little Sweetie

Sweet Baby Bradley,

This is my first letter to you so far this pregnancy. We are now 13 weeks long, little one! You are now about 3 inches long, and as of this week, you have finger prints. I am already amazed by your sweetness. I am so thrilled to be carrying you as you grow and develop. We only have about 6 months left until we meet you face to face - how amazing! I think about you all the time, little one. Even though I am busy with your older sister, I don't for a second forget you're there.

About two weeks ago I could feel your little movements. I feel you at least once a day, already. Most people probably wouldn't believe me, but I know it's you. Those little bubbly flutters are undeniable, I know it's nothing else. I always pause and smile when I feel you, but the movements are so quick I don't have time to savor it. I can't wait until you're just a little bit bigger, and I can feel your distinct kicks, wiggles, punches, and hiccups. What a miracle you are.

Your daddy and I are so excited about you! Your daddy is treating me so well as I am growing you. He goes to the store when I need him to, and he lets me sleep-in when he possibly can. He believes me when I tell him I feel you. We can't wait to find out if you are a boy or a girl. We look forward to calling you by name. Hopefully in about 5 weeks we will know if you are Judah or Cora. So thrilled either way!

Love you Baby,

Momma

Pregnant!

Well, this is a long and over-due post. As ya'll know from Facebook, we are pregnant with baby #2! WOW. I was telling Brian yesterday that every morning when I wake up I remember that I'm pregnant, and it's like a surprise everyday. It is so surreal to me. Boy, are we SO excited! I feel so honored to be pregnant again.

Today, I am 12 weeks 6 days. Almost out of the first trimester - it seems to have flown by. I am kind of dying now to find out what we are having. :) Seriously, we would be thrilled either way. We both would adore another daughter - how sweet to have two little girls! A boy would be incredible too, a little man for Brian to rough house with. Couldn't be less biased, and thankfully my husband has the same attitude.

Last week we had our second prenatal appointment, and we were able to hear baby's heart beat. How absolutely incredible! We only plan on having one ultrasound, the anomoly screen around 18-20 weeks, which is when we will find out the gender. I am really going to push for 18 weeks, because I am so excited to find out what our little one is! We are having our prenatal care and birth at Bella Vie just like we did with Ruby. I love their preventative approach and focus on nutrition, so that common high-risk issues can be prevented. (i.e. high blood pressure / pre-ecclampsia, gestational diabetes, etc.)

There's a very quick update on our lives. I need to blog more! I hope to be on top of it during this pregnancy, but we will see. :) Thank you, sweet friends, for reading.