Milestones

But from everlasting to everlasting

    the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,

    and his righteousness with their children’s children—

18 

with those who keep his covenant

    and remember to obey his precepts.

Psalm 103:17-18

We've been in the midst of big milestones for our kids and family lately. I realize more and more how blessed we are with the beautiful children God has granted us. I often speak of Gideon but my older kids are such sweet blessings as well. We sent off our big 2nd grader, Will, off to school on Wednesday. He has grown so much over the past year physically, emotionally, and in his faith. He still amazes me with his helpfulness. The first full day of school he needed to bring his lunch, he had it all made up and packed before I remembered to remind him to make it. Often when he can tell my stomach is bothering me, he will say "mommy you rest, I can clean everything." He is always thinking big thoughts and trying to deduce how everything works. He loves to help in the kitchen or guess the ingredients I used to make dinner on any given night. Will has a soft heart, and is always working hard...I'm looking forward to seeing how much more God will teach and grow him this year. The name William means "determined protector" and we see more and more how the name is the perfect representation of the big boy he is growing into. He is a determined protector of his younger siblings and also his friends both big and small.

                                                                  


Thursday was the day we sent our Kindergartner, Olivia, off to school last week. This is the first year that Olivia will be in a formal school setting. It made me a little nervous for Olivia as she is used to being led by her big brother, and not the leader herself in many areas of life. She is my girl, she's shy to start but once she feels at ease she is not afraid to speak up, a quality Mark loves to remind me is very much woven into my personality as well. She has an excellent memory and has already shown that in our Sunday school setting. She loves being the first to arrive to class and any time the teacher asks for her to be a helper. She's also a wealth of information on every detail of her time at school, so very different from having a boy who tells me bits and pieces of his day. She may appear quiet to acquaintances but she has a very determined and passionate spirit lurking just under the surface. She has her opinions and has recently let me know that she is sad that she wasn't given a princess name like her friends Jasmine and Aurora. She may not share a Disney character's name but she's definitely a princess at home. I'm looking forward to seeing her come out of her shell more outside of the house and stand on her own two feet. I know God is growing her into a girl after His heart!



We celebrated our little Luke who turned 3 years old on Friday. Along with turning 3, we also started Luke in a toddler bed...which the first few nights he was afraid of falling out of it... and not a fan of being bumped from baby status. This is the first 3rd birthday we've celebrated without having a baby in the house. It was nice to be able to celebrate his birthday with a Thomas party with friends the Saturday before his birthday. Then on his actual birthday night we went with extended family to Fritz's-a restaurant geared towards those obsessed with trains, as the meal is brought to the table by a model train that runs on tracks running throughout the restaurant. I think we hit the mark with Fritz's as Luke and his cousins were fascinated by the trains all over the place. Luke is such a happy kid who is always the entertainer. He is adept at sensing emotions and moods and is always striving to make us all smile. He is a very smart boy who is always striving to keep up with his big siblings. I know God is shaping him, and I look forward to seeing how he uses his social skills for God's glory.

                                            

Our milestones did not end with Luke. Monday I had my next prenatal appointment at 14 weeks along-so excited for the second trimester-one third of the way done! I was brave and scheduled my appointment at the only office location that does not have an ultrasound machine. So if we didn't pick baby up on dopplar I'd either have to say good enough, or most likely drive to another location all together. My doctor came in with the dopplar and the minute the dopplar hit my stomach I heard the loud thundering sound of our little one's heart beat. It was such a relief to have such a sure sign that baby is growing and still going strong. With each appointment and each week crossed off we are inching our way toward February. I still have pain, enough pain that I wake up in the night and have trouble going back to sleep...sleep is huge with my epilepsy as that's one of my major triggers... so my doctor is trying a new medicine for me that is not quite as strong as the stuff I normally take towards the end of my pregnancy....unfortunately I'm not sure if I will stick with the medicine for very long as it gave me crazy insomnia on my first night taking it-the opposite result I was hoping for. I'm still trying to remain thankful for the pain as it's Mark and I's main sign that baby is growing, although I'm hoping for kicks in a few more weeks as a nicer sign of baby doing ok. So while we still have to find ways to make life work until the end, we remain grateful for this huge blessing to look forward to!

Even with all of our recent milestones I know one is approaching in September for us. It was last year at the end of September that our hard journey with Gideon began. I can't help but wonder had we had more time with Gideon what kind of child he would have been, what his personality would have been? As we look forward to our ultrasound this time, I also remember back to last September. I remember the words and the emotions that filled that day for us. We are hoping that this little one's story will be different, but we also know only God holds the answers. Please remain in prayer for us as we approach this level 2 sonogram. There are still unknowns that could be uncovered, such as the threat of neural tube defects which is a real possibility with my epilepsy medicine...thankfully so far we have not had to confront any of those possibilities with any of our children. We know we serve a good God whatever the result, and that helps us to remain at peace and hopeful. We still tell our children we hope to take this baby home but we do not know anything for sure... but no matter what we know baby is in God's hands!