Easter, parents, shower

We had a great week last week. Easter was restful and worshipful. We went to the 7:45 a.m. service, which meant the day was nice and long:) It didn't take Henry much time to figure out the whole egg hunt deal. He insisted on eating the contents of each egg before finding another one. We didn't get ONE family picture. Oh well. In fact, the picture below is one of the only ones that I got with him that day.

The next day, my parents came in to town for the week. Henry was throughly spoiled (so much so that I wonder if we are still in detox five days later)?! My parents love being active and didn't mind following Henry around outside (two of Henry's love languages). Thank you dad and mom for coming and loving us so well!!

We ended the week with a baby shower that two of the girls in our small group hosted. I felt blessed and loved and now feel like I am armed with more pink items for baby girl. Nope, we still don't have a name! We have seven more weeks to decide...

Spring

I LOVE spring. The time change, warmth of the sun, and a lot of the day spent outside has been good for my heart and our family. Compared to the places that I've lived (Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina) the pollen has been minimal and it actually feels like spring vs. jumping straight into summer.





Hank's mom and step-dad came this weekend bringing lots of fun and easter gifts. Also, we were able to get away for the night to Richmond, which was super needed and relaxing. Thank you G-mama and Papa Hal for keeping Henry! Henry had such a great time that he uncharacteristically slept in this morning until 8: 30 a.m. :)




Earlier this month, we had a loss in our family when Levi Thompson, at 20 weeks, died in utero. Please be praying for my brother and sister in law as they are clinging to His promise of having a purpose and plan even in the pain of losing a child. One of the songs that we sang at his memorial was "Be Still, My Soul." The first verse:

Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best thy heavenly, friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

The whole family would tell you that the Lord has "faithfully remained" beside Oliver and Katie and the rest of the family as we have grieved his death. We were 5 weeks a part in our pregnancies. As we prepare for the birth of our daughter in 10 weeks, it's hard to not be reminded that there was supposed to be a cousin that would be coming a couple of weeks later.

Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still my soul; when change and tears are past.
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Isn't it wonderful to know that one day we will forever be united with the Lord and the ones that have gone ahead of us?

its a...

Girl! We were so blessed and excited to find out Tuesday that we 've got a healthy baby girl on the way! I asked the technician if she looked like she was average size, and so far so good. To be honest, I think that size is my number one concern when I think about her (i know that there are a lot more important things to be worried about) but oh well. I don't have huge hopes of her being a lot smaller than Henry (10 pounds 10 ounces), but I'm hoping/praying for her to be at least a little smaller. The doctor told me the only thing I could do was to watch my weight. Does how much weight you gain have a huge impact on how big your baby is? I didn't gain a ton of weight with Henry and he was still so big.

We have very few names in the mix, so it wil be interesting to see when we actually come up with one:) We've been terrible at taking pictures, so I'll post one of a place I'd like to be right now...



p.s. I have nothing against big babies (actually they are awesome), just not birthing them!

20 weeks

This past week I hit the 20 week mark! I'd say I'm "halfway through," but can you really say that when you didn't know you were pregnant for 1/4 of it?! We find out in two weeks what we are having! Besides being a little sleepy, I feel great and am thankful.

We really haven't had a lot going on (no worries though. I just bought a phone that is supposed to "unleash my social life!") Watch out world.



We've been sick, but I think that 75% of families are sick this time of year anyway. I feel like our day is spent trying to just fill it so that Henry and I don't go stir crazy and we don't spend half the day watching Mickey Mouse.




Overall, I'm thankful that it has been a mild winter thus far. I'm already getting spring fever (yikes), but want to be content with what season we are in now (even if that means a LOT of time inside)!

Geaux Tigers!

We've had a week to detox from Christmas/New years, and it has been surprisingly warm! The darkness of winter is hard on me, so I've been seeing this week as a complete blessing from the Lord. We even got out yesterday for a bike ride (which we normally would not have been able to in January without freezing) and was reminded again why we don't bike ride often! Ha, it is so hilly here, that I was exhausted only after going a little while. Well, at least we tried! We want Henry to grow up in an active home, so we might have to be a little more creative with our outings, or I might just have to get into better shape:)

We have some students coming over tonight for the National Championship. I've missed having consistent interaction with students, so it will be a good way to get to know some new people and hang out. We've having chili, but maybe Cajun would have been more appropriate! Geaux Tigers!

a shameless plug

Katie, my sister in law gave me a "Mama bird's nest" necklace for Christmas (that she made) and I think that it is such a cute idea! She just started an etsy account that you should check out. Message me if you are interested and I'll send you the info!


My mom's necklace (there are three of us)



Katie's necklace (she has a two year old and is pregnant)



Speaking of that two year old, here are some super cute pictures of Henry and his cousin...






(don't let the hugs, smiles, etc. fool you, they had their fare share of spats too!)

christmas with a 18 month old

Normally we don't decorate for Christmas. With three families to visit and our time off before Christmas (we have Christmas conference for students soon after the 25th), we've never been around long enough to really go through the "trouble." This year, however, I really wanted to do something! Our "something" was an artificial tree that we placed on a side table so that the stinker (aka Henry) could not get to it as easily. We taught him to wave at the tree versus touch it, which has worked on our parents big trees as well!




We've already been to Hank's two families, where Henry LOVED the commotion and activity with his three cousins! South Carolina is where we currently are and are awaiting the rest of the family to get in to town.



(can you tell Henry was excited?!)