Word of God Speak!

I really shouldn't be doing this, BUT I really HAVE to! Every spare moment (literally) since my last post has been spent getting ready for school, lesson plans, etc. On that front just PRAY!

We are being required to use a format that takes me anywhere from 10-15 hours a week just to type up my plans to turn in (writing them in the same format would take even longer). I have 25-28 pages of lesson plans EVERY week. That doesn't count taking the time to actually prepare and gather materials, etc. Gone are the days of the plan book where you can see all of your plans for the week in two facing pages!

Enough of that, because that is not what this post is about. This morning things were going relatively well for a morning around this house. Lily was finishing up breakfast and we were ahead of schedule by about 10 minutes - Can you believe it? I have started playing our local Christian radio station, Spirit FM, constantly in the last few days. I was checking my e-mail quickly while Lily finished up and "Word of God Speak" came on the radio.

I thought Lily started talking and started to fuss at her for not eating when she said this: "I'm singing mommy!" I checked my spirit and breathed out and thought - school can wait. THIS is TOO important! We "sang" the rest of the song together. I asked her if she liked that song. She smiled and grinned while nodding her head.

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say

[CHORUS]
Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness
Word of God speak

I'm finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice

[REPEAT CHORUS 2x]

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay

Thank you God for a sweet beginning to my day (especially after last evening's pity party)!

Sorry for the lack of pictures. I haven't taken any since Steve left for Canada. IF you happen to read this tonight, pray especially hard. It is nearly 9:30 and I could work until midnight and still not be done with plans. Pray for focus, perseverance, and wisdom (on when to stop) considering my alarm will be going on before 6 AM.

Rest of the story - part 2

If you haven't read "The rest of the story - part 1" scroll down.

Well what do you know? God certainly has a sense of humor. I should have learned by now that you do NOT tell God what YOU want or do not want to do. Less than a month later we were pregnant. I have never followed my cycle much since we got the news in 2004 and especially not since Steve started school and we are hardly are in the same city for more than 12-24 hours at a time 2-3 times a month.

I had NO suspicions until I was already at least 6 weeks pregnant and then I started to wonder. I was in denial putting off getting a home test for 4-5 days. At one point a few weeks before, I thought maye I was PMSing (if that is a word), but alas I was not! I was not even the least bit sick until the day after the home test!

To be perfectly honest and transparent, I was NOT a happy camper at first! I have always and will always be adamently PRO-life and PRO-child. But . . . Those first two weeks, I had to deal with all of the emotions that come with an unplanned, poorly timed (I thought) pregnancy. There are upsides to the timing that I can see now.

Baby will be born when I am 34 1/2. Had the baby been born a year later (after Steve was done with school), the docs would have considered me high-risk soley due to my age. "JMU" is being very sympathetic at this point. He has been told that he will be allowed to set-up up to 3 rotations here in Lynchburg in addition to his research month which can also be done here. That means he could be "working" locally for 4 of his 11 months! They are even giving the students a 10-day break in July!

In case you didn't catch the due date, it is Feb. 22, 2010. I am hoping to take 9 weeks off give or take some. Fortunately, Spring Break is one of those weeks (yet another timing plus). I will have to take 5 of those weeks without pay as I don't have much sick time saved up yet. We both feel for my health and baby's health that I need to take more than 6 wks, but 12 wks doesn't seem wise financially.

Well, I think that wraps things up for now. I continue to feel pretty good - at least compared to the horror stories I have heard. We will be finding out the sex of the baby when possible. There are too many other unknowns for me at this point! Here is list of things that you can specifically be praying for (in no particular order of importance - my pregnancy brain is definitely not that organized):

1. Easy pregnancy (no :) time off before birth)
2. Endurance for Steve (last semester of class)
3. Preparation for Lily
4. Trusting God (financial provision)
5. Healthy baby
6. Rest (I am waking up 2-3 times a night)
7. Endurance for me (start school today)
8. Wisdom
9. Peace
10. People will see and accept and know God's power, love, and provision through us

The rest of the story - part 1

I had this all typed out and realized how incredibly long it was, so you are getting it in two installments. Check back later tomorrow for the rest! If you haven't seen "Somethin' to talk about Saturday," scroll down for the pics!

I thought I would give people the surprise yesterday without any explanation, but wanted to share a little more today. Many people are aware of why this was such a surprise, but others are not. Especially those who have met us recently.

Before Steve and I were ever at the place of beginning a family, we talked about infertility and adoption. Neither one of us had any issues that we were aware of. I think it was just a God thing. We decided as a couple that if it came to that, we would only pursue infertility treatments as far as insurance would pay. At that point, we would pursue adoption.

We (I more so that Steve initally) felt a calling to adopt a little girl from China. We had a attended a Steven Curtis Chapman concert in the fall of 2002. Wow, has it really been nearly 7 years since that concert? I just knew at that very moment that we would have a daughter from China. Then came the following debate:

Do we adopt first when "we can afford it" before we have a biological family? or Do we "try" first? The answer came in early June 2004. It was harder for Steve to process than me, but we worked through the news relatively smoothly. I believe that God prompted us to have that conversation about infertility early in our marriage to prepare us for that moment.

Fast forward to May 2009! I was watching a birth on TLC at Steve's apartment. I made it very clear in no uncertain terms that a baby was gross at birth and that if I ever (Ha Ha Ha) gave birth they would have to clean it up before I would hold it. On this particular episode, they put the baby immediately on the mother's abdomen (BTW, I still think that is still a little yucky).

Steve had just finished up his second semester of Pathophysiology, so that launched us into a discussion about my higher risks with certain cancers due to not ever being pregnant - let alone carrying a child to term. We also talked about how we enjoyed our family and we were VERY settled into being a transracially adoptive family. I was adament that I was happy with our life and that I had NO, NONE, NADA desire to EVER be pregnant!

Somethin' to talk about Saturday

Stay Tuned!

Heads up for those who actually read our blog. Look for an update Saturday morning. If you haven't registered your e-mail address with blogger, you may want to re-visit my post here on how to leave a comment.

Interested yet?

Too Quiet!

We were eating breakfast this morning when Lily asked to use the bathroom. I knew she had just gone about 10 minutes before that, but she had two accidents yesterday right in succession. I didn't want to risk not sending her.

It was too quiet and I asked her what she was doing. She answered, but I couldn't hear her well. I thought I had better check in out. This is what I found:






I was having a difficult time not laughing. I told her that she was not to ask to use the restroom and then start playing. I cleaned her up, we finished breakfast, and then we painted our nails for real:

Nothing new

There is nothing new to report here. Just that Steve's school continues 1 hr 45 min away from us. I am thankful that it isn't further. Lily has had a good, easy Sunday for once (we went to the early service and were home shortly after 11 instead of almost 1).

God is still good and he is blessing us beyond what I could imagine (more on that at a later time). Life is still hard. I start school a week from tomorrow officially. Steve wraps up finals Thursday, then heads up North with Lily on Friday.

For those of you who are praying for us, please don't stop! God will continue to be faithful.