Today

My last post said I had MUCH MUCH more time to sleep than I actually did. I think I looked at the clock wrong. I ended up with a whopping 2 HOURS of sleep last night. Still got up and got to church early...and didn't sleep through the service!! Still went to the small group picnic at the park...came home and CRASHED before heading back to church for a rehearsal. It was a lot in a day, it seemed, but that was probably compounded by how tired I was.

Anyway, I had a good long talk with a good friend until Gabriel punched Drew in the face and bloodied his mouth and lips and I had to go. That's right. I said GABRIEL punched Drew. "He's so sweet" and "He's so quiet" you all say. I keep telling you he has his moments. They are coming more often now. *sigh*

Now all is quiet again. Silence is golden. There's a lot of reward in "being still." I think God knew what He was doing when He told us to do it.

Clarity is so much easier to attain when it's just you and God. Focusing on God - no distractions. No noise. No interruptions. No referree-ing.

I'm thankful for the moment. I'm glad I had time to reflect on the conversations of the day and sort them out in my head...to try to make sense of the hard things.

On a side note, my brother and his family should be home tomorrow night, I'm guessing!! I can't wait to get pictures with them and hold that beautiful baby girl. I can't believe she is almost a year old. I can't believe what else all that means...but I won't get in to that now. Another post. Beware of July's posts...just a warning. It's not a month I really ever want to live through again. Painful anniversaries.

But I digress. Good night for now. Have a great week!

For those of you who are up for a good several hours of AMAZING READING - about faith in the midst of a storm that I cannot begin to fathom - check out www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com and on the left hand side, click the link to start from the beginning. I seriously just lost half a night's sleep...but seeing God work in the life of a mother among those curcumstances makes me truly grateful for what I have.

My face is streaked with tears, my pajamas are soaked around the sleeves from wiping the streams away, and I have to get up in like 3 and a half hours...but wow...to see God work!

So I'm 21 weeks now...thought I'd give you an update on the baby.

20 WEEKS


The baby is about 7-1/2 inches from head to rump, has fingerprints and perhaps some head and body hair, weighing about one pound (16 ounces).
The baby may suck thumb and is more active.
Time of extremely rapid brain growth.
Fetal heartbeat can be heard with a stethoscope.
The kidneys are starting to work.
There is little chance that a baby could survive outside the woman’s body.





22 WEEKS


The baby is about 8-1/4 to 8-1/2 inches from head to rump and weighs about 1-1/4 pounds.
Bones of the ears harden making sound conduction possible. Baby hears mother’s sounds such as breathing, heartbeat and voice.
The first layers of fat are beginning to form.
This is the beginning of substantial weight gain for the baby.
Changes are occurring in lung development so that some babies are able to survive (with intensive care services).
Surviving babies may have disabilities and require long-term intensive care.



It was interesting to me that the website I got this from called the baby a "fetus" until 22 weeks. At 22 weeks, the descriptions used both words. I changed where the word appeared as "fetus" to "baby" because I believe from the moment of conception, this is a life...a baby...a person. Stop abortion. Vote that way. If a presidential candidate doesn't believe there is value to human life, how in the world do you expect him to value you? Ok...this post went places I didn't expect, but so be it. I wish there was a good candidate this year...vote for the lesser of two evils - if for nothing else than a baby's right to life.

CHAD PASSED HIS TEST ON THE 1ST TRY!

Thanks for all who prayed. Sorry - I didn't tell you what it is for. I would say he's experiencing....college....to say it as simply as I can. This company has hired him to become a financial advisor. When he is finished with the schooling, he will be able to work in any financial environment in the US. He would have to reapply and pay a fee to get a license outside of IN. Anyway, this was the first of (I think) 3 tests. He had like 10 days to study for this one. The next one he has like 6 weeks. This one is a big one. I'm not sure of the timeline. Anyway, they hired him to study. And the study pay was DOUBLE what he was making at his old job. We're excited for his success so far. Keep praying. He's got some stress coming up. He will be expected to study anywhere between 8 - 12 hours a day for the next 6 weeks. It's intense...but I have confidence.

testing testing 1 2 3

Hey all. Please pray for Chad. Tomorrow he takes his first recorded test (the others he has done were practice tests). If he passes this one, he can get started on the real stuff. If he doesn't pass, he has to pay to take it again. He has to get 70% or higher!! His practice tests are usually over the mark! Thanks!

Gabriel

1. Why does Gabriel insist on wearing his underwear backwards? Could it be that he just wants to see the bigger picture?

2. Gabriel has worn the same size of clothes for two years, pretty much. Chad asked him a while back when he was going to start growing. He answered, "On Friday." Now it's a family joke.

3. He came out after his bath, underwear on backwards, pajamas in hand. Gabriel asked me to button his shirt. As I did, I told him he was going to have to learn to button his own shirt. His answer, as if it was related... "You need to make a bigger house 'cause I'm gonna grow."

4. He told me the other day that he needed to tell me a secret. He pulled my hair aside to expose my ear, got as close to it as he could, and in a very loud whisper, he said, "You're the best mommy ever in the whole wide world." Score a few brownie points for the three-year-old.

5. The other day I was talking to him explaining that he needed to practice being nice to his brothers because soon he would have a little sister and he would be a big brother. If he practiced being nice to them, it would be easier for him to be nice to the baby...etc. Evan started chiming in with his parent-like voice, but before he got 3 words out, Gabriel yelled, "Hey! It's MY baby sister. Me and Mommy's! 'Cause I picked her out!" We'll see if he is so excited about her in a few years.

5th time's the charm!

WE ARE HAVING A BABY GIRL!!!!!

We found out this morning. No beating around the bush here. God is good, all the time! She was being modest and we almost had to leave without knowing...but she finally decided to let us know! :)

I went straight from my doctor's appointment to Kohl's and stocked up on some PINK outfits! :) (and purple...and...)

HALLELUJAH! We're so happy! The boys are happy! Everyone is happy! It's nice.