Mom Can't Get Sick

Somehow God knows that in a family, the mom cannot get sick. Who would take care of the child/children? Who would take care of the husband that is such a strong person on any normal occasion, but with sickness turns in to a very sad little patient? :-) God know what He is doing.

My little family is sick, and I am the only one well. I am meticulously going around the house with Clorox wipes and old rags. I am wiping down door handles, picking up various items that have been used to wipe up vomit, and tossing everything in to the washing machine. I am making trips to the sink to wash my hands...yes while singing the "Happy Birthday" song because that is how long I have always told children it takes the soap to kill the germs. I am praying that while I am pregnant, I do not catch this or any other throw up bug.

My poor husband rolls over in the bed and moans and asks me to get ginger ale as well as Gatorade. Whatever you ask dear. My sweet 14 month old child continues to play in the floor even though he has had the same bug for the past 2 days. Children are amazingly resilient. Husbands, however, are not.

God knows what He is doing. Moms cannot get sick.

The Wilderness

I just wanted to share a little about my Tuesday morning Bible study. I go with several girls from my connection class (Sunday school), and it is phenomenal! It is by Priscilla Shirer, and she is AMAZING. She really puts it out there. She is very straight forward and honest, while at the same time seeming to pat you on the back and tell you everything will work out.

This particular study is called One in a Million, and uses the Israelite Exodus to talk about your own personal wilderness, and being the "one in a million" that makes it to the promised land. I have felt like this was written for me, to me, about me. God is so good to match people up to just the things they need. Here lately with the issues with our house, and the neighborhood; being pregnant, needing more space, trying to pay off debt, living as below our means as possible, I have just really felt like I am stuck in a "wilderness." Through this Bible study, I have realized that God is using this to bring me and my family closer to Him. Benji and I have never felt so right with the Lord, never felt so strong in our faith. My personal relationship with Him is so strong. For the first time in my life I truly do feel like He is my God. My own personal confidant, friend, Father, Saviour. It is truly an amazing thing. He is no longer just the God of my parents', the God of my pastor, some unreachable being out there in the nether regions...He is mine! and more importantly, I am His, and I feel so incredibly loved and taken care of and watched over.

I just want to thank Him for sticking with me. Thank my parents and family for telling me about Him, and for sticking with me until I got it right. I want to be one in a million for God and make it to the promised land!

Halfway and Walking

I almost couldn't believe it myself when week 20 rolled around. Halfway already? Amazing. It has gone by extremely fast. That in itself is a little bit sad since Benji says this is the last one...we'll see about that. If it were up to me we would be having 4-5 and he wants to be done at 2? Yeah, ok.

Larkin is about the size of a cantaloupe. I am feeling her all the time. She is very active, much unlike her older brother. Grayson was very laid back and that holds true today. Anytime I get still, she revs up. We have registered at Babies r Us, but it was much different this time. There is very little we needed because we got so much with Grayson. We were able to go down the "MUST HAVE" check list and say "don't need". It was great. Although at the end, the sales lady tried to explain to us why we needed the 200+ items we did not register for. No thanks. I have picked out Larkin's nursery decor, and this was not an easy task. I don't really like pink. There is very little for girls that isn't pink. Come on, these manufacturer's have got to get with it. Alas, the stuff Benji likes is...pink, with quite a bit of brown also, so I think I can deal with it.

We very much want to prepare for Larkin's arrival, but pray we are not in this house. It makes it hard to think about decorating her room, buying new furniture for Grayson so she can use the crib, bringing more "stuff" in to this house.

Grayson is officially walking! Many of you saw the video on Facebook, but I am reposting it here. He is so incredibly proud of himself, and gets very excited. This, of course, leads to wipe outs, but he is a great sport and gets right back up. His bottom would probably be pretty banged up if it wasn't for the cloth diapers he wears, which we love! He is such a great kid, and we are very interested to see how Larkin's temperament is.

Benji is on his way to Woodstock, GA with some other men from our Connection Class at church. I am missing him like crazy already. He has gotten very involved in some of the men's activities, and seems to be thriving. I am extremely proud of him and how much he has grown spiritually in the last few months.

My women's bible study has started back and I am so excited. I really missed the last few months not having it. It is such a wonderful outlet, and allows me to drop Grayson in the nursery and get some adult time. The women in my group are so strong and supportive, and it is a great start to my week.

The house is for sale. We seem to be having a few nibbles. Some prospects, but we should know more in the next week. Two different couples want to see it again this week and are ready to buy a home. It is such a pain getting it ready to show, and we are ready to start settling in somewhere else. Please keep this in your prayers.

Life is good, although a bit cold right now. I think our little family is ready for spring. Grayson loves the outdoors, and we have not been outside in over a week due to nasty weather. Come on sunshine!

We hope you are all well, and look forward to hearing from you.

Uh-Oh

Well, those of you that were convinced we were having a girl, you were.....right! Uh-oh...We had our 18 week ultrasound on Wednesday. It was very exciting, and we are just completely thrilled, although still digesting the news. I leaned over to Benji when it finally hit me what the ultrasound tech said, and asked "What am I going to do with a girl?" :-) I grew up with brothers and my first born is a boy. Uh-Oh...pink? frills? WHAT?
Her name is Larkin Elizabeth. Larkin is just a name we came up with that we both really like, and Elizabeth is for my Grandma Jameson. She was Barbara Elizabeth and died when I was 14. I also have the middle name Elizabeth, but Larkin is most definitely named after this amazing woman.
Larkin measured exactly as far along as I am estimated to be. She is healthy and moving around quite regularly. I feel her all the time. You can't feel her on the outside, but she makes herself known to me whenever I get still. It is simply miraculous.
We had dinner with some friends, Travis and Kate, Saturday evening, and they passed down some of their 2 1/2 year old daughter's baby clothes. As I was going through the boxes of clothing, I think it really hit me. This one is going to wear dresses and tights, not overalls and ball caps. Uh-Oh. The clothes were so cute, and we are just so grateful for our friends generosity. I came home and went through Grayson's clothes so that I can pass those on to Kate, who is pregnant with a boy.
It is such a joyous time for us, and we just have such amazing friends and family surrounding us. We could not ask for more, and just praise our Lord for all He has blessed us with. One child was wonderful, but we have been lucky to be blessed with two. We are so happy. Thank you everyone for your well wishes!

Progesterone and Activity

I am 16 weeks today and I have officially had my first progesterone shot. I was very nervous about it. I have been told they hurt terribly. I have been told that they burn. I have been told to be afraid, be very afraid. After all of that, there was nothing to it, but this is the week the nurse did it. Next week...Benji. We'll see how that goes. All went well yesterday. Quick appointment where they showed Benji how to give the shot, and listened to the heartbeat. The doctor said we have a very strong, active child. He found the heartbeat almost instantly, but there were a bunch of other noises also. Noises we never heard when we listened to Grayson's heartbeat. They were very loud, and at points completely drowned out the heartbeat. The doctor laughed and told us we had a very active little baby. He said all of those noises are from the baby moving, kicking, etc. Grayson must have been much more laid back, which would go along with his temperament today.
This has convinced Benji even more that we are having a girl. He has decided that the baby is a wild one, and that must mean girl. I am still not convinced. We will know two weeks from now. Wednesday, the 20th is our next appointment. We will then find out if there are boy parts or girl parts. Until then, he/she will simply remain "Cletus".

Cletus is an APPLE

Well, I am guessing that I am right around 15 weeks, which according to babycenter.com makes my little baby the size of an apple. My dear father says that we don't refer to babies as "it" in this family, so until we know if it is a boy or a girl, he/she will simply be "Cletus". This is no joke. He even prays for "Cletus". Not "the baby" or the "boy or girl" he actually refers to the baby as Cletus. :-) I find this amusing since Cletus is obviously a male name. Hoping for something Dad?

We go to the doctor on Tuesday to begin my round of progesterone shots. Once a week for 20 weeks. This is due to the fact that Grayson came so early. They want to try to keep my cervix closed as long as possible. This, I am not looking forward to. Two weeks after that is the big boy/girl appointment. Yes, I know, it would be nice for it to be a surprise. I am, however, a planner, and the thought of not being able to prepare terrifies me. If it is a boy, we are set, but if the baby is a girl, I have a LOT to do.

We are still trying to sell our house. We have already outgrown it with only one child. I cook a lot, and desperately need more kitchen space as well as another bedroom, more storage, the list could go one and on.

We are doing well here in NC. Benji is still loving his job, and is super excited about child #2. I feel like I have found my place as a full time wife and mother. I have kept a neighbor's little boy off and on for the past couple weeks, and that has been a good experience. To have 2 children is very different than one, but we cannot wait for it to be our own.

We love you all and hope the Lord blesses you in this new year.

Grayson=1 year Fetus=3 months

Wow! I really thought I had posted since finding out we are expecting baby number 2. I am doing a terrible job of keeping you up to date.
So, yes! We are expecting our second child in late June. We will just have to see if Grayson's early arrival will be duplicated with this one. We don't know what we are having yet, but do have a doctor's appointment on Thursday, three days from now. I think we will probably find out boy/girl at the one after that.
This pregnancy has been very different. Grayson was a breeze. I went about my business like I wasn't pregnant. Other than a great big belly, I felt terrific. This one has been less comfortable. I have not been sick, but have lost all energy and have a love hate relationship with food. I get hungry, and that makes me feel bad, so I eat to counteract that, and then I feel worse. Luckily, I am right around week 13, and some of that is starting to get better. My energy is picking back up, and food and I seem to have an understanding. :-)
We are very excited! The kids will be 19 months apart if I last until my due date. I have been watching a neighbor's little boy for a couple days, and he is one month younger than Grayson. It has been a good experience to have 2 small ones in the house. It has actually gone quite well. Benji and I are convinced if we can get the sleep thing down, then the rest is smooth sailing...at least that's how it was in Grayson's case. I am aware that all babies are different, but sleep is going to be our number one goal.
We just had a big birthday party for Grayson on Sunday at church. Lots of family and friends came, and it was so nice. Grayson got some very nice gifts and much needed clothes. We still cannot believe it has already been a year. He is "chattering" with us quite a bit. Most of it is babble, but we can pick out things like "ba" for ball or bottle...although he uses "ba" for his milk cup too. He does say "dada" although it is usually mixed in with some other stuff too.
Benji loves it when he comes home in the morning because Grayson gets very excited, squealing and clapping his hands. It is heartwarming to watch. He is pulling up on all the furniture and I am convinced he will be walking within another month.

We are just very happy right now. My life as a full time wife and mother is extremely fulfilling, and I just wouldn't trade it for anything. It helps to be married to a man that is such a strong Christian and so supportive.
Please keep in touch. I will try to be better about keeping this thing updated. Have a wonderful week!