It's been awhile

Well, it's been about7 months since I posted anything. I now have a 3 year old and will have a new little baby soon - it's hard to believe both of those things!

Let's do a pregnancy update first:
Morgan Kay is due Nov. 7th but I'm already on bed rest so there is a good chance she will get here early. Basically she is sitting too low and things are already progressing early. I go back to the Dr this week so we will see what she says. I'm still working from home and doing my visits with my foster families as long as I can.
Bed rest is challenging for me. It's hard to ask for help but maybe this is a good lesson. Addie is super excitedc about the baby (she has no idea what she is really in for). She likes to tickle my belly and tell me she is tickling baby Morgan. I think she will really be a good big sister and helper!

Now for an Addie/Family update:
She turned 3 on Sept 23. We had a camping birthday party at Connie's house complete with a tent, an inflatable fire, binoculars for all the kids and "s'mores" (marshmallows dipped in chocolate and graham cracker crumbs). She has been talking about her party since about June and she knew she wanted strawberry cupcakes, party hats, presents, friends and balloons - she got all of those things.

I really can't believe she is 3 already. She is so tall and thin and growing so fast. I love her sense of humor and her vocabulary. One of her favorite things right now is to pretend. She pretends there are dragons or animals in our house, that she is a pirate/mermaid/princess etc. She pretends that we are on a bus or a train going different places, that she is a cook and countless other scenarios. I love her creativity and to see what she comes up with. The only downside is that sometimes she scares herself with her imagination. We have had to make a rule that no dragons or mean monsters are allowed in our house :)

Addie loves to sing, paint and read books. We could do those things all day long. I am still working 32 hours a week and have Fridays at home with her. For now she is still at our dear friend Connie's house the other days and Thursday School at church one day a week. Unfortunately, Connie will not be keeping her any more after October so I am trying to find another child care solution. I cannot express how grateful I have been for the love, lessons and attention she has gotten spending time with Connie. Having Addie spend time with a sweet, creative, godly woman each day has been an awesome foundation for her.

Josh and I are doing well - both busy with work. Josh had another successful (if not crazy) youth group summer. He had two great interns this year who were a big help. The youth group went to Honduras again for their mission trip and it was a great trip for all of them. I'm still working with foster kids and families. It's busy but I like my job and the work I get to do. Other than that I really can't think of any big news at the moment.

We are busy getting ready to be a family of 4 and enjoying the last few weeks as a family of 3. I am not nearly as on top of things or prepared for this little baby - the car seat is still in the basement, no clothes are washed or put away yet etc. It's actually stressing me out so I will try to get to all of this stuff soon.

If you are still reading this - thanks!Hope you enjoyed the updates.

Change of Plans

If you only read this to get updates on my child or stuff we are doing - sorry...this post is more about me sharing a few things that I can't get out of my head lately. However, Addison is doing well and is as cute as ever even though she is a little bit of a 2 year old terror sometimes.

So, this past weekend I was able to go to Austin, TX for the first time in I think 4 years. I consider Austin home even though I moved around a lot growing up. I love that city and I love people there. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of family there except for my aunt (and friends who can count as family). I got some really cheap plane tickets and decided it was time to take Addie since she had never met my Auntie Ann and never been to Austin. So we left Daddy at home and flex out last Wednesday night for 4 days. We had a great trip - I introduced her to Amy's ice cream and the cows, we hung out with some very dear friends and on Sunday we got to go to Westover for the last day of Stream Austin to hear Mike Cope speak and Ken Young speak.

One thing that seemed to keep coming up whenever I had conversations with people was that we are not where we thought we would be right now. I got to hang out with friends from high school, friends I have known since I was 7 and who were best friends to me for a long time, friends from college, friends who have been mentors, and I met some new people. It seemed to keep coming up that our plans do not work out - whether that means people are divorced, still single, struggling with an illness, not in a job they like, have kids, don't have kids, where they are living, or things are going well but its not what we pictured.

When I was talking to my friend Amy she shared a testimony that God had been reminding her to take things one day at a time and not to spend so much time and energy worrying. This was a great thing to keep in my mind as I had the rest of these conversations through out the weekend - God is still God and He works for our good. Even when our plans don't work out and they don't go how we plan - that's ok and it's probably a good thing because His ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9). This is still hard for me to grasp and to realize at times. I know it in my head but to put it into practice is a whole different ballgame.

God has the ability to see the big picture. I try to get better at trusting His plans for me but man, it's a slow process.