Arg! and Yay!

Today has been one of those days.  

I woke up not feeling the best (arg!) and started the day cleaning and preparing for my friend Nicole's birthday lunch (yay!).  Moriah took a wonderful morning nap and I actually had to wake her to go to the party.  It was so fun (and crazy, there were 8 kids there!) to spend time with the girls.

It has been drizzling all morning, which actually was nice, it totally suits my mood.  Kind of yucky but refreshing outside seemed like the perfect weather for today.  When I got home from the party I went upstairs and low and behold, our roof was leaking AGAIN!  This is the fourth time in the same place.  ARG!!!  So this afternoon when Moriah wakes up from her nap we are going to have to go to the housing office and see what they think they can do about it now.  Please pray for Zack and I as we want to be a witness of Christ to the people working there but need to be firm about the potential health hazards of such a problem.   

Yay!  I am 12 weeks along today and for the most part I have been feeling great, minus today.  I have my first official doctor's appointment on Wednesday and will keep you posted on how things are going.  I am officially in maternity clothes for the most part but that's ok with me.  I haven't gained any weight yet, just shifted stuff around and lost control of my tummy muscles.  Regular pants can still be buttoned on me but the pressure they put on my tummy really hurts so I choose not to wear them.  I am almost out of my first trimester, yippy!

Yay!  My best friend Alisha is coming tonight!  Her husband Shaun is coming too, and I can't wait to spend the weekend with them.  We have tons of sightseeing planned so I will be busy, busy, busy.  I probably wont be blogging again till they leave on Monday.

I hope you have a great Labor Day weekend.  I know we will enjoy ours! 

Trip to FL

I don't even know where to start! Moriah and I's trip to O-town was so refreshing. It was so nice to relax at my parent's house and see friends and family. We actually got stuck in FL for two extra days thanks to Tropical Storm Fay. A few highlights:

Moriah started walking! She took one step to Zack right before we left but while we were gone in FL she took 3 and 4 steps. It was so fun to see her get so excited and proud of herself.

We went to the Brevard County Zoo. This may not seem like a huge big deal but it was so cool. This zoo is very hands on. We were able to feed some birds nectar, well sort of. My mom had a bird land on her head and my niece Hannah wanted to hold the nectar so naturally the bird flew to her head. She flipped out and threw the nectar. I couldn't stop laughing, until a bird landed on me and I was ready to leave. Moriah just took it all in with a facial expression of, what in the world? We also got to feed giraffes! They came right up to us and were so close we could touch them, it was amazing.

Moriah has always been a climber and we knew we were going to be in trouble when she got old enough to climb on things. She climbed up onto a chair while at my parent's house. I was shocked. She not only climbed on it but climbed up the back of it, which made me very nervous. It is a rocking chair so as she climbed it tilted further and further. I was almost worried it would fall backwards, but thankfully I got her off before that happened.

The best part of the trip was the precious time Moriah spent with my family. My mom and dad get to see her often but my brothers, sister-in-law and niece have only seen her a few times. They were so good with her. Moriah and her cousin Hannah are still in love with eachother and so sweet. My younger brothers totally impressed me with how great they are with her. They are going to be such wonderful dads. Eric and Vicki are super with Hannah and so naturally were super with Moriah. She loved on all of them, snuggling whenever she could. It was just a sweet time.

Sorry I don't have time to upload pictures, I hear a baby stirring from her nap, mother duties call. Click here and here to see the pictures I posted on Facebook from our trip.

To Stay or Not to Stay

As I mentioned in my last post we have a few "options" to consider as we await the arrival of our baby.  As of right now, Zack is set to get out of the military March 3rd and the baby is due March 13th.  Our plan up until about a month ago, was to move to FL in February and live with my parents till Zack got settled into a job and we found a house.  This plan was just perfect for me because it is my dream to own my own home.  If you have been reading my blog you know that my heart longs for a place to call my own, no more rent or third parties to deal with.  The problem with this plan is that we will lack insurance for the birth of the baby.  Zack's new job will not have insurance kick in for 90 days.  I am also not sure on how far along I can be before travel is forbidden, so that also means Moriah and I would have to move to FL before Zack, a thought that does not sound great but is doable.  We have the option, so I am told, to purchase our current insurance beyond our separation from the military.  I am not sure how much that costs or how that works but it is an option we can look into.

Another option is to just stay in the military.  In my heart I do not want this.  I long to be in FL with family but there are many benefits that stem from making the choice to stay in.  We can have all our babies for free, Zack can finish school for free (he has about 1 1/2 years left), and there are certain monetary incentives for reenlisting.  The down fall would be that we would with almost certainty move back to Korea.  That thought isn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be.  We still have many missionary and contractor friends who are still there.  

Our third and final option is to ask to extend and stay in the military two extra months.  As of right now, the Air Force is not accepting requests to extend unless it is in conjunction with a deployment.  If we were to some how get approved we could stay in the military till the baby is born and then move with a 1 month old and a 19 month old to FL.  This is basically our first plan, just set back by 2 months.

Ultimately we want to do what God would have us to do.  He is the one who will open and close doors as he sees fit.  We would love you to join us in praying over this situation.  I know that no matter what is the outcome we will be fine.  If we move to FL very pregnant and have to pay for the birth, God will provide the money and a job for Zack.  If we stay in the military, God will grant me grace to accept not living near family for a few more years.  If we are granted favor and allowed to extend for two months, God will make a way for us to move with two babies and provide a job for Zack.  No matter what happens we will be cared for because we have a God who hears us and feeds even the sparrows.  How much more will he provide for us?  It is my nature to worry, and facing the unknown has me worried.  I am specifically praying for wisdom on Zack's behalf, as he feels the weight of this decision far more than I do.  I am also praying for myself that I will not put pressure on him to just make a decision so I can start planning!  God's timing is not my own and we may not know what option we will be going with till December or January.  

So, there is my honesty and my feelings about our "options."  Thank you to those who will be joining us in prayer.  I will keep you posted on what God reveals to us as we trust him in this time of uncertainty.  

Side note, I leave for FL tomorrow!  Moriah and I are going to be gone for a week.  I can't wait to spend time with the family, but we will really miss Zack.  He is staying behind to work and continue providing for our family.  So this will be my last post until I get back.  Have a great week!    

We are expecting!

We found out on July 4th that we are going to be having another baby! We are so excited and are praying that Moriah and the baby will be fast friends, since they will only be 18 months apart. My due date is March 13. This causes some concern for us because we are currently set to be getting out of the military March 3rd. Hmm, I wonder what God is going to do to work this one out...I will post another time on our "options."

For now I just want to relish in the joy that I am carrying another precious little one. Moriah has been such a joy that I love being her mom. I can't wait to meet this baby and be a mother of two precious babies.

We had a scare this morning, and thought I might be loosing the baby. We were able to get in for an ultrasound and all is fine. The baby even did a little bean hop and wiggle for us. The baby is measuring right at 9 weeks and had a heart rate of 140 BMP, perfect! We are so thankful for a healthy baby so far and continue to pray for the baby and my health

Me at 8 weeks.  I feel like my body has said, "Oh, we know how tis goes, let loose the stomach muscles!"  I have lost the ability to suck it in much earlier in this pregnancy than I did with Moriah.

Our little Bean at 9 weeks.  SO CUTE!!


.  

Tennessee Road Trip!

So camp ended August 1st and on August 2nd we loaded up the car and headed for TN at 4 AM.  I have to admit I was so nervous to travel with Moriah for 10 hours.  Her longest trip up to this point has been 4 hours and she had her Nana and Papa in the back entertaining her.  Thankfully we we able to borrow my parents' DVD player for the car, so if all else failed we had Baby Noah and Baby Praise.  I am happy to report that Moriah slept for 6 of the 10 hours and was just a happy baby for her 4 awake hours.  We only stopped twice the whole trip there.   

We went to TN to see Zack's mom and grandma.  They live in a cabin in a very small town in the mountains.  There was not enough space for three additional people so we had made arrangements to stay in a hotel 30 minutes away (in the closest town).  God is just amazing in how he uses people you don't even know to serve you.  We were invited by Zack's mom's neighbors to stay in their "mother-in-law" suite at their house.  They literally live next door and it was FREE!  So we stayed in a two bedroom section of the house with our own little kitchen and everything.  It was such a blessing to save money not only on a hotel but in gas.  I love that there are still people out there who will do anything to help others.  It seems like in our society those people are rapidly declining as people are so absorbed in their own needs and lives they don't look for ways to serve.  We are so fortunate to know MANY friends who we can count on and I pray they feel as they can count on us as well.

Back to our trip to TN.  We went to Zack's mom's church on Sunday and got to hear a blue grass band.  Moriah has loved music since she was in the womb so this was a real treat for her.  She would holler to try and sing with them and dance and clap and swing her arms as if she was directing them.  We tried to keep her pacie in as much as possible to she wouldn't be too much of a distraction.  Thankfully the group and church members all greeted us after the service with how cute she was so I don't think the minded too much.  We spent the afternoon relaxing (I got to take a nap!) and took Zack's mom out for a birthday dinner.  

One Monday we went to a quilt shop and spent WAY too much money.  Did I mention quilting is a favorite hobby of mine?  I have the stuff for 3 or 4 projects that have yet to be started.  We took a drive all round the mountain to see the town and places around and headed home on Tuesday.  Moriah did great again on the drive home.  She melted down once for about 30 minutes because it was bed time and she wanted to be in bed.  I wanted to be in bed too, but I don't think I could get away with screaming about it, I let her get it out and could fully relate to how she felt.   Over all she was such a good girl the whole trip.  We were so glad we got to go and see Mom and Grandma.

End of Grace Adventures Day Camp 2008

Well, camp is over.  So sad, but good at the same time.  It was truly a blessing to be a part of the beginning of our church's camp.  The kids couldn't be more fun and seeing them go from being reserved and not wanting to sing or dance to shouting "Jesus your my superhero!"  was just amazing.  The last two weeks of camp I was not with the big campers but rather I worked in Moriah's classroom with the staff kids.  It was really a blessing.  I got paid to spend the day with my daughter and three boys.  Every morning and afternoon we would head down for the assemblies and they couldn't have loved it more.  Watching babies and toddlers dance for Jesus is just the best.  It was good to be able to see my campers from the previous two weeks as well.  I am looking forward to how God is going to grow and continue to use camp in our community.  For now, I am enjoying being at home with my baby all day.  It is taking me a few days to get caught up with all the house work that I just let go while I was working, but I am loving Moriah and I's lazy mornings of just playing together.