3 weeks!!!

Well we are down to three weeks before the due date of David. I'm hoping he comes a little before August 6th but I do want him to be ready so we're just trusting that God knows what's best even if I am uncomfortable and hot!!

We've had a busy couple of weeks preparing for David's arrival. I can finally say we're as ready as we're ever going to be for this next adventure! The pack n play is set up, the car seat is in, the clothes are ready. Hopefully the next time I post it will be of pictures of the precious little boy inside of me!

We had a scare a couple of weeks ago. I had been cleaning and went to take a shower and noticed blood. Thankfully it was nothing but I must admit it couldn't have come at a better time because I got to take time off while Robby and Bekah were here with the boys. It was so good to visit and catch up with them. Those two boys are so much fun to watch play and Deborah loves her cousins!

My dad came that weekend and Pop Pop was a hit (we called him Papa but as it goes Joseph decided it should be Pop Pop so Pop Pop it is! He took all three of them outside on Sunday morning and let us all sleep in, it was wonderful.

Ryan's parents came down over the fourth of July. We were originally supposed to go down there and see them however, with the bleeding I was informed I wasn't going anywhere until the baby came so they were kind enough to come up instead. We had fun just visiting and hanging out. They never stay long enough but Deborah sure loves her grandpa and grandma.

Deborah is too funny, the other day it was time for her nap so I had heated her bottle up and she was playing in the play room. I told her it was ready so she toddled into the kitchen and looked at me to make sure I was following her and then proceeded to go to her bedroom where she was trying to climb into the rocker. I loved it...she knew exactly what to do it was so cute! She did it again tonight and I just laughed.

Here are some pictures from what we've been up to in the past couple of weeks...Nana is coming soon and we are looking forward to having her here to help out with everything.

Catching Up...

Well things have been extremely crazy around here lately...God has answered many prayers in our family including the following:

My sister Sarah passed her boards and is now a RN!!!
My brother in law Robby is going to be working for Peterbilt in Denton, TX as a design engineer
My dad and mom finally got a vacation that didn't include weddings or babies being born..and my dad's student won third at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper...they also saw grizzly bears while they were up there which has something our family has wanted to see forever...
David and I are both fine even with some bleeding that is going on...his heart rate is strong and the uterus, placenta, cervix, and amniotic sac all look good

While these last couple of days have been stressful and exhausting due to being in and out of the hospital for the bleeding, I'm at home now on bed rest. Bekah and Robby are down here with Joseph and James so Deborah is getting some cousin time in. They will be staying here through Thursday and are going to be headed back to Denton Friday to look at houses.

My doctor is out of the office until July 7th and so that makes this more stressful.

Right now we are in the waiting game but God has been good and provided us with a support group that is amazing beyond belief. He has continued to show us His grace and mercy and no matter what happens we know that He is in control and He loves us.

Warning - long post and heavy

I have a heavy heart tonight. I spent my lunchtime reading blogs, which is one of my favorite hobbies. I don't have to know the person writing the blog but I love the stories. I stopped by a blog called Kellys Korner (http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/). Her post today allowed people with special needs children to link to her blog so other families struggling might find some support.

I clicked on some and was in a land where although I pray I never have to go, I am still amazed at the strength, perseverance, and reliance on God through hell and back.

There were several stories about babies never living after delivery...a disease known as Trisomy 18. Babies diagnosed with this rarely make it past birth. These were recent posts that meant mothers went into the hospital knowing the odds of her baby being born alive and left the hospital with empty arms. These stories were of families who had to tell their other children why their little sister/brother wasn't coming home. There was a story of a little girl that lived for 52 minutes and died in her mother's arm, yet in the midst of the devastation and heart break they were at peace. Triplets, two of them died that "should have" lived and the one that doctors had no hope for is now a teenager. Families that made the choice to adopt children with downs syndrome, autism, celebral palsay, etc..

I am so grateful that God has blessed us with a healthy beautiful vibrant daughter and that David appears to be without any special needs as well. However, after reading these stories today I kept thinking how would I respond? Would I continue to trust, would I let anger and grief persuade me that God doesn't care? These posts were not a pat God is in control..these posts were raw. Women and men crying out to God for the strength to get them out of this hell. Women and men trying to keep going after something so heartbreaking. Could I respond in this fashion? As a believer I would hope so.

I have never had a life changing event like this happen to me. I have never ever really even had to deal with death of someone who has lived a long life much less someone who never had a chance. While reading these blogs there was such a combination of all kinds of emotion. There was of course the grief, anguish, despair, and anger, but there was so much more. These were people clinging to God trusting Him to meet them in even these moments. There was such strength and peace, that only can come from enduring something this heavy. I don't believe that a person can get there without experiencing something this significant.

I realize this is a scattered and random post but I guess what hit home today while reading these stories is I pray that when my trial comes I am able to rely on the only One who can get me through it.

Deborah as an accountant

Deborah was sick one day so I did what any good mother would do and took her up to the office while I tried to get some work done. Thankfully I have an incredible boss who didn't mind and even entertained her for a while.
Here is the accountant in training!

Deborah's 1st Birthday

She was more interest in the ice in the grass than the gifts, she'll learn!

She is her mother's daughter, she ate the whole cupcake

Playing and fun times

Hanging out in the backyard

Sliding down the slide with Aunt Sandy

Deborah playing with Grandma before everyone arrives

The picture quality is horrible but the decorations/table that Britt made..she did such an awesome job

We're back!!

Okay so it has been entirely too long since I've posted. Deborah is now a year old and should be walking anyday now. She's too funny because she's so cautious and cheats. If you let go of her hands to see if she'll walk she drops down to her knees looks at you and takes off crawling. She loves to wave bye bye and she had her first sleep over away from Ryan and I this weekend.

We went to Austin for my cousin Taylor's wedding which was gorgeous and so much fun! We had asked Nana and Papa to keep her on Friday night which they gladly did. I was a little concerned because we didn't get to Ausin until around 9:00 and by the time we got her to their room it was way past her bedtime. She went straight to my dad and when Ryan and I left she was sitting on his knee waving bye bye to us. It was so funny.

Her birthday party was a huge success despite the last minute change in plans. Originally we were going to be in Amarillo/Lubbock that weekend for my sister Sarah's and my brother in law Robbie's graduations. However, we decided it was just too much in all kind of ways although I was so disappointed I didn't get to see Sarah get pinned. Anyways, Ryan's parents got transferred to McAllen so they had moved down there that week and we decided we'd just go ahead and have the party or it wouldn't get done. I knew I wanted a bee theme since that is what her name means in Hebrew and thanks to Brit I had the cutest decorations and invitations ever. We had so much fun with family and friends. When you live so far away from family you quickly learn how important friends are and we have been so blessed by our friends down here. Deborah had so much fun playing with the kids and it was so nice to visit and celebrate together. Sometimes it's like living a dream. As a young woman you have this picture of what your family is going to look like one day and how your household will run and being outside with all of our friends and family was exactly what I had pictured. I will post pictures this week!

This spring passed way to quickly with busy season and ear infections once a month. David Foster will make his appearance sometime in late July early August and so far the pregnancy is going great. I switched doctors after I had Deborah. I just felt that the woman I was with wasn't a good fit for me and have been so much happier. It makes such a difference when your doctor is a believer. He is so calm and he actually listens to me. We are going to try for a VBAC so while I'm excited about a natural birth (ya'll know how I feel about natural) I'm a little nervous and we are just praying everything goes smoothly. I have managed not to gain as much weight with this one as with Deborah although here lately it seems to be getting harder and harder. I do know that I'm trying though and right now I feel like that's the best I can do.

I got a new camera for my birthday/mother's day. I am so excited about it! I got it last week so I haven't had a chance to learn all the bells and whistles but I do know it takes better pictures and when your child is constantly in motion you need a camera that doesn't make the motion blurry and this one definitely accomplishes that.

We have a busy summer planned with get togethers, family, and weddings. We have two more weddings this summer and my sister and her family are coming in June for about a week for her husband to job hunt!! I'm so excited about the idea that they might actually move down here I can't stand it. I'm not a patient person so the suspense has been killing me and while I'm trying not to get my hopes up to much it's looking like the chances are greater and greater.

We had a blast at my cousin's wedding and although I felt a little older than I have at any other wedding I've been too my sisters, cousin, aunt and I managed to get out on the dance floor and have a blast! My sister set the bar when she was eight months pregnant at Ryan and I's wedding and didn't stop dancing all night (I kid you not she may have set out one song!) She loves to dance and we feel like any wedding we go to it is our duty to dance so other people will dance. There is nothing worse than an empty dance floor. My grandpa even got out there and boogied with us...nothing says Baptist more than dancing right?? It's so much fun to celebrate two people's love and beginning of life together. Not only does it make you remember your wedding day and all the emotion and memories, it is just so neat to see how God brings two people together. Taylor looked gorgeous and everything was perfect, what more could a girl ask for?

Okay I'm posting pictures this week sometime because I know it's long overdue. Belive it or not I do love blogging and I realize this is a long post but oh well...it's my blog right??

Blah

That's how I feel. I'm tired and overwhelmed. I know this is the time when life should be grand and exciting but I just can't get into it this year. You would think this year of all years since the munchkin is here but I'm just not feeling it.

On a positive note, the munchkin is sitting up really well now and loves peek a boo. She can be so serious at times, which I attribute to her father. She'll just look at you with her eyes, it's too funny. Her teachers were telling me yesterday she was in her crib at school just laughing and talking to herself. They said they got tickled listening to her and started laughing too.

I'm looking forward to going home. The time will be short but it will be good to see family and we always have fun at mom and dad's and Del and Robin's. I'm sure Hannah, Joseph, and James have grown like weeds!

Maybe it's just because it's hump day..I'll chalk it up to that and hope tomorrow is better!