"I'll love you forever"

When you saw the post title, I'm sure some of you thought this was going to be a sweet story about Henry, Catherine, etc. I wish. Instead, this is a blog post about my sin, frustration, and shear impatience with our two year old. I remember reading the book, I'll love you forever, and not being able to identify with this...

"The baby grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was two years old, and he ran all around the house. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the food out of the refrigerator and he took his mother's watch and flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his mother would say, "This kid is driving me CRAZY!"

And now, all I have to say is "amen, sister". Since Catherine has been here, we've reached a new level and definition of a two year old.   I've been surprised and saddened by both my lack of patience and sharp words. 

If you came to our house right now, you would see glimpses of what I'm talking about. But it is when there is no company, Hank has gone to work, and it's just the three of us when the full on behavior rares its ugly head. I know that it is has been magnified because of Catherine, but what do I do with my heart and attitude in the meantime? Again, I wish I could tell you that I had figured it out like having verses over the kitchen sink or finding my energy from the Word in the mornings. But I'm still in the middle of seeing my sinful heart and being reminded of my desperate need for my Savior. The crazy thing too, is that I'm pretty sure I act like a two year old to the Lord fairly often. Oh how I am so thankful that he doesn't treat me the same way that I often treat Henry. For He is love, He is joy, He is peace, He is patience, He is kindness, He is goodness, He is gentleness, and He is self-control.

I AM grateful for this little boy and by God's grace, we'll get through this just like we've gotten through different stages in his short two years of life. I pray that he'll see Jesus even in with my many imperfections. So in saying that, Henry...

"I'll love you forever, 

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living,

my baby you'll be." 

CLU, a birthday, and Father's day

Catherine Louise is here as of Monday the 11th at 8:10 p.m.! I love being induced. I think that it is so great to take a shower, pack, and have things set at home. It was so different this time around having another child to think about! That was just about the only thing that was different about that day though. Can we say deja vu? HTU and CLU 's birth stories are very similar and when we saw Catherine, it was almost Henry all over again (minus two pounds and 2.5 inches).

Henry is very interested in "Caffrine" and has already asked "where her weenie go?" Oh dear, so glad he is too young to have to get into all of that right now. Thank you mom and dad for coming for so long, taking care of Henry for three (i'm sure very long days), and for loving us so well during this big transition. I told a friend the other day that I feel like I can do this two kid thing as long as I never had to be anywhere, shower, cook, or clean;) A week later, Henry celebrated his 2nd birthday! I confess there was not much to it, but we were able to celebrate with mom and dad before they left. And of course yesterday was Father's day. I'm incredibly thankful for my heavenly Father, wonderful earthly father, and my husband who is truly a gift to Henry, Catherine, and me.

one month

I went to the doctor on Friday and scheduled my induction for June 8th at 7:00 a.m. It's crazy because that was my due date with Henry two years ago! We're really ready to meet baby girl, but I want to enjoy our last couple of weeks of being a family of three.

We've been spending a lot of time outside

and when we're not, Henry wants to be.

We were able to get out yesterday morning to go strawberry picking! It was fun to do something different and Henry loved picking/eating the strawberries.

We were gone for three months last summer, so it will be nice to stay in one place this year. Hank will be working with the Crusade students' summer gathering on Wednesday nights at our house, running trips for them as outreaches, raising support, and Lifelines ministry training. He really enjoys being on summer projects, so it could potentially be a difficult summer.  But we figure getting to have a baby is worth it;)

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)!