Praying to the One we know, knows us

Do you ever find yourself praying mindlessly through your "grocery" list? Tuesday night I was in bed, had read some word and was praying through my list. I felt the Holy Spirit say, 'Why are you talking to me as if you don't know me?'. Yikes, I was. I had my list of things I am praying for, but there was no faith or relation behind it, just stating my list. It is like calling AT&T to make a change to your service. You call, state what you need and wait for it to be fixed. What if you called and it turned out your best friend was on the other end. You would talk to them, relate to them and listen. 

This has been my challenge this week. Talk to Him like He is who He is. He is my redeemer, my Father, friend, companion, counselor, salvation, the God who sees me, heals, answers me when I call Him, my maker and so so much more. 

And just to leave you with a bit of Jeremiah for your day, he kicked Al hard a couple times this morning and when Al laid his head on me to talk to him closely he got a swift kick in the face. It was funny and sweet. 

21 Weeks!

Can that be right!? I am 21 weeks pregnant! This time is going by fast. Baby Jeremiah is moving and kicking and rolling around lots now. Last Friday I woke up and was laying on my back with my hand on my belly and I felt a good solid bump inside and outside. I was excited because I knew if I felt it, Al would be able to feel his boy soon too! I laid there and prayed and talked to Jeremiah for a few minutes then got up to shower and felt him again. Al happened to get home while I was still there so I told him and thankfully Jeremiah was still moving around. Al very patiently waited with his hands on me and was blessed with his first bump from his boy! I said, "did you feel that?" He said, "I felt him" and then he just stood there in awe, not crying or laughing just like something major had happened, it had. I cried. :) He has felt him a couple more times, bigger bumps even. Every once in awhile at work I feel him and think, What in the world? ha ha ha I never forget that I am pregnant, but I do forget that I can feel him moving so strongly now. Each time is miraculous. The next few months are going to be fun! 

We have picked out our crib, my fabrics are mostly chosen, but the paint color is still to be determined. No hurry though. I am enjoying all of this and I am enjoying sharing the experience with anyone who wants in! We have registered at Target and Babies-R-Us and the date for our Tulsa shower is being set, (Memorial Day weekend) and our Tennessee shower will likely be June 28th. 

Have I mentioned how happy and excited I am to be pregnant? God keeps giving us opportunities to share our story and I am so thankful each day that He has brought us to this place. In the pictures you can see a new frame we got last weekend from USA Baby. It says, 'Before I formed you, I chose you. Jeremiah 1:5' We had to have it. ;) 

20 Weeks!

This week marks 20 weeks! We went on Sunday afternoon and registered at Babies-R-Us. It was so fun, I shed some tears on the way there. Just another sweet milestone that I had a hard time ever imagining I would get to. I used to go to Babies-R-Us to buy everyone else gifts for their babies, it was surreal to be registering for things for our baby. Al and I had fun scanning, scanning, scanning. I am sure there are things we missed, but geez... that store is huge and can be overwhelming! It was fun to imagine everything in Jeremiah's nursery, but eye opening to realize our house is about to be taken over! ha ha ha
 

I am feeling great and still love pregnancy. I am feeling him move more and more. Often when I am sitting at my desk I feel him thumping away. At night when I lay down I can feel him moving and stretching. I can't wait for him to be felt on the outside as well. Al's hand is often resting on my belly just in case a thump can be felt. 

I have found that I can't do nearly as much in a day without totally wiping myself out. So if we have plans in the evening, I need to make sure I have nap/rest time in there somewhere.  Tums are my BFF right now. I don't leave home without them. 

It's a boy!

Yesterday afternoon we went for our 'big' ultrasound and 19 week appointment. All is perfect in the belly! We have a beautiful son growing strong and healthy. I don't think I had thought of it as having a son until just now. Hmmm, weird. I am having a son. That sounds very grown up! 

Thank you for all your prayers over the last few years, the last few months and the last 18 weeks. So many people joined with us in praying for Jeremiah by name and 'blessed are they who believed, there is fulfillment of that which was spoken'. This pregnancy has been such a sweet time, but yesterday seeing Jeremiah and having God's word confirmed for the world was incredible. 

Here are his second pictures. He has grown a bit since his last pictures as a little peanut. He was moving the entire time giving the technician a rough time measuring him and getting all his stats. Dr. Presley gave us an A+ and said this pregnancy couldn't be more perfect if we wanted it to be. I am right on with everything with all the normal pregnancy symptoms. Some not so fun, but worth it! ha ha ha

1st pic is his cute little foot which was moving and kicking the entire time 

2nd pic is his alien view

3rd its a boy! 

4th his beautiful profile

18 Weeks!

I am 18 weeks and love being pregnant! I never know what to do with my hands in these pictures. Tatum really wanted to be in the picture too. 

Bella & Gideon's visit to Nashville

Last week my oldest brother Josh and his wife Diana came to Nashville with the kiddos. It was a fun visit. They stayed at Opry where Josh was attending a conference for work so we went out there a couple times and they came out to the house for dinner and fun a couple times. The highlight of the visit was when Uncle BoomBoom (Al) was able to take Gideon to the Averitt truck yard where he got to ride in a big truck, watch BoomBoom hook and unhook a trailer, honk the horn and meet some real truck drivers. He even got his own Averitt hat. I don't have the pictures from that adventure yet. Here are some other pictures from our visit. Bella is holding baby Lars Sloat. Gideon and Bella playing at the Monkey's Tree House in Nashville. 

Fun gifts from our Dad

Have you ever had those moments when you want something, but you write it off as not necessity or not possible? A couple weeks ago Al and I stopped in at Blue Coast Burrito, our favorite after church lunch spot and I saw a woman with a really cute diaper bag. I loved the print. I leaned in for a closer look at saw the brand name. I thought, "Um, yeah, nevermind". I of course had to tell Jeannie about it, which led me to the company's website where I discovered the print, my print, the diaper bag that was the end all be all of bags and it had my name all over it. Only problem was, it also had that designers name on it. Oh well. I put it out of my head without much more thought and moved on. There are lots of diaper bags in this world and I would find one I liked. 

Well, yesterday Al and I were on our way to Opryland Hotel to meet my oldest brother and his kids who are in town for a convention this week. (more about their visit later) We had some time to kill so we pulled off the highway and stopped in at TJ Maxx. We walked in and they had a cute baby display set up so we stopped and looked then Al went his own direction. I walked around the back of the display and there laying on the shelf was my bag. I literally just stared at it thinking it had to be my imagination and it was a similar print purse or something like that. I picked it up and turned it over and there was the familar name. Now, the real test... how much was it? The bag I loved at $162 was at TJ Maxx, in my hands, for $59. Still more than most diaper bags I had seen, but none were so me. I asked Al and after some discussion he said I should get it, then in the car he confessed that he wouldn't say no to me on something that my heavenly Father had set aside for me. 

For years I have been buying baby clothes and toys, but there was something about buying a diaper bag that made this pregnancy seem that much more real. I know its silly, but I have dreamed of the day I could buy a bag for myself. What a blessing to get the very bag I wanted at a third of the price. It was a sweet reminder that my Dad in heaven cares about the little things we care about. 

Jeannie, Trish, Gina and I had a great weekend in Atlanta! I will share more about that trip and the visit with Josh, Diana and the kids later this week.