He Said that He.....

Waiting patiently is getting a little harder these days. It's hot, I'm tired, Isaac's growing, yatta yatta. On top of the fact that we're really hoping to go into labor on our own.

Many of you know that Isaac was born by c-section and this is something that God is still healing my heart from. We've been praying since day one of this pregnancy that I wouldn't have to have a repeat c-section and would be able to deliver naturally.

In these last day, my faith has been struggling with this. I've been back and forth really believing and being filled with hope that God will give me my heart's desire. Then there are the days when my faith is fickle and I begin to believe satan's lies that God doesn't really love me that much and that I will most likely have to have another c-section and will just have to deal with it.

I think of the old song that says "my faith is like shifting sand, changed by every wave". I'm so convicted, ant at times, very disheartened.

Rita Springer has a song that I have loved listening to lately called "I Have to Believe". It has been very encouraging and has helped speak truth about God when it's so easy to believe lies. I hope you like it as much as me.

Lyrics | Rita Springer lyrics - I Have To Believe lyrics

Diapers and Love

Last Saturday, my sister-in law Alinna threw me a baby shower. We were so excited that she offered to love us in this way. She titled the party Diapers and Love because, since we're having another boy, these really are the two things that we needed the most!

It was such a fun time of hanging out with women from different areas of my life and different stages of life. The Lord really used it to encourage my heart. I totally forgot to get a picture of her and I so here's a totally random one from a while ago...like years.
I had to dig a little too far back for this one, Alinna. We gotta fix this!

Anywho, here's a slideshow of the day.

We walked away with hundreds of diapers and some giftcards and also a very special knitted quilt made by a very special friend. We are so thankful for everything and everyone.
Here's the belly the day of the shower (37 weeks)And at 38 weeks. not too much difference.
and believe or not, I'm starting to get sad as I approach the end of this pregnancy, though I am very excited to meet our little man. I just love being pregnant!

Fear In A Box

I think i just made my child afraid of clowns. Poor little guy.

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Anniversary Stay-Cation

This post is a lot later than I meant so I'm sorry. Last weekend, we celebrated our anniversary early this year. It's September 23rd but knew it would be easier to get away with one baby than with two.

We started the "stay-cation" tradition last year. We really wanted to get out of town but didn't have the money to go far away and get a hotel for a few nights and all that jazz. So here's what we did last year and exactly the same this year.

First, we got a nice hotel in Durham. It's about 30 minutes from our house and just far enough away that we felt like we "left town". Plus, we got a super good AAA deal. Here are pics of the hotel.
Next, on Friday night. We go to Ruth's Chris Steak House to eat the best steak we have ever eaten in our lives. We only go to this really nice restaurant twice a year and it's thanks to our very generous Aunt Marilyn who gives us a gift card every Christmas. We save it for our anniversary each year. This picture is of the complimentary dessert we get for celebrating our anniversary with them.
The waiter brought me a "Fun-tini" with dinner. I was really looking forward to a nice non-alcoholic drink. And I loved that he brought it to me in a fun martini glass!
We love this place. Steak and shrimp. Au Gratin broccoli. Au gratin potatoes. I'm drooling now just thinking about it. Save up your money and try it out one day.

On Saturday, we slept in (ahhhhh) and took our time checking out. Then, thanks to Luke's sweet mom, we got a late breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Afterward, we headed out to the Rose Garden to take some preggy belly pics. See this post to read about why the Rose Garden is so special to us. And here's a slide show of all the pictures wonderful Luke took of me.

It was soooo hot, so afterward we grabbed a movie. After dinner, we were ready to see our little man again.

What was Isaac up to while we were gone? Oh little bit of this and a little bit of thatI don't think he missed us much being spoiled by his Mutee and hanging out with his BFF cousin Ruby.

To all the marrieds with children, leave the kids and get a hotel!!! Even though it was just one night, and only 30 minutes from home, it really feels great to be "away" with your spouse. And you can take that to the bank :)

Adventures with Shaving Cream

Now that Isaac's down to just one nap, I have to try that much harder to keep him entertained so that he won't be so mischievous. Since I nanny in the morning still, we can't go anywhere which makes it that much harder. So for today : shaving cream! This is such a great activity and though we used daddy's today, you can get some at the Dollar Tree. Enjoy the pics.

This one needs an explanation. We're in the bedroom. Isaac sees the camera, hands it to me saying "cheese, cheese, cheese..." so I start snapping away as he comes closer and closer and closer. What a cute little face and little nose!

A Look Into the Future

What he's destined for with two blind parents!!

36 Weeks

We just went on our early anniversary "Stay"-cation this past weekend. That post is coming soon. So for now, here's a belly pic post. One of the things Luke wanted to do during our stay-cation was go to the Rose Garden and take some nice belly pics. The Rose Garden is a special place for us. It's where I took my bridal portraits, my belly pics with Isaac and where we've had a lot of fond memories in general. Coincidentally, I was 36 weeks pregnant each time. Weird, but cool.

So for fun, here's me at 36 weeks with Isaac
and me at 36 weeks with baby brother
I feel like I'm bigger now than I was then. What do you think? Bigger? Smaller? The same? There are many more pics to look at. I'll post a slide show when I post about our stay-cation.

Yellow Garden Spider

I am putting this post up to glorify the Lord. I am still astounded that God has made such detailed, unique and wondrously weird creatures to reflect His creativity and glory. I couldn't help but notice the pattern of the web and the size of these beautiful Argiope aurantia next to our water hose. They still sort of creep me out, but I am more awestruck than scared. Apparently they eat their web for nutrients, then spin another one. As you can see there are two of them about 3 feet apart. I'm just glad they aren't on the inside of our house. I will leave them there to catch all the creepy-crawly annoying bugs they want.
-Luke

Isaac's Autobiographotos

So, when I started downloading some pics I took earlier today, I noticed our 20 month old had taken some photos of himself. This was a first. I then remembered he had gotten into the camera last night, removed the lens cap and put his little boy fingerprints all over the lens. I didn't realize he's actually a good shot until tonight when I found these "surprises" along with my other photos. If any funny captions pop into your head, please share them within the comments.
- Luke