19 Weeks + Week Recap

How far along? 19 Weeks
Maternity clothes? Still can wear lots of my normal clothes but invested in this pair of Jcrew maternity shorts & they are heaven in this heat! (Wait for a holiday or keep a lookout, I got them 30% off)
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Not so great.....busted out my maternity body pillow which helps a lot!
Best moment this week: Finding out we are having a girl!!!
Miss Anything? Sleeping on my stomach :(
Movement: I feel little flutters, but can't wait for the bigger ones so daddy can feel her move!
Food cravings: Iced Chai Lattes ALWAYS sound good.
Anything making you queasy or sick: This has been my best week yet! Praise God!
Have you started to show yet: Oh yes, can't believe how much sooner you show with baby #2
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Up & Down but constantly pray for Joy!
Looking forward to: Deciding on her name!

Just about Halfway there! In some ways its gone fast, doing my best to treasure these days. This past week I have had mostly all good days and I am so thankful! It has been so fun knowing that its a baby girl growing inside of me. I have been measuring, sketching, & pinning like crazy :) I keep reminding myself she won't be here for a while so I don't need to have everything done this week. But it's just so fun. Ford is starting to understand that a baby in my belly, and showing me that he is not going to pinch or hit the baby(things he's been working on). It's pretty funny, I can't wait to see how much he loves this little girl. Ford got to the chalkboard throughout the week if you can find the little finger marks :)

Grey Maxi | Floral Kimono sold out at F21online(I think I've still seen it in store) 

| Ring (similar)

Just for kicks :)

We made a quick overnight trip up north this past weekend to visit Todd's parents and help some of our good friends settle in to their new house. They are some of our dearest friends but we don't get to hang out as much as we wish so every minute is treasured. You have to check out Bry's blog, it is so encouraging and her story is a true testimony to the faithfulness of our God and that NOTHING is impossible with Him.

Aren't their girls the cutest!

Playing all day is hard work!

I just love this picture of Todd & Ford

 I actually got teary eyed taking this picture of my boys. We have outgrown our truck that we have shared since early in our marriage when we traveled so much we didn't need my car anymore. So, pretty much every memory of our 4 years & our growing family are stored up in this truck. We were trying to stuff everything in, and Ford in between and I started singing, "You're gonna miss this, you're gonna want this back. You're gonna wish these days, hadn't gone by so fast." And I just got choked up thinking of how quickly time is going, and how big Ford is getting, and that precious time we've shared riding everywhere together is just about past.

We also celebrated our 4th anniversary this week so I'll leave you with a throwback <3

So many things these days I was to treasure and remember and be thankful for, but have also been reminded by the Lord, 

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Luke 12

 I want to treasure these days as gifts from the Lord, but pray my eyes remain on Him, to serve Him diligently, to spend time with Him everyday and rest in Him above anything else that seems important. I fell in love with this verse below, I think I will make it a print for the nursery, 

"Do not fear {little flock} for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

Luke 12

Hello Baby Girl

"Praise God through whom ALL blessings flow!"

These last couple of weeks have had the biggest highs & lows for me. I hit an extremely low point physically. It is amazing how much your physical body controls your mind and spirit. When my body is weak & sick, my spirit feels weak & sick. It is this constant battle to keep my thoughts on the Lord & His Word versus sulking in self-pity.

This Sunday was a hard day for me, but felt I still needed to go the church with my boys, and the Lord encouraged me there. I am very careful not to dwell on the words of the pastor himself but to always return to the verses he spoke on to confirm how the Lord wants me to apply it to my life. But, there is also so much encouragement in how the Lord teaches & speaks to others. We had a guest pastor speaking on the book of Philemon. I encourage you to read that book & let the Lord speak to to you. One thing I am not good at is knowing the history behind a lot of the books of the Bible, it has always been my focus just to spend time with the Lord, & to know Him through His Words. But when someone does have that background, I love hearing it! 

The book of Philemon is a letter from Paul to Philemon. Philemon's slave, Onesimus had run away. But, through God's own works, Onesimus stumbled across Paul & became a believer. This letter is Paul sending Philemon his slave back, with specific instruction. You can read it yourself, but here is what the pastor shared(or how I received it) that the Lord really had stick to my heart,
"God doesn't react: He is sovereign. He has a plan from the beginning. Onesimus had to run away to find his salvation (& find Paul). God doesn't just take a bad/hard situation & turn it around for good, the 'hard' was His purpose from the beginning."

The Lord made this so clear to me, it is so true! God is SOVEREIGN! He knows our entire life before we are even conceived. How small we make Him sometimes to think He is up there just reacting or not reacting to things we are going through. Now, yes sometimes we make things harder than they needed to be, but He already knew we would :) 

I love these versus in Philemon & they are such an amazing reminder of how important it is to acknowledge what the Lord is doing in our lives.

"...hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus 

and toward all the saints, that the sharing of your faith may 

become effective by the acknowledgment of 

EVERY good thing which is in you IN Christ Jesus. 

For we have great joy and consolation in your love, 

because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother."

Philemon 1:5-7

Now that I've shared my "lows" I MUST share my "high"! We found out yesterday we are having a girl! And it was so exciting and encouraging and just felt refreshed by the Lord. I think finding out was a precious reminder to me of what the Lord is creating in my body. Most of my days may be awful, but there is a beautiful blessing at the end. And of course the flood gates of all the fun things you get with having a girl flew open! My Pinterest is about to explode! I just had to start planning already :) Todd is really excited to have a girl, but quickly realized that means buying lots of new things!!! ;) Here is a peek of what I'm inspired by right now:

Heart Swaddle & Hat | Purple Nursery | Colorful Dresser | Blue Cart

All the "stuff" is so much fun, but also treasuring the thought of how different a little girl will be. I love having a boy so much and seeing Ford's relationships with Todd & I, it will be so different with a daughter. I can't wait for all that will bring. 

"My fellow laborers, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen."

In Him, T

(Here are some fun photos we had yesterday on our "gender reveal" day)

"It's a WHAT?!?"

Instagram Announcement

YOUR Will, Not Mine

"Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts." ISAIAH 6:5

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

'Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?' Then I said, 

'HERE I AM! SEND ME.'" ISAIAH 6:8

Those verses are both so powerful. I started ISAIAH(this is just a word I think looks better in all caps) a couple days ago and am amazed by the prophecies. I can't help but imagine what it would have been like hearing that a deliverer is coming!

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call His name Immanuel.

Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good."

ISAIAH 7:14-15

And to imagine who they pictured Jesus to be, this mighty KING swooping in the save the people and destroy the government.

"For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; 

And the government will be upon His shoulder and His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, 

upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice 

From that time forward, even forever."

ISAIAH 9:6-7

When I read these verses I can see why the world was so surprised and in unbelief when Jesus, son of Joseph & Mary claimed to be the Messiah they were waiting for. But how amazing, that the Son of God, willingly came to earth as nothing, a man, and in those days a "lowly" man. A man of no standing, no authority, a carpenter. I am so thankful that He came so humbly and lovingly to accept each and every sinner. And when the time came for Him to die a painful, humiliating death, all His heart desired was this:

"Father; if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; 

nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done."

Luke 22:42

These verses made me realize that when we are going through something difficult, or painful, when things are just hard, we quickly run to the Lord asking Him to deliver us. We ask Him to take our cup away. I know so many times with this pregnancy I've prayed, "Please help me feel better!" But today as I was meditating on the ISAIAH verses, the Lord really put on my heart how vital it is that we also pray, "But NOT my will, but YOURS, be done." He is a God of healing, so powerful, and wants me to pray to Him and trust that He can make me better, but He wants my Faith. He wants me to desire His Will for my life even if that means I have to sit in a hard place for a while. This can be difficult to do, even today I was tested to believe that His Will does prevail above any worldly hardship.

"For all this His anger is not turned away,

But His hand is stretched out still."

ISAIAH 10:4

I hope today we all find an instance to trust His Will above our own!
God Bless, T

Be Joyful

 I created this blog years ago, under different names, and with different ideas/goals behind each one. I love a lot of different things, but none of the topics seemed worthy enough to be the reason I blog. Fashion, Food, Furniture Finds, Pinterest attempts, etc. are all fun topics and ones I may still write about now and again, but the only thing I know to be true, steadfast and never-changing is the Lord's great love for me and the grace He has poured upon me.

I now feel I have something worth sharing, worth raving about. It is funny how the Lord works..... When "I" was feeling creative, and had all these great ideas, goals, & passions, I would race to this blog (thinking that was the right time to write my first post) and stare at a blank page for SO LONG. But tonight, I do not feel creative, I have no energy, I have no hopes and dreams for this blog, but feel the Lord dragging me to type. So, I must share what He has done, and what He is doing in my heart, and my life.

For the past 9 weeks, I have been pretty sick carrying Baby Brown #2. When I just typed 9 weeks it seems like such a small amount of time, but the past couple months have seemed like eternity. Part of me hesitates sharing my story because I know that even being pregnant is a HUGE blessing. There are so many people that have such deeper struggles, deal with daily pain(for years), have lost children, cannot have children, and many more hard things. I just want to share what the Lord is teaching me, and I know He uses different things in all of our lives to draw us closer to Him.

I am excited to share of the Lord's mercy, and wherever you each are in life, I hope the Words of our Lord will bring you comfort and peace. For the past couple of months my day to day goal was just to get through it, however I could. I have some good days, but lots of bad days. I was sick with my first pregnancy, and it was hard, but it was just Todd & I, now we have Ford and he needs a lot from me. I started realizing I was becoming angry. I kept wondering why I needed to be sick, what the point was, why I can't just have this wonderful, easy breezy, glowing pregnancy. And when I started feeling sorry for myself, I started just opening my Bible. I kept thinking, "when you are weak, then I am strong, my strength is made perfect in your weakness."

I really started praying and asking the Lord that He would speak to me in my time of weakness, that I wouldn't get to the other side without learning anything. And as my time with the Lord increased, I could feel His love & joy taking over my anger. I was finishing Proverbs and became burdened by the "Proverbs 31 Wife". I haven't been able to get up and take care of my family the way I would desire to, the way I know the Lord would want me too. But, as I read through Ecclesiastes He started really opening my eyes.

"Do not be rash with your mouth,

And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God.

For God is in heaven, and you on earth;

Therefore let your words be few."

Ecc 5:2

My prayer after  reading this verse was to not let myself ramble on to the Lord, to let my words be few and just spend time in God's Word. The Lord knows how hard my days are, He knows my desire to be a good wife & mom. The next verses below truly opened my heart to realize what my mind & heart should be focused on each day:

"Consider the work of God:

For who can make straight what He has made crooked?

In the day of prosperity be joyful, 

But in the day of adversity consider:

Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, 

So that man can find out nothing that will come after him."

Ecc 7:13-14

Wow. I am supposed to be as joyful in my days of adversity as I am on days where I prosper?? God has created my good days along with my bad, just because my day is hard does not mean He is not the Creator of that day. 

I know I still have so many days ahead of me that will take all I have to want to run and find comfort in His arms Sometimes it seems(although its not) easier to dwell in our pity, in our hurt, in our pain. But He is Lord of all, and if I need to be in such a humble place while pregnant so that I can run and grow closer to Him, than I will count that JOY. I will not always want to, but I know when I give my day to Him, and SPEND TIME with Him, He will take care of me. 

The reason I felt the Lord tugging on my heart to share tonight was because of such a little thing but I want to share it with you. The last 3 days have been extremely hard, it was probably a few of my sickest days. But this is when the Lord did so much in my heart. So, today, I got up, and was not feeling good at all. After the weekend having Todd at home to help get Ford up and going, my day seemed like an enormous mountain I knew I couldn't move. But, I trusted what He had been teaching me, and just started my day. As the day went on I started feeling better and got some things done I had been needing to take care of. And, then, the most amazing thing happened, I MADE DINNER!! Haha Oh my, the most silly little everyday task, but one that I have not been able to complete from start to finish in over 2 months! As I was cooking, I got a little teary eyed, and just said, "Thank you, Lord."

He truly placed on my heart that even the tiniest things can be a victory if done in the name of the Lord. This could be so many different things to so many different people. But today, for me, dinner was my victory, praise God. I know there will be days where I trust in Him, run to Him, spend time with Him, and my day may not get better. But, I LOVE that He can give us hope even in little bits, that remind me that HE is my GOD, there is none but Him. Ecclesiastes ends with amazing truth:

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

Fear God and keep HIS Commandments, 

For THIS is man's ALL."

Ecc 12:13

God Bless, T