Scripture Memory - Jan. 15

I completely forgot to post our Scripture memory for Jan. 15th. It may take me awhile to remember to post these.....

Backing up to verse 10 for context:

An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. (v. 10) The heart of her husband trusts in her. He will have no lack of gain. - Proverbs 31:11 (ESV)

I find this verse very convicting. Does Tom's heart trust in me? I know he trusts me, but trusting in me is different. It's one thing to trust someone, but trusting in someone? Also, does Tom have no lack of gain because of me? Sobering.

Halfway There

Today, I am 20 weeks pregnant! I can hardly believe I'm already at the halfway point. People talk about time flying by, but I don't feel like pregnancy ever flies by. Time slows down when we're waiting on a baby. I feel pretty good, except my allergies have been really bad for a long time. I've also started to feel the baby move some. It's so exciting to feel those first flutters that quickly turn into good, strong kicks. It some brings anxiety too. I start to worry when I don't feel movement all the time.

I think part of my anxiety is because of the time of year. Partly because the weather is a little depressing. Also, it was around this time of year that things started to get so bad for Peter. I wonder if late Jan. to Feb. will ever pass without me reflecting on 2009. I don't think I'll ever get over what we went through. I do think it will get easier though, with every passing year.

I can't wait for this baby to get here!!!

What We've Been Up To Lately....

A LOT of snow! (at least for NC)

A lot of reading.

Alana looking beautiful.

Peter playing with Thomas under the table.

It may not seem exciting, but I sure do love it!

Boy or Girl??

So, I had my ultrasound this morning, and........IT'S A BOY!!!! We are so excited. It was the first thing the technician looked at when she started the ultrasound and it was very apparent. Alana wanted a girl, but on the other hand, she didn't want to give up her room, so it's a wash for her. We will actually switch her to the other bedroom and put the 2 boys in her old room because it's bigger.

The ultrasound was a Level 2 and they took a good look at everything, including the heart. From what they could see, everything looked really good. The Dr. suggested a fetal echo in about 5 weeks just because the baby will be bigger and easier to see the heart's function, but not at all because he was concerned about anything he saw today. The fetal echo will be done by Peter's cardiologist, which is a blessing since he is so familiar with Peter's history. The Dr. today also said that unless the cardiologist finds something, or unless something else just comes up during the pregnancy, he didn't see a need for further monitoring. All very good news!

Awhile back, I did a Bible study on faith and one of the lessons was about when the Israelites encamped at Gilgal before going into the promised land. The teacher drew a lot of parallels from that passage, especially from the name "Gilgal," which means "circle." She said it's as if God brought His people to the place of coming full-circle and gave them a "do-over" before entering the promised land. That concept of a "do-over" has not left my head all this time. I can see many opportunities for do-overs God has given to me. Some of them are do-overs because of my own sin and some are do-overs simply because of the circumstances.

This morning, as soon as we saw it was a boy my initial thought was, "It's a Gilgal!" A do-over! Another pregnancy, another boy. This time healthy (hopefully). I wouldn't trade what we went through with Peter for anything. God grew our faith in amazing ways. However, it seems that we get to go through it all again without the dark shadows over this baby's life. A do-over indeed. Praise His Name!

Chrismas Day - 2010

Alana helping Peter with his stocking. Peter completely did not get the concept of a stocking or of having to open up presents. In hindsight, we should have skipped wrapping his gifts and just given them to him.

Alana with her stocking.

By far, Peter's favorite toy was his Thomas the Train set, specifically the Thomas car. He has literally not put Thomas down for days, unless we make him.

Alana's favorite toy was her "Lanie" doll by American Girl. She loves the American Girl dolls and the girl of the year for 2010 was Lanie. Alana was thrilled because that is her nickname and the doll even looks like her.

My parents came over in the afternoon for Christmas dinner.



We had a good Christmas. I'm always so sad to see it come to an end. However, on a bright note, I go for my ultrasound in two days! Hopefully, we should be able to find out if the baby is a girl or boy as well as take a good look at the heart.

Christmas Eve - 2010

I'm a little late posting our Christmas pictures, but better late than never.

Christmas Eve, we went to church and then over to my parents for dinner. The kids opened one present each, which was their Christmas p.j.'s.

Peter was fascinated with the fire. We only have gas logs, but this was a good, roaring fire.

Alana is looking more and more grown up every day.

Peter likes this snowman too. I didn't get really good pictures of him because he never sat still enough the entire night. He wears me out, which is a good thing.

Alana in her Christmas nightgown.

I'll post some pics of Christmas Day soon.

Happy New Year - 2011

This isn't exactly a new year's resolution since I did it for all of 2010, but I decided to post it on my blog. Last year, I participated in an email Scripture memory group. We mediatated on and memorized one verse every two weeks throughout the year. I found it to be a wonderful pace for memorizing - there was plenty of time if life got busy, but not so much that we forgot about it.

Working on our verses has become our morning routine at the breakfast table. Alana and I talk about our verse and what it means and practice committing it to memory. It is a great way to begin the day in the Word. I can't think of a better resolution than to commit to hide God's Word in our hearts.

I've decided to post our verse on the first and fifteenth of each month when we staring working on a new one. Last year, we jumped around quite a bit. Sometimes, we did a section of Scripture and sometimes we did just single verses. However, this year I thought it would be good for Alana and I to work on the Proverbs 31 woman. So this is our verse for January 1st:

An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. - Proverbs 31:10 (ESV)

Happy New Year!