We are Having a Baby . . .

And the long awaited answer is that it is a baby . . . . well let me share with you how we told our families first! When we came back to the states Stephen's mom did not know about the baby yet so here is a video of us surprising her with the news!

So to tell Stephens family the gender we decided to make cake pops, we made the cake batter and added the appropriate dye to it! Then we covered them in white chocolate and sprinkles, that evening we had everyone bite into it at the same time! It was really fun to share the special news with everyone that way!

With my family since we have all the nieces and nephews, we decided to do a pinata which my awesome sister-in-law made for us and then we filled it up with candy and colored confetti. The kids had a blast, Karis thought for sure that an actual baby was going to come out, either a baby girl or a baby boy hahaha! After we cleared that up, Caden decided that since I had a baby in my belly that he wanted to have one in his so he started telling everyone Auntie Em is having a baby and I am having a baby too!

So we finally got the pinata hung up and started with the littlest kid and worked our way up to the older kids! They beat that pinata like crazy until a lot of candy and a certain color came out . . . . . and that color was . .

PINK!!!! Its a GIRL! 
We are praising the Lord for our beautiful baby girl and can't wait to meet her in early December!

Beautiful Blessings

Over the past several months our family and my belly have seen some changes : ) back in March Stephen and I found out that we are expecting! Since that moment, God has been changing and challenging us in so many new and unexpected ways. As I gaze down at my growing belly, as I look at the sonogram of the baby developing inside of me, I stand amazed that God would entrust this tiny little life into our hands.

As we were experiencing the excitement of new life we were also grieving the loss of an old life. My grandpa went to dance in heaven with Jesus on June 10^th – as I dealt with his loss I would look down to see new life, new life that the Lord has created in me through HIS miraculous hand of grace. I am humbled to recognize that it is only through the hand of our sovereign Lord that life is given and life is taken away. And I praise Him that it is only for a time because if we know HIM as our Lord and Savior we can be confident that we will meet again.

 
So as the journey continues for us here on earth it is my prayer that our marriage, our parenting . . . our lives are lived in such a way that the grace, love and hope of our Lord is shown. As we embark on this next stage of parenthood, I know that the Lord is going to teach us, change us, and grow us to be more like himself. So with that I leave you with this passage that has been my comfort over the past several months - Psalm 118 - these are the last two verses - 

You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God; I will extol you.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!

Read the next blog post to find out what we're having!

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