The Beach With No Camera!

I'll blame it on my preggo brain, but we just spent the weekend at the beach with no camera! I totally didn't even think about packing it! Some friends did get some pics so I'm hoping to get those at some point. We were in Seagrove, FL for our end of the year conference with Crusade. It was a lot of fun to catch up with friends and spend time at the beach. We had a condo right on the water and I just loved listening to the ocean. The water was gorgeous and we got to see some dolphins swimming one morning! Ellie Kate and Samuel loved the sand and water. We are now ready to spend most of May back down in Destin, FL for our summer project. We will be helping staff the Greek Summit Project where fraternity and sorority students come to get trained in how to have ministries in their houses. It is a great project and we are really looking forward to our time there. So, now I am running around like a crazy woman trying to unpack, wash clothes, and repack for when we leave on Friday. I will be sure to hopefully remember my camera and post pics while we are in Destin!

I've Been Tagged!

Deborah tagged me so now my lucky readers get to know me a little better! I've never been tagged so I'm weirdly excited about this. Enjoy these useless facts about yours truly...

What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was finishing up my freshman year of college at THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA! ROLL TIDE!!!!

5 Things on my To Do List:
-get invitations done for a friend's baby shower
-put clean laundry away
-wash more laundry
-get ready for our staff team dinner tonight
-open a new ING savings account for our tax return:) woo hoo!

5 Snacks I enjoy:
okay so this is a hard one for me since food is not a super fun topic these days:) so I could only come up with 4 snacks that I like right now...
-pretzels
-an apple
-cereal
-mini vanilla wafers

5 Things I would do if I were a Billionaire:
-Give it away to our church and Campus Crusade, some orphanages around the world, and women who need infertility treatments but can't afford it
-Pay off my car and student loan
-Build my dream house
-Go on a fabulous vacation (or 2, or even 3)
-Buy a monogram machine (stole this one from Deb)

5 Bad Habits:
-Watching TV
-Spending too much time on the internet
-Not putting up clean laundry for 2-3 days
-Emotional eating
-leaving cups in the car (again, thanks Deb)

5 Places I've Lived:
-Gadsden, AL
-Alpharetta, GA
-Tuscaloosa, AL
-Hattiesburg, MS
-Athens, GA

5 Jobs I've Had:
-hostess at Stoney River Steakhouse
-server at Chili's
-server at 15th Street Diner
-college minister with Campus Crusade for Christ
-full time mommy (by far my favorite!!!)

Now...Julia, Heather, Haley, and Sarah Warren...TAG, you're it! This means y'all have to copy and paste this little activity into your own blogs, but obviously answer the questions with your own answers!

Ellie Kate

Just some cute pictures of our silly girl. She loves to play with my keys! Her dirty face is after attempting to eat spaghetti...she didn't care for it too much which seems to be the norm now as she has become somewhat of a picky eater. Ellie Kate continues to be super busy and into everything! Her vocabulary is expanding slowly. Right now, she likes to walk around the house saying "no, no...no, no." It's kinda cute except it probably means we are telling her "no" too often...oops! She keeps me laughing all day and has such a lively and fun personality. Unfortunately, there seems to be a lot of stubbornness and strong will showing up too. She is growing up quick and it really amazes me all that she can do and understand. 13 months is such a fun age!

Enjoying the Outdoors

It has been so beautiful this week! Samuel and Ellie Kate have been playing outside ALOT! Ellie Kate seriously loves it and pitches a fit when we have to go back inside. She loves to follow Samuel around and chase after balls. They play in the sandbox really well together too! Samuel has been finding lots of bugs lately. One of the pictures below is of him showing you one of the worms he found.

Yes, I did change my blog design again. It is addicting and hopefully y'all don't mind too much...I'm just keeping you from getting too bored!

Beautiful!

Today we got to see a beautiful 9 week old baby with a healthy beating heart. It even wiggled a bit for us! We are so thankful and would appreciate continued prayers that everything would keep going well and that this new miracle would grow and join our family in November!

My Angel

"My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:15-16

I can't believe it has been 9 months since I saw those 2 pink lines on a warm August night. It seems weird that the day is finally here...the day I would have had my 3rd child. The day I have pretty much been dreading since September 15, 2007. I had just a few short weeks of dreaming and planning and wondering what this surprise miracle would be like. It was such a short time and yet it was the exact time that the Lord had purposed. I still don't understand or like it, but I love my God and I trust in Him completely. He is holding my baby even now, as I so wish I could be doing today. He has also held me the last 7 months and carried me through the pain. I love the song playing right now on my playlist. It is called "Glory Baby" by Watermark. I think it pretty much sums my feelings up. I will miss this baby every day and I long for the day I get to hold him or her in heaven. I especially like this verse...

Sweet little baby(s), it’s hard to
understand it ‘cause we’re hurting
We are hurting
But there is healing
And we know we’re stronger people through the growing
And in knowing-
That all things work together for our good
And God works His purposes just like He said He would…
Just like He said He would…

God has done so much through this loss. He has opened my eyes to others who have lost someone they loved. He has given me so many others to reach out too and talk about miscarriage with. I have enjoyed praying for my sweet friends who have also had to go through losing a child. I am burdened for them each day. The Lord has been so good to me and I am so thankful for His tender mercies that are new each morning. I did not expect to be pregnant again by this day. I am so grateful as it does ease the pain a bit. I still want my April baby, but I have new hope that I will be holding a new baby in November. I am scared out of my mind, but trusting in His Sovereignty. Today, I am missing my baby but I am thanking God for the 9 1/2 weeks He gave me. I am thanking Him for the pain and the suffering that helps me understand the Cross a little bit more. I am thanking Him for sweet friends and family who have not forgotten this day and who are praying even now.