A Whole New World

I realize it's been 7 months since my last post. Oops. I think the holidays got in the way. 

First Thanksgiving rolled around, I did one crafty thing, ate and that was over...woo. 

Isn't it precious? I made just a week or so before turkey day, so it didn't grace my door for long. Sad. 

Of course, after Thanksgiving, everyone is in a mad rush to do Christmasy things. Shopping, crafting, wrapping, cooking, baking, socializing, etc. I tried really hard to cram it all in. Here is a small portion of our December:

 

 

 

It was actually a very nice Christmas season. We got lots of family and friend time. And I made some precious memories with my sweet niece and nephew.
Of all the blessings that happened over this past Christmas, we had no idea we'd be blessed even more in January.

That's right. God apparently sees us as fit parents. Our little nugget will be joining our family in September. We're excited and nervous all at the same time. Today is my halfway mark in my pregnancy. It hasn't been easy. I realize, I could have had things a lot worse. I'm just not used to feeling bad every day. I'll spare you the details but I will say that I am NOT one of those "I feel awesome!!" "I LOVE being pregnant!!!" type women. Maybe that will change as this progresses, but it hasn't happened yet. In the beginning, I really beat myself up about not being just beside myself with glee all the time. But I've come to realize, it's ok. Not every woman has the best time being pregnant. And not every woman enjoys every little bump in the road. I'm very thankful that our little nugget looks healthy and is developing just right so far. I'm still terrified daily over several things. Labor is going to be AWFUL, right? What if something goes wrong? What if the baby gets sick? What if I get sick? What if the baby gets here and I have absolutely no idea what to do with it?! What if I'm not mother of the year?! What if, WHAT if, WHAT IF?!

I have to tell my brain to STOP IT. Several times a day.

"Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

A lot easier said than done. But I'm trying to remember that He is the Potter and I am the clay. He will make me into exactly what He wants me to be. He already knows what kind of mother I'll be. He knows what will challenge me in parenthood and what I'll excel at. He knows what strengths my husband will have as a father and where he will need his Father's guidance. It helps a lot to know that God expects us to be imperfect and He is prepared to equip us with the tools we need to raise our child. I pray that I always have these thoughts in the back of my mind. Especially when I get so frustrated I could completely forget that I'm trying to "train up a child in the way that he should go". We are honored that God chose us to be parents. We know it's the hardest job we'll ever have. I pray our daughter always knows the love her earthy parents have for her and the love and grace her Heavenly Father has for her.