Praying For Your Unborn Child

May 23rd is drawing nearer and nearer every passing day. I have a sense of joy and stress all at the same time. haha. I am doing my best to get everything i can in order at our house for baby Adam's arrival. Luckily, my mom is on spring break next week, so she is going to help me clean, organize, and set up all the baby stuff. I know i have time, but i am a huge planner and organizer...this will soothe me. haha.
During all of the hustle and bustle that comes along with preparing to have a baby, we tend to over look what is really important. More important than being stocked up on diapers, more important than having the laundry caught up, even more important than a full night's sleep....praying for your unborn child.
I have to admit, when i have time (which usually isn't much) to myself, lately i have been either doing housework or relaxing/napping. Which is fine...i need to take advantage of that while i can! But i also need to take advantage of already "being" there for my baby....by praying for him.
I had found the book "Praying For Your Unborn Child" on our bookshelf the other day. I can't remember who i had gotten from when i was pregnant with James. Anyway, i decided to open it up and check it out.
From reading this book, i have found that i really need to entrust my kids to the Lord...daily. I think i have, and then i realize i take it back. haha. God showed me that He loves me MORE than i love my own kids. Crazy. I think to myself there is no possible way...i love my sons so much that i would do anything for them. Then i realized, God already has done everything for me. It was a mind blowing realization for me.
I know that the Lord hears my prayers - my life is living proof of that. SO why wouldn't i pray about the things that are most important to me? And not only that, to have a little baby growing inside of me...still growing...still waiting to be born....isn't that the perfect time to start praying for our kids? Before they are overwhelmed by what life actually is?
I know there is controversy to how much babies in the womb actually feel - emotion, pain, etc. I believe they feel and experience a lot more in the womb then we think.
"John the Baptist, only in his sixth month in Elizabeth's womb, responded with a leap to the presence of Jesus (Luke 1:41-44)...Not only did John the Baptist sense Jesus' presence, but even at that age, he responded emotionally, with joy! Psychologists now corroborate what Luke describes: your unborn child can respond to you emotionally. He can feel love, fear, rejection and joy. Already, floating in your womb, he is beginning to love life, or, on the other hand, is starting to fear life."
In the book they shared a true story about a 17 year old girl who had a baby...who seemed healthy at the time. A while after the baby was born, he began to throw up blood...and continued to do so until he died. The doctors found out that the baby had ulcers (which adults would normally have). The only explanation was that the baby was stressed. Outside of the womb, his 17 year old mom was abandoned by her parents and lived with an abusive boyfriend...so her life was very stressful and resulted in her baby being stressed.
That just made me not only want to make my home more peaceful but myself more peaceful. Lets face it, as mothers or mom's to be, we are constantly worrying about our little ones safety and state of being. The best thing that we can do for our little ones and ourselves is to go to the Lord.
This does not mean that our kids won't face hard times or sickness..."His peace transcends all understanding..."
Worrying and being stressed out is draining physically and emotionally.
"And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the [a]span of his life?" Matthew 6:27 (amp)
This is a learning process that i have yet to be consistent with...but i am trying. I love my boys so much and would do anything for them! Take time to pray for your kids, your kids that are in your womb, or even your future kids.

A Very Thankful Thursday!

Today is one of those stay at home kind of days. It is rainy/dreary out...perfect day to stay inside, organize, clean, snuggle with James all while in your PJ's. Just wish Ryan could join us. :)
The past few days, i have been completely overwhelmed by God's blessings!
With baby Adam coming in just a few quick months, my mind has been going crazy about all we need to get and do before he arrives. I have probably made 15 different lists (i'm a list person). One blessing is that Adam is a boy. We have pretty much all the clothes he will need as well as boy stuff. I know if we were having a girl, we would probably be going a little more crazy. haha.
This past month, Ryan and i made a commitment at our church to tithe (90 day challenge). We have always given when felt led to or just gave to others around us, but never consistently tithed. We always kind of had a hard time with the whole 10% deal that is mentioned in the Bible. We just never understood it and why 10%? God really spoke to us making us realized it's not about the number per say, but about fully relying and trusting in Him to provide. Which He has! Our whole married life has been such a huge testimony of God's provision. So why wouldn't we give what He asks of us? It should be a no brainer, right? We have studied about money in the Bible and how easy it is to make money an idle. Not necessarily "worshiping" money but completely relying on it and having it determine how your moods/stress is. (we have done that a lot) With a baby on the way and Ryan's job situation up in the air, we really hesitated in taking this huge step. We could have listed out all the pros and cons of it all. We could play it safe and "responsible" by clinging/holding onto our money so we will be sure to pay off baby bills and all, but where would our faith come into play? We have found that we as parents, really want to teach our kids by example. Trusting God with every area of our lives. By taking this step does not mean that we are not going to face hard and difficult times ahead...they are almost certain to come with the way the economy is...but to show our kids that even when things all around are hard we can still trust the Lord with everything. So, for us, we just felt like this was the step that we needed to take as a family. I am so proud of my husband for stepping up and being the "head" of our home. I have always kind of been the financial one in the marriage (i'm the daughter of an accountant...it's in my blood i guess). But Ryan has amazed me with his heart for the Lord and our family! So there's another blessing - my husband! haha.
Needless to say these next few months to a year are going to be full of changes for us. But i'm believing that they are going to be good for us - strengthen our family. The month of May in itself is going to be filled with new things - our 90 day tithe challenge ends then, Ryan graduates from college, and baby Adam comes! So exciting.
In preparation for Adam's arrival, we had two big things we needed to purchase - a breast pump for me and a double stroller. Tuesday night at my women's Bible group, a friend of mine offered to let me borrow her breast pump! All i need to get now is the tubing! Which will not be that much. And last night, we went to Ryan's granny's house and his sister Katie had a double stroller (only used once) that she didn't want. She gave it to us! It is so nice! I was completely blown away!
After we left Granny's, i had a Dr. appointment at 8pm last night. Adam is now head down (Still low though) and his beautiful heart rate is perfect - and my glucose test was perfect as well! I could not be happier!
I am so thankful this morning! I keep thinking of "every good and perfect gift comes from above."
So, everyone, take some time today and look at all of the things you are thankful for! (make a list) I'm sure you will be overwhelmed as well! We always have something to be thankful for!

James and Abbi

My little niece, Abbi, is in town from NC this week. My parents brought her back after their trip down there. She is such a burst of bubbly energy! It is so neat to see her and James interact. They play so well together! Abbi could not believe that James could talk - she laughs everytime he does.
She turns 4 years old today. To celebrate her birthday, Gammy and i took the kids out yesterday. Our plan was to take them to Otterville...we changed the plans. haha. We took them to the Airport Lookout for a while to watch the planes land and take off. It's amazing how they absolutely loved it. Next we went to the mall to, of course, ride the train. James and Abbi both love Thomas the train...so this was a special treat for them both.

On the Train


We ate lunch at the mall and let them walk around for a bit.
They were so stinkin cute holding hands.



After that, James needed a nap after their big day. So we went home for a bit so he could nap. When he woke up we went straight to Gammy and Papa's house to celebrate Abbi's birthday.
James and Abbi decorated Abbi's birthday cake...James was just digging into the cake and Abbi was pretty much eating the icing. haha.



Here is the cake!


After decorating, Gammy made them close their eyes because she had little Thomas the Train Goody Bags for them.



They had such a good time together!

For Abbi's b-day present, i made her a little apron with the letter A and a cupcake on it. The material is just felt that i found at hobby lobby.


I cannot believe that my little niece is now 4 years old! I wish that we lived in the same state, at least. I always wanted my kids and my brother's kids to grow up together. I am so glad Abbi was able to come up and visit...james is going to be so sad when she leaves.