Prayers of Blessings

Christmas day we were at my grandparents house in New Jersey where we always gather to spend "Christmas" -- whether it is on December 25th or not.  

This Christmas was special because I had asked my grandfather and step-dad to do a prayer of blessing over our baby boy.

So after all the gifts were opened and we had enjoyed lunch (and I went back into pajamas to stay comfortable), we all sat in the family room.

Granddaddy read these sentences from Child Guidance p. 27, "The first child especially should be trained with great care, for he will educate teh rest.  Children grow according to the influence of those who surround them." 

My Granddaddy is a joker and said, "It says the first, so that means more!"  So this is me laughing about the more part.  Let's just make it through the first one!

Then he prayed a blessing over our baby boy--and Matthew and I.

After he prayed Pappa shared about the names of God and how one of the names means that He is the Shepherd who leads us, and that we should know that all of the family will be praying for us, and hopes that we will remember that whatever our needs are at the moment that God will provide.

Then he prayed a blessing over Matthew & I and our baby boy.

I am richly blessed and so is our baby boy.  I love my family.

Baby Gender Reveal for the Students

Matthew and I wanted to share our exciting news of boy or girl with our students in a way that we hoped would be fun for them.  After all, they are family to us and they are just as excited about the baby as anyone else I think.

So we decided on doing silly string.  The caps were taken off the spray bottles, a few students chosen, and whatever color came out would reveal to the students the baby's gender.  Plus they would get to spray us.

The day before the students each voted what they thought the baby would be. :)

A baby boy!

Here is a video of the fun!

Thank you Tima for coming and doing the photography!
Thank you Dawn for doing the video!

Because you are willing

There are the sounds of pots and silverware being put away.  

A sliding sound, which I think is the cutting board, and then chopping.  Sizzling sound follow with the refrigerator opening and closing.

Later I hear the dishwasher running.  Shortly after I am given a delicious meal. 

And the kitchen is clean.  

What an amazing husband.  Even just today he has made me breakfast, lunch, snack, fruit, and supper.  I haven't helped.  I've laid on the couch and felt nauseated and extremely grateful.  

There are things I did not think of when I got married.  I did not think about being sick for months on end and pregnant.  I did not imagine I would be so dependent on others.  But here I am.  



(Hungry and tired...but more tired than hungry.)

And here is this man I married.  Cleaning the house.  Cooking meals.  Showing me love over and over again.

However, there are things I did think of before I got married.  I thought of what the character of the man I would marry.  Did he love Jesus?  Was he a servant leader?  At our wedding we washed each other's feet as a symbol of lifetime service of love to each other, following Jesus' example.



Each day he washes my feet symbolically as he serves me and our child.  Our son.  

One day I was sharing how I felt not as pretty and attractive because of the change in my body and the next day he wrote this:





















(I created this frame for us and we wipe off what goes after "Our marriage is" and change it every now and then.)

He continues to amaze me.  I count him as multiple blessing each day.  

Even at night he serves me.  I have been going to bed very early and I don't like to go to bed alone.  So I ask him to come with me and he does.  He rubs my back and reads to me each night to help me relax to fall asleep and then once I'm asleep he will do homework or whatever else in bed so I can have him near me.

In the mornings if he can see that it is a rough morning he will read devotions to me.  Taking the initiative as the spiritual leader to help me when I'm too nauseated or tired to read myself.  

Today at church Matthew, my wonderful husband, was ordained as an elder.  He and I had prayed about him accepting being an elder when he was first asked, and we felt God leading there so he accepted.  

Today as I watched him go up and be prayed over I could not have been more filled with joy and pride.  There was a man that has served me selflessly, day and night, and not complained.  

"To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away."

1 Peter 5:1-4

These verses in Peter make me think of Matthew.  Not only because he is an ordained elder, but because he has been a shepherd to myself and our son and we are truly under his care--not because he must take care of us--but because he is willing, as God wants him to be.

I know that he will shepherd those God has given him to shepherd with the same care and selflessness that he has shown me. 

I am blessed beyond measure to be his wife and I pray that I will be a blessing back to him.  

Thank You God, for my husband, Matthew.

Bubbles

When I have asked people what the baby moving feels like I get a variety of answers.  Some are not as pleasant sounding: gas.  Some are beautiful sounding: butterflies.  Neither were exactly helpful.

Last night as Matthew and I finished our home vespers I felt a bubble form to the lower right of my bellybutton and then disappear.  I felt something similar a little further to the right a little later.  I told Matthew that I thought the baby was moving.  So he reached his hand out and I placed it over where I had first felt the bubble.

We waited in silence.  Then I felt it again in the exact same spot as the first time!  Same feeling and everything.

Matthew couldn't feel it but it is so exciting to have felt the first "bubbles" of movement. I have felt "bubbles" twice before this but this was more definite to me since it was twice in the same area.

Dear Little Baby,

You are so loved.  Stay safe and growing.  We long for April to come.

All our love,

Papa & Mama

Heartbeat

On Wednesday, October 30 we went to go hear the heartbeat of our little baby.  My previous experiences led me to believe that I would have to wait in the waiting room for a while until I was seen.  So when I had to leave school before Matthew I was pretty confident that he would still get there in time to hear the heartbeat.

Also, I had forgotten my cell phone that day, so I had no way to contact him.

Almost immediately after I signed in they called me in.  I went over financial information, etc. and was sent back out to the waiting room.  I breathed a sigh of relief that there was still time for Matthew to come.  Then they quickly called me back in again.  I told the nurse that my husband was on his way and asked if they would please let him back to the room with me.  She said if he asked for me they would bring him back.  She began her initial assessments, blood pressure and questions and then thankfully there was a knock at the door asking if "Beth-Anne White" was in this room.  And then Matthew came in.  I was so thankful to see him.

The doctor came in shortly after that with the probe and squirted gel on my stomach and began to search for the heartbeat.  I felt like I should hold my breath.  And secretly I wondered if they would find a heartbeat.  Besides being sick and gaining weight there is nothing that says I'm carrying a living baby.  The doctor said that the baby was moving around a lot and moved the probe again to find it.  And suddenly there it was.  A whirling water/wind sound.  I turned and looked at Matthew and smiled.  The doctor asked if it felt real yet.  She said we both kind of looked like we were trying to process it.  I think we are still trying to process it.  I love going to the doctor now because it is when I get to hear, or see, or know more about our baby.

I could have listened to that heartbeat for a long time.

The doctor said the heartbeat was 156 bpm.  So what we know so far is our baby has long legs, it is active, and is had a 170 bpm at the first ultrasound (but we didn't get to hear it), and 156 bpm at 15 weeks.

December 2 we go back for our gender revealing ultrasound!  Pray that the baby wants to cooperate and let us know what it is.  We can't wait!


This is a clip of someone's ultrasound heartbeat if you want to hear what it sounded like.  I don't know how many beats per minute this was: http://www.hark.com/clips/yrvllvtzsm-baby-heartbeat-14-weeks