Andrew thinks it's a girl so we will just have to see in another month. I do have a few names picked out but no where near narrowed down. We want the name that we pick out for this next child to some how be a family name, if that means way down the line or fairly recent we don't care. If we don't go with a family name then we will surely come up with something creative.
I have another appointment in two weeks! I'm excited to hear the heartbeat again. I'll be about 17 weeks so I doubt we will see what the gender is, but it could be possible.
Stay Tuned!
P.S. What do y'all think I am having? I would love to hear!
This past Monday definitely got the best of me. Let me just say I had a true case of the “Mondays.” But as always God streams a ray of sunshine through those cloudy skies and my Monday turned around. You know, I just love it when God puts people in your lives to encourage you and help you along. Thanks goodness for friends and family! I won’t bore you with the details of my Monday, but I will tell you that I had a wonderful evening and our precious Eden did too. While I attended my first general meeting for Junior League, Eden spent the afternoon with Granddad and Mur. She ate all her meal as well as some of Mur’s. (How come it always happens that way? She eats really well for other people and on the occasion for us.) Anyway, after their meal they went and visited a nursing home where they support a band that plays for the elderly. I was told that Eden was a hit! She danced, clapped her hands, visited with everyone, and even sat in some of their laps. I’m so glad she had the opportunity to be an encouragement and delight to everyone there. So, I believe we have a tradition. Every first Monday of every month Eden will be hanging out with some of her adopted grandparents having the time of her life.
Pregnancy Highlights How Far Along: 14 Weeks Size of Baby: 4.5 in and weighs 2 to 3 oz. He or she is the size of a navel orange Total Weight gain/ loss: I’m really not for sure, although last time I went to the doctor I had lost a couple of pounds. Probably due to me drinking lots and lots of water Maternity Clothes: I have worn some jean capries that my friend Elizabeth let me borrow, not because I can’t fit into anything else, but because they are really comfortable. Gender: I think it’s a boy. I don’t care either way though. (You know come to think about it. I thought Eden was a boy and man was I wrong. I’m just a bad guesser) Movement: The occasional flutter Food Cravings: I crave lots and lots of fruit, corn dogs on the occasion, oh and cheeseburgers! I crave water all the time. What I miss: I miss having a normal functioning brain. I can't rember where I put anything for the life of me and then I go crazy thinking about where I put that thing last. By the way mom, I found those jeans that have been missing a month. Ummm… I’m too ashamed to say where I found them. Sleep: I sleep ok. Although my bladder is getting smaller and it wakes me up needing relief. (Just keeping it real) Symptoms: I’m really not trying to brag, but the only two I can think of is the frequent bathroom breaks and low energy. No sickness! I wasn’t sick with Eden which kind of makes me think I might be having a girl, but every other gender predictor test points me toward a boy. Best moment of the week: Having a burst of energy to clean my house and keep it clean, because it is now on the market. What I am looking forward to: My 17 week appointment in two and a half weeks. Hopefully I’ll get some good pictures to show you.
P.S.
I took this idea from another blog I read. Please don't hate me for not being orginal. I thought it was a wonderful idea and it helps me keep up with all the information I might not otherwise remember.
Well, It’s about time I get my little fingers typing again before I forget those special memories that I cherish so much. For instance Eden’s second birthday party was last month and I’m just now getting to it.
Her actual birthday was on a Tuesday, March 23 and it was pretty low key. She woke up bright faced and ready to celebrate. She ran into the living room excited to see some of her birthday gifts.
She was definitely surprised by the big pink and white polka dotted chair for her room.
Next she opened two gifts from one of Andrew’s trooper buddies. Him and his wife got her an awesome set of princess coloring pages complete with crayons and sidewalk chalk. Next up was a large princess Lego set, which she spent about 30 minutes playing with while we fixed her birthday chocolate-chip pancakes.
I’m pretty sure the highlight of her day though was our singing. We do a lovely happy birthday.
Later that afternoon we took her to Chick-Fila for lunch where she got to play on the playground and eat ice-cream.
That night was her pick as well, and we ended up eating Mexican food, complete with chips and salsa.
I would say she had a pretty eventful birthday, but it doesn’t stop there. The rest of the week we prepared for family and friends as we got ready for Eden’s big birthday party.
This was her first birthday party that included both family and her little friends. Let me just say we all had a blast.
We hosted her birthday party at a gymnastics center because we knew she loved to jump and climb. What a perfect way to go. This place had blow up games on top of having all the fun equipment a gymnastic place has.
We enjoyed pizza, slushies, and cake. It was just so fun to see everyone having a good time.
I would definitely do this kind of birthday party again. Thanks to all who helped us celebrate! Ya’ll are what made it so special.
Honestly though. You know what is so great about being a beautiful mess…God loving us no matter what our imperfections are.
I want to share a new favorite song with y’all. It’s sung by Amy Grant and it’s called “Better Than a Hallelujah.”
The lyrics in this song are so touching.
You want to know what specific words touched my heart? “God loves a lullaby, in a mother’s tears in the dead of night, better then a hallelujah sometimes.”
I think about these words and I’m shaking my head (YES!) and thinking wow this has happened to me, especially when Eden was little. I would hold her close during an early morning feeding. I would sing to her, but sometimes my words came at slowly because I would be crying tears of joy, knowing that my daughter is healthy. I’m not going to lie to you, sometimes those tears were tears of exhaustion, but my heart was glad that I was holding a sweet baby girl in my arms, because I know she is a precious blessing. It’s just so touching to me to know that God hears those faint cries even if we don’t say what we are thinking directly.
You know…
No one is perfect. If you say you are, well, you probably have insecurity issues. Not to be ugly.
I for one know that I do not “have it all together" and I know for a fact that I’m a beautiful mess, but I seek pride in knowing that God sees my beautiful mess and is loving me every step of the way.
I may not be making much since right now, but what I can make since of is the fact that God constantly loves us through the good times and the bad. He hears our cries and sometimes those cries are better than a hallelujah, because those cries are our hearts opening up, showing God that we can’t make it on our own. We need God every step of the way and that’s a melody to God’s heart.
Today was a wonderful day! We started off the day running a little late... ok, a lot late for worship service. We really do our best! Once we made it to services we had to sit in the very front... of course these would be the only seats left. Once we sat down to join in on the singing Eden wanted to draw, so we let her. Then it was time for communion, which means snack time for Eden. She sat still as the first plate was passed, but then became quickly distracted by the men carrying the communion plates and wanted to wave and say hi to everyone that went by. I thought for sure she was going to make it through communion, but my bubble was quickly busted when during the last prayer she didn’t want to sit still or do anything for that matter that Andrew and I were telling her to do, so daddy quietly escaped with her in hand to the foyer. Few... My morning did not look like that at all in my head. I definitely saw us at least making it to services on time. Finding a good seat, where if Eden were to act up, we wouldn't be distracting anyone and we could quickly take her out. Are my expectations to high? Oh dear! Well, I'm getting a little laugh out of the situation as I'm typing this. I realize that this type of situation happens more often then not for other people... I hope we aren’t the only ones? So we just do our best and go with the flow. We did however sit through services without any interruptions which was a blessing. Now that Eden is two, she can participate in discovery hour. YaY!
Our afternoon went a little smoother. We ate at Texas Roadhouse with some good friends. The Easter Bunny made an appearance, which Eden was ecstatic about! She really thought the Easter Bunny was going to eat with us… sweet thing.
After dinner we made our way back home so Eden could hunt some Easter Eggs. Daddy did a really good job of hiding them and Eden did very well at finding them. Those two make a good team. We couldn't forget a quick family picture which was taken by our outside windowsill. Thank goodness for self-timers. We really did have a wonderful day! We hope everyone else did too.
Thank you Lord for giving your life in order to forgive our sins.
I have been in a total blog slump and I have nobody to blame but myself. There has been quite a bit going on in the Venable household. I have several memories I need to write down before I forget the details. So, I thought I would crawl out of my blog slump by talking about the meaning of Easter.
A lot of times we can get all caught up in the Easter candy, picking out the right things for our kids' Easter baskets, dying eggs, purchasing our Easter attire, Eating! All of these things are fine, but none of these things are what the real meaning of Easter is about.
This verse from John 11:25-26 says: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." Do you believe this?
I truly believe this. You see, the meaning of Easter is to celebrate Jesus resurrection (New Life!) Christ’s resurrection also guarantees the believer’s forgiveness and justification. Romans 4:22-25 says: This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness-for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
It saddens me to know that he was persecuted, suffered and died just so we could have everlasting life. At the same time I have such a peace knowing that Christ died for our sins, so that we may have the opportunity to be born again in him. His resurrection is such a wonderful message to others. His message shouts second chance! So let us set our eyes on things above and remember what the true meaning of Easter really is.
I am a wife to an amazing husband, A mother of two precious children. A happy, bright, entergetic little girl and a sweet, smiley, cuddly boy. I am a working mom who loves my job as a family advocate... Making sure abused kids have a voice! I love cooking, don't mind cleaning, enjoy crafting and trying new things. I am a servent of God and strive to live my life according to his word, and by no means am I perfect. I'm 100% human.
