just for fun

Just for fun and a little walk down memory lane...

Here I am at 34 weeks with Micah

Here I am at 34 weeks with baby boy

My belly is definitely more "out there" with #2, but I think my face is less swollen {hooray!!!}.

Micah was a little more spread out whereas our little man has concentrated himself right in the front and center. A sign of things to come? He'll have to battle his big sister for that role :)

What do you think?

And, for a little Micah fix... She is into climbing, sitting on, riding things these days.

She LOVES to sit on Wrigley. I'm not sure the feeling is entirely mutual.

She got this fun treasure when she was with daddy during baby boy's shower.

Her sweet daddy didn't want her to be left out of all the gift giving. I'm pretty sure he outdid himself.

She loves her "vroom vroom."

She is also really into dressing herself. Case in point.

I kind of love it.

I am definitely in love with this precious face.

one month

Ordinarily, July 22 would hold no special meaning for me.  It's just another hot day in the summer.  But, this year it holds a little more significance.  One month from today is our little man's due date!  I honestly cannot believe it is actually that close.  And, if he follows in his big sister's footsteps, we won't make it to his due date.  So, potentially, I will only be carrying this little man for less than a month more.

I am beginning to get to the uncomfortable part of pregnancy.  Honestly, with Micah, I didn't have the typical aches and pains of late pregnancy.  Other than my feet aching if I was on them for too long and the rib poking, I felt great all the way to the end.  I'm not sure if it's the heat or the fact that I'm chasing a busy toddler around all day, but I have definitely had more muscle aches with this sweet guy.  However, I am so blessed to be able to carry him and "know" him in this intimate way, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.  So, bring on the aches and pains.  They are totally worth every minute.

And, the growing belly reminds me of how lucky I really am.

I am beginning to experience lots of different emotions as we get closer to this baby boy's arrival.  Mostly, I am just so thankful and excited to be growing our family.  I cannot wait to see the ways he blesses us in ways we could never imagine.  I cannot wait to watch the bond he will form with his big sister.  I cannot wait to see his sweet face.  I cannot wait to get to know him and his little {or big} personality.  I cannot wait to see the ways he brings joy and love to our family.

I know this verse is often used in regards to babies, and I hate to be cliche.  But, it has been on my heart a lot lately regarding both of my children.

"Children are a gift from the Lord.  They are a reward from Him." Psalm 127:3

I truly feel that way.  I believe that Micah and her baby brother are gifts given to Chris and me.  We are so blessed to be given these amazing gifts.  I pray that we can raise them in a way that honors and glorifies their Creator.

So, one more month... I'm getting ready.  God is so good.

embrace the camera

Today I am linking up with a lady here.

Embracing the camera is all about stepping out from behind the camera to actually get pictures of yourself with your kiddos, spouse, pet, etc.

I love the idea.

I really love reading her blog too.  If you don't already, you should check it out.

So, here we go...my first embrace the camera.

Me and my girl sneaking in a couple of minutes of "Melmo" before naptime.

Will I ever be able to quit kissing those sweet cheeks?

the evolution of "cheese"

"Oh, hey momma! You are taking pictures of me? Let me see."

 "Let me try a smiling close up.  Cheeese!"

 "I can do better than that.  Let me try again. CHEEEEESE!!!"

 "Pictures again?!?"

 "Okay, I'll go stand by Wrigley and Fen. Oh wait, I have a better idea!"

 "Got my wah wah, and CHEEESE!"

I sure do love that cheesy smile!

snips and snails and puppy dog tails...

We were so blessed by some sweet ladies from church and family who showered our baby boy with some precious clothes and diapers last weekend. The decorations were super cute. I loved all the little boy things...a whole new world for me!

The food was super yummy too!

I cannot wait to dress our little man in all this cuteness. We were so thankful for their generosity!

More than anything, our little soon to be family of four was blessed by a beautiful time of prayer over our sweet baby boy and all of us. I felt so honored that these women were praying amazing blessings over us. God has been so gracious to bring people into our lives that encourage us, challenge us, and petition God on our behalf.

two of the sweet friends who hosted the shower

my mom and sister...love them!

the two best {and youngest looking} grandmas ever!!!  seriously, my kids are so lucky!

all the pregnant mamas at the shower, and we are all due in August or September!

We are joining in their prayers for a smooth end of pregnancy, peaceful labor and delivery, and easy transition to a family of four, but more than anything, our prayer for both of our children is that they will be warriors in the kingdom of God, love Him and His people with no boundaries, and live in ways to bring more people to the Lord.

praying God's word...freedom

I have a feeling I am just going to be on and off of this wagon for a while because I have a few things happening in my world, and blogging {in general and about this} has definitely taken a backseat. For those of you that decided to join me on this journey of praying God's word, I hope it has been a good six months of meditation and prayer. If you wonder what it is or want to join us, you can click on the praying God's word button to learn more, and it's not too late to begin!

With the fourth of July holiday we just had, the word freedom has been on my mind a lot. I am not the most patriotic person {I know, shame}, so I don't get all into big celebrations of our nation. But, this year I had a lot of different thoughts. You see, Chris and 10 others spent this holiday in Ghana plowing land, planting cassava, and loving on kids. So I kept thinking about them and those precious children that are in slavery, and my heart began to yearn for them to experience freedom. I did nothing to deserve the freedom I have. I was simply born in a place that values freedom, and I am thankful. But I don't want to stop there. I want to work until children on a lake an ocean away understand the freedom that my children will experience. I am praying for that day to come quickly!

So these thoughts turned into thoughts about freedom in Christ which is so much greater than freedom in the USA. It is abundant life kind of freedom. As I was playing with Micah, I looked at this amazing piece of art that is hanging on the wall...


In the midst of all the different things going on in this piece is written the verse from John 10:10 that says, "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." I immediately knew that this would be my verse for the week...for the kids in Ghana, for myself, for my husband, and for my children. May His kingdom come...

When daddy's away...

I always struggle with whether or not to blog about Chris's trips to Ghana while he is there. But, it's what is on my heart and mind, so it is difficult to blog about anything else. So, here goes...

Chris and 10 other amazing people left for Ghana on Tuesday, and they will be back on Thursday, July 7. While there, they will implement Mercy Project's very first economic development project. They started on it today in the village of Awudzakorpe, and throughout the next 4 days, they will plow and till 40 acres of land to prepare for cassava to be planted and eventually processed by the villagers. I cannot describe how excited I am about the project getting started. We have dreamed about and planned for this moment in time for over a year. And, it gets us even closer to being able to rescue precious children. It's just simply amazing to be part of what God is doing in Ghana. He has been so good to us throughout our time with Mercy Project and has abundantly blessed every event, plan, and dream. I believe it's because He loves those children infinitely more than we do, and He wants to rescue them completely--give them free and abundant life. Amazing.

So, we are missing our daddy around here. But, we are so confident that he is exactly where he should be. While he is working hard and loving on kids, Micah and I are keeping busy too.
We are sending bad quality pictures to daddy on the phone.


Micah is climbing on EVERYTHING!!! And checking out the trucks and birds out the window.


We (help) cook dinner while watching Monsters Inc. and drinking out of a big girl cup.


Unfortunately Micah is also cutting some teeth and has been running fever and feeling a little bit under the weather. Thankfully we have amazing family and friends who are always just a phone call away.

So if you think about it, say a little prayer for all the Mercy Project folks in Ghana this week. Thanks!