Daddy, Mommy...Meet Baby...

What a special day! Tuesday Nathan and I went for the first ultrasound. I can't quit staring at this picture. Isn't life a beautiful miracle! I thought: "He/she is beautiful!" The baby is the little white spot inside of the black crescent in the picture. The baby's head is at the top. We definately want to find out whether we have a boy or girl!

Psalm 139:13-16

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place,

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

What a gift life is. I mean, yes, I am so blessed to be a mother. But what I really mean is what a blessing life is...your life, my life...every life. Do we cherish it as God's creation? Every person...every one. When I look at this picture, I think of GOD...the Holy One of Israel...the LORD. The One who created us for His glory.

I ordered two books for pregnancy: What to Expect When You're Expecting and another book about a healthy diet. Right now I'm reading the first and am really enjoying the information. I do get overwhelmed sometimes with wanting to make the healthiest choices; however, as I read these information and useful books...may I remember the Creator...the One who is Soveriegn over His creation. Yesterday after reading a section about polution and chemicals, I had to throw my hands up in the air in acknowledgement that this baby will be born into a broken fallen world. And even more than physical need, this baby has a spiritual need. He/she is in need of the Savior! I couldn't help but to surrender afresh this parenting journey and pray for His mercies and for His Spirit to be at work in his/her life from early childhood. And I pray that I simply will be in awe of the Creator, love Him, and love those He created.

Window Shopping with My Mama

My mom came to visit this weekend. This is the first time I've seen her since we found out that I'm pregnant. We've started a tradition of window shopping in Senoia on my birthday a few years ago. We thought about going to several other events this year (one of which was in Atlanta), but we decided that staying close to home was best for us...mainly for one reason...I've become WIMPY! I have a new TREMENDOUS respect for pregnancy and women who have experienced it...and if you're one of those women, I'm sorry if I didn't understand.  :) 

I'm the girl who last Spring planted not a few shrubs and trees in our yard, cut the grass, shoveled compost and transported it to fertilize plants. I walked miles. Ran miles. Stayed up late. Senoia's downtown mainstreet is maybe 1/4 a mile long. Yesterday, I sat down to rest four times from one end of the street to the other. I'm not kidding. We even went to the car one time to sit for a while. I have been feeling sick, but I mainly think it's because I have pretty strong allergies and cannot take my usual medicine for it. I'm even wondering if the nausea I've had is due partially to allergies.

If you have any suggestions for safely treating allergies, I'd love some ideas.

Our visit with my mom was wonderful though. I love spending time with my family. She was understanding and comforting.  We just sat on a bench or a rocking chair and talked between stores. We looked at some baby clothes and kid stuff and really just daydreamed about the future.

She and my Dad have a tiny 2.(something) pounds Yorkie puppy. She is adorable, and we also enjoyed watching our dogs play. She treated Nathan and me to lunch yesterday. We had the best fried green tomatoes we've ever eaten at "Redneck Cafe." This morning we had to drive into Peachtree City to pick up Pebbles (their Yorkie puppy...she had surgery yesterday) so we ate breakfast at a new Cajun bakery in Fayetteville...we love their food!!!

The only part about visiting with family that is hard is that we always hate to see them go. So of course, I talked to my mom a little on the phone while she was driving. :)

My Dad's Song Recorded in...yes...CHINESE!!

One thing about my Daddy that most of you know is that he is an amazing musician. We are so proud of him!!!!! He’s a published song writer, and again we (all of our family) are so proud of him. One of my favorite songs of his was introduced to Lauren and me two summers ago. The first time I heard it I cried. It has a beautiful melody and meaningful lyrics.

Last May, as Nathan and I were on our way home from church, we discussed how our hearts moved from concern over the nations and needs in our area and we how we had become too self-centered with our life goals. This conversation lent its way into a renewed focus as God’s Spirit convicted us of our neglect. This song renews that conviction each time I listen to it.

Recently, my mom sent me a video on youtube of this song in…yes…Chinese! A choral group from Baptist University in Hong Kong sang it. I think everyone in our family cried! To know that the song that my dad wrote sitting on his cozy glassed-in porch in the back of their house made it literally around the world (to the glory of God) into a culture that has become so dear to me. Of course when I hear this I think about the blessing of children that God has graciously given us. Of course I think about the child I cherish inside of me as well as the child (whom we believe will be from China) I cherish in my heart. I pray they will have a heart for Jesus and for His nations!  May you be blessed as you listen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6sDzYZ8EZI&feature=share

www.youtube.com

LYRICS IN ENGLISH;

WHAT FEAST WILL YOU BRING?

What feast will you bring?

Who will sit at your table?

Will you ask the broken, the hungry, the poor?

Will you seat them and feed them and show them by deed;

The love the Lord gives us is given to all.

To the feast will you bring the first fruits from your garden?

Will you bring from the cellar your most treasured wine?

Will you serve them on rarest white linen cloth,

With silver most cherished, most cherished and fine.

How will you heal the sick and the broken?

How will you feed the hungry and poor?

Will you give them the treasure laid up in your store room?

Will you open your heart and give even more?

What feast do you bring as Christ sits at your table?

Do you bring your first fruits and most treasured wine?

Do you serve them on rarest white linen cloth,

With silver most cherished and fine?

Do you see Christ in the sick and the broken?

Do you see Christ in the hungry and poor?

Will you give them the treasure laid up in your store room?

Open your heart and give even more?

“As you do unto them so you do unto me,”

Says Christ our Savior, our Lord and King.

Is your table set for the least of these?

What feast will you bring them?

What feast will you bring?

A Day to Celebrate...SURPRISE

Thank you everyone for your tremendous encouragement as we seek to adopt from China in the coming two years. We have had adoption on our hearts since we've been married. Please, please continue to pray towards that end as we believe that it is God's will for our family. He is in control and His plan prevails, but we are convinced that He has given us this desire.



AND



We are excited to announce that I am pregnant! Thank You Lord for Your blessings! My heart is so overwhelmed with gratitude. I have so much to share. So many thoughts, but first I'll tell you how everybody found out. Sunday evening I attended a church fellowship. As a church we are in the process of making significant missional and ministry decisions. I decided after breakfast to fast through lunch and supper over these decisions and how God would have us to be a part. Fasting is something that I believe God leads us to do from time to time; however, after church Sunday…after I made the decision to fast…I felt God clearly leading me not to. So I unpacked the very filling lunch that I made that morning and ate.



Early the next morning I took a pregnancy test (since I knew that it was about time to). It came back POSITIVE. I thought, “I’m so glad that I ate yesterday! Our little baby needed the food!!!!  God knew…what a miracle!!!” Nathan was still asleep and I really wanted to surprise him, so I tried with all my might to act normal through breakfast until he left for work. Later I called my doctor, talked to the nurse practitioner and set up an appointment. I went to the store, bought two more tests, a birthday card for Nathan (because his birthday is this week), and some brownie mix.


When I got home, I baked the brownies.


Then I wrapped the card in wax paper and taped around the edges so that it could be read and protected from getting dirty.

After I baked the brownies I placed the card underneath. I placed four candles into the brownies: white (representing Nathan), yellow (representing me), and a pink and blue (representing the baby…boy or girl).

I told Nathan on his way home that evening that I had a surprise for him each day of the week for his 30th b-day (I kind of told him this as an excuse for making brownies a week before). Waiting to get to dessert that night was soooo difficult. Finally, he cut into the brownies and found the card. The look on his excited face was priceless!

Then we had to decide how to announce to our family. We wanted to surprise them so we began planning trips to Scottsboro and Tallassee…BUT WHAT NATHAN DIDN’T KNOW IS THAT…


Since August, I’ve been planning a surprise 30^th family birthday party for him. I’m so excited that it was a success. Nathan’s parents and grandparents came, and he had no idea!!! (AND THEY HAD NO IDEA THAT I WAS PREGNANT) I planned it so that everyone except me would stand in front of the piano in the living room. I would stand in the kitchen as usual preparing our supper plates. The family parked in our neighbors driveway ( I need to explain that our country neighbor is a half a mile away with a very thick layer of planted pines that block us from seeing each other at all.) Nathan would walk in the door and around the corner to change clothes before supper…then SURPRISE…


BUT


He didn’t round the corner at all. He was fixated on talking to me, some birthday cards that came in the mail, and on supper. He walked in the door and said, “Well hey there Mommy! How are you feeling?...(read a birthday card from my parents which mentioned praying for our baby-to-be) Oh!!! How sweet! Are they talking about our baby from China or our baby in your tummy?



HE HAD NO IDEA THAT HIS FAMILY WAS IN THE LIVING ROOM, which I think is hysterical. I just knew that they would let out a squeal of excitement, but it turned out that they didn’t hear a word he said. So finally I turned Nathan’s face to the living room because he was about to sit at the table. Oh the grin on his face when he saw everyone. He said I got him so good. But the fun wasn’t over. Then I said, “Oh no!!! I forgot to call my parents to let them in!” So I dialed, put them on speaker phone and said, “Sorry guys, I forgot to call you but Nathan’s hear now…Nathan why don’t you tell them what you wished for your birthday?”  Then Nathan announced: “ For a healthy pregnancy. We’re having a baby!”

I have my parents on speaker phone. They were soooo excited!!!

We are overwhelmed with the Lord’s loving kindness and his mercy. We are thrilled and humbled. Now as I take prenatal vitamins to nurture this child, I pray over his/her soul, and I pray for the child we believe we’ll adopt. When I rest or take it easy because pregnancy has me tired, I think about how God created and equipped this body he gave me to nurture and love this baby even before he/she is born. And I pray for him. I pray also for the baby we desire to adopt. I pray for their sibling relationship. We pray they are drawn to the Gospel from a young age. We pray for wisdom, gentleness, and patience in parenting because that ability can only come from Him. And we thank Him.