Happy Birthday Baby....

I think that it hit me this week that you, my darling baby girl will be turning one very, very soon. We began to pray for you about four years ago and that is the moment that we began to love you. We so badly wanted one more baby to add to our family. Little Buddy, your big brother, wanted a baby sister so much that he would begin to cry when we talked about it. Our whole family felt like we were missing someone.

So, after lots of prayer, a tough pregnancy-because you wanted to stay low and I started having contrations in June-, and a very short delivery. You were born this month weighing 8lb. 9oz. (a big baby for me). With a head full of hair and perfect in every way that you could imagine. I was truly blessed to be be chosen to be your mom.




This picture was taken the day you were born.


We felt like our family was completely whole. I think your brother was the most excited and couldn't wait to show you off. He wanted to hold you and carry you and change you. You had his heart from the first moment he laid eyes on you. Daddy was excited to know that he had his boy and now you, his girl. He claimed that you were a girl from the moment we knew that we were pregnant and told everyone that you were a girl before we actually knew. Of course, your daddy thought that you are extremely fragile and so I took care of you most of the time.

I have enjoyed watching you grow over the past year. You have learned a lot of new things that should never be taken or granted. You have learned to hold your head up, roll over, and reach for really cute toys. You have learned how to sit up crawl, and walk - I think you may be on the verge of running- and dance! You have learned how to coo, make all kinds of noises, laugh, and say a few words. My favorite is "Hey Dadada!". I love to hear you greet your daddy so cheerfully as you run to the door. You have learned how to feed yourself, and drink from a sippy cup & a straw. You have learned how to pet the animals softly and play with your baby dolls. You have also learned that screaming gets you attention - not always the attention you want - and how to point at something and say "that!". You have also learned how to climb and give a "high -five". I know that there is more but these are just a few of my favorites.

I know that you have so much more to learn and so many more "firsts" and I promise that I will be right here for you every step of the way. I can't promise to be your best friend because I am your mother but I will be your personal cheerleader and prayer warrior. I will cheer you on as you continue to grow and explore the life around you. I will pray for your personal relationship with Christ and to grow into the little girl that God wants you to be because His plan for you is perfect.

I know you can't read any of this right now but one day you will and you will know just how loved and wanted you truly are in this family. I thank God that I get the privilege to be your mother. I hope that your first birthday is awesome and followed by so many more. I love you so very much!




My little ham:) ...lol, love the tongue!

  

                    

The perfect home....

We started looking at houses about three years ago. That's when the bank went all crazy. We ended up renting and moving two more times since that time. We don't move because we think its fun it's just that rent goes up and we end up not being able to afford it with only one income.

So when we found out that we were pregnant we decided to start looking again. We live in a two bedroom apartment which was fine until you add all the stuff that goes along with baby. So now we have the 2 of us, 2 awesome children, & 2 dogs. Because it is a two bedroom Baby Girl doesn't have a room. So I have to be creative and I have some of her stuff in the dinning room, the living room and my bedroom. It is starting to get a little crazy...

We found a house last December and thought this is the one! It turned out not to be the one. Then we found another and that wasn't the one either. We started to think what are we doing wrong? We have made our list of wants and prayed to find the perfect house and still nothing. I was heartbroken and angry that nothing was panning out for us. Then we realized what we were doing wrong. We had forgotten one very important detail...yes we had prayed but we didn't let God lead us. WOW! That was a huge revelation when we realized what we had done.

I first asked for forgiveness and asked for His complete help. I needed Him to not only help but I needed Him to drive the "car". I know that God knows the desires of my heart, sometimes more than I do because He made me, according to Psalms 139. We didn't even really know where we wanted to live. We have lived all over the county that we live in now and didn't know whether to stay in close or move out a little. But I know that He has a perfect plan for my life according to Jeremiah 29:11. This was something that I cared about and needed to hand it completely over to Him, 1 Peter 5:7. I asked for the following:
1. An agent who was a believer in Christ. One that would not only show homes but pray for her/his clients.
2. Money, I know this is crazy request but yes, you need a lot of money to purchase a home. We needed money for earnest money($500 - $1000), an appraisal($450 avg.), an inspection ($350-$500) and any money that needed to be put down (usually 3% of your loan).
3. I asked for Him to prepare a home for us. I wanted to go out only one more more time (because at the point we had already seen about 50 homes).
4. I asked for all the appliances to be there and in working condition.

Well, within one week we received a phone call from a Christian real estate agent. Then my Mr.'s job realized that they had made a mistake about a year ago on his check and was going to pay him the difference and a family member loaned us the rest. We found the perfect home for us on the "last trip out" along with everything we needed. Everything was perfect because we allowed God to take over the whole thing.



This is the house that God prepared for us:)

 I now realize that everything that I do whether it's big or little needs to be completely handed over. I thought I was letting God "drive"  but I was being a back seat driver. How many times do I try being the back seat driver? I need to stop and just enjoy the ride. I need to learn that once I hand over anything that He has it and doesn't need my help. Trust me it was way faster doing it His way instead of mine and a whole lot smoother and peaceful. What He does want is my constant praise because that is what fuels the "car". I need to constantly praise not just in the good, but in the bad (which is really hard...been there too), but even in the unknown. We don't always know what God has planned for us but if we rely on, trust in, and rest in Him then it can't be less than perfect!