Thankfulness Day!

Thoughts for the Day

Morning Play Time

Today I am 34 weeks and 2 days pregnant.  I have only 40 days to go until my due date on March 8th.  Adrian seems to have flipped head down and is generally comfortable with his bottom pushed up against my ribs.  It's funny how I used to catch my breath every time I felt him move, and now I can touch him directly and he responds to my touch.

Recently, we've discovered a way to "play" with him.  I'm laying on the couch, and Nick is laying next to me, head on my belly, both hands on top of Adrian's bulging form.  Right now, Nick is warning Adrian of the ups and downs of life, often stopping mid-sentence to kiss Adrian, "I love you son, I miss you already son, I can't wait to see you..." (these moments make me cry). Adrian is a very obvious pointy bulge under his daddy's chin...he doesn't move while he's talking.  I think he can already recognize Nick's voice.

We found a wind-up music box that plays the familiar typical lullaby.  We've wound it up and place it on top of where Adrian is.  He kicks strongly.  We both laugh at my shaking belly and move the music box.  Adrian follows it and my stomach bulges out under the music box's new location.  Pre-born hide-and-seek.  How fun.

Seriously, how can anyone say that life begins at birth?




**Random Note - I had another pregnancy moment yesterday.  I was leaving my house and got distracted by the neighbors across the street who had apparently called the police (oh yes, the joys of living where we do).  My keys are usually hanging on a hook next to the door, but instead of grabbing them, I left them on the hook, and waltzed into the rain, leaving my keys on their lonely hook.  Way to go me.  So, I found myself locked out of the house, standing on the porch in the rain, surrounded by my scary neighbors (who thankfully were all in their houses).
It all worked out though because I apparently had another pregnancy moment by leaving my car unlocked (something I never do, which you should know by the amount of times I've left my keys in my locked car - something that wouldn't happen if I wasn't OCD about locking it). So, I sat in my car for an hour and a half until Nick came and rescued me. 


The end.

Your "Rain" Moments (Continued from Yesterday's Post)

Yesterday I talked a little about "rain" moments with the Lord - how God sweeps in, overwhelming and all-encompassing like the rain to prove His love to us.  I asked if you would share your moments with you, and here are a few of the responeses I received.

If you still want to share (please do!) I'll update this as necessary :)

My cousin posted on her blog yesterday about having the same sort of day, and how God used this song to speak to her.  It is by the band Considering Lily, "come and rest"

My friend Kelly shared:

"Hmm, I think whenever I finally really understand a "God" concept clearer something that God has opened my spirit to, those are the times I just feel so close to him. Like I finally understand what I've been misunderstanding this whole time."

Isn't God GOOD?

This post is called "My Morning Cup of Coffee" because that's what I've decided to call any posts that have a more "devotional" feel.  The purpose of this blog is not to be a devotional, and I am in no way suggesting that I have anything to share that is more valuable than what you are going through in your own lives, but when the Lord lays things on my heart, I will put them here.

Today I'm sitting here, determined to get over this week-long cold I've been struggling with.  I should be doing laundry and cleaning, but I have some things on my mind so I'm giving blogging the "productive" label for the moment.

It's raining outside.  I love rain.  I love the sound, the feeling of peace I get as I watch it come down, and the fresh smell it leaves after it's gone.  Yes, rain is a good thing.  I also love rain because it is probably the one thing that reminds me the most of the Lord.  To me, rain is all-encompassing, touches every sense, overwhelming, and out of our control.  Rain reminds me of God's love.

I have had a few "rain" moments with the Lord that have still left a "puddle" on my heart that will stay there forever I'm sure.  Those moments where I am stopped in my tracks, drenched from head to toe, full attention at the sky as those clouds part and I feel the Lord touch my heart in the way only He can to say, "I love YOU".  What else can you do then but open up your arms, feel your clothes get heavy with the weight of the water, throw back your head, open your mouth, and drown in that moment?

I can remember the biggest moment like this I had.  It was during this time that I could do nothing but accept His love as I felt Him peel back the hardness of my heart and He became my Rescuer, my Redeemer, my Rain!  That moment changed me forever.

You, O God, sent a plentiful rain,

         Whereby You confirmed Your inheritance,
  When it was weary


Psalm 68:9

   

Now it's your turn.  I know there are a few people who have been reading this blog (according to my stats at least), so if you have a "rain" moment or another example of how God has quenched your soul, I'd love to read them and I'll post them so all our stories can be an encouragement to others.

Have a good day!

Being pregnant, carrying a child, and eventually becoming a mom has always been one of those "eventually, in the future" type of things.  I am feeling a lot of the same things I did before my wedding day...lots of love, excitement, fear, expectations, and the realization that the "before" period of this huge time in my life is about to be in the past forever.

That's how I feel right now.  For 22 years, I've been just me.  Abi.  I've had labels like anybody else (daughter, student, Christian, wife, etc.) and now I'm about to add a new one.  For nearly 9 months, I've studied about pregnancy and babies, loved on other's babies, felt Adrian grow inside me, and become closer and closer to the "big" day: Adrian's birthday.  I feel like I'm on stage, waiting in the wings, and very, very soon...it's GO time!! No turning back or pushing the "pause" button.  We'll be parents.

And now as I'm counting down the days until Adrian should be here, feeling more and more that I can't wait to not be pregnant and actually have him here in my arms, I want to write about my very favorite things about being pregnant (specifically with Adrian, obviously).

1.  The very first moment of finding out I was expecting a baby for the very first time.  I felt an instant overwhelming sense of responsibility that was astounding, and was immediately aware that my body was not only "just me" anymore.  As I touched my stomach, I felt completely in awe and couldn't help but think, God is making a precious baby for me to be a mother to.  This is the most amazing gift!

2.  The first time I saw Adrian on the ultrasound.  I was of course super careful in those first few weeks, thinking that any sudden movement or anything would hurt my baby.  However, it didn't cross my mind until the night before our ultrasound appointment that something could really be wrong with my 13 week old child.  I broke down as Nick and I prayed for peace for me and safety for our baby.  The next day, when I saw Adrian flipping and spinning in every direction, his spine twisting and arms and legs waving, I couldn't help but burst into tears of joy.  Again, I was reminded that I was receiving the greatest gift.

3.  Feeling Adrian move the first time.  I had felt tiny flutters that I couldn't positively chalk up to movements, but one Monday afternoon at 15 weeks, I felt positive movements that I knew were Adrian. I felt what I thought were little hands and feet, tapping on my belly right under my belly button.  All I could do was touch my belly and smile.

4.  Finding out we were having "Adrian".  Nick and I didn't care if we had a girl or a boy, but I personally had always thought that having a son first would be nice.  It was an unimportant prayer that I would not have been disappointed if God did not answer.  In the ultrasound room, Nick and I kept referring to the baby on the screen as "he/him/his" out of habit, and the tech asked us if there was a reason behind it.  We explained there wasn't, we just didn't like him/her or switching back and forth.  "Welp, you're right!" she said, "it's a boy"! I couldn't stop laughing and crying at the same time.  We were having a son!

5.  Communicating with Adrian.  Through the different websites and books we have read, we learned that an unborn child can hear outside noises early on in pregnancy.  As soon as we learned that, we started singing to him.  I chose "you are my sunshine" early on because it was easy and hopefully easy to remember (there are theories that an unborn baby can eventually recognize and remember a certain song if he or she is sung to often enough).  Now, as I lay on the couch, watching my belly morph into odd shapes as Adrian moves, I sing softly (and not well) and smile as he responds.  I don't know if he'll love music when he's born, but I love that it connects us now!

Thank you for letting me share with you my favorite moments...the things I'll want to remember most.  Soon, he'll be here with us and we'll make new memories and I'm so excited about that.  God has been so good to us.  The blessing of a child is wonderful to feel before he even arrives.

What's in a name?

As I've mentioned in previous posts, this past year has been a trying one as God has allowed us to go through circumstances that are less than "comfortable". Of course, we cherish the lessons learned, but there have been many times we have sat with hands clasped together, praying for God to help strengthen our weak faith. He has NEVER come short. One way (of many) that He has proven His love to us is in the way He has provided for Adrian. We have wanted for NOTHING when it comes to this baby. We have experienced overwhelming humility as God has come through in the way of insurance, health care, prenatal care guidance, material needs for both Adrian and I, and many other ways. If Adrian's existence in itself wasn't enough, God has reminded us over and over again through his provision for Adrian that He loves this baby already and He has used him to remind us that He will be glorified in our weakness!I am in no way ignorant of the fact that Nick and I have been really really blessed during this pregnancy in the way of having a healthy baby. I have been broken-hearted over hearing stories of my friends and friends of friends who have had to walk through extremely painful miscarriages, pregnancy complications, and other unexpected trials during their pregnancy. I have cried with them, and found peace in the fact that God knows what He is doing and even in the pain of these parent's, He is sovereign. It has been sobering, and it makes me realize how extremely blessed we really are.

For us, finding a name to fit our child...OUR...child, was really difficult. I tend to like names that are less-popular, not trendy, rare-but-not-weird names. Nick, on the other hand, likes names that are simple, normal, has-worked-for-hundreds-of-years type names. Ironically, we have had a girl's name in mind since we were dating, but finding a name for a boy had us quite stumped.

 I was really surprised that Nick agreed to Adrian for a possible boy's name. It seemed that every name I threw out, he would look at me like horns were growing out of my head and shoot it down. Honestly, I would do that to most of the names he offered as well (John....really?), so you can imagine the many conversations we had trying to come up with something. To add to the drama, I really wanted to have a name picked out by the gender ultrasound so we could start calling him/her by their name and bond with our baby on another level. Having that deadline helped. The night before the ultrasound, we decided on Adrian Paul. Paul is Nick's middle name and there is no other person I would rather my son be named after than my precious husband.

So, that brings me back to the reason behind this post.  As I've reflected over the Lord's goodness and sweetness towards Nick and I, I've fallen in love with this verse: 1 Samuel 1:27-28 " I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.  So now I give him to the Lord.  For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord".

I love this verse because I identify with praying to the Lord on my child's behalf.  I've (we've) prayed for Adrian's health during this pregnancy, his heart for the Lord, his future walk with the Lord, his relationships, his life, everything.  Of course, Adrian will make his own decisions that will affect how these situations are concluded, but we pray.  It is truly my heart that my son will have a raw, genuine, life-long love for his Lord.  I want God to take him and do with him whatever He wants with him.

That got me thinking further.  I wanted to give Adrian something that would represent what the Lord has done for him already before he even entered the world, and what our prayers are for him for his future.  This sparked the conversation, "babe, I'm thinking of changing Adrian's middle name".  Nick was wary at first before I told him the name, but when I suggested "Samuel" and explained why I was thinking about changing it from Paul to Samuel, Nick agreed.  I knew he really did agree with what I was thinking, because I know he most certainly would have told me if he didn't like it.  Samuel means: 

 

So. Adrian Paul is now Adrian Samuel. He will still have his daddy's last name, but now he will have the stamp of who he belongs to, and who loves him more than we ever could...his heavenly Father.

Happy Birthday, Nick!

Today is my very sweet husband's birthday!!! He is 28.  I've been looking forward to this birthday of his all year, because last year we had just moved here to Jacksonville and we were both so stressed and overwhelmed that his birthday kind of lost priority.  So, I've been challenging myself this whole year to do a better job for his 28th.  Plus, it's his last birthday before Adrian comes!

The first birthday I celebrated with him was his 25th (I can't believe I've been able to celebrate four birthdays with him already).  I am so thankful to be married to God's perfect man for me.  Nick has a genuine heart for the Lord - the kind of heart that challenges me and encourages me daily in my own walk.  He is solid, patient, and loving.  He is a leader.  He is humble - Nick never has to be in the spotlight or first in anything.  He'd much rather be in the background helping out the underdog, and I know God has rewarded that about him.  Plus (as a bonus), he's my absolute best friend.  My life is a million times better since Nick has started walking through life together with me, and I can't wait to spend forever with him!

On Wednesday, our good friends started Nick's birthday celebration by surprising him with a cake and a song at Impact.  Thank you, Teague family! Nick felt very loved and special and the cake was yummy!

Today, Nick opened gifts.  He got a very nice polo shirt from my mom (which he keeps picking up and admiring, "oh, I love this shirt!"), and a model helicopter from me.  We bought each other mostly practical things for Christmas (ex. after shave and socks....blah) and so I wanted to get him something less "responsible" and more fun.  He's been playing with it all morning - it's a very cool little thing! I am happy that even though he's 28 he still likes fun things like that.

I am making a birthday cake (yay, fun!) and cooking a big dinner tonight and we're going over to our friend's house to celebrate.  I'm making pot roast (super easy).  I love my hubby! I am one BLESSED woman :)