Zoe Rebecca is Here!

Our little bundle of joy arrived on October 4, 2010. I must say I was humbled a bit because I was so convinced that it was a boy and we ended up having a girl. It was a good reminder that my intuition is not always what I think it is. None the less, I couldn't be happier with the little girl God gave us. My heart is filled with so much gratitude at His awesome kindness that I really don't have words right now to express the joy I feel. I look at her and cannot believe that Ken and I have the privilege of being her daddy and mommy. She was frozen for 10 years as an embryo and now here she is breathing and living in this world. It is still surreal and hard to wrap my mind around. Zoe's life did not come as a surprise to God and He knew of her beginnings and her life story even before the foundations of the world. It gives me a lot of comfort knowing that we serve a sovereign God who ordains each one of our lives and the steps we take. As each of our stories are told, may they continue to point back to our God and Savior.

Grateful for His goodness,
B

Baby Arrives Tomorrow!

This will be the last post before baby arrives, but it certainly isn't the end of this baby's story. I am excited to see God's plan for this baby unfold and to have a front row seat in watching it. God is so good and so kind and I am in awe of how He works all things for His glory and our good. I pray that we will be good stewards of this little life and point him (or her) to the gospel.

Looking forward to meeting you little baby and holding you in my arms,

mommy

Biding My Time

Time is ticking and it is exactly 28 days from today that we will meet our little one. The C-section is scheduled for October 4 at 8am. Although I am getting a bit uncomfortable now, I am looking forward to this last month of spending quality time with the girls and getting into a good school routine.

Some may know or not know that we took care of a newborn this summer through the foster care system. She came at 3 weeks (born 4 weeks premature) and left at 3 months which was just over a week ago. Let me tell you, this added responsibility made the summer and last couple months of pregnancy zoom by! It was so exhausting, but God's grace was sufficient in our times of need. Although we just went through the whole newborn stage and get to do it all again in a month, I don't think we would have changed it. We got to see a little baby begin to thrive, hopefully planted some seeds in the parents, and if nothing else, we get to pray for little Lindsay and her well-being and salvation for the rest of our lives. It was a sad sad day to let her go, but thankfully we have a sovereign God in whom we can take comfort. It looks like we may be involved in the mom and baby's life in some capacity, but we just don't know what that will look like yet.

I say all that to say I am thankful for this month of relative rest before we do it all over again. Except this time, this baby doesn't have to leave.

Be encouraged that we serve a sovereign God and we can rest in His ordained plans over our lives.

For His glory,
B

Getting There!

In March of this year, I finished a total of 77 progesterone shots. Sometimes they burned and hurt, and at other times they didn't. But it felt like they would never end. Now as of yesterday, there were only 77 days left before the baby arrives. Day to day activity might seem to move slow, but when you look back on chunks of time, it really does go fast. Looking forward to meeting little baby Roman or Zoe....

We Finally Decided on a Girl's Name

Let me start by saying, we do not know if it is a girl or a boy.

We decided on our boy's name several months ago: Roman Ean after Romans chapters 8 and 9. The debate with the girl's name was if we would stick with the theme we have going (Hope and Grace) and add a Faith or Joy or veer from that with something else.

A week or two ago, a name popped into my head which I thought would fit perfectly. I threw it out to Ken and he agreed immediately. As many of you know, we love the symbolism that names can hold, so the name we have chosen is Zoe. It is of Greek origin and means "life." How perfect to be able to sum up in one word the story of this baby's life. Frozen for 10 years, through God's sovereign hand, this baby will be entering the world on October 4, 2010. My hope is that if it is a girl, her life and story will be reminder to us and to those that know her that we were once dead in our sins and it is only by God's revelation to us that we were brought to life through Christ. Not only were our sins forgiven, but we were also credited with Christ's righteousness. God sees us as righteous and has adopted us as co-heirs with Christ! How can we grasp the enormity of what was done on our behalf?

All I can say is God is good and I have been given way more than I deserve.

Looking forward to meeting this little baby boy or girl....

The Big Reveal!!!

It is hard to believe, but I am over half way done with this pregnancy! I am feeling great and have even started running a bit again. My goal is to be able to run a 5K with my 6 year old on Labor Day. I have been doing this run for the past 12 years or maybe even longer. I am hoping that I will at least still be able to keep up with the walk/run pace of Gracie.

Well...we had the big ultrasound yesterday and the big reveal is....we didn't find out if it is a boy or a girl. There was much debate going into this ultrasound, but in the end Ken decided that he really wanted to keep the anticipation going for another 19 weeks or so. It is just like Ken to keep stirring things up as long as possible. I know I would not have been able to resist the temptation of knowing, but he remained steadfast. However, as much as can be told by ultrasound, baby looked perfect. I am so excited to meet this little guy, or little lady, whichever the case may be.

We do have a boy's name picked out and I can reveal that. Unless something else changes our minds, he will be called Roman Ean. We very much love significance in names and he is named after Romans chapters Eight And Nine which, in my opinion, rank up there as two of the most awesome chapters in the Bible. Through God's sovereign choice (not any work or good of our own), we who were dead in sin, are now alive in Christ. We have received the spirit of adoption and are heirs with Christ. What hope is in these chapters!

Now a girl's name is still up in the air. Ken would like to stick with the theme we have going and add a Joy or a Faith to the girls we already have, Hope and Grace. I am not sold on the idea and have offered Hannah as a pretty alternative. The jury is still out on this one. We still have 4 months to agree on something. But, if my gut feeling is correct, a girl's name won't even be an issue.

My prayer is that this baby's story and life, whatever path it takes, will all point to our awesome Saviour.

For His glory,
B

Thankful for This Little Baby

I am in that stage that everyone who has had a child has been in: my clothes are too small and maternity clothes are too big. I have spent too much time over the past couple days just trying to find something that looks half-way decent. BUT, I wouldn't trade it for anything. :-)

I am so humbled and still in awe that God in His kindness, has not only allowed Ken and I to have another child through adoption, but in His ways that are infinitely higher than ours, He is allowing me to carry and grow this baby in my womb. Who am I that He would lavish such a kindness upon me?

I guess what it comes down to is that it has nothing to do with me and everything to do with Him. My desire is that this story, this pregnancy, this upcoming birth, and that this baby's life with sing forth praises to Him and that through it all, God will be glorified.

With a grateful heart,
Becky