Still waiting . . .

It's been a slow process. We checked in the hospital at about 8am this morning, started the Patosin around 10am, and mercifully decided to get the epideral around 3pm.

The epideral was painful for me to watch, so it was obviously a lot harder on Beth. I'm so amazed at what women go through in labor and we aren't even at the fun stuff yet!

Currently Mom is at 5cm and making progress. She is doing really well, and the epideral is working it's magic.

Beth's Mom and husband have been here with us and have been a wonderful support. Thanks for all the e-mail's, texts, phone calls, and well wishes. We feel very loved and grateful for our friends and family.

We'll keep you posted.

On the way

This morning at 6am Beth's water broke.

It was nothing like the movies, just a gentle "Hey my water broke". So we got up, I took a shower, and then we headed to the hospital.

Mom is doing great, contractions are mild at this point, and they have started the Patosin (sp?) and so now we are just waiting.

I'll update more later!

The due date...and I guess she isn't coming...

April Fools...

Well, unless she decides to come before Tuesday, our little girl will be born on April 1. The hospital schedule is wide open that day...crazy huh? So, we will head into the hospital whenever they call us on Monday and then they will induce on Tuesday...guess she won't be a March baby.

Three years...

Well, yesterday was our third anniversary. It was definitely different this year with us expecting our little girl anytime now...I think I am a little too exhausted to really be romantic:) Anyway, it was still good to look back at the last three years. Sometimes it seems a lot longer. God has brought us through so much & continues to provide everything we need and then some. We still have so many questions about our long term purpose and how He is going to get us there, but I know He will take care of us every step of the way. I am looking forward to this next year as our life will change dramatically, but I am excited about learning and growing together as a family!

A March Baby...

Those are the words I wanted to hear when I went to the doctor today, and he said them: "She will be a March baby". YAY! So, if I haven't had her by Monday they will induce. So, that means that by this time next week we should have our little girl in our arms. I can't wait. I cannot wait for Buck to get to hold her and not just because I am desperately tired of holding her.

He is going to be such a great dad, so I cannot wait for them to meet face to face. I have had so many women tell me that the dads just don't do as much as you need. She isn't even here yet & he is already doing so much. Today he continued reading "On Becoming Babywise"...I think he read the part about identifying healthy growth signs...like what her diapers will look like. Even though he thought he could get through life without ever reading that, he has been so supportive & involved in everything from her room to packing our bags to taking great care of me...not to mention the fact that he works so hard every day so that now I will be able to be home with her.

Babe, I love you & I am so excited about raising our little girl together. Thanks for being my best friend and loving me way more than I deserve.

Another Quote from Yesterday...

Just like Buck's quotation he posted yesterday, this also came from the wonderful Crystal Corn:

On why everyone should join us for camp at Bonclarken, "Cheesecake! Paddleboats! and Paintball!"

Random Post

 I have some random thoughts that I've meant to share for a while so here they are in a random order(except for #1):

- My wife is amazing. She is my biggest fan and I'm grateful to God for allowing me to be her Husband! You were more then worth the wait.

 - I can't remember a time in my life where I have seen God take care of  our family (or me individually) more then the last year. He has provided in every way imaginable. Tomorrow will be Beth's first official day home, not having to work. I didn't even know if this was possible 12 months ago. 

-  I serve with a team of leaders that are incredible. Honestly I mean that, that's not just church talk. We have some really talented leaders in the student ministry, they are passionate, talented, and they encourage my heart often.

- Redbox is a great way to rent movies. 

- I don't love the job I'm in, but I'm thankful that I have bosses that great to work for. Beth and I were talking about it today. If I had the same type of management that she was working for I'd probably be employed by Comcast right now.

Random Quote for the day - "Breaks that long lead to pregnancy!"

Daniel 3: 16-18 (ESV)

O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."

Our First Shower...

The women in my small group threw a shower for me & it was a blast. It was kinda fun hanging out with women from all my different areas at church at the same time.

A Balance Beam...

Well, even when I am pregnant I get hurt in ways other people don't; although, I still claim that if I didn't have a huge basketball protruding from the front of me, this 2x4 piece of wood would have headed straight to the ground. Anyway, yesterday at school my after-schoolers were playing with the balance beam and it popped up into the air. One of the boys was trying to put it down and it hit me directly on the top of the stomach. At first I just felt dizzy & nauseated, and then the contractions came...all these braxton hicks contractions are nothing compared to this. Anyway, the people at my school got really worried (I was too out of it to really give my opinion) and called an ambulance. I think Buck could have driven me just as well considering he came from farther away and beat us to the hospital. But anyway, our little girl is doing great...she was very happy during the ultrasound and monitoring for like four hours. We finally came home around midnight & I am taking today to rest. I am just thankful for her health. God totally knew what he was doing (even if it's a little freaky at times to have a human being inside of me) when he created this whole process. Our baby is protected so well even when I am not. Hopefully she will be here in a few weeks...I know God already has the time picked out for her.

Be Still

I get to teach this weekend and I'm pumped about it. I forget how much I enjoy the process of putting together a message and then getting to share it. Honestly the best part of it is that I always learn something as I'm teaching. Here is what I learned this week:

Psalm 46:10a - "Be still and know that I am God!"

Have you ever heard this verse and thought um ok sure. What does this mean?

In order to shed some light on this I want to look at another verse and see if it sheds some light on things:

This is right before the nation of Israel was about to cross the Red Sea. The Egyptians were literally chasing after the slaves that they had just let go. Israel was having doubts about weather they should have left at all. They came to the edge of this sea and thought this is it. End of the line now is the part of the movie where they come kill us. In short they were scared.

Exodus 14:13-14

13 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

What does “being still” mean?  It means that you trust God. We usually don't have a nation chasing after us. When God says be still and know that I am God. He is saying “STOP”. Trust me. Let me speak into your life. Let me show you how I want to move in your life.

When we stop and spend time with God we are saying. I trust you. I trust you to give me enough time in the day to get everything else done and spend time with you.

So what does that look like? I want to challenge you to make a choice. It's not a one time thing, but it can start that way. Choose today to say I'm going to make this relationship a priority in my life. The thing is you have to make the choice on a daily and weekly basis. I challenge  you to schedule time with God every day.  

Road trip

A group of us from Mountain Lake went to visit a church in Birmingham this last wednesday. It was a great time. We left around 3pm and got home around 1:45 am. Which made for a really log day at work the next day, but it was totally worth it.

The ministry had literally exploded from 125 students to regularly hitting over 500 kids in only a few months. We went to check it out and see what they were doing.

I knew going in that we weren't going to see anything drastic, that we had never seen before. And from a programing stand point it wasn't anything radical, or really even innovative. 

I'd seen other ministries with the better facilities (and this was a very nice new building), better communicators, funnier videos/ skits, and sharper run production. (Please don't take that as a knock, I just mean I've seen some well run ministries). What I've never seen before though was the culture they have created that empowers students to take responsibility for making guests feel welcome.

There were 5 adults and 1 student in our group and we had no less then 8 different students greet us and ask for our names while looking us in the eye. It was AWSOME. Not sure what that would look like at Mountain Lake, but there is something there.

Great video

Do yourself a favor and take the time (2.5 min.) to watch this video. 

Very cool story.

For My Brother...

Well, my little brother Adam had a great success today. After a year and a half of Flight Navigation School with the Air Force, selections for what he will be flying were made. So, he will be flying F-15 Strike Eagles. That is what he wanted...except for the extra two months of school those guys have to go through before they get their WINGS! He has worked so hard to get where most people do not, and I am glad he loves the idea of defending our country!

Let it Snow...

Here are some pics of our home for those of you who have not yet seen it. It snowed Wednesday night & we are expecting a bit more sometime this weekend.

The Latest...

Well...here is the pic some have been waiting for...11 weeks to go.   We got a digital camera yesterday & Farah snapped this pic while I was over at her home.  Thanks, Farah.

Name Withholding...

Well, Buck and I decided to not share the name of our little girl who will be born in less than twelve weeks. We have known her name for a while...soon after we were married. (This is not the case with our boy name.) Apparently others are not too fond of this decision. I am sorry to everyone, but I am content with our decision. You may continue to guess or call her ridiculous names in the meantime. Thank you for your many suggestions; unfortunately, we have already settled on the name. You will love and adore her just the same when she is born, even if you cannot give her something monogrammed . We thank you for your patience with this crazy decision we have made. We have not decided if we will take this approach with future children...so, you can hold out hope there.

Happy New Year...

Happy New Year! It is 2008...crazy. 2007 was so full--full of blessings & consistent provision. Even amidst some uncertainty and disappointment and sadness, God has continued to be more than I deserve, the Savior of my universe. I am looking forward to the new journey of 2008; even though I am anxious some days, I know I can fully trust Him. May your 2008 be a year of searching more for Jesus, and following Him closer, and leading others to His grace, love, and forgiveness.

Missing Ministry Together...

Well, today Buck left for a student ministry winter retreat in Boone, NC. I am so excited that God provided for him to go. I am not even particularly depressed that I am left behind without him on New Year's Eve. What makes me sad is that we are not on this retreat together. This is the first time there has been a major student event since we have been married that we did not get to experience together. We both enjoy how we are serving at MLC...me with middle school and him with high school. But, I miss desperately serving together. I miss having students in our home all the time. I miss our late night discussions about students and the direction of the student ministry. I miss planning events together. I miss the stories we have about students. I know God has something planned for us in the future...whether near or far. I know His timing is way better than mine. But, I am sad today as he goes to hang out with students and student leaders for three days...without me.

Home for Christmas

We are in Ark. for Christmas. We had a really good trip up including a stay in Nashville, with Molly one of Beth's roommates at Auburn. Last night we went to see Aaron, Kathrin, Caleb(3), Kayla Grace (2), and Kaitlin. Aaron just moved back to NW Ark. we grew up together. He is horrible at Wii Boxing(I pounded him), but it we had a great time catching up with them.

Now we are at home with my parents, sister, and 2 nieces. It's been great just being able to reconnect with friends and family. I look forward to a couple of days just hanging out with them, playing games, laughing and watching movies. It's good to be home.