A special day

Today is a very important day of remembrance and praise in our household. Two years ago today, we (Kevin and I) dedicated our little Brooklyn to the Lord. We stood before our church congregation and our families and vowed to continuously praying for Brooklyn, instructing her in the way of the Lord, setting a godly example, and disciplining her as the Lord would discipline us.

But, it's important to point out that even though today is Brooklyn's baptismal birthday and tonight we will relight her baptism candle, baptism isn't something that just happens once and then is forgotten. Jesus certainly didn’t see baptism as the end, but as an entrance to a way of life. Baptism is how we live our life in Christ. We daily ask for and receive forgiveness of sins. We put down our guilt and shame at the foot of the cross and use our precious life energy to serve God’s family, to continue to learn about the God, to help God’s kingdom come here and now. How can we help our children say “I’m sorry” to God, to know they are forgiven and called to forgive others? Model saying “I’m sorry” to your child, your spouse, your friend, and to God in prayer. It will be contagious. In shared prayer, invite children to ask for God’s forgiveness and for a heart willing to forgive others. Remind your children daily that the Holy Spirit lives in them as the way Jesus is with them always.

"Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." ~Matthew 19:14

Our Surprise

We had a bit of a surprise on Thursday morning when after a second elective ultrasound to learn that we are in fact having a GIRL!

At our first ultrasound, the technician guessed that it was a boy because he didn't see any girl parts and thought he saw some boy parts. So, we began preparing for what a baby boy would be like in our family. We had a name already picked out and we began designing (in our minds) what the nursery would look like. My mom made Brooklyn's bedding and curtains and has offered to do the same for this baby. So, this past week, we made a trip to look at fabric swatches and found a pattern that we just loved and thought would fit the room just perfectly. We took along our camera and shot a few photos of each of the fabrics. We then designed a theme and idea for painting the room. We, of course (and thank goodness) didn't make any purchases.

So, there we were getting ready to walk into the ultrasound office to get a chance to see our little man again. Brooklyn had been talking about how excited she was to see her brother again. As the ultrasound began, the technician told us he would try and determine the sex of the baby for us first, or just confirm that we were having a boy. After watching our baby's bum for about five minutes, I asked the technician if he knew yet. He responded with, yes, he knew right away but was trying to get a clearer image for us to be able to see. After moving around a bit more, he focused on these three little lines between the baby's legs, indicating that this baby was actually a girl NOT a boy. In fact, the technician didn't know how anyone could have thought this was a boy, but said he has seen this type of thing happen a lot. I looked over at Kevin and he looked at me. We were both in shock and truly surprised. The technician carried on with the ultrasound showing us the baby's face, hands, feets, back (a very straight spine), rib cage, etc. He went back a few times to the baby's bum and each time we saw those three lines confirming a girl would join our family around the beginning of October.

Now, we are back at square one for names and room decor. But, that's really okay. It will be fun coming up with both. As we told our families and friends about our new realization, some asked if Kevin was okay with the news. He, in fact, is very thrilled and excited to be having another little girl. He absolutely adores Brooklyn, and even though she's a girl, she loves to pick up a hammer or screwdriver and help him fix things around the house. And, she is fascinated when he is shaving his face in the morning to the extent of pretending to shave her face too. She is very sweet and affectionate sometimes too, and he just eats that up.

Who knows what our new little girl will like and be into, but we are very excited to meet her and welcome her into our family, and we know that the relationship between Brooklyn and her will be something worth watching! And, yeah, I'm excited about having another little girl in the family...girls are so precious!

Our Getaway

That's right, this looks delightful, I know. And, this is where we are headed for a little getaway just the three of us. Our plans for this weekend and all of next week have changed several times as a wedding was postponed, we thought we'd go somewhere new, but then we realized I would be too pregnant to drive 12+ hours across the country to visit that vacation site. So, we settled on a mountain town that I used to go to quite a bit as a child, but neither Kevin nor Brooklyn have been to. And, when I say settled, I mean we decided, reached a decision after much pondering and brainstorming, not that this place isn't fabulous, because it is! And, what's really better than fresh mountain air?!

Starting tomorrow, Kevin and I have a glorious week and half off (I actually have 13 days off because of my work schedule) just to spend with our precious little daughter. We wanted this time so badly because with the baby coming at the end of the summer as this will be our last chance to have a vacation, a nice family getaway, just the three of us. We love our time with our Brooklyn. It's something we will always treasure, as I am most definite we will with our little man too.

Let me just say, I cannot wait!