Cutie pie

I only have one good picture of little a.  This picture is actually from 13 weeks.  The pictures taken today are either indistinguisable becuase of the lack of amniotic fluid or just not very interesting.  This is my favorite because you can see her sweet profile.  (No, we don't know that it is a girl...I just REALLY think it is.  No one else in my life thinks it's a girl, though.)

Hallelujah

I have always been in love with the word "hallelujah". I never really knew why...I just liked it. Last week I was listening to the radio and at the end of a song (a song I wasn't particularily interested in), the lyrics were

"Now we stand amazed. And now we sing the word they sang in ancient days. A single word that's OVERFLOWING ENDLESS PRAISE....hallelujah."

I just wept. I realized, that's why I've always loved that word, without even knowing why. I think God must have written the meaning on my heart. I could sing the end of that song all day long.

As Ryan and I have yielded to the plans God has for us, although different than we anticipated, we have found so much JOY in God's promises and I just can't help but praise God for the way he has extended grace, peace, and the love of the body of Christ to us. We've seen Him use our little baby to draw people to Himself and have realized that God is answering our prayers that he do whatever it takes to draw people in our life to the Lord. I would go through this all over again if even one person came to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

And I would continue to sing HALLELUJAH!

Dear little precious one,

I got to see you again today!  The doctor did a mini-ultrasound to see your heartbeat and I just knew you were still going strong.  She confirmed it when she said your heartbeat was perfect.  We believe that God has approved every detail of your life and although we hope that God will HEAL you, we trust in His goodness no matter what.

Your little encephelocele didn't look like it had grown much...but you have!  Praise God!  I'm going to pray that you keep growing and the encephelocele would eventually vanish!  We love you so much.

Keep fighting, little one...we can't wait to meet you and I hope more, everyday, that I won't have to wait until heaven to hold you. 

I think about the verse that our dear friend kd prays for you every day with rd:

"Oh, Lord, we cry out and you heal us...you have kept me alive that I may not go down in the pit...joy comes in the morning."  Psalm 30

Sunday morning breakfast

Ryan usually makes us a special breakfast on either Saturday or Sunday.  This weekend, he made a wonderful breakfast BOTH mornings.  He is an amazing husband (for many more reasons than just breakfast on the weekends).

Well, yesterday, we went to one of our favorite little babe's birthday parties.  RD is turning one in a week and a half and we celebrated yesterday with some of her close friends and family over brunch.  As a party favor, she (her beautiful mama) gave us each a mix of rd's favorite pancake mix.  We enjoyed it this morning with fresh maple syrup and yogurt parfaits!  Here is a link to the pancakes.  They are loaded with fiber and have very little sugar. 

We love you, rd, and you bring us so much joy watching you grow!  Thank you for the pancake mix. 

thank you, veterans.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to those of you who have served our country, past and present.  I am proud to be an American and live in a free country.

I hear the sleigh bells jingling

Last night, I was home alone while Ryan was up north helping clean the deer he shot, so I decided to attempt a no-sew, ruffled, tree skirt I saw on Pintrest.  I didn't want to buy any fabric, so I scrummaged around until I found a piece of oatmeal-colored fabric I had gotten at Goodwill to act as a tablecloth.  It turned out great! You could also use an old sheet.  Is it Christmas yet?  Yes, please!

Here is the link to the tutorial.

Smoothie dilema...solved

My sweet husband and I used to make smoothies every morning....until I couldn't stomach looking at them anymore due to the minor life change of having a little babe growing inside.  Now, I can stomach them again, they are just kind of a hassel to make in the morning because of the sheer amount of things we cram into them.  But today, I had this genius idea as I was craving a popcicle.  Why have I never thought of making a batch of smoothie and freezing it into pops???

So, I went to a couple stores to find popcicle molds.  Apparently, popcicle molds are a summer thing and they were sold out.  Since I recently signed up for the FREE month of Amazon Prime, I decided to order one.  After reading reviews, I decided on the Tovolo popcicle molds.  They will arrive on Wednesday!



In case your interested, this is what we put into our smoothies:

- Frozen fruit
- Banana
- Spinach or kale
- Raw Almonds
- Coconut oil or coconut milk
- Plain yogurt
- Chia
- Flax
- Kelp powder
- Stevia

My mom would say it is the perfect way to start your day.  They are loaded with antioxidants, fiber, protien, enzymes, probiotics, and lots of other good things for your bod.

We Are: Acoustic Version

BEAUTIFUL new song....I might listen all day